The Vampire and the Goth Ch. 12

When I woke up the next afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the distinct smell of cooking meat. Immediately, I remembered the night before and realized we still had a werewolf in the house. I rolled out of bed and put on fresh pajama bottoms before walking down the hall.

Angus and Elizabeth were in the kitchen cooking what seemed to be an enormous amount of meat. They must have gone to the grocery store while I slept. Elizabeth waved at me with a happy grin and seemed to be without a care in the world. I could tell she was comfortable being around Angus despite him being a werewolf, and the thought made me happy.

"We'll be done in a few minutes. Want some coffee?" she asked.

I smiled back at her. "Sure."

I thought about her beautiful smile and the way she had embraced me and my life without judgment or reservations, and suddenly, I realized that all of my misgivings had vanished - I was going to sire her, and then spend the rest of forever with her.

The thought immediately gave me a sense of peace that I hadn't had since before I was a vampire, and I was amazed that I still had the capacity to feel that way.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead!"

I turned around and saw David standing behind me wearing boxer shorts. He had a strange smile on his face.

"Morning," I said, as we moved into the living room.

"So..." I said.

David raised an eyebrow at me. "So," he responded.

I waited for him to say something, but he didn't, choosing to remain

uncharacteristically quiet. He clearly wasn't going to mention the elephant in the room - or, more correctly, the large redheaded Scotsman in the kitchen, so I decided to start the conversation.

"Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

He smiled and shook his head. "You mean with Braveheart over there? No. I don't want to talk about that because I'm not sure what I think about it yet."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

We sat together quietly. Finally, I asked, "Did you two have a good time?"

His eyebrows shot up. "Hoo yeah. The word is stamina!" he said, and we both started laughing.

"I don't know if it's going to be more than just a Highland Fling, but it's been a long time since I had that much fun in bed," he said with a grin.

I smiled, happy for my friend.

David ran a finger over his teeth. "He IS a hairy mother fucker, though."

"Well, he's a wolf," I said. David chuckled.

Angus and Elizabeth walked into the dining room and sat down at the table.

"Come sit with us, lads, and keep us company while we eat," Angus said. He was wearing only his jeans, and it was easy to see what David was complaining about - he was very hairy, even for a werewolf.

David and I smiled at each other and walked over. Elizabeth's plate had a couple of eggs, a quartered tomato, and a few slices of ham. Angus' plate, on the other hand, had what must have been the rest of the ham, as well as sausage and bacon.

"A 'coimhead mar gu bheil an t-acras ort, Aonghas!" David said. Elizabeth gaped at him, while Angus started to laugh.

"Yes, I am very hungry. And I'm impressed! Most people take years to get the accent down in Scots, but you said that almost perfectly, right out of the gate! Stosh, your friend here is like a language sponge!"

I smiled. "David's a natural polyglot. He picks up languages the way some people pick up bad habits."

"Is that why you speak French?" Angus asked.

"Because speaking French is a bad habit?" David asked. We laughed, and David continued. "French is my native language. I didn't learn English until I was a teenager." Angus' eyes widened and he smiled, obviously impressed.

"When I first got here, I spoke almost no English, and David didn't speak any Polish. I spoke enough French to limp along pretty well for a while, but David picked up my language quickly and it made our lives a lot easier," I said.

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up. "Wow! That is so cool!"

David winked at Elizabeth. "Polish isn't that hard of a language, sweetie."

"Yeah, it's Russian that's the challenge," I heard Dmitri say from behind me.

"And ANOTHER county heard from!" Angus laughed. "Dima, come sit down and eat!"

I shot David a quizzical look, and he gave me a half-smile.

Vampires in general are solitary creatures, preferring to live alone or with one or two others. Although my apartment is large, almost 2000 square feet, it was beginning to feel cramped.

On the other hand, the close quarters seemed to really agree with Angus and Dmitri. Werewolves live in packs and enjoy having other wolves under feet all the time. Elizabeth seemed to sense my discomfort and gently smiled at me while touching my hand.

"When did you get here, Dmitri?" I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Once I saw how little you'd laid by in provisions, I put a call into Dima to bring some meat," Angus said.

Dmitri laughed at the expression on my face. "Oh, don't look so sour. I'm only here to deliver groceries and have some dinner. After we eat, I'll take my friend back with me."

