9. Claire
“I trust Sophia hasn’t only subjected you to mischief.” Eric brushed a hand down Claire’s arm and planted a neat kiss on her forehead as they were reunited. They had eventually reconvened outside Sophia’s room, and after a brief chat with his sister, Eric thanked her for keeping Claire safe, and they left to return to his room.
“Quite the contrary.” Claire said. “She gave me a tour of the castle, and we even bathed in the hot springs beneath the castle grounds.”
Eric raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Fancy. I’m glad you had a good time.”
“It was lovely, thank you. How was your business? I know you weren’t looking forward to the meeting.” Claire could sense that Eric had been reluctant about the family ‘business’ that he’d been summoned to earlier that morning.
“It was hard work, but it’s done now. Another family came to us asking for our assistance, I didn’t want to help, but they presented some damning evidence. I’m afraid I have no choice, I will have to help them in a few weeks.”
“Oh - okay.” Claire’s eyes dropped to the ground in sadness.
“I’m sorry.” Eric said, sighing quietly to himself. “I promise it won’t be for long, and we still have time with each other before then. I will make sure Sophia and Veronica keep you safe.”
“But what about the castle, what about the other families, what about…”
“Wraith? He is to come with me. He has a… particular set of skills and they are needed for this task. As for the other families, you have my word that they won’t bother you again.”
They walked in silence for a few moments before Claire broached the subject that had been running through her mind since Sophia had brought it up.
“Sophia mentioned something to me earlier. About Wraith. She said that he hadn’t always been this way.”
Eric pulled Sophia close to him and placed a finger over her lips immediately.
“Quiet.” He looked up and down the corridor. “I know I promised I would talk to you of such things, but now is not the time or place. Come, we’re only a few minutes from my room - we can discuss it there. I promise.”
When they returned to his Eric’s room, he locked the door closed behind them and took a deep breath.
“Come, sit on the bed, I will explain everything.”
Claire did as he asked, watching Eric as he paced back and forth. He brushed his hands through his hair as he walked, as if he were recounting the details of some important story. He looked tense, and agitated.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“No. We do. It’s the Belmont family secret, and you’re one of us now, so it’s important that you know.”
Eric crouched in front of Claire and took her hands in his own.
“You have to pledge to me that you won’t share this information with anyone else however. No one outside the family knows. Only father, Veronica, Sophia and I.”
“I promise you Eric, I swear. What is it?”
“Wraith was normal once upon a time. For the first part of our life while we were growing up, we were inseparable. Back when I was young and wild, we loved to hunt together. I was probably the worst of the two. All was well with life. We had scraps as brothers do, but we were normal, we were happy. As happy as vampires can be anyway.”
“So he was like you are now?”
“Kind of.” Eric said, half turning away before looking back. “You have to understand that I wasn’t always the person you see before you today. Not all vampire are like I am. Hunting brings something out in us. If you do it enough, that other side becomes your permanent face. We become cold, distant, cruel. My sister Veronica, she still has a shred of decency, but a few more decades and she will be wild with cruelty.”
“Okay…”
“I made efforts to change myself, Sophia was born innocent, she was born pure. She never liked to hunt for game. So I changed for her. That creature you met the night I brought you here, that was a mere taste of my old self. You helped break it again, and bring me back to my improved self. Well, the old Wraith was hardly a saint, but he was a damn sight better than he was now.”
“What happened?”
“First of all, you have to understand that there is strange magic in this world. Vampires are but the tip of the iceberg. There are other creatures out there, for more mysterious than I. Wizards, Witches, demons…”
“Demons?”
“Yes.” Eric sunk his head. “And is that very affectation that curses Wraith to this day.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Our old home was in Europe, and we had many happy years there. My mother died under mysterious circumstances - circumstances that are still unclear to this day.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. After her death, a melancholy swept over our family, and a dark energy seemed to take over our house. It went like that for months, until weird things started happening.”
“Weird things? Like what?”
“Strange creatures appeared, strange and dark creatures that were attracted to our melancholy. Demons, you see, they are like magnets. They are drawn to negative energy, and they set upon the house like a flock. It took us some time to realize what was happening, and when we did realize we decided to fight back. Small darkness attracts large darkness, and large darkness attracts death.”
“And then what?”
“We fought back the only way we knew how - with our fists. A local clan of shifter folk had moved in.” Eric paused at the confusion on Claire’s face. “Werewolves for lack of a better word.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“They’re drawn to the energy just as the shadows are, and they had taken residence in our valley. Wraith and I set to work on cleaning the pack out. It was up on the mountain, on the very last night of our mission when it happened. We had found their main hiding spot and we were clearing them out. It was hard work but we succeeded, and I felt a shift in the energy immediately.”
