Unbound (25 page)

Mason addressed her, “Do you remember the story Griffin told you about his sister and my brother?” Tessa nodded. “It’s happening again.”

She gasped and went into the kitchen to hyperventilate. They could hear her pacing and panting. When she returned she’d calmed and pasted on a neutral face.

“Let’s talk about why Griffin thinks you need protection. Show us what you showed him.”

Without saying anything, she lifted the coffee table, turned it in the air and sat it back down. They both laughed th
en. “You got that from your dad,
” Mason said. “He’s been known to move people’s cars and hide them as a prank.”

They were both watching her. Without moving her lips she said, “I know. He lifted my chair off the ground with me in it to demonstrate.”

“Holy shit!” her mother yelped, and Mason laughed again.

“That is a little more common. I do agree that you should be protected, but as for having awesome power, I’m not convinced.” He doubted her.

“Oh, I’m not done yet. Let me show you something.” She went around to Mason and put her hand on his. “I can do it without touching, but it is clearer if I touch you. Close your eyes.” Then she showed him the same thing she’d shown Griffin. The whole event of the night she was attacked in fast forward.

Trying not to look shocked, he said, “So you have fed.” He commented on the scene with Nathan. “That is quite a talent indeed. I don’t think I even have a name for it.”

Her m
om cringed again at the mention of her feeding. “How many times have you fed?
”
She asked.

“Twice, and both times I got a little stronger. You might as well know too.” She touched Tessa and gave her a tour of the memory as well. “I can also read thoughts but it mostly comes to me in pictures. I did it to Lucas that day in the kitchen, Mom, and I did it to Griffin today. I think Griffin’s major concern is my ability to control other vampires.”

Both of them looked at her like she had a third eye. Dani didn’t know what to say so she opted show them again. Without touching either one of them, she reached out with her mind and replayed for both at the same time how she’d frozen Griffin and Cayden, and made Cayden do silly pet tricks before that. Neither one of them seemed to be able to speak.

“I’m making a sandwich.” She trotted off to the kitchen. She could hear them whispering, but Dani had had enough for one day.

“So, I’m going to go back to school and try to pretend I’m not a black-eyed, blood sucking freak,” she announced, coming back to them with a ham and cheese in one hand and a glass of tea in the other.

“I’d like to clear up this notion you have about being a freak.” Mason was obviously starting to take her criticism of his race personally. “Vampires and humans have the same basic genetic make-up, with a few DNA mutations. We aren’t dead and we aren’t immortal. We need blood to survive just like we need food and water. We don’t catch human diseases, due to our strong immune systems. We’re faster and stronger with more acute senses, and some of us have extrasensory abilities. These abilities are not evil magic but naturally occurring gifts caused by the fact that large parts of the human brain that are not used are active in adult vampires. We can live a very long time if we take care of ourselves, or we can die from massive blood loss, though our strength and healing abilities make us very hard to kill. Now that we have that straight
,
I’m going to have to arrange for some security for you. If the monster out there taking our kids gets his hands on you again, he’ll kill you for your power.” Mason was dead serious, and her mother began to slump over in her seat like she’d pass out. Dani was still trying to absorb the vamp 101 he had just barked at her. Mason reached over and patted Tessa’s leg. “It’ll be alright, Tessa. I’ll protect her.”

“How do you plan on doing that without Griffin knowing anything?” she asked him.

“Griffin has already offered her protection. I’m going to a
Council
meeting tomorrow and I’m sure Griffin will tell us about her. I will naturally offer my services to protect our new found miracle child,” Mason reasoned.

“I’m not going to stop going to school. If I can’t go to school I’ll just stay home,” Dani snapped. She wasn’t willing to let the people that had rejected her push her around, and she wouldn’t accept her mother ruling her life either. She’d hypnotize them all and run away first. She’d leave and try to get her mom to go with her.

“Danielle, the safest place for you no
w is going to be close to Mason,
” Tes
sa told her and turned to Mason.
“She can still go to school since you live close, right?”

