Blood Wars

Twenty-six

I couldn't move.

I couldn't blink.

I couldn't even breath. 

I was completely frozen. I must have heard him wrong. This was some sort of joke. A cruel, hurtful joke. I waited for him to take it back. I waited for him to start laughing. But he didn't. All he did was stand there and stare at me. His gaze was burning a hole into me. He never looked away and neither did I. I was too scared to look away. His eyes never left mine and he looked completely serious. There was no way he was serious.

"This isn't funny."

My voice was barely above a whisper. I even struggled to hear my own words. His expression contorted into one of confusion just as I tore my eyes away from his and focused my gaze on my hands. Yet again I waited for laughter. I waited for any sign to show me that he wasn't being serious. But just like before, it never came.

"This isn't a joke."

I stiffened when his hands left my waist. They travelled up my arms, shoulders, neck, then stopped when they were cupping my cheeks. He gently brought my head up but I tried desperately not to meet his intense stare. Finally my eyes met his and it was like all the air had been knocked out of my lungs. He looked so sad, so serious, so...genuine.

"I would never joke about this. I never thought I would find someone after she died. I never thought someone else could make me happy like she did. Make me laugh and smile like she did. I never thought I would ever feel like that with anyone again. I thought I would never...love anyone again. I built up walls to protect myself and what was left of my broken heart. I was sure that no one would take the time to try to climb those walls or even try to break them. That was all until I met you. With one look you turned my walls into ashes. You sent them crumbling to the ground. You picked up all the tiny jagged pieces of my long forgotten, broken, shattered heart and put them back together."

I clutched the fabric of my shirt in the area right where my heart lays, rapidly beating in my chest. It was almost painful. Like something was pulling at my heart. I hadn't even noticed that I was crying until he brought his thumbs up to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

"Please don't cry. It kills me inside when I see you in pain. I've watched all of my friends go through this. All of them finding the right one. They all told me that I would to but I never listened. They told me what it felt like. That you would get jealous even when you knew you had no reason to be. You would hate seeing anyone touch who you wanted. You would feel drawn to them. Want then near you all the time. You would ache when they were gone. You would feel a tug at your heart every time you were close to them and your skin would burn when you touched. You would hate it when they were sad and feel like you could burst when you knew they were happy."

His thumbs never stopped rubbing my cheeks. While he was talking I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. It was all starting to click. Over the course of me living here he slowly started to change how he acted towards me. At first it seemed like he hated me but then the hatred started to shift to something else.

He had carried me inside after the fight with Jackson and his men. He let me lean on him while he played the piano and then carried me to bed when I fell asleep. He took me to the hospital after I was shot and he looked so worried about me. He had even kissed me to distract me from the pain of having a bullet removed. He didn't look happy when Jungkook carried me to my room. He started looking at me with softer expressions even if they were brief. He had brought me a tiny bikini when I needed clothes then kissed and bit my neck under the waterfall.

He wiped the makeup off my neck and told me not to cover the bruise he left like he wanted others to see it. He rescued me when the men from China attacked me. He was so gentle with me and so angry at them for what they had done. He took me home and apologized for not being there sooner and for letting that happen to me.

He gave me his shirt to comfort me and helped me after my nightmare. He called me cute the next morning. He said that he hated that someone tasted me and that it wouldn't happen again then proceeded to bite my neck to help get rid of the memory of what happened with the Chinese men. He had pulled me into bed and cuddled me, refusing to let go. He had glared at, growled at, and even yelled at Jin and Jimin just for touching me.

"Everything that they ever told me about finding the one that you want as your mate is true. I feel all of that when I'm with you and when I'm not. I hate being away from you. I hate seeing others touch you. I hate when you cry and when you get hurt. I get so excited when I get to be close to you and when I see you smile. I love the sound of your voice, your laugh. My skin burns and tingles every time it touches yours even if it's only for a second."

He slowly leans his forehead against mine and closes his eyes.

"Please tell me you feel it too."

He voice was a quiet plea. It was like he was begging, wishing that I would say yes. My eyes widened. In that moment it felt like the moonlight grew brighter. That's when I realized that I did feel it. I did feel a burn when my skin met his. It tingled and set my skin on fire. I had grown to love being around him. I waited every night just to hear him play. I wanted to be around him and I didn't even notice it. That pull at my heart.

The moon goddess may have taken my mate away when I changed but that didn't mean I was meant to be alone forever. I may not have a mate as a werewolf but as a vampire I had the right to choose. All the things that I felt towards this man in front of me. Every touch, every word, every look. Everything felt right even when I tried to tell myself that it was wrong. He flustered me like no one ever had before. He made my heart flutter every time he spoke to me. Even if his words seemed harsh I could tell that they hid something else.

I hadn't said a single word since the beginning when I thought this was a joke. With every word he said I began to realize something. I began to acknowledge my own feelings. My own thoughts. I could choose who I wanted to be with now. Everything in my body screamed at me that it was him. He had asked if I felt all these things too and now that I had time to think. I realized something that would change my life.

"I do."

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Hello beautiful people!

I know that this has been a roller coaster but I promise that it's not over yet. I still have a few things left in store.

I hope you all like how this is turning out. I personally love it. It's so pure and raw and I think it will tug at all of your heartstrings. It certainly pulled at mine while I was writing it. I'm so happy that this chapter is finally written and I can share it with all of you. It's been a long time coming but I hope it was worth the wait.

Please enjoy.

Until next time my lovely little nightmares.

~Ruby