by Anna Santos
“Of course not. My parents wouldn’t do something as old-fashioned and stupid as that. They wanted me to find my place in the world, even if they were led to believe that hybrids didn’t have a soul-mate.”
Arranged marriages were extremely farfetched in a world where soul-mates were designed by the gods. But there were reported cases of that happening. Furthermore, only soul-mates were able to procreate. However, I had no idea if hybrids were naturally fertile like human women; consequently, the soul-mate rule wouldn’t apply to them.
“Is he in love with you?” I asked. I wanted to know what was awaiting me when I met her cousin.
“Jason is a Casanova. He loves no one. He likes to fool around and have a new girlfriend each week, sometimes each night.”
“That doesn’t mean that he’s not in love with you,” I stated. His erratic behavior wasn’t a sign that he didn’t want Annabel. If anything, it was the elusive behavior of a boy having fun or substituting girl after girl because he couldn’t be with the one he wanted in the first place. “The fact that you haven’t told him about us means that you know that he would be upset about it because he has feelings for you.”
“You are being paranoid. I just didn’t tell him about us because he doesn’t believe that hybrids can have soul-mates. And because he has nothing to do with my private life.”
“Anna…”
“Shane, if I tell him about us, he will want me to leave this place and never come back.”
I stood in silence, analyzing her reactions. She was telling the truth. Maybe she had no idea if Jason was in love with her or not, but Jason’s opinion was important to her.
“I don’t want him to ruin our happiness,” she mumbled after taking a drink of water and sighing deeply.
“Your place is here with me now,” I stated, rattled by the fact that her cousin thought that he could make decisions about her life.
She put down the glass and folded her arms, looking at me sideways.
“Men are all hard-headed idiots when it comes to protecting those they view as a responsibility. I’m capable of deciding by myself where I belong or where I don’t belong.”
“So why are you so afraid of telling him that you are with me?”
“Because I don’t want you to be his enemy, nor do I want him to be mad at me. I’m trying to find the best time to talk to him. Now isn’t the best time. There are too many things at stake, and Jason is on a really important mission.” She closed her mouth with an audible click and looked away. I guessed she’d said more than she’d intended to. She put three fingers over her temple, as if experiencing a headache. “I thought this was a date, not an interrogation.”
“So, how is school?” I asked, changing the subject and taking a sip of wine. She opened her eyes and stared at me, unsure if I was really trying to lighten the mood or simply being ironic. I’d had experience with this type of argument. I wouldn’t keep insisting. Besides, I was good at assembling the pieces of her puzzling life. That night, I knew a bit more about her than I’d known the day before.
“I’ll try to talk to him this weekend,” she whispered with a soft, sad voice while avoiding my gaze. It made me happy but also upset, because I had made her sad.
“Have you decided about what movie you want to watch after dinner?” I asked, putting my hand over the table to ask for hers. She placed her hand in mine, and I grabbed it, caressing her palm with my thumb.
“I didn’t really think much about it. But my students were talking about a new superhero movie. It seems to be extremely good.”
“I hope it’s better than the last one we saw.”
“If I recall correctly, you fell asleep. I hope you don’t fall asleep in this one.”
“Of course not. I have a lot more that I want to do tonight before I fall asleep,” I said with a mischievous smirk and husky voice, leaning down to kiss her hand. “Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?”
“Twice,” she said, smiling and loosening up again. “But I don’t mind you repeating yourself.”
I chuckled. “Aren’t you missing our kitchen right now?” I teased. She giggled, remembering that we had a tendency to leave our meal unfinished when I played with her like that.
“Yesterday was pretty fun, too,” she teased back, reminding me of our afternoon in the woods. We had gone for a walk and ended up leaving the trail and running through the forest. She needed to get familiar with those woods. Therefore, next week I was planning to teach her new tracks and places where people could hide, and where it was more dangerous to go at night. My wolf could use the run, and her vampire form was the most enticing and captivating thing to watch as I enjoyed the sunlight.
“You are the most gorgeous thing in the world, no matter what shape you take,” I whispered, high on her scent and my love for her.
“You are a really bad influence on me,” she stated with a teasing smile, her eyes almost glowing.
“Are you talking about skinny dipping in the river?” I asked, beaming as I remembered how good it was to make love to her in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the birds and the wild animals.
“It would have been embarrassing if someone had caught us there.”
“No one goes there, unless they are tracking someone or something. Besides, you needed to hunt and, after, we needed to clean ourselves from the blood.”
“It was fun,” she whispered, blushing and lowering her eyes.
“What was fun? The hunting or the bathing?”
“Both,” she answered.
“I was happily surprised. You had hunted before, and you don’t seem to need as much blood as other vampires.”
