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Chapter 4

  • Bestow of Honor
  • There he was. In a silk coffin... His eyelids were shut, not showing his bright hazel eyes they never shared. Hands were folded on his chest, and he looked what every person would've looked in their deathbed-peaceful, happy, and well, dead.
  • Avellana wouldn't cry. No matter how much she thought about it or even looked at her father, she would never let the tears fall.
  • That hurt her. The fact that this man raised her up-even if her mother had died when she was turned, he was the first one to comfort her.
  • Yet he was the first one who broke her. With that, a memory flooded her mind.
  • 888
  • "No!" Avellana yelled, her body shaking at the sight of a human pressed down into the ground. Her father, Victor, kicked him to the trunk, and they could hear the bones cracking from the impact. The man groaned as blood rushed, soaking the grass. The smell, she breathed it all in and almost moaned at the sweet amour that surrounded her. "Dad, please."
  • She clasped her hands together and dropped to her knees. She didn't even noticed that Frederick was there, holding his father's arms to only be thrown to the side like some garbage bag. "It's for her own good, son. She needs to build herself up and know that she isn't some blasted child! Now leave."
  • His growl made her wince. How could he? She was his daughter. "I don't want to drink," she shook her head only to hear the sound of cracking noise once again. The smell had times to a thousand as more blood pooled around the human's head. She pulled her brown hair, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wouldn't give in. No.
  • "Father!"
  • "I said leave! I never called on you, did I? This is for her own good."
  • "No, Rick!" Avellana's fist pounded the ground, grabbing a fistful of grass and soil before pulling it up to the air. She shrieked when she saw Frederick being dragged away by some men and women. He, too, was kicking and moving his hands, but it was no use. Though they were now alive for a year, they weren't strong enough to defend themselves from them, especially when she wasn't willing to train herself.
  • Her father advanced towards her, his eyes shifting from pity to anger. Lines appeared on his forehead and dark veins popped out from his arm when he grabbed the human by the neck. "This is for your own good," he said. "You let James get to you. You let everyone get to you! Drink his blood or you will fade!" There was desperation hinted in his voice when he had reached the end.
  • Avellana looked at the man. She almost felt like punching herself when she thought of how 'delectable' he was. Blood was running down from his neck to his chest. Cuts were everywhere, and there was this large gash from his stomach to his upper thigh, deep enough for her to see a bit of bone sticking out. His eyes were wide open and so was his mouth.
  • He blinked. And she screamed.
  • She scrambled back up, almost clawing her eyes out when she took a step closer. "I won't!" she said. "James did this to me by accident. He'd never do this to me!"
  • "Oh, it wasn't an accident. You see what he's doing? James is manipulating you," he snarled. "Look at how easy life is when you just shut it out. Forget about him. Forget about your mother. And forget about everything. You are now a vampire, a monster."
  • He's right, she thought then wiped it away. No, she was not a monster. She was going to fight this. But the more the man was nearing her, the more the thought about fighting this was fading away. No, she thought, but this time, weakly.
  • Avellana slapped her thighs as if hitting them would stop her from walking to the man. Her hands were already stretched out, her fingers twisting and bending as if they were possessed. Her ears were already ringing, hearing her cursed blood flowing to her ears.
  • "I'm not a monster like you!"
  • Her father glared at her. "James thinks you're worth nothing, and he was right. You are weak. You won't accept who you are, and you won't face this. Show James that you are something. Show him that you are comfortable with you are. Make him regret ever changing you, Avellana. You are better than that."
  • His voice stuck in her head, repeating again and again. The man was now facing her, and Avellana clasped her fingers around the human's shoulders, digging into his skin.
  • "Show him. You. Are. Better. Than. This."
  • She didn't know what had happened, but the next thing she knew, she was already sucking the blood out of the human. Emotions rushed towards her, regret, anger, but one stood out to her the most-pleasure. She groaned, her fangs digging deeper into the man's neck. Months and days of starving herself. Why was she doing that to herself?
  • Anger surged towards her as James went into her mind. Yes. Her father was right.
  • Avellana was going to make him regret this, make him suffer. He will never recognize her anymore, and that was the plan. She dropped the human to the ground, her eyes blazing. She didn't even bother to glance back at her father's appreciative and proud glance.
  • Frederick ran, his eyes widening when he saw her then their father. "Lana-" he tried only to be stopped when the brunette raised up her hand, waving it at him in a dismissive way.
  • "It's Avellana."
  • Her voice was cool and crisp. It wasn't like her at all-there wasn't any sarcasm in it nor was there even a hint of joy. It was devoid of any emotion, apart from being cold and detached. She turned toward him, and her brother flinched at the sight of her darkened eyes. "Call me Avellana now, Frederick."
  • 8888
  • Avellana gasped, and now, she looked away from the curious eyes of the crowd, even Frederick was looking at her weirdly. She probably had been so lost in her train of thoughts... Her head pounded, looking away to avoid her brother's stare. "There will be an investigation," she said, her voice just like before. "Nobody would escape this treachery, and whoever killed Victor Rivers shall be punished dearly."
  • Nobody in the crowd flinched.
  • She took a deep breath, calming herself down. Her fingers were twisting themselves, the memory still fresh in her mind.
  • She needed to forget about what had happened. The past was in the past, and she should look at where they were now. There was a clan she needed to take care off and clan leaders she needed to deal with. There was no space for utter nonsense to divide her attention into three.
  • "And there will also be a new leader to replace him," Frederick announced, his gaze still lingering at Avellana. "And this new leader is my sister."
  • Avellana sighed and her eyes closed. She never liked to become the leader. Being the clan leader's daughter was enough for her to take in-the pressure was enough for her, and she didn't need additional problems on her plate. Lizzie herself had taken most of the space already.
  • But she knew her duty. Being the eldest of the two, she needed to make sure her clan was in order first. That would be her father's hope if he was here... She nodded and walked beside him, facing her fellow clan members who all knelt to the ground.
  • Avellana eyed every single one of those kneeling vampires, but she noticed there were four who didn't followed suit. They were the new recruits probably, and with the curious glances they were sending each other's way, they probably had no idea what was happening here.
  • She looked at them closely then her gaze settled at the grey-eyed man. They stared at each other. Her chest squeezed in pain as she felt something drawing on her upper right breast. She could feel it.
  • No.
  • This wasn't supposed to happen.
  • "Long live Avellana Catherine Rivers," she heard Frederick yelled and could hear the others repeating what he just said, but she was too concentrated to the man she was staring at. She touched the part where she felt the pain and winced.
  • Many thoughts surged into her mind, but only one stayed permanent.
  • Who was he?