Book 2: The Unexpected Duo- Chapter 4: Myra

Today had been an incredibly busy day at the bakery. After our fifth catering order of the day, I was dead tired. We hadn’t been this busy since the Christmas season a few months back. Betsy always said Valentines Day was a favorite amongst our customers, it was the day of love, a day where you could spoil your special someone and show them how much you truly cared. I could feel my heart aching a little at her description, a part of me long forgotten, missing Vladimir and what could have been, but I buried that part deep down. After losing Lucy, I couldn’t afford to let my heart get broken again. The loss of my best friend, had shattered me. It broke me into a million little pieces that I didn’t think could ever be fix. My wolf and I had run from the pack that night, we had run from our feelings, run from our mate, run from our life. After a few days of running, my wolf begged me to go back to the pack, begged me to help our pack win the war against Jupiter, but I ignored her. It was a loss cause. My heart couldn’t bare to watch the loss of our kind.

After ignoring her, my wolf, Elizabeth decided to block me out. She refused to speak to me, refused to shift when I felt the urge to run, refused to lend me her senses when I felt like someone was following me. She left my in my time of need. She left me to pick up the pieces and rebuild myself. And I did. I continued to travel until I arrived in Chicago. Chicago felt like home to me, my body refused to travel any further, so I rented out a cheap room, up above a bakery, on Michigan Street, and begged the owner, Betsy for a job.

Betsy was hesitant to hire me, as I didn’t know a teaspoon from a tablespoon, but I think she saw how desperate and lost I was because she took me under her wing and guided me through the odds and ends of the bakery, and soon I was her top baker. Even with the bakery keeping me busy, I still felt like something was missing from my life. One day Betsy suggested I volunteer at the elementary school across the way. She said they had a Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, and she thought my help would be beneficial to both the children and to myself. I took Betsy up on her suggestion and walked across the street to inquire about the program and that’s where I met Riss. It seemed like there was an instant connection between Riss and myself, an almost biological connection, she felt like family, and I knew that the fates had led me here for a reason. If my circumstances were different I would take Riss out of her foster parents home and adopt her. But seeing as I had no identity, I wasn’t married, and I could only afford my life, thanks to the generosity of Betsy, I wasn’t eligible to adopt Riss. So instead, I came everyday after school and hung out with her, helping her finish her school work, and playing games with her until her fosters showed up to pick her up.

Today was no exception. After work, I headed straight to Riss’ elementary school, with the two brownies Betsy had told me to grab. Riss would be excited. She loved brownies and she hardly ever received treats. As I walked towards Riss’ school, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being followed, but every time I slowed my walk or glanced back, I couldn’t detect anyone behind me. I felt a stirring in my chest, that I hadn’t felt in a long time, as if someone was sharing my body with me.

‘Elizabeth,’ I called out with my minds eye, trying to grab the attention of my wolf spirit. ‘Elizabeth, can you hear me?’

I was met with silence and a familiar pang in my heart. Elizabeth was truly gone, are bond severed thanks to my selfishness. I knew how important being part of a pack was to Elizabeth, but I couldn’t stay there a let my heart be broken over and over again. I could stay there a let myself fall for my mate, a vampire, but not only a vampire, a vampire king at that. He would destroy me, he would kill me off, like the vampires had done to my family years ago. Vampires were evil dark creatures, who manipulated you, trampled over your emotions, and then drained your blood. Nothing nor no one could convince me otherwise. I had witnessed and read about it in my family memoirs. I had watched as one of the vampires, slaughtered my entire family, as I hid in a hidden cupboard, my parents only hope of saving their child . When I found out my fated mate was the Vampire King, Vladimir, I laughed. The Moon Goddess and the Sun God must have been bored when they paired us together.

As my mind wondered off to my mate, I continued to walk towards Riss’ school. Even with my wolf gone, the pull of the mate bond was strong, my body practically begged me to find Vladimir and mate with him, claiming him as mine. Today’s pull was stronger than any of the others had been. I felt my entire body heat over, showing the beginning stages of the heat overtaking my body. The heat was a function of a she-wolves body that forced a wolf to mate with her fated mate. The heat could only be suppressed by fulfilling the mating process. I had learned long ago how to control my heat. Since Elizabeth had made her presence unknown in my body, I didn’t react to the Heat as severely as most she wolves would. My heat was tolerable, and if I took some aspirin, a human medication for pain relief, it would dull my senses, and the heat with it. I ruffled through my bag, finding my aspirin bottle and opening it up, popping a pill in my mouth before I reached the school doors. I hurried swallowing the pill, before I ran up the stairs leading to the door, letting myself in as the bell rang. Riss was always disappointed if the bell rang, signaling school was out and I wasn’t waiting for her at the door. She was so use to people abandoning her, that she just assumed that’s what occurred if I wasn’t around. I think that’s why Riss and I bounded so quickly, we were use to people leaving us.

