“That’s a good one.” Then the door opened and closed very quickly and Felix didn’t mention marshmallows again.
I wondered if Felix would take me to my aunt’s if I asked him. These people were unstable. And I use the term “people” loosely.
Isaac entered the room just then and flopped himself onto the loveseat with a big sigh. He looked irritated and miserable. “Does she honestly think we don’t notice when she does that?” He grumbled.
“Sorry dude,” was all Felix offered.
I spoke up then, “Why did she just do that?”
Without looking at me Isaac answered, “She sneaks off almost every time Oliver leaves.”
“Where does she go,” I asked.
Isaac shrugged. “Who knows?”
“We’ve still got the extra tracker…” Felix began saying to Isaac.
“Let her go,” he responded, trying to act like he was okay with it but clearly he wasn’t.
We sat there silently for a while, then Felix said to me, “Let’s go get some ice cream.”
My eyes widened again as I looked up at his massive size rising from the couch.
“I find that when I’m feeling down, ice cream always seems to help.” He held an enormous hand out to help me up off the couch.
“Ooh, ooh, will you bring me back some Peanut Butter Chocolate?” Isaac said. He seemed to brighten at the prospect of ice cream and I figured I’d give it a try too.
“Sure thing, man.” Felix beamed down at him. “Lock the house down. Hayden’s got Carter covered. She’s reading to him.” he finished saying to Isaac as we went out the front door.
“Lock down?” I questioned, my hand still resting in his massive one. His hand was cool like Oliver’s and really soft.
“Nothing to worry about.” And he flashed me a brilliant smile.
Felix’s SUV was parked out on the street and as I climbed in I realized I’d forgotten my money. “Wait, I forgot my wallet,” I said and began to get back out of the car.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.” He winked at me and shifted into gear once my seatbelt was in place.
I was beginning to feel more comfortable around him. I felt safe. “Oliver won’t let me pay either.”
I saw just a hint of a smile form on his beautiful round face. “His reasons are different from mine.” He shot me a quick glance as we left the neighborhood through the front gate. “He needs you to know that he can take care of you, provide for you. I invited you, that’s why I’m paying. Had you invited me, I’d let you pay.” And he smiled again, a big toothy grin that made me laugh.
Chapter 12 - Bubblegum Ice Cream
So, I was sitting at the local ice cream shop having a double scoop with that big massive hunk of a vampire. And he wasn’t just having any scoop-that colossal man was having Pink Bubblegum ice cream. On a dainty little sugar cone.
“Thanks for the ice cream,” I said, while trying to suppress my laughter.
“Sure thing.” Felix winked at me over his double pink scoops.
I was having a scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip and a scoop of Pink Bubblegum in a cup. I love mint anything, but that day, it was a toss-up which was better between the two.
We sat there, outside, at a table and bench made from concrete, happily eating our ice cream without feeling the need to fill the silence. Felix made me feel safe. It seemed like there was some sort of energy that was given off from him that made me feel so protected. Like how you feel with your parents when you’re young. Or aunt, in my case.
With his ice cream gone Felix sat there cheerfully blowing bubbles with the bubble gum from his ice cream. I’d already spit mine into a napkin. The flavor was gone too quickly for me.
He’d been right. I did feel better with a belly full of ice cream. I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. A red and white striped umbrella on a long metal pole was stuck in the hole in the center of it. “Tell me more about the Vampire Wars. About the original vampires.”
He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, just as I had, and stared down at me for a long moment. His enormous biceps stretched the fabric of his very, and I mean
very,
fitted light blue T-shirt.
I sat back a bit and stammered, “Th-that is…if you can.”
“Of course I can,” he smiled and that sweet dimple that made him look less threatening appeared.
I relaxed again and returned to leaning on the table. “Why did they turn on the vampires?”
“I can tell you about the wars but I can’t give you an answer to the reasoning behind them. Not that I don’t want to, but because, after all these years, I’m still not clear on why.”
I listened intently as he began to tell me the tale. He told me that nearly three-quarters of the original pure-blood vampire race was wiped out in the first war. That members of only four of the thirteen original royal families made it through and that only three of those lines were active today. One of which was divided by a particularly evil coven, leaving only two royal lines intact. He told me that pure-blood vampires were an endangered species and that he was one of only a very few left. He also told me that he was the last pure-blood male born in his family. “I’ve often had a thought that maybe the forces that be had grown angry with the infidelity of my father. He had mated with another bonded male’s mate. Something that is frowned upon in every belief.” He paused for a moment, just long enough for me to wonder how old he was. He didn’t look older than mid-thirties. But before I could ponder it any longer, he continued. “What my father did broke my mother’s heart, which affected us all. They tried to mend their union and my mother ended up conceiving once again. I was the youngest of their three sons until my mother gave birth to their fourth son. He was the first of the human species to be born. But he wasn’t the last. Soon after his birth the women of our race continued to bear children with no Vampiric qualities. Eventually my race stopped breeding altogether for fear of what was going on. And once the sub-species of our own kind rose up against us, there were very few of us left to keep the race going. Anymore, most vampires are mixed bloods like Oliver. But there are quite a few half-bloods out there too. I do believe I am of a dying breed and it’s unlikely I will bond with another purebred vampire. But if that does happen, I fear that my father’s curse lingers inside of me and that my offspring will be only human.”
“Would that be so bad?” I asked.
