TIA'S MATE (Shifters of the Bulgarian Bloodline Book 1)

by Dalia Wright

  Becky’s brow furrowed. He was talking in riddles and she knew it, she wanted to pry but she didn’t want to be rude. Still… she thought.

  “Where are you from?” She couldn’t help asking. “I mean, where were you born or raised?”

  Darian grinned. “I wish I could tell ya.”

  Becky’s heart skipped a beat as he turned to her and gave her a wide smile. She swallowed dryly trying not to admit to herself what was happening. She was getting a crush and that was a bad idea.

  He was... Becky bit her lip. She couldn’t think of the right word to describe him. She knew he probably wasn’t bad news, but she wasn’t quite sure he was good news.

  Still, she wanted to spend more time with him. She wanted to get to know him.

  “You don’t know where you grew up?”

  “I remember parts of it.” He said looking away from her. “But that’s about it.” He shrugged. “Doesn't really matter though. No going home now.”

  He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. That was something Darian never shared with anyone, even the others like him.

  Warm hands reached out and touched him. Even threw his clothing he could feel her hands against him.

  Her pulse raced against her wrist. He could hear it. His tongue moved over his lips without him realizing what was happening. He could feel his two extra teeth wanting to move forward. He took a deep breath, turning away from her, filling his lungs with fresh air.

  He wanted nothing more than to just do it now. No. That wasn’t the way it should be and he knew it.

  That had been how it was done in the old days; and it had taken a human lifetime to get them to come around.

  The change was hard enough, Darian knew that. Despite the fact it had been a very long time since he went through it he still remembered the pain it caused.

  He stepped away from her, but still walked close enough that she could touch him.

  Some of his brothers saw humans only as a food source, but Darian respected them no less than he did his brothers and sisters.

  Humans were weaker, that was true but they still fought tooth and nail. They still tried, they still strived to keep getting better. Most vampires thought they were already the best they could be.

  But really, it was the warmth he loved.

  If Darian was honest with himself, it was the warmth of the body that he loved. He missed it. He didn’t like being cold. He missed the normal human experiences, like sweating. Something he’d hated for so long suddenly had become something he missed.

  Darian pulled away from her. Of course he did.

  She’d been stupid to think that he would want her to touch him. Her cheeks flushed as she looked away. Not that it mattered, it was dark out he couldn’t see her blushing.

  She pulled her hand back to herself, fully intent on sticking it in her pocket and never taking it out around him again.

  Cold fingers wrapped around her wrist. He pulled her closer to him, his hand sliding down hers and their fingers tangling together.

  Becky’s heart raced as he squeezed gently.

  “Do you mind?” He asked, motioning down to their interlocked hands.

  “Not at all.” She said breathlessly. Becky cleared her throat. “I mean, assuming you don’t.”

  He laughed softly. “Not at all. Otherwise I’d have told you not to touch me.”

  His words sent a shiver down Becky’s spine.

  “So you don’t mind me touching you?” She couldn’t help the flirty grin that spread over her lips. She wasn’t sure if it had been meant in a dirty way or not, but she was interested in how Darian would react to it.

  “Depends on where you want to touch me.” His voice sounded like silk as the words rolled off his lips.

  Becky’s heart did a backflip in her chest. She could think of one place, but she wasn’t quite sure that was a good idea.

  No. She thought. I know it’s not a good idea. It’s a bad, bad idea and I know it. She forced herself to take a deep breath before she said anything she shouldn’t have.

  She looked around, they were the only ones walking this way. Most of the dorms were on the other side of the college.

  “Do you stay at a dorm?” She asked.

  “No, I’ve got… a place that I stay at when I’m here.”

  “It sounds like you travel a lot.” Maybe that would get something out of him.

  Darian snorted. “You could say that.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence as Becky tried to figure out how to pray, without it being overt that she was trying to pry. She couldn’t think of a way to do it, so instead they walked in silence together, which he didn’t seem to mind.

  The silence wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It was actually nice to just walk hand in hand with him.

  But that had to end eventually, and it ended soon as Becky came to a stop outside her dorm.

  “Well, this is me.” She gave him a soft. “Thank you for walking me back to my dorm. It was nice to have the company.”

  “The pleasure was all mine, Becky.”

  She hated to admit it even to herself, but she loved the way he spoke her name.

  His hand shifted in hers, as he brought the back of her hand up to his lips.

  “Becky.” Becky knew that voice anywhere. My heart skipped a beat. What? How?

  “Darian?” She asked. She had to be sure. She had to hear him say it.

  “You found me. I knew it.” The last three words were barely loud enough for her to hear.

  He knew it? What did he know? What isn’t he telling me?

  Becky’s heart raced.

  “What’s going on?”

  She wasn’t even sure how she had got here, or why she was dressed. The last thing she remembered was being in bed, and then just… being here. She didn’t know how she’d gotten here. She didn’t remember walking, or taking a bus. She looked around. I don’t even know where I am.

  It looked like someone was trying to recreate the 1940’s in their apartment. Complete with a record player and an old looking TV.

