Her Forever

Rosalie

When Jack’s told me that Derek was a Vampire, my world shut down. I don’t think I gave any emotion when he told me. I just looked into his beautiful eyes and counted his eyelashes to keep me from breaking on the outside. On the inside, I was breaking into a thousand pieces. For most of my life, I dealt with creatures that you hear about in nightmares and horror stories. I lived in a horror story for a lot of my childhood.

Jack’s ravishing smile was now painted into a thin line. His lips were no longer pouty and kissable. His whole demeanor sprouted concern. “As it should be,” I thought. Getting my world turned upside down, I witnessed my friends become Werewolves, and finding out other creatures was not part of my schedule for the day. Any average person would be screaming right now; any normal person would be running away. Why wasn’t I? Why wasn’t I crying and freaking out?

Maybe in my heart, I already knew everything was different.

Derek was a terrible foster parent. In the beginning he was nice, but once I turned 10, he made my life into a nightmare, and I had no idea why. Now, I knew he wanted to slurp up every bit of me. Why he didn’t do it then, I’ll never know. Frequently I remember him cutting into me and then licking or taking his finger and dabbing the wound to taste my secretions. “Not mature yet, my pet. Not just quite yet.” I hated anything that rhymed after that day.

I was being compared to a banana; bright green bananas tasted terrible, but once they became ripe enough, they were sweet. Unfortunately, looking at a human, he couldn’t tell if I was ripe so he cut me like filet mignon.

Jack waited for me to gather my thoughts when I finally told him I needed time alone. The desperation on his face was evident. I was supposed to be his mate and cling to him and feel protected. Right now, I felt everything but. My body wanted him to feel his warmth and wrap his arms around me, but unfortunately, my mind was taking me to other places. Places I didn’t want to talk about, and it was best if I left for a bit.

Trudging up the stairs, I opened my bedroom door and sat on the small love seat at the end of my bed. Sighing loudly, I heard a knock at the door. I really couldn’t catch a minute to be alone in this house. I still need the lock on my door. “Come in,” I whispered. Of course, they heard with their Werewolf hearing and all.

“Hey, Lee. How are you doing?” Amanda came and laid on the bed behind me and started to stroke my hair. I sighed and didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to think anymore. My friend that I had known for a year, that took so long to open up, had the biggest secret of them all.

“Overwhelmed,” was the only word I could reply with.

“Hey, at least you aren’t running away screaming. You have that going for ya,” Amanda chuckled as she braided a bit of my hair.

“It was probably best to find out this way,” I looked down at my hands and played with my fingers. “I had a feeling there might be something more out there, the way that Derek used to taste my b***d and all after he would cut me. I just thought he was some sick person, ‘How could a human do that,’ I always thought.” Amanda nodded and put down my hair.

“I know it wasn’t something you wanted to hear, but I’m glad you know now. Just know that Jack and the rest of us here will protect you. You are an important part of the pack now, especially since you are his mate.” Amanda smiled.

“I don’t know what all that means. I didn’t let Jack go into it because I just shut off after hearing Derek was a Vampire. My body says one thing, my mind another, and then my heart, I don’t know what my heart wants.” I started to sniffle, and Amanda came and sat beside me on the couch.

“What does your heart say, Lee?” I looked up at her, seeing the concern and friendliness in her eyes. Even though the past year getting to know her, I knew I could trust her. Even if she was a Werewolf. She never put me in harm’s way, always protected me in some sisterly way that I always wanted.

“To trust him, to love him. I’ve never done any of those things, though, so it is difficult to let myself go like that. My mind wants me to stay guarded.” A small tear escaped my eyes as it dropped to the floor. Macaroni came out from under the bed and let out a long meow. Macaroni always knew how to comfort me.

Macaroni came up and sat on my lap, looking warily at Amanda. She wasn’t too keen on being in the house, and I figured out why. Everyone here was a predator to her, and she used to be a top do––well, cat. She protected me, and now she felt threatened. “It’s OK, Mac and Cheese; they are our friends,” I whispered. She let out a giant yawn and settled into my lap while I stroked her to sleep.

“Just know,” Amanda began, “that mates are a wonderful gift. Most humans miss out on that. The goddess paired you two for a reason; you both compliment each other so well. He’s the big Alpha that is dominant and protects his pack. You are his Luna, kind and loving. You give him a reason to have a heart and care for his pack members in ways other than just being protective.”

I hummed in response. “Are there others like us? I mean, human and Werewolf pairings?” She giggled. “Yes, actually. She was born human, but her parents were Werewolves. Her name was Sabrina, and she met Alpha Seth. Now they rule over all the Werewolves together because she was technically royalty by her parents.” My eyes grew wide. “She’s a Werewolf now though, she decided to go through the transformation and become like him.”

