New Starts 3

She is strong, he said, using herself as a shield for others. She protects them in any way she can, even if it threatens to destroy her. She comforts others even when she feels torn apart. She has a desire to leave this world, but deep down, she wants to stay and live. Every breath she takes, she feels it is a fight, but I see her growing strength and the light she gives the world. I can't lose her, mother. Not to this despair she feels. She finally destroyed the demon that tried to break her and turn her into a doll to play with. Why is this happening to her? She had taken enough of the world's pain. I'll take it for her if I have to, but she deserves to be happy more than any other.

"and how do you feel when you are around her?" she asked "think carefully, this is important" she said still in a calm tone

As soon as I see her, I feel lighter, he said. When she is near, the world seems right. Well... he looked down, until today. Her soul felt so far away from me at times, I panicked. And when I tried to go hunting to get her fresh blood, she was panicky as well. I don't know how to help her see the truth, and she seems afraid to touch my mind. I know she has suffered presently and I would stay by her side at all times if I could, but I must provide for her and the baby.

Megahn hand dropped from his face and held his hand "son I think your woman might be a empath, and a strong one at that, when i was pregnant with you I would go into a full blown panic if your father was not in the same room with me" She said with a soft smile "I dont think her soul is leaving or even trying i think she is unknowingly shutting off her emotions, something that took me years to learn, only really strong empaths are capable of doing it and its very dangerous" she said in a calm tone though he could tell she was worried "If you like i can test her to see if she is indeed a empath and if she is ill personally train her myself"

He looked at Serenity. She tried to leave. She grew cold. You can try, mother, but...

"Do not give in to this panic," Erik said. "Meghan, I told you babying him would..." He shook his head with a smile as she reprimanded him in his mind. "Maddox, you panicking like this will only make things harder on her. If she is an empath, as strong as your mother claims, she may be picking up on your subconscious feelings, the ones you don't even think about and hide even from yourself."

I don't understand, Maddox said, but if you think you can help, then please, help her.

"I first would have to help you...your father is right, lifemates cant really hide anything from each other but the mind is a mysterious thing, and empaths are even more so, i could sense things even your father didnt know he was struggling with" She said smiling back at erik for a quick moment "now listen to me, i wan you to close your eyes and blank your mind, focus on my warmth spreading through you...let my light find any shadows that are hiding"

He did as she asked, clearing his mind. But a nagging feeling, no feelings, kept trying to pop forward. Before long, he heard the words they were saying, ashamed that his mother could now hear them and ashamed he had them. Will I be a good dad? Am I ready? My soul is too black for her. She should never see. No one wants to be around me because of my voice. I must stay away from others. Don't let others hear. What if she suddenly starts to be compelled by my voice? Don't let me make her a puppet. I can't protect her from my voice if she loses her natural defenses. I don't want my voice to hurt her. I won't kill with it ever again. Not her. but the worse one was, Why didn't I find her sooner? I failed her. I should have looked harder, shouldn't have stopped. I should have been stronger, faster, more driven. I don't deserve her. If I leave this world, would she be happier? Would it be better?

He opened his eyes and found his mother hugging him to her, and he once more had tears in his eyes. He never knew so many emotions could be inside one person, or that he held so much self-loathing.

He felt his mothers warmth fill him, it was easier to come with those shadows that were now exposed, he felt safe to do so "you must be open about these fears or they become shadows in your mind and weigh on you, you know have a lifemate to share those burdens with, you also have someone you can share your voice with, so speak maddox, speak...." She said softly

He shook his head. His parents were there. They could get hurt from his voice. It felt like another weight had been placed upon him. He felt Serenity start to stir next to him. His breath caught. Stay asleep, my love, he said softly. I am just visiting with my parents right now.

"maddox its ok, we will shield our ears but i need to be here so i can test her, speak to her my little one and know you are safe and so is she" she said letting him go and going over to stand by erik

He watched Serenity's eyes open. He smiled. She couldn't leave him suffering like that. He kissed her forehead.

