Shadow Breeds

Chapter 6

August's face morphed into one of pure fear, suddenly my stomach filled with guilt as I realized my reactions to what we've already talked about have probably made him feel as though I would be scared or repulsed by him. I'd never had anything positive to say about the supernatural. Hell I never even believed in it until a woman disappeared out of thin air right in front of me.

As overwhelming and surprising as all of this was, I didn't feel anything necessarily negative yet. I mean the only real proof I've even witnessed so far was when Magna disappeared but, I've seen magicians do the same thing. This could be a big prank but, he seemed so sincere about it all.

Releasing a deep breath I scooted close to him and put my hand on his shoulder with a squeeze, "talk to me, I made you a promise and I'm going to keep it. It's all just really overwhelming, but telling me what you are won't change anything, it'll be like telling me your favorite color in a way, you'll still be the person I knew before, just not human I guess." This seemed to comfort him as his shoulders dropped some of their tension. "I'm also a hybrid, I have pure shadow running through my veins, as well as vampire," he spoke quietly and chewed on his bottom lip as he waited for my response.

"If Shadow Breed references all kinds of mythical creatures then what do you mean by pure shadow?" I asked while leaning my head on his shoulder in an attempt to keep him comfortable with continuing, he'd piqued my interest.

"Well, to put it simply, gods and goddesses are referred to as pure shadow. I don't really remember why, it's a very old thing and it's not like we really do that with any other 'pure breed'." He did finger quotes as he said the last two words.

"Okay, last few things for now cause my brain feels like exploding, what about all the deaths here? and not that I'm ungrateful or anything but why was it necessary to bring me here?" I lifted my head to make eye contact, panic flashed in his eyes before he turned away and exhaled another sigh.

"Those that died were just threats, you don't hear about people leaving alive because their memories of coming are taken from them and they are returned through the shadow. It ruins our reputation, but it solidifies our privacy and safety. The last time we tried to coexist with the humans-" his voice cracked, but before he could finish I pulled him closer. "You don't have to relive that for me, I'm sorry for the times I was ignorantly insensitive to you," I spoke softly, embracing him into a hug and we sat silently like that for a while.

"Would it be too soon to ask about the last question I had?" I asked nervously and almost immediately regretted it. His face paled and his body stiffened, but he shook his head as he cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "You're half Shadow God and half vampire like me, but with different parents," he kept his eyes glued to the ground as he spoke, after a moment they filled with guilt.

"You're not here to like breed with me or anything weird like that, you can even choose to leave whenever you like, it's just, I thought you might like it here, I know you've been talking about it for years and the vampire and god stuff might not make sense because you haven't hit the age for your transformation yet which is also part of why I brought you here and although throwing it all on you at once is bound to be stressful I thought you'd like to know about this stuff before-."

I didn't know how else to make him stop to take a breath because it seemed like he was going to pass out, so I panicked and I kissed him. I was surprised when he kissed me back, but then just as quickly he pulled away. August covered his face with his hands and I reached up to touch my lip, "what was that?" I heard August's whisper cut into my thoughts. "You were panicking and then I panicked and I don't know, you looked like you were going to pass out if you didn't take a breath soon," I felt my face redden and my emotions overwhelming me more and more. Now I was the one beginning to panic.