“You had won over the melancholy?”
“Almost, but mother nature doesn’t like to go out with a whimper. She goes out with a bang. The heavens opened up and a storm the likes of which I’ve never seen came down upon the earth. Flashes filled the night air, as lightning struck down a hundred times a minute. Wraith and I were running back to the house for our lives, he was just ahead of me when I saw it happen. There was an almighty bang and the earth exploded underneath him. Next thing I knew, he was face down on the grass, still as death.
“He was hit?”
Eric nodded. “I thought he had died instantly. I picked him up and carried him home and laid him on the table before father. We were planning funeral arrangements when his eyes opened again.”
“So he was alright?”
“Yes and no. He was alive, but he wasn’t Wraith any longer. As it turns out, the storm wasn’t a regular storm, it was a shadow storm, a rare paranormal phenomena - the result of a dark portal opening in the skies above the earth. The flashes that filled the valley, they weren’t forks of lightning. They were the paths of demons trying to get to earth.”
Claire sat wordless, trying to understand the implications of Eric’s story.
“But why did the portal open?”
“To this day we don’t know.” Eric sighed. “They are vary rare and extremely dangerous. It was probably brought about by the final surges of melancholy as we made an effort to fight back against it. We suspect it’s somehow connected to whatever killed my mother in the first place.”
Claire blinked, Eric felt the need to go on.
“When Wraith was hit, his body was taken over by a demon. The morning after the storm, the melancholy had left our house, and father decided we should move back to America. Wraith was never the same. Whatever dark entity had taken over his soul, left him cruel, dark and completely amoral. He’s never been the same since. The demon lies dormant in him, but it taints his very soul. He is Shadow Cursed.”
Silence beat between them, as Claire felt a strange sadness wash over her. The same creature that she had feared, hated, and felt repulsed by, was the same creature that she now felt sorry for.
“In a way it was almost like he sacrificed himself.” Claire said. “To help defeat the dark energy that had taken over your family.”
Eric nodded. “We have looked the world over for some sort of cure, but there is none. There are none others that know of the Belmont family secret, for it could be incredibly dangerous in the arms of others. If other vampire knew that Wraith was really possessed, they could try and harness his power, using the demon within him. No one else knows, not Ezra, not Ira. Only us. You have to keep this with yourself.”
“I will.” Claire gripped her lover’s hand tight. “I promise. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“You deserve to know.” Eric said. “I should have told you sooner when you had your run in with Wraith. There is a reason for his behavior. Maybe we should have killed him a long time ago, but I have never found the strength to do it.”
“Why is this knowledge so dangerous?” Claire asked.
“To be Shadow Cursed… it is a powerful thing. Wraith’s body harbors the raw energy of the demon inside of him. Demons aren’t of this earth, and they can’t live here long without a vessel in which they can hide. Normally it is humans that are Shadow Cursed. It would happen to sailors out at sea back in the past. The men would go wild with the power and kill everyone on board. Their own strength was amplified by the power of the demon inside of them.”
“But a Shadow Cursed vampire…” Claire muttered, half speaking to herself.
“Exactly.” Eric said. “The power of a vampire is already multitudes stronger than that of a man. I’ve seen rare glimpses of the demonic power that Wraith possesses. But when I see it… my god.” Eric’s eyes glazed over. “I’ve never seen power like it before. If Wraith knew what he was capable of, if he only knew the strength that lay inside of him…”
“You mean he doesn’t know?!”
Eric shook his head. “At least… I don’t think. We’ve only seen it once or twice, and when he comes back, he seems to have no memory. One thing is clear, one day the demon will wake up for good.”
“And then what?” Claire said, almost hanging off the edge of her seat. “What will happen?”
“I don’t know.” Eric answered honestly. “But I don’t want to be around to find out.”
*
Claire and Eric quickly fell back into their old routine. Once they were reunited, they didn’t part for several days. Day melded into night, and night faded into day, blurring together in an obscure stretch of time that seemed to ebb in both directions. They remained in Eric’s room, with the blinds kept shut, and the door bolted shut. The only disturbance came once in the morning and once at night, to deliver food for Claire and chilled vials of blood for Eric.
“I’ve missed you.” Claire gasped as his warm and full lips traced down her neck and into the line of her cleavage. Eric growled back in response while biting her flesh softly.
