TWENTY-FOUR

I took a sip of my glass of wine leaning my back on a column, a spot from which I had a perfect view of the yard and the guests moving from group to group, chatting and grabbing canapés from trays while they kept ignoring me... I didn't care. I didn't pay attention to the female humans either even if they were desperately trying to catch my eye to be able to learn more about "the big secret." If they believed I was rude, well, that was my home and I could do whatever I wanted. I had a mission and was focused on it with all my senses. I spotted Antonella standing in a corner watching if the waiters she had hired were working well, waiting for Marcus' signal to bring the trays with pastries and chocolates. I smiled at her and she nodded before monitoring the surroundings again... exactly what I did too.

There were a lot of pretty vampires in the house that night but I knew only certain women with special characteristics would catch my partners' eyes, I knew them well and beauty wasn't enough: Ruby would like someone capable of laughing and joking, not a self-centred snob, and Terra would demand a modicum of intelligence and culture, she couldn't stand idiots. Some women wandering around the yard were out of the competition because of that, for example the nun disguised as an ominous raven, but there were some of them left and I was determined to find out who their old lovers were. I didn't understand why I felt such a compulsion, it was related to our bond most likely, but I must find them to make clear that the vampires were mine finally. Suddenly, I understood why they were so upset when we bumped into Maria and later when she sent me a text. My jealousy was stupid and irrational but I was unable to get rid of it.

Terra and Ruby chatted with the guests wandering around while I remained vigilant and stubbornly silent, waiting for a gesture or a look that would betray them when one of those vampires got closer. My girls looked increasingly nervous, in fact, Ruby was drinking anxiously while Terra seemed to be about losing her temper. I frowned staring at her and sent my thoughts to her head through the bond.

"You have a Spanish partner now, you should know what that means..." The vampire rolled her eyes hard, upset, while pretending to listen to one of the elders.

"They should tell you, you'll find out anyway..." Dario whispered behind me but smiled amused. "I know Spanish and French people are supposed to get along badly because of a silly rivalry but I love Spanish girls, they're the best creating drama... This party is so boring..."

"You organized it..." I answered fixing my eyes on Ruby who was talking to a cute red-haired woman.

"Yes and that's why decorations, food and drinks are perfect... Unfortunately, the guests ruin it all: resentful humans, stuck up vampires, dismissive elders and an unbearable nun. I can't get anything good working with that base material. Anyway, I'm going to rescue Marcus again, he doesn't know how to get rid of the elders politely when they start talking about stuff they believe is crucial for the survival of the vampire race. Actually, they only want to stay relevant in this modern world they don't understand."

"You should invite them to your office to play video games and teach them to browse the net," I answered amused and Dario snorted.

"Those jerks are so attached to traditions that they still use an abacus to keep accounts of their fortunes, how am I supposed to teach them everything about online stock trading if they don't know what a calculator is?" The vampire walked away shaking his head and I kept watching my girls' reactions every time a pretty lady fluttered around them.

"Iselen, can you help me?" Vera got closer to me pointing at the corridor leading to one of the guest bathrooms, she looked worried about something while holding the dress on her shoulder with one hand and I followed her without thinking twice. "The zipper is broken, it's Aren's fault, he's unable to keep his hands to himself... We were in the garden, under the camellia trees with all those gorgeous candles and you know..."

"A romantic atmosphere, I understand..." I laughed amused while walking in the bathroom that was empty at that moment.

"Do you think you can fix it with a safety pin?"

"Turn around and let me see... The fabric isn't ripped but the seam burst here... I think I can do something, let me find the pin." I whispered while turning my clutch to empty the content on the marble counter, it was amazing how many things I gathered inside despite it was small: tissues, a lipstick, Terra's lighter, a small wallet... "Here it is."

