13. Evelyn
13
Evelyn
A fter dinner that night, I found myself lingering near Alister’s bedroom. I had never ventured inside, and I was curious to see his private quarters, although that’s not the reason I was here.
I needed answers—no more evasions or half-truths.
What was his relationship with my parents? Why would they agree to marry me off to him? And the biggest question of all—why would he even want to marry me in the first place?
At first, I was afraid he wanted me as some sort of twisted blood bank. But he hadn’t even asked to bite me again. So why?
Steeling myself, I knew whatever it was, it was big, as Alister hadn’t said anything to me, waiting for me to come to him.
But I was chicken shit.
I huffed.
“You can come in, Evelyn,” he said in a sultry voice. “I won’t bite,” he added as if he had heard my thoughts.
Wait, can he do that? That would be especially terrible.
The door was ajar, and a soft light spilled out into the dim corridor. I pushed it open.
Alister looked up from a book, his eyes reflecting the firelight. The room was gorgeous, as expected. Dark blue, almost black walls, with velvet curtains and a large four-poster bed that looked like it might belong in a museum.
“Little phoenix,” he greeted, closing the book with a soft thud. “To what do I owe this late-night visit?”
“I need answers,” I said, stepping into the room. “About everything. About you.”
He gestured for me to sit in one of the plush armchairs by the fireplace. “Where should I begin?”
“Start with the witch you loved,” I replied, sitting down and meeting his gaze.
Alister sighed, leaning back in his chair as if drawing strength from some deep well within himself. “Her name was Edith. My first love was more of an infatuation. She was a seer.”
His voice grew softer as he continued, eyes distant as though peering into a long-forgotten past. He hesitated and looked at me. “Edith told me she wasn’t my true love—that one day I would meet another witch with golden eyes…One who had risen from the ashes.”
I leaned forward, hanging onto every word.
“After her death,” Alister went on, “I sought revenge and turned into a vampire. I did avenge her, but being a vampire changes you. My life became a blur of excess and violence. Years passed like fleeting shadows until one day, on a battlefield, I met your great-great-great-grandmother, Calla.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of her.
“Calla was disguised as a man then,” Alister said with a small smile. “But when I saw her eyes—those golden eyes—I remembered Edith’s vision.”
“And you became friends?” I asked, urging him to continue.
“Yes.” He nodded. “Over time, we forged an unlikely bond. Every now and then, I’d check on her lineage, on the witches with golden eyes. Part of me didn’t believe Edith’s vision. But as solitude crept in over centuries, I began to hope.”
Alister paused, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that sent shivers all the way down my toes.
“Until one day,” he whispered, “I found you.”
“What are you saying?” I asked nervously.
“I’m saying you are my true love, Evelyn Everhart. My fated mate. The one I have waited centuries for.”
His words hung heavily in the air.
The revelation left me feeling both terrified and excited but also somehow unworthy.
Finding a fated mate was extremely uncommon—I had never come across someone who had one, or even heard of anyone who claimed to. It was a myth, a rumor, something to cling to in the hope that one day, you might be lucky enough to meet your twin soul.
“D-did my parents know?”
He nodded.
My heart pounded against my chest.
This beautiful male was my fated mate. How was that even possible?
Alister rose from his chair and knelt before me.
His eyes searched mine, filled with what I believed to be love, admiration, desire, and perhaps a little fear. “I know this is a lot,” he said softly. “And I don’t expect you to accept it all at once. But know this, Evelyn: my feelings for you are genuine, shaped by centuries of waiting and watching over the lineage leading to you. You are remarkable, beyond anything I could have imagined, and I would be honored to have you by my side.”
“Alister…” My voice was shaky but deep down, I always knew we had a connection. From the moment I landed in his arms, I felt a pull, an inexplicable bond. That connection had deepened since Alister bit me, but I had assumed it was just the venom.
I swallowed hard.
“But why me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why would fate choose a witch centuries later, one who’s still learning who she really is? One who might not be worthy of you or the bonds of a fated mate?”
Alister’s expression softened, and he gently lifted my chin, his touch warm and reassuring. “It is I who am not worthy of you, Evelyn. Not the other way around,” he said, his voice steady and sincere. “Worthiness isn’t measured by knowledge or power alone. It’s defined by the heart, bravery, resilience, and the capacity to grow. You’ve shown all of these and more.” He paused, his eyes searching mine as if trying to convey the depth of his conviction without words. “You were thrust into a world of darkness and betrayal, yet you didn’t let it corrupt you. You fight for those you care about, you seek justice, and you strive to understand your powers—not for personal gain, but to protect others.” His hands held mine now, warmth spreading from his touch. “That makes you more than worthy. It makes you extraordinary. And fate…Well, fate doesn’t make mistakes.”
Alister’s gaze grew even more intense as he continued. “Being fated mates means a thread connects us, binding our hearts and emotions into one. This connection deepens as time progresses, making us more attuned to each other’s needs, desires, and fears. It’s about becoming one soul intertwined with another, sensing each other’s presence even when apart.”
