14. Who's Stopping You

Alex's POV

Everything was in pain. My ankle, my chest, my head. Ash was sat next to me, comforting me from whatever had happened. I was so in love with this vampire.

I pulled out from the hug, taking in his bedraggled appearance. His eyes had dulled slightly, their usually sharp appearance being stripped, leaving the raw emotions that had been rotting underneath.

"You're hurting... It's my fault," I whispered, my eyes tearing up.

"N-no, it's not your fault. It's just... I miss my family," he reassured frantically.

"I'm the reason they're dead."

"No, you aren't! It was your father! I don't blame you, so don't go blaming yourself."

"But I'm just like him. I never told you how my mother really died, did I?"

His face was contorted with guilt, but he shook his head. He sent me a look telling me to continue.

"He... Killed her. He killed her for not hating vampires! No one else knows, only me, but one night she revealed her feelings on the subject and he stabbed her. He planted it in the woods, blamed it on your coven. That's how he started a war! He didn't know that I saw. If I would have told, then none of this would have happened!" I shouted, my voice breaking.

It was his turn to hug me tightly, his warmth pooling around me. The tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably. It was my issue.

"Just listen to yourself! You can't just blame an entire war on one person. I know it's not you, Alex. I still love you!" His eyes portrayed his hopelessness. I know he hated seeing me this way, but he was wrong.

He still loves me... I didn't deserve that at all. I restrained myself from crying again, I was not weak!

"I'm going home," I whispered, standing up. At first I was slightly dizzy, but eventually everything cleared up.

"N-no! Please stay," his desperate voice demanded, nearly convincing me.

"I'm sorry."

I lifted my feet to walk away, each step progressively more difficult. I loved him though, so I had to let him go for just a bit.

Curling up behind my dumpster was when I finally let go of my emotions. The tears flowed freely from my eyes onto the ground. I miss my mother so much, but I miss the way my father used to be more. Before the war, he was a good man, raising a family, running a pack. He was the perfect father. After the war he was power hungry, constantly on edge. Around the pack he acted kind, bubbly, just as he did before the death of my mother. However, I saw around his act; he was an evil man now.

I should never have left Ash, what was I thinking! The salty substance of tears fell from my eyes faster at that thought. I probably left him alone and hurting!

Suddenly, a sharp throb began in my heart, slowly spreading throughout my entire body. The pain increased, the area around me glowing in a blue light, and it took me a while to figure out it was me glowing. Finally it dulled, leaving me feeling different, but I couldn't explain how. I tried to think about it, yet I fell into a sleep before I could dedicate my mind to it.

***

Ash's POV

He left me alone. I was supposed to be there to protect him, but he left me all alone.

Just like that, Kailey entered the room. "Hey, just wanted to let you know that tonight is the full moon. Blood cravings will be stronger!" she informed me, her face serious.

"Hey, what happened to your soulmate?" she asked again.

"He left. I think he was too overwhelmed and didn't want me to see him cry."

Her expression read pity. "It sounds like you two have a ton of unsolved issues. Come on, we have a coven hunt tonight."

I shot her a look of thanks and stood up, following her. We had already hunted for an hour when I had to stop from a pulsing pain that got worse and worse. I crouched next to a tree, my eyes scrunched closed from the pain. When I opened them, I saw blood red sparks floating around me. My fangs elongated automatically, shocking me. I usually had control over them unless I'm near an amazingly scented human. The glow ended and I slumped back onto the leaves, eventually hauling my ass back to the group. By the time I got there, I had collapsed from the tiredness. They all looked towards my worn out state, their eyes betraying their shock.

"Ash, are you alright?" another teenager from the group asked, kneeling down in front of me to get level with my face.

"I don't know what the fuck that was, but it hurt like a bitch," I responded, not bothering to conceal my profanity because they were the only words that could expose the way I felt.

"What what was?"

"It was a blood red light. It shone," was all I could get out before I lost consciousness.

***

The next morning at school, Alex was the only thing I could look at. The way his eyes shone even through his life and the way his lips moved when he spoke made it hard to focus on my lessons.

At lunch, after four hours of non-subliminal staring, he snapped.

"Alright! You have been staring at me for a solid four hours! What do you want?" he demanded, his voice rough and scratchy.

The control I had slipped. I dragged him out of the lunchroom, his attempts to get away feeble. We both knew what was about to happen.

Once securely in a quiet spot, I leaned closer and whispered seductively in his ear, "I can't keep my eyes off of you. I want to hold you closer. I want to take you right now, mark your skin. I want to taste your sweet, sweet blood."

He shivered, his member growing in his pants just as mine had the moment I had seen him.

"Who's stopping you?"

My world stopped. He gave me permission to mark him as mine! My heart swelled in my chest as I leaned in, capturing his lips underneath mine. He easily submitted, allowing me full range to do whatever I pleased with him. He trusts me with his body, and you won't see me ruining that bond anytime soon. Although I do wish he would open up more to me emotionally, I wasn't going to force him into something he didn't want. It was too wrong.

I trailed my lips down his jaw, eventually making my way onto his neck and sucking on it roughly. I knew I had hit the correct spot when his breath hitched and he let out a muted moan. I bit into him, drinking from the spot. He sank into my hold on his waist, enjoying the way my teeth felt in his skin no doubt. Once I was done, my tongue flicked over the marking, sealing the wound. I pulled away, looking into his lost eyes.

Once he snapped out of it, he leaned into my neck and began to search for my sweet spot. His hands found their way underneath my shirt, and I found myself cursing the thin material between me and him. Eventually he found the spot, wasting no time to tease before sinking his teeth into my flesh. Of course, his took less time because he wasn't drinking from me, so within a few moments he had licked the wound sealed. God, I loved this boy with all of my heart!