Between Rubies and Opals

Nikolai and Lukas stood in the foyer as the black car pulled up onto the long driveway and parked on the white gravel.

“Is that Erina?” Lukas asked, almost too afraid to do so.

“It’s not her car, but I think it is her. I can smell Alex,” Nikolai nodded.

The two vamps watched as the back door opened and Alex climbed out of the car.

“There’s Alex.”

“I can see that.” Nikolai let out a sardonic laugh and rolled his eyes at Lukas. “Just compose yourself.”

The two front doors opened and Erin was the first of the two to climb out.

Lukas’ eyebrows shot up and he shifted around uncomfortably. “She looks beautiful.”

“Stop salivating all over yourself.” Nikolai crossed his arms, shaking his head at Lukas. “You are not a mutt.”

“I’m not salivating,” Lukas contended and scowled when Nikolai raised an unconvinced eyebrow at him.

As Sam slowly climbed out of the car, still with his back to the two vamps in the foyer, Erin walked over to him, taking his hand.

“He’s so tall, and so burly. He does look like a Podolski, doesn’t he?” Lukas frowned, but Nikolai stood with narrowed eyes, not moving. Only focusing on Sam.

As Sam turned towards the foyer, coming into full view of Nikolai, Nikolai let out an angry hiss and his eyes flashed viciously.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Nikolai growled under his breath.

“Who?”

“Morton.”

At the mention of Sam’s last name, Lukas also let out a hiss and his fangs shot out within an instant, his dark eyes flashing. “Erina is dating a wolf?”

Nikolai looked at Lukas in disbelief and then looked back at Erin and Sam, walking hand in hand towards them, with Alex following closely behind them.

“Does Alex know?” Lukas asked.

“I have no idea, but something must be done about this.” Nikolai shoved the doors open with force and Erin looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Erina, have you lost your mind?” Nikolai bellowed.

Alex stood next to Erin and held her hands up defensively. “Nikolai-”

“Don’t even bother, Alex.” Erin held out her hand, motioning towards Alex. “Hello to you too.” Erin raised a displeased eyebrow at him.

“What are you doing here, wolf?” Lukas spat at him.

“Hey, take it easy,” Erin growled at Lukas. “He’s with me.”

“I’ve noticed that,” Lukas muttered.

“You must be Lukas,” Sam said flatly. “I hear you’ve been stalking Erin.”

“Sam…” Erin whispered to him. “Don’t.”

Sam glared up at Nikolai and his nostrils flared. “Nikolai.”

“You have no place uttering my name, you filthy animal.”

“Nikolai, you will not speak to Sam in such a way. Why can’t you just tolerate him, for one night, for me? Do I not deserve that?” Erin frowned at him.

“Do not try to use our sibling status to manipulate me. There is one thing much more important than family loyalty, and that is race loyalty,” Nikolai stated, switching glances between Erin and Sam. “I think that it is best if your filthy boyfriend leaves, right now, before something unfortunate happens.”

“No!” Erin took a step forward, pulling Sam along with her.

“He’s not coming in here, Erina.” Nikolai shook his head as his stance turned attacking.

“Oh yes, he is!” Erin’s eyes flashed and her fangs protruded through her pretty pink lips.

“Spare your breath, Erina. Your fangs do not impress, or intimidate me,” Nikolai said flatly, not at all fazed by Erin and her developing anger. “Leave mutt. You are not welcome here.”

“It’s your sister’s birthday, Nikolai,” Alex frowned. “Surely you can make one exception-”

“I will do nothing of the sort! He is to leave this property at once,” Nikolai bellowed again..

“How can you be like this?” Alex asked.

“Easy, Lex. He has less emotion than a stone.” Erin shook her head and looked at Nikolai.

“I know when something is a lost cause, and when it’s time to cut my losses and move on,” Nikolai glared at Sam.

“You’re overreacting, and ripping this completely out of proportion!” Erin exclaimed at Nikolai through her fangs.

