The Allies of Old; Book Two Renewal: Chapter Thirty Two "A Transformation and an Ancient Ceremony"

Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul

If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jared walked up through her backyard struggling to digest everything she’d told him. She’d berated herself a number of times for things she’d done, but the more he turned it over in his head, the more he found her to be a truly remarkable being. What he saw in her was a child becoming a woman, with incredible inner strength who had an enormous amount of love for her family and friends.

That she would allow her father to die because it was what he wanted? Unbelievably selfless and brave decision, one he would not have made himself if he’d had the choice. And his father would not have thanked him for it.

He stopped in the middle of a field and dropped down on his knees. For so long he’d lived with hatred and bitterness. For so long he’d merely continued to breathe. He thought about the night he’d met her, seeing everything from then until now in a completely new light. Her willingness to put herself in danger in order to help the ones she cared about filled him with pride and profound fear.

No more of that, he thought fiercely. It was time for him to accept his destiny, to resume his former role as hunter and warrior. He would contact Mathias in the morning.

He refocused on his surroundings and glanced at the sky. The moon was nearly full and the area around it was hazy from its glow. His thoughts turned to the Creator and for the first time in nearly five hundred years he was not filled with bitterness and resentment.

Looking towards the heavens, he spoke aloud. “I won’t pretend I understand the grand design. But I’m deeply grateful for this evidence that you have not forgotten your once faithful servant.”
Love, he thought suddenly. It wasn’t time that healed all wounds, it was love. The image of his little mate hovered on the edges of his consciousness, where she had resided since he’d first laid eyes on her. He took a deep breath and allowed her to slip through his barriers and settle comfortably in the confines of his heart.

He closed his eyes and felt all the charred pieces of his soul scattering into the breeze like ashes. Renewal. A feeling of exultation ripped through his body and he stood, lifting his face and arms to the chilly wind. The corners of his lips twitched and a moment later the long forgotten sound of his baritone laughter erupted from him, bringing back memories of his long forgotten youth.

Brought to my knees by a little pixie, human in origin. He laughed harder, his large body doubling over.

When the last of his hilarity died away he strode back in the direction of his beautiful female with glorious purpose.

Anna sat at on the edge of her bed wondering where he’d gone and if he would return, trying desperately to prepare her heart for the pain of loss that would certainly shatter her.

When she felt his presence she turned toward him slowly and her heart stuttered. He stood on the threshold of her room with an expression on his face that was so alien she couldn’t place it. His lips curved in just a hint of a smile before he came forward and scooped her into his arms.

A moment later they were in the middle of the field behind her house. The moon bathed the ground around them with light, lending it a golden appearance that made her think of heaven. When he set her down he dropped to his knees before her, holding both of her hands in his. In this position their faces were level and his expression was radiant. She blinked at him in confusion and he placed a finger lightly on her lips to quiet her.

“You never have to wonder about my feelings again,” he whispered. “You are the center of my life now and I will love you eternally.”

She stared at him uncomprehendingly and then as his words sunk in her eyes filled with tears. He slid a hand behind her head and bent her face to him, gently kissing away the salty wetness.

He drew back and placed his large palms on either side of her face and spoke softly. “We don’t have the same wedding as humans do, but we do have our own mating ceremony. It is between those who want to join and the Creator only. I would wed you in that way if you’ll have me.”

Anna stared at him speechlessly for a long moment.

Mistaking her silence for unease he stood and pulled her against him, speaking softly into her hair. “I know we had a terrible beginning and I understand if you want to wait-”

She jerked back and looked up at him incredulously, finally finding her voice. “There is nothing,” she said fiercely, “in this world that I want more than to be yours. In the vampire way, in the human way, in any way there is! I've loved you from the moment we first touched.”

She watched as a smile broke across his face, transforming his features into something so beautiful it squeezed her heart. She tried to reconcile this male with the one she’d come to know and was suddenly afraid it was only a dream.

“Would you want to do it here, or is there another place?” he asked.

She started to say Here, Anywhere, and then clamped her mouth shut and pictured the wedding she’d always imagined. She smiled up at him. “Actually, there is another place, it won’t take long to blur there.”

“Lead the way,” he told her, extending his hand.

She took it and glanced up at him, feeling a thrill go through her. He was gazing down at her as if she was the most precious and beautiful thing in the world, his eyes literally glowing with love, and her soul trembled in response.

She leapt into a blur with him alongside her keeping pace, and ten minutes later she stopped at the border of Taughannok park and led him across the lawn to the waterfalls of her youth.

There must have been sufficient rain in the weeks before the winter winds began to blow because the water was thundering down at full scale. She shivered and Jared wrapped his large arms around her.

“This is the perfect place,” he whispered.

She nodded agreement and he gently turned her, taking her hands in his.

He lifted his luminescent gaze to the sky, the glow in his eyes matching that of the moon, and began to speak in what she understood was the old language of the vampire. His deep voice rose and split apart as if there were others speaking along with him, the words ringing clear even above the sounds of the water, as if they had stepped inside an invisible shelter.

