by Tamara White
She leans over to the side table by her seat and grabs the cordless phone. "How about I order you some food first? What are you feeling? Pizza? There's an amazing restaurant down the street that delivers. They have this insanely good garlic bread from what I hear."
I snigger at the mention of garlic bread. "Won't that be lethal to you?" I ask, holding back a laugh.
She grins. "Ha! Only to your father! He hates garlic! Says the odor is too strong for his wolf senses."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. But yes, pizza would be lovely," I respond with a smile.
I remain silent as she calls down for a pizza. She puts her hand over the mouthpiece. “What kind would you like?" she whispers, as if just realizing there’s more than one type of pizza.
"Pepperoni," I reply with a broad grin.
With that, she goes back to placing her order with the person on the phone. When she hangs up, she turns to me with a smile. "The pizza will be here in about twenty minutes. In the meantime, why don't I fill you in on a few of our myths?"
I nod excitedly. "Okay, so I take it the garlic thing is a definite no then?"
She shakes her head with a look of amusement. “Nope, garlic is just a myth. It has a very strong scent, though, and as I’m sure you’ve noticed, vampires and wolves have an incredibly keen sense of smell. Personally, I think that’s where the myth came from. Some idiotic vampire was probably just turned off feeding on a human after they ate too much garlic.”
Interesting. I guess it makes sense, though. I actually don’t mind garlic in my food, so at least I know I won’t have to boycott it all together.
My mother continues listing off the facts and fiction of vampire kind. “Holy water is a myth, too. It may as well just be water. Then there’s crosses. They do absolutely nothing to us.”
I tick off everything in my mind, and suddenly a thought occurs. “But what about a wooden stake? I died after being stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake, so that can’t be myth.”
Her face goes serious, and I immediately regret mentioning it, but before I can apologize, she explains. “Emerald, you died because you were stabbed through the heart. Anyone will die if they get stabbed through the heart, and vampires are no exception. A stake just happened to be their weapon of choice. Stakes have no other effect on us, other than being an ideal weapon to stab us through the heart with. The only other way a wolf, vampire, or witch can die is to be decapitated. It’s a lot easier to carry around a stake than a sword.”
I nod, deep in thought. So, my brother just happened to have a stake on his person when he called me to meet? That’s just hard to believe. Maybe Xander had it, and Brendan took it from him? It’s not much better, but at least then I can hold on to the hope that my own brother hadn’t set out planning to kill me that night.
“As for silver, well that myth started very early on in our kind. According to our oldest histories, silver was believed to be pure and was said to contain mystical properties, so humans came up with the foolish idea it would protect them from us. Years ago, silver was used in mirrors, which was around the time the whole ‘we don’t have a reflection’ nonsense started. It was just a few tricksters among our kind, moving too fast for the humans to see their reflections. Until one ended up smashing through the mirror, a piece of glass piercing his heart which solidified for the humans that silver could hurt us. It was all fun and games back then, but now, if humans met with one of our kind, the only thing they could do would be to stake us. We’d kill them before they could try anything else.”
She pauses as if trying to think of any other myths pertaining to vampires. "Ah! Last, but definitely not least, coffins. We obviously don't sleep in them. We do, however, prefer to remain underground, though. Only because the light from the sun weakens us. We don’t burst into flames, but it takes away from our powers. We are slower and easier to kill in the sunlight, so we prefer to remain hidden away where it’s safe. I’m a little awed you’ve survived as well as you did living in the daylight."
She studies me, obviously intrigued, and I try not to squirm under her gaze. It’s like she’s trying to uncover and pick apart my every secret, but I don’t have any answers. I have no idea why the sun doesn’t weaken me.
After the quiet gets too much, I clear my throat and meet her eyes. "Can I ask you something? Something personal?"
Surprise shows on her face but her expression quickly softens into a smile that lights up her eyes. "Of course. You can ask me anything, Emerald."
I take a deep breath, unsure how to phrase the question delicately, so I just spit it out. "Why don't you have more children?"
She sucks in a shocked breath, but I plough on, not letting the guilt I feel stop me. "I mean, I’m an adult. You thought I was dead for twenty years, and you obviously healed after everything that happened. I guess I’m just curious why you didn't try for another child at some point."
I look down at my feet before finally meeting her eyes. The pain I see in their depths makes me regret asking, but she steels herself.
"Because you are my daughter. I didn't want to replace you with another child. Your father and I had discussed trying for another child after we had healed from your loss, but it just felt wrong. I wanted you, but I couldn't have you. In my mind, losing you was a sign from whatever gods there are that I wasn't meant to have children.”
She smiles sadly and sniffs, obviously trying not to cry. “It didn’t help that the community wasn’t exactly torn up over your death. If the wolves reacted that way to your birth, I couldn’t imagine what they would do if I had another child. I couldn’t go through that pain again.”
