It was a quiet evening in Johnson’s family residence. Adaline and Richard were enjoying the moment of peace in their living room, resting on the sofa after a long, tiring day of running around after their adored grandkids. They were cuddled to each other, relishing in the feeling that having the promised one in their arms brought. After so many years of being together, it still felt the same. It was still like they just met and saw each other for the first time. That was the beauty of the love and the bond they shared. It never wavered.
They were of those lucky couples that found each other right on time, as soon as they were old enough, and they’ve been together ever since.
“Sarah hasn’t called yet?” Adaline asked, even though she knew the answer. Sarah stopped checking in a few days ago. She was a grown-up woman, and Adaline tried to give her the space she needed, but that didn’t make her worry any less.
Although Sarah was quite sure Luke was just unconscious from exhaustion, she got down on the floor and gently checked the pulse on his neck. It was there, a little faint, but there and she signed in relief. Even though she was perfectly aware of what Luke was, she couldn’t help but be worried for him.Hoping he will regain his consciousness and strength as soon as he rests enough, Sarah grabbed him under his arms and, without much effort, managed to get him off the floor. She was never weak, but she felt a lot stronger now. Perhaps her change has already started…“Dad, would you mind?” she requested casually, pointing to Luke’s legs. She acted like it was every day she pops into the living room out from nowhere with an unconscious, half-naked man.Still not understanding what was happening, Richard obliged and grabbed the unknown man for the legs, lifting him up and following his daughter’s lead.
Fear.Fear was what Sarah saw in the eyes of her family. Pure fear… of Luke… of her… they were scared of her, and that realization broke her heart in pieces. Although, she never had a chance to dwell on it. Luke lost his balance and staggered, and she reacted the same second, catching him before he fell.“What kind of shield around this house do you have? It took me hours to break through it…” Luke mumbled, though no one had problems understanding him.“What?” Sarah was confused. “But we got here in a matter of seconds.”“That’s how you felt it.” Luke glanced around, and realizing there were sofas and armchairs nearby, and he motioned his head towards them.Without a word said, Sarah understood what he meant and helped him get to one that was not damp. Luke dropped himself heavily on the soft seat and pulled Sarah down with him. There was no cha
“Pass me the maple syrup,” Sarah nudged Luke, and he stretched his hand on to get the bottle she asked for.The morning after Sarah and Luke arrived, the entire family was gathered in the spacious dining room around the breakfast table. The atmosphere was cheerful, and there was no trace of gloominess from last night. They talked and ate the most delicious food Luke has ever tried, and now he completely understood why Sarah frowned at his diet habits.However, Luke had a hard time relaxing. This was the first time in the last hundred years or so that he had company during the morning meal, real company and not some business partners he was trying to get to agree on his terms… he couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had a proper meal with his own parents… come to think of it, he couldn’t clearly remember those that brought him to life, it was too long ago he even saw them last time. When was that?
‘Daughter of the dragon that’s not a dragon shall tame the fire,’ those words rang through Luke’s head over and over again until he could not think of anything else. No matter how much he tried to focus on something else, on anything else, he failed.Now it made sense… now he knew why Sarah reacted the way she did when he told her the name of his sailboat. Princess. Her own name had the exact meaning in Persian, and she knew that. She knew she was the one supposed to tame him, and she didn’t tell him. Wasn’t she the one playing the honesty card? Insisting on giving them a chance? Putting up with his attitude and rejections? For what? To get close? To tame him? Was that her plan all along? Was she that much of an actor?In a matter of few seconds, jumbled thoughts made a short circuit in his head, and he could do nothing but excuse himself briefly with Richard and storm out after Sarah. He had to calm dow
Sarah ran as fast as she could, her heart beating like crazy, trying to break away from her chest. For the second time in less than 10 days, she was in the same situation… running from an unknown danger scared shitless.‘This has to stop!’ she thought as she neared the mansion.“Dad!” she yelled from the top of her lungs. “Dad!”Before Sarah reached the mansion properly, Richard was outside, his body tense and ready to react at the first sign of danger. Adaline followed, worried as she heard her daughter yelling.“By the stream… Luke…” Richard needed no more; he was already running towards the spot Sarah vaguely described, knowing his wife will stay there as a last line of defense if needed.Sarah was breathing heavily, more scared than tired from running.“Your eyes,” she heard Adaline mutter, and that snapped her out of her jumbled-up th
“I can’t stay here. I need to leave.” Sarah muttered.“What? No!” Adaline protested from beside her.“Yes, Mom. They are after me, and I cannot risk putting all of you in danger because…”“Don’t you even dare to finish that sentence! You know of the dangers we face as supernatural beings, and those are nothing compared to a bunch of humans foolish enough to go after one of our own. They cannot hurt us.” Adaline reached for Sarah and cupped her face with her hands. “And neither can they hurt you.”Sarah sighed in despair. This was all because of her. She was the reason that man was killed in Rome, and she was the reason someone disturbed her family’s peace. Thoughts swirled through her head like on a rollercoaster, thinking about what she should do, how she should handle this… it was madness, pure madness.No matter how hard she tried,
“Do I even have to say out loud how you broke my heart?” Sarah asked; her gaze did not waver from his eyes that were back to their usual green color.“No, you don’t have to. I can feel it.” Luke whispered, aware of the hurt he caused her. He deeply regretted jumping to conclusions like that, but it was stronger than him...Sarah watched him closely, and it was like she knew what he was thinking about. It’s like she could feel it, and she knew what it meant; the connection between them was strong to the point where they couldn’t be separated. The fact that she had no saying in it was… not pleasant. Sure, she was the one that insisted on them getting to know each other and giving themselves a chance to explore all the possibilities that this predestined to be together forever thing promised them. Yes, she was the one that said the L word first, which she didn’t mind because she said what she fe
A couple more hours Sarah and Luke spent in her room just cuddling to each other and enjoying the time together, knowing that tomorrow something might happen again and they might not get the chance to be alone like this. Although, their cuddles have stayed as chaste as they could, as both of them silently agreeing on hating the idea of surrendering to their primal urges while Sarah’s parents were just down the stairs working tirelessly on figuring out a way to honor her wish not to spill any more blood while putting an end to this madness.They only snapped from their little bubble once a truck horn was heard from the outside. Guess Adaline wasn’t kidding when she said that new furniture would be delivered later that day. Luke offered to help to arrange things, so his physical strength was put to good use as he moved the massive couches and sofas all by himself until they were positioned to Adaline’s likings.That woman really changed her mind a lo