My Beloved Vampire

Lucky’s Point of View I don’t know how long I had been watching Scarlett sleep, it didn’t matter I never got tired of it. In the six months since we were in the bayou, I was even more grateful than I was before for every minute I had with her. When she started to stir, I brushed her curls off her beautiful face and tucked them behind her ear. “Hey sleepyhead, you gotta wake up. It’s a big day today” I whispered to her. “Mhmm, it is” she smiled sleepily at me. “Dylan and Danny will be here soon.” “Really? What time is it?” She opened her eyes wider. “Almost ten.” “Oh my god, Lucky! Why did you let me sleep so late?” She jumped out of bed and started vamping around our bedroom. “Because I knew you’d do this, and I was enjoying watching you sleep” I smiled at her fluttering about. She stopped long enough to scrunch her face up at me. “You’re so creepy!” She giggled before she got in the shower. I was about to join her when I heard tapping on our door. “Good morning!” I said to Danny and Dylan when I let them in. “She’s in the shower, it’s my fault I let her sleep until a few minutes ago.” “That’s alright, I need to run next door anyway” Danny said. “I’ll go with you; they always have the best coffee” Dylan laughed. “Hell yeah, they do! Let me grab my mug” I told Scarlett where to find us before I followed them. Akito and Stacia had been living in the penthouse on the other side, it was ironic that the same penthouse we offered Remy had become ground zero for finding her. Stacia kept meticulous tabs anytime we found or heard of any activity concerning Remy. Or the demon, as Stacia called her, he flat out refused to refer to her by her name. The entire dining area was whiteboards with details of what we learned and a large map where we pinned any possible sighting of her. Unfortunately, we still hadn’t gotten anywhere close to catching her, even with all our efforts. It was very frustrating because Scarlett and Dylan were targets and that meant we had to take certain precautions. For example, Dylan was never alone when any clients were at the house getting their rings or tonics because we didn’t trust that whoever it was wasn’t working with Remy. Poor Scarlett was never, ever, under any circumstances left alone. Next door was the furthest anyone ever was from her and not even then because we paid The Grays to stand security outside the elevator 24/7 with only our immediate group having access to the floor. Scarlett hated it but she understood and agreed to it when we had our first family meeting after we rescued Akito and Stacia. The stress and tension were bound to get worse with Beloved’s grand opening tonight, but Dylan and Scarlett would not hear anything about postponing the opening, they said Remy didn’t get to dictate their entire lives. Arguing with one of them was hard enough, arguing with both of them was a losing battle. Things were a little awkward between Bastien and Stacia in the beginning which caused Rowan to be very leery of welcoming him into the fold but slowly over time Bastien started to come around and Rowan followed suit. I think Rebecca was the driving force of bridging that divide, after the threat of Stacia was gone and he unbound the Yaman bloodline she was able to basically live with Bastien almost fulltime, it also didn’t hurt that Rebecca and Stacia hit off almost immediately. “Ah, there he is. The morning wouldn’t be complete without Lucky and his cup showing up” Stacia rolled his eyes and poured me a cup of coffee. “If I lived on the other side of the floor, I’d be over here every morning too!” Dylan quipped “Why does your coffee taste so much better?” “It’s all in the brew, we’ll have to ask your father if I’m allowed to teach you my secret brewing technique” Stacia was kind of kidding, Bastien made it very clear that Stacia was not to teach Dylan anything if he wasn’t around. I don’t think Stacia minded, he certainly understood why Bastien said that after the Remy fiasco. “You really don’t miss your powers?” Dylan finished her coffee. “You ask me that at least once a week, and every time I tell you no and I mean it every time. I like nobody wanting anything from me and I thoroughly enjoy sticking it to the demon and whatever henchmen she has left. Your husband mentioned to me recently that you seem much calmer since I was bound.” “I agree with that wholeheartedly” she nodded. “Yet another plus” he raised his coffee cup towards her, “that doesn’t surprise me, my bloodline was a chaotic mess after that demon highjacked it. The one’s that matter are better off with it being shut down.” “Can we give them their surprise now? I think Akito is done meditating” Danny watched him get up from his meditation spot out on the balcony. “Akito! Come in here, we have a surprise waiting on us” Stacia shouted to him. They really were hilarious together, complete opposites but still buddies. I guess being locked together in a hut barley big enough for one person and your lives being linked together would forge a tight friendship. “Dylan, what a nice surprise!” Akito smiled wide when he saw her sitting on the kitchen island. He was a slight man, he stood no taller than 5’5, about the same height as Danny but he was an imposing figure nonetheless and even though he was well over 400 years old and still lived by the Samurai code of honor, discipline and morality he was only in his mid-twenties when he was turned so it was a bit of a mind game hanging out with him. Because they way he looked and the way he spoke and conducted himself were very different. Scarlett liked to tease me that he was so handsome that she might run away with him one day, I knew she was kidding but he was a handsome fucker, especially when he cut his hair to his shoulders and wore it tied back. Bastien and Danny both said they never knew of him to have any romantic relationship with either a man or a woman. They both agreed that he was above that sort of thing, kind of like Laa. “Akito!” Dylan jumped off the island and gave him a hug, the top of his head came to her chin. “Where’s your other half?” “Which one? Rowan or Scarlett?” she responded. “I know where Scarlett is, I heard her singing when I was outside.” “Rowan took