Between Rubies and Opals

As soon as Sam saw Erin enter through the heavy wooden doors of the Manor, he walked up to her. Her arms were already opened, and even though he was more than a foot taller than her, he fell into her arms. The two of them slowly sunk down onto the floor and Erin just held on to Sam as if her life depended on it, having no intention of ever letting go.

“It’s okay,” she whispered and he raised his head, looking at her.

“Thank you for coming,” he whispered, with his eyes closed.

“Of course. I’ll always come if you need me,” she smiled weakly and ran her fingers through his hair. “What exactly happened?”

“Everything happened so fast actually,” Sam answered with a frown and pulled away slightly. “The one moment everything was still pretty normal, the next moment there were gunshots all around, guards were there with artillery vehicles. Things got out of hand pretty fast.”

Erin pursed her lips and looked at Sam, her heart aching at his expression. She brushed his cheek and waited for him to carry on.

“At one point, I lost Gowan. There were just too many people around me, running around, fighting. Then I saw him fighting with a guard, and Lee was already dead. The guard killed him.” Sam’s voice started cracking and his eyes filled with tears. “I got attacked by a guard and I don’t know what happened. I kind of winked out a bit. The next thing I knew, the guard was dead, and Gowan was trying to bring Lee back, but it was too late.”

“Sam, it’s okay,” she whispered. “How is Gowan?”

“Not good. That pup was his everything, but he hides his pain well.” Sam took a deep breath and shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have prevented it from happening any less than I could have.”

“I could have-”

“No, Sam,” Erin said with a frown and shook her head. “Look at me.”

Sam raised his head slowly and looked at her, his eyes red and filled with heartache. Erin cradled his face with her hands and frowned. “This was not your fault, okay?”

“But-”

“But nothing, Sam.”

Sam nodded sadly and wrapped his fingers around her wrists.

“Sam? What were you doing at the protest anyway?”

“Gowan asked me to go, he was worried about Lee. For good reason.”

“So it’s not because you hate all vamps?” Erin raised an eyebrow at him.

“Not all of them, no.”

Erin smiled slightly and kissed Sam’s forehead. “I’m glad that you’re okay.”

“We’re tougher than you think.”

Erin and Sam looked over their shoulders at Gowan, standing by the fireplace.

“Gow…” Sam stood up slowly and helped Erin up from the floor.

Erin walked up to him, stopping a few feet away from him. His black curls were wildly framing his equally distraught facial expression and his eyes were even more blood-shot than Sam’s.

“Gowan, I’m so sorry,” Erin whispered and Gowan nodded.

Erin frowned up at him and held her arms out. Without hesitation, Gowan fell into her tiny embrace and held her tight.

“It’s okay,” Erin whispered, closing her eyes for a second.

“He was everything to me. I raised him as if he were my own,” Gowan sobbed on Erin’s shoulder.

“I know,” she whispered to him.

He continued to cry softly, his shoulders contracting a few times and then he seemed to relax. Erin still held him, softly rubbing his back. She looked over at Sam beside her and he flashed a sad smile. She saw a trace of admiration in his eyes and also smiled briefly.

“I’ll kill them, those bastard vamps that killed Lee,” Gowan growled, and abruptly pulled away from Erin’s embrace. His grief had turned into vengeance in a split second.

“If you do that, then you are no better than them,” Erin frowned.

“But they killed him,” Gowan exclaimed as he took a few steps away from Erin and Sam, his anger building up inside him.

“She’s right, Gow,” Sam nodded. “You don’t want to be like them.”

Gowan had an exasperated look on his face and crossed his arm. “Does his life mean nothing to you, Sam? Does he not deserve to be avenged?”

“Of course he does, but don’t stoop down to that level. You are better than them,” Erin answered, her eyes dark and troubled.

“You talk like you are one of us.” He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“She is,” Sam said and placed his hand on Gowan’s shoulder.

Erin looked over at Sam, with a frown and wondered if Sam knew about what she had found out today. Gowan was the mind-reader though, not Sam. As Gowan glanced at her for a few seconds, she quickly closed her mind and frowned slightly, as her eyes flashed.

“Sam was right about you, Erin,” Gowan said softly.

“In which way?” she asked.

“The first time he met you, he told me that you were different.”

“He said that?”

“He did.”

Erin smiled slowly and put her hand on Gowan’s shoulder.

“Why are you so different?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, whatever the reason,” Gowan sniffed. “I’m glad you are this way.”

“Thank you, Gowan.”

“Hey, Erin.”

Erin and Gowan looked over their shoulders, and saw Vikki coming towards them. Vikki pulled Erin close and held her for a few seconds.

“Hey Vikki.”

Vikki pulled away and looked at Erin. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, how are you?”

