SUNSET TO SUNRISE
They spent the next night at home. It didn’t compare to the previous night but he was there with her. That was what mattered to her the most. She slept as she always did, in his arms.
Kayla twirled around the room in her black lace lingerie, enjoying the effect it had on Solara. He watched memorizing how she looked from each angle. It was a good thing he didn’t need to breathe because at that moment he could catch his breath. He lifted her off the floor and pushed her back against the wall. Solara let himself explore and enjoy her smooth ebony skin. Kayla swallowed hard as she looked into Solara’s eyes and let him take his pleasure from her.
He lowered his head on her neck, his lips planting fatherly kisses along her skin.
She shivered as his cool breathes against her skin sent electric ripples through her body.
Kayla was startled when his soft lips were replaced with his teeth. They scratched against her skin. Her eyes were wide open as she stifled her scream. She could feel his teeth sink into her flesh. Kayla struggled against his hold on her but couldn’t budge. She tried pulling his head away with both her hands, but the harder she pulled the deeper his teeth sank.
Pain soared through her as her limbs drooped down and a second later she was in darkness.
***
Stephan had to tell Scarlet the truth now, how could he not. How would he be able to explain this? He would have to tell her the whole truth. The phone conversation played back in his head.
How could he be so careless?
He had warned him about this, controlling how physical he got with her and being careful.
He knocked on Solara’s door he had to check the damage before he said anything to Scarlet. The door swung open, and he stomped in.
“Where is she?” Stephan was worried because Kayla was the only family she had, and now Scarlet would have no one. He didn’t know how she would be able to handle it. He went straight into the bedroom. Solara had beaten him into the room. He was at her side holding her hand. Expressions of pain were vivid on her face. The venom. He looked down at his friend before asking the next question. He looked wounded, but he would have to face the result of his actions.
“How much did you take from her?” Kayla looked pale, maybe because of the transformation taking place, or that he drunk too much from her.
“I didn’t, I was kissing her, and we were making love and… And then I bit her. It got out of control. I didn’t know what I was doing….” He trailed off, when he finally spoke again he raised his head and looked at Stephan. Shame was written all over his face. Surprised he didn’t speak he waited, praying that what he assumed wasn’t true.
“When I bit her I didn’t try to suck the venom out. I wanted her to change.” His voice was like that of a small boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“By the time I realized it wasn’t the right thing, my venom had already spread.” Sobs escaped his lips. Stephan wondered why he would soon get what he wanted, she would be damned just like he was, and he did have enough time to apologize for it. He had forever.
“Forever is not enough to make her accept what I have done to her.”
He wondered how her life would be like, would she able to control her thirst. Solara would be able to help with that. He had turned vegetarian for her, and he was well familiar, with the behaviors of a newborn. She wouldn’t be able to see her best friend for a while or ever. It depended on her and what feeling was stronger. The love for her friend or her thirst for her blood.
“What do I do? I know you have dealt with transformations before Stephan, tell me what to do.” He pleaded with him, it saddened him to see him in this kind of situation.
“Don’t worry she is a strong girl. You have to be prepared for when she wakes up. Her thirst will burn through her and all she will want in those few minutes is to feed. Go hunt I will sit with her for a while.”
He could see that leaving her killed him, but he needed time to himself to think, and being out would help him. Stephan had to come up with a way to explain this to her, in case Solara wouldn’t be able to. He began to like Kayla, she had grown on him. Her taunts and sarcastic outbursts amused him. They were spending a lot of time together, all four of them. Part of him felt like he owed her for Solara’s cooled temperament. He no longer hated him nor tolerated him, he now could find truth in the word friend.
Kayla was beautiful, her chocolate skin was unblemished. He wondered how she would look like once the transformation was complete. He would see in the morning, they all would. Morning! That would be something to look forward to, the tattoos that would adorn her skin in the sunlight.
They would mirror that of Solara, her creator. He thought that she would look beautiful, just like Sotera did, he wasn’t sure what she would think about it. Kayla’s thoughts and views weren’t like everyone else’s. She was usually on the wrong side. There was no way of telling what she would think. One thing was for sure, the marks would show that he was hers. That was the one thing he envied about the vampires, you could always tell who their families were, and as for their mates, other marks would be made.
Her phone was ringing. It was Scarlet. She had called a couple of times that night. He could imagine what was going through her head. There was nothing he could do for her. He put her phone on silent and put it in the desk drawer. They had to wait until she woke up, before making any decisions. It had to be Kayla’s choice. They owed her that since it was someone else’s choice that had them in this situation.
***
It was morning, Solara was back, and he breezed into the room with a bag in his hands. “Any change?”
