Lana

  Coming awake after what felt like days of unconsciousness felt more exhausting than the realization of the fact that I was sleepwalking did. Perhaps I had passed miles, from woods through roads.. All controlled by the very witches that wanted me dead..

  It seemed like the memories of that dark night hit me the very minute my mind found its way that reality, so instantly terrified by the simple thought of how easy it was for those witches to mess with so many lives.. They came back from the dead, for god's sake. They held more power than we could imagine.

The dimly lighted room was a true blur when my eyes managed to flatter open.. My mind was struggling to come to some realization of where I might be. The last memories I could find my way around were still puzzled. I was not so sure on how I witnessed everything or how I found myself being a part of it..

  All I remembered was waking up in the middle of the night, with nearly frozen bones, covered in mud and tied to a tree.. My feet were cut and bruised, and so I found myself so carefully trying to move my toes now that I was awake, opening my eyes and staring at the high ceiling. Christian was the first thing that came to my mind.. I called him. Did I?

  "Lana?" A familiar tone filled the air.. Strict yet worried. A simple glance on the side was enough to see that picture of my father sitting on a chair beside the bed. I felt a caress over my hair. I was still confused. "You're home, angel, you're safe."

  I moved that very instant. No, something isn't right. I could remember seeing Christian. I could remember being in his arms. And at such state, it wasn't hard for the worst to hit my thoughts quicker than I could even start assuming. Panic consumed and I found myself jerking my body to sit up.

  "Christian.." His name escaped my lips as if it was the only thing I knew.. I searched my father's worried face, how he carefully followed my moves to provide me from hurting myself. "He-"

  "He saved you." He said. And I found myself frowning in confusion on whether or not I was missing something. Christian's name being mentioned and followed by my father admitting I was saved by him.. It sounded awfully odd. "Did he?"

  And that was the real question I was waiting for.. My father didn't trust any vampires, especially not the Le Boursiers. And with my life.. God, that sounded almost ridiculous. So when he showed his doubt on whether or not it was really Christian that, I almost felt relief. How long was I out? How much did I miss? Certainly not enough for my father to take vampires' side..

  I leaned back on the headboard of the bed.. Playing with my fingers did not take distract me enough. I couldn't not focus on the very subject we had already started discussing.. Christian saving me.

  "You saw it?" I asked, unsure of how much my father had witnessed.

  "I saw him carry you out of the woods.." He continued, leaning his elbows on his knees and intertwining his fingers together. "But it could be all a game they planned out.. Who took you to that house?"

  It was like being asked to talk about my worst nightmare after living it.. I didn't even know how to start explaining that I didn't remember a thing on how I managed to wind up there. All I knew was that I was desperate to call someone that I trusted more than anything and of course that was Christian..

  "No one.." I started, thinking on how I was going to explain the things that I knew of, things that I kept wondering about, yet couldn't stop or protect not even myself, let alone those I loved. Dark magic. "Those witches.. They want me dead."

  My father being a protector of thousands throughout his entire life, didn't fail to do an even more extreme job when it came to protecting his own family. I was very mu familiar with his methods, how he did them and why he did them. I knew that magic was the very thing he has always warned us about.

  It's a trick, he always used to say. It's in your mind. You can't control it once it's controlling you. And so my whole life I had stayed away from magic. From witches.. Now there I was, admitting to my father that there were three psychotic witches on our enemy's side, determined to kill us all.

  Of course, Adam needed me alive first, but I knew it was them that allured me to the house with that dark magic. Cowards. Using magic while I was asleep. They knew damn well that if any of our people scented a witch a mile away they would tear her apart. So they played games from out far.

  A few seconds passed.. "Witches?" I could exactly hear the concern in his voice, the hope that perhaps I was the one that was wrong. When I didn't answer right away, he allowed his panic to take the best of him. "Lana, what witches?"

