The Sire

Chapter 23

I.

Soundgarden's tour had passed by the UK, but it had been too long ago and she missed her son. Thus, Megan flew to Seattle to spend a few days in the city and visit her granddaughter, but most of all to visit her son that already looked much older than her. When he first introduced her and Benedict to Susan, he told her they were his siblings, for at the time, three years before, it was already impossible to say Megan was his mother. She had stopped aging at 22 years old, she looked really young. Another problem was starting to surface now. They didn't age, not her nor Benedict, but Chris did and three years later, she looked exactly the same. How would he explain to his wife that his siblings looked the same year after year. Chris had not thought about the repercussions his marriage brought, especially since her never told the truth about who he really was. Though Susan and he had what appeared to be a solid marriage and even one where some type of love reigned, Megan knew Chris's heart inside out and his was incredibly broken. For some time, she thought it would make him fall apart, but the arrival of his baby girl brought another type of love that filled part of his heart. He took the decision, against his parents will, to let Iris go forever once he learned Stone and she decided to have the baby she was expecting. It just provided more proof to what he already knew, they were meant to be together, just like in the Japanese legend, they were tied by a red string that united their destiny together. Putting it simple, they were soulmates.

"Have you seen her?" Megan asked him, knowing she was breaking their code.

They were sitting on the docks near the Public Market having a beer and eating a hotdog. That Saturday afternoon was warm and sunny and a clear blue sky hung above them. Many people were passing by for it was natural for Seattleites to search for near water places when the weather was good. The salty scent aromatized the air and the murmur of people talking lullabied the atmosphere.

"Yesterday." Chris responded quietly, taking a bite of his hotdog. "I did the right thing..." He looked at his mother for he knew what she was going to say next. "I know I did the right thing by letting them be."

"At what cost, Chris?" Megan ran a hand over his hair and tucked a wild strand behind his ear as the soft breeze coming from the docks made it fly in the air.

"They say when we love someone we should set her free." Chris looked in Megan's blue eyes. "She was never mine, mom."

Megan saw so much hurt in his eyes that moment that she wanted to hold him close like she used to do when he was a little boy and tell him everything was going to be alright.

"Is she still with that boy?" Megan asked and Chris nodded.

"They're married." He smiled. "They have their boy who is..." Chris shook his head. "So much like Stone." His eyes set on the horizon as he searched for words. "In the sense that he is so playful. I think even their giggle is similar. From the nose up, he is Iris..." Chris looked back at his mother. "...from the nose down, he is Stone. Stone's smile..."

"I am so sorry, baby." Megan held his hand and Chris shrugged.

"I still don't understand." He paused to look in his mother's eyes. "I feel like she's mine but she's not... she's not at all." He shook his head.

"Chris, I explained to you that she's the daughter of the reincarnation of my parents." Megan continued. "We explained this when your father and I decided to investigate why you two felt such different things." He nodded.

"And you and dad think I might be projecting my feelings wrongly. That she is not my mate. That I feel like she is close to me but not my mate."

"Yes." Megan said.

"It's not that." Chris smiled faintly. "That might explain her side when she says she feels like she knows me. It doesn't explain my side." He shook his head again. "They are happy. She loves him and he loves her and I want her to be happy. This is how it goes."