Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1) (18 page)

I could see better than before. It was like I was looking
through someone else's eyes, or like seeing the world with
high definition glasses on. Everything was sharp and crisp.
Colors were brighter. It wasn't just my sight either - it was
all my senses. I could hear everything and feel the world
humming around me. It wasn't like before where
everything overwhelmed my head, it was muted enough to
make the world seem alive and beautiful.
I threw off the blankets and got out of bed going to the
double panel doors that opened to a small balcony. Every
movement I made was absolutely graceful and silent.
Without thinking I yanked both doors open and stepped
into the night.
The sky was clear, with thousands of stars blinking.
The wind blew at me, and against my skin it was soft and
calming like a kiss of silk. I could sense the sun coming
though it was nowhere in the sky. I didn’t know how it
was possible but already I felt its warmth and tasted its
brightness on my tongue.
“Jen,” Eric said and I heard his footsteps on the soft
plush carpet even though I shouldn't be able to. When I
turned around I found him standing at the other side of
the door. “How do you feel?” he asked his voice careful
and guarded, as though he was trying to talk down a
person about to jump off a cliff.
I didn't answer right away, I just stared at him
completely stricken by his beauty. There could never be
another boy so perfect. “Everything is,” I started but
stopped when I heard my own voice. It was bells chiming
on a perfect day, glorious and blessed. My hands went up
to my throat at once as I burst out giggling. That too was
angelic. “Eric,” I loved his name in my new voice, “what
happened?”
“I'll explain I promise, but first I need to know you're
okay.”
“I'm okay” I said instantly and he nodded, stepping
forward stopping inches away. “I'm sorry about what
happened.”
Eric’s warm yet piercing ice blue eyes bored into mine,
and it was like that first day at school when I had bumped
into him. That was the first thing I’d seen in Eric, his eyes.
I opened my mouth to tell him that I was over it. That I
didn’t want to fight with him anymore and I was done
keeping secrets if he was but before I could get a word out
he pulled me closer, hugging me. “It's forgotten.”
I pulled away from him looking up to his face, my
fingertips lightly tracing his jawline, his nose, and his entire
face, re-familiarizing myself with his features. I had missed
this so much. Without thinking I raised myself up on my
toes and pressed my lips to his. My eyes closed
automatically and I found that my entire body was
responding to him in a way that was foreign to me. Every
nerve and cell in my body was on fire and any moment
now, Iwould burst into flames.
My heart immediately slowed down and my pulse soon
followed suit. All nervousness and the aching pain were
gone from inside me. It had completely disappeared,
vanished from my existence. Not like it had healed, but
like it had never been there. Everything felt warm - my
skin, my heart - it was all blissful and gentle, like the calm
after a storm.
I wrapped my arms around his waist pulling him closer
to me. I felt his hands trail up my body and it had my brain
overheating. His hands stopped at the sides of my neck
and I wanted so much to just start ripping his clothes off. I
felt him smile against my lips and I knew he’d heard that
thought.
He pulled away from me then and I let out an annoyed
groan. Both of our breathing was uneven and lustful. I
kept my eyes closed, taking everything in - the way he
smelled and felt. “Open your eyes, Jen,” he breathed out,
his breath hot on my skin. I exhaled and did as he ordered.
The place was bright now. The sun had risen and its
rays were gently kissing our skin and cutting a warm, soft
path between our faces. I looked up to Eric and found
myself staring directly into eyes that literally glowed bright
blue. It blazed, like the heated centre of fire and the
coldness of ice at the same time.
Without taking my eyes off his, I whispered through
the sun rays “I don’t want to fight anymore.”
“Then let’s not. Come on,” he whispered, his breath
washing over my face as he took my hand in his. “There
are things you need to know.”
Eric led me back into the bedroom and I crawled into
the bed, sitting crossed legged against the headboard as I
watched him close the double doors behind him. He then
slowly walked over, sitting back on the chair he’d been
sleeping on. This was it - the moment where I found out
the truth about myself and, quite frankly, there was a huge
part of me that was scared silly.
