Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood!

Chapter twenty-two! ~

There was a light tapping on my bedroom door, jolting me rather rudely out of my silent reverie. I'd been thinking over the start of the school term, and all the stuff that I could possibly need. Sook always did struggle to find money for school stuff nowadays – we weren't exactly rich. With Grams passing, money had been harder to come by. But I had a feeling that this year – my last year – I wouldn't need to worry about any of that. Godric had insisted on buying all my things. He'd already sent some of the servants out to buy the items.

I could honestly say that I felt spoiled.

My door creaked open, and a familiar blonde peeked his head round the door. A grin instantly lit up my face, and I patted a spot next to my bed. Aaron pranced into my room, his green orbs sparkling mischievously.

"Whatever you're happy about, it can't be good," I sighed, and Aaron chuckled. He flopped onto my bed, and propped his hands under his head, smirking up at me. I shook my head. He always seemed to know how to make himself at home.

"I may have accidentally switched off the hot water," He said casually, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Your point?" I said, gesturing for him to continue. Aaron grinned evilly.

"Let's just say Rory hates cold showers," He replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "…And he just happens to take a shower around this time of night…"

I laughed loudly, and collapsed down beside him. "What has he ever done to you?" I asked, giggling. Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Rose. Everyone in the mansion knows he's a self-absorbed prat who has a stick up his arse most of the time," He said, and I snorted. "It's true!" Aaron protested, rolling over to face me, "You should have heard him whining tonight about how his sausages weren't cooked properly!"

"Aaron," I sighed, "We all know that you probably undercooked them on purpose…"

Aaron fluttered his eyes innocently. "Whatever could you be talking about, Mistress?" He asked, pouting. I made a face.

"Ugh. Don't call me 'Mistress'," I muttered, slapping his arm. "Makes me feel like you're my slave or something."

"That's exactly why I don't use it," Aaron agreed, nodding. "And anyway, I'm an esteemed, high-class chef! I deserve respect!"

I laughed, and got up to rifle through my drawers for some pyjamas. "Keep telling yourself that, Aaron." As I was sorting through all the clothes, trying to decide on what to wear to bed, (due to all the clothes being unbelievably impossible to choose from), I heard the bed behind me groan as a weight was taken off it. I cocked my head a little to see the bed now devoid of my blonde friend. I shrugged, and continued to look through the chest of drawers.

It was a second later that I felt a pair of warm arms wrap around my waist, and a head nuzzle into my neck. "Godric?" I called out, sighing. "Warn me before you do that, would you? You know I –"

I cut myself off when I realised it was not, in fact, my Godric at all. The embrace felt different – for starters, it was warm. Vampires weren't warm – they were ice-cold. And Godric was having his… "dinner" right now. So it couldn't have been him.

"Aaron…" I said hesitantly, knowing at once that it was him. "What are you doing?" The blonde chef sighed deeply, and planted a hot kiss on my shoulder – which I found it slightly odd. I was so used to the cold kisses and chilling hugs Godric gave me. The warmth felt almost…uncomfortable.

I tried to unwind his arms from around me, but Aaron wasn't having any of it. "Please…please don't," He pleaded quietly. "Just let me. Just once." His mouth hovered up to the space below my ear, where he ghosted trails of warm kisses. Suddenly, he spun me around, and my back hit the drawers. Aaron towered over me, and almost desperately leaned into kiss me right on the lips.

All at once, Aaron's body was ripped from me, and he was slammed up against the wall, cracking the plaster in the process. I watched in wide-eyed shock as Aaron was held by his throat, with a very angry Godric looming in his face, blood smeared over his lips – probably from his dinner.

"May I ask what you were just about to do, Mr Hunter?" Godric asked calmly. Aaron glowered down at the ancient vampire. "Do not test my patience tonight. What. Were. You. Doing?" He hissed quietly, straining his words.

I gulped nervously, and tried to walk over to stop any fights breaking out – I'd had enough fights to last me for a lifetime, after all – but something held me back. I whipped my head around to see Amber, one of the triplets, holding me by the shoulders, shaking her head no.

I scrunched my face up in confusion. Why? I mouthed back at her. Amber just simply shook her head again, so I turned my head back around to watch the scene that was unfurling.

"None of your damn business," Aaron spat. I felt a spike of anger rise in Godric, and his grip tightened around his neck.

