Maybe I was just seeing things?
It was very possible that I was. It could’ve even been one of Alexa’s memories. Only problem was that I could tell exactly when I was reliving one of her memories, and what just happened felt real. My only explanation was that we were growing closer in our bond, and I was sinking deeper into her mind.
Yeah that has to be it, I thought. Esha is dead.
“Why are you awake?” Alexa asked.
Remembering why I was up and standing in the sunlight, I pushed back my worried thoughts and brought up a slight smile. Alexa hadn’t caught on just yet, but when she realized what she was looking at, her eyes widened before glistening with a calm happiness, and a small smile followed.
“You can finally stand in the sun,” she said softly. “I’m so glad. I knew how sad it made you that you could no longer withstand sunlight.” Slowly, Alexa stood from the bed and walked over to me, then she moved her hand into the ray of light, instantly revealing the beautiful golden glow that swished below her skin like calm ocean water. “We are both the same now. It is refreshing to know that we can both go into the sun and moon together.” She looked over her shoulder at the bed. “But it is best that we do get our rest. You and I will train tonight.”
I nodded, excited for our next training session. It wasn’t that she went any easier on me than before, but I was beginning to catch onto her fighting style, and I also enjoyed spending time with her while doing something that we both seemed to like.
Alexa turned to walk back towards the bed but then stopped and turned to look over her shoulder at me. “A few moments ago, were you thinking about Esha?”
My eyebrows furrowed, but I did my best not to act out of the ordinary. I wasn’t sure what I saw, but I was now sure that it wasn’t one of Alexa’s memories. “No, I think that I just caught Loren walking outside.”
Alexa’s eyes lowered towards the floor. “Yes. They do look just alike. Loren is her doppelgänger, but I know the difference between the two of them, and the person you were thinking of was not Loren.” Her eyes came back to me. “I let you into my mind but be careful with how deep you go to it. It is very possible to get your thoughts and memories confused with mine.”
I wasn’t sure what any of this meant, but I nodded anyway.
~Frostbitten~
Alexa swiped her claws at my face, but I was quick to dodge back before throwing a punch. Of course, she was a lot faster than me and was quick to move out of the way, and while I was still in mid punch she flashed over to my side and threw a hook at my ribs, knocking me to the ground.
I quickly rolled back to my feet just as Alexa dug her sharp claws into the dirt where I was previously lying, and before she could make another move, I flashed behind her and wrapped my arm around her neck, pulling her into a rear naked choke.
“I got you this time,” I said in her ear. “Now what?
Alexa only struggled for a moment longer before slightly turning her head to the side with a hint of a smile on her lips. “You forget my abilities.”
My eyes widened right before an invisible force yanked me from around her neck and sent me flying across the yard until I landed with a hard thud over the ground.
As I slid across the dirt and came to a stop, I heard the sounds of Kahlien, Kastien, and Argon laughing, and when I turned to them, I found that they were laughing and pointing at me.
I sighed and watched as Alexa made her way over to me with a triumphant ‘I cheated’ grin. I wanted it to be angry but found it hard to ever be upset with her.
“You cheated,” I said as I stood to my feet.
“How?” Alexa asked with a chuckle. “I never mentioned any rules about withholding our abilities.”
“I never said you couldn’t use them against me,” she said through her mind.
“Oh well, you’re on then,” I thought back. “I’ve been practicing a few moves I hadn’t shown you yet.”
“Yeah, we’ll see during our next session.” She looked me up and down with an arched brow.
“Hey, you guys finally finished?” Kahlien asked. “We’re about to have a game session. You want to join?”
Alexa and I both examined each other’s filthy appearances before turning back to the others.
“Maybe after a hot shower and dinner,” Alexa answered.
“Same goes for me,” I shrugged. “But be prepared to lose.”
Alexa and I both took our showers and dressed in clean clothes before heading down to the lounge room where the entire pack was waiting for us, including Loren.
Unlike the guys standing around the pool table, she was sitting on the short couch while watching something on the flat screen, paying no mind to us when we entered the room.
I also noticed that Argus was sitting near the fireplace with a book in his hands. I guessed this was how he joined in on the family activities, which made sense because I couldn’t imagine him playing a game of pool with anyone.
“Princess,” Lor greeted Alexa before turning to me. “And the ice princess.”
I smiled at Lor and headed over to the pool table of shirtless men, then was tossed a pool stick.
“I hope you two are ready to lose,” Kastien said with an arched brow. “We’re playing teams.”
Alexa smirked and held out her hand, yanking the pool stick from Kastien’s with her telekinesis. “Faith and I will do fine on our own team. It can be wolves against vampires.”
My eyebrows furrowed at Alexa’s sudden change in attitude. It reminded me of the time we went to the club in New York City where she showed a side to her that many would label as sexy.
Agron stood at one end of the table and smirked. “May the best species win.”
Alexa was first to go up, already knocking three striped balls in. Since it was adamant that she was well experienced in this game, she had to give up the pool stick after getting a ball in the hole.
