chapter one

The virgin blood, it is the most magnificent nectar in the world. Its enchanting sweet taste can be compared to nothing in the world, arousing and yet soothing to my burning heart, awakening the fantasies inside my head that I normally keep locked up. Drinking one's blood is not only for the nourishment of my body, I feast on their soul. Each drop makes me an associate in their sins, a witness to their crimes, a permanent partner in their impurities. As their bodies drain out of vital liquid, their souls purify, as if they were born yesterday. Mine, on the other hand, becomes more polluted, more smeared.

That is why I prefer virgins, after children, they have the most purified soul. I enjoy the depth of their blood, its livelihood, as if the smallest drop is full of joy, hopes and dreams for future. Of course, the joy doubles if I drink them while I take their body, then as I gulp down their delicious juice, I violate their innocence, making their clean soul contaminated with pleasure of wanting my sinful existence inside of them. Those perfect untouched bodies would go lifeless satisfying my darkest desires, taking a very small amount of my sins with them to the grave.

But this is not why I want Leyla. She is going to be my bride, her virtuous existence will blend with mine, cleansing my black soul. As she takes each black rose from me, I take over a portion of her mind and body until the third rose which will bring her here, to my chamber, as my mate.

Here, lying in my coffin, deep in my sleep, I dream of her in the party and try to recap every little detail of tonight's events. My dreams are always lucid, I have a total control over everything, so maybe I should do things to her that in reality I could not do. Not yet at least. I have not tasted her, but other than that, I let all my other senses to feast on that delicate creature. My eyes watched her every move, her small features, her curvy body, the way she moved as she danced. I let my ears to listen to the sound of her voice, enjoying her Northern English accent. My nose was filled with her smell, a mild warm and sweet scent, just like how I was imagining she would taste. And I touched her, for the slightest second, I do not think she even noticed but I caressed her arm, just giving myself a taste of what is coming to me.

She is perfect, in every way. I see her in my dream again, with her pale green dress that hugged her body perfectly, sitting in a corner as I try to get as close to her as possible. I do not want her to see me but she will certainly feel my presence. But there is someone else, a human who is asking my maiden for a dance. I watch as she puts her hand in his and leaves for the dance floor, making me boil in fury and anger. I will not stay and watch as his hands touch my beloved, so despite my initial decision, I am going to call and reveal myself to her. I know that Leyla belongs to me and the limit that I am prepared to go to in order to have her rightfully in my arms is infinity. Oh yes, I will deceive, threat and kill if necessary.

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Leyla stepped outside the carriage, full of excitement and thrill. The sound of music was caressing her ears and despite the freezing weather that was enunciating a snowy night, she could not wait to take her fur coat off and join the dance inside. She impatiently stood as her sister, Annie gracefully walked inside first and followed her to the bright and crowded hallway.

The magnificent Alwin mansion looked lively and beautiful under the influence of tall candle lights, wall lamps and variety of flowers that was sat in every corner. Maids were running around, helping the guests with their coats and showing them to the ballroom. Leyla's eyes wondered for a moment to the top of the majestic marble stairway that was leading to second floor. There was a small candle on every step, its glow mirrored by the shiny stone of the stairs and added to the beauty of the atmosphere.

As the two sisters entered the ballroom, their present did not go unnoticed. After all, Annie was a heart stopper, her beauty and grace accompanied by her father's title would make her the centre of attention in any party. Their hostess, Lady Alwin rushed to welcome them.

"My dearest girls, I am so glad you came, I heard about your father, how is he doing now? Do not worry, doctor Bartley is the best, hopefully the Duke will be much better by the time of your party in new year's eve. Still, it is unfortunate that Duchess had to stay and look after him. But look at you Annie, god, you are truly the most beautiful girl in the whole Britain. "

While Leyla stood silently, with a polite smile on her lips waiting for the pleasantries to be over so they could join other guests, she felt a sudden change in the air around her. There was a slow chilly breeze touching the bare skin of her arms first and then it moved up to her delicate shoulders and neck, playing with her raven hair that she had let down for the party. She suddenly felt light headed, just for a few second, then the chill was gone as if nothing had happened at all. However it left a strange feeling in Leyla, a feeling of being watched by an invisible being. She felt self conscious, searching around nervously but everyone were busy with dancing and drinking, no one was looking at her.Lady Alwin finally left, asking them to mingle around and have a good time.

Before Leyla could settle in a corner, Annie was asked for the next round of dance which was about to start and left. Leyla timidly sat and watched as her sister moved in a perfect harmony with her partner to the sound of music. She was used to it though, her popular sister was never left alone. unfortunately, her only friend Kathryn was also away in London and could not attend tonight's party. She sighed as the music changed but her sister still remained on the dance floor. Then a warm voice brought her back to reality.

"Will you do me an honour for the next round?"

She turned and the first thing she saw was a couple of icy blue marbles staring into her hazel eyes. She did not know this gentleman, but he was well dressed with a slight accent, and his glowing skin showed that he was not from around here. He saw her hesitating.

"Please forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself, I am General Henry Balman, a house guest in Alwin mansion for holidays. Lord Alwin is a good friend of my father."

Before Leyla could answer, the music ended and couples for the next round moved to the dance floor. She took a glance at the stretched arm in front of her and put her hands in his. He smiled back, and Leyla noticed his dimples which made him look like a happy little boy. He put his arm around her waist and they began to dance to a waltz music.

"You still have not told me your name." He asked as they twirled around.

"Leyla, Leyla Wilmer, My father.." she suddenly stopped, of course he knew who her father was.

"Duke Wilmer, he is not here tonight, is he?"

