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chapter twenty-eight ━ blood cravings

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HER NEXT SESSION occurred days after the incident. Athena had been on edge ever since the body was found. She purposefully avoided talking about it, always changing the subject whenever Thomas brought it up casually. After she expressed her concern to Lydia, the witch had waved it off and told her that she was being silly, telling her that it was probably just some vampire from the Quarter looking to scare the wolves. It seemed like a plausible theory so she let the idea settle in until she felt ready to go back and do another session. When she did, Thomas was gone again, going to take a run around the park nearby. She decided his offer to go with and he didn't find anything strange about it, though the look in his eyes told her he was under the impression that she wasn't going with him because she wanted to have some alone time. Intimately.

As embarrassed as she was, she let him believe it because at least then he wouldn't question her if she looked a bit out of sorts. She wanted to tell him, she really did. But he would make her stop and she couldn't stop. She wouldn't let him take over the situation. She was in control. This was her choice, no one else's. It was her memories, after all, so she called the shots. Lydia remained supportive, going through with her spell again, unlocking some more memories, the pain still exactly the same.

The next person on the list was a witch. Eve. She also lived in an apartment. This time, Lydia hadn't bothered telling her why she deserved to die and this time, Athena didn't ask. She simply went to the address. Though she was worried about another incident happening, she knew it was best to just finish the job, go back to Thomas's place, and forget it ever happened. That way she could move forward, embrace her memories, and bond with her boyfriend over it.

She arrived at the address after struggling to find the room number. Her heart hammered in her chest, her eyesight a bit blurry but she told herself all she needed to do was get in there, kill her, and then crash on the couch at Thomas's. It was simple, easy. She took a deep breath and rose her fist, gently knocking on the door. Not long after, the woman opened the door, her hair a brilliant white, and yet her age did not indicate that she was old.

"Hi, can I help you?"

Athena swallowed, the bracelet around her wrist feeling as if it were burning her, even though it wasn't. There was a charm attached to it that acted as a glamour, making her look different, and also concealing the natural aura she radiated. Any witch would immediately sense and realize who she was the second they saw her, so this was an extra precaution to ensure that they all saw her nothing more than an innocent human that had no intention of causing harm.

"Um, yes, I'm very sorry to bother you but I just moved in next door and I was kinda hoping I could get to know my neighbors." She laughed nervously, the sound genuine. "Forgive me, I'm not very good at interacting with new people."

Eve waved her hand and smiled kindly. "Oh, don't worry, it's perfectly fine." She opened the door wider and gestured inside. "Here, how about you come inside. I don't have many friends so I'd love to get to know more people."

Athena smiled forcefully. "Thank you." She stepped forward, entering through the barrier that was now open to her. The door closed behind her as she walked further inside, acting as if she were admiring her home when in reality, she was trying to calm herself down and gain the courage to kill her. She seemed like such a sweet person, so what had she done to garner a fate like this? For a moment, she felt truly guilty but then forced herself to swallow it.

"Would you like some tea? I have an old family recipe that—"

She sped over to her and ripped out her heart in one motion, her body collapsing to the ground within seconds. Instantly, the guilt bubbled back up to the surface and she felt her stomach churn. This wasn't right. It wasn't right. But the deed was done now. There was nothing she could do about it now. So why was the room suddenly spinning? Why was her vision becoming darker and blurrier? Her eyes fluttered shut.

Then everything went dark.

———

"Why an alley of all places? Someone must have snapped her neck."

"Well, whoever did is about to be brutally murdered. I bet that disgusting wolf Oliver did this to her. He's always hated her and Thomas. Probably followed her and then broke her neck."

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Rebekah. We can ask her when she wakes up."

A pause. "Her breathing is completely normal." Another pause. "Ena? Are you awake?" She wanted to answer but she couldn't. Everything around her was dark. She couldn't move or speak, only listen to the voices around her. "Hayley hand me a blood bag." Moments later a straw was being pressed to her mouth and then blood was being poured through her sealed lips without her sucking on it, which meant Rebekah must be forcing the blood out of the straw.

It worked slowly, the darkness cracking like a mirror, the light creeping in until she finally opened her eyes to see her sister hovering above her, as well as Hayley. Both looked relieved when they saw she was awake, simultaneously sighing in relief. Athena vaguely heard her sister tell her to drink, so she did. Her lips wrapped around the straw and she kept sucking until the blood stopped. As she blinked, she became aware of her surroundings.

"How did I. . ." she trailed off, staring up at the ceiling of the Abattoir. She didn't remember ever going to see her siblings. As a matter of fact, she couldn't remember ever leaving Eve's apartment. Wait. Did Hayley mention an alley? Then she gasped and sat up fast. "Thomas!"