  My father had always been a strict man, not only with his children but with everyone that was under his protection. He had his reasons why he didn't trust witches and he was always doing the best in his power to taught us to follow that as well. After I met them, I could see why he was so concerned.

  I looked at him. "I told you it was all a mind-game. You didn't think it was Adam that did it alone, with one foot already in his grave, did you?"

  He sat up in anger. "What could any witches possibly want from you?" It was an immediate question and I knew that the answer would scare him even more because it was already insane enough to even think about how many there were after one goal.. And that was to see me and those I cared about dead.

  "Revenge. On you." I moved on the edge of the bed and looked at him.. "Camille, Olga, and Thalia.. Ring any bells?"

  The press of my toes over the cold wooden floor made me almost flinch because I suddenly remembered that my feet hurt the last time I was somewhat conscious.. But how could I even slightly think about something like that when I had my father already circling around the room in panic, almost as if he knew exactly of whom I was talking about.

  He held one hand pressed on his hip while he rubbed his chin with the other, mumbling something underneath his breath and closing his eyes for a second. I could feel it. I could feel that nauseousness in my stomach because that damn nervousness and anxiety was already crawling around and taking over my whole body.

  "The sisters of the Mystic Grove.." He ran a hand through his hair, looking outside the window for a second.. "Their family was vanished from their coven. They did dark magic during the war."

  A heavy breath escape me.. My face fell in my palms as I leaned my elbows on my knees and kept quiet for a few seconds. Of course. Of course he knew who they were.. Seemed like I didn't know my father at all.. It couldn't be true. Everything those demon women said.. Goodness, it couldn't be true.

  "Don't tell me that you were really the one to kill them?" My father is not like that, I told myself. He is a man of honor. He would never kill anyone unless it was our family that was directly attacked.

  I saw those women and I knew what kind of devils they were.. I would've killed them right there if I could. But killing someone for living by their own nature wasn't even slightly the morals my father had taught us about. I refused to believe that even in war he would kill hundreds.. For power. Thousands even maybe..

  The man standing before me wasn't the good hero.. Not at all. He was a hero for our people, yes, because he didn't allow our extinction. What a leader should be.. But he was definitely no murder. I knew that for fact.. At least I thought I knew. It just seemed like my whole life was based on lies.

  I put my hands away from my face when I didn't get an answer. I looked back at him and saw the very confirming face of my somewhat worried furious father, looking at me like he was waiting for my reaction as well.

  "Yes, I was the one to kill them. Not myself, but it was what had to be done." I stared at him blankly and he seemed to find a need to continue. "They were doing dark magic against us. It was either them or us."

  "You and your king, Vladimir?"

  "He was no king. Never mine.. During the war he was fighting for his own damned reasons, while I was fighting for my own people." And then I found myself thinking about a situation such as that.. War.. "Christ, how do you even know all of this, Lara?"

  His words interrupted my thoughts.. Perhaps a part of me understood him.. What he was put through. Of course he fought for his people.. And at wars, most enemies were made. I could never blame him. I just needed to know that there was a reason for him doing that.. Killing them. And if them witches put any of ours at risk, then it was more than a reason to end them.

  I found myself clearing my throat.. I looked on the side. I could still see that picture of them arriving and almost killing Christian that night, whenever I closed my eyes. I terrified me. It sent the kind of tremors through me that made me want to find Christian right then and hold him close..

  "They came.. While I was with the Le Bourisers. They attacked."

Discussing that night wasn't the best idea, especially in that moment. I had no clue what happened after Christian found me, how he returned me back home and I was scared to even think about it.

I continued wanting to get it over with. "Nothing happened, thankfully, but they were clear with their threats." I could not sit still. I stood up and he watched me carefully. I was fine. "They're after revenge and if we don't fight them together, they'll get what they all want.. Our heads on spikes."

I ran my hands through my hair.. The air was choking me in that moment.. The thought of that night terrified me and not knowing where Christian was.. God, it disturbed me in the most messed up ways possible. I had the need to see him right then.

