falkenburgeveline@g*******m

Chapter 1:     Unknown POV   It was a slow night, not much people came to have a drink lately. Mostly because of rumors about the new slaughter attacks in the near forest. The café was dark as always and in the corners there were a few man drinking and playing games. Although it was slow I felt restless and not at ease. Like something was bound to happen. In the left corner by the door I saw Vince eager walking around. How many times had I told him not to come to the café if he was in need of blood? He never listened. I looked at him for a second and hissed. As soon as he heard the sound he looked over at me and bowed his head. He sat down and made himself small. But his fingers still were itching over his leg and I knew s**t would happen if he didn’t leave the café soon.   Everyone knew they shouldn’t mess with me when they were in feeding state. I didn’t like the idea of having vampires around who were unstable. They were even lucky I allowed them in here. The café was open for everybody and during the day there were humans who walked in the forest, after closing hours and during the night the vampires rolled in. As Vince stood up again and looked at me, I gave him the stare. He bowed his head and went to the nearest tablet to search for some music. Although we roamed the earth for ages, the café had some new technical stuff and soon a different song filled the room. Vince knew better than  to cross me. We had some difficulties before in the past, but because I was stronger and more powerful than he was, he never had won one of our fights. When I was crowned Lord of vampires in the state of Alabama, he was obliged to give in and finally bow to me as a subject. He still found that role not suitable for himself and every now and then he tried to do something with it. A stare, a look, a little twitch would give it away, but never dared to fight me or to challenge me in public. He knew better than that.   When my father stepped down as a Lord and gave the title to me, people were shocked. As I was not a full born vampire, I was the first to made it to Lord. My father got the role as he married my mom. But even then my father was not full accepted by the vampires. He was a werewolf and married my vampire-mother. The marriage was never accepted, but as my mother was a high council vampire, she made sure he was granted to role as Lord as well. She fought years with high council vampires until there was none who dared to cross her path again. The high council was replaced after she had killed the highest member in a bloody fight. He died after a battle of 4 months and my mother was never the same after that. She didn’t discussed it ever with me or my father, but some months later she died. Many say there was some spell and dark witch craft involved and others say she was badly injured internally. My father was never the same after the death of my mother. He became a cruel man and anyone who dared to say or do anything wrong was killed on the spot. I am a hybrid. A werewolf-vampire and very strong due to the fact I have all the benefits of both species. I have the build of a wolf, very masculine and great height and am as strong as one if I am in my wolf state. My wolf is named Kyle and he talks to me when I allow him to speak. Due to the fact I am also a vampire, my speed is so fast you never see me coming if I don’t want u to. If I am in my vampire state I can levitate if need, but it takes a lot of my energy and I hardly do it. I heal very quick as my wolf genes are different than humans. I never get sick and even when I am in need of blood, I never get itchy or nervous like Vince. I simply run through the woods in my wolf from and hunt down some rabbit and eat it raw. When done so, I can easily sustain for months. That’s the benefits of being a hybrid. Having the best of both worlds. But it also makes me almost invincible and they know it. Still I love to be as normal as I can. So I kept my café after my father granted me the title and I stay as low as possible as I can. Although I am Lord, I have my own friends I can trust and they run and protect all the territory up to Alabama. The only relative I allow to be with me is Lea, she is my were sister. A full born werewolf, but she respects the vampires. As my sister she is accepted by them, they have to.   It’s hot in the café tonight but I knew better than to open a window. When the place is full of vampires, its best to keep all closed and pretend we are not open for business. My long hair is falling before my eyes and I put it in a masculine bun. I really need Lea to cut again. It’s almost closing time so I am cleaning the bar, then I smelled the most wonderful smell of all time. It was a mixture of burning wood from a newly made fire and the sweetness of bread and honey when you first came into a bakery in the morning. I heard noises and I turned around. In the corner by the door stood the most precious thing I have ever seen in my life. Even in the darkness of the pub I saw her. She had  blond, almost white, hair and my god she was beautiful. Kyle jumped around in my head and growled the whole time. He couldn’t sit still and I really had to do my very best to keep him calm.   