Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1)

by Jemma Grey

  “Eric,” I hesitated. “What’s coming after me?” Katalin had mentioned others that wanted me dead, but I didn’t know why or even who the others were?

  “Shape shifters…”

  “You mean the people that turns into wolves on a full moon?”

  “No,” he shook his head at once. “That’s a werewolf. Shifters can change into any type of animal at will,” he explained.

  “Why do they want to hurt me?”

  “You’re a pureblood and that automatically makes you a target for the other Thirdworlders… We’re the ruling species and the less of us there is, is the weaker we are. But they want you specifically because you weren’t born a pureblood.”

  I took a deep breath, trying as best as I could to steady myself for what was about to come next. This was the second most important question, but by far the hardest to ask. I had been working up to it and stalling this moment all throughout the conversation, but now I couldn’t hold it back anymore. This was going to be one of those things I didn't like, but I needed to know. “Eric,” I muttered my voice so low that I could hardly hear it. “What am I?” I asked, phrasing the question the only way I knew.

  Eric understood though. He let out a small, muted sigh and leaned forward on the chair as close to me as he could get without falling off. “I don't know how much my dad told you, so I'm going to start from the beginning,” he paused looking at me, his eyes calculating and careful. I nodded.

  “Your medication is made from my blood. It's been confined to a smaller, weaker state and that's what has been healing you - keeping you alive all this time… Remember when Katalin said you've been consuming the blood from one of the oldest bloodline, she was talking about me… my blood. It's a lot weaker so it only heals… Do you understand?” he asked staring at me.

  “Yes,” I said, “everyday I've been… taking a little of your blood.” I took a deep steadying breath, trying to get the words to register. In my head I understood what he was saying, it just wouldn't sink in.

  “It helps you to make blood cells, but the ones you make it's… it's not all human.”

  My eyebrows knotted up at once. “What does that mean exactly..?” I wondered. I wasn’t human and I wasn't like him, so what was I? Didn’t I belong somewhere? Didn’t I have a niche or species of my own?

  “It means that you’re standing on a very thin line between humanity and becoming like me… and the closer you get to your birthday... the stronger the pureblood cells will become…”

  I stayed silent for a long while trying to digest what he was telling me. “I turn… eighteen a month after we're married…” I said slowly turning away from him. I then turned back frowning deeply. “Why eighteen?”

  “Remember what I told you about turning eighteen and what it means in my family?”

  I thought back for a minute. “It's the age when you're finished growing…” I told him, thinking back to that conversation.

  “It's also the age that purebloods fully awaken… Before that it was like the cells were dormant and we were almost like normal humans, but when we turn eighteen the cells awakens… and we change, making us stronger, faster, better in every possible way you can imagine.”

  A quick silent moment passed us as that new piece of information circled my head. “And... when I'm eighteen I'll awaken too,” I stated. It wasn't a question as I had intended it to be; instead it came out as a realized statement I simply could not change. When Eric didn't say anything, I knew that there was more. “I've already started the stages, which means... I've already started to awaken, haven't I?”

  I looked to Eric for confirmation and he nodded silently, waiting for me to say something. I couldn’t though, all my words had gotten stuck somewhere in my throat and all I could do was look down at the covers on the bed, playing with it as though they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

  The quiet in the room dragged on, seeming like it was never going to end. Eric’s eyes remained trained on me, studying me as if I had a hidden flaw he had to find. I could feel his eyes heating my face and if he continued I was going to snap at him. It was so silent that I could clearly hear our hearts beating, and our pulse pumping blood through our veins. Eric’s was calm and tranquil while mine was like a race horse galloping at top speed.

  “Jen,” Eric whispered, cutting through the tense and breakable atmosphere between us. “I know this is a lot to take in at once. We don’t have to do it all now… we could take this a little at a time… so you could wrap your head around everything.”

  I thought about that for a while and though it did seem like a good idea in theory, I would rather get all this done with now. “No,” I shook my head, facing him. “I’m fine,” I lied. I took another deep breath and went on to another, easier question.

  “Why do I have to marry you before I’m eighteen? Why not after? Why can’t we wait until we’re older and ready to be married?”

  Eric remained silent for a minute and I knew at once that I was wrong. This was going to be another one of those hard questions. “There’s a lot of reasons Jen, too many to name.”

  “Well, give me the three most important,” I suggested.

  “Okay,” he nodded. “Well the first is that by the time you’re eighteen, you’ll most likely be a pureblood, and our Elders will need to have a claim on you by then. Being a pureblood means that you have certain responsibilities and obligations that must be met. It’s easier to get us to live up to those obligations if they have a tie to us. I’m royal by birth and blood so your marriage to me is your tie to High Society.

  “The second is that once you’re a pureblood, your entire life is going to change. People are going to try to hurt you. Katalin expects that most of Thirdworld won’t accept you as a pureblood, because you were born human. You’ll be easier to accept when you’ve married into one of the royal families…”

  “Because even if I’m not royal by… whatever I am... I’ll be royal by marriage?” I asked, frowning deeply at him.

