And So the Relationship Begins
I was disorientated when I woke. I wasn't in the freezer where I would normally be. Even more strangely, a warm body was wrapped around me. Then it all came back to me. Beth. My cold body entangled with her warm body. Her breathless sighs as we moved together, limbs entwined.
As much as I wanted to relive an incredible night, I needed to get somewhere very cold and soon. Tearing myself away from her was more difficult than I had thought it would be, especially when she was sleeping so peacefully. I scribbled a note and left it on her pillow so she wouldn't think that I had just left her.
God I loved this woman. It took everything in me to walk out the door, but I seriously needed to get to my freezer. I really needed to get a bed at my place. I would rather go to the next room than across town.
You would think that by now I would be used to coming home and finding a vampire waiting for me. Josef was always letting himself in. This was different. This vampire carried the scent of vanilla with her: Katelynn. It had been a while.
She was unusual amongst our kind. Katelynn was married to a human They had married when her husband was in his twenties and Katelynn still looked as though she was in hers. Her husband had known what she was and didn't care. As he got older and she still looked young they would move and tell people that they were Father and Daughter, then Grandfather and Granddaughter so that no one asked questions. But what was she doing here?
"It's been a while Kat." She looks good. There's something off about her though. Her clothes. She's dressed all in black. Katelynn had the tendency to dress in every colour of the rainbow despite being a redhead. "Where's Ryan?"
"Sorry to drop in on you." She's still stunning and would never trouble anyone. She and Ryan liked to keep to themselves. It stopped humans and vampires interfering. "Ryan passed away two days after his 100th birthday."
"I'm so sorry" I really am. They had been together longer than most human marriages without the obstacles. "What brings you here?" Not that I wasn't happy to see her.
"I thought it was time to catch up with some old friends." She's picking up Beth's scent on me. "Guess I should have called first. Is this a new relationship?"
"Yes and no." This wasn't the time to share Beth and my story with a grieving widow. "Have you seen Josef?"
"Josef's here as well?" Katelynn stood gracefully and moved to words the door. She always moved as though she was royalty. I didn't know her story and never felt comfortable asking. "Why don't I go and visit him and catch up with you later. Perhaps you can introduce me to your girlfriend."
"Are you ok?" It's obvious she's grieving but there's something else as well.
"It's nothing that can't wait." Her smile doesn't meet her eyes. "Take care Mick. It's good to see you again." And with that she's gone.
I text Josef to let him know Katelynn is in town and about Ryan's death then I hit the freezer. I'll work out why Katelynn's in town when I'm in better shape.
Turns out I didn't need to wait long to find out what was up with Katelynn. She and Josef were waiting in the living room when I got up. Whatever was wrong must be big.
"Where were you all night young man?" So Josef was beginning my day with quips. I could see by the expression on Katelynn's face that she had a pretty good idea where I had been.
"With Beth." Somehow I don't think Josef is here out of concern for my well being. "What brings you both here so early?"
"Someone had a list of the vampires in town. Someone human." Katelynn sits in my armchair as though she is sitting on a throne. "I had someone turn up on my doorstep asking questions. So I asked a few questions of my own and found out I wasn't the only one to be visited."
This was bad. "What did you tell them?" I needed to know what the party line would be. Katelynn had always been able to think fast on her feet.
"Most of his questions were easy to explain away. I put my aversion to silver and the sun down to allergies. There's actually a disease that a small amount of humans have, where they are allergic to the sun. In some cases it is fatal." That's Katelynn. She always does her homework and she covers her tracks well. If she's on someone's list, then we had a traitor amongst us.
"So the rest of us can claim various versions of this allergy. Do you know how many vampires are on this list?" I knew of this allergy. Solar urticaria, a rare allergy to sunlight that caused hives to form on skin exposed to the sun. The key word here is rare.
Polymorphic light eruption could also be used as an explanation. That rash can last up to two weeks. Then there is Porphyria Cutanea Tarda which is referred to as vampire disease. Katelynn had set the stage for us all.
"I haven't seen the names on the list, but it was several pages long." Katelynn has always been poised, but I can tell she's worried. This is bad. This is really bad.
"The Assistant DA has the list. Perhaps Beth can get a look at it. Let us know what we're up against." Josef, always looking to save his own neck. But he was fond of Beth, so he wouldn't be putting her in danger. "She'll be able to recognise a few of the names."
"We can't ask Beth to do that." I didn't want to put Beth in danger and if it was clear that she associated with vampires, she would be in danger. I see Katelynn glance towards the door, then I pick up Beth's scent.
