71. Why Did We Fall In Love?

Chris

Driving up to the house in France was a relief. When we left, I was scared that we wouldn’t get Marcus away again. Thinking Juliet had ever been there was too much for me. I would make it my life’s mission to not take her back there.

We got out of the car. Juliet was on the porch having a cigarette. She hadn’t smoked in a while. It was weird seeing her needing one. Red flags were waving in my gut. She was so happy to see us that she ran down the stairs. Grabbed me around the neck and the waist with her legs and hugged me for so long that I thought she would never get off. Then she didn’t. I had to carry her in like that. When we sat on the couch, she kept gripping onto me.

“Juliet, I’m back. We both are. I’m not going anywhere.” Nothing I said helped. She would not let go of me. So I sat there with her for so long.

She started kissing me. I didn’t mind that she was herself again… I wasn’t going to tell her she had to grow up… Ever again. I wanted her like that forever. Doing what she felt she wanted to. Everything she did. Was to make me happy anyway. So I had the best of both sides. After a while, Marcus and Louis even came and sat with us. We glanced at each other. Concern written on their faces. She was acting weird.

“Hey, Juliet. You and Chris have been sitting like this for an hour.” Marcus mentioned.

“Do you want to take over Marcus? Because if I get on you… I’m not getting off.” She lifted her head in challenge… eyeing him.

The implications were clear. He could make a choice. She was willing. He stood there staring down at her. But no. Marcus wasn’t going to do anything. Their first time like that… I shook my head at him. Something else was going on. Marcus sat back down. Defeated.

“Don’t you want to know what happened on your compound of hell?” I asked.

Juliet’s head lifted off my shoulder, her eyes telling me the last thing she wanted to talk about was the compound. She kissed me so hard and so deeply that I felt awkward… Even in front of Louis and Marcus. There was PDA, and then there was what she was doing.

“Chris, I think you need to take this upstairs,” Louis said. What the hell was going on? But I wasn’t going to shrug her off. So, I took her upstairs. Louis giving me permission was another red flag. I thought he would never. It was their room.

***

We fell down on the bed, me on top of her. Legs and arms still very firmly gripping me. “Hey, I brought you something.” She let go a little.

“I thought you weren’t swayed by materialistic things… It’s in my bag.”

When I wanted to get up. She pulled my mouth onto hers and kissed me. She didn’t stop either? She undressed me and pulled me onto and into her so quickly that I didn’t have time to even think about it.

Not that I wanted to stop her. But I had always been a little too much in my mind. And her like that meant she needed release and intimacy… a quicky wasn’t the best way of dealing with it.

Wanting to get off her and go down on her. She stopped me. “Juliet, I need to sort this out. Now, are you going to let me or not?” A tear ran down her temple. Another red flag. There was something wrong…

“Are you pregnant again?” She gave a burst of laughter. “Trying to get pregnant again?”

***

After she fell asleep so quickly… I held her for the longest time. It was another red flag. There were so many that it was starting to freak me out. She was overtired… she wasn’t sleeping. If I even thought about moving, she would grip onto me again. Kissing me and pulling me onto her. That went on the rest of the day and night. Love and water.

I was gone for four days. And that was what she was like. The fear started tearing at me. How would she handle my leaving? Even worse if Caleb gent with me? If we could just know for how long. I needed to talk to Samual and Warden. Get some answers.

***

“Tell me this is real….” She whispered sometime during the night.

“Juliet, I have given you all my love.”

“Tell me this is love.”

“This is more than just love. Even when I’m far away, I feel… all of it… I know wherever you are… even if you’re with someone else… you’re searching for me. I want to tell you now… that there is nowhere so sweet as right here with you.”

More tears.

“Remember I told you as long as your honest with me… Are you honest with me right now..”

“Something happened.” She said while kissing me. “But I can’t tell you.”

I pulled away from her. That time with force. More tears were rolling down her temples. She was… just so sad. Mourning… I had never seen her like that. She was always making a scene… Yelling when she cried. Water just running from her eyes was like… the time in the street. After I told her she needed to go home.

“I remember the first time I noticed that you liked me.” This made her smile. “That morning, my life changed, Juliet. With just knowing you saw me….” She cried even more, and she needed a tissue.

“Can I tell you now that I made love to you that morning right there?” That made her laugh.

“That’s sus. I was seventeen.” I tickled her and wrestled with her because she knew how I felt about her age. “You were two years behind me… I had already had you a million times. Old man.”

That was the right thing to say. Because it’s where I needed it most. Her wanting me that bad was all the drugs I would ever want.

Would I ever get tired of it… as humans did. Start feeling suffocated. Would I meet someone else that I felt that much lust for… She had three other men she felt that way about. But would I do it… Why haven’t I made us official? If species didn’t mix… Why did we fall in love?

