Jackson and I made our way back upstairs and into the bedroom that I'd woken up in. We settled onto the bed and cuddled for a bit, alternating between kissing and talking. He had a lot of questions about my experiences with the coven and my transition becoming a vampire, but he also couldn't seem to keep his lips off of mine for more than a minute or two, to which I had no complaints.

Jackson was worried about the transition being painful. I easily assured him that I didn't remember any of it. There was no pain after Bane's teeth sank into my shoulder. The shock covered that pain and then when everything faded, there was nothing until I woke up with Xavier, not even how long I'd been out.

He was also curious about what I could do now. I couldn't exactly show him that my senses had all improved, but I could show him the new strength and speed that I'd gained with the transition. He really enjoyed knowing that I still couldn't catch anything to save my life.

After a good long laugh at me and my inability to catch, his gaze caught the hole in the wall that was proof of what he was just laughing about. "What's that from?" he asked, gesturing to it. "Did the vampires get a little crazy in here during a party or something?"

I blushed and scrunched my face up in embarrassment, not really wanting to tell him and have him laughing at me again. Sucking it up, I admitted, "That was me."

He gave me a questioning look, and glanced between the wall and myself. "Did someone make you angry after you woke up and you punched the wall or something?" He was trying so hard to understand why I would have put a hole in the wall and I really wanted to keep him guessing but I didn't.

"Levi was trying to distract me until you got here and he threw a deck of cards at me to see if I could catch them. I accidentally smacked them through the wall," I murmured, my face warm and probably beet red.

He had another good long laugh about that while I glared at him and pretended to be offended by his amusement. In reality, I was just so glad that he was here that I couldn't be mad at him for anything at this point.

He eventually calmed down and wrapped his arms around me again, kissing my cheek. "I'll always love you, even if you can't catch, Cecilia," he murmured in my ear before kissing my lips softly.

"And I'll always love you," I replied, smiling up at him.

I reveled in the fact that I was wrong about everything. Jackson didn't hate me for saving him and becoming a vampire. He still loved me and he treated me the same as before the battle.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying being in each other's arms again and listened to the vampires excitedly decorating downstairs. Then, Jackson decided to break that silence. He rolled over to face me, propping his head up on his hand, his elbow resting on the bed beside my head. "You know, you promised me something before I left to fight Drabek's pack," he told me, a mischievous grin gracing his handsome face.

I remembered exactly what I had said, but I gave him an innocent, clueless smile. "I did?" I asked, pretending I didn't remember. "What did I promise you?"

He smiled back, all confidence, not at all fooled by my charade. "You promised that if I came back to you in one piece I could mark you," his voice had dropped to a husky whisper that sent a shiver down my spine as he stared into my eyes.

"Did I say that?" I whispered softly.

He nodded, maintaining the eye contact we had going on.

My heart was beating faster and it took everything in me to look away from him and up at the ceiling. I tried to look thoughtful as I playfully mused, "I think I would remember something like that."

His playful growl made my heart jump as he rolled on top of me, using his hands to hold his weight on either side of me. "I know you remember, baby," he whispered in my ear as he started kissing his way down the side of my neck.

I rolled my head to the side to give him better access and closed my eyes. I didn't want to tease him anymore, I just wanted him to claim me as his. There was this driving force inside of me that ached for him to mark me. It was new and scary, but absolutely thrilling at the same time.

I wrapped a hand tightly in his hair, encouraging him and making sure he didn't stop with the soft kisses that were driving me to the edge of insanity. "Mark me," I breathed into his ear, not wanting to wait any longer. I wanted to be his completely, and I wanted him to be mine.

I felt his breathing completely stop for a moment before picking up even faster than it had before. He pulled away from me, making me groan. He ignored the sound and looked into my eyes as if he was peering in to my soul. I could see how much he wanted this in his eyes, how much he wanted to make me his. I knew that wanting was reflected in my own eyes as well.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, sounding as if the question were dragged out of him.