David looked surprisingly upset with Dmitri's last remark. "You don't have to take Angus away!" then he turned to me, a look of panic momentarily crossing his face. "I mean, I'm sure Stosh won't mind him staying a little longer."

David has fairly dark skin, so it's not obvious when he blushes. Even so, I could hear a note of embarrassment in his voice.

"Dmitri, you are always welcome at my place, and Angus can stay as long as he likes," I said, gritting my teeth. I was uncomfortable having so many people in my apartment at once, but David very obviously wanted Angus to stay, so I decided to swallow my discomfort.

Elizabeth winked at David, and he looked down at the table. "I should make some coffee. David, do you want to help me?"

"Sure," David said, standing up quickly, ready to get away from his embarrassment.

Angus and Dmitri smiled at each other.

Dmitri lowered his voice. "I know how little vampires appreciate company. Are you sure you don't mind having so many people around?"

I sighed. "Well, it does feel rather close in here, but I'll be okay."

Dmitri smiled and nodded at me and went back to eating. After a couple of minutes, he looked at Angus and asked, "Do you feel it?"

Angus smiled. "I believe I do, Dima."

"What are you feeling?" I asked, confused, as Angus gave me a huge grin.

"It looks like our Gussy finally met his mate!" Dmitri said with a laugh.

When it comes to romance, werewolves have it easy. At some point after reaching adulthood, they meet someone they just know is the person they'll be with for the rest of their lives. I'm not sure if it's pheromones or what, but the mating pull seems to be inescapable. From the moment they meet, they're stuck together as though they have some kind of invisible magnet. Wolves regard their mates as the other half of their souls, and as far as I can see, they mean it. Their goal is to be with their mate, and they won't be denied. Gender, nationality, pack, nothing else matters once a werewolf feels the mating poll.

But I'd never heard of a werewolf having a vampire for a mate.

David and Elizabeth came back to the table carrying coffee. David looked at Angus with an absolutely lovesick expression before dropping his gaze and Elizabeth and Dmitri grinned at each other broadly. Elizabeth gave me a cup of coffee as she sat down.

"So you're in town for a mating ceremony?" I asked.

"Aye. My cousin, April, moved here for school and she's found her mate," Angus said.

Elizabeth's eyes shone brightly with excitement. "And you'll never guess who it is! It's Michelle's brother, Ben!"

Elizabeth was practically swooning with romantic delight as Dmitri and Angus smiled at her.

I turned to David. "Michelle is the girlfriend of Elizabeth's sister."

He nodded. "Okay. She's the one who got angry about you being a vampire, right?"

Elizabeth answered, "That's her. She got so angry she turned into a wolf in front of us. Ben stayed with me the next day while Stosh slept because Michelle scared me so bad. But I didn't know he was seeing anybody."

Angus chuckled. "He wasn't. When you meet your mate, you just know immediately. April transferred down here to Ben's college last semester and they finally crossed paths. And once they did, they each knew they'd found the other half of their souls."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Elizabeth put her hands to her heart, almost in tears from the romance of it all.

David smirked at me. Gay men always know exactly what to say to a woman, and Angus had hit Elizabeth's emotions with amazing accuracy. It's one of life's little jokes that they can appeal so well to the hearts of people they aren't interested in.

Dmitri caught the look we exchanged. "When the time is right, the time is right. Werewolves don't cheat and we don't get divorced. Once we find our mate, that's it. No matter where you are or who you are," he said pointedly, looking directly at David.

Years later, when I asked David to recall this conversation, he told me that he assumed Dmitri was talking about Elizabeth and me, even though by this point, he knew his feelings for Angus went much deeper than sexual attraction.

I love David. He's my best friend, and we've been together through good times and bad. We've saved each other more times than I can count, especially when I was fresh from Europe and he was an escaped slave. Over the years, I've relied on David's brains, language skills, and his ability to navigate almost any social situation with ease. David is brilliant, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he's also clueless. Utterly, completely clueless.

Angus smiled at Elizabeth and said, "Why don't you come to the mating ceremony with me? David and Stosh can't go, so you can be my date."

"It's pronounced 'beard' in this country," David said bitterly.

I kicked David under the table.

"Bądź miły!" I hissed, telling him to be nice.

David stuck out his tongue at me and crossed his arms over his chest. He was openly pouting, much to Dmitri's amusement.

Elizabeth ignored our drama. "Do you think it would be okay? I don't want to impose. I only met Ben once, but I do like him."

