Insatiable

Chapter 5

Sage stares at the paper harder. His lips and hand tremor as the clock continues to tick.

This feels like a dream.

A happening that's too good to be true.

"I-I have no idea how to..." The ruthless vampire trails off. Tears form in his eyes and Sage's positive that it'll fall the moment he blinks.

"A simple thank you is enough." She chuckles. "Or you can just hug me..."

"I'm so glad you exist,"

Hope blushes when Sage actually hugged her. She was just teasing him; she didn't really need him to thank her. It's her job to track Eleanor anyway. The fact that the enchantress is alive just made her obligation easier. Hope doesn't need to resurrect Ms. Kyteler anymore.

"How'd you find her?" The ruthless vampire is still clinging unto Hope's arms since his traitor tears are streaming down his cheeks. Sage is embarrassed to let this witch see him go soft.

"Like you really wanna know," Hope rolls her eyes. Sage watched her perform a lot of magic tricks before and his expression is always the same: bored.

"Ya got me. I don't understand the s**t you say." He discreetly wipes his tears away before breaking their embrace.

"I'll be fine, you know..." Hope assures him. "You can go now. Eleanor needs you."

I need Eleanor. Sage wants to retort, but he just stands up and left after murmuring another thank you.

He's nervous. What is he supposed to say the moment he sees her pretty face again? Should he just shut up and kiss her? Should he apologize? Should he reintroduce himself? Does Eleanor even remember him? Does Eleanor remember herself? What is she? A vampire? A witch? A zombie?

Sage isn't able to sleep that night. He debated with himself whether he should go now or a little later. In the end, he gives into the selfish part of him that badly desires to be with the enchantress.

Eleanor lives thousands of miles away from Lacuna Valley. She's residing in a dorm inside the campus of Kinghorn University as of the moment. The mentioned school is said to be hosting a festival tomorrow night to celebrate foundation day. Sage thought it'll be best to see Eleanor during the festival since they'll be surrounded by fireworks and good vibes. Yes, the ruthless vampire is that sappy.

Sage reached Kinghorn University just right on time. There are booths everywhere. Countless students tried flirting with him and honestly, no one can blame them for trying their luck. This untouchable is insanely hot. He's wearing his usual outfit: black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots, and black bucket hat. His tattoos are the real chick magnet—everyone seems interested to know the meaning behind his ink.

Unfortunately, he's in a hurry. People barely get to say two words to him because he's already turning his back away from them. The small paper Hope gave to him is covered in sweat, a clear indication that he's nervous as hell.

Why is Kinghorn University so damn big? It's been thirty minutes since he got here, but he still has no idea where Eleanor's dorm room is located.

The fact that it's dark makes it even harder to distinguish the difference between the dorm buildings. Students loiter in the streets, it's so crowded.

Sage groans. Two hours have passed. There are just too many distractions. Perhaps this is not a good time to check up on Eleanor.

'No.' The selfish part of him is back at it again. It pushes him to strive harder, he knows that seeing the love of his life is the only thing that will finally enable him to be happy.

As usual, he gives into that desire. Nothing can really stop him from doing what he wants, especially when it's about the enchantress.

After long minutes, Sage finally found Eleanor's dorm. His hands are trembling as he debates whether it's time to knock now or just leave.

The moment he found the courage to knock, the door swings open—an unfamiliar lady comes into view.

"Hi!" Greets the girl.

Sage swallows hard as he hides his shaky hands behind his back.

"I-I'm looking for Eleanor Kyteler..." He hates how small his voice sounds—making him appear like a shy boy who is afraid to talk to pretty girls.

"Oh! She went out with Oliver tonight," she creases her forehead as if trying to remember something. "I think they're at the bonfire."

Only one word registers into Sage's mind: Oliver. So using his power to coerce humans, he then asks her "Who's Oliver?"

'Please don't say her boyfriend...' The vampire grimaces because his thought is ugly.

"Oliver is a friend."

"Good," Sage breathes out. "You going out?"

"Yeah. My friends are waiting. Wanna come with me? Eleanor might be there,"

Sage notices the patch on the woman's neck. His heart skips a beat because of this, he has a hunch as to how she got her neck covered, he's just afraid to admit it.

"What happened to your neck?" He's about to check it, however the girl shoves her hand away.

"Just hickeys..." She looks uncomfortable—causing Sage to be more suspicious.

He sighs.

"Tell me the truth. Starting with your name."

"My name is Lana." She responds almost instantly. "My roommate is Eleanor. She said that she'll kill me if I tell anyone that she bit me."

And there's his answer.

Eleanor Kyteler, the love of Sage's life, turned into a vampire after all. The ruthless vampire isn't sure what to feel. He knows that there's a huge possibility that the enchantress turned into a bloodsucker because come on, no human can just come back from the dead. But here he is, still unaware of the emotions flooding his system.

Sage hums, a sign that he's letting Lana go.

"I'm going to wait for Eleanor here. Don't tell her you met me—" He pauses for a while just to swallow the lump in his throat. "Go away. Go somewhere far. Stay away from Eleanor tonight. I don't want you back here until tomorrow morning."

Sage needs time with Eleanor alone. Meaning, no more distractions. Lana could be that distraction. The enchantress might compel her roommate to tell her things if they happen to bump into each other tonight. Sage can't risk it. He wants to catch Eleanor by surprise since he doesn't want to scare her away. She might run if she knows that the ruthless vampire is here.

"Okay. Suit yourself." Lana cracks an innocent smile then she turns to walk away.

