“Why didn’t you tell me,” Aaron’s voice comes from above me. I look up, he’s propped up on a ledge, looking down. His knees are pulled to his chest and his chin between his knees.

“I was going to,” I reply. I run and jump up, pulling myself in beside him.

“I don’t want the cure,” he says.

“It’s not like it kills me,” I tell him. “It just weakens me for a year or two.”

“That’s not why I don’t want it,” he tells me. “I want to try spending my forever with you.”

He doesn’t look at me when he says it; he just stares into the night. He’s let his wall down like I taught him, and I know he’s scared that I won’t say the same.

“I can’t guarantee anything,” I tell him. “Your decision might change a century from now, or a decade from now. You have to make your decision before you let go of your family.” I look into his eyes, reading the story that’s imprinted in them.

“I know what I want,” he says.

******

“You must be the friend,” I say, transferring a thought into his mind, letting him know what I know.

“I am,” he laughs. “Devin. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I say, studying him. He looks a lot like Aaron, but his eyes are more of a deep blue. His body is amazing, like Aaron’s. The likeness is crazy.

The other boys introduce themselves as David and Jake. There’s a third, Diablo is how they introduce him. He doesn’t speak, he keeps his hood up, and he doesn’t make eye contact. From what I can see of him, he’s beautiful, but there’s something missing. He has no aura. Everyone has an aura, even vampires, werewolves. There’s only one person I’ve ever met who doesn’t.

They seem normal, but the vampire population in the city is growing fast. I can feel it.

*****

“So this is the girl you were talking about,” Devin asks Aaron as they start to set up tents. Aaron shakes his head and taps his ear.

“She can hear us,” he says under his breath.

“Why are we whispering,” I say as I walk up the trail. I shoot Aaron a look and wait as the boys finish setting up camp.

My tent is set up on the other side of the little volleyball clearing, to make Mrs. White happy.

Diablo, David and Jake decide to go on the hike to the cave and take off as soon as their tents are set.

“We’ve been rejected,” Aaron says.

“Or have we?” Devin laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Did you really use compulsion to get rid of your friends?” I shoot a glare in Devin’s direction. I’m not sure I like him. He seems very careless.

“What are you going to do about it doll-face?” He taunts me. I whip in his direction, making it there in a fraction of a second. My hand makes no hesitation to grip his throat and shove him against a tree.

“I don’t think you want to know what I’m going to do about it,” I glare at him. “Maybe you forget what it’s like to be a human, but I can remind you really quickly. It only takes a snap of my finger and you’re dead, or compelled to kill yourself. When you live the lifestyle we live you better move very carefully. If you don’t, there are people you can answer to.”

I let him down slowly, my hand still lingering on his neck, just long enough for him to never forget that feeling.

“Aaron,” Devin breathes, his hand rubbing his neck. “I think I’m in love.”

*****

We take off into the woods, hiking towards a hidden cave.

“So what’s your story?” Devin asks. He didn’t lie when he said he was in love. He’s been bothering me non-stop since out little “incident” happened.

“You don’t want to know,” I say. “It’s a long and boring story.”

“Humor us,” Devin says.

“About two thousand years ago a witch changed the world’s fate forever. Werewolves were attacking her village, so she gave her entire family speed, power, and strength to protect the people. The only problem is that they could no longer live on human food. They had to feed off human blood to stay strong.” I stop and sit down.

“Thus vampires were created. The problem is that the blood was addicting. Her eldest son was the first to become addicted. He was born to the family during an affair, the witch had done the dirty with a werewolf, and thus the son carried the werewolf gene. The werewolf gene is triggered by anyone who carries it when somebody dies at their hands. The vampirism drove him to trigger the werewolf gene, creating the first hybrid.”