“I think I should go to this meeting and see what I can do without attracting attention to myself, unless you’re ready for them to know about the two of you.” He looked at them both.

“No!” Tessa shouted.

“Mom, I’m not ready either, but I don’t think it’ll be long before Griffin starts asking questions. I told him a huge lie, and he seems like the sort of guy that might try to check
out my story. Especially after
I put him under and ran away. How pissed do you think he will be?” She wrinkled her forehead.

“I’m afraid she’s right, Tessa. It should be funny to see what happens when these two go head to head. She seems to have his temper.” The corners of his lips lifted just a bit.

“It’s this damn change! She’s the mildest mannered girl. She’s changed so much in the last month. You see the red in her hair? It wasn’t there the last time I saw her, and she has never raised her voice to me.” Her poor mother was beginning to visibly shake. Dani went down on her knees in front of her and laid her head in her lap.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I wish I could take it back, but I don’t think I can. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I was just upset at the shock of everyth
ing that’s happened. I’m afraid,
” she whispered.

“You should both know we have security, a small army of warriors actually. I’m sure they’ll assign a couple to watch over you until we figure out what’s going on with the kids.” Mason was trying to console Tessa more than Dani.

“Great. I’m sure I won’t stand out at all around campus,” she spat sarcastically. “Is there anything special I should know? I was hoping for a handbook on vampirism and a secret handshake. If not, everyone would know about ‘us’.” She drew out the last word. “I’m ready to get out of here for a while. This is all too much.”

“Of course there are laws. Laws you must follow or face the consequences, just like in human society. You can’t tell anyone about us, obviously. We don’t kill. We only take what we need and we erase the memory of those we feed from. Don’t feed in public, if possible, due to the risk of exposure. You should try to feed every other day, by the way. Of course, you are unique so you may be able to go longer, but I wouldn’t wait until you are starving. That makes it harder to stop,” he said solemnly and looked at her mother with an apology in his beautiful blue-green eyes.

“I don’t know how to erase memories, and how am I supposed to get anybody to follow me?” She was ashamed of having to ask in front of her mother.

“You have quite a gift for mind control. Just tell them to follow you and they will. When you’re done tell them to forget about you, unless it is someone you use regularly, which I suggest. If you have regular hosts, you won’t have to hunt for blood. In that case, just tell them to forget that period of time. You should know that it can be a very sensual experience once you come of age. So it won’t be painful for the human after the bite.” Now he looked embarrassed at having to tell her that in front of her Mom.

“Just so the two of you know, I was bonded to a vampire for two years. I do know that they have to feed, and I was bitten frequently, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. There’s no need to be bashful,” Tessa scolded.

“Sorry, Mom,
I actually didn’t know you were married, or bonded. I’m still trying to figure myself out. I haven’t had time to think about what this all means for you. Believe it or not, I can understand just a sliver of how you might have felt in the beginning. There is this guy I had been talking to, and after I decided I had real feelings for him, his fiancé showed up. He is going to be bonded to this mean, but absolutely beautiful, girl. He says it’s been arranged by his parents and it’s an obligation he can’t get out of. So I won’t talk to him anymore because it hurts too badly. I guess
its
better this way. I bet he wouldn’t want me anyway if he knew I’m a half-breed freak, not to mention his family. I don’t think anyone is going to want me or my mixed up human-vamp babies.”

“Danielle, I would be proud to have you as my daughter-in-law. I am proud to be your Godfather, and your father loved your mother and you more than anything. He loved to feel you moving in your mother’s belly, and the joy in his heart when you were born was overwhelming. I think you will feel differently about the future once all this is settled. You should focus on getting used to the change before you start worrying about other things.”

Tessa was crying again and Dani couldn’t deal with it anymore. “Mom, I’m going to go see if I can find Lucas. I just need to think about something else for a while.” Tessa nodded through her sniffles.