I, on the other hand, was not very good, which was confusing since I thought vampires could virtually be good at everything. Now, I was finding that that was very untrue, and I was not the most reliable teammate.
This helped the wolves keep up with us, but Alexa didn’t seem to be worried. When it was my turn she just stood back and watched while motivating me through her thoughts, giving me tips on what shots to make and how to make them.
When it was down to me and the black eight ball, Alexa noticed the stress forming across my face and decided to pitch in.
“Go with it.” Alexa thought.
I wasn’t sure what she meant until I could feel the pool stick moving on its own.
“You’re big on cheating, aren’t you?” I thought.
“Only if I think it will work, and that I won’t get caught.”
When I felt the pool stick move, I moved along with it, only this time for some reason I could feel Alexa’s hand slide over mine and smell her sweet perfume as if she were right next to me. The tips of her hair tickled my right shoulder, and her body heat warmed me, only she was still standing in the same spot as before. Not actually near me.
Swallowing, we knocked the ball into the hole and got the win.
“What was that?” I asked through thought. “I could feel you.”
“It’s a special ability we vampires have when another is sired to us,” she thought back.
My cheeks warmed in embarrassment. “Oh, well that explains it then.”
The wolves sighed and huffed before blaming each other for their loss.
I walked over to Alexa and gave her a high-five.
“No way. There’s no way I can accept this. We could not have lost to a pair of vampires,” Kahlien said.
Argus chuckled and flipped a page in his book but didn’t pay us any mind.
Loren sighed and looked up. “You didn’t just lose to any normal vampires. Remember, one of them has a very special modification.”
The wolves turned to us with furrowed brows and frowns.
Lor was the first to speak. “Did you cheat, Princess?”
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Alexa grinned and tilted her head to the side. “Is using one’s own special abilities cheating?”
Alexa and Lor both stared at each other before chuckling.
Aramus shook his head and folded his arms. “I can’t believe that none of you could tell this entire time.”
Alexa shrugged. “Pool was never my strong suit. I was always more of a chess playing kind of woman.”
When the others turned to me, my lips parted and I shrugged with my palms facing upwards, then I began to laugh.
~Frostbitten~
We were barely through the middle of the night before Alexa said something about going to bed early. I wasn’t sure why at first, but when she mentioned something about getting up in time to see the sunrise, I smiled and mentally let her know that I would be there soon.
It was just that I wanted to confirm something before I left, and fortunately, the person that I wanted to confirm my thoughts with was the last left sitting in the lounge room.
I stood a few feet away from the open doorway while Loren sat on the couch pretending that she hadn’t noticed me. After a few seconds of staring at the TV and not actually watching it, she rolled her eyes over to me, flashing them in an annoyance.
I took a deep breath and placed my hand on my hip, but as I open my mouth to speak my eyes traveled up and down her body just to make sure that everything was in place. I wanted to be sure that there was absolutely nothing different about her since we had first met, and to my delight, she was our usual hostile dressed self in what I would call biker clothing.
“What?” Loren Snapped.
I cocked a brow, my dark vampire side just below the surface. “Were you out walking this morning?”
Loren stared at me for a long moment before raising her eyebrows and taking in a deep breath. “Why in the hell does that matter?”
“Because I want to know,” I replied in a sharp tone. Since I’d been staying here within the walls, Loren had been nothing more than passive aggressive. She wasn’t as much of a bully as I thought that she was, but I figured that was only because of Argus and Alexa. It made having even the slightest conversation difficult, which was why when I needed something I only went to her brothers.
Loren rolled her eyes again. “Little girl, why are you talking to me?”
“Just answer the damn question,” I sighed. “You don’t have to be difficult—or a bitch.”
Loren’s eyes flashed again before a slight smile came to her lips. “You’ve gotten quite confident since your training began.” She crossed her legs. “But don’t forget who the stronger one in this room is. You wouldn’t stand a chance against me, child.”
My fangs stretched below my lips at the inkling of a threat, but I kept myself from walking towards her and yanking her up by her throat.
I didn’t respond to her and only continued to stand in the doorway and wait. I knew that eventually I would get an answer because she wouldn’t be able to ignore my scent, which annoyed her.
Loren plopped back into the couch with a huff. “No, I wasn’t out walking this morning. I was with Agron, visiting with the head vampires to talk about what they learned from spying on the anti-supernatural soldiers. I just got back a few hours before you started training.”
I only stared at Loren, this time with a confused expression all over my face. If it wasn’t her that was outside during the day, then who the hell was it?
Loren cocked a brow before tilting her head to the side. “What are you doing up in the morning anyways? You develop the ability to stand in the sunlight now?”
I almost answered when I found her curious stare to be a little more curious than usual. It was odd, because she had never seemed to care much about anything that had to do with me before. She usually always brushed stuff off like it were nothing.
I stood in the doorway for few seconds longer before backing away into the hall. I couldn’t seem to voice my new discovery, because her smile was too hauntingly familiar and reminded me of a man who stood in the shadows with a sadistic grin on his face.
