The Call of the Heart

Chapter 4

No sooner had she jumped toward helpless Basil than Dorian threw himself between his love interest and his creator, crushing into Henriette. They crashed to the ground, trying to sink their teeth into each other's flesh. Fangs were out, and there was no more hiding what Dorian was. All he could hope was that Basil was too shocked to closely follow the struggle between the two vampires.

"Is this how you repay me for everything I've done for you?" Henriette snarled at Dorian. "You choose a mere human over me."

"I never asked you for anything. You always wanted more than I could offer," Dorian said, trying to evade her sharp canines. "We can still end this, just spare him, and things can go back to how they were."

At that point, Dorian was begging, as he wasn't sure he could win the fight, but he still wanted Basil to be safe. He would give his life to keep him out of harm's way.

"No, things will never be the same," Henriette said with a crazy look in her eyes that made it clear there was no reasoning with her. She was far too gone for that. "I will hurt you so badly that you won't be able to move. Then I will drain your precious guy to death while you watch, helpless to save him. Then you will understand the price men pay for constantly treating me as second best."

She then slammed Dorian against the ground so hard that his body created a dent in the marble floor underneath him. After that, she used a strange wrestling move Dorian had never seen before and had him pinned down before he could realize what she was about to do.

No wonder she was rumored to be one of the most vicious vampires. Not only was she old enough to be stronger than most vampires, but she also had extensive training in martial arts. What chance did a hedonistic fledgling stand against such skill and cunning?

"Henriette, please, we've been friends for decades. You don't need to do this," Dorian said, giving it one final try, knowing well what her answer would be.

All he could do was hope that Basil, who was no longer in his line of sight, managed to escape. That he would hide well enough that even Henriette couldn't find him.

"Hush, it's time for you to pay the price for your choices," Henriette whispered, biting his neck.

Though vampire blood wasn't nearly as sweet as the human one, Henriette enjoyed every last drop of it, drinking Dorian's life energy, his strength. Still, she knew when to stop to leave him incapable of doing anything but watching as she killed the object of his affection. It would be as easy as killing her unfaithful vampire husband had been.

When she was done, she wiped her mouth, still dripping with blood, and picked Dorian up as if he was a rag doll. She threw him in the chair that such a short time ago had given Dorian such pleasant memories. His eyes were half closed, but he was still lucid enough to understand what she was about to do. After all, Basil was still standing in the same spot, frozen in place.

"Don't worry, Dorian, I am doing you a favor," Henriette said, turning his head towards Basil. "You would've ended up killing him yourself. You never showed any respect for your toys before. Why would you start now?"

Subsequently, Henriette turned her back to him, stalking toward Basil, enjoying the flash of horror in his eyes. Even though she hated him from the bottom of her heart for taking her Dorian, even Henriette saw Basil as a handsome specimen. She realized she would enjoy his blood more than she anticipated.

She kept circling around him, feigning moves just to see him shudder. The meal was so much sweeter when its blood was filled with adrenaline. Finally, she lunged at him, pulling him to the ground with her on top of him, staring him down with a mixture of hate and bloodlust in her eyes.

However, before she could sink her teeth into him, she noticed something sticking out of her chest. With horror, she realized it was a stake someone was rude enough to drive through her heart.

She turned to see Dorian, who had broken a leg of a chair and dragged himself towards her while she played with her food. Her mother did tell her not to play with her food, but Henriette never believed that would lead to her ultimate demise.

"I will never hurt Basil, nor allow anyone else to do so," Dorian said passionately.

As Henriette turned to dust and the stake fell to the ground, so did Dorian. Dorian was exhausted from the exertion that he only managed to perform because he was carried by his love for this man, whom he barely knew. Yet, for whom here he was, dying.

Like in a dream, he could see Basil inclining his neck towards him. His lips moved as if he was saying something, but Dorian couldn't hear anything. He felt he was slipping into a deep pool that was blanketing any sound.

"Dorian!" Basil screamed, sounding more terrified than when he was about to be tortured by a vicious vampire. "You need to feed!"

Finally, Dorian understood and shook his head. He wasn't about to dine on the one person for whom he apparently cared more than for his own life.

Seeing the stubbornness in his eyes, Basil sat next to Dorian. Hugging him, he put Dorian's head on his neck, hoping the temptation would be enough.

It was.

His teeth bit into Basil's neck without Dorian's conscious control, his self-preservation kicking in. He started drinking greedily the delicious nectar that gave back life to his cold body. However, the moment the blood intake cleared his head enough to realize what he was doing, he pulled back from Basil, horrified at what he had done.

"I am so sorry," Dorian said, his lips even redder from Basil's blood. "Are you okay?"

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You were ready to die yourself for me. Feeding you is the least I can do," Basil said, kissing Dorian with such fervor that they both stumbled to the ground.

He didn't care that Dorian tasted of his blood and fear. All he cared about was that he was still there, that he would get to kiss him, know him. Even potentially do more than that.

"You are not disgusted by the monster that I am?" Dorian asked, shocked.

"You are not a monster. You are just a vampire who did some monstrous things to survive. We have all done things we regret. Still, I know who you are," Basil said, brushing away a strand of hair that wandered into Dorian's stunned face. "You are a vampire who was ready to risk his own life for a guy he barely knew. You stand up for those you care about, even if it means standing against your sire. That's who you are."

For the first time ever, Dorian felt accepted, like no matter what he had done in the past, there was still a chance for him to find what he had always been looking for, whether he knew it or not, love. He smiled brightly at this human who was much more, and leaning his forehead against his, breathing the same air as him, Dorian finally felt at home.

"You are special, Basil, you know that?" Dorian said dreamily. "You are what I've been looking for and so much more, and I promise you I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the person you see in me."

"And I promise I will always be ready to listen to what you have to say and be there for you when you need me," Basil said.

After making those vows, they couldn't think of anything more appropriate but to seal them with a kiss that was both a promise and a new beginning.