Page 41 of Love Bites
“How?” She wanted to edge closer, to sit down beside him and take notes. Her anger was still there, and she hadn’t forgotten his betrayal, but his situation had stirred her scientist’s curiosity. It overpowered everything else. Her mind itched to learn more.
"Natural Born vamps can father or birth children. They can grow old and die, or they can stay a certain age forever if they choose, although our aging process usually slows down in our twenties. We can heal from any injury except decapitation or a pierced heart or brain. If we go out in the sunlight, we will die. During the day, we sleep and are literally dead to the world. We cannot stand any type of human food or drink. We’re also the only ones capable of creating new vampires.
“Made vampires are not born, and they can’t grow old. In fact, they’re considered dead. Made vamps were once human, but were injected with vampire venom that killed them and made them vampires. They remain frozen at the age when they were killed, and can no longer father or birth children. They can still eat food and drink—although they need blood to survive. They can’t go out in the sunlight either, but they can stay awake during the day.”
Katheryn itched to take a sample of his blood to study it. But she tried to keep her face as impassive as possible.
“Did you ever bite me before? Was that the first time? Or did you bite me and hypnotize me to forget?” she asked, almost afraid to hear his answer.
He looked ashamed. “That was the only time, Katheryn. I swear.”
Her blood boiled, and she clenched her fists as her sides. “Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I was drunk and lost control. I wanted you. I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I know that’s no excuse. But I was going to your hotel room to tell you what I was. Then it all spun out of control.”
Katheryn recalled his mother’s earlier words. “The blood of a soul mate...”
At her words, Ignacio flinched. She narrowed her eyes, wondering more than ever, what the words meant. “Why does everyone talk about soul mates as if they were a real thing?”
“Because it is real,” Ignacio whispered. “For vampires it is, at least.” He hunched his shoulders as if he were trying to physically make himself smaller. His discomfort was obvious to her as avoided looking into her eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Then, he did look at her. His eyes lit a fire in her heart, causing her to step back from the intensity of it. His pupils practically swallowed his irises as he penetrated her with his stare. A chill went through her body. Goosebumps rose on her flesh.
“We’re Soul Mates, Katheryn.”
The hairs on her arms rose. She wanted to believe his words, for as soon as they were spoken, they struck a chord inside her heart. Soul mates. It wasn’t a real thing, was it? But she couldn’t deny something about him had attracted her from the moment they’d met.
“You need to explain it to me,” she said in a trembling voice.
Ignacio sighed. “Maybe you should sit down?”
“Standing is fine.”
They stared at each other for a brief moment before Ignacio began.
“For humans, the concept of Soul Mates may seem a little farfetched, but to vampires, it is very real and the most important thing. Many search for it, but only a lucky few are able to find their Soul Mate. The virus in our system is what chooses our Soul Mate. It is our opposite, the match of our souls, someone who is destined to be with us, whether we want them to be or not. It may be a human being or even another supernatural. We don’t know who it is or even why the virus chooses this person, but we all know one thing for sure: once we meet our Soul Mate, we can never be without them.”
Katheryn listened very carefully to his words. He thought they were soul mates because the virus in his system told him so? It sounded unbelievable. How could avirusdecide such a thing? Now, shereallyhad to get her hands on a vial of his blood to study it.
“That doesn’t sound possible,” she said, doubtfully. “So the virus just whispers to you, ‘Hey, that’s your Soul Mate, get on it!’? Ignacio, that’s ridiculous.”
He chuckled. “That’s not quite how it works. I know it sounds farfetched, but it’s the truth, Katheryn. The virus let’s our body know in other ways when we’ve found the one. It gives us signals, if you will, when we’ve come in contact with our Soul Mate.”
Like when our human body signals us we’re coming down with a cold.Katheryn considered his words.The vampire virus sounds super advanced.“What kind of signals do you get?”
He shrugged. “The most basic signal is static electricity seems to emanate between two Soul Mates. There is a sensation like fire cackling when their skin comes into contact with each other.” He stared at her, and his eyes flared when she licked her lips. “You know you feel it, too.”
Katheryn couldn’t deny it. Since the first moment he’d touched her, she’d felt the electricity spark between them. It had intensified when they kissed or made love. However, she didn’t want to admit it, wasn’t ready to admit it. Not yet.
“What else do soul mates share?” she asked to change the subject.
“Everything. A Soul Mate is someone we never grow tired of, someone we share everything with: thoughts, dreams, pleasure. When you find your Soul Mate it is as if your minds’ become one. You feel each other’s distress, happiness,everything.”
She thought of the dream he claimed to have shared, of the times he showed up when she was crying or in distress, of their lovemaking. Every time she’d touched him, she’d feel his pleasure course through her body.
Oh, my God.
