“You know that one is my favorite, too.” Alaric stood beside her and admired the painting. “It’s the last time my entire family was together.”
“Family?”
“That’s Nikolas’ mother, Isolde there.” Alaric pointed to the striking woman next to his own stunning image. Her long coffee tresses flowed down resting delicately against her perfectly oval shaped face, which brought out the icy blue in her almond shaped eyes. Her petite, turned up nose perfectly complimented her tiny frame.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Yes, she was.”
“Was?”
“She was killed by the werewolves.”
“I’m sorry.”
A somber look spread on his face. “It was a long time ago.”
“You must’ve loved her very much.”
“I did. She was my better half. One look into those baby blues and I was mesmerized,” he grinned to himself. “It’s a funny thing being in love. You’ll do anything for the other person, no matter the cost.”
Alaric turned to Katrina and smiled. “Nikolas gives you the same look.”
Katrina gave him a nervous smile. She had no idea what to say to that.
Alaric turned his head and continued talking. “That’s my other son Adronis, Nikolas’ older brother.”
Katrina’s eyes wandered onto the figure standing next to Cole’s mother. He was unworldly handsome. His blonde hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail accenting his squared jaw and Roman god-like features. His eyes were the same icy blue color as their mothers.
“What happened to him?” she asked. When he gave her the same somber expression, she knew. “Werewolves.”
With his navy shirt slightly unbuttoned, Adronis looked strikingly similar to their mother. Except for a strange crescent shaped birthmark at the center of his chest. Looking closer Katrina found all four figures were wearing the same symbol on their clothing.
“That’s our family crescent.”
Katrina watched Dr. Aldrich point to the emblem on each piece of clothing. The simple yet elegant design intrigued her. Golden leaves swirled into a spiral pattern surrounded by an angry dragon’s head. Its overcompensating wings enveloped the entire background. Encrusted amongst the golden leaves was an articulated style of an “A”.
“Family crescent?”
“It’s similar to the crest human families have.” When Katrina gave him a blank stare, Alaric continued. “Cole didn’t tell you that either, did he?”
“Tell me what?”
“My family is similar to the royal family in your human world. We have ruled our people for millennia. Nikolas and Andreas are my only surviving heirs to the Aldrich family throne.”
Stunned at the unexpected revelation, Katrina paused in silence. The thought of them having been around for that long was hard to swallow. Talking to him she almost forgot what they really were. He reminded her a lot of her father and seemed so normal, like any other human.
He left her to chew on that bit of information while he walked over to a white wooden cabinet. When he opened the cabinet door, there were tons of medical supplies inside. He rummaged through until he found what he was looking for. He turned and walked over to her.
“Here you go.” He sprinkled a container of powder on her cast. “This should help with some of the itching.”
“Thank you.”
“Here’s your water.” Cole appeared next to her.
“Thanks.” Katrina took it and sipped it slowly.
“Father?” Cole turned to his father.
“Yes, Nikolas?”
“I saw—Farkas.”
Alaric paused. He stared in Cole’s direction and looked at him as if he had never spoken. Katrina could pick up some underlying tension, but they said no more about the topic.
“Well, it’s getting late. I’ll leave you to check on your brother.” Alaric gave her a hug. “It’s really good to have you back, Caroline. We’ll talk later, Nikolas”
As Alaric left, Cole turned to Katrina. “Can I show you something?”
“Sure.”
Cole took her hand and led her upstairs. This time they headed in the opposite direction of Andrew’s room. Cole opened the door open and motioned for her to enter. Nerves took over and made her hesitant, but she looked around. This time she was able to take in details of Cole’s room.
A wrought iron four-poster bed big enough for three lay in the center of the room adorned with a midnight black comforter. Like his cousin, Cole also had many electronic toys lying around the space.
“Your room is huge.”
“Thanks. Andreas is still a sore loser.”
“Loser?”
“We wrestled for it.”
“Oh.” Katrina gave him a nervous smile, as she fidgeted with her hands.
Walking in, her eyes became fixed on a peculiar painting. It was larger than any of the others in the room. She gathered it had to be of special importance to him. Moving in closer Katrina could see features of a young lady. Her face was eerily similar to Katrina’s. Hanging around her neck was the amber amulet. “Is that Caroline?” Katrina asked.
“Yes.”
“She was pretty.” Katrina looked up at Cole. When she did his cobalt eyes were fixated on her. They were staring back at her with a complacent stare.
“Yes, you are.” He smiled and walked over to her.
Embarrassed by his compliment Katrina went to turn away, when she felt his hands stop her. As she looked up, his eyes pierced right through her like a dagger of pleasure she couldn’t resist. Placing his hands around her waist, he pulled her closer to him. His gentle lips pressed firmly against hers. Lost in the moment, Katrina put her good hand around his smooth pale neck.
“I can hear you, Nikolas!” Thanks to Andrew’s interruption their intimate moment was cut short.
