by Gayla Twist
Bride of the Vampire
GAYLA TWIST
Copyright © 2015 Gayla Twist
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
“Aurora, you don’t have to be afraid” Jessie said, holding his arms out to me. “It’s perfectly natural.”
The winter wind tugged his tousled black hair and for a moment I was lost, gazing into his beautiful gray eyes. He was just so gorgeous. I still couldn’t believe that he was mine. And I so desperately wanted to be his, in every way. But even my love for Jessie Vanderlind couldn’t force me do what he wanted me to do. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “I can’t. I’m just not ready.”
“You are ready,” he insisted. “You just don’t know it.” He stretched his arms toward me again. “Please?”
I wanted to go to him. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me so that I could feel our bodies pressing against each other. But I couldn’t. And I didn't appreciate him trying to force me. “I’m sorry, Jessie,” I told him. “I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just…” I shook my head, at a loss as to how to explain myself.
Jessie let his arms drop to his sides with a sigh. “It’s okay,” he told me. “You don’t need to explain. I know you need me to be patient. I can wait.”
Somehow disappointing him was worse that facing my fears. “I really want to,” I said, which was the truth. I was just afraid and I couldn’t explain why.
“You don’t have to,” Jessie assured me. “I don’t want to force you.”
That was sweet of him to say, but I knew he really wanted me to go for it. I also knew I could trust Jessie with my heart. Not to mention my body, and my soul. His love for me had existed long before I was even born. Being with him was my destiny and I had to embrace everything that destiny entailed. More than embrace it; I wanted to revel in it.
I looked Jessie straight in the eye. “I’m ready.”
“You are?” Jessie asked with a gulp. “Are you sure?” I think my newly found conviction caught him by surprise.
“Yes,” I said. “Positive.” And with that I stepped off the edge of the castle roof.
It normally went against my nature to throw myself off a precipice of any kind. But I was a vampire and vampires knew how to fly. I needed to know how to fly. Jessie was being patient, but it was kind of like potty training; a toddler could stall all she wanted, but eventually she had to put her tiny butt on the seat.
“You’re doing it,” Jessie said, giving me an encouraging smile. He was hovering out in space, just a few feet away from me, but it felt like a mile. There was no reason to worry, I had to keep reminding myself. Jessie had once caught me in mid-air when some mobbed up thug had flung me off of a parking garage. If I fell, then he would catch me.
My body felt all wobbly, like I was trying to balance on a giant water-balloon, but I was definitely not falling. I was actually floating. It was amazing.
“You see,” Jessie said, his smile growing even broader. “You’re doing it. All by yourself. It’s not that difficult. Is it?”
I opened my mouth to agree with him that it actually wasn’t hard at all. As a matter of fact, it felt completely natural to be hovering in the air, dozens of yards above the pavement. And that was my big mistake. Because somehow the act of speaking totally threw off my concentration. I felt like I was Wile E. Coyote after he runs off the edge of a cliff. There was always that few seconds where the coyote hangs in the air, just before he realizes what he’s done. And then he goes crashing to ground. Panicked, I tried to signal Jessie that I was in trouble. But it was too late, I was plummeting toward the topiary. A word escaped my mouth as I fell. Or at least the first part of a word. It started out as “Jess,” and ended as “Yieeeeh!”
And then I was in Jessie’s arms. He had one behind my back and the other under my legs, just like I was a bride and he was carrying me over the threshold. I made a “whuh,” sound, which was half relief and half the wind being knocked out of me. I buried my face in his chest, both giddy and embarrassed.
Jessie chuckled. “Were you a very good swimmer when you were a mortal?” he asked as we alighted on the castle roof again.
“What?” It seemed an odd change of subject.
“How were you at swimming?” Jessie said, restating his question. “Back when you were alive.”
“Horrible.” I had to admit. “I can barely dog-paddle. As soon as I jump in water, I sink like a stone.”
