Insatiable

Chapter 1

It's hard to separate weekdays from weekends, mornings from nights, and guilt over grief when you are sad. It's relatively easier to stay in bed all the time rather than to deal with the outside world. But today, Sage won't be able to do what he thought is easier to deal with.

"I told you, he likes scrambled egg!"

"But sunny side up is cuter! It'll look good on my ** feed!"

Sage clenches his fist tightly when he heard Elijah and Jennie fighting downstairs. Standing up, he already realized that leaving his room will be his greatest regret for this day. 

He did it anyway.

His first step to the stair tread causes immediate panic to the former phantasms. Most of them turn to look at the ruthless vampire who's casually descending the stairs.

"Good morning, Sage!" Jackson is the first one to greet the lonely vampire.

Sage only furrows his left brow to acknowledge the disingenuous greeting.

"We made you breakfast!" Elijah's grin is too big to be real, making Sage lazily roll his eyes. He seriously doesn't have the energy to deal with Jimin's father today.

"I made your breakfast!" Jennie corrects because really, all Elijah did was criticize her way of preparation. "Hot cocoa with floating marshmallows?"

The female vampire is disheartened when Sage barely glances at her and the food she made. The ruthless vampire doesn't say anything as he pours himself a glass of coffee liqueur.

Elijah and Jackson exchange knowing looks. They are aware that Sage hasn't changed his mind even though a whole year has already passed. His face and action say it all: Sage still hates Elijah and the rogues—well, ex rogues.

One year ago, the former phantasms decided to drink human blood moderately. It's the least they can do for betraying the ruthless vampire.

"I didn't do it," Sage blurts out—breaking the uncomfortable silence engulfing the corners of his kitchen.

Elijah flinches. He parts his mouth to say something. Unfortunately, he is too befuddled to formulate a sentence. This is the second time Sage spoke to them after a year! The former feels his heart beating erratically. This must be some kind of miracle!

"I said I didn't do it." The ruthless vampire repeats when the three untouchables remained quiet. They are still dumbfounded at Sage's ability to speak.

They almost believed he is mute.

Shaking his head, Sage presses the remote control button to open his flat screen television and rewind the news. He only pauses it when he found what he is looking for.

 Breaking News: Headless body found in the street of Kinghorn University, the head was seen inside the trashcan.

365 days ago, Sage's last words for Elijah and the rogues were: leave me alone. Since then, he never saw or heard from the vampires again. Now that Elijah, Jackson, and Jennie showed up, the ruthless vampire is certain that something's up. Obviously, they are scared thinking that after a year of abstinence with human blood, Sage might relapse again.

Their point is well-made actually. Today marks the first death anniversary of Eleanor Kyteler. The ex-rogues know that the tragic incident affects the ruthless vampire the most. Admittedly, they barely recognize him.

Sage turned into a completely different kind of vampire when Ellie died. Physically speaking, nothing much has changed except that his arms are now covered with tattoo. Horror vacui, every part of his arm is painted with ink. He has a lip piercing as well. His hair is longer and messier. His eyes are tragic though. It is vacant with any emotions. It looks dead—eerily dead. The billion stars in it died with her.

Sage is weaker now. He doesn't drink a lot of blood anymore. He only sips from a blood bag once a week—just enough to keep his heart beating. The urges are still there, but the desolation he feels is stronger—consuming his entire being until there's nothing but pain.

"You're all here because you thought I'm the one responsible for her death, right?" Sage speaks, bewildering the three intruders in his home again.

Jennie grins sheepishly. The ruthless vampire really knows them inside out.

"N-No! We just want to visit you..." The fact that the female vampire stammers only proved that she's lying.

Sage lets out a sigh of exhaustion. He lamely puts the glass of his coffee liqueur on top of the table.

This conversation is over.

"Get out,"

"Sage, please. We just want to be here for you." Elijah interjects. He reaches his hand out, unfortunately, the ruthless vampire turns away.

