Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Inside Castiel Yvann's room lied two unconscious women his right hand, Crane, had generously picked up from the downtown of Almida. Crane had sneaked the two while Valian was out, in order to help Yvann sate his hunger that had driven him mad since yesterday when the ration train didn't come.

With his bored scarlet eyes, Yvann scanned the two women. Both were wearing body hugging flimsy dresses, matched with their signature high heels and expensive perfume. Although the women whom he thought were around two decades old were wearing make ups, there's something about them that didn't turn him on. An odd thing for the feral royal of the Garrison clan.

Crane shot Yvann with a confused gaze, wondering why he's still lying on the couch, just watching the girls lie in an awkward position on his bed. "Dude, they're great. You know me. I can sense who got what it takes to sate us." His arms folded in front of his chiseled chest while waiting for Yvann to tilt his head towards his direction.

Seconds had passed but Yvann remained silent. His jaw wasn't clenching at all, but his dark expression didn't change even a little. His broad, perfectly sculpted arms were stretched on the backrest of the couch. Its veins were in display effortlessly from his pale skin like strikes of lightning on a sunny day. He was known for his stubbornness and wild attitude, but something's different about him today. He looked like a storm waiting for a perfect time to cause a severe destruction on someone's perfect day. His calmness was more terrifying than his natural behavior and that bothered Crane more than anyone.

No matter how hungry Yvann was, something inside him kept him from getting on his feet and move towards the girls to devour from their fresh bloods. They're both undeniably good-looking and classy, but their physique weren't enough to turn his beastly side on. It's as if his instinct was telling him to save his thirst for blood for something else...or someone.

He brushed his palm against the side of his neck before he shut his eyes. His head fell against the seat, making his adam's apple be more defined with his every gulp. He'd already felt this way before...before Serena walked in his life. The only woman who managed to make him feel alive, more human and less than the monster he really was.

But that was merely a hundred years ago, and the fear of having the same hunger over a woman still lingered inside him like a match that's just waiting to be lit once more. Nobody had ever satisfied him again after her, but his mistakes took her away from his arms. The arms that still long for her touch.

A dramatic sigh escaped his lips before he opened his eyes to stare at the black ceiling of his room. "When will the ration come?" He asked in an icy tone.

Crane walked on the carpeted floor towards the bed. He took the liberty of sitting next to the girls and gently stroke his fingers on their hair. "Tonight, I think. Your brother went to the human council to find out what happened and why there's a delay. That never happened before."

Yvann suppressed his smirk. "Maybe the human council doesn't want to cooperate anymore." His eyes gazed at Crane whose hand was busy touching one of the girls' face while staring at him.

Crane grinned and his brow arched. "Then oh la la that'll be more fun."

Their soft laughter filled the dark room. They had never understood why they have to keep themselves from displaying their power over the humans. They're obviously less than any of them. Fragile, weak, mortal. A vampire can easily take down a hundred of the humans, yet Valian still chose to make some arrangements with them. My brother and his noble acts. Acting like the underdog of the real pets. What a shame to be his family.

Yvann cracked his knuckles before he got on his feet. "Well," he folded the sleeves of his black polo. "Take your girls home, Crane. I'll get myself a better one."

A teasing laugh went out of Crane's lips. "You mean someone from the ration?"

Crane expected a sarcastic answer, but Yvann just flashed a ghost of a smile at him. "We might be surprised with what's coming. I can feel it..."

Christel's fingers kept drumming against the hood of her car as she puffed her fifth stick of cigarette. The idea of meeting Kurt again after four years made her feel more tensed than she'd ever been in the past years. A part of her wanted to retreat while she still can, but her heart betrayed her instinct. Maybe she still longed to see him again, regardless of everything that had happened in the past.

She knew agreeing to see him will cause her more damage, but there's a certain feeling inside her that pushed her to stay and wait for him. The wind blew harder and some strands of her hair covered her face. She stroked it back and put it behind her shoulders before she threw her cigarette on the ground and watched its smoke dance with the wind but when she lifted her gaze, her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she saw a familiar man standing a few steps away from her, on the shaded part of the road.

