Forgiveness and Punishment

28

Timothy has the two brothers wait in the living room. He orders breakfast for them all. He has no doubt that Travis will be hungry as well. The breakfast comes up and a few minutes later the other two come in as well. Timothy can still smell the arousal and stomps down hard on his response, now was not the time, if it ever will be.

"Come and eat, I ordered plenty for us all." Timothy tells them in as mild a voice as he can muster. The two boys refuse to look at their sister or the detective.

The five eat in silence that is uncomfortable for them all. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stayed." Travis finally says when the silence gets to be too much for him.

Timothy snorts. "You of us all need to stay. There is some information you will need to know now." When Travis moves to get up he continues, "This isn't a joke, there is information you will need to know that could be life threatening detective."

"Please, call me Travis. Does this have anything to do with what you told me yesterday?"

"Yes." Timothy tells him and Melissa looks at him sharply. She didn't think there was anything more about vampires that he would need to know.

Travis sits down and finishes his food. "He knows about you?" Tad says motioning between the two of them.

"Yes, it became necessary to tell him yesterday." Melissa says after finishing the bite of food she had in her mouth.

It doesn't take much longer for them all to finish their food. Once they do they move to the living room. "Alright, I know the boys already know this about the claiming.  Travis, you have two options, had you not been intimate with Melissa this wouldn't be an issue. But since you were intimate that will put you on the radar  of those looking for ways to harm Melissa.

"That's not to say that any one that you are intimate with will automatically be at risk, Melissa, it's the fact that he is also connected to your life before you left the city. Any enemies will be looking for connections between them. 

"That being said, I can make you forget all about her, you will remember just that Pimpernel Lancaster is dead. You will go about  your life and never see her again.

"But it is at best a thin protection and you might be taken and tortured just for kicks."

Travis turns a bit white at Timothy's words. "Then what else is there?"

"Like her brothers you can be claimed by Melissa, which in essence is putting her mark permanently on you. The boys can show you what they look like," Travis looks over to Tad and TJ and they show him their tattoo like mark.

"They are beautiful." Travis says looking at them, "What does it mean for me though?"

"For you, since Melissa is a kind person, it would just be protection. For others, a true slavery. Those claimed have no say if their masters decide to order them to do something. If you are told to kill someone, you do it. If you are told to sleep with someone, you do it. There are no questions asked unless it is to find out how the master would prefer something done. There are many that abuse this and some claimed have opted to kill themselves rather than continue as they are. In the olden days those claimed would have been called slaves or pets even. Now they are claimed or bonded.

"There is one more thing you all should know. Since Melissa hasn't chosen to bond herself to me, there is a very good chance that she will choose a different continent and you will have to go with her if she says or you will have to stay behind with little protection since she will be gone."

"I don't understand, what do you mean she hasn't bonded to you?" Travis asks looking and sounding a bit lost.

"I broke one of the two laws that all vampires follow, and so I will be called into court and be punished, unless the one wronged forgives me and bonds herself to me. I should have been called in already but due to Melissa helping out in keeping a traitor from taking over I have been granted more time. That time is soon up and then I will likely be killed and Melissa will likely, if not bonded, be taken and used against other vampires unless she is fortunate enough to be killed."

"Which you don't think is too likely," TJ says more than a little bitterly.

"To be honest, no, she is too potentially powerful. If she is strong enough then they will be forced to kill her, but they will do all that they can to avoid that."

During all this Timothy refuses to look at Melissa, he's too ashamed at what he's done to her. Not turning her, no, but what he did after that made everything even worse.

Melissa gets up and goes to him, "I choose you, Timothy. I ask for you to accept me into your seethe."

"Are you sure, Melissa? I don't want you to choose me just because you don't want me killed. I made the decision I did knowing full well that you might never forgive me." Timothy says looking her in the eyes for the first time since he started the explanation.

"I'm sure, you have shown me that this life doesn't have to be as bad as my mortal life was. This life has the potential to be a thousand times better than my human life ever was. You have proven yourself to be the person that I admired before I died. I forgive you for going against my wishes and turning me any way. Thank you, for giving me this chance. 

"I ask you now, to accept me into your seethe." Melissa gives him a half smile and fights the tears that come to her eyes. "Will you accept me as well?" That last part was done mentally.

"Yes," Timothy says and she realizes that it was an answer to both her questions.

Timothy pulls her closer and kisses her neck until he gets to the proper place, then he bites her. 

Melissa gasps at first then relaxes as he pulls out of the bite. "Welcome, Melissa Heath, to my seethe."

"Is it the same when she claims me?" Travis demands to know.

"It will be the same. Although, it can get fairly sexual as well. Tad was much like what I did with Melissa but TJ was far more sexual." Timothy tells the detective as he looks at Melissa still somewhat out of it from her choosing him like that.

"What do you choose, Travis?" Timothy demands, this needs to be finished now.

"If she will accept me, I choose Melissa." Travis says smiling at the female before him.

Timothy nods, it's as he expected.

"Travis, if you are sure?" Melissa asks him once more to make sure there are no mistakes.

Travis nods, "Very well, if you will come here." Melissa extends her hand and Travis takes it and goes over to her.

In short order Melissa bites him and releases the venom as she wills her mark onto him.

She then smiles at the three males that have chosen to be hers. "Thank you, all of you."