Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 142: Blood in the... Tea

On the dot, exactly five minutes had run by before a new knock landed on Arabella’s door. Only that time around, they asked and waited for permission to be granted in order to enter.

"Arabella?" Katherine’s voice came tame, "May I come in?"

"Yes, of course," the young woman dug her nose out of the book it was buried into, always standing up to greet anyone that would come through the door.

Katherine held a silver tray that carried two small teacups upon its surface, "I thought it was a bit early for you to head to bed, so I brought some tea to keep us cozy if you don’t mind my company," she smiled warmly.

"Thank you. It is truly kind of you," Arabella smiled back, "And of course I appreciate your company,"

The vampire neared the table, placing the tray on it. As she did, her eyes lingered on the open anthology facing Arabella, "I see you are still reading those poems,"

"I turn to the most familiar ones for comfort, to be frank," her fingers grazed the open page gently.

"That is one very valid way to acquire solace, indeed," Katherine sat down after putting a cup near Arabella, "I hear you’ve crossed paths with Alpha Cynric. Do tell; how are you feeling?"

"Oh wow! Word travels scaringly fast," the young woman maintained the smile as her eyes widened momentarily.

"Well, technically...," Katherine took a sip of her tea, "I heard your exchange with my own two ears,"

"Oh...," at a complete loss of words, Arabella gaped back at the vampiress while her brain fumbled for a proper retort, "That’s... I...," her brain failed her too.

"He was quite upfront with his intentions," Katherine looked her dead in the eyes and asked, "Are you considering his offer?"

Whatever Arabella had thought to say in the moment evaporated before even reaching her throat, "Consider what offer?" eyebrows furrowed, her entire body froze in place.

"For mating," Katherine showed not a hint of humor, her features locked into a sort of, serious and curious combination, somewhere between firmness and slightly amused eyes.

A wave washed over Arabella in that instant, only the young woman wasn’t so sure whether it was sizzling hot or icy cold. The two ends of that tail tossed and turned, battling it out at her core with no end to it in sight.

Though her face told a different story, scarlet red from chin to forehead and from the tip of her nose to her earlobes, no spot remained unengaged.

"Wha... He seemed... Quite unserious," she blurted, "I am uncertain an Alpha of his standing would glance my way with that intent,"

"On the contrary, my dear," Katherine put her cup down, "Wolf folk always appear like they take nothing seriously, but don’t let that fool you, they always say what they mean and never shy away from it,"

"Yes, but even the prospect of it is... Unreal," Arabella shook her head, "I’ve been in this world for twenty-six years and he is as old as...," she trailed off, her voice breaking between words.

"As old as who?" Katherine pushed, "If you are comparing him to Master Silas then you would be right. They are practically the same age," Katherine nodded slowly, "Are you saying you wouldn’t ever consider a future where you and the Master...," Katherine left that sentence hanging, allowing her expression alone to tell the end of it.

In response, Arabella returned the most awkward of chuckles, "I truly don’t mean to be rude with you, but that does sound a bit... Ridiculous, doesn’t it?"

"Ah! Don’t mind me then," Katherine laughed it off, "I can be hopeless sometimes. Perhaps it’s because I’ve got dreams of my own that I’d like to see take form one day,"

"Yours are reasonable and most importantly feasible,"

Arabella had muttered those words more to herself, but a vampire’s ears always caught on to those.

"Is that what stops you from considering the idea of you and the Master?" the smirk on Katherine remained throughout her utterings.

That question unleashed yet another tide of shifting, repositioning and finger twiddling on Arabella’s end, "Well, I can’t say I see us together either way," she’d marked pauses between almost every word in order to mask the cracks in her voice.

"That’s a shame then, because I do see you together," the vampire swirled the liquid in her cup and stared at it as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, "And I am not saying this to encourage you to pursue a relationship with him, but these are merely my thoughts and I thought I should share them with someone at the very least," she inhaled deeply before sighing.

Katherine had always been the confident type, but Arabella couldn’t remember her broaching such subject matters either.

"In any case, if you are not interested in Alpha cynric, then I’ll advise you to stay out of his territory. Wolf folk are known to take what they want especially if it wanders onto their land. I reckon the only reason you’re still here, was because you stood under this roof when he laid eyes on you,"

To those words, Arabella hadn’t much to say. Her eyes remained on Katherine as she took her own first sip of tea.

One lick was enough for her stomach to churn for as soon as the liquid touched her tongue, her entire mouth fought hard to expel it from whence it came.

The young woman did her very best to keep her calm and grace, clasping a hand over her lips as she bent over the table to ensure no drop of that tea would hit the floor.

"What is it? What’s the matter?" Katherine immediately stood and rushed to her side.

"It’s... Did you put blood in this tea?" features twisted, Arabella forced the words out through her hand.

"What?"

Without any hesitation, Katherine picked the teacup and took a sip of her own. Sure enough, the acute sourness of the liquid was only overshadowed by the bitterly metallic taste that accompanied it. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"I don’t understand, Katherine. Why?" Arabella still had her hand close to her mouth while staring in disbelief at the vampiress.

"This... Is how Lady Persephone likes her tea," Katherine’s features were crumpled too.

"I suppose, there’s been a mix up...,"

The young woman picked the linen cloth that lay near her and wiped at her lips, seemingly satisfied with Katherine’s justification.

Katherine, however, remained transfixed, eyes solely on the tea.

"Impossible... I made it myself,"