Vampire Born

Exhausted

I’m woken by the scent of fresh flowers.  I look around and see a vase of fresh flowers on my nightstand.  There is a note sitting against the vase.

        ‘Dahlia,

                There are so many things I wish I could tell you.  Just know you’ll be happy one day.

                        Marius’

What on earth?  I get dressed and go in search of Marius.  I don’t find him.  I hear Lysander up and moving so, I go to his room.  I knock on the door.

“Just a minute.”  He calls.  Not long after, he opens the door.  “Dahlia, are you okay?  You look shaken.”

“I’m confused.  Marius brought me flowers this morning and left me this note.”  I say and hand Lysander the note.  He reads it and looks at me with a look that says he knows what it means.  “You do know what it means.”  I say.

“Yes.  I do.”  He says somber.

“Tell me what you know.”  I demand.

“Marius will kill me for telling you, but you deserve to know.”  Lysander says.  “Come with me.”  He takes my hand and leads me to the patio.  “Have a seat because this is pretty big.”  I sit down and fold my hands in my lap.  “When I first came here, I wanted to tell you, but Marius wouldn’t let me.  Marius’s birthday this year is no ordinary birthday.  This year is his fifteen hundredth birthday.”  I gasp.  “Which, I take it, you know what that means.  Because he isn’t mated, he’ll turn to dust.”

“We have to stop this.”  I say standing up.

“The only way is for him to mate with someone.”

“That’s it then.  He can mate with me.”  I say moving away from the table.

“I tried to tell him that, but he said he wouldn’t take away your freedom.”  Lysander says looking away.

“I don’t care about that.  I care about him living.  I just got him in my life and I can’t lose him.  I love him and if I have to force my fangs into that amazing, masculine neck of his, I will.”  I say forcibly.  Arms wrap around my waist and a voice starts in my ear.

“I love you too, Dahlia.  But I won’t take your freedom.”  I sag into the arms that hold me.  Hearing him say he loves me too just pushes me further to convince him.

“Don’t you see, Marius?  My life is nothing without you.”  I turn around in his arms.  “Mate with me.”  I whisper.

“You would really throw your life away to be with me?”

“I wouldn’t be throwing it away.  I’d be starting it.”  I say honestly.

“I just feel selfish.”

“Then feel selfish.  Mate with me.”  I urge some more in a hushed, seductive tone.  Marius closes his eyes.  I take advantage of the situation and press my lips to his.  He deepens the kiss by moving one of his hands to the back of my neck and parting my lips with his tongue.  I sag a bit in his arms, but he holds me upright.  He breaks the kiss but keeps his forehead on mine.

“Whoa!”  I smile.  He smiles in return.

“Not bad for a first kiss, huh?”

“Exemplary.”  I say.

“That’s a fine word to describe that kiss.”  He smiles deeper.  He pulls away, moves the hand from behind my neck, and lowers himself to one knee.  “Since you insist upon this, I want to do this the right way.”  He pulls something out of his pocket.  “Dahlia Odessa Marks, will you marry me?”  He says holding out a ring.

“Yes!”  I exclaim.  He smiles and slides the ring on my finger.  It’s a perfect fit.  He stands back up and meets my lips again.  Applause comes from the other side of the patio and we break the kiss to see Rose clapping like a little kid on Christmas.  I can’t hide my glee.  I run over to her and we hug.  Then I show her the ring.  It’s a gorgeous princess cut diamond set in a rose gold band and sits between two smaller diamonds that have vine like etchings on the outsides of those.

“It totally suits you.”  Rose says.

“I know right!”  I say gleefully.

“Can I have her back?”  Marius says hopeful.

“Oh.  So, now you want me?”  I tease.

“I’ve always wanted you.”  He replies and I go to mush.

“Really?”  I ask way to giddy.

“Really really.  Now get over here.”  He says with a devilish smile.  “We have planning to do.”  He winks.

“And we only have a week to accomplish everything.”  I say suddenly realizing we may not get everything done.

“Relax.”  Marius says pulling me into his arms.  “The party is already planned, so, the only thing we have to plan for is the wedding ceremony.”  He says kissing my forehead and I physically relax.  “Now, why don’t we all go inside and start planning.”

“I’ll make a fresh pot.”  I say distracted by the thought of being about to marry the love of my life.  Too bad the four rogues haven’t contacted us so we can’t let them know what’s going on.

