Chapter 16: Dorian's Game
1198 Words
Two days passed in a haze of hospital visits and stolen moments.
My mother improved daily—miraculously, impossibly, in ways that made the doctors shake their heads and run more tests. She was sitting up now, eating solid food, even walking short distances with assistance. Every time I saw her, she looked stronger. More alive.
I knew Alexander was responsible. I felt it through the bond—the drain on his energy, the way he rested more after each visit. He never complained. Never asked for thanks. Just did what needed to be done, because she was my mother, and that made her matter to him.
I loved him more for it.
On the third day, I arrived at the hospital to find my mother's room door closed. Unusual—the nurses usually kept it open, checking on her regularly. I pushed it open with a growing sense of dread.
My mother sat in bed, pale but calm. And in the chair beside her, golden hair catching the fluorescent light, amber eyes gleaming with false warmth—
Dorian.
"Luna, darling." He rose smoothly, that terrible smile curving his lips. "How lovely to see you again. Your mother and I were just getting acquainted."
"Get away from her." The words came out before I could stop them, sharp and fierce.
Dorian's smile didn't waver. "So protective. I understand. Mothers are precious, aren't they? Especially when they've been so... unwell."
My mother looked between us, confusion in her eyes. "Luna? You know this man?"
"He's not a man." I crossed to her side, putting myself between them. "He's—"
"A friend of Alexander's," Dorian finished smoothly. "An old friend. I came to check on you, to see if there was anything you needed. Your daughter has been so generous with her time, but I thought perhaps you might appreciate some... honest conversation."
"Get out," I said. "Now."
Dorian held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm going. But first—" He leaned close to my mother, his voice dropping to a whisper I could still hear. "Ask her about the man she's been seeing. Ask her what he really wants from her. Ask her why a creature like him would be interested in a girl like her."
"Mama, don't listen to him—"
But my mother's eyes had sharpened. "What do you mean, what he really wants?"
Dorian straightened, his smile widening. "I'll let her explain. After all, it's not my place to share secrets." He paused at the door, looking back at me. "Remember what I said, Luna. When you're ready to know the truth, come find me."
Then he was gone.
The silence he left behind was worse than any words.
"Luna." My mother's voice was quiet. "Sit down. Tell me what's going on."
I sat. My legs wouldn't hold me anymore.
"The man who helped you—Alexander—he's..." I stopped. How could I explain this? How could I tell my mother that her daughter was in love with a vampire?
"He's not human," my mother said. It wasn't a question.
I stared at her. "How do you—"
"I'm sick, Luna, not blind. I saw his eyes. Felt his touch. And whatever he did to me, it wasn't medicine." She reached for my hand, her grip stronger than it had been in years. "But he loves you. That much I know. A mother can tell."
"He does love me. I know he does."
"That man who was just here—he said something different. He said Alexander wants something from you."
My heart clenched. "He's lying. Dorian lies about everything. He's jealous, he's—"
"Then why did your voice crack just now?" My mother's eyes were too knowing. "Why do you look like you've swallowed poison?"
Because Dorian's words had found their mark. Because somewhere, deep down, I'd wondered the same thing. Was I just convenient? Just a warm body with sweet blood? Did Alexander love me, or did he love what I gave him?
"I need to go," I said, standing abruptly. "I need to talk to him."
"Luna—"
"I'll be back, Mama. I promise." I kissed her forehead and fled.
---
The manor felt different when I arrived.
Darker. Colder. Like the shadows themselves were watching, waiting.
I found Alexander in the music room, standing by the fire, his back to me. He must have felt me through the bond—felt my turmoil, my doubt—because he turned before I spoke.
"Luna. What's wrong?"
"Dorian visited my mother."
His face went rigid. "What?"
"He told her—he told me—that you only want me for my blood. That I'm just a source to you. A convenience."
Alexander's eyes darkened. "You know that's not true."
"Do I?" The words came out before I could stop them. "I don't know anything, Alexander. I don't know what's real and what's not. I don't know if you love me or if you love what I can give you."
"How can you ask me that? After everything—"
"After everything, I still don't *know*." Tears burned my eyes. "You've lived for four hundred years. You've loved before. You've lost before. How do I know I'm not just... another Elena? Another human who caught your attention for a while?"
Alexander flinched like I'd struck him. "Don't. Don't compare yourself to her."
"Why not? Because the truth hurts?"
"Because you're *nothing* like her!" His voice rose, filling the room. "Elena was sweet and gentle and she loved me despite what I was. But you—" He crossed to me, gripping my arms. "You love me because of what I am. Because you see the monster and you don't run. Because you look at four hundred years of blood and death and you still choose to stay."
"Then why does it feel like I'm just a meal to you sometimes?"
The words hung between us, ugly and raw.
Alexander released me, stepping back like I'd burned him. "Is that what you think? That I've been using you?"
"I don't know what to think!"
"After I saved your mother? After I gave you my mother's necklace? After I told you things I've never told anyone in four centuries?" His voice cracked. "You think that's what I do to my *meals*?"
"I don't know!" I was crying now, unable to stop. "I don't know anything anymore!"
"Then maybe you should leave."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"
"Maybe Dorian's right. Maybe you'd be safer with someone who can't hurt you. Someone who doesn't make you doubt yourself." Alexander's eyes were gray—cold gray, distant gray. The gray of a winter sky before the storm. "Maybe I'm exactly the monster he says I am."
"Alexander—"
"Go, Luna." He turned away, his back to me. "Go think about what you want. What you really want. And when you're sure—if you're ever sure—come back."
I stood there, frozen, torn between running to him and running away.
In the end, I ran away.
The door slammed behind me, and I didn't look back.
- Writer
