Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Waking up, I roll on my side, my hand coming in contact with a warm bare chest. I sit up, my heart skipping a beat for a second before I realize it is only Tobias and not some random dude from the club.
I relax, my head cloudy and throbbing. I could hardly remember what we got up to last night.
The last thing I really remember was kissing Merida.
I grin at the thought; that had been fun.
I rub my head, it pounding hard like a drum. Tobias watches me, a strange look on his face. I roll to get out of bed when he pulls me on top of him. I’m too weak to struggle, so I slump heavily against him. I really should have drunk some water before passing out.
Theo comes in, and I tense. He hands over a glass of water and some medicine. I gulp the drink, eyes growing misty. The coolness of the water sooths my dry throat and the funky taste hanging out back there. I take the pills and hand the glass back to Theo.
I try to crawl out of bed, the urge to pee washing over me. I climb to the edge when Theo sets the water to the side and his hand shoots out, grabbing my chin, forcing me to look up at him. I roll my eyes at him.
“Don’t roll your eyes, it’s disrespectful.”
I’m in no mood to put up with their orders. Plus, I really need to pee.
“You know what’s disrespectful? Lying about the fact that you’re married,” I spit back at him.
I go to climb off the bed again only for his grip on my chin to get tighter, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Don’t ever let me see you kiss another person again, understood?” I hear Tobias growl behind me, obviously remembering mine and Merida’s display of affection.
I laugh and slap his hand away before shoving past him. This fucker lied about being married and he thinks he can tell me what I can do? "Then it's fine as long as you don't see it?" I demand.
“Imogen!” I ignore Tobias calling out to me and stalk into the bathroom, quickly peeing, and washing my hands before going back and climbing under the covers.
I just want to go back to sleep. No such luck, The bed dips as Theo gets under the blanket next to me.
Tobias rolls over closer, and I snuggle into his warmth.
I’m still angry, but his warm skin is nice against mine and it is cold this morning.
Tobias’s fingertips gently rub my hip. I can hear them talking softly but tune them out before going back to sleep.
They let me sleep and I eventually wake back up a few hours later.
Tobias is lying next to me, snoring softly, but Theo is gone.
I can smell bacon, making my belly rumble loudly.
Climbing out of bed, I pull on one of their shirts and put on some socks.
My hair looks like a bird has made a nest in it as I head past the glass on either side of the front door, making me laugh at my own reflection. I look as bad as I feel.
I make my way into the kitchen and turn the kettle on.
“Sit, I will make it. Here, eat this,” he says, passing me a plate of bacon and eggs with French toast. I dig in, nothing like greasy food when hungover.
Theo hands me a coffee. I sipped its hot caffeinated goodness, awakening my soul.
Sometimes coffee is better than sex, well right now it is anyway.
Tobias trudges downstairs running his hand through his hair, the muscles on his abdomen flexing as he moved.
It’s so hard to remember how angry I am at them when they keep walking around half bloody naked looking like god damn gods.
Stupid mate bond makes me fucking horny all the time.
I turn back to face the kitchen, and Theo watches me with a silly smirk on his face, like he knows what I was thinking.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if he did snoop in my thoughts. It's what he is good at.
Tobias sits next to me, putting his hand on my knee. I push it off. “Really, Imogen? She is dead. Are you really going to be jealous over a dead woman?”
“I’m not jealous of a dead woman. I am pissed off because you didn’t tell me you were married and I’m not stupid, I can tell you’re hiding something else.”
Tobias sighs. “What do you want to know then?” he asks. Now he wants to talk? Really this wouldn’t even have become a thing, if he had just told me yesterday instead of running from me and hiding in the room like a coward.
“Did you kill her?” Theo and Tobias peek at each other, clearly wondering where I got that information. “Well, did you?” I ask again before they can ask where I heard it from.
“Tobias did,” Theo answered. Tobias glances at him with a glare, before slowing turning his attention to me.
“Why?” I demand. I wanted the truth this time. No more lies.
