Forbidden Embrace Read online

  Our fight is actually going pretty good. It is like UFC extreme, I think to myself. Knowing that Isaac has the upper hand, because he has been around longer than I, I put all my effort into the fight. With one swift move he lunges at me; I duck and am able to grab Isaac from behind. Flipping him over, I slam him into the ground. With an arch of his back he jumps back to his feet, chasing after me. With lightning speed I race up the side of a tree and flip to land behind him. Just as fast Isaac turns to face me, and with hand to hand combat we continue. My emotional ties to this area add passion to my fight. I don’t want Nathanial or his family hurt, killed or Embraced during all this chaos. From the corner of my eye I see Nathanial, which encourages me to fight harder.

  My entire family seems surprised at how well I am holding my own against Isaac. The need to be aware of my surroundings draws my attention to Elijah. From what I can gather, it appears as though Elijah is telling Alexander to sneak into our fight, to try to distract us. He chooses to help Isaac in attacking me, I assume because they want to ensure my safety when I am faced by multiples fighters. As Isaac and I are involved in our fight, throwing punches and kicks face to face, Alexander comes behind me. I sense him about to attack and move to the side with such stealth that he stumbles towards Isaac, throwing both of them off their fight. During our fight, we need to keep track of what is going on around us, to be aware of our surroundings and those involved. One moment of not paying attention can lose the whole fight.

  I can sense Nathanial freaking out, and I notice Elijah restraining him from interfering in the fight. This is even more of a distraction for me and could cost me the fight. I see him pushing and frantically trying to come to my aid. It’s no problem for Elijah to restrain him, holding him simply with one arm over Nathanial’s chest. With another glance over to Nathanial, that’s what happens to me. Both Alexander and Isaac attack, and Alexander takes me down with a swift kick at my feet. Hitting the ground hard, I try to get my bearings, but before I can retreat, Isaac is above me with a tree branch ready for the kill. Isaac pounds the branch into the ground next to me and helps me to my feet.

  “Good fight kid, you almost had me there,” Isaac says as he brushes the dirt from himself.

  With a smile I respond, “Yeah, if Alexander wouldn’t have come in when he did I would have won that round.”

  “Oh, well, that’s the price you pay for getting distracted, Sis,” Alexander jokes and we walk towards the rest of the family.

  “Sophia you did very well, but Nathanial seems to be a serious distraction for you,” Elijah adds.

  With disappointment, Nathanial lowers his head, “I am so sorry Sophia. I couldn’t stand to watch them hurting you.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about Nate. I think it is best for you to try to distract Sophia. This will aid in her training,” Elijah suggests.

  Everyone agrees that it is best to distract me and teach me not to allow for distractions, while still remaining aware. I have to talk to him now that my fight is over; I can tell he is pretty upset with Isaac and Alexander.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I ask.

  “How can they gang up on you like this? I can’t just stand here and watch two men beat on the woman I love. This is killing me! ” Nathanial is furious, pacing back and forth wearing a path on the still brown grass.

  “I love that you’re concerned about me, but I’m fine, Nate. We need to do this; we have to be prepared. I know you want to help, but you must remember that I am stronger and faster… it’s very difficult to hurt me. Fighting like this would kill you. You can help us–you just can’t fight,” I try to explain.

  “I know all this, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy sitting back and watching you get beat to the ground.”

  “I understand how hard this must be for you; just know I’m doing it to keep you, your family, and your friends safe.”

  “I do know that, and I will help in any way I can. As Elijah suggested, I will come to distract you.”

  I can tell how hard this is for him and that hurts me, but we have to do it.

  As the family gets back to sparring, I rest for a little while. Not only so I can have a break, but so Nathanial can also have a break. We just sit together on the edge of the clearing, watching the others fight. We continue training till early evening before returning home. We don’t want to be out in case the Cerberus can sense us and arrive before we are ready for them. We don’t know their powers, and one may have the ability to sense others with supernatural powers just as Caspian did.

  “So I’m able to spend the night again. I told my parents that all the boys are going snowboarding in the morning and I’m invited. I don’t like to lie to my parents, but it does avoid questions,” Nathanial says with a hint of remorse.

  “You’re so close to your family. I feel awful we can’t let them know my family’s secret, but it will just put them in danger,” I confirm.

  “I know, and that’s why I do it.”

  ***

  The family decides to take the rest of the night off from all things Cerberus. We have been wrapped up in planning and preparing since New Year’s. School is starting again soon and we need a night of relaxation.

  “Mati and I are going to watch a movie in the family room; you two are welcome to join us,” Alexander invites.

  Elijah and Florence both head to the study to read a book, and Isaac and Constance both have to work the late shift at the hospital.

  “So, do you want to watch a movie with Alex and Mati or just do our own thing?” I ask.

  “Let’s just go chill by ourselves,” Nathanial suggests.

  We head up to my room, crawl up on my bed and turn on the newest Nickelback CD from my new collection. It’s so nice to just listen to the music and relax. We enjoy each other and start joking around a little.

