Be Careful When You Bite Me
Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I was too caught up in my own thoughts to even remember that I had to be at the ritual. Still curious as to why Damon had lied to me, I forced myself a reminder that I did not care and averted my focus back to getting to that ritual and getting the hell out of this place.

But where do I go?

I watched as a guard dressed in heavy armor passed by and debated asking him but before I got the chance to utter a word, I heard the big metal doors unveil behind me and out stepped Damon. He grabbed my arm and turned me around. He took a couple seconds to look me up and down, his face scrunching up in an expression I can only describe as curious or maybe taken back. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment and was suddenly very aware of how little fabric was covering my skin. I watched his eyes linger on my exposed neck, observing the bite Isabelle had given me.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay in your room?" he finally spoke, balmier than I was used to.

I yanked my bare arm from his grip and retorted,"I didn't know where to go, for the ritual."

He swallowed as if his throat had suddenly gone dry," I see Meredith has gotten to you." I simply nodded.

"Come with me."

Without giving me a second to respond, I silently obeyed. We walked for what felt like a couple minutes and I realized every step I took felt as if something in my stomach was dropping lower and lower. The thought of getting out of here and back to my normal life has distracted me from asking certain questions.

What exactly are they going to do to me? Will it hurt?

We finally reached a pair of large stone doors that opened up on their own to reveal a garden. I had to refrain from gasping loudly at the sight. I'm not sure if it was the feeling of not having been outside for almost 24 hours or if it was the beauty of the garden or a combination of the both that left me simply astounded. A cobblestone pathway stationed between acres of grass led the way towards a pavement opening where a large fountain was the main attraction. Large, perfectly rounded green bushes lined the football stadium-sized garden. Sculptures stood proudly and the perfectly kept pool made me wonder if vampires enjoyed swimming. The full moon shone so brightly I would have mistaken it for daylight had I not known the time. Damon led me down the pathway towards the fountain where his parents; the King and Queen stood waiting for us. I wondered how they had gotten here before us but shrugged the thought as there were more important things to think about.

It was the Queen who broke the silence," I see that you came fully prepared."

I looked down at my dress when I realized it's what she was referring to and nodded," Yes, I am."

"Did you know white silk is traditional when performing a ritual involving a foreign human?"

"N-no," I stuttered. She must be talking about the villagers. The Queen smiled briefly," It's for good luck."

I almost wanted to chuckle or let out a snort but refrained.

I had to be the unluckiest person on the planet.

"Guards," ordered the King and as if on cue, the metal gates stationed between two bushes opened up from behind people began to bombard inside the garden.

Some cheered and some snarled, regardless it was quite clear they were not human. I was suddenly engulfed with the feeling of claustrophobia and glanced at Damon as if for reassurance but his focus was on the crowd of vampires.

My eyes drifted to the guards who began to line the perimeters and it was only a couple of minutes later that we had gone from just four to over 50 people. Joining them last, and standing the furthest from the crowd, stood Seth, Isabelle, and Damon's older brother.

"Quiet!" yelled the Queen. Immediately, everyone fell into a silence, their hungry gazes stationed on me.

I couldn't help but swallow back in an attempt to drown my fear and moisten my dry throat.

"As I am sure you have all heard by now, we have an unexpected...visitor here at the castle," the Queens turned her gaze towards me and back towards the crowd. I couldn't help but swoon over how beautiful she looked in her long-sleeved midnight blue skin-tight gown, her blond hair moving as if in sync with the wind," Tonight, we are going to attempt something that has not been done in over a decade, we will perform the Ritual of Obliteration."

"I say we breed her, turn her into a villager."

"She does not need to be a native to be turned into food."

"A human, whether foreign or not, loses all rights when stepping foot into the castle, she should be handed over to beget."

The crowd began to speak over each other, every single one of them being completely against the idea of setting me free. The hairs on my skin all lifted and I couldn't help but shiver. It was suddenly cold, almost unbearably so and part of me wished that Damon would at least look at me. Was I expecting reassurance from him? Maybe, he had saved that poor man after all. Part of me wished he would defer the angry and heartless act for later and spare me some comfort but I knew I was in over my head. I was in this completely and utterly alone and it scared me beyond imagination to know that.