Katrina leaned away embarrassed. Cole took her hand and walked her over to the bed. He gently pulled her down to sit onto the black bedding beside him. Neither of them spoke, but Katrina could feel awkward tension in the air. Her body was a nervous wreck and she was trying not to go insane. It didn’t help sitting in silence.
Still a bit jumpy, she fidgeted with his bedding for something to do. And she had to admit the velvet was very soothing.
“Come with me,” Cole finally spoke.
“Come with you, where?”
“Out onto the balcony.” He stood and held out his hand. “I want to show you something.” Cole’s face lit up.
He led her over to the square lined French Doors and stopped. Pushing the doors open, he gave her a playful smile. Katrina was instantly breathless. It was a utopia of flowers.
“Wow!” was all she could manage to say.
Walking out onto the brick flooring, she could smell the sweet mouthwatering odor Jasmine. Adorning a small corner of the balcony, they rested like a delicate feather inside a white marble planter. With every step, Katrina inhaled every essence of beauty before her. She stopped at the edge of the balcony.
Katrina was mesmerized by the exquisite picture before her. Little dots of multicolored lights lined the rolling spaces down below. All of Morgan Springs was underneath her. The stars floating in the darkened sky glistened brighter then she had ever seen before. She was so high above everything even the usual trees obstructing her view of the night sky were nowhere to be found.
“Do you like it?” Cole asked, from behind her.
“You can see the whole town from up here. It’s beautiful.”
“It definitely is.” Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Cole rested his head on one of her shoulders.
Katrina’s body melted at his touch. It was becoming strangely familiar to her. Feeling the weight of his body against her sent shivers of pleasure fluttering about inside her; her body leaned into his and relaxed.
Staring out into the night, everything was peaceful. Cole held her close and it was just the two of them. She wanted to stay like that forever. All of her worries were temporarily
misplaced. In that moment everything was so simple.
A sudden chill of wind thrust through the air. It was colder than normal. Katrina shivered and her lips began to chatter.
“Look at your skin,” he rubbed her arms, “You have bumps all over. Let’s go back inside.”
Too cold to speak, Katrina simply nodded.
Cole led her back into his room. “I’m sorry. I forget humans are more sensitive to the changes in weather than we are.”
He helped her sit back on the edge of his bed. The next moment a soft blanket was being wrapped around her. Cole knelt down in front of her and rubbed her arms until Katrina felt the friction of heat.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Much. Thanks.”
Cole stared at her for a second, before speaking. “I have something for you.”
He reached under the bed, but his eyes never left hers. The sound of something sliding across the floor drew her attention. She looked down to see him holding a weathered brown sketch pad. “Here,” he motioned for her to take it.
“What’s this?”
“It’s yours,” he smiled, opening the worn book. She watched, as he turned each page carefully.
“Wow, these are really good sketches.”
“I’ve always thought so.”
“Most of these are of you.” A realization hit her. “Wait, I drew these?”
“You loved to draw. You said it was relaxing.”
“And you kept it for me all these years?”
He nodded. “It’s one of the few reminders I have.”
“Hmm,” she smiled, admiring her past life’s work. She hated to boast, but the drawings were actually quite good. Each sketch was done with such beautiful elegance. Every graceful stroke emanated the passion for her subject. Staring at them, Katrina found it a bit weird. Here she was staring at her past life’s work and it made everything Cole had been saying a stunning reality. The longer she stared at the vivid images the more questions came rushing to the surface. “Cole, can I ask you something?”
“Of course. You can ask me anything.”
“Alaric is your father right?”
“Yes.”
“Uh,” Katrina hesitated searching for the right words, “How—”
“How is that possible?”
“Yeah.”
“Vampires can be born, just like humans.”
“Even vampires like—Jake?” She tripped over her words. It was hard to say what her brother was becoming out loud.
“Yes. Our genetic strands aren’t that different from yours.”
“Oh.” That part caught her off guard and it was hard to hide her shock.
“What?”
“I’m just worried. How exactly does someone become a vampire? I mean what’s Andrew going to do to my brother?”
Cole gave her an odd look and Katrina could tell he was searching for the right words. “You need to drink our blood.”
“Is that all?” Katrina's stomach turned at the thought.
“No. There’s something that’s inside our blood that acts like a disease, slowly seeking out and killing the human blood cells. As this happens your body weakens, your organs begin to shut down, and you die. I’ve been told it’s excruciatingly painful.”
“How long does the pain last?”
“Not very.”
“But you said Jake would be fine?”
“And he will be. When he awakens he’ll have no memory of the pain. It’s like being reborn, except all of his human memories remain intact. He’ll be the same brother you’ve known, except at first he’ll have a harder time controlling his thirst.”
“Will he try to hurt me?”
“In the beginning,” he nodded. “The thirst will consume him. It’ll be all he can think about. He’ll feed on the nearest human he can find, no matter who it is.”
“How long will that take?” Katrina wasn’t feeling any better about Jake’s decision.
“It depends on the human and their amount of self control. I know it sounds strange, but that’s who we are.”
