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POV: Atlas
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I awoke to stillness.
My body felt like lead, my muscles ached with phantom pain, and my throat was dry like a desert. No… not just my throat. Every cell scread for sustenance. Two kinds. Blood and food.
The vampire in clawed for what it was owed. The human in begged for bread. But my soul, it just wanted to lie down again and never get up.
But I did. I pushed off the soft mattress, limbs trembling, head pulsing with static. The bed sheets were printed with sunflowers, faded from too many washes. The air slled like vanilla lotion and lemon cleaning spray sharp and comforting in a way that whispered "ho," even though it wasn't at least not to .
The room wasn't large, but it felt lived-in. A collection of beaded curtains frad the window, letting watery sunlight through. A lava lamp, a dreamcatcher, and stacks of half-read books sat on the shelves. It was a woman's room, or maybe a free spirit's. Soone who danced barefoot in the living room.
From all those things I can safely say I wasn't in danger. At least not imdiate danger. I don't know any Volturi that would have such taste. Or they might who knows. Immortality definitely cos with so quirks.
I exhaled slowly, then blinked toward the far corner where sothing caught my eye: The mirror.
My breath hitched. I staggered to it, unable to look away. My hair was wild and damp with sweat, my skin pale and slightly luminous under the sunlight. But my eyes… they weren't gold anymore. Not the gentle honey shade that I had from the animal blood I had consud since my birth.
They were neon blue, pulsing with power.
They look like Starfire had been poured into a glass. I felt familiar pressure behind my temple, and I noticed it was far larger than before, it didn't hurt or anything but from that pressure, I can tell my Psychic energy reserves have increased considerably.
I felt it, humming behind my forehead, I know it wasn't truly there and I don't where it truly was. It's probably in my soul. That may make sense behind my eye color change since the eyes are the pathways to the soul.
As I looked deeper into the mirror, I saw more than just myself. There was… a thread. Glowing. Faintly. A rope made of light, no thicker than a vine, no more real than a ghost. But I could see it starting in my chest, in my heart, and reaching out toward the room's door.
I knew what it was.
Even before I wanted to admit it.
A bond.
Mate bond to be exact. Twilight had taught that. Imprinting. Soulmates. Destiny. But this didn't feel… natural. It felt made, forced. Artificial.
Yet… as I focused, I saw more. Fainter, deeper, woven into the very fabric of his being like the golden artificial thread, they were other bonds. Natural bonds. Not one, but several, stretching out into an unseen distance, thrumming with a potential this artificial cord couldn't match.
Before I could fully unravel it, the door creaked. And she walked in. A woman in her twenties, with tousled blonde hair and laughter lines around her mouth. Renée. She was younger but I recognized her instantly, not from mory no, but from the movies, from scenes watched in a dark room beside my sister. Her hands were carrying a small bundle of clothes freshly folded, She was going towards the cupboard but stopped when she saw sitting up.
"Oh! You're awake," she breathed before placing the cloth on a nearby chair.
I barely heard her voice. My eyes were locked onto the bond. The glowing rope between us flared faintly the mont her eyes t mine.
'Her. It's tied to her.' Panic warred with a desperate, aching comprehension. Sothing clicked as the mories before losing consciousness played before my eyes. It all made sense, horribly, quietly, heartbreakingly. I know why I felt safe at that ti.
My psychic energy had latched onto her. In my lowest mont fleeing the Volturi, bleeding grief and fear and loss I'd reached for love. And found the first person who offered it. My mind, my power it had seized it, reacting to my emotions.
And made this. This tie. This fake connection that mimicked sothing real. I wanted to cut it but… I couldn't.
Because I was tired.
Because I was lonely.
Because… part of needed soone.
I didn't want to float alone. Even if the warmth was artificial… it was warmth.
She smiled gently, walking toward . I looked at her she wasn't tall but her body was the definition of curvy. She was wearing a white tank top that was tight around her impressive chest. The pair of blue jeans she whore snuggly hugged her thick thigh, perfectly showcasing her wide hips.
Weird…? When did I start noticing the opposite gender like that? Is it puberty? Am I hitting so Damphir puberty? Or is this the mate bond that is making notice her as a woman?
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" I was broken out of thought by her concerned voice.
I swallowed. My voice scraped out like wind over gravel.
"Thirsty… and hungry."
