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Hey everyone. Another chapter. This one is on the calm side again but hopefully the middle and ending pays off. Enjoy. - Sincerely, Faith Hammett XOXO
Vlad’s POV
I zip up the hiking bag once I knew everything was ready to go. I turn around to find Mina putting her hiking boots on. I cannot resist in smiling by the sight of her. Mina stands to her feet then notices that I am smiling. She smiles back at me.
“What?”
“I am already having an amazing time with you, Mina.”
“That makes two of us…” She whispers softly.
She walks over to me then we are face to face. She kisses me softly on the lips for a moment then stares into my eyes with her beautiful eyes. We stare at each other for a few more moments before taking a step back to go back to things we needed for the hike.
I ensure that there is water, protein bars, two blankets, rope, pocket knife, bug spray, a flash light with new batteries, first aid kit if needed for Mina and a camera. It feels strange to be even taking a hiking bag with me since I do not need any of these items. However Mina is human, she will need them in case. I put the book bag on me.
“Are you ready for this hike?”
“Yes. Let’s do it.” Mina says putting on her plush pink winter hat. I stare at her dark grey with plush pink plaid jacket, light grey shirt that was a little big on her and dark grey yoga pants with phone pockets. She looks adorable in her hiking clothes. She puts gloves in her jacket pocket.
I open the front door for Mina and she walks past me with an exciting smile on her face for the hike we are doing. I lock up the house and ensure the cameras are working before leaving the porch. I extend my hand to Mina and she takes my hand. We head to the pathway leading to the beginning of the hike. I make sure to take her on the path that would show the most on the way up.
We head up the trail which is one of the easiest since we are close by my old castle which is still known as Bran Castle. I find it stupid that it is called Bran Castle. How does it go from Castle Dracula to Bran Castle? I get that an author made quite a bit of money in writing stories about me however it does not give a single right to name my home castle, Bran...
I put that thought aside when we begin the hiking from the castle to Magura village trail. It is about 1,000m above sea level. The village has been peaceful over the centuries I have lived. And the location offers some easy hiking with the beautiful staggering views.
The hike will be about 2 hours to get to the view that I want to show her. Mina and I take in the beauty of silence and the sounds of nature. I listen to Mina breathing and the rhythm. The sound of our feet moving on the trail, the slight autumn breeze blowing around Mina and I. The colors of the trees and the sky give us the need of no talking. Mina understands just like I do that hiking is not the place for words unless they are spoken by nature.
We reach an opening on the trail of the view over Bran and Bucegi mountains. We are only at the thirty minute mark of the trail. Mina turns around to take in the view. She smiles at the amazing sight even with the clouds being dark over the mountains in the distance. Mina is a little out of breath but enjoying every second of this. Mina takes as many photos that she can before continuing the trail. We keep on going until we reach the hour mark to take a break. Mina is sweating a bit even with the slight chill in the air. I unzip the bag to grab water then hand it to her. She drinks at least half of the bottle right as I offer a protein bar to her.
“I have never been hiking this direction. I use to go on hiking trips with my father but never this way.” Mina says just before taking a bite of the bar.
“When was the last hike you went on with him?”
She remains quiet and I can already tell that it is a sensitive subject for her with the look on her face. “You do not have to answer that question. You can tell me when you are ready to. Even the mention of my father is not a fun thing to talk about.” She nods her head to me. Mina finishes the bar then we move ahead on the trail.
Mina and I come across a few other hikers coming down from their hike. They greet us when we pass one another. We reach a set of rocks that we have to cross over. I take Mina’s hand leading the way so she can follow each step I take until we make it out of the rocks. I hear the sound of Mina breathing fairly hard when reaching a massive uphill that we are on.
“We are almost there, Mina. It will be worth it when reaching the top.”
“Good. After all, ’The best view comes after the hardest climb.’”
I smile in knowing the quote however whoever spoke that quote is unknown. One of the things about hearing quotes; it is unknown to who spoke some amazing words. “This one will be and agreed. Can I just say how refreshing it is to talk with a woman with your taste? These days, most people of the generation hide their faces behind a cell phone or computer screen, not truly enjoying the astonishing nature in the world.”
“You are preaching to the choir, Vlad. The only time I am behind my phone screen is when I am reading a good book online, or live news watching or face time with some relatives that don’t live anywhere near me.”
