Roses Wither: Into the Darkness
Six

Marcus

The bonfire was still in full swing, but I had wandered creekside, in need of some alone time.

Hearing all their thoughts was overwhelming and I had no idea how my mother had done this for so long.

Nothing had changed, but everything was so different at the same time. The faces, I recognized. I knew their families and could trace their lineage back to the originals, but I was seeing it not as the wolf I was when I had left, but the vampire that I was returning as.

I felt Rosa so clearly as she sat down beside me. Her presence so vivid in my senses. There was so much I had missed about her, being a wolf, and so much I wanted to absorb now.

As a vampire, colors were more vivid and her hair gleamed in the firelight. Her features were sharp and feminine, like our mother, but her coloring was all our father. That wasn't what I was focused on though.

Rosa's mind was so clear, so focused on her goals, and she was so pure, that it broke my heart when I thought of what she would suffer in the future.

I always knew that she would be beautiful, mind, body and soul, but seeing it as a vampire made me appreciate my sister and her even more.

“You needed a break, huh?” She nudged me.

“You could say that.” I snorted. I wasn’t ready to tell her that I could hear the thoughts of the shifters. She would ask questions that I didn't have the answers to.

There was a chill in the late summer air, but the moon shone bright in the sky and I could feel the warmth from it, as though it was a sun shining down on me.

I looked at Rosa, wondering if this was what she felt as she stared up at it. When the sadness crept into her mind, I knew.

"It's so beautiful," She thought, "How could it create monsters, like me?"

“Are you okay?” I watched her as she tried to collect herself. I wanted to tell her that she was the furthest thing from a monster, but I couldn't. It would give too much away.

I just had to pray to the Goddesses, that I would be able to convince her another way.

“I just...” She looked between me and the moon, “I don’t understand any of it. Like, I do, but I don’t.”

“Any of what?” I prodded.

“Why me?” The tears formed in her eyes as her thoughts swarmed to, "Why was I born this way?"

“I never understood it until I made the change," I shook my head, "But, you need to understand, it’s not a burden, Rosa. I don’t go around craving blood or with an urge to kill. To be born with your power... It's an amazing gift you’ve been given.” I smiled between the moon and my sister, “The moon. It feels like sunshine, like the dawn of a new day.”

“Why have I never felt this before now?” Her brows knitted, her eyes still full of unshed, silvery tears. The tears she always cried, due to our genetics.

“What do you mean?” My brow furrowed at her. I thought she'd always felt this way.

“I’ve always felt it's warmth, but never felt this pull toward it. It’s always been the Earth that pulled me, not the moon.” She looked at her watch, “11:32. I guess it’s almost time.”

“Do you think you're coming of age as a vampire too?” My brow furrowed, “No one knows what to expect, because you're the only one ever born as a vampire, but it could be possible.”

“Horray for me.” She said dryly, then mentally added, "Another notch against me on my eighteenth."

"Hey, you get me, for your birthday, what better gift could you get?" I chuckled and put my arm around her, kissing her forehead. She smelled like Aiden and I hated it. I had trained that kid. He was supposed to protect her, not make the moves on her.

"You smell like Aiden." I commented, unable to hold the silver back from my gaze.

“I always smell like Aiden.” She shrugged, speaking softly, "There's something about him..." She added in thought.

In her thoughts, I couldn't feel the mate bond. Not like I had with Megan and Ben, but there was something there. A feeling of warmth, comfort and connection.

"Do you hang out with him a lot?" I asked.

"Not much, the past few weeks." She sighed, "He's been acting weird."

"Like a jealous mate?" I cocked a brow at her.

"I don't feel that way about him." She took a deep breath. She didn't need it, but I was replaceing that it was a comfort to breathe, even after becoming a vampire.

"Well, you two obviously have a connection." I scoffed.

“Marcus, what if we don’t have mates out there?" She asked aloud, "I mean, our fates are sealed already. Mine is anyway. I couldn’t imagine the Goddesses giving me a mate to take me away from him.”

“Your’s is out there,” I smiled at her, “I bet it took the Goddesses a long time to replace someone who would be able to handle all of your bullshit and then some.”

“I don’t want a mate.” She looked back to the moon.

“That decision is not yours to make,” I chuckled, “It belongs to the Goddesses.”

“I just see how Mom and Dad are and I know that it will kill them if something happens to the other. I don’t want to put anyone through that.”

“You listen to me, Rosa.” I gripped her shoulders and forced her to look me in the eyes, “Just because we cannot see beyond the battle, does not mean that you don’t have a mate. It just means that you haven’t reached that decision yet. So don’t seal all as death. You are strong and you will be glorious. I have seen that much.”