“We’re all a bit cut up, you know. Lee was the youngest of us all, so obviously we were all a bit protective over him. It’s very sad that we lost him,” Vikki flashed a weak smile and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I can’t even begin to fathom how you all must be feeling.”

“Thanks for being here, Erin. It means a lot to us all,” Vikki nodded gratefully.

“It’s not a problem. You guys are like my family anyway.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to have another girl in the house, you know. These boys can get pretty bombastic, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, totally,” Erin chuckled with a nod.

“I’ve got some errands to run, before full moon, you know.”

“Yes, that’s fine.” Erin nodded and pulled her in for another hug. “If you need anything, you call me, okay?”

“I will. Thanks Erin.” Vikki nodded.

“Bye, Vik,” Sam said and winked at her.

“Bye guys, bye Erin.”

“Bye, Vikki,” Erin smiled slightly and looked at Sam.

“Are you hungry, baby?” Sam asked her.

“Starving actually. What’s on the menu?” Gowan answered and Erin chuckled.

“Come on boys, let’s go see what there is,” Erin smiled and grabbed hold of Sam’s hand, dragging him in the direction of the kitchen.

Lukas paced through the living room, clasping his hands together, clenching his jaw.

“I see you are still here.”

Lukas looked up and saw Arjen coming through the wooden doors, with a newspaper in his one hand. He stopped abruptly as he recalled the night that Arjen over four decades ago, whacking him over the head with a newspaper.

“I am concerned about Erina.”

“My daughter is a grown vamp, she can take care of herself and does not need your concern,” Arjen frowned, placing the newspaper on the table next to his chair by the fireplace.

“I wish to ask you a question, Count Lewandowski.”

“If you must.”

“Can I expect a truthful answer?”

“That depends on the question.”

“Why did Erina act the way she did in the presence of Nikolai’s rubies?” Lukas asked.

“We act differently to some triggers; we are not the same after all.”

“Never in my life had I ever seen a vamp act that aggressively towards another vamp. It was unnatural.”

“There is no need to worry yourself about my daughter. Everything is under control.”

“What did you do to her?”

“I beg your pardon?” Arjen asked, clearly offended by Lukas’ tactless question.

“Erina mentioned that you did something that fixed the problem.”

“What happens between me and my daughter is none of your business, Wasilewski.”

“With all due respect, sir, I care about Erina, and do not wish for her to be in distress.”

“That is quite something coming out of your mouth, considering your history.”

“Sir, again, I wish Erina nothing but-”

“Why are you still here, Lukas?”

“Because your wife was polite enough to invite me to Erina’s party tomorrow night.”

“I do not want any trouble. If you make a mutiny among my guests-”

“You will not even know that I am here, sir.”

Arjen pursed his lips and nodded slightly. As he sat down on his leather chair, he placed the newspaper on his lap and stared out into space. “Where is my wife?”

“She and Nikolai are with Matthias’ family.”

“Such a tragedy.”

“Yes, those blasted mutts-”

“I was not talking only about Matthias.”

“Sir?”

“Many lives were lost today, Lukas. Not only Matthias’.”

“I realize that, sir, but if I may say so, if those wolves knew their place in the world, none of this would have happened.”

Arjen raised an eyebrow and opened the paper on his lap. “They are as much citizens of Algharakh as we are, Lukas.”

“But, sir-”

“I wish to enjoy my newspaper in peace, without any disturbances. You may leave now.” Arjen raised the open newspaper, shielding his face from Lukas’ gaze and ending the conversation between the two of them.

Lukas took a deep, agitated breath, marched towards the door, and stepped out into the hallway. He heard Alex’s pitchy voice and quietly walked to the door of the library. He peeked inside and saw her standing next to a wooden pillar, talking on the phone with her back turned towards the door.

“Is he okay?” Alex asked. “The poor guy. He must be so heartbroken.”

Lukas frowned, wondering who Alex was talking about, and who was on the other side of the phone.

“I’m just saying, Erin. Death is terrible no matter who it happens to.”

Lukas frowned once more, as he moved a few feet back from the door, making sure he was out of sight.

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Be safe, Erin. I will.”

The second Alex hung up the phone, she whirled around, expecting to see Lukas at the door, but he was gone. “Drowned rat,” she muttered.

Alex marched down the long hallway and spotted Lukas, trying to act normal.

“What were you doing listening to my private conversation?” Alex had a sharp accusing tone in her voice.

Lukas turned casually towards her and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You were eavesdropping.” Alex crossed her arms.

“I was not. Don’t be ridiculous,” Lukas scoffed.

“I could smell you ten miles away, Lukas,” Alex exclaimed.

Lukas pursed his lips and looked at her.

“Speak up Luke, I can’t hear ya,” she said with a Polawarian accents and cocked her head to the side.

“It wasn’t intentional, I swear.”