"To breed a human whose blood does not come from a line of natives would be committing a transgression," the King's deep and authoritative voice managed to quiet down the crowd," The main reason we have been able to live amongst their world without war or fear of being exposed is by feeding off those who belong to the Cold Ones. This foreigner is going to be returning back to where she came from with absolutely no memory of having ever come into contact with The Underworld."

"Assuming the ritual works," a tall, thin natural redhead stepped forward for the crowd of vampires and I was almost in awe at her beauty," Assuming that our blood won't kill her and assuming that we have enough Cold Ones here-"

"Do not forget we have our best ally here tonight," the Queen's soft-spoken voice was almost melodic," when combined with the full moon, the power of our blood is stronger."

"We need a witch-" the redheaded woman began, only to be cut off by the King.

"We need each other."

The King glanced back and ushered his hands towards a guard who presented the crowd with a goblet. Had I not been so scared I would have humored myself with the cliche.

The goblet was silver and engraved with writing in a language I did not recognize. From a distance, I saw little gems glisten on the edges.

"I have the goblet of Obliteration of Memory here, as you all already know, a drop of Cold One's blood powers the stone combined with the Full Moon, the potion will be at full power tonight."

I watched in shock as the audience lifted their fingers and scratched a cut down their forearm. The guard holding the goblet presented it to every vampire. My face scrunched up in horror and my stomach twisted with the fear of what's about to come next. I watched as each person trickled a drop of their own blood into the goblet before passing it to the other.

It felt like seconds before the goblet was at the hands of the King and Queen who mirrored the actions of the crowd before handing the goblet towards the last person left; Damon.

He grabbed the cup from the hands of his father and looked down at this fresh cut before glancing back at me with a look I had not seen before.

"The venom," I breathed towards him, almost struggling to form the words," won't the venom shift me or-or kill me, or-"

I got the idea that I would have to drink this vampire blood-infused magic memory-erasing cup but wouldn't the venom poison me as Isabelle's did?

"Our blood does not have venom," Damon replied, "Venom comes from our fangs." He held out his arm and trickled a drop of his blood into the goblet before taking a step towards me and presented it to me.

I stared down at the crimson liquid that made up a quarter of the cup and stared back up at Damon.

Take it, his eyes said, drink it, now.

I grabbed the content from Damon's hands and turned towards the King and Queen and nervously, I asked," and if it doesn't work?"

"Then you'll come home with me," I turned my gaze to the redheaded women who stared at me with a smirk," Now drink the blood, human."

I took a deep breath and brought the goblet closer to my lips. Questions raced my mind and I wondered again, how much would I forget. I switched my gaze towards Damon's whose eyes were locked with mine. I felt a cold breeze on my skin. The slit of the dress at my thigh crept to the side exposing enough of my skin to make me shiver again. Without a second thought, I brought the goblet to my lips and drank. The warm rich liquid was almost pleasant and I felt myself swallow as opposed to ordering my body to do so. When the goblet was empty, I breathed out, my eyes still caught with Damon's. I wondered if I had gone deaf or if everything was suddenly silent. The wind brushed harder and my hair stirred in my face. Damon's curious gaze studied my eyes and it suddenly felt as if it was just us two.

I breathed out again, this time the feeling of something sharp-lined the bottom of my throat. My bones suddenly felt limp and my vision began to blur.

This is it. I wonder if I will remember you.

I felt my legs give out from under me and let myself fall helplessly but I never felt the hard painful ground. I felt sudden arms wrap around my waist catching me midfall. Golden eyes snuck into my failing vision and it must have been a second after that I slipped completely out of consciousness.

I was woken up by the bright sun emitting from the windows. I stirred in bed and was suddenly hit with the severe pain of my migraine. I gripped my head with both hands as if to keep it from breaking into two. Panic rose up in my throat and I looked around in terror to realize that I was still in the castle. I looked down to realize that someone had stripped me of the white dress and replaced it with my previous outfit.

No. No, this can't be happening, I was supposed to be gone!

I darted out of bed and made a run for it towards the doors but to my surprise, they were locked. I hit the doors and screamed out,'' Hello!?"

When I didn't get a response, I went to the dresser and saw another letter. I pulled the string from underneath the cloth to reveal a piece of paper.

Dear Holly,

As you may know by now, the ritual failed and you woke up minutes later in the garden, fully aware. We had given you a sleeping potion to cleanse you of the blood. We have sent out word to the rest of The Underworld in hopes of finding a witch. For now, another telephone call is available for you to make.

