The Vampire Mate

Chapter 10

The sand travelled for miles and miles with no end surrounding the light blue water that got dark the further out to sea you went. There were seashells scattered all over the beach and it seemed to be isolated away from humanity. There was a path that ascended up the steep cliff which looked over the entire beach. At the top of that path was a wide empty road that was rarely used too so Damien parked his beloved car there.

Mia and I were playing on the sand of the beach whilst Damien stayed in his car. He said he had 'a ginger baby's skin' meaning he burns way too easily to be out in sun. I guess that kind of explains why he is so pale and cold but at the time the way he described it was one of the funniest moments I'll have with him. Even Mia laughed at him... after she asked about the slightly wet watermelon sitting in the backseat of the car.

I was chasing Mia along the warm sand because she had decided it would be a good idea to pour sand all over me. She was a fast runner for her age, I'll give her that, but my long legs gave me an advantage, so I soon caught up with her.

I grabbed her by the waist, picked her up and spun her around in circles. Her screaming was not just loud but it was also high pitched and full of laughter. Once I had her legs wrapped around me and she was dangling upside down, I took the opportunity to tickle her stomach. She squirmed under my grip and laughed even more.

She had always been a happy little girl who was full of joy. Even when somebody from school would be mean to her, she still knew how to keep her head held high and enjoy everything she has in life. I personally think this is one of her best qualities. Most children her age want the next best iPhone or contouring kit, but all Mia wants is her family and maybe the odd one or two sticker book here and there.

I've missed this so much.

Once she had calmed down and had the chance to breathe again, she used my hand to drag me to the spot where we put all of our belongings at.

"Ju-Ju, we need to make a huuuuge sand castle!" Mia shouted throwing her arms up at how 'huge' she wanted her castle to be. We started piling bucket after bucket full of sand to create a mountain for the castle to sit on before we start filling the actual castle-shaped bucket with sand and placing on the peak of the mountain.

We used the normal buckets to make the castle towers and within an hour we had 'the most beautiful sand castle in existence' - well at least Mia loved it. It was really just a large lump of sand with a sand tower plonked on top of it from the castle bucket we have which never worked.

After we finished the exterior of our sand castle with various shells, I rolled the bottom of Mia pants up and we both run into the water.

Damien POV

I watched them played in the water. Mia ran up to Juliet with a bucket full of water and threw it at her as she turned around just like she previously had with the sand. Juliet's scream could be heard for miles and yet I still couldn't help myself but laugh at the way they acted around each other. They seemed like mother and daughter and they looked so similar it was unnerving. They had the same features, but Juliet's were more matured and they were guarded from all threats.

The way Juliet interacted with her little sister showed how much she had missed her. The only problem was the thought which hadn't left my head: the thought of King Daniel coming in a week's time to kill her. As soon as I got the letter, I knew I had to take her here to see her family before she goes. It wouldn't even matter if I turned myself in for finding my mate because she would still die either way. She still annoys the absolute s**t out of me but there's a pull and she may not feel it but it's there for me. I can't leave her even if I wanted to. Losing her will be the most painful thing that will happen to me. Even watching dad go through it when my mum died was the worst part of Alex and I's life.

But sometimes I can't help but wonder how different mine and Juliet's relationship would be if my ability did not make me a slave to the king.

***

The sun was starting to set whilst Juliet and Mia were just lying on the sand. I've wanted to join them all afternoon, but I couldn't because of the sun. It would still burn slightly if I went out now, but I doubt it would be that bad.

Is being around her really worth burning?

I had my answer when, I opened the car door and stepped outside. The sun's rays bite at my skin but it wasn’t truly unbearable. I began making my way to the two girls and the more I stayed out the less my tingling skin bothered me.

"Hey turd," Juliet says when she notices my presence. I smiled at her and sat down near the two. Mia had her head on Juliet's lap and was sleeping peacefully. She must have been exhausted.

"We should probably head home, you know." She tells me as she rests her head on my shoulder. The warmth from her head spread across my whole body giving it a different type of sensation to the one I was already feeling from the sun. Her touch made the pain go away and replaced it with a feeling that I can't quite fathom. I looked at the remaining bit of sun over the water and rested my head on hers. One day is gone already, six to go...

"Probably. It's just turned ten." I tell her. It was quiet for a while, but it wasn't a quiet that was awkward or a quiet that was caused by hatred and anger but a silence that caused the both of us being in our own worlds thinking about our own lives.

The orange and pink colours the sun was creating soon faded to a beautiful dark blue. The sun had set, and we were alone in the dark with the moon being our only light with the odd few stars scattered around.

