A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Vampire's Second Chance Part 5

The drive from my apartment to the freaking mansion we ended up at was longer than I expected. Of course, I didn’t expect the mansion either. I tried to act nonchalant about it. Dennis didn’t say anything, so I figured I did a pretty good job.

We pulled up to the big iron gates and he hit the intercom to be let in. I saw someone walking around the edge of the property once we got past the gate. It was pretty dark, so I didn’t get a great look at him.

“There’s someone out there.” I said.

“Probably just one of the guards. Don’t worry. They’re there to keep us safe.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize they were that rich.”

“Victor is quite well off, but these guards are part of the deal made with the Hallowed Moon Pack. Men are patrolling the property under orders from their Alpha.”

“They’re werewolves.” My stomach tried to climb into my throat.

Werewolves in the dark. It was my nightmare come to life. Dennis took my hand and squeezed it gently.

“I’m right here. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Sybil. Please, trust me.”

“I’m trying. I’ve only known you a week. I’ve been afraid for years. It’s a hard habit to get out of.”

He ended up holding my hand all the way to the house. After he parked, he ran to my door and opened it so quickly, I barely saw him. I took his hand and he pulled me from the car, then laid a kiss on the back of my hand before looping my arm around his.

Dennis led me to the front door and it opened before he even knocked. I gripped him tightly. I hated being this afraid, but I couldn’t seem to help it.

“Mr. Lyons. Please come in. May I take your jackets?” A tall black woman asked.

“Yes, please, Lisa.” Dennis smiled.

I took off the jacket I was wearing and handed it to her. She gave a small bow before heading to the nearby closet to hang them. I looked at Dennis, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention.

A girl came into the entryway. She was a couple inches shorter than me and had black hair and green-hazel eyes. She smiled brightly and ran over to Dennis, throwing her arms around him.

“Dennis! I’m so glad you’re here!”

He laughed and hugged her back. “Hello, Echo. I see you’re in a good mood tonight.”

“Of course. I get to make a new friend tonight and you know how much I love making new friends.” She pulled away and turned to me, sticking out her hand. “I’m Echo Nightshade-Padua.”

I took her hand and shook it. “I’m Billie Mason. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too! Okay, so Dennis told me you’re scared of werewolves. I used to be scared of vampires. I completely understand. Even Victor didn’t like werewolves until recently. He was killed by one. So he really understands what you’re going through, but I promise, every werewolf here is going to be on their best behavior. You already met Lisa. Let’s go in the living room and you can meet everyone else. We have a lot of people. We were just waiting on you two and Marius and Lila.”

She talked so fast and had a huge smile on her face the whole time. I found myself smiling too. It shook me a little, but I followed her to the living room.

On first glance, everyone looked pretty normal, until I saw a man who looked like a tree talking to a huge man who looked like he was literally carved from marble. The huge man had two large tusks protruding up from his mouth, a wide nose, and a prominent brow line that made him look like the cavemen in the museum.

I had a hard time looking away from him. He was scary and, in a room full of people who could easily be all eights or nines on a scale, he was definitely a four. I noticed that he was holding hands with a woman seated behind him.

He carried on a conversation with the tree guy while she talked to a boy who was entirely green. She was really pretty with chestnut hair and ice blue eyes. She smiled and talked like she wasn’t being gripped by some stone behemoth.

Three men approached us and I managed to turn my attention back to Echo. She was grinning.

“The first time seeing fae without their glamour can be shocking. You’ll meet them later. Right now, I want you to meet my husbands, Victor Nightshade and Gray Padua. And this is my brother-in-law Trent. He’s the Alpha of the Hallowed Moon Pack.”

They were all very good looking men. The one with brown hair, gorgeous cheekbones, and violet eyes stepped forward. He put out his hand.

“I’m pleased to meet you. Dennis surprised us when he said he’d be bringing a young lady with him tonight. As the Master of this territory, I hope for all of my people to find happiness. Let me know if there is anything you need help with.”

