Chapter 12

Few drops

Cate tried her best to stay calm as she and Elijah entered her room, but she was nervous. Was this really a good idea? What if she was making a terrible mistake? What if she would find out that she was some kind of a monster? A freak of nature. That would explain why her father had despised her so much. He had known that there was something wrong with her.

"Cate?" Elijah said, placing his hand on her shoulder from behind. "Surely you know you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Don't you want to know?" she murmured without turning to face him. "What if I'm dangerous?"

For a moment it sounded like he was trying to suppress a chuckle.

"Cate, you do remember I'm a vampire, don't you," he finally stated, managing to keep his voice neural.

She frowned and turned to look at him with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, I remember," she replied, letting him know that she didn't appreciate being mocked.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to belittle your concerns," he said quickly.

"I'm sure they sound ridiculous to you, but you never saw the disgust in my dad's eyes," she stated. "There was a reason why he hated me."

Elijah pressed his lips together.

"Nothing gives a father the right to treat his daughter like that."

"You don't know that," she murmured. "What if..."

"Nothing," he cut in firmly. "I hope you know that I would never treat you or our child like that."

Their child... Oh lord, she had forgotten her child. How would this affect the baby? She needed to know what was wrong with her.

"Okay," she stated after a moment of silence. "I'm ready, please do it."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

He hesitated for a moment before gesturing towards the bed.

"How about we take a seat first."

"Okay, sure."

She tried her best to hide her nervousness as they both sat on the edge of the bed.

"So, how does this work? Do you use a needle or...?"

"I can do that if you want," he replied. "I can go and get a sterile needle or then... I can use my fang. It's very sharp, so you would only feel a little sting."

"Okay... Where would you..."

"Your finger would be fine. I only need few drops."

"Right..."

She thought about asking him to get the needle, but decided against it. Just the thought of seeing his fangs made her nervous, but also somehow curious. He was the father of her child, so she should see that part of him.

"Okay, you can use your fang," she finally stated. "It's clean, right?"

He smiled.

"Yes."

"Good. Good." She paused and held out her hand. "Go ahead."

He took her hand very gently and looked at her.

"If you want to look away or close your eyes..."

"No," she cut in. "I would like to see... If you don't mind."

"No, of course not. I just don't want to scare you."

"I'm fine," she assured. "Go ahead."

"If you're sure..."

"I am."

He nodded and raised her finger to his lips. She stared at him as the black veins appeared under his eyes. As he parted his lips, she saw his fangs. He still looked like the man she had met at that hotel bar, but at the same time, he was someone else. Someone dark, primal and untamed. A perfect predator. She gasped when she felt him carefully pressing her finger against his fang.

She felt his tongue touching her fingertip. Tasting her blood. His eyes widened as he gasped in shock. The next thing she realized was that he was sucking her finger like his life would depend on it. She stared at him, utterly confused, until he suddenly let her finger go and quickly backed away.

"Forgive me," he murmured. "Forgive me, I didn't mean..."

"What happened?" she asked. "Did you..."

"Forgive me, I need a moment," he stated and almost ran to the door.

"But..."

He was gone before she had time to say anything else. What had happened? She looked at her finger, trying to understand what had gone wrong. Was there something wrong with her blood? There must be, why else would he had reacted like that. She bit her bottom lip and headed to the door. She needed to find out what was wrong. On her way to Elijah's room, she ran into Kol.

"There you are, darling," he stated cheerfully. "I was just on my way to your room."

"Why?" she blurted out before thinking.

"Call me curious," he replied smiling. "So, do tell, what did you find out?"

She hesitated before replying.

"I don't know."

He raised his eyebrows.

"You don't know?"

"No, I... I need to talk to Elijah. Make sure that he's alright."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

She pressed her lips together, hoping that she wouldn't have to answer any more of his questions.

"He just... left very suddenly. I should go and talk to him..."

"Wait, wait, you can talk to me," he hummed and stepped in front of her. "What happened?"

"I..."

"Kol," Elijah's cold voice suddenly said.

Cate turned around and saw him standing few feet away. His face was completely blank.

"Would you excuse us, brother," Elijah stated.

"Oh, come on," Kol huffed. "Don't be so dull! It seems that things are just getting interesting... Fine, I'll go. Buzzkill."

Cate looked at Elijah cautiously, trying to see what he was thinking.

"Please," he stated and gestured towards her room.

She hesitated for a moment before obeying. He followed her and closed the door behind him.

"I apologize," he stated after a moment of silence. "I hope that I didn't scare you."

"No, you just confused me," she muttered. "What happened?"