Fang War

23 ☽

The red satin clings to Lila's petite frame.

An intimidating color at an intimidating short length, her skin crawled with discomfort at the sight of herself in the mirror. Amelie was there behind her, putting Lila's hair into a side sweep with soft curls that left the nape of her neck fully exposed. Lila felt exposed, as if all of her were bare for all to see and inviting Zachary to make the moves she's been blocking for so long.

Gulping down a tremor that coursed down her spine, she closed her eyes against the sound of that chiming voice.

"Relax, Lila. You look stunning. The sight of you alone will distract him from any thoughts he could possibly be having about the wolves." Amelie said with an encouraging smile, with that up-most-perfection.

"That's what I'm afraid of, Amelie." Lila's brown oculars dared to focus back onto her reflection, an image she didn't even recognize as herself. She was shaking, thinking she looked like Jessica Rabbit or some seductive pin-up model.

This wasn't her. It would entice the side of Zachary she feared. She was an apple waiting to be bitten into, a fruit of temptation just waiting to be picked. Zachary desperately wanted her in every which way. Lila managed to hold onto her innocence. Barely.

Breaking Lila's troubled thoughts momentarily, Amelie coached her on what to bring to the evening's events, as she had been doing all night.

"Accept his invitation tomorrow if he decides to invite you back into the arena. Do not mention what happened last time, do not question anything. Let him talk. If he asks you if you are ready, you act like nothing phases you anymore. Give him assurance. Be obedient." Amelie's cat-like eyes locked onto hers. "You do whatever you need to do to earn back his trust. He is going to test you, Lila."

Lila's painted red lips parted to allow more oxygen into her constricting lungs, feeling parts of her brain shutting down in order to deal. Tonight might be the night she loses her virginity and to a power-hungry psychopath.

A knock at the door had Amelie floating in the direction of the sound, as Lila stood trying to compose her involuntary shaking. Turning from the mirror in order to forget her outer appearance, she shut down as she had learned to do since her first terrifying experience in Seattle.

There had been the violating pawing of greedy and hurtful hands, the promise of every girl's fear lingering in their eyes. She gulped once more, burying that carefully blocked trauma along with the rest that came from Zachary Vasile's touch.

She opened her eyes to find the image of fear before her. He roamed her figure with those eyes that would seduce any woman, should they not know the predator lingering behind the pretty blues. They burned bright, telling anyone who knew his secret that he'd fed recently.

"She looks fantastic, Amelie." Zachary kissed his sister's cheek in thanks for her help, which Amelie gratefully accepted. If she hated Zachary like she'd confessed earlier, she certainly didn't show a trace of it.

Lila fidgeted, as she often did when Zachary approached her these last few weeks. His arm was held outward by her side, waiting for her to accept his escorting, "Shall we, Miss Marcetti?"

His trained smile waited along with his arm and there was an awkward moment where Lila struggled with the thought of even touching him. The Lila from before Zachary would have told him to fuck off, to get back, or offer up an insult that projected all of her disdain.

For her life, for the life of the wolves, she took his arm without a word uttered.

His skin felt cold even through his expensive Armani jacket. A sensation, that she could never get used to. Amelie took her leave and once again, Lila was on her own with the temperamental vampire.

Up on the roof of the museum and hidden arena, they soon sat in silence.

He'd had his staff set up candles, string lights, a table and a meal for her to enjoy in his company. Though, the thought of eating while in his presence brought an onset of sudden nausea.

It was the first time Lila had seen the sky since before the ordeal in the arena, not having been allowed to leave the confines due to Zachary's inability to trust her. The moon was almost full, marking the eve of the infamous dog fights. She wished she could enjoy it, but instead she found herself staring down at her plate of well-done steak as she cut at it meticulously with her designer knife. Stalling, from eating at all.

Zachary's lusty eyes hadn't left her and she could feel them all over. Mainly, at the nape of her neck and her chest, which was heavily exposed thanks to Amelie.

Zachary drank from his chalice, which Lila suspected to contain either red wine or blood. She dared not linger on her suspicions as the red liquid began to stain his lower lip.

"You're quiet tonight."

Lila swallowed and stared at him wide-eyed as she lied, "Sorry, just a bit hungry."

Her eyes wavered to the side.

He smiled.

"I want to give you another chance, Lila. I want you to come with me tomorrow to the fight. It would mean a lot to me. I want to be able to trust my future wife. Have her by my side, always."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and she tried to avoid the crazy look in his eyes. He was delusional, obsessed, and Lila was forever stuck with this insane creature. She coughed, feeling the lump in her throat that she blamed on a piece of meat.

"Are you alright?" His brow furrowed as he rose, attempting to approach her to help her.

"I'm fine!" She managed to let out between her coughing fit.

When she breathed at last, Zachary took his seat back.

"You can't get away from me that easily." He laughed hauntingly, taking another sip from his quickly emptying cup.

She laughed in return, out of nervousness. "Yeah."

"So you will come." He asked, sounding less like he needed permission and more like it was a demand.

Lila offered a fake smile, trying to mimic Amelie's from earlier. It felt fake, like an anvil hanging at the corners of her mouth. She instantly abandoned it for her awkward side grin as she replied, "Of course."

With that, she went back to eating out of nervousness.

He had set all this up for them to be alone, in his attempts to romance and ease her, but all this attention and strategy had Lila more on edge.

Maybe Amelie was right. Maybe he was expecting something from her tonight. Maybe Amelie had seen something, known something, that she didn't bother to fully warn her about.

She finished and as she threw her red linen napkin down, a small staff started to clear the table. Zachary stood and it made her tense further.

"Come with me, my love." He held his hand out for her to take.

With great reluctance, she eased her own for his own icy fingers to cease.