by J. E Hanson
“Wow, that’s a lot to take in!” I sigh and continue, “I guess for the moment that this will suffice. Will you explain all the laws or all the rules to me in the future?”
Saber points at the men. “That’s the elders’ responsibility. I’m sure Charlie; Erik; Christian; and Alexander will explain the laws more in depth with you in the future. They will also explain what your fangs can do too.”
I carefully touch my mouth, and it finally dawns on me that they are actually fangs.
“The only way your fangs will fully descend is if you ingest blood. We are fighting, to keep your human side intact for the moment. That is why I placed my open wound over your wound. If your fangs ingest a tiny drop of our blood, it will make them descend. Saber wants us to leave you the way you are now. He would rather you not have to deal with human food, and deal with blood too. We need to mention that you might encounter problems in the future. Every time you smell blood, your fangs will crave it. Your fangs will vibrate with intense pain, and it will eventually become unbearable. That’s exactly, why Alexander applied that topic solution to your gums the other day. I have to warn you that there will come a time, when those topics will not work, and you will have to drink blood,” Christian explains what I will go through in the future.
“Thanks for informing me in advance,” I say dryly to Christian.
“I didn’t know that her fangs will do that,” Saber continues, “now, let the lawyers come in and we will make it official. I want the Board of Meropis to recognize Jeannie as my great-granddaughter.”
He snaps his fingers and lawyers storm in, and they sit down at a large library table. I have to pick a lawyer, so I surprise everyone by choosing Erik to represent me. Erik even raises an eyebrow, but he joins my side at the table.
Erik quickly reviews all the paperwork. “If anything happens to Saber, you will be next in line to his throne. This means that you will become queen to all vampires. This is extremely important for you to know. If you bear a child, and something happens to you, your child will ascend to the throne. If you never have a child, but marry, your husband will ascend to the throne. If you never marry, or have any children, then the next person in line will be Khan. That’s something we don’t want to happen. We must find him and take him out. If Khan ascends the throne, it will be a horrible situation for everyone. That’s exactly why Julius Khan wants you dead, and your family members dead too. That’s why he’s coming after Saber and all his descendants. You are his last heiress. After you, there’s nobody else. That’s why it is extremely important, we keep you alive, and out of trouble,” Erik carefully explains.
I miss my sister and I wonder where she is. “What about Ava? She’s my sister.”
Saber taps his fingers on the table. “The Board of Meropis, doesn’t recognize mortal adoptions. The board is wrong for thinking this way. Ava has no supernatural powers, or even shares my bloodline, and so she’s of no use to Khan,” Saber pauses and continues, “your mother thought she couldn’t bear any children, so she found a young teenager, who couldn’t take care of a baby. She adopted Ava from the California teenager. Your parents found out after they adopted your sister that she was pregnant with you. By the time she found out, she faced a difficult decision. She chose not to abandon Ava, and went ahead with the adoption,” Saber continues, by changing the subject “every few generations or so, vampire genetics resurfaces. Your mom knew what she was, but she chose not to tell you. She knew about me, but she refused my help, and she wouldn’t allow me to participate with her family. She’s the only descendant, to refuse my help, or even acknowledge me as her first great-grandfather. I wasn’t happy with who your mom chose to marry, because he wasn’t the ideal person for her. I wanted her to marry another hybrid, but she refused. Out of spite, she married your father. I chose to back off, and allow her to live her own life,” he drops a bombshell on me.
It is hard to ingest all this new information. “This is news to me, and I always thought Ava was my natural sister. This is almost too much, for me to digest. My mom was so mad at me for my allergic reactions to the sun and silver!”
Erik shows me valid proof of Ava’s adoption, by handing me her adoption papers. The evidence stares right back at me. They are clearly not her natural parents.
My grandfather frowns. “The secrets are finally uncovered. Your mom wasn’t perfect, but you should realize that. I want you to know that this isn’t your fault. I admit that you have higher vampire genes, versus the other descendants. You are the first descendant, to actually burn when your skin touches the sun. That hasn’t happened, since my own son was born.”
“Biology has a way with genetics,” I point out.
“It is normal that Biology takes different forms, but your DNA is nothing like your mother’s DNA. It is almost as if you are Saber’s daughter instead of his great-granddaughter. That confuses even me,” Zane adds.
“You should only have a small trace of his blood. It is odd, to see your bloodline morph into what you are now,” Alexander is even puzzled.
“Well… that makes me extremely odd,” I tried to make a joke, but nobody laughs.
“I know you think of yourself as odd, but I think of you as a miracle. You’re a beautiful miracle, and that makes me extremely proud,” Saber announces as he hugs me, and kisses my cheek.
