Xavier's lips turned upward, slowly breaking into a meek grin, one which made Adrienne's stomach flip. She mentally cursed herself for the agitation she felt for her fiancé. Sure, she found him drop-dead gorgeous and undeniably charming, but that didn't mean she liked him, right?
“Take my offer or leave it?” He was smiling suspiciously at her. “You're still going to find out anyway.”
“Is it wrong to want to know it right now?”
“Why are you so pushy?” Xavier couldn't help but ask while laughing. “Seriously, I'm going to tell you once we get home.”
“So you're taking me home?” Adrienne asked, eyebrows rising up suggestively.
“Don't you have an after party to attend?”
Adrienne shook her head, no. Once the dance finished at twelve, some of the Day Class students were going to head over to a club and start another party there, a party that was probably going to be just like all the other parties Adrienne had gone to and would go to in the very near future. After-parties were always a lot of fun, but Adrienne could skip this one. “I wasn’t planning to go. Prolonging the moment of truth, Xavier?”
He smirked before saying,” Never.”
“Then thank you in advance for taking me home,” Adrienne answered, smiling back at him.
Reaching out his hand for her to take, Xavier pulled Adrienne along with him as they ambled over to the dance floor. He carefully wound his arms around her small waist. Instinctively they moved closer together, and then their breaths hitched.
His touch vibrated through her body, awaking every sense. Surprisingly, neither felt awkward in the other’s arms. They were a good fit. It was as if they to complement one another, just exactly like vampire mates.
“But seriously, you're, different tonight,” Adrienne said, initiating conversation, her arms still clasped together against the back of his neck.
“Different, in a good way or a bad way?”
“Good because I like seeing you happy, and bad because you're confusing me,” she said, looking away and her words trailing off.
The slow song seemed to go on forever, but no one cared. Even the female vampires were having a nice time slow dancing with the male bloodsuckers. Adrienne just hoped that the 'romantic mood' wouldn't excite the vampires enough that they would let their guards down and start drinking each other's blood.
This caused Adrienne to sigh in defeat. She promised herself that she wasn't going to bring a date because she wanted to focus on the making the party flow smoothly, but since the moment she got to the dance she’d been right at Xavier's side. In the eyes of everyone, Adrienne and Xavier looked like an official couple, and she hadn't even realized that until the whispering and the staring began.
“They should just take a picture,” Adrienne muttered against Xavier's shoulder. “It's would last longer.”
Xavier smiled at her, causing her to bury her head deeper into his neck. She felt his arms, which were around her waist, loosening, and she did the same to her grip on his neck. They were farther apart now and were hoping that the watchful eyes surrounding them would find another victim to stare down and kill. Unfortunately, seeing the two most popular people in the Day and the Night classes holding one another and dancing was just too good a sight to let go.
“Adrienne Stahl, are you uncomfortable with the attention you're getting?” Xavier's eyes were full of playfulness, and Adrienne couldn't help but nudge him in the shoulder.
“I'm sure you can hear the things they're whispering about.” Adrienne's voice sounded firm. “They're saying we're together. Can you believe that?”
“Technically, we're together since we're fiancés and all, right?”
“Well, that's technically,” Adrienne answered, moving away from him slowly and furtively. She didn't want him to think she didn’t like his hold on her because she sure as hell did. “I meant officially.”
That silenced Xavier. What could he possibly say to that? If he answered her, he'd probably reveal things he never wanted her to know. Although he had promised to tell her once they got home. He just knew that what she felt for him wasn't as strong as his feelings for her, and that was a blow to his pride.
“That seemed to shut you up.” The slow song ended, and a much faster beat sounded from the speakers. “Yes, I love this song!”
Starting to groove, Adrienne moved her head to the side and saw Aidan, Brianna, Tristan, Sabrina, Max, and even Ethan walking up to her and Xavier. They seemed pumped up to really get the party started, and Adrienne must have looked truly stupid jumping up and down in her monkey costume.
“Everyone has to sing!” shouted Sabrina over the loud music as everyone in the group started to form a middle-sized circle.
“1, 2,” Ethan moved to the very center of the circle. There was no room for arguments and fighting, Adrienne realized. She just needed to accept that Ethan was going to be a bastard and a fun, fun one at that. “3!”
Dancing crazily and idiotically, everyone sang,
“Oh hot damn, this is my jam!
Keep me partying till the A.M.
Ya'll don't understand, make me throw my hands
In the ayer, ay, ayer, ayer, ay, ayer.”
Everyone, Aidan and Xavier excluded, really went all out in the dancing department. The girls were getting really, really low while the guys attempted to grind with the femme fatales. Max and Sabrina ended up dancing exceptionally close to each other as the couple made their way to the center of the circle.
“If you're not going to dance then jump at least!” Adrienne whispered loudly into Xavier's ears.
“I don't like hip hop that much!” he whispered back at her.
Turning her full body to face him, she grabbed hold of his hips and pulled him closer against her.
“You have to let go, Xavier!” she soothed. “Relax! Get crazy! Be free!”
