Chapter Fifteen - Tears

Nikolai spoke through the door, "I noticed your eyes. I meant you look as if you need to feed. My mother told me you hunt animals, so I wanted to offer my service to you. I know some good hunting game around here."

I looked at her eyes. Why didn't I notice? How could I have forgotten that she needed to feed? I was disappointed in my lack of details. Ashling must have read my somber face as she placed her hand on my arm and whispered, "I'm fine, Ephraim."

I walked towards the door and opened it. I stared straight at him. I was thankful I had phased into a wolf as it caused my growth spurt to rise fairly quickly. Nikolai was only an inch shorter than me. When I stared down at him, his look was confused with my presence in her room.

"Ephraim, I'm sorry. I thought Ashling was in this room."

I stretched the door further open so he could see her. "This is her room, and I can take her hunting to feed."

"Sure. I can give you both a tour of the area to familiarize yourself."

I turned around and stretched my hand out to her. She let out a smile and placed her hand into mine. We followed behind Nikolai into the hallway. Ashling stared at me with a big smile and I could read her lips as she mouthed to me, "Jealous?"

"No." I didn't intend my voice to be heard.

"I'm sorry, Ephraim? Did you say something?" Nikolai turned around and with a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, I was thinking to myself and didn't intend for my thoughts to come out." If there was anything I was good at, it was pulling a poker face.

We made ourselves out into the forest, and the lake displayed a translucent blue that almost matched the color of the sky. It reminded me of the Pacific Northwest. I never realized I would ever miss home. I took in a deep breath of the clean air that radiated from the trees. Then the sight of seeing Ashling's iridescent skin created an array of dancing lights around us which caught me in a trance.

She brought her hair around her face to hide her porcelain skin. She was embarrassed at the distraction she was causing. She looked down on the ground then up at me, "I'm sorry. The sun is at its peak it seems."

"Don't be sorry. You look beautiful." That was the truth. I rarely saw the vampires during the daylight, and my Mom's reflective lights weren't as brilliant as Ashling's. I was in awe at the spectrum of lights in front of me.

Nikolai interrupted us and stood beside me with his arms around my shoulders like we were in some bromance relationship. "That was beyond stunning. I've yet to witness something as majestic as that."

She bit down on her lips, embarrassed by his discovery. "I'm going to hunt now. I'll be back."

I released myself from Nikolai's hold and followed her. "I'll go with you."

"No. I'd like to go on my own, if you don't mind." She turned herself around not waiting for me to respond back and went into the forest. I guess I was going to be waiting alone with Nikolai.

Ashling must have been extremely hungry as it took her longer than usual to finish. She was able to feed on a few animals, and while she was washing up by the lake, Nikolai pulled me aside.

"Are you and Ashling?" He slightly nodded his head to the side and raised his eyebrows up waiting for me to understand his question.

My eyebrows furrowed, "She and I? What? Are we a couple? Yes. We're actually more than a couple."

"Married? I'm sorry, I didn't know since you both were in different sleeping quarters."

"Not married. Soulmates." I wasn't afraid to be honest. Nikolai needed to know the truth and where the boundary was between him and Ashling.

"Soulmates? Is there such a thing?" He laughed at the idea, and I didn't feel compelled to explain to him.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Ephraim, we live in a supernatural world. I don't think there is time for understanding anymore."

I couldn't read this guy. What was his intent? Friend or foe? But I could tell from the endless stares to Ashling, that Nikolai had a deep interest in her. She finally finished and walked towards us. She kept her gaze at me and broke a tiny crooked smile.

"She's my imprint. I'm bound to her for life, and nothing or no one is going to break that bond." I stood up and reached out to grab her hand. "Are you ready to go back?"

"I believe I'll be good for a while." She then gave her attention to Nikolai, "Thank you for thinking of me. The scenery here is breathtaking."

He nodded his head slightly and replied to her, "Yes, well, if it wasn't before, it's definitely breathtaking now." I rolled my eyes at his flamboyant flirtatious lines. This guy had no intent of holding himself back.

As we made our way back, we learned a little more about Nikolai. He was much older than I had anticipated. Almost 500 years old to be accurate, though his growth stopped after 21 years. He was part werewolf and part human, an accidental production from the forbidden love between his mother and father. He grew up without his father and didn't reunite with his father until over ten years ago. His father was making up for lost time, not knowing that he and his mother were still alive and well, but hidden from the world.