  “So sweetie, I was just wondering…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Exactly how ticklish are you?” Nathanial jumps on me and begins to tickle me.

  I start squirming and laughing…I could easily push him off but this is fun–it feels so normal. Lightly sitting on top of me, he instantly stops tickling me and slowly bends down to kiss me. I love feeling the weight of his body on top of me; it’s so comforting, like a big thick blanket on a cold winter night. The kiss sets fireworks off within my body again. His lips are as soft and gentle as a downy baby chick, moving in perfect synch with mine once again. Nathanial sits up and climbs off of me to kneel beside me, and I rise to my knees in front of him. Still kissing, we pause for a moment. He slowly runs his hands down my arms to my fingertips, intertwining his fingers with mine. Nathanial slowly lifts my arms above my head and then runs his hands back down my sides, without moving his eyes from mine. With a slow fluid motion, he lifts my shirt from my navel over my breasts and slips it off. I yearn for him, needing him more than ever. As he is slowly kissing me up and down my neck, I gently pull back and take his shirt off, tossing it to the floor next to mine. Running his hands down my bare back over my bra strap he whispers, “You are so beautiful. Your skin is so soft and creamy smooth. I’ve never imagined anything feeling so perfect,” he says as he slowly kisses my bare shoulder.

  “I love you so much Nate! You are so amazing.” I run my hands over his perfectly chiseled chest. Leaning forward, kissing his chest, I slowly move my hands over his wash board abs.

  Gently he pulls me into him so that we are skin to skin as he holds me. My hair is up in a ponytail, and Nathanial pulls the pony holder out, letting my hair falls to my shoulders. I melt as he runs his fingers through my tussled hair. The feel of his fingers running through my hair and down my back is electric. Being so close to the man of my dreams is indescribable.

  I wonder if this is it. Are Nathanial and I about to make love for the first time? My heart begins to flutter with excitement and nervousness.

  “Nate, have you ever done anything like this before? Have you ever had sex before?” I ask.

  “No! I had never really eve
n kissed a girl, until you; unless you count Sara in my third grade class,” he laughs, “What about you?”

  “There was a boy I dated for a while when I was sixteen…he was my first kiss. He was really just a friend, as I had no intimate feelings for him. Once my family promised my hand in marriage to the Duke we had to refrain from seeing each other. Then, before my wedding I was Embraced and saved from being a baby-making factory for an old man. I guess now it is you stuck with an old woman.” We both chuckle.

  “I don’t think of you like that; to me you are the woman I love, and that is the only thing that matters to me. You know the old cliché…’age doesn’t matter’. I can understand that statement to its full extent now.”

  He grabs me in his arms and holds me close. We start falling on to the bed, entangled with one another. I have never felt so much passion before–I never even thought anything like this existed. How on earth did I ever become so lucky to have found Nathanial? I never want this feeling to end. Then I start thinking, are we really ready for this? Am I ready for this? My family has all explained what it’s like to have sex. Alexander has explained the difference between human sex and vampire sex. He said it was exciting and exhilarating as a human, but as a vampire it is like thousands of lightning bolts shooting through your body all at once. He explained to me once that it is impossible to control our strength during intercourse. That during intercourse as a vampire every feeling and sensation is multiplied by millions. The part I find real interesting is the connection he described to me. There is a complete connection during intercourse, and one can feel every feeling and thought of the other. No secret can be kept because the one you’re involved with will now know it all and know you like no other. There was no real way of explaining it. Alexander explained that I can seriously hurt Nathanial if we do have sex; that my thirst for his blood may drive me insane, and even be impossible to resist. Finally he told me that is what happened with Caspian and Ashley. After 30 years I finally found out what drove my brother; Caspian, away from our family; the full details of the night we found Ashley covered in blood, and Caspian destroyed over what he had done. It just seems like so much to handle, and I can’t help but question if we are really ready for such a step.

  I want to share this with Nathanial, but I never want to hurt him. I’m strong emotionally now when it comes to my relationship with Nathanial…maybe we can do this and I might be able to control myself. Then I start becoming abundantly aware of his scent, his blood coursing through his veins, and his increased heart rate. I begin to question what is happening and if this is a bad idea…I don’t think I can fully trust myself. I have been told that since his blood has been planted within me from the day of his attack, I should be able to resist him, but I just don’t think I’m willing to risk it. I’m not ready for Nathanial to meet the same fate that Ashley did so many years earlier.

  “Nate, I don’t know if this is a good idea. I’m scared I might hurt you, or worse,” I confess.

  “Sophia, I know you’d never harm me. I trust you completely, but if you aren’t ready for this we can wait. I love you and I want the day we make love to be special, and memorable. I don’t want you to be scared or resent it. So never mind, we should wait until we are both ready and the time is right,” he comforts me.

  We share so much passion for each other it’s hard to resist, but we have to for his safety. Maybe one day I’ll have more confidence in myself, but today is not the day.

