The Witch's Mates

Chapter Thirty-Two

I locked myself in my bathroom about thirty minutes ago and I have been sitting on the floor next to the shower the whole time.

The guys have all knocked on the door, trying to coax me out or let them in, but I stay seated where I am. Not even responding to their words.

I am trying very hard not to think about everything that just happened and was said, really just trying not to think about anything at all. But it's like my mind is rebelling against me, forcing me to think about it.

I feel like I have processed the information enough that I am now ready to start asking questions, so when Everett knocks on the door and calls out to me, I finally stand.

I walk over to the door and let him in. As soon as he walks through, I close and lock the door again. I want to talk to Everett alone before I have to face the others.

I sit down again, with my back leaning against the shower door. Everett waits a moment and then sits down next to me. He is silent, waiting for me to start.

I run through all of the questions in my head, trying to decide which one to ask first.

"Why is this happening now?"

Everett sighs and then reaches out for my hand, when I don't pull away he laces his fingers through mine and rests our hands in his lap. He starts stroking his thumb across my hand before speaking.

"Did you know that vampire children don't need to drink blood?"

He looks over at me, and I shake my head.

"Well, they don't. They eat normal human food until they get to the age of maturity, which is about fifteen or sixteen. And that is when they start drinking blood. At first, they only need to feed about once a week while they still eat human food the rest of the time. But after about a year, they will no longer require human food and will move on to just drinking blood every day."

Everett pauses, so I nod my head, letting him know that I want him to continue.

"A half-breed vampire matures a bit later though. Usually at about twenty or twenty-one. But both half-breeds and vampires get to the age of maturity a little bit quicker when they are around other vampires. So, being around me might have sped up the process a bit for you. But it would have happened eventually, regardless."

His words make me realize that it's already nearing the end of September, so my twentieth birthday is in almost two weeks. Being around him only sped up the process a little bit then, as I am almost at the normal age of maturity for a half-breed anyway.

"You might not believe me right now, but this really doesn't change much for you."

The look on my face confirms his words, I don't believe him.

"Let me explain. Because you are a half-breed, and just starting to mature, right now you will only need to feed about once a month. After you are fully mature, you will only need to feed once a week and you will still be able to eat human food like normal. Your body temperature will decrease a little bit, and because you're not a full vampire you might get cold more often now. But you won't be affected by the sun like vampires are, it might hurt your eyes a little more than normal but sunglasses can fix that problem. You will be more tired during the day and more alert at night. But since you have already adjusted to my sleep schedule that won't change anything for you. Being half-vampire would make you stronger, more resilient, able to heal faster, and give you faster reflexes. But most of those are all benefits of the mate bond as well, so you would have had those changes anyway. They just might be a little stronger because of you being half-vampire. You will also have some heightened senses, your hearing and vision will be better but not as good as a vampire's or even a werewolf's. You won't even be affected by holy water or crosses like vampires are. So, when you think about it the changes are pretty minimal."