CHAPTER 9

"Here you go!" Seth said, handing over a bag pack to him, as Daemon opened it to see some empty blood bags inside. "You know what to do with those, right?"

"I wasn't born yesterday." Daemon blurted out, zipping the bag close before throwing it across his shoulders.

"Before your attitude gets any worse, let's head out."

"Finall-" The word fell off his lips, as he dashed with his superhuman speed into the almost waking forest, the cold morning air crashing against his face.

"Let's be back to that spot in an hour though." Daemon who told he had gotten away from Seth, looked towards the owner of the voice in both surprise and anger.

"Copy that."

"Have fun." Seth giggled loudly, as they continued speeding through the forest, avoiding crashing into the trees as well.

"Yeah yeah. Now get the fuck off my tail." Daemon groaned, taking the right trail as Seth took the left.

The smell of a siberian roe deer caressed Daemon's nostrils, causing him to stop on his tracks.

"Jackpot!" He whispered softly to himself, a satisfied grin curving on his face.

Allowing his already weak sense of smell lead the hunt, he soon found his prey, quietly feeding on a maple tree.

Realizing he wasn't completely strong enough to hunt this incredibly agile beast, he decided to take more caution as he approached slowly, but he was unfortunately caught, as the deer stopped eating, ears twitching frantically, searching for the smallest of sounds, freezing for a moment; It already sensed danger.

Without waiting for a second warning, obeying its nostrils, it made to run as Daemon followed swiftly. Jumping and running for its own life, Daemon could hear its heart pounding inside its chest. He could already taste its blood in his mouth, even as the chase became more intense.

Cutting through a path, he caught the scared beast by it's horns, swirling it around him before landing to the floor with a loud thud.

Without sparing a second for his prey to say its last prayer to its maker, Daemon's fangs dug into its jugular vein as warm and fresh juice touched his tongue.

The poor animal shuddered under his grip, which grew firmer by the second, as Daemon's fangs dug deeper, reaching for more of its delicious blood, stolen vitality and life filling his once empty being.

Unaware of the evil being committed to one of its own, the trees waved at the morning's wind greetings, as a determined Daemon nourished himself with every drop of the once living animal.

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"Where the fuck is he?" Daemon groaned, seeing the sun would soon rise in its full glory.

Throwing his now heavy backpack across his shoulder, he made his way into an abandoned building that seemed to be ruins of what was once a really nice restaurant.

As he waited patiently for his brother's arrival, he decided to have a look around the ruins.

"It's quite unfortunate." A voice said behind him, as he turned quickly to behold an haggardly dressed, old looking woman. Her back was already bent from age, as she moved slowly towards him.

"What is?" He asked slowly, taking cautious steps back. He wasn't supposed to be scared of her but he was a bit flustered by how she showed up out of nowhere.

"Even though the devil already made you one of his damned angels who'd eventually live with him in hell, fate still decided to place you under a curse so your existence becomes even more unbearably burdensome." She stated, understanding his fear and deciding to not move towards him any further, as Daemon stared blankly at him.

"You can choose to call it a punishment or more so still, a blessing in disguise." She continued, ignoring his blank expression, but Daemon seemed to figure out somehow what the old woman was going on about.

"Who are you?" He asked gently, taking slow strides towards her. Strangely, she had no scent, neither was the sound of her beating heart heard, causing Daemon to wonder what kind of creature she was.

"Destiny is a very funny thing but one thing I know for sure about it, is the fact that it's inevitable. We can only run from it, but can't avert it, in the end; DESTINY ALWAYS WINS."

"Are you trying to say it's my destiny to always fall in love with her?" He asked, forgetting his own thoughts for a moment.

"No!" She waved her head from side to side, staring at her bare feet for a second, as though hesitant in continue.

"It's your curse to still be in love with her, but it's her destiny to always fall in love with you, thereby choosing death over life all the time." She continued, looking deep into his hazel eyes with sparkling gold flecks.