“You bring a wolf to our home and you have the audacity to tell me that I am overreacting?” Nikolai snapped at her.

“You have no right to throw your prejudice around merely because he is a wolf,” Erin exclaimed again. “You don’t even know him! How can you make any kind of judgment call, solely on which race he is?”

“Your idealism will be the death of you, Erina,” Nikolai hissed.

“As I will be the death of you, vamp scum,” Sam growled.

“Enough, both of you!” Erin exclaimed.

Nikolai and Sam kept glaring at one another and Erin growled angrily, placing herself between them.

“He is not welcome on our property,” Nikolai hissed.

“Well, if he’s not welcome here, then neither am I,” Erin stated.

“Stop this insane behavior, and come inside. Your friends are waiting for you,” Nikolai said to her.

Erin shook her head in disapproval and turned to Sam. “Can you go wait in the car, please?”

“I don’t want you alone with him-” Sam whispered, turning away from Lukas and Nikolai.

“I’m not going anywhere with him, I’ll be right here. I just need to speak to my brother for a second.”

Sam nodded and looked at her. “Okay. I’ll be in the car.”

Erin watched as Sam reluctantly walked back to his car and turned her attention back to Lukas and Nikolai, when Sam was safely out of reach.

“You’re such a self-righteous asshole,” Erin scowled at him.

“How on earth did you come to that conclusion, dear sister?” Nikolai frowned and crossed his arms.

“I hate that you feel the way you do about the wolves, but just the fact that you don’t want to make an exception for Sam, it breaks my heart.”

“You’re a vamp, you don’t have a heart.”

“I do actually. You’re the one that doesn’t have a heart. No emotions. Nothing.” Erin crossed her arms and looked at Nikolai again. “Why couldn’t you just be nice to him, for me?”

“Nice to him? You cannot be serious.”

“I am serious, Nikolai.”

“That’s preposterous. Be nice to a mutt,” Lukas laughed sarcastically.

“Why don’t you go ask him why I can’t be nice to him?” Nikolai narrowed his eyes at her.

“What do you mean? I don’t-”

“Just go ask him, Erina.” Nikolai turned away slightly and frowned. “Come inside when you’re done.”

“Like I said, if he’s not welcome here, then neither am I.” Erin raised her chin slightly, not backing down.

“You are a traitor to your kind, sister.” Nikolai’s eyes flashed and he shook his head. “Why don’t you just leave? Take your mutt home, he’s not wanted here, and neither are you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Nikolai. This is her home,” Alex interjected.

“No, it’s not. She just made it perfectly clear whose company she prefers.” Nikolai shook his head again and looked at Erin. “I thought you were better than this.”

“Honestly, so did I,” Erin frowned and turned to Alex. “Lex, are you-”

“I’ll be okay, Erin. You just go.”

“Are you sure?” Erin asked with an apologetic look on her face.

“Don’t worry about Alex,” Nikolai scowled. “We vamps take care of our own kind.”

“Okay, then,” Erin said with a nod, turned on her heel and made her way down the front steps, across the gravel towards Sam’s black car.

As the car pulled away, Nikolai and Lukas stormed inside, and as they entered the long hallway leading to the ballroom, Cassandra and Arjen emerged from the shadows.

“Was that Erin I heard outside?” Cassandra asked.

“Yes. She was here,” Lukas answered with a nod.

“Was?” Arjen asked.

“Yes,” Nikolai nodded.

“Well, where is she now?” Cassandra asked impatiently.

“I chased her away.”

“What?” Cassandra gasped.

“Why?” Arjen asked.

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“I’m asking you, Nikolai. Why would you do such a thing?” Arjen growled.

“She brought a wolf to our house!”

“What?” Cassandra gasped.

“Erin’s new boyfriend is a wolf,” Lukas stated.

“A wolf! That cannot be!” Cassandra gasped again.

“Yes, he is the son of that conniving Senator Morton!”