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “And once we’re…intimate, this bond will click into place, locking us together in an unbreakable way.”
My heart raced as I processed his words.
Here was a male, a vampire, who had waited lifetimes for me and yet believed in me for reasons I was only beginning to understand. Combined with the weight of finding a twin soul, of being bound by such an intense connection, it was a lot to process.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I…I need to think about all this,” I stammered, standing up abruptly.
The room felt suddenly too small.
“Of course,” Alister said gently, rising as well. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here when you’re ready.” His voice was steady, but I noticed a slight tremor in his hands as he restrained himself from reaching out again.
I nodded silently and left the room quickly, my heart a chaotic mess. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself. I craved connection and love but feared vulnerability more than loneliness.
Then, decided, I walked back in. “I apologize for leaving like that.”
Alister looked up, surprised.
“I do feel a strong connection to you,” I admitted. “It’s like a whisper in my heart, pulling me toward you. And I do want to get to know you better, to explore what this is between us. But there’s so much going on…I need to take it slow.”
A breathtaking smile adorned his beautiful face. “Of course. We’ll go at your pace.” He walked toward me, his movements slow and reassuring. “Why don’t we start with something small?”
“What do you have in mind?”
He moved his arms and placed them on my shoulders. “I want you to feel safe around me.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Are you sure? You seem to be more comfortable around the other guys.”
“I’ve know them longer than you. We also spend more time together.”
He nodded. “Exactly. We need to spend time together. I want to know more about you. I also want you to know more about me.”
That made sense.
“If we’re going to be husband and wife, we have to trust each other.” He rubbed my shoulders slightly. “You’ve been working hard these past days. Despite what happened to your friend, you didn’t close yourself in your bedroom and give in to depression.”
“I thought about it. The guilt was…too overwhelming. But I decided to focus my pain on punishing the real culprits. Theo didn’t deserve to die. The ones who killed him won’t be forgiven.”
“That’s my little phoenix!” He smiled as if he was proud of me.
I swallowed hard as I took my time to look at him.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“The first time I lived through this year, we didn’t meet. I had no idea you existed.”
“Do you blame me for keeping our bond a secret?” he asked. “I was waiting for you to graduate, but after you came to my library—and especially after you offered yourself—all my careful plans went out the window.”
“Rafe, Lucien, Chad, and Ryker weren’t part of my life either. It was only when I came back and decided to change my fate that I met them. You.”
Alister pulled me into his arms, hugging me and cuddling the back of my head. “No one will hurt you in this timeline. I’m here. I’ll protect you. I’ll die for you if I must.”
“I don’t want anyone else to die for me,” I whispered as I fought back the tears.
“Theo might have been your first love, but nothing can compare to mate bonds.”
“What? No. I only ever saw him as a friend. A good one. Well, maybe in the other timeline we had a thing, but…You don’t need to feel jealous. At least not of him.”
“Right. I just have to compete with Chad, Rafe, Lucien, and the big one,” he joked as my body melted into his embrace and I felt safer than ever.
“We should maybe talk about them…”
“No. We have time for that. Tonight is about us.”
“Us?” I sighed, inhaling his amber scent.
“I need you, Evelyn. I need to feel your presence, smell you next to me. I need to hold you and keep you safe.”
I smiled, hiding my head against his shoulder. “As much as I’d love to, it’s a bit too soon to take this to another level.”
“I’m not talking about sex, little phoenix. I want you to sleep with me tonight.”
I raised my head and looked at him. “Just sleep?”
“Just sleep.”
I took a moment to think about it. “I need to get a pajama from my bedroom.”
“Or, you can wear one of mine,” he countered.
I smiled at him. “Are you afraid I’ll leave and won’t come back?”
“More afraid that someone else snags you and you forget to come back.”
I moved away from his embrace and folded my arms in front of my chest. “Are you jealous, Alister?”
He nodded. “We’ve barely spent time alone since we bonded.”
“It’s true, but in my defense, I was mad at you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Was? You aren’t anymore?”
“I still need to process everything you said about our bond, but I was the one who asked you to bite me. I didn’t know the consequences of it, but worse things could happen. Finding my soulmate isn’t a bad thing.”
He smiled, grabbed my hand, and walked me to his closet. “I have several pajamas and t-shirts here. You can grab what you want and change in the bathroom. Then join me in bed. We’ll cuddle and talk about anything you want.” He turned around with a blue silky pajama and offered it to me. “There are new toothbrushes inside the cabinet.”
I nodded and walked to the bathroom with a silly smile on my face.
Once I was dressed, and by some miracle, my wings had thankfully disappeared, I got out and saw Alister also wearing a burgundy silky pajama. His eyes came alive when he saw me.
Padding to me, he took my hand and led me to the large four-poster bed.
As we settled in, his arms wrapped around me and I felt a sense of peace and belonging.
This is exactly where I needed to be.