The Werelion's Vampire

Saxon’s P.O.V.

I have been waiting for this day for eighteen years, and now it’s finally here. I don’t want to seem overly eager, so I’ve been taking my time getting ready this morning. I comb my black hair and check my black T-shirt and ripped jeans in the mirror.

I’m twenty, and I’ve known that Melanie was my mate from the time Aunt Kat was pregnant with her. Shifters can’t pick up their mate’s scent until their eighteenth birthday, but vampires are different. When we find our mate, it’s more than just their scent that speaks to us. We feel a pull like a magnet, and it’s so powerful that we can feel it from the time we’re infants.

Today is Melanie’s eighteenth birthday, so she will finally be able to feel our mate bond. She hasn’t felt the same devotion over the years that I have to her. I thought I was all she needed, but she was very clear that she needed friends, and she wanted a life that wasn’t all about me. I gave her the space she wanted when we were growing up, but now I’m hoping she will change her mind once she picks up my scent.

I look at the clock for the hundredth time, and it’s finally eight o’clock. I still live with my parents because my plan was for Melanie and me to have our own place once we mark each other. We live just down the street from Aunt Kat and Uncle Trae. Melanie’s older sister, Emily, and the sixteen-year-old twins, Jelena and Grant, also still live at home. I go downstairs, and my mom is waiting for me.

“You look handsome,” she says as she kisses my cheek.

“Thanks. I’m going to go see Melanie.” My mom grabs my hand before I can head out the door.

“What are you going to do if she says she’s not ready to mark you?” she asks.

“I will respect her decision. I have been preparing myself in case she says she wants to wait. As long as she doesn’t reject me, I can live with her wanting to wait,” I reply. If Melanie rejects me, it will kill me, but I won’t tell my mom that.

“Good luck.” She hugs me, and I go outside. My nervousness grows the closer I get to her house. I stop when I reach the driveway. I have been to this house almost every day of my life, but today I feel sick to my stomach. I begin walking toward the front door and take a deep breath. I always just walk right inside, but this time, I can’t bring myself to do it, so I push the doorbell.

Melanie’s P.O.V.

I know he’s coming over. Any minute, the doorbell will ring, and my mate will be waiting for me to fall into his arms. What will he do when I tell him I’m not ready to be mated? I love Saxon; I have loved him for years, but I’m only eighteen. Is it crazy for me to want to do something with my life before I’m tied down?

I pull my long blonde hair into a ponytail and sigh. I want to accept him. I want to run to his house and tell him I’ll be with him forever, but I can’t. At least not yet.

My brother Theo had time to go to college and get a degree before meeting his mate Caitlin. My sister, Emily, is three years older than I am, and she hasn’t met her mate yet. Everyone says I’m lucky because I’ve known my mate since we were children. However, sometimes I don’t agree. The idea of having someone already picked out for me and taking away my choice of who I fall in love with has always sounded unnatural. I turn around when I hear a knock on my door.

“Can I come in?” my mom asks. She smiles, and my nerves instantly calm. My siblings and I are all part caladrius because of our mom, but she has said since I was little that she thinks it’s going to be the strongest in me. Theo can feel people’s emotions, but he can’t calm and heal people the same way my mom does. Emily, Jalena, and Grant don’t have mates yet, so their abilities aren’t at full strength. I have been able to use my abilities since I got my lioness. My mom said it may be due to my mate being with me my whole life.

“Of course, you can.” She comes in, gives me a hug, and then pulls away to look into my blue eyes, which are exactly like hers.

“Have you changed your mind about what you’re going to say to Saxon?” she asks.

“No. I have to do this for myself. Do you think he’ll understand?” I ask anxiously.

“I know he will. Saxon has loved you since you were a cub in my belly. Have you thought about asking him to go with you?” I nod and sit down on my bed.

“Yes, but that would defeat the purpose of having some time to myself. I know it’s going to hurt him, and it hurts me thinking about it, but I have to do this. I’m not going to reject him. I plan on accepting him and marking him, just not right now.” My mom sits beside me and puts her arm around my shoulders. She kisses my head, and thanks to my abilities, I can feel how worried she is about what this is going to do to me and Saxon.

“I support you, Mel. No matter what, I will always support you.” She hugs me, and I close my eyes, preparing myself for what I’m about to do. When the doorbell rings, my heart races, and my lioness, Chika, begins purring.

“Why is he ringing the doorbell?” I ask as my mom and I leave my bedroom.

“He’s probably nervous. I’ll leave you alone.” My mom walks toward the kitchen, and I take a deep breath before opening the door. As soon as I do, Saxon’s scent hits me, and it takes everything inside of me not to beg him to mark me.

“Why are you into torturing everyone? Just mark each other and live happily ever after,” Chika mindlinks me. I ignore her as I smile at Saxon.

“Can we sit out here and talk?” I ask him. He smiles nervously and holds his hand out to me. I hesitate but take it, and even though I’m expecting the mate sparks, they still take my breath away as they run throughout my body. We sit on the porch swing, and I know it’s wrong of me to give him hope, but I can’t bring myself to let go of his hand.

“You’re not ready to accept me yet, are you, Lanie?” Saxon asks. He’s the only one who has ever called me Lanie. The pain I hear in his voice makes my tears fall.

“I’m sorry, Sax. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but I just need a little time.” I pause before saying more because what I have to tell him next is really going to break his heart.

“It’s okay. You know I will always be here waiting until you’re ready. I have loved you my entire life, and that’s not going to change now.” Why does he have to be sweet and understanding? This would be so much easier if he were angry.

“There’s something else I need to tell you,” I say. He puts his arm around my shoulders, and I lay my head on his shoulder. I may not be ready to be his mate, but he has always been my best friend. That’s what makes what I’m about to say even harder.

“What is it?” he asks.

“I’m leaving to go to Brazil.”