Bella Vita (29 page)

We laid together afterward. I listened to
his breathing and heart beating. My life had changed in just one
night. His fingers stroked my hairs that had come loose from my
twist.

“I think we should run away
together.” I mumbled the words into his chest.

“Em, you know we can't do
that.” His finger trailed down my cheek.

“I'm tired of giving up
what I want. It isn't fair! We didn't ask for this.” I buried my
face into his chest.

He tilted my chin up, his kiss was soft.

“No, we didn't. But we
aren't the kind of people to just walk away while so many are
suffering.” He kissed my nose.

“It isn't fair, regardless.
I know what we have to do. But I want this. Dammit, Mike. I want
you. I love you.” I pleaded to him, to myself, trying to get passed
the logic in my mind.

“I know, sweetheart. I feel
the same way. And I'll always love you. But we're fated to take a
different path. Maybe if there is reincarnation we'll come back and
get to live our life together.” He kissed the top of
head.

I wanted to scream and cry. Instead I held
onto him. We fell asleep on the couch holding each other. I knew
this was how my life should be, but I also realized that it wasn't
meant to be.

Chapter
six

When I woke, my entire being felt like I was
the healthiest, happiest morning person in the world. My body was
warm- not just the surface warm it usually was, but warm all the
way through. Mike's arm was wrapped protectively around me. His
gentle snores softly blew my hair against my shoulder.

I knew it was late morning. It was as though
all my senses had been enhanced. I sighed happily. Something felt
different with me this morning. I laid there looking at the rich
greens on the walls.

What's missing?
I did a mental check, besides my clothes, I
couldn't think of anything. I suddenly realized I had no hunger, no
thirst, and no ill effects from drinking from Mike.
Why? Why did they lie? Did they lie or is it just
me?
I shifted uncomfortably next to Mike,
his arm tightened around me.

I felt deep inside that they had lied to me.
Hurt welled in my chest.

What else have they lied to
me about?
My hurt shifted to anger. I
didn't want to go into this new life with lies. I decided that when
I got home I'd tell Dom everything and find out the truth for
myself.

I shifted again, trying to control my
temper. Mike's eyes opened. He smiled sleepily up at me. His eyes
blinked shut again- then quickly open.

“
Good morning. I thought I
was dreaming there for a sec.” His voice smoothed away my
anger.

“
Good morrow to you too,
good sir.” I laughed at him.

“
Maybe I'm still dreaming.
I think I need a kiss to make sure I'm not.” He eyed me with
suspicion as he tried to hide his smile.

“
Oh, is that so?” I
laughed.

“
Yep. One has to be sure
that one is awake.” He tried to look all innocent.

“
If that's the reason...” I
turned towards him, placed a hand on either side of his face and
pulled him to me.

My lips gently brushed against his. A hunger
clawed at my body. I pulled him to me. My mouth moved in a hungry,
fierce way. I could taste the desire on his tongue. My fangs slid
down silently. I nicked his lip as he pressed them harder against
my bruised mouth. His blood tasted sweet, I could sense all his
feelings. His thoughts flowed into my mind as I gently licked his
bottom lip. I knew he wanted everything I did, but he wouldn't give
into selfish indulgence when it meant his people. I felt his love
for me, it was palpable. His desire was the strongest item in his
mind.

I pulled back and gently kissed his cheek on
each side. I looked into his eyes.

Mike?
I sent the silent message.

Emma?
His eyes widened with the mental intrusion.

Yep, this is how I
communicate with those around me.
I put my
hand on his cheek.

Cool, I guess. But it's
similar to how we talk in wolf form.
His
body relaxed when he was able to make a connection to what he
knew.

Mike, do you guys... you
know... share blood?
I knew my face gave
away all my emotions- not that I wasn't already an open book to
him.

Typically, no. There are
some instances where a couple blood bond- even that is rare amongst
us.
His eyes were kind as he looked at
me.

What does it mean to blood
bond for you guys?
I wondered just how
close the werewolves were to real wolves.

When we're blood bound, we
drink each other's blood. There is some sort of a ritual, it
supposedly binds the two people together for all their lives. I
think it's based on the fact that our brother wolves mate for
life... but much has changed since the ritual was made and we used
to truly honor our wolf brothers. Most of the time we don't even
stay with our mates.
His eyes looked
sad.

What would happen...I mean
physically to be bound to a person?
My
heart was beating faster.

Well, it's said that they
hold no secrets from each other. Their emotions, thoughts,
everything becomes an open book. It is said that if one wanted to,
they could look into their mate's very soul. It becomes as though
they share a soul- their paths become written together. But I don't
know of anyone that has done such a thing recently. Once someone
chooses to do it, they can only do it once. They say to be bound to
more than one person can make you insane.
He sighed.

Are you and Acacia
bound?
My cheeks flushed with
jealousy.

No. Some think we should,
but I really don't want to- nor does she.
He grabbed hold of me and pulled me closer to him.

What do you think would
happen if we did it?
I turned to look him
in the eye.

I don't know, Em. But I
doubt anyone would do the ritual. You and I- we're forbidden on
both sides. I love you more than the moon itself, but how could we
be? What sort of lives would we live? And what would happen to our
people?
He shook his head and looked
away.

