It Had To Be You

Chapter 12

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Copyright © 2024 Cassey9

"Relax, it'll only sting for a second," Jillian whispered as she watched him undo the first few buttons of his shirt before fully untucking it from his pants.

Pulling his collar down, Dominic bared his neck in anticipation. "I'm ready."

Jillian nodded as her fangs unsheathed. She could vividly hear his pounding heart. The carotid artery in his neck looked more prominent from how fast blood was coursing through his body. The vampire shut her eyes, took a deep breath and readied herself for the bite. She had fed from Dominic thrice already and despite having to compel him at the end of their time together, a fondness for his company was surely developing. They were kindred spirits and compelling him later on, left her feeling at ease about her secrets and how much she'd exposed to him. The flowers today though, Jillian thought to herself were a bit over the top. Jillian drew closer to the curve of his neck but stopped at the sound of another erratically beating heart. The vampire only fully pulled back at the loud thumping on her door that followed.

"I'll go get it!" Dominic announced cheerfully despite the twinge of annoyance coursing through him.

Jillian's protest at his offer were drowned by the loud, ongoing frantic banging. Dominic was off and a few seconds later utter silence eclipsed the loud ruckus. The vampire immediately knew who it was. With the feeding frenzy that had overshadowed her mind clearing, Jillian fully felt Lea's presence in her proximity. Her mate had come to her. The vampire could feel her niece's ire without even having to look at Lea. Jillian shot up from the couch and turned to gaze towards the hallway that led to the door just as her mate stepped forth.

"Aunt Jillian?"

Her mate's pained gaze sent a shiver of apprehension through the vampire. "Lea," Jillian managed to utter. She greatly despised the sight of tears marring her mate's brilliant blue eyes. And to know that she was the cause of her mate's anguish only served to worsen the vampire's guilt.

"She's your niece?" Dominic asked. "I'm Dominic. Your aunt and I are..."

"I just want to talk to my aunt please not... not you," Lea answered as she coldly ignored the hand he had extended out to her. She didn't need to learn about the nature of their relationship from this stranger. She just wasn't ready for that blow yet.

Jillian stared at her niece completely surprised by her rude remark and the edginess in her voice. Her angel looked like she was about explode so Jillian acted quick. The vampire picked up the coat that had been discarded on the floor and held it out to Dominic as he came to stand by her side, "You should leave?"

"What? We were just getting started, Jillian. I cleared my entire evening for us. I don't mind waiting for you to finish with your..."

"Leave," Jillian repeated but this round her tone left no room for debate.

Dominic snickered, annoyed by the sudden change of their plans. "Fine," he angrily muttered fixing his shirt and getting his coat on. "Could we at least talk and..."

Grabbing his forearm rather forcefully, Jillian pushed him ahead and towards the exit. Her eyes met with her mate's for a second and the vampire's heart further clenched when she caught a glimpse of Lea's lower trembling lip.

"I've been here enough times Jillian. I can show myself out."

"I know," Jillian said as her eyes turned red. She wasn't about to let him just go, not with what they were about to do still intact in his mind. Yet again, Jillian compelled the man, clearing his mind of everything she'd told him prior her mate's arrival.

Jillian shut the door gently after his departure and leaned against it gathering what little strength she could for the storm that brewed a few feet away awaiting her presence. "Lea," tentatively, the vampire called to her mate as she approached the living room. Lea was still, standing in the same place Jillian had left her. Her form appeared rigid despite the slight tremors that loudly spoke of the anger her niece was bottling inside her. "My Angel..."

"Stop. You didn't have to hide to kiss your boyfriend goodbye," Lea hissed out the accusations venomously, "You don't have to be modest around me anymore. I'm a grown up, Aunt Jillian."

A turmoil of emotions had brought her here, but the two most palpable ones were fear and the green-eyed monster. Also, Lea was very angry too. How could her aunt hide something this big, this important from her? They were friends. Close. They talked, shared almost everything they had to with each other. At least that's what Lea had believed. On the other hand though, her fear stemmed from the fact that she was surely losing her aunt. Her jealously too was fired up by this. The fact that she was losing Aunt Jillian to someone else. "Did I interrupt something?"

