22. Natalia

I stretch,my mind still numb with the haze which comes from a deep and restful sleep. I pat the bed next to me and open my eyes, finding the space next to me empty. Oradea may not be in his bed, but he is in my heart. Butterflies dance in my stomach, knowing how he feels and that his love for me is as strong as that which I feel for him. I pad into the bathroom and take a good look in the oblong mirror hanging over the dual sink vanity, observing myself for outward changes, but not one exists. Not a scratch, a gouge, a mark of any shape exists against the creaminess of my throat where mere days ago it was ripped and torn wide open.

I drop my clothes and step into the shower, my mind on everything that has transpired since meeting Oradea. All that is different and what we have become to each other. My brothers may not accept it right away, but they will have to live with my choices, because I am twenty-one after all, and these things are my choice; no longer theirs whether they want to continue playing the parent role or not.

I'm still thinking about the exact way to broach this conversation and even get up the nerve to call as I finish getting ready for the day. Elda has been in and out of the bedroom, leaving a tray on the nightstand filled with fresh juice, a quart of blood, and a meal fit for a queen. I nibble the savory end of a stick of bacon, eying the blood as I contemplate my new life, and the fact that drinking blood is very much a part of it if I am to sustain myself. I trace my finger around the edge of the glass, my brow arching as I bring it to my lips. One taste, a tiny little trace on my tongue is all that I can bring myself to do.

But it is enough to send a signal to my brain. One that demands more nourishment than the bacon or eggs on a plate can bring. My lips quirk, and I pick up the glass, sniffing the thick looking contents as I resign myself to my fate. Here goes. I close my eyes and drink, swallowing quickly and often to chug the contents back without trying to really taste or savor its flavor. Right now, I just want to get it down without chucking it back up, but surprisingly, that's not how my body responds at all. It calms … quiets … one of those deep, peaceful feelings that are seldom felt in the rush of today's harried world. I am ready to face my brothers, because I am a new me, one to be heard and one to be reckoned with if you threaten or hurt what's mine.

I hit my brother's contact number and wait for him to pick up. "This is Michael." I smile, always so formal. Probably couldn't even be bothered to look up from his paperwork for two seconds to see who was calling. "This is Natalia," I tell him, smiling to myself.

He sighs, sounding relieved. "I was worried sick. Chara and I have been there day after day, and you just wouldn't wake up. I was contemplating whether I was going to have to get some of my men to kidnap you and do some sort of exorcism or something. Seriously, it was a real fucking test of patience that we both know I don't have."

I laugh … Just listening to my oldest brother rant is enough, enough to know he's okay and not hurt and that I will see him again. "So, you know, about the transition?" I ask.

That sigh again; it sounds just like my dad's when he was trying to disapprove but knew we had convinced him to let us do something he didn't want us to do. "I gave the approval. There was no choice. You would have died otherwise, Tally. Angel, Roman's sister, is doing okay since hers. She couldn't be happier with the choice; I just hope that you will feel the same way one day."

A tear slips down my face. "I'm more than okay, Michael. This is really what I wanted all along. Oradea is the one. Don't ask me how or why these things happen so instantly, or we fall so deeply, but in this world, destiny plays her hand whether we want her to interfere or not. I had time on my hands, waiting for Oradea, and read through some of the vampire's guide. There's a passage in the Vade Mecum, and it refers to us. We were meant to be, Michael. You did the right thing. You'll always be my brother, though, no matter what. No one can come between the family that we all are, okay?"

He doesn't respond right away, but when he does, it's clear he's had enough of the mushy heart to heart stuff and wants to jump right into the matters he loves the most. "I hear that you did a little shooting?"

I laugh. "Good thing someone taught me how to defend myself and those I love, right?" He doesn't laugh, and it's hard to know what he's feeling when I can't see him through the phone. "Michael?"

He sighs, this time heavy. "This won't be the end. I've been checking with my people, the ones who have connections with those in the underworld. That Lucas is not someone who forgives very easily. It seems he's been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to take over the vampires for years. He isn't going to let you walk away unscathed after his failed attempt to kill you and the way you murdered his men."

"Murder?" That's a pretty heavy word for what happened. I was defending myself, the man I love and the vampires. "You would have done the very same thing, Michael."

He laughs. "Settle down there. I didn't say it was the wrong thing to do or that I wouldn't have done it myself. I just want you to know, he's coming for you again. And before he does, we need to take him out."

I laugh. "You and Oradea will have to fight for that right because he pretty much said the same thing. He's not going to let Lucas hurt me; he said he's going to find him and end him."

Michael sighs. "The more I know this Oradea, the more I like him. This will work, and he and the masters have a good strategy for business and land developments in the works, and will make far better partners in the future than the rogues. It will work better for Roman too, given his family crossover."

My hearing is becoming so keen. I hear Oradea's heavy breathing, recognizing the patterns of his heart and the way the blood races through his veins. He isn't far. "I have to go, but I'll give you and the others a call later."