“No…” Cassandra gasped.

“And she made it perfectly clear that her loyalty now lies with him,” Lukas growled.

“Nikolai, you should not have chased her away. The guests are-” Cassandra frowned and motioned to the ballroom.

“Screw the guests!” Arjen snapped his head towards Cassandra.

“That is unacceptable behavior, from both of you!” Cassandra narrowed her eyes at Arjen.

“Where is she now?” Arjen asked, disregarding Cassandra’s statement.

“Probably at his house,” Lukas muttered.

“My daughter will under no circumstances betray her family for those filthy animals!”

“Newsflash, Mother. She just did,” Nikolai scowled.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Cassandra exclaimed angrily.

“Go tell the guests that the party is cancelled,” Arjen ordered.

“But-”

“No, Cassandra. There’s no point in continuing with the celebration if Erin is not here,” Arjen said firmly.

“Very well.” Cassandra heaved a sigh and disappeared into the ballroom.

“She loves him, you know,” Alex blurted out suddenly, and Nikolai looked at her with an exasperated look.

“Have you also gone completely mad, Alex?” Nikolai asked in disbelief.

Alex shook her head and looked at Nikolai. “Erin loves Sam.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard!” The loudness in Lukas’ voice both surprised and startled Alex and Nikolai.

Alex whirled around and glared at Lukas. “What the hell do you know about love?”

“Clearly a lot more than you,” Lukas hissed.

“Stop your petty bickering,” Nikolai muttered, and a low growl escaped from his chest. “Something needs to be done about this.”

“What are you going to do?” Alex asked.

“Sam needs to be reminded of what he is, and how he should behave,” Nikolai hissed.

“No, you can’t do that!”

“Are you siding with them, Alex?”

“No, of course not, I-”

“Good, because if you’re not on our side, I can just kill you now,” Nikolai glowered. “Do you want me to do that?”

Alex hesitated for a second, and when Nikolai crossed his arms impatiently, she shook her head.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Nikolai muttered and turned away, disappearing down the corridor.

Sam burst through the door of his apartment, with Erin following behind him, and pulled his jacket off, throwing it on the couch in front of him.

“Well, that was a disaster!” Erin exclaimed, closing the door behind her and put her hands on her hips.

“That may be the understatement of the century.” Sam threw his keys onto the table. “At least I got to see some of the manor.”

“We weren’t even in the foyer, Sam,” Erin frowned and shook her head.

“That’s not my fault, that brother of yours-”

“You know him, don’t you?” Erin narrowed her eyes at Sam and he glared at her angrily.

“Did he tell you that?”

“He told me that there’s a reason why he can’t be nice to you, and I’m guessing it’s not only because you’re a wolf,” she stated and crossed her arms. “What’s with you and him?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, I’ve got all eternity. So go ahead.”

Sam undid his tie and looked at her, reluctantly. “We go way back.”

“What do you mean you go way back? How do you know him, and how does he know you?”

“I wouldn’t say I know him, but we’ve encountered one another quite a few times.”

“Encountered.” Erin raised her eyebrows and shook her head in disapproval. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“It’s far worse than it sounds, trust me.”

She walked over to him and looked up at him. “Tell me.”

“It was about two and a half centuries ago.”

“Whoa, that is far back.”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded and looked at her, his jaw clenched and his eyes were angry.

“How did you meet?” she asked, slowly and softly.

“He was one of the vamps responsible for my mother’s death.”

“What?”

“He helped kill my mother.”

“Oh hell, you’re serious,” Erin gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. “Just him?”

“No, with a few of his coven at that stage.”

Erin noticed the shallow tears in his eyes and took a step towards him. “Sam, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You will never understand how much I hate him,” Sam muttered through his teeth.

