Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 52: Rebirth

I am everywhere, and I am nowhere. I drift through a shadowy landscape, an in–between place. Time has no meaning as I float upon the tides of nothingness, caught in limbo halfway between sleep and death.

Am I dead, or just dreaming?

I died in the fire… I must have. There’s no way anyone could survive being burned alive like that. But, if I’m dead… why can I hear my mother’s voice calling my name, softly at first, then louder, closer?

“Arianna, can you hear me?” Her familiar voice flows, its resonance echoing through the labyrinth of my thoughts. “I know you’re in there.”

Her voice carries an urgency, a tenderness that tugs at my consciousness like a lifeline.

“I miss you, baby girl,” she says. “Come back to me. Wake up.”

My mother’s gentle, loving voice guides me back to the world. A light appears in the darkness–faint at first, then growing brighter, brighter… until all the darkness is banished, and I open my eyes

“ARIANNA!” My mom cries with relief as I peer up at her beautiful face, her bright green eyes shining with elation, her flowing blonde hair glowing gold in the firelight. “I knew you’d wake up!”

She wraps me up in a hug as she begins to weep tears of joy, and it takes me a moment to realise that I’m lying down, maybe on a bed.

“Where… where is everyone?” I ask, peering around at my surroundings. I’m in an ornately decorated room, stone walls adorned with tapestries and a grand fireplace which casts a warm, dancing glow. Stained glass windows reveal the night sky, with stars twinkling beyond. The last thing I remember, I was in the village…

“Where are the villagers?” I ask, my voice feeling raw and shaky, as if I haven’t spoken in ages.

“You’re not in the village anymore, sweetheart, my mother says, leaning forward to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

“How?” I ask, searching my mind for a memory of what happened, the last thing I can remember.

Yes, that’s right. As I was dying, I called out his name, in my mind… I called for…

“Aleksandr, that’s how,” Konstantin says, stepping out from wherever he’d been standing a few feet away, watching the tender moment between my mother and 1. My mother’s new husband places a hand on her shoulder, and she smiles up at him.

“He made quite a mess while he was at it – I think he destroyed half the village,” Konstantin says, a note of disapproval in his voice. “It was a slaughter. He spared the women and children, but their population is greatly reduced. A bloodbath for the history books. To be fair though, I don’t blame him. After what they did to you….

That’s right. They burned me alive… I was completely engulfed in the flames, like a human bonfire. I felt my skin peeling off my body, my muscles charring and melting away…

In a panic, my hands fly up to my face. For one awful moment, I’m terrified that I’ll find a smooth, numb mess of scar tissue and burns, a featureless face burned beyond recognition – but everything is still there, all my features in place.

“This is impossible,” I mutter, feeling my eyes fill with tears as I grapple with this confusing reality. “I should be dead. I’m not even burned. How did I

survive?”

Now my mother looks solemn, as she glances over to Konstantin, who nods. My mother rises, giving me a quick peck on the ch*ek.

“It’s better that he explains that part himself,” she says gently. “We’ll leave you with him to talk things out. I’ll be right outside, baby girl.”

Him? Who does she mean?

Konstantin takes my mother’s hand in his own and leads her out of the room. I hear the heavy wooden door close behind them, and I sit up in the bed, peering into the shadows in the far comer of the room,

There’s a figure lurking there, tall and muscular…

Chapter 52. Rebirth

My breath catches in the back of my throat as he steps out of the shadows into the ring of light cast by the fire. He walks towards me, closing the space

between us.

It’s Aleksandr.

The achingly handsome face that has haunted my dreams for the past few weeks is now right before me, his icy blue eyes gazing into my own, as he runs a hand through his dark hair. He looks different paler than usual, on edge, anxious even

“How do yo

you feel” He asks, and the edge in his voice betrays his concern.

“Fine, I guess,” I say, my head swimming with a million questions. “I’m confused though. How am I

Something inscrutable flickers through Aleksandr’s cold gaze.

I still alive?

“You were on the brink of death,” he says, his voice slow and steady, as though he’s choosing his words carefully. “There was no other way.”

No other way? Brink of death? Oh my god..

“Did you… turn me?!” I practically shriek out the question, completely taken by surprise. “Am I.. VAMPIRE

“Hah! No,” Aleksandr says. “I gave you my blood, in order to save you, but you remain human.”

