Chapter 3 Drawn To Her

Adele left and Kristof was soon Alone in his room. He had never loathed being alone as much as he did now. He couldn't ignore the scent of Daisy. It loitered on his skin like a particularly stubborn smell of booze. He paced around the room, trying to clear his mind, but questions ran to him in quick succession. Why was a human affecting him so profoundly? What was it about Daisy that drew him in? No answers came. The only thing he received was the memories of her face that kept replaying in his mind. He had been a vampire for centuries, and he had seen countless humans come and go. None of them had ever stirred such emotions within him.

Frustrated, Kristof focused on dressing and unpacking. As he organized his belongings, a faded portrait caught his eye. "Maia," he whispered, his heart aching. A pang of sorrow shot through him as he gazed at her serene face. She had been his everything, his other half. Two hundred years ago, she had been murdered by their vengeful uncle and his wife, leaving him alone and broken. Maia was the only one who had ever made him feel this drawn. She had been his only fated mate ever since too. Memories flooded him: Maia's laughter, her fiery spirit, her ultimate sacrifice. She had died for him. She had been the only one who had ever truly understood him, who had accepted him for who he was. He had never felt so connected to another being, not even his siblings. The way Daisy made him feel now was eerily similar to the way Maia had. But it was impossible, wasn't it? A vampire couldn't be fated to a human.

"It's just nostalgia," he told himself.  It must be. "It's just because I miss you, Maia," he whispered, placing a kiss on the portrait. "I wish you were here." No woman could ever replace Maia's place in his heart. He had one ultimate goal: to bring her back from the Spirit Realm.  But no one needed to know yet. He'd figure it out himself. Two hours passed. It was time to go partake in this meeting with his siblings.  Kristof sighed, bracing himself to endure another few hours of his sibling's relentless bickering. He headed to the fireplace, but as he opened his door, he could sense her... Daisy. What the hell was she doing? Was she standing in front of his room? Her scent was stronger the more he walked closer to the door. He decided to open it, and he was right-she stood before him, about to knock on it. Not now, what was she doing here? The bane of his existence. Their eyes met and hers widened slightly by the force at which he infused in opening the door. She turned to face him, lowering her gaze. "Good evening, Master Kristof," she greeted. Oh, not only did she look innocent, she was polite as well. More reason why he needed to stay the hell away from her. As far as possible. "I know who you are," Kristof replied coldly, his gaze fixed on her. "Don't bother with the formalities." Daisy's smile faltered. "I apologize if I've offended you. I-I just thought that after hitting my head and probably not making the right first impression, I should come to reintroduce myself to you all." She began to twist her hands together sheepishly. "Erh... I wanted to do it personally. You know what? I think I'll just stop talking now." She concluded after glimpsing the scornful look he wore on his face. He didn't mean to be rude. But he couldn't afford to be nice to her.   "You haven't offended me," Kristof said, turning away. "Just stay out of my sight." The awkwardness between them was palpable. Daisy stepped back for him to walk out of the room, her eyes filled with disappointment.  Kristof couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at his harshness, but he pushed it aside. He couldn't allow himself to be drawn in by her. As he joined his siblings by the fireplace, Lyriq greeted him with a grin. "Hey, Kris. Points for me. The maid seems to still be intact." Tristan chimed in, "I believe she has a name, Lyriq. And it's Daisy." Lyriq shrugged. "Who cares?" What was that? Kristof dimmed his eyes. Was Tristan just defensive of Daisy? Now, that was so unlike Tristan. Could it be that this weird powerful force of attraction that he felt toward her, Tristan felt it too? The incessant urge to bare his fangs into her neck, did Tristan have the same? They all knew Tristan only cared about people Tristan cared about. Whoever wasn't in that circle could be damned for all he cared, so if Tristan ever stood up for anyone, be sure to hell that they held a place in his heart. Kristof grunted as he made the deduction. The possibility that Tristan could be bonded to her made Kristof's heart thump in protest. Was that... Jealousy? Hell, no. Adele silenced them with a glare. "Enough. Let's discuss our plan before you guys escalate this into a much bigger argument." Oh, Adele, black wavy hair, long, strong legs, tall, built sexy in a strong kind of way... that was their sister. And oh, well, the beauty. She had a dark gothic beauty which was a contrast to Daisy's pure and unblemished one. Wait a minute, Why the hell was he comparing the maid to their sister? Hell, he needed help. Tristan cleared his throat. "We chose this town for a reason. It's small, and there's a large forest nearby where we can hunt different kinds of animals until the witches get tired of their harmony act." Adele nodded. "We'll go into the woods now and hunt. But remember, we need to stay close together and out of sight." The siblings agreed and as they turned to leave together, something unexpected happened.  Lyriq called out to Daisy. "Hey, Daisy! We're leaving to see an old uncle. Don't worry about us, just make yourself feel at home and be safe, love." What the heck? If anyone would even do that, Lyriq wouldn't be on the list. It was weird that he would care to give Daisy a heads-up. Barely five hours in Winderemere Cove, and barely five hours around Daisy and the DuSang brothers were already depicting strange behaviours. "I thought you said you didn't care about her?" Adele blurted out, turning a curious brow at Lyriq who looked like he had just seen a ghost. The youngest brother shook his head. "I swear, I have no idea why I just said that." "Or maybe you DO care, brother." Tristan grinned from ear to ear, finding pleasure in Lyriq's misery.  Her scent teleported Kristof's senses away from the conversation while his eyes darted their way to find her. And there she was... Daisy appeared in the doorway, latching shyly to it. "Yeah, well... but you... forgot your keys." Keys? What vampires drive a car to hunt for blood in the woods? She has got to be kidding them.