"Your girlfriend is here. Would you like us to leave?" Always considerate of others, even when her life could be in trouble. Katelynn had always adjusted her life to work with her husband Ryan's. I had heard that he had begged her to change him, but she refused to make him a monster.
"No. Beth needs to know what's going on. She'd never forgive herself if she outed us because she didn't know better." I opened the door as Beth raised her hand to knock. "Hi. Josef and Katelynn have stopped by. " I desperately wanted to kiss her, but Josef gossips like a teenage girl.
"Katelynn? Who's Katelynn?" I can tell that Beth's concerned that Katelynn might be an ex. After Coraline, I can't blame her.
"She's one of us. We might have some trouble ahead." I take Beth's hand, hoping to reassure her, but really I think I'm just reassuring myself. "Katelynn, this is Beth."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Katelynn rises to greet Beth and I half expect Beth to curtsey. "Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."
"Why, what happened?" Beth's grip on my hand tightens.
"The Assistant DA has a list of the vampires here in town Beth." Josef's staring intently at our joined hands. "Katelynn's already had a visit." Is that envy I see on his face or though I suspect he's also happy for me.
"No offense, but how are you here if Ben suspects you're not human." It grates on me when she uses his first name.
"I'm not sure he even believes in vampires." Katelynn takes her seat again. So we sit also. "He seemed to take my responses at face value, but then I imagine he has a number of unanswered questions. The cleaner is excellent at her job."
"Any idea how many he's questioned?" Beth's heart has sped up and her grip on my hand has tightened again. She's scared for us.
"He hasn't been to see Josef or Mick yet, but I get the impression he's working through the list alphabetically." She's studying Beth. Working out if she can trust her. "How long have you and Mick known each other?"
"Since I was four." This was like bringing my girlfriend to meet my parents and Dad was being unusually quiet. "How long have you known Mick?"
"Approximately forty years. Off and on. My husband hired Mick to help him find someone and we stayed in touch." Katelynn is amused by Beth's questions which is just as well. Katelynn in a bad mood is indestructible.
"So what do you need me to do?" Of course Beth would jump to our rescue when we should be protecting her.
"For the moment we need to all get our stories straight and you need to calm down. Your heart is beating too fast and it's worrying Mick." Katelynn always did have a gift for reading the room.
I subconsciously rub Beth's knuckles with my thumb. "Some of us can tolerate the sun longer than others. Your Boss has seen me out during the day so that may help. Our real concern is how he got the list in the first place." She's not calming down. "So I was thinking about getting a bigger bed but I'm not sure what mattress to get." Best to try and distract her. Besides, the bed I got when I was briefly human was too small for more than one person.
"Funny, I was thinking of getting a human sized freezer but I wasn't sure where to start shopping for one." It's working. Beth's heart is slowing. "Is there a 'Vamps R Us' store I don't know about?"
I can't help but chuckle. "No, but I think we're about to start a sun allergy anonymous group." Is this the sort of discussions we were going to have? I guess this was normal for human/vampire relationships. Perhaps I could ask Katelynn later.
"Could Emma Monaghan have sent the names of every vampire in Los Angeles before you broke her out of jail? Or Jackson? Would he have sent the list to Talbot?" Beth might be onto something. I doubted that Emma had the chance, but Jackson had. Or maybe someone working for Emma and Jackson.
"Emma could have told Jackson where she kept the list. He would have had the opportunity to get it to Talbot." If the ADA has the list, then he knows of at least 300 vampires in LA.
"We need to reach out to a lot of friends and set up self help groups fast." Easy for Josef to say. He made a living out of setting up companies and charities.
"Is there any chance he can be convinced this is all a hoax?" That would be good, but Katelynn wasn't aware of just how much contact Ben Talbot had already had with vampires, be it unknowing. This list would give explanation to a few questions which had been lingering.
"I could try and get hold of the list." Beth would have the opportunity, but if it went missing she would also be the first suspect.
"While I'll admit that was my first suggestion, I'm realising that you would also be the first person your Boss will look to if it goes missing." Finally Josef was thinking about this from someone else's point of view.
"So what are you going to do? Send out a smoke signal to alert the others? Vampires don't exactly do well with fire." Beth's heart is speeding up again.
