The Mate He Couldn’t Control (complete)

Chapter 35

Vampires can read minds, not mind-link, but at times like this, I wish we could. I don’t know Noah, so I have no idea where to look for him and the castle is enormous. I could probably walk around all day and never cross paths with him, so I stopped for help. “I’m sorry Alison, I have not seen Noah today. But, we can find him.”

“Are you sure? You look awfully busy.”

“Do not be ridiculous, I can deal with this later on. I suggest we start in the library,” Sebastian tossed a few papers on his desk and headed for the door.

“Thank you.”

“No need. This allows me to learn more about you.”

“You want to learn more about me? You’re like seven hundred-something years old. I’m sure you’re way more interesting.” The odd part about people around here is that your brain cannot process their age, no matter how hard you try. Like my parents look thirty. . . they’re one-fifty. Elgar is around eight hundred, but he looks like a twenty-year-old. It’s just insane to me. Then again, I grew up around humans.

“I spend most of my time in this castle. My life hasn’t been too interesting.”

“But you’re surrounded by different kinds of magic all hours of the day. How is that not interesting?” Since it was Saturday, there weren’t many people here and none of the ones that were are in uniform. Some of their parents live nearby and others are off doing whatever their heart desires.

“Magic is fascinating and it can be many things, but over the years I assume it’s just as enchanting as you would find a regular English class.” Oh. How exciting. “Maybe that is why basic witches have mortal life spans.”

“Do you have magic? Elgar told me that’s what you teach.”

“No, but my mother was a witch. Magic is very tricky. It only chooses specific people in the bloodline. For my family, it chose my niece.”

“Does she teach here?”

“No, she is much younger than I. We’re hoping she might consider attending as a student one day,” Sebastian smiled over at me. The age gap is insane. That’s at least a twenty-eight-generation difference.

Noah wasn’t in the library. From the number of books he had stacked on his desk Tuesday, I would assume he lives here. But obviously not. To get to the hybrid house, we had to walk through the art hall, which slowed us down. I have to look. There is just no going around it. The entire castle is filled with beautiful pieces by artists from all over the world throughout time, but this hall is special. The sculptures and paintings presented here are from the students.

“Your students have an astonishing artistic eye. I have traveled all over the world and never seen anything like this.”

“Are you an artist?”

“I’m afraid my art skills are horrendous,” I admitted with an awkward smile.

“There are seven forms of art, Alison. I doubt you struggle with all of them.”

“I can play piano but that's about it. Trust me, I have tried many times to pursue other things. My old school was rare and valued its arts program as much as the rest. Even though I had to stick with what I know like sports, business, and tech, I strategically found friends in the arts. My friend Caiden can use a pencil to create a new universe, Anna lives for her drama class, Jaime writes music, and Rori can put her visions and emotions into words. I envy them, but I think that’s what makes me love them so much.”

“They inspire you.”

“Very much. It’s a shame. At Saint Christopher’s Academy, it’s just class and home. There’s no arts or athletics. All they care about is the basics and witch repelling.”

My complaint made Sebastian let out a laugh. “Witch repelling?”

“Their attempt at it.” Behind him, I saw Noah walking with a few of his friends. I couldn’t hear anything they were saying so I’m guessing they were shielding their conversation. Suspicious. “Hi!” I stepped out from beside Sebastian, causing Noah to stop in his tracks.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Sebastian explained.

Noah turned and mumbled something to his friends before they walked off. “I’m sorry, My Love. It slipped my mind to give you a time and place.”

“Is now a bad time? I can come back later.”

“No, now is perfect. Thank you, Sebastian.”

“You’re rushing me off in the middle of our conversation?” Sebastian teased. A smile came to Noah’s lips but his body language revealed his impatience. “I’m only kidding, I should be getting back to work. It was nice talking with you, Alison.”

“With you as well. Thank you again.”

“Come with me?” Noah held out his hand. I grabbed it and followed him off to one of the towers. He’s acting off. Like oddly impatient and uncomfortable.

When we reached the top, I worked up the nerve to say something. Before I could, he pulled me into a tight hug and I stood wide-eyed for a second before hugging him back. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve missed you.”

“It’s only been two days.” See, weird.

“It shouldn’t have been that long. I’m sorry I missed meeting your your parents. This week in Saving History, we had to work with partners. I was there for a month and I would have been back at the same time I left, but my partner is a complete-” he stopped himself, breathing in deeply before exhaling. “I missed you.” Okay, maybe not that weird. Maybe it’s for the best, my parents were not a fan of the friendship thing the other night, but I think I have them on board now.

“Do you know me well enough to miss me?”

“Of course.”

“Speaking of that, the strangest thing happened this morning.” I separated from him and opened a set of glass doors. It’s raining today, not by me. I love the rain but I refuse to let condensation block my view of the world around us.

“What happened? Did you remember something else?”

