Scent of a White Rose

by Tish Thawer

  I hadn't told Christian that I knew vampires existed yet because Terrance had warned me that revealing my knowledge could get us both killed. He also taught me that I had to hide my thoughts around other vampires, making sure that I only focused on the events that were immediately happening around me. After spending time with him at the pool, I came to learn quite a bit about vampires and how they weren't the bad, evil villains of lore. He had explained that every night they fed from only one person and only took their fill. Using their powers let them make the feeding process an enjoyable act for both vampire and human, and it also allowed them to compel the human so that they didn't remember anything that had happened.

  Terrance had continued to feed from my mom and it amazed me how she didn't even care. She never seemed hurt or out of it in any way. There were times when I thought that he may have taken too much blood and that it was going to leave her weak, but she never seemed to show any sign of feeling sick or anemic, so I came to trust Terrance pretty quickly. Once he fed he would use his sedative to put my mom to sleep for a short time so that we could talk.

  During our conversations I had told him that initially I had no idea that Christian was a vampire. When we had started dating, I truly believed that he slept all day because of his job. Only after meeting Terrance had everything become crystal clear. After he confirmed that he knew Christian and lived with him at the club, I had asked him why I had never seen him there while I visited him. He had explained that it was because he always left the vicinity to feed, only returning when it was time for the club to open.

  I had continued to see Christian even knowing he was a vampire, but as I remembered back to the first time I'd seen him after learning the truth, I recalled how completely nerve-wracking it had been. I thought for sure it was going to be nearly impossible to hide my thoughts from Christian, but surprisingly enough he never seemed to notice a thing. Like I'd said before, I'd always been pretty good at hiding things from people.

  After multiple conversations with Terrance, I had finally asked the question that I was dying to know. How did someone become a vampire? He explained the process, which really wasn't a surprise. The vampire bit and fed from the human until they drained them, and then the human fed from the vampire in return. They would then die and be reborn as a vampire in a matter of hours. After a few weeks of contemplating it, I had made up my mind that I was definitely in love with Christian and wanted to become like him so that we could be together forever. I asked Terrance if he would be willing to change me and he agreed.

  He explained that no one could know that we knew each other or that he was going to change me into a vampire, since this wasn't the usual way that these types of things happened. Apparently the normal way for new vampires to be made was for the clan to vote on who they wanted added to the family, but Terrance had agreed to change me in secret because he knew everyone would be happy and understood that I wanted it to be a surprise for Christian.

  We had started making plans for my change, but then my mom had died. I had initially thought that Terrance had done it because of the bite marks on her neck, but since he'd only ever fed from my mom at the pool, I ended up quickly coming to the conclusion that it couldn't have been him.

  After Mom's death, and once I'd been placed on lockdown by my father, I never saw Terrance again. That is, not until the night he emerged from the woods. It had taken everything I had not to act surprised or let on that I knew him in any way. But since Christian and Evie never mentioned anything, I assumed I had pulled it off. When I saw him, I had wanted so badly to just run and confront him and ask him if he knew what had happened but I'd never had the chance.

  Jillian hit the curb as she parked the car, once again shaking me out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I just thought we could grab a bite to eat. I'm starving," she said hesitantly.

  "Okay. Yeah, I guess I could eat. Why don't you call Justin and see if he can come meet us?" I smiled and tried to sound like the supportive friend.

  After she phoned Justin and told him that we were in town and invited him to join us, we walked into the restaurant and grabbed a seat by the front windows. Jill kept looking at me over her menu with questions clearly shining in her eyes. "Are you feeling better now?" she finally asked.

  "Yes, I am. Thank you for getting me out of town. I just don't think I can deal with my dad right now. He has apparently been seeing this woman, Meredith, and it really took me by surprise. The worst part is that she looks a lot like my mom." I slumped a bit in my chair I just couldn't get over how much that bothered me. I think hanging out with Justin couldn't have come at a better time. I was ready, now more than ever, to leave this world behind. I really hoped he would agree to change me.

  As I sat there contemplating how the hell I was going to get Justin alone, the vampire himself came strolling down the sidewalk. I watched him cross the street and head in our direction. Once Jill saw him, she knocked on the window to gain his attention. He smiled, waved, and sped towards the front door.

  By the time he reached the table, Jillian was beaming and Justin only caused her smile to widen as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "What in the world inspired you two to head all the way out here?"

  "Rose had a mental breakdown and needed to get out of town." She always did love throwing me under the bus whenever she could. "I saw the sign for the turnoff and I remembered you telling me that this was where you were from. Plus, I was getting hungry."

  With a little chuckle he said, "Well that was perfect timing because I just started getting hungry too."

  I almost spit my soda across the table at his obvious statement. Jill didn't have a clue about him, but it cracked me up to see how many people were mindfucked by the vampires in our area. As the huff left my lungs, I shook my head slightly and looked right at Jill's neck and then back at him. I was trying to be obvious and thought I was getting my message across pretty well because Justin's eyes quickly widened before he squinted and stared right at me.