MINE!   Keep it in your pants Kyle, let me talk to her first.   MINE!   From the dark corner of the pub I heard people mumble and growling as well. Some slowly were standing up and began to walk towards her. Then it hit me. She is human. In one quick reaction, I jumped over the bar and walked towards her. In the corners of my eyes I saw the people who were standing up and made a move towards her as well.  One thin tall guy came to close to where I was and I growled a warning. He bowed his head and stepped back.     Flora POV When I first saw the building I got cold shivers. But I had to be strong. I needed to pick Sam up in the morning and my car was out of gas. Stupid me but I really thought it was enough to make it to the next town. I was in the middle of a forest and had no connection what so ever. Stupid phone. When I left my apartment in Mississippi, I thought I could make it for the whole trip. I didn’t had much money left on the bank, so I needed to make it on what I had. I knew I had to drive through forests with no gas station anywhere. So just my luck I am here now and in need of gas. I really hated the situation and thinking about the last few months, my eyes teared up. I had to miss my little boy so many days. It still broke my heart. I was so scared when he wasn’t with me and although I knew Patrick was a good father, I couldn’t help to think about the asshole he was in our relationship. How lucky I was to get out eventually, but how messed up I still am because of it. Patrick is a very handsome guy and a really smooth talker and when I met him he was quite the charmer. But all changed rapidly and when he drank alcohol he became a mad man and nothing was right. He had yelled and called her names and treated her like she was an insect and nothing more. She really hated the yelling and throwing things and arguing about that stupid alcohol. Thinking about it Flora couldn’t help but shiver. He was still haunting her. Even after all those months. She now lived with her best friend and they shared an apartment. Not ideal but at least she wasn’t homeless. She was planning to move to Alabama to be with Sam, when he wasn’t with her but with Patrick. They had both custody over him so once every two weekends he was with Patrick. But her old job was still in Mississippi and she first had to find a new job before start to look for an apartment.   Now I need to go in there and ask for a phone to call for the nearest gas station. Sigh, don’t be a p***y Flora, I told myself. With a fierce attitude I opened the door and stepped in. It was dark. I needed to adjust my eyes a bit as I couldn’t focus because of the bright light above the door when I entered the building. There were tables in the corners and people were sitting drinking and eating. The smell was horrible. It had a mixture of alcohol and something rotten. I couldn’t figure out what. I just needed to ask for a phone and then quickly get out of here. That’s possible. Be brave Flora, I told myself.   When my eyes were adjust a bit more I saw someone standing behind the bar. He was quite big and overall very masculine. He had dark curled hair rapped in a bun and as he turned around I saw the brightest eyes. It was almost as they were just light bulbs from a car. I never seen that before and because all was so dark they looked like they lightened the whole room. He had a little beard and damn was really handsome. He looked at me as if I was not there. Then all of a sudden he jumped over the bar and came my way. I never saw a man jump that fast and high in my life. Before I knew it he was with me. His eyes were slightly different now almost grey with a red circle around them. He made a noise to a man that came my way and it sounded like a deep animal sound. He looked at me again and seemed nervous. “Can I help you?” He asked while looking at me intensely. I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. There was some kind of mixture in them that draw me to him. It was like I was mesmerized and I couldn’t move. God he was really handsome. And why am I thinking like this? Flora focus! It was hard but I draw myself away from those eyes. “I need…. I need a phone.” I stuttered. Then all of a sudden I felt a strong push against my shoulder and I fell against the door. I felt a burning pain in my chest almost putting every breathe out of my body. I saw a strange face above my head with open mouth.. fangs? Why are there fangs in  his mouth. Oh god don’t bite me… please leave me alone. I wanted to scream out loud but there was no air in my lungs. I looked around scared to see the guy with the grey eyes. Then I finally saw him, he was pushing that fang-guy of me. “Are u ok?” He asked while standing above me making sure I was fine. I nodded my head and then total darkness.   