Revolutions (Davenport Manor Book 3) Page 7

  “Are you going to kill me?” She whimpered.

  “You don’t have to kill her in order to drink,” Zachariah gently added, careful not to agitate him. He could sense that Daniel was conflicted and that he had a smidgeon of humanity in him at that moment. It was buried deep, but it was in there.

  Daniel’s eyes shot to him briefly, then shot back to his prey in front of him. A soft growl rumbled in his chest involuntarily. Brianna had no idea how lucky she actually was; since Daniel had already drank bottled blood, he was somewhat able to control his attack. Any other newbie vampire would have gone for the jugular without pausing to think about it. Just like Emma had done to her own sister.

  Daniel’s conflict with himself was agitating him. He wanted to bite her, more than he had ever wanted to do anything in his entire life. His hands rigid, almost claw-like. His mouth remained slightly open, his instincts telling him to attack. He refused to breathe since smelling, or even tasting the air would amplify his thirst.

  Brianna didn’t move except for the involuntary shivering that overtook her body. Tears dripped down her face, even though she was not outwardly crying. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but for once her better judgment told her not to. She was afraid to move, afraid to speak, and even afraid to blink. She feared if she closed her eyes for a split second, he would make his move.

  Zachariah carefully crept forward toward the two of them, with his hands peacefully extended in front of him.

  “Brianna, would you be willing to let Daniel feed on you if he doesn’t kill you?”

  She thought about it for a moment and realized that if she agreed, she may very well survive to see the sun go down. “Yes,” she whispered.

  Zachariah looked to Daniel, “Try to control it. Try not to attack, just move in slowly.”

  The only sound that could be heard in the entire condo was Brianna’s ragged breathing. Her heart pounded fast as her body prepared to experience pain. She knew it wasn’t going to feel good like they depicted in the movies.

  Brianna slightly tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes tight. She pursed her lips and prepared for the pain that was undoubtedly going to come. She normally wasn’t a praying kind of girl, but she certainly was at that moment.

  God, please don’t let him kill me! She pleaded in her head over and over again.

  She felt his cold presence along the skin of her neck, causing her hair to stand on end. His icy hands took hold of the side of her shoulders, steadying her in place. He didn’t want his lunch to try and scramble away. She could feel the strength in his hands; he was so much stronger than he once was. His touch was different though, no longer tender.

  His thirst was insatiable and he couldn’t hold back any longer. Like a cobra, he struck her neck without hesitation, which caused her to yelp from the pain. The sensation of piercing her skin with his fangs was nearly euphoric for him. The blood pumped from her jugular effortlessly into his awaiting mouth; the warm, thick liquid drenching the craving that was burning inside of him. A low growl rumbled from his chest as he drank; Brianna could feel it vibrating against her. His hand slid up to the side of her head, grabbing her hair and yanking it to tilt her head more. His feeding session was becoming slightly more ferocious with each gulp, which caused Brianna to begin to panic. She fought back tears; she was afraid an emotional outburst might entice him even more. She instinctively grabbed on to his shoulder—partly to steady herself and partly because her instincts told her to fight him off.

  She began to feel lightheaded from the large amount of blood loss, and her grip on his shoulder began to loosen. She felt her legs becoming heavy beneath her as tunnel vision started to set in. She felt his one arm move down around her waist to hold her up, making her realize that her weight was now dependent on Daniel. She could no longer hold herself up. She blankly wondered if she would wake up after she passed out or if this was it. Is this how she was going to die?

  “Daniel,” she heard Zachariah’s voice faintly call. “Daniel, time to let up, man. Her heart is slowing and she’s going to pass out. Don’t kill her.” It was the last thing she heard before the world went black around her and she lost consciousness.

  Daniel fought against his own instincts and felt a magnetic pull toward the open wounds on her neck. His brain told him to back off, but it was as though his body wouldn’t let him. The blood, which was no longer pumping powerfully from her neck, was intoxicating. He forced himself to remove his mouth from her skin, but hovered over it as he contemplated returning to the two pierced openings made by his fangs. Blood dripped sloppily down his chin, which was common for a first-timer.

  Zachariah stepped in and bit his own wrist, holding it up to Brianna’s mouth and allowing his blood to trickle down her throat. The sooner her wounds healed up, the better. He took one look at Daniel and realized he had some teaching to do. Zachariah lightly put his hand on Daniel’s chest and gently pushed him back as he took hold of Brianna’s body. He nimbly laid her down on the floor, surprised with himself because of the care he was giving her. After all of the things she had done to Daniel and his family, he very well could have let her bleed out or let Daniel finish her off. But, his conscience wouldn’t allow him to do that. She was still a person and didn’t deserve to die for the trivial things she had done in her life. Daniel’s eyes remained fixated on the wounds that were rapidly healing on her neck. He could hear her heartbeat pick up pace once again, beating stronger and stronger.

  He carelessly wiped the blood from his chin with his arm, smearing it all over. He looked down at his forearm and felt shameful for what he was about to do. He rose arm to his mouth and began licking the blood off, not allowing any of it to go to waste.