A smile that had disappeared as he spoke of his family returned. He reached across the table and gently squeezed my hand and said, “No. It wouldn’t be bad at all. In fact, it might actually be better. The mother’s survival rate of giving birth to males of the vampire line is very low, especially pure-breed males. And considering that male births dominate in my family, there’s a very strong possibility of my offspring being male. So yes, it might be something I would prefer.” He continued to tell me more about the vampires and their past and I soaked in every word he said. He also told me that one of our American wars was against a vampire race but he wouldn’t tell me which one, but did mention that no human army could stand against the vampires now. That the vampire race had learned from the mistakes of their past and were not doomed to repeat them. He had a sparkle in his eyes as he spoke of the old days and how things were before the first war. He referred to it as the dark time at one point, and he’d occasionally throw in a word that didn’t seem to fit. Like he wasn’t originally from this country. He wouldn’t tell me where any of this took place or in what years. He just told me the details that I couldn’t trace. But I didn’t care. He’d shared openly with me. And I treasured that.
“Thank you,” I said once he seemed like he wasn’t going to share anymore.
“For what?” He asked before blowing another large bubble.
“For sharing. Oliver always tells me it’s not his story to share.”
He grinned crookedly at me, his sky blue eyes grinning too. “Well, that’s the difference between him and me. He’s protective of you. I’m here to protect you.” His smile continued to spread across his face. “And who says it’s not my story to share? It’s my history, they’re my people.” He blew another bubble and seemed delighted with himself at how large it got.
I smiled at his honesty and the innocence that radiated from him.
“Well,” he said as he rose from the table that looked minuscule next to him, “we’d better get ice cream for the others and head back.”
I tossed my empty cup into the trash and followed him back into the quaint little shop.
I was holding a cold bag full of ice cream on my lap and rubbing the side of my head as we drove back to the house. I wasn’t sure whose house it was anymore. Should I call it the lair? The vamp cave? I made myself giggle a little and it took away from the tinge of pain my head was feeling. Felix apologized again for elbowing me in the noggin when he was paying for the others’ ice cream. It wasn’t bad. Kind of funny now. I don’t think I’d been thumped in the head like that since I was little and was at elbow range on Lilly. Thinking about it, I realized I was the size of a child compared to Felix. Now that was funny!
I brushed it off and thought of something else to say so he’d stop apologizing repeatedly. “You know we have the same last name?”
“Yep,” he smiled happily out the windshield as he drove. “It’s not my given name though. My given name is Ryant.” Ryant had been the only royal name that he had given me of the royal survivors of the war. He wouldn’t share the other three with me. He had said it was confidential. Then he began telling me something different that distracted me all together.
“You know she was never a part of his plan.” He glanced over at me, then continued, “Oliver needs things in order, it’s his personality. Julz was never a part of the plan he had for his life.” We’d arrived back at the “Lair” and were parked in the same place as before we had left.
I looked down at the cold bag in my lap and asked very quietly, “Was I?”
“You always have been,” he reached a hand over to me and lifted my chin to see my eyes, “He just had to find you.” He released my chin instantly, then said, “If it wasn’t for Hayden, he’d have let her slip away. I know that sounds harsh but she wasn’t his to worry about.”
I let that sink in for a long while before finally leaving the car. I probably would’ve sat there longer but the bag was getting cold against my legs and Felix didn’t seem like he was going to be leaving me outside alone. And honestly, I could’ve really used some alone time then. But it didn’t happen and it wouldn’t any time soon.
Chapter 13 - Improvements
As we entered the house it was alive with music. Isaac had his guitar out and was playing on the couch. Lola was attached to me as soon as I stepped foot in the door and Felix asked me if I’d get Carter some ice cream while he had a word with Hayden.
Of course I didn’t mind. It was probably a good thing that I wasn’t having time to think. It would’ve made me miss Oliver even more, and I was already missing him enough.
I set the bag on the kitchen island and pulled out the scoop of plain vanilla that Felix had decided would be best for Carter’s sensitive tummy. I popped the top off and took a plastic spoon from the bag. Isaac was patiently waiting for me to get out of the way so he could get to his double scoop.
Hayden was sitting in the chair beside Carter with her feet up on the bed, reading from a large and very old looking book. She slid the attached black ribbon into place as a marker and closed the book as I entered the room. She smiled up at me over the now closed volume. I could see that it had silver foiled letters and a wolf outline on its tattered gray cover. “He’s improving,” she said. “He just needs time to adjust.” Then her eyes shot past me to the door where Felix was standing. She got up without another word, stashed the book under the chair and followed Felix into her room.
More debriefing, maybe…?
I shrugged yet another thing off and focused all my attention on Carter. His eyes were open now and full of light, unlike the last time I’d seen him. He’d been staring at the ceiling while Hayden read but now his head was turned slightly and he was smiling up at me. Really smiling, like the regular ol’ Carter. Yet, the brightness of the light in his blue eyes wasn’t quite the same; they seemed just a bit dimmer than usual somehow, and more knowledgeable maybe…
“Hey there,” he said and stuck his hand out from under the blanket. I sat on the edge of the bed beside him and took his warm hand in mine.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” he pulled his hand away and scooched up in the bed so he could sit up just a bit.
“I brought you ice cream.” I popped the top off of the cup, stuck the plastic spoon in it and handed it to him. Carter took the cup with a happy grin and shaky hands.