  “You said you believed in fate, right?” He said taking her hand.

  Becky’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Yes.”

  Why was be bringing that up? What was he getting at?

  “Then there is something I need to tell you.” He took a deep, looking away from her.

  “What is it?” Becky didn’t know how much longer she could take it. There was something going on and she’d known that for a long time. She shouldn't have ignored her gut,

  “You might not believe me.” He warned her. “But… you’re not here. Not really.”

  Becky frowned. Of course she was.

  “You’re projecting.”

  “I’m what?”

  “What do you know about astral projection?”

  Becky’s brow furrowed. She’d heard about it. “You mean like, sleep walking?”

  “Sort of.” He laughed softly. “But not quite.” Darian took a deep breath. “We have to make this quick, before you wake up. You’re still asleep. You…” Becky could see him trying to think things through. “You're having an out of body experience as you asleep.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Your body is still in your bed.”

  His bluntness took Becky off guard. He sounded like he actually meant what he was saying. How could this be?

  “No… no.”

  “You believe in fate, don’t you?” She had already told him that. “Why can’t you believe in this?”

  “I… I don’t know…” She took a deep breath. How could she justify believing in fate and not astral projection? “So, where am I then?”

  I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's just a dream, I’ll play along.

  “Not where. When. You’re in 1949.”

  Becky raised her eyebrows. Yup. She was dreaming. There was no way she wasn’t. She had to be dreaming, there was no other way she could be in fucking 1949.

  “What
do you mean?”

  “You’re not actually here. I am.”

  Becky had never realized you could choke on thin air- until now.

  “What?” She snapped.

  “I know, you don’t believe me.” He turned away from her. “I can’t ask you to believe me, but please give me a chance to prove it to you. Please.”

  Becky took a deep breath. “You’re telling me this is real? I’m supposed to believe that you’re in 1949? How? Are you a fucking Time Lord?”

  Darian laughed softly. “Nothing like that.” Then all humor was gone from his face. His eyes locked on her. “But there is something about me. Something that… will change the way you feel about me.” Becky took a deep breath, her heart skipping a beat. “Something that will…”

  “What? What is it?”

  “I’ll tell you when I see you, when I can actually be with you.”

  Becky’s heart skipped a beat. What could he want to tell her that was so bad he wanted to be with her? Wasn’t this good enough? Wait, I don’t actually believe this do I?

  “How do I know this is actually happening? How do I know this isn’t just a dream? How do I know it’s actually happening?”

  “What’s your favorite flower?”

  Becky’s brow furrowed. “My-”

  “Favorite flower.” He said again, finishing her sentence.

  “Uh, I don’t like flowers. I like bonsai trees though, does that count?”

  “Yes.” A soft smile touched his lips.

  Becky woke with a start. She gasped, a thin vale of sweat covering her lower back. Her mind raced as she thought about the dream she had just had. What the flying fuck? She thought.

  Why would she even have a dream like that? More often than not her dreams were normal. Sure she had the usual strange one, but that was like being trapped in a house that was trying to kill her. Not this kind of thing. And why him?

  I haven’t seen him in a few days, why would I dream about him?

  Becky stared out into the darkness of her room. Her heart still racing. She took a deep breath and pushed the blankets off her, slipping out of the bed and heading to the door. She needed to get up and walk around a little. She reached out, her fingers curling around the cold handle. It felt good against her hot body. She pulled it open but didn’t move. Her jaw dropped as she stood there, staring down at the ground.

  This is still a dream.

  That was the only way to explain what was going on. She was still dreaming.

  She bent down and picked up the small tree, along with the note.

  Becky,

  Hope you enjoy- and believe me now.

  Meet me tomorrow, at the place we first me and I will explain everything.

  She read the note a few times, trying to get everything to sink in. Becky tried to wrap her head around it.

  She tucked the note into the pocket of her sweat pants. Was she going to meet him? Of course I am. She thought. How could she turn that down? She needed answers, if this wasn’t still just a dream.

  Becky closed the door behind her and headed back for her bed, suddenly not wanting to deal with anything. I’m just going to go to bed and hope I wake up out of this dream. She thought.

  She pulled the blankets back around her and closed her eyes, trying to force herself back to sleep. It’s all a dream, as soon as I can get to sleep I can just wake up and be done with this.

  Which, she had to admit was kind of a shame, really who didn’t want to be in a fantasy world? To be somewhere that astral projection worked, something she’d never thought about ever in her life. Would that mean magic was real? She wondered, almost wishing she could stay in this dream.

  Chapter

  Becky woke the next morning. She pushed herself out of bed and padded to her closet. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.

  That was such an odd dream. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about it. Why would she have dreamt about him of all people?

  It’s probably just because I recently met him. She found him interesting, that much was for sure. How could she not.

  Becky shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She had to get ready for school, and she’d left a paper half done that was due tomorrow.

  “Hey, where did you get the plant?” Ash asked.

