Chapter 17

Dru's POV

"Someone needs to explain to us what's going on!" I practically shouted as I sat at the head of the council table. Graves was seated in the chair to my left with Bruce & Alton next to him. To my right sat Hiro, Augie and Dylan.

"We deserve to know what the hell is going on with our daughter and Christophe. We know you are all hiding something and it's about time you fill us in."

"Dru, Graves, we have been researching for nearly 18 years and WE still do not know how to explain the connection," Dylan began to explain. I knew they knew something!

"The only thing that we keep coming back to is bonding," Hiro added.

"Which doesn't make much sense because he has never drank from her, or vice versa," Bruce said.

"What exactly is BONDING?" I asked. I have only heard the term a few times in my life.

It was Alton who answered, "A bond can happen in three different ways. It can be formed between Nosferat and humans, Djamphirs and humans, and Nosferat and Djamphir. Nosferat can also form bonds between their own kind and so may the Djamphir. It's a sort of exchange of energy-life force-essence-emotion that connects two beings; it goes deeper than flesh. It's felt in their hearts and their spirit and can link them telepathically or empathically over any distance. There is a deeply felt love that ties them together, if not flesh to flesh, than soul to soul. One way to form a bond is when two individuals drink from each other, hence, exchanging blood. Another is if one of the two took more than four draws of blood from the other; no exchange needed. In that case that individual is the only one bonded to the other. The last type of bond we discovered does not form by exchanging blood. It is a deep connection between two beings, as if their blood is calling to each other; a driving force felt deep inside that propels them to make sure the other is always safe. The connection is instantaneous as well as unbreakable once physical contact is made; however, the exchange of blood strengthens the bond and the two involved."

"We believed the last one to be a possibility, but your daughter showed no sign of what Christophe was feeling as she was growing up; not the way he has," Bruce explained.

"But it is the only bond that doesn't include the exchange of blood, though it seems one sided," Augie finally spoke up.

"So, what you're telling us is that Christophe is POSSIBLY bonded with our daughter!" Graves roared.

"We are saying, that as unlikely as it may be, there is still a possibility," Hiro answered calmly.

"There has to be another explanation! She's barely going to be eighteen! He's too damn old!" I stood as I shouted at them.

"Dru, when we live indefinitely, stuck in a teenage or for some, a young adult's body, the only thing that truly ages is our maturity and knowledge," Dylan explained.

"I don't care, especially when he was all over Dru in the past! What about that huh? What about the connection he had with her, is it just gone now; couldn't have my wife so he goes after our daughter?" Graves questioned.

"We are all aware of the relations between Reynard and Dru in the past!" Augie actually stood so fast that his chair fell back from him bumping it in the process. "Dru, tell me, you used to feel drawn to him too, right?" I nodded as I glanced at Graves. "After the twins were born and he came to visit you, did you still feel anything towards him?" Surprised they all knew something I thought I'd kept private left me speechless; all I could do was shake my head. "When he returned, he was beside himself with emotions. You know that he would never willingly come to the council to ask for help of any sort, but the day he returned he came to us for guidance. He ACTUALLY ASKED us to help him, to understand what it was he was feeling."

"We're not even positive that it's a bond he shares with Milady," Bruce added. "That, however, is the closest thing that explains any of this."

"He has tried his hardest to avoid any and all direct contact with her, but in just the few days you have all been here, we can see things changing in the both of them."

I sat there contemplating the discussion and finally spoke up. "At one point Christophe and I had exchanged blood; it wasn't immediately after one another, but we did. He drank from me when we had escaped the reform Schola, and then I had from him when Anna shot me. Why wasn't there a bond formed then?"

"The timing of the two events was probably spread too far apart," Bruce began.

"Or maybe a part of you did bond, maybe the part of you Emmalynn came from," suggested Alton.

"That just seems too far-fetched," Augie replied.