“I can tell.” He purred, squeezing her breast in his hand while he sucked at her nipples with his lips. Claire sank her fingers into the thick brown hair on his head, pulling him tight as his lips left sparks on her body. He rolled his hips against her as he said the taunting words, pressing the outline of his long cock against her warm and wet hollow.
They were naked minutes later, and he had carried her across to the bed. He lay her down gently at first, as if she were some delicate flower. Then when he had crawled onto the bed after her, he pulled and twisted her body around like a feral caveman, moving her into new positions as their bodies moved together in ever changing combinations. She loved it most when his hands would sink around her waist and pull her down the mattress to meet him, or when he’d place his palms on the insides of her thighs and push them apart with gentle force. Everything he did ignited fire inside her, making her body tingle with need for him.
She begged for him to take her fully, daily, yet he resisted. Claire often entertained the idea of throwing some sort of petulant fit, and thought about withholding sex from him altogether until he’d give her what she wanted, but she knew herself she wouldn’t be able to follow such torture.
They did just about everything else however, and she grew to love the sensation of his cock pulsing in and out of her ass, almost longing after it with a fevered addiction. They fucked until they both reached aching climaxes, pulled away to rest and kiss each other tenderly, and then they’d come together again, fucking in a whole new position, finding parts of each other’s body that were new and exciting.
She would straddle him, holding his thick shaft tight in her small hand as she sank down onto him, gasping as she felt the meat of his steel cleaving her tight hole in two. It gave her great pleasure in watching his face writhe and twist in ecstasy underneath her as she would roll her hips gently, sliding up and down his shaft until he could take no more.
It would be at that point that he’d fling his hands around her waist and take control of the pace, holding her still while his cock thundered in and out of her. Claire would steel one hand against her breasts and the other against her pussy, rolling her head back as she squatted over him still, her body quaking in pleasure from orgasm after orgasm.
Then there were the times when he’d be on top, his large barbarian hands around her calves, pushing them back and holding them still while he thrust inside of her long and slow. She would bite her lip, close her eyes and roll them around her skull while his hands played with her clit. He would go slow, fast, gentle, hard - always changing and always keeping her guessing until another orgasm would surely come.
And of course, there was when he was behind her, either laying together on their sides, his hand smoothing over her bulbous hips while his cock slid into her gently, or on their knees, with her whole body lurching back at every thrust, aching for him to be as deep as possible.
There were all these positions and more, as they explored one another’s bodies and brought them together in a cacophony of positions, finding new ways to bring each other pleasure all the time, cresting together in a heaping pile of sweat and love until they could take it no more. Some hours he’d simply hold one hand flat against the flesh of her sex whilst his tongue worked miracles on her, flitting in small circles or long arching strokes, building up pressure inside of her until she’d come, screaming into the quiet of the night.
They bathed together, lathering every inch of each other’s bodies completely, then rinsing it back off again with water, drying each other off then moving back to the bed and doing it all over again, until they were laying in the dark spent with their chests heaving once more.
Sometimes she’d wake him up with her mouth around his cock, sucking at him gently and slowly, until his tip would burst in an eruption of sweet salt, filling her mouth with his delicious seed.
She loved teasing him, just as much as he loved teasing her. Each session blurred into another, an orgasmic journey of bliss that never ended or began. Moments between being with Eric were simply brief reprieves from the never ending torrent of their love. Each time they’d come back together with their hunger renewed a new.
Claire had anticipated that it was just puppy love, just some mild infatuation that would cease as their time together grew longer. She suspected the desire to have him inside of her constantly would subside. If anything, the desire only heightened, and she sensed it was the same with him too. Words soon became an encumbrance, and they communicated everything they had to say with their eyes. He would stare at her with lust laden ferocity, his ruby red eyes speaking orders to her.
Open your legs - or - lift your dress up - or - fuck me, now.
They developed a wordless language with each other, and they both seemed to understand it without difficulty.
Their time together was finally broken when Eric was called to the other side of the castle on family business. He had only been gone a few hours, but when he finally returned they were on each other like lovers that had been separated for months. While Eric had been gone, Claire had put on a long floral dress, and twisted her hair into braids. Upon his return, his eyes sparkled with need.
“Oh my goodness - Claire.” Eric locked the bolt in his bedroom door and turned to face his lover. With three quick strides he was across the room with his arms around her, his lips crushing against hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth. Claire hummed in pleasure as he squeezed her in his hands, opening her legs and allowing her body to melt into his. She felt her self go wet instantly at his touch, her panties becoming soaked as he turned her around slowly.
“I missed you so much.” She whispered in the dim room, placing her hands on the dresser.
