Chapter Text
Life could always be worse. At least, that's what Ele tells herself as she scrubs blood off stone. Aleksandr’s sons were so messy, but in all honesty as long as it wasnt her blood on the floor, heads wouldn’t roll. Eleonora’s life at the orphanage had been hell and she’d seen worse things there than what the three men got up to on a day to day basis. She had been ostracized; Slightly larger than the other children, quiet spoken, and then there was the question of her ‘ability’ that made her quite the outcast in a home of undesirables. Even after turning 18, there were no prospects for her so she remained to try and care for the young children she came to care for as best she could.
As the memories flitted through Ele’s mind, she couldn’t help but smirk as her fingers dug into the wooden scrub brush in her hands. The strong urge to die had never resided in her head, but when she had come face to face with the Vampire Lord himself in the woods one night, she hadn’t run. If anything Ele was rather calm considering what stood before her. Soft waves of light emitted off of her skin naturally in the darkness, illuminating the forest in a tight ring around where she stood. A ring which he had avoided very carefully. There had never been a reason to try and suppress it before then so she thought nothing of it. But as she’d taken a step toward the beastial man out of morbid curiosity, he’d snarled and recoiled from her. He told her through gritted teeth that her light was the only reason she still lived, that it harmed him considerably. The very obvious threat ignored, she had immediately apologized for his discomfort and turned off her ability. While her eyes could no longer register his features clearly (Which no doubt had the purest form of shock scrawled across that rather handsome face), his glowing yellow eyes narrowed as he stared her down. An awkward silence followed before the man finally grumbled out a quiet, “You’re insane…” Instead of ripping her throat out, his words revealed his abnormal interest in the small woman before him and more often than not, Ele would see him prowling the forests near her ‘home’ after dark fell in the weeks that followed.
Maybe he hadn’t intended to bring Ele back to his castle, but time waits for no one and fate had made the decision for him. The first sign that something was wrong came in the form of acrid smoke tainting the air wafting between the trees. It lazily drifted through an orangish light that became more intense the closer he drew to the place where she resided. The ‘caretakers’ had begun purging their charges, fed up with the stress or just wanting a change in career, she’d never know. If only she had been quicker, maybe Ele could have done something, anything, to keep those innocent lives safe. But she was only human, and being the only survivor, she had made sure the deaths of the ones responsible were far from quick. Only after every last one of them was gone did she light a torch and set her prison ablaze..
Aleksandr Dimitrescu, the nocturnal Lord of this land, arrived to find her kneeling just beyond the scorching flames, covered in ash, and staring blankly off into the distance. Never before had he beheld such a beautiful sight; The young woman that had become the subject of his every waking thought drenched in the blood of her abusers (Though he would never admit to it aloud). Ele had asked him to kill her and he had refused, rather quickly actually. It was funny, really. To say Lord Dimitrescu had become possessive was a bit of an understatement. While his sons had protested her arrival, eventually they came to accept her as something more than just his newest plaything. Especially after a certain incident involving a rose bush and Daniel. Belas and Cassander had learned the same lesson as their brother: Do NOT touch what belonged to their father . Snapping her mind away from that particular memory, Ele dumped the bloodied water into the trench that watered the rose bushes just outside. The humid night air, tinged with the scent of lavender and rose, called to her. Maybe a small walk to take in some fresh air would do her good.
The roses were a perfect reflection of the nature belonging to those living in the estate behind her. Petals the shade of garnets bloomed, soaking up the starlight as they swayed gently in the night breeze. Sure, the Castle Dimitrescu exuded darkness, blood oozed from the foundation, and it’s inhabitants * might * be a tad more prickly than was considered normal, but it had become her home. Life here was addicting. Assured safety and a family, dysfunctional though it was, had Ele accepting every dark and twisted thing that happened within these walls. Although… there were certain things she had yet to give into. One in particular, to be exact.
Speaking of the literal devil, her rumination had seemed to summon Aleksandr to her side. The man was vicious, but there was a class to him that masked much of the sadistic tendencies he harbored. It was a miracle to a normal human like her, that his large clawed hands were only ever gentle. The way he seemed to materialize out of thin air was something she had yet to grow used to and his touch caused her to jerk so violently, she’d almost fallen off of the stone bench she rested on. Almost, only because she found her back pressed flush against his broad chest. It was silly of her, to even think he would let her touch the ground. “Good evening, Eleonora.”
