The Vampire's Tainted Mate

Chapter 8: Give it Time

Gwen stood in the quaint kitchen of her mother, Catherine's, house, making dinner with her. She was busy chopping up vegetables while her mom was heating up a pot. She hadn't seen her mom in a while due to always being busy with her own marketing, content creation, and streaming. There wasn't enough time in the day to have much of a life. The most excitement she had accomplished lately was going to The Vixen Nightclub.

“So... how has everything been going lately? I feel like I haven't talked to you in ages." Her mom grabbed a sunflower themed kitchen towel to dry her hands.

“I've been super busy streaming video games online with Matt and doing a few promotional videos. I gained a new subscriber the other night and he's been messaging me too." Gwen shrugged.

“That's great. I'm glad that you're really getting out of your comfort zone and still doing the online thing. I remember when you were little and how you would give up on anything we put you in. This is the first time you actually stuck with something and thrived within it. So, tell me about this new subscriber. What's he like?" Catherine set a bowl of green beans and water down onto the wooden kitchen table to begin breaking off the ends with her daughter.

Gwen rolled her eyes and walked over to sit with her mom at the table. She grabbed a handful of beans and began to break off the ends of them as she talked.

“He seems pretty average. There really isn't anything to write home about." Gwen stopped herself from talking about how they had talked about losing a parent. She didn't want to upset her mother, knowing that she was still heartbroken even though it had been years since her father had passed. “We have some things in common though." She shrugged and tossed the finished green beans into another bowl. “I did... meet a bartender at a club a few nights ago though."

“Oh?" Catherine tossed green beans into the bowl and picked up more from the water to snap the ends off. “Tell me about Mr. Handsome-Bartender.

Gwen burst out laughing at her mom's words before she calmed down enough to speak. “He's really tall, about a foot taller than me. His name is Logan." Gwen focused on snapping the ends off a green bean, causing the crisp sound to echo between them. “He has gorgeous golden eyes and dark hair... and his muscles are to die for. He can be really funny and interesting when he wants to be, but he also seems to close himself off."

“Mmhmm..." her mother smiled in a way that showcased she could tell her daughter was interested in someone for the first time in a while. “So, when do I get to meet Mr. Gorgeous?"

“Mom..." Gwen laughed and tossed a green bean at her mother.

“What? I can't ask that question?" Catherine laughed and snapped ends off a green bean.

“I didn't get his number and it doesn't matter, because I don't think he's interested in me." Gwen sighed and tossed a green bean into the water.

“Come on... I don't know about that, sweetheart." Her mother tried to coax her and make her feel better, but it wasn't working.

“I ran into him at the grocery store tonight while shopping for the ingredients for the dinner we're making. He didn't say much and all I did was run my mouth and spill too much information. Which, I'm sure he found boring. Also, he insisted on paying for my groceries." Gwen rolled her eyes and tacked on the end, hoping her mom didn't catch it.

“It sounds like he might have just been listening to your stories. Maybe he just didn't want to interrupt you with his own. Also, he could be a private person. You never know. There are plenty of people out there who are like that," Catherine shrugged.

“Mom, he just grunted and seemed like he didn't want to talk to me. I felt like I was ruining his night and wasting his time." Gwen peered down at the beans in her hand.

“Well, he impressed me by buying our groceries. If you run into him again, you should invite him over for dinner sometime. It's been a while since you brought a man over for a meal." Catherine smiled at her.

Gwen laughed and tossed a green bean at her mother again, “Stop it."

“It has been a while though and the last one wasn't a winner," Catherine widened her eyes for a moment before grabbing the bowl of green beans and taking them to the kitchen island.

“You never liked any of the men I brought home," Gwen argued.

“You're d*mn right," Catherine added the green beans to a pot.

Gwen sighed and walked over to lean on the kitchen island with a helpless expression, “It's not easy to find someone, and he really doesn't seem to want to give me the time of day."

“Give it time. You never know, he might come around. You're an amazing woman, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mother." Her mom shrugged and focused back on cooking.

“I doubt it, but I'll pretend to believe you." Gwen sighed and jumped when her phone chimed with a notification.

She reached into her back pocket and grabbed her phone from it. Gwen swiped her thumb along the smooth surface to look at the message, noticing that it was from SilverWolf.

SilverWolf: How are you doing?

“You never know," Catherine shrugged and finished up making dinner, while Gwen went back to her phone.

VampiressGwen: I'm doing good. How are you?

Gwen replied quickly and watched three dots bounce in the corner of her screen.

SilverWolf: Tired.

SilverWolf: I've been hiking all day.

VampiressGwen: You like to hike? It's been a moment since I have been able to get out there.

Gwen brought her fingers to her lips to bite her nails for a moment, as she waited for his reply.

SilverWolf: I love hiking.

SilverWolf: There is something about walking through the forest, taking in the way the sun dances through the branches of the trees.

SilverWolf: It's invigorating hearing the leaves rustle before hunting down what made the sound.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the message as goosebumps littered her skin. A chill ran up her spine and she shivered all over. Something about the way he explained what he enjoyed about the woods didn't sit right with her.

“Who are you talking to?" Catherine started searing the meat on all sides, causing the delicious smell of herbs and garlic to waft up and fill the kitchen.

Gwen cleared her throat, “That one subscriber messaged me again." Gwen put down her phone to ignore SilverWolf for the rest of the night.

“You should be careful. You never know what kind of person he is." Catherine grabbed the chopped vegetables from the island.

“You have, literally, taught me internet safety since I first touched it. I'll be alright but thank you for worrying." Gwen looked at the message again before answering back with a simple response. She pocketed her phone again to help her mom finish cooking dinner.

“I would hope that you would know about it especially since you pay bills by making content for the internet. However, that does not mean that one person could appear to be an amazing one and then turn around and become something else. Didn't you ever hear the cliche, a wolf in sheep's clothing? You can think someone is an amazing person and at any moment they can turn around and surprise you in an unpleasant manner." Catherine tried to explain it to her daughter, hoping she would catch on to what she had meant.

“I like to think of people in a positive way before I automatically assume they are terrible people though." Gwen crossed her arms over her chest.

“That's fine as long as you keep in mind that at any moment, they could change who they are. People can hide things about themselves for a long time before they let you see it. Whether it's because they need to gain something from you or because they don't want anyone to know about a flaw." Catherine focused on stirring the ingredients in the pot.

“Mom, I've been catfished before. This isn't a new concept to me. I've made friends online and, in the end, I've been burned." Gwen sighed and leaned against the sink with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Just be careful, is all I'm trying to tell you, sweetheart." Her mom walked over to kiss her cheek before going back to cooking.

“I promise if SilverWolf becomes something darker... I'll run and block him all over." Gwen gave her mother a soft smile to make her feel better.

“Good," Catherine nodded with an equally warm smile.

Gwen had her back to the window that sat over the sink when she suddenly felt the sensation of daggers boring into her back. She shivered and licked her lips, wondering why she couldn't stop feeling like someone was stalking her. It was quickly becoming exhausting for her. The constant feeling of being watched from afar was alarming to an extent, but nothing was worse than when she would look over her shoulder and see nothing was there.

Unbeknownst to her, a large shadow shifted outside the small kitchen window. His phone illuminated his face, casting a glow onto it, when the last message from Gwen appeared.

His eyes cast an opal glow as his jaw parted to expose sharp teeth, drool dripped from each pointed tip. A low purring growl bellowed out from his muzzle as he peered at the message. He shifted a grey, fur-covered, ear to hear what was being spoken about in the kitchen. He'd find her, one way or another. She'd be all his and no one else's.