I'll Always Stay With You – Chapter 4
Pulling the soft, warm blanket higher to her chin, Eve grinned at her mother, who was curled beside her under the same blanket and noticed that she gave her a strange look. "What? I'm cold!"
Selene grinned back and her slightly withered look changed into a soft one when she saw her daughter's big eyes, gazing at her innocently. "Of course!" Like she would need the blanket! I guess she just wants to cuddle a bit with me.
Eve's reaction confirmed Selene's suspicions. A sly smile appeared on the girl's lips and she shuffled a little closer to her mother. "Besides … it's really nice to just enjoy the moment with my mom. It's something I dreamt about in the years when they kept me in the Antigen. A happy thought, a wish I hoped to be able to experience someday, but feared it would be just another castle in clouds, just another apparition. As years went by I slowly began to believe I'd never meet my parents at all." As she spoke, her face got a slightly sad expression, but as soon as her eyes met with Selene's she smiled happily at the vampiress. "Now I know that it's true and I'm entitled to enjoy it, am I not?"
Eve's distress clearly got to the once cold heart of the former Death dealer. She almost instinctively put her arm around Eve's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "Of course you are Eve. And I am too, agreed?" She looked into the happy smiling face of the young girl and her lips curled into a small smile immediately. I never believed that I could really be a mother, that I could really love someone. And yet … here I am, a mother, being in love with the father of my child …
Without answering, Eve stretched to her mother's face and gave her a kiss on the cheek, sending Selene in a state of slight shock. True, she was used to receive such signs of affection from Michael, but not from Eve. As long as she could remember, Eve never kissed her just like that.
Selene's slightly baffled expression caused Eve to giggle quietly at her. "Why do you look so flabbergasted, mom? I only gave you a kiss. As a thank-you for being my mom."
Selene quickly overcame the surprise, caused by unexpected action of her baby and reapplied her usual stoic expression, even though her eyes sparkled a little more than before. "Oh, nothing. I was just a little surprised you would do something like that. Maybe I still have to learn how to do all this 'being mother' stuff."
"Believe me, you're doing fine! I couldn't wish for a better mom, really." Eve reassured her with serious expression. She meant it wholeheartedly and wanted her mother to know it too.
Selene's stoic expression was wiped away like Eve would swing the magic wand in front of her face. "Really? You really think so?" Slightly insecure voice and a clear longing to have it confirmed told Eve everything.
"Yes, mom. I really think so. You're the best mom and dad is the best dad I could have ever dreamt of."
Selene nodded slightly, seemingly lost in her thoughts as she suddenly remembered that there was one topic she really wanted to discuss with her daughter. Issue, which every sentient being has to resolve sooner or later with their offspring. "Tell me something Eve. As we left Budapest I couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be something going on between you and David. Something more than just pure friendship."
Eve blushed furiously upon hearing her mother's question and she squirmed under the blanket, trying desperately not to look embarrassed and failing utterly. "I don't know what you mean, mom."
Selene noticed her daughter's bright red face and grinned in her thoughts at realization that they were right with Michael as they suspected there would be more than friendship evolving between their daughter and their vampire ally. But she wouldn't let go of this bone until she licked it clear. "I believe you know exactly what I mean, Eve. So don't try to lead me to a wrong path and don't try to avoid my question." Her voice sounded very authoritative; however, a subtle amusement could still be noticed in it.
Eve tried to hide her burning face, knowing that it betrayed her too easily. Damn! Why do I have to carry my heart on a sleeve like that? Why can't I be more like my mom, hiding my emotions almost perfectly! She squirmed a little more before she finally decided she'd humor her mother. "I think I like him. As a friend and … maybe … even more than just as a friend." She looked sheepishly into her mother's face after making this revelation, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
Selene's face was a mask of detachment and no emotions could be read from it. Even her eyes, normally much more expressive, remained stone passive while she gazed into her daughter's questioning face.
Waiting for her mother's reply, Eve slowly grew nervous and even squirmed a little. Seconds ticked off and with each passing one, Eve became more worried if she hadn't made a mistake by admitting to her feelings for the young vampire.
Selene tried her best to maintain the stony face while she fought vigorously against the urge to grin wide at her squirming daughter. She might be stronger than I am, but she's still my baby and fears my reactions. Wonder why? Selene's thoughts raced and she finally came to the conclusion that it was the normal mother daughter relationship. Daughters, no matter how strong they might be, would always respect and in a sense fear their mothers. As she realized this simple truth, she could no longer maintain her mask and her eyes began to smile, while her lips curled into a big grin.
Eve couldn't hide the relief as she saw her mother grinning at her wider than she ever saw her before. "You're not mad?" She tried to reassure herself and put her mind at peace, still feeling slightly hesitant.
Selene shook her head. "Of course not! How could I be mad at you for having emotions, for feeling things. I just want you to be happy. However, I would suggest you wait a few years more. You're still very young and I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Hell, I waited for a very long time to meet the right man." Her eyes suddenly got the faraway look, like she would be in another time and place. She remembered how long she thought of herself of being not capable of feeling something for someone. Until Michael crossed her path.
