Blood Delights || bxb

Chapter 9

"Can I have my phone back?" I asked. I was still in a little shock. I'd chosen to stay and Tristan had promised me freedom and autonomy in that. So he could start by giving me my phone.

Surprisingly he took it out of a pocket and handed it right over.

"Oh, thanks," I said. I quickly unlocked it and found absolutely no new messages. Cool. Glad to get some signs that I made the right decision.

"Listen, in front of others we have to pretend you are still my pet, including Fen, and especially at this god forsaken party," Tristan said.

"Why?..."

"The title of 'pet' affords you certain protections that being my 'guest' won't give you. Old rules. vampires don't touch each other's pets without permission. Fen is too familiar with me and does so anyway but I think I sufficiently taught him his lesson," Tristan explained.

"Would he hurt me if he found out I'm your guest now?" I asked worried.

"No. No he wouldn't go that far. But I wouldn't put it past him to get drunk and gossip and then others will find out. For now we should keep pretences up around anyone and everyone."

"Okay..." I agreed. If it's for my safety then it was worth sacrificing some of my dignity. According to Tristan's speech earlier I didn't have much of it anyway. "You never told me what happened between you two?" I asked fishing for details.

"We were together. He left me for someone else. That other person died. Decades later he tried again with me but I refused him. Decades more after that we reconnected but only as friends," Tristan explained. Wow what a story teller.

"You didn't want to give him another chance?" I asked.

"Look I felt bad for him that his lover died but I refuse to be anyone's second choice."

I cringed back at that, ashamed of myself. Yet another way in which I'd been a failure in life. I'd had an ex boyfriend who'd left me for someone and then came back to me a few months later. The difference was I took him back with open arms. I wanted someone to love me and when he said he wanted me back I wasn't angry, I was relieved. Then of course he went on to leave me for someone else again later and he was still with her now.To be honest if my life was going the way it was I probably would have taken him back if he had come running to me again.

But this was the start of my new life, right? I needed more respect for myself, more conviction. No more taking back exes. I just wanted to leave everyone from my old life behind and start again. I'd had similar thoughts about this before but I didn't have the means to achieve it or I didn't let myself think I did. I was comfortable with how things were. Even if things in my life hurt me and I was unhappy, at least it was familiar. Familiar was safe.

But not anymore. Nothing about my life was familiar now, and actually, now that I knew Tristan wasn't going to hurt me or my family, which to be honest my sister and my niece (and I suppose her husband, though we weren't close) were all that I cared about, I did feel free.

"Maybe he just came to his senses?" I suggested.

"He would not have come back to me if his lover hadn't died. That makes me the second choice."

"I guess you're right..."

"Tristyyyy," Fenrir came calling. "Ah there you two are."

"See, told you. He's all back to his pretty self," Tristan said. He was right. Fenrir didn't look like he had even a scratch on him despite the fact that, when I last saw him, I'm pretty sure his jaw had caved in. Tristan seemed to be in a better mood too. I wonder if it was because he was satisfied by our conversation earlier and my resolution to stay.