"Careful, Aaron," Godric said warningly, almost darkly. "You will do well to act proper around me. Now, you shall tell me what happened here, or I will glamour the information out of you."

Aaron's face hardened to steel. He kept his mouth sewn shut, his defiance almost overpowering. I heard the familiar click of fangs being drawn, and Godric leaned in closer to Aaron. "Just because you lost your mate does not mean you may freely take mine. I saw what happened," He squeezed his neck tighter, causing him to choke a little, "…And if it happens again, Mr Hunter…if you cannot control your urges, to keep your filthy hands off what is mine, then I will kill you. Understood?"

I bit my lip, trying and failing to keep the tears from spilling out and dripping down my face. I felt Amber encase me in a hug, and she whispered comforting words in my ear. I felt her take my hand, and lead me out of the room. She took me out into the hallway, and set me down on one of the plush benches lining the hallway's wall.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Rose," Amber sighed, and sat down beside me. She took my hand and squeezed it. Before I could stop it, a sob erupted from my throat.

"Is he going to be alright? I-I mean, Aaron…h – he –"

"Rosalie," Amber cut me off, smiling. "Godric would never intentionally harm his friends. He is just very…territorial when it comes to things like this. And he could probably sense Aaron's closeness to you. Did he try to…?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He um, tried to kiss me," I sighed wearily. Amber muttered something that sounded like, stupid, hormonal boy.

"And Godric saw this?" She asked, and I nodded again. Amber rested her chin in her hands. "No wonder why Master Godric is so angry. Having another man close to you is one thing, but another man kissing you…well, that's basically suicide…"

I stood up, a little shakily, but I held firm. "I need to go see him," I declared. Amber stood up to, a bewildered look on her face.

"Rosalie, I don't think that's such a good idea, darlin'," She pleaded. Before she could protest anymore, though, I was sprinting back up the hallway, towards my room. The door was slightly ajar, letting out a stream of light into the dark hallway. I strided over, and slipped inside.

Aaron was gone. Instead, Godric was just sitting on my bed, his bluish-grey eyes trained on the wall. He looked deep in thought. "Godric?" I called cautiously, stepping into the room. I padded in my bare feet over the soft carpet, and sat down next to him. "Are you okay?"

Before I could even blink once, I was smushed up against a rock-hard, yet impossibly comfortable chest. Godric's hand wove itself upwards to tangle in my dark, messy locks. "Did you enjoy it?" Godric whispered in my ear.

I felt my stomach drop. "What do you mean?"

"His kiss. Did you enjoy it?" He demanded. I moved out of his embrace a little, but Godric's strong arms wrapped around my waist, keeping me close to him. I looked up at Godric, a confused expression planted on my features.

"He didn't even kiss me, Godric," I stated. Godric frowned, and lifted his hand. His fingers traced my shoulder, and then moved upwards to trail along under my ear – all the places Aaron had kissed.

"Please, do not lie to me, my Rose," Godric sighed sorrowfully. I crossed my arms.

"I'm not lying to you," I insisted. "He didn't kiss me. At least, not here," I gestured to my lips. Godric shook his head, smiling.

"But he still kissed you," Godric pointed out. I rolled my dark orbs.

"What? Are you worried that I'm just going to magically fall in love with Aaron, because he put his mouth on my shoulder and under my ear?" I asked incredulously. Godric nodded slowly, and I breathed out a laugh.

"That's highly unlikely, Godric," I stated, laughing softly. Godric's raised an eyebrow, making him look even more handsome – if that was even possible.

"Humans are unpredictable," Godric answered. I snorted doubtfully.

"I'm not exactly human," I retorted back. Godric smiled and shrugged. I started to giggle, however, when I noticed the red stain smeared all over his lips was also smudged on his nose. I lifted a finger to touch his nose, still laughing softly.

"What are you laughing about?" Godric asked. My laugh was contagious, apparently – because the ancient vampire started to chuckle himself. I have no idea what urged me to do it, but I found myself leaning up, and licking the spot of blood off his nose. When I sat back down, satisfied, I noticed a dark gleam in Godric's eye.

"Why did you do that?" He asked. Godric pulled me onto his lap, and immediately leaned down to kiss the side of my neck. I shuddered as his teeth nicked at my skin.

"Um…there was some blood on your nose," I replied casually. Godric let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

"Well, my beautiful Rose, I suggest that you do not do that unless you want me to ravage you right here," Godric said lowly, removing a few strands of my hair so he could inhale my scent. "You smell absolutely divine tonight."

