Disclaimer: I don't own Thierry, Hannah, Lupe, or anything from the Night World Series. I do own Zander and Hazel.
I really am sorry for not updating sooner. I've been really busy with school and random events in my life. Plus, I haven't had any inspiration to write until recently. I really do apologize and feel really bad for the people who want to read this story. I hope there are people who still want to read this. I have the ideas in my head, it's just getting it onto paper is the problem. Darn it, laziness! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I promise to update as soon as possible.
Hazel
"Do you want to explain?" he asks, looking confused.
Sure," I say as he leads me into a seating area.
I take the chair across from Hannah and Thierry. I sigh.
"I'm really sorry. Khalidiah was just being weird like she always is…" I trail off. I think about how to explain.
"Let me start at the beginning. Yesterday night, I came home from a party, but my mom wasn't there. I searched the entire house, but I couldn't find her. So I laid down on the couch when I heard a noise. I got up and found a note on the kitchen floor. It said, 'My dear Hazel, you have been a bad girl. I had no idea you knew that . . . boy. Anyway, you should not have crossed me. I told you to be careful. Maybe I should have told your mother that as well. She is quite nice, maybe even too nice. She just let me right in. I won't threaten you or anything, but I think you're smart enough to know what I'm saying. I need to talk to you, Hazel and this is the only way to do that. Meet me at our favorite place and we can talk. Forever yours, Duncan.'" I pause, letting them take in what I've said.
"And then, I dropped the note and ran out the front door. I found him by a tree we used to go to when we were dating. He told me that he had my mom and that I needed to kill you if I wanted her back. I don't remember much after that, but I think Duncan hypnotized me. Whenever I'm around him, I feel all confused. I'm not here to kill you Thierry. I just wanted to talk," I explain.
I look around, not wanting to look at him. A few minutes of awkward silence pass when he sighs. I look back at him, hoping he isn't mad.
"Well, I don't know what to say. I always knew Duncan would be back, but I didn't think he would send someone else to do his dirty work," he says, obviously flustered.
"So what do we do?" I ask, hoping he has a solution.
Thierry stands up and starts to pace. "I don't know, but right now I would like you to stay here with me. You'll be safe here and Duncan won't be able to get to you," he says.
He stops pacing and sits back down next to Hannah. He runs a hand through his hair. Then he calls someone into the room. A girl with silvery-brown hair and amber eyes walks in.
"Hazel, this is Lupe. She helps around the house. If you need anything, just ask her," he explains.
I give her a smile and she smiles backs. "Lupe, if you could get a room ready for Hazel, she's going to be staying with us for a little while," Thierry says.
Lupe nods and heads out of the room. Thierry stands up. "Well, I think that's all we can do for right now," he says.
Before he leaves the room, someone opens the door behind me. I turn to see who it is. My mouth drops open. Zander comes into the room, closing the door behind him. I stand up.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice demanding.
Zander turns around at the sound of my voice. Surprise flashes across his face. He looks between me and Thierry. I move closer to him.
"What are you doing here?" I ask again, my heart pounding.
He just stares at me. Thierry steps between us, blocking the view of Zander from me.
"Zander lives here. I was the one who turned him," Thierry says.
The words sink in and I open my mouth to say something, but I change my mind. I slowly walk back to my seat and sit down. I sit there staring into space, not knowing what to do. I hear Thierry and Zander leave, the sound of the door closing echoing through the room. I sit in silence when someone speaks.
"Are you okay?" Hannah asks, moving closer to me.
I forgot she was still in here. I turn to look at her and I see her staring at me, concern in her eyes. "I don't know. I'm really confused right now," I sigh.
"Well, I can tell you like Zander," she says.
"What?! I do not like Zander," I yell.
Hannah laughs. "I know how you feel. I used to hate Thierry, but then I found out the truth about him and I went looking for him," she says, "Thierry and I are soulmates. We're meant to be together. Once you find yours, you'll always want to be with them."
I look away from her, thinking about what she said. Whenever I'm around Zander, my heart starts to pound. I can't stop thinking about him: his eyes, his smile. I hated when I saw him with Khalidiah. My eyes widen. I jump up from my chair.
"Oh my God! I do like Zander" I scream, my voice shaking. I start to pace. "But . . . but . . . we can't be . . . soulmates," I stammer.
I continue pacing when Hannah starts laughing. I stop pacing suddenly and turn to face her. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her. "Why are you laughing?" I ask, my voice harsh.