“You weren’t intentionally eavesdropping, or you don’t intentionally smell the way you do?” Ale asked.

“Both.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Believe what you want. How is Erina?”

“She’s with Sam, so she’s fine.”

“And how is Sam?”

“He lost a good friend, as you have.”

“Indeed.” Lukas nodded and dropped his gaze. “But we all deal with grief in our own different ways.”

“You mean in your own heartless ways.” Alex looked around her with a frown. “Where is everyone?”

“Nikolai and Countess Lewandowski are with Matthias’ family. The Count is in the living area.”

Alex nodded wordlessly and crossed her arms.

“Erin is spending the night with Sam?”

“That’s what she said.”

Lukas nodded grimly and looked at Alex.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Nothing,” he answered, clearly in denial.

“You look like you’ve just drank from a decomposing corpse.”

“She loves him, doesn’t she?” Lukas asked after a second’s hesitation.

“How would I know?”

“You’re her best friend, Alex. She tells you everything.”

Alex shifted nervously and clasped her hands together.

“You know something.”

“I know only what she tells me, Lukas.” Alex flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“And that is?”

“Yes, she loves him.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Lukas’ jaw clenched and he stared out into space.

“Maybe for you yes,” Alex retorted. “She’s happy for the first time in five decades. Leave her be.”

“I can’t do that, Alex. You and I both know that.”

“She’s not your true mate. If she was, then it wouldn’t have happened.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t compel me.”

“I was testing you. Testing your loyalty,” Alex hissed. “And you clearly failed.”

“You weren’t testing my loyalty, you were jealous of what Erina and I had.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you are. I would never do that to her!”

“But yet you did.”

“Erin was right, she should have killed you when she had the chance,” Alex snapped at him, and pushed him aside, marching down the hallway towards the foyer, far away from him.

Erin opened her eyes slowly inhaled Sam’s scent as he tightly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The two were sitting in front of the fireplace, wrapped up in one another’s arms. They didn’t say much, but words were not necessary, as their silent moments were just as comfortable. She listened to his steady breathing and sighed happily. Then she remembered her fight with Nikolai, and the conversation that she had with her father. Sam seemed to pick up on her irritation immediately and he straightened up slightly.

“What’s wrong?” He glanced over at her, his blue eyes light and clear.

“I had a fight with my brother today.”

“You did?” He smiled and looked intrigued, satisfied even.

“Yeah. I went a bit crazy on him.”

“Well, whatever he did, he most probably deserved it.”

“That’s the strange thing, actually. He did nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Then why did you fight with him?”

“His rubies made me go predator on his ass. Literally, I had him by the throat against the staircase. Before I never could have done that, I’ve never been that strong before.”

“Was it the rubies?”

“I don’t know, but they aren’t supposed to make me act like that. Not anyone’s rubies.”

“When did you start behaving like that around them?”

“This was the third time, in my whole life. The first time I was 84, I killed someone, someone a bit younger than me, accidentally of course. Alex helped me clean up the mess. I asked her to never tell anyone, and she didn’t. I’ve always avoided them since then, like they were a bad omen.”

“When did the other one happen?”

“The other day. I went a bit crazy on Lex. Lifting her right off the floor with one hand. I was never able to do something like that.”

“That’s strange.”

Erin chuckled and pulled away from him. “My dad and I had a bit of a talk afterward, and he told me something. Something completely unbelievable. It was so ridiculous that he couldn’t have made it up, but deep down, I knew that it was true. As if I had known about it all along. Have you ever felt like that?”

“All the time.”

Erin softly touched his cheek and smiled.

“What did he tell you?”

“You’re not going to believe it.”

“Try me.”

“Let me start at the beginning. So I was at the manor checking on the decorations for my party and Nikolai and Lukas-”

“That Lukas guy seems to pop up wherever you are. I don’t like it. Normally, I’m not the jealous type, but what’s mine is mine. End of story.”

“You don’t have to worry, I hate his guts.”

“Okay. So what happened then?”

“Nikolai was being his usual pompous self and I attacked him, but only because his rubies were driving me crazy.”

“Are you sure it was only the rubies?” Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yes. My brother is an ass, sure, but my temper can still easily withstand his arrogance.”

“Good to hear.”

“Okay, anyway, my dad and I went into his office and he told me about why this happened. I thought I was cursed, but then he told me this story.”

“Tell me.”

“My dad’s not a vamp.”

“What?”

“My father-” she answered with a frown.

“I heard you, baby, but how can that be?”

“Well, he is, but not completely.”

“So what is he then?”

“He’s half vamp and half wolf. His biological father was a Mandzukic wolf.”

“Those are the oldest wolves in the world.”

“I know,” Erin nodded and looked at him, his expression begging for an explanation.

