Thank you for your reviews and visits to this story. I'm glad you like it and can only hope you'll stay with me for the rest of the ride. So, here's the next chapter. In first two chapters it might have looked like they would be living a fairy tale, but things never run smoothly, especially not for an immortal family of such remarkable capabilities.
I'll Always Stay With You – Chapter 3
Michael looked at Selene with a big smile on his lips. The view that offered itself to his eyes, caused his heart to beat a bit faster. The cold vampiress, the best of Death dealers, the unattainable ice princess of the Ordoghaz coven, the unrequited love interest of Kraven, the regent, who met his end by the hands of Marcus Corvinus, was looking anything but what her fame was.
They were slowly strolling through the snow covered forest, Eve running around like an excited child, one moment in front of them, in the next one on one side, just to fall back, inspecting everything she found thoroughly, wondering over the things the winter forest had to offer to her. She never before had a chance to experience the nature like this and everything was new and exciting for the young hybrid and she ingested everything fervently. The snowflakes, slowly sailing from the skies to the ground rounded up the picture of almost perfect winter fairytale.
Selene linked her arm with Michael and she walked at his side with a barely noticeable but nevertheless present smile on her lips. Her face tilted upwards every now and then, just to feel the snowflakes settle on her sensitive skin. Whenever she did it, she also closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling and her smile grew a fraction wider, without her being aware of it.
"I thought you knew the feeling of the snowflakes on your skin before, Selene?" Michael's words sounded more like a statement than a question. He knew exactly that she knew what snow was, hell, they even had some experience with it after they killed Viktor and ran away from Marcus. Therefore he was slightly perplexed over Selene's strange behavior. But at the same time it made his heart sing in joy as he saw her so relaxed and obviously content.
Selene let few moments pass by before she turned to him and answered. "Of course I know snow. But I've never before experienced it in broad daylight. I've only ever felt the snow during the night. And even vampires don't see everything at night."
"Oh! Sorry." Michael responded a bit sheepishly, thinking that he could have worked it out by himself.
"Don't be." Selene gave him a slight smile. "Because of you I can see it during daytime for the first time in centuries."
"Well, it wasn't exactly my doing." Michael sounded a bit confused.
"Not directly. But I would have never met Alexander Corvinus if it wasn't for you." Selene clarified for her mate. Suddenly she strengthened her grip on his arm and pulled him closer to herself.
"Are you cold?" Michael's voice was immediately laced with worries. He took a good look at her; she wore a warm woolen pullover, a thick coat and fluffy, fur-lined boots. The tasseled cap completed the picture of a beautiful young woman, taking a walk with her beloved, while her hands were stuck in thick gloves.
"No. I feel warm. Warmer than I've felt in six centuries." Selene answered and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. And she wasn't lying. She was wearing much more than she usually did in winter and Michael's warm body next to hers additionally warmed her up.
Michael just wanted to answer her, as he suddenly felt a presence. A presence of something. He stopped dead in his tracks and cast a quick glance towards his daughter, just to see the she also stopped and stared into the same direction as he, her face devoid of childlike expression she wore before. He also felt how Selene tensed under his arm, which he had put around her waist.
"What …?" Eve tried to speak, but the howling from the distance interrupted her.
"Lycans!" Selene's eyes instantly turned icy blue and she tensed further. Her body was like a bow, just waiting to explode and release the deadly load.
But Michael held his mate tightly. He sniffed the air quickly and dismissed her remark with a shook of his head. "No, not lycans. Something else."
Selene was just about to get angry that he didn't let her act upon her feelings, but his words stopped her and caused her to look into his face. "What?"
"I'm not exactly sure." Michael looked completely concentrated and answered very quietly, while his eyes searched in the direction from where the howls were still echoing.
"Look!" Eve suddenly spoke quietly and pointed towards the horizon, where a small clearing in the forest could be seen.
Michael and Selene concentrated their gazes on the position Eve showed them and suddenly Michael's face relaxed as he smiled slightly. "No, definitely not lycans. Wolves!"
And true enough, now Selene could also see the pack of white wolves on the clearing, jumping around each other in obvious playful mood. The five of them were running to and fro, playing with each other, obviously using the thick layer of snow as their playground, while the biggest one stood a little aside and looked into their direction.
"He sees us." Michael tilted his head towards Selene while keeping his eyes on the guarding wolf. "The Alpha."
Selene for the first time looked at these animals differently. She no longer connected them with lycans, she only saw a family, enjoying the obvious affection between the members and the guardian, who was taking care that nothing and no one would surprise and endanger them.
"He's beautiful." She whispered almost subconsciously.
Her remark caused Michael to turn to her abruptly with disbelief written all over his face. "Beautiful?" He couldn't believe that his mate, the deadliest Death dealer, the vampiress, who killed thousands of lycans, expressed admiration for an animal, which was in all aspects related to lycans.