"Hold on just a minute. When I drank from Christophe, nothing had happened besides my healing." They didn't seem to get what I was saying, so I clarified, "When Anna forced me to drink from her, I saw images of her past, I heard her voice in my head, I even absorbed all of her training. When I drank from Graves it was the same thing; I wasn't able to hear him, but I felt his emotions flowing inside me. With Christophe I didn't get a thing, but…"

"But what?" Graves asked. He wasn't going to be happy with what I was about to say next, I just knew it. I gathered my courage and surged forward. "Since we've been back, Emmalynn has been having nightmares, or from what I believe are visions, the true seeins that I get, only different. I didn't realize it in the beginning, or maybe I was just in denial, but they have all been of Christophe. She has seen images of him, from his past when he was under his father's control, of him saving me, loving me, even when he first seen her; and she feels every ounce of emotion he's had during all of it. She sees and feels life through him."

"But she can feel what everyone around her is feeling, why is this different?" Graves retorted.

"Because she doesn't just feel his emotion, she feels the physical pain that was inflicted on him also. And she's never had visions like this in the past. Plus when I tried to help her retract the touch, she said there was one last part of her that wouldn't budge; it just stayed in place. Think about it Graves," I turned to him and enfolded his hands in mine. "How quick she was to catch on to all the training she endured, it's like it was always there, somewhere inside her, waking up as if it had been hibernating. Not to mention, her self-discipline that is extreme for anyone at her age."

"What the hell does this mean?" He asked as he turned to the others.

"I think it means that we need to look into this further. We need to understand exactly what it is that's happening to our daughter."

"If what you're saying about her dreams, or visions, as you put it; then I do believe there is a bond between the two, it may be one that we just haven't figured out, or we have, but we're missing something," Hiro said thoughtfully.

"What about Leon and Eleanor?" That question got me a surprised look from every face in the room. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but they were bonded right? How?"

"They were bonded through the exchange of blood. Why is it you ask?" Bruce questioned.

"I was just curious, I knew they were bonded, I just never knew how."

Graves stood up abruptly, and without saying a word, began to leave. I caught up to him in the parlor and asked him what was wrong.

"I don't want to hear about anymore bonds, or possibility of bonds; especially when it involves our little girl, and definitely not with Christophe. I just need to process all this with some peace and quiet. You go ahead and go back in there. I'm going to go for a walk or something."

"Graves, I know it's hard, and I'm having a really hard time dealing with this too, but we need to keep an open mind about whatever we find out," it was easier said than done, and I wasn't even sure I could do it myself. "Promise me you'll try?"

"No guarantee's, but for you I'll try," he told me as he leaned down and kissed me.

"Thank you."

"No problem babe, first one's free; remember."

EMMALYNN'S POV

He stayed silent, not verifying what I had asked; all he did was stare. As I kept looking into his eyes he brought his free hand to my face. I was unsure about the tingling sensation coming from our touch, but I felt like I needed to feel his warmth. The feel of my hands on his face and his on mine was like nothing I have ever felt before, and I liked it. I have never thought of boys in anyway like that. I grew up around nothing but guys, besides mom, Nat and Amelia. I mean, Amelia's told me about the boys here at the Schola when she'd visit. About who she thought was cute and who wasn't; that was until her and my little brother fell in love. They spent that entire visit of hers holding hands, flirting, cuddling when no one was around, they even shared their first kiss that summer. I never understood what would make a person fall head over heels for someone, as they'd described it. I was too occupied with my own life to even think to share it with someone else outside of my family. Boys just weren't something I cared about in that affectionate way. Don't get me wrong, I loved to watch old romantic movies, I mean, what my dad thought was 'The Notepad' was my favorite movie of all time. I liked watching two people fall in love from the sidelines, but I never thought 'what if that was me'; I just didn't.