It was the same man she fell in love with six years ago...but his dreary look now was too depressing for her to see. He's wearing an oversize leather jacket and faded jeans. His brown hair grew longer than she got used to under his cap, and his face looked paler and lifeless.

Her brows almost met each other as she examined the man who's staring at her with its lonely eyes. The eyes she can barely recognize at all.

"Kurt?" She pulled her ass up.

He gulped and looked at the part where Christel was standing. Instead of moving towards her, he took a couple of steps backwards before he motioned his hand. "C—Come here. I—I can't stand direct sunlight."

His last words made Christel more confused. And since when did someone like him who loved summer doesn't want a touch of sunlight? Regardless, she still found herself walking towards him until they're just a step away from each other.

His gaze never left hers, and that made her heart pound more violently. The familiar feeling rose once more with just a simple touch on her burning cheek from the back of his cold index finger. She breathed sharply and her lips pressed together for a couple of seconds as she swallowed. "Y—You're cold."

As if something knocked his senses back, Kurt's eyes widened and he immediately withdrew from touching her bruised face. His head tilted to look at the trees. His nostrils flared before he spoke. "I missed you." His voice was soft, like a lullaby that she longed to hear in a long time.

She suddenly felt a lump forming in her throat. Her eyes stared at his face, confused with the words he uttered. "W—Why are you saying that?"

He didn't answer, but she saw how hard he clenched his jaw as if he's restraining himself from saying a word. Suddenly, a rush of memories came flashing in her head, aiming to hit her to her most fragile part. Her eyes shifted to his chest, and her front teeth bit her lower lip as she tried to contain her emotions.

"Y—You must've forgotten everything..." She laughed painfully. Her eyes watered and a few drops of tears went down her cheeks that she immediately wiped with the back of her palm. She shouldn't have agreed to see him. After all, their past was too painful for them to see each other together again. She can't afford to give him the liberty of hurting her once more, no matter how much she longed for everything about him. Once pain overpowers love, no second chance will work anymore.

Kurt licked his lower lip. Their eyes met once more and she saw how pain registered in his pools. "I never forgot even a single detail...but I didn't come here to hurt the both of us."

She swallowed her emotions back. "T—Then what do you want?"

He stared at her face for seconds, examining every detail of her pained façade, as if it'll be the last time he'll get the chance to see her again. That idea struck Christel hard. Regardless, she wished it'll be.

A painful smile made its way to his lips. "Can I get a hug before anything else?" His eyes seemed begging for a yes. "...please." He whispered.

Christel's cold stare remained at him. Feeling uncertain whether to slap him hard for asking such thing or to finally let her guards down and jump to his arms. Her heart screams to choose the latter, but her rational brain wanted to just walk away.

Her eyes shut, and she found herself shaking her head slowly. "I'm sorry." She turned her back on him. "I still feel the pain you've caused me..."

She was ready to take her steps but Kurt immediately moved towards her and swiftly snaked his arms around her waist from behind. Her tears went even heavier and her heart almost stopped from beating with a simple peck of kiss on her hair from the only man who can break her heart again and again.

A sob slipped out of her lips. She can feel Kurt's warm breath against her hair as he tightened his hug. She suddenly remembered Wesley and that pained her even more, causing her shoulders to quake with her every sob.

"Forgive me..." Kurt murmured before his chilly hands reached for hers. Its coldness wasn't normal, and that made Christel throw her gaze at him.

"You're too cold." She uttered.

Kurt's jaw clenched. He made her face his direction again before he pecked another kiss on her forehead. Confusion was written in Christel's eyes, but before she could even ask a question, Kurt already locked her gaze with his. His natural evergreen eyes slowly turned intense red, like the color of blood he seemed to be lacking in his own body.

His fingertips raked her cheek down to her chin. "I love you...but I need you to sleep."

