The Daylighter Apprentice

Chapter 13 - The Arrogant Prick Type

Morgan is the only one home when I drop my bags off in my room.
"Dom! You're back!" He greets me by popping his head round the kitchen door, apron tied around his waist.
"I am indeed. Not for long though. The train was late and I have approximately half an hour to shower, dress and get down to the lab." I say glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece. It reads 13:20 but there was no reason I couldn't be at the lab earlier. It's not like Matt would mind...

I shower and pull on my usual work attire- a plain white tee and black skinnies. I partially towel dry my hair and run some gel through it, knowing that the air will dry it. I pull on my leather jacket and head back downstairs, calling a parting gesture to Morgan before hot footing it to the lab.

I'm barely down the stairs when Matt launches himself at me, pressing me up against the wall and latching his lips onto mine. I giggle and snake my arms around his waist, pulling his torso close to mine.
"I missed you so much." Matt breathes against my lips, one hand cupping my cheek.
"I was only gone two days." I smile, rubbing his back. He hums and closes his eyes briefly.
"I know. But I feel the connection between us. Like something that's drawing me in..."
"Could that be my pulse?" I smirk and Matt gives me a dirty look and the smirk disappears.
"What have I told you about etiquette? Vampires are not interested in your pulse. Unless you piss them off or they intend to change you. But I'm being serious. I feel almost a magnetic force pulling me towards you... Like the gravity that holds us to the earth. I feel like I'm bound to you- like it's my duty to protect you..." He trails off, features softening and hand sliding down my cheek. "Oh. It couldn't be? Could it? It's impossible..."
"Matt, are you OK?" I ask, lifting his chin up so we hold eye contact.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just... Thinking... It's nothing really." Matt shrugs and leans in for another quick kiss.
"You know you can tell me anything. So spill. What's bothering you?"
"Nothing is bothering me. I'm just trying to work out what's making me so attracted to you. I've had partners in the past but never felt like this and the only thing it could be, I didn't think was possible between humans and vampires." He muses.
"And what is that?"
"Soul mating."

The room falls silent and Matt leaves me to go to his bookcase. He pulls out a large, leather bound book and I follow him into the room, leaning over his shoulder.
"Explain?" I quirk an eyebrow as I watch him flick through the pages.
"OK, so vampires do a thing called soul mating. It's where we find the one we're meant to be with forever. It's a pretty simple concept but I have never ever seen it between humans and vampires." Matt finds the page titled 'Soul Mating' and we both read.

Soul mating is a rare occurrence but when it happens, it's a fulfilling experience for both parties involved. Younger vampires can sometimes mistake it for lust and this is a dangerous position to be in as, should the dominant vampire claim his mate as his own, they are bound together and cannot break the bond. This can lead to conflict when true soul mates are finally found. Soul mating can occur between males and females, males and males and females and females.

Signs that a vampire has found their soul mate are:
-Constant need to be around their mate or to feel their presence as this brings comfort and relaxation to them
-The fear of their mate being seriously hurt and the overwhelming urge to protect them with their life in any circumstance, no exceptions. More prominent in the dominant vampire but still a trait found by the less dominant
-A flush of heat when touched by their mate
-Immediate understanding of each other

"How do you work out which vampire is dominant?" I ask, scratching my chin.
"Well, that's easy. It's determined by age. The older vampire is the dominant one. Now, hold on a second. I think I've find the bit I'm looking for." He points to a paragraph and the room falls silent again as we both read.

Soul mating is most common between vampires but the connection can be felt between mortals and vampires in very rare cases. This situation can lead to complications but is perfectly legitimate.

"So it is possible." Matt says in awe, putting the book away and leaning against the desk.
"Evidently..."
"Well I suppose only one question remains here... Do you feel that way?" Matt whispers, voice barely audible and for the first time, I see a fleeting look of fear cross his sharp features. Was he scared of losing me?

I rack my mind to make sure my first instinct is correct. I want to just say yes, no thought. But I know that this has to be precise or it could mess with the course of nature. I think back to the day in the meeting where as soon as Matt was in danger, I felt a sudden pang of fear that didn't disappear until Matt made it crystal clear that he was OK. And as for the heat... Every time he touches me, it's like an electric current that surges through my veins, making me feel more alive than I ever have before. And we understand each other so well... It's almost like telepathy...

I walk forward and take Matt's hands, kissing him before smiling against his lips.
"Yes. Yes I do." I say softly and in a flash, Matt holds me at arm length.
"Are you serious. Please tell me you're serious and not just saying that to make me feel good." Matt begs quietly. I shake my head.
"Matt, I know the importance of this. Why would I lie to you?" Matt throws himself against me and hugs me so tight I can almost hear my ribs crunching. Neither of us says a word; we just hug in complete silence. Matt sniffs against my shoulder and I hold his head, stroking his soft hair.