“You don’t have to explain…”

Sam was standing a few feet away from her, his fists clenched. His blood boiled in his veins and he knew he was on the verge of losing it. He could feel his animal anger fill up inside him, and all he knew was that Erin had to get as far away from him as possible. Were the Blinders wearing off already? A growl escaped his throat and the familiar ringing in his ears, which indicated that he was soon to transform, became increasingly louder. “I think you should leave, Erin.”

“No, I want to stay.”

“Trust me, you need to leave.”

“Why?”

Sam pointed to the sky and Erin noticed the full moon through the window. “It’s full moon, so what? You’ve still got your blinders on.”

“I think they’re wearing off.”

“No.” She looked back at Sam and shook her head. “I’m not going to leave you, Sam.”

“You have to leave. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You can’t hurt me, I’m a vamp, remember?”

“Erin, go! I don’t want you here!” Sam shouted and the loudness of his voice made her jump slightly.

Erin pursed her lips wordlessly, turned around and left the room. Sam let out a few raspy breaths and frowned to himself, as his rage slowly faded away. Realizing exactly what he had said to Erin, he called out to her, “Erin!” He sped through the house, and caught her just in time as she opened the front door. “Erin, wait!”

“You don’t want me here, remember?” She had tears in her eyes and didn’t even want to look at him.

“Erin, just hear me out, please.” He grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. The terrified look on her face made him loosen his grip on her wrists and she looked up at him.

“What?”

“Baby, I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“I thought you don’t want me here,” she whispered back at him.

“No, I do. I do. I’m sorry.” He pulled her close to him and held her tight. “I don’t want you to leave. Ever.”

“I’ll stay for as long as you want me to, Sam…” She looked up at him, and he touched her chin lightly.

“Full moon makes me go a little crazy. It’s when everything shifts around. I tend to be a bit of a dick.”

Erin sniffed and nodded slightly. “You think?”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You didn’t deserve that,” Sam frowned and took her hands in his.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have yelled.”

“Your brother seems to bring out the worst in me.”

“He does that to me too.”

“This definitely was not the way that I pictured your birthday would turn out.”

“Sam, it’s okay. I’ve realized today which people are truly important to me, even if it hurts to know that my brother hates me now,” Erin whispered and looked at Sam’s blue eyes. “But we don’t ever have to go back there ever again, okay? I’ll never let him come near you.”

“I can’t ask you to abandon your family, for me. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Sam, you are my family,” Erin whispered. “And you’re the only family I need.”

He looked at her, running his thumb down the side of her face. “You’re the most important thing to me, I hope you know that.”

When Erin nodded wordlessly, he whispered, “And as cliché as this may sound, the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew that you were the One.”

“There, in the Laundromat?”

“Right before you knocked over the detergent,” Sam nodded with a smile.

“Shit, you saw that, huh?”

“I did. You were beautiful, and you still are.”

Erin giggled and shook her head in embarrassment. “That has to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“People are jerks.” Sam smiled at her, his blue eyes dancing with mischief.

“What?” Erin asked, with a suspicious look in her own eyes.

“I was just thinking about you being a hybrid.”

“What about me being a hybrid?”

“Can you transform?”

“I have no idea,” she said with a frown. “Maybe it has something to do with my necklace. Seeing as it suppresses my wolf urges.”

“What would happen if you took it off?”

“I don’t know.” Erin touched the stones in her necklace and looked at Sam. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Honestly, baby, I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Sam warned.

“Why?”

“Transforming for the first time is the most horrible thing. I don’t want you to go through that.”

Erin took a deep breath and looked at Sam, her hands shaking. “Well, I’d like to see you transform.”

“No.” Sam shook his head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever been close to a wolf when he transforms?”

“No, but-”

“Let’s keep it that way.” Sam frowned at the thought, but quickly vanquished the memory of his first transformation from his mind. “Why did you think I asked you to leave?”

“Were you going to transform?”

“It felt like it, but it was probably only my body fighting those Blinders,” Sam answered and rubbed his eyes.

“If you’re worried that you’ll hurt me, don’t be. I can take care of myself.”