“Because she lied, we thought she loved us and we were going to mark her, then we found out she was with another vampire and she was just using us, so one of us would change her and give her immortality,” said Tobias.
I can hear the anger in voice. Feel it through the bond.
This is a topic he doesn’t like speaking of.
“So, Tobias lost control and snapped her neck, she was human. This was also over a hundred years ago, not recent and certainly not an issue you need to worry about,” Theo states. They killed her and I don’t know how I feel about that.
“How long were you married for and why didn’t her boyfriend just change her?" It doesn't make sense.
“Because he was part of the council and he couldn’t, his parents wouldn’t allow it. This is also one of the reasons the rules around humans are enforced. Bianca was going to out us if we didn’t change her. So instead, we killed her, and we were together for about six years,” answered Tobias.
Six years? They killed her after being with her for six years? I shiver. I've barely been with them in comparison. I feel nauseous knowing they could kill her like she meant nothing after loving her for six years. I barely know them. Would it be easy for them to kill me?
“So that’s why the council is against humans, because of her?” I demand. At this point I want to curl into a hole again. This woman had ruined everything. I wish she was still alive so she could be killed again. But that doesn't explain why they kept her hidden from me.
“Not just her, but if we went around changing anyone we wanted, the world would be overrun with vampires and shifters and that would not be a particularly good world to live in. We prefer to stay in the shadows. One thing humans are good at is making species become extinct or experimenting on things they can’t understand or trying to replicate it.
It is safer for everyone, if humans don’t know of our existence. ”
I nod, understanding what he means. There would be people like Bianca coming out of the woodwork tempted by immortality. “I don’t understand. You said Theo was changed, and yet you were born but yet you can make me like you?”
“Yes, vampires are made. They can’t procreate once they change because their bodies don’t change, males can technically impregnate a human, but no vampire woman would be able to bear children, their bodies are no longer compatible to give birth.
Werewolves can procreate, meaning males and females can have children together and a male vampire can impregnate a werewolf creating a hybrid.
Which is frowned upon so rarely happens.
Werewolves’ bodies can change because we can shift, so all she wolves are still fertile.
I can still change you though because our blood is like a venom if you have enough in your system it will alter your DNA making you like me,” Tobias explains.
“Me on the other hand, you only need a drop of my blood for me to change you,” said Theo. This is a lot of information at once. I don’t know if I actually prefer to be in the dark about it. Seems too unreal to make sense. A single drop was all it took of Theo's? That is terrifying.
“And If I don’t want to change?” I ask offhandedly. I know the answer but I would never stop fighting
“You know that’s not an option. You will be forced eventually, the council already found out about you.” I stare stunned and also a little scared of this human hating council.
“Our parents are going to speak to the council to buy more time, it just means we may have to take you before the council and ask for permission to hold off on changing you. If they agree, and we can find a way to convince them, things don’t have to change for now, but they will change, Imogen.
You will change.” Tobias's words leave no room for argument. He isn’t going to let me die, at least not of old age.
“I have another question.” They both nod waiting for me to ask but something with this whole Bianca situation still rubs me the wrong way. Another layer they aren't revealing to me.
“If your wife is dead, why did you instantly think of her when I asked what you and Theo got up to out here?” They both glance at each other nervously. Bingo.
Theo answers for him. “She lived here with us. We only moved back here when we found out you were our mate. We hadn’t been back here since she was killed.”
I didn’t know what to think of his answer, it creeps me out slightly. Am I destined for her path, to end up dead, like her?
“That won’t happen, Imogen. You’re different, don’t compare yourself to her,” Theo tells me after invading my personal thoughts.
“Stay out of my head, Theo. You have no right to know what I am thinking.”
He doesn’t look happy but keeps his mouth shut. I eat the rest of my breakfast before getting up. I go and sit on the couch and flick the TV on before remembering they don’t have service out here and I have already watched the majority of the movies.
Tobias comes and sits on the couch next to me. Annoyed, I get up and he grabs my hand, gently tugging me back. “Please don’t run off.”