My chest was hurting and I got a huge headache. It was like my eyes were plopping out of their casts. I laid on something soft and it was warm. I heard voices but I couldn’t understand them completely yet. I needed some minutes to comprehend all. I tried to open up my eyes to see where I was. The light in the room made it hard to see for a few seconds.   “Why did u let her in there in the first place, Liam?” “I don’t know, it wasn’t that I invited her or something like that.” “What did Vince do? Did he touch her with his fangs?” “I.. I don’t know.” “Focus Liam!! You suppose to know. U one of them also.”   I opened my eyes more and god that hurt, my head! I was in a small room, it was almost like a bedroom. Just a table and some stairs, a couch and the bed I was lying on. I saw a woman and the same man with the grey eyes. He turned away the moment he saw I was awake.   “Hello dear, how you feeling?” The woman asked me, while helping me to sit some. “Do you want something to drink or eat?” “Some water, please.  What happened?”, I mumbled.   “Water, Liam! Now!” she bossed to the man with the grey eyes. He looked at her and made that noise again. The deep noise, she heard earlier in the pub. “You had us scared a bit while you fainted all of a sudden, dear.” I looked at the woman and saw she wasn’t impressed by it. She had dark curled hair and she was really beautiful. She had a little resembling with the man in the corner. He went back to the corner sitting on the couch after he give the woman a glass of water. He couldn’t stop looking at me. His eyes didn’t had the same redness around them anymore. But he kept looking straight at me all the time. It’s like he was looking right through me. He kept his eyes on me and sometimes they got blurry. But in a split second they were all clear again. She looked at me and smiled, while she gave me the glass of water. “I am Lea, dear. What’s your name?” “Flora”, I said with a cough. It was still difficult to speak a bit because my chest was hurting still. “Is that better dear?”, Lea asked when I finished my water. I smiled and nod. “Good, now please tell us how u came here dear”.   “I ran out of gas, and didn’t had connection on my phone. Can u tell me what time it is?” “Its 8 in the morning dear, do you need somewhere to go? You have to eat something first as we won’t have you faint all over again.” Oh no, I need to pick up Sam and I am already late. It was still some hours to drive from here and  I need to be there at 12. Patrick won’t like me being late. I nod to Lea, and I told her I needed to go.   “You don’t have gas dear, Liam will take u to the gas station in the village but that’s also 1 hour away. Where do you need to be, maybe Liam can take you if you need to be there fast?” “It’s ok I guess, I don’t want to bother u too much.” I said with a bit redness on my cheeks. Why is that man still looking at me. He didn’t said a word yet to me and still he is looking like he seen a ghost. “I don’t mind to take you to town to get your gas, but it will take 2 hours. Where do u need to be?” He finally spoke to me. He had a dark voice and he never took his eyes of me. “I need to be in Birmingham to pick up Sam, my son.” I explained to him. “But seriously I really don’t want to bother you anymore, I feel already ashamed this happened.” I blushed.   “Nonsense dear, Liam will take you. He has business in Birmingham anyhow that needs to be taken care of, don’t you Liam?” Lea looked at him very intensely. Liam’s eyes blurred again but then he nodded.   “Ok then let’s go, is it ok for my car to stay here ? “I asked. I was trying to stand up, but still feeling blurry so I wasn’t steady yet. I reached over to grab the table, when arms grabbed me first. The man Lea called Liam  suddenly was in front of me and had his arms around me. A brief moment our eyes met and I blushed. The sense of his skin on mine and the fact I was in a this man’s arms was making me shy. Somehow I didn’t felt scared or anxious and it had kind off a reassuring feeling. Like I was at home. God he smelled so good. I didn’t wanted to go out of his arms.   “Of course it is dear, Liam will take excellent care of you and in the mean time I will have someone sent over to put some gas in your tank. Don’t you worry about a thing dear”, Lea stated. The door opened and a girl came in with a bag in her hand.  “Here is something to eat for you when u are on your way”, Lea pointed to me, while giving the bag to Liam. Her eyes fogged again for a second and then she gave me a smile.   Liam was still holding me and reluctant to let me go. So I couldn’t do anything than to walk along sides with him to go outside. He opened the door of his big black truck and helped me inside. “Where do you need to go?” His dark voice gave me goosebumps.  