29. Morelle

29

MORELLE

M orelle held a hand over her heart as she listened to Peter and Marina exchange their heartfelt vows. The depth of their love was evident in every word, every gesture, every shared look. Despite the obstacles they faced—Marina's mortality chief among them—they chose to embrace their love fully and without reservation.

Their courage made Morelle's own fears seem almost insignificant in comparison.

"Dance with me?" Brandon held out his hand as other couples joined Marina and Peter on the dance floor.

She took it, letting him guide her onto the wooden platform. "I don't know the steps," she said as he drew her into his arms.

"Just follow my lead." His hand settled warm and steady on her waist. "Like this. "

Morelle let Brandon guide her through the movements while watching others and trying to emulate them. As they found their rhythm together, she leaned into his solid warmth and breathed in his familiar scent.

The fairy lights twinkled overhead like stars, the music wrapped around them like silk, and the moment could have been perfect if not for the guilt gnawing at her conscience.

She should have told him the real secret behind her telekinetic power right after they'd confessed their love to each other, but she'd been too overwhelmed with emotion to even remember that she was still hiding her vampiric nature from him.

There shouldn't be secrets between mates, especially not something this important, and Brandon deserved the truth. They all did—Annani, Kian, Amanda, this entire community that had welcomed her and Ell-rom with open arms and open hearts.

Not only that, she also needed help to master her power.

Absorbing energy from others happened without her intending to do it. It was instinctual, which made it worse because she didn't have a mechanism to prevent it from happening.

What if she drained too much from someone right when they needed their power for an important task and didn't have time to recuperate from the drain? What if she used too much of her own reserves and perished?

The thought wouldn't have bothered her in her previous life, but now that she had so much to live for, Morelle didn't want to die.

She had to tell Amanda the truth. Perhaps she would not only help her control the ability but also find practical applications for it. After all, as important as her talent had been to avert a disaster, it wasn't something that happened often, thank the Mother of All Life.

"You seem preoccupied." Brandon's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. "What's wrong?"

She looked up into his concerned blue eyes. "We need to talk."

As his body tensed against hers, and his steps nearly faltered, she realized how he could have misinterpreted her words and quickly added, "I love you, and I always will. It's not about that."

The tension in his back eased. "I love you too." His thumb caressed her waist. "What do you want to talk about?"

Morelle glanced around at the other couples dancing on the tightly packed dance floor. "Later," she said. "When we're in our room with the door closed."

A smile tugged at his lips. "Anything that involves you and me behind closed doors sounds good."

She pressed closer to him. "I agree, but that's not why I want to talk to you in private. I just need to tell you something important."

Brandon studied her face for a long moment. "I don't think I can wait that long. Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Morelle would have preferred to have more time to think about the best way to tell him, but he was right about it causing tension that would prevent them from enjoying the rest of the evening. It was better to get it over with sooner rather than later.

"The village walkways are abandoned," he added. "Almost everyone is here."

"Won't we be missed?"

His hand on her waist tightened. "We can say that you needed a breather from being surrounded by so many people."

She chuckled. "And it wouldn't even be a lie. I'm not used to so many bodies so close to me. It's overwhelming."

He took her hand. "Let's go. Just a short walk." He led her off the dance floor, through the sprawling lawn, all the way to the walkway.

Morelle took a deep breath. "I didn't realize how anxious it made me to have so many people surrounding me. I love this community and I'm grateful for how welcoming everyone is, but I need more time to adjust to the hive."

"So, what is this about?" Brandon asked.

She hesitated .

What if he was frightened by the parasitic nature of her power? What if he thought that she was dangerous and should be kept away from Annani and anyone else who had a paranormal talent?

"You can tell me anything, Morelle. I won't judge, and I won't criticize, and I will keep on loving you no matter what."

She wanted desperately to believe that, but the fear still coiled in her gut.

"Hey." Brandon stopped, turned to her, and cupped her cheek. "I'm sure that you're working yourself up over nothing."

She snorted. "Oh, it's definitely something. I'm just trying to figure out a way to say it the right way."

"Don't overthink it. I promise that there is no wrong way for you to say whatever it is that you are obsessing about."

"Okay. Here it goes. I'm a vampire."