My Sinnamon Roll Alpha

1.3

Catarina

The run home exerted far more of my energy than I had. I collapsed at my door. Luckily, my kin had woken up. They were getting ready for the night. My cousin, paler than the porcelain we brought with us, helped me inside. Misonara dragged my weak body across the hall. “Catarina, what happened?”

What actually happened? How can I explain I felt strange after an encounter? It’s the first it’s ever happened. Try as I might, my mouth wouldn’t work. Misonara got me into my bedroom. I collapsed. Cowering into myself while I lay on my bed. I recovered enough to speak “I… honestly don’t know. I went hunting.”

“Yeah, but hunting never leaves any of us this weak. When was your last feeding?”

It had been weeks since my last true feeding. Unlike my kin, I liked the healthiest of fare. They were fine with the drunkard. I closed my eyes. Misonara shook my shoulders. “Catarina! Honestly, when was your last blood feeding?”

Opening one eye, I found her gaze. “A few weeks ago.”

She openly gawked. Of course she did. The drunkard was only a few days ago. She grabbed one of my pillows and smacked me with it. Misonara repeatedly hit me as I failed to protect myself. “You need to stop being so damn picky! You need the spark of life.

Why would you only accept pure blood? You know only children are the purest of blood and they are forbidden.”

Finally, I caught the pillow and flung it aside. “Which is why I use my other senses to determine if others are tastier. He appeared fit and healthy but he partook in the drink. Why would I want my blood filled with spirits?”

Misonara sighed. Sitting on the bed next to me, she pulled me close. “You are the only one of us that would watch what they drink.”

I grimaced. “Yes, well there was a halfling I found but then these people. This man…” I trailed off. I couldn’t tell her that by looking at him, I felt a ringing in my ears and my blood boiled.

“What of the halfling?”

“Um, I felt too weak to enthrall them. I figured it was better I come home than to be caught in the daylight.”

She nodded her head. “Yes, I would burn but you would only flake. I’m jealous dear cousin.”

“Don’t be. You get to sleep far more than I do.”

“I would rather watch a sunset. I hear it’s beautiful.”

She wasn’t wrong. We were of the younger generation. Only her line would never be able to step into the sun. My family, since the beginning, have been able to. There wasn’t a thing I could do for her in that regard. “Can you just grab the halfling? There’s a father and son next to him.”

She eyed me warily. “Why not the father and son? Would two not be better than one?”

Two would have been better, but I couldn’t bring myself to want any harm to come to him. My voice came out louder and more forceful than I intended. “NO!” I softened. “Leave them.”

Misonara’s suspicions increased at my shouting. “Cousin, what’s going on? Do you not want a meal fit for royalty? We are of the noblest lineage. We can have anyone we want.”

I know what she means, but my heart aches at the thought of something happening to him. A whisper. That was how softly my voice had gone. The truth revealed from my lips. “It aches to think of something happening to him.”

Misonara’s eyes widen. She ran from my room. So many thoughts ran through my head. I want to see him again. And yet, the fear of the unknown kept me from moving. I lay there in my bed, limbs sprawled across, wishing for understanding.

Misonara came back with my mother in tow. Kalaris was every bit of an enchanting vampiress. Her eyes dazzled, far lovelier than the jewels they resembled. Her gray hair, thick like wool, was in an updo. It was one she used when she conjured. Unlike me, my mother was also a witch. The best witch in our coven.

She touched my forehead, checking for a fever. “Your blood has all but evaporated child. What happened, pray tell?”

It was hard to not explain when she was so concerned. You would think her 350-year-old daughter was old enough to take care of herself. Apparently, I was not. “There’s nothing to tell. I went hunting. I met a halfling and then two human men; when ringing sounded in my ears, my blood was on fire, and I could hardly stand. It’s nothing.”

Misonara and my mother gave each other a pointed look. I didn’t understand the look at all. Then Kalaris, my mother’s mouth, burst into a smile. Her fangs were in need of a sharpening. It had been too long since she had one. Her tone exuded sheer joy. “My tender child. It seems you have found your mate.”

She clapped her hands. “What joy.”

The confusion spread on my face. My mate? I had assumed I would be in an arrangement as my older siblings were. Only she says I’ve found my mate. That had to be far from the truth. The mating bond should not cause pain and disorientation. She was wrong. Clearly, she was becoming senile in her ancient years.

“Funny mother, but the mating bond wouldn’t react that way to a human.”

She sneered. “A human? They are food, my love.” She closed her eyes, taking in several deep breaths. “My apologies. I forgot myself for a moment. We should praise Vladimir. He bestowed upon you a husband. His blood must be the best out there if the mating bond had been triggered.” She nodded. “A human is far better than a bloody wolf. At least you can enthrall the human. A werewolf is just a beast with a human form.”

It had been around the time I was born, when things went south with the werewolves. I still don’t understand what happened, but all who’ve come before then have had a disdain for them. I had never seen one, so it didn’t bother me at all. “What’s wrong with a shifter mother? We’re all supernatural and have to abide by the human rules.”

Misonara stepped up and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You were too young to witness, but it was terrible. It’s a blessing from Vladimir that he bestowed upon you a mate. The mate bond is sacred and forever.”

My mother interjected. “We should meet this future mate of yours. I need to assume that they will treat you as the princess you are.”

How could I forget I was next in line for the coven? Mother had said my training would begin once I was mated. So it begins now. “How can we be sure this human is my mate? It could be someone else who was in the vicinity. What if we do the bonding and we’re wrong?”

Kalaris tapped her chin. “I see what you mean. Meet with them and if your body reacts to them strongly then they are your mate. We should get solid food and liquid into your body. You are far too dark and lovely to appear this pale. Come Misonara, we must hunt on our little princesses’ behalf.”

They left the room together. I drifted out of consciousness.