She pauses as a tear rolls down her cheek before she harshly wipes it away. "I am so sorry for everything, Emerald. Your father and I were so excited to find out we were pregnant that we didn’t think about how everyone would react. We never comprehended everything you would have to go through and the judgment you would face. We didn’t protect you like we should have.” She lets out a shaky breath. “I've never been happier than I was when I found out that you were alive and raised with love. I don't even feel any ill will towards Brent for keeping you from us. He did what was necessary to keep you alive, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. And now you’re here, a strong young woman, ready to start your own family.”
I blanch at the thought of children. "Ah... No offense, but children are not in my plans."
She looks at me like I’m naive. "Oh, don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time for children, Emerald. I’m sure if Talon has anything to say about it, you’ll be pregnant sometime within the next ten years.”
She chuckles and pours more lemonade while I just sit there, frozen to the spot.
I’m stuck on the thought of Talon wanting me pregnant within ten years! He didn’t strike me as the type of person eager to have children. Dev or Nik maybe, but Talon? He never struck me as the type of guy who would be interested in kids. Or if he was, he’d be the type to keep them locked away in a tower away from anything that could harm them, much like Rapunzel.
Ugh, why am I even thinking about this? I don’t even want kids.
My mother leans back in her seat, cradling her glass of lemonade as she watches me. “Is there anything else you would like to ask?"
I think it over for a moment and smile. "How did you and my father meet? I imagine it wouldn't have been easy for a werewolf and vampire to find each other, fall in love, and then also become the rulers of a vampire coven.”
She smiles fondly. “No, it wasn’t easy. Some days, I wondered whether we were doing the right thing, but your father pushed through, telling me love is love. It didn’t matter whether we were different species, we loved each other, and that’s all that mattered. I would be lost without him.”
A flutter of butterflies erupts in my belly, and I can just imagine how she’s feeling. It’s very much how I am starting to feel towards each of the guys.
A knock sounds on the door. My mother gets up to answer it, and the smell of p
izza assaults my senses.
She closes the door after thanking whoever brought the pizza up to us. Then she brings it over, placing it on the table between us.
My mother walks into another room and returns with a whole pack of paper napkins, putting them on top of the box.
"Do you think that's enough napkins?" I ask wryly.
She tuts. "Your father goes through three times that amount. He hates using cutlery, insisting he can just use napkins. In all honesty, I think he just hates doing the dishes."
I press my lips together, fighting the urge to grin. My father and I have at least one thing in common it seems; we both hate doing dishes. At least napkins can be recycled. Plus, think of all that water I’m saving by not doing dishes.
“Help yourself to some food while I tell you how your father and I met.”
I pull out a napkin and open the box, blushing when my stomach growls with hunger. My mother just smiles and waits for me to start eating. It’s not until I finish my first slice that she starts speaking.
"Your father and I met while we were on patrol. He was visiting our local pack at the time, when a witch started attacking helpless humans. We were all in the first stages of the treaty so we were split into mixed teams of vampires, wolves and witches to hunt down the one responsible. Your father and I got separated from our groups and ended up stuck in a building together. The witch we were after was controlling dozens of zombies and had managed to surround the entire building. The only way to destroy so many reanimated corpses was with fire, and with no witch to help us, we were trapped.
“I remembered about a tunnel under the building that I had used many times as a teen to get out of the coven. I knew if we could just get to it, we could follow the sewer system. We were partway through it when the building exploded. I passed out in the explosion, and when I came to, your father was trying to dig us free.”
She pauses, lost in the memory for a long moment before her eyes clear, and she comes back to the present. “The tunnel had collapsed in both directions, and no matter how many times we tried to dig our way out, it was no use. We knew we were going to die."
I take a sip of lemonade while reaching for another slice of pizza, completely entranced by the story.
"After three days trapped down there without having fed, I finally attacked him. The bloodlust had grown too strong to ignore, but instead of fighting me off, or killing me, which he should have, he used a sharp rock to slice into the side of his neck. He let me feed from him until he was near death. It was one of the few moments in my life I was truly scared. My hunger was so strong that I had no clue if I would be able to stop myself from killing him.
“After I fed, I was back to my normal strength, maybe even stronger. Your father was unconscious, however, and I resolved myself to get us out of there. I began to slowly dig, moving the rubble away from the tunnel entrance that led to the sewer. After about an hour, I heard the sound of people calling my name.
“Melanie had been looking for me since I went missing, using my magical signature to track me. She brought me blood, assuming I would be hungry, but I had her help your father first to make sure he would heal before I fed. I told Melanie what happened, how he practically allowed me to drain him, just so I was fed. She told me that the world worked in mystical ways, and maybe the whole situation was destiny’s way of telling me I needed to get to know this wonderful man.
“I stayed with him in the coven infirmary until he woke up. When he finally did, I thanked him for what he had done and left, not wanting to cause a scene. At that point, my parents were already enraged I was showing so much attention to a wolf, so I knew I had to be careful. However, no matter how hard I tried to resist, I found myself drawn back to him. If I walked the halls aimlessly, I’d eventually find myself outside the infirmary door, feeling confused as to how I got there. So I finally gave in, and visited him as often as I could without drawing attention. When he checked out of the infirmary, he asked me on a date.
