Her Forever

Rosalie was coloring while Derek absentmindedly stirred the spaghetti sauce for dinner that night. Derek had been enjoying Rosalie’s company for the past two years. Doing something that his mate had wanted to do ever since he met Derek gave warmth to his chest, to have a little girl to take care of. His heart still had not beat since first meeting his mate. Once you meet your mate, your heart begins to beat only for them; however, the untimely murder of his beloved before they were adequately bonded left his heart empty and cold. Only a hard rock of an organ was left.

Rosalie was the only one that made him feel warm on his cold skin. Ever since he had fostered her when she was only 8 years old, caring for her gave him a whole new meaning to life. After centuries of not having anyone and living alone, having someone to care for was fresh and invigorating.

“Mr. Derek, how much longer?” Rosalie sputtered as she continued to draw a picture of the two. They had been to the zoo that day, looking at the many different animals. Her favorite animals were the Wolves, especially one that looked like an overgrown golden retriever. Her eyes lit up so much when she saw it that he ended up buying her a small stuffed toy that resembled it the most. He chuckled softly as she hugged it to her chest. Even being 10 years old, she was still such a child. Her innocence gave him a spark to please her, take care of her, and keep her from any harm.

“Just a few more minutes Rosie.” Derek stirred the pot as he thought of the first time he laid eyes on her at social services. She had been an orphan all her life, never knowing who her parents were. Rosalie bounced from foster care to foster care, and he had no idea why. She was a lovely girl, well-behaved and thankful for whatever she received. Derek could tell she had never been truly loved, people used her for the checks that were supposed to help her grow up, but he knew better. They were all spent on themselves because poor Rosie was in rags.

Derek decided then and there at the social services office that he would take her. She was everything his mate would have wanted. Sweet, kind, gentle, and a child’s true innocence. Rosie had smiled up at him and asked, “Are you going to take care of me now?” sweetly fluttering her long lashes.

“Of course I will, my dear,” he promised, and that was that.

Derek placed the large plate of pasta on the plate and poured the meaty tomato sauce over the noodles. With garlic bread on the side, she beamed up at him. “Thank you, Mr. Derek!” she squealed. Her appearance was that of an average 10-year-old child. She dressed in the nicest clothes and excelled at her schooling; in fact, she skipped a couple of grades, causing Derek to beam with pride.

Even though Rosie was the perfect child, he could never bring himself to let her call her father or dad. Something was holding him back, and he never knew exactly what.

Rosie continued to scarf down her spaghetti; she often told Derek he made the best which only, in turn, made him smile. Smiling was something he never did until Rosie came into his life. She gave the spark back to him; his wanting to take care of another overpowered any malice he had leftover from losing his mate.

He often thought of her, his mate. Her red ruby eyes and her alabaster skin. Her dark raven hair and her rose-red lips. Rosie was the complete opposite of her. Rosie had strawberry blonde hair with natural curls. She was short for her age and had a slight tan to her skin. Her attitude was carefree and unaware of the dangers of the world. Derek wanted to keep her in that innocence, but something sparked in him that day with what Rosie had said.

“Mr. Derek?” Rosie looked up at him with her big doe eyes. Derek nodded at her to continue. “Do you get lonely, you know, when I am at school?” Derek didn’t know what to say; was he lonely? He had Rosie with him in the evenings and on the weekends, and he realized how much he looked forward to it.

“No, I’m not lonely when I am with you.” Derek smoothed the slight cowlick on her head while she ate.

“Hmm,” she slurped up a piece of noodle. “But, I see a lot of dads and moms together, and you just have me. Don’t you want someone?”

Derek paused and looked down at his folded hands, no spaghetti plate near him. Rosie continued to look at him in wonder and complete innocence. “I am not lonely when you are here, Rosie. That is all I need.” His voice was, but a whisper, and Rosie smiled as he continued to nod at her to continue eating.

“If I was an adult right now, I would be with you! You are so nice to my friends and me. You make me feel safe. You would make a nice husband.” As innocent as those words were, it made Derek’s stomach churn. It made him think, think of things he had never felt before. Could Rosie, as innocent as her statement was, be with him later? Her presence always calmed him. She wasn’t like other children. Rosie was ever grateful for whatever was given to her and was never selfish. All and all, the perfect child she would grow up to be the ideal adult.

So many human and Vampire women chased after him. They would throw themselves at him or l**t after his money. Women were vile creatures, and he never wanted anything more than to rid them from his presence. Vampires were made for good looks, all the better to make them head predators. The humans were good for two things, b***d and s*x. Rosie wasn’t like that though, she cared for him just how he was.

Her features as of now were soft and warm. A few pimples here and there dotted her complexion as she was set to go through puberty in only a few years. She was still short and had a bit of a pudge in the stomach, but that was all due to her baby fat. Her face was adorable, and anyone would be blind to see that she turned into a beautiful young lady.

“Would I be able to stand a boy coming onto her when she grew older?” he thought. The fact tore him up inside. Not because he was a potential father figure, but he wanted her to himself. She looked at him no other woman or girl ever had. She adored him and only him right now. Once she was grown, she would be beautiful; her heart was full of gold, grace, and soon-to-be beauty.Thinking this for only a few minutes, he asked Rosalie, “Would you like that, Rosie? To be with me when you grow up?”

