Chapter 6 - Hollywood Lied to Me

After Aubrey and I finished eating and putting our dishes in the sink, we made our way to the living room. Evander had a book in his hand, his legs crossed as he lounged in one of the chairs. He looked up once we entered, closing the book and placing it in his lap.

No one spoke.

"Ah, I can tell this is a bit awkward for the both of you," Evander suddenly admitted with a sigh.

I looked at him with a confused expression. If he knew, then why wasn't he doing anything about it? It was coming from his end. We weren't even doing anything.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to think," he continued, running a hand through his short, red hair. "While I said I have no intention of rejecting either of you, I still don't know how to proceed. I very obviously don't feel the emotions the two of you seem to share. It's hard to know where I stand."

Oh.

Guilt washed over me in a cold wave of pure shame. The tension wasn't his fault... it was ours. It suddenly made so much more sense. Aubrey and I had connected the moment we laid eyes on each other - or smelled each other, in my case - and our bond was compelling us. Evander didn't have anything. If I was in his shoes, I'd act the same way.

But still... I get the feeling that that isn't all.

"There's also something we never really discussed before. We glossed over it, but it needs to be out in the open," Evander added. "My diet."

"Right..." I said slowly. "Uh, how do you usually get... blood?"

"There's a place where vampires can buy blood bags and even willing feeders if that's something they want. I tend to switch between the two."

"And what type of blood do you usually consume?" I asked. "Like, human blood, or...?"

This is such an odd conversation.

"Mortal blood," Evander confirmed. "I don't particularly stick to just humans, though. It depends on what I am in the mood for and what is available to me."

Huh. I always thought vampires only drank human blood. If he drank mortal blood, then...

"Can you drink mine?" I asked, much to his surprise.

His eyes shot up to look into mine, showing me how off-guard I'd caught him with my question. He gulped, calming down after his initial surprise. "Yes," he started slowly, "in fact, that's part of the reason why I tried to keep space between us. I haven't eaten in a few days, and your blood smells quite good. It's healthy for vampires to feed at least once a week and even more if they wish to avoid any symptoms of hunger or fatigue."

Oh.

"And mine?" Aubrey piped up.

Evander tilted his head. "I'm not quite sure. It smells good, but I've never tried the blood of a nymph before," he admitted. "If you're ever willing to allow me a taste, then we can figure it out."

Aubrey seemed content with that answer because he pulled his legs up to his chest and watched us silently from his seat on the couch.

"So then... if you leave the city, you'd have to drink from us, right?" I asked.

"Most likely," Evander agreed. "Which is why I have been hesitant to ask. I wasn't sure how either of you would take the idea."

"I don't mind, as long as it isn't the worst pain in the world," I told him.

He was my mate, after all. Even if I'd met him only yesterday, and we'd started off a bit awkwardly, he was still someone I cared about and would continue to. My answer seemed to catch him off-guard, but he was able to mask his surprise a lot better this time around. "Really?"

I nodded. "It's the least I could do. Besides, maybe it'll help us bond or something. I don't know," I added, feeling a bit shy towards the end and running my words along.

Evander smiled lightly, and that smile was enough for me to know I'd said the right thing. "I can assure you that it's not painful if you're willing. If done correctly, it can be pleasurable."

"Pleasurable?" I echoed, gulping.

That... I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. The idea of feeling pleasure from him sucking my blood already sounded odd, but mixed with the fact that I didn't want anyone seeing me feel pleasure - and even mistaking it for something more - made me second-guess my offering. But... I couldn't just say, 'Oh, nevermind. I'm not really up for that, so maybe we'll just get you an endless supply of blood bags. Sorry.'

No, I couldn't do that to him. Besides, he said that it would be pleasurable only if done a certain way. Maybe he drank blood in a way that was neither painful nor pleasurable... Okay, maybe you should question him further about it. "What kind of pleasurable?" I asked slowly.

Evander hummed, rubbing his stubbled chin. "From what I've heard, it's like a warm, fuzzy feeling. It can be relaxing or exciting, depending on the context and the bond between the vampire and the feeder." He looked at me and must've noticed how wary I suddenly looked. "Don't worry, I would never intentionally make it painful for you. We could figure it out together."

Together. My stomach did a little flip at that one word.

"That sounds nice."

.

.

.

After the conversation pretty much died out, Evander allowed us to turn the TV on and relax for a bit. It was kind of awkward at first, I'm not going to lie. I felt so stiff as I sat on the couch with my face turned towards the screen. Aubrey seemed to be enjoying himself, so that was good.

