37: Unlikely Allies

     "I'd really rather you wait out here." Robert said as politely as he could manage, turning to face Nathaniel. They'd lightly tied off Reggie and Desi to some nearby trees.
     The entire house was surrounded by woods; no road led to it. Gabriella doubted it would even be visible from the air due to the cover of the tall trees. Nathaniel began to understand the 'we' the dog had mentioned. The whole place stank of them, indicating more than one.. more than two. In fact, he could hear four heartbeats inside. Although, one was curiously faster than the others - almost bird-like.
     Gabriella, sensing Nate's mounting anger, said, "You already should know I'm not going anywhere without him." She saw Nate relax the tiniest bit next to her.
     "Also," Nate smiled almost menacingly at Robert, "don't forget I'm outnumbered. Surely your 'pack' can handle a single vampire." He continued to smile and show his fangs, indicating he didn't believe his own words.
     Robert ignored him and turned to Gabriella to say, "You'll be safe with us. We're wanting to help you. We have a common enemy."
     Gabriella rubbed the back of her neck, wishing to avoid a fight. "Nate is on the same side then. Either bring your friends out here or let Nate come inside with me."
     "Bring the vampire inside if you must!" the three of them heard coming from inside the house.
     Robert snorted out a huff and leveled a small glare at Nathaniel before leading the trio into the house, grudgingly inviting Nate inside.

      Nate's anxiety rose to an eleven as they entered the house. He stopped Gabriella from entering the room in front of them. Here before him he saw three. Where was the fourth? He could hear the different heartbeat off to the right of the room, and there was something else... Something smelled absolutely delicious, even to a 'vegetarian' like him.
     Gabriella allowed Nate to stop her. It didn't take a genius to understand his anxiety. She surveyed the room in front of her. Standing in front of the fireplace stood a very muscular redhead. When he spoke, she realized it was his voice she'd heard from outside. His expression seemed the most welcoming of the small group. The other two present, however, appeared to agree with Robert that Nate wasn't welcome. Her eyes traveled to them. A woman with slanted, yellow eyes glared at both of them as she stood behind the sofa with a belligerent look on her face. A man with black hair and - blue - highlights lounged on the sofa. Gabriella knew without trying that the macho persona he tried to portray was a fake, a coverup. He was uncomfortable. The woman was furious.
     "Calm down, Rob, all of you. If we're going to work together we need to learn to trust each other." the redhead said.
    "It's bad enough you want me to trust the witch," the woman spat, "but asking me to trust a bloodsucker is more than I can do."
     "We need Nathaniel's help as much as we need Gabriella's." the redhead said to the room.

    "That's not what you said when you sent me out to get her!" Robert advanced on the redhead with an accusatory glare.
     "If I'd told you that, you would've been even less eager to go and fetch her. I guessed correctly she wouldn't come alone." the redhead said.
     "You know my reasons for not wanting to do what I just did, Derek!"
     "Well, too bad. We need them." the redhead, Derek, said and shrugged his shoulders.
    "We could send Bella!" Robert bellowed. Nate and Gabriella heard a little frightened squeak coming from the room to the right of the one they faced.
    "Calm yourself, brother. You know very well we couldn't send her into a house with two vampires." Derek calmly countered.

     "Oh please!" the woman in the corner threw out to the room. "Let's just go! I'll rip the house to shreds with my bare hands if that's what it takes!"
     Derek turned to her and said, "Oh? And what would you do if we found it? We still don't know for sure that that's where it is."
     "I'm not scared of him! Let me at him! You'll flank me, right, Rocky?" she turned to the man on the couch next to her.

     "Shut the fuck up, Jeanine." Rocky responded without even turning to look at her. "You're an idiot to underestimate a thing that old."
     "Do you mean Gus?" Gabriella asked.
    Jeanine howled with laughter at the nickname. "Gus! I love it! Why the hell didn't I think of that?!"
    Derek turned to Gabriella and said, "Yes, we mean Gus. He has something of ours, and we intend to get it back."
     "Don't tell her!" Jeanine suddenly barked.
     "How the fuck is she supposed to get it for us if she doesn't know what the fuck it is?!" Rocky growled back at her. He felt grateful for his sunglasses as he stared at the witch in the doorway. She don't look like no damn Gabriella if you ask me. 
     Derek ignored the two arguing in the room and asked, "Gabriella, come here so I can better explain what we need you to do for us."
      "Why does she have to come over there for you to explain it to her?" Nate argued.