“I'm not, we're—”
Adrienne shook her head at this, cutting his sentence short. “Saying that vampires aren't as crazy and as wild, as humans— is rubbish. It's not even a reasonable excuse!” she said to him. “Xavier, I'm one of you and I'm letting go!”
He breathed a sigh. Somehow he had to do this. He couldn't believe she was actually making him do something as foolish as dancing like there was no tomorrow. “Then teach me, how to be free,” he said, moving his head very close to her ear, so that no one could hear the words he was going to tell her except for Aidan, most probably, and the other vampires shyly dancing close to them. “Teach me what it's like to be human.”
She grinned proudly at him as if she had won the Nobel Prize. “The first step is to stand out.”
And before what she said could register in his brain, he stood out from Adrienne's group of friends. She had pushed him out of line, and he was now in the middle of the circle.
“I can't do this alone!” Xavier shouted at her, and before she knew it, he had pulled her with him to the center. And there, Xavier didn't hold on anymore to the social insecurities that came with being a vampire. There was no more hiding behind a quiet, inconspicuous shell.
They danced. They let go. They lived.
* * * * *
“Damn. That was awesome,” Xavier said, leaning back in the driver's seat as he started up the car.
Adrienne was so hot. She took off her monkey costume, stripping down to the shorts and tee-shirt that she had on underneath. She ran her fingers through her hair and entered the passenger's side, and when she finally closed the door and settled down on her seat, Xavier began the drive back to the Stahl residence. The moment of truth was within reach now for Adrienne, she just had to wait for a few more minutes before she would find out what was making Xavier more enthusiastic and alive. “I have to agree with you. I didn't even know you could dance so well.”
“Well,” He lifted up his shoulders before dropping them back down again. “It's one of my many great traits and talents.”
“It's unfortunate though that humility isn't also one of those many gr
eat traits and talents.”
Xavier chuckled before he reached his arm out to punch her lightly on the arm. “Say that again, and you're not going to get anything out of me,” he threatened, his face turning so that he could look at her.
She faced the dashboard. “And look at that,” She was smirking and was ready to jump out of the car. “We're here!”
Sighing, he ran a hand through his already-messy hair before he turned off the engine and got out of the car. Adrienne, on the other hand, linked his arm with hers and pulled him forcefully and abruptly into the foyer of her house. She was ready to know the reason behind Xavier's liveliness which she had to admit had some effect on her. Tonight's experience with her fiancé truly felt different. For once he had let go and acted human, and enjoyed their time together. She couldn't help but love him for trying to please her, and now, it was his turn to make her happy.
“Spit it out,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest in anticipation.
He exhaled deeply and opened his mouth. He was nervous, but she was persuasive. He just needed to get it done and over with to save himself from her unending forcefulness.
“Fine, here, I, I l-”
“Xavier, my darling boy!” a smooth, seductively regal voice interrupted.
Xavier and Adrienne widened their eyes in shock swung in unison to the figure standing at the foot of the staircase. Soon, Carter Stahl joined the woman.
“What are you doing here, Mom?” asked Xavier, relieved that Adrienne wasn't able to get anything out of him.
The woman ignored his son's greeting as she walked over to critically examine the eighteen-year old that stood beside Xavier. Slowly, her lips turned upwards into a smile. It was small and subtle, but everyone saw it.
“So you're going to be the new Queen some day,” she said, her voice commanding attention. “My son's mate, yes?”
Adrienne could only smile before she hesitantly nodded her head.
Chapter 12: In a Month
“You make her sound like an animal, Mom,” Xavier said, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden appearance of one of his parents. “Is Dad here, too?”
Adrienne looked back and forth from mother to son. The resemblance was there, in the eyes, opaque crystalline blue eyes. On the mother those eyes were highlighted by blonde white tendrils framing a fragile porcelain face. His mother could put any woman, young or old, to shame, and Adrienne immediately felt insecure.
“You don't have to be scared of me, dear,” said the female regent, turning her head to face her son's fiancé. “You're much more beautiful than what you give yourself credit for.”
Forgetting that vampire regents had the ability to read the minds of other vampires, Adrienne bit her lip in embarrassment. She never expected this kind of thing to happen. Maybe she shouldn’t have come home early or skipped the after-party. If she were to put the blame on someone, it was going to be Xavier, but looking at him, her eyes narrowed. He seemed like all the energy had been sucked out of him. And she hadn't used her psychic powers on him.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, eyeing her father, Xavier, and his mother.
They all acted like something serious had just happened. However she didn’t have a clue what it could be.
“It's Dad, isn't it?” Xavier turned to look right into his mother's eyes and saw the answer in them.
Suddenly, Adrienne had some idea of what everyone was worried about. She still had a lot of unanswered questions.
Coincidentally or not, Xavier wondered about the same things. “But how?” He was moving towards his mother. “He's not supposed to die?”
Xavier's mom, whose name Adrienne still didn't know yet, placed a hand on Carter Stahl's shoulder, and in return, he nodded in understanding. “I'll explain for you, Henrietta.”
“Explain what?” Xavier's voice rose. “That my father's going to die? But he's immortal.”