I shivered, slightly creeped out. I swivelled round in his lap, and slapped his arm. Of course, I knew he wouldn't feel any kind of pain – but it was worth a try. I noticed him grinning down at me, and I rolled my eyes. "You certainly know how to creep the fuck out of a girl."

"But I was simply complementing you," Godric replied, cocking an eyebrow. I sighed in exasperation, dropping the subject. Deciding that a visit to Aaron was in order, I tried to get up. But Godric wasn't having any of it – he trapped me against him, squishing me further into his chest like a teddy bear.

"Where are you going?" Godric asked, his fingers twisting the lone strands of my hair adoringly.

"Well, I was going to see Aaron," I replied truthfully. Instantly, I felt Godric's mood drop negatively.

"No, you are not," He said firmly. I sagged in his grasp.

"I only want to see if he's alright," I sighed. Godric didn't reply this time, instead, he flashed further up onto the bed. He lay down, and pulled me to his side. Soon, there were a multitude of butterfly kisses being planted up and down my neck.

"Godric, stop distracting me," I groaned, and tried to push him away. He simply grabbed my hands, and wrapped my arms around his neck so he could lean in further towards me. His lips connected with mine, and he started to kiss me softly – but the softness soon became harsh, furious, and animalistic. His tongue swept across my bottom lip, asking for entrance. Of course, I tried to resist, but Godric just squeezed my butt, making me gasp – and enabling him to sneak his tongue in.

I couldn't stop the moan of delight that bubbled from my throat. Godric's pleased growl showed me he was enjoying this just as much as I was. Sneaky little bastard. Distracting me like this…

I managed to pull my lips away from his, causing Godric to snarl in disapproval. "I've got to see if Aaron's alright," I persisted in pants. I attempted to scramble off the bed, but Godric's hand shot out and wrapped around my ankle, pulling me back in. Soon, he was back to kissing me, as fervent as before. This time, his hands roamed freely over wherever they could. I tried to resist – honestly, I did – but he was attacking my lips and neck in such a way that it made my toes curl up in pleasure.

I didn't even realise his fangs had dropped down, until they scraped at the delicate skin of my neck. Suddenly, Godric flipped himself on top of me, and I got a good look at his bluish-grey eyes. I gulped a little when I saw that they were darkened with caged lust. I thanked whatever god was up there that my vampire boyfriend had eaten beforehand – otherwise, I probably would have been his dinner right now.

But who was to say I wasn't his dessert?

Don't be silly, Rose, I scolded myself mentally. Godric wouldn't hurt me.

Or would he? He'd lost control before. If I hadn't used my powers, I would have become a drained, empty. After that day, of course, Godric had been a lot more careful around me. But now…it was terrifying to see the utter want and hunger in his dark eyes.

"Godric," I said sternly, catching his face with both my hands. I stared him straight in the eye. "I need to go see Aaron now."

Godric snarled so angrily and deeply that it shocked me to the core. To say that he was jealous was an understatement. "Why do you want to go see him?" He growled. "He is just a puny human. He would not bring you a shred of happiness. I will always bring you happiness."

"Godric, could you stop being a jealous jerk, and understand that I'm going to go see if he's alright," I confirmed, exasperated. "Not go to kiss him, or hug him, or do any other inappropriate things. I'm going to talk to him. That's all."

Godric seemed to waver momentarily, hesitating. Eventually, he sighed heavily, and gave in. "Fine," He grumbled, "But don't forget – if he so much as touches you –"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I agreed quickly, sliding out from under Godric, and clambering off the bed. "…You'll maul him, I get it." Godric chuckled, and leant against the headboard, watching me. I raised an eyebrow. "Um…are you going to stay there?"

Godric smiled in amusement. "Of course, my beautiful Rosalie," He answered simply. He just kept smiling at me, and staring at me. Just sitting there…

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Are you…gonna go back to your room?"

"I am in my room," He replied. I sent him an odd look.

"Last time I checked, this was my room," I pointed out hastily. Godric grinned, and spread his arms wide.

"What is yours is mine. What is mine is yours," Godric explained. I sent him a dry look, causing his grin to widen further. "I shall be here when you come back." I heaved a sigh, and padded out of the room, not in any mood to argue further.