     Arabella watched as the pretty witch turned to her terrifying vampire to kiss him and whisper that she'd be okay. Bella knew she just had to be a good witch. She didn't sense any evil around her, except her vampire... but even that vampire wasn't as scary as some she'd seen. She saw the vampire start to glance her way, and she darted out of sight as quick as she could. I don't think he saw me.
     "Because I can't even touch its copy, and she needs to see it to know what I'm talking about." Derek answered Nathaniel's question.

     "I'm going to vomit." Jeanine complained about the two kissing. "Get Bella to show her."
     Bella scoffed at Jeanine's suggestion. She turned to her and shook her head no, out of sight to all but Jeanine from where she stood close to the wall. She quickly darted into the kitchen while the vampire was distracted.
     "Coward." Jeanine taunted, but Arabella ignored her. She'd feel a lot better once the vampire left.

     "You'll stay right there, old timer." Rocky said as he finally showed he was capable of getting up off of the couch. He felt much more confident with his beta standing right next to him and the bitch, really, Jeanine, behind him.
      Nate scowled at the three of them. If they honestly thought they could best him in a fight they had another thing coming. After all, he had August as a maker. The alpha said they would need his help as well, yet they were not acting very hospitable. Still, he wanted to hear them out to find out what they needed with his Gabriella. Also, if they were enemies of August, then he should count them friends. He felt filled with resentment at the pack of assholes in the room in front of him.
     Derek sighed exasperatedly and said, "Would you three cool it? Will you ever learn not to judge a book by its cover?" Then he walked over to his desk and pulled out the drawer to show Gabriella what it contained.

     Gabriella looked at him with confusion written on her brow. "It's a rock."
     Jeanine couldn't help it, she cracked up laughing. The woman calls herself a witch!
    Derek did his best to keep from rolling his eyes at Jeanine, thinking Gabriella might take it to mean he rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, it started out as a rock, as did its parent, but it is so much more."
     Gabby looked once more at the sparkly sphere in the open drawer of the desk. It looked to have all the colors of the rainbow contained in it. She asked a question that she thought he would have answered already, "Why can't you touch it?"

     "Because doing so would cause me extreme pain, as Robert experienced when he fetched this one for us." he explained.
    "I'd rather that part of the story be kept quiet. It's not relevant." Robert piped in, still keeping watch over the bloodsucker.
     Derek let out a mildly aggravated huff before he continued explaining, "It's been enchanted to only be handled by a witch or wizard."
     "So I can touch it." Gabriella stated.
    "Yes, but even with the pain it would cause us should we decide to handle it, its magic is extremely weak. We only hid its sire when we discovered another pack was after it. Caitlin assured us she knew a perfect place to hide it in her mother's house, but we don't know if her plan succeeded."
     "Because she was mugged and killed."
     "Yes, but we believe it was a hired thug sent to take it from her, somehow knowing it was in her purse, mostly because of the threat she received before she was killed."
     The first time she was mugged. Then something occurred to Gabby, "Wait a minute. You said it could only be touched by a witch or wizard."
     "Yes, and Caitlin had it in her blood, even if she didn't possess your mother's ability."
     Nate spoke up from the doorway, ignoring the three in front of him, "What does it do?"
     Derek turned to the vampire and responded, "When held in the hands of someone with magical blood with the light of the full moon upon it, it can drastically lessen the pain of a were's transformation. Later, it was discovered it also makes us fantastically more powerful as an added bonus."
    "Which would explain why the other pack wants it so bad." Nate finished. "If they mugged Gabby's sister, how do you know they don't already have it?"
     "Because they're not showing signs of having it in their possession. The hired thug failed to do his job properly. We can only guess he saw that she had no money or obvious valuables on her and left it all in aggravation. By the time the other pack discovered he'd failed to retrieve it, they slaughtered him. We're not even sure Caitlin had it in her purse at that moment."
     Nate continued, "Then why not search Marge's house while she's been gone all this time?"
    Jeanine growled, "We did. We couldn't find it. Derek wouldn't let me rip the place apart." She glared accusingly at Derek. "It must be hidden in some place we didn't know about." She started pacing around the room.