A beautiful vampire walked in the bathroom while I tried to pin the safety pin to the fabric hiding it was much as possible, her long blonde hair showed soft waves in a 30s style matching her silver lame dress that was clinging to her amazing curves. She smiled looking at us with curiosity but remained silent I smiled back and nodded in response, focusing on the task I was doing. The woman left her clutch nest to mine, fixed her rouge on her lips and washed her hands while I checked that Vera's dress was securely fastened again.

"I think this will do for the rest of the night..."

"Thank you, Iselen." My friend sighed relieved, getting closer to the big mirror hanging on a wall to check the hang of the fabric and fix the dress on her shoulders while I gathered my stuff again.

"You're Ruby and Terra's partner," the woman said in English with an accent I didn't recognized, maybe French or Italian, but sounded sweet and exotic.

"Yes..." I answered shyly waiting for her to say something nice and then ignore me, the same way other people had done that night, but this vampire surprised me because she kept looking at me with interest, her attention focused on me, checking me out from head to toe.

"I met them long time ago, in Brussels..." That confirmed me that the accent was French, definitely. "We had fun together for a couple of weeks... It was amazing because, you know, Terra is really smart... and dominant... and Ruby is more flexible and easy going... but passionate. They complement each other very well and, in addition to that, they're generous with their time and playful..." I could see Vera raising an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye while she stared at the vampire through the mirror, there was no way to ignore the sensual tone of voice and it was pretty clear she was hinting that they weren't together in Brussels to sightsee. I'd found one of their lovers finally, well, she'd found me, and I wasn't happy about it, to be honest.

"Listen..."

"They have good taste, I mean, they're picky when it comes to choose a bed partner... You must be very special..." The vampire leaned forward slightly, staring at my face closely and I could've sworn she was sniffing my perfume while frowning. "I wonder what do you have that makes someone as demanding as Terra so happy, she has a reputation for being moody, you know. Well, I know she's not like that between the sheets but it's hard to persuade her to jump in a bed, you have to work hard to get it... However, she's the one following you around now... I really wonder why... Do you mind if I join you tonight?"

"Sorry, what?" I asked appalled wile my friend looked at us with her mouth wide open.

"Three, four... who cares? The more, the merrier... I have centuries of experience successfully pleasing women if that's what you're worried about, we'll have fun together..." The vampire raised her hand in order to rub my cheek with her knuckles, I think, and my stomach turned. Even in a state of shock, I knew I didn't want that woman to touch me, but I couldn't step back because she stopped her movement... or rather, someone stopped her. A soft fresh breeze that shook my skirt was all I could feel, I blinked and Terra was standing next to me suddenly, her fingers holding the blonde vampire's wrist hard. The four of us remained still and quiet while Ruby walked in the bathroom slowly and keeping a straight face, my girls seemed to keep their poise but I could feel the rage boiling through our bond.

"No," Terra whispered, only one word but the restrained violence behind it made my skin crawl.

"Oh come on, my dear..."

"I'm not your dear, Julie." The tone of voice of the blue-eyed vampire could've frozen the mirror behind Vera. Ruby got closer calmly and gathered my stuff, shoving it in my clutch before closing it and giving it to me, kissing my cheek and moving one step towards Terra. She put her tattooed fingers on her sister's wrist and she let Julie go immediately, the blonde vampire moved away cautiously when she understood the situation was tense.

"I was inviting Iselen to join a private party..."

"My partner..." Terra emphasized the words harshly. "... won't join any party and you won't talk to her or touch her again because if you do that, I'll get pretty mad at you." I swallowed hard picturing my girl angrier than she seemed to be and I realized I didn't want to see her like that. I had witnessed what Ruby was capable of when Giulio attacked me but something in my guts was telling me that it was nothing compared to the hell her sister could raise if she burst into a rage.

"It's all right, I just wanted to be kind to the newcomer..."

