Destined Part I

Understanding

Haiden had insisted on going hunting immediately.

He said that two weeks without feeding was too long, and in order for me to be able to remain inconspicuous in public, as well as resist the urge for human blood, we needed to go today.

So I dressed warmly, layering a long sleeve shirt on top of my undershirt, and topping it with my new winter jacket we had bought while in town.

The morning had been hard on my emotions, and I was a little drained, but I was sure that the hunt would help me regain some energy.

It was snowing outside again, sheets of ice were coming down at an angle from the harsh wind.

When I finished wrapping myself up, I walked to Haiden’s room to find him.

He was there, putting on his boots as he sat on the edge of the bed. He still didn’t have a shirt on, and his flawless chest was bare. It made my stomach tingle just looking at him.

When I walked to the doorway, he looked up at me and smiled, flashing the dazzling grin I couldn’t resist.

“Hello, darling,” he purred. “You must be waiting on me, I’ll hurry.”

“No rush,” I mumbled, grinning as I stared at his lack of progress.

He chuckled at the suggestion in my voice as he threw a flannel shirt over his shoulders.

“We don’t have time for you to be getting all starry eyed,” he joked.

I smiled back as I walked over and ran my hand along his stomach. It pleased me that I saw the muscles under his skin tremble when I touched him.

“I can’t help it when you stand there trying to hypnotize me,” I sighed.

He caught my hand in his and laughed, pulling my arm around his waist. He leaned down and kissed me deeply, sending a hot rush of need through my system. I melted into him, and my mind completely went blank for that instant. But just as fast as I softened against him, he pulled back, releasing my hand, and grinned wickedly.

“Oh, not fair,” I breathed, realizing what he was smiling about.

“Paybacks are hell,” he said, and turned to finish getting ready.

I watched him as he finished preparing for our hunt, and the two of us took the elevator to the second floor to tell everyone where we were going. Things seemed to be blowing over effectively from this morning’s discussion, or at least that’s what I was hoping. I didn’t want anyone, none of these people I was beginning to care so much about, to worry about the situation any more.

As we were halfway down the stairs leading to the foyer, a knock sounded on the door. Since I was closest, I hopped down the remaining steps and opened the front door to find Madeline there smiling, standing on the porch.

“Hi Adia!” she greeted me, her eyes nearly matching the snow that was falling around her.

“Hey, Madeline, what are you doing here today?” I asked, bracing from the gust of wind that blew in suddenly.

“Well, I am leaving today,” she explained, frowning, “and I was hoping that you could come into town with me. We could do some of that shopping we talked about before I have to go.”

I suddenly remembered my promise, and a wave of guilt washed over me. Although shopping sounded delightful, I knew that I had to feed today, or Haiden would not be happy.

“I wish I could,” I said apologetically. “We are going hunting, Haiden and I.”

I felt horrible that I had said we were going to go shopping, and now we couldn’t. I had promised her that we would get together before she left, and now I had to go hunting and wouldn’t be able to.