"Stop lying and get the hell out of my house." He says this with so much authority that the three vampires instantly know that this is the last straw.

"Sage..." Elijah continues to push his best friend's button.

The ruthless vampire feels like a vein in his head just popped. When the black veins under his eyes appear and spread until his neck, the three untouchables flinch.

"You're not here for me. You're here for you." Because if they truly care for him, they would just leave Sage alone. It's crystal clear. These untouchables saw the news about a girl being murdered and their first thought is that the ruthless vampire was the one responsible for it. They probably believe that the death anniversary of Eleanor is a trigger to the ‘rogue Sage.’

"That girl lives thousands of miles away and your first thought is that I was the one who murdered her?" Sage huffs. His fury is evident.

Beheading is not even his style. Sage is known for murdering people by ripping their hearts out.

"And you want to be here with me?" He laughs mockingly. It doesn't mean that just because these vampires are the reason why Sage cannot be with the love of his life anymore, they can also be the ones to take away the pain he feels. Being comforted by the people who caused him pain isn't at all ideal. It's downright cruel.

"Leave." He turns his back away from his friends. "Don't make me repeat myself again."

Sage finally lets go of the breath he didn't even know he is holding when he felt his friends leave. Tears stain his pale cheeks right after. His heart is clenching so hard he's sure he'll die of it.

He wishes he could just die. Immortality sucks without the love of your life by your side. For him, immortality is just the equivalent term of eternal suffering.

Sage is still dwelling in his pain when his phone chimes. His heart hurts a little less when he sees who sent him a message.

Hope:

It's ready. Meet me in her grave. Asap.

After grabbing his jacket, Sage drives to the only place that brings him solace.

"You're early." A woman welcomes Sage with creased forehead.

Hope. The woman's name is Hope. She is literally the ruthless vampire's hope.

"Are you sure it's going to work?"

"Dig to find out." Hope hands a shovel to Sage. She's sporting this proud smirk that made the ruthless vampire bite his bottom lip.

The one place that emits comfort is none other than Eleanor's grave. One year ago, Sage buried Eleanor's body in the foot of Anemone Mountain cliff.

"Is this the best day of your life or not?"

"Excuse me?" Sage winces and stops digging Ellie's grave when he hinted doubt and disgust in Hope's voice.

This is the first time Hope acted as if she's strong. She usually keeps her mouth shut in fear of annoying the ruthless vampire. Today, that changes. The fear she feels is slowly turning into confidence—something Sage took and gave to her. Hope still can't decide what's stronger: is it is hatred toward this vampire or is it admiration?

Hope has been Sage's slave for one year already. Though it feels like it's been an eternity since he started harassing and threatening her, she can still vividly remember how she met this bloodsucker.

"Pick a card."

To say that Hope is surprised that a stranger is talking to her casually would be the understatement of the year. Surprise is the last word in her mind because the most accurate feeling is awe.

Hope is not a loner, per se, but she doesn't have a lot of friends too. The only one she trusts is her family. Evidently, she isn't expecting to be approached by a stranger, especially not by a sober one. It makes sense. Hope works as bartender, people who talk to her are either drunk or those who badly needs to be intoxicated.

This man seemed to be the only exception.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing?" Hope quirks a brow at the stranger, his hand is still urging her to pick a damn card.

"Just pick a card." The man insists, his tight smile should be taken as a warning that this situation is a matter of life and death.

But Hope brushes it off. Instead, she begins mixing drink—an action that surprisingly annoyed the stranger. Deep inside, Hope is screaming. Why does this man appear to be expecting different? It's obvious that Hope won't waste her time choosing a card during work hours.

"Pick a card and I'll leave you alone after."

His persistence irritates her, though she still decides to pick a card. Fine. If this is the only way to shut him up, then so be it.

"This." She chooses the card in the middle. "I pick this."

"Very well." The man sneers. "Read it for me."

Hope shakes her head in disbelief, yet she does what she's told.