"Yes! He takes care that nothing happens to his family." Selene confirmed her statement and looked into Michael's eyes. As she saw his astonished look, she frowned a little. "What? Should I hate and despise him just because he reminds me of lycans?"
Michael weakly nodded. "Yes, to be honest … I expected something like that."
Eve meanwhile joined her parents and they jointly looked at the wolfish family. Now she turned to her father and frowned at him, but her voice as she spoke was clearly showing her amusement. "Mom's changed. Don't forget it, dad!"
"It seems that I'm forgetting a lot of things I shouldn't." Michael smiled apologetically and squeezed Selene tighter. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For not understanding how much you've changed. For expecting something I shouldn't have."
A small smile tugged at the corners of Selene's lips before she decided not to say anything more. She turned back to the pack in the snow, just to see the alpha male, still looking into their direction. "He's not afraid of us? Why not?"
"He senses the lycan part in me and in Eve. And he senses that you mean them no harm. They're smart animals, the wolves." Michael cleared while he also looked at the wolf, who was now staring at them with his head held high and sniffing the air. As if he could hear him, the wolf howled at them shortly, before lowering his head and looking at them again. It was obvious that the animal had no fear of them. But on the other hand, it had absolutely no intention to chase them away. The wolf was just keeping an eye on them.
For few moments they just stared one at another before the wolf slowly, almost majestically turned towards his family and slowly trotted towards them. As soon as they noticed their leader, they stopped fooling around and looked in his direction. The Alpha didn't even stop at them, but continued towards the forest and all other animals slowly followed him and disappeared into the dense forest.
Eve, Selene and Michael remained unmoving for few more moments and just stared after the wolves, which already vanished between the trees, making use of their white colored fur to disguise their appearance to untrained as well as trained eye. Then Selene turned towards Michael and shivered a little. "Maybe we should return to the house. It's getting cold."
Michael knew that it wasn't just the cold that caused Selene to shiver and wanting to return to the house. He remembered the last night, as she woke up whimpering and sweating, trashing around in the bed. She was occasionally still plagued by nightmares but only last night she admitted to him and Eve that it were the nightmares of her kidnapping by the lycans, the torture she had been exposed to.
Last night, as soon as Michael noticed the distress of his mate, he tried to calm her down, but failed utterly until he almost rudely woke her up. She resisted his arms with all of her strength and almost bit him once or twice, before he shook her out of her nightmare. As soon as she woke up, her eyes widened in fear and he could see them, flickering over his body, fearing what she might have inflicted upon him in her sleep.
It took her quite a long time to calm down, but when she did she fell on his chest and whimpered softly, finally allowing him to help her, finally telling him what tortured her in her dreams.
Eve, who had been awakened by her mother's cries too, joined them and they both held Selene in loving embrace, just like Selene and Michael held Eve in the coven as she had her nightmares once again. The arms of both persons that meant everything to her, finally calmed Selene down and after a long talk and revelation to them both, she finally fell asleep again, albeit this time serene, not disturbed by nightmares.
And so Michael believed, especially after he saw barely visible, but for him clearly detectable, haunted look on Selene's face, that it wasn't the cold that bothered her, but the lingering effect of the nightmares, which, on their turn were still curbed by the terrible experience with the torturous lycans not so long ago.
"Of course, Selene. Let's go back; we'll lit up the fireplace and make ourselves comfortable and warm." He avoided mentioning the real reason why she wanted to go home, not wanting to embarrass her.
Selene somehow knew that Michael guessed the real reason why she wanted to go home, but was thankful that he didn't bring it up openly. She still couldn't accept the fact that she, the headstrong, stubborn Death dealer could be influenced so much by something as irrational as nightmares. She looked at him and gave him a small, but thankful smile. "That would be great. Thanks!"
Eve also suspected that the cold alone couldn't be the reason that her mother suddenly wanted to end the stroll and asked to return to the house. She noticed the slightly distraught expression on her face and interpreted it correctly.
Immediately after they returned to the house, Michael started a fire in the open fireplace, regardless of the fact, that the house was comfortably warm. He saw Selene shivering a little from time to time and as she even hugged herself, he knew that the nightmares caught up with her and he wanted to offer her all comfort that he could.
Selene sat on the sofa, facing the fireplace in which a big fire was already blazing and felt the heat of it on her face. Slowly her shivers stopped, but she still looked absentminded and somehow her eyes got lost in the infinity, not really seeing anything around her.
Eve retreated to her room, sensing that her parents needed a little time on their own, stating that she was tired and wanted to rest a little. Even though Selene as well as Michael knew that it was only an excuse, they didn't try to stop her.
Michael's arm, which snaked around her shoulders and pulled her body close to his, finally shook Selene out of her reveries. She turned to look into Michael's face, in his warm, worried eyes and she smiled a little. "I'm OK, Michael, really!"