My grandfather acknowledges me as his granddaughter. Out of curiosity, I want to know who he is. I no longer have any family members left. He hands me all the letters my mom sent him throughout the years. My mom was downright cruel to him. She made fun of him for claiming that he’s a vampire, and she flat out denied her heritage. My mom claimed that her family were nuts, to believe that they are vampires. From her cruelty, I side with Saber. My mom never wanted to bond with me in the first place. She never took the time, to soothe me when the other kids taunted me.
I sift through all the present documentation. “I should add that I don’t carry the animosity of my mom towards vampires. I always felt like an outsider, because she never did anything for me. She did more things for Ava. Mom never said anything complimentary to me. My dad and I had a stronger relationship, and I miss him more than I do her. Is that awful of me, to feel that way?”
Christian takes my hand in his, and he gives me a gentle squeeze. “I am sure that it is okay, to be a little angry with her.”
Saber hugs me again. “I love all my descendants, and I thank my lucky stars that you’re still alive! I will do everything in my power, to keep you safe and alive. I’m thankful for Christian’s willingness, to keep our family together. I love you so much.”
I need to hear those words too, and I sob while I’m in his arms.
Saber adds and gives me an answer, “I won’t rest until your sister is found. We are extremely close to finding Reno's hideout. I promise that I will bring her home to you.”
Saber plants me by his side. For the first time, I allow someone other than my sister, to comfort me. Saber abruptly ends our visit together. “I will find Ava for you, and Christian will continue, to keep you safe.”
As he begins to walk away, I run to him; hug him; and gently whisper in his ear, “Please be careful!”
Saber hugs me in return. “I will see you next week at your Coronation, and I will be there. You have my word.”
Christian holds out his hand and I take it.
Louie fixes my makeup, and he teases, “I need to make sure that you wear waterproof mascara next time.”
Christian flashes me a small grin. He waits patiently for Louie to fix my makeup. After Louie finishes, Christian holds out his arm. My hand wraps around his muscular arm, and we left his castle together. To my surprise, there’s a stretch limousine, waiting for us in front of his castle. We enter his stretch limousine, along with some of the men. The other half follows us in a slate Hummer. I try to hide the nerves, by not paying attention to Christian.
“We are taking you out for your birthday, and we hope you enjoy your surprise,” Christian discloses
to me where we’re going tonight.
“You really didn’t have to go through the trouble. I will go ahead and thank everyone in advance,” I make sure, to use my manners.
~~~***~~~
The limousine pulls behind a nightclub. The town appears busy with people mulling in the streets, and Christian places me by his side. All of the men are wearing an earpiece. A few chose to wear their shades. The name of this nightclub is “Empire,” and this has to be his club. The people refer to him as their boss, when we enter his nightclub. I trail behind him to a larger room upstairs. There are presents sitting on a table, and a five-tier birthday cake.
Ian hands me a card, and the card causes a small chuckle from me. The card states that I’m no longer jailbait. The only thing worse than being lonely, is being the center of attention. A few people, who I’ve never met before, wish me a happy birthday. I space out for a minute, and wonder how Mesa and Arizona are doing. I always celebrated my birthdays with them. This birthday is different from all the others. My dream lover is live, and in person. Arizona would love to hear all about Christian. I nervously perch on the blood red leather seat. My dream man chose to sit beside me.
Christian points at the presents. “I believe it is time for you, to open your presents.”
“I really appreciate all of this, but you honestly didn’t have to do any of this,” I nervously bit my bottom lip, and thank him once more.
“I made a promise to your grandfather that I would make sure you celebrate your birthday,” he explains.
“How long, have you known about my birthday?” I need to know, if he knew this entire time, or if he’s just sucking up to my grandfather.
“I knew, since your arrival, and I have an excellent memory. I guessed that you would never disclose your birthday to us. I still found out your birthday, and I always follow through with my promises,” he answers my question, but he still confuses me.
Ian interrupts our conversation, and he hands me his present. I meticulously open his gift, and it’s a pair of gold handcuffs. The other men snicker at his chosen gift. I glance sideways at Ian confused.
Ian grins mischievously. “Every female vampire always has a pair of gold handcuffs in her stash. They normally keep them at all times.”
Christian shakes his head in disbelief, but he leans back with a grin on his face.
“I think, I will just say thank you for such an odd present,” I politely take the gift from him.
The younger male vampires laugh at the inside joke that I apparently missed. Zane hands me a better present, and I receive two tickets to any baseball game of my choice. I make sure to thank him for my gift.
Brennan and Brannon join in, by giving me aquatic supplies, and I graciously thank them.
Tommy hands me his gift. I unwrap his present, to reveal a jewelry box. Inside the box is a gold necklace with a gold cross and diamonds inside it. I hug him, and he winks at me.
Louie gave me a makeup case with nail polishes and hair supplies.
“You really don’t have, to give me anything. Thank you for the lovely presents.”
Louie winks at me. “You’re welcome, Princess and happy birthday.”