I look at them. They still haven’t put two and two together. “Around the same time, the youngest sister, who still carried her humanity met a young girl in the woods. The girl had been attacked by a werewolf. The sister used her blood to heal the girl and compelled her to forget the incident. When the girl returned home, she remembered nothing. Her mother, another witch, hearing of the vampires and the werewolves decided to take matters into her own hands. She’d created immortals before, but she had hid the spell away. She took the spell off the shelf and turned her own daughter into an immortal. A being that looked and acted like a human, but would live forever. The girl would be able to read minds, see auras, know people’s stories just by brushing hands.”

“That’s crazy,” Aaron mutters.

“The first part of the spell was simply a drink, but then the girl had to be killed. Her mother killed her, not knowing the girl had vampire blood in her system. The girl became the second hybrid, half immortal and half vampire. During her transition her vampire side got the best of her and she killed her mother. That’s when the memories came back, and the compulsion wore off. She went looking for the girl who had saved her life, but instead she found the girl’s brother.”

“How does this have anything to do with you?” Devin says.

“The two fell in love,” I say. “They did the dirty, right there in the woods, and nine months later the girl became a mother; my mother.”

I swallow. It’s been a long time since I told my story, seven hundred years to be exact.

“Vampires can’t procreate,” Devin argues.

I laugh. “Werewolves can, and so can immortals, as long as it’s done within the first year of the turn. It was perfect timing.”

“So what does that make you?” Aaron asks me, even though he’s already piecing it together in his mind.

“It makes me a tri-hybrid. My vampire side is stronger, but I’m still stronger than any other immortal or werewolf.” I get up and keep walking. They follow me, their minds filled with questions.

“So what can you do with all this power?” Devin asks. He’s the greedy type, I can tell.

“I can turn into a wolf; I can kill a vampire with my werewolf venom. I can do everything a vampire can do, except stronger, and of course I can compel vampires too. As far as my immortal side, I can read minds, see auras, and I have second sight.” I almost sound like I’m bragging when I list off my powers.

“Now I’m definitely in love,” Devin whispers to Aaron. I roll my eyes and continue hiking without another word.

*****

I’m lying in my tent when the zipper starts to move. I sit up, wondering who it is. I didn’t hear them walk up and I’m immediately put on edge.

When the tent opens and a dark figure walks in I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

“Echo,” My name leaves his lips slowly and slips into the night air. I’m holding my breath, hoping I’m seeing things. No Aura. Then he opens his eyes and I know.

“Tobias,” my heart’s racing and I’m shaking.

“It’s been a while,” is all he can think to say.

My night vision kicks in and I can see him in all his glory. He’s looming above me, wearing just shorts. His dark black hair is cut short, but somehow it’s still out of place. His green eyes gleam in the darkness, like mine, but not quite as strong.

“I thought you were dead,” I tell him. He just sits down beside me in silence.

“I know,” he says. He still hasn’t made eye contact with me. “I wasn’t sure if I should talk to you or not.”

“I looked for you,” I say. “I scoured the planet looking for you and it wasn’t for a hundred years that I finally accepted you were dead.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

He finally looks up. “I’m here now,” he whispers. I gaze into his eyes and drink in the sight of him.

“It’s been seven hundred years,” I tell him. “You could have come back to me.”

“Kiss me,” he whispers.

There are tears in my eyes now.

“Please forgive me,” he growls, his face inches from mine, his breath hot on my skin.

I nod and bring my lips to his. I take in his taste, his scent, everything. He doesn’t waste time in deepening the kiss. His lips feel as smooth as I remember them. His tongue dances with mine, after seven hundred years, we don’t miss a beat.

My arms wrap around his neck and my fingers run through his soft hair. I pull him down to me, closer and closer.

Our chests rise and fall in unison and our breaths become heavy and labored. I break the kiss. Seconds later, my hands are around his throat and I’m straddling him, holding him to the ground.

“Still kinky as ever,” he laughs.

“Turn your emotions back on,” I tell him.

“What are you talking about,” he says, with a look of mock innocence on his face.

“Fuck Tobias,” I say, strengthening my grip on his throat. “Turn your emotions on. We’ve talked about this before.”