“My vampire form hasn’t become bloodthirsty yet. I’ve never bitten a person. I normally drink from hospital bags or animals,” she explained, and I nodded. I had no idea how things worked for hybrids. I knew pureblood vampires would mature at a certain age, becoming dependent on blood, and would then stop eating human food. Shifters like me needed to hunt to survive and eat raw meat from time to time. However, hybrids were probably different. They were still trying to figure out where they fit into our world.
“There are a lot more hybrids in the world. We should probably look for information about it.”
“There aren’t many panther and vampire hybrids in the world,” she declared. I had to agree with that. “But I’m okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“I know you can take care of yourself. But I love you, so it’s hard for me not to worry about you.”
She smiled, her eyes sparkling. Then she leaned closer to offer her lips to me. I leaned forward and kissed her. Displaying that level of affection in a public place wasn’t the most appropriate thing to do, but I couldn’t care less about what others thought.
“How is your appetizer?” she wondered, watching me play with the food.
“Edible, but too sweet.”
“I can buy you a burger after this,” she joked.
“I don’t know, I’m more inclined to drink champagne and eat strawberries in a Jacuzzi,” I mumbled, staring at her to watch her reaction.
“We don’t have a Jacuzzi,” she said, distracted by her food.
“The hotel does. I might have booked us a room.”
She raised her eyes to watch me. “I’m getting worried about this. You seem to have a well-planned night for us.”
“And why would you be worried?” I asked, frowning.
“You might want to convince me to stay with you this weekend.”
“I might, but maybe I just want to take advantage of you while you are here, since I’m doomed to spend the weekend alone.”
“I’m all in favor of you taking advantage of me,” she teased back, ignoring my manipulative words.
I smirked and tried again. “Maybe you can spend the next weekend with me. Or maybe we can go somewhere else.”
“I promise that I’ll think about it. Is that good enough for you?”
“Yes, it will do for now.” I drank my wine, p
leased by her words. It might take a while, but she would eventually open up with me. I would eventually find out why she was so secretive about her life and family. One thing was for sure: Annabel could have a lot of secrets, but she had the kindest soul and the gentlest heart. I was extremely pleased about that.
Chapter Seventeen
Anna
Time flies by when we are happy. That was never more true to me than now. Three weeks went by in a flash. After my parents’s death, happiness was the last thing I thought I would experience again. But even if finding my mate was exulting, at the same time I was feeling extremely guilty for postponing my other life, my quest, in order to stay there with Shane. Guilty because I thought I could be doing something else to help my brother. Jason and the rest of my crew were trying to find a pureblood vampire. But their search was turning out to be as futile as mine. Jessica kept me updated; Jason kept insisting that I leave and get back home. But I was still hoping that the answer to my problems was there; that, or I was just reluctant to leave Shane, hoping that he would understand why I couldn’t live in that town with him.
My time was running out. School would be over in a week, and I had to report back to my superiors and explain to Jason how my time there was a dead end. I had no idea where the vampire’s lair was; I had no idea who the king of those lands was; and I didn’t believe anymore that there were evil people hiding there. Shane was anything but evil. Everybody else seemed nice and friendly. I was an active member of the community, even if I hadn’t had my face-to-face with the king and pledged my allegiance to him. I was still on probation, and between my school work, the patrolling, and Shane, I had little time to myself.
“You were slower today,” Shane mumbled, caressing my hair. “Are you feeling okay?”
We had gone for a run in the woods and were seated near a tree, watching the sunset and resting. The place where he lived was amazing. I had fallen in love with it, and I wished I could stay there with him. He was amazing, and I couldn’t see my life without him anymore. He was obliterating all my defenses, even without the marking.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, opening my eyes while caressing his face. I noticed how his eyes were still shining with his wolf. I loved his wolf; he had a beautiful gray and white wolf. He liked to cuddle with me after running in the open air, with me following behind him in my vampire form. We stared at each other for hours after the long walks in the forest. We also had a lot of fun patrolling; when he taught me the shortcuts, he showed me the waterfalls and the hidden caves. Being me had never been as fun! I’d never felt so free and in sync with the universe, with the mysteries of life.
“It’s amazing how much you like to stay under the sun,” he whispered, smiling at me. “You are the weirdest vampire I’ve ever met.”
“I’m not weird. I just like the sun. Blame my panther side. Felines like the sun.”
“True,” he agreed, caressing the hair away from my face. “You are also the most beautiful vampire I’ve ever seen.”
“No, I’m not,” I said, covering my face and trying to relax so my fangs hid and my eyes became normal again.
“Don’t do that. I like to look at you like that. Don’t be shy—I love your vampire form.”
“You are the one being weird.”
“Because I’m a werewolf in love with a vampire?”
“No, because you get aroused by my fangs,” I whispered, teasing him by showing my teeth and leaving the tip of my tongue over my right fang. He tensed. I felt his hard muscles against my lap. His eyes turned amber, and I chuckled. Even if I was laughing, I loved the fact that he would get aroused by it.