"Julie, Iselen is our partner now, you know what that means..." Ruby stood still in front of her former lover and, even if she looked calmer than her sister, it was obvious judging by the tension in her back muscles that was also really upset but trying to restrain herself. "No more games, no more party invitations, don't touch her, don't get close to her... If you do it, I'll kill you." I blinked shocked and the French lady opened her mouth wide in disbelief. "I'm being serious." Terra chuckled and put his arm around my waist to guide me out of the bathroom while Ruby was standing still looking at Julie with a straight face and Vera followed us feeling visibly awkward.

"What about you and Aren? Boys aren't my cup of tea but if they come with goddesses with sweet cinnamon skin, I could give it a try..." My friend stepped back as if the words of the blonde woman could burn her but was unable to answer because Terra interrupted her.

"Vera, Aren is coming, he's noticed you were upset and is worried but he'll get furious the moment he understands what has happened here, he's going to do something drastic and Marcus hates seeing blood stains on his marble floor, they're really difficult to clean later... so you better go outside to meet him in the corridor and drag him to a more private place to explain him what this was all about calmly... Vera, now!" My friend reacted finally and ran out of the bathroom, bumping into her partner in the corridor and dragging the confused Viking guy far away from us. Tension in the small room could be cut with a knife. "Have you gone nuts, Julie? Don't you value your life and you want us finishing you?"

"Don't be a drama queen, Terra, I just wanted to have fun..." the blonde woman shrugged.

"I don't like the way you have fun... your mouth will get you in trouble."

"You didn't think the same some years ago, I remember that you had fun and didn't complain about my mouth skills..." My girl clenched her jaw and my back got tensed under her arm, I was coming out of my state of shock finally and rage was starting to run wild through my veins.

"Would you mind not talking about that in front of my partner? It's in poor taste."

"Since when are you such a prude?"

"Julie, stop it!" Ruby's growl sent a shiver down my spine, I could feel the air vibrating around her and her rage made the temperature drop in the room. The blonde vampire opened her mouth but she closed it again when my girl put her hand around her throat and squeezed violently. "I've said stop it!" The woman let out an unladylike gasp and nodded, waiting for my girl to release her and step back, Julie swallowed hard audibly while Ruby walked towards us and opened the bathroom door.

"You must turn her soon..." The vampires stopped abruptly and tilted their heads to look at their former lover with fury, tension was unbearable and I could feel they were about to explode. Fear got stuck in my stomach like a block of ice even if Terra was holding my mind, I didn't think that killing a stupid and brazen vampire was a good idea, not in a house full of elders that would judge them harshly because they took the law into their own hands in front of a group of humans that would find out their powers were greater than they thought. "She smells good and if she'd pricked her finger with the pin... I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself... nobody out there could..."

"Thanks for the heads up." The tattooed hand on my lower back put a soft pressure on my body to force me to walk and I left the bathroom feeling my legs shaking.

"You've met one of my former lovers, isn't this what you wanted?" Ruby asked bitterly, a tone of voice I wasn't used to hear from her, and my eyes were full of tears suddenly.

"I want to go back to our room, please, I'm not feeling okay." The green-eyed vampire hugged me tight when she noticed that I was staggering and sighed while I hid my face in her neck, Terra took her jacket off to put it on my shoulders again.

"All right, my love, let's go... You need to rest a little."

*****

I dropped the book and it fell on the terrace floor, some pages ended up folded but I didn't care and remained sat on my deck chair staring at the sea absentmindedly. I would've heard a bitter remark from Terra under normal circumstances because I ruined a book but my girl wasn't around at that moment and there was nothing she could do about it. I also had a headache but Ruby wasn't with me to give me a drop of her blood and make me feel better. They'd vanished after having lunch with me while Marcus and Dario said goodbye to some guests that had stayed overnight, Aren and Vera went for a walk on the beach and I sat on the terrace alone watching the sunset.