I took his hand and shook it. “My name is Billie Mason. Well, Sybil, but I go by Billie. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Nightshade.”

“Please, call me Victor. I want you to know, you are under my protection tonight as well. No one here will hurt you.” He said quietly.

A few people looked over, but then turned back to their conversations. I knew they could smell things I couldn’t, but I didn’t know how well they could hear things. It made me a little nervous.

The younger of the two black haired men stepped forward. I could tell they were brothers even if Echo hadn’t said anything. They looked alike.

“I’m glad you came to my party. I told Echo I didn’t need one, but she loves celebrating every little thing. I’m Gray, if she wasn’t clear enough in the introductions.” He smiled and put out his hand.

My hand shook as I reached out to take his. He grasped it gently. There was a slightly disappointed sigh from him.

“I promise, I won’t hurt you. You’re safe here. This is my brother, Trent. He’s the Alpha here. If any werewolf gives you problems, you get ahold of me or Trent and we’ll take care of them.”

“Billie. I’m really sorry you had a bad experience with a wolf. We really aren’t like that. Here’s my card. You call me if you need help or if you see that wolf again. I’ll make sure he’s dealt with.” Trent said.

“Th-thank you. I appreciate it.” I replied.

A girl popped up from nowhere with a tray of wine glasses. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was a little on edge.

“White is for nonblood drinkers.” She said.

I took a glass of white and saw Echo do the same. I noticed Victor and Dennis take the red.

“I thought you drank blood, Echo.”

“No. Well, yes and no. I eat blood foods, but I don’t drink blood unless it’s mixed in tea. I don’t like how it tastes. I also eat regular food. Since I’m alive, I can digest it, where the undead vampires can’t.” She answered. “You should go mingle and meet everyone while we wait on Marius and Lila.”

“That sounds like a marvelous idea.” Dennis said.

He took my arm and guided me to the tree man and the marble man. They were probably the people who were furthest away from the werewolves. I was grateful, but nervous.

“Dennis. How are you?” The marble man asked.

“I’m very well, Rock. And how are you?”

I almost laughed. The marble man was named ‘Rock’. It was too funny. I managed to control myself.

“Amazing. Did you get the gift I sent?”

“It was lovely. You didn’t have to do that, though. The fae night may have facilitated you finding your true mate, but that wasn’t my intention.” Dennis replied.

“Don’t mention it. I wanted to express my gratitude. Finding Carmen has been the highlight of the last fifty years. She is very precious to me.”

Rock turned and looked down at the girl behind him with an expression so full of love and adoration that I couldn’t help but smile. She turned her head and kissed his hand, but didn’t look up at him. I would never look away from a man who looked at me like that.

I glanced at the tree man, but he wasn’t looking at them, he was gazing at the green boy who sat across from the girl. They locked eyes for a while before the tree man turned his attention to us.

“I’m Rosario Adair.” He said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Dennis Lyons and this is Billie Mason. Adair? As in Maeve Adair?” Dennis asked.

“Yes, that’s my mother. She was also pleased with your fae night at The Neutral. It turns out several fae had true mates who were other species. She hopes you will keep this tradition going.”

“Tell Queen Maeve that I will gladly help facilitate true mates finding each other for as long as I walk this planet.” Dennis smiled.

“Is Billie your Solus Amor?” Rosario asked.

The room seemed to go still. I looked up at Dennis, who wore a tight smile. I moved my glass from one hand to the other, then took his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“Unfortunately, no. But, she is someone who makes me immensely happy and fills that place in my heart.”

“Oh. I’ve put my foot in it a little, haven’t I? Sorry.”

The green boy stood up and crossed to Rosario. He took his hand and sighed a little.

“He didn’t mean anything by it. We’ve seen stranger pairings than a human and a vampire, so he kind of assumed. I’m Sean Flowers, Rosario’s fiancé.”