     Gabriella stood straighter as Derek walked back over to her and said, "Then I have a pretty good idea where it is, and I'm kicking myself for not taking everything. Either she knew about that room and hid it there, or Mom got it when she acquired Caitlin's possessions from the police."
     "Or those bloody bastards at the station confiscated it, hid it, stole it..." Rocky growled, leaving the statement open to more possibilities. "Haven't seen someone trying to sell it on eBay, but I've been keeping a watch out."
     Derek again succeeded in keeping his annoyance hidden. He'd had it up to 'here' with Rocky's distrust of authority figures. "So, you have a good idea?" he asked and saw Jeanine stop her pacing out of the corner of his eye.
     "Hold up." Nate intruded on the conversation again. "Why should we help you get it? Who's to say you're any better than this other pack?"
     Robert decided to answer the question. "Because we've allowed you to live right under our noses. We just want to live our lives as comfortably as possible. Derek deemed you weren't a threat."
     Jeanine piped up, "Didn't stop me from wanting to kill you. I hate that that ancient one got away." She growled loudly. "Arg! I want another go at him!"
     Gabriella asked Derek, "So Gus knows about you then I take it?"
     "Yes."
     "And how am I supposed to get it and get away with it? From what you say, they're back and living at my mother's old house."
      Jeanine quipped, " 'Living' hah!"
     Derek's voice rang with authority, "Hush, Jeanine!" Then he closed his eyes for a few moments to get his temper under control.
     "Ask it, Gabriella." Nate said from the doorway. She knew what he meant. "What's going to happen."
     Jeanine looked like she desperately wanted to say something sassy again.
    "Okay." Gabriella whispered and sat down in a nearby chair. After a few minutes, with her face screwed up in worry, she said, "Nothing. It gave me nothing. That's never happened before."

     She stood up and said to Derek, "However, I will help you. I know you're telling the truth. I wish I knew how Caitlin came to know you all, but I'm going to hope that she knew what she was doing."
     Derek answered, "Let Robert tell you that story when he's ready. Thank you. I have to figure out what it is we're going to do now that I know we have your help. Give us a few days and return here. It would be better for us if we stayed here."
     Gabriella nodded, understanding, and turned around to walk back over to her Nathaniel.

     She led a very relieved vampire from the house. He surprised her a little by pulling her into his arms before they'd even left the porch. She could hear the arguing start up inside the house.
     "Gabriella, I don't trust them." Nate said to her.
     She reached up to caress her fiance's face as she said, "I know. I'm mildly anxious myself."
     "Why do they have to have you do it?"
   "Because before, they had Caitlin. Now they have no one to help them. It's logical they turn to Caitlin's sister don't you think?"
     "I don't give a rat's ass if they get help. I don't like the way that Robert said 'we let you live' like they'd been watching me. There's something sinister about that."
     Gabby shook her head a little and said, "Not when you think about it from their point of view. A vampire moves into their neighborhood? I'm happy they decided to watch you first to determine whether or not you were a threat. That's one of the reasons I know we're on the right side. They didn't pick a fight with you."
     "I can't believe I never knew they were around."
     "Don't worry about it. Apparently, they're good at hiding."
     He kissed her lightly before he said, "I'll work with them for your sake, but I don't like it."
     Gabriella sighed, "Let's just go home."

5: Puppies and Rainbows

warning- adult language and insanely long. I got carried away. Enjoy!

Also, I can't believe I forgot to change Nate's clothes. I guess I just liked the green shirt so much more than the ugly blue suit I couldn't help it haha!

Gabriella woke up groggy. She'd had a trying time getting to sleep last night. When she finally did, she only slept four hours at the most.

Once she'd finished washing her cereal bowl, the doorbell rang. She walked over to and started opening the door.

"Nate, I have nothing more to... Oh. Hi, Caitlin." she sputtered as Caitlin looked at her quizzically.

"Whos's Nate?" she asked in her chipper voice.

"Somebody really annoying." Gabby answered cryptically.

"Can I meet him anyway?" Caitlin asked with laughter in her voice, her eyebrows raised as she walked through the doorway.

"Doesn't matter to me." Gabby answered as she closed the door.

Caitlin bounded over to and flopped herself down onto Gabby's small couch before she said, "So. Whatcha wanna do today?"

Gabriella walked sedately over to the other side of the room, wondering if she should share her latest vision with her sister.

Caitlin's whole demeanor changed to a more serious one as she took in her big sister's mood. "What is it?" she asked, knowing if she pried long enough, Gabby would spill what she needed to say.

"I had another vision." she said somberly, looking into Caitlin's forest green eyes.

Caitlin sighed. "Well, please tell me it's about something good for once." When Gabby shook her head 'no' she said, "What is it with you and doom and gloom? Why can't you have a vision about playing with puppies or something?"

"I don't know! I hate it!" Gabriella growled, her fists clenched tightly.

