Aidan had managed to pull herself away from the door and move through the house, turning off all of the lights. She stumbled up the stairs, her heart aching and tears fighting to spill from her eyes.
She had almost forgotten that her mother had died for her ten years ago.
That thought brought her to her knees at the top of the stairs and she covered her face with her hands as tears began to fall down her face.
Ten years had passed since Amelia had sacrificed her life for her daughter; ten years had passed since Aidan's life changed forever.
Aidan pushed the tears back, struggling to stand as she continued to make her way down the dark hallway and into her bedroom. The room felt chilly for a split second when she first entered, but as she made her way to her massive bed, the room started to feel warmer.
She fell onto the bed, not bothering with removing her clothes. Sobs wracked her body as she curled up in the middle of the bed. She cried for her first love, for the life she lost, and she cried mostly for the loss of her mother.
Eventually sleep took hold of her, wrapping her in the darkness and dragging her into the past.
The night had been perfect, simple, but perfect. Her and Nick had spent the evening celebrating her birthday early since she would be leaving for California for the summer with her mother in a couple of days. They had a nice picnic under the stars in the bed of his truck and talked for hours before they decided it was time to leave.
This was the night. After dating for a year and a half, Aidan felt that she had enough control over her emotions that she could be with him completely. When Nick took her home instead of letting him leave, Aidan asked him if he wanted to stay the night.
Her mother was home, but she would be asleep by now, and it was a big house, their rooms on opposite ends. She wouldn't hear a thing.
Aidan had complete control of her emotions, made sure not to get too consumed with the love and lust she was feeling as he lay on top of her on her bed.
Clothes flew through the air as they stripped each other. Aidan felt the excitement and momentary fear as she looked at him. She looked up at him and nodded, a smile on her lips.
He went slow and was gentle as he sank within her. Aidan closed her eyes tightly and concentrated on her breathing, and soon the pain subsided. As he began moving within her, Aidan felt her control slipping, though she fought to keep the control.
"Relax," he breathed into her ear as he started to move faster.
Aidan moaned and shuddered beneath him. The longer they made love the less she could control her emotions. She started to glow, first dully, but then she looked golden in hue as she arched her back and felt her entire body explode in pleasure.
Her boyfriend stopped everything, looking down at her with a mixture of fear and wonder as she glowed a wonderful golden color.
That was when the bedroom window shattered as a gorgeous pale creature crashed in. Chaos erupted as Aidan screamed, her boyfriend ripped from her body. She sat up in the bed, pulling sheets to cover her as she watched with wide eyes as her first love was killed in front of her, the vampire ripping his throat open and drinking his blood.
Aidan had tried to run away, bolting for her bedroom door as she clutched the sheet to her body, screaming for her mother.
It didn't do any good, he was too fast. He grabbed her shoulder, digging his nails into the skin above her right collar bone.
The door was thrown open and Aidan's mother quickly pulled her daughter, throwing her into the hallway, a shiny blade in her other hand.
The vampire hissed as his prey was ripped from his grasp. He looked at the blade in the woman's hand and grinned darkly. "You can't kill me with that," he chuckled as he took a step towards her.
"No, but I won't let you have my daughter," she said as she plunged the knife into her gut just below her ribcage.
The sudden sweet, exotic smell of Olympian blood consumed the vampire and he latched onto the now dying woman. It was faint, she barely had any Olympian blood in her, but he could smell it and he wanted it.
Aidan watched in horror as her mother sacrificed herself, the blood spilling out of her.
"Be safe, my little flame," her mother whispered as the vampire took hold of her.
Tears welled up in her eyes as her already glowing body began to tremble, the light growing even brighter. "No," she whispered, her voice shaking as she watched her mother die. The pain she felt exploded in her body and Aidan let out a blood curling scream, the light exploding from her and consuming everything around her.
The vampire screamed in agony as he was consumed by the fire of the daughter of the Sun God.
The house burned down around Aidan as she held herself, crying.
Before the authorities arrived, a golden man retrieved the crying teenager from the flames and took her to safety. But the damage had been done, Aidan had watched her first love and her mother die because she had lost control of her emotions.
Aidan tossed and turned in her bed, her body temperature rising as she experienced the raw emotions of watching the ones she loved die because of her. The tears slipped out of her eyes as she cried out, whimpering as she continued to relive the traumatic event ten years ago.
Despite the nightmare, she continued to sleep past sunrise when she would usually be up and getting ready to dance.
