Shaking her head, she opens the door. “No. This is not you. I…” She clamps her lips shut and runs out and away at vampire speed, so fast that she’s only a blur.
What could I have done wrong? Does she not like someone to pull out a chair for her? Was it the way my heart pounded with the thrill of her wanting to sit and talk? Maybe she thought I’d ask questions she doesn’t want to answer.
I sit on the couch, my head in my hands. Maybe I should be happy she has enough feelings for me to bake me cookies and bring them over. If I were a selfless man, that might be enough. The problem is, I’m a Sasquatch. I want more time with my swan, and I don’t want her to be afraid of me. Though I can’t imagine she thinks I’d harm her.
One way or another, I’m going to make sure she knows that her safety and happiness are the most important things in my life. Somehow, I have to get that across without seeming like a creep.
Chapter Three
TILDA
After making a fool of myself, I spent the day inside. I tried to sleep away my shame, but it only forced flashes of the look on Max’s face when I nearly lost control and had to walk away. I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to bring him cookies.
It’s still hot as the hour grows late. Walking sometimes helps my restlessness. I trail my finger over the top of a rough tombstone. It’s an older one, as the cemetery behind the house has existed for hundreds of years. I brush some dirt from the front. In capital letters, the nameDorothy Banner, born June 17, 1787 – died August 8, 1879. Ninety-two years is a good run for a human, especially back when any number of diseases or minor injuries could have led to death. Rubbing harder, I dislodge some moss covering the epitaph.A constant and strong woman.
Is that how she would have wanted to be remembered? I sit in the grass in front of her stone. “Dorothy, did you tell them to put that on your stone, or did someone decide for you?”
“I don’t think she can hear you,” Mari says from the stone wall that separates the house she owns, and I live in, from the cemetery.
“No? Who knows?” I shrug and wipe the dirt from my hands as I rise and turn toward my sister. “Do you ever wish you could die?”
She leaps over the wall and strides toward me. She runs her hand over the beginnings of a baby bump, reminding me that the impossible has happened and she and Sam are going to be parents. “Sometimes. Not recently.” A warm flush covers her cheeks. “It helps to have found love.”
“I’m happy for you. I truly am, but I can’t imagine being close to a warm-blooded person all day, every day. How do you resist feeding?” My canines ache from just the thought.
Wrapping her arm around my waist, she walks with me around the graves. “Sometimes I don’t resist. Feeding when the pleasure is mutual is wonderful.”
“How do you know you won’t go too far?” An image of Max flashes in my mind. Blood drained, empty eyes staring back at me. I shiver and banish the nightmare.
“When I first met Sam, I worried that I would lose control, but then we were together, and I knew I could never harm him.” She smiles. “Have you and Max been intimate?”
I gasp and jerk away. “No. Of course not. We…I…” I gather my wits. “He was assigned to protect me, and now that need is over. There’s nothing going on.”
“Why not?” Her voice is soft and curious.
My brain feels as if it’s on overload. “He’s a Sasquatch.”
“Yes.” She watches and waits. Her dark hair is pulled up in a loose bun, and her even darker eyes are filled with amusement. “He’s a monster. You’re a monster. Creatures and humans are all deserving of affection, Tilda.”
“Spoken like a vampire in love. I’m not like you.” I walk along another row of gravestones.
Her long black dress trails along the grass as she walks with me. “I have always found Officer Gant to be a thoughtful and observant male. He never jumps to conclusions, and he’s not given to rash behavior.”
I ran away like a coward from his house. What would he want with me? I’m an abomination. “I’m not like a regular monster, Mari.”
“A regular monster? What exactly is that?’ She smiles. “You’re not human and haven’t been in a long time. The moment you accepted the swan into your life, you became more than you were. The fact that you’re a vampire is beside the point.”
“Are you mad? A swan maiden is a beautiful and sacred gift.” I realize too late that I’ve implied that what Mari is, what we are, is less.
She stops walking and wraps her arms around her waist. “I, too, would have chosen differently if given the option, sister. However, if I had not been turned into a vampire, I would have died a long time ago and never have met Sam. I wouldn’t trade. I’m happy for the first time in my life. If you would find peace as a vampire, you could at the very least be content here.” She points to her house.
“I don’t think a town filled with warm-blooded beings is the place for me. It’s too hard not to take a taste.” Filled with shame at the admission, I turn away and look into the darkness. “I can only bake so many cookies and hide myself for so long.”
Chuckling, Mari says, “Baking is a strange habit for a vampire. I assume you don’t eat the fruits of your labor.”
“No. I sigh. I taste the batter to verify the flavors are right. Still, it reminds me of my youth. Momma loved to bake.” Emotions swell in my chest, but I push them down. “I could find a place in the mountains where no one would bother me. I’msure hunting animals would keep me alive, and it would remove temptation.”
“You can hunt here.” She gestures toward the woods leading to the conservation area. “There’s another place north of town that spreads out into a deep forest where you can find solitude and relieve the urge to find prey.”