I don't know if that's what this is, I mean I feel completely drawn to this guy right in front me. His touch is electrifying, in a good way, and the way HE'S feeling is pulling at me even more. Though, his emotions were a bit haywire; I could feel his nervousness, anxiety, sadness and some pain, but behind it all there's love. I know what love feels like-I feel the love of my family every day, but this was different. This wasn't the warm personal attachment or deep affection I feel with my family; no, this feels tender, passionate-a yearn for desire. If I ever had to describe love at first sight, this would be it; even with the images and reminders that this person vied for my mother's affection at one point in time didn't change the strange attraction I was feeling. I didn't ever put any thought into what my first kiss would be like, but I really didn't care. I began to raise my lips to his, slowly rising up on my tip toes because he was much taller than me. As I got closer my eyes fluttered shut, I felt his hot breath against my mouth and what felt like butterflies began to flutter in my midsection. As soon as I expected our lips to meet, my hands were suddenly empty and I opened my eyes to nothing but an empty gym.

"What the-" I whispered to myself. Feeling embarrassed and rejected, I had to stop myself from following him even though I knew exactly where he was. This was new, I've always known what people around me felt, I was always able to tell when my brother needed me and how to find him, but I wasn't ever able to pin point anyone's EXACT location by just focusing on them. The further he moved away the more I felt like a part of me was being taken with him and it hurt. It was a blind ache that even my aspect wouldn't soothe. Tears pooled my eyes, and I tried to stop them from flowing freely. Instead of letting my sadness overwhelm me, I wiped at my face and fell into first form.

The rest of the day after that flew by; in fact I can't even remember what I had for lunch. By the time the weekend arrived I was exhausted. Ever since that day in the gym with Christophe, I haven't slept. It's not that I couldn't, but I'm so damn tired of waking up sweaty, and screaming and crying. I didn't want to feel anymore of the pain, I needed a break from it, so I've kept myself awake. My parent's noticed my behavior and even offered to stay with me in my room so I could try to get some sleep, but I couldn't keep drawing them away from each other. They seemed like they were going through something important that needed their full attention anyway. The last three days they have gone straight to the council room after dinner, leaving E.J., Amelia and me under the watch of the guards, which included Amelia's mom and dad. We usually sat and watched movies or played pool until Amelia had to go back to her dorm; E.J. and her parents would always walk her back. That was the only time I'd had the chance to be by myself. I mean, the guards were there, but were working, and Ash was there too, but he didn't bother me. He always knew when I wanted to be alone. Except I didn't want to be alone, there was someone who I longed to be near, but I haven't seen him since that day he fled the gym, the day he ran away from me. I know he didn't want to, I knew it hurt him the further he got from me because I felt the same way; I just wanted to know why he did it. I hadn't been back to the gym since then. I spent my last two days in the infirmary with Dibs. It's not like I was avoiding Christophe, I just knew he wasn't going to be there, so why should I bother to show up. As tired as I was, I was relieved that the weekend was finally here.

DRU'S POV

As we drove off the Schola property I wondered what thought's were going on through my daughter's mind. She's been in such a desolate state since she's met him. I still remember the council meeting we had that day after dinner…..

"Graves, Dru, I give my apologies for my behavior today," Chris said after we'd all sat down.

"For what exactly?" I'd asked.

"Did you not speak to Milady Emmalynn?"

We looked at each other than back towards him and told him no.

"I didn't intend-I didn't expect," he paused, "her reaction to be what it was."

"And what was her reaction?" Graves said through gritted teeth.

"My intentions today were to train her, but as soon as we made eye contact, she," he couldn't seem to finish, so Augie spoke up.

"Milady Emmalynn attempted to kiss-"

Things happened so fast it took me a second to catch on. Graves had Christophe pressed up against the wall while Bruce and Hiro were pulling at his arms trying to get him off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! She's just a child, MY child! Who the fuck do you think you are-going after the daughter of the woman you couldn't have!" Graves yelled.

"Nothing happened. I left the gym before she got close enough! As much as it made me feel like an asshole, I walked away from it, from her! And what was worse is the way it made her feel. I'm sorry, I didn't expect any of that to happen!"

Christophe wasn't even fighting back, he wasn't even trying to get out of the hold he was in. He just looked so lost and defeated.

"Dammit! What the hell does this mean now?" Grave said as he let him go and moved back to where he was sitting; although he stood standing. "Why the hell has this happened? How? I'll be damned if my daughter has anything to do with you!"

