Made in Death's Image 02

"Let's all just calm the fuck down," he suggested, "And be nicer to each other? I'm not trying to trash Francesca's bar, Grace."

Ceil frowned, "Michael, I originally came to this city because of the rising vampire attacks in the city and surrounding boroughs. I was ordered to see if the new vampire reign was at fault for this. Who else would take over for the dead Vampire Lord but his own beloved?"

Grace hissed, "I am not his beloved. He was a vicious cunt to anything that crawled the surface of this earth. charge of that, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't accepted the mantle and I'm actively refusing his Hidden's nominations. I didn't sign up for this."

Ceil looked over to Michael, he trusted her kind but not Grace's, "Do be careful Michael, she has betrayed every person in her life for power, including her own master. I'd suggest you not trust her or her sugar coated words."

Then just like that, Ceil turned, and walked out the door. Leaving Grace and Michael alone yet again in the bar that had started it all. He sighed, rubbing his forehead and looking at the mess on the floor.

"How long has that been going on?" Grace demanded, clearly upset.

He turned to her, "What?"

"You and her!" Grace laughed bitterly, tears in her eyes, "How long? Is this why you won't touch me?"

Michael's eyes widened in realization, "No, no! Grace no! I legit just met her today, we started talking because she's a hunter and I haven't met any other hunters. She is flirtatious as all hell but I'm not chasing that into bed? Im just trying to get answers. Then I guess she got a bit too drunk, she doesn't normally drink according to her, and she just got too touchy. I have been politely pushing off her advances and was about to push her off again when you walked in. I promise you that is all."

Grace sighed, and ran her hands through her hair to fix it. She moved over to him, leaning to bury her head into his chest. She felt horribly guilty for assuming the worst, then felt even worse knowing how that all must've looked. She hated that the female hunter was right. She had already betrayed Michael last night. She promised to be a new person to make the relationship work and there she was about to drain a woman dry and murder a Hunter. There was this warmth that he caused her chest to fill with choking her up. Whenever he was near or she heard that warm timber of his voice. It melted her pain away and made her weak.

"Hey," he said softly, "What is going on?"

She sighed, pulling away from him and moving to sit at one of the near tables. Michael followed, moving to sit beside her, gently rubbing her leg and giving her the space and time to talk. Her eyes flickered to the door the hunter had used to leave.

"With Codrin's death, there is a power vacuum. Things are getting out of control. You don't see it yet but when you do so will everyone else. There is a huge influx of baby vampires. It's making beings from all over the northeast seek out the island, and the city around it. Vampires will flock to their leader, others will flock to be that leader once they find out the seats are empty. Warlocks will come, witches will come, and they'll bring more than even Nyx can take care of. Codrin was a horrible person, but he kept order even if it was horribly authoritarian. And he kept a balance throughout the supernatural world. Whether it was fear or respect, beings accepted the order of things. That has now changed. There is no Lord of the Northeast, which means there will be violent power grabs. This means Hunters will flock to control this chaos, it will be a slaughter, on all sides," she exclaimed in one long concerned breath. Michael could see how it weighed on her. That conscious she often talked about losing, yet here she was fearing needless bloodshed.

His first reaction would've been panic, but he kept his head, and reminded himself that this moment was about Grace and more than Grace. So he sighed softly, nodding as he thought of a good response as her friend but also her chosen lover.

"It's obviously bothering you?" he whispered.

She looked up to him, "Yes. The abdication of responsibility is weighing horribly on me. Whatever I decide, people will get hurt. The city will be a war zone if I don't step up, but if I do it'll be a whole different war zone. Especially with the vampires and hunters."

"Ceil told me the hunters only go after bad supernatural's," Michael questioned.

Grace frowned at the name but didn't comment, "That's their code but they don't always follow their own code and who can question them? When things get out of hand because Vampires are hungry or Werewolves are waiting to see who to fear there will be a letting of blood. They'll kill regardless of the context just to save the many."

Michael nodded in understanding. It was like a horrifyingly unilateral use of power but all with the sake of human preservation at the governing of every violent choice. Power distorted the world and yet it kept the world spinning. Michael tapped his foot against the ground, unsure of what to say next. He couldn't even begin to understand the stress she was under.

