Chapter Seventeen

I was running.

Harder and faster than I had ever run in my life. Trees flashed past the way. It was only a matter of time my legs would hurl me forward, feet flying from something too terrible to face.

"Kill Derek. Kill the purebloods."

Shaking those thoughts away, I willed myself not to listen to that voice.

"You were born for this. Fulfill the prophecy."

Derek's house appeared between the distant trees. The sight of it brought a strange feeling of salvation, the way a thief might feel sighting a church, his chance at sanctuary. I sprinted harder, and soon, Derek's swimming pool appeared on my line of vision.

I stumbled down to the patio that surrounded the pool, my eyes eyeing its blue depths. Part of me wanted only to drown myself, to lie on the bottom and hold my breath while my heartbeats get further and further apart, stretching, eventually reaching infinity.

My reflection morphed into a different face. She had dark wavy brown hair that fell above the top curves of her supple breast, her eyes had the mixture of electric blue and stormy gray. She had a straight nose, and plump lips curled into a serene smile, but behind that serenity was bitterness and heartbreak. The flawlessness of her creamy complexion made her stunning and utterly inhuman.

"Fulfill what needs to be done."

I recoiled, shaking my head. No way in hell. There was a light in Derek's house. That alone draws me past the pool and up to the French doors at the back of the house. Suddenly, I'm banging on the glass, banging hard, and the pain shooting up to my elbow didn't stop me. I see movement inside, and then Derek was bustled to the door, his face all concerned. Before he could speak, I threw my arms around his neck, standing on tip toes, and hugged him as tightly as I could.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter, ma cherie?" he asked. "What happened? What's wrong?"

I wanted to answer, but my chest was heaving against him in great racking sobs that made my whole body shudder.

"Calm down," Derek said, stroking my hair. "Whatever it is, we can deal with it."

I shook my head violently and stared at him through a screen of tears.

"You've got to tell me what happened, Reagan."

This time my mouth formed the words, but again no sound emerges. Then, like a distraught child, I managed to utter out.

But it came out different. It was like I wasn't in control with myself.

"You're going to die, pureblood." I said in cold hard tone.

Derek's eyes went wide in an instant, "R-R-Reagan?"

I smirked,"What's the matter, Derek? Why are you so shocked?"

He started backing away from me, "Reagan, whatever you're doing, I want you to stop."

I cackled evilly. Stop? Ha! When pigs fly."Sorry. No can do." And with that, I flitted to his direction and planted a fist to his gut, lingering it there, using the force to slam his body to the wall, creating a huge dent.

His body jerked from the impact. I immediately grabbed his throat and slid him up as far as my arms could extend,"You purebloods disgust me. The most arrogant, womanizing fiends that had ever existed. Prepare to beg for your life!"

I tightened my hold on his neck. He was gasping for air and tried to pry my hands off, but to no avail. I was stronger.

"R-Reeag-g-gan." He choked."Don't."

"Say nightie night, Elder Kolinkar!" and snapped his neck, a sickening crack resounding in the air.

I jolted awake. I knew the nightmares were over, but I was breathing hard, sweat covering my forehead.

A felt a hand cupping my cheek, caressing it tenderly,"Reagan, sweetheart. Look at me. It's just a dream. Shh." I averted my eyes and saw Derek hushing me to calm down.

He had a calm look on his face which in contrast to my horrified one. Without a word, I threw my arms around his neck, racking sob."Oh my god!" I wailed. "I thought I killed you."

The dream felt real. My mind and body was so in tuned that I thought it was lucid.

Derek sighed with deep sadness, "No, you didn't kill me. I'm still here. I'm alive. It was just a dream."

I closed my eyes in desolation. "I thought about the possibility." I murmured. "What if it happened? In my dream, I killed you. Without remorse, Derek. It was awful."

He pulled back and kissed my forehead,"No. That won't happen. I'll make sure of it."

I heard Derek's words, but they had no effect. Words couldn't penetrate the wounded region of my soul. He seemed to sense this. He scooted closer and pulled me in for hug and put his lips where my neck reaches my shoulders. The gesture was comforting, and seemed to calm me down,"It's going to be fine. Remember that I love you so much, my little one." He mumbled into my skin.

I sighed, and believe me, my stomach was doing cartwheels and somersault from the words, but I don't want to keep my hopes up. He was, after all, betrothed to a gorgeous woman, Alexis. I was pale to comparison to that pureblood...

It was a tender moment. The feel of Derek's arms around me screamed safe, at home that I have ever been. After a while, I pulled back and glanced at the window. The sun's morning rays flooded my bedroom, bringing in it's beaming glory.

I faced Derek and frowned,"Why didn't you sleep in your room?"