“He also gave me a diary that belonged to his mother. She wrote all about it. Her affair with this this wolf, and how much she loved him. I haven’t had a chance to read it through completely yet. ” Erin searched Sam’s face for any reaction.

“So, your father is a hybrid.”

“Yes.” She paused for a few seconds. “So am I, obviously.”

Sam looked at her with wide eyes and stared wordlessly at her.

“I never knew, but then I read in my grandmother’s diary, that she gave my father and me emeralds when we were born. My dad has a watch with twelve stones in it, and I’ve got this.” She pointed to her necklace. “Also twelve emeralds. Then I noticed something.” Erin unhooked a loose stone and as she peeled it open, it revealed a snow white opal.

“That’s a moonstone. It prevents us from transforming,” Sam said. “I have one just like it.”

“Yes, and the emeralds keep the urges away.”

“That’s why you’re not like them.”

“Yes.” Erin nodded and her expression grew sad. “All this time, I thought by wearing it, it kept other werewolves under control, but in actual fact it was there to keep me under control.”

There were tears in her eyes and Sam moved closer to her, taking her hand. “Erin-”

“It wasn’t to protect me from them. It was to protect me from myself.”

“Baby, we’re not dangerous to ourselves.”

“We’re not?”

“No, and even if we were, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Sam nodded touching her chin with his free hand.

“You’re handling this much better than I thought you would.” Erin narrowed her eyes slightly and glared at him.

“What did you think I was going to do? Throw a tantrum because you’re not a vamp?”

“No, I just thought you’d be a bit more shocked, or something.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t shock or surprise me at all.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Didn’t you hear what Gowan said? I knew you were different the moment I met you.”

“You did.”

“Whether you’re a vamp, or a wolf, or half-vamp, half-wolf, it doesn’t change anything. I love you for who you are on the inside and the way you make me feel on the inside, which is more than I have ever loved anyone, or anything, and I would never let anything bad happen to you, until the day that I die.”

Erin gasped softly and felt the tears in her eyes blur her vision. “I love you too.”

“I can hear your heart beating all the way from here.”

Erin tilted her head at him, wiping the tears from under her eyes. “Yes, because that sounded a lot like a marriage proposal.”

“Maybe it was,” Sam whispered.

Erin took a deep breath and Sam pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they slowly fell back onto the soft leather of the couch. Then she abruptly pulled away, and Sam frowned at her.

“What?”

“I really don’t want your dad to walk in on us again.”

“Don’t worry, he’s away for a week, meeting with some politicians at Telstrofe Lodge, and Gowan and Vik isn’t here.”

“We’ve got the whole place to ourselves?”

“We do.”

“Good to know,” she nodded and Sam kissed her, a little more urgently as before.

Sam pulled away slowly, but still letting their lips touch. “Erin?”

“Yes?” she panted.

“Happy third century switch,” he whispered against her lips and both of them looked over at the wooden clock on the wall.

“So it’s official,” she sighed. “I’m ancient.”

“You’re perfect.”

She glanced at him for a second, not saying a word, with only a small smile on her face. Slowly grabbing the front of his shirt, she closed the gap between their lips with one swift movement. There was no longer a need to be subtle, but she didn’t want to seem too forceful either.

Sam brushed his fingers across her shoulders, letting the straps of her top fall and she moaned quietly into his mouth, knowing that the moment that she had waited for her whole life, had just arrived. Running his hands down her body, he looked deep into her emerald eyes and knew for sure that he loved her more than anything. Slowly, they took turns to remove each other’s clothing, until all that separated them was her ragged breathing blowing gently on his chest.

Sam looked down at her, his eyes dulled by the darkness of the room, and whispered with warm sensuality, “Erin…”

She could feel the warmth of his breath brushing the top of her lip. She slowly ran her fingers along the lines of his arms and shoulders, and felt herself shiver as she took in the marvel that was Sam, the wolf she loved. Every part of him. From his broad shoulders, to the dimples in his cheeks, the way he smelled, to the way his touch set her whole body ablaze.

“Sam…” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Kiss me.”

His skin was warm against hers as he leaned in, kissing her neck. Softly. Lovingly. For a moment they basked in each other’s ambiance, creating each other’s warmth. They were careful in their movements, but yet perfectly in sync with one another. They breathed their souls and their love into each other, as their naked bodies were entangled on the soft leather of the couch. The beads of sweat on their skin glistened in the light of the stars shining through the window. Their closeness made it almost impossible to determine where the one ended and the other began. It was perfect, comfortable, and pure love seeped from every pore. As an explosion of total peace and serenity pulsated through their veins, it overwhelmed them both, leaving them panting. Still staring at one another, they saw the true meaning of life and love in each other’s eyes. His lips spoke love and hers spoke forever.

It was in that moment, that sweet, everlasting love was born.