Obsession Ch. 03

"You are much more than a simple prize, love," Kyan interrupted.

"Thank you, Kyan. I needed to hear that. I mean, Forrest wasn't bad looking, but he had a horrible temper and a reputation for being a complete brute at times. Not my type at all. I...I had assumed that if I said no, my father would object to the union. But I was wrong. He yelled at me, told me I was shaming our family and possibly messing up a pack merger. Our pack needed the added strength and Forrest's pack needed the land that they would get from my dowry. I still refused."

Kyan pressed a kiss to her furrowed brow. Painful memories were being rehashed, but her knew she needed to get it all out as much as he needed to hear more about his little wolf. "What happened then, love?"

"My Alpha came to see me. I saw my...Forrest beat someone so badly, just because he had brought back the wrong herbs for a potion of some kind. I wanted no part of him or his pack. I think they hoped that I could temper his beast, but I never wanted to be around him to find out.

I later found out that the potion that he was making was meant for me. Forrest had decided that if he couldn't have me willingly, he would try to force my hand. I was made to drink the potion and my wolf was torn from my mind. It was like my soul had been split in two... I was told that if I didn't mate with my betrothed, then I would never feel my wolf again. The potion suppressed my wolf to the point where I could no longer feel her and the loss was acute. I suffered, but I knew that I could never give myself to someone who would do this to another Were. It was the worst punishment imaginable.

So I fled. I ran away in the middle of the night with all the money I had saved up over the years and some money from a couple of my friends. We had all made journeys into the human world, so I knew how things worked. And so, with a little luck and a lot of fast-talking, I found myself a small apartment and a job as a waitress. It worked out well for a while, until the diner I worked at closed down. Mindy had recently joined the staff and we had become fast friends. She told me about her job working nights at one of the local strip clubs. Being Were, I was fine with the nudity, so I danced for a bit. But, after a while, being the eye candy for dirty old men no longer appealed to me. I switched to waitressing at the club and after I put myself through college with the money I earned, I quit and found a better job."

Kyan growled low at the thought of other men ogling his woman's body, but then the though of her using those moves for him later that night had his growls turning to moans, especially when Natalie ground her ass against his raging hard-on. "Baby, finish your story before I forget myself and take you right here on this couch," Kyan urged.

"You still want me after hearing all of this? I'm damaged goods. I'm not even a true Were anymore."

"You're my mate and I love you. I want you any way I can have you and at this precise moment, bent over the arm of the couch is sounding more and more appealing. So, finish your story and then I'll show you just how much I want you."

Natalie giggled and pressed her face into Kyan's shoulder. "You sure know how to sweet talk a woman."

"I do my best. So you met Mindy at the diner, how did she meet Kyle's father?"

"I had left the club by the time he came around, but I heard plenty about him from Mindy. He came into the club and watched her dance every day for about two weeks. He finally approached her and promised her the world if she would just be with him. She held out for a month. A month of flowers, cards, and favors made all of us think that he was the real deal and that he wanted to be with her more than anything. Mindy gave in and they dated for a while. He stayed around until she found out she was pregnant and then he left, gone without a trace. Mindy felt so betrayed, but she carried her baby to full term and gave birth with me at her side. She decided to give Kyle his father's last name, though I'm not quite sure of the reasons why. Since then, we've been there for each other and I'm always happy to have Kyle. I know Mindy has a hard time. All I see is Mindy when I look at Kyle, they look so much alike, but Mindy only sees his father. It's a constant reminder of the betrayal and so I think it's affecting her ability to be the best mother she can be for Kyle. "

"Well, he has you, love, and you're good for him. And now he has me."

Natalie beamed. "That he does. Now, lets go back a step. You're a vampire? Do you drink blood? How does sunlight affect you? When we mate will I become a vampire too?"

"One question at a time, love," Kyan teased as he ran a hand through his dark black hair.

Natalie's brown eyes met his deep blue ones and she sighed. He was everything that she had ever wanted in a mate. Caring and strong, a perfect mix of soft and hard, with a good dose of love thrown in. He was the one that she had been waiting on and more than ever, she was glad that she hadn't given in and mated with Forrest, even if it meant that she was separated from her wolf for so many years.

"Will you mate with me in the way of my people or in the way of yours?" Natalie asked.

"My great-grandfather was a werewolf. It's where I get my dark hair and my enhanced senses. Every generation since my great-grandfather mated with my great-gran has always had at least one child with dark hair and a greater connection to their Were heritage. I am very conscious of my inner-beast. He is one who is more Vamp than Were, but has traits of both, and he wants nothing more than to mate with you in every way possible. But there are things to weigh before we make that decision."

"What kind of things, Kyan?"

"If we mate in the way of the Were, there are some dangers. My great-grandfather mated in the way of the vampire, but not the Were, mostly because he felt unsure that my great-gran would make it through the transformation. That is something that we also have to consider. I might not survive the change. I haven't heard of a vampire becoming a Were before and there may be a reason for that. If I do survive, I would both Were and vampire. I might be able to shift, but I would still need blood to survive. Our children, however, would have fangs, though they wouldn't need blood to sustain their lives. I also can't guarantee that they would be able to shift into wolves.

"Not being able to shift is considered a disgrace. I am a disgrace at the moment, I guess it would be fitting that my kids would be too."

Kyan laughed. "A disgrace? Hardly. If we mate in the way of the vampire, you will be of both worlds. It is what my great-grandfather chose to do. You will grow fangs and develop a blood lust that rivals my own. You won't need blood to survive, but you will hunger for it. Your vampire traits will overshadow the fact that you are unable to shift."

"I suppose that means I would be a wolf in vampire's clothing. "

Kyan chuckled and gave Natalie a squeeze. She was just so cute.

"As half-vampire, half-Were, our children would have all the physical characteristics that mark them as vampires, but they would also inherit a number of Were characteristics, as my family's branch of the Channing family tree does now. The choice is ultimately yours, but I will say that because I am more in-tune with my Were side, the dangers of the change may be lessened. I am willing to take the risk, if mating in the way of the Were is what you desire."

"I don't want to put your life in danger, Kyan. I want to be with you forever and I won't risk that just so my kids can shift into wolves. Besides, I can't even feel my wolf at the moment. I don't think it's possible for us to mate in the way of the Were with my wolf suppressed. We will mate in the way of the vampire and I will live by your side as your mate from now until the end of time," Natalie replied.

"Then it's settled. Now that we've gotten all that serious talking out of the way, let's get this clothing out of my way, so I can lay claim to this beautiful body of yours," Kyan murmured into Natalie's ear as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

To be continued.....