A golden man appeared in the dark room, his glow shining light across the room. The glow dimmed as he approached the bed with the weeping woman still locked in nightmares. His vibrant green and cognac eyes were filled with sadness as he lowered his body onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.
He smoothed her tousled light brown hair, the same shade and wave as his. "Shh, I'm here now," he whispered in a deep, velvety, and calming voice.
Aidan flinched as more tears fell from her eyes. "Mother, I'm so sorry," she whimpered but slowly began to relax in the man's arms.
The man sat against the headboard, holding her in his arms. He began to hum softly, a deep sadness in his eyes.
After about an hour of Aidan sleeping fairly peacefully in his arms, she started to stir.
"Dad," she whispered, her voice raspy from crying as she gripped the button down shirt he was wearing, her eyes still closed.
Apollo smiled slightly as he brushed hair out of her face. "Good morning, little flame," he rubbed her shoulder soothingly as she slowly opened her eyes. She first looked at the window across from her, the blue drapes parted slightly so that she could see that it was drizzling.
Her eyes, swollen and a little red from the night of crying, looked up at her father who was smiling softly. "What are you doing here?" she asked, clearing her throat.
"I wasn't going to leave you alone," he answered as a fond look replaced the sadness. "Besides, I have a message for you."
Aidan's brows knitted together in confusion. "A message from whom?"
"Your mother," he whispered.
It felt like a hand was crushing her heart. "What?" her voice was barely above a whisper as she sat up, pulling away from the warmth of her father.
His eyes softened and his voice was soothing, "Hades let me see her last night, she wanted me to pass a message along to you."
Tears filled her eyes, as she felt love, longing, and pain course through her entire body. "What did she say?" her voice quivered as she sat next to him, suddenly feeling like such a child. Her mother's soul was still in the Underworld, she hadn't been reborn.
Apollo caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "She wanted to tell you how much she loves you, and that she is happy that you're still alive, but she's saddened that you haven't been able to live your life," Aidan opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head. "She knows why you're running, Hades has been giving her updates over the years. She doesn't want you to keep running, not from your life, and certainly not from the pain of her death. Your mother wants you to grow from it, wants you to move forward and be happy."
Her eyes lowered as she frowned slightly. "Why does everyone keep saying that? How can I be happy when that happiness only brings death?" her lip quivered as the tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Artemis told you about shape shifters, you know that they, especially these wolves, were built to kill vampires," he argued lightly. "Even if vampires came here and tried to kill you, they wouldn't succeed. Not when your soul mate is one of them," he said with a grin.
Aidan's eyes snapped up to him in shock. "How did you…." she started but then realized that she was a topic of discussion amongst a few of the Olympians. She sighed, "Aphrodite."
He nodded and stood out of the bed. "Now, Hades has agreed to let you mother see you for a little while. She won't be here, but watching you from the Underworld, and she's requested to see you dance again. You know how much she loved to watch you dance," he said with a smile, reaching a hand out to help her out of the bed.
Pain and sadness filled her, but it was slowly starting to lessen. Maybe it was because of her mother's words, or maybe it was someone who warmed her heart in a way that she had never thought possible. She took her father's hand with a small smile and a nod. "I can do that," she said softly as she got off of the bed and retreated to her closet to change.
Apollo followed Aidan into the personal dance studio where she started stretching before putting her pointe shoes on. She was wearing light pink ballet tights with a white leotard and a burgundy wraparound skirt. Her hair was pulled into a high bun, giving her a very professional and sleek look.
As music started playing from the speakers, Aidan moved through the basics of ballet, plies, tondus, grand battements, and a few others that helped her body warm up. After the third song she moved away from the barre along the mirrored wall that ran the length of the kitchen and past the back patio.
"Did she tell you what she wanted to see?" she asked her father who was pushing away from the barre close to the door and started walking towards her.
"She didn't, but I thought a pas de deux would be perfect." At her questioning look he gave her a soft look. "The father-daughter dance she never got to see in life," he explained softly.
The pain returned and she almost lost her straight posture. If she ever got married, she wouldn't have her mother there to help her through the wedding or through children. She nodded numbly, starting to walk towards where she placed her iPod.
Apollo stopped her, "Leave the music to me." His body flashed gold for a moment and his black slacks and shoes were replaced with black tights and black ballet shoes. Music started to play from all around them.
It took Aidan a moment to recognize the music as that from the pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty where Princess Aurora dances with her Prince. It was her mother's favorite ballet that Aidan had performed in.