"No, unfortunately, he was taken ill and had to stay home. My mother is looking after him." He gave her another heart warming smile but then again leyla felt the air surrounding them changing and the same breeze wrapped around her body, this time enfolding her for longer. She found it hard to breathe, or to balance herself. As she wobbled a little, stepping on her partner's toes, Henry grabbed her tightly to prevent her from falling.

"Wow, what happened? Are you alright?"

Leyla looked at him in confusion, she could see his lips moving, she could hear his voice mixed in the music around them, but it was like she was floating above, and then she heard a shout, an angry and firm voice in her head just before she fell down.

"Get away from him Leyla"

Henry did not let her fall, he took her waist with one hand and put his other arm behind her shoulder and almost carried her weight to a nearby seat.

"Miss Wilmer, are you alright? Perhaps it's the heat, it is too warm in here, and there is not enough air"

Leyla tried to concentrate, puzzled by what he was suggesting. She was not warm, on the contrary, the frosty breeze was still caressing her skin, like a tongue licking the bare flesh and leaving a cold trail behind. Her vision was a bit blurry and she was scarred, not knowing exactly what was happening to her, but she also did not want to draw everyone's attention to herself so she tried to calm Henry down.

"Please, it is nothing really. I just feel a little bit dizzy. Maybe I am coming down with something." Henry did not seem convinced though.

"Then allow me to bring you some water, or maybe you prefer something else?"

"Water will be fine, thank you sir." She smiled weakly, hoping for Henry to leave her for a moment so she could gather herself together. The music ended and strangely, she started to feel better. But what was that shout she heard on the dance floor?

Suddenly she felt the same presence, the heaviness of an invisible creature looking directly at her. She looked around once again but found no one. The whole experience was scaring the poor girl. She needed to get away, maybe some fresh air would help clear her head, so without waiting for Annie or Henry she sneaked out of the ballroom to go upstairs to the big balcony in the library, hoping that the freezing air would make her mind clear again.

As she opened the window and stepped into the balcony, she saw the first snow flakes dancing to the ground. It had finally started to snow. She smiled and breathed the cold and clean air, despite its chill, it was totally different from the breeze that she had felt in the house. She tried to see the garden but could not, the moon was captured behind the dark clouds and the little light coming from the house was not enough to brighten the garden.

A smile made its way to her lips as she remembered Henry. He seemed pleasant and polite, a perfect gentleman. Too bad she did not get to know him more, so she decided to go back to the ballroom, they could still dance and maybe talk. As she turned to head inside, she saw a shadow creeping into the library. Scared, she hesitated for a moment. Who was that?

She cautiously looked around, there was only one lamp in the library and the big room was mostly dark and the shadow could have been hidden anywhere so against her better judgement, she decided to run to the door with all her speed. However before reaching the door she tripped over something and fell. Her heart was beating in fear as if she had been running from a hungry beast. She was taking fast and short breaths, her eyes scanning every corner in the fear of the shadow in the room. After a few moment, she got up and ran again, this time threw herself out of the dark library and almost reached the stairs before someone called her.

"Leyla"

She was shocked, frozen in fear, could not take another step. Slowly, she tried to turn and see the owner of the voice.

"Do not fear me my lady. I do apologise, I did not mean to scare you."

Leyla absorbed the man in front of her, still not sure how to react. He had the deepest honey eyes and flawless tanned skin that had a shadow of beard on it. He was so much taller than her, his muscly body hidden under his black tuxedo and his wild black hair was tied neatly behind his head. Bewitched by his dark beauty, she stayed still, not able to move a muscle. He was looking directly into her eyes, as if he was seeking a way into her soul. Before she knew it, his liquid honey eyes drew her in.

There was no one else around them, they were not in the mansion by the stairs and Leyla was not in her green party dress. A sharp pain spread in her head as she had a vision, or maybe it was real, she could not tell, but she saw herself in the man's arms as he was nuzzling on her neck, touching her the way she never thought was possible. She even felt his breath on her skin, his strong delicious aroma paralysed her other senses, awakening desires that was highly forbidden. She wanted to touch him back, wanted to make sure if this was real.

"Leyla, where are you?"

Annie's voice broke a spell. Leyla suddenly was dropped back to reality, she was by the staircase looking deep into a stranger's eyes. Embarrassed, she turned to run downstairs but he stopped her once again.

"Wait, you dropped your flower in the library." Leyla looked at the man's hand, he had her pink rose bud that she had earlier put in her hair. She took the flower and mumbled a thank you and ran down, wishing she could leave the party that very moment without having to go back to the crowded ballroom. What she had just experienced was beyond her own beliefs, who was that stranger and what did he want from her?

For Leyla, the rest of party passed in a blink as she only sat in a corner and even politely refused to dance with Henry, her mind filled with the images of a stranger who knew her name. Henry did not leave her side though, tried to make conversation with confounded girl who only responded in short sentences.

That night, Leyla dreamt of the two men who were going to change her fate forever. What the innocent girl did not know was what these gentleman were truly seeking, one of them was after her money, the other after her soul.

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I am not going to upload any more writings in this site since I do not receive any feedback at all. if any one is interested in the rest of my stories, Unveil me forever, or this one, they can be found on my profile in wattpad.com at http://www.wattpad.com/user/Hanieh21

thank you for everyone who had read my writings.

Author's Note

I am not going to upload any more writings in this site since I do not receive any feedback at all. if any one is interested in the rest of my stories, Unveil me forever, or this one, they can be found on my profile in wattpad.com at http://www.wattpad.com/user/Hanieh21
thank you for everyone who had read my writings.