***

When I woke up the following day, she wasn’t in bed. The sun was high. I sat up in a jerky motion. I got up and walked hurriedly down the stairs.

Cindy was at the table with Caleb. “Morning.”

“Hi. How are you?” She said, turning in my direction.

“I’ll be okay if you tell me she didn’t disappear.”

Cindy smiled, “In the gym.”

I breathed out the heavy breath I was holding. “Is she okay?”

Cindy didn’t answer and kept quiet. I wanted to push. My phone rang, and it was Nick.

Me [“Hey, Nick. What’s up? You all good there?”

Nick [“Hi, Chris. Just wanted to check in to see how things are going.”]

Me [“I only got back yesterday. But all is good so far.”

Nick [“Man, I have some bad news… Another cub was taken the same one as last time, at the Tompson farm. It’s been two days. So… tell Juliet if you want to.”

Me [“Okay, Nick. Thnx.”] That was weird. There was talking in the background. I could have sworn I heard Sita’s voice. I put down the phone. Not wanting to know if she stayed or not. Samual was clear with his threats anyway. But why would he call me to just tell me that? We all knew where the cub would be. She was probably already dead.

***

When I got up in the gym. Juliet was in the ring with Louis. They were vehemently going at each other. Louis landed punches. Juliet took them in stride. But I was already next to the ring. “Hey Louis, what the hell?” I yelled.

The other three were watching from the side. Juliet got a few punches in and was really giving it her all. Louis landed a punch with force in her stomach. I manifested teleported and put him on the ground. My hand was around his neck.

“Chris…” She tugged on my arm. I was fuming. It took her a good clutch of my fur to make me let go of his throat that was pushed into the floor. My spit fell on his face. “Chris! Get off him and leave the ring.” She pushed harder.

“What the hell! You can’t let him do that.” I stood, flinging around to her.

“Why do you think our time in the gym never overlapped.” She whispered.

“You have been going at it. Like that for months.”

“Chris, get out of the ring.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. She pushed me out. Her whole demeanor had changed overnight.

“Just sit and watch.”

For the next few minutes, they fought even rougher. Louis’s last elbow hit her in the face, and she stumbled sideways, her lip split.

“I’ve had enough.”

She held out a hand to me when I came towards the ring. She turned to Marcus. “Come on, Marcus! You have to up your game! I’m still leagues behind him. Why are you not teaching me to get the upper hand? What am I missing?” She was stern. Her voice rebuked him for not teaching her properly. He jumped into the ring, grabbing his bottom lip and chin in his hand out of frustration like he always did.

“Juliet…” He shook his head… “You’re just too small… too slow, and too….”

“Young and a girl.”

He nodded. “You will never be able to take on me or Chris… maybe Louis in a hundred years when your strength kicked in. Or if you become faster.” She fell down onto her knees. Defeated.

I got into the ring again and went over to Louis. “You have to tell me what happened when we were gone. Or I’m leaving.”

Juliet’s head snapped up. Terrified that I would do it. “I told you… you have lines in the sand… I also have one line, and it’s this one.”

“Chris, nothing happened,” Louis lied. He went down on his knees to Juliet’s level. Their tired eyes met. He put some of her hair in behind her ear.

“Your game is not going to be strength… Not now… Just for a little while. You got that brain of yours for a reason. Unfortunately, you’re always going to have to fight with your mind. Take the punches and the kicks in stride. Your one weakness is patience, and…” Louis bit his bottom lip. He couldn’t finish.

She was getting irritated. “Come on, Louis! Rip off the bandaid.”

Louis held out a hand to Marcus to help him up. He was done for. But he manifested and growled at her.“Bow Juliet.” He pushed the words out.

Juliet’s face was contorted as she fought it. The pain was evident in her features as she winced. We could all see the glowing of the tattoo coming up her hip.

“Louis! Stop!” Louis and Juliet’s hands were stretched out to me in exasperation. Even in that state, Juliet stopped me from getting in the ring.

“For heaven’s sake, Chris! Sit down! You have to go through this if I have to.” Juliet spat at me. But she wasn’t bowing. I could see the tears pooling. One ran down her cheek.

“Now!” Louis’s fists were shaking, his knuckles white. He hated doing it more than me having to watch.

Her upper body slowly bent down until her head touched the ground, shoulders shaking. Louis turned back to human and kneeled down in front of her. He pulled her up on her shoulders.

“I can’t do it, Louis… I can’t. I don’t want to stop fighting.”

Desperate, her head was moving from side to side… He was wiping away her tears and stroking her hair. “I’m sorry, baby.” He kissed her, and she grabbed onto him. Something was happening between them. I didn’t like it. I got into the ring. Jealous.