"Of course, sweetheart," Renée said, her hand fluttering nervously before settling gently on my forehead. A jolt, sharp and electric, passed through the artificial bond at her touch, mirrored by a physical spark where her skin t mine.
I suppressed a shiver. "You gave us such a scare. Just rest, I'll get you so soup and juice." She smiled, a soft, caring expression that made the warmth in his chest bloom treacherously.
"Thank you," I managed another word, nodding gratefully, the movent sending fresh pangs through my empty stomach while speaking felt like tiny needles poking through my throat.
As she turned and walked towards the door, my traitorous eyes followed the retreating view. The denim stretched taut over her frankly magnificent backside, her hips swaying with a natural, unconscious rhythm. I closed my eyes, leaning back against the pillows, the image seared into my mind.
"What am I doing?" I muttered trying to calm myself.
After so ti she returned with a tray and laughed softly. "I thought you might be more hungry. I made so toast too alongside the soup."
I nodded. "Thank you."
Her expression softened even more. "I'm Renée, by the way. My daughter and I… well, we sort of hit you with our car."
I winced. "I rember… running straight into your headlights."
She set the tray down beside . "Can you tell your na?"
I hesitated. "Atlas."
"Just Atlas?"
I gave her a tired smile. "I… don't rember anything else."
That was a lie but I don't feel like explaining anything right now.
.
.
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Days blurred as I settled in the Swan household. Or is it a Dwyer house?
Renée decided I could stay until we figured things out after I told her I lost my mories. She believed my lie and felt guilty, thinking it was the accident that made forget my mories. And that probably made her mother instincts go into overdrive.
She let sleep in the guest room. Gave so of her old clothes- Jeans and shirts, good thing people liked to wear loose clothes in the 90s.
She cooked for . Watched . And much to my embarrassnt woke when I cried out at night from the nightmares.
As for Bella… she was cautious at first, wide-eyed and curious. But after a few days, she started leaving drawings outside my door. A few had stick figures with wings. Did she think I was an angel? Was it my vampiric beauty?
Slowly she started to open up to , it also helped she didn't have many friends due to her introverted nature.
On one morning she finally decided to speak while I eating oatal.
"You look like soone from a story, too beautiful like those typical mysterious characters," she said
"Is that good or bad?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Depends on the story."
I stared at her for a mont but she didn't speak anything else seeing that I went back to my oatal.
But I couldn't for long as I felt being watched, turning my head I caught Renée watching over her coffee cup. Her gaze lingered too long. Not afraid but unsure. She has started to notice it too.
And I'm not talking about the bond, that she noticed imdiately it was too powerful, too forced to be missed.
What I was talking about was I was growing. Faster than a normal boy should. A few weeks passed and I looked older by at least a year. My features sharpened. My limbs stretched. My voice deepened slightly. She said nothing. But I caught her eyes narrowing every ti she folded my laundry. Every ti my limbs filling the loose cloths more.
And as for the mate bond, it pulsed softly whenever she touched my shoulder. Or handed a mug. Or smiled that gentle, absent-minded smile. I felt guilty sotis. Like I was manipulating her.
But… was it so wrong to want to be held? To want comfort? To want safety again?
As more days passed I grew more, my strength increased so did my speed along it my stamina and vitality. Vitality that didn't mix well with my raging teen hormones.
Teenage hormones, amplified by my hybrid physiology and the artificial bond worked in overdrive. Every interaction beca charged. When she leaned over to fluff my pillows, the scent of her shampoo apples, and cinnamon was intoxicating. My eyes traced the line of her neck, the way her t-shirt dipped slightly at the collar, showcasing her deep valley. When our hands brushed passing a plate, that electric jolt surged, stronger each ti. I found reasons to touch her arm, to stand close. I saw her notice too. A blush would creep up her neck, but she didn't pull away. Her gaze would sotis linger on my face, on the startling blue of my eyes, a flicker of sothing unreadable not repulsion, but… Interest? Arousal? before she looks away.
Our interaction beca more heated, more physical not only by but by Renée too. She held my hand longer and touched my forehead to check my fever more often. Hugged longer after every nightmare.
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An: So there's already 10 Chapters on my Patr**n and by tomorrow there will be 20 advance chapter there. So if you guys want to read more. Go to my Patr*on/41_Claws. There are 10 advance unedited chapters on it…]
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