  "You didn't tell me.. Why didn't you tell me?" I sat down at his question.. Why? Perhaps because I didn't want to accidentally give out anything that happened between Christian and I. And that night.. A lot of things happened.

  "I failed to mention. I thought Adam was already big of a problem." Silence fell over for a few seconds..

He stared at me and I looked back in fake certainty to provide being caught in a lie. I didn't fail to mention.. No, of course I thought of it. I just refused to go too deep into it. Christian almost died that night. The weakness in my voice would've given out my affection towards him.

  "I agreed.." My father spoke again, leaving it unfinished and having me wonder of what it was he decided to talk about. "To that deal. I agreed."

Oh. So that's what I missed.. Of course. Right in the most important moment, I was passed out. And now I was surprised to hear my father say that because no matter how much I hoped we would convince him to agree, a small part of me always doubted that we would succeed.

  "You did the right thing." I finally found myself manage to say, and the slight confusion on his face showed plenty.

  "What?"

Perhaps he expected me to be the one against if since I was supposedly kidnapped.. And perhaps I spoke too soon when I told him he did the right thing. I could've gave it away.

So I cleared my throat and continued certainly. "You did the right thing, dad. We need to fight to together if we want to defeat them. Side by side. There's no war between our species, it's those psychopaths that are standing in our way."

It was the simplest way to explain it.. Of course I had a lot more reasons to stop war between us and the vampires.. My love for Christian could not be questioned and I was most definitely not planning on having to make a choice between two of the sides.. Fighting against the other.

  "I don't know about that, but what I do know is that Adam and those witches are after my family. And I won't rest until they're all dead."

Those words made me doubt that my father might try to avoid the deal we made with the Le Bourisers. I knew that Christian and Dimitri would keep their promise and fight beside us against Adam and the witches.

  "Morphers keep the words we give. You taught us that." I reminded, noticing how he scanned my face for a second and nodded his head. "But I'm with you on this. I want Adam and those witches dead too."

  "Good. We'll need that certainty of yours. I always knew I could count on you and have you fight beside me." This time I was the one nodding my head and managing to make out somewhat of a smile. "But what you need right now is rest." My father walked towards me, caressing my hair as I sat on the bed. "Heal, Lana. I need you strong now the most."

  "I'll be beside you when it comes to that. I'll fight with you." I gave some kind of a promise, not only to him but to myself too. He was already determined to put me to bed, so I laid back down and allowed him to pull the covers over me. "Where's mom?"

"She said she wanted to make you your favorite soup when you wake up. I'll tell her to check up on you."

"Can you explain everything to her first? I just can't explain it all over again-"

  "Leave it on me." He left a kiss on top of my head, thinking I was relieved now that I told him. "Sleep, angel." But all I could think about was my Christian.

~

The warmness of my breath against the cold air allowed that white cloud to appear, freezing my bones like it was December rather than September.. During the day, the weather was very much soothingly warm, but the coldness showed its claws soon after the sun disappeared.

Darkness covered the straight gravel road, not a single car passing as I rushed down it, lost senses, lost mind.. Simply walking, aware that nothing in that moment could stand in my way and stop me..

Bright headlights appeared from the darkness from the endless road, getting closer with speed that made the tires almost screech against the gray cement, making me stop and stare for a second.. The car got closer, slowing down, brightening me with its headlights to the point of making me rise my arm to block my eyes a bit..

The black jeep was familiar. I knew exactly who it was, especially when the car was stopped on the side of the road somewhere far across from me.. I stayed still, feeling my heart find a rapid speed, rough and unsettling in my chest.. I breathed heavier with each second that passed..

The car wasn't shut off when it stopped. The headlights still brightened me.. And once the doors opened widely and that familiar tall figure stepped out, I felt my chest fall in relief. Christian.. Certain and intimidating as always, but finally there, across from me.

