He was alone when he next woke to a darkened sky and frigid room. He rose slowly from his bed feeling weak but no longer dizzy. He made his way into his small kitchen area and cut a hunk of bread from the hard loaf on the counter. He was an abysmal baker, but he’d learned to make do. He leaned heavily on the counter as he tried to reconcile what had happened. He came to the conclusion that he’d dreamed the encounter with the red-eyed woman.
Since it was dark, he had no choice but to occupy himself indoors until the next morning. He lit a candle and scrounged up a book before curling up in bed again. There came an eerie sound, a scratch, scratch, scratch along the side of the house. Edward tensed, gauging the distance to the shotgun he left propped by the door in case of bears. There had been stories of bears crashing through thin cabin walls and death befalling the inhabitants, leaving those in the area wary of the large creatures. When all fell silent, he relaxed back against the pillow and returned his attention to his book.
It came anew, in a different area. He dropped the book to the blanket and stood, moving swiftly to the door. If there was a bear, hopefully it was intent on minding its own business, but Edward preferred to be prepared.
The last thing he expected was the door to fly open, flashes of lightning in the starless sky momentarily illuminating the interior of his one-room home. In the frame of the doorway stood a woman, hair billowing out around her with intense static electricity. She seemed possessed, her scarlet eyes glowing, and Edward feared for his life. She stalked forward, her dress fluttering and her hands raising with clawed fingers. He thought he could reach the shotgun before she could reach him, but he underestimated her otherworldly speed. She grabbed it and bent it right in the middle before he'd really even taken a step.
“You don't remember that I can hear your thoughts?”
Her voice resonated as thunder boomed around them. His body locked down, and he had no response.
“I am no dream. Perhaps a nightmare, but no fluffy-clouded dream. You belong to me. Let me make you one such as me, and you will never know illness. You will never be visited by the kiss of death. You will live with me in eternity.”
“Th-that’s not what I want!” How could he think to spend his life with her when she frightened him so?
“I have to have you. I need you.” She moved closer, inch by inch. “Your blood calls to me from great distances, and I cannot resist.”
They moved around the room in a macabre dance. Edward moved away and she circled. He shifted and she followed suit. He had no way out. The wound on his neck throbbed once more, but when he placed a hand there he found no open sore.
“My venom heals you. It can change you. You can be my immortal.”
“No,” he choked out on a whisper. “No!” he shouted more forcefully.
“Yes,” she hissed as she drew ever nearer. There was nothing to be done for her thirst but to sate it. “If you let me change you I will never hurt you again. It's your human blood that calls to me, the heart beating in your chest. If you join me in eternal life it will no longer be a living organ.”
“You're just going to do what you want no matter what I wish!” He was trembling, his gut clenched in fear. She was going to kill him, and there had been so many things he wanted to accomplish in his life.
“You can accomplish all of your desires and more as a vampire. You put too much stock in the idea of life and death, when I offer you the world.” She stopped directly in front of him then and he froze. She heard his heart as it beat faster and faster, racing toward a pinnacle only she understood. She rested her palm on his chest over the pumping blood. “If I change you against your will, you will leave me. I need you. You are my mate.”
“You said that before and it makes no sense. People don't have mates.” He squeezed his eyes closed as she leaned in. Her scent was enticing, but had an aroma he couldn't place.
“Vampires do.” She licked the side of his neck and he whimpered. “You can have me, you know. I promise not to break you if you want to consummate this thing between us.”
He was in terror, and she spoke of love making. Arousal was the last thing on his mind. “Do what you will, and then leave me alone!”
“I cannot leave you alone.”
When she bit him again, she wrenched his head to the side for better access. His cry of anguish couldn't stop her, even knowing she was hurting her mate. The frenzy of the bloodlust overrode all else. She drank, and drank some more, even when his consciousness waned and she saw his thoughts flicker into those of a blank world.
When his body gave out she let up, licking the wound closed and savoring the last few drops of blood on her tongue. His heart moved sluggishly now, and she spread him out on top of his quilt to rest. She would have to let his body restore itself or she would be forced to change him against his will. She wanted him bound to her forever, not loathing and resenting her forever.
She would convince him, she was certain of it. She simply had to wear down his resistance.
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