Christel's eyelids suddenly felt heavy. Her body became weak and her vision slowly turned dark. The next thing she knew, she's already inside an old rusty train, with no memory of what had happened between her and Kurt before she lost consciousness.

Her heartbeat started raising. Her shaking hands wiped the moist window on her side and tried to see where she was. It was too dark and the clouds were covering her only source of light—the moon. She tried to reach for her phone inside her pockets but her eyes widened when she realized it wasn't there anymore. Even her wallet, her keys, and her pack of Red Marlboro. It's all gone. Am I robbed?!

Afraid to stay on the train, she started walking towards the open double door and jumped to the wooden platform that made a tud sound. She can barely see the place and the screeching sound of metal being rubbed together gave her an eerie vibe. Where the hell am I and how did I get here?

She wanted to scream for help, but on a second thought, she realized it wasn't a smart move at all. The place looked abandoned, and the wind blows stronger every moment.

There's that screeching sound again. She tried to calm herself and listen to where the sound was coming from, until she finally found herself walking towards the left side of the platform. Her feet stopped in front of an old signage she can barely see from the dark.

She tried to adjust her vision, and as if someone just saw how much she's struggling, the clouds slowly moved away from the moon and its gloomy light shined down on the eerie place.

Christel wiped the dust off the signage with her hands until the name of the place was finally readable.

"Severuz..." Her lips uttered unconsciously.

She blinked a couple times before she scanned the place. It was surrounded with trees taller than what she'd got used to see on their backyard when she was young. The platform had few broken parts, and a couple of bench with faded blue paints sat on both corners, but what made her heart skip a beat was the man sitting on the right bench. His right arm was stretched across the seat while the other rested on his folded leg.

Christel was sure that man wasn't there earlier, and the way it looked at her put her whole system in chaos. Even without enough amount of light, she could tell that the man was big, not too masculine but has nice body frame, and looked dangerous in some ways, considering its unnatural effect on her.

She chewed her lower lip and watched the man get on his feet. She was right. He's tall, with strong shoulders, and an undeniable intoxicating sex appeal that made her gulp hardly as intense volts of electricity suddenly consumed her. All she could do was watch him, as if he's controlling her, making her stick her gaze at his direction like a feral beast preparing himself to attack. She hates to admit, but he was breathtakingly mysterious in every way.

Her body froze on her spot when the man started walking towards her, letting more light from the moon kiss his face she can see better now. The moonlight gave him a more dramatic aura, like a prince from the books who came to life...or a beast in disguise with a growling stomach. She couldn't convince herself to think of him as the latter, because he obviously looked like someone who gets paid with six figures just for smiling at the camera. From his thin lips, up to his sharp nose and thick brows, his appeal was more than just a bonus to complete the package.

A part of her wanted to run, but her body didn't respond to her mind's command. The man with tousled silver hair locked her gaze with his eyes. She realized his were a pair of mesmerizing scarlet that somehow glows, with a hint of something she recognizes whenever she sees herself in the mirror.

A pair of pools that reflected hers. The eyes that had seem to see the world the way she did. Cruel, lonely, hopeless...

His chiseled jaw clenched when she bit her lower lip harder, as if she unconsciously gave him a hint of what was going on inside her head, but before she could even realize what her simple gesture could have meant to the man in front of her, he already lifted his hand up to the side of her face. She felt herself refraining from breathing when she felt the warmth and soothing touch of his index finger, her cheeks burned with the effect of what he was doing.

His eyes watched his own fingers rake her cheeks down to the side of her mouth. She felt an icy shiver run down her spine when she saw his adam's apple move as he gulped, and the moment his fingertips finally touched her lips, his eyes illuminated the scorching desire she'd never seen from somebody else before. His gaze lifted back to her pools, and the moment his lips finally curved to flash a captivating slight smile that looked more like a danger sign rather than a genuine body language, she knew, this ferociously attractive and savagely handsome stranger was trouble.