Rosie hummed nonchalantly. “Of course, you are so kind and generous and have a heart full of gold. I think you would be a bit old by then, though.” Rosie laughed as she finished her picture. “Here, I made this for you.” Rosie was a talented artist and proudly showed Derek her picture.

It was the both of them; she drew herself as an adult and him the same. They were holding hands, and she was walking into a building. “What building is this, Rosie?” He took the picture from her and traced her figure on the paper. “College! This is you taking me to college and dropping me off.” What big dreams Rosalie had, and Derek didn’t like it.

“What if I want you to stay with me?” Derek spoke as calmly as he could. “Mr. Derek, you can’t stay with me always. I have to grow up so I can take care of you when you get old!” Derek felt a bit of pride in Rosalie wanting to take care of him; it quickly dissipated when he realized it was because of age.

“I will never get old; I will take care of you,” Derek’s voice was becoming stiff. Rosalie sensed the uneasiness in his voice. Her childlike mind didn’t understand; she wanted Mr. Derek to be happy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad. I just want to make sure I will take care of you like you do with me,” she beamed at him. Her voice was soothing; he took his hand and held her cheek in his hand.

“That’s sweet of you, dear. I will always be there for you, I will never grow old, and I can wait for you to become older. We could be together then.” Her eyes knitted in confusion. How could they be together when he becomes old? She wanted to take care of Derek, go to college, and have her own family one day. She didn’t have romantic feelings towards him.

Rosalie didn’t want to argue, so she hummed in response, and she continued eating. Derek took this as an agreement in his twisted mind. He began to think of ways to make his desires come true. Tucking Rosalie into bed and giving a swift k**s to her forehead, like always, she drifted off to sleep.

While cleaning up the mess from dinner, the words that escaped Rosie’s pretty mouth hurt him. “Mr. Derek, you can’t stay with me always. I have to grow up….” Growing up for humans meant leaving and taking on new responsibilities, having a job, and building a family. He didn’t want Rosalie to leave him; he didn’t want to feel the loneliness again. He knew when he decided to foster a child that one day they would go. However, it was becoming far more complicated as the minutes wore on to think Rosalie would gladly leave.

She was her own person, but her presence was something he didn’t want to get rid of. The joy he brought him while she was a child would only increase as the years went by. Once becoming a woman, he could only imagine him falling in love with her all the more. Derek’s grip tightened, causing the dish to break. He had made his decision. He was going to make Rosalie his chosen beloved when she turned of age.

Without missing a beat, he grabbed his phone to call the one Witch that knew of bonds and magic, Anana. “Yes?” The sultry voice on the other end of the phone said.

“Anana, it is Derek Vanderveen.” The phone went silent for a few minutes before he heard her voice again.

“I was wondering when you would call. My speculation was correct about you starting to harbor feelings for a human that is not your own.” Derek looked at the phone in confusion. “I’m sorry?” he questioned.

“You forget I specialize in bonds and more so forced bonds. I’m living in the Earth realm now, so I could sense it. You, Vampires, are like an open book regarding these types of ordeals. It’s been that way since the beginning.” Derek was done with her riddles; he just wanted her to come and help him.

“Can you come then? I need your assistance.” Derek’s voice was deep and authoritative. He was an older Vampire, one of the oldest besides the royal bloodlines and those in parliament. “Yes, certainly. I’ll be there within the week.” With that, she hung up.

Throughout the week, Derek acted as nothing had changed with Rosalie. She went to school, he made her dinner, and helped with homework. If anything, he doted on her more and made sure she was completely taken care of. She would always smile and thank him as he helped pack her school bag every morning.

Anana finally arrived at the end of the week. Rosalie was sleeping as Derek led Anana to the door of her upstairs bedroom. Anana walked in and placed her hand upon her sleeping chest to feel her heart. With a slight grimace, she read her soul and realized this would be harder than she thought. Her thoughts returned to the feared day she left Bergarian, the realm she felt was her home. She had done something so unthinkable that she was thrown out of her coven. She had tried to separate a royal bond to that of a warrior and a lost princess that had already mated. Her life had never been the same since.

Anger boiled in Anana; she didn’t want to be a part of this bonding. This would cause trouble here in the Earth realm for her, and the thought of being run out of yet another domain scared her; she would never admit that, though.

“This will be difficult.” She turned to Derek. “Her soul belongs to another.” Derek’s face paled as much as it could for a Vampire. “What do you mean?” he whispered to not waken his future betrothed.

“She can change; her DNA allows her to turn into the supernatural she is promised to. However, she is promised to another, not you. You would have felt the bond right away once you saw her. I do not want to intervene between bonds. If she didn’t have a mate, then maybe, but she does so no.” Anana walked past Derek as she went to the stairs.

“No,” he whispered to the wind. He followed Anana and started whispering harshly, “name your price; I’ll do what you want; she needs to be mine.”

“I will not; last time, this caused me to be in too much trouble. I cannot return home because of the trouble I have already caused because of situations like this. I have nowhere to go. I will not ruin my chances at not surviving.” Derek laughed darkly. “You do it, or I’ll be sure to tell the Moon Kingdom you hide here in the Earth realm. Anana gasped. She knew he would do it, and she didn’t specialize in cloaking spells any longer. That was taken from her the day Sabrina had ripped her spellbook to pieces.

“Fine,” Anana huffed, seeing that this was the only way.