“Italy!” From the way he looked at me I knew he understood and there were no more words needed. Upstairs in the master suite I grabbed a leather jacket from the closet and threw it on as I headed out to the balcony.
I didn’t stop to think about the time difference since it wasn’t going to take me that long to get there. Another time I would’ve taken the Lear jet but not tonight; I’m travelling light.
I gave one last thought to leaving and leaving her here without my protection but it was better for her if I did this. Having to take someone else’s well being into consideration is not really one of my strong points. But neither do I want to mess this up and fuck myself in the end or worst yet, hurt her. So with my mind made up I jumped onto the railing that ran the length of the balcony and took off.
One minute I was there on the outskirts of the sleepy New England town and the next I was in the Graian Alps looking down at the slopes from my favorite hiding place in the world. She had me so flustered I didn’t even feel the change in altitude as I landed on the mountain top before gliding into the nearest copse of trees well out of sight of anyone. Not that I expected to run into anyone out and about this high up this late in the evening, but you never know.
I sent my senses on a reconnoiter and relaxed once I was certain that there was no one here but me. Just me and the animals that made this place their home. A royal eagle flew by overhead to say hi but kept going when he picked up on my mood.
My senses were still filled with her, I could still feel her essence on me, a leftover from when I’d held her so close. I reached out now with my mind, travelling trough space and time until I found her. There she is. Even my breathing changed now that I had her in my sight and the heart that I’m not supposed to have according to myth bled a little at the distance between us. Just a little taste of what my life will be like if this shit goes south.
I watched her now, seeing more than I had either time I’d seen her before. Like the gentle poise she held as she sat still gazing into space. She looked way too young, eighteen in human years I’m guessing, which means nothing since she’s probably a few thousand years in her true form.
Her mix gave her an exotic look that made her stand out from the other women in the room with her. That wild mane of dark curls that on closer inspection was actually a reddish hue, the color of my favorite madeira in the light and those blue-blue eyes that held an added light after our earlier encounter.
She was more than a foot shorter than me, something I’d noticed when I held her against me. And so delicate. Her little wrists looked like I could snap them with just a twist. And she was mine to protect. I’ve never been solely responsible for anything this precious in my life.
The shortest woman I’ve ever taken to my bed must’ve been five eight or nine. Because of my strength I tend to stay away from women like her. Delicate flowers that bruise too easy. I looked down at my hands now and imagined them on her with nothing between us. Would I hurt her? Unintentional though it would be, it would still fuck with my head. This is so fucked!
She was acting completely different now. Gone was the sexy nymph who’d challenged me to be replaced by the shy fairy who seemed scared out of her mind. I didn’t move, didn’t interfere but from the way she looked around as if sensing me made me wonder.
Did she know I could see her, hear her? How much does she know about the mating ritual? Did anyone warn her, or had she been thrown to the wolves like I have? No, I’m sure somewhere along the way someone, maybe her mother or an aunt had given her the talk at least.
Either way she’s mine now so whether she knows I can invade her privacy at will is neither here nor there. I had no shame about listening in, I didn’t plan to stay long just long enough to make sure she was okay. I had my own shit to deal with before we meet again.
What happened before was too close. I’d damn near fucked her up against that tree in the open, with people around. Again, something I wouldn’t have cared about before, but anyone but her. If I’d left her sitting there though, playing with her damn food with men around, shit could’ve got really bad.
I could see that she was still a bit shaken up and afraid as she sat around the table with the other women whom I was now learning were no relation but lived like sisters. The bond between them was such that I hadn’t picked up on that little nugget earlier.
I listened in as they tried getting her to talk. “What’s going on Natalia, is he your mate or was your nymph just feeling like a walk on the wild side? I have to say you picked the wrong kind to do that with. What if you’d been hurt? What if he has your scent and shows up here?”
“Quiet Annalise, can’t you see she’s in trouble? Of course she didn’t choose to go play with a vampyre, did you Nat?” She shook her head with a bemused look on her face. The forlorn look she gave them when she finally lifted her head made my gut twist itself into knots.
It’s already started, this need to protect her, to coddle and give her everything her little heart desires. Pretty soon it’s going to be hard for me to see her go through any kind of distress without losing my shit. If human feminist only knew the shit the male of my species go through they’d pipe the fuck down.
Alpha my ass; I’ve yet to see my dad get one over on mom and they’ve been together for damn near seven hundred thousand years. And since she’s not one of us, I have a feeling I’m going to have to go way above and beyond to keep her happy. And then there’s our kids…nope, one thing at a time.
“I think he imprinted on me, in fact I’m sure of it. What am I going to do?” I tuned back in just as she dropped that little bombshell on them. There was total pandemonium as they all acted like I’d stepped into the room with my dick out, or was waiting just outside the door ready to pounce.
The suggestions came fast and furious until the one they called Annalise who shall henceforth be known as the bitch had the worst of them all. “We can run. Let’s go home for a while, lay low. You don’t have to give into him remember, it’s your choice.”
“But if I do what’s going to happen to him?” That’s my girl!
“I don’t care.” Bitch girl tried pulling her up from the chair and my hackles rose.
“No Anna wait, let me think.”
“Listen fairy, there’s nothing to think about. You know what happened the last time one of our kind was imprinted by one of them.”
“Yes, I know but I have to think. I’ve already shared thoughts with him and…other things.” Their eyes widened at that as she hung her head as if ashamed. What an enigma.
“Why would you do such a stupid thing?” Now they were all getting after her, throwing questions at her left and right and I gritted my teeth to keep myself standing where I was.
They already have a fucked up opinion of me and mine, if I barge in there right now and stand between her and them it could get ugly and then they’d really have something to fear.
“I’ve been seeing him in my dreams for the past month or so. I didn’t think anything of it, not really. It never entered my mind that I was seeing my future mate and in my dreams I didn’t see what he was, so I didn’t protect myself. I think…I think it might be too late.” She sounded scared and I couldn’t resist touching her with my mind.