Cade and Nathan sat at their table, drinking some warmed up blood in a glass as they watched Charlotte laying prone on the couch. They weren't really sure how to start with the answers or if she would even be able to comprehend how dire the situation was with them because of her fear. Cade could tell that Nathan was a little nervous to talk to her after being separated for so long. He didn't really take that as a good sign that this encounter would go well.
Cade's gaze was transfixed on her, committing each dazzling detail of her face to memory and letting her intoxicating scent overwhelm his senses. She was curled up onto the couch, making her look smaller than she already was and her long hair was sprawled out around her face in unruly curls. She looked like a fairytale pixy with her tiny body and the blush on her cheeks. Her small hand was curled up against her cheek as she rested peacefully.
Cade could see the resemblance between the siblings in the shapes of their eyes and the shade of their blonde hair. The only difference, besides the obvious opposite genders, was the height. Nathan was easily 6' tall, standing around the same height as Cade, but Charlotte was closer to 5'5" as both men and a majority of other people towered over her completely. They both had chocolate brown eyes as well. He wondered what fate was up to in bringing them into his life, but he wasn't one to complain because Nathan was his best friend and partner and his sister was the first woman that had caught his eye in a long time that made his heart do wild things with just a simple glance at her.
Charlotte began to stir and Nathan sprang up from his seat to go to her. Cade figured it would be better for him to talk with her first about everything because she would be more obligated to listen to her big brother than to a complete stranger. Nathan sat on the edge of the couch tentatively beside her and grabbed her hand. Her eyes opened slowly and Cade could see confusion and fear lingering in their depths.
"Hey Char," Nathan said softly, sending her a smile. With no hesitation whatsoever, Charlotte threw herself into her brother's arms and sobbed. "Hey...it's alright. I'm here sweetie," his voice was calm and soothing, like he was talking to a terrified hostage instead of his sister as he caressed her hair and back gently. "I know you have a lot of questions and we'll answer them soon. Would you like something to eat or drink?" He offered as he leaned her back to look at her face. Cade saw that even crying her eyes out, which he found that he hated seeing her perfect face like that and wished he could fix it, she still looked absolutely gorgeous. He vaguely questioned why he was reacting to her this way since he just met her, but he brushed it off because Nathan was family to him, which in turn made Charlotte family as well.
Charlotte shook her head before placing her hand on Nathan's cheek, "I thought I was seeing things, Nate," her voice shook with her emotions, "I really thought I was dead and finally reunited with you again."
Nathan grinned, "I would've been really dead if Cade hadn't of came along. He saved my life three years ago," he explained. Charlotte looked over at Cade and she smiled at him in thanks, not quite enough of one to flash her dimples at him though. He inclined his head in return and let Nathan continue his chat with her. "I couldn't come back because I'm different now. He changed me into a vampire. It sounds crazy, I know, but they're real. We're very much real beings."
She was silent as he spoke, listening intently just like Nathan had three years ago when Cade had said the same thing to him. The siblings seemed to be able to grasp the impossible with open minds in a way that Cade had never thought was possible until now. He was thoroughly impressed with the calm temperament they had.
"What happened?" She asked softly. They weren't sure if she meant with tonight or how Nathan had almost died. Nathan touched her cheek and sighed.
"Three years ago, I was fighting and got stabbed in the lung twice. Cade had been watching and came to help me, he changed me and taught me how to live like a vampire. He has been hunting the man from tonight for a long time, and in exchange for him saving my life, I agreed to help him with his task. I had to leave you to keep you safe. I wasn't expecting you to be in the town we were in tonight, much less get caught in the middle of the altercation."
"I've been living here for over a year," she explained, "I had just started working there this week. I'm still not used to the people yet, so I wasn't sure how bad the situation I was in was until I was standing in front of him as a body shield.
Cade growled softly and stood up to walk over to them, "It wasn't our intention to have you anywhere near the danger of tonight. We underestimated Marcus once again, he threw you into the mix unpredictably. I'm truly sorry for the scare you received tonight."
Her stare was riveted on his face as he stood beside them, looking down at them with his green eyes flashing with regret.
"You both got me out of the situation as well," she smiled serenely, "I wouldn't be here right now if you'd have let him do what he'd planned to me. Thank you for that by the way."
"It was a pleasure," Cade said regally and bowed his head slightly. "It's nice to finally meet Nathan's little sister that he's told me about adamantly. Nathan rolled his eyes and grinned at Charlotte.
"I was bragging about how proud I was and am of you and of course I had to explain the embarrassing stories as well," he said mischievously. Charlotte gave him a glare, but it was only half -hearted as she was still so happy to be reunited with her brother.
"Are you going to continue hunting this vampire?" she asked seriously, making the smiles fall instantly.
Cade nodded, "Yes. He is a soulless vampire, they wreck havoc everywhere they go and Marcus is the worst out of them all. What you saw tonight wasn't even how bad it can get. We were lucky to have gotten you away unscathed like we did."
Charlotte nodded and looked deep in thought for a moment, "Can I come with you?"
Cade's jaw dropped, he didn't even try to hide the emotion on his face like he normally would as her words were so out of left field and insane that he lost almost all ability to function.
Nathan looked just as shocked at her words as Cade was, but he recovered first, "Are you insane, woman? We barely managed to keep you alive this time! Do you have a death wish?" He yelled at her, making her flinch at his sharp tone.