"Told you," Rebekah smirked at Hayley who gave her a slightly unimpressed look. The blonde looked back at her sister and pressed a gentle hand to her shoulder. "I already called him and told him what happened. I believe he's off to murder someone as we speak."

Athena's blood ran cold. "Where did you find me? What happened?" If they knew. . .if they knew it was all over. Lydia would be angry, she would never do another session with her, and everyone would be disappointed in her for keeping something like this a secret. She'd be ruined, done for. What was Thomas going to say? Was he going to kill Lydia? Oh no. She went to stand but Rebekah held her down.

"Ena, slow down." She frowned, looking concerned for her. "We found in an alleyway unconscious. We were hoping you could tell us what happened. Did someone attack you? I swear if Oliver laid a hand on you—"

She relaxed, feeling relieved that they didn't know what actually happened. But now that meant she had to lie. She had to lie to keep them from finding out the truth. "No, I don't think it was him. Honestly, I don't really remember what happened. The last thing I remember is being on Thomas's couch, watching tv. I don't ever remember being in an alley."

The lie came easy, too easy. The worst part was, they believed every word.

After they exchanged a look of confusion, Hayley got out her phone and started to text someone. Probably Thomas. Rebekah pressed a hand to her forehead, almost as if she were checking to make sure she didn't have a fever. Then she started to run a hand through her hair like she used to when they were human. When they weren't a completely broken family.

Oddly enough, her mouth felt dry and her body was craving more blood, even after she just downed an entire bag already. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, laying back on the pillow. She was on the couch in the living room, she knew that. "Can I have another blood bag?" Rebekah smiled and nodded, finding nothing strange about it. She simple got another one and gave it to her, letting the younger girl sip away.

Hayley turned back to them and sighed. "Well, Thomas said that he just interrogated Oliver who was telling the truth when he said he had nothing to do with this."

"I don't know if that should worry me or relieve me," Rebekah admitted while her hand resumed its journey through Athena's hair. "Just make sure he doesn't cause a ruckus when he gets here. I'd hate to wake up my niece."

Athena finished the second bag and then sat up, shaking her head. "I don't want him to come." She ignored the surprised expression on her sister's face. "Now that I'm here I want to spend some time with you guys. Thomas will be all over me if he comes over so just tell him that I'll meet him at our spot in a few hours. He'll know where I mean."

"Of course," Hayley nodded, texting him what she had said.

"Where is Hope?"

"Napping." A cry pierced the air, coming from somewhere upstairs. "Nevermind then. Excuse me." She got up from the couch, leaving the room, which left the two sisters alone.

Athena moved the pillow and rested it against the armrest before leaning back into it, pulling the blanket further on top of her, causing Rebekah to laughed fondly. "Oh hush, you know I love soft blankets." They went quiet after that before she started to internally debate with herself. Should could be open and honest with her, right? But if she told her, would that be too far? Would it make her uncomfortable? Still, she wanted to tell her about her experience, maybe even get some tips. "Hey, Bekah?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever. . .um. . ."

"Had sex?"

"What, no!" She blushed madly, practically hiding her entire face under the blanket. "Well, not that but have you ever done something that's kinda in that region. . .but it's when you're by yourself?" Her sister instantly knew what she meant and grinned widely, nodding her head, and then questioned her. "I may or may not have done so a couple of days ago."

Rebekah gasped, looking as if she were going to burst from excitement but also cry at the same time which proved to be quite the reaction. "To answer your question, yes. Although, how did you know about that?"

Athena avoided looking at her. "I did some research." She held back the urge to duck under the blankets and never let anyone see her ever again because her face felt so red. She was the one who brought the topic up, so she may as well finish it right? "I was wondering something though. How did you know you were ready?"

"Ready for what?" When the brunette rose a brow, going a least a few shades brighter, she figured out what she meant. "Ah, you mean when did I know I was ready to have sex." Athena let out an embarrassed sound and hid her entire face. "Well, I don't think I'm the best person to ask this but I'll tell you this: you want to know your body a least a bit before you let anyone else slip on under there. Not everyone agrees with that but I find that there's a power in knowing your body before letting someone else see in a vulnerable state."

"Thomas wouldn't hurt me," came a defensive, muffled reply. "He loves me."

"He loves you too much but that's not the point." She peeled the blanket down so she could see her, watching a cute pout appear on Athena's face. "You will know when you're ready, trust me on that. You'll look at him, he'll look at you, and before you know it, he'll be tearing all your clothes off and—"

"No stop!" Athena yelped, covering her eyes like an utter child, her face turning into a tomato. "Okay, okay, you answered the question now stop, stop, stop!"