She listened in awe and when he finished he looked down at her once more and spoke softly. “It is important that we first speak the vows in the old language. I will say my part and then I will give you the words to say to me.”

She nodded mutely, still staring at him in wonder.

“First though,” he let go of her hands, “we must do this.”

His eyes flashed as his fangs dropped and she watched in fascination as he bit into the palm of his left hand. He kept his gaze fixed on her and nodded for her to do the same.

Her own fangs dropped and she mimed his gesture, then he took her hand and pressed it palm to palm where the wounds were made, folding his large fingers over hers. She felt a tingling begin where the blood was mixing that traveled up her arm as he began speaking in that many layered voice again, still holding her captive with his eyes. When he finished he brought their hands to his lips.

“Your turn.” He began to speak and she repeated the words, startled to feel a vibration in her chest as she spoke. Her voice sounded alien, the words alive somehow, as if the forming of the syllables were creating something tangible. When it was finished he nodded at their hands and she raised them shakily to her lips as he had done.

He brought their still clasped hands to his heart and said a few more words, then gently brought them to their knees.

“Do you now wish to seal this union?”

Anna blinked and nodded, robbed of speech by the intensity of his gaze as well as the tingling that had spread throughout her body.

He gently unclasped their hands and brought his palm to her lips, bringing hers to his own. She felt a light tugging as he drew her blood into his mouth and as she followed his example the tingling that had begun became a wave of glorious sensation.

He broke the contact and swallowed her into his embrace, bringing his lips next to her ear. “You are mine,” he said fiercely, “now and always.”

As she clung to him, everything that had happened in the last twelve hours overwhelmed her. She began to shake as tears of joy and sorrow slipped silently down her cheeks.

He continued hugging her tightly to him, murmuring words of comfort until her shaking subsided.

He brought them to their feet and she looked at the falls thinking that her imagination had not done justice to her true wedding. The light of the moon turned the rushing water into streams of silver pouring into a cushion of pearls before exploding into the air in a multitude of tiny diamonds.

She glanced up at her mate who was similarly enthralled. “What did the words mean?” she asked. “I understood them with my heart somehow, but my mind couldn’t quite grasp them.”

He smiled. “I’ll teach you the language though it will take years to truly master. Human language, English in particular, is very limited. It can’t capture the feeling of the words we spoke, but I can translate it loosely. My words to you were. “I do so promise to love her throughout all of the ages, protecting and keeping her from harm with every ounce of breath in my being, holding her heart above all other things in this world. I ask blessing from you Most High Creator upon this union of souls from now until a time without ceasing.” And yours to me, “I do so promise to love him throughout all of the ages, honoring and obeying his will with every ounce of breath in my being. I join my heart with his in asking you Most High for this blessing upon our union of souls from now until a time without end.”

She nodded slowly. “You’re right, it doesn’t quite capture it.” She turned back to the water and held her hand out towards it. “That does a better job of explaining it, I think.”

He chuckled. “Yes ka na lira, it does.”

She raised her brows. “Kanalira?”

“Ka means…little, or small, “na” is precious or treasured and “lira” is the vampire word for wife though it truly means mate of the soul.”

“So you’re my lira?”

He laughed. “No, lira is a feminine term. Santyre is what you would call me, it also means mate of the soul, and protector with a masculine, possessive inflection, meaning yours alone.”

“Huh. Santyre. I like that.” A blast of wind made her shiver and he gathered her into his arms again.

“Time to go home ka lira,” he told her.

When they were back in her room he pulled her onto his lap on the bed. “You need to drink,” he said softly and directed her mouth to his neck. She pierced his skin and sighed with pleasure as the rich wine of his blood flowed into her mouth and down her throat, bringing with it strength and solace.

His hands were gently stroking her as she drank and joy pierced through her, acute and intense. He loved her, she thought with amazement, he would love her always. She felt tears leaking out of her eyes once again and realized she understood her father so much better now. Her heart was so full of love for Jared she thought it might explode, shattering her into a million happy pieces. She imagined what it would be like to lose him after they’d been together for years…and yes she understood her father. Thankfully when their time did come they would go together.

She pulled away from him and looked at his face which held an expression of profound tenderness. “I love you so much,” she trembled, “and I forgive my dad for wanting to go, I forgive him.”

Jared understood the significance and pulled her against his chest, stretching her out beside him and curving his large body protectively around her. She put her lips on his neck once more and he was overwhelmed by the extent of his new feelings, making it difficult to breathe. He brought a hand up and stroked her silky hair. Just a baby, he thought as she made little sounds of contentment and continued to drink. She was barely taking anything in but he could feel the rhythm of her heart slowing and the scent of calm drifting from her.

“Does this make you feel safe?” he murmured in her hair.

She nodded slightly without breaking contact and tightened her arms around his neck briefly before relaxing again. She could taste his love for her, she had not known there was such a taste, but there absolutely was, like honey had been added to the wine of his blood. She was filled with a sense of completion and peace, the way she imagined a baby felt when it drank from its mother. Her light pulls began to wane as sleep came to take her away and she vaguely registered the multi-layered whisper of love brushed across her ear.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire