BloodLines *one on one*

[SilentButterflies]

Jennifer couldn't stop the irritation she felt as fingers wrapped around her arm to stop her from escaping. Her back pressed against the wall as Lucas blocked her pathway and finally, she let her eyes meet the intensity of his gaze with a furious look of her own. Why was he making this so difficult? Surely it would be easier for them both if they just didn't communicate? However, as he urged her to leave, any anger melted away from Jen's features to be replaced by something closer to worry as she tried to process what he was saying. She had never seen him so insistent before and for him to be putting them in danger like he was, Jen believed that what he had to say was important. Before she could respond though, a silky voice cut through their moment and this time it was terror that widened her eyes as they daren’t leave Lucas's. As he turned away from her, Jen couldn't bring herself to move, or look at Corren for fear of what he might see in her own expression. She listened silently to the interaction between the two men, acknowledging the formality of their interchange with a feeling of sickness as her mouth turned dry. Was this family some kind of cult? Nothing about what Corren was saying made any sense to her, and as she eventually peeled her gaze away from the wall, she watched him wrap his arm around Lucas and lead him away. She winced at the gesture; it was possessive, a kind of display of ownership and it made her knees wobble, until as they eventually left, Jen slid down to the floor.

She allowed herself a few moments to gather her thoughts as she tried not to freak out over Lucas's warning. Inhale calm, exhale panic. She was worried for herself, she was worried for Mia and she was worried for him. Something wasn't right about this party, he'd said it himself. But what could she do about it? Not to mention, she was still reeling from the happenings of earlier but she knew right now she needed to push those thoughts away to deal with the present. Eventually gathering herself together long enough for her to regain some of her sanity, Jen pulled herself up, fixed a few flyaway strands of hair and inhaled deeply. Her mind was ticking over what she had to do next. First and foremost, she had to get Mia out, as Lucas had instructed. She had an idea, and although it wasn't novel she was sure it would serve it's purpose. Quickly, she hurried into the back room again and grabbed a pen from the side. On the staff rota that hung on the wall, she scribbled out Mia's name, which was against a later finishing time and replaced it with her own and vice versa. She knew this might cause Mia some confusion but she also knew that her friend wasn't the type to refuse an early finish and so, satisfied with this plan, Jen acknowledged that this meant her friend would be leaving in the next five minutes, which just left herself and Lucas to worry about.

As Jen returned to the bar, she mulled over what Lucas had said to her. The doors will lock and you won't be able to leave. What did that even mean? She tried to work out why on earth they would lock people in a room together and she shuddered as her visions from earlier flashed through her mind, ignoring the connection and mentally explaining the images to herself as a result of her anxiety around the evening. That had to be the explanation right? She was confused about whether to leave, whether to stay and all of the other worries that came with that decision. Plus, what she had thought earlier was still a very valid worry in her mind; she needed to pay her rent and leaving would relinquish whatever claim she had over her wages. It was in the next moment though that the lights were dimmed and people around the bar seemed to thin out as they were ushered into the next room, staff included. Jen was one of the last people left as she tried to busy herself with cleaning tables but she too was eventually ushered towards the room. Before she could enter however, a cool grip tugged her backwards and into the chest of a man who stood a few inches taller than her. She recognised him from ordering multiple drinks from her throughout the evening but at the time she had thought nothing of it. However, as he stood before her with a strange look in his eye, Jen could feel that maybe she should have.

The man didn't release his grip on her wrist as he tilted his head to one side, his eyes studying her with intent. "Will you stay back and have a drink with me?" He asked, his voice full of a confidence that was usually found in people of wealth. Jen could feel panic starting to bubble away in her chest as her mind raced to think of a reason not to. She was used to this kind of thing, she did work in a bar after all, but something about this felt... bad. Maybe it was Lucas's warning to her earlier and the knowledge that these people were not good people, but Jen found that she would rather be in a room full of those people than alone in a room with this one.
"I'm sorry I can't... I’m working.”
"I'm sure they could spare you one drink," he offered softly. "Aren't you due a break soon anyway?"
Jen's thoughts scrambled to come up with another coherent excuse as she took in his appearance. He was handsome enough, with sleek dark hair smoothed back away from angular features and light green eyes that twinkled beneath the lights of the chandeliers. Maybe on any other evening Jen would have entertained such an offer, but the way that he looked at her made her feel uncomfortable and she couldn't escape the trickling sense of dread that was creeping down her spine.

"I'm sorry, I really can't." But as she turned to leave a sharp force tugged her back again. Jen instinctively went to call out, but fingers encased her mouth and muffled her voice, an iron grip pulling her in as she struggled against it. Helplessly, she glanced around for someone to notice what was happening, but to her dismay she realised that they were the only ones left at the bar. She didn't know what was about to happen but she had a good idea, although how this could possibly be taking place in the middle of a busy event she couldn't fathom. As she attempted to wriggle away, part of her could feel her emotions starting to shut down to the inevitability of the situation - maybe if she numbed herself to it, it wouldn't cause her any lasting damage? For a few moments longer she struggled against the grip that was holding her and Jen could feel the strength bruising against her skin, in contrast to a gentle nuzzling that had started at the base of her neck. "This won't hurt as much if you stop struggling," a voice murmured by her ear as she was turned to face the man, him pulling her further into him so that he could trace his way up her neck with his nose. Jen could feel herself freezing up as she closed her eyes, completely oblivious to what he actually wanted, instead believing him to be in favour of something else entirely. Absently she wondered if this happened a lot in this circle of people and she found that it didn't surprise her. Lucas had warned her of the danger and she had chosen to ignore it, she had nobody but herself to blame. She wondered if Lucas himself had ever done something like this; he did belong to this family after all, her thoughts continuing to wander to stop from focussing on the thing that was happening to her. Although he had never done anything like this to her, she recalled. It was with this thought of Lucas that Jen mustered some kind of last ditch attempt to escape, pulling her wrists away from the vice of his hands and shoving both of her own hands into the chest that she was currently pinned against.

It felt a lot like hitting paper against a brick wall as her palms connected with his torso, but miraculously, the form stumbled away from her as Jen was jolted back into the present, her own expression mirroring the shock in his as he regained his balance. His expression reminded her of the time she had been grabbed in the bar before; it landed somewhere between surprise, confusion and anger. Although this time she was sure the man in front of her wouldn't be leaving her alone as easily.

“Please don’t…”

[FaddedFox]

And it was at that moment that another arm reached out to squeeze the man's shoulder. Theodore stood beside the man and though he was vulnerable and weak himself, his hand was a vice, claws digging into the man's shoulder subtly and painfully. Theodore had a higher rank than this vampire and he wasn't afraid to pull rank. The other vampire hesitated before he hurried away from the bar before they gathered even more attention. Theodore said nothing for a moment, listening to ensure the vampire was out of earshot and that no one else was approaching.

He was blind, but he had his other senses to help guide him. It would make things difficult, but still. He reached a hand out to the human girl, palm up in invitation for her to take his arm. "Lu-cas, ask... me ta 'elp you." he managed to get out. The contraption keeping his mouth hindered much of his ability to speak so his voice was slurred and halting. He was in pain regardless if he talked or not and he needed to communicate with the human. She couldn't reach his expressions the way Lucas could. "I'm Theadur," he added and winced at how his own name sounded. "Come with. Safe place."

Behind him, applause began as Corren took the stage to begin the family toast and speed in honor of the marriage. Behind Corren, Lucas and a tall beautiful woman stood there. Her rich dark curls were up in an intricate cascade that framed her face. The elegant blue down was form fitted and brought attention to her best features. "we go now," Theodore insisted and moved a little closer, unsure how close she really was.

[SilentButterflies]

Jen could only watch as Theodore stopped the man from coming after her, by a simple grip on the shoulder. She was surprised at his reaction to what appeared to be a basic gesture, when he had previously been so insistent, but she was quickly coming to realise that there was a lot going on at this event that she probably could never understand. As Theodore reached up his arm for her to take, struggling to explain how he knew her, Jen tried to jump start herself back into action by rushing to his side and taking his hand into her own, supporting him with her spare arm. She let him guide her away from the bar, catching a glimpse of the stage as they hurried past. Despite her current state of shock, she couldn't help but catch a quick glimpse of who was on the stage, immediately clocking the beautiful woman that stood beside Lucas. She was pretty much everything that Jen didn't consider herself to be and with this realisation she could feel her heart sinking with each step. Enough now. This wasn't a battle that she could win.

As they eventually entered a small side room, Jen helped Theodore into a chair, before slumping into the seat beside him, her body still trembling from what had just transpired. For a long while she sat in silence with her face hidden in her hands, fat tears dripping through her fingers. She wasn't usually a crier and she hated that she had been resorted to such an expression, but as she wiped at her eyes and tried to stop she simply found that she couldn't. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and although she was usually good at numbing any rogue feelings, she found her current state to be somewhat overwhelming.

"I don't know how I can even begin to thank you," she said softly after she had managed to pull herself together for long enough to speak. "If it wasn't for you..." But she found that she couldn't finish that sentence. Who knows what would have happened, although, albeit wrongly, Jen thought that she had a pretty good idea. "I'm Jennifer, by the way." As she lifted her gaze to study the man who sat beside her, Jen wondered how Corren could have hurt him so badly and felt herself shudder at the thought of all of those people locked in a room with him. She still couldn't get her head around Lucas's warning and she had so many questions to ask, but it was clear that Theodore struggled with his speech and she was reluctant to cause him any further discomfort.

"What will happen when they lock the doors?" She asked after a moment, unsure of whether she really wanted to know the answer or not. But one thing she did want to know, was if Lucas was safe, and she thought if she could catch a glimmer of what was about to happen, that might give her some indication without giving too much away regarding her true feelings for him, which she wasn't even sure of herself.

[FaddedFox]

Theodore let the human woman process the event in quiet. He couldn't see here but he could smell her tears. She was probably overwhelmed with everything that was occurring around her. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her either. The doors would remain locked for at least an hour, depending on how long Corren was willing to let everyone gorge. on their meal. This side mission he found himself on at least gave him an excuse to do something else besides sit there and listen to everyone else feeding, smelling the blood in the air.

He still didn't understand why Lucas cared so much about this human, but he understood that Lucas, outside of the strong front he put up around others, he was lonely. There was only so much Theodore could do and he certainly couldn't fill the hole that ked Lucas to the human in the first place. Maybe she was a good thing, but eventually it had to stop. Sooner rather than later. With him married, Lucas would be hard pressed to find a reason to be out all night with a human. Lucas most likely would be moving into the other coven's territory. It made Theodore sad. He'd miss his friend and Lucas would be all alone among the other coven. Lucas's mother herself was going to be upset. She was losing her second son in a sense.

When Jen began speaking, Theodore turned towards her and pulled his attention away from his thoughts. "Welcome" he said initially. At the question, he sighed. "Can't tell you. Lucas safe." He assumed that was the real reason she was asking. She must care for his friend. But why? "You know, 'e engaged. Danger. Why you stay?" he asked then. "What you want from 'im? Can't...be tagether."

[SilentButterflies]

Jen wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time as Theodore began to speak. Her usually pale skin was blotchy from what she assumed was some kind of reaction to the stress of the evening and her voice sounded husky as she tried to speak around the lump in her throat. She felt a certain amount of thankfulness that it was only the two of them in the room. Being emotional didn’t suit her.

She let out a small sigh when Theodore said that he couldn't answer her question, although she wasn't surprised at his response. However, her frustration was also mixed with a sense of relief when he told her that Lucas was safe. At his next question, Jen paused a moment, reaching up to press thin fingers to her temples to ease the dull ache that had started just behind her eyes. "I guess I thought I might be able to help him," she explained miserably, as she became painfully aware of how pathetic that sounded. When Lucas had come to her that night after Theodore was harmed, Jen had taken it upon herself to find a way around the arrangement he was stuck in, alongside a kind of blind optimism that the situation would sort itself out. But she realised now that she had been naive and somewhat foolish to think she could make any kind of difference at all.