Jillian ignored the layered question and chuckled lightly. Putting on a smile, she approached her niece, "You do know that you scared him," Jillian tried making light of the conversation despite the panic swirling within her, "You almost knocked my door down."

"Did i interrupt then... your... your evening with him, Aunt Jillian?"

Jillian sighed. Her mate was a stubborn one. Lea wouldn't put to rest whatever notions she had in mind until she got her questions answered to her satisfaction, "It's not what you are..."

Lea gripped her thighs tightly in attempts to keep her fury in check. Her aunt hadn't outrightly denied her accusations. "God, I'm so stupid," Lea muttered under her breath. Jealously was making see red and it really hurt. Her entire body was in pain and her heart felt like it was in taters, literally, "I... I'm leaving. Sorry."

Jillian moved fast, materializing in front of her mate before Lea could even take a step forward, "Angel, come with me. Come sit down first..."

"Don't touch me!" Lea screamed shoving the woman away. The mere thought of her aunt's hands touching her when not long ago they had been on that hairy chested man repulsed her. "Why did I come here! I'm leaving and you can't stop me!"

"I won't let you leave in such a state," the vampire said stalking towards her mate. Lea backtracked slowly. She was very aware of the vast difference in her abilities as compared to her vampire aunt. She could not get away. "Sit. It's my duty to protect..."

"I don't want your protection!"

Taking her mate's hands in hers, Jillian drew closer, "No, don't cry my angel. Lea..."

"I'm so tired," Lea cried as she struggled against the hands holding her in place, "I'm so tired, Aunt Jillian. It hurts." Lea wanted to hurt the vampire, make her feel the pain that she was constantly enduring. She was tired of feeling this way. Lea didn't understand why she had to be a prisoner to inappropriate emotions that seemed to only grow more potent.

"What happened?" the vampire questioned with a sense of urgency. "Who hurt you, my angel? Who is it?"

Lea laughed bitterly at the questions and forcefully broke from the hold. "You! You always hurt me!" Jillian went still completely perplexed by her niece's outburst.

Lea let out a frustrated groan and threw the car keys still in her hand down before launching herself at the vampire. The shove caught Jillian by surprise as she dangerously stumbled backward. Lea wasn't done with her assaults as she slapped, punched her aunt's chest as hot, stinging tears burst through her eyes.

"Angel..."

"I'm so tired," Lea cried again. She was on a rollercoaster of wild emotions that was way out of her control.

"Angel, stop," Jillian struggled with her mate for a moment but in the end enfolded Lea in an embrace. The vampire held her mate tight as her own tears of despair spilled forth. As much as she wanted to admit it out loud she couldn't. She was tired too. Exhausted by fate's cruel workings in their lives.

After a while, when her sobs had lessened, Lea breathed in deeply and felt a sense of calm slowly taking over her. Pulling away from her aunt, Lea opened her eyes and gazed into the sad, dark ones staring right back at her. "I'm sorry for acting this way. I'm sorry I intruded on your time with him," Lea apologized coolly. "And... and I'm fine now, Aunt Jillian maybe... maybe you can call him back. Salvage whatever it was..."

"Nothing happened," Jillian explained curtly. "Your well-being is more important to me, my angel. He's just a friend."

"It's really none of my business," Lea apathetically breathed out the words. The man clearly meant something to her aunt if she had to go ahead and buy a place for just the two of them. The Dominic guys had said it all after all, he was always here with her aunt.

"I'm just making it clear, to you," Jillian stated.

"Are... Are you moving out? I mean... are you going to move in here with him?" Lea asked ignoring the dread that pulled at the depths of her stomach from the two questions.

"No." The vampire replied.

"Oh. Did you buy this for him then?"

"What? No."

"Why did you buy it then!" Lea demanded. The thought of her aunt moving out of the manor was driving her crazy. Lea was feeling a lot, wanting a lot and fearing a lot all at once.

"Lea."

"I just want to know," Lea whined and moved to sit down on the couch. Her legs felt weak and the more questions she asked, the more nauseous she felt whilst awaiting the answers. "Isn't home enough for you anymore? Aren't we enough? Why would you want to leave us? To leave me, behind?"

Jillian approached her mate and took the spot next to her, "It's not about that, angel. You are my family. My life."

