Mixed Worlds

Chapter Twenty Three - Hand In The Candy Jar

     “I know you won’t hurt me. But I know you need blood, and I don’t know how much we have left.” I take the pocket knife out of my pocket, and open the blade. I look up at Alex and he’s staring at me. One would think that staring into pitch black eyes would be intimidating, or even frightening, but I’m not, no matter how crazy it might sound. He’s breathing heavy, and looks nervous.

    “Are you sure?” I nod. Alex slowly takes my hand in his, and looks at me for reassurance. I bring the knife up to my hand, and slice the fatty part of my palm. My blood begins to pool in my hand and I lift it up to his mouth. He wraps his lips around my cut, and begins to suck. 

    Immediately I feel my legs become shaky, and I can feel my arousal building up. He pulls me closer, and I let out a soft moan. He’s breathing harder, and takes another gulp. Another moan escapes my mouth, and I wrap an arm around his waist. His fingers drag across my arm to the back of my head, and he pulls my hair back as I cry in pleasure.

     “f**k, Alex…” I moan. He pulls his mouth back, and licks the cut. I look down and it’s sealed up. We’re both panting and can’t pull away. He licks his lips, and caresses my face. “Kiss me.” I cry. He pulls my lips up to his, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. I feel a fire burning inside of me that only he can put out. He grabs ahold of my ass with both hands and lifts me up onto the counter. I wrap my arms and legs around him and tangle my fingers in his hair. He pulls back and bites my lower lip. I look into his eyes, and his deep blue colour has returned. I lick my lips and hum in pleasure. He begins to kiss my neck, and trails his kisses back up to my lips.

     “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Alexander.” I warn.

      He pulls back and smirks. “Say it again.” He grabs my thighs with an evil smile.

       “What?” 

       “My name. Say it again.” He demands. 

       “Alexander,” I say with a soft tone. “I said don’t start something you can’t finish.” I go in for another kiss, and he steps back. 

         “As much as I’d love to make you mine, we need answers first.” Suddenly, I feel like a kid with their hand caught in the candy jar. With a pout, I jump down from the counter and sulk.

         “I hate that you’re right.” I sigh. “I’ll call Anna and Lucas and have them meet us in the library. I’ll have them make sure that Jack knows to stay away.” I fix my hair, and wipe my face.  Alex kisses my forehead, and takes my hand in his.

        “Hows your head?” He asks, still short of breath.

         “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” I bring my free hand up and check for blood. I gasp when I feel that there is no blood, but also not even an open wound. “It’s gone?” I turn around and part my hair. “Can you make sure I’m not going crazy and check for me please?” I ask in a huff. He parts my hair, and he feels around my scalp where my cut should be.

      “Nothing there. When did you get this?” He traces his fingers along the back of my neck, and I giggle. 

    “When I learn a new ability, the mark, or rune, for that power shows up on my body. I have a couple other ones too.” He pulls my hair back into place, and fixes my hair into a half braid and secures it with the little elastic I had previously used to hold my tiny ponytail. “Where did you learn to do that?” I feel over the braid and turn back around. He pulls a few strands of hair out to frame my face, and rests his hands on my arms. 

      “When I was younger, there were a few girls I went to school with that lived in a pretty rough area. I overheard some of them say how they’d never had their hair done, so I offered to learn so I could help them out. Almost every day I was braiding hair, just to have some sort of normalcy in my life.  I laugh about it now because everyone thought I was gay.” We both chuckle. 

       “That was so kind of you.” I smile. I give him a kiss on the cheek, and take his hand to lead him to the living room. I hear Lucas and Anna walk in, and they each take a chair. Alex and I are on the couch in the middle of the room. I give them each a reassuring look, and take a deep breath. “Is everyone ready?” They all nod. “I hope she’s listening.” I take my mothers book from the coffee table, and hold it tight against my chest. I close my eyes and I think of my time I spent asleep, when I was visiting Mimi and training with Athena. I think of our bond, and how we share a lot of similar features. I have her heart shaped face, with a strong jawline. Our hair is the same golden brown, and our eyes are an intricate blend of green, blue, and brown, with a golden ring around the iris. “Mom, I need you.” I open my eyes, and I notice a light shining behind the closet door off to my left. I stand up, and the door opens. “Mom!” I cry. She’s wearing her same flowing white dress, with her golden belt and gold sandals to match. Her hair  has a French braid on the left side starting from her temple down to her neck, and the rest is flowing free.

     “Hello my daughter. As I have told you before, I promise I am always listening for you.” I drop my book and run into my mother’s arms. She’s shocked at first, but then wraps her arms tightly around me and strokes my hair. “Ti symvaínei? What is wrong?” Her accent is so soothing, and I sink into her embrace. I squeeze her one more time and pull away. I hold her hands in mine and take a deep breath. 