Eric remained quiet for a long while and the silence in
the room stretched on seemingly loud and endless. The
tension and anticipation in the room was so thick that you
could probably slice it with a knife. My heart was pounding
in my chest, and my palms were already beginning to
sweat. Even the air around us was delicate. I felt as if I
breathed too hard or moved too much, it was all going to
come crumbling down around me.
Finally, I couldn’t bear it anymore and I looked down
at my fingers asking the most important and pressing
question I had. “Eric,” I mumbled my voice low and
barely audible, “am I like you?” Slowly I raised my head
facing him, my heart pounding in my chest.
“No,” he whispered shaking his head slightly.
I nodded, letting out a breath I hadn’t known I was
holding until now as relief flooded my body. “What
happened to me then? Why can I see and hear things
better? My eyes,” I muttered, remembering the bright
striking azure orbs they'd become, “they are blue. I don’t
have blue eyes Eric… What happened to me?”
“You’re changing,” he said, his eyes never leaving me.
My breath stopped at once, but when I didn’t say anything
he continued. “There are stages that we need to go
through before we fully change. During the last two days
you went through and completed the first.”
“Two days?” I asked, my voice shaky. While the world
had been raging in my head two days had passed. It felt
surreal. All of this was unnatural and almost too absurd to
be true. Eric’s only reply was a slight nod. “How many
stages?”
“Three,” he sighed. “The first is the easiest. It’s kind of
like going through pureblood puberty. You’re senses
heightens, body movements become easy and graceful…
Over the next few days you’ll notice a lot more changes,
some will be very subtle and others is going to be like
walking into a brick wall face first. Your eyes are going to
turn blue eventually - they’ll be the exact color as mine is.”
I nodded taking a deep breath as I tried to wrap my
head around what he was telling me. I was going to
become like him. I was already changing into one.
“And I'll change whether I want to or not? There's no
way to stop it or at least slow it down?” Eric's only reply
was a slow calculated shake of his head. Something
occurred to me then and the thought sent my heart flying.
All the vampire versions I knew, turning meant dying. I
couldn’t but help ask the question, was I going to lose my
life too? “Will I die?”
“No,” his answer was immediate and I nodded,
swallowing loudly in the still quietness of the room.
“But I thought someone had to die to become like
you…” I trailed off frowning.
“Yeah, humans die when they change, but not
purebloods. You’re a pureblood, Jen, changing is a part of
your natural life.”
I frowned at him suddenly even more confused.
“Purebloods?” I asked. “What are they?”
He took a deep breath and I could tell instantly that
this answer was going to be another big one. “Well,” he
swallowed hesitating, “there are two types of vampires -
the made ones that were human and had to die to change,”
he paused measuring my reaction. When I nodded he
continued, “And then there’s the purebloods - vampires
that are born... All purebloods are royalty,” he explained
and I instantly remembered how everyone had bowed to
him at our engagement party.
I nodded again, allowing that to sink in as I pulled my
legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
“So... one is born and the other is made?” I asked. “That’s
the only difference?”
“No,” he shook his head, “but that's the main
difference. There are others though.”
“Like what?”
“Made vampires don't age or physically change,
purebloods do. The aging process is longer though,” he
paused for a second wondering. “Made vampires can't
enter a house without being invited in, purebloods can...
Basically all those rules that apply to the made vampires
don't affect us.”
“Rules?” I asked instantly.
“Like staying in direct sunlight,” he said.
“So the sun thing is true,” I said and a small light smile
pierced his face.
“To a point,” he replied amused, shaking his head.
“When the made vampires stay too long in direct sunlight,
their skin heats up. It’s like they have a really high fever
and eventually they'll die. It's a very slow and painful death,
not something I would wish on others.”
“Oh,” was my brilliant answer. “How come the two are
so different?” I wondered, not sure how to phrase it
correctly.
“Purebloods are like the originals. Our bloodline is...
untainted by human blood. We're the direct descendants of
the first and original vampires, making our bloodlines the
oldest and strongest there is.”