  Becky’s heart did a backflip. “What?” She snapped. She spun to see Ashley standing there, holding a small plant that she had seen before- in her dream.

  Becky’s jaw dropped. How was this possible? There is no way this could actually be happening. Was there?

  I said it would be cool to live in a fantasy world. She thought. But she hadn’t thought there would be any chance she could.

  “Oh,” Becky cleared her throat, realizing she still hadn't answered her friend. “I um, I picked it up the other day. You haven’t noticed it yet?”

  “No.” Ash shrugged. “I must not have. I’ve been so fucking swamped with homework.” She shrugged handing it out to Becky. “Still, you should keep it somewhere safer.”

  Becky took it with a smile. She waited until Ash went into the bathroom to place the plant down. She reached into her pocket and reread the note from last night. Her heart raced. I’m still dreaming. She thought.

  She’d thought for sure she was awake, but maybe not. She took a deep breath. So what? If it’s a dream it’s a damn interesting one. She thought. She’d go meet him tonight. There wasn't a time on the note, but it was a dream- this sorta thing would work out the way it was supposed to, right?

  As far as dreams go, this one was boring. It felt like she was actually in class taking notes the entire day. And when she arrived home, hungry and tired, she had to come up with an excuse to slip out. Ashley didn’t seem to care either way. She was busy working.

  Which didn’t seem very dreamlike- that was very lifelike.

  Becky wished the dream had managed to update her clothing, she’d have loved to wear something nicer than what she had, or maybe just something new.

  But she slipped her wallet into her pocket and headed out the door.

  Normally her dreams didn’t detail her walking from one place to the next, but this dream wasn’t like anything else she’d had before. Other than the part where she was in 1949 it felt like real life.

  When she came to a stop outside of the cafe she had first met Darian in she looked around. He was nowhere to be see, so she headed inside.

  “Hi,” A woman smiled widely. “Just you?”

  “Um, yes.” Becky looked around, trying to see if she could spot him. No sign.

  She followed the woman to the back of the room and slid into a single person booth as the woman handed her a menu.

  “Thank you.” Becky gave her a soft smile before looking down at her menu.

  “Hi.”

  Becky’s heart skipped a beat as Darian sat down in front of her. He could hear it racing as she stared at him.

  “H-hi.” She stammered.

  “I’m surprised you came.”

  “I had to, I mean… I needed answers.” A smile touched her lips. “Anyways, this is just a dream isn’t it?”

  Is that what she thought was going on here? That this was all a dream? Darian bit his lip, wondering if he should tell her the truth. As soon as I do, her whole life will change. It was true, but there was no denying that she was meant to be in his life. He hadn’t intended to call to her last night. That was the universe at work here, that was a higher power pushing them together. Darian took a deep breath. If I don’t tell her the truth then she will only get hurt by someone, or by me. We’ll get pushed together until we finally accept what is going on.

  There had been a lot of fatebounds’ who were just friends. Darian knew this, but he knew that when he explained things to her she was going to think it meant they had to be… more.

  Darian stared at the woman in front of her. He licked his lips. He didn’t mean it in a hungry way. Her blonde hair was pulled back, and she wore a sweatshirt. She looked simple more than anything
. She hadn’t dressed up for him, maybe because she thought it had all been a dream- but he liked that she hadn’t.

  He took it as a sign that she was comfortable with him.

  “So,” She looked around. “You said you’d explain everything.” She stared at him, waiting.

  Darian looked around. It would have been good to get some food in her, not for him but for her. Although he did come prepared for if she hadn’t eaten recently.

  “Alright, I need you to come with me though.”

  Becky’s brow furrowed.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s outside and I need to show you something.”

  Okay, it wasn’t a bad reason, but still everything in her mind reminded her of what I’d been taught in school. Never let a kidnapper take you to a secondary location. Do I really think Darian is going to kidnap me? Becky asked herself.

  No, she didn’t. She didn’t actually think he was going to kidnap her, but did people normally think that when they left somewhere with someone?

  Still, Becky pushed herself out of the seat and followed Darian out of the building. I won’t go anywhere else with him. She promised herself.

  By now the sun had set. She hadn’t realized how long she had been in there until now. She looked around. There were cars rolling down the street around them.

  “So, what was it you wanted to show me?”

  Darian looked around. He reached out and took her hand in his. “This may be… hard on you.”

  “Hard on me?”

  What the hell was he talking about.

  His fingers tightened around Becky, pulling her closer to him. She gasped, trying to pull away as his arms wrapped around Becky. Her heart raced. She tried to push away from him.

  He didn’t budge. He just stayed there, holding onto her. His hands felt like cold prick against her body.

  Oh god. She thought, panic setting.

  Everything started to spin and her head got light. Dizziness, everything looked like it was spinning. She felt her knees go weak.

  Darian held her in his arms, keeping her up right. She tried to push against him, but she could feel herself growing weaker.

  Her feet felt like they left the ground for a fraction of a second. She closed her eyes, her stomach turning. She resisted the urge to puke, suddenly glad she hadn’t eaten.