“You’re way too optimistic.”

“One of my better traits,” she shrugged with a grin.

“I’ve noticed, but seriously, when we transform, we lose all sense of what’s wrong and what’s right.”

“Yeah, when sense and logic goes out the cage,” Erin nodded. “Not that we have much sense and logic to start off with.”

“The answer is still no.”

“Oh come on, Sam. It can’t be that bad.”

“Transforming is brutal the first time around. Some wolves still break more than one limb at a time when they do. Some can handle it, and some can’t.”

“Well, then there’s only one way we’ll find out if I can handle it.” Erin slowly took the necklace off and Sam’s eyes widened.

“Erin…”

“It’s okay.” She looked at him reassuringly. She dropped the necklace a few feet from her and it landed with a thump on the ground. A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. Erin frowned and looked at Sam, but when he shook his head, her shoulders slumped.

“Why isn’t anything happening?”

“I don’t know, Erin, maybe you’ve been wearing that necklace for so long that it…”

“That it what?” Erin frowned and looked at his face. His blue eyes were wide again, but this time he looked terrified. “Sam?”

“Erin, your eyes.”

“What about-”

Before Erin could finish her question, a hellish flaming inferno shot through her body and it felt like molten lava pulsated through her veins. She let out a deafening scream and fell to the ground.

“Erin!”

Alex rushed through the double doors of the library and spotted Nikolai angrily pacing the room, his jaw tightly clenched. “Nikolai-”

“Not now, Alex!” he growled.

Alex stopped abruptly and snapped her mouth shut. She watched as Nikolai ran his fingers through his hair and looked at her, his amber eyes flashing viciously. Alex felt a stirring deep inside her as his serious and pensive expression bore into her soul.

“He’s a wolf.”

“Yes, he’s a wolf,” Alex said as she took a few steps towards him.

“You knew all this time and you never thought to mention it to anyone?”

“Well, I-”

“Alex! My sister could have been killed.”

“Erin can take care of herself, you know. She’s not a defenseless little vamp anymore.”

“Regardless, those wolves are dangerous! He could have easily killed her.”

“You don’t give a shit about your sister! You just proved it by chasing her away!”

“She brought a mutt to our house!”

“Is that really what this is about?” Alex narrowed her eyes at him.

“I do not have ulterior motives, so do not dare accuse of that.”

“You’re so full of shit.”

“I can say the same about you.”

“What did he do to you, huh? Tell me.”

“I am not even going to dignify that with a response.”

“Because there’s no possible way that you can justify your behavior.”

“You know nothing, Alex.”

“You’re such a fucking idiot,” Alex snapped and crossed her arms.

“How dare you, insult me in my own home?”

“Oh, get over it already.”

“What I can’t seem to get over, as you so nonchalantly expressed, is that you kept this to yourself.”

“It wasn’t my story to tell. I would never tell on Erin, she’s my best friend!”

“Not even when her life is at stake?”

“She is perfectly safe with him, Nikolai!”

“Are you sure about that?” Nikolai took a few steps towards her, and stopped in front of her.

“Yes, I am.”

“I don’t think so, and I know you don’t think so either.”

“Not everyone is a vengeful racist asshole like you, Nikolai!” Alex hissed through her teeth.

Nikolai suddenly grabbed her wrists, holding them in place. “Rather a racist than a naïve self-righteous vampslut!”

“Get your hands off me,” she hissed again.

“Make me.”

The two vamps glared at one another, baring their fangs. Alex struggled as she fought against Nikolai’s tight grasp. She was not used to his grip, and it was starting to become uncomfortable.

“Let go of me!” she gritted her teeth.

“You’re not as tough as you look,” he snarled and let go of her.

She rubbed her wrists for a second and noticed a small tear on her sleeve. “Really?”

“What now?”

“You tore my sleeve.”

“I didn’t tear anything,” he muttered and turned to walk away.

