The Vampire's little Mate (Sequel)

CHAPTER: 12

Tanya turned around slowly, lowering her guard.

"I did not mean to startle you," Alex said apologetically.

"Where had you been, all this time," Tanya gasped.

"Upstairs," he replied casually. "I figured I would give you some privacy."

"You could have stayed there," she said.

"It would have caused a scene," Alex said.

"No, it would not have," Tanya replied, but he was probably right. Everyone would be wondering who he was, and who knew what Kiara or Jack would have done. "Thank you so much for the book, by the way."

"It was my pleasure." He smiled. "I hope you don't mind."

"Why would I? I loved it," Tanya replied. 

"Well, what I mean to say is, I hope you don't mind that I used the blank book Adriana gave you?"

"How did you do that?" She blinked.

"The same way that I summon all other objects...I was not sure if I would be able to do it, but I think it worked as planned," he said.

She grabbed the book off the table, turning the crisp pages and noting that everything was exactly as she remembered reading it in other volumes. She plucked the paper out from the book and examined it. "I don't mind; I had not planned to use the book as a diary or anything. Well, anyway, how did you know this was my favorite story?" She asked quietly, turning the thin piece of paper in her hand.

"Good guess?" He suggested with a grin. "Plus, it is hardly  a surprise, considering your choices."

Tanya then asked him, "How come I have never heard about real Vampires before? I mean, if there are so many of you out there it would be all over the place. Nothing is a secret these days."

"We...they...don't act out in open, they are very discreet about what they do. Most likely, a lot of the murder stories you see on news or read in the newspaper are related to Vampires.

"I have done my research," he explained calmly. "You are not going to like this, but your family is sort of my mortal enemy."

"Emphasis on 'mortal' right?" She laughed half-heartedly. "How is it they haven't killed you. I mean...considering they seem to know you are here, and James said you are one of the few he has not been able to finish off?"

"I am smarter than they anticipate." Alex shrugged. "Plus, I don't go looking for trouble like some of my kind do. Some Vampires enjoy the thrill of being hunted. God only knows why?"

Tanya frowned, not liking where this was going. "Do you..." she paused, unsure of what to say.

He seemed to understand and smiled reassuringly at her. "Of course not."

"Then what do you do about the blood requirement? I mean, that part of being a Vampire is true, isn't it?"

He shut his eyes briefly and sighed. "I was hoping to avoid these questions. Yes, that much is true. It is simple...there are other ways to satisfy my needs, such as through animal blood."

Tanya then walked to the kitchen counter, as she had to clean up the mess, which was the aftermath following the party. She collected the empty pizza boxes. "You weren't born this way, right?" She asked as she went to the front door.

Alex opened the door and followed her out. "No, I was once a human. My mother Zeenia was a Vampire hunter, while my father Theodore Jackson was a Vampire. My father was the heir to the Vampire throne, but he and my mother were both imprisoned by his wicked brother Dr. Francis. Luckily I was saved by Uncle Mark, who gave me off to my mentor James and his wife Jill Parker so that I would be safe there. They also had a  five-year-old daughter Rhea, "

Tanya dumped the boxes into the large green trash can beside her house. Moments later, she brought a trash bag full of discarded wrapping paper, paper plates, and the empty cake box.

"Well, how did you become a vampire, then?" She asked as they went back indoors. Alex was quiet for a while, thinking probably, Tanya guessed.

"My memory is foggy, as bizarre as it may sound. I believe that is how it is for all of us. Perhaps we repress the memories, although maybe it is just due to how long it has been," he eventually replied, sitting beside her on the sofa. "From what I can recall, the place I thought to be my home had caught fire one night...there was smoke everywhere, my sister was screaming...I never heard my mother or father, but I could distinctly hear Rhea somewhere in the house. I can vaguely recall seeing her, but I am not sure what happened to her..." He paused. Tanya could see the sorrow in his eyes as the images replayed through his mind.

"She was barely five at that time. I made it out of the house before it caved in completely. But I did not escape completely unscathed. I suffered severe burns across my lower half. 'Ralph,' my 'Sire,' the man who bit me, and converted me into a Vampire. He claimed that he found me in the alley behind his house, writhing in agony...instead of putting my misery to an end, he has elongated it for the next 120 years or so." He scowled.

"You seem to be miserable?" Tanya frowned as she stared into his blue eyes.

"Well...not at the moment." He looked back at her. "the pain of becoming...what I am...was beyond anything you could ever imagine, for so many different reasons. My chance at living a normal life was taken away from me that night," he muttered in anguish. "But, at the same time, had it not been for that, I would have been dead centuries ago. Although watching the world grow and progress has been a gift, but the rest that I had to endure is not worth it."

Alex then continued, "I lost my family, not only to the fire but to becoming what I am. My friends, I could not see them ever again. Everything was taken away from me that night. Everyone I knew and loved eventually aged, withered away, and died, while I was cursed to walk on this Earth alone for an eternity, watching everything unfold from a distance.

Tanya wondered if Vampires were able to cry as she stared at him, but there were no tears in his eyes. She felt an urge to comfort him, but she did not know-how. "I am so sorry, Alex..." She whispered, trying to ignore the growing intensity to ask even more questions.

"Don't be." He smiled and placed his cold hand against Tanya's cheek. "If all that had not happened, I would never have met you."

Tanya laughed, and said mischievously, "Don't forget you are talking to the offspring of a vampire hunter."

Alex just smiled. Tanya kept on admiring his expression for far too long. She then lowered her gaze and blushed. "Can I ask one more question?"

"Anything."

"What happened to this 'Ralph' guy?"

"He still exists somewhere, as far as I know. For the first five years of my 'new life,' as he called it, he treated me as a slave. Although he referred to me as his helper, I felt like nothing more than a servant. He taught me the ways of being a Vampire, but it used to sicken me. I refused the intake of human blood, knowing that I had once been human. How could I consider doing anyone any harm, not even to a stranger." He flinched even now at the idea. "Ralph would have me bring him food...every night." The pained look that he had on his face was almost unbearable.

"By food, you mean people?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

He grimaced. "I would not have felt miserable had it been criminals or terminally ill patients...but these were innocent people."

"How could you tolerate all that for so long, Alex?"

"I had no other option, or so I thought. You are not the only one Tanya, who fell for the lore of Vampires. Ralph tried to convince me with the stories, that if I went out in the daytime, I would burn down to ashes." His eyes darkened. "One night he made me do something intolerable. I could not bear to exist after that...He requested that I bring him 'young blood,' as he called it. In other words, he wanted the blood of a child. Ralph said it was the tastiest, most energetic blood imaginable. I had no choice but to obey him, at least that is what I thought at the time."

He then continued, with visible pain on his face, "This little girl could not have been much older than Rhea, my sister. I went in through the little one's nursery window, picked her up from her crib, and presented her to Ralph. But then I immediately regretted what I had done. The next morning, I decided to end myself. It was either spending an eternity doing his bidding or risking my existence by stepping out in the sunlight. I was prepared for death as I stepped out into the morning light, anticipating the inevitable; but it never came."

Tanya noticed how he never used the word 'his life' instead he used the word 'existence.'

Alex continued, "I stood out in the sun for at least thirty minutes, and nothing happened." He then stopped abruptly, changing the subject. "I think you better try calling Adriana again before it gets too late."

Tanya blinked, deep in thought as she tried to imagine what he had been through. She could not even imagine what it would be like to not only never talk to one's best friends again but to watch them grow old and die while we remain young. "Yeah you are right..." she replied to Alex.