It Had To Be You

Chapter 13

Copyright © 2024 Cassey9

Third Person P.O.V

Hazel trailed her fingers gently through her son's hair. The black, luscious locks were silky against her fingers and matched her wife's dark, wave-like hair. Liam's sleep warm skin was soft, inviting and Hazel drew her son closer and kissed his temple. Laying next to Liam was their daughter, Lea too, was fast asleep in their bed.

"Will they be fine?" Hazel asked from where she lay across from her vampire wife. She gazed at their two children who lay asleep, oblivious to her motherly worries.

Lenora attention moved from the animation playing on the big screen to her wife. They'd it put on for Liam who'd fallen asleep halfway through. "Yes, Cara Mia. They'll be fine," the vampire answered and reached over to take her mate's hand. Lenora shifted to face her wife and smiled encouragingly whilst intertwining their fingers, "They are much stronger. Way stronger than we could imagine."

"I'm more worried about her," Hazel whispered gesturing to her only daughter with her gaze. Asleep now, Lea looked calm, peaceful, far much better than how she was when she had first arrived home a few hours prior.

Lenora's jaw tensed as she gazed down at her daughter too. Her little princess had been in tears and repeating the same words over and over. 'She Knew' These two words were stuck in the vampire's mind.

Who knew?

What did they know?

The words were a conundrum. Like a riddle that lacked the necessary clues to help unveil its true meaning. Lenora wished she knew, maybe then she could alleviate some of her daughter's pain. Her pleas to Lea to open up had landed on deaf ears. Lea had been numb, she refused eat or talk about whatever that was upsetting her. A couple of minutes into their movie with their son, Lea had silently slid into their bed and fallen asleep with tears still trickling down her eyes.

"She'll be fine," Lenora assured her wife despite half believing those words.

"I just wish she could to talk to us," Hazel hopelessly murmured. "That she would open up. Be free with us. We are her parents, honey. Us."

"She'll come to us when the time is right, remember, you told me that, Cara Mia," the vampire said softly.

"I know, but when is that? Our daughter... our daughter is clearly hurting Lenora, now. She's hurting now, in this moment," Hazel softly cried. Lea was hurting, intensely and seeing her daughter this devasted was breaking her heart too.

"How about I talk to her," Lenora offered feeling her mate's anxiety in full force from their bond.

"Yes and I'll try too," Hazel whispered and rubbed away the tears streaked down her face. "But, if that doesn't work. I'll find another way. Your sister. She'll help. If there is someone our daughter can bare all her secrets to, it would be her."

Lenora looked away wanting to hide the displeasure evident in her face. The vampire had smelt her sister's scent on her daughter when she'd arrived home. Lenora wanted to argue against her wife's point but could not. There was some truth in Hazel's words. Since the start, Jillian held this allure that always had their daughter captivated. Lenora sensed something different though, she could feel it deep in her guts that Jillian had a hand in Lea's current state.

~~~~A few days later~~~~

The sweetness of the jam turned bland at the sight of the woman. Lea chewed on the piece of toast slowly and swallowed it with much difficulty despite the overwhelming urge to throw up. The intensity the vampires's presence brought robbed her off all her sane thoughts and reason. Lea set the bread down and looked around avoiding the vampire's gaze.

"Good morning," Jillian greeted the family. There were seated outside, in the manor's back terrace that had an abundance of greenery and flowers surrounding it. Her heart clenched at the sight before her. Could this picture perfect image become her own reality in the near future? Her gaze flitted to Lea and Jillian felt her heart drop when her mate simply ignored her.

Lea could feel the thunderous beat of her heart in her chest. A reaction that had been bolstered from the vampire's mere voice. Lea gazed down at her right hand, a limb that felt so foreign as it tremored from the vivid image in her mind. Even now, as she looked at her hand, she couldn't believe it was the same one that had struck her aunt two days ago.

"Jillian, come sit," Hazel called out excitedly. The sun felt warm this Sunday morning and the person she'd been waiting for, had finally come. "We are just having our brunch." Lenora looked up from the game Liam was showing her and gazed at her sister. Aside from seeing and talking to Jillian at the office, Lenora had barely seen her around the house.

"Jillian, good morning," Lenora curtly greeted. It was easier for her to note the change in air around them. Lenora's gaze shifted to her daughter and the vampire took a quick inventory of Lea. Her daughter's calm stance had completely switched the moment her sister walked in. Tears shone in her daughter's eyes and it took Lenora all her willpower to not throttle her sister for being the cause of her daughter's unhappiness. Lea looked like she was about to bolt as she sat at the edge of her seat with her feet bouncing up and down nervously.

"Aunt Jillian," Liam called out breaking the tension that clung around them. He moved from his seat to greet her aunt.

"I bought you this," Jillian said revealing the grey gift bag she'd been holding behind her. "Your mother told me you were unwell."

"No way," Liam gasped as he pulled out the latest volume in the avengers series. It was one of his favorite comics. "Thank you, Aunt Jillian."

Jillian smiled as Liam rushed to show his mother's the gift he'd just received.

"Come sit," Hazel invited the woman who still stood a few feet from the table.

"May I be excused," Lea finally spoke up. The request came out more shrill than she'd expected. Lea hastily pushed her chair back and stood. She couldn't bear to staying in close proximity with the woman that had withheld the truth for so long. More so her aunt's searing gaze was making her squirm and her mother had caught this.

"Yes princess," Lenora said. Her daughter looked like she needed the break and the vampire intended to follow her soon after.

Hazel watched in horror as Lea literally dashed out of the room. She looked at the vampire still standing and signalled her to follow. At the sound of a chair being pulled back, Hazel's hand shot out and silently gestured at her wife to sit back down.

"Our daughter," Lenora protested as she watched Jillian follow Lea.

"I know what I'm doing," Hazel retorted and gave her wife a warning look that had the vampire back in her chair.

"Mom look," Liam called out to the vampire oblivious of everything happening around him.