“Fucking asshole,” Alex growled and shook her head, thankful that he moved out of her space.

For a minute she was so tempted to kiss him, and the anger seemed to fuel her desire for him. She breathed a silent sigh of relief that it was over before it even began, because she knew, when it came to Nikolai, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

“What did you say to me?”

She looked up at him, glaring at her with those amber eyes, his hands quivering at his sides.

“You heard me,” she answered, her voice slightly hushed, her tone lower than usual. “You ripped my dress.”

Within an instant, he was in front of her again, his body inches away from hers, their lips inches apart.

“I ripped your dress?” he growled in a husky voice.

A voice filled with desire.

“Yes, you did.”

“That’s not a rip, Alex,” he smirked at her.

He raised his hands up to her chest, running his fingers over the lace part of her dress. He grabbed hold of the soft material and abruptly ripped it apart, revealing her tight cleavage. She let out a moan, which was more from pleasure than from shock, as she felt the desire pumping through her veins. He moved in closer, and whispered in her ear, in a low and sexy voice, “That’s what you call a rip.”

Alex moved her hands up to his shirt and in one smooth and fluid motion, she ripped his shirt open. “Right back at ya.”

He grabbed her wrists, shoving her up against the large wooden bookshelf behind her with ease. “You owe me a new shirt.”

“I owe you nothing. Now stop pushing me around, you jerk,” she growled against his lips.

He let go of her hands, grabbed hold of the skirt of her dress, and ripped a high slit on the right side of it.

She cried out in horror and suddenly slapped him across the face. “Would you stop that already?”

“It actually looks better like this,” he smirked and grabbed her thigh, pushing her leg up. He urged himself up against her and she felt his growing erection against the soft skin of her inner thigh.

“That’s because it makes me look like a slut.” She let out a low growl as he pounded his hips against hers, running his nails along the skin of her thigh. Shivers of passion ran up her spine and she grabbed hold of his shoulders.

“Whatever gets me off, right?” Nikolai’s hands went under her dress, and effortlessly ripped Alex’s underwear off her lower body.

“Fuck, are you going to rip everything?” she muttered as her underwear dropped to the ground.

“You have no idea what I am capable of.” His voice was angry, and smoldering.

“Neither do you.” Alex grabbed hold of his pants, undoing it, and let it fall to the floor. She raised an eyebrow at his rock hard erection and looked at him, slowly licking her lips. He groaned wildly as she grabbed his shaft, and looked at her, his eyes dancing viciously.

Grabbing her semi revealed breasts, their eyes locked, but they said nothing. She brought her leg up again, demanding to be acknowledged, and he pressed his nails into her skin.

“Take it,” she growled at him, her fangs glistening in the moonlight.

There was a look in Nikolai’s eyes that she had never seen before, as he forced his pulsating erection inside her, thrusting her against the bookcase. It definitely shocked her, the sudden movement of his hips, his nails digging into her skin, but she didn’t care. The sexual tension was being satiated and she just went along with it, savoring every second with this enraged creature of the night.

As Alex’s line between pleasure and pain was very fine, she screamed out a few times and he narrowed his eyes at her.

“You don’t like that?” he spat sardonically.

“Just shut your fucking mouth and fuck me,” she hissed.

Nikolai let out a deep growl from deep inside him and grabbed Alex around the neck. “You have a dirty mouth.”

“What are you doing to do, choke me to death?” she asked sarcastically.

Nikolai gritted his teeth and started pounding his erection deeper inside Alex, holding her in place against the bookcase.

With every powerful thrust, books were shoved off the shelves, landing on the floor by their feet. Moans escaped Alex’s throat involuntarily even though Nikolai’s hand was tightly wrapped around her neck, still holding her in place. Then, without warning, he leaned forward, and sunk his fangs into the soft skin above her breast, still pounding into her.