"Alright," he said suddenly, clapping his hands together, "Stressing ourselves out tonight won't do any good. Let's meet up tomorrow morning. Tonight just focus on feeding and resting, tonight was stressful enough as is. You need to make a choice. I can't be involved in the choice. This is a Grace moment I can't interfere in."

Grace looked nervous at the idea, "I'll be weakened tremendously in the sun."

He smiled slightly, "Then it'll be my turn to protect you. You need a day to see what you would be fighting for regardless of what that choice is."

She looked away from his eyes, her eyes swelling with what would be tears.

"Ok."

The two left, going their separate ways. As Grace drove home, the warmth in her chest turned cold. She realized she didn't need to feed because she almost killed the woman last night in the club. She sighed deeply, resting her face in her hands. Guilt filled her, crushing her very soul. Just another reason Ceil was more right than Michael knew and that sucked.

"Get ahold of yourself Grace," she whispered fiercely to herself.

She slid from her car pushing tears back, and slamming the car door shut. She pulled her cap off while stepping through the door. Anger filled her, a hot searing rage filled her. It seemed that even in death Codrin was still ruining her life.

"No," she realized with a dry sob, "It's me. I'm not a child. I'm active in my life."

Wiping her face she looked around the room, her eyes falling onto the painting that haunted her. A sudden determination replaced the guilt in her heart. Her eyes narrowed, and she nodded, her fists curling. Storming over to the painting, her fingers were quick, magic pulsed through her as she extended her nails into claws. Shredding the painting in half. But she wasn't done, next she raised her hand up to her face, smearing her lipstick across her face.

"I will do better," she snarled to herself, "I will be better."

SEVEN

Michael got up a tad early, making sure to text Grace and let her know to dress casually and comfortably. He was more than afraid she'd pick something that would impede her ability to enjoy the day he had planned. What he didn't expect is for the beautiful vampire to come over wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white blouse, her jeans tucked into a pair of boots. On her face she wore a pair of black sunglasses, in one hand a Chanel purse, and in the other a black umbrella. Perhaps the most shocking, is that she didn't wear her signature red lipstick but instead a nude brown colour. When his eyes landed on her, she could see them brighten, which definitely made her feel confident in the new look.

"Wow," he breathed before chuckling, "Nice umbrella. Nice everything!"

She rolled her eyes as he took her purse, then held her free hand, "Helps with the sun."

"Right," he chuckled, "Just don't let Tim Burton see."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, ignoring his joke.

Still, she was happy that he didn't comment on her extreme change of look. Not to mention his lack of verbal reaction but physical reaction with his eyes was enough for her to feel beautiful and confident. She was so accustomed to the femme fetale she forgot she could just be any old femme.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a soft chipper tone.

He led her down the subway station near his place. He winked at her in secrecy, before leading her into the train after paying their fare. She giggled at his comedic politeness, her stomach filled with butterflies. She felt human once again around him. The only person on this whole earth that could do that.

The two rode and conversed excitedly. That's when Grace noticed they reached Central Park, he led her off to the Central Park Petting Zoo. Her eyes widened in shock as he paid for the tickets, guided her through the crowds of children and people. Their innocent ignorance to what she was made her giddy. It was like there wasn't this black cloud of death hanging over her. That's when she saw all the cute animals wandering and eating their awful smelling dry food out of children's hands.

"Oh!" She giggled in delight, "I love animals! I've not petted anything like this in decades."

He smiled, relieved that this date was the perfect idea. At first he was worried she'd dislike the casual date. He knew she liked living the luxurious life and sometimes it felt like it was hard to compare to that. Not to mention after their last date, he felt like a change was needed. After going over a few different date ideas in his mind, he decided the best thing was a little Petting Zoo action that might be the perfect mundane date for them.

Next they visited the goats, and sheep before he noticed Grace slowing down slightly. So with the sun at its highest peak, they took a small break inside a small café. He ordered them both a coffee before getting himself a donut and led them to the back of the café where there were no windows. Grace thanked him and put away her umbrella.