Once her heart rate calmed and her gasping leveled out, she tilted her head up to look up into his piercing yellow eyes. His appearance had changed over the course of her time here. Long hair had been replaced with something shorter and much more dapper. Small curls framed the sides of his pointed ears, tempting her to reach up and play with them. No! Nope, don’t do that! Ele had made that mistake once, not even thinking about it as she was invited to admire his new look. At her touch, Lord Dimitrescu very nearly started something she was most definitely not ready for. The growl and feral look in his eyes haunted her dreams nearly every night.
“Aleksandr! You scared the shit out of me!” Her hand came to rest gently on the arm that had banded around her waist. “Did your hunting trip go well?”
“Of course, darling. They always do.” Depositing Ele gently back on the bench, her lord came to sit beside her. His confidence was sexy as hell, and the only way someone might guess at the nature of these hunting trips was the few small drops of blood that marred the collar of his striped dress shirt. It was… strange… being so attracted to such a monster. Was it his size? He was a smidge taller than a solid 8 feet, and she only came just to his elbow. It was hard to reign in all of the filthy thoughts that accompanied his flirting and heated looks. Was it the smoke in his voice? It was smoother than whisky but held a foreign edge that cut her near to the bone every time he spoke into her ear like he was doing right now; Low, slow, and full of promise that rolled off his tongue like thick honey. Was it the way he exudes sexual temptation? The raw image of his fangs scraping along the column of her throat while his fingers painted bruises over her entire body had Ele’s fingers thrusting into her core nearly every night while she lounged alone in her room. Maybe it was the danger that he wore like a second skin, that he wielded like a finely tuned instrument of war. Maybe it was the knowledge that if she just gave into him, allowed him to act on the promises he’d give her every night before bed, that weapon would be hers as she ascended to become queen of his castle.
But just like always, those questions were interrupted by the words that Daniel had said that night. She’d been ready to accept Aleksandr’s proposal, but when his son had her pinned to the ground, fangs barely an inch from her carotid, he pointed out that his father had lived for a hundred years. She was not the first and she would never be the last. Granted, that encounter had ended in Daniel nearly dying and Aleksandr holding her close, covered in his son’s blood as he’d snarled at the young man’s half dead, crumpled form. Any bruises she’d sustained had disappeared in a matter of days, but those words blackened every step she took, every beat of her heart in the months since.
The brush of his lips against her neck, his nose tracing the soft skin between her ear and jaw ripped her away from her doubts completely. “Eleonora… You know I have all the time in the world, but you tempt me in ways I cannot put into words.” She squeaked in surprise as the world around her spun suddenly, his hands pulling her onto his lap before she could protest. “Give yourself to me, and I will give you the world.” His eyes were hypnotic as his hand held her chin in place, making it impossible to look away. Sinful… it was sinful, the way her morals flew out the window at his request.
’ Stay strong Stay Strong STAY STRONGSTAYST -’ What defenses Ele had cobbled together were shattered as soon as his lips brushed against hers. The first kiss was softer than the beat of a butterfly’s wing. The second was a tentative dance full of questions and permission given. The third was pure fire. It consumed, burned her alive from the inside out, destroyed her just as it gave her life. The groan he released into her mouth she swallowed like ambrosia. It reverberated through his chest and shook her resolve until it was in shambles.
“I don’t want the world, Aleksandr. I just want you. Please.” Before her plea could fully leave her mouth, she was scooped up into his arms and they were literally flying through the castle. Ele didn’t have time to be disoriented by the speed they traveled. Lips, tongue, teeth, and hands were everywhere and she couldn’t keep up with the sensory input that was threatening to drive her insane.
“And have me, you shall.” How had she gotten on his bed? When had he crawled over her, one hand sliding up beneath her skirt, tracing the skin of her thigh as the other kept him propped up above her? His eyes flicked over her face and smiled at the sight of her beneath him, her ruin just beginning to creep into the fine details. Her hair was ruffled from the way his fingers had plundered the soft locks, her lips were red and swollen from the ferocity of his kisses, and the smallest trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. Hmm… he must have broken skin at some point. But her eyes, blown out and dark from lust, told him she didn’t care. “I… don’t want to harm you, but I don’t know if I can restrain myself from destroying you.”
Her head shook from side to side, hands finding purchase in his shirt as she pulled herself up to claim his lips once more. The hand that had been intent on continuing up her skirt flew up to support her back, holding her close as she took as much as she gave. “I don’t care. If I’m going to be destroyed in the end, I want every bit of what you can give me. I want all of you, Alek.”