Curtis had slowly edged his way closer to Stuart who was none the wiser. He had a sly look on his face as he looked at me, the one that said, this guy is mighty fine, I'd like to get to know him better. I loved cheeky Curtis, he was a laugh to be around and always brightened my life. But as Stuart looked at me, reality sunk back in. Something very sinister was going on and I was the centre of all this fuss, I knew it.
"What about my parents?"
"How much do you know of how they met, what they were, what happened after you were conceived?"
"Uh, not a lot. What do you mean what they were?" I squinted at him.
"Ok, so I'll go right back to the beginning. Your mother was sixteen when she ran away from home, well, we both did."
"Whoa, hit the brakes. What did you just say?"
He grinned at me.
"Just call me your dear old uncle Stu."
"Oh my gawd." Curtis gaped.
"You're my uncle?"
"Yes."
"But my mother never mentioned you."
"That was for a reason, which I will get to. At the time of running away, she was sixteen, I was seventeen. We were both human and were sick of being dominated by our pious parents. A side note on them, yes they are still alive and no it's not worth your time seeking them out. I tried it once after a few years of being away from them, let's just say being a vampire to them is along the same lines as being gay."
"Ok, so no grandparents then."
"So after we ran away we lived on the streets for about a month before we came across a vampire who took us in and turned us, set us up in a modest place and made life reasonable. It all came at a price of course. I was made to do menial duties and your mother was a sex slave for the vampire. I wanted to tear him apart, your mother was so young and naive, she thought he loved her but he didn't. He took her innocence and left her a bitter husk of hatred. One day we were sent into town to collect the blood stock and while I was in trying to get the best possible price your mother sat outside on the park bench. It was a little scam we had running, our master sent us out to buy a certain quantity of bags, expecting a certain price, he gave us the exact money. I sweet talked the woman behind the desk into a lower price and skimmed the difference for our rainy day fund. If it was a man behind the desk your mother would go in and flash a bit of cleavage at him. Whilst I was inside she was approached by a young man and they sat and chatted. Your mother was still very innocent to the big wide world; unlike most she could not tell the difference between a vampire or a human or even a werewolf. So she had no clue that the man she was talking to was a werewolf. When I exited the clinic, he said his farewell to your mother and continued on his path, as if nothing was wrong. Your mother and I took the purchases back to our master with one minor side track. It was where we were storing the money. I was smart enough not to keep the money on us, one little slip up like that and our master would have stopped us from collecting the blood. And I didn't want that, we had quite a fund stored in our little hidey hole."
Stuart smiled at me "Are you keeping up?"
I nodded wide eyed, still reeling from the fact that my mother was a vampire, I have an uncle who was also a vampire and grandparents that I had to instantly forget about.
"Good. Now unbeknownst to us our werewolf friend was tracking us, infatuated with the pretty vampire that had been so kind to him, chatted to him and treated him like he was a normal person. Something that is very uncommon for a vampire to do to a werewolf. He watched as we stored the money, followed us back to our master's house and then left."
"Wait, how did you know he did these things?"
"Well, one, he told me and two, I unlike your mother knew he was there. I could smell him."
"Oh ok, go on."
"Now our master was a man of ritual, he made us go out every two days to collect fresh blood for him. So the werewolf didn't have to wait long before he got to see the pretty vampire again. Only this time he waited in the woods where we stashed the money rather than out on the street in full view of the public. We used to store the money in a big jar, hidden under a bridge. He was waiting there for us and offered us a way out of the nightmare that was our servitude to our master. The werewolf knew that our master was treating us poorly, especially your mother. He told me at a later time that he could smell the master on her, he knew it was a forced arrangement and thought that she should have better in her life. So back at the bridge, he offered us a place in a house that was a secret to our kind and to his, he knew it wasn't wise for his own kind to find out he was fraternising with the vampires. He said we could stay there as long as we liked, come and go as we pleased and he only asked for one thing in return. A night with your mother."
Stuart said it like it was plain and simple, that there was nothing odd about the arrangement. But it was odd, why wouldn't he get to know her and maybe find love?