“
I want you to know that
I'd give most of that up without a question. The only thing that
affects me are the people. I can't make such a choice when I know
it might destroy so many innocents. But we could blood fast, or
whatever you call it. That is something that they can't take from
us. I don't want secrets from you. Even if it hurts- you need to
know everything. Especially if we're going to actively save our
people.” Silent tears coursed down my cheeks as I broke the
silence.

“
Hey.” He reached for my
chin and tilted it towards him. “They haven't taken anything from
us.” His kiss was gentle.

“
But they have! We have no
options! And this is nothing more than stolen moments!” My temper
was raising- I turned from him.

“
Stolen moments are better
than no moments, Emma.” He slid off the couch, pulled on his pants,
and reached into his pocket.

I pouted as my warmth slowly seeped from my
body- taking parts of my happiness with it.

“
Emma.” Mike's eyes were a
fierce determined hunter green.

“
Yeah.” I turned toward him
in curiosity.

“
I have something I need to
ask you.” He squatted down in front of me.

“
You can ask me anything.”
I smiled at him, still not knowing what was going on.

“
I know I can't be your
husband. I know I won't be the one that wakes up beside you every
day or goes to sleep holding you at night, but I'll always be here
for you and love you. You'll always be in my heart,” he placed his
closed fist against his chest right where his heart was, “and I'll
always be in yours.” He moved his fist from his chest to
mine.

Tears streaked down my face, as a smile
played at my lips.

“
Emma Mary Hutchinson,
you're the only woman that will ever be this much a part of me. You
are the other half of my soul. Because of this, I never want any
real secrets between us or to feel the pain of us being separated.
Will you blood fast with me?” He opened his fist and in it lay two
white gold Claddagh rings- the smaller held an emerald heart in the
center.

He looked at me. I stared at the rings in
his hand. I looked up at him.

“
But how could we? You just
said no one would do it for us. What about Acacia and Dominic?” My
mind was racing.

“
I know someone who would
perform the ritual for us. And nothing will change in our lives
with them. The only difference would be for us. It would be our
secret- but it would connect us in distance and time.” His words
were patient as I thought about his words.

“
You know I will, but I
don't know if I can keep it a secret. Nor am I sure you should.” My
engagement ring sparkled up at me as though it was accusing me of
something.

“
Emma, don't fret so much
about them. I know it sounds callous, but we're giving up too much
to ensure that everything will be fine for our people. What if I
just want you to be
my
people?” His voice was soft.

“
Then it's like you said,
we aren't giving up anything. Mike, I've loved you since that first
day I dreamed about you. I will always love you- I know that now.
But I also know that I love Dom too. I guess this is how it should
feel- like sacrifice.” I looked off into the distance.

“
I know that you love him
too, which is why that all I asked for was the blood fasting. We
are destined to be together forever- in some way.” He took my hand
and gently stroked it.

“
Thank you, Mike. When will
we do the fasting?” I looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“
Tonight. I've many things
to attend to this afternoon and you should see more of the
countryside. I'll pick you up around six, okay?” He checked his
watch.

“
Yep. Let's get this party
started.” I kissed his cheek.

The rest of the morning passed as we got
ready and returned. Mike dropped me off as close to the inn as
possible without having our scents cross. I watched him drive away
back towards his school and his other life.

When I walked into the welcoming atmosphere
of the inn, Moira was just setting out lunch.

“
There yah are. I was
beginning to worry.” She smiled at me.

“
Sorry, Moira. I stayed
with a friend last night.” My face flushed in the memory of the
previous night.

“
Oh, I bet he was a
friend.” She winked at me with a knowing smile.

“
I, er... I'll be back down
in a few minutes. I've got to change and check in back at home.” I
sheepishly ducked out of the room and headed up to my
room.

The brightly colored room
seemed to draw out a feeling of guilt in me. I sighed.
Better late than never.
I briefly debated on how to contact Dom. If I mentally
messaged him, I wasn't sure I could mask my feelings. But if I
called him, he'd know there was something I was hiding. I decided
to call.

My cell lit as I pulled it out of my bra-
the place where I stored things when I didn't have pockets. I sent
a silent prayer out to the universe that he wouldn't answer. The
phone played a Vast ringback tone that told me I was pretty when I
cried. Just as it began the second round of lyrics, he
answered.

“Emma?” His tone was both
confused and worried.

“Hey you!” I tried to
sound normal, I suddenly wasn't as sure about my choice to
call.

“Um, hi. Why are you
calling?” His voice was on guard.

“I just wanted to do
something normal for a change.” It made sense- even if it was a
bold faced lie.

“Okay, I guess. How was
your evening?” His words were tight.

“It was good, a bit long.
I went to this awesome club. It was a total goth club. How was your
night?” I tried to keep my mind from remembering the rest of the
night.

“Well, to be quite honest,
I was worried. Your message was so brief. I had no clue what
happened to you. I felt utterly separate from you and all night
long I was plagued by strange dreams of wolves and you being taken
from me.” Dominic was losing his cool.

“I'm obviously okay. Look,
we'll talk about it when I get home. I'm sorry I made you worry.
I've got to go as Moira is holding the meal for me.” I didn't care
that I was stretching the truth.

“Fine, Emma. We will talk
when you get home. Enjoy your meal. I'll talk to you whenever.” I
heard the click before I realized that he had hung up on
me.

I momentarily thought of mentally yelling at
him, but I decided that I should let him be.

The dining area was set. It was warm and
pleasant- causing all the unwanted depression that had crept into
me to leave. Moira was humming an Irish chanty as she finished
getting everything ready.