The King and Queen

I gripped the cellphone on the dresser and hurriedly punched in my mother's number. Hot tears streamed down my face and I felt the sudden urge to scream out loud. I heard the line ring on the other end before my mother's soft and familiar voice spoke," Hello."

I couldn't speak. I didn't know what to say. I was never good at lying to begin with but this...this was impossible.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" My mom was still on the other end. It almost hurt to hear her voice again.

I felt my body shake with silent sobbing and brought the phone down from my face.

"Hello, Holly?" I heard my mom's voice a mere whisper now and hung up the phone.

I fell to the ground and brought my knees down to my chest, and for the first time since I had gotten here, I let myself sob. I didn't care that my puddles of tears soaked my shirt and I cried and cried about all the horrible things that life has handed me recently.

Minutes or maybe hours passed but I had lost track of time and my tears were running dry.

The door rumbled and in walked a maid placing a tray of food on the dresser, not once acknowledging my presence before exiting the room.

I decided to see if my legs still worked and to my relief; they did. I walked over to the tray and unveiled another sandwich, an apple, and a glass of water. Hardly tasting anything, I fed myself, almost disgusted by the mere sight of the food. I glanced towards the doors.

Wait, did she lock the door?

I ran over to the double doors whom to my surprise were left unlocked.

I headed through a dark hallway that led to a set of stairs. Desperately, I searched for an exit or an escape. I went down the stairs and heard faint voices. I tiptoed some more and realized it was Damon's voice.

"Father gave me a new punishment, therefore I must leave," he said almost nervously. I peeked inside the doorway from which his voice was coming from and distinguished it as the kitchen.

I wondered if vampires need a kitchen or were it merely the construction.

"When do you have to leave?" asked a soft seductive voice. I stood on my toes and peeked further to see him standing with his back facing me, with Isabelle.

"T-tonight I guess," Damon stuttered.

"There has to be a way," her big eyes almost pleaded Damon," You have to talk to him again."

I wondered where Damon was going. I had remembered that he had to keep watch of the dungeon but for some reason, I had thought that it would be at the castle, perhaps the basement.

"I deserve this," said Damon weakly," I have no choice but to fix this."

"You can ask for a lesser punishment, you can watch the dungeon some more, I'll be there, or you can-"

"I can't challenge my father."

Isabelle placed her hands on his chest,"You do not have any potential to be King if you cannot challenge your father on this."

"Isabelle-" I watched as Damon softly and slowly took her hands into his," We can't."

I began to wonder if what I had seen the other day with her and Seth had been a fragment of my imagination. Isabelle leaned forward and planted her lips on Damon's. At the sudden movement, I jumped back and stirred the curtains. They both quickly turned to my direction but I was already gone heading back up the stairs.

When I heard his footsteps hot on my trail, I ran faster through the maze-like hallways, hoping he wouldn't catch me. It didn't take long before I felt Damon's hand wrapped around my arm and pull me back and against the wall. I flinched at the impact and struggled to breathe at how close he had his face to mine.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed out loud but I wasn't yet ready to form words. I was still held captive by the shock that was his eyes. Instead, I stared at him, my lips slightly parted, trying to pace my breathing.

This time he spoke through gritted teeth," Answer me."

"W-why did you save the guy?" The words surprised me more after exiting my lips and I realized my body had done that without my command.

"What?" Damon spat out the word and loosened his grip on me," What are you talking about."

"I know," I whispered," That you saved that man, and now you're leaving because the King has punished you, I just want to know why."

Damon's fists made an impact with the wall, millimeters away from my face and I couldn't help but let out a soft whimper. I heard the shreddings from the wall hit the ground and pressed my back deeper into it. Seconds passed by with nothing but silence until his facial expression changed. He now stared at me with an evil smile and said," You're coming with me."

"What do y-you mean?" I stuttered.

"I-I won't tell anybody, what I saw," I stuttered," I'll forget that I saw you and Isabelle-"

He seemed to have trouble controlling his anger and I shrunk down, fearing what's coming next. All of the sudden, Isabelle appeared at the end of the hallway and with a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.

"You found it."

"She was lost," he turned away to face her," She was just leaving."

He turned his face to mine as if to tell me to leave. I didn't wait another second before rushing out of there and back down the halls.

I wondered what he meant by coming with him.

Where would we go? I'm sure anywhere is better than here.

I reached the doors to my room and to my surprise, there stood Damon's oldest brother as if waiting for me. For a second I wondered if I was in the right room.