Leo hands me something that I never thought they would allow. He glances over at his bosses first, and then he hands me my gift. “I was told to give you this cell phone. I hope we can keep our trust with you, or I will have to be the bad guy and take it back. I took the time to plug in all of our phone numbers for you, and your grandfather will foot the bill. I’m giving you a top of the line cell phone. You see, there’s a red button that will shoot out a panic alarm, to all our phones in case you’re in trouble.”
Leo demonstrates what the red button does, when he presses on it. The red button makes their phones echo at the same time. He disarms it by typing in a special code. “I even placed a tiny cover over it, so that you don’t accidentally bump it. You have to slide the cover off the button with your finger, in order to press the red button.” He slides off the tiny cover to demonstrate, how the alarm works. It takes me a few tries to get the hang of it. He makes me practice a few times, before he hands over my new phone.
Sam fidgets for a minute, and then he hands me his gift. “You need to pick out your color schemes. My gifts to you are free decorations for your bedroom.” He hands me a gift certificate, and I graciously thank him.
Charlie has a mischievous grin on his face. “My daughter and I chose to give you a trip to anywhere you want to go, but only after we capture bloody Reno first.” Charlie hands me a couple gift certificates that doesn’t have an expiration date.
Erik hands me a small and crimson velvet box. The small box reveals a pair of pearl earrings with a business card for one free lawyer’s service in case I need him for anything.
Christian stands upright with perfect posture. He nonchalantly strolls over to the table, and he returns to the love seat, handing me a large gift. “I am entrusting you with another device, but you will need this for your job.”
His gift reveals that this is an expensive laptop. This isn’t a cheap laptop. This laptop comes with all the bells and whistles on it. My geek side starts to show. This has to be a top of the line laptop, because it’s encased in gold. My other laptop is cheaply made. This is too much for me to absorb. He hands me a gold-plated laptop, without even blinking. I realize that he’s not full of shit. I always dreamed of owning one of these. A total stranger handing over a gold-plated laptop, and he never flinches. This particular laptop is over a million dollars. My head cocks sideways peering at him strangely. Carefully, I hand the expensive laptop over to Leo. Leo happily starts updating it for me. Christian requires my absolute gratitude, and I somehow muster the strength, “You have already done enough for me, but I’m extremely grateful for you.”
“You are extremely welcome,” he whispers gently in my ear.
He squeezes me a little tighter, kissing my forehead. This is the first kiss I have ever received from a ‘non-family’ member before. He fills me with joy, from the unusual forehead kiss.
Alexander hands me another small box with sanguine satin paper. “I am sure this was on your list from earlier.”
He throws me a curve ball with the unexpected iPod. I don’t have to borrow their iPods anymore. He also hands me a couple gift cards for any music of my choice. I hug him tightly, and politely thank him.
The men are cheesy, by making me blow out the candles on a birthday cake, and they force me to make a wish. There’s only one thing that I wish for, and it’s for the safe return of my sister.
There’s a loud knock on the door, and an older man enters. Ian and Zane pat the older man down. Just when I thought the expensive gifts are over, the strange man hands me additional presents. “Your grandfather wants to ensure that you receive his birthday presents, so he sent me here. Saber sends all his love, and his ‘Happy Birthday’ wishes to you.”
I open the box, and it reveals three sets of keys. I glance over at Christian strangely.
“I’m to inform you that your car never survived the trip. Your grandfather chose to buy you a much safer vehicle. One key is for your vacation house, and the other key is to his house. That’s for whenever you choose to visit him. He also states that you can always visit him, whenever you want,” the odd man explains.
“Are these presents in her name?” Christian asks as he stands up.
The man hands the titles over to him from his coat pocket. “They will remain in your name until Khan is brought to justice, along with Reno.”
Christian holds out his hand. “I would love for you to enjoy your presents, but I do not want you to do something foolish, or something you may later regret.”
“May I please see what my presents look like soon?” I asked him sweetly.
“We will, once you complete your training,” he informs me coolly.
I immediately hand the keys over to Christian.
Ian grins and bows to me. “May I please, have a dance with you?”
&
nbsp; I smile affectionately at him. “Yes, you may.”
Ian holds out his arm for me, and he escorts me to the enormous dance floor. He quickly becomes the vampire they all despise.
Ian points at Christian. “Christian doesn’t like this one bit,” he confuses me, but he continues, “Chris talks about you, when you’re not around.”
I shrug my shoulders. “He already has a girlfriend! Besides, look at me, Ian! I’m not exactly model material!”
Ian shakes his head no at me. “You still need, to work on that self-esteem. Furthermore, you’re gorgeous. Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder?’?”
I nervously bit my bottom lip.
“You can be the most gorgeous woman in the world, but still ugly inside. Who determines what is beautiful, and what isn’t? You came a long way, from where you were yesterday—to now. You really need, to start believing in yourself, and don’t listen to others. Fuck all the idiots out there,” Ian lectures me once again.
