[..]
“So did you get the information you were looking for?” A girl with curly blond hair, fair skin, and clear yellow eyes revealing she was a vampire too, asked Dmitrij when he finally showed up.
She didn’t look older than 17, but she had already been alive for around a hundred years.
Her innocent appearance and bubbly – almost childlike – personality made her just even more dangerous because most people would underestimate her.
“Not really, Vlad is stubborn, but I gave him an ultimatum, so I guess he will come around soon enough,” Dmitrij stated.
“So, we have to wait even longer? But it’s so boring here!” She whined, making Dmitrij roll his eyes.
“Cut the whining Persephone, if you have to complain, then can you please do it elsewhere, ‘cause I’m not gonna listen to it!” Dmitrij stated harshly, making her glare at him.
“Maybe I will!” She huffed before she headed further into the forest.
She spent the night wandering around the forest, but as the sun had risen and birds were starting to sing, the sight of two wolves in the distance caught her eye. One was big with brown fur, like most wolves she had seen before, but then the other was white as snow. Something she had never seen once in her hundred years.
She then pulled out her phone, and dialed Dmitrij.
“Maybe we don’t have to wait so long after all, ‘cause I think I just found what we have been looking for,” she explained, as she smiled, never taking her eyes off the two wolves.
[..]
“I’ll be heading back now. Armaros told me earlier he had some surprise for me,” Stella explained, when she was done getting her clothes on.
“But your birthday is first tomorrow?” Jaze spoke.
“I know, but as you already know, we are having dinner at my parents’ house tomorrow, so I think that’s the reason. And although it’s my birthday tomorrow, it’s also the day I changed for the first time and met Armaros again after ten years, not that I remember much anyway.. But I’ll see you later, okay?” Stella replied.
“I get it, I’ll take my leave soon too. I have promised to meet with Kyan after this anyway, see you around!” Jaze spoke with a smile.
She then nodded before she waved her hand at him and took her leave.
Jaze began collecting his stuff. But as he was squatting down to tie his shoes, someone suddenly stood behind him.
“You know the hybrid, we saw you.” Dmitrij stated, as Jaze was startled by the two vampires’ sudden appearance.
“Who in the Moon Goddess' name are you?” Jaze asked, as he took a step back.
“Well, that depends on you, really.. We can be your friends, or your enemies, but if you ask me, I will suggest friends, maybe with benefits,” Persephone flirted, as she walked up to him, as an innocent smile covered her lips, while she leaned closer to him.
But it only earned her a frown from him, as he started to sniff the air.
“You smell like.. Nothing, how’s that even possible?” Jaze asked, confused.
“Ucculta nix.. When you walk into a territory full of werewolves, you have to prepare yourself, or you probably would have sniffed us out a long time ago.” She chuckled.
“Tell us, what do you know about that hybrid?” Dmitrij exclaimed, as he got impatient with Persephone’s games, and it quickly became clear to Jaze why they were there.
“What do you want with my cousin?” He asked, as Dmitrij sighed, as his patience began to reach its limit.
“You do seem to have an awful lot of questions.. Literally, any person in your position would know when to shut up and do as they are told,” he replied, as he stepped closer to him.
“Well, I’m not just any person, and I don’t rat out my family to random vampires.” Jaze shot back.
“I understand, but we are not random, we just came to visit my dear old pal, Vlad..” he spoke, as he tried to read him.
“Vlad? What does he have to do with you?”
“Tell me what his connection to the hybrid is, and I will tell you.”
“No, I’m not telling you squat!” Jaze denied, as he crossed his arms.
“What a shame, then we just have to use the old fashion way.. Persephone!” He trailed off, as Persephone, with a flash, had pushed him against a tree, while she took hold of his face with both her hands.
At first, Jaze froze at the sudden contact, before he then tried to push her away, but she just proceeded to jump at him, as she clinged her legs around his waist, so he couldn’t get free.
He then tried once again throwing himself on the ground, but then she pushed him down, so he couldn’t move.
“Wow, you're both strong and handsome!” She stated, as she forced him to look into her eyes.
“Let me go, or I’ll shift!” He growled, as she just grinned.
“Don’t be stupid, I could rip that handsome neck of yours up before you would even have a chance to do such a thing.. But I'd rather not do that.
It would be a waste of a handsome face.. So, do as I say, and answer our questions.” Persephone spoke, as her pupils started to expand, which immediately made him stop resisting.
Not many knew about the vampires' ability to use compulsion.
Probably because no one was able to remember it, and then it wasn’t something they talked high and loud about.
“What is Vlad’s connection to your hybrid cousin?” Persephone asked him.
“He is her uncle, his mate is her mother’s aunt.” Jaze spoke.
Persephone glanced at Dmitrij, who seemed a bit surprised.
