Was I dead?

No one knew the answer to that.

My head felt like it had taken several kicks to it by a horse, and my eyelids felt like they were weighted down with iron. It took me many times before I was finally able to crack open my eyes, wincing at the bright light.

I had to be dead.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision, the pounding behind my eyes keeping me from recalling where I was, but once I registered the pain and the ache in my body, I was able to pinpoint the last few hours with a vengeance. 

There was nothing that I could see to tell me where I was or what day it was, what time it was. A startled whimper escaped my throat when I unconsciously tried to sit up to get a better understanding of my surroundings, but my abused body immediately lit up with immense agony, reminding me that I shouldn't move at all. I let out a sigh as I took a few breaths, trying to calm my panic and anxiety so that my pain would slowly lessen. 

The first thing I noticed was that I was in some kind of luxuriously delegated bedroom instead of being helplessly sprawled out on the wet and hard ground of Devil's Tombstone. I was completely clean— free of the dirt, and the massive amount of blood as I was left to die in the cold storm. I was lying in the middle of what seemed to be a very large and very soft bed with black sheets. "Huh?" I wondered out loud, looking up to the light.

The bright light source seemed to be coming from a small diamond-encrusted gold chandelier that hung from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. It was so beautiful, the way the light danced off of the diamond. My eyes returned to my body and I noticed I had on nothing but boxers— a fresh pair, but I was covered up to my waist with a black silk sheet pooling around my hips as I rubbed my fingers over the silky material, wondering who saved me.

Where in the world was I?

I heard the ripping of paper and I turned to see a bright red-haired boy, around the same age as me, with dark eyes and glasses, and what was peculiar about him other than the bright smile he gave me was the two identical holes that sat atop his jugular. He was tearing up bloody bandages, throwing them into a trash basin as he opened some sort of clear container, allowing pearl-colored liquid to flow onto my body.

"Are you the one who saved me?" I tilted my head. It would seem so, since he was the one taking off my bandages, applying some sort of salve to my bruised skin. I thought so, but he didn't have the same eyes as the person who saved me, nor did he have that rich olive skin that belonged to that same person.

"Oh, no!" The boy giggled, shaking his head as he pushed up the glasses on his face. "That would be my Master. My name is Kenzo Drake," The red-haired boy waved at me and I nodded, a sigh of relief leaving my chest as he handed me a glass of water. I took it from him, feeling dehydrated all of a sudden.

I blinked in absolute confusion, chugging down the cool and refreshing water. "I'm Eli Velacruz. Nice to meet you," I couldn't help but feel at ease as he smiled at me, though I was wondering who this master was.

I studied my skin, sure to see a bunch of bloody wounds and cuts from where the glass made its indent, but all I got was small bruises here and there, some purple and some blue. I was sure I had tons of broken bones from where my body slammed against the ceiling, but I only had the remainder of soreness.

Mierda?

Whatever sorcery this was, it needed to stop. "¿Qué?" I muttered as the salve starting tingling, offering a light feeling. Kenzo chuckled, giving me a toothy grin as I began to panic internally, my heartbeat rising, surpassing normal levels. "Please relax, Eli. I know you're confused, but I don't want my master to think that I'm in here hurting you," He put a finger up to his lips in a playful shushing manner. "Any questions you have, my Master will answer them for you."

I slowly nodded, forcing myself to calm down as I looked around the room, trying to remember important things. "A-are you..." I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that I wasn't hallucinating if I was laying in this bed. "Human?" I gritted out and Kenzo nodded. "You and I are the only humans in this coven," He explained as if I was asking him about the weather and I blinked, absolutely lost on what the fuck he was talking about.

"¿Qué quieres decir?" He tilted his head, not understanding, and I internally punched myself. "What do you mean by that?" He pouted slightly with a shrug, shaking his head. "I wish I could tell you, but my master wants to be the one to help you understand. He was the one that found you by scent when an enemy was coming to attack you."

Scent?

Enemy? 

The fuck?

I had to have been on some kind of drug. All things aside, Kenzo starting chatting with me, telling me about how he was excited to show me the gardens when there was a rapt knock on the door a second before it opened. I could feel immense power soaking the room in waves, and I couldn't help myself as I slowly turned my head towards the sound and all of a sudden, all the remaining air in my body stuttered out of my mouth.

I instantly knew that he was the one who saved me.

The sight before me made my mouth water instantly as I laid eyes on the man that took up the entire doorframe. I let my tongue out to lick my lips as he stood there, staring at me just as hard and intently as I was staring at him. He was an incredible sight indeed.

The giant mountain of a man had to be at least 6'6 with the broadest shoulders I ever did see. He elegantly strode over to stand beside Kenzo, his beautiful silvery blue-eyed stare never leaving me. I wanted to gulp, but I was too nervous as I took in his smooth olive skin, dark-brown, almost black hair that sat on top of his head in a quiff-side part with midnight blue lowlights highlighting that taut and sharp jawline of his.

