My Benefactor
Copyright © 2011 crimsonnebula
All rights reserved
Chapter Sixteen
Picture on the side is Luke (Actor Chris Pine)
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Enjoy! (no proofreading done) I split this into two parts because its so long.
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(Derek's POV)
Inside my mind, the word 'furious' was the understatement of the century.
Having a manipulative and controlling mother had in the space below my rib cage and above my stomach, started a burn of rage. Things were bad enough without consulting me that a date had been set for the wedding.
"What?" I screamed into the phone. "You or even Alexis didn't bother asking if it's alright?"
My mother sighed, "Derek, darling, calm down. This is not something to fuss about."
I scoffed at this. Trust my mother to ignore my flaring temper which she caused. "You expect me to calm down after you drop a bomb on me? Are you that eager to marry me off so early that you scheduled it two months away?! You're crazy! Both you and Alexis are crazy!"
She gasped, "Derek! Don't you dare raise your voice at me!"
"You know what? I've had enough! I had enough of your manipulation, your schemes; I'm sick of it."
"Derek Josef Kolinkar, watch your language." She scolded."This marriage is good for our clan and as for your status as an Elder."
All she ever cared was status, always had been. This speech was getting old."Goodbye, mother." I hanged up on her, giving no chance to retort back.
For some reason, I felt at ease. Relieved to be exact. This was the first time I stood up to my mother.
I groaned inwardly. Who am I kidding? She will always get her way, especially now, while I'm acting rebellious. She had centuries of practice.
With a grunt, I stood up from my reclining chair and left my study. The garden seemed an ideal place to take a breather, so I headed for the back door.
But someone just have to ring the doorbell.
"So much for peace and quiet." I grumbled, heading for the front door.
If it's Cooper, I'll kick his inhuman buttocks to the curb. I used my scanning energy to check if it's him, but the signature was different.
It was an Alerian. But something about this energy causes me to frown.
Interesting.
The doorbell rung again. "One or two rings are enough, you know!" I yelled. People are getting impatient nowadays. I swung the door open to greet my unexpected visitor.
"How may I help you?" I asked.
He looked nervous,"Hello. Does Reagan Sheldon live here?" When he saw me frown, he corrected himself,"Oh! Sorry. She goes by the last name Alden now. Is she here?"
Who is he and why is he asking for Reagan?"Who are you? What do you want with Reagan? Especially from an Alerian like you?" I prodded.
He sighed,"Please, Elder Kolinkar. I've been trying to keep in touch with her. When she was born, her mother refused to let me see her - not even a glimpse." He pleaded. So he knows who I am then.
"She's in school right now. Who are you?"
He gave me a small smile,"My name is Luke. I'm Reagan's real father."
That changes things.
I surreptitiously looked at him up and down. He had light brown hair that was styled in a scruffy disheveled manner. He had light blue eyes, identical to Reagan's. He had define cheekbones and angular features. His nose was slightly crooked, that surely badged himself for dealing countless of fights. But his eyes say it all, down pat. It's likeness to her own light blue orbs was a telltale that he was indeed Reagan's father.
I stepped aside to let him in,"Come in. Reagan will be home in a couple of hours, that is if you're willing to wait."
He stepped inside and turned to smile at me,"That's okay. I can wait. I really want to see her."
I closed the door and shrugged,"Alright, we could wait at the living room."
It was tense and awkward, standing in front of a man who hadn't felt a slightest hostility, since I was a vampire and he was an Alerian.
Two supernatural beings sworn to hate each other, but here we are standing next to each other without ripping each other's heads off.
A thought occurred to me.
If Luke was an Alerian, that means...
My thoughts were cut short when an electric current nipped at my skin.
That could only mean one thing.
Someone's teleporting.
To confirm my suspicion, there was a blurry figure near the stairs. In a matter of seconds, it materialized into someone that I didn't expect to have done that.
Reagan.
This was a big surprise for me. Why hadn't I seen this one coming? I lived with Reagan for two years, and she didn't show any sign that she was a supernatural being.
I tuned into her energy and was shocked to know the signature was similar to Luke's.
My little one, my love, was an Alerian.
But there was something more that what she and Luke let on.
"Reagan?" I asked, finally finding my voice.
Reagan turned around and her eyes widened when she saw us.
I could definitely tell that expression she held was 'a deer caught in headlights' look.
In lay mans term, busted.
(Reagan's POV)
Holy crap.
How can I explain this to Derek and Unknown dude what just happened?
There were several options to choose from:
(A) "I read a spell in Harry Potter and thought I should try it. It worked."
(B) "I'm doing an experiment in Chemistry on how to pop out of thin air."