“Mason, is there a number I can reach you if I need to?” He gave Dani the number. She called him after programming it into her phone so he would have her number. Before she left, he stood and hugged her. Amazingly, he smelled like summer. It brought a tear to her eye. She hadn’t smelled anything like that since the last time she was with Chase. She couldn’t speak, so she just left.

Walking down her street felt so lonely. She felt like an alien no matter where she went now. She didn’t belong in either of the worlds she was a part of, and nobody really knew her anymore. She didn’t even know herself.

TWELVE~

It wasn’t a long walk from her house to Lucas’s, so she took her time. She had no idea what she was going to say when she got there, or why she was going to his house. Maybe she just needed to feel something familiar. Lucas was the most familiar, comforting person she knew, or used to know, anyway. She’d thought about calling him to see if he even wanted to see her but had changed her mind. If he said he didn’t want to see her, she would just go home. For now, she needed to be moving for a while.

The moon was full and its light cast an otherworldly glow over everything, and she felt like the alien she was. She wondered if there would ever be a sense of being normal or belonging again. She’d walked these streets for years, but they felt so strange tonight. The stars looked like strangers staring down at her instead of the constellations she used to be able to name. She could see everything just like it was daytime. That had changed since the night before, and vampire vision could be a plus. 

Walking down Lucas’s street made her heart start to pound. The last time she’d seen him had been a really bad day for her. She arrived at his house and anxiety tied a knot in her gut. All the downstairs lights we
re on. She could see his mom and
brothers playing cards at the dining room table through the living room windows. She’d sat at that table with them hundreds of times and played more hands of cards than she could count.

She knocked and Ms. Mary opened the door. With a squeal of delight, she pounced on Dani for a hug. Mary smelled like fresh baked cookies. Dani actually wondered if her blood would be as sweet. What a sick thought to have about a woman that was like a second mother to her.

“Oh Dani, we’ve missed you so much. Lucas has been a mess lately. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but I hope you can work it out. He’ll be so glad to see you.” She squeezed Dani tightly.

“It’s good to see you too, Ms. Mary. Is Lucas home?” Dani backed away from Mary before she had any more time to dwell on the thought of tasting her blood.

“He went out for a while. Do you want me to call him? I know he’ll run right home.” She smiled brightly.

“I kinda wanted to surprise him. Do you have any idea where he would have gone?” Dani couldn’t help smiling back.

“You could check the field behind the school. He’s been spending a lot of time there at night. He says it reminds him of you, so he likes being there.” Mary brushed a hand across Dani’s cheek. “He misses you.” He could be so sweet when he wanted to be.

“Thanks, Ms. Mary. I’ll check there before I try calling him.” Mary hugged her again. She left the porch feeling a little brighter. A dose of home may be just what she needed. The thought of Lucas sitting in their field, staring up at the stars to feel closer to her, gave Dani’s heart a squeeze. Maybe what he did was just a drunken mistake. She was no angel. She’d let a guy into her bed that night. In fact, she had crawled all over him and offered him her virginity; a fact she hadn’t remembered until after she had walked out on Lucas. Dani still wouldn’t have remembered it if she hadn’t been able to invade Chase’s mind. Lucas told her mom he was waiting for her to come to him because he knew he’d messed up. He was willing to wait for her forgiveness. His mom said he’s been a mess waiting to hear from her. Maybe it was time to let go and forgive.

She headed off toward the school with a renewed hope for their relationship. Maybe everything had been so crazy because she didn’t have her balance anymore. Her other half was missing. Would he be able to forgive her for having sex with Charlie? She would have to tell him. She only hoped he wouldn’t want an apology, because she didn’t think she could be sorry for the night she’d spent with Charlie. She would need to get over what he did with that girl from the party, but she wouldn’t worry about that yet. She would find him and bury herself in his familiar and comfortable arms. She’d always found peace in those arms and she needed that more than anything right now. The whole world had gone off its axis, and she couldn’t find her balance no matter how hard she tried.