“No offence was taken. I can’t imagine a pairing stranger than a troll and a werewolf, though, so you may never see one that odd again.” Dennis answered.

“The goddess has some strange tastes for us. I honestly couldn’t imagine what made her give a vampire who hates werewolves and a werewolf who hates vampires the same mate. But it works, so who are we to question it.” Carmen shrugged, looking vaguely in our direction.

Sean must have seen something in the look on my face. “She’s blind. That’s why she doesn’t look at you when she talks.”

Rock looked over at me. I bit my lips together and blushed. I hoped they didn’t think I was acting rude or anything.

“It takes a little getting used to.” He told me and turned his attention back to Carmen.

Dennis took me around the room and introduced me to everyone else. Cam and Harmony, Echo’s sister and her mate, were werewolves. Valor was Echo and Harmony’s brother and a witch. Lily was Trent’s mate and the Luna of the Hallowed Moon Pack. When we were just about around the room, another couple walked in and Dennis tensed.

The man was about 5’10” and thickly built. He had emerald green eyes and black hair. Something inside of me screamed at me to run when he glanced in my direction. On his arm was a willowy woman with dark blonde hair who was just about his height. Maybe a couple inches shorter.

He was dressed in a black tailored suit and looked like a contract killer. She was in a dress which seemed to be made of see-through scarves which weren’t sewed together very well. They were an odd looking couple.

“Master Marius. We’re so glad you could make it.” Victor said.

If the Master of the territory was calling him ‘Master’ then he had to be super high ranking. Many of the people in the room didn’t seem nervous about him, but I saw Rock put himself between Marius and Carmen. Dennis was just staring at him.

Marius sniffed a bit and turned to look directly at me. That little voice in my head got even louder and more insistent that I run. I held on to Dennis’ arm and worked to stay still as the man came closer, the woman right behind him.

“A frightened human. How intriguing. What are you doing here?”

I looked up at Dennis. He still wasn’t moving. That made me more nervous. My protector had become a statue.

“I see. You were brought here by this vampire. Dennis, right? We met earlier this year?”

“Yes, Master Marius. This is my date, Sybil Mason. Mistress Nightshade gave her permission to be here.”

“And you promised to protect her, but she’s still frightened. Tell me, little human, what has you so scared that you don’t think an older vampire can save you?”

Frantically, I stared around the room. Echo gave me an encouraging smile. Was this his version of small talk? If other humans felt what I did, I was sure none ever stuck around long enough to talk with him.

“I… I was attacked by a werewolf six years ago. This is my first time being around them since then. And most of the people here are werewolves.” I replied.

“Ah. That would explain it. I am Master Marius Aconitum. This is my wife, Lila. I am Echo’s father. If my daughter and her husbands have granted you safe passage in their lands, you are safe. It was probably a rogue who attacked you and all of these wolves are pack wolves. They are like the domesticated canines of the shapeshifting world. They wouldn’t harm you.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll work on it, but six years of fear doesn’t just disappear because someone tells you not to worry.”

“A valid point. You seem to be a sensible young woman.” He said to me before turning his full attention on Dennis. “She would make a good vampire.”

Then, he turned and walked back to Echo. Lila smiled at me.

“That means he likes you.” She whispered, then scurried off to take her husband’s arm.

Well, at least I had that. I rubbed Dennis’ arm and he finally looked at me. There was something like relief in his eyes. I took it as a sign that this was a very good thing.

It had never truly occurred to me that there were things out there more frightening than a werewolf. But I was pretty sure, now, that I had just met one of the most frightening beings out there.

Lisa came into the room to announce that dinner was ready. Everyone filed out, but I held Dennis back. When the living room was empty, I stepped in front of him and put my arms around his waist.

“What are you doing, Billie?”

“I’m giving you a hug. You looked like you needed it, but I didn’t want people to think that affected you as much as it did.” I told him as I laid my head on his chest.