“It’s so much easier this way,” he says. His eyes flash red.

I look deep into his eyes. “Turn your emotions on,” I say. His eyes dilate, but my compulsion has no effect.

“You know that doesn’t work,” he says. It’s true; he’s immune to most of my powers, physically and mentally.

“We aren’t doing, this,” I say, “Unless you turn your humanity back on.”

“Doing what,” Tobias asks me with a smirk.

“You know what I mean, Tobias,” I tell him. “We’ve been through this and you promised me.”

“I missed you,” he says, closing his eyes. When he opens them he looks the way he did the last time I saw him. His skin becomes smoother, his eyes look brighter, and he looks more alive.

He starts to tear up.

“Show me,” I tell him. “Please show me.”

He gives me his hand and I close my eyes, watching the last seven hundred years play out from his point of view. I watch him fight in wars, say goodbye to people he loved, his years and years of searching for me. His pain, his hurt, and his small slivers of happiness sink into me and pierce me like they pierced him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper when it’s all over and he puts up his walls again.

He shakes his head and pulls me to him. I kiss him, and this time I know he’s there. Knowing he feels the same way.

“I’m a little hurt,” he whispers into my hair as he kisses my neck.

I roll my eyes. “Why’s that?”

“I feel replaced. What with all this newborn sex you’ve been having,” he breathes the words as he nibbles my ear. I moan and bring his lips to mine. “Seventeen year old new-born vampires no less,” he teases.

“I actually kind of like Aaron,” I reply. I push him away from me and inspect his face as I hold it in my hands. I’m still overwhelmed by his return; thirty minutes ago I thought he was still dead.

“Let’s not talk about that,” I say, kissing him.

“What do you want to talk about then,” Tobias says.

“I don’t want to talk,” I say, pulling him into me again.

He doesn’t talk. He rolls me over and brings his lips to mine, kissing me deeply. He pulls on either side of my shirt and rips it off of me. His hand slips underneath me to unhook my bra. When it doesn’t come undone he rips the straps and adds it to the pile of fabric shreds in the corner of my tent.

He doesn’t waste time with my jean shorts. He pulls at the front of him and the buckle rips off and flies across the tent. The zipper rips next and he pulls them off me.

He moves his lips down my neck and down the center of my body. He stops right above my panty line. He takes them in his mouth and rips them off too, throwing them in the general direction of my other clothes; or lack thereof.

He kisses around my clit and then puts his mouth around me. His tongue slips inside of my already dripping wet pussy. He swirls it around, touching all my sensitive areas. My hands slip down onto his head and push him closer to me. He doesn’t hesitate to go deeper teasing me with his tongue.

I release my head and my arch my back towards him. His hands run up and down my thighs as he explores me. My moans fill the tent and seep out through the thin fabric. He stops right before I’m about to cum. He comes up and kisses me, letting me taste myself on his lips.

I’m about to put up a force field, but he stops me. He kisses me. “Don’t do it,” he growls. “Let them hear; let them wish they were us.”

He kisses my neck. I feel his fangs sink into my flesh. He moves down and bites my collar bone. He continues down my body until I have bite marks on my sides, my legs, my arms, and my breasts. I lay there, my breathing labored.

“Did you miss me?” He growls, his lips lingering right above mine.

I push myself up, trying to kiss him, but he pulls away. “Did you miss me?” He asks again.

“Yes,” I say, trying to kiss him again.

He pulls away. “How much did you miss me?” he smiles as he guides his cock to me entrance.

“More than you’ll ever know,” I tell him.

He kisses me, and slowly starts to rub the head of his cock at my entrance. “Please,” I say.

“Excuse me,” he growls.

“Please,” I’m begging him. “Please.”

He positions himself at my entrance. “Please,” I say pulling him to me and kissing him.

He pushes into me in one quick motion, no hesitations, no warning. All vampires are bigger than normal but it isn’t until he’s stretching me that I remember how huge he is. He lays with his cock buried balls deep inside me, letting me get used to his size.

