Yay, another chapter! Are you excited to see more or are you like 'whatever, let's just get on with it because it's nothing but something to pass the time' kind of thing? Either way, thanks for taking the time to read. To that guest who asked if it would be them against the "world" and would live happily ever after, I am going to tell you to just find that out for yourself. Enjoy!
~Jade~
Vega jumped from the bed and bolted over to her dresser. Her hands passed over a few bottles before stage whispering a celebratory cheer. She ran back over to me and pulled me off the bed. She began spraying me down with the strongest smelling flowery crap I had ever had the unlucky misfortune to smell in my life. I coughed and waved away the mist it created. She sprayed it through the room as she hurried to her closet. She pulled out a black hoodie and threw it at me.
"Take off your jacket and put that on. Your clothes are stained with blood and I can't let him see it. Sorry for the body spray but it ruins his nose, believe me, it works," she explained hurriedly. I nodded and quickly did as I was told. I tossed her my jacket and she shoved it in her closet. She came over to spray me down again before putting the bottle away. I was appreciating the fact that she gave me something black, instead of something colorful, to be too angry. Plus, the flowery crap was necessary.
"Hey, won't he get suspicious?" I muttered.
"No, I always put that on before I go out. You and the gang haven't been able to smell it that well because, um, you're human," she replied. I shot her a look and she smiled sheepishly.
"Well, they still are," she corrected. I was just about to point out that I realized Beck always made a big deal about the spray she used, when the door opened.
"Hey honey, I was just going to-oh, hi there. I didn't realize Tori had invited company over. Did you spend the night?" he asked, his nose slightly wrinkling but his welcoming face still fighting strong. I stayed frozen to the spot, my instincts getting hyper aware and shit like that all over again. Thankfully, Vega saved us.
"Yeah, she did. Father, this is my best friend Jade West. I invited her to spend the night so that in the morning I could take her to that spot I always talked about," she began to explain. She said my name very pointedly and it was then I realized she was trying to subtly point out that I was the girl she Bonded to and talked about. She was acting like I didn't know what she was talking about and was trying to keep it a secret. Well, she didn't go to a performing arts school for nothing. Her father suddenly caught on and smiled wide.
"Oh ok, you two have fun. I came in here to let you know I got a call from your mother and she said they'll be back from your aunt's soon," he told her casually. She nodded.
"Ok, thank you father," she replied respectfully. He smiled, winked, waved a hand at me, and then left.
"I see where you get your dorkiness," I muttered once I was sure he was gone.
"Jade!" she chastised, smacking my arm. I shrugged and fell back onto her bed.
"You're just lucky I hid this," I replied, holding up my arm. She gasped at the part of the strap that was still on my wrist. I pulled it off and tossed it to her. She set it on her desk and sighed.
"What would he have thought?" she wondered, her fingers drumming on her chin. I hummed in contemplation before giving my suggestion.
"His daughter is into bondage and kinky things," I told her nonchalantly. She blushed and looked at me incredulously.
"What, he was obviously ok with us being alone together. I hardly think he would mind if we-" I continued but she hastily cut me off with a hasty wave of her hands.
"No, number one, he knows why I have those, which is because of you. And number two, he's a supportive father who has no choice but to allow me time with my Bond mate. It's not like he can say no. He's well aware of how it is," she replied haughtily. I was about to question why I had anything to do with it but I could tell she was still embarrassed so I let it go. I had a pretty good idea anyway based on what she said a few minutes ago. I laughed and got up to wrap my arms around her waist from behind. My chin rested on her shoulder.
"Whatever you say," I whispered, nuzzling into her neck. I just couldn't get enough of her. If this was how she felt all along I wondered how she kept the distance she did. I would have already given in. She was more disciplined than I thought. She shivered and held her hands over my own on her stomach. I kissed her heated skin and then let her go, laughing when she let out a disappointed groan.
"Want me to toss a bucket of ice water on you? I've never seen you so needy, Vega," I commented, using needy instead of another choice word that I knew would make her uncomfortable just by hearing it. When had I decided to spare her from humiliation? Oh right, the whole Bond thing. I almost forgot. She huffed in irritation and crossed her arms childishly.
"Can it, West. It's your fault, remember?" she grumbled. I rolled my eyes and retrieved my now ruined leather jacket from her closet.
"That bastard totaled my only good jacket," I complained, fiddling with the hole in the side and the crusty blood around it. The smell wasn't bothering me at all.
"Jade, be careful! That still has blood on it and you're waving it in your face!" she warned. I pulled it away from her snatching hands and shook my head.
"Calm down, I'm fine. Really," I insisted when she continued to look skeptical. She finally sighed when I wouldn't give in.
"Ok, fine. I'm just glad my father didn't find out. I mean, you kept your mouth shut so he couldn't see your teeth. The green returned to your eyes; the blood reverting you back in time. That's good," she pointed out while she studied me.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. What do you mean by that?" I demanded. She shrugged.
"Well you do talk a lot when you want to point something out and-" she began but I shook my head and swiped my hand through the air to stop her.
"No, the other thing," I told her, only slightly peeved she thought I talked a lot.
"Oh, well if you don't get enough blood or if you come close to starvation you become something like a raging uncontrollable monster that drinks until it can't anymore," she replied evenly. My eyebrows dug down worriedly.
"The fuck…" I mumbled, not liking the sound of that.
"But don't worry, I'll always be there to make sure you're ok," she assured me, a hand on my shoulder and determination in her gaze.