“Master Marius likes you. That is a huge compliment. He doesn’t really like much of anybody. We should go. They’ll be holding dinner until we’re there.”

He kissed me on top of my head and led me to the dining room. He was right, they were all waiting and chatting. Dennis took me to an empty seat and pulled out my chair for me. He sat next to me after pushing it back in.

Echo nodded to Lisa and she disappeared through a door. A few moments later, she returned with a tray of dishes with an assortment of dollops of something on them. The girl who gave me wine earlier came in with a couple large trays piled with meat.

Lisa dropped a plate off in front of each vampire, then left and helped bring in more trays of food. I couldn’t even see who was seated across from me because of how high it was piled. It seemed like they were trying to feed two starving high school football teams.

Lila was seated next to me. She started using her fork to get some meat off of one of the rapidly shrinking piles. I did the same. It was almost fun. I had never been to a dinner quite like that.

The emptied trays of meats were taken away and replaced by serving dishes full of sides. These didn’t disappear as rapidly and I was able to use the serving spoons for them.

Everyone fell into friendly conversation. I figured out what the party was for. Gray had quit his job as a waiter and was going into construction. Rock had offered him a job a couple weeks ago. He seemed really happy to be going into a new field. I hoped it worked out for him.

As I got to know everybody, it was like I forgot there were werewolves all around me. I became more relaxed and started really getting involved in the conversations.

Aside from the vampires and Rock, I was the oldest person at the table. None of the younger ones treated me that way, though. They all treated me like I was one of them.

It was so much more than a dinner party. Echo gave me a tour of the house and showed me her garden. When we’d gone into the library, we found Carmen and Rock making out in one of the chairs. Echo said she was pretty sure the library had some sort of enchantment on it because people were always caught getting frisky in there. I hadn’t laughed so much in years.

By the time the night ended, I had tentative plans to go out to a club with Echo and Harmony on my next weekend off. Lily invited me to the pack lands to meet more werewolves and see that they were just like humans, just with a second nature. Everyone was really nice to me.

When Dennis drove me home, I was actually a little sad to be going. It was a great night. One I wouldn’t soon forget.

At my apartment, Dennis walked me to my door. I unlocked it and turned back to him.

“Did you have a good time, Sybil?” He asked.

“Yeah. A lot better than I thought I would. Do… you want to come in?”

His eyes glowed and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I reached out and grabbed his jacket.

“I don’t think we’re at that stage in our relationship yet.” Dennis said softly as he caressed my cheek.

I dropped my hand and looked away from him. Damn it. Was it because I spent most of the night being afraid? Had I messed something up?

“Darling. You’re only just getting over your fear of werewolves. I don’t want to add to that with the… abnormalities … of being intimate with a vampire.”

A shiver went through me. What did that mean? Part of me really wanted to know and the voice that had screamed for me to run when I met Marius was amping up for a second chorus.

I shoved the voice back down and took a step toward him. I wasn’t going to give him up because being with a vampire was different than being with a normal guy. I rose up onto my toes and kissed him.

Dennis put his arms around me and kissed me back. This was what I wanted. He accepted me, he tried to help me, and he was so gentle even though I was sure something in him was as much of a monster as Marius was.

My eyes stayed closed when we pulled apart. I was reveling in a perfect goodnight kiss. It was everything I’d imagined when I thought of a perfect kiss.

“Sybil, open your eyes. Look at me.” Dennis urged.

I looked up into his perfect, glowing, blue-green eyes. They seemed to pull me in. I couldn’t look away, and I didn’t want to.

“Dream of me tonight, Sybil. To you understand?”

“Yes.” I murmured.

“Good. Get some rest, darling. I’ll see you soon.”

And, with that, he was gone. I shook my head as if coming out of some sort of daydream. For the first time in six years, I started feeling sleepy when it was still dark out. I went into my apartment, locked the door, and got ready for bed. My other housework would have to wait until the morning. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to get into bed.