I gave him the address and we went on our way. It was a quiet ride and I didn’t dare to look beside me. He had some bossy aura around him and I had to admit I was a bit intimidated by him. He was taller than me and very masculine. His black beard and his half long hair in a bun made him look almost like supermodel. He had very strong arms and even with a tshirt on, you could see he was well trained and and got a six pack underneath. He wore a blue jeans which fit perfectly and showed his perfect legs and ass. “You want something to eat? ” he finally spoke, handing me the bag. “Eat before Lea kicks my butt”, he smiled at me. God this man was gorgeous. He was. His eyes… Flora focus. You are not looking for another relationship, so keep your head straight girl. I slowly began to eat the lovely sandwiches in the bag.     Liam POV I was very pissed at Vince for getting too close at her. When I finally smashed his ass on the table next to us I was afraid she was hurt. I couldn’t think. Kyle was jumping from frustration in my head. He wanted to fight of the stupid vampire and kill him for sure. There was a lot of turmoil around us and I picked her up and jumped to our private quarters behind the pub. Carefully I laid her on the bedsofa and ordered Lea to get everyone out of the pub and to tell Vince I wasn’t done with him. There were restrictions to come to the pub while in need of feeding. It was not allowed simple just to avoid this could happen. We were living in a forest where not many humans came but it was still a possibility. I couldn’t have her hurt. When I looked at her quick to see any blood strains or holes I couldn’t find one. She was light as a feather and so precious as well. I wanted to lay beside her and never let her go.   MINE!!  Yes Kyle I know.. I don’t want to scare her off. When Lea came back I decided to sit in the corner. Not really knowing what else to do. My urge was to keep her near. But also afraid to scare her away for good. When she woke up I scanned how she was. She didn’t seem to be hurt, only her chest as she heaved for breathe. I made sure I would check up with her about that. As Lea told me to drive her and keep her safe, I was so relieved. Again anything to keep her near. I didn’t know who Sam was and why she wasn’t with him. I only knew she was mine and I had to keep her near. But I had to go slow and easy. When she got up and stumbled I rushed to grab her in my arms. Her skin felt so soft and I couldn’t keep myself from smelling her hair. There was a mixture of coconut in it and it was so good. It made my skin crawl and made me warm allover. This was mine. Mine alone. I didn’t care where to bring her. I was taking her home again with me.   “Where did u agreed to meet Sam, Flora?” Flora looked at him and did she blush? Or was it just him seeing what he wanted to see? “At the McDonald’s. Sam loves it there. Patrick will leave after Sam is in my care again”, she explained. “Who is Patrick?” Her eyes darkened a bit as she answered: “It’s my ex.” “Why are you so far apart? Tell me please. I need to know.” She then explained she still got her old job and her ex moved across state to live with his new girlfriend. Sam was there two weekends in the month. She was trying to find a job and an apartment close but hadn’t found one yet. She sighed as she told me these weekends were the worst to her. She didn’t trust Patrick, but he was a good father.   “How old is Sam” I asked? “Just 4. And he is so adorable, look”. She showed me a picture of a boy who was standing at a playground. He had blond hair as her own and a cute smile and round cheeks. He was indeed adorable. Just like her. “It will be ok Flora, trust me”, I reassured her while putting my hand on her leg. Again it felt like home and god I wanted to have her now.     Flora POV When he laid his hand on my leg I felt every cell in my body shiver. It was warm and sexy and god Flora, don’t. You just came out of a very difficult relationship and you can’t just start a new one. Not even with this gorgeous man. But she couldn’t help feeling to be attracted to him. When we came to the city I got a bit nervous. I didn’t know how Patrick would be behaving and I really wanted to have Sam back in my arms again. Somehow Liam noticed as his hand on my leg tightened. “U sure u ok, Flora? I can come with u if u want?”   