“And all are good reasons. Facebook or Instagram, I surely don’t have any personal profiles. Just a business profile for my barn works.”
“It’s the same for me. I just use Instagram for anything that catches my attention. I use it to show what places I have been to and if I can do it, so can others.”
We grin to one another while we keep on walking. We reach the mountain side pathway that there is only room for one by one on the path. I keep Mina’s hand in mine the entire time we walk this. I notice some rocks falling from above further down the path. I stop for a moment wondering if it happened from the wind or something is up there.
I use my senses of hearing and smell. I catch a sort of horrible stench from an animal up there. For a brief moment, I use my heightened eyesight to spot the animal. It is a wolf not far from us. The wolf seems to be down low as if it is hunting however the position the wolf is in, it would go over the mountain side if it tried to attack. I turn around to point my hand up so she could see for herself. Mina sees it and lets out a small gasp. Mina takes a photo of the wolf. She and I take keep on looking at the wolf for a few more moments.
I realize that from a distance, the wolf looks normal size however with my heightened eyesight the wolf is about six feet tall and not a normal wolf. It must be a shape shifter of some kind. I have never seen a wolf that large in my long life. I know now that what Draven said is true; the Supernatural World know about Mina and me meeting. This wolf could only be here to see if the stories of me meeting Mina are true. If the wolf is here for that purpose and may want to cause Mina or me harm, I need to get us moving away from the wolf.
“Let’s get going.” I extend my hand out to Mina’s for her to be directly behind me. Mina and I slowly move forward not to disturb the wolf and no chance of the wolf attacking us if the wolf has the urge to do so.
We keep on until we reach an area surrounded by trees with the leaves changing colors. The leaves were a mix of red, orange and some brown all around us even on the ground. There are still some birds chirping up above us. All of the trees were extremely tall and skinny that we passed. I feel like I am back in my time line, growing up in these very woods. I recall my father teaching me how to hunt around here. It feels like nothing has changed.
Thankfully with the amount of leaves and branches covering quite a bit of the sky above us, I have no need to make the sky cloudy to walk around during the day time. Mina stops for a moment to have more photos taken. I give her all the time she needs while I reach into my inside pocket of the blood bag I need right now so I do not have the urge to feed on Mina.
I look at the blood bag and notice it is the same AB Negative donor from the past few bags I have been having. I rip off the top of the bag and instantly drink it within seconds without making a sound for Mina to notice. I let out a small sigh in the satisfaction of how good the blood tasted. I licked my lips of the small bit of blood lingering. I put the drained blood bag into my inside pocket right when Mina is done taking what pictures she wanted to take.
Mina and I are at the two hour mark then reaching the top view that I wanted to show her. “We made it.” I take Mina’s hand and let her stand out in front of me to take in the entire view before us.
There is a bit of fog over the mountains in the distance. The clouds are a bit dark however the sun is shining through the clouds. It is quite the sight to take in. I have seen the mountains many times over the centuries however I have never been bored with them. This is one of my personal favorite spots and I hope it is the same for Mina now.
I admire the view until I notice my hand is in direct sunlight. My eyes widen with my mouth dropped some, I immediately take my hand away. However I notice that my hand was not burning like it usually does in sunlight. I close my mouth while slowly putting my hand into the light of the sun. My hand remains in the light without burning. I move my hand away then back into the light. I do it several times until Mina notices what I am doing.
She chuckles when I stop. “It is a shocker to see the actual sun not covered by dark clouds. It is such a nice day out. It has been so cloudy for months that I thought it was becoming like a Japanese myth I once heard. The myth is where the sun goes into the cave and vows never to come out.”
I smile in the fact that she knows quite a bit of knowledge compared to women of the 21st century. “You know quite a bit more than I expected. I take it that you keep your mind wide open?”
“I do. I know a mind wide open can help to understand things and what I can learn to better myself.” Mina says then sits down so we can take in more of the view.
I sit down next to her and hand her another water bottle. She instant that I have some but I tell her that I had some earlier; she drinks some more water then returns her attention back to the amazing sight ahead of us. I still watch any part of my body in the light. I am stunned that nothing is happening to my body. I try to remain normal so Mina does not think I am acting strange like I was a little bit ago.
Mina suddenly brings me closer to her then lifts the camera up so we are both in the frame. She tells me to smile. I do so then she takes a few pictures back to back. Then we take a look at the photo. “Beautiful…” I admire the photo of the two of us.
