A/N: Hello lovelies! It's that random time of the year where I have managed to come up with an update for you all. It's not the longest, but it's an update and that's all that should matter. Right? Right. Thanks for all the support and the kind reviews. Without further ado, here's the little update.
OOOOOOOOO
Iona noticed that Dwayne seemed to be quieter when he came back into the restaurant with David after the older man had his cigarette, but made no comment. David slid into the booth and wrapped his arm around Faith's shoulders and jumped into the conversation like he had never been away. Iona had to remind herself that all of them had a mental bond with each other and that they probably could carry on several conversations at once.
That must be a bit confusing in the beginning, Iona thought, leaning her head lightly against Dwayne's shoulder when he reclaimed his seat next to her. And a bit annoying.
The group sat around the booth for an hour after the pizzas were consumed and just goofed off for a while. The owner of the restaurant had to ask them to leave because of the other customers, but wouldn't ban them if they left peacefully. Paul and Marko howled and hit the top of the door on the way out of the place.
"We're going off now," David announced, sliding his arm around Faith's waist, his fingers poking in the pocket of her jeans. "You two do whatever the hell it is that you do when you're bored. I've got to have a chat with some people."
Those words made a cold chill go down Iona's spine and wiped the smile off her face. She leaned closer to Dwayne, wrapping her arms around his arm. The gypsy dancer could feel Dwayne stiffen under her touch.
Marko and Paul mounted their motorcycles and Laddie climbed on behind Paul. The two wild blonds called out their goodbyes to Iona as they kicked their motorcycles into life. Iona waved a hand in their direction, watching them speed off to terrorize the world. David and Faith were the last ones to go, David sending Dwayne a warning look.
"What was that about?" Iona asked, once the sound of David's motorcycle faded into the darkness.
"We need to go somewhere to talk," Dwayne said, taking her by the hand.
"Oh, okay."
Dwayne escorted her towards his motorcycle and climbed on. The gypsy climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around him as he kicked it into life. The wind whipped her hair into her face as they drove off into the town, past lines of cars and roaming tourists that were heading back towards the boardwalk. Iona remembered every street that they went down and each held a memory from her past with her small family.
Why are we going this way? Iona wondered as Dwayne rounded a corner sharply. The only things worth seeing this way is the school and a small park…Why here?
The vampire slowed down his motorcycle and let it coast into a parking spot near the park. Iona frowned as he climbed off of the bike and moved away from it. He turned to look at her, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"This is a neutral place," he said, looking at her. "Max and the other heads can't claim this place as their turf and can't start anything here. If any of them try to hurt a human here, it will be considered an act of war and the other heads would have the right to team up against the trespasser." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Next to a church, this is the safest place that you can find in this hellhole."
Iona slowly dismounted from the motorcycle and crossed her arms. "Why does that matter? What's going on, Dwayne?"
Dwayne shook his head and headed into the park. Iona followed after him, her boots crunching on the red mulch that coated the playground area. The vampire took up a position next to the swings, resting his arm against one of the rusty metal poles. Iona jumped onto one of the swings and let her toes scuff on the ground, watching him with a frown on her face.
"You were so happy before we went to the pizza place," Iona commented, staring at his back. "And then you went out with David and now you're looking like a toddler who just lost his favorite toy. Dwayne, what's going on?"
"Iona, you're in danger," Dwayne told her, not looking at her. "Max, he's been looking for a woman to become his wife for years. At first, he went for Adalyn, David's fiancée from decades ago, but she refused and he killed her. He tried again and again over the years, but nothing happened. When Faith came, he tried again with her, but David changed her himself before Max could. Now, Max has his eyes set on you."
"Oh…"
"He killed your grandmother because he wanted to alienate you from the humans that you were connected to. He wanted you to feel so alone and lost that you'd need someone to depend on and then he'd sweep in to give you 'the life that you deserve' as his eternal mate." Dwayne shook his head. "He'd turn you into his wife and make you our mother figure. Forever with us, but forever away from us…From me."
Iona's eyes widened and she stilled her swing. "Dwayne…"
"I can't lose you to him, Iona. I can't." Iona saw his free hand clench into a tight fist. "That's why I'm giving you the choice to get your things and leave here forever. If you leave before next nightfall, you'll never be found by Max and he'll never turn you into a monster or his bride. And I'll never lose you to him."
"Dwayne, no." Iona shook her head and pushed herself back, swinging. "I'm not running away and I'm definitely not running away from you. I can't leave you alone."
"But Max –"
"Max can go fuck off. I don't love him and I never will." The gypsy looked out at the world. "If he was the last man on the planet, I would seriously reconsider bestiality." She shook her head again. "I'm not going to run away and leave you alone forever. You deserve love and a happy future."
Dwayne was silent, keeping his back to her. The gypsy sighed, turning her gaze up to the sky. Some of the brighter stars were able to cut through the light pollution of the area and twinkled with distant life.