"Good afternoon, Master!" Kenzo greeted him, getting a grunt in return. I didn't know why, but that grunt sounded too good for my ears. I was absolutely mesmerized by how he skillfully embodied a light blue and grey suit with a matching grey vest on top, looking tight against his muscles. I couldn't stop myself from trailing up his arms where his sleeves were rolled back, seeing them both covered in tattoos.

"He should be okay," Kenzo went on a tangent to explain to this 'master', but he was still looking at me with that unwavering peer, and I felt nervous. What was he thinking? Who was he? Why did he look so tall, so broad, and so muscular?

"I should be back later to take you to get some lunch," He continued on, ignoring the heightening tension that was threatening to put me back into a deep sleep as he bowed to the master, skipping away to the door. "Bye, Eli!" Kenzo waved to me, smiling as he shut the door behind him, leaving me with this mysterious man and his relentless gaze.

I couldn't get a chance to wave back because the big man took a seat next to me on the bed, allowing me to smell how delicious his cologne was, not letting up on those eyes of his. My entire body was getting goosebumps, tingling more and more as I got lost in his eyes. They were so unnatural yet so beautiful.

"Say something," I muttered out with a blush, feeling like someone was loading liquid energy into my veins, and the more I held his intense gaze, the more I could feel it. "Don't look at me like that..." I rubbed the back of my neck, slightly pouting.

He just kept his steady eyes on me, his face emotionless. 

The knot in my throat grew bigger and bigger and suddenly, I needed a whole water carboy jug to soothe my aching thirst. I cleared my throat, hating that I was falling deeper into his trance. "Sooo are you going to tell me who you are or are you gonna just stare at me? Because a staring contest works too..." I trailed off, seeing him chuckle, the sound rich and dark in my eyes, exposing the lengthy canines that protruded over his lip. Oh, those looked exceptionally real.

I had a feeling they were.

For the first time since he had come in here, he had parted those luscious pink lips of his to let me hear his voice and by god, it was the deepest, smoothest voice I had ever heard. "You're quite pleasing to the eyes," He stated casually and I blushed. "To answer your question, I am Count Zander Taras Cassian Leiv D'Angelo the third," He smirked, his eyes twinkling as the hint of a deep and enriched accent filled my ears. Count? That was interesting. 

"But, lubirea mea, you may call me Zander D'Angelo."

Zander, it was a nice name indeed, I tilted my head at the familiar nickname, knowing that it was he who saved me. I gaped like an idiot, realizing that he was waiting for me. "My name is Eli Velacruz. You may call me...Eli," I cringed at how stupid I was, but he hummed in satisfaction with a barely-there grin, one that caused my heart to go aflutter. "Thank you for saving me," I mumbled and he nodded. 

"I am sure you have a tremendous amount of questions," His accent was something strange, something extremely foreign as he continued on, his gaze still boring into my very soul. I felt like he could read every single molecule in my body. I winced at my trembling hand, realizing that it was pulsating from my sore knuckles.

"But let me welcome you to my home, this coven," Zander said before taking my hand in his, the gloved body part providing comfort, easing the aches and throbs. He held it in his grasp, long enough for me to feel comfortable enough to ask.

"I'm sure you're the one who saved me, there's no mistaking that," I pointed up to his eyes and he raised a perfectly arched brow, seemingly knowing where I was going with this. "But your eyes were red, n-not this blue," I stammered, and all of a sudden, his silver-blue orbs turned into a shade of blood red, blinking at me. "Like this, you mean?"

I was going to have a mental breakdown as pure horror struck me like lightning. "W-what? Dios mío!" I put a hand up to my mouth, eyes widening as far as they could as I wondered if they were deceiving me. I shook my head frantically, watching as he cracked open his mouth a bit, allowing his canines to extend even longer, so they were indeed real.

"I do not recognize that language, but please relax," Zander tried to give me an encouraging smile, but one could tell he didn't smile at all in his life. "I will not hurt you," His tone was adamant and my body couldn't help but respond to the soothing feel of his voice. I bit my lip, looking at him uncertainly as I pondered how someone could be so pretty and so handsome.

He continued on, just ripping off bandages one by one to get it over with. "I am a vampire and you, my dear lubirea mea, are my Fated half." I fought the urge to curse him out in Spanish, not wanting him to see my true Cuban nature, but he was making my brain hurt even more. I had the proof in front of me, Kenzo's remark on how we were the only humans here, the very sharp-looking fangs poking into his chin, the red eyes that were a little bit scary, and the accent that was so out of this world, it wasn't funny.

My mind was swirling around, making me upset.

"Okay Dracula, calm the hell down," I snapped in confusion, trying to make sense of everything, and his nose wrinkled in discontent at the sound of my curse word. I stared at him in astonishment, picking up the last part of his statement. It sounded like what I was thinking, and I needed answers.

"I'm your what now?"