Fangs
1382 Words
Ivanna didn't know when or how Giveon lifted her from the floor and carried her toward the bed.
Their lips were still locked together.
Everything around her seemed to disappear. There was only the warmth of his body, the steady strength of his arms, and the unfamiliar feeling that spread through her whenever he touched her.
Then her back met the softness of the mattress.
She let out a startled gasp.
Giveon paused for only a heartbeat before leaning over her again, capturing her lips in another kiss. The kiss was no longer as hesitant as their first. There was something deeper in it now. Something hungry. Something that made Ivanna's heart race.
His hand came up to cradle her cheek while his other arm supported his weight against the mattress, careful not to crush her beneath him.
Ivanna's fingers instinctively curled around the fabric of his shirt.
She didn't understand what was happening to her.
She had been afraid of this man.
She had spent days wondering whether she would ever feel safe around him.
And yet here she was, lying beneath him, heart pounding for an entirely different reason.
Giveon's lips slowly moved away from hers.
He kissed the corner of her mouth before trailing gentle kisses along her jaw and toward her neck.
Ivanna's breath caught.
Giveon paused near her neck, breathing in her scent.
It was delicate.
Roses.
And something else.
Something earthy, like the scent of rain falling on dry ground.
His eyes fluttered closed.
For a moment, he simply remained there, breathing her in.
Then his lips touched her neck.
Ivanna shivered.
A soft sound escaped her before she could stop it.
She immediately became embarrassed.
What was happening to her?
She had never imagined herself reacting this way to anyone, least of all Giveon.
Her body seemed to have a mind of its own.
She wanted him closer.
And at the same time, some small voice inside her told her to be careful.
Giveon kissed her neck again.
Then something sharp grazed her skin.
Ivanna frowned.
She barely noticed it at first.
Perhaps it was the edge of his tooth.
She assumed it was nothing.
But then the sharp sensation came again.
This time it lingered.
Her body stiffened.
Something was pressing against her neck.
Ivanna's eyes opened.
"Giveon..." she whispered.
He didn't answer.
His face remained buried against her neck.
She swallowed nervously.
"Giveon?"
Still nothing.
The strange sensation came again.
A sharp pressure against her skin.
Her heart began to pound.
"Giveon," she called again, louder this time.
He suddenly stopped.
Slowly, he lifted his head.
Ivanna gasped.
Her entire body froze.
His eyes were red.
Not the deep, ordinary shade she had seen before.
They were blood-red.
And around them, tiny veins seemed to have appeared beneath his skin.
They pulsed faintly along his temples and forehead.
Ivanna stared at him, unable to breathe.
But it wasn't his eyes that frightened her most.
It was his mouth.
Two sharp fangs protruded from beneath his upper lip.
Fangs.
Real fangs.
The kind she had heard stories about.
The kind she had been told belonged to creatures that existed only in nightmares.
Giveon stared back at her.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Then he noticed the horror in her expression.
His brows furrowed.
"Ivanna?"
She couldn't answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on his face.
Giveon slowly lifted a hand toward his mouth.
His fingers brushed his lower lip.
Then he felt them.
The fangs.
His expression changed instantly.
He pulled his hand away.
His eyes widened.
"No."
The word came out barely above a whisper.
He stumbled backward.
Ivanna pushed herself upright on the bed, her heart hammering against her chest.
Giveon touched his mouth again as though hoping he had imagined it.
He hadn't.
His fangs were still there.
His breathing became heavier.
"Ivanna..." he whispered.
She stared at him.
"What happened to you?"
Giveon didn't answer.
Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut.
His fists clenched at his sides.
"Don't look at me."
Ivanna's brows drew together.
"What?"
"Please."
His voice sounded strained.
Ivanna remained still.
She watched as his chest rose and fell rapidly.
For several moments, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, the veins around his forehead began to disappear.
His fangs retracted.
The frightening red in his eyes faded until they returned to their familiar color.
Giveon opened his eyes.
They were normal again.
But his expression wasn't.
He looked shaken.
Almost terrified.
Ivanna had never seen him like this.
Giveon, the man everyone feared.
The man who could walk into a room and silence an entire council with a single glance.
The man who had carried her through a chaotic marketplace as though she weighed nothing.
He looked frightened of himself.
"I am fine," he said quietly.
Ivanna shook her head.
"No, you're not."
He looked away.
"I said I'm fine."
"Giveon..."
"I need to wash up."
He turned toward the adjoining chamber.
Ivanna watched him walk away.
There was something strange about the way he moved.
As though he wanted to escape before she could ask another question.
She slowly climbed from the bed.
"Giveon."
He stopped.
She could see the tension in his shoulders.
"Are you going to tell me what that was?"
Silence.
For a long moment, he didn't turn around.
Then he finally looked over his shoulder.
His eyes met hers.
There was something in them that she couldn't understand.
Fear.
Shame.
And perhaps something else.
Something that made her chest ache.
"I'll explain," he said.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Ivanna frowned.
"Why not now?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because I don't know what I might say if I stay here."
That answer frightened her more than the fangs had.
She stared at him.
Giveon turned away again.
"Get some rest, Ivanna."
Then he walked into the adjoining room.
The door closed behind him.
Ivanna remained standing beside the bed.
Her fingers slowly rose to her neck.
She touched the spot where she had felt the sharp sensation.
Her heart beat faster.
She looked toward the closed door.
Who was Giveon?
She had known he was different.
Everyone had warned her.
She had seen his impossible strength.
She had watched him move faster than any ordinary vampire.
She had seen the fear in people's eyes whenever he entered a room.
But she had never understood why.
Until now.
The stories.
The whispers.
The strange way people spoke about him.
The belief that he wasn't like the other vampires.
Suddenly, everything felt different.
Ivanna sat slowly on the edge of the bed.
Her mind replayed the moment over and over again.
His red eyes.
The veins.
The fangs.
And the expression on his face when he realized she had seen him.
He had been afraid of her reaction.
That thought confused her.
Because despite the fear twisting inside her chest, she didn't feel hatred.
She didn't even feel the urge to run.
She was afraid, yes.
But she was also curious.
Giveon had always seemed like a mystery.
Now she knew there was something hidden beneath the surface.
Something dangerous.
Something he had desperately tried to keep hidden from her.
And somehow, she had a feeling the secret was far bigger than a pair of fangs.
Outside the room, snow continued to fall silently against the windows.
Ivanna stared into the darkness.
For the first time since arriving at the castle, she wondered whether the greatest danger in the kingdom had been the witches threatening them from the shadows...
Or the man she had just kissed.
And somewhere behind the closed door, Giveon stood alone, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
His eyes were normal now.
His fangs had disappeared.
But he knew what had happened.
And he knew it wasn't supposed to happen.
Not with her.
Not now.
He placed both hands against the washstand and lowered his head.
The memory of her scent filled his mind again.
Roses.
Rain.
His jaw tightened.
The Blood Coven had been watching them.
They had called Ivanna his weakness.
And tonight, something inside him had answered that accusation.
For the first time in centuries, Giveon had lost control.
And the terrifying part was that he wasn't sure whether the creature inside him had been awakened by hunger...
Or by love.
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