TWENTY-SIX

"Did you really tell them that their girlfriends should find better boyfriends to their faces? I can't believe it..." Dario stared at me in disbelief for a second while I blushed red as a beet and Ruby nodded amused.

"And she told the leader of the pack that he was a mangy mutt that needed to take a shower." The French vampire burst into laughing holding his glass while Marcus waited patiently for him to stop shaking his hand so he can pour him more wine.

"The truth is that I'm surprised at how well you handled the situation, Iselen." My father-in-law gave me a glass and I leaned back on the terrace bench while the sun set on the horizon, Terra was smoking calmly next to me and her sister took the tray of snacks Antonella handed her, putting it on the table before flopping down next to me too. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't easy for you, anyone would be scared and above all humans because werewolves are really moody. Their nature is wilder than ours, I guess."

"Blame it on the mind control," I admitted reluctantly. "Terra was holding my mind, my heart stopped racing fast and suddenly I didn't feel fear anymore so I insulted them... Later, when we walked in our cabin, I realized what I'd done and my legs started shaking, I could hardly eat a bite for dinner."

"Well, I think you were very brave, cinnamon bun." The beautiful blue-eyed vampire smiled sultrily while leaning her elbow on the arm of the bench holding her cigarette. "And very hot too: you're so pretty when you get angry... when you get angry at others, not at me, of course."

"Yes, Iselen looks like a shy girl at first sight but she becomes a terrifying beast when she loses her temper." Vera smiled amused while watching Aren peeling pistachios for her at vampire speed. "I remember I went out for a drink after work with Mia and Iselen and I noticed she was in charge of shooing annoying boys away, they seemed bewildered when they realized that she ignored them even if they flirted with her nonstop, above all those arrogant assholes who believed their technique was immaculate."

"I can't waste time dealing with morons," I growled quietly and Terra kissed my cheek before putting her cigarette out on the ashtray.

"That's one of the many reasons why I adore you..." I smiled like a lovesick fool staring at the beautiful vampire while remembering our trip back home from Sicily and the narrow bed in our cabin where my girls were determined to show me how turned on they got when I confronted those haughty werewolves. I tried to muffle my moans with the pillow but I think I was unable to do it perfectly because some passengers looked at me out of the corner of their eyes when we walked down the corridor to go to breakfast the next morning. I would've blushed some months before but I didn't care about what humans were thinking anymore and, in addition to that, they forgot our faces almost immediately. Dario leaned forward to grab some peanuts snapping me back to reality.

"Is there any reason why you don't get along with werewolves?" I asked with curiosity and Marcus seemed to think about it for a second while taking a sip at his drink, a delicious red wine that came from the vineyards he'd owned on the slopes of Vesuvius for centuries.

"We don't like them," he answered shrugging. "I don't know why exactly. The animosity has been there for thousands of years, maybe because we're two strong species vying for supremacy while keeping our existence a secret, although we've lived more comfortably in big cities among humans and they used to prefer small villages, fields and forests. That's why our paths don't cross often, but when we bump into each other, we fight."

"So that story about the daughter of a vampire falling in love with a werewolf... her father didn't approve and a war broke... it isn't true?" All the vampires looked at each other perplexed while Vera and I waited for their answer anxiously.

"No, of course not, is that what humans believe?" Dario shook his head before grabbing more peanuts. "It doesn't make sense, you know we can't control the bond and we respect it: if they were meant to be a couple, no vampire would interfere, that's for sure... Although the bond usually picks out couples... or threesomes... that complement each other but werewolves are totally different from us, their culture, their way of life and mind set is opposite to the vampires' one. I don't know any mixed couple and never heard of one of those."

"Neither did I and I'm almost 2,000 years old." Marcus smiled sadly.

"You're still a good looking kid," I answered amused while my father-in-law stole some peeled peanuts from his lover who stared at him pretended to be offended. "What about vampires? Any idea how the first one of you came to this world?"

"Have you met Dracula?" Vera asked innocently and all the family looked at her in disbelief and shocked but I nodded and pointed at my friend.

"Good question, was Vlad III of Wallachia even a vampire?"

"No and the fact that he's so famous should be a clue about why he wasn't: vampires learnt pretty soon that it was in everyone's interest to be discreet to be able to live a peaceful life and being the ruler of a country, fighting for the throne nonstop with your cousins, killing political opponents and prisoners in a cruel, inhuman or humiliating way and declaring war on the Ottoman Empire... it's not the best way to go unnoticed. However, we met his grandmother, Mara..."

"His grandmother?" I asked shocked.

"Yes, in fact Mara was one of the first vampires I met apart from the family members." Ruby extended her arm holding her glass so her father could pour more wine. "It was during my first rotational trip... Marcus used to travel around Europe from time to time, following a circular pattern to avoid being recognized, even if people lived less years and there weren't pictures back then, but just in case... He travelled with Aren across the north and south of France but they never got closer to England or Denmark because they feared an old man could recognize the Viking warrior or in case they kept telling stories about him in front of the fireplace in one of the villages he looted."