“For our first date, he took me hunting for deer. Right on the edge of the city, we ran together as humans until we found a deer, which we took down together. At the end of the night, he kissed me, and it was like fireworks erupting inside of me. That’s when I knew who he was to me, and in that moment, we became everything to each other.”
My mother takes a sip of lemonade as I listen in wonder. She knew within two weeks my father was it for her? That’s so romantic.
I can’t help but feel there was a lot of bad that came along with their romance, though. No one gets to live life that easily.
"Did everyone accept him?"
She laughs harshly. "No, he was not accepted. Within the first few years of us being together, he was almost killed eight times! When his parents made it clear he was no longer welcome among the wolves, my parents started seeing the good I saw in him. He moved into the coven, staying in one of the guest quarters to begin with. After a year of him being with us, they gave us our own suite and taught him what it would mean to lead a coven of vampires. He trained hard with us, learned our politics, and two years later, the coven leaders decided he was fit to lead us. Which was lucky because within a few months of being married we found out we were expecting you. There were still doubters among the coven that he could lead us. Even my parents, despite showing outward approval, tried to convince me to find a vampire to at least rule by my side and just be married to him, but your father proved them all wrong.
“When I was taken by his parents, he was the only one here. My parents were off visiting another coven, so he was the only choice our people had for a leader. He stepped up and assumed control, leading the search to find me. He almost killed himself in the days leading up to my unfortunate return. He went to multiple different packs, challenged many wolves for information on where I was and almost died. All of that led to the night I returned. He’d come back from yet another challenge, when he saw me on the front stairs.”
I watch as the painful memories flash through her eyes, before she schools her expression. “Anyway, he proved himself to my parents and the coven. That’s all that matters,” she says, firmly ending that line of discussion.
Awkward silence encases us, and I begin to fidget. I look down at the empty pizza box, surprised to realize that at some point I had eaten it all. My mother sighs and leans forward in her chair in order to catch my gaze.
“What about you, Emerald? I missed your whole life and would love to know more about you. What you like, what you don't. Everything," she says eagerly.
I smile and adjust to get more comfortable. Then I tell her everything I can think of from my favorite movies to my favorite bands. I give her a rundown of pack life, including training and school, while glossing over the fact I was treated as the pack mutt.
I tell her about my love for my car, which makes her laugh and she informs me my father also has a passion for cars. It makes my heart melt a little, knowing I have something else in common with him apart from our reluctance to do dishes. It makes me feel more connected, I guess.
We sit for a few hours, just talking about random things. The conversation flows easily between us, and I can’t help the little thrill of happiness that I feel realizing I may actually be accepted by my mother.
After years of thinking she was dead, not only have I met my mother, now I have the chance to get to know her. We may never get that bond we would have had if we had been together from the start, but at least now we are in each other’s lives.
Four – Disagreements
Emerald
My mother and I are laughing when my father walks back through the door.
I had been helping my mother dispose of the used napkins and pizza box when she made a comment about needing to buy new air freshener so my father wouldn’t pine over the scent of pizza. Then that got us talking about food-scented air freshener for vampires. We started by listing normal scents until those became ridiculous, then we just started naming random mixes of food. My mother’s current suggest
ion of blood and garlic is the reason for our fit of giggles.
He freezes, seeing us with flushed faces and clutching our stomachs from laughter. Instead of questioning that, however, he asks, “Do I smell garlic?”
At that, the giggles start up again in full force, and my mother collapses into hysterics on the couch. I chuckle, trying to remain composed as he walks over to mock glare down at my mother. “Are you laughing at me?
The affection in his eyes is obvious, and I can tell he truly loves her heart and soul. She finally sobers enough to calm herself and sits up.
“Sorry, hun. I wasn’t laughing at you, I swear.” The innocent expression on her face doesn’t match the mischievous look in her eyes, though. It’s the look I’d give to someone if they were, indeed, the butt of the joke.
He frowns and looks to me, but I remain silent. He sighs and turns his gaze towards the pizza box where it was resting, on top of the garbage can. “Please tell me you saved me some pizza? I’m absolutely famished.”
She narrows her eyes. "What did I say about you and eating takeout? We bought you a food fridge so you could have healthy food. Not so you could order takeout every day. Just because you’re a werewolf doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your body."
He rolls his eyes. “Oh, so it's okay for our daughter to eat pizza but not me?”
"She’s allowed to eat pizza because she has two natures to satisfy. Until we know how to accurately maintain her diet, she can eat what she wants."
My father mutters something under his breath before leaning in to give my mother a quick, love-filled kiss. You can see in the way they both sigh in contentment that even though they were separated for just a short time, they still missed each other. It’s sweet.
I get to my feet, wondering if I should leave when my mother turns to me. “Emerald, if you could stay a moment? Your father and I need to have a chat with you about your lessons.”
I sit back down on the edge of the seat, feeling slightly nervous as my father sits down beside her. I’ve been dreading this conversation and had hoped to keep putting it off for as long as possible. I know, technically, I’m a Princess among the vampires, but I am so not Princess material.