"I didn't take you for a ballet dancer," she joked lightly as they started the dance.
They joined hands and she went on pointe, pausing before the develope. "I'm not, but it's not like I don't know how. I have been around for a long time, after all. And I'm not doing the male solo, your mother isn't watching for me, she's watching for you," he said as Aidan turned, her extended leg still in the air, and he moved to hold her waist.
The reminder that her mother was watching filled her eyes with tears. She closed them for a moment, pushing the tears away. Pain and sadness wasn't what she wanted her mother to see, she wanted to let her mother see her with a smile and with happiness in her heart.
As she opened her eyes and continued to dance, she utilized her stage face and smiled brightly, despite the pain.
A chuckle escaped Apollo when he was kneeling, his hands on Aidan's waist as she leaned down, her face close to his.
"What?" she asked as they separated and started to slowly step backwards from each other.
"We've attracted an audience, and they don't seem to be as happy to see us together," his voice was filled with amusement as he nodded to the glass wall facing the woods behind the house. "It seems your wolf has the wrong idea about me."
Aidan glanced back to see a russet colored wolf sitting at the edge of trees, a seething look in his large brown eyes, and she could see his lips twitching in what she only assumed was a growl. Though, as soon as their eyes met, he flinched and the anger in his eyes turned into confusion and pain.
"Aidan," Apollo whispered and she snapped back to her father and the dance.
Jacob would have to wait, she wanted to dance for her mother, she would just have to explain to Jacob later.
The longer she danced the more she felt the pain began to subside.
Yes, fate had been cruel and forced Amelia to sacrifice herself in order to save Aidan, leaving the teenager all alone in the world to escape the vampires. Fortunately, fate had also lead her to two vampires who sympathized with her and gave her a place where she would be protected. That brought her to meet her soul mate, a man who would be her protector and be whatever she needed.
While she still was reluctant to jump head on into a relationship with Jacob, she realized that she couldn't deny him.
Apollo stepped away, going to the end of the room by the door as Aidan started her solo dance.
Tears filled her eyes, a warm smile on her lips. "I miss you, mother," she whispered as danced. The tears fell as she stepped backwards. "I wouldn't be here today without you, but I wish you were here." She fought the urge to start crying uncontrollably as she continued to dance. The tears that blurred her vision didn't hinder her, the dance was ingrained in her mind and body.
The tears flowed down her face, but they weren't just sad tears, they were also tears of relief and joy. Her mother was in the Underworld, within the Elysian Fields, and she was urging Aidan to be happy. Aidan had found her soul mate and he was willing to be whatever she needed him to be, he wasn't pressuring her for anything.
She was safe.
Apollo watched his daughter, struck by how beautiful she was even whilst crying. So much of her reminded him of her mother, even with the features she got from him. If Zeus had ever allowed it, Apollo would have brought her to Olympus and ensured she became a Goddess, forever to be among family and away from the vampires that wished to take her life.
His green and cognac colored eyes moved to the wolf still sitting at the tree line, mostly sheltered from the light rain falling. The wolf took his eyes from Aidan to look at the Sun God, his lips twitching in a snarl that almost made Apollo chuckle.
Even if Zeus allowed Aidan to join their ranks in Olympus, she would never leave now. She might not be willing to be with the wolf intimately at the moment, Apollo knew that she would eventually. He wouldn't deny that happiness to her daughter.
Aidan stopped dancing and retreated to the barre along the mirrored wall where she wiped the tears from her face. Apollo stepped out and waited a moment before starting to dance. Aidan began dancing again, moving towards him during his turn.
She felt a little lighter, though the sadness wasn't gone. That would still take time, but the healing process had finally begun.
The freedom in her heart showed as she danced with her father, her movements a little more relaxed while still keeping to the strict terms of ballet. When the dance ended her chest was heaving slightly with the exertion of the dance and raw emotions.
I love you, my little flame.
The voice was soft and full of emotion as it passed through the room like a breeze. The sound of her mother's voice brought the tears back as she sank to the ground. The sorrow returned as the sobs wracked her body. Apollo knelt next to her and kissed the top of her head, motioning to the wolf outside to come in.
"I will always be here for you when you need me, Aidan, but I think it's time for you to heal. I love you, don't forget that," he said as he stood. He disappeared from the dance studio in a golden flash.