"No, but we can start educating others on sun allergies." Katelynn has been a vampire for more years than I knew about. Somehow, I got the impression she had played more than a few rounds of this game. "Some of us can go out in the sun, but can't stay out in the sun for long periods. Others have to keep completely clear of it. Porphyric Hemophila can explain the worst cases or anyone who vamps out. Polymorphous Light Eruption can be for those less likely to vamp out and are in more control."
"Have you been surfing medical sites on the internet again Katelynn?" Even Josef is impressed by Katelynn's knowledge and Josef is seldom impressed by anyone but himself.
"I've been alive since 1542 and a vampire since 1587 Josef. I was bound to pick up some useful information at some point over the years." Somehow I think Katelynn has just given us an insight to who she had been when she was human. I could almost hear Beth's brain ticking over as she heard new facts. Her investigative reporter mind knowing this information could be useful later.
"Let's alert the cleaner. She's probably the only other person who knows where to locate the majority of us. She can spread the party line until we find out who sent the ADA the list." In the meantime I could help Beth redirect his attention elsewhere. At least I hoped we could.
"You don't think he'll turn up here to question you?" Josef seemed to notice that I was still holding Beth's hand.
"Actually he's seen me out in the sun so even if I'm on the list, there's reasonable doubt." Although he had already started asking questions about my background but I doubt that has anything to do with suspecting I'm a Vampire.
"So what did you get up to after our little bonfire last night?" Josef's smirking so I know he's got a pretty good idea especially with Beth and I discussing bed and freezer purchases.
"Why Dad? I was back before curfew." I know he hates it when I call him Dad.
"Your Mother and I just want to make sure you're being safe." Josef is enjoying this way too much and Katelynn does not look amused at being referred to as my Mother.
"That's enough Josef." Katelynn rises from her chair. "I'll let you know if I hear anything further regarding this list. Right now I have a funeral to arrange."
"You're staying in LA?" I wouldn't blame her if she bailed.
"For now. I don't want to raise Mr Talbot's suspicions by disappearing in the middle of the night. Josef, it's time to go." Ever so gracefully, she moves towards the door.
"But I want to stay and ask inappropriate questions." One raised eyebrow look was all it took to change his mind. "Coming my Queen."
Katelynn doesn't even flinch making me question even more if she has a link to royalty. Katherine the Great perhaps. No, too obvious?
"So, whose funeral is she organizing?" Alone at last and of course Beth has a lot of questions. "How do you all know each other? She doesn't seem Josef's type or rather he doesn't seem to be hers."
"Her human husband died recently." I'm not answering any further questions until I kiss Beth. I've been craving her since I opened the door. It's only been a few hours and I've missed her. Her lips are so sweet. I could kiss her forever. "Now what were your other questions?"
Her sweet smile could bring me to my knees every time she aims it in my direction. "How do you all know each other?"
"I think Josef knows more about Katelynn's past than he's ever let on. I met Katelynn through her husband. To be honest I don't know a lot about Katelynn. She keeps very much to herself. I get the feeling she's royalty but it's just a feeling."
"Well, she does have slight accent. Not English but perhaps Scottish or Irish." Concern colours her stunning features again. "How much danger are you all in?"
If I were human, this wouldn't be a concern Beth would ever have. Although not being human meant I would have every day concerns about my mortality. "It depends how much information Talbot has. Katelynn can be very convincing and she has had a lot of time to cover her tracks. At the moment we just need to be cautious. Don't worry."
"Well, this is a different start to a relationship and you got nervous when I started picking out names for our kids. Exposure to anything other than the sun seemed to be the least of your problems until the last couple of days." God I hope she wasn't having second thoughts about us. I'm not sure I can walk away from her any more. She was the air that I breathed if I actually needed to breathe.
"It was never going to be a regular boy meets girl relationship with us." For starters I looked thirty when I first met her and she was four. Now I still looked thirty and Beth certainly wasn't four.
"I know that." Beth shifts closer to me. "How did Katelynn make it work with Ryan and not change him?" I should have known this question was coming.
"Until recently I never had a reason to ask. Let's help Katelynn get through Ryan's funeral and then maybe we can ask a few discreet questions." I had a few questions of my own to ask.
"Ok. So I guess we figured out a few things out last night on our own." Beth blushes and my heart almost beats. "Thank you for leaving a note. I thought for a moment that I had dreamed it all."
In that moment I made the decision to make this work. Somehow Beth and I could have a relationship despite being human and vampire. "So how do you like your mattress? Firm or soft? And I may need to move a few things around to fit in a King sized bed."
"So we should do some shopping then." Beth fishes her phone out of her pocket. "What do you think we should get first? Bed or freezer?"