  Zachariah effortlessly picked Brianna up off the floor and carried her to the couch. He ran to the kitchen to wet a paper towel, and clean off her neck. As he began to wipe her down, her eyes fluttered open in momentary confusion. She wasn’t expecting to see Zachariah hovering over her. In fact, he wasn’t expecting to actually give a crap about her.

  “You okay?” He asked her.

  “Yeah,” she responded while rubbing her neck where the holes once were. “Did Daniel…no…was that real?” She was so confused, she wasn’t sure if the attack had been a dream or not.

  “It was real,” Daniel flatly replied from the other side of the couch. He was still licking the blood off of his arm, which was just about gone. He didn’t realize that it was still all over his face. However, his craving was well under control and his fangs had retracted.

  “Is that my blood all over your face?” She asked as she squinted her eyes that were still out of focus.

  “Dude, go in the bathroom and clean yourself up,” Zachariah commanded.

  Brianna sat up slowly, looking around at the surroundings. She remembered everything that had happened, but felt like she was in some sort of surreal dream. She looked back as Zachariah, who had taken a seat next to her on the couch. He wadded up the dirty paper towel and placed it on the coffee table for the time being.

  “Is Daniel a…vampire?” She felt silly even saying the word.

  “Yes, and so am I. And Emma. As well as Vivienne.”

  Her eyes widened in shock, “What?! That explains a few things. How long has Daniel been one?”

  “He’s brand-new. Like really new. He just got turned very early this morning.”

  Daniel emerged from the bathroom with a clean face and arm. He had some blood on his shirt, which he had planned to just throw out.

  “Should you be telling her all this?” He asked as he finished drying off his face with a towel.

  “She’s not going to say anything. Isn’t that right, Brianna?” Zachariah had locked eyes with her and was charming her at that moment.

  “That’s right, I’m not going to say anything,” she answered in a trance-like state.

  Daniel’s brows furrowed, “Did you just charm her?”

  “Yup,” Zachariah said as he patted Brianna on the knee.
He got up from the couch and walked over to Daniel, putting his hand on his shoulder. “You did good, kid. And look at that, you didn’t kill her. How do you feel?”

  Daniel breathed a sigh of relief, “So much better! It’s like that gnawing hunger is completely gone now. Thank you, Zachariah, for your help. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  Zachariah gave him a “you’re welcome” squeeze on the shoulder before going back to Brianna. Daniel followed him over to the couch, and they sat on either side of her. Daniel was still upset with her after what she did to him. They never had a chance to speak about the night that she threw the party at his house. She had tried to call and text him, but he was ignoring her. However, they had never officially broken up, and in her eyes they were still a couple.

  There was an awkward silence between the three of them; not knowing what to say. Brianna had so many questions running through her head, just like all humans do when they find out the truth about the vampires.

  “Why did you get turned into a vampire?” She finally spoke up. “Who did this to you?”

  “Emma did at my request. She’s not happy about it, but it had to be done. I had a brain aneurysm last night, which caused me to have a stroke. I was in a coma and had a very little chance of surviving. I have always wanted to be turned, but Emma and Zachariah always told me ‘no’. However, my living will stated my wishes and they decided that Emma would be the one to do it. She is no longer just my ‘sister’, but she is also my maker.”

  “When did she get turned?”

  “In 1815. She is over two hundred years old since she was born in the year 1790. She’s the original Emma Davenport and has lived at the Manor her whole life.”

  “Wait a minute,” Brianna interrupted. “How is she your sister if she is over two hundred years old?”

  “She’s not really my sister, but rather my sixth-great aunt. And she turned Zachariah in 1839. He’s pretty old, too.”

  “Hey! Watch it with the ‘old’ talk! You’ll be old one day, too, kid!” Zachariah exclaimed.

  They spent the afternoon filling Brianna in on all the secrets that had been kept from the general public. All of the secrets that surrounded Davenport Manor. There was a change in her; it was as if Daniel feeding on her turned her into a different person. Her entire world was different now.

  She would never admit it out loud to anyone, but the real reason she was ever with Daniel was because of his star status. He wasn’t just a celebrity on the big screen; he was also the heir to the wealthiest estate in the country. Brianna had appeared on a couple of silly reality shows, and somehow she had become famous because of it. She fell into the dangerous Hollywood lifestyle and had been known to make some very bad decisions. When she happened to meet Daniel at an event one night, she was hell-bent on making him hers. She was a fame whore and she knew that being with Daniel would only skyrocket her celebrity status.

  She didn’t care about him, though. She wasn’t as completely heartless as some people might have thought. She even dared to say that she loved him. But, deep down, she knew that she didn’t deserve him and that he was too good for her. He was kind and generous; more down to earth than any of the celebrities she had ever met. He treated her like a princess and always defended her.

  And what did she do to him in return? She used him. She showed him off like a first-place trophy, never caring that he was a person that loved her despite her faults. She enjoyed being the envy of her friends because her boyfriend was Daniel Davenport. Her boyfriend lived in the most coveted house in America. Her boyfriend was a movie star and came from the wealthiest family in the country. She manipulated him, was possessive of him, and had the nerve to drug him to get him out of the way in his own house. All the while, he had nothing but adoring eyes for her.