  I decide to change into my pajamas, so we can just fall asleep in each other’s arms. It’s the perfect way to end the night. I don’t sleep for long, but I enjoy cuddling up to him. He smells so good and I love watching him sleep, so peaceful and warm. When I’m in his arms I finally feel like I belong. Then my mind drifts to Danika. She has been fairly absent again lately, and with the family so wrapped up in training, no one has really noticed. I can’t help but think she’s up to no good. She can’t be anywhere near the fight, she’s far too young. I would like to know what she is up to; to have somebody watching her.

  ***

  Morning comes and this means our last day of winter break. Ms. Edwina and her granddaughters arrive at our place early. We want to organize all of the potions and spells we will need in the fight against the Cerberus. This way the supplies are ready when we need them, since we’ll be at school most of the day. The arrangements with Nate’s parents have been set. They believe that Elijah and Florence have already left town and Isaac and Constance will be taking the rest of us in a few days, with the exception of Danika of course.

  “The Renata contacted me early this morning. The Cerberus are getting closer–we have to be ready. I think it may be time to store the potions and spells up at the clearing, rather than here at the house,” Elijah explains. “That way no matter where we are when this goes down, we have everything we need already at the clearing.”

  “We can use that safe in my room. I already made some camouflage for it. I can hide it well so that if someone does stumble near it, they will never find it,” Alexander confirms.

  “I have to ask, what is so special and magical about the clearing? It’s got to be more than the spells…I mean what will draw them there rather than into town? How can we know they will sense it?” Danika releases her concerns.

  Isaac smiles and says, “We suspect that one of the leaders can sense powers and magical or supernatural energies, so if we all congregate there it should draw them to us.”

  “Also my dear, the clearing was once used as a magical ritual ground, and many of the area witches have chosen the area to cross from the mortal life into Summerland,” Ms. Edwina explains.

  Danika looks even more perplexed now, “What is Summerland?”

  Ebony sits next to Danika as Ms. Edwina continues, “Summerland is where we witches go upon our demise, our death until we are chosen to return to the Mother Earth.”

  Potions and spells should be organized into different categories such as power enabling, protection, healing, freezing, binding, and enhancement. Matilda suggests we color code the vials as an extra safety measure. We have to ensure all enhancement potions were kept in different vials as to not throw them at the Cerberus…we don’t want to enhance their strength or powers. Ms. Edwina will control these during the fight. The girls also made her a protection broach; she can’t fight at her age, and we need her protected just as Matt and Nathanial are by their watch and wrist band. As she is very old and we fear for her, she will be put in a type of bubble for protection. The rest of us can’t use such protection because it does affect our powers as we suspected and we are unclear as to how it will affect us while fighting.

  The girls made protection potions so that if one of us gets injured and needs time to heal, they can hit us with one and the Cerberus will not be able to get to us. This might help, but unless I am near the injured when the protection spell was thrown, I won’t be able to get to them either. That is why they also made healing potions to enhance the increased speed of healing. I feel confident that all our bases are covered. As vampires we can heal and regenerate, but the length of time depends on the severity of the injuries. My power or ability allows me to speed the healing process to only moments.

  Nathanial is pleased. “Thank you for involving me so much in the planning, but I’m still not happy about having to stay home when you are risking everything.”

  I feel bad because he has no one to talk to about all this. Matt has no clue about the supernatural and anyone else that does know has supernatural abilities. I can only imagine that it would be nice for Nathanial to have someone to talk to and confide in.

  “I've been thinking of confiding in Matt. He means so much to me, and was there for me when I first found out I was a witch. Everything that happened at school, with my powers, well he didn’t even react to it. He has been nothing but patient and supportive. I just don’t want him to think I’m a freak,” Ebony says nervously.

  “Wow, that was good timing,” I chuckle.

  “Wh
at was?”

  “I was just thinking about Matt not knowing and how it would be nice for Nathanial to have a friend to confide in.”

  “I guess great minds do think alike,” she laughs.

  I encourage her, knowing how hard it is to have a secret like this. I have a really good feeling about Matt; there is just something special about him, and Matilda sees his and Ebony’s two souls fitting together. Alexander still can’t read him and although he finds it frustrating, he believes it’s for a reason. We all know he’s good because of his soul. When we first met Matt, Matilda said he has a white soul, something she has only seen once before.

  “Ebony, if you want help talking to Matt we can be there for you. It may be good for him to know that Nate is so understanding and accepting of everything, and yet still a mortal,” I volunteer.

  “That just may be the way to do this,” she agrees with relief. “I have plans with him...in about an hour. Why don’t you and Nate come with me? No better time than now. I think he should know before the battle; plus I should probably get this over with, before I lose all my nerve.”

  “Great. I can finally talk to a buddy about this,” Nathanial interjects.

  “What am I? Just some scary old vampire, I guess,” Alexander jokes.

  Nathanial smirks. “Yeah, you’re absolutely terrifying.”

  We all know he just wants someone to talk to that’s in the same situation as him, or at least a similar situation. Being in love with a supernatural being must be difficult. This way Matt and Nathanial can rely on one another for support when things are out of their control. I also feel that it adds safety to the situation for Nathanial, because now there will be two mortals that know about us. It protects him in a sense; with Matt knowing what is going on, they can keep one another from interfering.