"You're still annoying," I tell her.

"Oh shush, we all know deep down my you find my annoyance funny." She lifts her head up off me and gives me one her giant cheesy smiles.

"You've been talking to Carly and Alex too much, I do not find it funny." I shake my head at her not believing a single word coming from her mouth.

"Actually, I'm usually the one trying to convince them of how much I get on your nerves"

"You'd be wasting your breath."

"Tell me about it. They're convinced that we're meant-" She stopped speaking when Mia started moving in her legs. "We need to get her home." I nod in agreement and whilst Juliet scoops Mia up in her arms I collect all of the toys they brought to the beach.

***

Juliet carried Mia to her bedroom to say good night whilst she left me alone in the living room. I've been standing here rocking back and forth on my heels for around half an hour. I tapped into Juliet's mind. Mia woke up and Juliet is trying to get her back to sleep. I loved the relationship between them. It reminded me of when I was little, and Alex would have to look after me when our mum died, and dad was recovering.

"Oh hello, I didn't realise you three had gotten back yet." Juliet's mum, walked through the door and saw me awkwardly swaying. She looked like her daughters, but whilst she seemed to be glowing with this new life, Juliet’s light was diminishing.

"Uh," what on Earth do I say? Oh, your daughter is putting Mia to bed then we're going to go home, and you'll never see her again because a vampire king is going to kill her in less than a week's time.

"Are you and Juliet close?" She questions and starts making a cup of tea behind the island in the kitchen. I sit on one of the stools in front of him and sigh.

"It's complicated," I tell her. I put my head in my hands and close my eyes.

"Ah, so you're mates." My head flies up and my eyes meet her’s. How did I not read this before? Juliet's family know about the vampire world. The smirk on her mum's face turns into a proud smile.

I nod my head as an answer since now I have more questions to ask about Juliet and her family.

"Jade." She holds her hand out for me shake and I do so. "Your world is something I am all too familiar with…” she waves a lazy through the air. “Mates and all.”

“You have a mate?”

She purses her lips and shakes her head. “Not anymore. Her father was my mate once. We dropped everything to be together, from full-blooded vampires to cured humans, but then things changed. He dropped the bond and I tried to pick up the pieces. Juliet and Mia know none of this, Juliet only sees me as the mother who loved another and she sees him as the father who was incapable of love."

I swallowed deeply. "What was it like... when the bond broke?"

Jade stared at me with eyes I was so familiar with. Their hue and darkness was something I had dreamed about staring into but the vulnerability was foreign: I had never seen such a thing in Juliet's eyes. If I hadn't seen so much of myself in my mate, I would be convinced that feelings were something she couldn't have.

"It hurt," was all she needed to tell me. "You couldn't imagine the pain, I felt it both physically and emotionally. It doesn't come near to the pain one feels when their mate loves another. If it weren't for my children, I would have thrown myself from the highest roof."

"Why did he..." I was prying now but knowing more felt like an everyday need.

"Break the bond?" Jade shook her head. "I'll never know."

I cleared my throat when silence fall upon us. “You said you were cured?”

Jade’s eyes lit up. She pauses reliving a memory. "Me and Nathanial were vampires since the day we were born. During the war that tried to knock Daniel off his throne I got pregnant with Juliet. We didn't want to risk our child being taken away for the war or to become a guard when she grows of age, so we got in contact with a witch who had discovered a cure. She was a family friend, so she helped out and we were cured before Juliet's birth and, like we hoped, she wasn't born a vampire. Obviously, she has the intelligence, instincts, reactions and beauty of a vampire but she is only human."

I take a while to process this all. This does explain a lot.

"You are the first family I know of who has cured themselves," I tell her honestly.

"We are the only family. Of course, this put us under the king's radar, but we have never come into contact with him." I swallow a lump of guilt that was building up in my throat. They cured Juliet to protect her and I just threw her into danger again. Jade must have noticed the guilty look on my face as concern washed over her.

"I'm forced to work for the king because my ability is illegal, I have control over the mind, and someone who I don't get on with told the king we have told her secret information. He is coming in a less than a week to see her," I tell her not making any eye contact. If my heart could beat it would probably be beating out of my chest right now.

"So, if the king finds out you're mates?"

"He won't. I assure you of that." Juliet comes into the room look like she is about to pass out from tiredness. She tells us that Mia is asleep so her mother and I walk over to her. Jade hugs her tightly goodbye as if this is the last time she will see her and nods for me to take her home.