He smiled,"You don't remember?" He asked and I shook my head."When Luke left, you got tired. You were too lazy to go up so I carried you. You asked me to stay with you, so I did. I guess the amount of power you used up drained you. You're turning, so your powers come out on and off. When you turn 18, your power will develop to its full potential. Don't worry. Luke and I will help you." He said, chuckling at the memory.

I gave him a small smile,"Thank you."

He chuckled, "No problem." He said then all of a sudden grinned like an idiot,"How about this; I'll let you skip school today, and we'll go out, do something stress free. How does that sound?"

I thought for a bit. Playing hooky doesn't sound so bad. In fact, it sounded appealing. I didn't want to deal any drama today, so might as well take up the offer."That sounds great, Dee."

"Good. We need to talk anyway. I haven't explained to you about me being an Elder and a vampire."

Ah, hell. That almost slipped my mind. Damn it. I nodded, agreeing."Yeah. I got a lot of questions too."

He gulped, but smiled. Well, more like a grimace."Okay. Now get dressed and I'll cook breakfast." He leaned in to kissed my nose then got out from bed to leave the room. Before he walked out, he glanced over his shoulder smirking,"By the way, Reagan, your bed head looks sexy on you." And he left the room.

My mouth literally dropped. Did he just flirted?

I groaned and slumped back to bed, blushing like crazy.

"I can hear your heart speeding up, Reagan." Derek yelled.

I buried my head to the pillow screaming profanities due to embarrassment.

Stupid Derek.

*********************

"Are we there yet?" I asked for the thousandth time.

Derek heaved an irritated sigh and glanced at me, then back to eyeing the road,"5 more minutes."

I huffed and leaned my head on the window. After a minute, I asked again,"Are we there--"

"Stop asking every single minute." Derek said irritably, cutting me off.

I turned to looked at him and grinned,"I did that to annoy you."

He rolled his eyes, "It's working." He paused then a smile broke out from his handsome face,"We're here."

I looked the window and smiled. It was romantic of Derek to think of this. I faced him again,"This was a great idea. The beach is definitely the place to have a stress free day."

He parked the car along the road. We both got out and I didn't waste time staring at the vast blue water in front of me. The water stretches as far as you can see, to the horizon. The sand was white and pristine. The waves crashing on the shore held a certain tranquility that I just had to close my eyes and inhale the saltwater in the air, filling my lungs - a scent like no other.

I opened my eyes and faced Derek. He was watching me intensely and I have to admit, it was making me squirm. "Uh.. .a deserted beach?" I said nervously. Cut me some slack. I'm nervous whenever a guy stares at me with such intensity. Especially a hot one like Derek.

He blinked his eyes as if he was breaking off from a trance, "Oh. Yeah, sorry. I own this deserted beach."

"Oh." I simply said. Smooth Reagan. Real smooth.

He held out his hand and gave me one of his dashing smiles - I say it's a death trap if you ask me. "Let's take a walk."

I reached out and took his hand, and I let him lead the way but not before we took off our shoes first. With that done, we started walking along the shore.

It was a nice day out. The salty breeze made my sundress ruffle, and my hair whipped in every direction. Derek looked handsome in his white v-neck shirt and faded jeans. He looked laid back, and I like it. He usually wears dress shirts and slacks but today, he was going for the casual look. We are dressed for comfort. Not for style.

Derek broke the silence, "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth." He said solemnly.

"I was having weird thoughts that you were hiding something from me. I mean, you have a big house, like really big. You travel a lot. You come and go like almost every day. You have loads of money. You haven't aged a year since the last time I set my eyes on you at the bus stop, and you even said you were 21 and that makes you what now? 23? Your birthday was on May 23rd right? You just turned 23, and here you are, still youthful."

He sighed and whipped his head to the side, making a hair fell over his eyes and pushed it back, " I was worried if I tell you. I couldn't cope for you to run away, that's why I kept my identity a secret. I was being selfish. When you have lived for a centuries, imagine the money you have accumulated in a decade. I travel a lot because it's part of being an Elder. I see to it there is order in the vampire realm."

I tilted my head to side, "How come you don't burn when exposed to sunlight?"

He chuckled, "There a lot of myths pertaining to vampires. But as for me, I'm a pureblood. I was born naturally like a human. I age naturally, and when I reach at the age of 18, the aging process slows down, then when I turned 21, I was a complete pureblood. An immortal. We feed on blood; that is our main nourishment, but we still eat normal food because we were born naturally, unlike for the converted vampires; they only need blood."

"When were you born?" I asked. He scowled,

"You just have to ask that question, little one?"

I laughed out loud. Gosh, I didn't know purebloods were particular with age, "I just want to know, dork."

"I was born on May 23, 1513 so that would make me 498 years old. I am the youngest son of Desmond and Helena Kolinkar. My brother's name is Darren. He was born three years before me."