I noticed that Evander slowly inched his way over to us through the rest of the day. First, he stood up from his chair in the middle of a movie, left for a bit, and came back with sandwiches for Aubrey and me. But, instead of sitting back in his chair, he instead chose to sit with us on the very large couch, keeping a decent amount of space between him and us. Slowly - like, an inch per ten minutes - he scooted closer and closer until I could feel his presence right next to me. I tried my best not to look at him, afraid he might shy away and go back to his chair. The fact that he was making an effort to sit close by was enough to make me feel happy.

"Aaron."

Holy-

I practically leaped out of my skin when I heard Evander's voice right by my ear. I turned to look at him, a questioning look on my face. Holy shit, man. You don't go around whispering in people's ears like that! "What?" I asked, keeping my volume as hushed as his.

"Would you like to join me on the balcony?"

"But what about Aubrey?" I asked, a frown forming on my face.

Evander shook his head before reaching out to turn my head in the nymph's direction. Aubrey was curled up against a pillow, fast asleep. Why hadn't I noticed that sooner? The TV was still playing, but I realized that the sun was already setting. Wow, an entire day of doing nothing. How nice.

I nodded slowly to answer Evander's question, wondering why he couldn't just talk to me there if Aubrey was asleep. We both stood up and he led me to a sliding glass door by the kitchen. He opened it and waited for me to go through first before closing it behind himself. The air was cold but nipped pleasantly at my skin. As the sun set, its light reflected off the windowed buildings around us, causing our shadows to lengthen funnily. The sounds of the city coming alive after dark made me feel oddly warm and cozy. I'd never lived in a large city before; it was a nice change from the sound of crickets and howling wolves. I turned to look at Evander, crossing my arms casually. "So, what's up?"

"I wasn't quite sure how to bring this up again, but..."

I raised an eyebrow, giving him the go-ahead to continue.

"Would you like to try feeding now?"

I choked on my spit. I'm not even going to try and play it down. I straight up choked, immediately coughing like a maniac to try and ease the feeling in my throat. Evander took a step to help me, but I held up a finger for him to wait as I continued to cough. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I still caught you off-guard."

"No, no, you're good," I said passively, letting out one more cough before running a hand through my hair bashfully.

Way to go, Aaron.

"Anyway," Evander started, still eyeing me with concern, "I want to know when you'd feel comfortable with a feeding. Like I said earlier, I haven't eaten in a few days. If you don't feel comfortable then I can go do my usual routine. I just wanted to ask you first before I decided to do anything."

"I..."

How do I even answer this? My vampire mate - who I knew for only a day now - wanted to suck my blood. That wasn't an idea I ever thought I'd have to consider. While one part of me was hesitant - extremely hesitant, actually - another part of me was jumping at the idea of getting to know Evander like this. I'd been anxious about the distance between us and this could fix it, or at least lessen it.

Was I crazy? Maybe...

Probably.

Eh, what the hell? This will at the very least help us figure out what we're going to do once Evander and Aubrey come to live with me in the pack. "Sure."

The man smiled, stepping forward to stand right in front of me. I had to tilt my head up ever so slightly to look him fully in the eye. Now I could see that his eyes were definitely dark brown, but they were slowly becoming black. Huh. "Why aren't your eyes red? I thought vampires' eyes were red or something," I asked before I could stop the idiotic words from escaping.

Evander laughed. My cheeks reddened at the sound, both from embarrassment and the fact that his laugh was really nice. I wanted to hear it over and over again. Geez, get a grip. "Was my question really that dumb?" I grumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"It was unexpected," Evander settled for after his laughter died down. "But to answer your question, that's more or less a Hollywood myth. Our eyes don't turn red. They might darken or brighten, depending on the vampire's eye color and body chemistry, but they don't turn red. I'm sure you've noticed what mine become, yes?"

"Yeah," I answered, glancing up at his dark eyes.

"It means that my vampire senses are awakening," he continued, reaching up slowly.

I watched as his hand came up to rest on my cheek. It was oddly warm, even if I expected the sparks. I thought vampires were supposed to be cold... because they're undead and all that...

Probably another lie Hollywood fed me. Damn you, Hollywood.

"Your blood really does smell quite good," the vampire in front of me mused, his thumb brushing my cheekbone.

I'm sure my cheeks were tinged pink even if I tried to fight the reaction down. "What does blood even smell like?" I asked him, trying my absolute hardest not to nuzzle his hand like a needy mate.