"Food." We could manage with the small bed I had gotten when I was briefly human again, but Beth needed more than coffee. "Then the bed and I know a guy we can get the freezer from."
"I ate before I came here." Beth places her phone on the coffee table. "And your couch is very comfortable." She's leaning too close to resist. All thoughts of Katelynn and Talbot fly from my head.
My couch is fine for sleeping on, but I definitely need more room to make love to Beth. Although every sigh that leaves her lips distracts me from how little room we have. Her skin so soft that I'm scared that I'll bruise her. I have to remind myself to restrain the monster beneath the surface. If nothing else, we're creative with the room restriction.
"Ok, maybe we do need to get a bed in here." Beth chuckles into my neck. "But you don't need to keep food here. It's not as though you'll be eating it."
"We'll figure it out." There will be food in my fridge by the end of the day. The bed might take a little longer. The freezer can probably be at Beth's by tomorrow.
"Do you have Katelynn's number? Now is probably not time for her to be alone." I can tell Beth has a lot of questions to ask but she's also remembering the people she's lost.
"Josef will have it. He'll probably know where she is and where the funeral will be." I can't see where Beth tossed my shirt so I go and grab another one.
When we get to Josef's, we see Talbot's car. "Guess the ADA not going through the list alphabetically anymore." Or he was there to see Jose's guest. One of Josef's staff let us in and sure enough Talbot is speaking, well actually interrogating Katelynn.
"So you think I'm over one hundred years old based on a list someone mysteriously slipped you. Well, I suppose I should do a better job with my makeup. Any further questions?" Katelynn looks down her nose at the ADA. He's starting to annoy her.
"You don't look a day over twenty Kat." This could give us an idea about this list. "Beth and I were going to offer to help with Ryan's funeral."
"Thank you. Ryan had most of it organized before he passed. It's on Friday. I'll send you the details." Katelynn passed her phone to me to load my details.
"You call your Great Grandfather by his first name?" Of course Talbot picked up on that.
"Josef and Mick knew him by his first name, so I use it when I speak of him to them." Katelynn sat up even straighter. "What exactly are you expecting to find out from me with all of these questions?"
"Who you really are. You bare more than a passing resemblance to your Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. So much so that they could all be photos of the same woman. The only thing that changes is the name. Mary Scots, Marie Allen, Katherine Allen, Katelynn Allen." Clearly Ben Talbot was not letting this go. "Then there's the fact that you're acquainted with someone who was photographed being hit by a car that would normally kill a man and yet he got up and walked away." He handed her some photographs of me.
"You trained with that stuntman when you took on some personal security jobs, didn't you Mick?" She handed the photos onto me.
"Yeah, that was a while ago but it came in handy that night." I catch a look that's passed between Beth and Josef. What the hell is that about? He passed away last year."
"So I can't confirm this with him." Talbot wasn't sure what the list and the photos were telling him, but he knew there was something up.
"Ok, fine. I'm Mary Queen of Scots. So I'll be 477 years old December 8th. So what will you have me arrested for? Not looking my age. Losing my accent? Surviving the guillotine?" That unwavering stare of hers was intimidating.
"Nobody is being arrested. I'm just trying to understand why I've been sent this information. Especially considering Emma and Jackson Monaghan have disappeared off the face of the earth." So basically he had has nothing, but we just found out a whole lot about Katelynn.
"Then there's no need for you to question any of us further. Especially without the presence of a lawyer." Josef is in protective mode. Talbot needs to leave now.
"I'm leaving. I'll see you at work tomorrow Beth." Talbot bows in jest to Katelynn. "Your Majesty." Beth, Josef and I get a courteous nod before he shows himself out.
"How did you survive the guillotine?" Beth's reporter mind going straight to work.
"It stuck in my vertebrae." Katelynn turned around and raised her long hair off the back off her neck to reveal a scar. "Some things turning vampire didn't improve."
"The history books don't do you justice." I knew as well as Katelynn and Josef, that things got twisted over the years. "Did Ryan know?"
"The books never get my eyes right. Yes Ryan knew." She let her hair fall down over her shoulders. "He loved me for who I am, not the title or the monster I was turned into. This was not a life I chose so I make the best of what I can get out of this life while staying under the radar."
"Ryan never asked you to change him?" I don't like Beth's curiosity about this particular subject. "I mean as he got older. Or is that just a female insecurity?"
