Blood Bonds (Vampire)

Chapter 52

Elliana

I said yes. Of course I said yes. I didn't think much about the practicalities of the situation, like how my parents likely only knew that I was seeing Demi, or in my dad's case maybe not even, and now I was engaged.

The next morning, everything really started to sink in. I woke up as the beans of sunlight peeked through my curtain gaps and I felt the ring on my finger. I felt my eyes water a bit from emotion. At the same time, Demi's arms around me tightened. "Sweet Girl..." her comforting tone filled my ears and I relaxed into her embrace again before turning to face her.

She smiled at me softly as we made eye contact. "You know I don't dream, sweetheart, but I still had to make sure that you saying yes wasn't a dream." She said as she carefully smoothed the hair from my forehead.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Then I opened them again. "Definitely not a dream."

She chuckled and kissed my forehead. "I wasn't intending on proposing so soon, you know." She whispered. My face started to fall a little before she continued. "I wanted to ask your mother, and then do it at the perfect moment when you were back in NYC. Maybe after you graduate so that we can travel."

Then she looked down at our interlaced hands. "I realized there may never be a perfect moment after the last week. I've put you in so much danger-"

"Demi, don't-"

"No, I have. Even before we met officially." Her voice cracked from the emotion. "But you've never been angry with me, even after finding out that I was the reason you went through that as a child, and the reason your parents split." I bit my lip, realizing that I hadn't told Demi the full reason of why I wanted to go back home yet. I knew deep down now that my parents would likely have spilt up eventually, even if my kidnapping wasn't the trigger.

"I didn't expect to ever find something as beautiful as the connection I found in you." I could see emotional tears form in her eyes too. "Mates are uncommon, and even then, you can never anticipate the intensity of the connection you will have until you experience it. Perhaps I was selfish. I considered letting you go, or at least pretending to until I could deal with the threats, but I couldn't separate myself from you. I would follow you to the ends of the world, and although marriage is just a human tradition, I can't express how special it is to be able to experience it with you."

I squeezed Demi's hands in mine. "You know that's why I asked you to come back to NYC with me. I can't imagine my life without you either. I want my mom to get to know you. I want...I want to be like you." I said the last part quietly.

Demi went silent and I looked up at her. "I know that I'll have to turn you sometime. I don't think I could handle losing you, but are you sure you wouldn't like to wait until you've graduated? It's a difficult process and it takes a toll on you. You will feel like you're relearning to deal with feelings like hunger and you won't do human things like eat and sleep all night anymore. I mean, you can still sleep, but it's not the same. You won't need it. It's shallow and you won't dream. Some even stay isolated from other humans for the first while, and I know you want to be with your mother..."

"Is she not allowed to know? Is it some vampire rule?" I asked worriedly.

My mate chuckled. "Adriana found out, didn't she?" I bit my lip. "The general rule is that we don't expose ourselves in a manner that would cause a good deal of chaos for the rest of the population. Vampires don't really have a governing system or a ruler as of now, but most of them either remember the hunts a few centuries back or have been told horrendous stories. So if a lone vampire is causing issues, others can catch wind and it could mean trouble for them or their creator if they did not reasonably prepare the newborn to survive under the new circumstances."

"So my mom is allowed to know." I concluded. I didn't know how I would break this news to my mother. I wasn't having second thoughts, but possible issues definitely arose in my mind at this point. I understood that there was a lot at stake and I definitely didn't want to be the cause of any problems for us. At this point, I realized something and it saddened me.

I looked up at Demi. "When you were turned...you never saw your parents again, did you?"

She looked at me in clear hesitation. "Times were very much different back then." She selected her words carefully. "We were in the middle of the vampiric hunt era." She said softly.

"Do you still miss them?"

She sighed and pulled me into her arms. "All the time, my Sweet Girl. They don't come to mind every day, or multiple times a day like they used to, but that's largely because I have you."

I hesitated. "Maybe you could tell me about them sometime."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead. "I would love to, my darling girl. And you see, that's why I don't want that for you. I want you to be able to see your family. To have them and their love in your life. I know you're afraid, and I would be as well was I in your position, but think about it. We don't have to tell her straight away."

"Would I need to be isolated then?"

"Hm...not if you don't want to."

I looked at Demi curiously. "Wouldn't she be able to tell?"

"There aren't really any major tell-tale signs of being a vampire when you first turn. You won't feel tired at night anymore, but you can rest. Your eyes don't turn red unless you're really hungry, and you usually feel that before it gets to that point. As you gain more experience, you can learn to control the redness, but it's also not like full-on red. It's more like a tint." She explained. "And you'll still have a heartbeat, but just slower."

"I don't know how to tell my dad..." I bit my lip and Demi smiled at me.

"You'll have time. You'll still look the same and you won't be showing signs of aging for awhile even if you stayed human. We can take it one day at a time. After the change, we can tell your mom or even before if you prefer."

I quickly shook my head. I didn't think that it was something she would understand immediately, and I didn't want her to try and change my mind. "After then, whatever you prefer, my darling."

That last statement put me at ease. The truth was that I always worried about the future, one way or another. I never liked change, but not everything would change. I would have my mate by my side. For the first time in a long time, I felt myself be at peace. Perhaps it was due to the fact that whatever mark the coven had left on the had been destroyed, or because certain pieces of my childhood finally made sense.

I didn't spend too much time concerning myself with why I felt this way. I was just relieved that I did. I close my eyes and furrowed into the embrace of my mate, my fiancée, and my momma. In that moment I knew. She was the reason why. I was safe.

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*edited*

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for half a million readers. This is the final chapter before the epilogue. As promised, there will be a sequel, but I will be focusing on editing the Everlasting series first as I have put that off for quite some time now.

I appreciate you all for following Demi and Elliana's journey more than you know. What started off a alternate universe from the Everlasting series became the most popular book, and each and every scene between the girls is very dear to my heart. I hope to see you all soon when the sequel is released.

Lots of love,
-Cindy