“Only because you had my blood in a vial! If you hadn’t—”
“I did. That’s what matters.”
“But you almost died.”
“Yes, I would’ve if not for you, and I still would. You are the reason why I breathe.”
“Julian, we… we need to talk about the future.”
“I know we do,” I say, grateful she brought it up and also not surprised that we’re on the same wavelength. “What do you want?”
“Long answer or short?”
“I have a feeling I know the short answer,” I tease.
She giggles. “You might, as long as you’re thinking blood.”
“Very funny.”
“Of course the short answer is you! Long term… I don’t know. Honestly, that’s always been the case, even before you. I just… I don’t know what I want from the rest of my life, what career I want, how I want to live, where I want to live…”
“You only know who you want to live with.”
“Yes. What about you?” Romelia asks eagerly. “Maybe if you tell me what you’re thinking…”
“I don’t know either,” I say honestly. “Do you think we’ll end up living in a human city? Because where we live will most certainly affect what jobs will be available.”
“Would you want to live in a city? I would’ve thought you would need the countryside.”
“It’s not as if I can’t drive out of the city to shift,” I tease her.
“You think I’m a city girl?”
“We could live on the outskirts of the city,” I suggest. “Head in for work, stick our noses out of everyone else’s business, be alone…”
“You can’t be alone,” she reminds me.
I run a hand through my hair. “I love animals,” I say slowly.
“You want to be a zookeeper? An animal handler of some kind?”
“No, I’m just letting you know I might want a pet.”
“A pet? You’re joking, right? I would’ve thought…”
“A husky. What do you think?”
“You want a pet dog,” she says, sounding exasperated. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or if you’re being serious!”
I burst out laughing. “I do love animals, and if I had one as a pet, you can be sure that I would treat him or her like gold, but no, that’s not what I want to do for a living.”
“Then what? I mean, it’s all right if you don’t know because I don’t know myself, but…”
I’m silent for a moment.
“We can talk about something else,” she says timidly.
“No. No, I think I might know what I want to do after all,” I say slowly.
“What?” she asks enthusiastically.
“I’ve been helping werewolves to the infirmary a lot more often than I want to, but… I want to know how to help them, how to help everyone. Werewolves, humans…”
“Would you want to work at a human hospital or something just for werewolves?”
“That I don’t know yet.”
“Still, that’s really something, Julian. I should’ve known you would want to do something to help others.”
“You approve then?”
She laughs, and I’m sure she’s shaking her head while smiling. “It’s not up to me to approve.”
"You have a say in my life, considering it's soon going to be our life."
“Our life,” she says dreamily, and our talk turns to the wedding. We have time yet to set our plans for the future in stone. For now, we still have the luxury of dreaming.
Chapter 20
Romelia
The school year is winding down, and I have to pick a course to fail if we’re going that route. Should we? I suppose we have no choice considering my parents will want me home otherwise, and that will not be happening. Not at all.
Hmm. I wonder…
I should be studying one last time for my big test tomorrow in Mind Control, but I toss my tablet down onto my bed, roll off, and leave my room to knock on Tyra’s door.
“Come in,” she calls.
I open her door.
“What do you need, Romelia?” she asks dryly.
Pretending to be hurt, I put a hand to my chest. “Why do you assume I need something?”
"Because you only ever come to my room when you do." She winks at me and waves me over to sit on her bed with her as she drops her phone onto her lap. "I'm just playing."
I sit and admit, “I do need something. Advice.”
“Uh oh. Don’t tell me there’s trouble in—”
Quickly, I lean forward and cover her mouth, glaring at her.
She pulls my hand down. “Wolfy,” she mouths before saying, “Paradise,” aloud.
I just shake my head at her. “Nothing like that,” I assure her. “I just…”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Last break… Last year, I could’ve done better with my classes. I could’ve avoided having to take summer classes.”
“It was a blessing so you could see him every day,” she muses. “Ah, so you’re considering doing it again.”
Biting my lip, I nod. “That’s ridiculous, right?”
“You want to avoid your parents,” she assumes.
“Yes.”
“I suppose you could tell them we’re spending the break together,” Tyra muses, “but what’s in it for me?”
“What do you want?”
“You to have dinner with Constantine.”
“What?” I ask flatly. I cannot believe my ears.
“He won’t stop texting me, hounding me, trying to get to you through me, and I can’t take it anymore.”
“Are you serious?” I wince. “I blocked his number and email. Why haven’t you?”
“I’m honestly a little worried about what he might do next if I did.” Tyra shrugs.
“So you’ve been suffering through this for how long?”
“A little over a month.”
I blink several times. “And you’re just telling me now?”
“I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve gotten so good at avoiding him despite your having every class with him that I just figured you were in the clear.”
“But you’re suffering because of me,” I protest. “That’s not right.”
“Maybe not, but what are cousins for?” Tyra smiles wanly and glances toward her window. The moon is new, hardly visible at all.