I was angry at myself for several reasons, above all because I thought I ruined my father-in-law's party despite guests kept drinking not giving a damn about the fact that I was hiding, locked up in my bedroom. But I knew my family was worried about me, it was one of the disadvantages of being a member of a clan bound together by strong ties, they all knew when one of us was upset. Dario had to help my friend to calm Aren down because the Viking guy wanted to rip Julie's head off and Ruby stayed with me but Terra went back to the yard to help her father to play the role of polite host.

I apologized several times despite the irrational jealousy I felt was a consequence of our bond and my reaction wasn't my fault, my girls answered that it was all right and Julie was responsible for starting the argument because she approached me rudely, they both hugged me till I fell asleep the way they usually did but, however, the next day the atmosphere was still tense, they hardly said a word to me and left leaving me behind alone and feeling even guiltier.

I took my phone and looked at the picture frowning, I'd done that a handful of times that morning, wondering how I'd gone from feeling so happy to think that I had damaged the relationship with my vampires irreparably because of my insecurities and jealousy. I zoomed in to take a closer look at my girls, so beautiful, standing next to me... I missed them so much that my heart hurt. I closed my eyes while a single tear ran down my cheek and a second later some warm arms hugged me and soft fingers stroked my hair gently.

"Iselen..." I opened my eyes wishing that it wasn't a dream... and it wasn't: Ruby was sitting next to me, hugging me and staring at me worried while Terra slid her hand down to rub my nape while kneeling down on the ground.

"Where were you?" Both vampires looked at each other awkwardly for a second.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Terra whispered hurt and I stared at her confused.

"Tell you what? Where's Julie?" It was their time to look at me puzzled.

"I don't know, she's traveling back to her home in Brussels, I guess, who cares?" Ruby shook her head, frowning while I looked back at her with my mouth wide open.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were upset because of what happened last night..."

"No, of course not, we told you it wasn't your fault..." My girls shrugged and the three of us stared at each other bewildered.

"All right, first of all thank you because you're keeping your promise and you aren't reading my mind without my permission despite that leads us to live some moments of confusion like this one. Secondly, what do you think I haven't told you?" Terra swallowed hard and took my hand, entwining her fingers with mines.

"This afternoon, while Ruby took a shower and I was waiting for Antonella to bring us lunch, you took your phone, checked the date and frowned for a second... but remained silent. Why?" I stared at her utterly confused, I didn't know what she was talking about. "Your birthday is tomorrow and you didn't tell us, I know it because... let's say that you thought it out loud and I couldn't help hearing you. We don't understand it, this is something important we should celebrate as partners, vampires lose count of the years they've lived in this world usually but humans hold parties, there're presents, food, they have fun... supposedly. What have we done wrong? Why don't you want to celebrate it with us?"

"Is it because what happened last night? Iselen, Julie means nothing to us... you're the light of our existence, there's no one else..." Ruby cupped my cheek with her hand and seemed about crying while I looked back at them in shock.

"For God's sake..." I whispered feeling my muscles shaking of relief. "You scared me to death." The vampires blinked puzzled while I shook my head. "I don't have a birthday party since I was a teenager, Terra. Not all humans do that. My friends went to different universities, I went to work abroad and didn't see my family often... They send me texts to say happy birthday, my grandparents send me a present by post sometimes but there's no cake, balloons and all that. It's not necessary... You haven't done anything wrong, it's just that I wasn't expecting a party, maybe a good morning kiss tomorrow and, I don't know, we could go to eat some cake at a coffee shop in the evening if you want."

"And that's all?" Ruby asked surprised and I nodded. "Oh..." Both vampires looked at each other awkwardly and Terra bit her lower lip. "We've screwed up again... We thought humans celebrated it doing something special but we knew you wouldn't want us throwing a big party, we know you well, so... We bought ferry tickets to go to Sicily together this weekend, we could visit Palermo, sightsee, go shopping, eat... Dario told us you'd love the plan..."

"No, I mean, yes... it's the perfect gift. I love it, babe, thank you." My girls stared at me suspiciously till they understood through the bond that I was genuinely excited about the weekend trip. "You've done so well..."