Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(35)

"I'm making a sandwich." She trotted off to the kitchen. She could hear them whispering, but Dani'd had enough for one day.

"So, I'm going to go back to school and try to pretend I'm not a  black-eyed, bloodsucking freak," she announced, returning with a  ham-and-cheese sandwich in one hand and a glass of tea in the other.

"I'd like to clear up this notion you have about being a freak." Mason  was obviously starting to take her criticism of his race personally.  "Vampires and humans have the same basic genetic makeup, with a few DNA  mutations. We aren't dead and we aren't immortal. We need blood to  survive just like we need food and water. We don't catch human diseases,  due to our strong immune systems. We're faster and stronger, with more  acute senses, and some of us have extrasensory abilities. These  abilities are not evil magic but naturally occurring gifts caused by the  fact that large parts of the human brain that are not used are active  in adult vampires. We can live a very long time if we take care of  ourselves, or we can die from massive blood loss, though our strength  and healing abilities make us hard to kill. Now that we have that  straight, I'm going to have to arrange for some security for you. If the  monster out there taking our kids gets his hands on you again, he will  kill you for your power." Mason was dead serious, and her mother began  to slump over in her seat like she'd pass out. Dani was still trying to  absorb the Vamp 101 he'd just barked at her.         

     



 

Mason reached over and patted Tessa's leg. "It'll be alright, Tessa. I'll protect her."

"How do you plan on doing that without Griffin knowing who she is?" she asked him.

"Griffin has already offered her protection. I'm going to a council  meeting tomorrow, and I'm sure Griffin will tell us about her. I will,  naturally, offer my services to protect our newfound miracle child,"  Mason reasoned.

"I'm not going to stop going to school. If I can't go to school, I'll just stay home," Dani snapped.

"Danielle, the safest place for you now is going to be close to Mason,"  Tessa told her and turned to Mason. "She can still go to school since  you live close, right?"

"I think I should go to this meeting and see what I can do without  attracting attention to myself, unless you're ready for them to know  about the two of you." He looked at them both.

"No!" Tessa shouted.

"Mom, I'm not ready either, but I don't think it'll be long before  Griffin starts asking questions. I told him a huge lie, and he seems  like the sort of guy who might try to check out my story. Especially  after I put him under and ran away. How pissed do you think he will be?"  She wrinkled her forehead.

"I'm afraid she's right, Tessa. It should be funny to see what happens  when these two go head-to-head. She seems to have his temper." The  corners of his lips lifted just a bit.

"It's this damn change! She was the mildest-mannered girl. She's changed  so much in the last month. You see the red in her hair? It wasn't there  the last time I saw her, and she has never raised her voice to me." Her  poor mother began to visibly shake.

Dani went down on her knees in front of her and laid her head in her  lap. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I wish I could take it back, but I don't think I  can. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just upset at the shock of  everything that's happened. I'm afraid," she whispered.

"You should both know we have security-a small army of warriors,  actually. I'm sure they'll assign a couple to watch over you until we  figure out what's going on with the kids." Mason was trying to console  Tessa more than Dani.

"Great. I'm sure I won't stand out at all around campus," she spat  sarcastically. "Is there anything special I should know? I was hoping  for a handbook on vampirism and a secret handshake. If not, everyone  would know about ‘us.'" She drew out the last word. "I'm ready to get  out of here for a while. This is all too much."

"Of course there are laws. Laws you must follow or face the  consequences, just like in human society. You can't tell anyone about  us, obviously. We don't kill. We only take what we need, and we erase  the memory of those we feed from. Don't feed in public, if possible, due  to the risk of exposure. You should try to feed every few days, by the  way. Of course, you are unique, so you may be able to go longer, but I  wouldn't wait until you are starving. That makes it harder to stop," he  said solemnly and looked at her mother with an apology in his beautiful  blue-green eyes.

"I don't know how to erase memories, and how am I supposed to get  anybody to follow me? I've never seen a vampire feed in public or drag  off an unwilling person screaming in terror." She was ashamed of having  to ask in front of her mother.

"You have quite a gift for mind control. Just tell them to follow you  and they will. When you're done, tell them to forget about you, unless  it is someone you use regularly, which I suggest. If you have regular  hosts, you won't have to hunt for blood. In that case, just tell them to  forget that period of time. You should know that it can be a very  sensual experience once you come of age. So it won't be painful for the  human after the bite." Now he looked embarrassed for having to tell her  that in front of her mom.

"Just so the two of you know, I was bonded to a vampire for two years. I  do know that they have to feed, and I was bitten frequently, so I know  exactly what you're talking about. There's no need to be bashful," Tessa  scolded.

"Sorry, Mom, I actually didn't know you were married, or bonded. I'm  still trying to figure myself out. I haven't had time to think about  what this all means for you. Believe it or not, I can understand just a  sliver of how you might have felt in the beginning. There is this guy I  had been talking to, and after I decided I had real feelings for him,  his fiancée showed up. He is going to be bonded to this mean, but  absolutely beautiful, girl. He says it's been arranged by his parents  and it's an obligation he can't get out of. So I won't talk to him  anymore, because it hurts too badly. I guess it's better this way. I bet  he wouldn't want me anyway if he knew I'm a half-breed freak, not to  mention his family's reaction. I don't think anyone is going to want me  or my mixed-up human-vamp babies."         

     



 

"Danielle, I would be proud to have you as my daughter-in-law. I am  proud to be your godfather, and your father loved your mother and you  more than anything. He loved to feel you moving in your mother's belly,  and the joy in his heart when you were born was overwhelming. I think  you will feel differently about the future once all this is settled. I  will grant you that my point of view is not common, but we'll find a way  to work it out. You should focus on getting used to the change before  you start worrying about other things."

Tessa was crying again, and Dani couldn't deal with it anymore. "Mom,  I'm going to go see if I can find Lucas. I just need to think about  something else for a while."

Tessa nodded through her sniffles.

"Mason, is there a number where I can reach you if I need to?"

He gave Dani the number. She called him after programming it into her  phone so he would have her number. Before she left, he stood and hugged  her. Amazingly, he smelled like summer. It brought a tear to her eye.  She hadn't smelled anything like that since the last time she was with  Chase. She couldn't speak, so she just left.

Walking down her street felt so lonely. She felt like an alien no matter  where she went. She didn't belong in either of the worlds she was a  part of, and nobody really knew her anymore. She didn't even know  herself.





It wasn't a long walk from her house to Lucas's, so Dani took her time.  She had no idea what she was going to say when she got there, or why  she was going to his house. Maybe she just needed to feel something  familiar. She'd thought about calling him to see if he even wanted to  see her but had changed her mind. If he said he didn't want to see her,  she would just go home. The moon was full, and its light cast an  otherworldly glow over everything. She felt like the alien she was. She  wondered if there would ever be a sense of being normal or belonging  again. She'd walked those same streets for years, but they felt so  strange that night. The stars looked like strangers staring down at her,  instead of the constellations she used to be able to name. She could  see everything, just like it was daytime. That had changed since the  night before, and vampire vision could be a plus.

Walking down Lucas's street made her heart start to pound. The last time  she'd seen him had been a really bad day for her. She arrived at his  house and anxiety tied a knot in her gut. All the downstairs lights were  on. She could see his mom and brothers playing cards at the dining room  table through the living room windows. She'd sat at that table with  them hundreds of times and played more hands of cards than she could  count.