Starting Over

Chapter 5

Cameron's POV:

While Clayton was carrying me away from the University, all I could feel was comfort. Even though I really didn't know the man, something about him just made me feel safe. I have literally only ever had a few conversations with him yet I feel like I know him, like really know him. He seemed so nice when I met him and I had instantly felt a connection of some sort with him. Almost like love at first sight but that isn't possible. That only happens in fairytales. Just a strong feeling towards him that I've never felt around anyone else. The same feeling I feel even now while he is carrying me.

I turned my body towards him even though he felt cold to my body, which could just be because of the cooler night air cooling him down and closed my eyes. I breathed in deep the scent of his cologne, a smell that feels so familiar to me. I could feel the air blow past my body, causing me to shiver, and blow my hair as if we were moving at high speeds but it didn't really feel like we were moving any faster than normal. Even if we were moving at super-speed, I wouldn't really care right now anyway. Not as long as I was in his arms.

I didn't realize that I had missed him as much as I had. Everything that I felt for him from the first day when I ran into him on the streets to the night he begged for a second date felt like it was coming back at me in full force. Even if he did come across as a pervert in my apartment after the mugging, the fact that I've lost a year of my past makes him being a pervert seem minuscule and seems to be making how I felt about him that night of the mugging disappear. So much so that I fell asleep quickly in his arms.

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Clayton's POV:

I have been following Cameron around for the last six and half months, ever since she kicked me out of her apartment that night. She never knew it but I didn't want her to know it either. Of course, I couldn't follow her to all her classes or work because it was during the day but I made sure to watch her at the apartment and anywhere else that she went in the evening.

After that night she woke up and had that severe headache I quickly called Azariah, the vampire king. I would have chewed him up and down more about what was happening to her if it wasn't for her walking into the room, almost catching the conversation that we were having. So many things happened that night that none of us were prepared for, for example, the consequences, the emotions, the little details of her clothes, or the effects of the spell on her mind. So many things that if we would have just thought about, we could have made sure that her waking up had gone over more smoothly. We were just all still high on our emotions of that night and it's not like any of us had ever done something like this before to know what would have happened or what to expect.

Now, I'm basically thrown out on the streets, which is really no different than before, watching her from afar instead of starting over with her like we had all hoped and planned would happen. Not exactly helping the pain in my jaw from the mating chemical that is pulling me to mark her. It aches so much that I'm constantly trying to crack it or something to get some kind of relief from it. You would think after a year and a half I would have figured out how to deal with this but being so close to having her again just seems to have made it worse. So much worse that my entire body is aching because I haven't been able to smell her or touch her recently.

It was harder to watch her at the University because I'm not a student. I've already been kicked out because I didn't have a student pass but I do follow her to her one night class and everything seemed okay as I hid outside of the building at first. Even after I smelled other vampires in the class. Not all vampires are out to disturb society, and several live peacefully and unnoticed by humans. It's when they don't behave that they get a visit from one of the vampire king's hunters, which is one of the positions I used to hold at the mansion, and if you are lucky enough, your bad deed gets you the vampire king himself. Regardless of who comes after you, you probably won't live after the trial or even parish before the trial, just depends on how cranky the vampire king is feeling at the time, and here lately, he's pretty much pissed off all of the time but I don't really blame him considering what we did to him six months ago.

Her class of 47 students actually has about three vampires in it. None of them caused me to raise awareness, that is until I saw how that one vampire was acting around her in the library. I knew something wasn't right but I couldn't tell right away. He wasn't acting as if he wanted to drink her dry, almost as if something about her was drawing him in but not in a s****l way either. He was just confusing the hell out of me more than anything but I'm glad I continued to watch and follow her around because now I know what his problem was and still is.

After hearing his words about how she was different and the fact that he knew her full name as if he knew who she was. Who she is isn't really a problem anymore and honestly, it doesn't matter what happened in her past. She's really no different than any other human now regardless of what happened almost eight months ago.

At least that's what we all thought at the time, that she was no different than any other human. That was until he started to talk about her scent and then I smelled the bruises all over her after he injured her as I charged at him. I never noticed it before. None of us, Azariah or Claudia did. We were so used to it that even when I was right beside her in her apartment when she woke up that I didn't even notice the change. She will never be no different than any other human again and that is all because of what we did to her over eight months ago to save her and Axel's life.

That vampire really isn't going to be a match for me, at least I think, even if we are of the same strength and he knew it which is why he fled when I attacked. He's older than I am, I can tell just by the way he smells and the fact that he seemed well aware of who I was but I don't know who he is or how much older he is.

She was pretty injured so I had to be careful when I picked her up that I didn't hurt her more. She had fallen asleep shortly after I picked her up and I was thankful that she still appeared at ease with me and that she could relax enough to doze off. Now, it's just getting her taken care of without her knowing about it. I could tell by the smell of her blood that he hurt her more than just a few bruises. The bruises I was smelling were big, really big and the smell was so strong that it was causing my mouth to water. The smell of her special hybrid blood is one thing that I can deal with but adding that to the fact that she is my true mate and whatever else that is in there is making it really hard for me to resist biting down on her neck and killing her.

I quickly walked into her apartment, she was still asleep in my arms, and took her over to the couch and carefully laid her down. I practically ran out of her apartment to get farther from her scent before I lost control. I had missed her this month. I missed her a lot which is why I can't lose control with her, ever. I could potentially kill her and if that happens, I won't be the one killing myself, it would be Azariah coming after me for sure and no vampire in this world wants the vampire king after them especially if he found out you killed Cameron. That's one wrath I never want to be at the other end of and one we thought would help protect her.

I quickly pulled out my cell and called Azariah. She needs to be healed and I don't know if I have the control to do it, but he does. I know he does.

