Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
Sleep…
The silken command echoed in my mind like the whisper of a dream.
Had he hypnotized me? As tempting as it was to blame him for whatever the hell had happened in the first place, I didn’t think that was what had happened. More like he had stopped it somehow. He hadn’t even touched me, though, so how had he knocked me unconscious with a single word? Some kind of mind control?
Each answer brought more questions, and I felt kind of like I was dealing with a troll who only spoke in riddles. Not only did I have to choose my questions carefully, but I also had to phrase them in the exact right way or I wasn’t going to get an answer. The answers he did give weren’t all that illuminating, either.””You’re Alexander’s little brother,” I murmured, figuring we would start there.
He just blinked at me.”New plan. Blink once for no, twice for yes.”
His lips tugged down slightly and there was a glimmer of irritation in his eyes, but he didn’t respond. I think he was actively trying not to blink now.
I gave him what I hoped was a disarming smile. “My name is Lavinia, by the way.””I know what your name is.””Oh?” I couldn’t help but be surprised. “Your brother told you?””No,” he answered nonchalantly, still swinging his feet. “I just hear things.”
Now it was my turn to blink at him. “He talks about me?”
More staring. Really starting to feel like we were building a connection, me and this kid. I should probably think about becoming a pediatric psychiatrist.
Before I could say anything else, the door opened and I found myself relieved to see Alexander. No matter how intimidating he was, his younger brother had him beat on the scary factor. I’d take my chances with a stalking vampire over a creepy doll any day.”You’re awake,” he said, sounding too pleased for someone who wanted me to be unconscious. “And I see you’ve met Milton.” He gave the boy a look that wasn’t quite hard enough to be stern. “I hope he’s been on good behavior.””Yeah. He’s a real gentleman,” I said, deciding not to make any enemies with the scary vampire child. I’d seen enough horror movies to know better.
Milton hopped up off the chair and walked out of the room without another word.”He’s quite the conversationalist,” I said flatly.
Alexander chuckled, walking over to the edge of the bed where I was sitting. I flinched a little, but I told myself if he wanted to hurt me, he had certainly had plenty of opportunities to do so. And I was pretty sure he had saved me twice now, so if he did want to do that, he wasn’t very good at it.”How are you feeling?” he asked, stopping a short distance away as if he could pick up on my hesitation. And since he could probably hear my heartbeat, I guess he could.”Kind of fuzzy and like I lost a fight with a grizzly bear,” I admitted. “But I’m okay. I don’t remember much, but I think I have you to thank for that.””I just compelled you,” he answered. “It won’t stave off whatever happened forever, but you seem to be alright for now.””Compelled?” I echoed. That was pretty much what I was afraid of, but I was really hoping that was another rumor about vampires that got inflated through the interspecies grapevine.”Are you feeling up to a walk?” he asked, evading my question with the prowess of an Olympian. “A bit of fresh air might do you good.”
I stood carefully, testing out my land legs. I was still a little woozy, but so far, so good. Alexander offered a hand in waiting, but I managed to get to the door on my own. He followed me out and took the lead once we reached the branch at the end of the hallway. The walls were papered in damask as well, but the paper was a softer, burnt golden shade.
The further we went, the more I was starting to wonder if this really was a castle. There were golden sconces everywhere, ritzy paintings of landscapes, and people who looked like some form of nobility. Knowing what I knew now, they probably were.”Nice place,” I remarked. It made the main house back home look downright quaint in comparison.”It’s been in the family for a long time,” Alexander answered in the kind of casual humility I guess came with being a royal. “I’ve looked after it for the last few centuries or so.”
I must not have done as good of a job hiding my reaction to that as I hoped, because he gave a knowing smile when he looked back over his shoulder. “I’m older than I look.””I figured,” I sighed. Having it put in such concrete terms was different, though. Shifters didn’t age as quickly as humans, but we were still affected by time. Dad looked like a man in his early fifties even though he was pushing seventy.
I followed him past the staircase surrounded by wooden walls. It looked like an auxiliary rather than the grand staircase that probably existed somewhere. Instead of going down it, he led me out onto a balcony that wrapped around one side of the massive stone building, and yeah. It was a castle alright.
At least, it certainly qualified in terms of square footage. I looked around in dismay and got hit with vertigo as I looked down at the vast, green gardens below. There was even a tall maze of hedges, forming a square spiral that was dizzying to look at from a birds-eye view. The sun was rising, but Alexander didn’t seem affected in the least.”Sunlight doesn’t bother you?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t offensive.”A perk of old age,” he said, flashing me a toothy smile as if he enjoyed the mindfucks his little comments gave me.
I just sighed, venturing a little closer to the railing since the view wasn’t something to be dismissed. “Beautiful,” I murmured, taking in the rainbow of flowers.”Indeed,” Alexander agreed. Something about his tone made me turn around, and the way he was looking at me left me blushing. Definitely not where my mind should be headed right now.
I turned away, leaning against the railing with my arms folded. “So, this compulsion thing. How does it work, exactly?”
He tilted his head slightly. “They really didn’t tell you much about us, did they?””Or anything, apparently,” I muttered.
He blew a puff of air through his nose. “I had heard wolves were overbearing with their women, but that’s a bit much.””I’m inclined to agree with you.” I shrugged. “Learning as I go, I guess.””It’s a bit like hypnosis,” he offered. “Except it requires either eye contact or physical touch, depending on the vampire.””You can read my mind?” I asked warily. I was concerned for all the wrong reasons.”No,” he said with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, which made me worry he didn’t need to know what was going through my head. “But I can implant suggestions.”