But Michael was anything but convinced by her statement. It actually only curbed his worries. He tilted Selene's head towards him. "Selene, if I learned anything about you, then I know that when you say you're OK, you're anything but. Please, talk to me! I know that you're hurting and I'd do anything to help you. But you have to let me in. Please!"
For few moments Selene gazed into Michael's compassionate face in silence, stony expression on her face. In her mind, thousands of thoughts tumbled one over another, causing her head to almost spin.
Michael already believed she wouldn't even answer him, as she suddenly opened her mouth and spoke in a pain filled voice. "I'm sorry, Michael. I don't want to burden you with my problems. You have enough of yours."
"Nonsense! We are a family and sharing a pain is always better than bottling everything up. Selene, when will you finally get into that hard, cute head of yours, that you are no more alone, that you have me and Eve that we love you and care for you!"
A little taken aback by Michael's outburst, Selene tried to find a right way to explain to him what she wanted him to understand – that she loved him too much to burden him additionally. But another look into his warm eyes steered her away from that idea and she muttered instead. "I can't get those lycans that tortured me and almost killed me out of my head."
"Oh, Selene! I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you!" Michael sighed and kissed the top of her head. "If only I could turn back time …"
Selene finally let go of her reservations and clutched at him for dear life. She pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed. "I was so afraid I'd never see you and Eve again! I was so scared that I'd never again get to tell you how much I love you. But I was even more afraid they'd succeed in luring you into the trap and do something to you or even kill you. I couldn't even think of you being tortured and I was glad that it was me, not you …" Her words got lost in soft sobbing and she pressed her face harder into him.
Michael was astonished. Not because she had such emotional breakdown, but because she was even while the beasts tortured her, more afraid for his safety than for her life. He gently stroked her hair and whispered in her ear. "I love you so much Selene! Without you my life has no sense and should I loose you … well, I'd probably loose all my reasons to live. But you should know one thing … no matter where, no matter when, no matter why … I'll always come after you, even if it cost me my life. You're the best thing that aver happened to me and I'm sure as hell not letting you go. Not now, not ever! Do you hear me? Ever!"
Selene slowly lifted her face to look into Michael's eyes and slowly nodded. Michael gently wiped the tears from her cheek with his hand and kissed her eyes, one after another. His action resulted in slight smile spreading over Selene's face. After he pulled back a little and looked into her still closed eyes, she obviously sensed his look and opened her eyes to reveal her brown orbs, gazing at him lovingly. "Thank you!" Whispered words, but they meant everything to Michael.
"You don't have to thank me, Selene. You've saved my life often enough. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So … it should be me, thanking you and not vice versa."
Selene shook her head slightly. "No, I'm thanking you for being here for me, for helping me and … most of all … for loving me."
"Oh, Selene!" A sigh escaped Michael's lips, before he brought them to hers and kissed her passionately.
XXXXXXXXXX
The sky was clear and only few small clouds sailed across it, not omitting the sun in any way as Michael entered the village. He looked around to find a store he was looking for. He needed few items for their household and Selene directed him towards the village. Actually, she wanted to go by herself, but he insisted she stayed at home with Eve. She'd had a rough night before and she was exhausted. Well, as exhausted as a most powerful vampire could be. Reluctantly she accepted and she and Eve crept into a big bed, intending to read some book while he was away.
The whiteness of the new snow in the sunshine caused Michael to narrow his eyes and he blinked in the scenery before him. The narrow road, leading through the village was well populated, the majority of the people were probably the residents, but he suspected quite a few were the tourists too. At least he believed them to be, according to their behavior. The residents wouldn't look at every shop window and curiously stare at their surroundings, now would they?
No wonder that there're so many people. He remembered that it was Saturday and the residents were at home, probably doing their rounds, meeting friends, just walking around or anything. He looked around and quickly spotted the small store, Selene told him about and he pointed himself towards it.
The store was really small, but he managed to get everything he needed and after greeting the store owner friendly, thinking how lucky he was that she spoke English, he stepped outside and stopped for a second so that his eyes got used to the blinding whiteness all around him.
He turned to start towards their house as he instantly stopped dead in his tracks. Not very far away, in the midst of other people, he noticed a familiar face. Adam! It shot through his brain. The man was a good decade older than he was the last time he saw him, but he still had no problems recognizing him.
Memories of the events more than a decade ago, as he had been followed by two lycans in the hospital in Budapest resurfaced and he remembered that Adam was unknowingly the one to hand him over to the lycans. Not that he would blame him now, but still …
Luckily, his former colleague was looking the other way and didn't notice him just yet. Michael quickly lifted the collar and pulled the woolen cap deeper over his forehead, turning halfway towards the store window, feigning interest in the exhibited items in it. He carefully looked at Adam and decided he'd try to follow him. He had to know what was he doing here and if it was a pure coincidence or something more than that.