  I nodded and then tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to him. He smirked and casually licked the tip of one of his fangs. Jillian was completely oblivious. She was actually flagging down the waiter with a huge smile on her face.

  Justin turned towards Jillian and took her hand. I thought it was just a sweet gesture until he lifted her wrist to his mouth and bit down. I couldn't believe that he was doing this in the middle of a fucking restaurant, but suddenly he released her hand and I watched as the tiny holes closed immediately, leaving no trace of a puncture behind. Jillian stood up and announced that she needed to use the restroom. It was obvious that he had used his powers to suggest that she leave us alone.

  Once she was gone, Justin turned towards me. "How do you know about me?" He didn't exactly sound mad, but he definitely sounded concerned.

  "I met someone like you who taught me all about vampires. But don't even think about feeding on me or I'll tell Christian and he'll kill you." I wasn't sure I was safe with Justin like I'd been with Terrance, and he didn't know that I hadn't told Christian that I knew his secret yet. Hopefully he wouldn't call my bluff.

  "Not that I was planning on feeding on you, but what are you talking about? Christian can't kill me."

  "I know that if a human tells anyone they are aware of vampires, it puts them and the vampire at risk of being killed." I wasn't sure why I had to explain this to him, and honestly, I didn't have time for this. There was only one question that I needed to ask him. "I want to know if you'd be willing to change me. I'm completely in love with Christian and I want to surprise him by becoming a vampire so that we can spend eternity together, and the vampire that was going to change me has disappeared."

  Justin sat there staring at me like I was completely crazy. I knew that throwing this out there was a bit of a shock but we were going to be out of time soon and I needed an answer. "Well? Will you change me or not?" I demanded.

  The severe frown on his face and the slow shake of his head was the first indication th
at I wasn't going to like his answer. "I don't understand. If a vampire has taught you all about us, then you should know that I can't change you. Only a Sire can inflict the change."

  I sat there dazed, because I didn't understand what he was saying. Terrance had never mentioned anything about a Sire, or that they were the only ones with the ability to create new vampires. Justin must be using that as an excuse to not change me and that pissed me off. He could have easily just said no. "Why are you making shit up? You could just tell me no. I could always ask one of the other members of Christian's clan to do it."

  "Rose, you don't understand. I'm not making shit up. I'm telling you the truth. Whoever taught you about us has fed you a line of bullshit. Was this person feeding off of you, too?"

  "Fuck no. I found him feeding from my mom, and he liked the taste of her blood, so he agreed to teach me about your kind as long as he could continue to feed from her." I was so fucking confused right now, and I couldn't sit still. "Let's get out of here." I flew out of my chair and headed back to the car.

  Justin climbed in the driver's seat after depositing Jill in the backseat. He had decided it would be easier for us to talk openly if he used his sedative to knock her out. I gave him the keys and settled into the passenger seat. "Okay, so you're going to have to explain why you think I've been fed a line of bull. My friend has always been honest with me, so I don't understand why he'd lie about that."

  "I'm not sure either, but I'll tell you anything you want to know. If some vampire has been manipulating you then there is definitely something seriously wrong. And Rose, I think you need to tell Christian everything."

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Serious Problem

  (Christian)

  The moment I woke from my comatose sleep, I knew there was a serious problem within the clan. But I didn't expect it to be between Terrance and Tori.

  Apparently Evie's idea for me to concentrate on my developing powers while I slept had worked, because when I woke the first thing I saw was a vision of Terrance sinking his fangs into Tori's neck.

  I headed straight for Terrance's cell expecting the worst, but when I rounded the corner what I saw instead surprised me. Tori was actually walking towards Terrance's cell but she hadn't reached it yet. I guess my vision had been more like a premonition. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?" I asked her.

  "I'm going to ask Terrance a few questions of my own." The tone in her voice indicated that she was not happy. "I want to know who this demon bitch is, and I plan to find out even if it takes a bit of coercion." The bat she produced from behind her back totally caught me off guard.

  I guess she was planning to beat the truth of out Terrance. But thinking back to my "premonition," I knew it wasn't going to work and would end with Terrance's fangs buried in her neck. "Tori, you can't do this. Evie commanded us to stay away from Terrance. I don't even know how you've made it this far, but there's no way I'm letting you put yourself at risk by entering that cell, so just forget it."

  Seeing her tiny frame holding that bat was almost comical, but I knew better than to underestimate her. All vampires had preternatural speed and strength, and I knew that if it came to me fighting her off I would win, but I was sure she would put up a damn good fight.

  Just as Tori stepped towards me, Evie and Dax turned the corner at the end of the hall. "Tori, stop right there." Evie's command rang in my ears. Tori stopped midstride and remained frozen until Evie reached her.

  "I commanded you to stay away from Terrance, so why did you think you'd actually get close enough to him to use that bat?" Evie didn't sound angry, but I could tell it wouldn't take much to push her in that direction.

  "When I walked past his cell tonight on my way to Dom's room I noticed that I was able to get really close despite Evie's command. So I went back to my room and grabbed my bat and was just coming back to see if I could make him talk. Someone has to figure out what's going on." Tori's voice was rising and her hair and eyes had begun to drift.