“Trust me. Nothing about this night has seemed normal.” Katrina shook her head. She couldn’t believe this was really happening to her. It felt more like a bad dream that she couldn’t wake up from.
“You’ve had a lot to deal with tonight, but you’re going to have to make the choice for yourself and soon.”
“I know,” Katrina sighed. She knew she was going to have to make a decision, but it wasn’t something she wanted to make tonight. Fear of what she’d become was the beginning of her reasons not to. Not to mention everything he had just said scared the hell out of her.
Distracted by her thoughts, Katrina was interrupted by a chill of pleasure. Cole’s icy hand caressed her cheek, as he pulled her face up to him. His soft lips tenderly made contact with hers, as he laid her back onto the bed in one effortless motion. With every kiss her concern grew weak and weary, until she became lost in the heat of the moment and let her assumptions falter.
Caressing his hands over her body, Cole sent glacially sizzling sensations vibrating throughout her. Sparks off his warm moist tongue awakened Katrina’s body, as it tenderly touched hers. Katrina let out a sigh of ecstasy. Her hands grasped at his hair and his lips made their way down from her chin, pondering at the nape of her neck.
“STILL HERE!” Andrew’s loud voice intruded once again.
“GO AWAY!” Cole shouted back, catching his breath and throwing a pillow at the door in annoyance.
Breathless, Katrina blushed. Her mind finally caught up to her hormones and she realized what they were about to do. Andrew’s interruption was almost enough to stop her, but her longing for Cole was stronger than any sense of rational thinking at that point.
Cole looked into her eyes and caressed her cheek. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Her heart fluttered at his words and Katrina was speechless. She wanted to say something back to him, but the words wouldn’t come. Her nerves were trying to get the best of her. Looking into his sky blue gems, she blocked everything out. The warmth of her body took over and she let herself go. Cole made her body do things she never knew possible.
With every touch, she found herself wanting, craving more of him. Katrina reached around Cole and pulled him back down to her. She was going to finish what he started. Letting go of her reservations, she beckoned him to her. They were again lost in each other, forsaking all else.
Amidst the kiss, her mind started screaming at her. Reminding her of his words and she was torn between herself. Her body knew she wanted him without question, but her conscience screamed at her in protest. Warnings of dire consequences shouted at her to think it through. Could she become one of them? Become a vampire and leave behind everything she’d ever known for someone who made her feel like no one else ever could?
For now, she was convinced she didn’t need to make the choice. Her pulse began to rise as the stimulating tide began to overtake her body and carry her to a place she’d never been-never thought she was capable of.
Cole’s panting breaths and tense body mimicked hers with undeniable eruptions of pleasure. The two were performing an unrehearsed dance of harmony, making up the choreography as they went along. In that moment of pure elation, Katrina had found her answer. She wanted him more than anything and to be with him. Forever.
Chapter 11
Cracking her eyes open at the sound of the birds chirping, Katrina didn’t want to move. The morning light that crept its way in through a crevice between the gray drapes was blinding. She rolled over and moaned as every muscle in her body ached. The weekend she spent with Cole went by way to fast. She didn’t want to get out of bed.
Katrina forced her head up and realized she was alone. The soft icy body that had been next to her had disappeared. In its place was a white piece of parchment. It had very elegant hand writing. She picked it up and started reading:
Caroline,
I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly. After la
st night’s encounter, father and I decided it was best for me to go enlist the others for their help. Now that Farkas knows where you are, you won’t be safe until the werewolves are defeated. Andreas is staying behind to take care of Elias, if you need anything he won’t be far. It won’t be safe for me to contact you, so please be careful. I’ll come back to you as soon as I can. I love you always and forever.
Nikolas
Katrina’s finger’s traced over Cole’s letter. Reading it over and over only made her heart ache more. Without a word he was gone. Leaving her in the care of Andrew didn’t make her feel any better. Startled back into reality by a sudden beeping noise, Katrina jumped.
On the Mahogany night stand next to the oversized bed, was a small clock. Irritated, she reached over and turned it off. Cole must have set that for her sometime during the night before he left. She was still exhausted and sleep-walked to the door. At the same time she opened she let out a loud scream.
“Shh, Caroline. Do you want to wake the entire neighborhood?”
“Then don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“It’s not my fault you only have a human’s hearing ability.”
“Andrew, I’m tired and don’t want to deal with you right now. What do you want?”
“Good morning to you too, sweetheart.”
“Andrew!”
“Fine. I’m assuming you found your little note from Prince Charming. Until Nikolas comes back, he asked me to take you to and from school.”
“Great. I’m stuck with an annoying babysitter from hell.”
“Hey, I don’t like it anymore than you do.”
“Whatever. Is that all? Because I need to get ready.”
“I forgot how cranky you can be in the mornings.”
“Only around you.”
“I take that as a compliment,” he grinned.
“I don’t really care how you take it. Just go away.”
“Fine.” He went to turn around, but stopped. “Before I go my Uncle did say to have you call him. He said it was urgent. Here’s his number.” Andrew dangled a piece of paper out in front of her.
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