As blood trickled down from the wound into her cleavage, he withdrew his fangs and glared at her. There was blood on his lips and without hesitation, she forcefully pressed her mouth against his, tasting herself on his lips, his tongue. His grip on her neck loosened as he grabbed her long blonde hair, abruptly tilting her head back, revealing her silky smooth neck. He plunged his fangs into the soft flesh and she gasped. The pressure that had built for almost two hundred years, when she first saw Nikolai, was at a climax, and so was Alex.

“Don’t stop,” she begged, entangling her fingers in his disheveled brown hair. “Please don’t stop.”

A violent and soul-destroying orgasm ripped through Alex’s body, and she could feel Nikolai’s whole body stiffen at his impending orgasm, as she tightened around him.

“Damned fuck.” A deep growl escaped from Nikolai’s throat as his thrusting slowed down, ultimately coming to a complete halt.

Alex parted her lips as she and Nikolai simply stared at one another, their breathing ragged.

“This changes nothing,” Nikolai breathed eventually, slowly wiping Alex’s blood from the side of his mouth, backing away from her slowly.

“Yeah, you’re still an asshole,” Alex whispered, as she watched him pull up his pants.

“And you’re still a slut,” he said flatly, grabbing his jacket, heading for the door.

“Hey!” Alex called out to him.

He turned by the door and looked at her with a frown.

“You owe me a new dress.”

“In your dreams. I owe you nothing,” he muttered, making his way over to the door and left the room.

Alex ran her fingers through her hair and sighed miserably, looking down at her tattered dress. “Shit…” she muttered to herself.

Erin felt as if she was underwater, deep underwater, drifting along with the current. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the darkness around her. Everything was fuzzy, but Sam’s voice was as clear as daylight to her.

“Erin?”

“Sam?”

“I’m here.”

Her eyes focused and she looked up at him, kneeling next to her. “What happened?”

Sam had a relieved look on his face and wiped the beads of sweat from Erin’s forehead. “You passed out a little.”

“I kind of figured, but what happened before that?”

Sam flashed a proud smile and tinkered with the necklace that was now wrapped around his wrist. Erin sat up slowly and felt her head spin, so she eased herself back down again.

“Easy.”

“Sam, what happened?”

“You transformed.”

“I did? Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Is that why I feel like I was run over by a train?”

“That’s about right yeah,” Sam chuckled. “It should go away in a few minutes.”

“Was I horrendous?”

“Not even close.” Sam leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. “You were beautiful.”

As Sam pulled away slowly, she noticed the frost on his hair and on the shoulder of his jacket. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt the coolness of the snow against her warm skin. The ground underneath her was also cold and as she sat up slowly, her hands sunk down into the snow.

“Sam?” she frowned and looked around her. Her surroundings caught her completely off guard and she gasped. “Are we on Telstrofe?”

“Yes, we are,” he answered with a nod and she continued to look around her, with a look of disbelief and awe on her face.

They were on top of Telstrofe Mountain, that was covered in snow. It was dark already, and she could see the whole of Algharakh down below, lit up in lights. She shook her head in disbelief, as she slowly stood up, with help from Sam, and she looked at him.

“How the hell did we get up here?”

“It’s my special ability,” Sam grinned at her.

“Nobody’s that fast.” She crossed her arms and cocked her head at him.

“I teleported us.”

“You can teleport,” Erin whispered. “That’s amazing.”

Sam chuckled and looked away shyly.

“So why here?”

“This is where I go when I want to escape from the world.”

“It’s beautiful. It’s so far away from everything.” Erin spent another few seconds looking down at the spectacular view in front of her, and frowned suddenly.

“Sam? What did I look like?”

“Your fur is ice white, with a dark gray patch on the one side of your right loin, and your eyes are greener than those emeralds in your necklace.”

“What did I do? Did I pounce on you, or go running off into the distance?”

“No, you laid on the ground, whimpering like an abandoned pup. Like the world is a sad place to live in.”

“The world is a sad place to live in, Sam.”

“Not when you’re around me.”

