(Soundtrack: "Love Is My Disease" – Alicia Keys)

Aurah turned on the portable CD player and jumped on the bed. She started staring at the ceiling, lying on the bed, spread arms. She thought of her mate.

"Mate," she murmured to herself. This word was still a little odd to her ears. But it was definitely stronger than "boyfriend." After a lovely evening they spent together, they had to take their separate ways home as usual. This was so… unfair! The time they spent together was always too short.

She took her jeans off and threw it on the floor. Air from the window blew on her bare legs. She shivered.

She'd never felt this way before. She had never dreamed of anyone like this before. She wondered if Ben was feeling the same, if he was dreaming of her lying naked in his bed…

Listening to the soft music, she closed her eyes and lapsed into her sweet dreams…

10 a.m.

"Aurah, wake up!" A hand patted on the top of her head.

When Aurah opened her eyes, yawning, she saw Samuel standing by her bed.

"Samuel, what do you want?" She usually called him "dad" except for the moments she was angry at him. And seemingly, this was one those moments.

"Get dressed and come downstairs. We have an important guess who has been dying meet you for a long time."

"Make him wait for an extra hour. I was in the middle of something," Aurah replied, holding her pillow.

"Okay." Samuel sighed. "I'll go tell him that you are interested in meeting your grandfather, the Marrok."

Aurah held her pillow more tightly. "Oh, really? I've been living here for almost 3 months now. Where was his mind at until now?"

"Aurah, please don't be mean towards him." Samuel kneeled down on the carpet as if he was begging her. "He's so excited about seeing you. Please, don't ruin this moment for him."

Aurah finally gave up being stubborn and sat up. "All right… I'll be there in ten minutes. Could you leave me alone now?"

"My baby girl," Samuel said, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. "Don't be late!"

After Samuel walked out of the room, Aurah imitated his Welsh accent humorously: "Don't be late!"

She hopped out of the bed and took off her pyjamas. She washed her face in her bathroom. While she was brushing her teeth, she checked her cell phone; 1 message received from Ben:

"I'm working part-time on Saturday. Lunch-movie-dinner?"

The devil flew into Aurah's mind. As she kept on brushing her teeth, she wrote her reply:

"Love making?"

Ben was working in his office at the moment. When he read the message, his face blushed. He immediately wrote a reply:

"Do you really want me to get tortured and killed by either Angelina or Samuel?"

Aurah burst out laughing. She quit pressing him. She just wrote:

"I missed you."

Then she put her cell phone back into the drawer and went downstairs to meet her new grandfather.

A young man in his late twenties was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Samuel was absent.

When he heard Aurah racing down the steps, he turned his head to look at her. His face changed suddenly when he saw her.

"Jesus Christ! Samuel was right. You look adorable," he said, staring and smiling at the chubby girl who had chocolate-brown hair and honey-colored eyes.

Aurah stared back at him, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "What did you expect?"

His smile widened. "I don't know. I've never seen a half-vampire before."

Aurah put her hands in her pockets. "Well, I've never seen a Marrok before," she winsomely said.

Bran was bewildered that she didn't drop her gaze as she spoke. He arose from his chair and came to her side. He extended his hand. "I guess you're Aurah?"

"Who wants to know?" Aurah mischievously asked.

"Sorry, I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Bran Cornick."

She shook his hand politely. "It's a Welsh name, right? I guess it means the father of Caradoc or Caradawc."

Bran's eyes glittered. "That's correct," he said, smiling. His smile was as powerful as his stare, but Aurah didn't look away. Bran was almost shaken. "I thought Samuel was overestimating when he was telling how smart you were. But, obviously you're even smarter than we think."

"Thanks, Mr. Cornick." Aurah gave a thin smile.

Bran's face fell. "I'd like you to call me 'grandpa' if you please."

"Well… We've just met. I guess I need some time for that. Besides, you look too young to be grandfather. I can't imagine myself calling you 'grandpa."

Bran laughed up his sleeve.

Aurah started making tea for herself as Bran was sat seated on his chair again at the kitchen table.

"Aurah is an extraordinary name, too," he mildly said. "What does it mean?"

"Well, the origin of my name is Slavic," Aurah replied, steeping the tea in the kettle. "It means either beautiful morning or morning star."

"Impressive." Bran nodded. He was very interested.

"Did you know that the name has a certain effect on one's personality?" Aurah asked. "Some researchers say there is an unusual association between a name of a person and his/her personality."

"I guess I've heard that before."

"It's also mentined in some holly books."

"Are you religious?"

"I… I believe in God… Divine justice, heaven and hell… I've been to church; I've been to mosque as well. I guess I'm a universal believer." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You're a puzzle indeed!" Bran shook his head with admiration.

"So…" Aurah said with a suspicious glance, pouring the hot tea in her cup. "Did you come all the way from Montana just to see me?"

"You're the first and the most important reason for me to come here," Bran said sincerely.

"What is the second one?" Aurah became curious.

"My son's engagement," Bran calmly said as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

Aurah dropped the tea cup on the floor, shouting: "What engagement?"

Bran's eyes smoldered. "You didn't know?"

At the instant, Samuel ran into the kitchen with a loaf of freshly-baked bread in his hands.

"What's going on? I heard a noise!" He anxiously asked, looking at the broken tea cup on the floor.

Staring at Samuel, Aurah creaked her teeth. "Who's engaging to who?"

Samuel glanced at Bran with a disappointed face. "Did you have to tell her?"

Bran was as much puzzled as upset. "I didn't know that you hadn't told her, yet. You should have told her days ago!"

"So, you're engaging to Ariana?" Aurah said angrily.

"Baby girl, I was going to tell you–"Samuel reached for Aurah's hand but she backed away.

"When exactly were you going to tell me? At the ceremony?" Aurah yelled.

Then she turned around and raced up the stairs. She went in her room and locked the door. Samuel ran after her.

"Aurah, please, let me explain!" He desperately said as he knocked on her door.

"Leave me alone, Samuel! Nothing you say can settle me down right now."

Bran followed them to upstairs. He patted on Samuel's shoulder with a fatherly kindness and compassion.

"I screwed up everything, huh, dad?" Samuel said to him, sounding tired.

"Give the girl a break, Samuel," he said. "The situation is not as desperate as it seems. When she calms down, she will talk to you. She'll forgive you eventually."

"I don't know why I couldn't tell her." Samuel covered his face with his hands.

"Because you're afraid of her," Bran said. He wasn't joking. He was so serious.

"Am I?" Samuel was shocked by the truth.

"Yes, you are. It's normal. She's a force of nature. You should have seen how she played dominance with me before you came. She didn't drop her gaze for one split second!"

"Is she as dominant as you?" Samuel asked, trying hard to recover from his shock.

Bran put his arm around his son's shoulder.

"This girl is a little monster, son!" He whispered. This time he was just joking…