Why was he so protective? He didn’t know me. Besides Patrick wouldn’t like me seeing with another man. It was ok he had a new girl but not for me. And as we still in a custody struggle I couldn’t do this. “I will be fine Liam, But thank you.” “I will be close Flora, remember you just have to call my name and I will be there.” He looked at me intensely while he was driving. But somehow my breath stopped and couldn’t say a word. Why is this man so intensive? He looked at the road again and drove silently. When we pulled in a parking lot at the McDonalds. He turned and grabbed my hand. “Flora”, he said with a haste and almost soft sigh. “I will wait here for you. When u have Sam, you come back to the car and we will go straight back home.” Home? He meant the pub and my car, right? I nod as I grabbed the door handle ready to step out. “Flora,” I turned my head. He cupped my face. “I mean it if u need me, just say my name. be-care-ful.” He emphasized the last word. I looked at him, his eyes were darker.. and some red was appearing again. Who is this man? I should be afraid but somehow I wasn’t. I nod and left the car.         Liam POV I saw her walk in the McDonald’s and a boy was rushing towards her. She picked him up and I saw it was Sam. A long and dark haired man was joining them soon after. He had a very serious look and I saw they got in a heated disagreement. He pointed at my car a few times. The man I assumed was Patrick was a quite big and rather good looking. I could understand why Flora would have felt for him in the first place. There was a slightly odd thing about him. I couldn’t point out what, but my vampire senses were alarmed and I never was wrong about that. When Patrick glanced outside for awhile our eyes met. There was something, almost a strong feeling for me that I was expected to go inside and meet this guy. His eyes were like magnets and holding mine in place. Kyle was growling and yelled my name. LIAM, wake the f**k up. Cant you feel it? Feel what Kyle? He is not normal, Liam. You need to be careful. What you mean not normal? Kyle, is he like one of us? I don’t know yet, but something tells me something is wrong. Get her out of there, NOW!   I saw Sam looked over to whom I think was Patrick and was crying. Flora wanted to leave obviously but Patrick grabbed her arm. I was about to jump out of the car and ran in, when I saw her pulling her arm free and picking up the trolley and heading outside. As we had discussed she walked immediately to my car and  she opened the passenger seat in the back. “Get in Sam, this is my friend Liam and he will take us to mommy’s car and we go home ok?” Sam nodded and looked at me. “Hi Sam” , I smiled. Flora opened the passenger door and sat beside me. I looked at her. She had been crying and instantly Kyle was furious.   Nobody makes her cry, Liam. I know, I know. Just let me handle this, Kyle. Do it quick or I will   “Are u ok”, I asked softly, looking close at her. She nodded, “Just drive”. Patrick came out of the McDonalds and was about to come to the car as I hit the gas and drove off. Leaving him standing on the pavement, obviously mad. She was silent when we drove out the city and into the plain forests again. I looked at her and I could see she still was crying, but tried to hide it from me. It made me feel like pulling her on my lab, caress and hold her until she felt better again. Instead I just drove her away from the place and the man that made her cry. I touched her hand and held it while driving. Surprised she let me do this. I don’t know what happened between her and Patrick but I made damn sure for the rest of her life she wasn’t feeling that hurt ever again. I promised to myself. I will find out and deal with it.   Or I will!     Chapter 2: Liam   Flora POV When we drove up to the pub, I was so relieved we were back again. But although I felt relieved I could tear up at any second. The conversation with Patrick and all what happened before made me feel I was not in control and I hated that. I missed Sam and his lightly bubbliness and I hated the situation I was in. I was still depending on Patrick with money and all and he still had that way of getting under my skin. I was still scared of him and I didn’t know how to deal with that. Liam stepped out of the car and walked around. He opened Sam’s door and got him out. Then he opened mine and grabbed my hand. I stepped out and before I could step away from the car, Liam pulled me to him. He looked in my eyes and for the first time I saw his beautiful white eyes. They were amazing. They didn’t had the grey-redness around them and they looked at me as if they understood me. He cupped my cheek while his other arm was around my waist. “Are you ok, Flora?” His thumb was caressing my cheek. I tried to smile at him. His arms were so strong. His body around me was so close and it was as it was made for me to lay my head against his strong chest. It made me feel never to leave those arms. It made me feel like home. Liam’s face was so close that our noses almost touched each other. His full lips almost touched mine. I never was so close with a man before, a man that I didn’t knew but felt so comfortable with. After he looked at me some more to make sure I really was ok, he stepped back and we went inside.   