“You have to remember why your doing it.” She glanced up at me, brows furrowed. “You have to fix the picture in your mind… It has to be permanent. Or else you’re a hypocrite… Don’t tell me you can’t do it… You should have seen Marcus fight Juliet. He’s not even there when he does. He is… a million miles away, just focused on his prize… And her biggest problem is not patience… It’s that mouth of hers!” I stormed out, adamant about leaving. If they weren’t going to tell me what was going on.

Juliet came running after me. “I’ll tell you. Just stay, please.” She begged.

I was about to pick up my bags. I haven’t even unpacked yet. She pulled me upstairs and closed the door.

“You have to promise me that you won’t freak out….” Her tongue was nervously playing over her teeth.

“I can’t promise that,” I said softly.

“We know when you’re leaving....”

I was expecting that was one of the problems… “And…”

“Qadir was here.”

I moved over to her. “Did he do something to you?” She shook her head, closing her eyes.

“He wants Marcus at the compound in exchange for Miné.”

I bobbed my head walking away from her. Squeezing her arm to reassure her I wouldn’t freak out or leave. My hands ran through my hair as I stared out over the mountains. The view from that room… I was going to miss this. We, as a family.

“And you have to go back. Why?”

“Or else Marcus won’t go back… and he’ll leave Miné alone forever.”

“He can’t be trusted. You have to stay out of there.”

“I don’t have a choice, Chris,” She stuttered. “I won’t be the reason they get hurt.”

“When?”

“Less than… two weeks.”

I rushed her and kissed her. Our mouths met in mutual frustration and disappointment. Our tongues meeting for the last few times. Desperate for one final touch and taste. I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t care why we fell in love.

It felt so right that I didn’t care about anything anymore. When Juliet and I slept together, there wasn’t much foreplay. We were constantly ripping each other’s clothes off. Only when I was in her… was there a moment we both relaxed. Being that close to someone was the ultimate goal. I didn’t know how I would go back to not feeling this love we shared.

***

Carl

“Seeing Juliet suffer wasn’t fun for any of us. Knowing she would be going back to where they all fought so hard to get away from. Charlene couldn’t even sleep without me. I didn’t like what was going on. I couldn’t imagine how Louis had to be feeling. Or, how Liam and Cindy were going to handle everything?

Being human had its advantages. Every time this happened in the ring, Charlene would hold her breath. We could not comprehend the vampire’s societal ways. I was happy that the truth was out. That Charlene knew how I felt. It was just the right time. With Ben not there, we had a few days together. But he was coming back… Later that afternoon. I needed to say something. I had not spoken to her at all. I wanted to know what she thought about it… She was right… I’m not a coward. She had already kissed me. Got me to comfort her. She told me to move in with them… not that she thought I was a nuisance and in her Ben’s space.

It did feel like she put me first.

When Juliet ran out after Chris, it was just me and her left in the gym tidying up. Cleaning.

“I think we need to talk, Chars.” She kept going at the mirrors with cloth and wipes. I walked over, touching her shoulder. She took out her earpiece. I brazenly stared into her eyes. I had never done it before. Her hand reached for the other one, pushing both into her pocket.

Minutes ticked by. Charlene patiently waited… I was a coward. I had no clue what to say. My eyes cast down the floor in defeat. For years I didn’t say anything. Why did I think it was going to be different once she knew?

“I have thought about you in that way.” Her voice was low.

My eyes darted up to hers.

“Many times… It just never went further. We’re such good friends. The three of us. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that it came out. Isn’t it better that we can make a proper decision?”

“But that’s the problem. It is a decision, and it’s not mine… You have Ben. And I don’t want to share.”

“Okay…” She rubbed my upper arm as she walked past me and out of the room.

***

Charlene

For the last two days, I was just coping. I had kissed Carl because I had always wanted to. I wanted him to know that even if we were just friends. It could be more.

He had always been so sure and stable. Never faltered. I didn’t think he knew how much like Juliet I was. And why the two of us were such good friends. Because we saw a lot in the same way. And we convince the other quickly to new ways of thinking. I accepted her for who she was. And she did the same, willingly.

She was in love with Chris for so long. He was there long before Louis. And even in that time, she had other people. I had a lot of other people. But before Chris, she and Marcus were already married. She loved all three of them. It didn’t mean she had to choose. They weren’t expecting her to. I had to either change my way of thinking. Or choose Ben. Werewolf women had reverse harems on their planet. Ben might not care about sharing. But did I want that? Would I be able to handle it? Had she opened up my mind to the possibility of another way of life?

Carl had always been there. Would he stay… If I asked. By my side like always. Or was this it? Would I lose Ben, or would I lose my best friend?