"Graves!" Now I was standing, "It's not his fault! It's no one's fault! We may not know exactly what it is they share, but we all know that it's something-a bond if we need to call it that. It's also something not you or even me can come in between as far as we know." I didn't want to believe it, hell I didn't even want to admit it, but from the looks of it, the situation is out of our hands. "Now, let's all have a seat and discuss this like adults!"

"What are we discussing now?" Graves asked sitting down placing his elbows on the table and his face in his hands.

"Well, we have to figure out how to tell Emmalynn first of all." I'm earning major points in the surprise department with all the astonished looks I keep getting from everyone in the room…..

While watching my daughter stare out of the window, my heart squeezed in on itself. I know she needed to know why she was feeling this way, of why she felt lost without him there, but we still haven't figured out how to tell her.

"Mom, you okay?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"You're sad," she said as she turned to look at me.

"I just want to help you sweetheart. To help you sleep peacefully," I added quickly.

"Thanks, but I don't know if anything could help."

"A little shopping can make anyone feel better," sang Nat with Amelia joining in. We all laughed, Em even cracked a small smile, and the heaviness in my heart lightened up a little. Soon we arrived in the heart of Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and were off to shop.

I always had such a plain style, thanks to Nat my wardrobe was successfully updated all of the time. I mean, I still had no style, and stuck to dark boring colors most of the time, but Nat and Emmalynn didn't let me go out without a suggestion from them. Emmalynn was as stylish as Nat, if not more. Her and Amelia were lucky to have Nat there to guide them in the style department. Em, like Nat, always looked so finished, as if she walked off a runway; even when she was training. The curls that would fall from her ponytails or braids looked like they were there on purpose. She was beautiful and fierce; aspect or no aspect.

Her and Amelia made their way to the fitting rooms with Nat in tow. I was still looking through the lingerie section when my cell buzzed in my purse.

"Anderson."

"I'm still offended that you hyphenated your last name ya know," Graves joked through the speaker.

"Ha ha ha, you really gotta let that go. What's up?"

"Just want to check on my girls. How's the shopping going?"

"It's going good, considering Em hasn't been herself since we've got here."

"It'll be okay babe, I promise."

"Will it? We still haven't had the chance to talk to her about Christophe. And she still hasn't said anything to me about the other day."

"We can't blame her. She just doesn't understand it herself. I wish she would talk to us about it, but we still haven't tried talking to her either."

"I get that, but she always tells me everything; at least she used to."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. It's my fault too. I mean I guess I am being a little difficult about this whole thing. It just feels so wrong, our daughter and him."

"It's creepy to me too, but seeing her this way, not sleeping, hardly eating, isolating herself from us, from E.J.! We have to do something, starting with telling her."

"Ya I know. Maybe tonight after their party, we can sit down with her or something. But what about afterwards-after she knows, then what?"

"We'll take it a day at a time I guess. How's the decorating going?"

"We're almost done. We'll be wishing our kids a happy birthday at the stroke of midnight tonight!"

"I still can't believe they were born at exactly midnight under a full moon."

"If you ask me, I still think it's pretty cool. Well, I'll let you get back to your girl time. Have fun, I love you both."

"Love you too."

The shopping on Fifth Avenue lasted until mid-afternoon. We had lunch at a little bistro that was selected by Amelia. After, we had one last stop, a costume store that Nat was determined for us to go.

"The party is a masquerade! We have got to get appropriate attire," she exclaimed.

The girls were excited about it so I gave in. Ash, Benjamin, Isaac and the twin blondes (yes, I still referred to them that way), were even excited about it. Everyone in the Schola was excited too, it was going to be the biggest birthday party these kids had ever had.

"Mom," Emmalynn started, "I mean Dru, check this one out!" She couldn't call me mom in public, I mean we looked like friends at least if not sisters because I stopped aging once I'd bloomed over twenty years ago.

"That looks amazing; it really brings out your eyes," I responded.