"First: After tonight, I am not comfortable with being by myself because all I'll think about is him hunting me down and finishing what he started. Second: I am not insane, I don't have a death wish and I know it's dangerous and third: I know that you guys will keep me safe regardless of what you have to do. I don't want to be separated from you again, Nate, you're all I have left. Mom and dad died in a car accident shortly after the news of you being dead arrived. I've been on my own ever since. I've finally found you and I can't stand the thought of going back to how it was before."
Cade sighed, his heart shredded at her words. He couldn't help the feeling of wanting to keep her near and protected, but he also wanted to keep her far away from all the dangers of his world. She was too innocent of the horrors being in his life brought. He didn't want to scar her further.
He looked to Nathan, who looked devastated at the loss of his parents, but he quickly hid it and slipped into his cool mask of nonchalance. "What do you think, Cade?" He sent to his mind for his opinion.
"I don't want her in any danger any more than you do, but I would rather it be us protecting her and keeping an eye on her than anyone else," he answered swiftly. "Let her join us, but she stays within our sights at all times."
Nathan nodded, "Alright," he said aloud, making Charlotte grin in victory, "but you have to always stay with one or both of us. Always. No arguments because if you get hurt or killed I couldn't live with myself."
She nodded, "I understand." She looked over at Cade and he saw her eyes soften. Lord help him, he thought, she was going to bring him to his knees with that look. "Thank you," her dimple finally flashed at him and he couldn't help his own grin that escaped his lips.
"Alright. We'll gather our strength and essentials for the journey ahead. We'll leave tomorrow after we've rested and fed properly." They nodded and Nathan led Charlotte to his room so she could get a decent nights rest. Cade began packing up their equipment, it wasn't much, just enough to carry on their backs as they trekked across the country, so it took him less than ten minutes to make sure it was all together.
Nathan emerged fifteen minutes later and ruffled his hair, "I'm letting her take my bed so I'll sleep on the couch. You need any help?" Cade shook his head, he had already finished packing and was making arrangements to get them a car, seeing as Charlotte wouldn't be able to travel the way he and Nathan did for long periods of time without tiring, he figured it would also help with carrying their stuff and serving as shelter if they couldn't catch a hotel in time.
"All set. We'll leave in the morning when she wakes up. I've got a car purchased for when we leave to make it easier on her to travel too."
"Sounds good to me. You want me to take first watch?" They always took turns keeping watch over their hideout so they wouldn't be caught off guard by anything dangerous as they slept.
"Who's turn is it?" Cade asked in confusion. They always took turns with who began shifts and they never could decide on who to go first.
Nathan grinned mischievously, "Best two out of three," he lifted his hands to do rock, paper scissors. Cade laughed and repeated the gesture.
"Rock. Paper. Scissors. Choose!" Nathan won the first round, Cade won the second. It was a fight to the death to see who won next. They were so in sync and tuned to each other's thoughts that neither of them got the upper hand until Cade's attention shifted to Charlotte's presence as she leaned against the wall with a smile on her face as the two vampires battled it out for first watch. He lost to Nathan and clicked his tongue in feigned annoyance before resigning himself to his fate.
"You two are cute," she said with a giggle. These two tough vampires had played a child's game to see who had to keep watch and she thought it was sweet to see the comradery between them outside of keeping people like her safe from harm.
"We're not cute, we're vicious predators," Nathan retorted in defiance and pouted at her before standing up and gently pushing her back to his room, "Now go to bed, we leave early tomorrow and you need to rest up."
She laughed and shook her head, but listened anyway and called a goodnight to them both before disappearing into the room.
Cade couldn't help but grin at Nathan's face. They may be men, and dangerous ones at that, but doing simple things like playing childish games kept their lives from being too tense or dark. Four hundred years old or not, he still wanted to be a kid at heart sometimes. He didn't want Charlotte to think that they were all about killing when he wanted her to feel comfortable around him.
"Alright. Get some sleep, I'll wake you in a few hours for your shift," he grabbed a rifle and settled into the chair by the window while Nathan plopped onto the couch to sleep.
"Alright brother." He fluffed the pillow before settling into sleep. Cade focused on the outside world, expanding all of his senses to make sure he would be well informed if there was any danger. The hours went by slowly, with no hint of danger. Even as he focused on the outside, he could still hear Charlotte's even breathing and steady heartbeat in the other room. It was soothing and he was glad that she didn't have any trouble falling asleep.
Right before he had to wake Nathan up for his shift, he heard Charlotte gasping for air and he jumped to action immediately, moving swiftly to the door and opening it quietly. He saw her sitting up in bed with her head in her hands as she tried to control her breathing.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly. She sniffled and looked up at him as he moved closer to the bed.
"Just a bad dream," she whispered, her body trembling violently. He sat down beside her, keeping his senses open still but focusing on the beauty in front of him as he took her hand.
"It's okay. You are safe here with us. Nothing will get you here. Take all the time you need, but you must try to sleep. You'll need all the rest you can get." He consoled her as best as he could and he felt her start to calm down further. He helped her lay back down again and made sure she was fast asleep again before leaving the room to go wake Nathan up for his shift.
He let him know about his sister's nightmare before he went to his room to get some sleep as well. Letting her steady heartbeat soothe him once more, he fell fast asleep quickly.
Hello lovelies!!
I hope all is well with you all and happy fourth of July! I've got a busy weekend with family this weekend so I'll try to update still but I may be too tired as I haven't been getting enough sleep lately and all this excitement is absolutely draining me.
I haven't heard from anyone still and I hope I get to soon. I value any feedback from everyone. Let me know how you're liking my story so far and also, if you so choose, don't forget to answer my question on chapter two as I'm dying to know my readers!
Have a safe and fun weekend guys!
Bye for now.