At the look of shock that crossed my face, he smirked," Come in, it is your room."

I walked in, leaving the door slightly open behind me. Not that it mattered. If he was anything like Damon, I wouldn't have time to breathe let alone run out if he tried to kill me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Shut the door," he demanded.

"W-Why?" I asked, trying to sound calm.

"Shut the door," he repeated," I'm not going to hurt you."

I hesitated for a second before shutting the door behind me.

"What do you want?" I repeated.

He reached up to push his hair back and I tried to not focus on how handsome he was. He took a couple of steps closer to me until he was merely a foot away.

"I'm Xavier, you must be Holly."

I merely nodded.

"So you are the foreigner everyone's been talking about," he said. I remained silent, wondering where he was going with this,

"I have never tasted...foreign blood," his eyes bore into mines and his words gave me the chills instantly.

"I don't understand," but part of me already knew where this was headed.

He trailed his cold fingers down my jaw before resting them on the bite on my neck," I have never tasted blood that doesn't come from a villager or a blood bag, but clearly someone else has," his eyes were almost accusing.

I felt the words stuck at my throat and remained silent. He drew his face closer to mine, his fingers still on my skin," I have a proposition for you."

I didn't say anything.

"By the law of The Underworld, a Cold One must never feed off a human who does not come from a breed of natives."

"What are natives?" I managed a whisper. I already knew the answer but part of me needed to confirm the horror that is this new reality.

"Natives are humans that we breed to live in the village outside the castle. They don't know life outside the village and spend their entire life serving the Cold Ones, as you can imagine, there isn't much excitement in that."

I swallowed trying to moisten my dry throat and asked," What do you want from me?"

"As per your situation, I felt inclined to let you know that I happen to know a witch."

My eyes widened," C-can she help me?"

"Of course she can," his fingers went up to trace the shape of my lips leaving me breathless," but nothing comes for free."

"What do you want from me," I repeated.

"The law however, does not say anything about a foreigner giving their blood to me willingly."

I looked at him in terror and quickly realized that between his brothers, he was the most frightening.

"If I let you bite me, you will help."

He nodded, his eyes fixated on my neck," Yes."

"And if I don't? If I wait on the King and the Queen-"

"The witches don't owe us any favors. For one to donate the kind of energy it would take to summon a spell as strong as erasing days worth of memories from a human would be close to impossible."

"But the Queen said-"

"My mother will say anything to be reassuring," he cut me off. I shook my head in disbelief, unable to process anything he was saying to me," I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself," he stepped away and headed for the door but not before turning around and asking," have you heard of the dungeon."

Nervously, I nodded.

"What do you think happens to foreigners whom we cannot find a witch for?" he began his stride back to the door.

"Wait!"

He paused before turning back and the look on his mind made me hesitant.

"If I let you do this," I began," If I let you bite me-, the venom."

"Come on now," within half a second he was at my face again, fingers trailing down my lips," I wouldn't leave any, I'm not an amateur."

"Why would the witch help me, why would she do you any favors."

His eyes darkened the slightest and he said,"She does anything if I ask."

Confused, I decided not to press, instead, I said," Okay."

His eyes lit up in excitement, "Okay?"

I nodded, my gaze falling down to the floor.

Was this the right decision? Am I making a mistake? He's playing me.

I shrugged the thoughts of fear away and decided that I was desperate enough to do this. He moved my hair and tilted my head to the side away from him, revealing access to my neck. His lips neared and I could feel his fangs extending and rubbing my skin gently.

"You smell good," he moaned against my skin. I felt new shivers line every part of my skin.

I shut my eyes tight and dug my fingernails into my palms. I felt the slight sting of his fangs enter my neck and it wasn't long before my vision began to blur. He sucked on my skin soft enough to ease the burning sensation of his teeth. I got lost in the feeling of being drained and soon enough the bite became almost pleasurable. I let out a sigh that was almost half moan and felt my knees weakening. Almost like he read my mind, Xavier's hand's grabbed my hips at either side tightly holding me up, sinking even deeper into my neck. His fingers trailed down the side of my body and I shivered in delight.

I could feel his lips on my neck, lifting in a smile. His tongue traced a pattern on my skin and I let out a soft moan. He pulled his fangs out and began to trail a line of kisses down my neck that sent me into a frenzy. I wanted to both escape his embrace and melt into his arms.

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