(C) "I'm 25% unicorn, 25% leprechaun and 25% fairy." (in that case, would that turn me into a troll as a result, right?)
I groaned. None of them could help me.
Derek regained his composure,"Little one, did you just teleport?"
Ding! Ding! Ding! Way to go, Derek! You just asked the million dollar question.
"Ummm..." Speak woman. Speak!
Derek advanced cautiously, wary of my reaction."It's okay, my love. It's okay." He reassured.
If not for the situation, hearing him say 'my love' would have had my heart beating rapidly at the words but now, it was beating fast for fear.
Will Derek be repulsed that I've just turned into a freak of nature? That I turned into something that was way beyond human understanding? I didn't know what to do, so I ran out of the door. As fast as my legs could take me.
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I don't how long I have been running, but somehow I ended up at the park. The sun was starting to set; pink, orange and purple mixing together in the horizon as the day will soon come to an end to welcome the night.
My lungs were on fire for the lack of oxygen. For a supernatural, I just awarded myself a face palm for being an idiot.
Why run where I could teleport?
"Too late for that." I mumbled.
The park was empty so I had it all to myself. Perfect for alone time.
I guess I spoke too soon.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a deep, throaty voice spoke behind me.
I heard a series of cackles to pump up his jibe.
Annoyed, I turned to face the irritants of the moment. There were four of them, all pale though not that good looking, but still reek inhuman.
Just like Derek.
The difference was, they had sinister ulterior motives to match that evil sneer.
"What do you want?" I asked irritably.
The one who spoke earlier approached me. He was seriously invading my personal bubble, and right now, the mofo was trailing his pale hand up and down my arm.
"Want to have some fun with us cutiepie?" he purred.
I rolled my eyes and jerked my arm away,"No thanks. I'll pass." I went around him to walk off, but he grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Nuh uh. Not so fast." He said.
I tried to yank my arm off, but his grip was strong,"Let go." He tightened his grip even more,"OW! You're hurting me, a*shole!"
He pulled me roughly to him,"Stop struggling." He ordered. He leaned in to my neck and inhaled, "Mmmm, you smell good enough to eat. My boys and I will definitely have fun snuffing the life out of you." He murmured into my neck.
Oh my god. Snuffing the life out of me? He was going to kill me. Come on, Reagan! Use your awesome power to kick these guys' butt. Come on!
I concentrated hard, but nothing was happening. Not even a twitch!
He licked my neck, making me cringe. He grazed his teeth and then I felt a slightest prick. What the hell was he doing?! I think this guy was going to eat me alive!
Shaking on the inside, I felt something warm seared in my chest. I cast my eyes downward to see my pendant shining. The red liquid inside bubbled, and the gold flecks turned to blue.
"My pendant." I muttered.
The man leaned back, looking irritated, "What?" in a matter of two seconds, his face contorted like a grimace and before you know it, he started burning.
The sound of burning flesh mixed with his scream was mortifying. He was a couple of meters away, trashing and writhing from the pain. The pungent smell of burnt flesh wasn't welcoming to my nostrils.
On the 20th count, he burst into a pile of ashes. Wow, that was indeed one hell of a kaboom. But that was not the point. Did my pendant do that mumbo jumbo?
"She's someone's property. She's wearing a protection charm!" one of the remaining three growled.
A protection what?
"You're going to pay for what you did, b*tch." He threatened. The three of them prowled towards me and I started walking backwards.
This was not good.
I hope they will do it quick and painless. I dejectedly stopped backing away and clamped my eyes shut, waiting for the pain.
But, a cold breeze nipped at my skin. I opened my eyes and saw the atmosphere change, becoming cold and sinister. There was mist swirling all around, and I could see puffs of smoke coming out of my mouth.
A fog surrounded us in a circle and a voice thundered out, not to mention all too familiar.
"You made a mistake for laying a finger on her."
The guy who threatened me earlier darted his head left and right,"Who's there?"
The fog parted and Derek and the unknown guy strode in with a cold calculating look on their faces. Derek's hand was swirling with white mist, while unknown guy's eyes turned into a mixture of electric blue and stormy gray.
Like what happened to mine earlier today.
The inhuman pale guys were scared sh*tless, but one of them spoke with such terror," It's a pureblood vampire and a Galerian."
What?!
"You converted vampires are a big nuisance. Can't you all just follow the law like any other supernatural being?" Derek growled.
Should I be happy that Derek was like me? A freak? or should I be frightened with the fact that he was a freaking vampire?
"We're sorry. We'll go now." Derek shook his head,"No. Not a chance. You violated the law. You're going to pay for it." And with that, he and unknown guy disappeared out of thin air and reappeared again, behind the three guys.