Raffa to his vet appointment for some of his shots, he’s meeting us at Beloved’s for the walk-thru.” “I love that dog. What’s the surprise?” Stacia prodded her. “Stacia! That’s rude” Akito shot him a disapproving look. “It’s fine” Dylan laughed, before she could finish her sentence Scarlett strolled in wearing one of the many slip dresses she made herself and a flower hair pin holding back one side of her curls. “Nabi, your just in time. D’s about to give them their surprise” I pulled her next to me. “I was hoping I didn’t miss it. I’m dying to see Stacia’s face when he gets it” she grinned at Stacia who looked like he would burst with anticipation. “Well, my friends, Bastien, Rebecca, Laa and I did some more tweaking and studying and finally figured out a way to manipulate Remy’s binding spell she cast on the two of you. After many test runs, we can safely say that these will work within a twenty-mile radius of each other.” Dylan proudly handed them each a ring. “What does this mean exactly?” Akito asked first. “It means that as long as you stay inside twenty miles of each other Remy won’t know the two of you aren’t on top of each other. Assuming the bitch is still capable of that but at least you will be able to go about your lives independently without being Siamese twins while we try and figure out how to undo her binding spell.” “We kill her! That’s how we undo it” Stacia said with a gleam in his eye. “I’m all for that, brother!” I tipped my cup to him. “Obviously, there are protection spells on top of protection spells on both rings, but we added extra layers to Stacia’s ring because as we know he has no powers to protect himself.” “Thank you, Dylan I really appreciate this. If I wasn’t such a bastard, I’d cry” Stacia gazed at his ring. “Do we just put them on?” Akito asked. “Yep, that’s all there is to it” Dylan smiled. “Now that Beloved’s is opening tonight, with any luck sightings of me will get back to the demon queen and we’ll pull her out of the hole she’s been hiding in for the last six months because I plan to be there every night now that I have this” Stacia slid his ring on. “Hear, hear” Danny agreed, “you have a seat at my and Boom’s table anytime.” “We expected you to say that” Scarlett giggled. “So, while Dylan was busy working on the rings, I was busy making each of you this” she skipped to the door and wheeled two clothing racks full of clothes she made for them, “I went down to the studio to get them before I came over” she was beaming, so was I watching her. “Scarlett, what is this?” Akito was wide eyed. “I made you both brand new 21st century wardrobes. Danny thought you would like formal suits. Stacia, I went with more of a relaxed GQ vibe for you.” “I have no idea what that means but I love it!” Stacia said as he ogled his new threads. “These are beautiful, thank you” Akito politely bowed to Scarlett. “It was my pleasure and please don’t hesitate to give me ideas of what else either of you would like.” “Stacia, I’m sorry, but there’s no good way to say this” Danny looked at him, “that hair has got to go, it’s as long as Dylan’s. You need a makeover to go with your new clothes.” Stacia looked around at all of us as we uncomfortably agreed with Danny. “Okay, what do you suggest?” Danny jumped to his feet and gathered Stacia’s hair at the nape of his neck. “Akito, get your katana.” Bastien’s Point of View I went to Beloved’s early to double check that everything was working correctly in the hopes that I would be able to prevent Dylan from having a nervous break down in the off chance that one of the stoves wasn’t working or something else along those lines. I was halfway through my kitchen inspection when I turned to see a young man standing a few feet away from me. “Hello Bastien, do you know who I am?” “I know you’re a Faye” I didn’t even try to hide the fact that he startled me. I suspected he already knew, and the little I did know about Faye, I knew lying to them was never a good idea. “I am. My name is Cecil.” He appeared to be about 18 years old, but I knew that he wasn’t. He had auburn colored hair that he wore pushed to the side, it hung slightly over his left eye. He wasn’t much bigger than Scarlett. “I assume you know why I’m here.” “Scarlett” I couldn’t believe a Faye finally came forward. “Yes, Cian was my brother.” “I’m very sorry for your loss, Cecil.” “Thank you, from what I understand we have that in common. Although I can’t bring him back.” “I wasn’t able to either up until very recently.” “I’m aware of that. I haven’t decided to help Scarlett yet, there are still somethings I need to be sure of before I agree to helping her. The biggest reason I’m here was because you are known to be a very kind, fair warlock. Do you vouch for her?” “I vouch for her 1000 percent, she has been my daughter’s closest friend and protector her whole life, she’s an amazing girl that desperately wants to embrace her Faye. She tries to hide it, but I know she feels shunned by the Faye and that makes her very sad. Dylan has us to help her navigate being a witch, Scarlett has no one.” “I want to observe her in her natural frame of mind before I make my decision, if you tell her I am here I will leave and not help her.” “I understand, I won’t tell anyone about our meeting.” “I also need assurances for my safety.” “I give you my word we will do everything in our power to guarantee your safety. I personally will protect you like one of my own. You should know that Stacia is part of our group.” “I’m aware of everyone in your group. We have no issues with Stacia, he was as much a victim of Remy’s as the rest of us.” I felt a strange sense of relief when he said that. He picked up on it right away. “Your subconscious doubted him” he flatly said. “I suppose it did, however I wasn’t aware of that until this moment.” I still hadn’t moved a muscle. “I believe that, and I understand that, but rest assured everything he told you was true.” “If you agree to help Scarlett, we will bring you in to everything we do. We have family meetings once a week, I welcome your input.” “You know what they say, nothing brings people together like a common enemy” and with that he stepped into the shadows and disappeared right before my eyes.