"What happens now then?" I ask, staring at the wall behind Matt.
"Well, I kinda wanted to make it official. Y'know. Like, we've hugged, kissed, had phone sex..." He giggles at this and blushes. "So I want to ask you if you'll... Bemyboyfriend." He races through the last bit, blushing deeper and burrowing his face into my chest. I lift his chin and kiss the tip of his nose, causing him to giggle again.
"Yes, I will. So long as you'll be mine."
"Well, duh! That's how it works you dingbat! Now, I don't know about you but I'm not particularly in the mood for harvesting bacteria so how about a lazy afternoon watching a film and then ordering a take-away?"
"Sounds perfect." I grin, following him into his sitting room.

Evidently exhausted from my weekend, I must have fallen asleep during the film because I'm woken by Matt peppering my face with light kisses as the credits roll.
"Hello sleepy head." He smiles, eyes creasing at the corners. I smile back at him but my smile is broken by a jaw tearing yawn. I shift on the sofa so I'm sandwiched between Matt and the cushion and wrap my arms around his waist and resting my head on his slightly, but not uncomfortably so, bony shoulder.
"Hello, my vampire boyfriend." I reply, pressing a kiss to his cold neck. He hums and snuggles up against me.
"How would my sweet Daylighter boyfriend like a Chinese take away and then to stay the night here?"
"Are you asking me out on a date that doesn't involve leaving the lab? Aw, so you're the romantic type?" I tease and Matt scoff.
"And you're the arrogant prick type. Yes, it is sort of a date so what do you have from the Chinese take away?"
"How the hell are you going to order Chinese takeaway without revealing your true identity?" I ask.
"Easy. I have a friend on the council that will order it through and drop it down. So, what are you eating?"
"Chicken and prawn fried rice with barbecue sauce and hoisin shredded duck pancakes." I answer and with one last kiss, Matt gets up and takes out his phone. I'm surprised to find that, like me, he has an iPhone.
"Well, while I'm phoning this through, you may want to tell your house mates that you'll be 'working' overnight." He uses air quotations around the word working and I watch as he leaves the room, following his well formed backside out of the room.

The phone call home is made easier by the fact it's Morgan who picks up. Had it been Tom or Chris, they probably would have dragged me back but I can almost see Morgan shrugging as he lets me know it's OK.
"Sure. But make sure you're careful and call here if you need help."
And that was pretty much the extent of the conversation.

When Matt returns to the room 15 minutes later with the food, I am sat cross legged on the couch and just absently staring into space.
"I come baring food. You OK?" The food is placed on the coffee table and Matt sits by me.
"Yeah, I'm just tired. Fucking hell, this smells great!" I exclaim.
"Doesn't it just. And after we're done, we can sleep. We'll need an early night as Katherine has called another meeting to discuss the progress of the elixir." He starts to open the cartons of food but instead of getting excited over the food (which looks as good as it smells), my face falls.
"Do I have to go...? I remember last time." I shiver and Matt stops, taking my hand in his.
"If I didn't have to take you, I wouldn't. But now I have an apprentice, I have to take you along to every single meeting. I'm so sorry."
"It's OK. I'm sure Ill survive. Now, I'm starving. Lets eat."


The next morning, I wake up with one of Matt's long arms draped over my body. I sigh contentedly and lace my fingers in his. My eyes close again just as a soft kiss is pressed to the base of my neck.
"You awake then?" I whisper.
"Of course. Vampires don't need sleep but I wasn't just going to let you sleep alone so I joined you." Matt whispers, breath tickling the hair at the base of my neck. I shiver and roll over, pressing my forehead against his. In the low light, I smile at him before finding his lips and kissing him.
"I could get used to this." I murmur, hand resting on his side. I can easily define his ribs under his shirt but I brush his weight, or lack thereof, aside and focus on losing myself in his eyes. Even in just the dim light coming from the hallway, I can still see the sparkle in the deep blue of his irises.
"Me too." Matt replies, one hand holding the back of my head and pulling me into a deep, passionate kiss. His lips are cool against mine but his tongue is warm as it slips into my mouth. I moan, pulling Matt as close to me as physics would allow. He puts one leg over mine and uses it as leverage to roll us over so he's lay above me, hands either side of my shoulders and knees either side of my waist. We share a heated glance and my heart rate speeds up as we stare into each other's eyes.
"Dominic... I l-" Matt cuts off giggling slightly.
"You what?" I raise an eyebrow, wondering what's so funny.
"I love you." He says sincerely, eyes blazing as he bites his lower lip. Although after yesterday's findings and everything else, this shouldn't really surprise me but his statement still takes me aback. All I can do is grin wildly at him, body fuzzy and warm with emotion.
"I know. I love you too." I reply, my voice barely more than a breath. Matt ducks his head from view and buries his face into my chest, body rolling off mine. He only slightly dips the bed as he lies next to me.
"I never saw you as the giggling school girl type." I tease, lifting his chin up and leaning down to press a kiss to his lips.
"All you saw was the scary vampire?" He asks, pulling a funny face.
"It's hard not to when the first time I met you, you me pinned up against the wall and snarled at at me and then went on to nearly kill someone."
"Ah I can see your point. But still! It's you who reduces me to a quivering wreck; it's only you who can break down my tough composure." He counters.
"I don't know whether to see that as a compliment or an insult to be fair." I tweak his nose and he screws it up, stretching out his arms and almost hitting me in the face.
"It's a compliment. Now, we should get up or we'll be late." Matt pulls my hand and reluctantly I leave the warmth of the bed to follow him to the kitchen for breakfast.