Nobody dared to move. Not a twitch, nor shuffle. It was a short tense silence, a very short one, then before you know it, the three guys' necks slit open and blood burst out, making a gruesome splotching sound. A couple of choking sounds were heard, then they were finished off by being incinerated into ashes.
After awhile, they finally turned around and looked at me warily. I was too stunned to say something. Derek was the one who spoke first."Little one, I think we should talk."
Without hesitation I nodded, agreeing. A long talk might I add.
He frowned,"We should head home. It's a lot better and safer to talk there."
Without another word, we left the park to go back home.
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The tension wasn't lifted when we got back. Though the excitement died down, the fact remained that I was too dense to know Derek was a vampire. I've lived with him for two years and I couldn't recognize his oddities? Maybe it was my own mistake, because I was blinded by his inhuman beauty.
Derek decided we should confer in the living room instead in his study. He said something along the lines of suffocation and stuffiness.
I chose to sit on an arm chair, while Derek and unknown guy sat across from me on a couch. I had no plans breaking the silence so I waited, looking down on my lap.
Someone cleared their throat and I looked up. It was Derek. He started to speak,"I know this might come as a shock to you, but I didn't know how to explain... how should I say this," he paused,"well, the nature of my race."
I frowned," I understand that, but why not tell me? Of course, at first I would freak out, but I'd eventually get over it. I'd rather appreciate the honesty." Okay, that was a lie. Of course I would run like crazy, but the situation now was different. Derek and I were up to par. As far as supernaturals go. I averted my gaze to the person next to him. The unknown guy. He hasn't uttered a single word. "And you are?"
He looked startled,"Oh! Uh, haha..." he laughed nervously.
I rolled my eyes,"Dude. Just spit it out."
"I don't really know where to start. I suppose your mother hadn't told you who your real father is?" he asked.
"You know my mother?"
He sighed,"Back in college, I knew your mother. She was with Michael, my best friend's girlfriend. When Michael went out of town, something happened between Lilly and I..." he paused,"as a result of that, she got pregnant. With you."
My breath caught it my throat. Could it be?
"I'm your father Reagan," He said slowly, watching for my reaction. "My name is Luke."
After all this years, why now? All those abuse from Michael and Lilly's silence and he chose now to show up in my life?
As if reading my mind, he quickly spoke."I know what you're thinking. Why now?" he asked and I nodded. He smiled sadly as he continued. " Your mother kept you away from me. She doesn't want you to know I'm your father, because Michael was so happy that she got pregnant, and didn't want him to know that it's mine. I tried, baby. I tried to see you, but your mother wouldn't let me,"He said cracking at the end.
I couldn't believe my mother. Why would she do that to him and most importantly to me? At this point my hatred towards her had raised to the highest peak, tantamount to Mount Everest itself.
I reigned in my anger as I spoke. "She divorced Michael and remarried. I saw her a couple days ago with her new husband and..." I trailed as the image of her carrying that baby in her arms sent a pang of jealous within me. "She has a son."
He smiled sadly. "I know," he said and took a deep breath as he went on to continue with his explanation. "When I knew you disappeared, I panicked. I searched high and low, and then, when I felt the energy bond between the direct descendant of Sephrina, though it was rather faint, I traced that energy and it led me here, in Elder Kolinkar's mansion. I needed to find you and tell you about the prophecy."
Now I'm confused."Who is Sephrina? And this direct descendant thing?" I asked.
He took a deep breath, preparing for a long detailed explaination. "Sephrina was a first born Galerian."
Now I'm lost. First, my ex told me that I am a Alerian now, I'm a Galerian? This was all to confusing for me. "Uh I'm lost," I said simply.
Luke smiled. "Galerians came to be through an union between a pureblood and an Alerian. Back in 4th Century BC in Greece, Alerians were classified as an outcast, the first of many mythical beings being shunned by the supernatural realm. Purebloods at that time were arrogant, and had complete control over the supernatural realm. Alerians were feared, because of their powerful mind, and considered a threat. The purebloods were perturbed and couldn't seem to admit such race was up to par with them, so they used them as slaves, just like the converted. The purebloods held an ironclad rule, and made sure an Alerian couldn't use not even a single speck of thier power, hence creating a damper. It is a device in a form of choker which puts an Alerian's power in check.
A pureblood named Andreas fell in love with an Alerian slave, Chezarina. It caused an uproar among purebloods, and the Ancient Elders sought to punish them. They were in love, so they didn't care about the repercussions. That love brought a new breed, a Galerian. The Ancient Elders released an order to exterminate Andreas and Chezarina for consortion. As for that they entrusted the baby to a friend of Andreas, Constantine, also a pureblood. After Sephrina's parents untimely demise, history once again repeated itself. Constantine fell in love with Sephrina, but their love was tragic. He ended up hurting Sephrina by marrying someone; a pureblood. She was devastated and thus broke the damper. She invoked a strong prophecy that one of the next female born of the direct descendants will avenge her heartbreak. A prophecy that declared a complete extermination of purebloods. So far, most of the direct descendants were male, until now." He finished, taking a lungful of air at the end.