“Is that why you can read people? And the rest of your
family can do other stuff?” I wondered, frowning at him
deeply.
“In Thirdworld they call it our inheritance, a gift from
the original bloodlines. The things we can do, we can only
do them because the original purebloods could have. It's
something they passed on to us - sort of like a last name something that marks us as their descendants.”
I thought about that for a minute. “So other
purebloods can do things too.” It wasn't a question but
Eric nodded. I filed that away for a later date moving on to
my next question. “What's Thirdworld?”
“It's a place,” Eric said frowning at me. “Another
world,” he paused, “our world. Everything and everyone
there is supernatural.”
“Have you ever been there?”
“Yeah, when I was around sixteen I lived there for
almost two years...” he trailed off.
“Why?”
“School,” was all he said and just as I was about to ask
for more information he continued. “All purebloods are
required to go to school in Thirdworld to learn about its
politics, warfare, Thirdworld and the Bloodlines' history
and those kinds of things. It's also a way to meet the other
pureblood families and for us to show everyone else that
we're the ruling species...”
“What's it like?”
“An older version of Earth,” he laughed. “It's like
stepping back to the 18th century in some ways, yet in
others Thirdworld is more advanced than you can ever
imagine. They have their own cultures and beliefs... about
eleven different languages... Their music and food and the
clothes high society women wear are like nothing you've
ever seen. On the surface Thirdworld is beautiful... but
underneath it's,” he paused frowning, “cruel... The land
itself is harsh. In some places it's so cold that if you don't
wear special clothing, blood freezes in your veins. In other
places, it's the exact opposite. Surviving there is something
you work for, nothing is given to you...”
“Eric,” I hesitated. “What’s coming after me?” Katalin
had mentioned others that wanted me dead, but I didn’t
know why or even who the others were?
“Shape shifters…”
“You mean the people that turns into wolves on a full
moon?”
“No,” he shook his head at once. “That’s a werewolf.
Shifters can change into any type of animal at will,” he
explained.
“Why do they want to hurt me?”
“You’re a pureblood and that automatically makes you
a target for the other Thirdworlders… We’re the ruling
species and the less of us there is, is the weaker we are. But
they want you specifically because you weren’t born a
pureblood.”
I took a deep breath, trying as best as I could to steady
myself for what was about to come next. This was the
second most important question, but by far the hardest to
ask. I had been working up to it and stalling this moment
all throughout the conversation, but now I couldn’t hold it
back anymore. This was going to be one of those things I
didn't like, but I needed to know. “Eric,” I muttered my
voice so low that I could hardly hear it. “What am I?” I
asked, phrasing the question the only way I knew.
Eric understood though. He let out a small, muted sigh
and leaned forward on the chair as close to me as he could
get without falling off. “I don't know how much my dad
told you, so I'm going to start from the beginning,” he
paused looking at me, his eyes calculating and careful. I
nodded.
“Your medication is made from my blood. It's been
confined to a smaller, weaker state and that's what has
been healing you - keeping you alive all this time…
Remember when Katalin said you've been consuming the
blood from one of the oldest bloodline, she was talking
about me… my blood. It's a lot weaker so it only heals…
Do you understand?” he asked staring at me.
“Yes,” I said, “everyday I've been… taking a little of
your blood.” I took a deep steadying breath, trying to get
the words to register. In my head I understood what he
was saying, it just wouldn't sink in.
“It helps you to make blood cells, but the ones you
make it's… it's not all human.”
My eyebrows knotted up at once. “What does that
mean exactly..?” I wondered. I wasn’t human and I wasn't
like him, so what was I? Didn’t I belong somewhere?
Didn’t I have a niche or species of my own?
“It means that you’re standing on a very thin line
between humanity and becoming like me… and the closer
you get to your birthday... the stronger the pureblood cells
will become…”
I stayed silent for a long while trying to digest what he
was telling me. “I turn… eighteen a month after we're
married…” I said slowly turning away from him. I then
turned back frowning deeply. “Why eighteen?”
“Remember what I told you about turning eighteen and
what it means in my family?”