"Your mother said yes almost instantly. I knew she was determined to get away from our master, it also helped that the werewolf was incredibly handsome. We had discussed it on the way to the house that she didn't mind, after having our master slobber all over her, what difference did it make? The werewolf had given us the address, letting us find our own way there. It was already decked out in the best of everything, your mother and I were literally jumping for joy when we walked into the place. And best of all, we had the blood that had been bought, so we had stock for some time. The house was a two level place, the top floor only had two bedrooms and a bathroom, the werewolf said that we should stay up there, that he would take the guest bedroom on the ground floor for the times that he stayed. He stayed that night to ensure that we were settled and at ease with our new house, but after that night he didn't return for several months. When he did return he advised he would be taking his part of the arrangement that night. Now, I didn't want to be around even if I could sit in my new bedroom and try and ignore the fact that my sister was yet again being taken advantage of. So I went out, oddly ended up here." he gestured to the club. "Met Sid and got myself a job. Your mother on the other hand had a whole new world open up to her. Not only did she and the wolf spend the entire night together, they also fell in love and created a child."
Stuart paused and looked at me, waiting for it to sink in.
"My father..." I began to hyperventilate "Was a werewolf?"
"Yes. So I know that you two are new to this world and know little of how we procreate so I'll give you a crash course. Vampires can with their own kind, so can werewolves but in both situations it is really rare, when they do they create a full blood. A full blood vampire or wolf is so rare that they are instantly inducted into a higher calling if you will. For the wolves, it's a pack of their own without the usual nonsense of power plays. They will not ever have any attempts for their placement as alpha, they are top dog and that's it. For the vampires, it's kind of the same. They are given an area that they will rule over, to create their own coven. People will flock to a full blood, placement into these packs or covens is by a waiting list that can be hard to get onto.
"What's the difference between what Julius has, the commune and a coven?"
"A coven is run by the full blood vampire; a commune is run by ordinary vampires with delusions of becoming a grand master."
"Oh." I said dryly.
"Yes, oh. Julius has always wished to be the master of a coven but that is never going to happen. He had latched onto Amelia hoping that their union and her age would buy his way into getting a coven but that was wishful thinking. He had hoped by creating a family dynasty that everyone would look upon them and see the grand family but no." he grinned as he shook his head. "So, back to breeding. Vampires and werewolves can breed with humans creating a half breed of each. This one is rare, mostly because the child becomes very conflicted with the odd thoughts in their mind, one minute it lusts for blood, the next it wants human food. There are some children that have coped and made it into the adult years but they are few. When the child becomes an adult the body decides which way it wants to go. Humanity and eventual death or the alternative, immortality and taking lives of humans. Most of the time the mind chooses humanity and they eventually end up in an insane asylum because the mind never really let's go of the other side, it niggles at them, eats away at their sanity. When the mind chooses immortality, the being is darker than most, it is what we could term a rogue being. They refuse to follow the rules, they will feed as they please and eventually their own kind will hunt them and remove them. Mostly because they are a detriment to the secrecy of their kind. So that's why it's rare for a human hybrid. You will find that they will turn them, then procreate with them. And that brings us to the last of the breeding types. Vampires and werewolves. Vampires and werewolves cannot create together, simple."
"But...."
"I'm getting there." he grinned. "You are just like your mother, bloody impatient. We thought that it was impossible for vampires and werewolves to create a child. Of course no one has ever bothered to try until your parents. So busy hating each other that it never occurred to anyone to at least try. When your mother found out she was pregnant, we all feared what each group would do to them, to you. We didn't know what you would turn out like, like I said, never done before. So we kept your mother in the house, rarely she went outside. She started eating human food, in fact she hadn't had any blood since the night she fell pregnant. It was like she was half human, she was still a vampire, yet she didn't require blood. Your father and I were very perplexed to her behaviour, how the pregnancy altered her dietary requirements. So the months passed and as you grew inside your mother, we started to search out someone who could aid the birthing process and keep it a secret. It wasn't easy, we found a paediatric doctor who happened to have a wife that was an obstetrician."
I looked at Curtis as he paled, he looked at me as his life fell into place within my life. They were his parents.