Wow. A prophecy created out of bitterness and heartbreak. Sephrina was sure something."So what does that have to do with me, then? I just discovered I'm a Galerian, so what's the deal?"
He sighed,"This means, you are the first female born of the direct descendants of the original Galerian. You will uphold that prophecy. The Alerians don't know the truth of our kind. They were fed with lies up until now. The ancient purebloods knows about this."
It was Derek's turn to talk,"Why isn't this written in the ancient context? Why this important piece of information not documented?" he asked, then mulled to another thought."This is...I don't...The ancient Elders...how?"
Derek was lost for words.
Luke turned to Derek," I had no idea what were their reasons but I had yet to discover the truth."
Derek frowned. "Does this mean that Galerians have similar traits to purebloods? Like for example living off blood."
Luke took a deep breath and shook his head." Not necessarily," he said. "Our anatomy is the same as an Alerian but we are a hybrid though the transformation is the same. As for feeding, we have an option. If we chose to feed then we can. If we don't, then we don't. We have that choice when we turn 18. The slow aging starts when we turn also at 18, so that explains our youthfulness. We age very slow. We age a year every 10 years. The new generation of Purebloods and Alerians were taught to hate each other. I don't know what they have been teaching the new generation, but unfortunately, don't know squat about the history and nature same goes for purebloods. The evident of that is Elder Marcus. He loathed them, because he was taught to hate to do so. No one but the Ancient Elders knows about this. Everything, after what happened in the prophecy was hush hush. The Alerians had no clue what went down."
Derek shook his head,"This is way too much to take."
Luke smiled sadly,"I know, and it gets worse. Since Reagan is the first female born, she will carry out the prophecy. I don't know when, but I can look into it." He paused ,"Derek, Constantine was your great ancestor. Your ancestor sparked the prophecy. That means.." he stalled.
Derek tilted his head to the side, "Your point being?"
Luke sighed, "This means you will be the first one whom Reagan will exterminate before the rest of the purebloods."
My heart stopped for a moment. Kill Derek? I can't do that. There must be some other way! I shook my head vigorously. "No. I can't do that. Who cares what his ancestor did? He can't be condemned to such fate just because Sephrina wanted this for the purebloods... especially for Derek."
"Truth be told, nobody knows why Constantine married that pureblood. When Sephrina heard the news, she lashed out on him to the heavens, and after that she disappeared. No one knows what really happened to her after that well, there were speculations. Some said she married a human to continue the lineage." Luke said.
There's got to be a way around this. "What will happen when the time comes? What will happen to me?"
Luke thought for a bit. He was choosing his words carefully on how to break it to me gently. Then he spoke with such strain. "Your train of thought will focus only on one thing; kill the purebloods. You will only recognize Derek as the descendant of the ancestor who betrayed a love which he chose to break. But don't worry, sweetheart, I will find a way around this. To be honest, I didn't want this prophecy to happen. This will put a dent to the supernatural realm. If the Alerians will rise to power, it will cause an uproar to other supernatural beings; werewolves, demons, witches, warlocks, wizards, silkies (A\N: mermaids), nymphs, elves... it will spark a war. The creation of the Sacred Laws of Coexistence will be put to waste if this prophecy will take place."
Derek stood up and paced back and forth in the living room. After a while, he stopped and turned to face me. His face held an emotional pain I'm sure it was mirrored to mine. He strode towards me and kneeled in front. He grabbed both sides of my cheeks and started to stroke them tenderly. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, "Don't worry, my love. We can get through this. There's got to be a way."
Like a dam, tears gushed out from my eyes as the pain finally setted in. I wanted to believe in his words, but somehow, I felt hopeless with a mix of anger towards Sephrina for her rash retaliation against Constantine. I didn't want this. I don't want this. "I don't know, Derek. I don't know."
He pulled me in for a tight hug, stroking my hair. "We can get through this. I'll do my best to go around the prophecy. I promise."
I sniffed, "Don't make promises which you can't keep." I mumbled in his neck.
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HEHE! There will be more revelations in the next chapter. Derek hasn't explain YET about him being an Elder to Reagan so I think that will be on the next chapter. This was long so I have to split them into two parts but the second one isn't finish yet.
Song choice of the moment:
Go your own way by Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) of Glee
(I love GLEE!)
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