"Well, now we're all here, let's get started." Katherine addresses the table as the last vampire and her apprentice walks in and sits beside me.
"Matthew, I hear you and Dominic started work on the bacteria cultivation the other evening. Was your work successful?" Katherine asks. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a French braid and today, she is wearing a pair of rimless glasses. She stares at Matthew and me, waiting for an answer.
"We have not yet harvested the bacteria but that will be on the agenda for the next few days." Matthew speaks, his fingers knotting and unknotting in his lap under the table.
"Good good. And you filed a request the other day... Can you explain for the other members of the council."
"Well, I need a small sample of all the vampire in the town's blood. The reason for this is to test that the elixir will work on all blood types. If it doesn't we're back to square one." This is the first I've heard of this request but I don't say anything, trying my best to remain invisible. From down the table, I see Lucas sending death glares towards Matt. He catches me staring and smiles a sickly sweet smile at me, baring his fangs. I shiver and under the table, Matt places his hand on my knee.
"Well I consider that a reasonable request. Any objections?" Katherine places her hands on the table but Lucas stands up, a devilish grin on his face.
"I don't see it fair. Why should Matthew be allowed to take a blood sample from every vampire? What if some object?" Lucas tries and Matt growls low beside me.
"Oh, do us all a favour and fuck off will you, Lucas." Matt says, watching as the blonde vampire ambles towards us.
"No. I think I have a valid point. What are you going to then, Bellamy?" The blonde challenges. Matt tenses and stands up, staring at the advancing vampire.
"Back off Lucas. Stay away." Matt snarls.
"Aw, look at you protecting your little bitch... Well, I don't really see the point because this is between me and you this time."
"I personally don't see a need for confrontation; you're just being a petty fuck who's in desperate need of an argument."

Lucas flies at Matt and the pair go tumbling on the floor. I suppress a scream and sit, frozen in fear. Limbs flail around as they fight and fangs are bared. I feel the air shift beside me and whip my head around to see the woman next to me leaning in.
"Not a meeting goes by when the don't fight. Katherine blames it on their age and immaturity but the rest of us know why they go at it." She murmurs, glancing over just as Matt claws Lucas's face, causing the blonde to yowl in pain. I wince at the sound.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well, when we were stationed in Rome, there was a feud between them. For some unknown reason, the pair hated each other and Lucas did something unforgettable to Matthew which resulted in this lasting war."
"And what was that?"
"Matthew moved to England with his parents as immigrants when he was 17 so he could get a proper job. They moved from Italy, leaving behind the rest of their family. Now, of course, when we were in Italy, Matthew found some of his family in Rome. He, understandably, was over the moon. But this didn't last very long as Lucas... Killed them. Nobody knows why but we all suspect it's jealousy or pettiness." She continues and I wince.
"That's horrible!"
"Exactly. That Lucas is a nasty piece of work. Avoid him where possible, Dominic. We'll all chip in if needed, too." She jerks her head slightly to the rest.
"Thank you..."
"Athene. And no worries." She smiles and I return to watching Matt and Lucas squabble on the floor.

"Put your fangs away, Lucas. Nobody wants to see your tiny assets. They look like you've stuck two white pencil leads in your gums and called them fangs." Matt snarls, pinning Lucas to the carpet. He looks to be winning but as demonstrated last time, this could all change in a split second.
"You wouldn't be saying that when I sink them into your flesh."
"Well, you never will so dream on."
"Oh I'll keep dreaming. It would be a glorious day to see you dying from a wound I inflicted on you. It would literally be a dream come true." Lucas grins like a true sadist and Matt seems to only get angrier. His eyes are completely black and his fangs are fully extended as he holds Lucas. But Lucas, on the other hand, is just smiling, lips curled back to reveal his own fangs which are indeed, significantly smaller than Matt's.
"Shut it you piece of shit. Give up now while you're ahead. There's nothing stopping me killing you right here, right now." Matt spits, face close to Lucas's as he snarls. Lucas grins one last time before darting full force towards Matthew. Matthew cries out, scream ripping through the room like a knife through fabric.

Katherine suddenly appears with Lucas held by the neck against the wall.
"What happens when you bite someone? What did I tell you would happen?" Katherine hisses and it takes a moment for my brain to process this.
Bite... Bitten... Matt...
I leap from my chair and fall to floor beside Matthew, rolling his small body over to find him with his hand clamped over his neck.
"Matt... It's me. Let me see." I beg, tears welling in my eyes. What if he was seriously hurt? Was he going to die?
He carefully peels off his hand and sure enough, 2 bleeding punctures have ruptured his otherwise flawless skin. I choke back a sob and wish there was some way of checking his vital signs to see how he was doing.
"Dom..." Matt starts, voice weak. "Please help."