I take the camera from her then have her stand to her feet. She is chuckling in wondering what I am doing. I position her to the tip point of the view. I take five steps back so I have the frame with her and the entire view behind her.
“Vlad!” Mina laughs then places her hands over her face blushing to the point of red.
“Come on, Mina. Extend your arms out! Show how massive the view is!” I shout in enjoyment, holding the camera up.
She does so with the biggest and happiest smile I have seen on her face so far. I take several until I tell her to have some fun with it. She makes a peace sign. After that she sits down Indian style like she is mediating. I take many pictures of her doing different posing styles. I mimic Austin Powers for a few moments. “Yes! Feeling it! That’s it! Let the inside out! You’re great! Very good! Loving it! And I’m spent!”
Mina is laughing so hard when I finish taking pictures of her. She runs over happy in grabbing her phone to look at the photos. Then she pushes me over to the edge of the view. “It is your turn now! Let me see what you got! Come on, Vlad!”
I start doing the silliest faces, poses and make a growling face. Mina takes more photos of me until I freeze in an instance at what is behind Mina. The Wolf from earlier is a few inches behind her. I use my speed to bring Mina behind me. Mina lets out a small scream at the sight of the wolf growling.
Mina is shaking while her hands are gripping onto my shoulders. The massive wolf slowly coming toward us to the point that Mina and I are directly at the edge that if we take one more step back, we will both fall. The wolf lets out a mix of a growl-bark with drool dripping down its white, sharp teeth to the front of its paws. The ears are straight forward, I notice the widen eyes of wolf are somehow a green-purple mix almost like the northern lights. I have never seen such eyes in any manner of supernatural wolf.
The wolf stares dead at me before I put my hand up, begging, “Please…”
The beast freezes when I am begging to it. The eyes of the wolf study me before moving on setting its eyes upon Mina. I see out of the corner of my eye that Mina has her eyes closed, keeping herself as close to me as she can. The wolf tilts its head to the left while not taking its eyes off of us until the wolf walks right up to my face growling sinisterly, opening its jaws wide that it could take my whole head off.
I close my eyes about to use any means necessary to protect Mina and me from this wolf even at the risk of revealing myself to Mina as a vampire. But when I open my eyes the wolf is no longer before me. I glare around using my senses to seeing where the wolf went. And yet somehow, there is not a single trace of the wolf. There are no tracks retreating, no scent, no heartbeat close by; it is as if the wolf was never here.
I bring Mina away from the edge and wrap my arms around her. “It is alright, Mina. The wolf is gone. You are ok.”
Mina lightly sobs in my chest in shock of what just happened. “What was that?”
“I do not know.” I confess to her in confusion. I truly do not know what just happened.
I rest my head on top of hers knowing that it must be a wolf that has something against me as predicted after Draven’s visit last night. I did many killings back in the 16th century and some were wolf packs. I would not be surprised if that is a wolf that survived one of my brutal attacks. But why did it not attack me? It had a chance to do so. I wonder if it is because of Mina being here with me and she is innocent. I better keep a look out later on tonight if the wolf decides to come back in the night at the house for me.
I have Mina take a stare at me. She slowed down her breathing from the fear of the wolf. I brush some of her blonde hair behind her left ear. I put her head back on my shoulder into an embracing hug. I cannot believe how much fear I already have in the thought of losing Mina in the short time I have already know her.
I glare around again to ensure that it is just us and the wolf is not hanging about somewhere. I have a hard time to believe that a wolf can disappear without a single trace. It is not possible. I let out a sigh knowing I need to put these thoughts aside so I can get Mina back to the house. I make sure we do not leave anything behind then we begin our way back.
I keep Mina close to me the entire time through the hike down. Mina is quiet most of the way. I manage to make her smile when I kiss the top of her hand a few times to lighten the tense mood. We finally get back to the house in one piece. I ensure the entire house is on lock down while we are inside.
I let Mina change into comfy clothes while I keep an eye outside in the possibility the wolf followed us. I stare at my phone wondering if I should call my handler about this. I turn my back to the phone. I will not concern him with this until it is something to be further concerned about. I sit down on the couch rubbing my fingers against my eyelids in frustration that I am putting Mina in danger. I cannot do that to her. I will do anything to protect even from me.