“I’ll make it.  You and Marius go start planning.”  Rose says.

“Oh.  Okay.”  I smile.  Marius takes my hand and leads me to his study.  He lets go of my hand by the couch.  I sit while he gets something from his desk.  When he comes back to the couch, I see he grabbed a notebook and a pen.

“So, how do you want to do the ceremony?”

“I was thinking in private.”  I say.  “Just us four.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well it’s more personable that way.  Besides, then I thought it would be fun if we did it right close to midnight then wait to reveal to everyone that you lived ‘til the next day.”

“That’s devious.”  He smiles.  “I like it.  Tell me more.”  He says.  So, I tell him how we should not dress in regulation attire, how we should not make it obvious that he and I are together, and then how the next morning he’ll come down the stairs and shock everyone then we’ll go from there.  “I love it all.”

“I do too.”  Rose says from the doorway.  She comes in carrying a tray of four mugs.  We each grab one and continue to make plans as we drink our blood.  By lunchtime, we have all the plans laid out.  Now we just have to go shopping for our attire and I have to buy Marius’s wedding band.  But that can wait for another day.  The four of us go swimming that afternoon then at dinnertime, I make another pot of blood.  The four of us enjoy our blood out on the patio and discuss when to go shopping.  That night as I lay down for bed, a lot goes through my head.  Things that have me freaking out all of a sudden.  Like how my parents will be here in a few days, how there is much to do in the next few days, and how I’ll be getting married to the love of my life.  I finally am able to quiet my and fall asleep.

The next morning, I wake up to my alarm, take a shower, get dressed, and go down to the kitchen.  I make a fresh pot of blood for everyone except me.  I don’t include me because I’m just not feeling it this morning.  I deliver everyone their blood and then go upstairs to start getting rooms ready for our guests.

Days blur together as I clean and prepare for the party.  Before I know it, it’s two days before my parents arrive and four days before the party.  I had gone for a walk in the wood, but lost track of time.  I have much to do.

Walking back to the house, I feel extremely exhausted.  People will be arriving in four days for the party.  My parents will be arriving in two days.  There is still so much to be done.  Plus, my nerves are going in every direction, but I don’t dare tell Marius about it.

When I enter the kitchen through the back door, I plan on getting cleaning supplies and cleaning the fireplace.  However, I am so exhausted.  I go into the living room and lay down on the couch.  I’m not sure how long I am laying there before I hear Rose and Marius.  I am too exhausted to reply.

“s**t!”  Rose exclaims.

“What’s wrong?”  Marius says running into the room.

“Look.”  Rose says and I feel sure she is pointing to me.

“What’s wrong?”  Marius says again.  “She’s just sleeping.”  Marius says confused.

“It’s how she’s sleeping.”  Rose says.

“I don’t understand.”  Marius is dumbfounded.

“Whenever Dahlia falls asleep on the couch, facing the back of the couch, it means she hasn’t fed for at least three days.”  Rose says putting an emphasis on ‘at least.’

“Dammit!!”  Marius is pissed now.  ‘Thanks, Rose!’  “Go turn down her bed, please.  I’ll take it from there.”  Marius says.  I can hear Rose leave.  Next I know I can smell blood just below my nose.  “Come on, baby.  Open your eyes and drink.”  Marius coaxes.  I open my eyes to find Marius’s wrist in front of my face with a gash in it.  “Drink!”  He demands.  Not being able to resist, I bite into the wound.  After about ten seconds, I release my hold and look away from him.  He puts his hand under my chin and forces me to look at him.  After about five seconds, I cast my eyes downward.  “Let’s get you up to your bed.”  He says and picks me up in his arms.  “Why haven’t you been feeding?”  Marius finally asks while laying me down on my bed.

“I’ve been trying to get things ready.  That and my nerves about my parents coming.”  I reply.  Marius goes around to the other side of the bed and lays down beside me so I curl into him.

“The house is spotless.  Decorations are last minute.  Food doesn’t need to be prepared because we didn’t invite the faeries or wolves.  Blood gets heated the day of.”  He pauses.  “And as for your nerves, you should have just come and talked to me.  I would’ve helped you through them.  Surely you know that.”

“I was afraid you’d think I was getting cold feet.”