Moments later Jacob was walking into the dance studio, wet from the rain and wearing a pair of dark cut off sweats. He rushed over to Aidan and sat on the ground, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping her in his arms.
Aidan cried harder as she buried her face into Jacob's large chest. Her body temperature rose to a point that even Jacob noticed her warmth, but he said nothing as he held her close.
Fifteen minutes passed before her tears began to subside. She continued to hold him, her fingers digging into his back.
"I'm sorry," she whispered between hiccups.
Jacob shook his head and pressed his forehead to the top of her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he hesitated. "Except for dancing with another man," he mumbled, the jealousy obvious in his voice.
The fact that Jacob was jealous of Apollo made her laugh softly against his chest. "Jacob, he's not another man," she pulled away enough to look up at the shapeshifter. "That was my father," she explained, watching as the jealousy slowly left his eyes.
He stared down at her with wide eyes. "Apollo, that was Apollo?"
Aidan pulled her arms away from the massive man as she wiped the tears from her face. "Yes," she answered simply as she suddenly felt drained, resting her head against Jacob's chest again. "He was here to give me a message from my mother, and to dance with me for her," she closed her eyes as she felt his warmth surrounding her and seeping into her.
"Your mother," he breathed, confused. He wanted to ask for an explanation, wanted to know why her mother couldn't be there herself and why Aidan has crying her eyes out. He had a feeling he knew the answers to those questions, but having a feeling wasn't actually knowing.
Aidan slowly pulled herself from Jacob's arms and slid out of his lap. "Yes," she hesitated before unlacing her pointe shoes, "She died ten years ago today saving my life."
He sat frozen, staring her with eyes filled with sorrow for her. "Aidan, I'm sorry," he whispered as she pulled the pointe shoes off of her feet and massaged her toes.
She didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say. All she could do was try to not start crying again because surprisingly she felt her eyes stinging with tears. Aidan rubbed at her eyes and tried to move the topic away from her pain.
"Gods, I must look horrendous," she joked lightly, trying to laugh. The sound was strained as she still felt like crying. She was so sick of crying now.
Jacob reached up and took her arm from her face, lifting her chin so that her eyes met his. Her eyes were red and swollen from her crying, her nose also turning red from the crying and rubbing, but he looked at her with an adoration that made Aidan's heart swell.
"You could never look horrendous, Aidan," he told her softly, a small smile on his lips. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her hot, damp forehead. "Though, I definitely prefer you not crying."
Aidan's cheeks warmed as she looked away. "No promises today," she mumbled as she crossed her legs, pressing her hands into her ankles. She started chewing on her bottom lip as she finally decided she would open up to him. "Actually, Jake, would you be able to help me with something?"
Her question made him smile. "Of course," he responded as his hand lowered to the ground.
"There's a box in my closet, full of pictures of my mom and of me growing up. I think…" she hesitated, closing her eyes to try and keep the pain from controlling her. "I haven't been able to look through them since I moved in, I've been too scared, but… I think… I think I can do it with you around," she mumbled, barely looking at him.
He nodded with a warm smile, feeling as if he might burst with happiness. She wanted to have him around to help her through a rough time. She was asking him to help her with the emotional turmoil within her. "It would be my honor to help you," he responded warmly.
"Thank you. I'm going to go take a shower and I'll meet you in the living room," she said as she stood up. Jacob stood as well and followed her out of the dance studio, Aidan turning the lights off as they left. "You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I'll be back," she hurried upstairs where she locked herself in the bathroom.
After stripping and jumping into a cold shower, Aidan stood in the stream of water and thought about the past few hours. Her mother had told her to be happy; her Olympian family was doing everything they could to make her happy; Jacob had come into her life and only wanted her to be happy.
Could she really be happy now?
Aidan lifted her face into the cold water, not that the temperature bothered her too much. She was still scared of herself, of losing control and attracting vampires, or worse - hurting Jacob.
The thought of Jacob getting hurt because of her made her heart hurt, made her entire body scream in pain just at the thought.
"You just have to take things slow, get to know him, get used to him," Aphrodite's words echoed in Aidan's head. She lowered her head and opened her eyes to stare at the water draining.
Take things slow and get used to him, was that really the solution to her problems?
Aidan shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel but allowing her naturally high body temperature to dry off. She went into her closet and started to get dressed.
There was just more than her being scared of herself, there was all of the pain from watching her first lover die, from watching her mother die, and running from vampires for ten years. There were so many wounds that needed to heal.