    “A lot has happened in the few days I’ve been awake mama. I have so many questions that I don’t think I can find in your book.” I let go of her hands and open myself to the room. “Athena, this is Anna, she took me in after Martin died and taught me all she knows. She is like a sister to me.” I wave my hand over to my best friend, and she gives a small curtesy. 

     “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” She says with a smile. 

     “Oh please, call me Athena. Ma’am sounds so… old.” She winks. Anna laughs.

       “My apologies Athena.” She bows her head a little and smiles.

        I smile back at Anna, and continue my introductions. “You remember Lucas,” she nods. I take a deep breath. “And this,” I walk over to Alex, “this is Alexander. He is one of the reasons I called on you.” I take his hand in mine, and I give him a reassuring squeeze. 

        Athena walks over to us, and stands about half a foot taller than him. He fixes his posture and gives her a slight bow. “So, you are the vampire hybrid who believes he is to be mated to my daughter?” She asks with a strong voice. We all stand in shock, and wait for his response. His complexion pales, and he gulps. He lets go of my hand, and holds his hands in front of him.

        “Y-yes, your grace.” He bows his head, a little deeper than before. “I believe so. Ever since I met her, I have felt a pull towards her and wanted to do nothing but protect her, and care for her. It’s as if she has become my air.” He takes a look at me, and gives me a small smile. “We are hoping to get a few questions answered, so we can figure out what to do.” 

       My mother looks over at me, and sighs. “I knew you would one day mate with someone, but I did not imagine it would be a creature of the night.” She walks over to the loveseat, and signals us to sit. We walk over to the couch, and sit down. “Usually, a God or Goddess will mate with another one of their kind, but sometimes it is to a human or a witch. There was one time many years ago where a God had fallen in love with a vampire and they mated, and they were both exiled.” She looks at Alex. “Now, back then, Vampires were nothing but evil and would do anything for their next feed, and that is not the case here. Tell me about yourself, Alexander.”

       Alex begins to tell Athena the same stories we all heard within the past two days, skipping over the fact that Christian is his father. In some spots her expressions change from concerned, to angry and sad. Then we both explain what happened with Jack, and I can see she is angry again. She waits silently for us to finish, and leans forward and places a hand on his knee. 

    “It is very hard and unheard of for someone to have the upbringing that you did, and turn a sharp corner to make sure that they don’t end up down the same road. I am proud that you were able to create your own path in life. I know it must not have been easy. You are a vampire hybrid, but I see nothing but a human soul inside of you. Thank you for making sure my daughter was alright.” She leans back into her chair, and crosses her legs. “So, what is it that you wish to know?” She asks.

    “Well, you’ve kind of already answered the mate question, but the next part is a little more difficult to understand.” I say. “Alex does not want to be a hybrid. He’s okay with not aging, and being sensitive to the sun, but he doesn’t want to live off of blood for the rest of his life, and have his bloodlust become an issue when he gets angry or feels drained.” I explain. “I’ve given him a couple of blood bags that we got when we took Christian, but we are almost out and the next blood drive isn’t for another two months.” I take his hand in mine, and look into his bright blue eyes. “We want to know if there is a way to suppress his vampire genes, or find a way to remove them.” I let go of his hands and open my arms to her, revealing my tattoos. “I’ve used a few different powers, and these symbols appeared. Healing, protection,” I pull my dress to the side so she can see my shoulder. “And on the back of my neck, I believe is the symbol of serenity. They all appeared after I did something that used my abilities. I don’t know if there is one to take care of what we’re looking for. I know that when I healed Alex’s shoulder he told me that he wasn’t thirsty anymore, but then a series of events happened and it came back.” I pause, and wonder if I should continue. “Then, when Alex was cleaning up my head, his thirst was back from what happened with Jack, and the fact that I was hurt and bleeding didn’t help either.” I take his hand again, and squeeze. “I ended up-”

    “There is something else I have to tell you, miss.” Alex cuts me off, and clears his throat. “Christian is my father.” I gasp, and my mother stays silent. “I apologize for not mentioning it earlier, but I wanted you to hear my story before you were able to judge me on who I am related to. When I met your daughter, I had no idea what he had done until she had brought me back here, and told me what happened. I have not acknowledged him or my title in a very long time, and it was not until within the past year that I had begun to track him down.” Athena raises a hand, and Alex stops. 

    “This I already knew. Your features are vaguely similar, and you have a similar but faint scent than he does. However, your soul is entirely different from him, and I too waited to hear what you had to say before I passed any judgment. I also know that my daughter gave you permission to feed from her, in efforts to tame your thirst.”

    “What?” We all turn our heads and see Jack standing in the doorway. “You let him drink from you?” He’s angry, and I can see his expression darken.