Sensing that her mother was in some faraway time and place, Eve suddenly realized that she just might have a chance to find out exactly how her mother felt as she met her father. They never told her how they met and this was probably the perfect opportunity to find out. "How did you and dad meet, mom? Did you love him from the first moment on?" Her voice was already bold and questioning.
Selene needed few moments to catch on her daughter's question and she swiveled her head to look into Eve's eyes. Her eyes refocused on the young girl and for a moment she thought of dismissing her question, but then realized that it might not be bad for Eve to know how her parents met. She pulled her daughter tighter to herself. "Well, I was out, hunting lycans with two of my fellow Death dealers. We followed two lycans, clearly heading to the subway station in Budapest and as I was waiting there for them, I suddenly saw that man. Drenched like a drowning rat and yet the handsomest man I've ever seen. He looked at me and he was the first one in centuries not to avert his eyes. Moreover, he seemed to be fascinated by me and … as strange as it appeared to me … I was also fascinated by him."
Eve snuggled closer to her mother and listened to her dreamy voice, explaining her how she met her father.
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Michael put the axe aside and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He was wearing military style pants and just thin shirt with long sleeves. And still he felt how, despite the chill of the morning air, his body warmed up immensely. He set out to prepare some more wood for the open hearth, for they were running low on its supply. Seeing how Selene and Eve appreciated the warmth of the open fire, he felt obliged to take care that they wouldn't be disappointed.
He grinned in thoughts as he remembered how Selene adopted a trait to curl on the couch before the hearth, tightly pressing her body to his in the evening. Just last evening they were also staying there long after Eve had gone to bed. They discussed the unexpected sighting of Michael's old friend, Adam, and came to the conclusion that they would wait for a day or two before investigating further.
Michael was almost sure that Adam could not be here on purpose and that it was most probably just coincidence. He remembered Adam as quite a good friend, not the one to side up with some dark forces.
Selene was hesitant at first, but after Michael told her few experiences and stunts he gained and delivered in his time together with Adam, she slowly began to accept his reasoning and agreed with his proposal to wait for a day or two before investigating the matter. But she was unmovable in her condition: Michael was not allowed to go anywhere near the village before they knew exactly if Adam was here just coincidentally or on purpose.
As he remembered what followed their talk, he smiled happily. Yes, they continued their talk, or to say it more correctly, their coupling, in their room and it took them quite a long time before they finally got to get some rest. Maybe Eve's going to get a sibling sometime? Wouldn't it be nice to have another child, this time living through everything a parent should? Making up for all the time we have been deprived of during Eve's growing up.
He picked up an armful of prepared wood and headed for the house. While slowly walking towards the entrance door, he squinted at the sun, which shone brightly from the clear blue sky. No clouds could be seen anywhere, all in all it was a beautiful winter's day. Even the biting cold was giving place to slightly warmer air, warmed by the sun rays. He suddenly got the idea to go out with Selene. No matter how much he loved Eve, he wanted to spend few hours with his beloved vampiress alone. He was sure Eve wouldn't mid. Selene … well, she could represent an obstacle. He grinned again at the thought how overprotective Selene became over her daughter.
As he entered the house, he could hear Selene's soft voice, speaking to Eve and he just caught on the last words. "… he didn't obey me and went out to the village to get some food and I had to save him from the policemen, who already shot him a few times, so that he was losing too much blood. Again!"
He stopped and listened. He remembered all too well how he tried to ingest normal food, even though Selene told him it would be lethal. You were right, Selene! Like almost always! I should have learned to listen to you by then. He shook his head as he remembered his own stupidity, which almost cost him his life. Hadn't Selene returned to save his sorry ass, he wouldn't be standing here right now. In fact, there wouldn't have been any Eve either.
Eve's voice was revealing her astonishment and a slight note of amusement. "So he was really such a …"
"Idiot!" Selene interrupted her daughter with amused voice. Michael could almost see how she nodded in contempt. "But that's why I love him so much. He's so impulsive, so emotional that he even thawed my heart and forced me to feel again. Without him I'd probably still be running around, killing lycans, believing in all the lies that the elders told me. I'd still be just a Death dealer and nothing more." Her voice betrayed how much she in truth valued the fact that she was now a mother and a mate to a loving man.
Before Selene could talk further, he entered the room, his heart singing in happiness over the words he just heard from Selene. He saw Selene and Eve, cuddled together under a warm blanket on the couch and they both looked up at him in amusement.
Smiling, Eve turned to Selene. "Mom, do you think he heard how you characterized him?"
"I'm sure he did. After all, his hearing is even better than mine." Selene looked at him with slightly tilted head and spoke a little defiantly as if trying to show him that she wouldn't back down from her words.
Michael grinned at them, but continued his way to the hearth first. Only after putting down his load of wood, he straightened up and turned to look at his family. "Oh, I heard you all right, Selene. Not only the 'idiot' part." He let it at that and stepped over to them.
Selene looked up at him expectantly. Even though she was already used to his tenderness and affection his next action surprised her a little.
Michael looked at her for few seconds before leaning down to her, taking her face between his palms and kissing her gently. The kiss lasted only for a few seconds, but after their lips parted, he whispered softly. "I love you too Selene. More than you can imagine."