No, but don’t worry she will be up soon. Soon her eyes would open to a different world. They would have to explain to her what was happening to her. Where would they start, how could they make her understand? He decided that he would give Solara a chance to explain himself, he had to. He would only step in when he was needed.
He sat next to her at her head and played with her hair. “She is so beautiful. I hope she forgives me. She has to forgive me.”
“One thing she will do is take off your head. You’re in big trouble, my friend.” Stephan laughed, he could see her face. The fact that she was a million times stronger did not favor his friend in any way. He looked at the bag Solara had brought with him, he caught the scent of human blood.
“Are you sure you want to do that, I understand why but you could have diluted it a bit.” using his head he gestured towards the blood. Pure human blood would only make her stronger, but it would also cause her to go into a desperate frenzy. But she would be able to walk in the sunlight. Kayla needed to control her desires for the sake of Scarlet.
“I meant to ask you how you are going to handle the tattoos and the sun. You will have to explain to her what they are and the effect the sun will have on her skin without the human blood. You have to teach her to feed out of need and not want. I know you vamps can’t stay without a bit of blood in your systems for the sake of keeping appearances, but you could teach her to control it.” He was worried but he trusted him to handle it.
***
As the sun raised so did Kayla. Her eyes searched around the room. Stephan could imagine what she felt at that moment. They both could, they went through the same transformation, although Stephan’s was a bit more complicated. She sat up and searched the room looking at everything and nothing in particular. Her hand flew to her throat, it felt like it was burning, but she couldn’t understand why.
Solara was beside her, he looked worried, and the sun was streaming into the room. She brought her hand up to cradle his face but stopped mid-air. Strange tattoos were running up her arm, she began wondering when she got them, they weren’t there last night. She followed the tattoo, one in particular. A wavy line went up her arm and disappeared into her slip. There was another that ran to her back. She tried rubbing them off, she was sure they were watercolor. As she rubbed on them another line formed from her ring finger, she panicked as she watched it crawl up her arm and into her cleavage.
Solara tried to wrap his arms around her, to calm her down. He couldn’t hold on to her as she pushed her way out of his arms and rushed to the dressing mirror. A terrified shriek ripped through her throat, she was hysterical now. Rubbing her legs and arms frantically.
“What’s happening to me, what’s going on?”
They watched her unable to help her, not daring to answer her, nature had to take its course. The tattoos were her identity, a symbol to show where and who she belonged to.
She was crying now at least she thought she was, but no tears were running down her cheeks as they should be. She traced her finger under her eye, nothing. The hysteria passed and confusion set in. She turned around and faced her audience, they didn’t look shocked as they should have they were more worried than anything else. She tried to calm herself down looking for every rational explanation for the tattoos on her body and her dried up tear ducts.
***
“Kayla, I need you to come sit here for a minute. I know you are confused but I can explain what is happening to you. We both will.” Stephan tried to salvage the little sanity that was left in the room, Solara was frozen at the foot of the bed. He didn’t seem to be any help at the moment, so he would have to do this alone.
He was formulating a plan of action in his mind when Kayla spoke again. It seemed the events of the previous night had come back to her. Apart from the obvious, her attire had filled that gap.
She stared down at Solara, “Why did you bite me last night. After that, all I could feel is excruciating pain and nothing. I was in total darkness after that. What did you give me?”
“I can explain that to you, Kayla, I just need you to listen to me and for you to be calm.” Stephan was pleading with her now.
She raised her nose into the air and sniffed, there was a sweet smell in the air and she followed it into the other room. The bag was on the table, the same bag Solara had come in with that morning. “What is this, it smells so good.” Stephan was behind her now nervous.
She opened the bag and shoved around the contents, she could feel something liquid in a plastic bag. She removed her hand from the bag and jumped back in shock. Her fingers were covered in blood.
“That is what I am trying to explain to you, Kayla.” He took both her arms and led her to the sofa. He thought of telling her what Solara did and how it affected her. He thought he would leave the why to him. Only he could explain his reasons clearly, and at that moment he didn’t think because I love you would do. A crumpled heap on the floor, Solara was not going to be any help.
“Kayla, Solara, and I are not of this world, we are immortals…..” he continued to tell her of Solara being a vampire and of him being a half-vampire. He then told her of him biting her and the venom changing her into one of them. When she asked about the tattoos, he told her it was the identity of her creator and Solara had one like hers, only different in a few places.
He thought she understood him and was surprised with how calmly she took it all until she burst out laughing. “So you are trying to tell me that you two are vampires and my boyfriend bit me and turned me. Does Scarlet know you are crazy?” She chuckled but when she lifted her stained hand to her face.
Stephan saw the myriad of emotions playing on her face. He needed an in. “Solara get up. Tell me what she is thinking.”