Rebekah laughed and tried to pry her hands away before smiling at her younger sister. "Fine. I'll stop." The hybrid did not trust her and for some reason, she still let her take her hands off her ears. When she realized her mistake, it was way too late.

"Just make sure he wears a condom, we don't need your child to be without a father."

———

After her embarrassment died down, Hayley had come in holding a crying Hope in her hands. Athena had held her niece, instantly stopping her cries which led Hayley to question everything and for Rebekah to rudely comment that if Thomas forgot a condom and got Athena pregnant, the baby would be just fine without him. She had left the two, holding back from holding her middle finger up to her older sister, and made her way to the café, only for Thomas to text her and tell her to come to the apartment instead because something had come up.

So she was currently making her way down the hallway to his door and when she went to knock, the door opened and she was pulled in quickly, instantly wrapped up in a hug. It took her a moment but she got comfortable and hugged him back, kicking her foot back to close the door. She kept embracing him until she came to the realization that he wasn't gonna let go anytime soon.

"Thomas, you're squishing my boobs."

He pulled back, eyes a little wide. "Oh, sorry." Then he cupped her cheeks, staring down at her because he was much taller than her, which was not fair in her opinion. She felt so small compared to him. "Are you alright? After Hayley called I got worried."

"You're always worried for me," she commented, waving it off, taking his hands off her face before she wrapped her arms around his neck casually. She had gotten a lot better at showing and reviving affection from it. It almost came naturally now. "But I'm fine, I promise."

"You were attacked."

"We don't know that. My memories are slowly coming back, so maybe I went to go do something and I forgot everything and then passed out. My mind is trying to deal with these new memories so it makes sense if I have a few dark spots, right?"

Thomas thought about that for a moment and then nodded, finding that to be a suitable answer. Still, he looked incredibly worried for her, like always. "Maybe you're right." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, his arms wrapping around her waist. "But your situation is not the only thing that's strange." She frowned at that, tilting her head to the side. "Another body was found." Her heart stopped. "It was a witch. She was found on Haley's balcony, just laying there, heart ripped out, blood everywhere."

"Oh." She looked away, swallowing thickly. "And they have no idea who killed her?"

"Nope, but chances are it's the same person as last time. And whoever they are, they clearly know who Haley is. The witches are getting antsy about the killings, most of them are trying to find the killer themselves. They think it's some vampire looking to get revenge or something." Athena tucked her face into his chest, removing her arms from his neck. "Baby?" She looked up at him slowly and saw the look on his face. "You don't have to be scared, nothing's going to happen to you."

"That's not what I'm. . " she trailed off, closing her eyes. She forced a smile and opened her eyes, looking up at him. "I have a lot on my mind so let's just not talk about it okay?"

He still looked confused, wondering why she was acting so strange. "Okay, that's fine. We won't talk about it if you don't—"

She kissed him to silence him, letting her hands travel up his shirt and to his hair, tangling in the locks. He kissed her back without a problem, falling for her deception. Within seconds her back hit the door and their kiss got heated, her fingers tugging on his hair while his hands came to caress the skin of her back after going under her shirt. They got more hungry, desperate almost. He was clearly into it and she thought she was too, but then she felt something inside her. Not desire. Not lust. No. Athena was hungry.

Hungry for blood.

Her fangs dug into his bottom lip, breaking the skin. Thomas hissed and pulled back, his hands falling from her back to touch the bleeding area. "Fuck."

"I'm so sorry," Athena gasped, dread filling her stomach. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine," he chuckled. "We got carried away."

"No, it's my fault. I didn't mean to hurt you. I should've had more control over myself." She brushed past him, walking over to the fridge, grabbing a third blood bag, opened it, and then started drinking from it. She felt his eyes on her but she didn't turn around, didn't look, didn't want to see the pain she had caused him. Her lips pulled away, her eyes reflecting every bit of guilt she felt. "I'm going to shower." And then she set down the bag and hurried down the hall, not looking at him once which meant she didn't notice that his eyes were no longer on her.

They were on the blood bag that was already empty. The blood bag she drained in a matter of seconds.

———

Shorter chapter today! But just to clarify, the reason why Thomas is so shocked about the blood bag, is because Athena is a hybrid. She does not drink as much blood as a regular vampire does. I see her only having like one glass a day which would most likely be half of one blood bag. As you guys just read, she had three in one day and downed in entire one in seconds in front of him. She always sips on her glass or on a bag, never finishing it quickly, and yet she just did with that one she just had.

Things may be confusing right now but trust me, it's gonna get wild soon.

I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

( credit : @pepperronys )