Nikolai had thought he'd seen everything until he met us. His mom kept the vampires out of his life. She was afraid of how he would react since he had never been exposed to vampires. They were after all natural enemies of werewolves. However, when he would encounter one, he was calm and collected. It was the human nature side of him, he assumed. It was a brief encounter not too long ago, but one that happened in the late evening.

So when he saw Ashling's radiating skin from the sunlight exposure, it left him speechless. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, so he was talking a million miles per hour. He wanted to know how she was turned, who turned her, would she ever want to be human. It seemed, he had more questions for her than I did. I realized I haven't had a moment to truly get to know her. We were both in such a whirlwind of events as of late that I never stopped to be alone with her.

I interrupted Nikolai and held Ashling back. Nikolai kept on walking until he realized we were too quiet. He turned around and saw the both of us staring at him. "Is everything alright?"

I saw the confused look on Ashling's face, then I answered Nikolia, "I actually want a moment alone with Ashling. We'll be back before the sun sets." I didn't move, hinting to Nikolai that Ashling and I were going to remain behind.

His lips curled in response, "I understand." Soon he rustled through the trail back to the castle.

My focus shifted to Ashling, and then I looked at our surrounding and found a tree that had fallen which created a perfect bench for us. I didn't realize how tight my hold was with Ashling's hand as I walked us towards the tree. I climbed the trunk and helped her behind me. We both sat down with our feet hanging off the ledge. My hand still intertwined with her slender fingers.

"Are you alright, Ephraim?" Her eyes met with mine while she placed her other hand over mine.

"I feel as if I have slighted you by not putting your concerns first."

She released that smile that always eased me. "Why would you feel that way? Don't think it's because of the hunt. I told you, I'm perfectly fine."

She didn't understanding how I felt. "It's more than that. I should have been the one who recognized that you needed to hunt. I should know your life story. I should have comforted you when you lost your mother."

Before she allowed me to finish, her lips caressed with mine. She pulled me in closer as she wrapped both her arms around my neck. Her fingers ran through my hair, though my hair was already rising up from her touch. I could feel the emotions that she had been bottling up being released in our kiss. She finally ended it with subtle kisses, and I didn't know how to respond except pull her in closer to me.

"Ephraim. I don't know how."

I was perplexed by her statement. "You don't know how to what?"

She was silent and it was as if all the creatures in the forest halted everything and were waiting for her to respond. "Mourn her. I miss her, but my emotions are not like humans. I've seen expressions of tears and anguish, and I want more than anything to be able to set that emotion free for her. I loved her. She was the only one who understood me."

My first reaction was holding her in my arms. I rested her head against my shoulder. It never crossed my mind that something as simple as crying was something that vampires had envied. I was cradling her to comfort her.

What I would have done to make everything alright for her. I started rubbing my thumb against the top of her hand and I felt something fall on my thumb. We both looked and it was a drop of water.

"Ephraim?"

Her hands moved over her face and she rubbed her fingertips below her eyes. I recognized the glistening fluid that ran down her eyes. We both were in a state of shock and froze for a moment.

"How?" Her eyes focused on the single tear drop on her fingertip.

I couldn't believe it. My intuition knew what was happening, but I was stunned at the moment that my silence wasn't too comforting for Ashling.

"Ephraim?" She repeated my name and I finally looked at her.

My sudden pants for air finally stopped, "I . . . I think I caused it."

"What do you mean?" Her brows furrowed while she shook her head.

"My powers or gift, I can grant whatever one wishes. I must have wanted you to give you gift of tears. I don't even know how I did it."

She let out burst of tears and I tried my best to ease her pain. She had been holding it all in for so long. She swept away her tears and chuckled through more tears. It was an emotional roller coaster for her.

"Ephraim, it feels so exhilarating to be able to release these emotions. I can't believe something as simple as crying can relieve so much tension in me." Her arms wrapped around my neck so tight that I was sure I was going to lose my breath. "I'm so sorry." She let me go and was embarrassed at her sudden reaction.

"No, it's good. It feels good to know that I was able to give you something. I know you deserve more."

"Ephraim." She stopped me before I could finish. Her face, however, wasn't of pure enthusiasm. Instead, she looked petrified while her hand came up to my face. Her thumb brushed against the top of my lip. When she pulled her hand away, I noticed blood on her fingertip. "You're bleeding, from your nose."

"What?"

It all happened so fast as my weight leaned forward and my eyes became heavy. I could see myself falling off the broken tree, but I didn't feel the ground. Instead, everything went dark.

A/N: Thank you for your patience. I am already working on the next chapter, so I can release it soon. Much love! Please comment and vote!

-kl