Sighing, Sage goes inside Eleanor's dorm. The room is eerily unfamiliar. It feels like he's invading a stranger's private confinement. He feels nothing as he checks his ex-girlfriend’s room.

It's like he doesn't know Eleanor at all. Her drawer is full of things he swore she never liked. Everything is so unfamiliar that it makes Sage so f*****g sad.

What more if he sees Eleanor tonight? What if she appears to be a completely different person now—the one who looks nothing like the girl he fell in love with? What is he going to do then?

Sage cannot take it. It feels like his heart is being torn into small pieces and the only way to make the pain go away is by leaving the room.

His gaze falls on the floor since tears are stinging his eyes again. Damn it. When did he become so f*****g emotional?

"Sorry—" he murmurs when he bumps into a stranger.

"Sage?"

That voice is familiar.

The ruthless vampire looks up only to see Jennie grinning widely at him.

Sage's confusion turns into rage upon seeing Jennie and Jackson.

"The f**k are you two doing here!?"

"Actually, three. Elijah's with us. He's buying some hotdogs." Jackson casually licks his coned ice cream.

Sage huffs. Is this a joke?

"Are you following me!?"

"Uh..." Jennie averts her gaze from Sage. Is she supposed to lie?

Of course she is! She is certain that this ruthless vampire will lash out on them the second she says that she and the untouchables are indeed following him.

"Come on, bro. Not everything is about you. We're just here to have some fun," Jackson saves Jennie's ass.

Elijah can't help but worry about Sage, so late last night, the very first untouchable sneaked into his best friend's house to read his mind. It's convenient and f****d up. Elijah just can't help it especially now that he is aware that Sage is planning to visit Eleanor who turns out to be alive.

It's overwhelming news. Elijah felt like he was about to vomit the moment he got to know about this fact. Luckily, he's still able to reach his house before he goes insane. He spilled the beans to the other untouchables the moment he sees them. All of them then decided to follow Sage here.

They're not planning to interfere. A part of them just felt the need to know what's going to happen because they're partly the reason why Sage and Eleanor are in this mess. Jin couldn't come though. He's at home to babysit Jimin. Elijah can't just risk the hybrid's safety especially since they are not aware on what's waiting for them here. Hell, they don't even know what kind of creature Eleanor is.

"So you're telling me that the three of you traveled hours just to get a f*****g hotdog?" Sage crosses his arms. Do they really think he is that gullible?

"Uh..." Jackson bites his lower lip. He runs out of excuses.

Sage grits his teeth together.

"Go home. This isn't a request."

"No!" Jennie's surprised by her new found courage. "Why should we listen to you?"

"True!" Jackson backs up.

Sage huffs again. This is ridiculous! He won't let these spoiled untouchables ruin his chance with Eleanor again!

"Fine. Let's all go home!" The ruthless vampire is just making excuses too. He realized that he's not ready to face Eleanor, especially not when Jennie, Elijah, and Jackson are here. "Call Elijah, I'm going to hail a cab."

"Hey, wait! We still need to go back to our hotel room." Jennie whines. All of her things, including her passport are at their hotel room.

Sage inhales deeply, striving hard to relax.

"Why are you immortals?" He shakes his head regrettably. If there's only a way to kill these former phantasms. Sigh.

"Rough night?" The driver of the cab asks just to lighten up the dark mood.

The vampires are inside the aforementioned vehicle now. Jennie called shotgun so Elijah, Sage, and Jackson squeezed themselves in the backseat of the cab. No one dares to speak for the reason that the three of them know that Sage is beyond mad. They thought they ruined the ruthless vampire's night, but in reality, the latter feels at ease. He needs time to process the fact that Eleanor is still alive and that she's a vampire.

"Do you want me to put on some music?" The driver tries again. He's truly uncomfortable with the silence. "My daughter likes this particular band—"

The driver isn't able to finish his sentence because holy s**t, he almost hit a pedestrian. He immediately steps on the break.

"What the hell just happened?" Elijah's eyes widen. He's immortal but he still gets scared when it comes to this kind of incident.

"I-I'm sorry, a girl suddenly appeared." The driver stammers, his face is the color of paper.

Jackson groans.

"I didn't see anyone cross the street, Mister." His eyes are sharp, he can't be wrong. There's literally no one.

"Let's just go," Sage lets out a sigh.

"Wait," Jennie who's been alarmingly quiet c***s her head to stare into Sage's eyes. "I think I saw Eleanor crossed the street."

Without waiting for the untouchables' response, Jennie goes out of the cab.

"Oh, come on!" Jackson stomps his feet. Jennie is being difficult again. "There's no one out there, i***t!"

"Out." Sage nudges Jackson's shoulder. He's stuck in the middle, so Jackson needs to go down first before Sage can leave.

With scowl on his face, Jackson is forced to go out of the cab as well. Profanities escape his mouth when Jennie abruptly disappears.

"Jennie, you better not be playing games with us! Sage is pissed!" Jackson screams.

"Ssshh," the ruthless vampire creases his forehead when he hears something.

"What is happening?" Elijah goes out of the cab too. "Where's Jennie?"

His question has been answered when suddenly, a loud thud is heard.

"No!" The driver screams at once. His reaction has been mirrored the second the three vampires turn to look at the thing that caused the loud thud.

It's not just profanities. Gasps, tears, and screams are seen and heard when the untouchables see Jennie's lifeless body on the hood of the car.

Sage blinks before finding the courage to examine the female vampire's body.

His jaw tenses.

Jennie's neck is cut open. There's something written on her forehead. The most disturbing part is, the words are carved and it says: STAY AWAY - E.