Eve giggled quietly upon seeing her parents acting so loving towards each other and felt like this was the best place to be. She belonged! She finally found her place under the sun, her place with the family that loved her and cared for each other.
Selene was slightly taken aback for a moment, but quickly responded to Michael's act by pulling her hands from under the blanket and cupping his face in them. She savored the kiss and reciprocated it whole-heartedly.
Eve's giggling finally brought Michael and Selene out of their trance-like fixation on each other and they turned to their daughter. "What's so funny?" Michael asked his daughter, barely suppressing a chuckle.
"Nothing! Or everything! Depends on how you look at it." Eve managed to stop giggling and answered. Then she got serious. "I finally know how it is to have a family, to have mom and dad and how it is if they love each other. " She paused. "And me!" She added after a second.
"I'm sorry, Eve." Selene's voice was flat, but her eyes looked at her daughter as seeking redemption.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, mom. And neither do you, dad!" Eve turned from Selene to Michael. "It wasn't your fault that I have been kept like an animal. I'm sure you wouldn't allow it if you knew."
"No, we wouldn't. We'd sooner tear down the whole Antigen company than allow something like that to happen to our daughter." Selene nodded seriously, but then her lips turned up slightly. "Actually … I did tear the company down."
"Yes, you did mom. You did." Eve giggled again.
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"Are you sure we will find any blood there?" Michael turned towards Selene while they drove along the road towards the first bigger settlement, where they hoped to find a hospital with some blood supplies.
Selene, who managed to convince Michael to let her drive this time, turned her eyes to her mate for a second, frowning slightly. "They have a hospital there. I suppose they must have some supplies of blood too."
Michael kept his gaze on Selene's profile and admired her beauty. How is it possible that I'm always so smitten by her, even though we've been together for quite a long time now? Even though we have a beautiful daughter? "I guess you're right." He turned back to stare through the windshield. He seemed lost in thoughts and his eyes got that hundred mile stare, proving that he was deeply pondering over something.
Selene sensed his absent-mindedness and turned her face towards him again. Despite her usual very fast driving, she forcefully controlled herself to drive within the speed limits. OK, just a little bit faster, but not too much, for being stopped by notoriously and painfully rigorous Austrian police officers was the last thing she wanted to be involved in at the time. "Is something wrong, Michael?" A trace of worry etched her voice.
Michael suddenly smiled, as if he'd just been awakened from a beautiful dream and turned to look at Selene. For few moments he remained silent, he just smiled at his mate lovingly.
"What?" Selene's forehead creased slightly.
Now Michael grinned at her boyishly before answering. "Do you remember what I asked you a while ago on the shore of Lake Balaton?"
Selene suddenly felt as if her heart would skip a beat. She of course knew perfectly well what he was asking her, but decided to tease him a little. "I'm not quite sure." She creased her forehead further, giving away the image of someone, deeply thinking and trying to remember something.
Michael's grin widened. He could read Selene's once so expressionless face so well now and he could see that she was just teasing him. "Oh, nothing that important. Just if you would marry me."
Selene was now absolutely sure her heart skipped a beat and then began beating at twice the normal rate. "Oh, that! Yes, I remember. And I said that I would. So … what about it?"
"I was thinking that it might be the right time to do it." Michael answered softly, barely audibly. His eyes shone at Selene with all his love and adoration, he felt towards his vampiress.
Now Selene couldn't keep her poker face anymore. She spotted a small parking space at the side of the road and stopped the car abruptly. As soon as the car stood still, she fully turned towards Michael with shining eyes. "Do you, really?"
Michael saw her bright eyes, beginning to turn into the vampire icy blue and reached for her to pull her towards him. The safety belt stopped him and he fumbled around the clip to release it. Despite slight problems, he managed to get it unbuckled quickly and in next moment Selene, who also unbuckled, found herself in his arms. "Yes! I want to marry you as soon as possible Selene. Let's become a real family. Let's …" His verbal diarrhea was stopped by Selene's lips, locking on his fiercely.
This kiss was something else entirely from the one he gave her as he came in this morning. It was fiery, demanding and raw, but full of emotion, unsuppressed emotion. And it lasted a lot longer than the one before.
"Are you sure? Really sure?" Selene wanted to be reassured that it was really what he wanted. She might have been a little skeptic about his proposal before, but meanwhile she accepted the idea with all of her heart and she wanted to be sure that Michael really meant it and was not just saying it because of who knows which reason.
Michael leaned back in the embrace just to nod at her reassuringly. "Yes, Selene, it's what I want. It's what I want most of all."
Selene pretended to think for a while, before beaming at him. "Well, if you're sure, then we just might go on with it. But I have to warn you that I'll probably be the worst bride ever. At least I'll probably be the oldest." She snorted quietly. "That is, if you're ready to marry someone so much older than you at all."
Michael grinned happily at her and shook his head. "I don't really care, Selene. You can be the worst, the oldest but you'll still be the most beautiful bride ever!"
Selene smiled at him gratefully. "Then let's do it!"
TBC
