The next few days passed without an event. It was almost as if Viktor had completely disappeared. We didn’t even dine together anymore. My days circled my chamber, and I was getting increasingly anxious about our last conversation. Did I do something wrong?

Eponine didn’t say anything to me during dinner or whenever we crossed paths, but I could tell she knew I had seen them together. She threw me looks that felt like knives and she was even more unpleasant than usual.

Now I understood why she disliked me. I had come to disturb her happy life alone with Viktor. Not like I could blame her. Maybe I would’ve behaved similarly if Viktor was fucking me instead. Our meeting in the library left me completely baffled. Was it possible that Viktor was trying to be kind to me, in a way? Still, how could I love a man like that? Someone who took me as his wife and then left me to rot alone in this gigantic, horrid manor. I wished with all my heart to forget him.

Still, I couldn’t. Every night since I saw him with Eponine, I had fantasised I was the one Viktor was fucking from behind. He would pull my hair and bite my neck with his fearful fangs, drink from me and suck the blood dripping from my nipples. He would part my ass cheeks and plunge his hard dick into my wetness. I would implore him to stop, but he wouldn’t, and then he would slip a finger into my asshole to punish me. And while he licked the blood from my wound and rubbed my clit, he would whisper my name and only mine…

I was masturbating furiously in my chamber, like every other night, when I heard something. Scared, I stopped caressing my folds and looked around. It was too dark to see, but I was sure I heard a thud somewhere in my room.

“Who’s there?” I yelled.

Please, let it be him… I thought.

My pupils adjusted to the dim light, and I saw a figure standing at my bed’s foot. My heart leapt in my chest.

It was Eponine. And she was holding something in her hand.

A shriek escaped my lips. “Eponine, you scared me! What are you doing here?”

There was something about the way she moved that told me she was not in her right mind. She gave a few footsteps towards me and held her hand up.

“You!” she screamed, and her knife’s blade shone in the pale moonlight.

Eponine approached me quickly and swung the blade, aiming at my chest. I moved backwards to avoid the knife, but it nicked my stomach and drew blood.

“Stop!”

I held my hands up to stop her. Still, she didn’t stop. She came at me again and again until my clothes were covered with blood, and I felt all my strength flowing out of my body. She stabbed me once, twice, three times on my shoulders and my right arm.

“Why… Eponine?” I muttered, spitting blood.

I tried to get away from her, only to fall to the floor of my room. Eponine placed her foot on my shoulder to ensure I couldn’t escape. She pressed her instep against the wound in my shoulder to make me suffer and looked down at me with a horrific grin.

“You fucking bitch,” she said, burying her toes into my wound. “You’ve ruined everything since you arrived.”

I shrieked with pain. My vision was starting to get blurry. How much blood had I lost? I knew I didn’t have much longer. I’d bleed to death.

“Since you cried like a baby in the library, he hasn’t touched me again… And that’s your fault. I can tell how he’s always thinking about you! And I can’t allow that, can I?” she said. I saw the evil glint in her eyes, and I had no doubt she wanted me dead.

“Viktor’s mine!” she yelled, and her knife raced towards my belly, the final blow about to sink into my flesh.

Viktor emerged out of nowhere. Suddenly, he was holding Eponine’s hand so that the blade stopped before reaching my stomach. Eponine’s eyes were wide open with pain and surprise, and the knife fell out of her grip.

Viktor looked like a killer. His handsome face was distorted with rage, and his hair was messy and wild. He was only wearing some light pants, and his arms and torso’s muscles, bumped up, throbbed with unfathomable power. He turned Eponine around like she was a doll and held her by the neck with just one hand, lifting her body from the floor as if it was light as a feather. A crack resonated in the chamber. Viktor broke Eponine’s neck with a single twisting motion.

I was horrified by what I’d seen. He was, after all, a beast… Still, at the same time, he had come to save me! Even if it was too late and I was about to die, he didn’t hesitate… He chose me. Even if I feared the monster he was, even if I didn’t know what it all meant, I was grateful that he came, even glad that Eponine was dead.

Either way, I was too weak to express my shock. I could barely see clearly. Life was fading away, and soon I would lose consciousness. Viktor dropped Eponine’s body and rushed to me. When he saw my wounds, a cloud of concern passed through his wonderful blue eyes. Could it be that he was sad? That he would miss me?

He put his arms gently around my body, lifting my face, and peered into my eyes.

“Lucy!” he muttered as he checked my wounds.

My name sounded so sweet on his lips. He was frowning and seemed desperate when he realised the severity of my injuries… Almost at the brink of tears.

He leaned in, and I thought he was about to give me a parting kiss. At least I could have that much. Instead of kissing me, Viktor put his lips on my neck, and his teeth sank into my flesh. Warm blood poured off my wound, and he sucked it. The pain I felt was very similar to pleasure. That was the moment I had been dreaming about for days.

Then, Viktor bit his own wrist, his two long, sharp fangs still dripping with my blood. Dark, dense blood emanated from his wrist, and he approached his open wound to my lips. He pressed his forearm against my face, and sooner than I realised, I was drinking his blood. A surge of power spread through my body, and I regained consciousness. My wounds were closing. I felt invigorated, more alive than ever before. My vision was sharper, and I could hear the starling’s calls in the distance. Viktor was still feeding me, and I could sense his pulse, his heart pumping the blood through his veins. My sense of smell was greater, and I found the mix of Viktor’s sweat and blood too delightful to resist. I drank and drank until I was full.

When I looked up, Viktor was there, his cold blue eyes fixated on me. He showed signs of relief, and I wondered if that other thing that his expression emanated was, perhaps, love. He had killed Eponine for me. And the maid said Viktor hadn’t touched her since I cried in the library. Was it possible? Did Viktor Volkov care about me?

I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled myself up with my renewed energy and kissed him passionately. He was stiff at first, but then he held my nape and kissed me back. With the tip of his tongue, he played around my lips which were still red and wet with blood. I couldn’t describe the rush of excitement I felt from rolling his tongue against mine. It was better than anything I had imagined.