“Are you?”

“No!”

“I knew that.  I know why you’re nervous about your parents coming, but we can overcome it…together.  But we can only do that if we tell one another what’s going on.  Okay?”  He asks lifting my head to make me look at him.

“Okay.”  I say smiling at him.  He smiles back and kisses my forehead.

“Is it safe to come in?”  Lysander says from the hallway.

“Yes.”  Marius replies.  Lysander and Rose walk in.  Rose is carrying a tray.

“I made a fresh pot for all of us.”  She says.  Marius and I sit up and the two of them sit at the foot of the bed with the tray in the middle of the bed.  The pot is on a warmer so we can refill if we want to.  “So have you two decided where you’re going for your honeymoon?”  Rose asks after a long awkward silence.

“Don’t be ridiculous.  We aren’t going on one.”  I say.

“Like hell we aren’t!”  Marius exclaims.

“What?!”  I am completely dumbfounded.

“I already have it all arranged.  However, I’m not telling anyone anything because it’s a surprise.”  Marius says.

“But who’ll clean up?”

“Rose and I can take care of that.  Right, babe?”

“Right!”  Rose exclaims enthusiastically.

“Oh.”  I say still in shock.  Then it all finally hits me and it’s a good thing all the containers are empty because I jump excitedly on Marius.  “Thank you, baby!”  I exclaim kissing him

“I didn’t realize you’d be this excited about it.”  He chuckles.

“Sorry.”  I say looking down.  He lifts my chin up.

“It’s a good thing.  I’m glad you’re this excited.  I just wish I knew it meant so much to you sooner.”

“Why?”

“So that I could’ve told you I’d already made plans.”

“No.  The timing is perfect.  If you’d told me earlier, I’d have gone crazy trying to figure out where we’re going.”

“That sounds like you.”  Marius chuckles.

“Hey!”  I playfully hit him in the arm then give him a chaste kiss on the lips.  I get off his lap.  “Why don’t I wash these dishes then we put in a movie and play Clue?”

“Sounds good to me.”  Lysander says.  Marius nods in agreement.

“You wash and I’ll dry.”  Rose suggests grabbing the tray.

“Sure.”  I say.  She and I go down to the kitchen and begin washing the dishes.  “I can’t believe Marius planned a honeymoon for us.  I wasn’t even expecting it.”  I say.

“It’s amazing.”

“It is.”  I say.  “I can’t wait for it now!”  I chuckle.  “Although, female to female, I am nervous too.”

“Why?”

“Because he has years of experience.”  I whisper putting an emphasis on ‘years.’  I chuckle nervously to myself.

“How do you know that for sure?”  Rose asks.

“I’m wondering the same thing.”  Marius says from behind us.  “Just because of how old I am, that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Well dishes are dry.  I’m going to go to the theater room with Lysander.”  Rose leaves.  Marius comes over and takes me in his arms.

“In all my years I’ve only loved one other person.  However, she didn’t want to live forever.  We loved each other until the day she died.”

“How old were you?”

“843 when I met her.”

“I see.  Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  Marius smiles.  He takes my hand and we go down to the theater room where Lysander and Rose are waiting.  We rotate the chairs and set up a table for the game.  I go to the closet and get the game out.  “So, what movie are we going to watch?”  Marius asks.

“How about Maze Runner?”  Rose suggests.

“Sounds good to me.”  Lysander says.  Marius nods in agreement.  I go over to the other closet and get out the movie.  I get it set up and then sit down.  We start watching and playing.

“I think the four of us should go shopping tomorrow.”  I say.

“Where?”  Lysander asks.

“In town.  We have a Midnight Lights center.”  I reply.

“That’s awesome.  I didn’t know.”  Lysander says.  “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“I’m in.”  Rose says.

“Sounds good to me.”  Marius says.

“Sweet.”

Midnight Lights is a mini-mall for vampires only.  They have a bouncer 24/7 to make sure only vampires are entering.  In order to be admitted one has to show their fangs.  While shopping, they provide blood, either human or animal.  It really is wonderful.  Just about every town and city has a Midnight Lights.

Anyway, we finish the movie and the game.  After that, the four of us decide to go to bed.  I go upstairs and crawl into bed.  I spray lavender on my pillow and settle in for the night.  I soon drift off into a blissful sleep.

