Piercing My Heart

16

I threw the door open to see Mia hyperventilating. In an instant, I was next to her. I held her hands and urged her to calm down.

"Breath, ma amour." I began to simulate the necessary breathing techniques. "Breathe, douce." I smiled as she began to calm down. "Excellent, ma chérie." I instinctively kissed her brow.

"Sorry." She looked down in embarrassment, but I used my fingers to raise her chin up.

"Never apologize for your emotional distress." I spoke. "Would you like to speak about it? You're very tense and I think it'll help." When she nodded, I picked her up and placed her on the bed.

"I'm in shock." I lightly chuckled. "Did you know I was a hybrid?"

"Hybrid?" I thought aloud. "I suspected, but had no idea it involved the werewolf gene." Suspected she could be related to them, but didn't have any confirmation. "Is that what's making you frantic? You're worried you're a werewolf and I'm a-"

"Vampire? Yes!" She shouted. "Your family is going to hate me when they find out." I sighed because this certainly complicated things. "And this war..." My eyes met hers. "It's against our species and is clearly still going on." She frantically waved her arms around.

"Yes, it is." I clenched my jaw. "And it's all because the vampire king is a homicidal maniac who enjoys war. It's a blood sport to him. A game to claim the lives of others." I bitterly spoke. I hated my father with a burning passion. "True evil is that man."

"And my friends and boss are apart of the guards sent to protect me. Were they even my friends or was it out of some duty?" I smiled at her whining. "Actually, how are they my guards when they're around my age?" I snickered at her lack of knowledge.

"Love, you must become aware that looks and age can be deceiving when dealing with supernaturals. I can assure you that your friends are much older than you think." I laid on my side. "Think about it... you met them when you were old enough not to question their youthful looks." I shrugged.

"How old are you?" She blurted out.

"Ancient." I was a little insecure to tell her that I'm older than recorded history. "I'm afraid revealing it will make this whole 'talking phase' a tad awkward, Mia." I teased her real name.

"My real name is Amelia, but my family and friends call me Mia." Amelia? How beautiful.

"Well, I don't subscribe to the popular opinion or status quo." I sat up. "Apart from my endearing nicknames..." She rolled her eyes at me. "May I call you Mila?" She nodded at my question.

"Yes, Allura." I groaned and flopped onto my back. "Such an alluring name." She teased me.

"It's actually French for alluring." I chuckled. "Much rather Lara. That way I won't be compared to another dead person." I didn't like that it wasn't original and that I was a reminder of my grandmother. Based on the stories my mother told me about her, there was no way I could live up to being half the woman she was. "Well, it's late. You should probably rest up to see your siblings tomorrow." I pulled back the covers and positioned her under them.

"What about your family?" She was still worried.

"Don't stress about it. They don't need to know at the moment." I cuddled her to sleep.

X

I enjoyed spending time with her siblings. They were enjoyable to be around and they told me some embarrassing stories about Mila. Her brother told me how clumsy young Mila was. She had a tendency to constantly slip on mud when trying to feed the cattle. She was also always playing pranks on them.

It was funny to see how jealous Mila got when her brother would "flirt" with me. It was especially humorous because he knew I was gay, but was trying to annoy Mila. He succeeded in making Mila send him death glares.

Brandon and Hannah decided to conspire with me to trick Mila into revealing her feelings for me. They claimed it was revenge for all the times she pranked them.

"Can you believe them?! First, my brother flirts with you and then my sister sides with him! Like what the hell?! There's no loyalty!" I laughed at Mila's pacing. Brandon really got to her.

"You're going to wear away the floorboards with your pacing, princess." I pulled her onto my lap. "Your brother's intentions were futile. Not only am I a lesbian, but I'm undoubtedly yours." I placed my lips against her neck.

"Wait a second!" She starltled me by jumping out my lap. "My brother is older than me." I nodded because that was obvious. She literally told me he's her older brother. "But then how- he's not my full brother."

Oh, I see the problem now. I really hate to break it to her.

"And neither is your sister. Your brother I believe is from your stepfather's previous relations while your sister is the product of your mother and stepfather." I reluctantly spoke.

"It feels weird to call him my step-dad." She cozied herself in my lap. "I've known him all my life as dad." My heart broke at her sadness.

"There's no reason you should change the way you see him. Think of it as an adoption. The adopted parents are still the parents. They may not be blood, but they love the child all the same." I tightened my embrace around her. "Though, I am curious if your real family tree will be revealed to your siblings. I'm assuming not, but still curious."

"Well, curiosity killed the cat." I chuckled when she flicked my forehead.

"Sorry, are we interrupting something?" She stiffened at her mother's appearance.

"Uhhh..." I gave Mila an impish smile. "We-"

"We figured." Her stepfather revealed. "We wanted to ask if you'd like to disclose anything to your siblings or keep it private. It's up to you, of course." He kindly smiled.

"I want to tell them." Mila made her decision. "No more secrets. So... who's gonna tell them?" That's the million dollar question.

It was emotional the next day when her siblings found out. As expected, Brandon was in disbelief that Mila was a werewolf. Mila couldn't even demonstrate her abilities since she didn't know how. I was intrigued by the bracelet that bound her wolf gene. I knew of wolves having their gene bound out of fear of losing control, but not against their will. I knew I could remove it, but only if Mila wanted that.

My heart softened when I saw their family hug. It made me yearn for a familiar feeling. Affection was robbed from my childhood. My father didn't believe in coddling children. To him, Alec and I were nothing but weapons. The only time he spent with us was when he trained us.

My father quickly tossed Alec away when his son would show hesitation to kill innocents. I, however, didn't have my brother's compassion. That was why I was the heir to the throne. As well as being waaaaaay stronger than my brother, but my father didn't know that. If I ever have a child, that child will know what love is. They will never desire a parent's love because I will drown them in my love for them.

Mila locked eyes with me and motioned me to join the hug. I was hesitant since I never received this much affection from a family. Mila then yanked me. I stumbled into the family hug. I involuntarily muttered about how I wished for this all my life.