Chapter Nine
I wasn’t sure what to think by the time I got back to the bedroom, and I didn’t want to bring anything up to Alexa until I was sure of what I’d seen.
As I lay in bed beside her though, I wondered what would happen between the two of us if Esha was alive. So far, our relationship had developed into something a little more than friendly, and although I still hadn’t come to fully understand the feelings that I had for her, I knew that the last thing I ever wanted to happen was to be separated or maybe even replaced.
I watched as Alexa slept in the moonlight with her head slightly tilted towards me as she rested on her back, and I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her glowing features. She was truly one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, and I felt lucky to be sired to her. We may not have met in the best of circumstances, but I was glad that we did, and I hoped that nothing would ever come between us.
Especially not the past.
~Frostbitten~
I jumped at the feeling of a soft hand gliding over my shoulder but knew not to be on alert. My brain and body already knew whose hand it was, which kept me in a calm state while butterflies awakened in the pit of my stomach.
When I open my eyes to find Alexa staring down at me with a slight smile on her lips and her long hair hanging over her shoulder, I couldn’t decide if I were more excited about our trip into the sunlight or just of the simple fact that Alexa looked breathtaking this morning.
“Good morning,” she said softly, her soft voice causing my heart to flutter.
I could only smile back like a child on the morning of her birthday, which made me feel silly when Alexa chuckled and moved a few strands of hair behind her ear.
“You’re excited,” she said, a bright smile forming on her face as well. “So am I.”
When I looked towards the window, I found that it was wide open with the bright sun shining into the room, this time even brighter than before. We must’ve slept in a bit, whatever that meant anymore.
“Well, are you ready to go, or do you just want to watch the day go by through the window?”
“Let’s go,” I said before jumping up and running to the bathroom for morning groom time.
Once I was done, I dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray hoodie, then fluffed up my wild sandy brown curls to complete my look.
When I turned to Alexa, I found that she was in her usual gear, which was a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, jeans, and black combat boots. All that she’d changed was her hair. Lately, she had been keeping it up in a ponytail, but today she wore it down her back where it stopped in the center of her back.
When Alexa caught me watching her, she turned to me with a slightly raised brow but didn’t say anything, which was fine by me. I figured that she may have sensed what I was thinking without actually reading my mind and would be embarrassed if she mentioned me admiring her.
Alexa walked over to the window and raised it before removing the screen. “Are you ready?” she asked with her foot already planted up on the windowsill.
My eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t want to take the door?”
Alexa chuckled. “What’s the point of walking all the way to the door when you have the ability to leap from a window that’s three stories high?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head just before Alexa jumped from the window, then kissed Allie on his forehead before following behind her, somewhat missing the rush that I felt from jumping from one building to another in the city.
I landed beside Alexa in a pile of yellow, red, and orange leaves before turning to her and admiring the golden glow just below her skin. Looking down at my own hand, I found that I was also glowing.
“We must stay near the mansion,” Alexa said. “Argus’ entire property is protected by a boundary spell, but anywhere outside of it — we could be seen, and I don’t think that anyone would know how to respond to us.”
“Well, we do
kind of look like mutants,” I chuckled.
Alexa furrowed her brows. “Mutants? I actually thought we looked more like goddesses.”
With a flip of her hair she walked ahead, causing me to roll my eyes with a chuckle. “You’re such a diva.”
The two of us walked side-by-side through the forest in silence. Only it was the good kind of silence. The kind where we could enjoy each other’s company while also being taken by the beautiful view surrounding us.
Since Alexa really never went out during the day, I felt as if she were getting her sunlight back as well. I had a feeling that she decided not to before, not only because the sun literally made her glow, but because she knew of how much I missed it. Now that I could go out, she must’ve been excited to have her freedom of the daylight.
And I had a feeling that she liked it better now that she had me to enjoy it with.
“I thought I would never see autumn again,” I said while looking up at the red and orange trees.
“Even if you hadn’t developed the ability to stand in the sun, I would’ve made sure that you could still see how beautiful the fall is in Alaska.” She only glanced at me before looking back ahead. “Anything to make you happy.”
My cheeks warmed, and I had to swallow before speaking. “So, once all of this is over do you want to officially make this our home?” It felt weird, calling something the both of ours, but I couldn’t imagine being away from her. I’d always want to be by Alexa’s side.
“Only if that is something you would like.”
“Oh,” I said as I looked up just in time to catch a moose galloping off. “That is something that I would like, but I still want to travel. You know, see things. Things that you can show me.”
This time, when Alexa glanced over at me, she had somewhat of a shy smile on her lips.
“Then that is what we will do.”
I wondered how Alexa could go from vicious and brutal, to hot and sexy, and then finally to shy and maybe even a little nervous? I found all her personalities to be highly attractive, but sometimes wondered if I could switch up like that too? Was it even normal for vampires, or was this really how Alex acted even when she was human?
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