I see Mina come out in plush pink pjs. She sees the look on my face when sitting down next to me. “What is on your mind?”
“I put you in danger. It is because of me…”
Mina grabs my hand, stopping me from saying anything further. “Vlad, I know that we have only known each other for a short time and you are probably thinking that we could have died out there by that wolf. And you did not put me in danger. It was the wolf that came at us. You did not taunt the wolf or pick at it. So please do not think that you put me in danger.”
I gently trace my fingers over her hands. I lightly shake my head no. “Mina, I did because…”
“No, don’t you dare. I will not hear another word of it because I know when I am in danger because of a man I am with due to Michael. I never thought a day would come that I would feel safe with a man ever again. I truly believed that I was done with my heart being able to open to someone again. Then I happen to meet you at my favorite flower stand. And I forget about everything just by being near you or even the thought of you helps me to forget the entire bloody evil nightmare I have endured.”
I am in awe of what Mina just said to me. I gaze at this woman before me. I lean my forehead against hers, whispering softly “You are too good for this world, Mina.”
Mina lets out a sigh of happiness then pulls me in for another hug. Every single sense I am feeling of being in her arms, the warmth of her body, her skin smelling of the forest of the hike and her calm steady heart beat that I could hear all day when I do not have a thirst for blood. Aside from the sound of her heart beat, we remain in the quiet until Mina stares at me.
“I do not know about you but given the short time we have known each other, I would like nothing more than to see where we can go together. I want to see where we can take this further.” Mina tells me.
I lightly grin back at her just before I give her two small kisses on her lips. I think for a hard second in my answer and I dive right in when I tell her, “I would like that as well, Mina. Let us see where we go together.”
We bring both of our hands together in the joy of us starting a relationship. I stand up and ask Mina if she is hungry. I then hear her stomach growl before she could answer me. I chuckle in her reaction to her stomach. I go to the kitchen and begin cooking the chicken. Mina tries to help cook dinner but I shove her out of the kitchen so she does not have to do anything. Mina sits by the gasoline fire and watches me cook. We talk about more things that we like and I learn that her zodiac sign is a cancer.
I do not truly recall my birthday since we did not keep track of birthdays; it was more like our name days we kept track of. However if my memory serves me right I was born in the summer time, possibly a cancer which is fitting because the stone color of a cancer is a ruby, the color of dark blood red. Mina is an only child but she wishes that she had an older or younger sister, somehow to talk to all day and everyday about anything, no matter how silly the conversation is.
I finish cooking chicken stuffing with mashed potatoes then bring the fresh plate over to Mina. Mina digs into the food in hunger. I cannot hold back my laugh in her reaction to digging into the food the way she did. I admire how she does not hold back when she is hungry. I do not blame her since I would do the same if I had my once human senses back. I can only imagine how delicious food must be compared to when I was human.
We mainly used a campfire to cook meat or a cooking pot or fresh fruits. It was alright however the amount of changes in food is amazing and I would love to try it. Then I had an idea. If I can go out into the sunlight like I did today and our horseback riding date, I wonder if my taste may have changed as well. I stand up and make a plate for myself.
I pick up a fork and have a mouthful of the food on the fork. I stare at the steaming chicken stuffing mix then take a bite. I slow have the food go around my mouth when taking tiny bites of it. I taste the touch of salt and pepper with the creaminess of the chicken with the cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Then the top of the delicious bites is the chicken flavored stuffing. I let out a sigh in how all of it taste. It does not taste like a mess like human food does compared to blood or raw animal meat.
I slowly take more bites in amazement that I can actually taste flavors I never expected. I cannot help but wonder how this is happening to me? What is causing me to go into the sunlight and even be able to eat normal human food? This is not possible; this should not be possible with me.
All of my thoughts stop when my phone rings. I put the fork down to see that it is my handler, Luke calling me. I then have a terrible pit in my stomach looking directly at Mina. She sees the look on my face wondering who is calling me. I answer the phone in terror of what he is going to tell me in this phone call.
“Luke, I truly hope this call is a good one.”
“I am sorry but it is not. I do not know how but Michael got out on bail. Michael is out.” Luke tells me without hesitation. I know that this will crush Mina in hearing these words right now especially from me of all people. Her forgotten nightmare that she has endured is out and wants to come for her again.