“That’s true,” Erin grinned, but her grin faded quickly as she looked at Sam. “So I didn’t try to attack you?”

“Why would you attack me?”

“I don’t know. I’m not exactly the expert in these things, you know.”

“Erin, listen to me.” Sam cradled her face with both his hands. “The only one that can control you when you transform, is you. We’re not influenced by the moon, or Opals, or anything else in that regard. Nothing influences our actions, only we do.”

“So you’re free,” Erin whispered.

“Free in a sense, yes,” Sam shrugged.

“Why in a sense? Isn’t it ideal to not be influenced by anything or anyone about the decisions that they make?” Erin asked.

“I suppose,” Sam said, looking at her with a slight smile. “Aren’t you free from influence?”

“Not when there are rubies around me. They make me crazy.”

“And you’re not crazy already?” Sam winked at her.

“Shut up.” Erin smacked his arm playfully and rolled her eyes. “What I meant was that being a vamp is not as picture perfect as others think. We’re bound by something much more commanding, something that alters our thinking, that rules us. As much as we want to, there’s one thing that we can never escape from.”

“Blood,” Sam said and Erin confirmed with a nod.

“Correct,” Erin said and looked out at Algharakh.

“Has blood ever influenced you negatively?”

“Not really. It has never made me lose control as the rubies have, but now knowing that I’m a hybrid, it makes perfect sense,” Erin sighed and crossed her arms. “I think I have to tell them.”

“Tell them what?”

“That I’m a hybrid.”

“Erin, you can’t do that. They’ll kill you.”

“No, they won’t.”

“Did you forget how your brother reacted when he saw me? What do you think they will do to you if they find out that you’re half-wolf?”

“But Sam-”

“I honestly don’t think this is a good idea.”

“That’s what you said about me transforming, and everything turned out fine,” Erin said with a frown and turned to him. “Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Funny enough, I asked myself that same question right before your brother almost went psycho on me at the manor.”

“That’s so not funny. He could have killed you.”

“He wishes,” Sam snorted.

“He’s an Originalus offspring, Sam.”

“And I’m a Morton offspring, so what?”

“You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“I can handle him. Besides, we’re much stronger than them.”

“There’s no way.”

“Doubting me, I see.”

“I do not doubt your skills, Sam. It’s just vamps are fast and lethal.”

“That may be, but we’re stronger and faster.”

“Really?” Erin smirked slightly and watched Sam trying to prove himself the superior being.

“Would I lie to you?” Sam frowned and held up his hands. “Our claws are much sharper than any vamp’s.”

“They were pretty gentle with me last night?”

A slight flush on Sam’s cheeks made her smiled and he shook his head shyly. “That’s different.”

“I know.”

Sam winked at her, dug his hands into the front pockets of his jacket and looked out at the night sky. “They are a bunch of cowards, though.”

“Why do you say that?”

“They’ll never attack more than one of us at a time. They’ll be outnumbered if they had to fight us one-on-one. We could kill them within half a heartbeat.”

“Really?”

“Doubting again?”

“Not at all. What you’re saying makes a lot of sense, actually.” Erin nodded and rested her head against his chest. “I sort of feel like an outcast now. I’m not a vamp, but I’m not quite a wolf either.”

“You’ll never be an outcast to me, and seeing as you’re half wolf, you’re allowed to join my pack.”

“I feel flattered.”

“You should, it’s a very exclusive pack.”

“So who’s in your exclusive pack?”

“Well, there’s me, and you, and Gowan, and Vikki.”

“Wow, that’s quite a pack you have there,” Erin laughed.

“Don’t mock us, we’re pretty lethal. Especially Vik. She can decapitate a vamp without even breaking a sweat.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second. She’s one badass wolf.”

“She knows it too.”

There was a moment of complete silence between the two of them and Sam put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

“You’re the first person that I’ve brought up here, ever.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Sam turned to Erin with a smile. “Any time.”