“By the way, Kaitlyn, you look beautiful today.”
I turn back, surprised by the compliment as my cheeks burn. I grin at him before turning away and rushing to my class. I’m about ten minutes late when I step into vampire history, and the teacher shakes his head before nodding to my seat next to Henry. Henry takes my hand as I sit down, linking our fingers under the table as he carries on the lecture I just interrupted.
“In the eighteenth century, vampires were at their strongest, and we held many castles and lands around the world. We soon began to realise our half breed children could be just as strong as our own, and we welcomed the humans into our homes with open arms. Unfortunately, it became clear that the mix of vampire and human blood did not make for strong children. Every half breed child died between the ages of eight and thirteen, and for many years, this was a curse no one could shake. Has anyone read ahead?”
Henry surprises me when he places his hand in the air, and the teacher nods at him to speak. “Soon it became clear that only a master vampire’s blood, given to the child once every three months until adulthood, could save the child from death. The master vampires donated as much blood as they could and effectively saved all the children from certain death, but a rule was placed that no more vampire and human matings would be allowed. The master vampires’ donation as a solution was not a long-term fix, so it was safer for everyone if humans and vampires did not mix their blood.”
“What happened to the children who the masters saved?” I ask, intrigued.
“As far as we know, most lived full and happy lives with no children. There was one case of a master vampire having a child with a human, but we lost their records many years ago. We only know they survived because of you, Kaitlyn,” the teacher states, surprising me.
“Me?” I question, letting go of Henry’s hand and leaning closer as all the students look my way.
“Yes, you are a descendant of a master vampire and human mating. That is the only explanation for your gift of seeing ghosts, and with your blonde curly locks, I believe you come from the house of Regor.”
“Do you have any paintings or information about them?” I question, and he sadly shakes his head.
“Much of the information about vampire ancestors was lost to us. All we have is basic information, and the only master vampire house with blonde hair is Regor. It was odd; as you well know, Ren’s ancestors all came from an angel and a goddess mating, resulting in a vampire child. All the masters have dark hair, and they are related as such. The vampire master Regor came from nowhere, no relation, and I wish we knew more. It is interesting, nonetheless,” he tells me, his eyes twinkling with a love for history I can understand. “I am sorry for all of you that we do not know more about this history of ours, but I will teach you everything we do know. Now turn to page forty-eight in your book, and we will learn about the interesting times when vampires helped build the train tracks...” I tune him out as I sit back, crossing my arms, thinking over this history I know nothing about. For the rest of the lesson, I can’t help but think about my ancestors and wish there was more information. How did my family not have the powers I do? How could I be the only one to see ghosts and have this gift? I’m so lost in my thoughts the whole lesson passes, and Henry places his hand on my shoulder, catching my attention.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asks with a furrowed brow. I lift my head and smile, but it doesn’t fool him. The classroom empties after the teacher, and when the door shuts behind the last student, Henry picks me up, placing my ass on the desk and stepping between my legs.
“I can think of a good way of getting you out of your head,” Henry suggests, running his lips over mine. I chuckle, about to agree when he steps back and lifts my hand. Slipping a silver chain around my wrist, Henry does the clasp up, and I lift my arm, seeing a rose charm hanging from the chain. It’s made of silver, and it must have taken Henry a long time to make something so unique and special.
It means more because it’s a rose...and only Thallon knows why I love roses. That means Henry must be talking to Thallon, making an effort for me. This means we have a chance, we could all be together at the end of this. My family. Henry runs his finger across the chain on my skin, smiling softly at me. “I hope we can add charms as the years go on. The rose is for your family, and it’s a good place to start, right?” he asks, and I nod, trying to calm the swirling emotions in me. I wrap my arms around Henry’s neck and lean up, kissing him with everything I have.
Because everything I have is locked up in Henry’s heart, and I never want it back.
Chapter 47
A low growl stops me in my tracks, my hands gripping the buckets full of cut flowers in my hands as I turn around, the weight of the buckets hurting my arms. Thallon told me to leave them for him when he got back, but I was too stubborn to accept his advice, and I’ve nearly got them to the back of the greenhouse. Typical, something goes wrong on the way there. Right in front of me, in the middle of the greenhouse is a stunning grey wolf. His fur shimmers like the moon, silver coating his fur like someone has brushed it through. The midday sun shines through the glass windows of the greenhouse, highlighting him and his impressive form even more. The wolf is like no wolf I’ve seen in any movie or science book; he holds so much more power in his stance. He stands above my head, and the sheer size of him is shocking enough I drop my flower buckets and they spray across the floor between us.
But he doesn’t even notice or flinch as water pours around his paws.
Neither do I as I meet his eyes and really see who he is. And why I’m not afraid and running screaming like I should be right now.
This wolf would never hurt me.
“Myles,” I whisper, leaning closer, and in the blink of an eye, he jumps on me, knocking me to the floor as his claws lightly cut into my stomach. I know he isn’t trying to hurt me, but I cry out from the shock and look down as he lifts my top with his nose. The sentiment should be nice, but I’m scared and shake as he licks my cuts before he climbs off me, jumping over my head into the lavender bush. Climbing to my feet, I lift my shirt, seeing three lines that glow with a green light, and they don’t hurt anymore.
What the ever-loving fuck?
“Shite, I’m sorry, Kaitlyn,” Myles states as he rushes to me, buck naked. My eyes widen as I realise Myles has hidden an amazing body under his clothes. Rippled muscles for days, a slim waist, and a six-pack any guy would envy. He isn’t bulky like Henry or Ren, but he clearly has been working out, and he is perfect.
Jesus Christ.
The wolf that says I’m his looks like he has the body of a Greek god. I try not to look lower. I swear I try.
And so fail.
Without a care in the world that he is naked, Myles covers my stomach with his hand, leaning down to inspect the cut.
“It’s my wolf’s way of marking you. I let him out for a run...and he took over,” Myles says with so much guilt in his voice it hurts me to hear it. Shaking my head, I lift his head with my hands so he meets my gaze. His hair feels soft under my hands as I don’t know what to say, but everything seems to disappear as we look into each other’s eyes.
“I don’t mind. It’s just another scar, but at least this one will remind me of you,” I softly say, and he shakes his head like I’m crazy. I might actually be, now we are on this subject. A door opens somewhere nearby, and I jump away from Myles as I realise he might get caught.