7. Marilee
Marilee
Iwasn’t totally sure how to tell a human about the supernatural world, but I was pretty sure I was going about it all wrong.
Inhaling sharply, I pushed my vamp back deep inside of me.
I didn’t want to scare my mate, and neither my vamp nor my newly discovered wolf was happy about the freaked out look on Hazel’s face right now.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out. I thought with you working for the diplomatic corps you’d be in the know about the supernatural community.”
Vampires weren’t in hiding. Neither were shifters or any of the other supes.
It was more like a ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ situation.
Most humans pretended we didn’t exist, and we didn’t rub it in their faces that we did.
We all knew better than to shift in front of people or do anything to freak the humans out.
No one wanted a species war, and we all knew if the humans got worried about our existence there’d be a lot of drama.
Some of the color returned to Hazel’s face. “I’ve heard things, of course, but honestly I thought those were just stories my parents told me to keep me in line.”
That was a weird way to phrase things. My mind went back to Hazel’s almost empty file.
“Do your parents live in Ottawa too?” I asked casually.
She shrugged. “No clue. I don’t have a relationship with them.”
There was definitely more to that story, but I could tell by the stubborn set to her jaw that now wasn’t the time to ask about it. Besides, unless it affected her safety, I didn’t need to know her story. My curiosity was strictly personal, and I needed to stay focused on my job.
Our food arrived and we both turned our focus to our meal. As I ate I pondered the day’s events. Finding my mate. Hearing from my wolf for the first time. Getting my first solo job. It had been an eventful few hours.
Then I groaned. I found my mate. Even though I was ecstatic about it, Lois was going to have an aneurysm.
Maybe I’d hold off telling her for now. I knew she wouldn’t pull me off the job – she hadn’t done it any of the other times this had happened.
Then again, as a wolf my boss knew better than to keep a supe from their mate. It was impossible to enforce.
The funny part was that Lois herself had found her mate while on a job. Monique was as opposite from Lois as someone could get, but somehow the two of them were perfect for each other. The only time I saw even a touch of softness from Lois was when her mate was involved.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel. As we walked up the street, Hazel had her head on a swivel. She was subtle about it, but I could tell she was watching everyone around us. It made my inner demons twitchy.
Speaking of which, I really needed to talk to my father about my newly discovered wolf.
So far, other than periodically screaming Mine!
while watching Hazel she hadn’t done much.
Since it’d been me and my vamp all my life, I was perfectly comfortable with that part of me.
The wolf side was a mystery, but hopefully my father could help me figure things out.
My mate only relaxed when we returned to our room. She was good at hiding her tension, but I was already tuned in enough to her emotions to know something was going on.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “You seemed… tense on the way home.”
Her eyes widened just a fraction, the only sign that she was surprised.
Whoever this woman really was, she’d clearly been trained at deception.
For some reason, that didn’t set well with me.
Not only because it affected my ability to protect her, but also because I wanted her to trust me with all her secrets.
Give her some time, my inner vampire said. I had the sensation of my newly awakened wolf shaking her head. It was disconcerting.
“I’m just tired,” she lied. “I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow, lots of schmoozing to do.”
“Okay.”
It wasn’t like I could drag it out of her. Besides, I had a feeling I’d figure out what was going on sooner or later.
While Hazel took a shower, I stepped out onto the balcony to call my father. I kept the sliding door open a few inches, my eyes trained on the room just in case.
“Hiya kid, how’re you doing?”
My dad always sounded so happy to hear from me. He lived in Montana with my mom in a cabin they’d bought after he retired.
“I heard my wolf today.”
He paused. “Your wolf woke up?”
“I guess so. It was like everything was normal, then she was shoving my vamp aside and howling.”
“Did you get any words from her?” he asked curiously.
“Only one so far. Mine.”
“You found your mate?” he said incredulously.
I winced as I heard him yell across the house at full volume. “Susan! Marilee found her mate!”