He stopped as he walked out, holding his door for a few seconds as he stared back at me. His soft hair on top of his head matched the midnight dark sky, and the way his lips parted made me want to run up to him and kiss him until he had me pinned against my car, lost in me the same way I was lost in him.

However, I found myself standing glued to my spot for another few seconds.. My chest fell down and rose up with every deep breath, allowing those white clouds to escape my lips, the same way it did his..

And the he closed the door. He slammed it closed like he had lost all patience. Furrowed dark brows in concern and pitch black eyes scanned me in the kind of concern and relief that warmed my body instantly.. His intense gaze even burned me behind each gaze, so effortlessly making me give in right in that moment..

Without full awareness, my legs moved on their own.. Wide steps, rushed steps, until they turned into a run, the same moment he rushed towards me.. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Only his closeness, only his arms, only him.

And I didn't stop until I felt those strong arms wrap around me, until I felt myself being lifted very slightly.. Enough for his lips to press against the side of my neck in that tight hug, until I felt the air reach my lungs again as his intoxicating scent sent me to holy grail.

It was where I felt safest. In his arms. Where I found home. And it didn't matter that it was just the two of us on the empty dark road.. All it mattered was him. The soothing my soul felt when in his arms.

  I felt myself inhaling almost as if I was trying to take in as much of the moment as I could.

"God, Lana," I could feel the way his lips moved against my hair, how he kissed the side of my neck as sweetly as to swirl my mind. "You're alright,"

  I still had so many questions.. What happened between my father and them, how he managed to convince him to accept that deal and most importantly, how he acted against his own instincts.. I knew Christian would rather actually kidnap me than let go thinking that I'm not safe..

  But I found myself still holding tight. I found myself closing my eyes and going through everything I could remember that night. This, I thought. This I remember. Being in his arms and finally feeling safe.

  And it wasn't the first time he had saved me. No, I owed him. Even though I knew he wouldn't want to admit it or accept it, I did. And I was ready to die for him. The scary part was, I didn't fear to.

"Thank you," My voice filled the silence of nothing but our deep breaths as I pulled away. Eyes of what seemed like pitch darkness looked at back at mine, when it was only light I saw behind them. "For saving me.. I owe you my life."

  The way he searched my face in that full seriousness caused tingles to attack my stomach, in a way that made me question rather or not that moment was even real.

  His hands pressed on the sides of my face.. I could see how he frowned and instead of intimidation that everyone felt around him, I found allurement, pressing my hands over his chest and up his shoulders..

"You owe me nothing." I looked down at my own hands over his chest, his coat, and I found myself wishing to be somewhere warmer so  I can take it off of him. "Come here, you're freezing." I was pulled into his arms, over my shoulder as he turned around led me towards the car. "Get inside."

  After he opened the door for me and I got inside, he rounded the car and got on the driver's seat, turning the car around almost immediately and starting to drive away.. I knew the roads that my people weren't guarding, so I knew where to ask him to meet up.

I texted him earlier that night, after my mom spent hours in my room making sure I was alright. Now they were probably all asleep while I told the guards I needed some fresh air and got away.. For a while at least. I had to see him. I was dying worried.

Silence fell over for a few minutes.. He held my hand and drove with the other while I simple felt like there wasn't anything else in the world I needed in that moment.

"What happened to you?" I decided to ask, even though I knew it was me that roamed around the woods for hours the previous night. Still, I was unconscious most of the time, so I barely knew what really happened.

We were already from the back side of the lake house, so he was stopping the car when I felt him look at me. I kept thinking if the lake house was still invisible to others, if that property was still the safest we could be, but near Christian, it didn't really matter.

I looked back at him. "To me? Baby, do you even know how much you scared me? I lost my damn mind." I rubbed my thumb over his hand with the way our fingers were intertwined, trying to make out a smile.

"I'm okay. I healed." When he brought my hand up to his lips, leaving that slow butterfly kiss over my palm, my heart melted. "Are you?" 