“I missed you too,” he whispers, kissing the bite marks he left on my neck. I smile and nod, and he starts to pound in and out of me. He kisses me as he fucks me, his lips only leaving mine to make their way to my neck.

I can feel every inch of him deep inside me. He hits my end every time he thrusts into me. My hands go to his hips and slide up his body underneath his arms. My hands grip his shoulders from behind and a shudder goes through his body. His back muscles ripple under my hold. His grip on the pillows on either side of my head gets stronger.

He doesn’t stop. He moves in and out of me easily, my pussy dripping with my pre-cum. I moan out, but he stops the noise from leaving my mouth with his kiss. I moan into the kiss, finding it hard to breathe. I breathe harder and he picks up his pace; pounding into me harder and harder.

My nails dig into his back as I try to compose myself, but I can’t. My nails rip down his back leaving trails of marks and blood. This doesn’t stop him, he only goes faster. He presses his lips to my neck. I lift my head and sink my teeth into his shoulder.

He groans. “I’m going to cum,” I whisper.

He fucks me harder. I tighten my hold on his waist and my orgasm over takes me. My moans get louder and my breathing gets more labored. I can feel my cum pouring over his cock and out onto the sleeping bag. My hands slip behind my head and grab for a head board, but it isn’t there. I grip the pillows, looking for something to hold onto.

My body starts to shake, but he holds me down. My screams fill the air and I reach my climax. My head yanks back and my entire body arches towards him. Tobias continues to pound me through my orgasm, never stopping, drawing it out of me, trying to make it last as long as he can get it to.

My orgasm lasts for several minutes and the sleeping bag is soaked when I finally calm down. We don’t stop. Why would we?

Tobias pulls out of me and lies on his side. He flips me around and pulls him towards me, my back crushing into his chest, his cock slipping between my ass cheeks. He positions himself below my opening and once again rubs my juices all over his cock. He pushes the head of his manhood between my pussy lips. He doesn’t waste his time teasing me; he pushes into me, full force.

He hits my g-spot every time he pushes into me and as he picks up his pace my breathing quickens and my moans drown out every sound. His lips go to my neck and he kisses me. He breathes into my hair whispering things he wouldn’t whisper to anyone else.

“Fuck,” is the only thing that I manage to gasp as sensations shoot through my body with his every thrust.

My arm reaches behind me and I pull his head towards me. I turn towards him and thrust my tongue into his mouth. We kiss for only a second before he pulls away. “I’m going to cum,” he whispers.

“Inside me,” I tell him.

His fangs sink into my neck and his thrusts continue as hot jets of cum shoot into my body. “Cum with me,” he pulls away from my neck for only a second before his fangs are deep in my vein again.

He drinks from me, not holding anything back. His cum shoots into me in strong, hot jets, and that’s all I can take. I climax again, letting out a gasp of air. The sound of our body’s colliding disappears and I can’t hear anything. My cum mixes with his and spills out of me onto the already wet sleeping bag. He doesn’t stop thrusting, and he forces my orgasm to continue, even after his ends.

It seems like hours later that I open my eyes and I feel myself breathing normally again. Tobias kisses the last drops of blood from my neck and pulls out of me. I bring him to me, kissing him, pulling him closer and closer.

I can’t seem to get close enough to him. I roll on top of him, straddling him, kissing him. He sits up, not breaking the kiss. My hands cup his face, pulling him closer. His hands run down my body and to my ass.

We don’t come up for air, not until we absolutely have to. When I finally break the kiss I find myself looking deep into his eyes.

“I’ve been waiting seven hundred years for this moment,” I tell him, kissing him gently.

“It’s felt like a millennium,” he replies, burring his head in my chest, sucking on each of my breasts.

“Where were you?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.

“I’ll never leave you again,” he says. “I promise.”

And then we collapse on top of each other onto the mess of pillows and blankets.