"Tell me what happened." Caitlin asked while Gabby settled herself down on the floor in front of the couch.

"I die."

The two of them sat there quietly. Caitlin finally remembered to close her mouth.

Caitlin gulped and said, "When? Or do you not know?"

"Don't know. But that's not the worst of it." Gabriella paused before she continued, "A vampire tries to turn me. I don't even know if his attempt will be successful."

 

Caitlin sat there, sadly and quietly processing all the information before she said, "His?"

"Nate."

"That Nate."

"Yes."

"Crap, you've even met the vamp from your vision."

"He was standing nearby when I had it. He also saw the vision as I was having it."

"No!"

 

"Yes." Gabby nodded.

Caitlin was quiet for another minute. "So, this Nate vampire guy knows as well. How does he feel about it?" Caitlin asked, wanting to just wait and process all this information later. She didn't want to think about her sister dying or becoming a monster just yet. She worked very hard at making it look like she wasn't freaking out - which she was.

"He's not any happier than I am. Especially..." May as well tell her everything. "Well, ever since then he's been hearing my every thought."

"Ew! Get him to stop!" Caitlin exclaimed with a look of horror on her face.

"He wishes he could. He's aggravated. He came by last night asking me to get out of his head." Gabriella pounded on her head with her fist.

"How can you do that?"

Gabriella stood, unable to sit still with the disturbing memory of last night when Nate was here. "I haven't the foggiest clue." she said helplessly.

"So, he's listening right now?" Caitlin asked with a wary look on her face.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. There's nothing I can do about it if he is."

Caitlin made an aggravated noise as she shook her head, stood and said, "Nothing we can do about it." she repeated her sister. "Well, let's get out of this house! I just can't think about all this right now. For all we know it could be years before any of this happens."

"I agree." Gabby said with an almost smile. Talking to Caitlin was a good idea, even though I feel a little bad sharing this load with her. She's right. It could be years. Maybe even a decade.

"Aye, no use dwelling on it. Nothing like good old-fashioned retail therapy!" Caitlin smiled at the last thing she said.

The girls shopped for a few hours without finding anything in particular they wanted to buy. Gabby had a hard time getting into her shopping experience. 'Would you like for me to repeat everything you've thought last night and this afternoon?' Nate's words echoed in her head.

Tired, the two of them stopped to have some lunch.

"Why is he going to do it?" Caitlin asked about the one thing Gabby had left out once they'd finished eating and their plates had been cleared away.

Gabriella sighed as a strange woman walked behind her, talking to herself. "Because. Well... in the vision it looked like we were in love. He said, 'Don't you leave me'." Gabby gulped as she watched her sister's reaction.

"Damn." Caitlin said as she sat there staring at nothing in particular. After a long pause she said, "Nothing like having an effing vision tell you who you're going to fall in love with. How does he feel about this?"

"He's pissed. He keeps saying, 'What if I walk away and never see you again?' or stuff like that. I keep daring him to do it. Asking even. But, it's only been barely two days after all."

"This is getting depressing again." Caitlin said as she jumped up out of her chair suddenly. They paid for their food and headed over to a nearby day spa.

"Maybe a massage would help." Caitlin offered as the two of them stared into the windows.

"Maybe." Gabriella said mechanically. She wasn't paying attention to the spa. Instead, she was wondering what her sister was going to do with the information she'd gotten today.

Suddenly, she gasped as another vision overtook her surroundings.

"What?!" Caitlin exclaimed, reaching for her sister, but Gabriella was still absorbed by what she'd seen.

"Alright, Red, you know the drill. Purse and jewelry."

"Why should I?" Caitlin asked in a sassy voice.

"Because," an unknown voice warned in an almost-bored voice, "if you don't I'm going to shoot you and take the stuff anyway. So let's not make this harder than it has to be."

"Kiss my ass." Caitlin threw back at the mugger, acting like she doesn't believe him. "I don't have anything anyway. Except for this watch I paid five simoleons for."

"I mean it, Red."

"I told you I don't have anything!"

"We'll see then." the voice said as the gun went off at point-blank range at the back of Caitlin's head. She fell to the ground, dead before she reached it.

"Damn, she was right." the mugger said forlornly after he checked her. Gabriella could only see the man's hands. Then the sound of his running feet drifted away.

A look of utter terror felt like it was permanently etched onto Gabby's face. Why can't it be about something like puppies or kittens or rainbows and unicorns? Why all the death? Her heart beat at an out-of-control tempo. She couldn't catch her breath.

