She nudged me again, reassuringly. Sitting there, feeling out my dragon I realized she didn’t have a name. She was a part of me, a big part, and my constant companion. We had our differences at first, but she quickly became someone I relied on and I wanted to give her something. She perked up at the thought and made me laugh.
“How about Juniper?” I asked out loud. She huffed out her response, making me laugh again. “Okay, okay. Hmmm. What about Soleil?”
She thought about it for a few seconds then rubbed against me happily.
I looked out at the setting sun over the ocean and smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Soleil,” I told her.
“It is nice to meet you too, but my name is not Soleil. It’s Matias Alvaro.”
I jumped up and spun around quickly. The vampire from before, my mate, was standing in front of me, a slight smirk on his face. His jet black hair hung down into his light gray eyes and it looked as if he hadn’t shaved in days. I looked back at his eyes, wondering how they changed from red to gray, but then I remembered vampires only had red eyes when they were charged up. Matias was standing there, calm and smirking at me, even after I denied him.
I frowned and looked down at the ground.
“Why are you here?” I asked. “I told you I couldn’t be what you want me to be, so why didn’t you leave?”
“Oh, I heard you, I just thought I needed more of an explanation as to why. I’ve waited a long time to find you, so I hope you understand I won’t give up so easily.”
I sighed and turned back toward the ocean. I guessed I owed him an explanation. It was only fair after all. I sat back down, hugging my knees to my chest and watched the waves roll in. Matias sat down next to me, leaving about a foot in between us. I itched to reach across that divide to touch him, so I squeezed my legs tighter instead, determined not to give in.
“Does it have anything to do with the dragon back there?” he asked after several seconds of silence between us.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I just, just can’t do that to him. You see, he’s my mate too, and I’m already bonded with him.”
Matias scrunched his eyebrows in thought. “I do not understand. Were you a shifter before you were turned because that...”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “Yes, I was. And a caster too. I still am those things actually. I’m all three now, and I don’t know how to handle it all with three men vying to be my mate. It’s too much!”
“I still don’t understand.”
He was looking out over the ocean and I could sense his disappointment. My heart hurt for him, but I needed to make him understand.
I told him about how I came to be and everything that followed. He sat there in silence as he took it all in and when I finished, he sighed.
“That is a big story. It is almost too fanatical to be true.”
I shrugged. “I thought supernaturals were too fanatical to be true only a few months ago. Now? I think anything is possible. I mean, after waking up a vampire after being told of a prophecy that was made eight hundred years ago about just that, I will almost believe in anything right now. I’m sorry. I just can’t be the mate you need. I’m too…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
He gently smiled at me, his gray eyes filled with kindness and understanding. Matias reached across the distance between us and took my hand away from my shin. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it, gently.
My entire body heated up when his lips caressed my skin, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on mine. I closed my eyes and told myself why I shouldn’t give in, why I needed to stay strong. Xander. I needed to be strong for him. He was my best friend and I couldn’t hurt him. Besides, how does a woman handle being in a relationship with more than one man? Sex? I could understand. The thought of it made my body burn in delicious ways. But relationships were much trickier than that.
“I understand,” Matias told me. “But the thing is…”
“Emelia. My name is Emelia.”
He smiled sweetly. “That is a beautiful name.”
Matias pulled my hand back to his lips, kissing it once more, and looked up at me through thick eyelashes. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. I gently pulled my hand away and wrapped it around my legs again.
He cleared his throat in a sort of chuckle and continued with what he was saying. “But the thing is, Emelia, I have been alone for a very long time. Longer than I care to think about. You are new to this life, but being a vampire makes you a true immortal. Life without death can be very lonely.”
Matias broke eye contact and swallowed. I could feel just how hard it had been on him, being alone. My heart hurt for him.
“So no friends? No one to spend the years with?”
He shrugged his shoulders and began playing with the sand between us. “No one I’d ever want to spend eternity with. My maker was a good friend, but he has long since passed. A mate? That’s something vampires hold out hope for, even though it isn’t promised like it is with shifters and casters. We can spend our entire lives never feeling the pull of wanting to be near someone, even if I’m only to hold their hand.” Matias rolled onto his knees in front of me and held both of my hands in his. I gasped at his sudden nearness, but didn’t dare move away. “When I felt the urge to come to you, Emelia,