"Dwayne, I have to tell you something and I want you to know that I mean every word of it," Iona said slowly. When he didn't react, Iona sighed and continued to swing. "Dwayne, I love you. And I don't care that you were sired by that bastard that killed my grandmother. I don't care that you killed the bastard that sired me right in front of my eyes. I don't care about any of that because I love you. You have a good heart and a wonderful pack of brothers and I could never hate you for any of that." She smiled slightly. "I love you, Dwayne, and nothing that you can do will ever change that."
The vampire turned and was suddenly standing before her, holding her swing in mid-swing. His eyes smoldered on hers and the trace of a smile touched his lips as he searched her face for something. Iona tilted her chin up so that her face was fully exposed to him in the darkness.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Dwayne whispered.
"I won't get hurt."
"I can't protect you all the time and neither can the others. Not when we have Max and the other vampires in the area coming at us."
"So, I'll take care of myself when things get tough," Iona promised. "I know how to fight." She released one of the chains holding the swing up and poked in him the chest. "You can't scare me off with these threats of me getting hurt by some other vampire, Dwayne. I'm not leaving you."
OOOOOOOOO
Dwayne frowned at Iona as she poked him in the chest and captured her hand. "Iona, there are only a handful of ways that you can stay safe around here," he said softly. "And I don't like half of them."
"Shoot."
"You could become a nun."
A small laugh burst from her lips. "Right. Can you imagine the looks that those penguins will give me when they find out that I'm a homeless gypsy dancer? I may be a Christian, but they're not going to believe me. Next option."
"You could leave town and try to find your cousin."
"Nope. Don't know where he went. Not leaving. Next."
Dwayne turned his gaze away from her, not wanting to give her the last option that came to mind. His head buzzed with his brothers' voices, all of them trying to keep Max from hearing what was going on between Dwayne and Iona. Faith's voice was there, but muted as she was only connected to David through their personal blood exchange. Her voice encouraged Dwayne to at least put the option out there and let Iona decide what she wanted to do with it.
"Dwayne," Iona prompted, drawing his attention back to the present. "What's the next option to keep this gypsy dancer safe?"
The vampire sighed and looked down at his shoes. "You could become a vampire…" He winced when he heard Iona's heart stutter and the gypsy girl take in a sharp breath.
"I could become a…" she whispered as if the words made no sense. "Dwayne?"
"It wouldn't be through Max's blood," Dwayne said in a hurried manner. "You wouldn't have a connection to that bastard just like David promised Faith. It was forbidden after Faith, but you don't have to become a vampire through Max. You could become a vampire through someone else."
Iona's dark eyes were wide. "Through you?" she whispered.
"Well, yeah." Dwayne ran his tongue over his lips, finding them to be suddenly very dry. "I mean, that way you don't have to have someone else's thoughts crossing into your head all the time. It'd just be me and you."
"Me and you…" Iona's brow furrowed. "Dwayne, do you know what you're asking from me? You're asking me to quickly get over my grandmother's death at the hands of a vampire and become a vampire myself. A vampire that lives in close quarters with the vampire that killed my grandmother."
"Iona…"
"Dwayne, I love you. I really, really, really love you with all my heart. But you're asking me to make a decision that will affect me for the rest of Time. You're asking me to come to a decision way too soon." She shook her head. "I can't give you an answer tonight, Dwayne. I may not be able to for some time because this- this is a big one."
Dwayne nodded and looked away. "I understand."
"Can you take me back to the hotel?" Iona asked, scuffing the toe of her boot against the ground again. "I need to get some sleep…"
"Yeah."
OOOOOOOOO
Iona fumbled with the keys to the hotel room that she'd been given by Dwayne and the others, feeling Dwayne's eyes on her all the while. She fit it into the lock and quickly unlocked. Turning she leaned against the door frame and smiled at Dwayne.
"I guess this is goodnight," she said, brushing her hair back out of her face. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Probably," Dwayne agreed. "Unless you don't want to see me after all that happened in –?"
Iona shook her head and moved closer to him, placing her hand on his naked chest. "I'll do some thinking tonight and see you tomorrow and do some more thinking again and again until I can come up with a decision. Okay?" She popped up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.
Dwayne wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a deeper kiss. Iona's head swam and her legs grew weak, making her glad that he was holding her. But the memory of him getting stuck in the bathroom because of being trapped by the sun had her pulling back away from him.
"You should get going," she said breathlessly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Dwayne snuck another kiss and then walked away without saying another word. Iona watched him until he was gone. Then she turned and entered her room, locking the door behind her.
"God," she whispered, running a hand over her face. "Oh God, oh God, oh God! What am I going to do? He wants me to become a vampire? Me a vampire? Can you imagine? Grandmother, is this what you saw coming in my life before you left? I know you saw me having a relationship with Dwayne for many years, but to become a vampire so soon after your violent passing? Am I supposed to become a vampire so soon, just to keep myself safe from predators like Max? Is that my destiny? To become Dwayne's vampire and never be bothered by Max again?"
OOOOOOOOO
A/N: I will admit that I was going to make this chapter a lot shorter, but something inspired me to make it a bit longer than I first wrote it. Anyway, what did you think about this? Let me know in the review box and I'll see if I can respond to them or not. Have fun loves! Thanks all of you! -Scarlet