A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 66: Definition of Love

Elena had been riding fast for the last few hours that she couldn’t feel her legs anymore. Gabriel was riding in front and he didn’t seem close to stopping. He appeared blurry in her vision, her grip on the reigns loosening. She leaned over the mane of the mount now with the urge to throw up.

"Gab?" She called. He whipped his head at the back, Elena falling from her horse at the same time. With concern, Gabriel jumped off his mount and run towards where she was.

"El?" He called, gathering her in his arms. A decision he was about to regret. Elena turned, releasing her contents on Gabriel’s face. He closed his eyes tightly as her load painted his face to that of a horror antagonist.

Elena’s eyes widened in surprise and guilt when she realized what she had done. She grabbed the end of her shawl and met with his face. If a ghoul was a person, he’d make a great example!

"May I?" She asked, her hand dangled in the air. Gabriel didn’t have much to say. Elena wiped the load off his face with his eyes now open. Surprisingly, they never left hers.

"I’m sorry," she apologized, wiping the last bits of her load. Some strands of his hair had gotten wet, sticking on his face.

"We should get some rest," he said. He stood up and offered Elena his hand. She gladly took it, dusting herself when she was on her feet.

"We should keep going. The bounty hunters might catch up with us soon," she reasoned.

"Not when we have somewhere to spend the night," Gabriel said, his eyes focused on a house not far away from where they stood. Their horses were drinking from a pool where the house rested on the edge.

Elena was awed by the simple structure. Simple it was, yet beautiful in its own way. The house was made purely of wood and a thatched roof. A boat was tied at the start of the pool, and the water strangely sky blue in color.

"I wonder who lives in there?" She asked.

"We’re about to find out," Gabriel replied before he started walking towards the front door of the house. Elena followed closely behind, her hands rubbing together as if that would help to keep off the cold.

Giving the door a soft knock, Gabriel waited for someone to walk out, or a reply. But he got neither, just eerie silence! He slightly pushed the door, and it was surprisingly open. The hinges screamed in annoyance, reeling the years of service they had to offer decades after the owner was gone.

The inside was dark, filled with comb webs that attached themselves on Gabriel’s expensive fabric. Elena walked closely behind, her sapphire eyes watching for something in the dark. She feared it, unlike Gabriel. But his presence somehow acted to calm her down.

"No one lives here," Gabriel stated the obvious. He found some end pieces of a collection of candles on an old dusty table. Using the spark from rubbing two stones against each other, he lighted the first one. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"How did you learn to do that?" Elena asked, her eyes still looking around in apprehension.

"When you are thrown out of your own home, you must learn to survive," he explained, lighting the remaining candles.

"You were thrown out?" She asked, turning her gaze to him in astonishment.

"Not once or twice. But father would always get me back," he replied.

"He loved you," Elena pointed.

Gabriel halted in his actions, giving her a condescending look. "I wouldn’t call that love if I were you." He saw another door behind Elena. "Every time he brought me back, the more I suffered."

He had already reached where she stood, his eyes never leaving hers. He rested his hands on the door behind, caging her.

"What’s your definition of love?" She asked, her blue eyes seeming to settle on his soul. His heart raced, his eyes settling on her slightly pouted lips.

"It’s a strange feeling to start. It all depends on who we are imposing it on," he said, pushing the door open. It creaked loud, jolting Elena’s senses to live. She craned her neck to that side and saw a bed placed in the middle of the room.

The furniture was old, Gabriel noticed. But the bed looked new strangely. The sheets were a little dusty but retained their natural white color. Elena walked in first, Gabriel walking closely behind. His eyes settled on her swaying butt, a sudden urge to pin her taking the better part of him. But he was quick to discard the thought.

Elena’s fingers touched the fabric, worshiping the material it was made of. "It’s made of leather," she said, lifting her eyes to look at Gabriel.

"No wonder it survived this long!" Gabriel said. But his eyes narrowed when he spotted a protrusion from under the bed. It was close to the shape of a human. "Don’t move!" He said, his voice suddenly laced in apprehension.

Elena’s eyes followed his line of sight when she spotted a pulp of something covered under the blankets in the dimly lit room. It was just close to the headboard.

Gabriel approached the place, his claws now long to counter whatever was hiding behind the blankets. He slowly grabbed the end of the blanket, Elena instantly fleeing behind him. He whisked the blanket off to reveal two skeletons of humans cuddled in a hugging position.

Elena craned her neck from behind when Gabriel stood still for a fleeting couple of seconds. From across his long strands of hair, she spotted the long dead humans on the bed. Her heart raced in fear and anticipation. She had never seen anything like it before!

"A father and daughter. Drowned to the last drop by vampires and left to die. This was their home I presume," Gabriel explained.

"I’m scared," Elena admitted, trying to keep her eyes away from the scenary as if it was a plague... a trauma she would never recover from.

"Don’t be scared. I’m here now. Nothing bad is going to happen to you," Gabriel assured her, her head resting on his chest. He hugged her, caressing her hair and blocking her view from the bed.