I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my followers, reviewers and beta reader wallaceb.

Another thanks to wallaceb for inspiring me to write this chapter.

I apologize for the delay in publishing this chapter, but a malware knocked my pc and I lost time to solve the problem.

CHAPTER 21 - The mother I never had - Part 3

"...Jonny found this hotel by chance while wandering through the woods and joined my birthday party..."

"So you've just had a birthday, happy birthday! How many candles this year?" Zoé interrupted Mavis, who exuberantly replied without thinking too much:

"One hundred and eighteen!" But she realized only too late that she had said something that she was not supposed to say.

At that moment she had forgotten that her father had said humans have a short life in comparison to monsters, but he never specified how much.

Mavis broke out in a cold sweat from concern, until Jonathan's mother said:

"Sorry, I did not hear you well. You said 'I have got eighteen', right?"

Mavis was silent and thoughtful.

"Eighteen years may be too many or few for my appearance? After all Zezé did not seem upset about the age she understood..."

"Yes, I turned eighteen on the twenty-eighth of September." The vampiress was not at all convinced of what she was saying, but she must have seemed calm so as not to arouse suspicion.

"But then, you've just come of age! How do you feel about no longer being a child?"

"Well, well..." Mavis said,"I can finally start my journey! And above all, I can choose with whom I share my life!"

"You make me almost cry..." Zoé said with her voice trembling with emotion,"I am so glad my Jonathan has found a sweet and loving girl like you!"

"Do not say that or you will make me blush!" Mavis complained jokingly.

"Come on, go ahead; I cannot wait!"

"At first my father did not want a hum- a stranger in the hotel because it is... how to say... exclusive for members only."

"I understand, it s a private club?" Asked Jonathan's mother to clarify.

"Yes, exactly. But despite having tried unsuccessfully to oust Jonny several times, my father gave up and to avoid creating discontent among others mons... hem, invited him, saying he was a party planner."

"Yeah, Jonathan had gone to Transylvania this week because there was the end of the summer monster festival, so you celebrate all your birthdays surrounded by monsters?" The two gave themselves up in the laughter.

"Well, yes... however Jonny was really a great party planner. Until then, my father organized the festivities, but he is old-fashioned and a bit samey, so gradually my birthdays have become boring, until the arrival of my Zing..." Mavis ended with a sigh full of tenderness and love.

"Zing?" Asked Zoé puzzled.

"Yes, it is our word for love at first sight... although for us it was more of a love at first head butt!"

"Instead my husband and I had a"a lightning bolt of love", as they say in Italy where we first met. We took refuge from the rain under a tree when it was struck by lightning. Fortunately we didn't get hurt. As for you... knowing my boy I'm afraid to find out what he has combined..."

Mavis chuckled.

"And so you two had an electrifying meeting! Instead Jonathan fell down the stairs and I was overwhelmed... luckily we did not get hurt... except for the fact I felt a feeling I never experienced before, it was as if time had stopped and I was being cradled by his gaze." Mavis smiled, her heart pounding with emotion that this memory continued to arouse in her.

"Typical of Jonathan, his clumsiness is matched only by his charisma which allows him to juggle, often in weird ways, any situation. But when did you realize you love him?"

"Well... he intrigued me from the beginning, because nobody of my age comes to the castle and I finally have a peer as a friend. In addition, he sang a fantastic song about me, but... the most wonderful thing he did was show me the sunrise from the roof of the castle, it was amazing! I think it was the moment when I realized I loved him."

"That romantic man! I didn't think Jonathan was so sentimental. He takes after his father; he always knows how to surprise me even if he is a few words dude, unlike my little man!"

"Our first kiss was during my party. He had organized everything, the lights, the music, the effects... Everything was so fantastic... We danced together for a while, and then I stopped. My heart was pounding. I was scared, but I could not take my eyes from his, then, as if my body moved by itself I approached him, who instead began to back away. He was terrorized and told me I was scaring him, a part of me wanted to silence him saying"Shut up and kiss me!" but he was so sweet that I refrained..."

"And then what? You kissed him, right? How was it?"

Mavis was a bit embarrassed to tell these things to the mother of her boyfriend, but she could make her feel at ease as if she were an old friend.

After a moment of silence she replied:

"Yes, it was the best feeling I've ever experienced!"

"Howww! You are too romantic! You melt my heart! But how did your father take it? Didn't you say he was always near you?"

"To be honest he was not very happy. He kicked Jonathan out and while going said that he didn't like me... It was terrible..."

"I'm sorry; as soon as he gets home I'll give him a piece of my mind! That'll teach him that he doesn't hurt a girl so cute and sweet!"

"No, no! It is not his fault, he was just scared by my father!"

"Well, if you put it that way... I'll give him a piece of my mind anyway because he has to learn to be a brave man!"

"Zoé!" Mavis said, pouting.

Immediately after the two laughed.

"Mavis, but then how did you find yourself?"

"My father saw me as sad as I had never been, therefore, regretted what he had done, he chased Jonny to convince him to come back. At the end the two of them have become good friends."

"You're lucky to have a father so affectionate... and he is lucky to have a daughter like you! I cannot wait to meet you in person, you're like the daughter I never had."

Mavis stood for a moment in silence. What she had said was sincere and spontaneous, and the girl felt her heart fill with happiness and pride. She did not know if this beautiful relationship would remain unchanged even after the woman discovered the secret of the vampiress, but, for the moment, this did not seem to interest her.

"And you're like the mother I never had." Mavis replied.

"Do not overdo it; I'm just a petulant and nosy woman! You never want to be my daughter!"

Zoé complained about herself, but she did it only to mask the emotion that the words of Mavis aroused in her.

"You know it is not true, you are the mother of seven beautiful kids who love you... but... wait... you said I am the daughter you never had, but then who is the girl with the white hair?"

Zoé was puzzled for a moment before replying:

"How do you do you know Kassandra?"

Mavis's eyes widened. She did not think about how she saw the sister of Jonathan in the premonition, but before she could think of some excuse the woman spoke again:

"Yes, of course, Jonathan probably doesn't talk about anything else. He is very attached to his sister. If before I told you I don't have daughters is because she doesn't look like a girl... She is seventeen years old, but she doesn't dream of becoming an actress, a veterinarian or a singer, she wants to be a Marine sniper! And so she spends all of her free time shooting my husband's carbine, to repair her off-road buggy or train herself in the gym... In addition she pull out Jonny when he gets into trouble!"

"Well..." Mavis was about to ask something, but she was interrupted by the ranting voices that came from the corridor outside the door and that caught her attention:

"Mavis, are you in there?" It was a female voice shrill and sharp.

"Auntie Eunice?" The vampiress muttered to herself, while the armor guard replied with an authoritarian tone:

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, but you cannot pass!"

Hi, I hope the next chapter was more interesting; I leave you only the title: "The mother I never wanted to have."

See you soon!

And remember to review, please!