~

We park in the underground for Midnight Lights and make our way up to the entrance.  When we get up there, the guard stops us and we show our fangs.  He lets us through.  We are immediately greeted by another vampire with a tray of blood.  One side is labeled human and the other is labeled animal.  The four of us each take a flute from the animal side.

“Okay, boys, I’m taking Dahlia away now.  So, you two go do your own thing for a while.”  Rose announces.

“Well, okay then.”  Marius says and gives me a kiss.  Rose whisks me away and we end up in the nicest dress shop in Midnight Lights.

“We are getting you the perfect dress for your wedding.  After that, we’re going and getting you sexy lingerie for your honeymoon.”  She says.  Two woman appear to help us.  “Let’s get started then.”

“What color were you thinking, ma’am?”  One of the women asks.

“White.”  Rose and I say at the same time.  I tell them my size and the women have us sit and enjoy our blood while they go pull dresses.

“This is so exciting.”  I say to Rose.

“I know.  I wonder what the boys are doing with their time.”  She says.

“Me too.  Another thing we need to do is get Marius a wedding band from me.”  I look over at Rose as she nods in her flute.  The two women come back now with four dresses on each arm.  I get set up in a dressing room and get started trying on the sixteen dresses.  We finally get it narrowed down to three.  While discussing the qualities of each, we drink a second glass of blood.  I put the three dresses back on one by one and we discuss the qualities.  We finally decide on the dress that I will wear for Marius’s party and my wedding.  It’s a beautiful floor length, white strapless dress with a corset bodice.  The whole thing is covered in lace and rhinestones.  After we finish checking out, we head to the lingerie store.  I’m not sure how many nights Marius has planned for our honeymoon so I pick out twenty lingerie outfits.  After that, Rose and I sit down to enjoy a third flute of blood and chit chat.

“So, what do you think your parents will say?”

“I honestly don’t know and I don’t really want to think about it.”

“I understand.  Sorry I brought it up.”

“It’s okay.”  I say honestly.

“So, what did Marius say to you about being nervous for your honeymoon?”

“He’s only ever been in love with one other person and she’s the only person he’s ever been with in any way.”

“What happened to her?”

“She didn’t want to be a vampire.”  I reply.  “So, he loved her until the day she died.”

“Wow.”  Rose says.

“Yeah.”  I say looking away.  “Anyway, let’s get back to shopping.”

“Okay.”  We put our flutes on a tray and go to the jewelry store.  We go to the men’s wedding band section and start looking.  I finally spot the one that I know is for Marius.  It is a stainless steel band with black tribal markings engraved all around it.  Rose agrees that this is the ring for Marius.  I purchase it and then we call the boys to see where they are.  We meet up with them at the sitting area in the middle of the mall and enjoy one more flute of blood.  By the time we get home, it’s ten o’clock.  My parents will be arriving tomorrow afternoon, so, I have to get up to make sure the house looks spotless before they arrive.  When we get back to the house, I go upstairs to my room with my bags.  I hang up my dress, put away all my new lingerie, and hide Marius’s ring.  I contemplate going back downstairs but decide against it because I were to, I would just find things wrong down there and start fixing and cleaning and not get any sleep tonight.  So, I get changed into pajamas and lay down with my book from last night.  As I lay down, there’s a knock on my door.

“Come in.”  I say.  Marius enters.  I get out of bed.  “Is everything okay?  Not getting cold feet on me, are you?”

“No.  But there is something you need to know about me before you marry me.”  He says looking down at the carpet.

“And that is?”  I ask worried.

“My business.”

“What about it?”

“I am kind of the CEO of all of the Midnight Lights in Ireland.”  He says still looking at the carpet.  My eyes go wide and my mouth drops open.

“Come again.”  I say.

“I own and run all of the vampire centers in Ireland.”  Marius says looking at me now.

“So, you’re like a millionaire?”  I question.

“More like billionaire.”  He smiles coyly.  My mouth drops even further and if my eyes were to get any bigger they would pop right out of my head.

“I see.”  I manage without my voice cracking.

“I should’ve told you sooner, but I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“That’s not something that is easy to tell no matter the timing.”  I say trying to comfort him.  He nods with a smile.  “Well, I’d better get some rest since my mother will be arriving tomorrow.”  I say not being able to think of anything else to say.