“What’s going on, Tyra? Besides Constantine bothering you.” I pat her hand.
She slowly rotates her head to look at me, and she sighs heavily. “I feel like I’m going to explode,” she says bluntly.
“Explode?”
“Yes. I don’t have a suitable outlet for my stress.”
“Stress? Because of Constantine?”
“Maybe stress isn’t the right word,” she mutters. “I just feel so boxed in. I’m so angry and frustrated, and I don’t care about my classes. There’s nothing I care about at all! I don’t feel like myself either, and I… I called my mother.”
“You did?” Tyra’s relationship with her mother isn’t much better than my own.
“I did, and what she had to say… I didn’t want to hear it, but I think she’s right.”
“What did she say?”
“She said that being so restless, craving violence, wanting to pick fights… My demon side wants to come out to play.”
I still, shocked and appalled. What if that happens to me? What if it happens when I'm with Julian? Will my demon side, combined with my vampire side, make me want to hurt him? That's impossible! That will never happen… right?
“A few vampires have asked me out, but I turn them all down. Why? I don’t know. It’s not as if I can’t go out on a date here or there. It’s not like I want to marry them.”
I awkwardly laugh, but Tyra isn’t paying me much attention.
“I just want to be me. Figure out who I am first, you know? Besides, those vampires, I don’t think they want to actually get to know me. They’ve
both dated around, and who knows what diseases they have considering they’re the dead kind of vampires.”
I lift my eyebrows. “You don’t care for the dead vampires?”
This is news to me. I don't really pay attention to recognize if a vampire is living or not. There are subtle differences. Living vampires have eyes that are red all the time, even when we aren't hungry. Dead vampires turn redder and redder the thirstier they are. They tend to have more of a pale gray hue to their skin, whereas living vampires are more porcelain, almost like fairies and elves.
“I don’t know,” Tyra says honestly. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about more lately, and I don’t know why.”
All I do is squeeze her hand.
“The nightmares are the worst part,” she mumbles.
“Every night?”
“Yes.” She eyes me, her gaze focused for the first time since this conversation’s begun. “Don’t ask me what about.”
“I won’t.” I reach up and untie my necklace, the one my professor gave me. “Wear this.”
“But you need it!” she protests.
“Just for tonight. See if it helps, and if it does…”
She smiles wanly. “I doubt it will,” she murmurs. “It’s not an outward force that’s causing me issues. I am.”
“It’s worth trying.”
“Placebo.” Tyra shrugs, but her lips curl upward slightly. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” I hesitate. “You really think if I have dinner with him, he’ll stop harassing you?”
“Yes, but then he’ll be harassing you, so that’s a no-go.”
“I’ll talk to him after class. See if I can get him to stop, but dinner…”
“It’s asking too much. I knew it was when I first mentioned it.” She shakes her head. “Do you think all living vampires have issues with their demon side?”
“I hope not. No offense, but…”
“None taken.” Tyra yawns. “I’m going to try to rest now some. The nightmares have affected my sleep. I almost want to try to see if shifting to night classes will help and sleep during the day.”
“Do you really think that would help?” I ask curiously.
“I’m willing to try anything.” She runs her fingers across the necklace. “Thanks again.”
“Only thank me if it works.” I squeeze her hand and leave her be.
It's relatively early yet, so I return to my room and retrieve my tablet. For five minutes, I study. Then, I figure if I don't know it by now, I just won't know it and switch over to shopping. First, I find a witch who is selling a talisman necklace similar to the one I'm letting Tyra barter. I send the witch an email asking some specific questions before I start looking at wedding dresses. I mean, what does a vampire wear to a wedding? I can't dare to wear white, can I?
I could ask my mother what she wore, but honestly, whatever she did, I don't want to mimic. Maybe it's better if I don't know.
For a few hours, I pour over dresses. It’s exhausting but fun, and I’m no closer to knowing what I should wear by the time my eyes close and sleep claims me.
When the morning comes, I yawn and rub my eyes. My sleep was anything but restful. Hopefully, Tyra had a better night.
I slip down the hall to her and knock. There’s no answer, and I quietly open her door to see if she’s left already. No. She’s just sitting up, blinking and looking around.
“Romelia,” she says softly, a slow smile lightening her face.
“How did you sleep?”
“So very peacefully.”
“Good. I might have a surprise later on for you.”
“Really?” She unties the necklace and hands it back. “Let’s hurry and get us some blood before classes.”
Tyra definitely seems much happier this morning, and I am so glad. We take our time drinking our blood—her from the wrist of one of the humans provided and me from my goblet, of course. I haven’t drunk Julian’s blood in quite some time, but I am grateful he hasn’t had the need to drink mine to speed his healing process.
As a result of my spending time with Tyra, I’m nearly late for Fog Generation, which means I successfully avoid Constantine, but I am deliberately slow to leave so that he can catch up to me.
“Romelia,” he says in his disgustingly smooth voice.
