Page 11 of Guarding the Doctor
“Vampire names?” she asked in confusion.
“Yeah, Bella was a character in theTwilightmovies, she was turned into a vampire.”
“That’s not really allowed,” Darla said in a serious voice. “Despite what you saw in that lab, there are strict rules about that kind of thing.”
“She was dying, she was turned in order to save her life,” I explained.
Darla looked unconvinced so I let it go.
“And Darla was a vampire inBuffy the Vampire SlayerandAngel.”
“Those are TV shows, right?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Wow, for a vampire you’ve led a sheltered life.”
“I was in the military for the last twenty years,” she explained. “I didn’t get to watch a lot of TV. Or movies.”
“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but you seem kind of uncomfortable. Unless this is something life and death, we can just talk about it after you talk to Bella if you’d prefer.”
“No, it’s out there now, we might as well address it,” she said glumly.
When she fell silent again I prompted, “Well?”
She took a deep breath. “Earlier, we were talking about mates.”
When she paused I gave her an encouraging nod.
“Well the thing is, with supes – supernatural creatures like shifters and vampires – we have this thing, this belief I guess, that every creature has a fated mate. Someone you’re meant to be with. Someone who fate has deemed to be your perfect match. Not everyone finds their mate, but if you’re very lucky, you meet them and when you do, it’s like love at first sight, but much stronger.”
“Okaaayy…”
“You’re mine.” She spoke so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.
“I’m your what?” I asked in confusion.
“You’re my fated mate. My perfect match. My soulmate.”
I felt all the breath whoosh out of my lungs.
“Isn’t this kind of fast?” I asked carefully. “We just met this morning.”
“I knew it the instant I laid eyes on you,” she said seriously. “So did everyone in that conference room.”
“They did?” I remembered the way one person moved away so that I could sit next to Darla, and the way that Lois kept looking between us like we’d personally offended her.
“Yeah. They could tell by my reaction, especially since most of them have been through it.”
“What does it mean exactly? Being your mate?”
“It means that I’ll never love anyone else. Even if we never get together, my inner vamp will never let me so much as look at another person now.” She gave me a searching look. “You’re the one person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Huh.”
I didn’t know what else to say. This whole fated mate thing was crazy but clearly Darla believed it, so I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
We were both quiet for several long minutes. I wondered if that was why I felt so drawn to Darla, because some part of me was feeling this fated mate thing. But then again, it was ridiculous. We were attracted to each other, I could definitely feel that, but Darla didn’t even know me. How could she possibly want to spend the rest of her life with me?
“No offense,” I finally said. “But I don’t really believe in fate. I believe in science. And while I know there are things science can’t quite explain – like shifters – I don’t see how you can know we’re supposed to be together when we don’t even know each other. I just… I’m sorry, I don’t want to be insensitive to your culture, but I don’t know what I’m even supposed to say about this.”