She stops laughing, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry. You just remind me a lot of myself. You see, I'm an old soul. My soul has been reincarnated lots of times and Thierry was in all of my past lives. He was always there, but we met a long time ago. He was the first turned vampire and was basically an animal. He accidentally killed me in my first life, but he managed to find me in all of my other lives. What I'm saying is I love him even for what he is. His love for me won't die and neither will mine for him. Don't fight it. It will only make things harder," she says softly, touching the mark on her face.
I sit down next to her. "Can I ask you something?" She looks up at me and nods.
"You're human, but have you ever thought about becoming a vampire? I mean, I'm a witch, but I'm not immortal like Thierry and Zander. Since Zander is a vampire and if he is my soulmate, I would probably have to change into one or I'd die. I wouldn't be reincarnated like you. I wouldn't want to do that to him. When I died, he would be without his soulmate for the rest of his life," I say quietly.
Hannah looks away from me and sighs. "Yeah, I have thought about becoming a vampire. I've lived lots of lives already. I don't need another one. But at the same time, I don't need to become a vampire because I am an old soul. Thierry would always find me. We would always be together in all of my life times. As for you, I don't know what you should do. If you do decide to be with Zander, I don't know what would happen to you. I know a girl who was a witch, but she didn't know it. She was turned into a vampire because she was dying. But since you know you're a witch, I don't know how that affects you. Maybe you should ask Thierry," Hannah answers.
I look at my hands and sigh. "This is all so new to me. When my grandmother died, I stopped believing in my magic. I kept telling myself that since she was gone, I couldn't do magic anymore. She taught me everything I know about being a witch," I whisper.
My eyes fill with tears. They run down my cheek, silently escaping from my eyes. I sniffle. Then, I smile through my tears. I turn to Hannah and laugh.
"You know what's funny is my mom hated me going over to my grandmother's shop. She hated that my grandmother taught me magic. She never believed in that stuff. I guess that's why they never had a very good relationship, but when my grandmother found out my mom was having me, she was so happy. She told my mom that I was going to be good at magic. That I was so gifted," I say.
I fall silent, thinking of my mom and grandma. I wipe the tears from my face and Hannah takes my hand. She smiles at me and I smile back. I sigh and continue, "Now that I've been thrown back into this world, I don't know what to do. My mom's been kidnapped by my vampire ex-boyfriend, the guy I like is a vampire, I'm a witch, and I have to kill your boyfriend to get my mom back. I don't know what to do."
I get up and start to pace. Hannah gets up, too, and walks over to me. I stop pacing and look at her.
"It's been a long day. Why don't you get some rest and we can figure something out tomorrow?" she says, putting her hand on my shoulder.
I nod and we both head out of the room. We find Lupe standing near the door.
"Your room is ready, Hazel," she says to me.
I say good-bye to Hannah and follow Lupe. She leads me upstairs to a door with an intricate design of a rose of it. She opens it and I go inside. The room is amazing. The bed is so huge and looks so soft. I walk around, not wanting to break anything. I find the bathroom and gasp in shock. There's a Jacuzzi tub and gigantic shower. I head back into the bedroom and laugh.
"This is incredible," I sigh, sitting on the bed.
"I thought you would like it," Lupe says, smiling.
I lie down on the bed, the mattress squishing under my weight. "This feels magnificent," I say.
Lupe laughs and I sit up. I get up and walk to a wardrobe. I open the doors, but it's empty.
"Oh, Thierry didn't know anyone was going to be staying here, so they aren't any clothes in here yet. But he's arranging to get some for you," Lupe says behind me.
I close the doors and turn around. "It's okay. I can sleep in what I'm wearing for right now," I say.
I walk back to the bed and sit down. I sigh, millions of thoughts running through my head. Lupe sits down beside me.
"So, you like that Zander kid," she says.
I look at her surprised. She laughs. "News travels fast around here. Plus, I could hear what you and Hannah were saying," she says.
I look at her, confused. "I'm a shapeshifter; a werewolf to be exact. I have pretty good hearing," she explains.
"You're a werewolf?" I ask.
She nods. "Yep. Most of the people you see around here are vampires, but there are a few werewolves like myself," she says.
I sigh. "I guess I wasn't really ready for all of this. I think a part of me has always known that there was a whole different world, but since my grandma died, I shoved that part away," I whisper.
