Page 11 of His True Beloved

“Ha, not around here. It seems to be genetic. If a parent has one, usually a mate follows for their children to keep them together,” Suron sang. “So, when you get yours—”

“I do not believe in mates,” I hissed. If I felt like the world was staring at me before, the heat of these stares now doubled. Looking around the room, everyone gaped. They weren’t in anger but in pity.

I’m sorry, just didn’t believe it.

There are no soulmates. I dated Wyatt for how many years? Gave him part of me that I was hoping to save for marriage, only for him to—I shook my head, sucking my cheek and sulking. “That’s enough.” Suron stood up and waved his arms in a flapping motion. “She’s only been here less than a week.” That seemed to sate everyone because they all went back to their meals.

“You may not believe it now, but one day you will. Have you not seen how much love your mother has for Justin?” Yeah, I did see how much love she had for him. I just thought it was because she craved to be loved. No one in town would touch Mom, knowing she was married to my dad. Dad wasn’t around much, but you never touched his… things.

Wonder how that will play out when he gets the divorce papers in the mail.

“Love isn’t instant,” I muttered. “I once believed it was, but it isn’t.”

“Maybe you just didn’t know what real love is.”

Chapter 6

Christine

Aftersomegentlecoaxing,Suron left me and went on with his other ‘duties’. I had to promise, cross my heart and hope to die, pinky swear, and do some obscene booty shake to let me go on my own. Suron wasn’t kidding when he said he was supposed to watch me. Justin wanted me far away from Mom, and sitting on the front lawn wasn’t even to be tolerated.

I guess it was lame that I would sit there, staring at the picturesque light blue 1950s style house, but it wasn’t like I had many friends to talk to. I uprooted my life because I was worried for my mom, but Justin thought it would be an excellent idea for me to move here. In fact, heinsisted.This made me wonder if this was because mates, soulmates, and beloveds were all genetic.

The problem was, I didn’t believe in it. I thought Wyatt was my soulmate. I thought he was the one I was to spend my life with. I was head over heels in love with him, or so I thought. It was all one-sided. I painted him to be the perfect boyfriend in my mind. We were high school sweethearts, we went through college together, the whole sorority, fraternity thing, we were picture perfect. Finally, I cracked and let him supposedly ‘make love to me’. It was supposed to be both of our first times.

He knew how much I wanted to save myself for marriage. That I would give that unique piece away to my one and only. Once he talked me into it, I thought I was because he couldn’t wait to really claim me. I made him wait four and a half years, and the little comments about being a prude and how ‘we don’t live in the Victorian ages’ got under my skin.

So I gave in, gave him that part of me and all, to find out he was lousy in bed, and it wasn’t even his first time like he had told me after the fact.

Holding back a sniff, I pushed in the front door of the shared living space. It was a nicely decorated home. I didn’t have to bring any furniture, just essential bedding, my personal effects, and my beloved cat, Christopher, that stayed in my room. Mom couldn’t even have a cat in her presence, no animals, just in case she went into her ‘blood fever’.

God, I swear if she eats my cat, I‘ll be sick.

The private bathroom made things easier. I could hide in my room for days, and no one would notice. I bought myself a mini fridge with a lock to put my medication in. I had clotting promotor pills I took regularly, but if I forgot a pill, I had aminocaproic acid that could be taken orally or by shots to put directly into the wounded area.

Christopher sat on his perch by the window, his cat tower overlooking the lake. As much as I wasn’t too keen on where these vampires had fangs that could drink my blood and kill me, they had nice digs. The locks on the doors didn’t help me feel at ease. They were supposedly strong and could break down the weak doors they had on the place.

They just wanted us to make it appear to be safe.

Petting Christopher, he raised his butt for a good scratch until my phone on my bed rang. TheJawstheme song came on, signaling it was the sperm donor. Shit, this wasn’t good news if he was calling. He usually told Mom what to say to me.

Picking up the phone, I swiped across the screen that held my mother and me. The last picture I would have of her being a human. Bracing myself, I spoke my shaky, “Hello.”

“Where is your mother?” he spat. “I come home from a very long international trip from Germany to find divorce papers sitting on the kitchen table, her wedding ring, and your damn cat is nowhere to be found.” I pulled the phone away, lowering the volume at the same time.

“It sounds like she left you then,” I calmly spoke. The grip on Dad’s phone crackled as his grip grew tighter. His heavy breathing seeped into the speaker. Dad’s silence let me know he was going into raging bitch mode.

“Where the hell is she? She never leaves unless she’s with you, and now that you are out of college, I’m sure you are with her.” I snorted at him.

“Surprised you noticed I graduated. I guess I could give you props for that.” I scratched under Christopher’s chin before I fell onto the bed.

“Christine!” he shouted, and I flinched. “Where is your mother!? Her phone is here, and I can’t track her!” I rolled my eyes. Could he be that dense for an airline pilot? Surely he had to go through some IQ test before carrying countless passengers on a plane and shooting them over the ocean.

“It sounds like she left you,” I drawled, sitting back on my fluffy pillows. Christopher jumped from the cat stand and hobbled over to the bed. His bright blue silicone nail caps raked across my stomach. Wow, Mom remembered to stick those babies on so I didn’t get scratched.

And you are over here being a selfish little brat whining on their perfectly manicured lawn as she changes into a vampire.

Time for some retribution on dear old Dad for making Mom suffer then.

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