Love at first Bite

Four

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Copyright © 2022 Cassey9

Hazel P.O.V

Waking up in an unfamiliar place and a burly man hovering above me had me freezing in panic before my survival instincts kicked in. My slap had landed square on his face and as he reeled in surprise I took the advantage, getting as further away from him as I could. My immediate thoughts went to the men who’d kidnapped my boyfriend and me. I tried getting away but the mountain of pillows cushioning the huge bed made my escape effort harder.

Had they taken me along to prolong my suffering?

The thoughts of what’s to come are haunting, like a thousand needles jabbing at my skin. The evocative feelings had been short-lived by sudden loud movements in the room. Looking up from my crouched position on the bed, I saw her again. The woman that had saved me. I’m flooded with relief as she defensively stands between me and the man. With her close, I was safe. She’d said so and proved so.

Something about Lenora’s savageness put me at ease. From the way she’d easily flung the unfamiliar man across the room like a rag doll or to how she’d ruthlessly annihilated the four men. Lenora continues whispering the same words over and over and the more I hear them the more I believe in her.

She’d rescued me from the jaws of death, however impossible that had been. My baby and I were out of the woods in the actual and literal sense of the word. Lea and I had been lucky unlike Rowan. He’d passed away, the men loud and clear while reveling in their vicious deeds.

Lenora had appeared in the nick of time, rescued me before those men could further break me. I distinctly remember their cries of pain and the great silence that followed. Everything happened in a matter of mere seconds giving me peace as I sunk into the darkness.

She gently pulls away after a while and I whimper in frustration. Lenora’s hug was comforting and the feeling of her holding me was assurance that everything was alright. “I’m not leaving you,” Lenora whispers the words, as if having read my mind.

I swallow painfully and nod. My hand moves to wipe the still flowing tears in my eyes but Lenora beats me to it. Her touch is cool against my flushed face. Her thumbs gently erase the tears cascading down my cheeks, her tender motions clearing my vision. For the first time, I truly see her. Lenora’s eyes are a deep shade of grey. Her cheekbones were high. A perfect slim nose with full lips that accentuate the etherealness that is her beauty. “No one is ever going to hurt you two again.”

“You promise,” I frantically asked brokenly, despite not knowing this woman well. Her declaration holds a vow that pulls at the strings of my heart. Lenora completely meant her words, the truth clear in her eyes.

“Yes,” the answer is short and firm and I believe her. Trust her wholly. “Does anything hurt?” The question comes after a break of silence. I shake my head in reply. I feel fine, no part of me hurt. My eyes look down my body and it’s then I realize I’m in different clothes. A white shirt and some black loose shorts. “Are you sure?” Lenora asked again and I nod.

“I need to pee!” I blurt out the words uncontrollably. The strain on my bladder was getting hard to ignore the longer I held it in. My announcement takes Lenora aback if the speechless look on her face was anything to go by. My neck heats with embarrassment from the blunt words I’d just uttered. “Um…sorry. Can…can you please take me to the bathroom?”

“Yes.”

Lenora gets off the bed and it's then I notice her attire. The red sports bra compliments the black tights she has on and her red trainers. Lenora’s minimal amount of clothing offers a tantalizing view of her very fit physique. Her stomach is leveled with distinct lines of her tight abdominal muscles on display. My thoughts are jumbled as I openly ogle her body. Even if I attended the gym every day for the rest of my life, I could never look as great as Lenora did. “This way.”

Her words break my eyeing and I gaze away feeling flustered. I scoot towards the edge of the bed where Lenora stands and get off. “Um…uh okay,” I utter my throat suddenly parched.

“Let me.” I’m barely able to register the meaning in her words as I squeaked in surprise. Lenora lifts me off the ground smoothly. My hands snake around her neck in a quick attempt to hold myself steady. It’s like I weigh nothing in her arms despite being almost eight months pregnant.

“Put me down Lenora,” I mutter but still lean onto her body as we make our way through the room. My head rests against her shoulder as I nuzzle my face against her neck. “I can walk just fine by…by myself.”

“Hazel, I know you can,” I feel a soft rumble in her chest as she chuckles. Despite my protests to her carrying me, a big part of me wants to stay put. “I want to take care of the two of you and I’ll do it in any way I can.”

“But I’m heavy!”