Adam strolled along the street, looking curiously at the passersby and the surroundings, not noticing the man, hiding his face, following him in safe distance. Whenever he turned around, the figure froze and turned aside so that he couldn't see its face. Adam's behavior was almost perfect behavior of a curious tourist, a visitor and nothing spoke of him being on a mission of some dark sort.
They walked along the road for few minutes before Adam stopped in front of a small inn, looked up at the sing over the entrance door and finally entered the building.
Michael waited for few minutes to see if Adam would leave the building again, but, as he saw that he obviously wasn't coming out right now, he slowly approached the inn and memorized the name on the shield over the door. It was a pension and he suspected Adam might be staying in it. He would have to find out, but not now. Now he had to return to his two women.
He turned around and started in the direction of their house. While he walked, he tried to find a plausible explanation why would Adam be here. Was it just a coincidence? Or was it deliberately? If it wasn't a coincidence, who would have known they would be here? They told no one and he was sure that Selene never revealed this property to anyone but him and Eve.
While contemplating these possibilities and his next course of action, he already arrived home and stopped surprised before the door. Shit! I have no idea how I got back here! I'm getting too careless!
After he entered the house, he heard Eve's laughter, coming from the kitchen. His girls were obviously up and were doing something in the kitchen. A smile crept over his face as he also heard Selene's amused voice, explaining something to their daughter. He put the bag with purchased items on the floor and stepped towards the kitchen.
The scene in the kitchen made him stop in his tracks and admire his two girls. Eve was sitting on the counter and giggling while holding a mug, which was, he suspected, filled with warm blood, while Selene leaned against the counter, turned halfway towards her daughter, smiling at her. Her left arm, propped against the counter was idly playing with another mug, positioned on the flat surface. They were both wearing the morning gowns and the relaxed expressions on their faces warmed his heart.
"Ah, here's our lost man!" Selene turned to look at him with slightly raised eyebrows and a quizzical smile on her lips. But her eyes greeted him warmly.
He stepped over to her and gathered her delicate frame in his strong arms, kissing her tenderly. "I was never lost."
Eve giggled at his words and received a kiss on her cheek for reward.
Suddenly Michael got serious and looked at Selene. "I've seen someone I know in the village."
Selene's face instantly got the stony expression and her eyes looked at her mate coldly. "Whom?"
"Adam. My friend from the times before I've been turned."
Selene shook her head. "I don't know him. Is he a threat?"
Michael shrugged while his eyes swept from Selene to Eve and back. "I have no idea how he could be here. But I will find out. He's apparently staying at the inn."
"Will we have to leave already?" Eve's tiny voice caused Selene to turn towards her daughter and her face softened instantly. As she looked into her daughter disappointed face, she instantly knew that Eve liked this house very much.
Eve was sad. Or, to say it more correctly … she was very sad. For the first time in her life she felt at home. She had her parents, they lived in a house she liked very much and the prospects of being forced to move already disturbed her.
Michael, as well as Selene, noticed the sadness on their daughter's face and turned to his mate, silently pleading with her to reassure their precious girl that everything would be all right.
Selene knew that it was risky to stay here, but she couldn't bring it over her heart to tell it to her mate and her daughter so directly. She saw sadness on Eve's face, she saw plead in Michael's eyes and she swallowed with difficulty. Every fiber of her being told her they should leave, but … "Well, I guess we could stay a little longer." She said determined, more determined than she actually felt. Dear god, don't let me make a mistake by staying here and endanger the lives of Eve and Michael.
Eve's face looked like a bright light and Michael grinned from ear to ear, causing Selene to feel warm inside. But she had to let them know. "But we must find out why this Adam is here. If there's any chance for us being discovered, we'll have to move immediately. Is that clear?" Her voice was more authoritative than she wanted it to be. But there could be no misunderstanding in this matter. She would do anything, anything, to protect these two souls.
Michael nodded knowingly. He reached for Selene's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I don't think Adam even knows what we are. But I'll find out what is he doing here."
"Do that." Selene's voice was still firm, but warmer than before.
"Thank you, mom!" Eve was suddenly hugging and squeezing Selene with surprising strength, causing Michael to chuckle at the sight of Selene, who flailed with her arms a little before regaining her balance and enveloping Eve in a hug too.
"Just don't gain any false hopes, Eve. We will have to move eventually. It wouldn't be wise to get too attached to a house." Selene felt like she had to clarify the situation to Eve.
"Sure. We both know that, Selene. But … look at it from the bright side." Michael turned to Eve and caressed her hair. "Home is where the ones you love live, not the house in which you live. And we will always be together."
Eve looked at her father with bright eyes. "Promise?"
"Promise!"
TBC