"Hello, my love," he said. "We need to talk, if you feel up to it."

She looked up at him, Maddox knew his parents were concealing themselves from view so serenity would be ore opened to talking because she would think they were alone. He felt little emotion or warmth coming from her "talk about what?" she said in a tired tone

"I..." he began, but it seemed hard to start and he had to look away. "I just... I don't even know how to start a conversation like this." He took her hand. "How do you start talking about fears? I don't like the feeling, yet I find I'm filled with it." He looked back at her. "I don't even know where to begin."

"What do you have to be scared of.....your a Carpathian, you have power, time, abilities people only read about in book or see in fantasy movies" she said in a plain tone

"We are not superheroes or gods," he said, "as much as some of us wish it to be or how others see us. I still worry about being a good dad, or even being ready for a child. As a male, I must protect our people, but I have killed so many of our fallen, my soul is so dark because of it, and I don't want it to hurt you. Speaking like this... what if I wake up one day and you are no longer immune? It would kill me to find I have turned you into a puppet without realizing it, even as speaking aloud to you brings me joy." He put his head in his hands. "But the worse part was learning all the pain you went through and knowing I could have stopped if I hadn't given up hope of finding you. I could have saved you, could have given you a better life, but I stopped looking. I failed you by giving up on ever looking for you, by saying you didn't exist. Your life was hell because I denied your existence before I even met you and didn't look. It is the worse of my sins."

"that makes no sense to me" She said confusing him "one that's a lot of what ifs, for things that haven't even happened yet, two why would your soul be dirty from helping them, and three there billions of people in this world, the fact that you found me in my life time is like finding one specific gran of sand in the ocean, your fears make no sense to me and it was not your job to save me from my life, its my life, i am in charge of it not you" She said trying to sit up but need his help. She dizzy but remained sitting up "and even if one day your voice effects me, i don't care , ill still want to hear it, you said lifemates cant hurt each other so im not worried about it" she said with a breathy tone as she pushed through the dizziness

He put an arm around her so she could lay her head on him and lean on him, then he said, "Fear isn't supposed to be rational. Everyone wonders about the future. And the vampires, society member, they had lives at some point, possibly even family. I took it from them. And you may be in charge of your life, but I still could have saved you from him. Lastly, my voice is a curse, Serenity. I didn't have friends growing up because of what happened when I was 50. They didn't want to be around the boy that could kill you on a whim. It is the one ability I would not wish on anyone."

"I don't that why you didn't have friends, everyone has things they don't like about themselves and from what I have seen no one is perfect , should I remind you what the head master did to me and my sister? How I was brought into this place and into your world?" She said in a low tone. When he growled she moved on " I think the reason you didn't have friends is because you chose not too" she said in a more tired tone "as far as you taking away from your brothers you said when they fall they lose themselves so weren't they already dead when you killed them? You can't take away things from the dead" she said softly "I guess that's why I wanted to die...so I wouldn't have anymore of myself taken away from me" she said looking down " so stop this nonsense, your fears are your own doing, quit making things harder on yourself then they have to be....after all I'll make things harder on you enough for a life time..." She said moving away from him

He pulled her back to him and said, "Rest here for a bit. I'll hold you. I... I need to hold you." He smiled down at her. "Besides, if you didn't make things interesting, it'd get boring. You keep me humble, Serenity. It's one of the many things I love about you."

She made a face like she was disgusted "ew....dont use that word....thats a horrible word" She said felling uncomfortable "So this is why you woke me up? to complain about nonsense and to hold someone who doesnt want to be held?" she said in a upset tone

He chuckled and said, "Well, we can lay down and snuggle, little love. I can easy any aches your body might have. Or you can fall asleep in my arms if you desire."

"how about you take your hands off me you lipitoare " She said pushing him off of her "god....im tired of dealing with other peoples problems! just leave me alone!" she yelled.