To that he nodded his head and flashed me a dazzling grin that obviously meant that it was quite hard for someone to really get him hurt.. But still, I knew what those witches were capable of doing.

"How did you get out?"

"I told the guards I needed some fresh air." I explained, earning an ironic chuckle from him as he looked in front of himself.

"You have shitty guards then." I could tell the frustration in his voice, taking the best of him, and from the way his expression went serious, he was quite mad at how easily I managed to get out of the house. "You're not safe in that house, Lana,"

"I'm safest there. It's you I'm worried about." I tried, but from the way he looked at me, I could tell that he was ready to prove me wrong.

"That sounds almost ridiculous. You know I can take them down."

"I believe you can. Adam." I had seen Christian fight. He finished them up within seconds.. "But the witches.. They are the very cheaters of the nature. You can't take them down on your own."

"I won't." He assured. "Listen to me, I can handle myself. But I need you close to me to keep you safe too." His eyes searched my face and I found myself fascinated by the way he looked at me. He caressed my cheek and I lost myself in his eyes. "Do you even know how much I fought with my own self to give you up last night? I feared I'd never see you again."

I leaned closer to him. I could not resist. I won't ever give up on us. You hear me? Never." And in that moment, all I could think about was, I love him. I love him so damn much. Of course I would never give up on us.

So it seemed like the two of us craved the se thing. That irresistible closeness that the press of our lips against one another offered.. That kind of loss of senses through that kiss. It made me lightheaded.. So lost on him. So damn desperate for him. It only proved how little we could last without one another.

The way he ran his hands down my waist, so effortlessly pulling me up and closer to himself.. I shook with desire. Our lips were locked when I moved on top of him, managing to straddle him.. And reminding myself what happened the last time we fooled around in a car.

I stopped the kiss just for a second, just to find him looking back at me as well almost as if both of us thought of the same thing. I couldn't help the smile that stretched my lips, so I looked on the side and glanced at the lights in the lake house.

"Who's in there?"

"Everyone. I was trying to come up with an excuse to come.. Ans get you out of there. I had to see if you were okay."

He ran his hands over my lower back and pulled me closer until I arched it, until I was pressed against him, desperate for his lips once again. He stared down at mine like he had found his very salvation and I could not resist kissing him again..

I found the kind of promise and forget in his kisses that made me trust everything was going to be fine.. As long as we're together. And no matter how damn wrong I was told it was, to be with a vampire, to trust one, all those rules I grew up with.. None of it mattered in that moment. All that mattered was him and I couldn't seem to get enough.

I could feel those cravings starting to tale the best of me.. Starting to dominate to the point of swaying my head back when his lips moved over my jaw, to the point of releasing sounds that made him groan and pull me closer, kiss me like it was the last time he was tasting me.

And when he stopped, I felt like I was ready to beg for more right then.. For more of his touch, more of his lips, more of him against me, closer to me, till our bodies knew of nothing but one another.

He looked on the side almost in frustration, almost like he didn't want to stop those heated kisses either..

  "I hate this.. Roads, cars." Those eyes met mine and my breath was taken once again. "I hate hiding you."

And what was I supposed to say? In that moment, all I could do was look back into his eyes and lose myself in the depth that darkness held yet made me want to drawn in every look he sent me, every touch he promised me.

How could I stop myself? How could I lie to myself that it wasn't real? It was. It was the realest thing I ever felt. And I hated having to hide it as well.

So I found myself placing my hands on the sides of his face almost as if I was trying to keep him focused on me and me only.. He seemed a bit distracted as for his eyes roamed over my face with the kind of emotion and speed I could not follow up with. But once I held his face, he seemed to look back at my eyes with that same desperation that was hiding behind mine.

I found myself releasing a desperately heavy breath that I seemed to had held the whole time I was staring back into those eyes. I pressed my forehead against his and closed my eyes, feeling how his arms around my lower back tightened as he pulled me closer.

"I'll tell."