Sam took my hand and care free as he was he was babbling all the way. It made me laugh although my tears were peaking in my eyes. It was a stressful day and I had so many questions. Questions about Liam, how we met, the eyes, what the future will bring, what Patrick said to me and o my god. Tears were dropping and I quickly removed them so Liam would not see.   We went inside. There was nobody in the café. Lea came out of the back as soon as we walked in. “How did it go guys?” She laughed at us. “And who is this gorgeous little man?” “I am not little!! I am a superhero”. Sam said with a pose of superman. I laughed. Sam was not aware of everything around him and I enjoyed how simple his world was. “Haha, well superhero are you hungry?? We have burgers in the back that have your name on it!”, Lea asked. Sam looked back at me and I gave a reassuring nod. “Go ahead, dear. But don’t eat that much u already had fries!!” I said. I looked up at Lea and saw her eyes were blurred again. But in a split second they were back and she smiled at me. “Let’s go my superhero, lead the way,” she laughed. And both went to get the burgers. Liam let go of my hand and walked behind the bar. He grabbed some glasses and a bottle of wine. He looked at me while showing me the wine bottle and I nod. “Sit Flora, Sam is in good care with my sister. Let’s have some wine and talk”, he said. I grabbed the chair of the nearest table and sat down. I was so tired. From all the emotions of the day and still my head hurt from my fall. My fall, How did that happen again? I was really sure there were fangs in that guy’s mouth. I made a note to myself to ask Liam about that. Liam opened the bottle and gave me my glass. When I took it his hand touched mine for a second and a warm shiver went through me. This man had something that touched me deep in my core.   “So”, I began, “I want to thank you for driving me today. I hope it wasn’t very inconvenient. “ “Flora”, Liam said with a low voice. He looked intensely at me. His eyes darkend a bit and their whiteness faded in some dark red glow. His mouth was so strong and his lips, I wanted to kiss those lips. I wanted to feel his arms around me and be protected, and to have those lips kiss allover my body and feel the warmth of his skin touching mine. Damn that man really can make my head spin. Focus Flora!! “It was my pleasure. And I wanted to make sure you were safe. I need you to be safe, Flora” He looked at me again with so much focus.  He leaned over and intertwined his fingers in mine. I looked in his eyes and it made me tear up. What is this with me? Why am I so emotional? A tear fell down my cheek and Liam  pulled me over to him. He made me sit on his lap and cradled my face. I snuggled in his chest. I didn’t care about the fact that I just knew him like 24 hours and I knew nothing about this man. I only knew how he made me feel. Like I was born to be in his arms. It was relaxing and warm. My head fit perfectly on his chest and for a brief moment all was perfect. He stroke my back trying to relax me and his hand was cupping my face. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall.   After sitting like this for a while, I got back up and took a sip from my wine. I wanted to ask him so many questions and I needed some nerve to ask them all. Was I ready for his answers? Liam’s arms were still around my waist, not ready to let me go. For now I let them there. It was ok. “Liam,” I started. “Can you tell me how I fell down, when I first came in the pub yesterday? I think I saw something strange when that guy pushed me”.     Liam POV When we came to the pub, I went out of the car to get the doors open for Flora and Sam. I wasn’t ready to let her go away again, so during the ride home I had spoken with my sister.  We were able to mind link each other and this way we could speak to each other without saying a word. Our eyes would blur for a few seconds while mind linking. I told her to get some food ready for Sam. If Sam was eating I could speak with Flora and maybe get her to stay for a while somehow. I didn’t know how I would get her to stay, but I knew I couldn’t let her go. She was mine, whether she knew or not. She was my other half. My mate, My fated one. And Moon Goddess, help me to keep her near me.   When she came out of the car I noticed the tearful eyes. I pulled her to me to make sure she was ok. She didn’t object the fact I put my arm around her and when my face was real close to hers, I needed to restrain myself not to kiss her. I wanted to make all better and not see any tear anymore forever in her eyes. As my fated mate, she would never ever have to be afraid to ever be hurt again.   