Lea nodded accepting the truth behind her aunt's heartfelt declaration, but, she still needed to know the truth, "Why then? Aunt Jillian, you can tell me anything," Lea softly encouraged as she turned to face the woman who had forever taken hold of her mind, thoughts and emotions. "This morning, when I picked this out from your closet," Lea said pulling at the sweater, "I got paralyzed with fear, when... when I realized some of your things were gone. I was scared that... that you had really left. For good."

"I bought it for you," Jillian said indicating to the sweater Lea had on. The vampire had seen it in a*****e and immediately thought of her mate. Jillian loved it when Lea wore her clothes. "It really suits you, Angel."

"Were you at least going to tell me about this place?"

Jillian bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation, "I don't know."

Lea nodded her head and bit her lower lip at the jab of pain the three uncertain words signified, "Oh."

"It's not you it's..."

"Please don't use that line on me," Lea pleaded as more tears rolled down her cheek. "I know I'm the reason that made you take this decision. And that I make you uncomfortable..."

"Angel..."

"Let me finish," Lea demanded in between low sobs, "I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have kissed you that night. I can't blame it on the 'alcohol' because... because I wanted to do it. I wanted to kiss you. I still do, most of the times, Aunt Jillian! So yes I'm weird for harboring these kinds of feelings towards my aunt. But I do! No matter how much I try to steer my heart clear of you it doesn't work it... it stills yearns for you. I really like you and it scares me that you're pulling away. But," Lea halted to gather thoughts and breathe. She rubbed the tears away and defiantly stared at her aunt, "But as much as it hurts me to see you pull away, I'll respect your decision. I'll stay away just like you want. Maybe... maybe then... the distance... the distance will make these weird feelings fade."

"Stop. You're not weird, my angel. Nothing about you could ever be weird," Jillian whispered softly. "All I see when I look at you my angel, is a brave, kind and beautiful woman."

"I don't need you to butter me up. I'm weird and I have long accepted it," Lea answered her spirits crushed down. "I should go."

"I'm scared," Jillian offered up quickly halting her mate's movements. She fervently nodded backing up her words at the look of surprise that overtook her mate's face. The vampire looked away, too ashamed to hold Lea's eyes. Jillian felt her face being raised by the hand on her face. "I'm scared Lea, that once you know the truth nothing will ever be the same again. I'd die if I lost your love." In a moment of weakness, Jillian buried her face in the hand cupping it and placed a lingering kiss to the warm, silky palm.

"Nothing could ever change what is between us," Lea gently assured as she leant forward and rested her temple against her aunt's head. "You could never lose me. I'm yours."

Jillian's felt the change takeover at Lea's final declaration. Her vampire pushed forth and with red glowing eyes, all the years of restraint broke. "Mate," Jillian uttered the secret she'd kept hidden for more than two decades.

Lea's heart stopped at the one word. Her eyes slowly opened and she took a glimpse of the vampire only a whisper away from her. "Mate?" Lea repeated carefully. She felt her aunt shift, start to move away so she held on. Lea encircled the her arm around the vampire's neck. "Stop!" Lea demanded unwilling to end the moment they were in. "Please, stop."

"Mate," the vampire in Jillian let out in a pained whine. "Mine."

"Me?" Lea asked in a mixture of surprise, fear and happiness.

"Yes. Mine," the vampire in Jillian claimed again. This time more proudly. "You, you are my Mate."

"I'm your mate?" Lea fully articulated the question, "Me?"

Jillian swallowed, "Yes."

"Since... Since when did you know, Aunt Jillian?"

"Since the first day I saw you, my angel" Jillian answered tentatively.

"So you knew? All... all this while you knew?" Lea asked in disbelief. She pulled away, disentangling herself from the vampire as the truth continued to anchor down in her mind. Lea stood from the couch and started to pace around. Her aunt knew, she knew the truth from the start but never said a thing.

Jillian stood up and went to her mate. She reached out to Lea but the reception she got was far from what Jillian had anticipated. The smack came out of nowhere and the vampire saw stars for a few seconds before her gaze returned to her mate. "Lea, wait..."

Lea backtracked slowly unable to bear the truth, "You knew?" She brokenly whispered and sped out of the room.

She knew.

She always knew.

Her aunt always knew the truth.