Those words.. Those simple words. God they meant so damn much. And I didn't feel a single skip of my heart when I said them. I said them with the kind of ease I could not understand. I said them so effortlessly that I surprised even myself.

I looked back at me and saw exactly the way he frowned. "What?"

I was at a loss of words myself.. But I didn't regret what I said. It was no bizarreness. It was a simple promise that in that moment I made not only to him, but to myself too. So I looked him in the eyes and repeated.

"Tomorrow.. I'll tell my father." Once again, I saw shock and confusion wash over his face, but he kept that frowned expression like he was still trying to see if I was serious.

"Lana,-"

"We can't keep hiding. Not anymore." I moved my thumbs near the sides of his lips.. God, he really had amazing lips. And I couldn't resist that butterfly kiss I left on them in that moment, while he was still too shocked to return. "Okay?"

My voice sounded faint but I was certain in that decision. I needed him to agree though. It was the two of us in this. We made the decisions together. Honesty and trust was what we needed to hold onto to if we wanted to win that war against Adam.

And now that he searched my face the way he did, almost as if he was processing my words once again in his head.. I couldn't help the faint smile that curled my lips.

"You expect me to disagree with you while having you on top of me like this?" Good, I thought. I could stay like that for as long as he wanted me to.

But there were other things we needed to discuss.. Things that didn't include our untamable desires perhaps, but still things that were far more important than losing ourselves in one another..

So I leaned back a bit, running my hands down his chest once again like I was trying to memorize the feel of his perfectly carved muscles underneath my fingers, the hear of his body underneath my hands..

"What happened last night?" I managed to ask, too focused on my own hands that he soon grabbed and put them away, like He couldn't really find much resistance to my touch.

"You called me.. I came and got you away from the house." Silence fell over for a few seconds. That was what I figured it had happened.. But-

"Do you think I went in?" His eyes met mine the very instant.. He caressed my knuckles with his thumbs so slowly, it tingled.

"If you did, none of us would've been here right now." True. It would've been a damn bloodbath. Adam obviously didn't need me inside still. Or I woke up before the witches could allure me in there.. "Your father agreed to the deal."

The words he finally said.. That was the real subject we were supposed to discuss. I kept quiet for another few seconds trying to think of what my father told me.. He seemed very determined to keep the deal he made with Christian. He was aware of the danger we were all in.

"I heard. Did you..- was there a fight?" I managed, noticing how he looked on the side like he was thinking of it all in that moment.

Again, I knew there wasn't because if there was a fight between them, one wouldn't had ended up alive. But I had to know of everything that went down..

"No. I had you unconscious in my arms.. When I gave you to him, I think he knew it was not war I was looking for.. At least not from him.." He shook his head slightly, looking back at me. "Not like that, not with you not knowing.. In front of everyone."

He ran his hands over my forearms, allowing me to caress his face once again.. The sharp lines on his face were marvelous to look at, even more distracting to me now that he was only mine to astonish me..

"How is she?" I managed to ask again, making myself clear. "Amelia?"

"She met your father.. Pretty coldly handled, I must say.. But she's dealing with it." I hadn't talked to her since after the ball.. All I could do was nod my head and hope for the best.

"Good. That's good."

  Now he was the one that searched my face with some kind of an understanding, almost as if he was reading me rather or not he should say something..

  "What is it?" I found myself say, sounding more worried than I intended.

"Lana, we're trying to figure out how to get to the end of this.." He started explaining with carefulness like he was still uncertain of what he was about to say.. "They attacked first. It's our turn now to strike back. And we have a plan."

***

  And what could that be? Let's hope it will be the end of Adam tho!

  But yea, tell me guys what you think about Lana promising Chris to tell her father about their love.. Should she do it? And what do you guys think the plan will be like?

  Comment & vote babes! Also, happy Valentine's Day to all you love birds that celebrate it! Happy wine day to those that don't 😉 Cheers to you lads!

  Kisses, 😘