~~~~~~~~

Jillian swallowed as she hastily followed after her mate. Her muffled sobs were loud in her ears and Jillian was well aware that her older sister could hear them too. The sound of a door opening and closing aided in her chase. Her mate had re-entered the house. Jillian hurried after Lea, she needed to clear the air around them.

Her mate's parent's were worried and Jillian knew for a fact that a worried and trouble Lea equaled a worried trouble Lenora. Her sister was dangerous, unfathomable when it came to the ensuring the wellbeing of her children. The vampire heard another open and close so she followed the sound. The looks of surprise and worry met her hastened steps and she politely nodded at the staff present in her wake. The last thing Jillian wanted was for her mate to drive off all upset.

Stepping out the manor's front door, Jillian surveyed the surrounding. Her mate's car was still present, parked right next to her parents' cars. Jillian looked to the right and spotted Lea quickly walking downhill. She followed at a distance, glad Lea hadn't driven away in anger. Jillian watched when Lea approached the picnic area situated under the huge oak tree within the manor's compounds. Her niece sat on the swing suspended from one of the tree's branches.

"Hey," Jillian softly greeted when Lea refused to look up and acknowledge her presence. "Angel..." Her call also went unanswered, ignored as Lea gently swung back and forth. "Dear, look at me. My Angel."

"No," Lea refused despite her heart melting at her aunt's endearing tone.

"Talk to me," the vampire implored stepping forward. Jillian held the swing's ropes and steadied her mate's slight shifting. "Let's talk about it. Please, at least look at me, angel."

"Don't call me that," Lea quietly spoke as tears blurred her vision. She gasped as a hand cupped her face, the touch cool and titillating. The vampire before her was making it hard to stay mad. Yet all Lea needed was some space. To go away so she could stay angry at her aunt like she deserved.

Lea pushed forward eager to get off the swing but her rushed movement had her losing her footing. She abruptly crashed into the body in front of her. "Sorry..." Her apology was cut short at the feel of an arm encircling her waist as she was steadied to to her feet. "Let go," Lea uttered when the vampire's arm remained in place long after.

"Angel, look at me."

"No. So you can lie to my face again," she fought back. "Can you let go."

"No," Jillian refused, "No more running. Your parents are worried about you."

Lea let out a laugh and struggled to move away but remained planted. Time and time, her strength proved small as compared to her aunt's. "Did you come here for them? Did they send you?" She asked in exasperation. The answer lay in the silence and if further angered Lea. "Well you can tell them I'm fine! I don't need you and I most certainly don't need your help."

"You're hurting..."

"And who is to blame for that," Lea questioned cutting the vampire short. "Who? Who is to blame, Aunt Jillian?"

"Me," the vampire uttered with a defeated sigh.

"Thank you. Now that you have your answer you can let go of me," Lea murmured sarcastically, "I can't be around a person that constantly hurts me and... and you do that."

Jillian felt disappointment settle in her chest but her arm had a mind of its own. She continued to hold onto her mate. Letting go wasn't an option.

Neither shifted as the silence grew thicker around them. The feel of the vampire pressed against her was taunting. It teased her already tortured state of mind, "Aunt Jillian..."

"I'm sorry," Jillian pleaded in sorrow. "I did it for you."

"You lied for my sake?"

"I didn't lie," the vampire defended heatedly, "I just. I just didn't tell you the truth. To protect you. I was protecting you, my angel."

"Protecting me? From what?"

"From a life you didn't choose to begin with," Jillian answered passionately. She let go and moved away to pace and reign herself in. The vampire ran her fingers through her hair and pulled at it angrily from the intense frustration she felt. "Fate brought us together, yes. I'm not refuting that. But this shouldn't be your life. You shouldn't be bound to me for all eternity. You deserve happiness, normalcy, marriage..."

"Stop! Stop talking!" Lea cried out. Her face reddened as a wave of fury crashed through her. "Who are you to know about all I want. Who? Who are you? To decide... decide all these things that you want for me!"

"I want you to be happy. To have a ful..."