As we came in the pub Lea came to greet us. I mind linked her again and she told me she had food prepared. Thank Moon Goddess for her as sister. She understood me with half a word. We were always like that even when we were young. We understood each other and only needed a look or a word. When we both learned the truth of our existence, we grew even closer. Which was strange as she wasn’t my full sister. I had another stepbrother. He was from my dad’s first marriage. Lea was too. But she was more like my age and we some sort grew up together. Because my mom was a vampire, I was never seen by my older brother as one of the family. After a big fight because of my father leaving the pack and choosing to live with my mother at her estate, my brother stayed as Alpha of the pack and never talked to either my father or me. Still Lea is in contact with him and sometimes she lets me know how he is doing. Werewolves and vampires don’t mix worlds and as my father chose to be on the vampire side. My brother exiled us from the pack. We were simply not welcome any more. It was a complicated family history.   When I grabbed some glasses and wine. I knew I had to tell Flora a bit of my story.  I knew she had questions. That’s why wine was in order. But at the second I saw her sip her wine and became tearful, I had to pull her over to me. I needed her close. I needed her to be with me in my arms. Where I could caress her and comfort her and feel her warmth and sniff her scent. As a werewolf, scent is always important. I could smell everyone from a mile away and I needed her scent in my nose. I could smell Richard on her and the thought of him made me angry.   “Liam,” Flora started. “Can you tell me how I fell down, when I first came in the pub yesterday? I think I saw something strange when that guy pushed me”. This got me off guard for a second. I was in my thoughts of how to tell her and suddenly the moment was here. I still had my arms around her and for somehow she accepted that.   “Flora, do you believe in fairy tales?” I asked while looking closely at her face. She smiled and nod.  I was so happy to hear that answer. “Well do you believe that there mythical beasts and there is good and bad creatures?” “Liam, where you going with this? I mean what has that got to do with my fall and all, I don’t understand.” I sighed and pushed her up. When we stood up, I pulled her near me, and I cupped her face. I looked intensely in her eyes trying to read everything, every little detail possible. “Flora, do you trust me?” She narrowed her eyes a bit. “Yes, I do, Liam, why you asking? You scaring me a bit”. “Ok,” I said, “Don’t be scared ok. I will show u something. Its ok and I am not going to hurt you.  Flora say something, say you believe me.” Flora looked scared at me, but nodded in confirmation. I knew I didn’t had to wait long before showing her. Showing her my fangs and red eyes. I walked behind the counter of the bar, so there would be enough space between us and she wouldn’t have to be scared. Slowly I made my eyes turn red and as she stood there and just watched and didn’t move a bit, I slowly showed her my fangs.   Flora screamed and began to walk backwards, but I was quick with her and grabbed her by the arm. She had wide open eyes and I saw she was scared. I pulled her near me and she resisted for a second looking at my eyes. But as soon as they were white again and normal, she relaxed a bit. “What just happened, who or what are you? “ she asked with a scare in her voice. “I am a vampire, Flora, a hybrid. But I don’t hurt you, I will not hurt you Flora, Please don’t be scared of me”. I begged as I pulled her near me. I felt her heart beating like crazy but somehow she let me. “I will never hurt you, my dear. You are safe. Please say you believe me?” “Show me again, “she said. “Show me those teeth”. I slowly let my fangs out and she touched them with her hands. I never had anyone touch them before and as she did, my whole skin warmed up and I needed to step away. “Please Flora, say you aren’t scared of me. I know it’s a lot to handle. As Humans never seen vampires or other creatures like that, besides in the movies.” “I am not scared Liam, just startled, I mean I never seen it before. But you said you are a hybrid. What does that mean? And that guy, was he a vampire as well?”   “Yes Flora, he was. I am a hybrid, part vampire, part werewolf. I can change in my wolf form as well, but I was afraid you were more shocked if I would do that than just showing you my fangs. And don’t be afraid. Vince will not be here for a while. I made sure of that. Flora, nobody is going to hurt you. You are special Flora, and I will let nobody hurt you. You need to believe that.” Her hand cupped my cheek as she looked closely in my eyes. “I do, Liam, I don’t know why but you make me feel safe. Or it’s the wine. I had a lot already. I don’t think I can drive home tonight. Can I stay here with Sam?”   I was surprised about her question. I didn’t know if I understood it right. “Of course, you can stay as long as you want, my dear. Stay forever.” Flora smiled. I pulled her near me and while I buried my head in her hair I whispered softly in her ear that I was happy she believed me and was welcome to stay.