“You can’t blame me for that. I’ve already told you that I love you in any shape. Besides, your eyes are extremely beautiful when they are purple. Do you know why they are purple and not black?”
I nodded. “Because I’ve never fed from the source.” Feeding from the source meant drinking from a vein. All the blood I drank was served either in a glass, inside a hospital bag, or from animals. However, as much as I didn’t like to think about the bloodlust, I was aware that my lack of strength the past few days was because I was changing and needed blood. I was just being stubborn, because I didn’t want to drink too much blood. I used to be able to survive by drinking blood once a week. It was becoming a daily obsession, however, and I was trying to control my urges and tame my thirst. The consequence was my lack of stamina to keep up with Shane and the others.
“Have you ever seen a black-eyed vampire?” Shane wondered.
“Yes. I’ve encountered several vampires before. There are a lot with black eyes in this community.”
“As long as they don’t kill humans and the humans are willing to donate their blood, we don’t interfere in their business.”
I nodded, my thoughts slipping to the image of Alaric’s red eyes. Red eyes were the sign of madness. Vampires with red eyes weren’t sane or safe to be around. In ancient times, they were put to death. Other vampires would go around and kill the sick vampire or the vampire would eventually kill himself. But an insane vampire had more probability of decimating an entire village, leaving behind an insane number of bodies. Every self-conscious vampire knew that insanity was the same as a true death. However, Alaric had managed to survive, to thrive on his madness and spread death and hate amongst the supernatural community.
“Where did you just go?” Shane asked, touching my chin with his hand. I looked down at him, trying to chase away the bad thoughts.
“I don’t want to lose my purple eyes,” I whispered, sharing something that concerned me.
“You won’t. But are you feeling… different? You know, hungry for blood? Do you want to hunt?”
“I’m just tired. It has been a long week.”
We had just hunted the other day. I didn’t want him to get worried.
His next words reminded me that the week was almost over. “You could stay and rest over the weekend.”
I turned my eyes away because I didn’t want to talk about the fact that we weren’t going to spend another weekend together. He had asked me the day before if I was going to stay. I had informed him that I couldn’t. He was insisting again. But I had other things to take care of, important things concerning my brother and me. Over the past few days, I’d had a hard time controlling my fangs; I was feeling tired and drained. I was becoming more vampire than panther. My DNA was mutating. I needed to run more exams on my blood, but the last ones that I’d done said that my DNA was mutating to vampire and would eventually lose my ability to shift to a panther. It was a painful process, and I didn’t normally shift, but the idea of losing my shifting ability was making me sad.
“I may lose my ability to shift to a panther,” I whispered, unable to keep it inside me any longer.
“How do you know that?”
“I’m having trouble connecting with my feline side, and it’s getting more painful to shift.”
“Would you rather be a panther than a vampire?”
“I love both,” I answered truthfully. “I’m not apologizing that all vampires are evil. I understand that blood is just part of our diet. But if I lose my ability to shift to a panther, will I lose a part of me? Like the part of me that loves the sun, that likes to jump and climb trees and gets satisfied by drinking animal blood instead of human blood? I don’t know what that will do to my personality.”
Shane remained silent for a while. I didn’t want to worry him, but I had to share this with him. He was my soul-mate. If he didn’t understand me, who would?
“It seems to me that you are maturing. Werewolves also mature. There comes a time when we merge our animal personality with our humanity, taming the shifting and the feral instincts. Maybe hybrid DNA battles to find a predominant form, and you aren’t losing a part of you, only evolving to your original self.”
I pondered his words. “We also need to understand how mating works between us.”
“What do you mean? I think it works rather well between us,” he
teased, making me roll my eyes.
“I’m not talking about sex exclusively.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“Hybrids weren’t supposed to procreate because we don’t have a soul-mate. But since we actually do have a soul-mate and we actually have sex, it came to my mind that I can actually get pregnant with your baby.”
“Oh!” He opened his eyes, putting two and two together and smirking. “Babies—I want four or six.”
“Sure you do,” I joked, pushing him out of my lap. “I’m too young to think about having babies.”
“Do you want to see a doctor about that? Were you taking precautions?”
“It’s not like I have to worry about STDs, since I’m half shifter, half vampire, and you are a werewolf. Only humans get sick with those.”
Shane sat next to me with attentive eyes and a serious face. “Are you pregnant?”
“No, of course not,” I said, panicking with his question. “I’m not in heat season, and…” I bit my upper lip, looking at my hands, feeling shy. “I’ve tested it, just in case. It was negative.”
“We just need to work harder for it then,” he teased, and I pushed my hand against his shoulder, annoyed.
“Stop joking about that.”
“I can’t help it. I’m just imagining all the cute babies we both could make.”
“I don’t even know if we can have babies,” I mumbled with a sad voice, staring at his eyes, trapped in his arms. He was smiling, but he lost his smile and hugged me tight against him.