“So, that’s why he didn’t wanna say anything,” Dmitrij stated to himself.
“Please tell me, if we wanna speak to this hybrid, who should we look out for.” She asked again, as she let her thumbs glide over his cheeks.
“Her mate. He is very protective of her,” Jaze stated, as she nodded.
“And who is this mate? Another wolf?” She asked, but Jaze shook his head.
“No? Then who is he?”
“His name is Armaros. He’s a demon.” He revealed, which seemed to confuse them both a bit.
“Really? That was a new one. That could become a problem, since compulsion doesn’t work on demons.” Dmitrij spoke, as he looked thoughtful.
“Maybe we can count on you to help us. What do you say, handsome?” Persephone smirked, as her pupils once again expanded, as he nodded his head.
“Good, now go along with your day, and then we would like you to take your cousin out here tomorrow, alone.. Just like today.
Of course, you won’t remember why, but we’ll meet you both here.” She spoke, as she then leaned in and sniffed his neck.
“And I will definitely have to remember to get a taste, ‘cause you do smell awfully delicious.” She purred, before they then disappeared, while Jaze had no recollection of what had just happened. Dmitrij and Persephone continued to observe him from a distance, as he looked a little disorientated, but then shortly after, he started to head back towards the tribe, as he was met by Kyan.
“Hey Jaze! What took you so long?” Kyan asked, as Jaze looked at him confused.
“What do you mean?” He asked, as Persephone couldn’t help but chuckle at the reaction.
“Stella said she had already left you a long time ago. Why didn’t you come back? I thought we were supposed to meet at the tribe house.”
“I was on my way over to you now, so what is the problem?”
“It’s more than 30 minutes since you should have been there, so I started to get worried, what were you doing out here for so long?” He asked, as Jaze frowned.
“Hmm, I don’t know, I must have lost track of time.” He replied, before he walked back with Kyan.
“Someone seems to have found a new pet,” Dmitrij stated, as Persephone turned to him.
“What? He’s tall and ridiculously hot, who wouldn’t want a bite of that!” She grinned, making him shake his head.
“Right, but we are here to get information, not for fun, so you won’t be able to keep him,” Dmitrij added.
[Stella’s POV]
When I left Jaze, I headed straight to my room, took a quick shower before I found myself a nice dress, fixed my hair, and put on just a little makeup.
I had no idea what kind of surprise Armaros had planned, but he had asked me to wear something nice, so that was what I planned to do. When I was done, I heard a knock on the door.
“I got it! I called, as I hurried down the stairs and opened the door, but when I opened, it was Kyan and not Armaros standing there.
“Oh, Wow, you look great, do you and Armaros plan to go somewhere?” He asked, as I grinned.
“Yeah, but I actually don’t know where, it’s some kind of surprise, but did you come for any specific reason?” I asked, as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, right, I just wondered if you'd seen Jaze, we were supposed to meet, but he didn’t show up, and hasn’t been answering me when I called him through mind link,” Kyan explained.
“Hmm, he did tell me he was going to meet you when we were done, but I haven’t seen him since I left the woods,” I explained with a shrug, while Kyan proceeded to nod.
“I see, I will check it out, and good luck with the surprise,” he spoke, as I thanked him before waving him goodbye.
I then headed back into the house, but then a new knock fell on the door and this time I was happy to see Armaros standing there with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“Hi babygirl!” He smiled, as I hugged him and took the flowers.
“You really brought me flowers, that’s so nice! Let me just put them in some water, and then we can leave,” I beamed, as I left the door open, while I walked straight to the kitchen and filled a vase with water, before placing the flowers in it.
I admired them for a moment before I felt Armaros’ arms around my waist, as he hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek.
“Ready to go?” He asked, and couldn’t help but smile.
“So ready!” I replied and turned back around.
“Great, then let’s get out of here!” He spoke, before I let him take charge and lead the way.
Soon we found ourselves by his car, where he opened the car door for me and asked me to step in.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going now?” I asked, but he just shook his head.
“When it’s a surprise, you can’t expect an explanation, babygirl,” he teased.
“Come on, don’t be mean, just one lead,” I begged, but that man wasn’t easy to work with.
“I’ll tell you when the time is right, so be a good girl and be quiet,” he spoke, but chuckled when he saw my expression.
“Did you just tell me to be quiet?” I stated dramatically as I faked a shocked face.
“I did, and I’m serious,” he spoke with a smile, as I narrowed my eyes at him, without saying a word.
When Armaros pulled in front of a restaurant, he turned to look at me.
“So, what do you think?” He asked, but I didn’t say anything, instead I just stared at the place without even a hint of what I was thinking.
“I know last time we were at a restaurant it didn’t go well, but I’ve changed since then, so I promise, I can handle it,” he defended, when I still didn’t answer.
