The Vampire and the Alpha's Son

Threshold

“My name’s Alissa,” she said as she leapt over the fence and landed gingerly in front of me, as though she weren’t wearing four inch heels.

She walked up close to me, eyeing me up and down, sizing me up. I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Her every move, every sound, everything about her was utter perfection, and I felt like I had never known true beauty before in my life until I had set eyes on her. I only hoped she felt the same way about me, even a little bit. She wore a slight smile as she studied me, which I found encouraging, but even though we shared a mate bond, I knew I wasn’t much to look at. David had always been the popular one among the girls back home. I had been invisible next to him.

“And your name is…?” she asked with impatient curiosity.

“Uh, my name’s Bate,” I finally managed to stammer.

“Bate?” she replied, tilting her head slightly.

“Um, yeah, it’s short for Beethoven,” I explained shyly.

“That’s an interesting name,” she grinned approvingly.

I let out a sigh of relief at the mild compliment. I had never before been in a situation that made me feel so nervous, not even while I had fought ferocious vampires. Nor did I feel an ounce of nervousness when I left my home for good and then met my Alpha’s vampire mate. I had been plenty scared, of course, but not nervous.

She circled around me, her heels clicking on the pavement. She seemed unconcerned about the sprinkling rain that had painted dark specks on the ground around us. My palms felt sweaty and I swore she could hear my heart beat as she scrutinized me further.

“Where are you from, Bate?” she questioned. She put emphasis on my name, as though she were tasting it, deciding if she liked it or not.

Again, it took me a moment to utter a sound from my dry throat. The intensity of her intoxicating scent was making it hard to breathe, and harder yet to keep myself from reaching out and taking her into my arms. We were strangers, and yet she was all I wanted. She was all I could see and all I could breathe. It was like my life had only just begun from the moment I first saw her.

“Um, uh, from Montana,” I finally sputtered.

“You didn’t come alone.” She said it as a statement, almost like an accusation.

“Ah, yeah,” I replied, feeling suddenly apologetic. Of course she could smell them; werewolves have an excellent sense of smell. Now that I thought of it, I smelled the scent of another werewolf on her as well. “You’re not alone either.”

“No, you’re right, but this ain’t about me right now,” she argued, getting defensive, “Listen, boy, just because you smell like a million bucks and I wanna jump your bones, don’t mean I know you, and I certainly don’t trust you.”

I took a deep breath, unsure what to say. It was completely understandable, but I still felt stricken by her words. I wanted her to trust me, to like me, but I knew that would take time. All I was to her right now was some rogue who had wandered into her little haven, with two more possible threats tagging along.

“But I trust you,” I finally whispered.

“Well, maybe that’s your mistake,” she replied softly. Perhaps she felt some pity for me, blindly following the pull of the mate bond.

“But you are my mate,” I stated plainly, looking her in the eyes in a desperate plea.

“So what?” she scoffed cruelly, driving daggers into my heart, “I’ve had a mate before, and he rejected me for his stupid barbie girlfriend. So I’m not entirely sure I want any part of it again.”

“Alissa, please,” I begged pathetically. I wanted to tell her I would never hurt her, but I realized it would sound like empty words to her ears. “Please, just give me a chance. I’ve never had a mate before.”

She sighed, and her expression softened slightly, giving me a glimmer of hope. But just when I thought she was about to let her guard down, she lept back suddenly and let out a low growl. I turned to see David and Liz coming around the corner, and I was surprised to find I was actually disappointed to see them. She would have to meet them eventually, but I had been hoping to gain a bit of her trust first.

“Alissa, this is David and Liz,” I introduced them as they got closer, “My Alpha and his mate.”

“A vampire for a mate? How unfortunate,” she spat with a sneer.

“You think so?” David asked calmly as he looked lovingly at his mate, “I disagree.”

“I’m sorry, miss, we didn’t mean to frighten you,” Liz added, holding her hands up in surrender.

I was relieved that they had the sense to approach her with patient hesitation, rather than being offended by her defensiveness. Hers was a perfectly natural response, as we had also been on our guard when we smelled other wolves. I wasn’t even upset about her clear disdain over Liz; many wolves were wary of vampires, and for good reason. Our own pack despised vampires, so I couldn’t fault her at all. However, I still desperately wanted her to like them, or at least give them a chance.

“And I’m sorry that I am not convinced that you are harmless,” she replied with an ounce of sarcasm, “Why are you here anyway?”

“We’re escaping a bad vampire,” Liz explained, “We’re just passing through.”

“Escaping your own kind?” Alissa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not like they are,” Liz started, but she was cut off.

“Bullshit! All vampires are the same,” Alissa snapped back.

“Then are all werewolves the same?” she challenged, keeping her voice even and calm.

The rain started to fall more heavily around us, and the damp air felt charged with the electricity of their tension. I felt on edge, becoming more and more concerned that I might lose my one chance at the happiness my Alpha had recently found.

“Hey, maybe we can all talk again tomorrow. We should probably try to find some shelter somewhere,” David interrupted them, using the weather as an excuse to stop their discussion before it could escalate any further.

“And where are we going to go? We don’t have enough money left to get a hotel,” Liz replied, turning to him as though she hadn’t been in the midst of trying to argue her innocence.

“Yeah, but don’t hotels only charge you when you checkout? That should give us enough time to earn some cash,” David offered.

“We can’t rely on that, anything could happen and I don’t want to risk being in debt,” she returned.

While they were discussing our options, I closely watched Alissa’s face. Her hardened expression of fear and distrust slowly softened to reluctant pity. Finally, she let out an exasperated sigh and took a few steps toward me again.

“Fine, follow me,” she said reluctantly, and without another word, she began to lead us down the wet, darkening street. She made multiple turns that I was too tired to follow, and eventually led us to a modest apartment building. “You can stay here just for tonight. Then I want you gone in the morning.”

“Is this where you live?” I asked, trying to ignore the part about wanting me gone.

“No, it’s where Santa lives,” she replied sharply.

I only sighed, too exhausted to come up with a witty reply to her sarcastic quip. She continued to lead us up a set of stairs, to the third floor. She paused briefly to knock four times on the tan-colored door, before grasping the bronze knob. I held my breath as she turned it and opened the door, feeling like I was crossing into a new chapter of my life as we crossed her threshold.