Shift ✔️

There's Nothing Holding Me Back - 12.2

Annabelle's POV

I mew softly, and in discomfort, as embarrassingly, I am still trapped in the clothing that I was wearing when I shifted. Jace, sensing my discomposure swiftly captures me in his hands and moves me from the clothing. This kind of thing has gotten a lot easier since I have begun to trust him so much more. Unlike the panic I would feel before, I feel almost a sense of calm around him now. Not so much the screaming vampire woman.

Shaking my fur, I hop out of the Prince's grasp and plop myself beside him on the bed, shifting in an instant, my white dress fanning around me. Even now, after these past few months and multiple shifts, Jace still watch's me in awe every time I shift. It is an interesting thing to see. All of my bones, my skin, my person, changing in under a moment, almost as if in a blink of an eye. I'm sure, with him being a vampire he can even see the change even clearer than I can, making it a terrifying but spectacular sight.

I look up into his eyes and can tell he feels stressed. I've gotten a lot better at reading him too, that whole ordeal must have really set him off, I do wonder how often it happens.

"Are you okay?" I ask him softly.

"I should be asking you," he says sighing sadly.

I look at him confused. "Nothing happened to me though, I'm fine." All that had happened was that I got slightly tangled in my clothes. I don't understand his worry sometimes.

"I'm just sorry you had to hear that."

I giggle, thinking he must mean because it was dirty. Although I am 20, I know by now he does think of me as very innocent. In many ways he is correct in this assumption. "It's okay, I am sorry you had to go through that, are they like that all the time?"

"It's become a more common occurrence recently, I hate to say this but a while ago, I would have just given them what they wanted."

My heart clenched at this. It was almost if I felt hurt by this realization. Jace had never had another woman in this room, in that way, since I had been here, so I had never really thought about him having relations with any woman. In my ignorance, I had almost managed to convince myself he was as innocent as me, even if in my heart I knew that couldn't possibly be true.

Unsure of what to say, or if to say anything, I looked down, no longer wanting to look in his eyes. "Oh." I said, and even if it was meant to be casual, it almost came out as a squeak.

Not noticing, or choosing to ignore my obvious discomfort at this subject, he continued. "Now that you are here, it has gotten worse."

I felt guilty at this. I self-consciously moved away from, and in a flash, his hand was covering mine, not letting me scoot any further.

"Annabelle, look at me."

I looked up into his eyes, ones begging me to understand. Understand what, I wasn't sure. "There are some girls, who, like others in the castle, are becoming worried about my changes in attitude. I want to leave work early, I am antsy to get back to my room at night, and I am snippy with their advances. There are those in the castle who are starting to notice some changes in me. I've stopped drinking directly from the blood slaves, and I have become more... compassionate. I've been changing, and they're worried it's because of you."

I look at Jace in shock. It must be apparent on my face, because I can see his eyes turn playful and the corner of his lip turn up slightly.

I go to speak but Jace beats me to it. "They're right." He said softly but still loud enough I could hear him clearly. "It's all because of you, you're changing me, and unlike what they believe, it is for the better."

He continued, not allowing me to get in word edgewise. "That girl, Chelsea, she suggested that I send you to the slave quarters for the night so we could... well, you know. I snapped. Against all better judgement, I snapped. I don't want you out of my sight. I know this might cause more problems, but Annabelle, I want to tell you, I talked with the woman Elizabeth, you remember? The one at the party, who gave you her card. She might be able to help you, help us."

This was so much information. I didn't know how to react. I just stared, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. He wanted to... what? Help me? Us? I know I should be focusing on more the fact the Vampire Prince wants to help shifters, to do something positive, but honestly all I can think of is 'us', and what he means. Is there a us?

Talking faster and getting more excited, Jace grabbed his other hand and placed it gently on my cheek, "I've only talked to her once, and it didn't go... great, but I think maybe you can talk to her to. What do you think?"

It took me a moment, but I slowly managed to close my gaping mouth and nod, and involuntary smile emerging on my face.

"You... you've really changed." I smile, fully this time. I noticed it had been happening slowly. He was never snippy at me, like in the beginning. He didn't stare at me with his cold eyes. I know it wasn't real, but he almost felt warmer in that moment. As if this once cold vampire, the one who was supposed to be just like his dad, had a heart.

He nodded, placing both his hands now on ether cheek. "I did. I promise."

I was never trying to change him. I was trying to make him like me, to be my friend, I never thought he would change in a way that would be this beneficial, this wonderful. Though I wonder if it's really that big of a change at all. It was as if he was just, frozen, for a while.

There was one night when he was gone and I was browsing his extremely large bookshelf, and I found a photo album shoved in the corner I hadn't picked up before. Looking through I noticed it was pictures of him from his childhood. Him, Flynn, some others who I didn't recognize, and his sister, who I learned a while ago was named Karly. In these photos he looked different. Well actually, he looked sort of the same way he did now. He looked happier, kinder, warmer.

I liked the Jace who was my friend, I fell in love with the Jace in the photos. I never thought I'd meet him in person.

I throw myself at Jace, wrapping my arms around him, which must have taken him by surprise because in all his vampire grace, he almost fell off the bed. He holds onto me tightly as well, harder than he ever has, stroking my hair and rocking us back and forth on the bed. I hadn't been held like this for so long.

I move backwards to look back in his eyes, I want to know that this isn't a dream and those warm eyes are still staring back at me.

"This isn't a dream?" I ask.

"I promise." Jace says, grinning ear to ear, leaning slightly towards me, so our noses almost touch.

A loud smash sounds and breaks us apart. I could've sworn we were going to...

"The window is broken!" Says Jace looking alarmed. In record timing he is looking out the window into the night, and he runs out of the room, shouting a quick "stay here!" before shutting the door.

I move to the window and look down, there is a young girl, probably around my age, staring back up at me.

.........

EDITED

I'm baack!!!

Sorry again, it's been a crazy Christmas but I hope you all had a wonderful time on your time off <3

Good news though! I have many more chapters planned out and I am getting back to my normal schedule so look forward to at least one a week again (I mean before December I was pretty good at that).

SOOOOOOOO>>>>

Who do you think that girl is??

Where Jace and Annabelle about to... ??? ;)

Let me know what you think! Comment, Like and Follow!!!!

- Kayla