“What decision though?”

“No one knows, but you’ll know it when it comes, Sis.” I pulled her in close as she leaned into me.

“I’m scared for our people, Marcus.” She whispered and I could see the faces of our pack flash in her mind. Their love, their acceptance and compassion, and it was weighing on her.

“There’s no need to be. The war will end, Rosa.” I was scared for her, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell her what I had seen in my latest visions.

“Do you ever feel drawn to blood?” She asked quietly, but I saw in her mind how blood drew her in, and how it terrified her. It just made me hungry.

“We are two different creatures, Rosa." I reminded her, "But both have one common denominator. They have been at war since before their creation. A war that they both want to end."

“So you feel that there is a greater reason why we’re here at all?”

“Of course,” I gave a nod, “The timing of both creations, the wars we were born into, the way destruction seems to follow us. It’s not a coincidence, Rosa. Someone did something seriously wrong to lead to our creation. We are just at the final stages of realigning something big.”

“Rosa!” Clara shouted for her, her voice resonating through the night, “Elijah’s going to play your favorite, you better get your ass over here! It’s your birthday!”

“And she’s a thousand year old witch?” I mumbled and Rosa smacked me on the chest with a giggle.

“She’s our sister.” She rolled her eyes and stood, “Let’s go.”

Rosa

When we made it back to the bonfire Aiden was just where we had left him. Seated on his tailgate, with a drink in his hand.

“You two just chillin?” He eyed me very strangely, as if he was trying to hold his wolf back.

“Yup.” I hopped up next to him.

“What time is it?” He asked tightly and I looked at my watch again.

“Eleven forty-three,” I took a deep breath. I was freaked. I had no idea if this was going to be the point my vampiric abilities kicked in, if I would have a mate, or if it would just be another birthday. I, personally, was hoping for none of the above.

“This is for you, Rosa!” Eli shouted from his truck and blared Who I Am, by Jessica Andrews. I began to laugh and sing along. I wasn’t Rosemary’s granddaughter, but I was Rosamonde’s, and I certainly looked like my father.

“Awwwe!” I jumped down from Aiden’s truck and moved toward Elijah with a grin as I sang to the chorus. It was perfect.

When I reached him, he pulled me into his arms and we began to dance between the trucks, out toward the bonfire as I sang and he twirled me.

I caught a couple glimpses of Aiden scowling, but I was going to have fun for my last three minutes as a young shifter. Even if it was with my gay friend.

When the song ended, another one kicked on and Elijah stopped to grin at me.

“I believe this is your song, girlie.” He whispered in my ear. I grinned wildly and ran to Aiden’s truck bed, jumping on it with Meg.

We laughed as we danced, my brother and Ben joining in, but my focus was on the scowl on Aiden’s face.

No. My bestie wasn’t going to sit all sullen in, what could possibly be, my last few moments of freedom. I jumped down and grabbed his hand, pulling him off the tailgate.

“Absolutely fucking not.” He shook his head, leaning against my tug.

“Come on! Dance with me!” I laughed and yanked a little harder, “It’s my birthday!”

He snorted but followed lazily for a moment. Once we reached the fireside and I began to dance again and he joined, but not with the lethargy I thought he’d have.

“The Beta can dance!” Someone shouted with a laugh and others gave whistles as we twirled around the fire.

He spun me so hard that it whirled my brain in the most fantastic way, and when the song was ending I found that we were wedged between his truck and Elijah’s. He had me pinned to the truck and there was no breaking free.

As my alarm went off, I felt it. I felt him and watched as his eyes filled with amber.

It was him. This pull, this connection we'd had, he had to have known all these years. How could he have kept it from me?

“Happy Birthday, Rosa.” He whispered with hooded eyes, before he bent down and kissed me so deeply that I was glad I was pinned to the vehicle for support alone.

It was Aiden. Aiden was my mate? I couldn’t allow this. I would lose my best friend, long before my death.

Despite my realization, something in me pushed hard and I pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

He felt good, so good that I could kiss him all night. My wolf purred as he touched me and I could feel her wanting to connect.

“Well, we’ll leave you to it then.” I heard Ben and pulled away so quick that my head hit the truck, bringing me back to reality.

“Rosa?” Aiden’s eyes were solidly his wolf’s. He’d definitely felt it too. We had the connection. Fucker! No! Not my best friend!

“I’m going to- uhm, dance some more.” I cleared my throat and moved back to the bonfire, where they were now playing all of my country favorites.