It wasn't until I had hiked a good portion of the mansion that I realised – I had no idea where Aaron's room was. I gave myself a good mental slap. Why hadn't I asked Godric where his room was, before I left?

I also came to the conclusion that wandering the halls at night wasn't the best thing to be doing. A couple of times, I had passed vampires. I'd accidentally walked into a room with one of them feeding off a human. Not the highlight of my nightly walk, that was for sure.

One of the vamps – a woman – mistook me for a vampire. She'd actually offered me a bite of her human, who was looking around as if he was in a daze or trance. I had a feeling that she thought I was a vampire, simply because I smelt strongly of Godric. I mean, it's not like I could smell his scent on me, but that was the only reason I could think of. Of course, a second or two later, the vampire had heard my steady heartbeat – and realised rather quickly that I was not, in fact, a bloodthirsty vampire.

Obviously, I hadn't stayed any longer than I needed to in that room.

I pondered to myself as I retraced my steps, trying to figure where on earth Aaron could be staying. I passed a few wide windows, and tried not to shiver at the eerie glow of the moon, which cast its illuminating lights like a blanket into the dark hallway. I heard the distant hoot of a night owl, and the quiet chattering of the hidden grasshoppers.

It wasn't until I walked into something hard, and landed on my ass, that my thoughts were cut off. "Ugh. Watch where you're going," I muttered angrily, standing up. I heard a familiar, deep chuckle. I squinted my eyes through the heavy darkness, to see Rory, who looked highly amused.

"I think I should be asking you that," He replied smartly. I glared at him softly, contemplating whether I should ask him for directions. It was then that I realised that Rory wasn't wearing any clothes.

Yep. He was bloody half-naked.

My eyes widened to saucers as I watched him stand there, dripping with water. His short, black hair was matted to his face, droplets of water still clinging into the dark strands of hair. Luckily, he had a white towel wrapped around his…manly parts – but his bare chest was in full view. It wasn't as muscly and drool-worthy as Godric's – but it was still acceptable to have a "good-abs" reward. Wait, what the heck?! Why was I even thinking about that?!

"Like what you see?" Rory asked, winking seductively. I groaned in embarrassment, thanking the gods that it was too dark for him to see my flaming cheeks. "Take a picture, sweetheart. It'll last longer."

"Let me guess," I mumbled, trying to avoid staring at his chest, and failing rather miserably. "You just had your shower."

At this comment, a deep scowl graced Rory's features. "Yes. And a rather cold one at that," He hissed. His purple eyes locked onto mine. "Rosalie, dear. You don't happen to know who turned the hot water off, at the exact time I usually have my shower, do you?"

I gulped, and laughed nervously. "Can't say I know what you mean," I replied carelessly, even though I was trying not to blurt out Aaron's mischief. However, Rory's boring, purple eyes made me crack. "Ahh-uhm, well…you see…Aaron…"

"That little bugger," Rory growled, cutting me off. "I should have known he'd do it. First my dinner, now my shower. The little bastard's gonna pay –"

"No, wait!" I pleaded, and clamped both of my hands on his naked, broad shoulders. "Don't blame him. He was just…uh, angry because you kept whining about the sausages," I blurted out. Rory grimaced, and then sighed.

"Fine. I'll let the little idiot off," He agreed hesitantly. "But only this once," Rory added, and I nodded seriously.

It was a couple moments later that a wide grin stretched onto Rory's face. I shot him an odd look. "What?" I asked, slightly unsettled by his triumphant grin.

"You know," Rory said slowly, still grinning, "We're standing pretty close. I'm half-naked, dripping wet, and you've got your hands on me." My eyes widened in horror at his speculation. I leaped away from him like a scalded cat.

"Aw, come on, babe," He pouted. "I'm not poisonous." I rolled my eyes, and wiped my hands on my arms, desperately trying to get his scent off. After all, I didn't need a bloodthirsty two-thousand year old vampire coming after Rory. He may have been a perverted asshole, but I wasn't cruel.

"Right," I said awkwardly, although Rory didn't seem to find it awkward at all, "Any ideas where Aaron's room is?"

Rory grinned knowingly. "Ahh – I see. You've got something going on with the chef," He breathed, smirking. I glared at him, crossing my arms.

"No. I'm going to see if he is alright," I replied firmly. "I'm not going to do anything with him." Rory raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Who's to say he won't do anything?" He asked mysteriously. "That boy…he's into you more than you think." Then he walked away, and disappeared into the gloom of the hall. I stared after his retreating form, dumfounded. It was a second later that I realised I should have asked him where Aaron was staying.