“Oh, am I allowed to speak again?” I asked, as his worried look turned blank for a moment, as he finally realized what I was doing.
“Did you just.. Tease me?”
“Hey, you started it when you asked me to be quiet,” I asked with a shrug, as I chuckled when he pulled me closer.
“You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you?” He stated with a mischievous smile, before he kissed me, and shortly after, both of us stepped out of the car. He proceeded to take my hand while we walked towards the entrance.
“You have really outdone yourself. Just remember I will decide our next date,” I spoke, as he pulled the chair out for me, and sat down across from me.
“I wanted this to be special, so I had to come up with something great,” he replied, as a grin was playing on the side of his lip.
Oh, my Goddess, he was hot!
He had already made sure of everything with a three-course menu and even bought champagne.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think we were celebrating something?” I spoke with a chuckle, as I believed I detected a hint of unease from him, but I couldn’t have been sure if it wasn’t for our mate-bond, ‘cause he always seemed so confident.
“Well that’s kinda what I’m hoping it will be..” he spoke, while he suddenly got up from his seat and walked over to me, before he went down on one knee in front of me, making my smile disappear in seconds, as I realized what he was doing.
“Stella, you know I love you, and this last year with you has been one heck of a rollercoaster for both of us.. You’ve made me see things differently, you changed my perspective on so many levels and filled my life with so much joy and love, something I never thought I would experience.” He started as he held my hand in his.
“I know when we first met I brought so much pain and darkness into your life, while you, on the other hand, brought light in to mine, and I never wanna lose that, like ever..” Armaros spoke as I felt tears on my cheeks, as he suddenly pulled out a little box from his pocket, and took a deep inhale before he opened it.
“So will you marry me?” He asked, as I started to nod my head violently, as I couldn’t say a single word, as I jumped into his arms, and kissed him.
“I love you so much,” I spoke as I finally was able to speak again, as he placed the ring on my finger, and gave me a bright smile.
“I love you more,” he whispered as he leaned his head against mine, as he stared into my eyes that withheld so much devotion.
-----
“I have something I wanna show you,” I spoke as we arrived home.
“Like, right now?” He asked, as I gave a nod and started pulling him towards the forest.
“Do you remember the day we first met when we were kids?” I asked him as I continued to pull him along.
“Of course, how could I ever forget?” He replied, as he grinned at me before I stopped up, and he started to look around.
“It was here, wasn’t it?” He asked as I nodded.
“I came out here every day for a long time, as I hoped to see you again, but you never did,” I explained as he pulled me closer.
“But I’m here now?” He added as I smiled.
“Yes that you are, but as I waited for you, I found this place,” I continued as I pulled him a little further through some bushes and the clear moon’s light was reflecting on the big lake.
“Me, Bella, Jaze and Kyan came here every summer after I found it. I, of course, never told them how I found it, but it reminded me of you,” I explained, as he smiled.
“It’s beautiful, babygirl, I’m happy you're sharing this with me,” he spoke as he kissed me.
“You’re welcome, but we’re not done yet,” I grinned as he knitted his eyebrows with a smile, as I pulled my dress over my head, before I jumped into the water.
“Come on, scaredy pants! What are you waiting for?” I called from the water, as he shook his head.
“You gonna pay for that one!” He called back as he took off his clothes and jumped into the water as well.
But as the water calmed, Armaros didn’t come back to the surface.
I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t see him, but then something suddenly pulled my foot, making me scream, and Armaros finally came to the surface, as he had a victorious grin on his face.
“Who’s scared now?” He teased, as I glared at him.
“That was just mean! I thought you drowned!” I scolded as I splashed water on his face, as he got surprised by it, but then he proceeded to splash water on me too and we both started to laugh.
He then pulled me as close as he could and kissed me once again.
After some time in the water, we sat down on the bathing bridge after getting our clothes back on, and as I started to freeze a little, Armaros gave me his jacket.
“You know, I actually lied the day you, when I told you I have never had a friend,” Armaros revealed as I tilted my head when he turned to me.
“You were my first real friend, the day in the forest you were so nice to me, though I was acting like an i***t.
Even if I believed you to be an obnoxious brat to begin with, I realized how good you made me feel,” he chuckled, and I smiled at him.
“You were just a kid, Armaros, you didn’t know better,” I replied, as he shook his head.
“I was older than you, Stella, and you did.”
“So what? You had a hard time and lost your mother.
I can only imagine how scared you must have been when that man hit you. I know I was.. And I felt bad for not being able to help you back then,”
“But you did, you were nice to me, which was something I didn’t meet a lot, after my mother disappeared from my life, and I believe you are the reason I didn’t end up completely like my father.” He spoke as he laid down, and made a deep exhale.
“Do you ever think about finding her?” I asked, as he looked back at me.
“It crossed my mind a few times, I’m just not sure if it would be for the best,” he shrugged.