“Interesting,” he mused, gently setting my feet on the roof, but still keeping his arm around my waist.
“What?” I asked. I really had no idea what he was talking about.
“No one’s ever made a study of it,” he said, wrapping his other arm around my waist, “but I think there’s a correlation between mortals who aren’t very good in the water and vampires who aren’t very good in the air.”
“Oh God,” I wailed. “You mean I’m not going to get any better?”
“No, you’ll get better,” he assured me. “But it’s going to take a lot of practice. You’re definitely not a natural.”
I let out a sigh of frustration. It figured that I would stink at flying. Being a vampire was enough of a challenge without extra struggle.
“Don’t worry,” he said, kissing me on the forehead and giving me a squeeze. “We have all the time in the world to work on it and I’ll coach you until you’re an Olympian in the air.”
I draped my arms around his shoulders and tilted my head back so he could kiss me properly on the lips. Kissing Jessie was so amazing that it felt like I was flying. Every time his lips pressed against mine, I felt an incredible tingling race through my entire body like I was holding the end of a live wire.
“Mmh,” Jessie said, pulling me a bit closer. I wrapped my arms more tightly around his neck and we kissed again. This time the kiss was deeper and more passionate. There was always a kindling flame low in my body whenever I was around Jessie and his kiss had caused it to quickly ignite into a bonfire.
“Oh, Jessie,” I whispered as my body shuddered with desire.
“Are you cold?” Jessie asked, instantly concerned for my wellbeing. “Maybe we should go inside.”
It was the middle of winter in Central Ohio. But it wasn’t the ice cold wind whipping across the landscape that had me shaking. “No,” I said, shaking my head and releasing a small laugh. “I’m a vampire. Remember? I don’t feel the cold anymore.”
“But you’re trembling. Your body might still be experiencing the cold as a memory. Kind of like phantom limb,” he explained.
“Jessie,” I said, looking into his gray eyes. “I am trembling, but it’s not because of the cold. It’s because…” I wanted him so badly, but I suddenly felt embarrassed and had to look away. “It’s because I want you,” I said, in a small voice.
“Oh, Aurora,” Jessie said, whispering into my hair. “I want you more than you could ever imagine.”
There was the sound of heavy footsteps on the slate of the roof and then someone cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Wanderlind, but Miss Aurora’s mother is here to see her.”
Chapter 2
Jessie and I sprang apart like we’d been making out in a car and the police just knocked on our foggy window. “Thank you, Viggo,” Jessie said, hastily. “Please, um…” he stammered. “If you would please tell uh…”
Viggo was a giant of a man with a somber face. I had seen it filled with joy and it had transformed him into someone quite handsome, but usually he looked like he’d just received some rather depressing news. “I vill ask the lady to vait a few minutes because Aurora is sleeping,” he said with his faint Russian accent.
“Thank you, Viggo,” I interjected, seeing that Jessie seemed a little tongue-tied.
The giant regarded me with his somber eyes and then nodded slightly. “Miss Aurora,” he said before turning and making his way back into the castle.
“Come on,” Jessie said, grabbing my hand and trailing after the giant. “We’d better get you a snack before you see your mother. And I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
I’d been a vampire for a little over forty-eight hours and the constant hunger I felt for human blood was still very surprising to me. Jessie had told me that I didn’t even have the extreme cravings of some newbies. In some cases, a fledgling had to be tied to the bed so she didn’t race off into the night to go on a killing spree.
The last thing I wanted was to lose control with my mother in the room. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her. But I knew that hurting her was inevitable. I was a vampire. Even if I could resist biting her, I would eventually have to sever all relationships with the mortal world. And that included my mother. I would have a few years left where I could see her. Only at night, of course, and after I’d sated my appetite, but eventually she would notice that I wasn’t aging. And even before then I had to hurt her in different ways. I had to lie to her about why I couldn’t live with her anymore. Jessie and his mother had concocted a scheme that would buy us a few weeks, but eventually I would have to start some type of ridiculous fight with her and put some distance between us. I hated that. No matter how much I wanted to be with Jessie, I hated that my relationship with my mother had to be a casualty of our love. Fortunately, there wasn’t time for me to think about it at that moment. I had to quench my thirst and then quickly set the stage for my mother’s visit.