My mother made a high pitched squealing sound, then they were both on the phone and I was on speaker.
“Listen, I’m on a job so I only have a few minutes,” I said. “I met a human named Hazel, I’m doing close protection for her while she’s visiting from Canada. For whatever reason, when I saw her my wolf woke up.”
“She was just waiting for you to find your mate,” Dad reassured me. “Now you won’t be able to get her to shut up.”
“Great, my vamp is chatty enough.”
I’m not chatty, the voice I’d been hearing in my head since childhood sounded sullen. I talk to you when it’s important.
Mine!
This came from my wolf, and when I looked up, Hazel was coming out of the bathroom wearing flannel pajamas and toweling her hair. She shouldn’t have looked sexy in oversized flannels, but damned if she didn’t.
“I’m so happy you found your mate,” my mother said. “I can’t wait to hear all about her.”
“It’s new Mom, I don’t even know her myself. But my real question is, how do I manage having two little demons inside me now? It’s disconcerting.”
“They’ll learn to get along,” Dad assured me. “That’s how it was for your cousin Minnie. Her inner beings worked it all out.”
I sighed deeply. “I hope so, because I need to focus on my assignment, not get distracted by vampire wolf politics.”
When I headed back into the hotel room the scent of soap and shampoo was heavy in the air.
Hazel sat on the side of her bed, rubbing her long red hair with the towel to wring all the moisture out of it.
I had a vision of her spread out on the bed beneath me, her dark red hair fanned around her head like a halo.
“What?”
I looked over at Hazel to find her watching me. “You look weird.”
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I was just thinking about something.”
“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, but can I ask you some questions about the vampire thing?”
Vampire thing was an interesting way to refer to my being a different species from her, but I understood that humans didn’t always have the words to describe the supernatural world that they mostly pretended didn’t exist.
“Sure,” I said, sitting on the loveseat.
When she didn’t say anything else I started talking. “How about I start with the truths and myths, then you can ask me any questions that you still have.”
“Okay, thank you.” Hazel seemed relieved.
“First, you should know it’s strictly forbidden for vampires to turn humans into vamps. It’s a crime punishable by death.”
“So you’re not going to bite me then?” she joked.
Unbidden, I had a flash of me sinking my fangs into her neck during sex, claiming her as mine.
Yes claim her! my wolf encouraged.
“Only if you ask me nicely,” I winked, trying to keep things light so she wouldn’t freak me out. “But it wouldn’t be to turn you into a vamp.”
Her cheeks turned pink again. It was fascinating.
“It’s true that we drink blood, but mostly we drink synthetic or animal blood,” I continued my little lesson. “We don’t have to have it every day, but it’s best if we do. Just a few ounces at a time keeps us healthy. It’s like medicine to us really.”
“Where do you get it?” she asked curiously.
“The pharmacy. I’ve got a few doses in the fridge.”
Her eyes widened and I added, “It tastes better cold.”
“Ah. What else can you tell me?”
“We don’t burst into flames if we’re in the sun, but you see that I’m even paler than you, so we’re pretty religious about our sunscreen.”
“What about the killing you with stakes thing?” she asked.
I shrugged. “You can kill anyone with a stake. You kill vamps the same way as any other being, it’s just harder because it takes a lot more to hurt us. Plus we’re fast as hell and super strong when we’re in full vamp mode.”
“Thanks for sharing that with me,” she said, her voice getting sleepy. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
“It’s natural to be curious about your… about a creature that’s different than you.”
She yawned, a big cracking yawn. “I’m going to go to bed now. I’m exhausted. But we need to be downstairs at nine for the bus tour.”
“Sounds good,” I said, even though seeing the tourist sites in a city I’d lived for many years had no appeal. But I’d done worse things for a job. “Good night, Hazel.”
“Good night Marilee. And thanks for taking care of me.”
“I’ll always take care of you,” I said softly, too soft for her to hear with her human ears.
I’d never meant anything more.