"I don't think it'll be a problem at all. Wolves are very welcoming," Angus smiled.

"Great!" Elizabeth said.

"Hey! You can watch your friend fuck his mate!" Dmitri laughed. Elizabeth looked horrified, Angus and I glared at him, but David laughed as well.

"Oh. I forgot about that," Elizabeth mumbled while blushing.

Angus leaned across the table and took her hand. "There's a lot more to a mating ceremony than just rutting. She's also joining Ben's pack, so that's most of what will be celebrated tomorrow. There's going to be a big barbecue, games, dancing, and a ceremony to officially welcome her." He turned to glare at Dmitri. "And we'll leave before the rutting starts," he said, in a cold voice.

"Are you sure it will be okay?" Elizabeth asked.

Angus smiled. "I'm sure! The party starts tomorrow morning. We can head up when our lads are taking their nap, and we'll be home before the party gets too wild."

Elizabeth looked at me, "You don't mind?"

I winked at her. "No, I don't mind. I'm envious! I went to a couple of mating ceremonies in Denmark, and they're lots of fun. Have a good time," I said, kissing her as she beamed back at me.

I woke up the next evening to a quiet apartment. Elizabeth had left earlier in the day taking Angus with her. Before she left, she blotted her lips on my bathroom mirror and drew a heart around them.

I smiled and walked out to the living room, where I found David using my laptop.

"Welcome to the Lonely Hearts Club," he said.

I laughed. "I miss Elizabeth, but I like how quiet it is."

"I get it. I have no idea how you lived with wolves when you were in Europe."

"They're nice... they just... well, they don't have a clear understanding of personal space. They were always hugging and kissing each other, sniffing whatever necks happened to be close by and scratching behind the nearest set of ears. And the talking! Jesus, you think Dmitri won't shut up, well, he's just one wolf. He has nothing on a pack. And you should hear the howling and yipping from their young! It's overwhelming."

"Well, they sure love you, brother. Angus wouldn't shut up about what an honor it is to meet you. You're like a celebrity to them or something," he said, with more than a bit of jealousy in his voice.

I scoffed. "Yeah, you do one nice thing and it haunts you forever."

David smiled and turned back to the laptop.

"What kind of car do you want me to get you? I'm shopping for your replacement now."

"You can just replace the last one. Newest model year, of course," I said.

"Nah, fuck that. Let's get you something that's not such a dad car. Elizabeth was saying how much she likes riding in the convertible."

"After I sire her, she won't be comfortable in bright light for at least a couple of decades."

I didn't look directly at David, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that he had stopped moving and turned his head to me.

"After you sire her, huh?"

"Uh-huh," I said, trying to sound calmer than I actually felt.

David laughed. "Oh, they grow up so fast! One day they're playing with puppies and the next thing you know they're siring goth girls!"

"One goth girl, David. One," I said, putting up my index finger for emphasis.

Suddenly, the door opened and we could hear Angus singing at the top of his lungs, in a drunken voice, "Four and twenty virgins came down to Inverness! And when the ball was over there was four and twenty less..."

Elizabeth was holding him up, even drunker than he was, and she joined in the chorus. "Singing balls to your partner, ass against the wall! If you've never been fucked on a Saturday night you've never been fucked at all!"

They were followed by Elizabeth's sister, Laura, who scowled angrily.

"Will you shut up?!?" she shouted.

Elizabeth and Angus laughed at her. Then Angus turned to Elizabeth and said, "You're pronouncing the words wrong. It's arse against the wall!"

Elizabeth laughed and responded, "Oh yeah? Well, the important word is pronounced 'fucked' and not 'fookt'. You're mispronouncing it twice!"

"Oh, Jesus Christ what fresh hell is this?" David asked.

"It looks like someone had a really good time at the mating ceremony," I said. Laura shot me a deadly look. "Let me make some coffee," I said, standing up and heading for the kitchen.

Elizabeth said, "Here, I'll help you, Shtoosh... Stash... Slash..." and she collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles. "You know, for a sexy man, you've sure got a weird name!"

Meanwhile, Angus crossed the room and launched himself at the couch, where he laid his head down in David's lap.

"I've missed you, my sweet blackberry..."

David rolled his eyes, but he still smiled at him anyway.

"Stosh, you'd better make that coffee strong. They've been like this since they got to the party." Laura looked irritated and out of patience, so I took her hand and pulled her into the kitchen with me.