"Oh look, it's to rain later on," she hummed teasingly nodding to the television on the wall, "Looks like my umbrella isn't so silly after all."

He laughed, "Apparently not."

"How's the donut?"

Michael held it out to her, "Try some?"

She did, not enjoying the taste but enjoying the attention the action had brought. They sat inside for a while before Michael shoved the small remainder of his donut into his pocket then they began returning to the petting zoo and visiting the remainder of animals, visiting the duck pond was their final destination. She bent down at the pond's edge, her hand outstretched playfully towards the nearest duck.

Michael paused, silently remarking how cute she looked, crouched down one hand out and the other holding onto her umbrella that rested against her shoulder. He could feel his face heat up as she pouted, talking softly to the duck before he stepped forward, handing her the remainder of some sunflower seeds from his jacket.

"Oh!" she squealed in delight, "Can I feed that to him?"

He chuckled, "I think it's better than the donut."

She turned her attention back to the duck, throwing little bits of seed at the creature's feet. It wasn't long before the single duck was met with many, as they flocked for the free food.

"Hey you!" an old feminine word snapped, "You can't feed the ducks!"

Grace stood, a frown on her face as she turned to look at the old, fat human. For a moment Grace's temper got a hold of her and she wanted to punch the old hag in the face. Michael looked between the two before stepping forward, frowning at the old woman.

"We were just leaving," he said politely.

Grace nodded with a tight smile, "Yes we were just leaving.", she knew better.

As Michael turned to lead them away, Grace stretched her power over the nagging woman, her eyes glowing with threat. The woman gasped quietly, her entire body shaking with fear before the old lady began to piss herself. Grace snickered to herself and hurried to lead Michael away, smirking in triumph. Michael, who hadn't noticed the ordeal, rubbed Grace's arm soothingly.

"Sorry," he sighed, "It was my idea to feed the ducks."

Grace frowned, not liking that he had to apologize for the kind action.

"Do not apologize," she hummed, "The ducks liked it."

Chuckling, he moved to hold her hand again, "Well then, as long as they liked it, never mind my apology. In fact, I take my apology back."

"Good."

He looked at her gently as they walked, "Uh, did you enjoy today? Gave you time to think and just be you?"

"I did very much," she admitted softly, "It reminded me of my childhood. I used to live on a farm. My mother and I would go out extra early in the morning and feed all the farm animals, the chickens were especially greedy. It helped me remember that life has little things. My time with you could be something I lose if I took up that mantle:"

"That's honestly a beautiful memory. I just don't want you to be scared that you'd lose me if you made this choice."

She sighed softly, "It's still a fear. I'd live in that dark circle that maimed you."

He chuckled softly, "Guilt and fear can motivate us to do what we wouldn't expect or imagine, Grace." He took her hand in his, "But I don't want you to abandon your kind because of guilt. I also don't want you to think I'm going to leave and fill you with fear."

Grace spoke so softly he almost couldn't hear her, "Michael..."

He opened his mouth to respond when suddenly, a soft rain began to fall. The two exclaimed in shock as they shared the umbrella, walking peacefully through the park as the rain increased slightly in intensity. They were quiet, both mulling in what had been said. The rain soothed both of them. Eventually they reached one of the exits in Central Park.

"I'm going to flag a cab," he said, pulling out of her grip.

She stopped him, grabbing his arm and yanking him towards her with that inhuman strength. His eyes widened, his arms moving to wrap around her. As he did, she pressed her lips to his, the umbrella tumbling onto the sidewalk as they kissed passionately. The rain falling down onto them as their lips clashed vigorously, the umbrella long forgotten as they lost themselves in the moment.

"I need you in my life," she whispered, pulling away for only a moment, "I-I."

He smiled, "I know."

Then he pressed his lips back to hers, silencing any more speech.

EIGHT

Grace pulled away from the kiss she was desperate for air and more of her lover. Desire filled her with a want as she felt her cunt lips swell and moisten. Looking around, she grabbed his hand before pulling him back towards the thicket of trees. Michael let out a sharp breath. It didn't matter anymore anyways, the two were already soaked. Grace smiled back at him, pulling him into the thicket of trees where the long branches gave some coverage from the rain.