"I can see you two have figured it out." he chuckled "When your mother went into labour, we took her to a secret location, I went to collect the two doctors and they birthed you and made sure everything went smoothly. When you came out it was the biggest relief to everyone, although I think we were all a little shocked that you came out very human like. I think it's more that you've taken the wolf side and aren't technically an adult until your twenty-fifth birthday but then the vampire in you conflicts with that, a vampire isn't a full adult until the thirty mark. It's very confusing because you are the only one of your kind. You have traces of your mother's humanity in you, the vampire that she became and your father's wolf line. The only thing that the two doctors could conclude was that because your mother had reverted to a human diet during the pregnancy, it altered you too. After your birth, your mother returned to her usual blood diet and you ate human food. So I'll bet you're wondering, why all the secrecy? Why not just birth at the house and keep you hidden? It was lucky that I had Sid here and of course your father knew of the wolf ways, we knew what happened when a vampire or werewolf child is born. Every vampire or wolf can feel the birth of a child within a hundred-kilometre radius of the child's location, including their coven or pack. Your father was days away from becoming a full adult at that stage and as such, he still ran as part of his father's pack, so that meant that his father knew his son had just become a father. It also meant that our former master knew your mother had just birthed a child. Instinct takes over and the leaders are drawn to the new child to celebrate the birth, or in your case to kill you. Both men would know that the child was not of full blood, both would know that the child was half-half. So once you were born and you and your mother were cleaned up, your father took the two of you away and I took the two doctors back to their home. When the two leaders arrived, they would have found nothing more than an abandoned office that had been set up to deliver the child. You were kept a secret, for a few years' things went well, you grew like any other child, your parents loved each other and were married. I know that they both yearned for another child but the risk was far too great. The lengths that we had gone to, to get you into this world was very arduous. And keeping you hidden wasn't easy either. You sat at the windows looking out the windows, watching the other children playing. Then came time for schooling. Your parents had selected your school, they knew they could alter their appearance, but what of the extra man that hung around? I suggested that for a while, it was best that I walked away from them, to keep you safe. Your parents moved into that little house, which by sheer coincidence was right next door to you." he pointed to Curtis "And I moved closer to here. Keeping an eye on the wildlife, making sure that any whispers were dealt with before they became a problem."
"So why am I an issue?"
"Well that brings us up to more modern times. Your father was a born werewolf, he had a pack waiting for him to attain his adult age. When it became clear to him that he would never be able to run a pack, especially one that knew he had a hybrid child with a vampire, he passed the leadership to his brother. Under wolf laws he has never been the true leader but they accept it as there is no other alternative, unless the true leader dies and then his first born takes over. So that's you, when your father died, as the packs true leader, his ownership passed to you. Now your wolf uncle doesn't care if you take over or if you stay hidden, as a born wolf he got his own pack anyway so if anything he'd probably be relieved to give it back."
"So the wolves aren't my issue?"
"No, remember, I said you have no issues with the werewolves, it's the vampires that hold the grudge here. As a born vampire you have a coven coming to you, generally the coven will be in the area close to where you were born, if that's already taken then another location is sought. When you take the placement, the vampires in the area will visit you and devote themselves to you, entrusting their lives and their loyalty to you as their born leader. Ordinarily this means little to most unless you are a master of a commune. Could you imagine your flock running away from you, running away to a born vampire and a coven?" he grinned darkly "Now imagine your flock running away to the child that was born from a former member."
"The master's commune is in my coven area?"
"Yes. So he sees you as a threat to his commune, with the depleting numbers of members in his commune going down fast, all he can see is the dollars walking out the door. Remember, vampires in the commune mean dollars in the bank. Their little self-imposed taxes are quite the benefit to the master. Paving the path ahead of him with a blood soaked path of gold and silver."
"So who is this master, the man that wants me dead all because I'm robbing him of his precious dollars? Who is he?"
"Oh, I do think you've already met him."
"Julius?" I gasped.
"Yes. Julius and his little commune is right in the centre of your territory. Already there is unrest in the vampires of this area. Already they talk of the born vampire that is yet to appear to them, to lead them into a better life. But it gets better than that. Think about this for a second or two, as a child of a born wolf you hold the right to your father's pack and as a born vampire you hold the right to a coven. Can you imagine it, vampires and wolves living harmoniously with one leader? Doesn't that just make your fangs tingle with delight?"