“Of course.”  Marius says.  He crosses to me and takes me in his arms.  “Until tomorrow.”  He whispers.

“Yes.”  I smile.  He lets go and leaves my room.  I sigh and lay back down.  I reach over to my nightstand and grab my lavender oil.  I rub some on my wrist and neck.  Then I turn off my light and lay down.  I am soon drifting off.

When I wake up, my alarm clock tells me it’s only four thirty in the morning.  Groaning, I roll over and out of bed.  I know I won’t be getting back to sleep, so, I get dressed and go downstairs.  I start quietly cleaning.  I clean the kitchen, the fireplace, the living room, and the dining room.  By the time I am done, it’s time for Marius to be waking up.  I go into the kitchen and make a fresh pot of blood.  Marius comes down as I am pouring the blood.  Rose and Lysander aren’t far behind him.  The four of us grab our mugs, but go in different directions.  Marius goes to his study for a conference call.  Rose and Lysander go to the living room and I go to the library.  I decide to start the fourth in the Accidentals series by Dakota Cassidy.  I get about half way through, when Marius appears in front of me.

“I like that series too.”  He says.

“Really?  You’ve read it?”  I question.

“Yeah.  Twice.”  Marius replies.

“That is awesome.”  I smile.  I lay the book down just as Marius sits beside me.  “So, how is business?”  I ask.

“Booming.”  He smiles.  “Hanna and Vi can’t wait to come see us at the party.”

“Oh good.  I look forward to seeing them as well.”

“Glad to hear it.  Well, I have another call to make.”  Marius gets up and leaves the library.  I go to the kitchen and make more blood.  I deliver Marius’s mug to him quietly.  I decide to go out onto the patio with mine.  When I get out there, Rose and Lysander are out there already.

“Hey guys.  Blood is on the stove.”  I say.

“Thanks.”  Rose says and goes inside to fetch their mugs.  She and Marius come outside.

“How’s business, bro?”  Lysander asks.

“It’s fine.  Just tying up some loose ends.”

“Loose ends?”  Rose says.

“Yeah.  One of my managers was stealing from me.”

“That’s not good.  How did you find out?”  I ask.

“One of his coworkers witnessed it and told me.”

“Good on the coworker.”  Lysander comments.

“Yeah.  No kidding.”  Rose chuckles.

“So, anyway, the house looks like it was just cleaned.”  Marius remarks.

“Yeah.  I was up before five this morning and cleaned.”  I reply.

“I see.  That’s no good.  That you couldn’t sleep I mean.  The house looks great.”  Lysander says.

“Yeah.  I have those nights quite often where I can’t sleep.”  I add.

“How come?”  Lysander asks.

“Because part of my mind never shuts off most nights.”

“Well that’s not good.”  Lysander says.

“Yeah.  But it’s a curse I can’t seem to escape.”

“Sorry to hear it.”  We finish our blood in silence.  Once everyone is done, Rose and I take the mugs into the kitchen and wash the dishes.  As usual, I wash and Rose dries.  Once the dishes are done, Rose and I go back outside to sit with the boys.  The four of us sit out there enjoying the sun for about an hour.  We go back inside and the sky begins to look overcast.

“How about a swim?”  Lysander suggests.

“Sure.”  I say.  Marius and Rose nod in agreement.  The four of us go down to the pool.  Marius and I go into the pool and do laps while Rose and Lysander sit in the hot tub.  After about five laps, Marius and I stop and he takes me into his arms.  We waltz in the pool to no music.  This time, however, I don’t have to worry about my feelings coming out because we’ve already told each other how we both feel.

“I love you.”  I say out loud.

“I love you too.”  Marius whispers in my ear.  I lean my head against his chest and we continue to dance.  After a couple minutes of dancing, Marius and I join Rose and Lysander in the hot tub.  We sit and enjoy the warm water for an hour.  After that, I go upstairs and make some blood.  The other three come up from the pool just as I finish pouring the blood into mugs.  They each grab their mugs and split up.  Rose and Lysander go to the billiard room while Marius and I go to the bowling alley.  We bowl three games and enjoy our blood.  After the dishes are done, I grab my book and head upstairs.  I take a shower to clean the chlorine off my body then crawl into bed.  I read for about twenty minutes then set my book down on my nightstand.  I curl into the covers and drift off to sleep.