"Mm, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's kind of like someone's natural scent but tinged with other scents. The smell itself changes depending on the person's health and mood. Like, right now, your blood smells slightly sweet," he explained.

"I-I see."

I didn't bother to question why my blood smelled sweet to him, but geez. My heart began beating rapidly in my chest as he stared at me, his hand still on my cheek. The sparks emanating from that point of contact were spreading throughout my entire body, warming me up more than I thought possible.

"I'm not really sure what to do now," the man mused once more, letting his hand slowly fall away from my face. "I feel like I have to be very cautious. This is your first time, after all. I don't want to mess it up."

"Even if you messed it up, I'd do it for you again if I had to," I blurted out.

Evander looked surprised by this. Of course, he'd be a little shocked. He didn't know how quickly the mate bond created feelings and attachments. It was definitely scary how quickly I was ready to give this practical stranger my blood and promise to do it again even if it hurt.

After another moment of hesitation, the man slowly leaned down, burying his face into the crook of my neck. I tried my best to suppress a flinch when I felt him inhale against my skin. My wolf was oddly very present in my mind at the moment. I could feel his excitement at our mate's touch and the anticipation for more.

Get a grip, Mr. Wolf.

I felt Evander's lips press a warm and delicate kiss to the spot where he intended to bite. The small action made me lose my breath for a moment. In the back of my head - on the opposite side of my wolf - I grew panicked. My stomach was knotted tightly and I tried my best not to tense up and show Evander the anxiety slowly building inside of me. I was afraid. Not of him, but what I'd feel. Would it be painful? Would it feel good? Would it be...arousing? That thought alone forced me to close my eyes so I could take deep breaths. I was afraid that if I felt aroused, or anything close to it, then I wouldn't know what to do. What would I do? It wouldn't be an arousal for Evander, it'd be for his actions. That sentiment seemed to confuse so many people when I'd spent my time researching my sexuality. Hell, I was still confused. Now that I was standing in the moment, about to get my blood sucked, I was losing my nerve.

"Aaron, you're trembling."

Evander's whispered words against my neck made me freeze. He pulled away to look at me, a frown on his lips. "What's wrong?" He asked me.

"I..."

How could I explain this to him? I wasn't even ready to admit out loud that I was...different (and apparently I couldn't do it in my head, either), let alone tell one of my mates about it. I'm sorry, Evander. I forced a small laugh, looking away from him in hopes of easing the guilt I felt over the words about to come out of my mouth. "I'm just a bit nervous is all. I don't want it to hurt, you know?"

I don't know why I felt so guilty. Part of the reason I was nervous was because of my fear of any pain, but it was so much more than that.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea and Evander seemed to think so, too. "Okay, I think that maybe we should wait to try this. If you're so afraid of me hurting you, then I will just have to assure you with time."

My previous optimism and hope had quickly fled the moment it was about to happen. Pathetic. With a defeated nod, I agreed with him silently. "Yeah, maybe it's best that we wait." I glanced up at him and noticed the slightly disappointed look in his eyes, so I quickly added, "But I still want to try at some point. I really do."

Evander accepted my words with a nod of his own. "We'll work up to it."

"Evander? Aaron? What are you guys doing out here?"

The two of us turned to look at Aubrey, who stood in the doorway. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, and I couldn't help but think how adorable he looked just coming from his nap. He still looked tired, though. I smiled, walking over to him. He grabbed my hand once I was close enough, offering a sleepy smile.

"It's getting late. Would you two like dinner or are you going to sleep now?" Evander asked, remaining where he was.

"I think I'm going back to sleep," Aubrey answered, yawning and covering his mouth.

Afraid of changing my mind if Evander and I were alone, I quickly said, "Yeah, I think I'll head to bed, too. Besides, we're going to have to drive to the base. An early start would be best."

I glanced at Evander and noticed the silent understanding flash across his face before it was replaced with acceptance. "Alright. Goodnight."

We returned the sentiment, though I did it a lot quieter than Aubrey, before heading inside. Once we were in bed, Aubrey curled up against me, I realized that even with the warmth of the nymph right beside me, I missed the different warmth of the vampire who almost sucked my blood.

~~~

A little longer than usual. I hope you enjoyed it lol.

I feel so bad for Aaron. He still represses who he is because he's still confused and afraid of it. I feel the confusion part XD sometimes I wonder if I'm just faking it or if I'm going insane. It's hard :/

Anyway, next chapter will be from Evander's pov so look forward to that! I hope I'll be able to do Aubrey's pov at some point, but we'll see.

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

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