How would allowing herself to be with Jacob heal all of that?
Jacob's smiling face filled her mind and she found herself smiling slightly, a warmth filling her heart. He was such a bright man and made her feel so warm and comfortable, just like how being in the sun made her feel.
A giggle escaped her at the comparison. "My own personal sun," she mused as she pulled on a deep blue long sleeved scoop neck sweater dress over warm black tights. She braided her hair and let it fall over her right shoulder, covering up one of the nail mark scars above her collarbone that was exposed.
She retrieved the box from the shelf, the sorrow slowly starting to rear its ugly head despite the warmth that filled her from thinking about Jacob.
Jacob was sitting on the couch, a large mug in his hands with steam coming off the contents, another mug was on the coffee table in front of him. Aidan set the box down on the coffee table before sitting on the opposite end of the couch and picking up the mug.
"Thank you," she whispered as she took a sniff. The warm aroma of her hazelnut flavored coffee filled her nostrils. She took a sip and sank into the couch, allowing the warmth from the coffee and the heat radiating off of Jake to warm her thoroughly.
Jake watched her as she took a few sips of the coffee before setting the mug back on the table. He didn't like the distance between them, but he didn't want to over crowd her, not when he had pretty much forced his comfort on her early. Though, she had seemed to welcome that comfort and him.
"So, what's all in the box?" he inquired, looking at the box.
Aidan pulled the box closer and slowly opened it. "All of the pictures my mom had before she died," she answered as she pulled the first album out again. She moved closer to Jacob until she was touching him. If her first experience looking at this album was any indication, she knew she would probably crumble without his comfort.
Jake set his mug of coffee down on the table and put his arm behind Aidan on the back of the couch, allowing her to sit next to him more easily. He watched as she slowly opened the book, her hands trembling slightly. "I'm here, you're okay," he whispered softly as he rested his head on top of hers.
She relaxed into him as she turned to the page of her birth. They flipped through the book, looking at each picture.
Aidan cried softly as she relived each picture, telling Jacob everything she could remember about them all. He sat there quietly, letting her take her time as she reminisced and cried softly.
When they got to the last book, Aidan stopped. The book was labeled "2006" on a black cover in silver writing. It was smaller than the other albums.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
She let the photo album sit on her lap as she looked up at him. "This is the last one," she admitted quietly, her voice trembling.
Jacob moved his arm off of the back of the couch to put around her, pulling her close. "We don't have to look at it if you don't want to. You've been through a lot today, we can take a break," he suggested.
She closed her eyes as she sank into his warmth. He was right, they could take a break, she didn't have to look through all of them in one day. Actually, she was surprised she had gotten through all of the others. It was because he was there with her; his presence was a soothing comfort that pushed the pain and sorrow away.
Aidan made a noise of agreement as she cuddled into his side, her exhaustion from crying most of the morning catching up with her. "Would it be okay if I just took a quick nap?" she mumbled almost incoherently, already falling asleep.
His chest rumbled with a chuckle as he took the photo album from her lap and set it on the coffee table. "Go ahead, sweetheart, you deserve it," he responded as he turned them so that he could bring his legs up on the couch and was propped up against the armrest. He moved her body so that she was laying on top of him.
The sound of the rain outside and Jake's heartbeat was like a soothing lullaby as Aidan slipped into sleep, his arms encircling her feeling like a cozy blanket.
Aidan was pulled from her nap by Jacob's voice, soft but urgent.
"Aidan, sweetheart, I need you to wake up," his voice pushed through her sleep riddled brain.
Something was wrong, she could hear it in his voice. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at him. Jake was sitting up, her in his lap, but his brows were knitted together in concern.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you, but they need me," he moved her off of his lap and started to stand up.
"Wha…?" her question was cut off by a wolf howl outside. It was loud, close. She jumped and looked out the sliding glass doors to the patio and saw that it was much darker outside, but the rain seemed to have stopped.
"Go," she whispered with a nod.
Jacob started to turn but hesitated. He turned back to her and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll come back, I promise," he whispered into her hair before leaving through the back door.
Aidan got up and followed him, standing in the open door as she watched him run into the woods. The cold air was a shock against her hot skin and she actually shivered for a moment before she got used to the absence of Jake's heat with hers.
Aside from the cold air and the dark sky, Aidan felt something else, an eerie aura that filled the forest in front of her and loomed over her house. A chill ran through her at the familiar feeling that was seeping into her bones.
A vampire was close.