“Hey Riss.” I yell waving my hand, at the small pale girl, with brown ringlets and big blue eyes.

As soon as Riss spotted me her face lit up and she ran towards me, happy to see that I once again fulfilled my obligations to meet her.

“Mya!” Riss called out with joy. “Look what I made.” She said, a big smile on her face, as she shoved some card stock in my face.

I carefully grabbed the card stock out of her hand and looked down at it. It was a little valentines card, covered in glitter and red and pink scribbles. There was also a heart dolly that had been glued onto it. It was beautifully hideous, but I loved it all the same, because Riss made it.

“Open it up! Open it up!” Riss called to me, clearly excited about her creation.

I carefully opened the card, having to pry it open a little, thanks to the loads of glue, Riss had used to glue everything in place. Inside the card, was the handwriting of a first grader.

“ I love you Mya. Love Riss Ann.”

My heart beamed with pride. Riss had found a crack in the shield I had put up to protect my shattered heart and she had weaseled her way in. I found myself smiling like a dork at the little piece of card stock in my hand.

“Do you like it Mya?” Riss asked, her big blue eyes beaming up at me.

“Its Myra, Riss. and I love it.” I replied grabbing her hand and walking her outside the school with me.

“I know!” Riss exclaimed, “Thats what I said. MY-AH.” She responded exaggerating the pronunciation.

I just shook my head, giggling to myself. I didn’t care what she called me, as long as she was in my life to stay. Riss was the piece that I had been missing all along.

Riss and I left the school heading to a little table in the corner. I waited as she pulled out her books, her pencil and paper, so we could start on her homework. I still felt like someone was watching me, but as I glanced around the playground, no one was there. It was completely deserted besides Riss and myself.

I chopped the feeling up to my paranoia and glanced down at Riss assignment. It looked like she was expected to fill out a family tree. Her name was at the center of the tree, but all the branches were empty.

“Mya.” Riss said with big unshed tears in her blue eyes, “I dont have a family. How can I feel out a tree.”

“Oh Riss, don’t cry,” I said pulling her into my arms, holding her tightly against me. “We will talk to the Frankfurts and see if they’re okay, with us pulling your file from the system, maybe there’ll be some documents on your biological family?”

“Really Mya? Do you think they’ll let us? What if I have a brother, or a baby sister?” Riss said getting excited.

I smiled down at her, not wanting to take any of her joy away, by reminding her that sibling information was confidential.

The Frankforts old suburban pulled up at the school, as Mrs. Frankfort laid on her horn, summoning Riss to her. I snarled at the action. I hated the Frankforts and how they treated Riss. I grabbed Riss’ hand willing myself to calm down as we walked towards Mrs. Frankforts car.

“Hi Mrs. Frankfort,” I call waving to the pudgy woman in the car, suddenly wishing I had decided to wear something different today.

“Hi.” Mrs. Frankfort said curtly barely acknowledging my presence. “Marissa, hurry up and get in the back. I need to hurry back home, Martha is waiting for the inspection.”

Riss frowned at Mrs. Frankforts use of her full name. She hated her name, and had asked multiple times for people to call her Riss. I felt like her nickname fit her personality better anyways. Martha was Riss’ caseworker, and as much as Riss would like to leave the Frankfort’s home, she didn’t want to risk losing me in the process.

“Hey, Mrs. Frankfort.” I called out to the woman, who was backing the SUV up as Riss was still closing the door.

“What girl? Spit it out. You can clearly see I’m in a hurry.” the nasty woman snarled at me.

I took a deep breath reminding myself that this is for Riss. “Since you’re meeting with Martha today, could you ask her for Riss file. She has a family tree project, and she needs information on her family.”

“Fine whatever.” Mrs. Frankfort stated, obviously annoyed by my request. Before she slammed the vehicle in reverse and pulled the car from the school parking lot.

I exhaled a deep breath, trying to calm my anger. I hated that Riss had to be in their home, but at least she had a roof over her head, and shelter from the weather. It was a chilly February day and I could feel the chill finally seeping into my bones. I pulled my jacket tighter as I headed back to the bakery. Once there I would close up for Betsy and then tuck into my warm bed.

As I turned around to go to the bakery and the familiar scent insulted my nostrils again, causing my heart to thud loudly, ‘Mate.’ Came the whisper of a familiar voice in the back of my mind.

***Hello all! super excited to be starting Vladimir's story. Here is my current writing schedule:
•Monday & Wednesday- The Vampire Kings Slave Mate
•Tuesday & Thursday- The Escort
•Fridays- The unexpected Duo- minimum of 2 chapters
***let me know your thoughts of this recent update. xoxo Marriah***