  Eric nodded. “If Thirdworld accepts you as royalty, no one could deny you anything. You'll have all the protection you need.”

  “Okay that kinda makes sense,” I nodded at him still frowning. “What’s the third reason?”

  “The line of succession. Our child has to be legitimate. In Thirdworld tradition, we can’t have children outside our marriage, be it with other people or with each other. Thirdworld doesn’t accept bastards as heirs or rulers…”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Tradition,” Eric shrugged. “If I were to knock you up before we were officially married, we'd never see that child.”

  “What!” I blurted out. That was insane.

  “It’s been done before Jen. Thirdworld doesn’t accept flaws, especially when it comes to royals. It sticks to its traditions and our kid has got to be absolutely unquestioned and lawful.”

  “Why?” I wondered. What was going to be so special about our children?

  A light smile traced Eric’s face. It was the first time since we began this conversation that he showed any emotion other than worry over me. “My blood is running through your veins Jen… our child will be a pureblood like none before - the purest there have ever been... The strongest, which means his rise to ruling Thirdworld has to be without bumps. You have to be accepted because if you aren’t Thirdworld could possibly overthrow the kid under grounds that his or her mother wasn't royalty.”

  I thought for a quick second about that, allowing it to sink in and then I nodded. It was kinda like King Henry and his many wives. Even though he’d married Anne Boleyn and named their daughter Elizabeth as his true heir, his first daughter, Mary from his first marriage with Catherine of Aragon had gotten his throne because it was argued that Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn wasn't real.

  “Yes, it is like that,” Eric said surprising me. “Thirdworld really needs to move on from the 1500’s.”

  It took me a moment to understand. “Eric,” I said pointedly, “get ou
t of my head.”

  “Sorry,” he breathed out effortless. “It’s just that I need to know that you understand all of this. It’s a lot to take in at once.”

  “I understand, you’re making it easy. But you need to stay out of my head. It's private.”

  “Okay,” he nodded.

  “Who is Katalin, really? I mean,” I hesitated, frowning at him, “I know she has some power over you, and I’m guessing the other purebloods too… but who is she and what does she want?”

  “Katalin’s father is the ruler of Thirdworld. She’s its Princess, and one of the strongest Thirdworlder there’s ever been…”

  “So she’s a pureblood,” I guessed.

  “No,” he shook his head. “Her mother was human and father is like us, she’s mixed… The only one like her. As for what she wants, no one knows… Katalin is… she does things that no one understands… but somehow in the end… it’s always for the better… As long as she is on your side you can trust her…”

  “But is she?” I swallowed. “On our side?” Eric nodded at once.

  “So you trust her then?”

  He didn’t answer right away. “I trust that she will do whatever she’s ordered to do… Now I have a question for you. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, but I’m curious.” He fell silent, waiting for me to urge him on. I nodded. “What made you change your mind about us… our marriage..?”

  I bit down on my lower lip, wondering. “Your sister,” I finally said after a second. “I made her a promise…”

  “Next question?” he asked instead of replying to my answer.

  “Will I still be me... after I’ve become like you...” I frowned. “I mean...” I trailed off not knowing how to continue any further.

  “I honestly hope so,” Eric sighed loudly, picking up on what I wanted to say when I couldn't find the words, either that or he was inside my head again.

  “But that’s not likely, right?” I said, finishing the sentence he couldn’t seem to be able to. “I mean every cell in my body – essentially what I am – doesn’t change without changing who I am as well, right?” I spat out bitterly. Eric didn’t say anything and for a long while the silence dragged on.

  All my life I’ve thought of myself as nothing but human - had absolutely no reason to think otherwise - and now suddenly, in the blink of an eye I was going to be something totally different and unfamiliar, and the price of changing was too high to pay. I was going to lose not only my humanity, but myself too. I was only just beginning to find myself within all the guilt and pain, and now I was going to lose it again.

  “Why me?” I asked. Why not some other girl? What made me so special?

  “It’s because you’re sick… You have a very severe case of aplastic anemia, and Katalin needed a newborn that couldn’t make any type of blood cells. It could have been any child born with the disease. You were just born at the right time.”

  I nodded. “What does my illness have to do with anything?”

  “Hmmm…” Eric frowned deeply. “First you need to know a little about power in Thirdworld.” He stopped and when I nodded he continued. “Right now the ruling species are the purebloods, it wasn’t always like that though. There was a time when the witches were in control. Witches - or any type of magic user gains power by numbers, but when most of them died during a combined spell, the purebloods seized control before any other species could. Power can shift from us back to the witches, or shifters or any other supernatural species at any time. So to prevent that from happening, years ago our Elders started an experiment.”

  “Who are the Elders?” I asked, interrupting him. This was the second time he’d mentioned them.

