The Taste of Seduction

"I was angry at you… I snapped at you, I had to admit," he began, now finished tying her shoelace. He then looked up at her and cupped her face in his hands, looking straight into her eyes. "But I couldn\'t bear not being with you, Meredith. I was hurt… but the love is still here. It will always be here."

Without sharing another word, the both of them shared a kiss in the park. Meredith\'s heart beat faster in her chest, thinking that she will not waste this opportunity given to her. She will indeed redeem herself and not waste Atlas\' love.

However, what they didn\'t know was that from afar as it is now evening, there was a vampire watching them with a broken heart.

Marcus was atop a tree. He was far from them but being a vampire with keen and clear vision, he could see them from clearly from where he stood.

"Hmph…"

Marcus jumped from the tree and walked away, making sure that he concealed himself from the crowd just so women won\'t stare at him because of his looks. As a vampire, he was able to obfuscate in sight.

It is the uncanny ability for a person like him to conceal themselves from sight, sometimes even in full view of a crowd. An obfuscated vampire doesn\'t actually become invisible, however — rather, he is able to delude observers into believing that he has vanished.

He also made sure to obfuscate himself for him not to be seen by the two, Atlas and Meredith. He made sure that he is far away from them as well so as for Atlas not to track his scent because for sure, he would attack him in a heartbeat for kissing Meredith.

As Marcus made sure that he was already away from the crowd, he made himself visible. He found himself hiding in an almost empty alleyway. He leaned on the damp wall, not bothered that his leather jacket is touching it.

His face was unreadable but the emotions in him circled and clashed--as if in desperate release for their escape. He was happy seeing Meredith, but it pained him to see and know that he was not the reason for that happiness.

Meredith and Atlas--they both are happy together. He thought that with him kissing Meredith, they would be fighting about it for too long but looking at how they are spending time happily together… even sharing a sweet kiss in public… it would seem that his plan was futile.

Marcus\' jaw clenched and his hands on the sides turned into tight fists. He knew that that was not the real intention as to why he kissed her. He really wanted her for himself, too.

He had to admit that there was a sense of triumph he felt when Meredith reciprocated the kiss--but he knew all too well that it was the bond that strongly influenced her to return the kiss; it was the bond that strongly influenced her to feel that way as they kissed.

He loved her, too. But the world is unfair; he knew that all too well.

Marcus chose Meredith as the love of his life… but the love of his life chose someone else.

"Tsk…"

Marcus clicked his tongue. As he looked at the moon above him, he thought that even though they wanted him out of their hair, he would still choose to be there for Meredith if ever she would need help.

He will always be there for her even though her heart clearly shows who it chose.

***

Atlas and Meredith continued walking. As it was slowly getting chillier compared to a moment ago, he thought that they should already go to the hotel they booked in advance as they wait for Austin.

"It\'s getting cold. We have to go to our booked room now," Atlas suggested, Meredith nodding to agree to his suggestion.

"Alright," Meredith said as well, her hand tightening on Atlas\' as they walked. "I want a warm bath, too… it is indeed chilly tonight."

"By the way--" Atlas started, "--Austin just told me right now that he\'s going to meet us in Ireland instead as he had some other stuff urgent to do in the palace."

"Oh, alright. For how long?" Meredith asked, Atlas answering her question as they are now in the hotel.

"He\'ll be done the day after tomorrow with the things he needed to settle," he answered, the two of them stopping at the lobby for a while to talk.

"Oh…" Meredith said, a small smile coming to her face. "Then your plan on having a date with whichever method of travel I choose might be postponed. We only have a free day to ourselves to meet with Sofia and the others."

"Who says we can\'t have a short date while we are traveling to Ireland by plane?"

Atlas and Meredith chuckled. The two of them already went to the reception desk to show their reservations. The woman at the desk recorded their entry and had already given their keys so they can already check-in to their room.

The two of them then rode the elevator to the 7th floor of the hotel. As they waited in silence for them to reach the designated floor of their room, Meredith looked at Atlas from the corner of her eye, making him smirk.

"I know you\'re looking at me," he said, making her laugh. "What\'s up?"

"Oh, nothing…" Meredith said, what she said next making Atlas chuckle even though she meant nothing behind her statement. "Nothing, just thinking what we could do this evening."

"Oh… you\'re so naughty, Meredith."

"Wha--" she had her eyes wide, hitting Atlas\' waist with her hand. "I didn\'t mean anything by that!"

"Stop feigning ignorance," Atlas teased, the elevator doors already opening. "We can shower together and then sleep."

"Just shower and sleep?"

"And you said you didn\'t mean anything…"

"I meant we could watch something! Or talk some more!"

With that, their walk to their hotel room was lively. They thought that it\'s nice to have a moment together like today before they meet Sofia and the others tomorrow.