“But if I drank your blood, why am I not a vampire?” I ask, “I thought that’s how it works. Like with my mom, at the Blood Moon Ceremony. She drank Konstantin’s blood, she died for a microsecond, she was reborn as an immortal vampire. That’s how it happens, right?*

“Wrong,” Aleksandr says, his voice cool as he sits down on the edge of my bed. “In order for a human to join the immortal ranks, it is of the utmost importance that they willingly drink the blood of a vampire. Consent is everything. There was no way for me to ask you for consent as you lay dying. And it must happen under the light of the blood moon, with the correct incantation spoken during the ceremony to activate the supernatural process. There are many factors that go into making a vampire, beyond just the simple drinking of immortal blood.”

“Then… what am I?” I ask,

“You’re a human, still mortal, but reborn, saved from the edge of the abyss,” he says calmly, “Through drinking my lifesblond, you have been rejuvenated, but you are not immortal. Arianna – it is vital that you understand this,”

He leans in closer, his eyes locking onto mine with an unwavering intensity. His hands, strong and firm, gently find their place on my arms, offering both support and a silent plea for my undivided attention. He holds me steady, ensuring that there is no escape from the gravity of his words.

“Arianna. I was able to save you from your injuries this time and bring you back from the brink, but it’s not a cure for your greater infliction, the blight that will ultimately kill you, your terminal disease,” he continues, his voice grave and heavy

“I have a terminal disease?” I ask, my heart stilling with horror at his words.

“Yes,” he says. “As does every single mortal, living human. Your disease is humanity, your mortality. You are still tied to the earth, to the passage of time, and it will ultimately kill you. You will still follow the natural order of things. You will still age, you will still die, and you are still a fragile, breakable human, so you must still take care of yourself. Understood?”

I nod, feeling that there is some catch, some detail he’s not letting on

All I know is that he saved me, and for that, I’m grateful. I reach out, placing my hand over his own and the immediate flush of heat that colours my ch*eks causes him to narrow his eyes and immediately withdraw his hand.

“I already told you, silly child,” he says, his voice turning cold and hard, filled with sudden shards of ice. “The healing properties of my life blood are only a temporary fix. You remain a fragile and breakable human. Meaning that you can still be broken… by me.”

I pout, trying to make sense of the contradiction.

“I still don’t get it,” I murmur, more to myself than to Aleksandr. “Basically, what you’re telling me, is that humans can drink vampire blood as some sort of life saving elixir that heals all wounds, without dying and becoming vampires themselves. Right?”

Aleksandr nods, but his gaze looks wary, guarded.

“So, if you… um… somehow accidentally hurt me, can’t you just heal me again, with more of your blood?” I ask hopefully.

23

Chapter 52. Rebirth

“Hah!” He sighs, rising to stand. “If only it were that simple. Feeding a human the blood of an immortal is extremely risky. It could easily have led you. And besides, I paid a heavy price in saving you, a price I would gladly pay over and over again. But one that can only be paid once.”

I’m about to ask him what he means by “a price“, but there’s a sudden commotion outside the door, the sound of an argument and a quick scuffle, followed by the creaking of door hinges and the boom of the heavy wooden door swinging upen with force.

There’s a blast of wonderful fragrance that sends my head spinning, heady and familiar. Wood smoke and moss, pine sap and leather…

Aleksandr moves with superhuman speed, baring his fangs and springing to his feet, taking a defensive position in front of me. But he relaxes moments later, at the sight of Luka, shifted out of his wolf form, bounding into the room.

Luka is dressed in his usual outfit of dark jeans, boots and a dark green shirt, but he’s missing his leather jacket, revealing the sea of black tattoos winding up his bared muscular arms. He looks unshaven, and his long silver hair is slightly unkempt. His eyes have dark circles beneath them, as if he hasn’t slept in days.

He runs up to where I’m sitting up in bed and scoops me up into his arms, burying his face in my hair as he holds me tight.

“Hell yeah!” He says, his silver eyes filled with emotion as he holds me. “I knew you’d make it, Arianna, I could feel you the whole time, through our mate bond.”

There’s a moment of utter silence, and I can practically feel the rooms freeze over. When my eyes find Aleksandr’s, he is looking like he’s holding back a mixture of profound shock, confusion and red hot, furious rage.

“Mate… bond?” He speaks slowly, his words as sharp as blades.

Oh, shit.

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EJ

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