  She sounded so upset and I couldn't blame her. I knew she and Terrance had previously been involved, but I think what was really upsetting her had more to do with the fact that she really didn't want to be trapped inside the club, feeding from the same people over and over.

  Tori had been raised in a very strict household, and while Dominique had enjoyed the life of a '20s flapper, Tori had been stuck at home, caring for their parents and doing most of the chores. Once their parents had passed away, they had lost their home and Evie found the girls wandering the streets together. Once Tori had awakened from the change, the freedom that came with being a vampire had set her heart to flight. She loved being outside, and I knew that was what she would miss the most.

  "Honey, give me the bat. I know you want some answers and obviously think this is a good way to get them, but I promise you...you're wrong. Please don't risk yourself by doing something like this. Terrance will bite you, and then you'll be infected and will drift permanently dark. You know what I'll be forced to do if that happens." Evie held out her hand to take the bat from Tori.

  Tori handed Evie the bat, then took a couple steps forward to stare at Terrance as he sat in his cell just glaring at us. "Terrance, can't you tell us anything about this woman? We just want to help you. Please, just tell us." Tori pleaded with him, but I knew it wasn't going to do any good.

  He sat there silently just like I knew he would. Evie reached out and placed a hand on Tori's shoulder, and Tori turned and melted into Evie's embrace. As the two women walked off, Dax and I stood outside the cell staring at Terrance.

  "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why were you here trying to stop Tori?" Dax asked.

  "When I woke this evening, the first thing I saw was an image of Terrance sinking his fangs into Tori's neck." I shrugged my shoulders and started to make my way towards the stairs.

  "So, I guess that Evie's right after all. You are the one being triggered. How do you feel about that?"

  I wasn't sure how I felt about it, and I didn't really know what to say to Dax, but the stress of discussing it was immediately postponed as we reached the top of the stairs. As I emerged from the rising pit, I looked up and found Rose standing in the club...right next to Justin.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Time for the Truth

  (Rose)

  After riding around with Justin, I learned that not only had Terrance lied to me, but that I had absolutely no way of becoming a vampire anytime soon. Apparently it was common knowledge between the clans that Evangeline had lost her ability to inflict the change. They were waiting on the next Sire to be triggered, but until then there was no way that I could be made a vampire.

  Justin had also informed me that we would not be killed if we told Christian's clan that I was aware that vampires existed. He had explained that the only time a vampire is killed is if they drifted completely dark.

  My brain was fuzzy from information overload, but once I had cleared my head I told Justin about Terrance coming out of the woods, Christian's reaction to him, and how he'd had really black hair and dark eyes.

  He convinced me to go with him to the club so that we could tell Evangeline about what Terrance had been up to. Since my plan to surprise Christian was ruined and it didn't look like there was going to be a way around it anytime soon, I decided that Justin was right; it was time for the truth.

  I was completely petrified about coming clean about what I knew, but for reasons that I couldn't explain, I truly felt that it was the right thing to do.

  We arrived at The Rising Pit just before 8 p.m. The door was locked, but Justin knocked once, and Evie opened it with a surprised look on her face and escorted us inside.

  "This is a surprise, Rose. I hadn't realized that you knew Justin. And how in the world did you get away to come visit us on a Sunday night? I know your father is quite strict regarding your schedule."

  She was probably wondering if Justin had bit me and broug
ht me to the club so I quickly answered, "Actually Evangeline, Justin brought me here because I have something important that I need to discuss with you and Christian." I tried to keep my voice level and my thoughts blank. I still wasn't going to let Evie poke around in my head, even if I was planning on telling her everything.

  As Evie started to lead us to her office, Christian and Dax appeared from under the stage. The look on his face was one I'd never seen before. I couldn't tell if he was happy or angry at seeing me, but from the rapid drifting of his hair from blonde to brown and back again, I could tell that he wasn't exactly in control of his emotions.

  I stared at him with my mouth gaping open, as I had only learned about drifting during my car ride with Justin. It was obvious why Terrance hadn't wanted to touch on that subject since it would have been apparent that he was one of the bad ones.

  "Rose, what on earth are you doing here with him?" Christian didn't sound mad, but he continued to drift as he made his way over to me.

  "I have something that I need to talk to you and Evangeline about. Can we please go into her office?" If I waited much longer to get this off my chest, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it.

  Evangeline had already moved to hold the door to her office open. Christian grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. It felt so good to be near him. It was a devastating blow to realize that my plans to become his eternal love had been completely crushed within the last two hours.

  "Rose, I'm going to wait in the car with Jillian if that's okay." Justin gave me a tight smile as he eased his way back outside.

  The way Christian was looking at me was starting to freak me out. "Christian, don't worry. There is nothing going on between me and Justin. Just come on...I'll explain everything."

  He closed the door as we entered Evangeline's office. Instead of her usual, casual demeanor, Evangeline had her hip propped on the corner of her desk and a bleak look on her face. "Rose, I'd be happy to hear what this is about, so please, without further delay, would you be so kind as to put Christian and my anxiety to rest?"