"Giant monkey crap balls." I gasped. "So if Julius wants me dead, then why did they save me after the assassin drained me?"
"They didn't." Curtis spoke softly "I did."
"But you're a new turn, how did you know to do that?"
"Uh, not as new as you think. I'd met Harry about six months ago, after he turned me I kind of went a bit crazy for a little minute. I'm thinking now that I know more about them, Harry probably thought that he had hit a dead end with me and cut all ties, I was left to figure out what my place was in this world. After one very heavy month of partying, you remember that right, when I disappeared and you became all frantic."
I nodded with a frown, remembering how I had pestered the cops, his work, anyone that would listen.
"Well it was then he happened upon me, passed out in a gutter. I don't know why but we started talking again. Maybe he didn't really cut the connection but either way he started calling more and more. Then one day he rung me and casually mentioned that his brother had met this chick named Veronica Marshall and I said that I knew you and we both thought it was funny we all knew each other. Real funny." he rolled his eyes. "The next day he rung again and said that some serious stuff was going down and he feared for me, because I knew you so well. He suggested that I come to the commune for safety, that you were going to be there with Noah too. I was totally stoked, thinking he wanted something more. Then when you were attacked, I walked through that place looking for you, Noah said you went to get some food. He was so casual about it; I couldn't help but be worried. These werewolves were supposedly after you, all of us, wanting to attack us and they all let you go out like that, unescorted? I was suspicious, so I casually left their company, when I was out of sight, I ran to you. That was when I found you, I turned you in the alley, knowing I wouldn't make it in time if I took you down there to do it. I also didn't really trust them. As for knowing what to do? I copied what Harry did to me, that's it." he shrugged.
"We've been looking for you, if I'd known it was you." Sid shook his head in disbelief "Who would have thought that the hybrid was working in the blood clinic. But regardless, we kept an ear out for any chatter about you, threats, anything really. There was no specific threat to you at any point, we knew that someone had killed your parents but we didn't know who until recently. So I was oblivious to it all. I had no way of knowing that you were hanging around the enemy. And as for Linus, well he was supposed to be watching over you, clearly he was doing a shit job at it."
"Pardon?"
"He never knew about the vampire wolf stuff, he was just told to beef up security for the staff, that the vampires were becoming hostile towards clinics. Linus was so wrapped up with trying to impress his father-in-law, he had let the clinic lapse into the terrible state it's in. If it wasn't for you, it would be gone by now. All Linus cares about is the blood farm. Anyway, we heard chatter that the hybrid had almost been found, that someone had figured out that the fabled half cast child was donating blood at your clinic."
Stuart gave me a look of severe distaste.
"All the years that your parents and I invested into keeping you hidden was blown out of the water by you doing your citizenly duty and donating blood."
"Well maybe someone should have told me." I snapped back.
"Yes, that's a great idea except you had an unlisted number, you aren't on any form of social media, you dropped off the planet after your parents died. I came looking for you after the funeral but you were gone faster than anyone else in that place. I wanted to approach you earlier but I knew it was likely that there would be spies there, that's why it was a very low profile funeral. And I didn't want to cause a scene so I was going to wait until after the funeral."
"You could have; I could have done with an uncle you know."
"I realise that now, but if I were to approach you, you would have thought I was crazy. Imagine it, a vampire says, hey I'm your uncle, your dead parents were a vampire and a werewolf, there's some big shit going down and it all rotates around you. What do you think you would have said?"
"You were in need of a bit of padded therapy?"
"Exactly."
"Um. Just a thought, if my parents were a vampire and a werewolf, how come they died in a car accident?"
The three men at the table looked at each other, sadly their eyes darted to me.
"Not an accident Veronica." Stuart said "They were murdered and it was made to look like the petrol tank exploded and that they couldn't escape in time."
Tears trickled down my cheeks, my beautiful loving parents were murdered.
"Who did it?" I growled through the sadness, tears blurring my eyes.
"Ronnie." Sid whispered "Some things are best not known."
"Bull shit, who did it?"
"Julius."