“Constantine,” I say smoothly, possibly mocking his tone. “I would appreciate it greatly if you would leave my poor cousin alone. In case you haven’t realized, I blocked your number and email, and I won’t have you bothering her. Please stop.”
“Romelia, you do not have to worry. I’m not bothering her.”
“That’s not what Tyra’s saying. Leave her be. Leave me. I am not—”
“You will.”
I gape at him. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Ah, but I do.” He wags a finger at me. “You were going to make the ridiculous claim that you aren’t mine, but you see, we are to wed and have children together, and you have no say in the matter. You don’t even have to say, ‘I do.’ You don’t even have to talk to me. That’s fine. Not ideal, but… Romelia, I don’t understand why you seem to hate me so—”
“I don’t seem to hate you. I actually do hate you.”
"You don't even know me, and you discourage my attempts to get to know you. Even so, I know that you purposely failed those courses last year. You're trying to get out from under your parents. I understand, and I can help. Think what you want of me, but I do care for you. I hope that one day, you can grow to care for me, too, that we might even fall in love."
“That will never happen,” I say haughtily. “Never. I would rather marry swine.”
“A pig?”
“Yes, a pig.”
Constantine’s lips twist into a rueful smile. “You really might want to consider.”
“Why? Are you going to threaten me like my father did?”
"You might think that your father has forgotten that you didn't listen to him about the Red Moon Ball, but he hasn't. I am trying to protect you."
“Protect me from my father?”
“Yes.”
“And you know what he has planned for me, do you?”
Constantine hesitates. “I do.”
“Well?”
“He can force compliance with you.”
“Is that so?” I ask coolly, touching my necklace. “You will leave Tyra alone, and you will stop harassing me.”
“Are you trying to threaten me now?” he asks. I hate the amused smirk curling his lips.
“Perhaps.”
I stalk away from him even though we have the next class together. As I sit down in the next classroom, I can’t help recalling the last time my father threatened me.
“No, you do not draw the red moon. You experience it. You will attend dinner and then the ball with Constantine.”
“Why, Father? Why should I? Do you know how he talks to me? How he acts like he owns me? Do you have any idea why he would be under that impression, Father?”
“You will do as I say.”
“Or?”
“You might not like what comes next.”
So far, nothing has happened unless… Has Father had a hand in the issues between the vampires and the werewolves? Does he suspect I have feelings for a werewolf? Just what does Father know, and do I dare try to find out?
Chapter 21
Julian
The wedding is only days away now, and there are so many things I wish were different, so many variables I long to have different. The break started two days ago, and already, I feel lost. I spent the first day off with my family, and that just makes me struggle all the more with the idea of a secret wedding. The knowledge that my parents won't be there, that my siblings won't be either… it just feels wrong on so many levels.
My parents, will they understand when the truth comes to light eventually? They will one day know about Romelia, won’t they? They’ll meet her, right?
My hope for Romelia to get t
o see and meet Mercy and Bermon never came to fruition. It just never happened. The lockdown on the campuses had been that absolute that none of the werewolves could leave under any circumstance, not even if their alpha had need of them, which only furthers the belief that our headmaster acts and serves as a second alpha to us.
It’s been hard, so hard, and I’m having doubts. Not cold feet. Don’t misunderstand. I want to marry Romelia, I do. Nothing will ever change how I feel about her, but the secrets, the hiding, the lying… What if it just makes things worse? What if there isn’t ever peace?
Another struggle has been with my desire to learn how to heal werewolves. I asked if I could have an internship at the infirmary, but with the lockdown, there hadn’t been any more injuries, which is a good thing, of course, but that meant I learned nothing despite begging them to tell me what they would do if this happened, if that happened.
Vampire blood is a cure-all for nearly any wound, and yes, that includes werewolves. I’m alive today because of Romelia. Yes, one could argue that those vampires never would have attacked me in the first place if not for her, but it had been only a one-time effort to kill me. If they targeted me for another reason, I don’t know, and they haven’t been back again, so I suppose that means I am in the clear at least to some extent.
My mind is racing. I begged my parents for a day to just wander about the woods in peace in the hopes that I can settle my nerves, but I only become more and more on edge. My phone digs into my side through my pocket, and I retrieve it.
My thumb hovers above the keyboard. Romelia and I should’ve gotten married immediately, as soon as I had asked, but she had asked for time for things to settle.
But they haven't settled, not truly, and maybe they never will be. The lockdowns forced the werewolves and vampires to behave to a certain extent. During the last few weeks of the school year, the werewolves had to find an outlet for their aggression, and the chef in charge of our meal preparations allowed us to slaughter the animals for them. Barbaric? It didn't have to be, but it was.
As for the vampires, they weren’t any better behaved as Romelia told me that there had been an issue with some of the students drinking a bit too much from the humans brought on campus for them to drink from.
Blood Haven: Year Two: A Mayhem of Magic World Story Page 13