At Theodore's next question though, Jen blinked in surprise. How could she possibly answer that, when she didn't know what she wanted from Lucas herself. She hadn't thought past their arrangement; in the last month or so he had breathed something back into her life that she didn't know she had lost. But she'd been so caught up in the comfort of that sensation that thinking about what she actually wanted, or what Lucas actually wanted hadn't really occurred to her. "I don't know," she whispered eventually. “I don’t really want anything from him. I just... I’d like him to be happy.” Opening up to someone she had only met moments ago felt strange to Jen; she usually couldn’t even be this open with herself. But she felt so tired at this moment that her barriers had fallen down completely and she simply didn’t have the energy to put them back up again. Broaching her next question somewhat tentatively then, she glanced up from the floor she had been staring at previously. "Theodore... Do you think Lucas would be happier if I left him alone?" She already thought that she knew the answer to her own question, but somewhere in her mind Jen believed that she needed to hear it from someone else to truly believe it.

However, as she awaited Theodore's response something struck her, as she noticed a small change in the air around them. It was almost like a metallic scented mist was enveloping the room, she thought, as she inhaled, trying to place where she recognised it from.

"Can you smell that too?"

[FaddedFox]

[size-110]Theodore sighed at the human's responses and her question. The girl was falling in love if she wasn't already. She just didn't realize it and here Lucas was stringing her along because of his own needs. Not that he didn't understand. Lucas wanted to feel connected and wanted, not that he would ever admit it. And among the covens, Lucas wasn't likely to find it. Unfortunately, Theodore, though he tried to be a good friend, could not provide him with everything he needed and Lucas found it momentarily in this human. Perhaps she simply gave Lucas something to look forward to, a distraction. That is certainly what he often said, but Theodore knew him better than that. But now with the engagement, it complicated matters.

"No, don't t'ink happier if you gone," he answered truthfully. Lucas was sure to pine for the connection he'd found. Theodore sighed and gingerly ran a hand through his hair, careful not to touch the contraption around his head as he tried to figure out what to do with this human. What he should advise either of them. It was safer if she didn't dally here or around any of them. "Not happy, but safer fer you both," he said then.

And then he smelled the blood in the air. It made his throat ache and mouth water. He was so hungry and it was such a chore to drink right now. He had to drink through a straw and even that hurt when the blood filled his mouth around injuries. When the girl asked about the smell, he was surprised. The blood was too far away. She shouldn't be able smell it from here. "No," he lied. "What was yer full name again? Short memory," he said, coaxing her for a last name she hadn't given him before. [/size]

[SilentButterflies]

Jen could feel the unfamiliar smell growing in intensity and looked mildly surprised when Theodore told her that he couldn't smell it himself. "Are you sure?" She asked after a moment. "It's so strong." It was beginning to make her feel nauseous as she tried to place where she recognised it from but hard as she might try, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Pulling her away from her thoughts then though was Theodore's question regarding her name. Jen hesitated for a moment; could she really trust him with that information? But then she reminded herself that Lucas had trusted him to help her so she felt that really her suspicion had no place between them. He had saved her. The least she could give him was her name. "It's Jennifer Reid," she answered after a moment, itching to question why he wanted to know but failing to muster enough energy to really care. Too much had happened this evening and Jen could feel exhaustion setting into her thoughts, threatening to cloud all semblance of cohesion in her mind. She thought tiredly back to Theodore's answer about whether she should leave Lucas alone, his response having caused a further feeling of unrest towards her own feelings. Choosing between Lucas's happiness and his safety was a horrible task and she wondered if her leaving him alone would really affect his happiness as Theodore had suggested, or would he recover from the loss quickly, now that he was engaged and at the start of a new kind of life. Jennifer knew her own recovery might not be so easy, but she could barely dare think about the reasons for why that was.

After a few moments of silence, Jen inadvertently smacked her lips against a wave a sickness that was washing through her, as she glanced momentarily down at herself, taking in the rip in her shirt and her unsightly appearance after her trauma. She needed to get out of here - maybe she could tell her boss that she was sick? Not to mention, the smell she had mentioned earlier was becoming unbearable and she suddenly felt a feeling of desperation for some fresh air to stop the churning in her stomach.

Raising herself from her seat then, Jen turned to Theodore. "I honestly can't thank you enough for what you did this evening," she said softly. "I should go, I've kept you for too long as it is. Can I help you with anything before I leave?"

