Page 77 of Those That Don't Exist
“Totally,” I say without hesitation and with complete sincerity. I flash her my fangs, they’ve not retracted since she jumped into my arms. “You’re mine, Red. Make no mistake about that, mate bond or not.” She rolls her eyes so I reach up, grabbing her chin. “I mean it. Until you tell me otherwise you’re wholly and solely mine. I don’t share.”
“Well neither do I.” Red smiles back at me, completely unaffected by my domineering tone. “Now get dressed whilst I go clean up.”
She pulls back, out of my hold. If it’s possible, I fall harder. I love that she matches my energy.
Being possessive of a mate is part of our nature and even though she’s not technically mine yet, I know she will be soon.
She pauses at the door, a blanket once again covering her body.
“Oh, by the way, I’m on the contraceptive tonic. What we did won’t get me pregnant.”
Fuck, I probably should’ve mentioned this earlier.
“I wasn’t worried, now you’ve turned you won’t be fertile until you're mated.”
Her jaw slackens in surprise.
“Sorry, I should’ve said.”
“Are you saying I won’t have any more periods, won’t have to deal with brewing the tonic every month, none of it?”
“Yeah. And even when we’re mated your body will reabsorb the uterine lining every month, you won’t get periods like you did as a human.”
“Amazing!” Her face lights up at delight. “This vampire thing gets better and better.” She leaves, closing the door behind her.
Whilst Red is in the bathroom I grab the bag I’d stashed under her bed a while ago, it's got a few outfits and some key things like my identity documents and some cash. I pull out some joggers and a hoodie.
I’m dressed by the time Red returns. Her scent is dulled but I can still smell myself on her skin which is pleasing.
She immediately spots the bag. “Where did that come from? You didn’t have anything with you.”
“I hid it under your bed a while ago,” I say coyly, shrugging like it’s not a big deal. “Since I started planning my escape, I thought it might come in useful.”
“So, you’ve been in my room, put those there, without me knowing?” Is she angry or shocked? I’m a little unsure…
“Are you mad?” I ask hesitantly.
“Well, you could’ve asked.”
“Stalking tendencies, remember?” I offer her my best ‘forgive me’ pout. It has the desired effect as she smiles back, before stepping towards me and offering me a kiss. I bend to oblige her.
“I forgive you, but no more!” she chastises. “Include me in all of these plans please.” She jabs my chest with an index finger.
“I promise, Red. From now on it's just you and me.” Once we figure out how to get the pack off our backs. Which is rather pressing.
“Ok, good,” she says sternly.
I stuff the rest of my gear back in the bag to re-stash it under her bed as she rummages through her wardrobe and quickly pulls on some leggings and an oversized jumper.
“Alright, I need to go see Claire. Do you think we can go to this thing tonight? I don’t want to let Bree down.” She chews her bottom lip.
I’d thought about it whilst I’d dressed, guessing Red would still want to go.
“I think it’s actually a good opportunity. We can get out of the house and into somewhere public. The pack won’t be expecting us to hang around, and on the off chance they figure out where we are it's a public setting. They won’t risk exposing us. It’ll be safer for us to plan there, than stay here where they can ambush us.”
“Are we going to have to leave?” Her whole body sags as sadness descends over her.
“I think it's safest,” I say gently. She nods, but I don’t know if she’s accepting that fact or not.