"Gabriella! Oh, please tell me you didn't just have another one!" Caitlin's voice brought Gabriella back to the present. When Gabby didn't answer Caitlin's question, she gently led her to the nearest bench.

"And I'm guessing it's not puppies this time either." Caitlin commented dryly.

Gabriella shook her head no. As she did, she realized she was shaking all over.

 Nate paced quickly back and forth across his room. Should he go try to help in some way? Surely she'll come to the conclusion that he saw it too. If she wanted his help, all she had to do was think it.

Caitlin is with her. She'll help. I should stay away Nate thought as he paced some more.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked.

"No." Gabby answered simply, afraid to say more.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Caitlin asked, looking with a worried expression down at her older sister.

"No." Gabriella answered the same, but this time she was quieter.

"What do you want to do then?" Caitlin asked, feeling helpless and eager for her sister to snap out of it. It never took this long in the past for her sister to overcome the horror of her visions.

"I wanna go home."

When the girls got back to Gabriella's house, Gabriella went immediately up to lay down on her bed.

Caitlin sighed and sat down behind her sister. She guessed the vision must've really been a doozey for Gabby to take this long to recover.

"Do you want me to call Mom?" Caitlin asked.

"No. I'll be fine in a little while. You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Gabriella said with the right side of her face pressed against the bedspread.

"You want me to leave?" Caitlin asked, getting the subtle hint.

"I just want some time alone to deal with this." Gabriella said in response. And I don't think I have the strength to tell you what I saw just yet.

Caitlin nodded and got up. Before she headed down the stairs, she turned to her sister and asked one more question, "Is it about me?"

"Yes." Gabriella whispered.

"Then I don't wanna know." Caitlin said and practically fled from the residence.

Why my sister? Why Caitlin? And she doesn't want to know. She's scared. Well, of course she's scared. She knows if I have a vision it's mostly to serve as a warning. Why even have them if there's nothing I can do to change them? Maybe I just haven't done the right things in the past.

No, Gabriella. Don't go down that path again. 

But ... this is my sister! Maybe if I tell her to watch out for alleyways and obey anyone pointing a gun at her head it won't happen. But she doesn't want to talk about it. 

Okay, I'm now at a point when I need to talk about it. But who do I talk with? She started to cry. I can't stand it! Not my sister, please not my sister! Maybe I should call Mom. I won't give her the details, but I just wish I had someone to talk to. She threw her arms down and tears rolled down the side of her face into her ear and the bedspread as she turned her head. Was that the front door? Caitlin didn't lock it.

There was a whisper of sound and Gabriella sensed someone's presence. She could smell him. Nathaniel. She peeped her eyes open for a second just to make sure before she said, "What are you doing here, Nathaniel?"

"You wanted somebody to talk to, and since I can't help but listen I thought I may as well be the one." he said simply with a trace of compassion in his voice.

'May as well be the one'? Oh, great. 

Gabriella sat up, looked at him with her face devoid of expression, then turned around and put her back to him. "You don't have to be here, Nathaniel. I'll be okay eventually. I'm just not used to having visions this close together."

"Mhm." Nate agreed. "Especially ones this awful." he said. Is it really that bad to know ahead of time about us, though? Oh geez, Nate, now you're starting to believe it, aren't you?

Well? Nate mused Look at her. 

She's been in my head, literally, for over two days now. And she's been depressed the entire damn time. I wish she'd stop being so depressed.

Gabriella started crying again when she thought of her sister's lifeless body in some alleyway with a hole in her head. She was glad she was facing away from Nate so he couldn't see her cry.

"What you forgot, Gabriella," Nate said as Gabby suddenly felt herself being slightly lifted and feel his arms encircle her in a sympathetic way, "is that I know you're crying whether I see it or not."

He'd positioned himself behind her and his legs on either side. She gently peeled his arms off of her waist and was about to scoot off the bed when a sudden weariness overtook her and she just curled up into a ball instead.

I'm just so damned tired of crying!  I'm tired of the doom and gloom! I have to deal with this. I'm probably going to be a vampire. Caitlin is going to get shot.

Nate wished he knew what to say. He closed the distance she made when she originally meant to scoot off the bed, and curled himself around her as much as she'd let him. Like a brother. Yeah.

Yeah, right Nate corrected himself.

"Sorry. Sorry I'm crying again." Gabriella said, agitated with herself. She chuckled half-heartedly. "I'm a real wet blanket, aren't I?"