  “They’re the ruling purebloods. They consist of the two oldest members from each of the remaining bloodlines and Katalin. There are nine in total, including my Grandparents.”

  “So there aren’t much purebloods then?”

  “No, barely one hundred and that's why power could shift easily. But if the Elders could make purebloods then we would always be in power. That was the problem though - how could they create something that couldn’t be made?

  “For a long time they were unsuccessful. Every human they tried to turn died, or worse. You see, they have to be careful and specific about the amount of blood and how often they give it... Everything needs to be precise and exact,” he paused making sure I was keeping up. When I nodded he continued.

  “Someone thought of something new though - what if they could somehow have a human create pureblood cells? That human might eventually awaken when the cells became strong enough.

  “At first they tried with mothers - injecting the fetus with our blood. Then they tried blood transfusions. It didn’t work. It was then that someone thought what if the human wasn't able to make blood cells..?”

  “Aplastic anemia...” I trailed off, naming my illness.

  “Yes...” Eric sighed, staring at me with a sad face. “They needed to find a child - a new born that wasn’t able to create any type of blood cells... so that they could give that child our blood, which in turn might make more...

  “You're the first like you, Jen, making you the most endangered human and protected one at the same time. There has never been a human that could be made into a true pureblood until now. If you awaken like they expect, then the Elders would have successfully found a w ay to create purebloods. Because of the illness you were born with, it is possible. I didn’t know it was because you were sick… but when you explained what you were sick with, I pieced it together…” Eric explained watching me carefully.

  So that was what I was: a science experiment. My life had never really been my own to live, it had been the Elders, the people who had created me. I was an experiment. I couldn't get the thought to sink in. I was their experiment, meant to keep them in power. I didn't know how to react to this and when I didn't show any signs of responding Eric said “And Jen…” he hesitated. “I know you’re struggling to find yourself right now, but you are someone, not something... You are the most important person there is…” he trailed off and the only thought that filled my mind was; sure I was important now.

  “Of course I'm important, Eric” I said bitterly. “I'm the one that survived. I had lived through your experiment when it killed all the others.” I wondered what they would have done if it'd been clear that I wasn't going to survive? Would they have tried to prolong my life - even if it was only for a minute or second? Or would they have left me to die and moved on to the next unfortunate baby born with aplastic anemia?

  “I didn't mean the Elders,” he shook his head, his eyes never leaving my face. “I meant you're important to me, Jen, not because you lived, not because of what you represent but because I love you. My family loves you and your family and Daren... your friends back in Trinidad... they all love you. To us you're not a science experiment... and though that puts you in a lot of danger, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe because... I can't,” he paused again mid sentence, frowning at me deeply. “I can't afford to lose you, Jenifer,” he whispered and I was suddenly gripped by a strong urge to close the space between us, to touch him and feel the warmth of his skin against mine. I swallowed, wrapping my arms around my body so I didn't get off the bed and go to him. I was slowly melting for him, not because of what he was saying, but because I could see the truth of his words etched into his face. It shone in his eyes, burning intensely.

  “What is this thing between us?” I asked, knowing from the darkness of his eyes that he felt it too. “I’ve felt lust before and it’s nothing like this... this is so much more and intense… At my school, the day we met... I felt you before I even knew you,” I whispered biting down on my lower lip. I craved him in a way that was not natural. The fire burning inside me was too strong and pressing to be anything but natural. When he wasn’t near me I felt like an addict in withdrawal. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to make up with him, because without him I felt incomplete and almost
like my sanity was slipping away.

  “The day we met,” he chuckled lightly, “I asked my dad about that... he thinks it's our blood that makes us so attuned to each other.”

  “Because I have your blood in me?” Eric nodded, then a small amused smile stretched across his face that immediately interested me. “What?” I asked and his smile grew wider.

  “If all it takes is being under the same roof to get us hot and bothered, imagine what sex would be like,” he grinned and despite my not wanting to, a smile of my own lit my face as blood warmed my cheeks.

  “Great,” I said struggling to keep a straight face “You just ruined my totally good mood, but I'm hungry anyway so... food?”

  “Sure,” he smirked at me and I blushed deeper as he stood up, stretching. I sucked in a small breath watching as his muscles rippled under his t-shirt. I had to remind myself to breathe or I was going to suffocate. “How you doing there?” he then asked, standing in front of me.

  “You did that on purpose,” I accused him. Eric knew what he was doing to me and he loved it.

  “Did no such thing,” he grinned.

  “Eric,” I breathed out, slowly getting off the bed, standing inches away from him. His burning blue eyes studied me, never leaving my face. “Thank you for explaining everything to me.” I took a step, closing the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his waist as I looked up to him from under my lashes, biting my lower lip.

  One look was all it took for him to tilt my chin up to his face and crush his lips to mine. My eyes closed automatically, and I felt my hand release him, snaking a way to his neck. There they intertwined around each other, pulling him closer to me, deepening the kiss.