"He never asked me. I can't say for certain that he didn't ask anyone else. Ryan knew I would never want this for him. I didn't love him because of how he looked or his age. I loved him for the person he was." Katelynn is actually looking exhausted. Hardly surprising considering how the past 24 hours had gone.
"So any idea how we are going to stop ADA Talbot from just dropping by and asking leading questions." Katelynn was a quick thinker. She had even covered for me. Not every vampire in town could do that.
"He has the hots for your girlfriend." Katelynn looks at me as though she knows this isn't new to me. Damn it she's right. It's strange hearing Beth being referred to as my girlfriend when she was so much more than that to me. "Perhaps Beth can convince him that he's being pranked."
"That shouldn't be difficult if the word vampire comes up." Beth shrugged. "It depends what other information he's being fed."
"As long as we all spin the same party line there won't be any room for doubt." Josef's right. But we still needed to know who was feeding Talbot the information in the first place. "The sun's manageable as long as we're not out in it too long. Not to seem insensitive but will Ryan's funeral be outside and if so, how long will the service be?"
"Actually it was going to be an evening service in a church Ryan's family used to go to." Katelynn isn't happy about it but she knows she's going to have to make a few adjustments. "I'll make a few phone calls. Perhaps we can manage an afternoon service but keep it in the church." Clever. Anybody who actually suspected that vampires were real wouldn't believe that they would all come together in a church.
"Would every vampire in LA be in attendance?" Beth would have thought that was a given a few months ago.
"Not many of them knew Ryan. We kept to ourselves to avoid idle curiosity. I guess it's time to socialise. Can the cleaner get the invitation out?" Katelynn may have kept to herself, but she made sure that she was kept informed.
"She can, but are you sure Ryan's funeral is the best time to do this?" The funeral itself was going to be difficult enough for Katelynn. Being surrounded by strange vampires was not going to make it any easier.
"No, but we're not in a position to be sensitive about this. Besides, if Ryan were here he'd want to help." Ever the Queen of the people. Putting others before herself.
"If there's anything we can do to make this easier on you, please let us know." I need to get Beth out of here before she asked any further questions. I understood Katelynn not wanting to change Ryan. I couldn't even begin to know how I would react to Beth asking me to change her. The mere thought of her asking filled me with dread.
"I'll text you the time and address of the funeral once it's reset. If you could pass it onto the cleaner and I guess I'll see you all at the funeral." Effectively dismissing us, she walks out of the room with her head held high. She was saving us all in her time of grief.
Beth is uncomfortably quiet in the car. I'm not sure if she's having second thoughts about us or if she's going through everything we've learned tonight. Without thinking I head back to my apartment. Although the King Sized bed waiting against the wall outside my door is a surprise. "Did you order a bed?"
"No." Beth is as surprised as I am. "What does the packing slip say? And how are we getting this inside and upstairs?"
Of course. The packing slip. Wow, it appears our offer of assistance meant a lot to Katelynn. "It appears Her Majesty has brought us a bed." A bonus of having vampire strength was that it wouldn't be a problem getting this inside. "I might need you to read through the instructions to put it together though." There's another package which judging by the shape and size are sheets for the bed. I hadn't even thought about getting sheets.
"That's very generous of her." Beth looks suspicious of the gesture. "Has she always been this generous considering she hardly knows you?"
"She just lost her husband and you've offered of help her having just met her today. Katelynn takes nothing for granted." It was the simple fact. Katelynn often donated to charities on the quiet and helped others without wanting any acknowledgement for it. But she also didn't accept anything without a gesture in return.
"I'm sorry. My short experience with female Vampires hasn't been great." I see her point. Coraline, Lola and Emma had all given Beth reason to be cautious.
"Katelynn will probably be happy to answer any questions you might have, but she needs to get through the funeral first. She and Ryan were each other's everything. And she's trying to protect every Vampire in town as well. She really is a nice person, but very private." Her reclusive nature was the reason I knew so little of her and had mainly been friends with Ryan.
The bed is put together and made efficiently. A text arrives with the time and place of Ryan's funeral. It's been a long day for both of us, but I'm not ready to say goodnight to Beth. "So, do you want to stay over? It would be a shame for this bed to go to waste. I can set an alarm so you're not late for work tomorrow."
Beth smiles at me and I swear my heart actually beats. "I think I could be persuaded into staying. That bed does look comfortable."
The bed is as comfortable as it looks, but just before twilight I have to head to my freezer. At the last minute I decide to make sure Beth has one of my shirts to wear so that she's not wearing the same clothes to work and make her something for breakfast. This was going to work. We could make this work.