Fate Chose Them All

Chapter 4 - Everett

I couldn't believe the legend was real. The Aradia was here in my arms, completely passed out. She was a student at the very school I had been teaching and studying at for three decades. On top of all of that, she was my Beloved. Cass. That's what she said her name was. Cass. Beautiful. Everything about her was. I set her down gently on the couch in my office, brushing the hair out of her face as her head leans toward me. Her hand is still clutched around a piece of paper, looking to be crushed in the attack. I couldn't help my curiosity, carefully unhooking one finger at a time from the paper.

Cassandra Ivy. Scholarship student. Two times a week private study with Professor Everett Damascus. Study requirements: assisting in unlocking Miss Ivy's magic. Progress report due in two month's time. Possible telekinesis ability based on the little magic revealed on first day of school. Unknown familial origins.

The note is signed by Mallory Revisham. Cassandra must've met with Revisham before coming this way. Then suffered that attack on the stairs. Although my magical abilities were few and far between from the witch blood on my mother's side, but it served me well enough to banish whatever those shadows were.

Clutching the note, I walk over to my desk and open my schedule for weekly availability, and see a couple options. I glance up at where my Beloved is sleeping on the couch. I cannot wait to spend extra time with her, teach her about magic, being the Aradia, and keeping her safe. I wonder if she will recognize me as her Twin Flame right away. According to my great-grandparents, my great-grandmother had to perform a ritual to be sure that my great-grandfather was her Twin Flame. Of course, with a single look in the eye, vampires recognize their Beloved immediately. He was patient with her, courted her, despite the scandal of mixed mating. Sadly, that scandal still stands to this day. Maybe Cassandra won't want to go through the headache of the gossip and the assumed disgrace of our pairing.

Uknown familial origins.

That part of the note rang through my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder how she grew up. Was she with her own kind? What happened to her birth parents? Was her adoptive family welcoming and loving? Why are her powers locked away? Would they be that way had she grown up with her birth family? How much does she know about herself? Does she know what it means to be the Aradia?

Although I can't wait to speak to my Beloved, I don't want to wake her after such an ordeal. Her wrists are burned, so she needs healing. I could call for a healer, or I could offer her my blood when she awakens. The thought of her feeding from me immediately has my c**k swelling.

A groan from the couch has my attention snap in that direction. I watch Cassandra as she stretches her limbs and blink around at her sights. Watching her as she awakens has my c**k at attention, thinking of watching her wake up every morning for the rest of our lives. I hold back a groan of my own, trying to get my erection down before I make my way to her.

"What- where am I?" she asks in the most hypnotizing voice I've ever heard.

Clearing my throat, I answer, "My office, which was apparently where you were heading. Do you remember what happened to you on the way here?" Worry creases my face as I watch her try to piece her memory back together. It doesn't matter how long you've been living in the supernatural world, being attacked by shadows is not an everyday occurrence.

"I had seen Ms. Revisham, and she gave me a note. I needed to see, um, a professor." Cassandra rubs her head as she sits up. I watch her movements as if I'm watching the ballet perform. "Then, shadows... but that doesn't make sense." She shakes her head, a hand still pressed to her forehead. Suddenly, she notices the burns on her wrists and gasps. "They did attack me. And, and they spoke to me," her eyes meet mine, full of worry. I move next to her in the blink of an eye, using my vampire speed to cover the distance.

"They spoke to you?" I take her hand in mine, brushing my fingers over the burns on her wrists. Wanting to heal these already, but not wanting to scare her more.

Cassandra nods slowly, her eyes meeting mine, "yes. It was like a man's voice, reverberating in my head. Claiming me as his, saying he had been searching for me." I could feel her shudder, and draw her closer to me. Something in the shadows wanted to claim my Beloved, to take her from me. They knew where she was. Did they know she was the Aradia?

"Have you ever encountered the shadows like that before?" She shakes her head no as she watches my fingers continuing to brush at her burns. "I can heal these." I find myself saying before I can think further about the matter.

"Oh, are you a warlock?" She asks, clearly thinking I have those kinds of healing gifts. I hope she's not deterred by the truth.

"No, I'm a vampire. I can give you my blood, and it should heal just as easily as a warlock with healing gifts." Instead of looking horrified or turned-on, the two usual expressions, she appears more curious.

"I didn't know vampires had that ability." I cannot help the blush of embarrassment at the thought of having to explain without knowing whether or not she's ready to know about the significance of our connection.

"Well, it only works with certain people," I trail off, hoping she doesn't push the matter yet. Now hardly seems the time to tell her that fate chose us to be together. "Just, trust me, okay?" I wait for some kind of affirmation from her, and it takes exactly five beats of her heart before she gives a single nod. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I bring my own wrist to my mouth and sink my fangs deep into my wrist, then I press my wrist to her mouth. "Drink," I command hoarsely, needing to heal her, but extremely turned on at the same time.

Cassandra's eyes meet mine from under her lashes as she holds my wrist in place. Bringing her perfect lips to the wound on my wrist, she parts them and sucks. The sensation that shoots through my entire body is unmatched by any feeling I've had before. I hold her head as she grips my wrist with both hands now, and continues feeding from me. I watch her burns heal slower than they should from this kind of healing, and it breaks the erotic fog in my mind with worry about these shadows. Eventually, her burns stop healing, leaving a ring of red, less blistered, around her wrists. It takes a great strength to pull my wrist from her mouth, and try to adjust myself without her noticing my arousal.

"It didn't fully heal," her brows furrow as she examines her wrists. I notice her thighs squeezing together, and I smirk at the thought of her being as aroused as me. "Is that normal?" she holds her wrists out to me so that I can study them too. I run my hands over the smooth softness of her skin. I give a feather light kiss to each wrist, sharply inhaling her scent as I do.

"Not normal," I murmur as I pull her hands down to her lap, but not letting go of them yet. "I'll need to study the shadows and see if there's specific ways to fully heal the marks. In the meantime," I bring my gaze back up to hers, knowing there's a lot of ground we need to cover. "We need to discuss you."