"Oh my gosh Em, that's gorgeous!" Shrieked Amelia. "And it goes perfect with your dress!"

"She's right, it's beautiful," Nat agreed. "What about you Dru? Have you picked one yet?"

"I think I'll go with this one, what do you think?" I asked showing her one with feather designed as if it were an owl.

"Love it! Let's find the guys and get outta here! We got a party to get to!" She said excitedly.

EMMALYNN'S POV

The outing today was just what I needed to distract myself from what's been going on inside my head the past few days. I let myself focus on what everyone else around me was feeling as opposed to focusing on Christophe. I know my mom and dad knew about what happened the other day, they were just avoiding talking to me about it. I was okay with that; I don't know how they'd react about what happened, but I wasn't ready to find out. I had read about things that related to the way I felt. I know there's some sort of bond or blood-link between him and me, I just didn't know how I felt about it. I'm not your normal svetocha or wulfen, hell I don't even know exactly what I am. But I know I'm not a freak, no matter how many of my fellow students think that I am! Who the hell did those jerks even think they are? I don't even care, the only opinion that matters to me is the one of my family…..and Christophe's I guess. Well actually, I know. From what I've been told, djamphir had looked at wulfen, even loup garou, as second class citizens. As a child I thought it was ridiculous and plus, I never experienced the unequal treatment. When I got here to the Schola Prima, I saw first-hand what they meant; djamphir and wulfen stuck to their own kind all the time. My brother and me hung around the wulfen during lunch and whatever free time we were given between classes because of Amelia. The one time I had had any interaction with a djamphir besides my Guard and the council members, was when that jerk Adam (from what E.J. called him) had called me out during his La Cross practice. My brother beat him up really good for that one in the sparring room. But other than that none of the other students, djamphir or wulfen for that matter, had tried to even talk to me. Again, I didn't care. The only thing that got to me was that I didn't see him; I thought about him all the time, but he was no where around. I knew his past, especially when my own mom and grandmother were involved, but it honestly didn't bother me. What bothered me was the fact that he pretended I didn't exist. I know he felt the same way for me as I did for him, but the fact that he's ignoring it really pisses me off.

I finished putting the last few touches of my outfit together. I had chosen to wear a white, Greek goddess-like gown, with a pair of six inch gold rhinestone peep-toe pumps and my green and gold jeweled mask. I left my hair down and let the curls fall freely to my hips, and very little make up. I mean, it's a masquerade party, you wouldn't see my make up anyway. We left the condo a little after eight, my brother, Amelia and me. As we made our way to the party them two took the lead, while Benjamin and Isaac flanked me, and Thomas and George fell behind. When we walked into the room that the party was being held the music lowered as everyone shouted HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The place was packed with the entire Schola being in attendance. I admit, I was pretty nervous because all of our past birthday consisted of only our family, our guard, the council members and our tutors. I had never been to a party this extravagant or with this many people, ever. I could feel the excitement radiating from every person in here. Amelia and E.J. made their way to the dance floor as Shanks deejay'd the music. After awhile of upbeat music, he slowed it down. I had been dancing in the crowd the whole time pretty much.

I was surprised when the first slow song that played was announced for my dad and me. Everyone cleared out the center of the dance floor to make way for us. The song was Daddy's little girl by T. Miranda, I knew it cause I used to sing it to my dad all the time as a little girl. There was nothing I loved more than being in my dad's arms, I loved my parents so much. They always made us feel safe and never made us feel unloved. As we danced, I began to tear up; he slowly pulled away to look at me and I seen that he was tearing up a little too. I hugged him tight as we finished the rest of our dance. The end of the song came sooner than I wanted it to. After that a few other students got up on the make shift stage and began to play live music.

"I thought you'd like a drink," a guy, I think his name was Scott, said as he handed me a cup.