"It was unlikely but I've always been very cautious," my father-in-law admitted nodding.

"They arrived to Spain where they met Terra and travelled all over the country before going to Sicily and south Italy, they met me in Venice where we lived for a while before deciding that it was time to move to Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and Romania. Around 400 years had passed since Aren's conversion when we reached Wallachia and met Mara, who had been the lover of prince Mircea I and the mother of Vlad II, Dracula's father. It happened that a vampire visited the country, he realized how beautiful she was and decided that it'd be a pity that she'd get old so he took her out of the court and gave her the gift..."

"Rules to choose who can become a vampire have toughened up since then, fortunately." Marcus rolled his eyes before drinking again. "Mara had been living in that area for a long time even if it was unstable due to the constant wars and conflicts, farmers believed she was a witch that made a deal with the devil or something like that and she didn't feel safe anymore so she came with us when we moved to Poland and then to the Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden... And back to England and the north of France... 600 years after meeting Aren for the first time."

"Well, that's really cautious, I can't picture anyone recognizing the vampire six centuries later..." I muttered tilting my head to point at the blond Viking who smiled amused. "Are you still touring through the world?"

"No, it doesn't make sense anymore, humans can travel anywhere and I could bump into my Neapolitan neighbour in Australia... Manipulating their minds to forget us is easier. But answering your question about the first vampire..." Marcus looked at Dario who shrugged. "I don't know and no elder has been able to clarify things for me but you have to bear in mind that I, along with Alexios the Greek, a Persian guy, a Chinese lady and another woman from India, are the elder ones. There's no one left from the Ancient Egypt, Babylon or Crete. We have lot of suspicions but no certainties... I don't think we're the result of an evolution, a human didn't develop unparalleled strength and velocity and started drinking blood just like that... You know scientists have confirmed that virus and bacteria can live in outer space and have got into our atmosphere through meteorites..." I nodded listening to him, fascinated. "I think it's safe to assume that the first ones got infected like that and we all evolved from them."

"How unromantic, don't you think?" Dario complained frowning. "I'd rather believe a witch cursed us for the eternity, that an ancient and very angry goddess created us out of revenge, that the devil tempted the first of us all... But no, they had to be bacteria on a rock, what a bore..."

"Well, you could say you're the children of the stars," I answered smiling and the French vampire stared at me raising an eyebrow.

"I like the way you think."

"Sorry to interrupt you..." Antonella got closer and grimaced followed by a tall guy in his 40s, with dark hair and tanned skin, smartly dressed with a wool suit that fitted him like a glove despite it looked unsuitable to visit the warm south of Italy in spring. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed around us and became thicker: Dario rolled his eyes in front of me, Terra got tensed next to me while Ruby slumped her shoulders and kept her eyes fixed on the ground and Aren fidgeted on his seat while Vera and I looked at the newcomer with curiosity, wondering why everybody seemed to feel upset all of a sudden. Not Marcus tho, he got up in a hurry to hug the guy affectionately.

"Welcome, my son."

"I'm sorry I didn't make it in time to attend the party, I was in London in the middle of a very complicated financial operation... I'm happy to see you."

"Iselen, Vera... he's my son, John."

I knew that the former assistant of Emperor Constantine I would be a problem since the moment our eyes met. He had impeccable manners, of course, and nothing in his tone of voice betrayed his feelings but it was pretty obvious that he didn't like me, I could feel his energy when he shook my hand he exuded disapproval through all his pores; however, he smiled at Vera genuinely and nodded at Aren approvingly. The Viking guy did the right thing bonding to a woman as God and Mother Nature's laws required. Dario looked at me and stuck his tongue out discreetly pretending to puke before sighing and eating more peanuts, ignoring the newcomer while he was catching up with Marcus.

"Terra..." I whispered in my mind through the bond so no one could hear me, my girl took her lighter and a cigarette calmly while nodding discreetly. "Ca you do that veil thing again?" Ruby frowned next to me despite she was still busy trying to look everywhere but at his older brother's face.

"Done, amor, what's wrong?" my girl seemed concerned but I smiled in my head.

"Nothing, it's just that I don't want to offend Marcus since he's been so kind to me... Could you leave an open channel so Dario can hear my thoughts too?" Both vampires stared at me puzzled for a second not caring about our family seeing it till Terra nodded finally. "Thank you..." Dario looked up, surprised, and I winked at him before flashing a fake smile on my face and looking at John who was talking to his father about his successful career as stockbroker in London.

"What are you going to do?" Ruby asked in my head while I kept my eyes fixed on the profile of the guy dressed with the best bespoke suit money could buy.