"Son of a motherfu –"

"Never typed you as the sort who swears," A deep voice said from behind me. I jumped nearly a foot in the air in fright, my hand flying up to my heart. I spun round, and came nose to nose with a familiar face. Aaron smirked down at me, crossing his arms.

I couldn't help but check him out. Aaron's shaggy blonde hair was mussed up cutely, and his sea-green eyes sparkled down at me. He was wearing a black t-shirt, which clung to his chiselled abs, lining out almost every hard muscle – not to mention the ones in his arms. He had some pretty impressive biceps. He had on a pair of comfy grey sweatpants, and he was barefoot. I came to the conclusion that he was in his pyjamas.

"You scared me half to death!" I whispered venomously, moving forward to hit his chest. However, the blonde chef caught my hand, and pulled me into him, embracing me. Alarm bells started to go off in my head when his arms wound around my slim waist, and his head nuzzled into my neck.

"I'm sorry," Aaron sighed, breathing in my scent. "I couldn't help myself."

I quickly moved out of his hug, and took a couple steps backward. A look of hurt flashed across Aaron's face, but was replaced by a frown. He advanced towards me, and before I could walk backwards again, he grabbed my shoulders. My dark eyes widened in shock, when his hand came up to caress my soft cheek. "You look beautiful tonight, you know," Aaron whispered.

I took his hand, and carefully lowered it to his side. "Listen, Aaron…"

"I know, I know," He sighed, cutting me off. "I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier today. I didn't mean to act so cold towards you."

I shot him a confused look. After a few moments, I realised he was talking about this morning. We'd been talking about mate bonds, and I'd asked him how he'd known so much about it. After that, Aaron had cut himself off. Had that been why he'd tried to kiss me? To make up for his jerkiness?

That boy…he's into you more than you think…

Rory's words floated around in my fuzzy head. Somehow, I knew Aaron hadn't done that to make up. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach – and I hoped what I was thinking wasn't true.

"I should tell you…that I once had a vampire mate," Aaron confessed, and I grimaced when his hand came up again, this time to twirl a strand of my hair in between his fingers. "She was beautiful…but she was a monster. Her name was Angelina…and she killed a lot – and not for blood, for fun."

I shivered a little. "Yeah. Rory told me about that," I admitted, and he frowned.

"He told you?" He sighed wearily. I nodded slowly. Aaron let out a breath. "Hmm. I'm guessing he said she was a bitch?"

I nodded again. "Yeah…was she?"

Aaron smiled grimly. "Unfortunately, yes. Angelina was always nice to me, but she was horrible to everyone else – especially the triplets," Aaron said, "It was only a matter of time until something bad happened to her."

"She met the True Death," I pointed out, and Aaron nodded.

"I was with Angelina, and watched as she grabbed a random man and bit into him," He shook his head. "There was nothing I could do, of course. I couldn't take on a vampire, especially my mate. But then…" He trailed off.

"Then…?" I gestured for him to continue. Aaron pursed his lips.

"This particular guy happened to be carrying around a silver stake," He said, shrugging. "Apparently some people liked to be armed, in case of a vampire attack. And…you can kind of guess what happened next. He stabbed her, and…that was it."

"I'm so sorry, Aaron," I breathed sadly. "Did it…you know, hurt?"

"Oh, of course it did," Aaron nodded, "The bond was broken as soon as she died. I was writhing on the floor in agony for hours. It's taken me a while to get over it, but even now, it hurts to think of her."

"You loved her," I confirmed, smiling sadly. Aaron frowned, and grabbed my face in his hands. His face hovered dangerously close to mine.

"I did," He admitted lowly, "But there's someone else I love now," Aaron croaked, his thumb sweeping out to brush my cheek.

Panic soared through my veins. He couldn't…no….

"Rosalie, I –" No, no! Please don't say it!

"Rosalie, I love you."

:0 Woah…just…Woah. I wrote this, and yet, I'm still shocked by Aaron's confession :'3

Tell me what you think about this chapter! :)

P.S. – If anyone's curious about the characters, I imagine Aaron to look like Alex Pettyfer, Rory to look like Justin Bartha, and Godric to look like…well, Allan Hyde. (Of course, you all knew that our Godric was Allan Hyde :D)