"Vega, I have to go home at some point. What am I going to do then? I mean, I hate my parents but I don't want to end up ripping their throats out!" I snapped at her. She flinched at the brutal image but nodded reservedly.
"I know that. We'll keep you well fed. And when we go to school we'll make sure you're covered enough from the sun. I heard sunscreen helps a lot," she suggested, trying to comfort me. I smacked her hand away and began to pace.
"Speaking of the sun, I have to tell you something," I said seriously. The sun reminded me that the night just got more preferable which led to thinking about the night's events which involved Beck and that led to my suspicion that he was a part of what happened. Her face automatically became stern and alert.
"I saw Beck in the woods. It's the reason I was out there in the first place. I wanted to know what he was doing," I told her.
"Beck? But that could mean…no, he wouldn't do anything like that, would he?" she began to mumble, coming to the same conclusion.
"What is it?" I asked to make sure. She shook her head.
"Jade, Beck's a half-breed vampire," she told me.
"What?" I almost screamed, managing to bring my voice down in time. That explained an awful lot, now that I thought about it.
"Yeah, I could sense that he was but he never caused any problems so I had to leave him alone unless he gave me a reason," she stated with a shrug.
"I was going out with a vampire and I didn't even know? What the fuck?" I exclaimed, feeling slightly used for some reason.
"Jade, language," Vega reprimanded, her lips pursing, her nose scrunching in a weirdly adorable way, and her eyebrows furrowing. I ignored her, pacing again across the room.
"I could have been turned a long time ago. Or maybe even eaten," I pointed out. Vega shook her head.
"No, Beck cared about you and he couldn't infect you because only purebreds can. Half-breeds lose the ability when they're mixed with humans. Another reason we let them have more freedom than purebreds," she explained.
"Awfully racist now aren't we?" I joked. She shook her head quickly.
"No, just watchful of what we know is dangerous. It's the same with wolves. We keep an eye on purebred male alphas because they have a tendency to start fights to the death over females," she pointed out. I rolled my eyes and stalked over to her slowly.
"So I'm dangerous?" I asked her quietly, my hands pulling her closer by the waist, my mouth going to her throat. My lips pressed softly to her pulse which sped up. She gulped but nodded honestly. I chuckled, amused by her answer.
"Good," I breathed proudly against her. I let my fangs graze her skin before pressing a kiss to the same spot. I let her go and sauntered over to the door.
"Come on, I need to get back home soon. Sunrise is in a few hours and I can practically feel it," I told her. I tucked my jacket under my arm and waited for her to get into clothes she could wear out. When she was ready, she led me downstairs. Her father was in the kitchen, papers scattered across the table. A regal looking stamp marked the top of most, making me wonder if it was paperwork from the Council.
"See you later father. I'm heading to the hill tops," she told him. He smiled and glanced at me before going back to her. He nodded and raised his hand in farewell.
"If you plan on staying out all day be back before dinner. I've been seeing strange things happening on the news to stragglers out after dark," he told her, concern in his deep brown eyes along with a careful hidden warning. Vega nodded, understanding his intention. She steered me out the door but I stopped her in a big shadow cast by the tree in her yard. I hissed in irritation and pulled up the hood to cover my face. I tucked my hands in the sleeves and then gestured for her to keep walking.
"Fucking sun. I didn't even like it before," I grumbled. She laughed, leading us back towards the coffee shop.
"Yeah, even when it's not all the way up it still causes discomfort," she agreed.
"So you know everything about vampires too?" I inquired. She nodded.
"I have to. I'm educated in everything I need to do my job," she responded proudly. I scoffed and shook my head.
"Some job," I muttered. She gave me an offended glance before speeding up her pace.
"Hey, wait up," I snapped. When she heard this, she broke into a run. I began running after her, and soon, we were racing at top speed. A big smile cut across my face involuntarily and she laughed joyfully. In no time, we were jogging to a halt in the parking lot of the small coffee shop. The smell of coffee wafted out and I groaned.
"Damn that still smells good," I commented. Vega laughed next to me and nudged my side like she frequently did to get my attention.
"I'll get you a cup. You can still drink and eat stuff it just doesn't have any effect whatsoever. The venom running through your whole body and in your blood will take care of anything you ingest. I guess it's good for blending in as well as continuing to enjoy things you did when you were still human," Vega told me.
"Fuck yeah, go get me a cup pup," I commanded, throwing in the playful rhyme to show her I wasn't trying to be mean. Why did I even care? Geez, I'm already getting soft. The Bond is getting to me. It's going to ruin my reputation at this rate. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Ok, I'll get it and you start the car. I still want to take you to the hill tops. It's nice up there," she proposed.
"Yeah, and closer to the sun. Oh joy," I muttered. She laughed and pulled me in for a quick kiss before letting me go and walking inside. I watched her go with a small smile. When she was at the counter, I turned to my car, still sitting where I parked it last night. I unlocked my car and pulled the door open. I was just about to get in when a hand landed on my shoulder. My body tensed, ready to fight, but I shoved the instinctual reflex away and spun around to see who it was. Beck smiled at me casually and lifted the hand on my shoulder to wave it in front of my shocked face.
"Earth to Jade, you still functioning?" he greeted jokingly. Once I snapped back into reality, I grimaced at him, unsure whether I should smirk or scowl. Hell, I didn't know whether I should keep him intact or attack him either. So far he was acting like I hadn't seen him last night but I knew that he knew I knew. That phrase was ridiculously stupid. But, if he wanted to play dumb, I'd let him. I already had a feeling in my gut that he wanted me to follow him. I still didn't know why, but I knew that was the plan regardless.