chapter 21 : No Attraction?

��Becca���� Alexander called out her name slowly, trying to get Becca to come around. It was an expected reaction from a human. Because honestly, who wouldn��t faint after seeing a vampire? After all, Becca was a human too.
Alexander looked at Julia, and altered the reality so that she didn��t remember anything about him. Then he took Becca to another secure place in the jungle.
He sat beneath a tree, keeping Becca��s head on his lap. Caressing her hair, he asked her even though he knew she wasn��t listening, ��Are you okay, Becca?�� He continued, ��I know you are strong and all, but you are the human in the end. I understand that you fainting after seeing my real nature is totally acceptable.��
He continued, rubbing her soft hands with his calloused ones, ��I am afraid of how you will react once you get up. What if you start getting scared of me? Will I be able to tolerate that? I don��t know.��
Alexander Insworthe, where the fuck are you? he heard in his mind all of a sudden and knew it was Vanessa. Respond to me, you dimwit.
Ness, I was drinking from Julia and Becca saw me, he responded to her.
The hell? Where is Julia, and is Becca okay? she questioned him.
Julia is in the north section of the forest, and I have altered her memory, he answered continuing, Becca fainted after seeing me, and I am with her right now.
Okay, Alex, look. Explain everything to her and hope that she is calm about being confronted with the truth, Vanessa told him.
The Insworthe twins severed their telepathic bond and Alexander��s mind diverted to Becca again. Her entire body was turning cold. He rubbed her hands with his cold ones with the hope that it would warm her up a little. He started to get worried when the coldness in Becca��s body didn��t stop.
He took off his coat and placed it on her, over her hoodie. ��She was already feeling cold, that's why she wore this hoodie. And now, she is freezing because of me, because of the shock she received. How will I explain everything to her?�� he mumbled. He guessed that she would run away from him as soon as she regained consciousness. However, he didn��t like the situation she was in. So, he tried to make her feel warm by pulling her to his chest and rubbed her arms. ��Wake up, Becca.��
He tried it for some time until Alexander noticed Becca��s eyelashes fluttering slowly. She was finally waking up.
��Becca,�� he uttered. ��Can you hear me?��
She opened her eyes, only to meet with the familiar green ones. ��Alexander���� she breathed out.
��Yes, that��s me,�� Alexander responded and helped her to sit up.
Once she was sitting up next to him, she glanced at the small stars in the sky, staying quiet.
Noticing her silence, Alexander cleared his throat and started, ��I know you might have a lot going on in your mind. I���� he was interrupted by Becca.
��I didn��t guess you to be the vampire, which I should��ve guessed.�� When Alexander furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, Becca looked at him and said with a smile, ��I was aware that there was a vampire in our college. I saw the bite marks on the other two students and even saw someone on the boys�� dorm jumping from the highest floor in a haste. It was you, wasn��t it?��
He nodded his head. ��So, you did your research on the vampires even after I hid all the books related to the existence of the species from the library,�� he stated, being amused that Becca was calm about it even after knowing his true identity.
Becca grinned. ��Of course. Nothing scares Becca Hertford.��
��Oh, really?�� he asked, arching an eyebrow. ��Then why did you faint after seeing me sucking blood from Julia?��
��Is she alive?�� she questioned, and when he hummed in response, she answered him, ��I didn��t faint after seeing you as your real self, Alex. I fainted because I ate warm food.��
��Warm food?�� He was confused at her reply. ��What��s wrong with eating warm food? You humans, love fresh and warm food.��
Becca shook her head. ��That is the problem, Alex. I love warm food but I cannot eat it. I have to wait till the food is cold. Ask why.��
��Why?�� he inquired with curiosity.
��Because every time I eat something warm, I feel cold, and later, I faint,�� she explained to Alexander. ��I don��t know why this keeps happening to me, but it started when I was five years old.��
��So, you fainted because you ate the grilled sandwiches at first and then, roasted marshmallows?�� he asked to be sure that he had connected the dots correctly.
��Yes,�� she replied curtly.
Alexander was confused as to why that would happen to Becca. Was it because she had the vampire potion? If that was the case, he knew that he had to take the potion away from her soon because it was hurting her. He didn��t want to see her in pain.
He continued his line of questioning, ��Did you see a doctor for this?��
��I did, but none of the doctors could identify the reason. They just told me to avoid eating warm food.��
��Oh���� he mumbled, not knowing what else to say, and lightly caressed her arm to make sure she was still feeling warm.
��Anyways, enough about me.�� Becca turned to Alexander with curiosity. ��You tell me about yourself. Why didn��t you want me to find out about you despite knowing my opinion about other mythological creatures?��
He responded with a sigh, ��I didn��t want to take any risk.��
��How does it feel to be a vampire since you are surrounded by humans? How can you stay fine in the sunlight? Why are you her���� she stopped midway when Alexander placed his cold index finger against her lips.
��Shush. You ask so many questions,�� he said to her and removed his finger. ��I can stay in sunlight because I wear a special ring which protects me from sunlight like an invisible shield. It is known as the Emerald.�� He showed his index finger which had a ring on it. ��This is the ring.��
Even in the darkness, Becca could see the shiny stone on his finger. ��Wow,�� she let out, her eyes glowing in amusement. ��This is so beautiful.��
��Also, I am here because I want to experience what it feels like to live with human beings,�� he lied to her bluntly. Just because she knew about his identity, he wasn��t sure whether he could trust her with the secret of the vampire potion. He needed proof that she wouldn��t expose him.
��Oh, so how does it feel to be surrounded by humans now?��
Alexander closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. He answered, ��It doesn��t feel good.��
��Why not?��
��Because I am addicted to human blood, Becca. It sucks to see and smell food everywhere but not being able to eat. Sometimes, I lose control and end up hunting people from the college.��
��So, you killed Alisha after drinking her blood, but Reena and Julia are alive. Why didn��t you kill them and if you didn��t want to, then why kill Alisha?�� Becca questioned, waiting for his response.
��Becca, I never kill humans when I drink their blood. I just drink some, and then alter the memory of the event in their minds.�� He started to explain, ��When I drank Alisha��s blood, she was fine too after I drank part of it. Then I made sure she reached her dorm on time. Later she had an argument with her boyfriend and killed herself. I had nothing to do with her death.��
It cleared Becca��s confusion, which didn��t last long since another question appeared in her mind. She asked him, ��Why didn't you try to suck my blood then?��
Alexander twitched his lips and responded, ��Maybe your blood doesn't taste all that good.�� He didn��t want Becca to know how inviting her blood was. He was hunting other people just to make sure he didn��t end up drinking Becca��s blood. He had to keep his hunger satiated when he was around her.
The next question Becca asked made Alexander speechless.
��Does that mean you are not attracted to me?��