    “Jack, what are you doing here? Anna and I told you to leave the bunker for a few hours.” Lucas stands up and puts himself in between Jack and I. We all stand up, and I move Alex behind me. Jack takes a step, and Lucas moves closer to him and puts a hand on his chest. “Jack, you need to leave.” He swats Lucas’ hand off of him, and looks right at Alex.

    “You bit her?” He yells.

    “Jack, you don’t understand, and you need to leave.” I put my hand out, hoping he’ll listen.  My mother walks over to Jack, and is standing a few feet in front of him. 

    “You smell of demon blood. What have you been up to, Jackson?” She glares at him, and I can tell she’s pissed.

    “You’re right, I don’t understand. I don’t understand how it’s possible for you to end up with some thing that we’ve been hunting down and killing for YEARS!” his words sting, and I feel my throat begin to close up. Alex sets a hand on my side, and pulls me back against him. “I love you so much that it hurts Ally. You have no idea how much it hurts to see you with him.” He spits.  

    “Sit. Down. Now!” Athena booms. Jack’s face goes blank, and he walks past all of us and sits down on the loveseat across from where Alex and I are standing. “I’ve just about had enough of your attitude, and lack of consideration for others. You are very lucky that my daughter cares so much about you, otherwise I would drag you to the Underworld myself for hurting her, and causing her to bleed. Do I make myself clear?” Her voice holds so much power, that the room vibrates. He nods. “Good. Now let’s discuss another matter. Ally, my sweet, it seems that you might have two mates. When your powers came to fruition, it must have connected to the supernatural side of Jack, hence the bond.” My mouth drops open.

    “What? What do you mean, two, mates? I’m just starting to wrap my head around the fact that I might have one, let alone two!” I look at Alex, and he looks angry. His face darkens, and he glares at Jack. 

    “I will NOT. Share my mate with someone who has caused her pain.” He holds me tighter, and I can feel him shaking. I turn myself so I’m facing him, and I rest my hands on his chest.

    “Hey, look at me. Everything’s going to be alright. Calm down for me, okay?” He looks down at me and softens up a little. He lets go of his grip on me, and holds my hand.

    “Anything for you, my love.” I swear I would jump this man right now if there weren’t a room full of people with us. 

    “So what does this mean? I have to choose one?” I ask my mother.

    “Well, it’s not all that common, it’s also not uncommon for someone to have two mates. Usually they work together to make sure that their mate is nothing but happy and filled with love, others make the choice to leave, and reject one or both of their mates.  There’s also a way for the competing mates to settle it for themselves. They would fight until one concedes, or dies.” My mother walks closer to me, and bends over so she is closer to my height. “It is your choice what will happen.” I shake my head.

    “No, I won’t make them fight. It would kill me. I care about Jack, but I know it’s not the same way he does for me anymore. I want nothing but to help Alex the best way I can, and I think it would hurt too much if I lost him.” I begin to feel tears running down my face, and Alex hugs me. 

    “I’ll fight him. If that means you’re mine, I’ll kill him if I have to.” Jack stands up and balls his fists at his sides.

    “No! I am not some prize that can be won! Do you not understand that it will hurt me more to lose him? I won’t let you hurt him!” My voice echoes throughout the room, and Jack is knocked back into his chair. I feel Alex’s arms leave me, and I begin to get closer to Jack. I feel heat radiate out from me, and now I’m pissed. “I can never, ever love you the way you want me to! You choose demon blood over me again and again, and you’ve caused more pain in the last few days than I have felt in a long time.” I tower over him and feel the urge to beat him unconscious.

    “I can’t accept you, Jack. You keep making the same mistakes and you never stop to think how it would affect me, or anyone else.” Jack’s expression widens, and he cries out and doubles over in pain. I suddenly realize that I have been levitating, and I can tell that my eyes are glowing. I touch the ground, and stand over him. I try to reach out to make sure he’s okay, not realizing that I was hurting him. He’s angry now and pushes me away from him. I stumble back, and Alex catches me before I fall. 

    “Well, that solves one issue.” Anna says. I look over her and roll my eyes.

    “Totally not the right time right now, Anna.” I snap. “This is all too much.” I look back at Jack. “You do not get to have some weird ass claim over me, and I can’t be around you right now. Not until you’ve calmed down, and there’s not a single drop of demon blood in your system. This time, you can sweat it out.” I walk over to the couch, and sit down. “Can everyone please leave? I’d like to just talk to my mother and Alex for a bit. My head hurts.” I lean forward and hang my head in my hands. Anna starts to leave the room, and Lucas grabs Jack and takes him out of the room.

    “Come find me when you’re ready babes, I’ll be in the gym.” I nod, and everyone leaves. I let out a sigh, and Alex sits beside me. Today is going to be a long day.