The Beta and his Mate

"A Beta and his Vampire Princess" Chapter 5

Five hours into the trip, they stopped for lunch at a roadside diner. It was a retro looking joint with a healthy crowd forming inside. The waitress, a middle-aged woman who smelled of cigarette smoke and moth balls, led them to the back of the diner. They settled into a four person booth whose leather benches were stained and torn from years of wear and tear. Greyson and Gena sat across from each other with the menus sitting between them.

"Can I ask you something?" Greyson said after a few moments of silence, glancing up at her hesitantly.

"Sure." Gena shrugged, not taking her eyes off the menu.

"I was wondering about your diet." He said in a quiet voice, unsure of himself and not wanting to offend his mate.

Gena looked up at him then with a smirk playing at her lips. She sensed his embarrassment and anxiety over asking about her vampire lifestyle. She didn't mind answering his questions and, she had to admit, she found his timid questioning adorable.

"I can eat whatever I want and I get hungry for food just like you. I need to maintain a healthy dose of blood to sustain myself, but it's far less for me than for a youngling." Gena said, "And, I don't eat people." She added with a humorous tone.

"Oh, uhm," Greyson stammard and Gena couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Hundreds of years ago things were different. My family openly fed on anything or anyone we wanted and there weren't many other vampires to speak of. As the population of our species grew, we all had to take precautions to avoid prosecution. That's when the term "vegetarian" vampires came about, vampires who fed on animals instead of humans. Now, there are blood banks who sell and supply donations to vampires and bars with humans who enjoy being fed on." Gena explained to a wide eyed Greyson.

The evolution of vampires was something Gena witnessed first hand as one of the oldest vampires alive. She was born in the thirteenth century to human parents, living in a small hut in a viking's village with her two brothers. They were some of the first settlers to the new land, far before the pilgrims and Christopher Colubmus and the Native Americans.

One day, a blood witch came, needing to make sacrifices to the blood moon in order to sustain her powers. She murdered everyone in Gena's village. Her parents begged, not for their lives, but for the lives of their three children. The witch had no pity for them, slicing their throats and splattering the floor with their blood. But, the children? The children were a different story. The witch looked upon the black haired, blue eyed trio and saw herself. Instead of using the sacrifices to dominate her own power, she used it to create a species that was sure to follow her command.

That day, she created the three original vampires; Gena, Gabriel, and Gideon Alfson, children of Alf and Eva. From them, the vampire race was born. The children followed their new mother, a witch whose name eventually goes down in history, for centuries. 300 years later, Marlow, the witch, creates a father for the children and a man to rule her new species. He became the nameless Vampire King.

"I wasn't judging you." Greyson said, pulling Gena from her reminiscing.

"Oh, I know. You're just a curious wolf." Gena's eyes sparkled as she teased her mate. Greyson's face lit up with a grin,

"Curious about my princess." He purred.

The waitress returned to take their orders and then left silently.

"You must've seen so much of the world." Greyson said,

"I have but it's a lonely existence." Gena murmured.

"Not anymore." Greyson reached across the table and took her hand. Gena smiled at him and nodded, but in her head she was thinking about how everything comes to an end eventually.