Lupe squeezes my knee. "You'll get used to it. Don't worry. But, right now I think you should get some rest. Goodnight Hazel," she says, getting up and leaving the room.
"Night, Lupe," I whisper.
I climb under the covers and snuggle into bed. A few minutes later, I fall asleep.
"Hazel . . . Hazel," I hear someone whisper.
"Hazel, come to me."
"Hazel."
"Hazel!" a voice yells.
I sit up in bed, panting. I look around, remembering where I am. I calm my breathing and put my head in my hands. I stay like that for a few minutes when I get out of bed and head to the window. I open the shutters and see that it's still dark out. I sigh and decide to walk around. I head out of my room and down the hall.
At the end of the hall, there's a balcony and I open the doors. A cool breeze blows my hair back and I breathe in the night air. I walk to the rail and put my hands on the bar. I look up at the stars flickering in the sky. The moon shines down on me, giving me comfort.
"Couldn't sleep either?" a voice asks from behind.
I turn around, surprised. Zander leans against the doorframe, looking at me. I sigh and turn back around.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," I answer him.
He walks over to stand beside me. I look back up at the moon. He just stands there, not saying anything.
"Are you going to say anything, or are you just going to keep staring at me?" I ask jokingly.
He laughs. "I don't know what to say. You seemed pretty mad at me earlier," he says.
I sigh and turn to face him. "I'm not mad at you. I was just surprised to see you here and I'm really confused right now," I explain.
"Well, at least you're not mad," he says, relieved.
He falls silent and we stand there awkwardly. I turn back to the moon when Zander breaks the silence.
"Why did you come out here?" he asks.
I look at him. "My grandmother taught me that the moon gives off positive energy. If I ever felt sad or alone or scared, I should go outside at night and take in the positive energy. Plus, I've always liked being outside at night. It's peaceful and you can just talk to the moon and the stars," I answer.
Zander laughs. I nudge him. "Hey, it's not funny. You asked, so I answered. But what about you? Why are you creeping around?" I say, annoyed.
"Well, I've been up for a few hours because I couldn't sleep like you. I was walking around when I just felt like I needed to go outside. So I headed here since this was the closet place. You just happened to be here," he explains.
"Oh," I say, looking away from him.
We stand in silence once again. Then, Zander puts his hand on mine. I pull away, looking at him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean . . ." he trails off.
"No, don't apologize. You just surprised me," I say, taking his hand.
His green eyes stare at me. "You feel it, too?" he whispers.
I nod. "I've felt something ever since you ran into me," I say.
"Me too," he says.
Then, Zander kisses me. My eyes widen in surprise, but then I close them. His kiss is soft and sweet, but full of love. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. I feel his chest against me. Then, he pulls away.
He sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time," he says.
I smile at him and he smiles back. "Me too," I say.
"You know, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Your brown eyes, your smile, everything about you plays like a loop through my head," he says.
"That's the same with me. I think about you all the time," I pause, "do you know about soulmates?"
Zander looks at me. "Soulmates? I think Thierry may have said something about that before," he answers.
"Well, Hannah and I talked about soulmates today and she thinks we're soulmates," I say.
He sighs. "Wow, soulmates. You mean like we're meant to be together?" he says.
I nod. We both fall silent. The only sound is our breathing. The wind blows around us, making me shiver. Zander moves closer to me and wraps his arms around me, keeping me warm. I look up at Zander and stare at him. He keeps looking up at the sky.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Taking in the positive energy," he answers.
He smiles down at me and winks. I laugh and so does he.
"Hazel, can I ask you something?" he says.
"Sure, what is it?" I say.
"Will you be my soulmate?" he asks.
I stare at him, wondering if he's serious or not. I stand there, dumbstruck, not knowing what to say. I move away from him, his arms falling to his sides. When I don't answer, he waves his hand as if to erase the question.
"Forget about it. It was stupid of me to ask," he says.
I turn to him. "No, it wasn't stupid. You just caught me off guard . . . again," I joke.
He smiles. "There's that smile I love so much," I say.
I walk back over to him and wrap my arms around him. He wraps his arms around me.
"Yes," I say.
"What?" he asks.
"Yes, I'll be your soulmate."
Thanks for reading. As always, it's much appreciated to review. I really would like to hear what you guys think about my writing and what i should do to try ad get better. Again, thanks. I really love getting comments from you.