"What happened?"

She sighed. "They bonded over beer. Lots and lots of beer. That, and howling lessons."

I smiled at her as I started the coffee.

"I mean with you. Didn't you go there with Michelle? Where is she now?"

Laura gave me a sad smile.

"I love Michelle, but I don't want to join her pack. And when I told her that, we had a fight."

Suddenly, I realized that Laura's eyes were red and swollen from tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, putting my arms around her.

Laura collapsed into sobs on my shoulder. I rubbed her back. We stood in my kitchen and I hugged her for a long time, long enough for her to stop crying.

"It's okay. It was a long time coming. Either it's right or it's not right. And it's just not right with her. It hasn't been right for a while now."

By this point, the coffee was done. I pulled down cups for all of us - once again my apartment felt crowded, but I found it easier to be a good host if I concentrated on comforting Elizabeth's sister.

"Do you take cream? There's some in the refrigerator."

"Oh, I didn't know you can drink cream."

I smiled at her. "I can't. Well, maybe I can, but I don't. Your sister likes it, though."

Laura chuckled a little. "Do you have sippy cups for Angus and Bitsy? I'm pretty sure they're too drunk to be trusted with a mug of hot liquid."

I chuckled with her. "Let's just try to get them to the table."

We called Angus and Elizabeth to the table for coffee. Laura helped Elizabeth get up from the floor, but Angus didn't move.

"I'd like some coffee, but I can't get up right now," David chuckled.

Angus smiled up at him. "You make a nice, soft pillow my love. You're like black velvet."

David smiled at that, and Angus started to sing the song "Black Velvet", without knowing the lyrics.

"Black velvet ya da da da dah duh da. Black velvet and that slow something style,"

Elizabeth and I laughed, while Laura complained.

"David, just shut him up, please."

David leaned over and kissed Angus full on the mouth. Angus sat up and started to run his hands through David's hair.

"Okay, let's give them a minute," I chuckled.

Laura fixed a cup of coffee for her sister and one for herself and took a seat across the table while Elizabeth sat next to me and put her head down.

I rubbed Elizabeth's shoulders. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I haven't drank or danced that much in years. Those wolves are party people. I don't know how they do it."

I chuckled. "They have very strong systems. It must have taken a full keg to get Angus that drunk."

Laura scoffed. "At LEAST that much. When we were driving back, we had to stop four or five times so he could get out and pee, and we were less than fifty miles out of the city!"

"Well, it looks like you guys had quite a day," I laughed.

Laura shook her head with a sad smile. "It was a lot of fun. But then, Michelle had to start introducing me to everybody as her mate, and..."

Laura was tearing up again. I put my hand on hers.

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Or... if you do want to talk, I'll listen."

Laura smiled at me through her tears, and I realized just how miserable she must feel to be stuck hanging around two happy couples.

Suddenly, from the living room, Angus started singing again.

"The vicar's daughter she was there, the cunning little runt! With poison ivy up her arse and nettles up her - "

"GODDAMNIT ANGUS I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!" Laura shouted.

I could see that Laura was angry, but I couldn't help laughing. Pretty soon, we were all laughing.

Elizabeth was in my bed when I woke up the next evening, looking remarkably well-rested, and smiling at me.

"How are you feeling, lovely?"

"I woke up at noon feeling like seven different kinds of shit, so I got up and had some juice, then I came back to bed. About three or four, Angus made us hash and eggs and Laura made coffee."

"Laura's still here?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yep. She said she just didn't feel like going to work this morning, so she canceled her appointments. I think Michelle is going to their house to pick up some of her things, and Laura didn't want to see her, so we just hung out."

"Oh, I'm sorry she's going through that. She must be miserable."

"Yeah, she really is," Elizabeth said, beaming at me. Given the context, it was a little unsettling.

"You're beautiful, but your smile is kind of scaring me right now. What's going on?"

Elizabeth kissed me. "David told Angus that you've decided to sire me."

"Oh, he did?"

She smiled at me. "Yes, he did. Is that true? Did you really decide to turn me into a vampire?"

I took a deep breath. This was a huge, life-changing decision for both of us, and I felt strongly that I should have been the one to tell her. But her face glowed with such excitement that I couldn't help but feel happy, too. She looked like a young child on Christmas morning. How could I resist her?