“Oh, do I have to do that?” I whispered, a bit scared.

“No, you don’t. Not unless you really wanted to. You will always be with Jack, though, once you complete your bond. I’ll let him explain that; that is something to be discussed with your mate,” Amanda winked. I blushed while stroking Macaroni as she started snoring.

Amanda left shortly after that, and I picked up a sleeping kitty and crawled up onto the bed. I lay there for hours, just thinking about it all. I let it simmer within myself. Placing the pros and cons of staying. Yes, I thought about leaving to forget all of this, but I was kidding myself. I was missing Jack right now, plus he was a Werewolf, and he felt things more strongly than I did. How cruel could I be?

After lying in bed all day, I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to bother Jack either; I was sure he was upset with me, so maybe a dip in the pool might help. It was late, so hopefully, no one would be down there. Even though many packhouse tenants knew I had scars, I still didn’t want to flaunt them.

Shuffling through the closet, I found a black tank top and some spandex biking shorts and put them on. Grabbing a black string bikini, I put it on. The top covered me nicely, and the bottoms weren’t too revealing, but I could still see the purple scars healing. Most of the scars were covered except some around my shoulders and mid-back… This would have to do.

Wrapping myself in a towel, I tiptoed down the stairs until I could smell the heavy chemical smell of chlorine. Diving head-first, I rose to the surface. The cool water made my body calm and relaxed. Taking in a few laps and enjoying the peace of being under the water and not hearing anything, I heard a door open and close. Putting my hand on the edge of the pool, I saw Jack. He was still in his dress pants and shirt from earlier this morning.

Jack was so unbelievably sexy, his blonde hair was a mess, and his white dress shirt had the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He had several rings on his hands and his Rolex watch on his left wrist. He looked tired, emotionally drained. We both were, in all honesty.

He sat at the edge of the pool, not minding if he dampened his pants.

“You don’t have to hide from me, Kitten.” He spoke tenderly. I had lowered myself into the water absentmindedly. Even my body knew what to do, to hide these nasty things from my body. “I’m not hiding,” I said solemnly.

“Really then? Can you stand up?” he said with a smirk. I just stood there, contemplating standing up. “So, did you shrink?” I stuck my tongue out at him to be playful. He took a sharp breath inward and cursed under his breath as I stood up in the water. The water hit precisely at my waist. “f*****g beautiful.” I blushed immediately and wanted to hide. “Why are you wearing a top? You know you don’t need to, right?” He was concerned.

“I, I’m just embarrassed. You are a good-looking guy, and I’ve got baggage.” I said. “I’m self-conscious about it. I have been for a long time. It isn’t something that can be fixed overnight.” I stared into his adoring eyes, and he didn’t look at me in pity; he started to look at me with pride.

“I just want you to know that I care about you, Rosalie. Scars and all, and I saw your scars last night at the restaurant, and you make them out to be this horrible thing about you. You feel ashamed when you shouldn’t. You didn’t do this to yourself; if anything, it shows how strong you are. I care for you, and no scar would ever turn me away from that.” I looked up with me, tears in my eyes. This was the first time someone said they cared about me regardless of my wounds.

“You are just so handsome. You are the first guy I’ve ever dated, so, of course, I’m going to be self-conscious still,” I laughed, “but I’m glad you told me that. I believe you.” I wanted to touch him and feel the warmth of his hand, so I did something bold; I made the first move instead of him and put my hand on his. I had always waited for him to touch me, but now knowing these feelings are mutual, that we were made for each other, I shouldn’t fight it.

“How about we get you out of there and into bed? Why were you even down here anyway?” he spoke in a troubled tone.

“I couldn’t sleep; I think I’m used to sleeping in your bed,” I blushed while he smiled.

“Well then, let’s get you showered so you can come to bed with me,” he growled in my ear. My legs clamped together, immediately feeling the heat from his voice. Is this part of the bond they are talking about? Just immediately wanting to surrender yourself?

After I’d showered and gotten dressed, I came to Jack’s room and hopped into bed, where he engulfed me in his arms. “How about we move your clothes in here? I could see this being a permanent thing,” he kissed my temple.

“As long as you don’t think you will tire of me,” I said teasingly. Jack growled in my ear.

“Don’t say such things; you’re mine!” He nipped at my ear while sucking on it to relieve the pain. “We will talk more about being mates later; I want to tell you everything. Just know that I’m never leaving you, never.” He petted my hair and kissed the temple of my head. “Now that I have you, I can never let you go.” I smiled into his chest.

I then nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Our legs wrapped around each other as we both fell into a deep sleep.