I nodded, smiling softly. "I want to be yours," I told him, honestly. Something inside me was clawing for it.

He groaned and dropped his head to kiss me deeply. He trailed his lips across my cheek, down my neck and to the small hollow where my shoulder curved into my neck. I felt his teeth graze softly across the skin, making me sigh and then his teeth sliced into my neck.

I gasped, ending on a long moan as sensations I never knew existed were pulled through my body. Pleasure zinged from my head to my toes, all originating from his teeth in my neck and I could feel him everywhere. I felt a wave of pure possessiveness roll through me and before I knew it, my fangs had extended and sank into his shoulder as well, all the feelings doubling the second I broke skin and his blood exploded onto my tongue.

I moaned again, loving the taste of his blood. It was so much sweeter than the blood downstairs, possibly the most delicious thing I had tasted in my entire life. I felt a slight tug in my mind and I knew the connection between us was complete.

We both pulled back at the same time, resting against each other. Jackson's forehead was laid softly against my own as we both tried to catch our breath and enjoyed the tingling sensations and pleasure that was still radiating from our marks.

"You marked me back," Jackson finally breathed, seeming very pleased by this fact as he gazed down at me, the love in his eyes blazingly obvious.

I grinned up at him. "I surprised myself as well," I responded, still panting slightly. "It just kind of happened."

He grinned proudly down at me and my heart jumped again. "I love you so much," he whispered softly.

I smiled back. "I love you as well, Jackson." I nudged his head up a little with my chin and kissed him deeply.

I remembered the tug I'd felt in my mind and pulled away, making Jackson groan and give me a pouty face. I smiled and kissed him quickly again before asking my question. "Did you feel that tugging sensation?" I asked him.

He nodded, his grin growing even bigger. "That was the mental connection forming," he told me. "I wasn't sure if it would happen because it's something that only happens between werewolves, but I'm so happy it did."

"What can we do with it?" I asked of him.

He rolled of of me and onto his back, pulling me snuggly against his side so that there was no space between us. "We can talk to each other in our minds, feel each other's emotions, find each other whenever we need to and tell if our mate is in danger of any kind," he explained, running one hand through my hair while the other drew circles on my waist.

I was amazed by his explanation. I knew that he could talk to his pack members that way, but I didn't know the rest of it, or that it would happen between the two of us. Could he hear what I was thinking? I decided to test it. Watching his face closely, I thought of the most random things I could. Ninja unicorns. Evil gummy bears. Flying hippopotamuses ate my shoe. And for the ultimate test: Channing Tatum is a sexy beast. His facial expression never twitched and if that last one didn't get a reaction, I knew that he couldn't hear me.

"So how do I talk to you?" I asked him.

"You just think of me and then say something. You've got a really good wall up, though. You'll have to learn how to take it down."

I didn't really understand what he was saying, so he spent some time teaching me about mind barriers and how to manipulate them. He could talk to me through our new link, but for some reason I couldn't seem to get my mental wall out of the way and I was getting angry about it. It was my wall, it should move for me!

I love you, I thought for the millionth time. I love you, I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU!!

Jackson jumped, almost rolling off the bed and then stared at me in shock. "Jesus, did you have to scream?" he asked of me.

"It worked?" I squealed excitedly, making him laugh.

"I'd say so!" he replied, still chuckling. "Damn near exploded my brain!"

My eyes widened. I hadn't wanted to hurt him. "Are you okay?" I asked him worriedly.

He laughed again. "I'm fine," he assured me, giving me a quick kiss. "you were just really loud."

I heard his voice in my mind. I love you too.

I smiled happily. Can you hear me now? I asked him.

He nodded, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug, kissing the top of my head. "I'm so proud of you, Cecilia," he murmured in my hair. I smiled against his chest, holding him tightly as he was holding me. I didn't want to ever let him go. We sat there for a long time, just holding each other.

After a while, I decided to break the silence with a question that had been nagging in the back of my mind since I'd woken up and learned that I was a vampire. "How is my immortality going to affect our mating?" I asked him in a worried voice.

He was silent for a moment, scaring me slightly. "I don't know for sure," he replied quietly. "Most of the time, mates' life spans are linked. I've never heard of a vampire-werewolf mating before, but since it's possible, I'd like to believe that my life span would become attached to yours."

"I'd like to think that, too," I whispered back, knowing there was no way I'd be able to handle him dying before me. I wouldn't survive it any better than he had survived thinking I was dead for a week. I'd be empty inside.

I snuggled into his chest and held him as tightly as he was holding me. We didn't know what our futures would bring, but we would be together and that was what was important. Both of us realized it and we just held each other.

A knock on the door interrupted us about half an hour later. Levi and Xavier walked in together when we called for them to come in, both of them with grins on their faces. "Party time!" they exclaimed excitedly.

They paused as something occurred to them. Jackson and I regarded them calmly until Xavier asked, "You marked each other?" His voice portrayed all of his surprise and I blushed bright red as I nodded.

Xavier and Levi turned to Jackson with identical glares on their faces. "Can we talk to you outside?" Levi asked, his tone threatening and not leaving any space for a negative answer.

I didn't have a problem replying, though, as I shook my head. "No, you may not," I told them both. "Jackson is my mate and I asked him to mark me. You two do not get to lecture him."

Jackson grinned down at me while Xavier and Levi rolled their eyes. I froze as I heard the door downstairs open and the sound of hundreds of feet start pouring down the stairs into the club.

Xavier and Levi relented at the sound. "We'll lecture him later," Levi decided. "It's time for your party."

I nodded slowly, fear trickling through me at the thought of the pack finding out that I was a vampire. "Okay, we'll be down in a second," I told them. "I think I need to find something a little nicer to wear." Xavier and Levi were giving me worried looks, so I forced a smile and said, "It is Fangs, and as you're always telling me Xavier, I can't dress like normal."

His worry was obviously abated by my joke as he grinned back at me and nodded. They both turned to leave, but Xavier stopped in the doorway to glance back at me again. "There are some clothes in the closet that are yours and some new ones as well."

After he walked out, Jackson pulled my face around to look at him with a gentle hand on each cheek. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked me, no doubt feeling my turmoil through our newly created bond.

"What if the pack is mad at me or hates me for becoming a vampire?" I asked him, voicing my fears.

He shook his head in disbelief, clearly unable to comprehend why they would act in such a way. "Why would you even ask me that, Ceci?" he asked me in aggravation. "They love you!"

"They did," I corrected him. "They loved the human me, but we all know how you guys feel about vampires. I got you used to them a little bit, but your pack isn't and your their beta! What if they don't want me as their beta female?"

Jackson grabbed my face in his hands again and leaned his forehead against my own. His calm blue eyes captured mine and I breathed a little easier as he spoke. "They will get used to it, Ceci," he assured me. "You are their beta female and they will realize that you are the same person you were a week ago. Nothing has changed."

"Except my species," I muttered.

"Except your species," Jackson agreed. "It sounds like a big thing, but it's really not. You're still the same you you were a week ago. Only now you're stronger and can move faster."

I smiled slightly, feeling a little bit better with his reassurance. "Will you make sure I don't lose control and hurt any of them?" I asked him. It was the last thing I needed before I could get ready and go downstairs for my party. I needed him to help me make a good impression on the pack.

Jackson nodded, capturing my lips in a slow, passionate kiss that had me cross-eyed and breathing funny when we both came up for air. "I promise," he whispered, his breathing a little odd as well. "We will keep a goblet of blood in your hands at all times and you'll be just fine. You can do this, sweetheart."

"Thank you," I breathed, hugging him tightly. I could do this. I could face the pack as a vampire and I could teach them that their hatred for vampires was useless and ungrounded. Well, their hatred for my vampires anyway.

"Anything for you," Jackson murmured in my ear. "Now what do you say you get dressed and we get down to that party they're throwing for you?" He pulled back and smiled brightly down at me, giving me no choice but to agree.

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