She halts in her strides and I gaze up at her. Lenora was already looking at me, her face holding an amused look. “You’re not Hazel. Trust me,” Lenora says, her sparkling grey eyes unblinking. “To me, you’re as light as a feather.”

“You’re lying.”

“I would never. Especially to you, Mia Cara.” My eyes close as her lips near my face. I was tense in Lenora’s arms expecting a kiss from her, but simply felt a gentle caress on my forehead. The touch, though subtle, causes my heart rate to spike to the roof. Something was different with this woman. Something I’d never experienced before, even with Rowan.

My heart breaks for him, but I don’t get the time to wallow in the melancholic feelings as I’m brought to my feet. My legs are wobbly but Lenora’s firm body holds me steady as she opens the door. “This is the bathroom. Call me if you need anything.”

My hands gripped the door’s frame, gaining some support to hold myself. “Thank you,” I whispered, turning to look at Lenora, who simply nodded. The hues in the bathroom are a predominant mixture of black and grey with tinges of red and white to add more color.

The expanse of the bathroom is wide with a toilet fitted to the left side of it. The room has a fancy feel to it the longer I take it in. It’s bigger than the size of my bedroom. A huge walk in glass shower is aligned to the wall with an equally huge grey bathtub a few feet from it. Lenora’s bathroom is as posh as the ones plastered in the real estate’s magazine pages.

I gingerly approach the toilet and lift the sparkling white seat up. Everything about the room was pristine, giving the impression of it being rarely used. With a lot of difficulty from the strain on my muscles, I’m able to finish my business minutes later. I flushed the toilet before moving towards the swanky-looking sink.

My gaze is fixed on the water trickling down the faucet, petrified of looking at the chaos that was on my face. The water is cold but a huge relief to my burning skin. After washing my hands, I simply stand still, allowing the water to run through my hands and fingers. I gather some and splash on my face an action that causes a soothing sensation to travel down my body.

I expect to feel pain as I rub my hands down my face to get rid of the excess water but those sensations never come. I’m completely taken aback. I’d been averting my gaze from the mirror, afraid of the sight that would meet me. The bruises and swelling should surely have started showing and looking at them would only transport me back to the men.

I take in a deep shaky breath as my eyes instantly clouded with tears. Summoning some courage, I finally look at myself in the mirror. I blink furiously, unable to take in the person staring back at me. My strength wanes and I slump against the counter utterly dumbstruck. I was alright, as if the attack had never happened. My face was devoid of any swelling or bruises, unlike what I expected.

“Impo…Impossible,” I whispers, lifting my shaking hand to touch my face. Was I still dreaming? How was this possible? Nothing stood out as a testament of the assault. I hastily lift my shirt expecting to see the marks, but my skin is clear, unblemished. No pain emanates from my gentle probing fingers. My skin was smooth, showing no signs of an intrusion wound from the blade that had pierced my side.

How?

My brain scrambles to find answers. Any answer that would explain the bizarreness of this situation. There was no way I could have walked away from the men unscathed, especially with how bad things had been back in the forest. No, this was impossible!

Was I dead?

The thought scares me and I stumble backwards. Was this the afterlife? No it couldn’t! How could the next world look so mundane? So similar to real life. No, I wasn’t dead? I couldn’t be! Clutching my head, I squeeze it hard, wanting to recollect the final moments after Lenora came to my rescue. Something significant had to have happened before I lost consciousness.

A flash of red comes to mind. Blood trickling down a wrist. The same wrist Lenora had held against my mouth as I sucked.

Blood!

‘I’ll give you mine. My blood.’

That voice. It was Lenora’s. The reminder has me jerking backwards in disbelief. I drank her blood. She’d offered it to me and I’d gulped every bit of it down. My heart beats faster, threatening to burst out of my chest as my recollection becomes more vivid. It wasn’t normal what we’d shared but somehow, because of it, my body was restored. For a person who’d been beaten black and blue, I was strangely well. Not in any pain at all.

“Oh…oh my god! I…I…” the door swings open before I can delve more into the unsettling discovery. Lenora walks towards me, her entire demeanor unperturbed. It was as if she was attuned to my distress. I hold my hands out, signaling Lenora to stop. I needed space from her to think about everything. “What…what did you do to me?”

“I healed you,” Lenora calmly answers.