"What is it now Clayton? You got your f*****g wish now..." He started off snapping at me, not bothering to greet an old friend on the phone.

"Shut the f**k up, Azariah. You know damn well you would have done the same thing!" I snapped back at him.

"No, I wouldn't have. I would've just killed you instead." He snickered back at me, telling me that he had a grin on his face and that he had images in his head of killing me.

"Well, I can't kill you so this was the only way around it," I told him.

"No, it wasn't. We could have discussed this more. We could have tried to figure something else out but you didn't care about anything else. You just cared about yourself. You were selfish!" He continued to rant.

"Can we just drop it! We all agreed that this was best for her. You, Claudia, and I. It wasn't just me involved in all of this." I reminded him.

"Fine! Just remember, you were the reason we had to do it. If you weren't calling to gloat then what is it you want?" He asked me impatiently.

"She was attacked today and..." I started to explain but he blew up, just like I knew he would, damn vampire temper.

"Dammit Clayton! How the f**k did you let that happen? You were my second in command and supposed to keep her safe! I should just send you to Hell to be the Devil's f**k toy for a century for this!" He shouted at me through the phone.

"I'm doing what I can. I have to be careful. I don't have the strength like you and can't control other vampires with my aura like you can. I have to physically be there to protect her and I can't always be there. Besides, you know that she threw me out of her life and I can't get that close to her." I explained and he just stayed silent on the other end.

"She's hurt and I don't think I can heal her," I told him.

"Why? You can heal the same as I can. So you don't expose yourself, just knock her out and heal her. Simple as that." He told me sarcastically.

"Not as simple as you think. Something we didn't realize has happened. She's not the same anymore since before all of this happened. Her blood, it's different somehow. I don't know how but her scent, it's not the same. You add that to the fact that she is my true mate, I don't know if I can control myself. I think I might kill her and because of that I thought maybe you could do it?" I asked with a raise in my voice, practically begging.

"Just this one time." He told me and hung up the phone before I could ask him how long it will take him to get here from Washington.

He agreed awfully easy and quick but I wouldn't be surprised if that was because he really misses her like I do and just wants to come to see her even if she has no idea who he is. I put the phone back into my pocket and I walked back into the apartment.

"Clay?" I heard her soft voice.

Just the sound of her voice was enough to get my dead blood moving in my body. I walked over to where she was laying on the couch and knelt down beside her. That's when I noticed that she had beads of sweat on her forehead. I reached over and brushed some of the hair that was stuck to her skin out of the way. Just the little touches of my fingers on her skin caused the tingling sensation to go wild in my body.

"It really hurts." She said as fresh tears started to fill her eyes and fall down her cheeks.

"I know baby. I called a doctor and he's going to be here soon." I lied, well sort of but not really.

She just doesn't need to know what kind of doctor was on his way. I'm not sure if she is ready to learn about what I am yet and I'm scared that it may not have been long enough for her. I don't want everything from a year ago to come rushing back to her so we just need to take it easy and tread lightly.

"I can't move my arm or my hand." She said as she started to cry, causing me to feel a hint of her pain through the bond.

"Shhh, I will make you better soon," I told her and she nodded her head.

"What happened?" She asked through the tears.

I reached over and brushed the tears off of her skin. She felt so warm, almost too warm for a human. Why is it that I didn't notice how warm she felt? She's never felt this warm before that I know of. How long has she felt like this? Does she have one of those fevers that humans get? It's been so long since I was a human that I can hardly remember. Could her injuries be causing a fever?

"Clayton!" She said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not really sure. I saw you getting attacked so I ran over. I guess I must have scared him away, or something, because he just took off down the street." I told her, hoping that she would believe me.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked in worry and I shook my head.

"No. I'm fine." I told her and gave her a smile to try to help comfort her and calm her down.

"Are you following me?" She asked suddenly with a hint of anger in her voice, taking me off guard.

I wasn't expecting her to ask me that based on the way the conversation appeared to be going. I almost felt as if we were getting close again like we once were. Now, I'm not so sure about that. She's obviously still upset with me.

"No, why do you think I am?" I asked her, trying to come across as clueless as possible.

"Because you just showed up out of nowhere like you did that night when I was mugged. You have no reason to be on the grounds of the university." She explained and I swallowed, trying to think of something quickly to say back to her to try to get rid of her suspicions.

"Actually, I was helping an old friend that is taking a few classes there. He needed to study for an exam so we were at the library. I was through the trees to head to the sidewalk when I heard a scream." I said, trying to convince her.

I wasn't sure if I was successful at it or not but she did at least appear to have accepted it, even if she may not have fully believed what I had said. She just nodded her head in acceptance and looked up into my eyes. I couldn't help but stare back into hers. She had such a beautiful baby blue color that went beautifully with her wild blond spiral curls. I almost like this look on her. She used to put stuff in her hair to tame it down but I've noticed that she hasn't been doing that lately so now her hair has a wild frizzy look to it. Makes it look very soft, so soft that I would love to put my hand in it as I kissed her passionately.

"Your eyes, they seem so familiar." She said softly suddenly, causing me to worry about what she may be remembering.

"Familiar as in how?" I asked her and she just gave me an unsure look.

"I'm not sure. They are a unique gray color." She told me.

"I get them from my father's side of the family," I told her with a smile and she just gave me a small smile.

"I'm really tired." She said and I nodded.

I reached over and grabbed the blanket that was folded up over the back of the couch and laid it over her.

"Please wake me up when the doctor gets here." She said softly as she closed her eyes.

"I will," I told her.

I waited for her to fall asleep and once I knew that she was out, I walked out of the apartment building and waited for Azariah to get here. Hopefully, it doesn't take him too much longer.