"Help me or I'll rip the hearts of the people you care..." The bartender trails off upon realizing the meaning of the words she just spoke. Her eyes widen because of this sudden realization.

"A-Are you a vamp ..." Hope isn't able to continue what she's about to ask because the man answers the question himself by showing off his fangs and red eyes.

Hope quivers in fear.

"W-What do you want f-from m-me?" She mustered the courage to inquire.

The vampire chuckles. Mortals who pretend like they're not scared amuse him.

"I'm glad you asked." Sage is the vampire who is threatening her. He leans closer to Hope—so close that he can smell the fear inside her. "I need you to bring the love of my life back from the dead."

Hope is a witch. Honestly, she doesn't have any intention to help Sage, but the latter already knows that so he stepped up the game by offering Hope something that she can never resist. Coercion never worked for witches, anyway. The ideal way to make them follow what he wants is through manipulation—an action Sage has mastered well.

He just never learns.

When Sage went to St. Barbara a year ago to have Jimin checked by Yara, the ruthless vampire found some interesting potions that happened to be Hope's only hope. Yara managed to create an element that turns a witch into just a normal person. It only has one dosage and Hope badly wants to have it. The potion is for her brother who can't handle being a warlock. Hope's twin brother named Limuel has too much power that cannot be controlled. It is worse than Ellie's magic. At least being an enchantress is considered a gift from God, but Limuel's magic is derived from black magic—something greater than all of them. Fortunately, Yara is a practitioner of black magic; it makes sense that she's the only witch who's able to create the said potion. Just like with the life of a vampire, everything starts and ends with blood. For witches, everything is all about magic.

So in exchange of Yara's potion, Hope will help Sage bring Ellie back to life.

"Anyway, did you bring her heart?"

"Yeah," Sage answers without looking at Hope. He just keeps on digging.

"Okay..." Hope pouts her lips. She has known Sage for one whole year, but she still can't manage to break even a layer of the high, thick walls he built to guard his heart. The only information the witch knows about this ruthless vampire is that his name is Sage and he lost the love of his life. He also told her that the cause of Eleanor's death is through having her heart ripped out. When she asked him how it happened, he became so defensive and aggressive that Hope swore to herself that she will never ever ask anything about the girl.

Sage turns into a more dangerous vampire when Ellie's involved.

"Will you ever tell me her name?" For some reason, Hope can't stop asking question she forbade herself to ask a year ago.

As expected, Sage doesn't answer. He only clenches his jaw while digging. Hope sighs. Why did she even bother? It's not like she's close to him. All Sage ever does is threaten her and her brother.

But just when she thought it's all over, the ruthless vampire suddenly speaks.

"Ellie." His voice is low, barely audible. "Her name is Eleanor."

Hope felt her cheeks turning red. She feels validated just because Sage finally answered her query.

"It's a beautiful name." Looking at the ground, Hope lets out a small smile.

"I know." Sage smiles too. After a year, he finally managed to crack a genuine smile.

This is it. This is the day he'll be able to see the enchantress again.

"Give me her heart." Hope wipes the sweat on her forehead. She's exhausted and sweaty after digging Ellie's grave for long hours.

"Sage," she calls softly when the vampire didn't move a single muscle. He's busy staring at his dead girlfriend's wooden coffin.

Sage hums. Swallowing hard, he hands Hope the jar where Ellie's heart is placed.

Hope squeezes Sage's hand before taking the jar.

She smiles at him again.

"Do you trust me?"

He wants to say no, but he knows that's a lie. He learned to trust this woman even though his life is drowning in misery. Again, she's his hope.

"Yes," he says breathlessly. His hands are shaking so bad as he uses his remaining energy to open the coffin.

Sage is expecting to see a body, or bones—bones would do. Actually, anything would do.

Anything is better than nothing, but as Sage stares at the inside of the coffin, he felt his excitement boil into nothing.

He's so confused because only one thing registers into his mind.

Eleanor is not inside the coffin.