Lea raised her hand up silencing the woman and her misguided believes on what was right for her. "You said nothing! All this time you said nothing while I tortured myself with these... these feelings that I couldn't explain. You knew and kept quiet! All along you knew that we meant something deep. That... That we were meant for each other. But you still kept quiet and watched as I suffered, questioned myself and all the emotions I felt." The more Lea talked the more her anger sprung to life. Her feelings, her profound yearning for the vampire had tortured her, kept her awake and made her doubt her sanity. She questioned herself, her moral compass. Lea had felt like she was wrong, immoral all the while the truth laid with her aunt who could have made her feel sane. "Why? Why didn't you say anything."

Not even her mate's anger could stop the vampire from noticing the way the blonde looked breathtaking. "Lea, a life with me isn't something you would want," Jillian gently explained.

"How do you know that?" Lea questioned angrily striding towards the vampire. "What makes you think that you know what is good for me? Are you God?"

"Angel..."

"It's Lea," she furiously corrected her aunt and roughly bumped their shoulders as she walked past the woman. "Don't even think about following me. I'll scream."

The vampire snarled at the last remark and turned fully intent on getting to her mate. Without a single thought to Lea's warning, Jillian closed the distance between them and embraced her mate from behind. "Please, don't go."

"Aunt Jillian," Lea whimpered at the breath fanning her neck. "Let me go." She let out a groan as the arms on her torso held her snuggly. Lea felt a hand caress her abdomen as her mid-riff shirt lifted.

"Don't go," Jillian pleaded with a whisper, her voice hoarse and laden with need.

"Why... why then didn't you tell me?" Lea questioned as she leaned into the vampire. Lea let out a small cry at the gentle kiss placed at the nape of her neck. She openly shuddered and closed her eyes as sensations flooded through her system from the feather-like feel of her aunt's lips.

"I didn't want to burden you with truth, my angel," Jillian confided.

"What if I wanted to carry that burden, Aunt Jillian?"

"It's forever Lea. For all eternity."

Lea turned in the arms enfolding her and rested her arms against the vampire's chest. "I'm strong. I can deal with it," Lea breathed out as tears trembled on her lower lashes. "I'm not a child anymore. Can't you see that?"

"You don't deserve this life, Lea."

"You mean I don't deserve to be happy?" Lea questioned feeling annoyance seeping into her when her aunt repeated that same phrase. "That you don't deserve happiness. Is that what you mean, Aunt Jillian?"

"We are related."

"Not by blood," Lea countered back clearly recalling Maddie's argument when she had voiced the same issue.

"I'm you aunt."

"This isn't incestuous," Lea candidly stated, "Don't turn something so beautiful be so vile."

"I'm confused," Jillian revealed. Lea was mad but she wasn't sure about what from the way the conversation was flowing. Jillian needed clarification. A sign that would clear all her doubts away,"So, you want this? Me? Us?"

"Do you?" Lea fired back as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. A rejection from the vampire would devastate her.

A breeze blew by and with it came the courage to affirm what she felt. Jillian faintly nodded before adding, "I've been waiting for you for so long, my angel," Jillian murmured with a slight tremor in her voice. Her hand raised and she slowly rubbed away the trail of tears in her mate's face. The vampire could clearly hear the furious pounding of her mate's heart and it rid her of the fear that still lingered within. Jillian drew Lea's face close and did what her heart, soul and mind craved at once.

Lea gasped inaudibly. The kiss was gentle, slow and it effortlessly robbed her off all her senses. "It's... It's hard... It's hard to stay mad at you," Lea stammered still dizzied from the small kiss, "When you do that, when you kiss me... kiss me like that."

"That's the plan," Jillian purred proudly. She simpered at the red hue gracing her mate's cheek that Jillian too couldn't help a shy chuckle. The joy within her was exponential.

"Do it again."

The vampire happily obliged and leaned down for more sweetness. This round, Jillian was far braver. Her lips were firm as she kissed Lea thoroughly as a hot rush of passion descended on her. Jillian groaned aloud as she relished in the sensual feel of their lips moving against each other.The vampire was starved of her mate and the low moans from her mate were encouraging her on. Jillian wanted nothing but to take Lea away and never return.

"Oh...god," Lea exclaimed as her chest heaved up and down as she greedily drew in gulps of air. Sparks of flame had ignited within her from the kiss. Lea hadn't expected to feel this much from such a simple caress. The vampire lips had been firm yet soft and hot as they glided against hers. The tugging of her lower lip by the vampire's teeth as their kiss broke had left Lea weak at the knees. The hunger furiously coursing within her, surprised Lea as much as the exquisitenness of the pleasure her aunt's touch ignited.

"We'll take it slow?"

"As slow as you want, my angel. Anything."

"Okay," Lea said as her trembling fingers felt her lips. "I... I really want this."

The genuineness in her mate's voice gave Jillian hope. She finally let go and smiled radiantly at her beautiful mate, "Your words bring me so much joy, my angel," Jillian revealed. As much as she wanted to pull Lea back into her arms she refrained, she could feel Lenora's presence closing in on them.

"No more hiding stuff?" Lea questioned, "Important stuff. Like this, right?"

Staring at her angel, Jillian smiled hoping her mate caught the sincerity she was portraying. Not breaking eye contact, Jillian solemnly vowed, "No more secrets, my angel. No more."