"When did you learn how to say blood sucker in Romanian?" he asked, standing up. "I understand that your hormones are hard to control. I was having a bit of fun, Serenity. But learning a language you didn't know anything about two seconds ago?"

"what is it with you? its always something......this is why your kind is dying, your weak! just give up already, its not worth it, you are the worst monsters there are, you bring innocent females, change them and then they live horrible lives as nothing more then monsters you use as breeding mares to continue your pathetic kind!" She said and her fangs came out "you cant even feed me properly! im starving, im so hungry i feel like i haven't eaten in days! Unde este stăpânul meu ... mă hrănește! " She yelled and went to jump at him but she was too weak to do so and didn't make it off the bed

Erik growled then, making themselves known, saying, "I feel it now. It's weak. Stay away from your lifemate, Maddox."

Now that they were out in the open, Maddox went back to talking mind to mind. What is it, father?

He grabbed Maddox's wrist and showed him a rapidly healing puncture as he said, "A parasite. I have no doubt a master vampire can track you through it. Until I know more about it, you must not feed your mate."

It was like a ton of bricks had hit him. Somehow, he had been infected and led the enemy to the one woman he was supposed to protect above all else. He stood there in shock, but it felt as if the earth were swallowing him in that moment.

Meghan shook her head "no....something is not right.." She said looking at maddox "you have already fed her haven't you?" She asked in a tense tone

He nodded. But parasites can multiply, mother. Just because it went from me to her does not mean it didn't leave a clone in me. And she is with child. I brought it here. The master vampire knows where we live. It entered her, but it could be making its way to our daughter. I am to blame.

"you are not to blame, these parasites are hard to detect even for ancients" she said going over to serenity "but parasite dont have a mind of their own like this and the wards in this place are meant to hurt dark magic a parasite wouldn't survive long here...Erik did the hunters bring anything back with them when they went to assist?" she asked

"The child Maddox carried," he said, "and Lucy found and destroyed the parasite looking for a new host in an even younger child. A boy, dead. She just told me as they are currently burying him in the way of the Lycans."

Meghan was quite for a moment and then she looked at maddox "do you trust me son?" she asked and he knew she was serious

Tell me how to help, he said with a nod.

"go hunting with your father, quietly, there is a ghoul somewhere in this school, im going to see if i can track it through your lifemate" she said and when she saw the panic on his face she smiled "your lifemate is indeed a empath and a strong one, i couldnt sense it but she did, sadly it does mean she is sensitive to darker things and that will be hard on her, but we can make plans later, , our best shot is if we all work together, i will connect with serenity and guide you both, now go" She said grabbing a serenity and putting her in a twilight state

She doesn't deserve that pain, Maddox said as they left.

"Neither did your mother," said Erik. "It took her some time to come to terms with her abilities and her role in our society. She saved countless lives by using her abilities to keep the peace between our people and our allies. Without her, this school would not be standing here, with so many species together in one place. Alexandru planned it, Antony built it, but your mother gave it life."

west wing...its weak and hiding, the ward must have cut it off from its master, it probably doesn't even know his master is dead.....wait, stop where you are, its moving....erik what in the north wing?

Living quarters, he said. Mostly Carpathians. However, it is empty at this time so that the students can go to classes.

its moving fast, something has got its attention, hurry

They started to run. They were in a garden area and the sight before them was shocking. Annabelle seemed to be going crazy, attacking the ghoul. Bits of flesh flying as she scratched at his face. Jacob and Thomas were protecting Victoria, who was trying to get to Annabelle. No one knew what to do. However, Maddox shook his head after a moment. He said, "Enough. You protected Victoria, Annabelle. Do not harm yourself. Father and I will take it from here, gentle heart."

Annabelle stopped at Maddox's voice, unable to fight his persuasion like everyone else, in doing so the ghoul kicked her off but Thomas caught her and Erik and Maddox were on the ghoul before he could even move, Victoria was still crying as she started to wipe the blood off of Annabelle, who was now not moving, but still breathing heavy "I cant tell if she is hurt, is there a healer near by" Victoria asked in a desperate tone "there is so much blood on her i cant tell if its hers..."

