Forever His True Mate

Chapter 5

Conor walked into his house after unlocking the  door. He immediately noticed a funny smell in the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and his normally well-hidden fangs elongated. He hissed vehemently as he saw movement of to his left. It was coming from… the kitchen? He moved faster than lightening and grabbed the intruder by the collar and flung them across the room, knocking over a chair and completely demolishing the other. “What the f**k dude?!!!” An extremely disgruntled voice said. The man picked himself up off the floor. “Daniel?” Conor said slowly. Though he could see perfectly well in the dark, he flipped the light switch on the wall, just to be sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. “That’s my name. Look what you did! Now I have to start making my sandwich from scratch! Thanks.” Daniel said shooting Conor a dirty look before the got another plate and returned to the refrigerator. “If it’s any consolation, I did ruin my favorite set of dining room chairs.” Conor chuckled as he left the room.

            Daniel enter the living room. “I don’t understand why you eat human food. It just makes you sick.” Conor said as he watched Daniel take a large bite of his sandwich. “Listen, I don’t ask you why you even keep human food, so don’t go asking me questions.” Daniel replied around a mouthful. Conor flipped on the tv for background noise. “What are you doing here anyway?” Conor asked after a minute. “I met this girl online dude. Figured I’d look you up while I’m in this part of the country.” Daniel replied wistfully as he set the empty plate one the floor in front of the chair that he currently occupied. “A girl online huh? Don’t tell me you’re still doing that dumb s**t?!!” Conor exclaimed with a furrowed brow and a shake of his head. “Listen, I only do it once a year and never were I have my residence.” Daniel defended himself. “So, you come to where I live?” Conor snorted back at him with mirth in his voice. “Dude, I didn’t know you were here until I caught your scent and followed it. You are my best friend and brother. And as such, you really need to do something about the security of your place my man. It was entirely too easy to get in here.” Daniel said with a serious expression. “Well I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t do your extracurricular activities in my back yard.” Conor said with a deadpan expression on his face. “It’s cool pickle. Everything is Kosher. I actually really like the girl, so I decided to just steal some blood from the hospital while I get to know this honey.” Daniel laughed at his own joke which was quickly replaced by a look of lust as he thought about his ‘honey’.

            The two friends sat in silence for a while. Each man in their own thoughts and still as statues. Suddenly Daniel jumped up. “Be back!!” he said racing toward the bathroom. All Conor could hear was Daniel blowing chunks and paying homage to the porcelain god. He couldn’t help but laugh at his best friend. Daniel had really never accepted his afterlife. He thought that by some miracle, if he kept eating human food that one day that he would be able to tolerate and taste it. Vampires could take in whatever substance they wanted. The vampire body could only metabolize human and some types of animal blood. Conor licked his human blood. It was like pork to some humans, can’t get enough. However, Conor bought his blood legally. He didn’t bite humans. Though he couldn’t catch human diseases, most humans had some type of vice that tainted the blood and could make a vampire feel sick. No vampire really wanted to go through the hassle of checking every neck they consider biting. Daniel was mostly the same. Except once a year, to keep his sanity, he liked to find a woman and enjoy the hunt.

            Conor got up and headed to a small deep freezer in the far corner of the kitchen “Hey dude, I’m going to go see if I can get my cutie to come out on the town with me. I’ll see you later. I’m sure you won’t mind if I commandeer your couch while I’m in the area.” Daniel called, and without waiting for a response, he grabbed his jacket and jetted out the door. Conor opened the freezer and removed a bag of hospital blood. He didn’t much like it, but it spared his humanity. Just because you were dead didn’t mean you couldn’t be human.  He chuckled to himself . Who was he really trying to be human for? He had lost not one but two true mates. Losing one was to lose oneself. A part of you died and you feel as though you will never be whole again. He had been fortunate. Most vampires will only find one true mate. The mate could be any matter of Fae creature or human. Very rarely did you ever find a vampire who had met a true mate more than once. Now you could make anyone your mate, but a true mate plays on a whole different ball field. The bond between two true mates could be so deep that the couples could often share thoughts and emotions after the bond has been sealed. Conor could remember how it felt to figure out that he had found his true mate in Stephanie, his beautiful red headed, violet eyed love.

***Flashback***

            The market was packed. The local royalty was holding a grand ball to celebrate a political union between them, and the neighboring landed and wealthy gentry. Conor could see her hair through the crowd. Red. As though he had called her name, she turned and stared straight into his eyes. If there was a soul behind his eyes, she seemed to be searching for it. She smiled at him and he melted. Suddenly she disappeared. Conor walked towards where he had just seen her. Damn. She was gone.

            That evening at the ball, Conor stood at a distance as he watched the bejeweled and wigged royalty waltz around the large dance floor that occupied the middle of the large hall. There were three ornate chandlers hanging from the ceiling. On one end of the hall sat the long horizontal table that held the Lord and Lady of both lands as well as the rest of the wedding party. All seemed to be feeling the effects of the freely flowing wine. Both sides of the hall were lined with even longer vertical tables that held the guests and revelers.  

            Conor saw her as soon as she walked in the room. Her hair was piled high on her head. She wore a deep green, high collared, lace necked gown that made her violet eyes seem brighter. She was standing next to what looked like to be her chaperone. Conor slowly walked around the ballroom and approached the woman from behind. He wouldn’t give her a chance to snake away this time. He grinned to himself as he approached her unnoticed. “Hello Miss.” He said softly to her. She started as she swung around with her fist balled up and struck him square in the jaw. There was a crunch “Owww!!” she exclaimed shaking her hand. Conor grabbed her hand and begin to massage the dislocated fingers. They popped effortlessly back into place. The woman watched his precariously with slight wonder in her eyes.

            Conor dropped her hand and looked around to see if anyone had witnessed the exchange. No. Everyone was too preoccupied watching the jesters and musicians to pay them much mind.  “Thank you, m’ lord.” She said looking into his eyes. In that second, Conor had a strange sensation.  It was not pain, but instead felt like patch of irritated skin right on his rib cage. Strange, he thought to himself. “Why ever did you hit me?” He chuckled at her. “You startled me. My arm acted of its own accord. I apologize m’lord.” She replied with a deep curtsy. “I am Lord Conor, 1st Earl of Clanricarde.  And you would be?“ he said with a bow and an expectant look at her. “Stephanie. Daughter of the blacksmith.” She replied. “Ah, the blacksmith huh? He’s quite the poplar one isn’t he.” Conor replied. The town’s blacksmith had made a name for himself as making the best swords and chain mail. The fact that he had been invited to such an event attested to his standing within the village. Stephanie’s chaperone seemed to notice his presence. “M’lady, you should stand so close to this lord. Your father will have my hide if he catches you.” The chaperone took Stephanie’s hand and led her away. With one last look at Conor, she relented and followed the nanny.

            Conor decided to take his leave. He didn’t feel normal. Something about that woman affected him. When his horse and carriage was brought around, he directed his chauffer to take him home and got in and settled into the soft, plush silk of the sets and brought Stephanie’s face and voice back into his mind. When he arrived sometime later, he carried himself to his washroom and removed his shirt. On his rib cage lay the outline of a tattoo. It was in the shape of a Celtic heart. He had heard of this. The beginnings of the true mate mark. That’s what he was feeling. Strange. It felt kind of like butterflies and peace. Was he ready? He had heard of it being intense. Suddenly he was attacked by a longing to see her face. To feel her body. To feel her love. He would see her again. He would never let her go. Hopefully, she would accept him for who he was and what they could have. In the end, the choice was hers.