His hands gathered gentle bunches of her dress and he pulled it up slowly. Her breath shuddered as she felt the hem trace over her knees and up the outside of her thigh, until he had lifted it over her hips. His palms smoothed up and down the outsides of her creamy thighs, then he turned them in and moved up the inside, until he was cupping the damp patch of fabric between her legs. He pressed gently, sinking a fingertip into the wide line of her cunt. A second later his thumbs were hooked into the waistband of her white cotton panties, rolling them down onto the floor, leaving them twisted around her knees. Then his hands were back at her pussy, kneading her button with one hand while the other traced delicate circles up and down her tight slit.
Claire’s breath leapt from her mouth in a series of protracted groans, shaking and panting as his fingers made her cum once more. She came hard, bending down until she was bent over the dresser. Her pussy quivered in need, while her cream dripped from her lips and down the insides of her thighs. Eric pulsed two fingers in and out of her gently, drawing them up her line until he found her ass. She closed her eyes and gasped silently as he entered her there too.
She heard the sound of his other hand sliding up and down his shaft, spreading her juices over him. Her skin tingled with the strange yet familiar fire that now burned across it dimly on a daily basis. The heat had grown with each of their meetings, turning up it’s intensity at every encounter, always remaining in the background, becoming stronger and more irresistible everyday, never receding, never cooling. She groaned as the dull ache whispered over her skin, her mind screaming for his cock to be inside of her pussy, her heart yearning to feel his juices spilling into the last part of her that was a virgin to him.
Heat from the round tip of his erection flared against her ass as he pushed tight against her. She smiled as she heard him breathing in excitement, his hands sinking into her flesh as he pushed inside of her.
“Yes baby…” She moaned to him. “Fill me again. Fuck me again. Take me master, take me.”
Her words spurred him on, and she cried in pleasure as the thick oak of his cock buried all the way inside of her. She bobbed her hips back and forth with a teasing rhythm that was familiar to her now. He gave her a slight spank, gliding in and out of her with ease, his base thumping gently against her ass and throbbing pussy with each slow thrust.
Within minutes their rhythm and pleasure had crested together once more. A babble of joyous groans leapt from Claire’s lips as Eric rolled his hips in and out of her, squeezing his hands into her body as he fucked her from behind.
It was then, that something new happened, something entirely unexpected. Three words leapt from Claire’s mouth in the heat of the moment. She had no idea why she said them, but she said them nonetheless.
“I love you.” She gasped. “I love you Eric. I love you, I love you, I love you.”
He didn’t stop, and he didn’t slow. There was only silence for a second, but to her it felt like a passing eternity. He replied instantly, his voice lined the tone of proud possession.
“I love you too.” He groaned, rolling his body against hers as they shared the moment for the first time. “Now and forever.”
She dropped her head back, half turned and found his lips, crushing against them until she had no breath left to give. He came hard inside of her, holding himself tight against her as he erupted, his cock flooding her body with half a dozen strings of his thick and molten love.
The sensation spurred her fire to new heights, and Claire crowed her joy across the dark room as the orgasm took over her body. He held himself against her until he was done, their lips rolling together in a passion of fire and fury.
Finally, he pulled out of her, and they fell onto the bed in a breathless pile, his arms circled around her, protecting her, holding her, nourishing her.
It took energy from Claire being with Eric, and it had taken her some time to tolerate the extreme physical demand that being with a vampire required. As they lay there in the dark panting, she held her heavy eyes open for as long as possible, staring at her lover beneath the lids of her lust filled eyes.
“It’s burning now.” She said. “More than ever. I tried to keep the fire down but I can’t keep it down anymore. When I wake I’ll need you. I’m ready for you Eric. I’m ready.”
She saw a spark in his eyes, a spark that sang acknowledgment and eager curiosity.
“I could sense it in you.” He said calmly. “I’ve been able to sense it for some time now. When you wake you’ll be in a frenzy, and there will be nothing you can do to stop yourself. There’s not much sense in asking, you will be in control when you wake.”
Claire laughed to herself as she felt the heavy sleep tugging at the last strings of her consciousness. “I thought you were the one in control? I thought I was merely the vessel that contained your lust?”
“We’re both in control.” He smiled, kissed her and twisted her lower lip gently between his teeth while his palms squeezed a handful of her ass. “But when you wake it will be completely different. Rest now, for you will need it. When you wake the burning will be unbearable, but fear not, for I will be there to answer the cry of your desire.”
“You promise?” Heat flared across her skin and Claire let out a cry of pain, feeling the last waking sensation of her full frenzy.
“I promise.” He said. “I promise.”