Michael couldn't hold back as he gently pressed her back to the tree. Grace cooed in delight, feeling desire fill her body as she arched her back, she slid her arms around his neck. Michael breathed out slowly, moving his face closer and closer to Grace's own face. Grace inhaled softly, tilting her head towards him.

"I need you two?" Michael whispered.

Grace smiled, batting her lashes, "Please tell me what else you need."

Michael growled, pressing his lips to hers. She tasted like heaven. Grace moaned softly, the two wrapped up in each other as their kiss became more and more salacious. Michael's hands moved down her back and lifted her. Grace gasped at his forwardness and vigor, she bellowed out a laugh in delight. He smirked, pressing his forehead to hers, an attempt to move his clear hard on away from Grace. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to slam his member deep within her, but he was unsure if they were at that spot yet. Not to mention, they were still in central park. Her eyes flickered down to the clear tent of his pants before she grinned.

"Michael," she purred, rubbing his clothes hard on, "Is that for me?"

Michael put on a wry smile, "I couldn't exactly put a note on it saying for Grace."

Grace shook her head, "Well now I have much higher expectations for you. But enough about that. I can't wait so long to have you. Can we fuck here?"

He looked at her with shock in his eyes, he tried to subtly scan the adjacent area, before nodding. Pressing his lips back to hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth. She purred, their tongues dancing for dominance while her nimble fingers made quick work of his pants. Michael moaned as Grace pumped his cock up and down through his trousers. As she did, desire dripped down her legs, she wanted him so badly, her fangs released as they kissed.

"Please," she moaned leaning back into the tree, "Please fuck me"

Grace with Michael's help dropped to remove her pants before he hoisted her back up and pinned her in the tree. Her legs resting on his strong arms. Not wanting to wait any long either, Michael let out a grunt reaching forward to rip Grace's panties from her flesh before thrusting into her, pumping his member in and out as she cried in delight, one hand holding onto his shoulder, the other grasping at her breast. The two made disgusting, raunchy, primal love against the tree in central park, hidden by the rain and the trees. The two were so busy with their moment, they didn't notice the dark shadow over yonder behind a tree.

Behind that tree was Zara, who watched the scene hotly. Her mouth shut and her fingers between her legs. Her task was to watch the two for the day in order to make sure they didn't ruin the night's plans but never did she expect the two to act so passionately in public. She couldn't help but finger fuck herself while watching the two closely. It wasn't long before Michael and Grace were crying out in ecstasy, and Zara was silently cuming on her own fingers.

"Let's go home," Michael then whispered after what felt like an eternity of them coming down from the highs of an incredible orgasm.

Zara glanced back to them before quickly disappearing into the rain.

Grace huffed, "I expect round two my love."

NINE

The rain was peaceful, hitting the window panes softly. The shimmer and distortion of light from the dark and tumulus skies created a waving texture of shadow across the room. Thunder rumbled as people caught in the rain outside rushed with various things to cover their heads. Lightning flashed, and in that moment, the dark bedroom was brightened with light. The rain was like a song for the two of them laid on his bed. Michael watched the light dance off of his loves pale skin.

Michael's body was slick with sweat as he pushed into Grace's body. Her own naked body arching as her hips met each of Michael's firm thrusts. Her lipstick was smudged not only on her own face but also his own.

"God," Michael whispered, his voice thick with desire, "You're amazing. I can't stop from cumming again."

Grace's eyes fluttered as she tightened her legs around him, her fingers digging into the tangled bedsheets as she moaned. Much too devoured by the passion and desire swirling inside her undead heart to respond. He pushed into her again, rolling his hips.

"You're the most beautiful woman ever." He hissed through his teeth fighting back the desire to cum

She panted, "Y-you think so," she knew so but couldn't help but tease him.

"Y-Yes."

The primal urge took her and she leaned in, pressing desperate kisses to his neck. As if trying to hold back from biting and yet still needed to have her lips on his flesh. He moaned, his arms wrapping around her body as his thrusting quickened, his release drawing near. Her fingers moved to clutch his shoulders, her nails drawing blood from his skin.