The room where I slept had been staged in anticipation of my mother’s arrival and my first encounter with her. Jessie led me swiftly through the castle, to the room where I would have my first visit with a mortal since my transformation; where I would see my mother. A small refrigerator was concealed in a cabinet in a corner of the room and it was stocked with bottles of blood. Jessie quickly opened once and shoved it in my hands. I downed the contents immediately, barely taking a moment to savor the wonderful sensation it sent shivering through my whole being. Opening another bottle, Jessie shoved it in my direction and then handed me a flannel nightgown.
“Go get changed,” he said, directing me toward the room’s adjacent bathroom. “Try to mess up your hair a little. You’re looking too beautiful.” I paused for a moment, wanting to kiss him, but he shook his head. “Go,” he insisted.
I handed him the first bottle, drained of its contents, and hurried off to the bathroom, drinking from the second bottle as I scurried.
I could hear my mother’s voice on the stairs. “She’s my daughter. You can’t stop me from seeing her.”
“I have no vish to stop you from seeing your child,” was the deep rumble of Viggo’s reply.
“Unless you think this is a matter for the police.” My mother was a counselor for girls and young women whom had been through some kind of trauma. She did not tolerate a lot of nonsense when it came to issues of her daughter’s safety.
“Your daughter is ill. She has the mono. Vhy would that be a matter for the police?” Viggo wanted to know.
I whipped off my clothes, yanked the flannel nightie over my head, and then struggled to snake my arms through the sleeves while finishing off the ruby contents of the second bottle before hurry back into the bedroom.
“Give it to me,” Jessie said, grabbing the bottle out of my hands the second it was empty. “Get in bed,” he said, in a much lower voice. My mother was literally outside the door.
We could hear Viggo saying, “I need to announce you.”
And my mother responding, “I don’t need to be announced. She’s my daughter. I think she knows who I am.” Then Mom came barging into the room with such determination that I don’t think even someone of Viggo’s proportion could have done anything to stop her.
But her angry face melted just as soon as she saw me. “Aurora,” she cried, hurrying across the room to me.
Pretending that I had just awoken from a fevered nap, I sat up in bed a little. “Mom?” I said, hoping my voice sounded groggy.
“Oh, sweetie.” Mom covered my head with kisses. “Mrs. Vanderlind called me and said you were alright, but I’ve just been so worried.”
“I’m fine,” I assured her, even though my jaw was clenched. She was the first mortal who had been allowed to get close to me since I’d been turned. Her scent filled my nostrils and I felt my stomach growl.
“She’s fine,” Jessie assured my mom, coming over and pulling her from the bed. As gently as possible, of course, but he had to exert some force. “The doctor said that she’s contagious,” he said in response to her questioning look. “I know you’ve been worried about her, but it’s best not to get too close.”
“I’m willing to risk it to be with my baby,” Mom said, shrugging out of his grasp.
“No, Mom, please,” I said, holding up a hand to stop her. “I don’t want you getting sick, too. You could miss work for a month.”
That information drew my mother up short. “Alright,” she said, after taking a moment to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. “I can see that you’re alright, but you can’t imagine how worried I’ve been.”
I didn’t know the exact details of the lie Jessie and his mother had told my mom. Something about me coming down with a fever, but nothing too alarming. Then I think Jessie might have done something to temporarily disable Mom’s car so she couldn’t come to see me after she got off of work. I’m not sure what else they did, but between numerous phone calls from Jessie’s mother assuring her that I was receiving the best care, and Jessie finding various ways to delay my mom, I’d had three days to adjust to being a member of the undead. It wasn’t that much time, but I was afraid my mother was going to start tearing the castle apart with her bare hands if she didn’t get to see me and make sure I was alright.