“I’m sorry Xavier. But your father was shot in the heart with a bullet that was specially designed for maximum damage to our species,” Adrienne's father finished, and because of the gravity of his words, Xavier could only fall to the floor.
In comfort, Adrienne took slow steps before she stood beside him then knelt down. She grazed his shoulders with one of her arms and welcomed him to lean closer to her. He didn't, and she felt her heart constrict. It was only now that she realized how important his family was to him.
“He was shot by a woman know as Fedora Jekaterina. She is one of the most infamous vampire hunters during this time.” Adrienne's father showed no sign of slowing down or stopping for sympathy. “She shot your father with a bullet that was designed to release a noxious substance that will slowly kill your father’s body. We don’t have an antidote, or cure for this weapon.”
“So you came here just to bring the bad news?” Xavier said, addressing the question to his mother.
She slowly walked over to him, and Adrienne obediently moved aside to give the woman space. It was the first time she ever saw Xavier completely vulnerable. “I wouldn't travel over three thousand miles just to bring you this news. I could call and speak with you about this.”
“So why else are you here?”
They continued staring at each other.
“I've always known you were a smart boy.” Her smile wobbled. “I've come to bring you home.”
In that moment, Adrienne froze. Her whole word just stopped. It took her father's warm, comforting hand to bring her back to reality. The bomb had just been dropped, and quite abruptly for that matter. She and her father turned to Xavier and his mom. By the look on his face, he didn't look like he wanted to leave. She guessed right.
“But this is my home.”
“Xavier, I know it's hard to leave a place you've grown so accustomed to, but your father's sick, and we don't know how much time he has left.” Henrietta Kristofferson was the archetype of what a queen was supposed to be. “And you're going to replace him,” she then said, turning to face Adrienne next. “And you're going to replace me.”
“Henrietta, you don’t expect my daughter to leave with you, do you?”
The regent's smile melted the ice and tension enveloping the whole room. By the tremor in her voice, Adrienne knew she truly loved her Kingdom. “Not yet, but I need Xavier to go back. You do understand my stand, right, Carter?”
Adrienne's father nodded his head before he turned to face Xavier. The vampire in question was still glued to the floor, his head bent down, and his body preternaturally still. “Your mother's right, your kingdom needs you.”
“But my father isn't dead.”
“Your mother and your father's loyal board of trustees still have to train you. They need time to groom you and make you into a king, a ruler ready to serve his country.”
Xavier was hesitant.
“Your dad and I need you, Xavier.”
And that resolved all his uncertainty. He propped his palms on the cold floor and pushed himself up. His nod was minute, but everyone saw it and understood his commitment.
Adrienne's guts tightened. She didn't know why, but she really didn’t like what was happening. She hadn’t had enough time with him. But this wasn’t about her. She tried to look at Xavier, but ever since he was made aware of the news of his father's poor health, he hadn’t once glanced her way.
“When are we leaving?” he asked, dusting off his pants.
“Later tonight.”
“You should say goodbye to Aidan and the rest,” Adrienne meekly offered.
He turned to face her and nodded, it took a lot of courage but he smiled. He barely tilted his lips upward, but the curve was there, and Adrienne just had to smile back. It was the first time she saw some light in him ever since he knew of his father's condition, and knowing that she was able to brighten up his day made her happy as well.
“I can do that after you help me pack.”
Carter Stahl and Henrietta Kristofferson eyed each other like a bunch of teenagers. Something was going on with their two chil
dren. And it looked like something good. It would really be bad if this separation interfered with that.
“Don't bring too much stuff, Xavier dear,” the female vampire regent said, still smirking. “I look forward to seeing you again, Adrienne.”
“Same here, Mrs. Kristofferson.”
Her smile was genuinely polite. “Hopefully, it will be soon. You have an open invitation to visit us in Europe.”
“I'd like to visit Europe again,” was her understated answer.
* * * * *
Xavier didn’t leave that night, but he was leaving today. They had gone to their respective beds for some rest, and now Adrienne was trying to help him pack. To say that Xavier's room was a mess was an understatement. He had emptied his closets and pulled down the posters and pictures that he’d hung on his walls. His clothes were strewn all across the floor.
Adrienne had to maneuver strategically through the piles to make sure she didn't step on anything that was clean. He’d thrown a couple of his vintage shirts on his bed, and Adrienne was the one to fold them and place them neatly into his luggage.
“Oh how will you live without me?” Adrienne teased, grouping his clothes according to tops and bottoms, boxers excluded of course.
That was Xavier's business.
“Life will be a bit boring; I’m sure, but still bearable.”
He walked over to her side and watched her as she tried to take care of him. She was cleaning up after him, folding his clothes, fixing things before she put them away. She then motioned for him to pick up his bathroom stuff, and when he gave them to her, she placed them in one of the larger pockets of the suitcase. It made him emotional.
“But seriously, things are going to be different especially with the Night Class.” She avoided making eye contact with him. “You'll be missed.”
Smirking, he placed a hand on her mop of hair and disheveled it, forcing her to swat his arm away.
She frowned at him as he kept the smirk on his face.
“I'll miss you too, Adrienne,” he said, his voice void of the slightest emotion.
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