  Brianna sat on the couch in between Daniel and Zachariah, ashamed with her behavior. Not with just Daniel, but in general. She was now embarrassed by all the paparazzi pictures that had been taken of her. She was humiliated from being the laughing stock of the general public. People hated her; despised her down to the very core. At that moment, she felt the same way about herself.

  Zachariah excused himself and stepped out onto the balcony to give Emma a call, giving Daniel and Brianna privacy. Well, it’s much privacy as he could sense he could still hear everything. He was getting better at tuning people out though.

  “Daniel,” she started, not being able to make eye contact with him. She kept her hands folded in her lap, and her eyes focused on them. “I can’t express how sorry I am or what I’ve done to you. Not just the party, but everything.”

  Daniel sat silently, not knowing how to respond. He was unsure if her statement was true or just another manipulation. Now that he was a vampire, his senses were heightened. His intuition was in tune with people’s emotions far greater than ever before. He felt like she was being sincere, but was afraid to trust her.

  “I feel different,” she continued. “I feel like a calmness has overcome me. When I thought you were going to kill me, it was like I had an epiphany. I have wasted the past few years of my life being so obnoxious and attention hungry…for what?”

  Daniel finally broke his silence, “What were you doing here?”

  “Waiting for you. I was hoping you would come back eventually. Since you wouldn’t return any of my calls or texts, I figured I would just wait here. I didn’t want to go back to the Manor to look for you. I knew I wouldn’t be allowed in anyway.”

  “I want to believe you,” he mumbled.

  “You can believe me. I’m going to straighten out, starting now. I don’t want to lose you.”

  He turned to face her and shook his head, “I’m not even human anymore! I’m technically dead.”

  “I don’t care. The past few days have been awful with you not talking to me. I’ve had a lot of time to think, and then I almost died just now. If that isn’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what is.”

  Daniel leaned back on the couch and folded his arms behind his head, trying to decide what he should do. Even though she hadn’t been the right one for him, there was something about her that drew him to her. There was a tender side of her that no one else saw.

  “If I take you back, there are going to be some conditions.”

  “Anything!” She exclaimed as she pulled her leg up under her and turned her body toward him.

  “First and foremost, you need to apologize to my sister. You invited all those people into her home, they stole from her, you defaced her painting, and betrayed my trust.”

  “Consider it done! What else?”

  “You need to treat my family and friends with respect. You need to treat my fans with respect. Did you ever think that if you are a nicer person, people might like you? You wouldn’t see so much hate written about you?” Daniel reasoned with her.

  “I’m starting to realize that I have been a world-class asshole. Do you think Emma will allow me to apologize to her?” At that point, Brianna was willing to do anything to win Daniel’s affection back. In the recent days, she realized how much he meant to her. And if anyone could straighten her out, it would be him.

  “The last thing is, you’re going to have to be patient with me. I’m a newbie vampire and I have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m getting a lot of help from Emma and Zachariah, so they are going to be teaching me the ways. I feel very unpredictable right now. In time, I will fill you in on all the secrets that I have kept from you. There’s a lot you don’t know about what goes on at the Manor.”

  She nodded, understanding the situation he was in. She hesitantly reached her hand toward him, pulled back momentarily, then continued on to touch his cheek. It was cold and something she would have to get used to. Her hand felt extra warm against his face, as if she was touching him for the first time.

  “So, should I come back with you to the Manor today and apologize to Emma? Might as well do it sooner rather than later.”

  Daniel thought about it for a moment, and glanced u
p at Zachariah, who was still out on the balcony. He was on the phone with Emma and explaining everything that had happened that afternoon. Once he realized that Daniel was looking to him for a response, he gave him a short nod.

  “Yes,” Daniel finally replied. “Let’s get this over with. I can’t promise what Emma’s response will be, though. But, you absolutely must be on your best behavior. I won’t put up with it anymore. You say you’re going to change, today’s the day to prove it.”

  She smiled at him, eager to begin mending her ways. Her first step was earning his trust back, and repairing the damage she had done with Emma.

  He added, “Emma is a vampire and has a shorter temper than a human. She might piss you off, she might not forgive you, so this is going to be your true test.”

  Daniel could hear Zachariah wrapping up his phone call with Emma, and giving her a heads up about Brianna. The one comforting fact for him was that Emma had always been a very forgiving person. She tried to see the best in people and give them second chances. He hoped that she would be just as generous this time as she had in the past.

  Zachariah came back inside, slipping his phone into his pocket while simultaneously pulling his car keys from the other. “All right you two, ready to go back home?”

  Daniel and Brianna stood up from the couch, and she grabbed her jacket that was draped over a chair. Daniel went to get his phone charger that was still plugged into the wall, and shoved it into his pocket.

  “Zachariah,” Brianna started before they left. “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry for what a bitch I have been, none of you have deserved the way I behaved toward you. I’m going to change and I’m going to treat Daniel the way he deserves to be treated. I hope you can forgive me.”

  Zachariah, who had learned his forgiving ways from Emma, accepted her apology. He opened his arms and invited her in for a hug, making peace with her. It was her first step toward becoming a better person, and it felt good.