“How? How did you…you heal me Lenora,” I hesitantly ask the question. Lenora didn’t look like a doctor and even if she were, it’d take weeks to fully get back on my feet after the ordeal that had befallen me and my baby. Lea, too, could have suffered greatly but hadn’t. I could feel so in my bones. My baby was alright. “Why…why did you give me your…your… um your…”

“My blood,” Lenora utters the word that I dreaded to say aloud. Verbalizing it would only make it more existent. I’d drunk another person’s blood and the repercussions of that could be harmful, especially in my state. “I did it to save you Hazel. I couldn’t let you die.”

“Your blood did this to me?” I asked, still not believing Lenora. This was impossible. How could her blood make everything better? Erase all my pain, injuries and bruises. Blood was simply blood and didn’t possess any magical healing properties. “Did…did you do something else to me?”

“No.”

“Oh my god. Why…”

“Calm down, Hazel. I can hear your heartbeat… you being upset is not good for the baby.”

“Where am I, Lenora?” I demand, ignoring her concern.

“You’re in my house. The Allegra ma…”

“Why? Why didn’t you take me to the hospital or…or to a police station? Why did you bring me here instead Lenora? Why? Who…who are you?”

“Hazel calm down…”

“No stop! Don’t come any closer,” I yell when Lenora makes an attempt to move nearer to me.

“I could never hurt you,” Lenora firmly utters and continues towards me, ignoring my reservation. I feel stalked with every step she makes forward and I counter it with steps of my own backwards. “Calm down Hazel. You’re safe with me. The two of you will always be safe with me.”

Her words are truthful but still don’t stop my retreat. “I…I want to go home,” I whimper out the plea in a cracked voice. “Please take me home, Lenora.”

“No Hazel. Not yet. You still need to get better.”

“I am better! Your blood healed me didn’t it? I want to go home! I want go back Lenora!” I needed some sense of familiarity to ground me and where I currently was offered none. I wanted to be back at my apartment as much as it hurt knowing that Rowan wouldn’t be there with our baby and me anymore.

A savage growl reverberates in the room and in an instant Lenora appears right in front of me. Her hands grasp my arms, the touch gentle as she drew me closer to her. “No!” Lenora’s curt reply is as cold as ice. I look up at Lenora wanting to plead my case but stop at the intensity in her eyes. The dark eyes radiated a fierce, uncompromising intelligence. There was no persuading her.

“Lenora.”

“I’m not letting you go yet.”

“But…”

“You need to rest,” her statement comes out as more of a command. Her hands leave my arms, one of them moves to my waist and the other one to my head that Lenora pulls to rest on her chest. The gesture is oddly comforting and I feel myself embracing her once more. The tears followed not long after. I’d lost everything when he died. Rowan was my life. My love. My best friend and he was now forever gone. “Everything will be fine Hazel.”

Lenora didn’t fully grasp my pain. “No. No it won’t,” this time I stated the truth of the matter. My baby and I were safe for now but with Rowan no longer with us, our future was uncertain.

“It will. You have me now.”

I slightly raise my head to stare at Lenora, offering her a broken smile. “For how long Lenora? Until you get tired? Or…until you realize I wasn’t worth saving. I’ll bring nothing but trouble into your life, Lenora,” I state the truth dejectedly. Farris’ men wouldn’t stop until I paid for everything in full. “I only have my child now. My Lea.”

Her hand cups my jaw, lifting my face upwards. “You’re worth everything Hazel. Believe me,” Lenora expresses resolutely, and I couldn’t help the flicker of hope blossoming inside of me. “I don’t regret what I did to keep you and the child safe. I’d do it again.”

“You’re just…”

“Sleep,” I hear her soft voice directly above me.

Sleep? I didn’t need to lie back down but to get myself home to start picking up the pieces of my life. “No…I can’t,” I whispered back, trying to disentangle myself from her. Lenora doesn’t let go, her firm yet tender grip on me unrelenting. Moving far away from town was my only choice. It was paramount to give Lea a fresh start away from all of Rowan’s and my mistakes.

“You need to rest, Hazel. For the baby’s sake. The two of you have been through a lot.” I want to urge but out of nowhere my eyes grow heavy, exhaustion that I didn’t know existed takes a hold of me. “I’ll be here when you wake Mia Cara.” I faintly hear Lenora speak as I’m carefully hoisted up for the second time. Yet again, I feel safe in her arms.