There was a knock on the door and Jessie’s mom entered the room. “Hello, you must be Aurora’s mother,” she said, crossing the room with a hand outstretched. “I’m Alice Vanderlind, Jessie’s mom. It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.”
Mom’s eyes grew wide for a moment. Jessie and I were ostensibly the same age, but Mrs. Vanderlind looked no older than twenty-four. That’s because she’d been turned at twenty-four and hadn’t aged a day since. Alice had done what she could to disguise her youth by dressing in a frumpy sweater and wide-cord, baggy pants. She’d pulled her luxurious black hair back into a bun and I was willing to bet she’d used a bit of brown eye shadow to attempt to have dark circles under her eyes, but her youth and beauty still shone through. My mom was no slouch in the looks department. She did her best to exercise and use sunblock, but she was mortal and showing some of the traditional signs of aging. I could tell she was a little stunned by the appearance of the woman standing in front of her who was, ostensibly, about her age.
“It’s… it’s nice to meet you,” Mom stammered, breaking out of her trance. “I’m Helen.” The two women shook hands. “I can’t believe my poor girl has mono. And it came over her so quickly. I just can’t imagine how she caught it.” Her eyes flicked briefly in Jessie’s direction. “And everyone in your family is feeling alright? I hate to think that you’ve all been exposed.”
I inwardly cringed, knowing that mononucleosis used to be called the-kissing-disease. My mother was obviously viewing Jessie with suspicion.
“We are all in perfect health,” Alice assured her. “There haven’t been any signs of the illness in my family or staff, although Aurora might still be infectious.”
Mom’s cheeks went a little pink. I knew it was only that she regretted lightly accusing Jessie of giving me mono, but the sight of her blush made my stomach growl. “I’m sorry I’ve had such trouble getting over here for the last couple of days,” she said. “It’s just been one crazy mishap after another. Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter.”
“It’s been our pleasure,” Mrs.
Vanderlind insisted. “Aurora is a wonderful girl, even when she’s feeling under the weather. You must be very proud of her.”
Mom gave me big, beaming smile. I could tell she was relieved to see me. “I am rather proud of her, now that you mention it.”
Alice did not look directly at me. She’d been in my room several times since I’d been turned and she hadn’t looked at me once. Instead she looked everywhere but at me. That pained me in a way that I didn’t know I could hurt. Jessie’s mother was my maker and I felt connected to her in a way that I’d never felt before. Not with my mom, or even Jessie. I desperately wanted Alice’s approval. I wanted her acknowledgment. I wanted to be near her. But she acted like the very sight of me disgusted her.
“How are things going with you, Mom?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from my vampire mother and gazing toward my mortal one.
“Oh, sweetie, let’s not talk about me, now. We need to figure out your health. And don’t worry about your job, by the way, because I spoke to Joe and he said you can come back whenever you’re ready.”
I had been an exemplary employ at Cup of Joes for long enough that I was in good standing with the boss. I would never work there again, but it was nice to know that I was appreciated. “That’s nice,” I said, weakly.
“Are you running a fever?” Mom asked, furrowing her brow. “If you’re feeling up to it, I think we should go home and get out of the Vanderlinds’ hair.”
“It’s really been no inconvenience,” Alice interjected.
“I appreciate all you’ve done,” Mom said to her, “but I want to get my daughter home where I can take care of her. I’m sure you understand.”
“It might be dangerous to move her,” Jessie said. When my mom looked up with a startled jerk of her head, he amended his comment with, “I don’t mean dangerous, exactly. But… by the time we bundled her downstairs and to your car and you got her into the house… That’s a lot of energy that she should actually spend recovering. I mean, that’s the treatment for mono. Isn’t it? Just plenty of bed rest and returning to normal activities when you eventually have the energy.”