I pulled a face playfully, "Eww. You're old."

He gasped, pretending that he was hurt with my insult, "I am not that old."

I rolled my eyes and frowned, "You never talk about your family."

He shook his head, scowling even more, "There's nothing to tell about my family. All they care about is status and heritage. It sickens me. I didn't want to be an Elder. It was suppose to be my brother who would take over father's place, but he was unsure about him. He didn't trust him, so he turned over the position to me. I didn't have a choice."

"What's an Elder?" This vampire thing was giving me a whiplash.

He smiled sadly, "An Elder is someone who keeps the vampire realm in control and in check. We set rules, we govern, we see to it that no one violates the Sacred Laws of Coexistence, which by the way, you will learn soon, since you are now a supernatural being."

I grimaced, "Something tells me I won't like what's in that Sacred Law."

He chuckled and ruffled my hair, "The law is absolute, Reagan. You have to know."

A sudden idea struck me. Oh, this was going to be good. I grinned evilly at him. "Oh, Derek!" I sang.

He looked at me and a gave me a questioning look, "What is it, little one?"

With a hard tug to let go of my hand from his grasp, I ran to the water and splashed him, making him drenched from salt water. I laughed out loud with his expression. It was priceless.

"Oh my god! That... that... was hilarious." I chortled. The look of shock and disbelief on his face was so funny. I wish I brought a camera to capture the moment.

All of sudden, Derek's eyes held a mischievous glint which scared me. He advanced towards me with a sly smirk, "You are going to pay for that, Reagan."

I started backing away, "Derek, come on. It was just a joke." Now I'm really going to get it.

He replied, "I suggest you start running."

Without a word, I ran. Every pounding step caused a splash in every direction. I glanced behind my back, and saw him fast approaching. I snapped my head back and ran even faster.

But it was too late.

I was tackled to the ground, but Derek twisted his body so his back broke the fall. I let out a squeal and laughed hard. The waves that rolled in made both of our clothes drenched. I was giggling like a little girl, and then Derek flipped me so now he was hovering over me, putting an elbow on either side, so that I wouldn't be crushed.

Then slowly, his smile faded and he just stared at me, that penetrating stare that had my stomach flutter, which had me gulping a lungful of air. He shifted his weight so now he was holding the side of my waist, seductively moving his hands up and down.

Slowly and achingly, he leaned down and trailed my shoulders using his nose, rising up to the crook of neck then all the way to my cheek. He brushed his lips on the side of my mouth, and I swore I let out a soft moan. In reaction to that, Derek gripped my waist real hard, then massaged it in a slow kneading motion, then moved to my rib cage area, doing up and down movements with his hands.

His touch was making me crazy, so much it was damn sexy.

His mouth traveled to my lips. He lingered it there. He played with the top of my lips with his teeth, biting it slowly. His breathing was ragged, which matched to my own.

The moment was hot, steamy and mother freaking sensual.

But a phone blaring out just has to ruin the moment.

Derek slumped his head on my shoulders, heaving out a sigh. He stood up, pulling me along in the process, and dug his phone from his pocket. It was a good thing his phone was waterproof.

After a few rings, he answered, "Hello? Oh. Hi Luke." He paused, looking at me, "You're going to Greece? Sure. Okay. Keep us updated. Thanks, bye." He ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket.

"What did Luke want?" I asked, frowning. I hope it's nothing serious.

He sighed, "He's going to Greece. Apparently, he's going to look for Sephrina's grave. He said she kept a Journal according to his trusted Alerian historian friend. He had a haunch that the journal was buried with her. He will call us when he finds the grave, and we'll fly out to Greece."

I grinned. "We are going to Greece?" He rolled his eyes, "If Luke finds the grave, then we'll fly out to Greece."

Then we were back to awkward silence. I guess what happened earlier was not left unnoticed. I started to speak, but Derek beat me to it. "I'm sorry what I did earlier. It was wrong, and I promise I won't do it again."

It stung a bit that he was sorry, but who am I kidding? Derek was engaged, and what we were doing was going behind Alexis' back, "It's okay. It's my fault that I didn't stop you. You're right. It's wrong, because you are a betrothed man."

He was about to retort, but my stomach just had to growl. He chuckled, "It's time to feed the beast. God, we just had breakfast and you're hungry?"

I was glad the subject was dropped, long forgotten. I have to thank my stomach for the distraction. I playfully slapped his arm, "Shut up. I'm a growing girl."

He smiled and wrapped his arm around me, but it was different. He was being careful. "Come on, then. I know a nice cafe near here and they serve the best pudding."

I grinned, "Well, why didn't you say so? Let's go."

He let out a bark of laughter, and we headed back to the car. We didn't care our clothes were dripping with salt water but hey, it was our stress free day, and we could do whatever we wanted.