"Thank you." After I finished my drink he asked me to dance. And because I didn't want to stand around looking bored at a party my family had thrown for my brother and me, I said yes. We danced for about three songs, then the music began to slow again. I had started to make my way off the dance floor when Scott had grabbed my hand and asked for one more dance. Reluctantly, I agreed and we began to sway to the music. As he held me I kept wishing he were someone else; I knew Christophe was here, but he stayed out of my sight. I wasn't about to go looking for him either, if he wanted to be seen than he would. It hurt to think about how he didn't even want to come near me. As soon as the song was over I excused myself. The party was a huge hit, as I looked around I noticed that every single being were getting down on the dance floor and I was happy they were all having a great time.

I finished probably the hundredth cup of punch and made my way back onto the dance floor to join Nat and Amelia. The music numbed my senses and I completely let go, releasing my mind and body to the beat. My mom had eventually joined us along with dad in tow. I glanced around myself and even saw the guards join the crowd. I had gone back and forth between the dance floor and the punch bowl more times than I could count and eventually needed the restroom. Not wanting to take anyone away from their fun, I decided to make a quick trip down the hall; it's not like I was trying to sneak off again.

After washing up I grabbed my mask and went to walk out the door, but something stopped me. I could hear footsteps running down the hall and knew for a fact they weren't wulfen or djamphir. As the footsteps faded further away I peeked out the door. The hallway was clear as I looked up and down it, but I was very aware that something was off. Luckily, we were having the party in the gym right across from the armory. Without hesitating, I quickly ran across the hall and inside the room to grab a pair of malaika and once again went out into the hallway.

The anger and hate I felt was like nothing I'd ever felt before. At least not from first hand, but I do remember it from my crazy ass dreams. I walked down the hall in the opposite direction from the party follow where the footsteps had gone, and came up to a four way split. Before I could decide which way to head I heard glassy screams from all ends, except for the hall behind me. As I quickly glanced down each hall I saw them appear out of nowhere. They were in packs of six, three guys in the lead with three girls in the back, and their groups filled all three halls I was facing; I wasn't too sure if eighteen to one were good odds, but I didn't pause to find out.

They picked up the pace, still walking and I fell into first form. The burning oil of my aspect coursed through and I let out a hiss. While staring me down they came to an abrupt stop, and looked at each other confused. The only reason I could come up with as to why, was because they saw my eyes; while in my aspect they went black from lid to lid. And as much as we've researched we still couldn't understand it.

The one who seemed like the leader turned back to me and lifted his nose to the air sniffing it, "SSSSSSvetosssshaaa," he slithered through his fangs. With that said they began to run at me. I stayed in place, held my form and waited for them to hit my toxic barrier. I would be damned if I charged up any of the halls to allow them to get behind me. Two males on my left and one on my right died immediately after reaching my toxicity, choking on their own blood as they clawed their own throats. I spun my swords, pivoted my feet back and forth slashing through four others without moving from the spot I was in. I continued to cut and slash through seven more letting my aspect run through me in waves weakening them as they got too close. One of the girls put up a good fight, but I knew it wasn't going to last long as I seen her face turning a deep purple. She got one last good hit on me before finally dying; it sent me backwards down the hall I came from. I landed as graceful as a cat and when I looked back up at the remaining three girls I let out my svetocha cry long and loud. I darted back towards them slicing through the midsection of one, while spinning and cutting off an arm of another and as I was still moving I crossed my blades into scissors and severed off the head of the last one.

"EMMALYNN!" An unfamiliar voice shouted from my left and what was now the direction of the party. Fighting in the center of where two hallways meet can change directions when you're spinning. I turned to face the voice and felt a sharp pain in my right hip. He was running to me at full speed with terror evident on his face. I went to take a step forward, but my right leg wouldn't cooperate. I looked down and saw the lower right side of my white dress was gleaming a deep red. At some point on of the nosferat got their claws in me good as they had went down. Looking back up at Christophe, he looked even more terrified and had also become very blurry. I saw a few others behind him and assumed it was probably my family and guard. Oh no, my parents are going to be pissed, was the last thing I thought before I began to lose consciousness. As I felt Christophe's arms lift me to his body before it hit the floor, the darkness swallowed me.