[FaddedFox]

While Jen was growing sick from the smell that seemed to permeate the air, Theodore was salivating. It had been a while since he'd had blood from the source and he was a bit sad he couldn't partake in the festivities. he could barely drink from a straw as it was. Being up here was a little helpful considering he wasn't right in the middle of it. He hoped nothing else was happening to Lucas. He needed the rest of this event to go smoothly.

When the human reported her name, he frowned. Reid. That name. It was familiar. Why was it familiar? Reid. He was pulled out of his mulling hen she said she was leaving. He shouldn't let her go down. Especially by herself. Another vampire could easily take a hold of her and all of this would be for nothing. What should he do? he couldn't just tie her to a chair and there was a limit to what he could do, blind and damaged as he was.

"Walk you out," he murmured then, slurring more the way his fangs had extended and natural salivation. He swallowed hard even as he wiped at the corner of his lips. He got up from his seat then. "Don't need anything in return," he managed and extended his hand for her. When she complied, he walked out of the room. He sniffed a moment, looking to see if there was anyone else up here before he gently tugged her towards the other side of the hall, away from the front of the building. "Back door."

[SilentButterflies]

Jennifer nodded slowly as Theodore offered to walk her out, missing the extension of his fangs as she moved swiftly to take his arm. Her main focus was currently on getting out of the building as the smell that was growing stronger by the second continued to make her feel nauseous. As they made their way across the hall, Jen managed to catch the attention of her manager who seemed somewhat surprised to see her. Briefly, she told him that she was sick and had to leave, and he seemed to take one glance at Theodore and nod, before leaving the two to it. It didn't take them too long to make their way out of the back door, and Jen inhaled deeply as the relief of breathing in fresh air quelled some of the sickness that was threatening to take a hold of her. There was something about that smell that they had moved away from that she couldn't quite place; it almost held a kind of familiarity to her that she didn't recognise. With a sigh then though, the brunette considered it to be just another thing in a long line of things that night that didn't make sense, and she was way beyond trying to get her head around it at this point.

After a few moments, Jen moved from Theodore's side and took a few steps down the stairs, before she turned back to him briefly. "Thank you, again for this evening," she let a brief smile that didn't quite reach her eyes touch her lips before continuing, the expression soon falling away as she paused in thought before making her next request. "Please look after Lucas?" It was a question that had more meaning behind the simple words that Jen used to voice it and she hoped that Theodore understood as a result of their previous conversation. Lucas would be safer without her and if she had to sever whatever tie that had started to grow between them to ensure that then she would.

Without any further discussion, Jen turned away from Theodore again as she started her journey back to her tiny city apartment. It was a long walk from her current location, but Jen was certain that right now she needed some headspace, so she could at least begin to process some of the happenings of the evening. She thought back to the weird flashes of images she had experienced at the beginning of the night, her experience of seeing Lucas with his fiance and the encounter with Corren, before her mind eventually came to mull over her more recent considerations, that she had narrowly escaped some kind of attack and that she probably wouldn't ever see Lucas again. She wondered at what point had her life moved away from the mundane numbness of her usual reality and found that it all linked back to her arrangement with Lucas. Despite his clear, no strings attached stipulation, he had changed her life in ways that neither he or Jen really realised. It was this thought though that Jen tried to push from her mind as she continued towards the road. She knew it probably wasn't an altogether sensible decision to walk home on her own at night but right now the thought of any company that wasn't her own thoughts made her feel a little sick. All she needed was to be alone, to begin to try and process the strange feelings that were churning around her mind at the thought of potentially losing the one thing that had started to bring her any semblance of normality.

[bandarbola855]

BANDARBOLA855 merupakan situs game online yang menyediakan slot online, casino , sbobet dan lainnya.
situs ini memiliki fitur dan grafis yang sangat bagus dan juga menarik sehingga para pemain merasa nyaman.
untuk bergabung di situs ini sangatlah mudah dan praktis, hanya menggunakan 1 akun anda sudah bisa menikmati pilihan permainan
dan fitur serta promo bonus menariknya <a href="https://159.223.43.24/">BANDARBOLA855</a>