A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 24: Murder In The Pleasure House (1)

Gabriel felt the warm liquid fill in his mouth and down his burning throat. He clung to the source like a tick, wanting to drain every drop of it. Whatever this was, it felt so good! But not until someone turned to a lump under him. He ran his tongue over his fangs but froze midways when he noticed a human girl unmoving.

Surprised, he held her face but she looked way too pale for a human. He tilted her head to one side and spotted the marks of his fangs on her neck.

Fear crept in his being when she didn’t respond to his call. He placed his hand on her chest but nothing. He couldn’t trace a beat!

"What have I done?" He asked, taking a few steps away from the bed. She looked lifeless even from the safety distance. Gabriel shook his head in denial as if that would change the fact that she was already dead.

This had never happened before! Never. Even with the humans he’d had taken a bite on, he’d always control it before he drained them dry. But this!

The memories flooded his mind. All he remembered was her, on top of him, naked, and... And then he couldn’t remember anything else. Strangely, it felt like it had happened ages ago. And it then dawned on him.

She had tried calling him, batlled with him, but he held her in position. He had sucked her dry until not a single drop was left of her. Her skin sagged on her frame, and in place of the once beautiful whore was a lying lump of skin and bones.

Gabriel’s eyes turned watery. He regretted it, everything. He’d have just stayed in the castle. But the thought that this would be Elena brought an even greater dread.

His head whipped to the direction of the door when he heard someone gasp in surprise. On the door stood a lady, probably a whore too from the way she was dressed, her hand on her mouth. Her eyes moved across the room and met with his. Gabriel’s heart raced. There was a witness! This time, he’d never escape the king’s judgement. And as if she read his mind, she fled out of the room.

"Wait!" Gabriel called but she was already descending the flight of stairs holding the hem of her thin fabric.

"Goddamnit!" Gabriel cursed. This was a disaster! Unfortunately, everyone knew his face.

He paced through the corridor, his thoughts now in a whirl. And what would he do when he caught her? Kill her? That would only pin the murderous title to his name. Pay her to remain mute? The queen would have a more generous offer than his! Hell, he was confused, yet he kept following anyways. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

From across the hallways, he could spot several people dancing and merrying in the morning light. And to make matters worse, there were some knights of the kingsguard enjoying the view with a glass or two.

"Fuck the gods!" He cursed again when he saw the witness take another corner. He leapt, faster this time. She was close now. The door to the merrying bay was just steps away from her reach. Gabriel turned around the corner and cursed again under his breath when she found the knob.

His heart seemed to have halted, and in his desperate situation, he did something even he had no knowledge of. His eyes turned dark, so dark the white in his eyes disappeared. The whore let out a shrieked breath, her hand turning loose on the door. The morning wind blew it, slightly revealing the leg of a knight of the kingsguard. The whore fell on the floor and started writhing like a snake. Froth came from her mouth and when she opened her eyes again, everything appeared completely strange!

Gabriel almost hit the solid wall when the darkness dissipated from his eyes. He supported his frame, his breath coming out in shallow pants. His vision, now blurry, spotted a woman lying on the floor. She stood up with the help of another who was worried sick about her.

"Diana?" She called, but the whore looked around like someone who just appeared in a completely different world.

"Where am I?" She asked, trying to stand up. Everyone appeared strange to her. "What happened?"

Gabriel’s mouth fell, the very thing he was witnessing turning more strange than what he felt those few seconds he was ’gone’. All he had seen was darkness! He walked past the whore, a good number of people already gathering around her concerned. He shook his head hoping to wake from this daydream disguised as a nightmare.

All his life, Gabriel had never seen or held such power. The incident in the pleasure house couldn’t get off his mind even now that he was in the castle. He ascended the flight of stairs that led to his room. Truly, he needed to escape this world that was playing tricks on his mind.

He pushed the door without warning only to be met by Elena seated on the rocking chair. Her eyes looked dark, and just one look he could tell she hadn’t slept a wink. But what disturbed him was the look she was giving him right now. If looks could kill, she’d be an assassin!

For a moment, he stood at the door unmoving. Elena never blinked for a moment Gabriel was worried she was still alive. Still, he felt guilty for leaving her last night. Maybe that was why she was mad at him.

He took a step inside and closed the door behind him. Walking towards the bed proved to be the most difficult task he had. He felt her piercing gaze on his every move.

An awkward silence followed when he sat on the edge of the bed. From the corner of his eye, he could see her still sitted and unmoving, yet her blue eyes were trained on him. The air had mysteriously turned chilly though the windows were all closed.

"Fine!" Gabriel gave in. "I admit it was a mistake," he said turning to face her.

She gave him a stern look. "To what mistake do you attest to? I’m afraid I have a exaggeratingly long list."

Her voice. Gods! It cut through the air like ice! "Leaving you alone last night. I’d have hurt you if I stayed!"

"Yet you chose to find what I’d have gladly provided to you in a pleasure house!" To that, Gabriel said nothing. "You can’t even defend yourself?" She asked, biting her lower lip in frustration.

Gabriel’s breath was now coming out in shallow pants. The image of the dead whore replayed in his mind as if sent to haunt him forever. He raised his eyes to meet Elena’s questioning yet annoyingly beautiful face.

"If you’d have gladly given me what I wanted, you’d have ended up like that whore!"

Elena’s saliva suddenly turned bitter to swallow. So it was true? The queen was right all this time and yet...

"You’d have ended up dead!" His voice was drawn to barely a whisper. "I killed someone innocent in a pleasure house because I could not control my thirst. Would you have wished it to be you?"