Erik let Maddox finish off the ghoul as he walked up to his daughter, saying, "I'm a healer and the form second in command. Annabelle is my daughter. Let me take a look." He looked her over, not touching her and not entering her body so that Annabelle would not feel uncomfortable. "Minor scrapes that will heal with some time in the earth. She had been so gentle before, unable to hurt a fly." He looked at Victoria. "As much as it pains me, she does not know who I am, and the little girl I raised has vanished." Tears swam in his eyes as he looked to Victoria. "Please, take care of her. And, if you ever need anything, call on me and I or one of my boys will come."

When he went to stand up victoria grabbed his wrist "im sorry...im so sorry...i tried...i tried to " She lost her words "She talked about you " Said Thomas "I was captured after her, i dont know how long she had been there before me...she didnt say , she didnt talk a lot even then" He said in low tone "but she did talk about you, she never said your names no matter how many times they tried to get information out of her, though im not sure you want to know what she said about you and her mother" he said in a sad tone

"It is alright," Erik said. "I'm sure, by that time, all sorts of thoughts and emotions were going through her. I am just glad she has some one that she trusts and can watch over her now that I cannot."

He looked guilty "um......yeah sure" he said rubbing the back of his neck

erik......i want to know....i want to know what she was like beofre....i need to know said megahn in eriks mind

Erik sighed and said, "Young man, my lifemate has requested the knowledge. We can set up a time you are comfortable with where my lifemate can be present if you are willing. I would not want you to feel overwhelmed."

"She told me when i met you and you were mourning her to give you her message...i didnt think i would have to do so for a long time....i heard you both were so busy" He said with a sigh "but i made her a promise and i wish to keep it" He looked at jacob and victoria "may we....all go to the healing caves please...ill do it there"

"Of course," said Jacob. "We will support you in this."

"I know this is difficult for you," Erik said. "We were preparing for our journey into the next world. We will make the session quick so you do not have to feel uncomfortable for long. My lifemate will be there soon. I will join you in a moment. I need to make sure there are no other unwelcome guests."

They all nodded and started to leave but thomas turned around "she wished her whole family to be there when it happened...her siblings too" He said and then left. Jacob victoria and thomas and annabelle got to the cave first, they all sat in a large room with healing candles lit, jacob and victoria sat together on a bench and thomas sat in a chair with Annabelle sitting on the floor between his legs like she liked. They waited in silence

It was not long before Erik, Meghan, Lucy, Maddox, and Landon arrived. Maddox was unable to bring Serenity with him as she was resting, but Landon brought Alissia.

"I hope it is alright for my lifemate to be here," said Landon. "Annabelle didn't know her, but it didn't feel right leaving her behind without cause."

"family is family" was all thomas said "please sit down and i am sorry but i must ask you to stay calm and dont bombard her" he said in a serious tone "the more stressed she is the quicker it will fade" he said "everyone understand?" he asked

Everyone nodded, except for Lucy, who said, "Please, just tell us everything. Perhaps we..."

Stop, Lucy, Maddox said. You being here, after what happened before, is already stressing for her. She cannot go back to the woman we grew up with. The witch destroyed her. All we can do is listen to the message and support the woman who is in front of us.

Lucy looked down and nodded, but she would not give up hope in healing her sister's mind.

Thomas sighed "anna...lap now" He command. Annablle looked up, her eyes showed no emotions, She stood up and sat in thomas lap "i hate you for making me do this" he said as he wrapped her arms around her, pinning her arms at her side "poate că lumina ta te mai regăsește" magic filled the air as the words left his mother and annabelle screamed in agony for a what seemed like forever until she stopped. Her head was down and she was breathing heavy, every one felt it then, her presence, her warmth . She looked up with tears falling down her face "mama.....papa" she said looking at them