"Conceited..." I grumbled in my mind. "Vanity is a sin but morons like you don't care despite they brag about their trust in God, fucking homophobic asshole..." Terra fidgeted on the bench awkwardly, Ruby held her breath and Dario bit his lower lip trying not to laugh loudly. "Bigot, sanctimonious, hypocrite, narrow-minded..." John moved his hand with a mannered gesture that intended to be elegant in order to grab the glass of wine Antonella had poured him quietly; the human lady didn't like her boss' son either, obviously. "Arrogant, vain, bighead, pretentious..."

"Iselen, it's so nice to meet you... my sisters finally know why their bond didn't work properly and that's great... They'll be happy now."

"It's nice to meet you too finally, I've heard a lot about you..."I answered loudly with a large fake smile across my face while the monologue kept going on inside my head. "But they didn't tell me anything good about you, fucking liar, I'm pretty sure you'd love to throw me to the ocean and watch me drowning, wouldn't you? And throw your sisters too, daddy's little boy..." Terra was smoking calmly next to me but there was a hint of a naughty smirk on her lips and Ruby wasn't looking at the ground anymore while holding my hand on her lap, rubbing my skin with her thumb. I saw the exact moment when John noticed it because he frowned and the façade of a charming brother-in-law fell apart for a second.

"Have you decided when you want to turn into a vampire?" he asked with a neutral tone of voice although surprisingly he didn't ask Vera the same, he seemed weirdly interested in my life although I guessed it was because he didn't like me and wanted to hide it in front of his father showing a little interest.

"As soon as possible when we get home..." I whispered before turning my head to kiss Terra's cheek sweetly and John frowned again. "Suck it, jerk, if this bothers you wait till later when I sit on her face and the rodeo starts, I'm going to scream and moan so loud that the roof will collapse..." I thought smiling and Ruby looked up discreetly, checking how solid the beams supporting the terrace roof were.

"I'm pretty sure my sisters can't wait..."

"Neither do I," I answered while Marcus nodded enthusiastically, he seemed happy because all of us stayed in his house, the extended family, despite tension was obvious and he must feel it too. I guessed he'd decided to ignore it and expected all of us behaving amicably, at least while he was there with us... I wasn't sure it'd be possible.

"I hope you get lost in a desert and the only thing you find to drink is milk powder, I wish you jump in a haystack and prick your ass with the needle, I hope you get lost and not even Google can find you, I wish you reborn in your next life as a toilet brush..." I thought with rage but stopped because Dario chocked on something suddenly, he had to grab his glass of wine and take a sip with his eyes full of tears.

"Sorry," he whispered grimacing. "It was the salt on those peanuts..."

"Well, it's almost dinner time..." Marcus took a quick look at his watch and Antonella left the terrace in a rush to set the table in the dining room, happy because she didn't need to fake a smile in front of John anymore.

"I'll go to my bedroom taking advantage of this break to freshen up and change my clothes." The newcomer got up and nodded at us kindly but looking at Vera appreciatively. "I can't wait to know more about my sisters-in-law."

"Fucking liar," I thought while he turned around and left the terrace. "I hope you have a coughing fit the same day you have diarrhoea..."

"Cough!"

"Dario, are you okay?" My father-in-law raised an eyebrow, confused, while his lover nodded and drank more wine. "You should stop eating peanuts, Antonella has made lasagne..."

"Have I told you how much I love you this evening?" Ruby whispered in my ear, leaning forward to kiss my neck.

"Actually yes, but it's always a pleasure to hear it from your flawless and plump lips..." The beautiful vampire smiled and her sweet mouth grazed mine while Terra chuckled next to me and put her cigarette out to be able to kiss my nape. Both women dragged their butts on the bench to move closer to me, Ruby leaned her head on my shoulder and her sister put her arm around my waist while I listened to Marcus and Dario arguing and Vera and Aren made plans to go for a walk on the beach later. A movement got my attention out of the corner of my eye: Antonella walked down the corridor holding a spotless white tablecloth in her arm but behind her, sticking his head through a door, John stared at us through the French doors with an expression on his face I didn't understand: a mix of resentment and jealousy that made me feel awkward. Terra turned her head abruptly, getting angry, but his brother had vanished.

"This won't end well," Ruby whispered in my head looking at me worried. "Your jokes were great and allowed us to ignore that moron and have fun but Terra doesn't get along with John, he'll never approve our bond and is unable to hide it, he seems to be nice but some gestures betray him involuntarily... She almost lost her temper many times before when he used to criticize me but now you're here and, if John offends you in any way, we won't be able to stop Terra..."

"Well, I need you to restrain yourself a little," I answered staring at the blue-eyed vampire who frowned while I cupped her cheek with my hand. "Ignore him, please, I need you in top form tonight... you need to do that thing with your tongue that makes me cry."