"Haven't heard that expression in a while." Nate said calmly. Inside, though, he was anything but calm. The way she'd sat up put her hair in his face. This was not a good idea. Felt right at the time. Not a good idea he thought as he worked on controlling his physical reaction to her nearness. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down, but the problem was that that meant he was breathing in the delicious scent of her shampoo or whatever that was. Is it her shampoo? He deliberately tortured himself by smelling her hair to see if that's what it was. Kind of, but not totally.

"I've got to get a handle on my emotions!" Gabriella said while banging herself on the forehead to attempt to drive out the crippling thoughts running rampant in her mind.

You and me both Nate thought to himself, once again glad that Gabby couldn't read his thoughts.

I've got to get out of this position Nate thought to himself as he adjusted himself and her. They ended up scooting to the other edge of the bed. He was being careful to move slow enough to not alarm her. He'd intended to sit down next to her, and had just put his hand on his knee to brace himself to move. He halted in his endeavor when she casually placed her hand on his, making him freeze. How is it that I'm closer to her now when I was trying to distance myself? His other hand reached over and his thumb ran up and down the inside of her arm.

Gabriella intruded on his thoughts, "I'm really sorry, Nate. I don't know what happened that you can't help but hear every single damn thing from me. I wish, for your sake, that I could make it stop."

It has been way too damn long. He worked hard at not turning his head to breathe in the way her hair smelled. As close as he was was bad enough. To turn his head would be suicide.

Gabriella wondered why Nate was being so quiet. At first, she'd been alarmed by his nearness, but then she had to admit it was probably what she needed. She just started feeling better with him here. Then the way his thumb started running up and down her arm, just that simple little thing, made her insides tighten up into a knot.

"Nathaniel?" she asked and started to turn to face him.

Shit Nathaniel thought. If she turns her head... Nate realized that's exactly what she was doing. Shit!

He flew off of the bed before she could get her head turned any more. I am not going to do this!!!

Gabriella turned her head the rest of the way around, shocked to find Nate standing, arms folded, nearly up against the railing, glaring at her. What did I do?

She stood up off of the bed and turned to face him, wary and confused. Why do you look so angry? she thought directly at him.

Why am I even here? Again?! Nate stared Gabriella, confounded. He watched as she blushed scarlet, embarrassed and not knowing why she was embarrassed.

"Sorry." Nate said and had to clear his throat. It felt dry. "I just... I thought..." He sighed in aggravation. "I shouldn't have come." he finally said.

Gabriella felt mortified. What did she do? At least this successfully distracted her from her vision of the day.

She almost whispered, "I'm glad you did, though." and she knew she meant it.

Sheeee-it! Now what? "I have to keep the vision from happening." he said. That's what you want, isn't it? The last thing you want in the world is to be with me. Right?

"Fine. Of course. You're absolutely right." Gabriella said as a general feeling of being pissed off took over from her previous embarrassment. "The vision. Yes. We must keep the vision from happening. Boy, I've never thought that before."

"That's what you want, isn't it?" Nate questioned her.

"That's what I'd prefer." she answered. Even when a man can hear every thought and feel every emotion he still cannot understand a woman's mind.

"You're damn right." he responded to her thought, nearly laughing at how true it was as he made his way over to the other side of the bed. Yeah, he could hear her thoughts and know what she was feeling, but that didn't mean he knew what she was going to do next.

She rolled her eyes at him. Then she lowered her arms and walked over to the window to escape those laughing eyes. He was making her nervous again.

So, I'm making you nervous? Nate thought gleefully, enjoying a sudden sense of power.

"Full moon tonight." Gabriella said with a false sense of calm.

"So I see." he responded, wishing she'd turn around.

"So are werewolves real too?" she asked.

Her question caught him off guard, and that made him laugh. "I've never seen one. I've heard they are. Who knows?"

"You don't know?!?" she asked incredulously.

He smiled back at her. "Nope. They're rare if anything."

"How old are you anyway?" she asked, then felt embarrassed she did.

He shrugged to help her understand he wasn't offended. "In a few years I'll be a hundred and fifty years from my turning."

"How old were you when that happened?" she asked, now curious.

"Twenty."

"Hah! I'm twenty-six. I'm older than you." she grinned.

A sideways smile played across his face. "You don't look a day over eighteen."

"Humph! Flattery will get you nowhere." she said the typical response with a smirk on her face.

A slight scowl came across his features as he said, "Gabriella, there's someone I think you need to meet." And damn him for being useful in a way.