“I’m not sure, Noah. Is there anything I should be remembering?” I slightly lifted an eyebrow at him before turning back to look over the forest. He didn’t say anything, so I continued. “This morning I was at home, practicing magic on my bed and I looked up from my book to see Chaos sitting on the balcony. All of a sudden, I got to spend ten minutes watching you tell me happy birthday while suffocating me with a hug.”

“I was hoping you would have remembered weeks ago. I’m not sure why it’s taking you so long to remember.”

“Is there more? Do you compel me every year as a birthday present?”

“I have to let you remember things for yourself.” Seriously? What kind of a response is that?

“Then at least tell me why. Why did you visit? Why did you compel me? Did you know we were mates?”

Noah glanced away from me reluctantly before walking over and grabbing my hands. “Yes I knew we were mates, but that’s not the only reason for my visit.”

“Then what is?”

“Long before the moon goddess confirmed it, I knew our souls were mated. After my transition, I struggled to control myself and my hunger. I didn’t mean to, but I hurt people. Killed people. It wasn’t intentional, but that doesn’t make them any less dead. Vampires have this ability to rid themself of pain, at the expense of every other emotion. It pained me to hurt them, but the blood controlled me, so I turned it all off. That’s when Elgar found me. Immediately, he brought me here and locked me in the castle until he could get the switch to flip, but I somehow managed to escape. I heard you in the forest and ran for it. I had every intention of feeding from you until I saw you. The others flipped through every emotion, yet it never affected me. But when I saw the tears in your eyes, my emotions flooded me. I wanted to learn control for you, so I did. There was no explanation other than a mating.”

“How many people?” I asked quietly.

“Fourteen.” It’s insane how one word can make your heart drop. I can’t imagine Noah hurting someone, but in a way I understand it. I’ve never binged blood, but I have heard the voice. Every time I get overwhelmed or emotional, there’s a little voice in my head whispering how easy it will be to shut it off. It becomes harder to quiet as the days pass. “Every year, Sebastian and I lay flowers on their graves. It doesn’t bring them back, but it's a short, temporary piece of life I can offer them.”

“Have you hurt anyone since?”

“No. I no longer feed from humans directly. We receive a blood bag every morning.”

“Then how did you feed the past month?”

“Time travel requires lots of planning.”

I glanced over at him curiously before dropping it. “I guess we can’t be perfect. At least you’ve gained control of yourself.” Of course, I’m not happy that he’s hurt people, but most vampires have done a hundred times worse.

“No, we cannot.”

“Have you ever fed off one of mine?”

“No, their blood is toxic to us after they transition, except maybe not for you since you are one.”

“I have to feed from Jaylon. I tried to use a blood bag Tuesday, it tasted awful.”

“Of course it does. Your body will only allow you to drink fresh from your mate while you're pregnant. It rejects everything else.” That is so weird to hear. I’m pregnant. It just makes it feel so much more real. If you told me that this would be my life at the beginning of May, I’d call you delusional.

“Why?”

“To protect you and the baby from poisoning.”

“But you can still get poisoned any other way?”

“It’s just cutting one obstacle.”

“So the only way to feed is to hurt the father? That just sounds disturbing?”

“You aren’t hurting him. His body will make up for the loss within minutes,” Noah argued. “Have you told him?”

“I don’t want to tell him. I know Jaylon. He’s going to want to figure it out on his own. Does the whole castle know?”

“No. I can only tell because of how you act.”

“How?”

“I can’t tell you, My Love. It’s my secret.” A smirk came to his lips as I fought off pleading for an answer. Since when did he decide to be so secretive?

“Where did you get the My Love from?”

“Does it bother you?”

“No, I’m just curious where it came from. Like people calling each other Baby because everyone else says it, or how Gatsby calls Nick Old Sport because he heard it from Dan. Where did you get My Love?” It's not like the term is rare or unheard of, but how many people just pop up with My Love?

“I don’t think about it, but I guess it comes from my father. In his letter, that’s how he referred to my mother. He adored her, just as I do you.” I gently grabbed his hand and smiled up at him before turning my attention to the setting sun. Noah’s still young, yet so acquainted with death. But at the same time, his eyes are somehow full of love and hope. To be fair, he did cause some of the death, but I can’t imagine being 15 or 16 all alone and dealing with a new craving. “Do you still want me to meet your parents?” Noah spoke up behind me.

“Yes, but Jaylon wants to tag along.”

“Would tonight be alright?”

“It will be perfect. . . if you promise not to mention the pregnancy.”

“It’ll be our little secret.”

You know, I thought Jaylon was just saying that in the car the other day, but he was surprisingly welcoming. I think it's because he wants another babysitter for me, but for whatever reason, they’re getting along and that's all I can ask for. My parents seemed to like Noah too after they smothered him with questions.

I excused myself after hearing a car coming up the driveway. Usually, our unannounced guests don’t show up by car, so this is new. I leaned against the stairs, watching the door curiously until it opened and a wet figure appeared. “Where the actual hell have you been?”