"But can't I save her this time around?"

"Just like you did the last four times?"

"But I can try and we are far away from anything that might hurt her." He hated being desperate, but she was the only creature to actually talk to him about her.

"Walking into her life, you make her a magnet, attracting people and things that would eventually lead to her death."

"But I can protect her?"

"You can decieve others but you cannot decieve yourself, neither can you fool me." She scoffed, letting out a soft chuckle.

"You've grown weaker by the centuries, having watched her breathless the first two times. How then can a week vampire lord who has now become a shadow of his self, protect a woman destined to die because of him?" She half yelled, as Daemon stared speechless at her.

She was right!

He truly has become weak over the years and he was in no way capable of protecting her but should he just give up?

Is that how much of a love he has for her?

Shouldn't he fight harder this time around?

"The love you have for her isn't going to save you both. That love isn't going to overcome it all." She said, as though replying the thoughts in his head.

"So what do you advice I do? Find a way to become stronger and keep her safe from any harm coming her way?"

"Is she really that important to you for always trying desperately hard in keeping her by your side?"

"Yes, my existence is fulfilled by having her by my side."

"Isn't love suppose to be selfless? Why do I see selfishness all over you?" Disdain laced her voice as she spoke.

"I am no..."

"... oh! I get it. Even the devil, your father was and still is, the most selfish angel ever created and even after his fall, his selfish hunger never ran dry."

"Don't compare me to that evil. I'm nothing like him!" He wanted to yell, but the doubt buried in his heart betrayed him as the words came out as a whisper.

"Oh! Is he really an evil now?" She scoffed, "Are you really nothing like him?"

"Yes!" He said confidently enough for him to believe it himself.

"Have you forgotten so soon why you accepted his hand in the first place? C'mon it's just been five hundred years. You couldn't possibly have forgotten."

"I..."

"You accepted his hand because there was evil in your heart and you were ready to be his angel, and for what?" She yelled, her words seemed like stakes used to stab his heart.

"Of a fact I made a wrong choice at a point of weakness..."

".... and you've regretted it most times as well but do you still want to make another mistake and blame it on weakness?"

"I really absolutely love her." He whispered. This was the point he'd have cried hopelessly and shamelessly, but unfortunately, he was unable to produce tears any longer.

"You must already know what you must do, so why hesitate?" She was softer now, as though understanding the pain he was passing through, a kind of pain he was unable to express.

"I should run away from her?"

"I'm asking you to cheat Destiny, just like you cheated Death."

"But you said, Destiny is inevitable and wins always. How then is it possible to cheat it?"

"Death is the end of all things. It was also an inevitable fate but you evitated it, didn't you?" He was beginning to see reason in her logic, but words were failing him.

"Her Destiny is always to fall in love with you but she can only fall for someone she sees, someone who returns her feelings to her, someone who's nice and kind to her, someone who loves her across centuries." She held his hand for the first time, in a comforting way, as she spoke.

"If you suddenly disappeared, her feelings would slowly turn into hurt and the pain would eventually heal, because that's what makes humans human."

"Disappearing could make her hate me..."

"... and you don't want to be hated by her?" She shoved his hand aside, angered by his selfish thoughts.

"Decide quickly on what you want to do, whether it is to stay by her side and eventually watch her die OR it is to allow her live this lifetime to the fullest by not being in her life."

"Daemon, here you are." Seth's voice broke into the conversation, as he turned to have a look at him. Turning back around to continue his conversation with

"What are you looking for?"

"Uhmmm nothing exactly. Are you done?" He didn't want to sound crazy and he definitely didn't want Seth to know about Valerie

"Yes, I am. Let's head to the airport and back home."

"You finally look like your real self. Nothing beats a good fresh drink."

"Decide quickly on what you want to do, whether it is to stay by her side and eventually watch her die OR it is to allow her live this lifetime to the fullest by not being in her life." Her words echoed in his head as he walked out with Seth.