Chapter 164 - For The First Time In Forever

The entire crowd stared at the girl who was holding her injured hand while trembling at the sight of blood. They also stared at the heartless jerk who bumped into her but didn't even have the courtesy to even apologize, let alone help her. 

Few people who were close to the girl came to her aid. She winced as she failed at holding in the tears that were threatening to escape. The commotion got big enough that a few people bumped into Warren while going to her. The crowd plus the frequent bumping brought him back from his daze.

Before he could make a conscious decision on what his next step should be he felt a hand grab his wrist and being pulled away from it. If he wasn't so distracted by the smell of blood coming towards him he might have reacted to a stranger pulling his hand.

When he finally got far enough he looked at the person holding him by the wrist, "gahh!" He shouted upon seeing it was none other than skeleton. "What do you want from me"? He asked out loud, panic dripping from his voice.

"Relax"! A familiar feminine voice scolded him. She took off her skeleton mask and revealed herself to be none other than Karolyn. "What the hell do you think you are doing? I asked you to lay low for the time being"! She scolded him.

"So what? I would stop doing everything? That would only make me more suspicious!" Warren argued.

"Like hell! If you had lost control back then there would be no scope of suspicion. Even if this crowd didn't kill you that weirdo Vamp would have!" She snarled back at him.

"Okay, first of all, I wasn't caught. I might just be the epitome of self restraint" Warren boasted. Karolyn rolled her eyes at his comment. "And secondly, even if I was caught, it's halloween. For all they know I am pretending to be a vampire"! He huffed.

"This is still a big risk" She argued.

"What is your problem? I know you don't like Vampires, and I am sorry that I am one. But it's not like I changed into one on purpose. If it's so bad stop helping me. I appreciate what you have done for me but please stop badgering me"! Warren shouted at her aggressively. They were lucky they were far away from the crowd or else instead of the bleeding girl these two would be the center of their attention right now.

"I…" She struggled to form her next sentence. Her concern took a wrong approach and now she is being perceived as the hateful one. Was she okay with Warren being a Vampire? Yes. But she blamed herself for not warning him earlier. What made it worse was that while Warren seemed to be doing great at adjusting to this new dynamic she had trouble at believing that he would be alright. 

All the excitement she felt when she discovered that she had a fated mate was gone and she started to realise the problem with the fated with fated mates. No matter how hard it gets to get along with Warren she is stuck with him. Stuck with forever being worried for him. "I am sorry" She mumbled. "I didn't mean to be so aggressive. I am just worried for you".

"I know," Warren sighed. "Look, I really am thankful for all the help you have given me. Not everyone would do so much for their friend's roommate. But… you are being way too much" he let out an awkward breath.

"I agree" She sighed. "I said I am sorry"

"Alright," he nodded, accepting her apology. He was about to leave when he halted. "By the way? Why were you staring at me all night? I thought you were that weirdo vamp who was here to kill me". He asked.

"I didn't mean to alarm you. I was just keeping an eye on you. This is a huge party with lots of reckless collegiates. Something or the other was bound to happen". She shrugged.

"Okay…"  He nodded awkwardly. " Can I ask you another thing?"  He tilted his head in a curious manner. She nodded allowing him to continue, "Why are you dressed as a skeleton"? 

"Why what's wrong with a skeleton"? She pouted and looked below pulling at her dress. "It's halloween. Skeleton is definitely scary"! She defended herself.

"It sure is," Warren smiled trying not to break into laughter. When Karolyn was not being so aggressive she was not too bad to have around. And in this whole party it was only her with whom he could be completely honest right now. "Do you want to go back to the party"? He asked.

"Not really" She frowned apologetically. 

"Yeah, me neither" Warren chuckled. " Just, wait a minute" Warren disappeared at his vampiric speed only to reappear a few seconds later. "Come with me" He motioned for her to follow. They headed off to the terrace of the main building which was far enough from the site of the party. "Let's sit down"  he invited Karolyn and sat down on the floor.

Karolyn followed the same suit without any word while she tried to contemplate his actions. For the first time in forever it seemed that they were getting along. She stole a few glances at Warren trying to deduce what was going on inside his head. As the time passed she could feel her cheeks heating up, but she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol they were having, or the proximity he shared with Warren.

"What's all this"? She finally ended up asking.

Warren looked at her and furrowed his brows, "What do you mean?" 

"This? You being so nice". Karolyn clarified

"Hey! I was never the rude one. You always found something to argue with me." Warren scoffed.

"I know, so why are you being so nice to me?" Karolyn raised her eyebrows

"Well, I just realised…" Warren trailed off as he looked away.

"What?" She pestered him.

"When you are not being a jerk, you are not so bad" Karolyn rolled her eyes upon hearing that.

"I am nicer in general. I just don't do well under stress" Karolyn breathed.

"And I stress you out?" Warren frowned.

"What? No!" She declared loudly. "It's not you. It's you turning into a Vampire" She admitted honestly.

"Yeah, werewolves and Vamps do not get along. I can understand your stress" Warren sighed. Karolyn tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "What?"  He smirked. "I am into fantasy and scifi stuff. I have seen things".

"And you think it's accurate"? Karolyn smirked.

"There are a lot of variations when it comes to the portrayal of such supernatural things, so it's obvious that not all are true. What is constant though is the enmity between Vampires and werewolves so Imma assume there is something to it. Am I wrong?" Warren furrowed his brows.

"Well...No" Karolyn admitted sadly. "To be fair we don't encounter each other much. We all have our territories where we like to stay. By chance we both happened to come to this place where neither or our territories exist".

"Why? I mean why leave your territory. All of you, including Caleb and Ashton. Do you belong to the same…" Warren trailed off in search of a better word.

"Pack" Karolyn offered. "No, we don't. We have different packs. I met him once when we were young. We have dated once too, but mostly we kept in touch" She shrugged.

"Really"? He tensed up. "Doesn't it get… awkward with Ashton"? Warren asked.

"I hope not. They are mates. It's a bond beyond some boyfriends. It's a bond stronger than a marriage."  Karolyn defended.

"Oh," Warren whispered. "Is it like… you know destined for each other stuff"?

"Not always" Karolyn shook her head. "In fact these days fated mates are rare. They fall under the category of destined for each other. Caleb and Ashton are different, they chose each other to be mates".

"So, how is it different?" Warren frowned.

"What do you mean? Mating is not just dating. It's a process" Karolyn tried to explain.

"So sex?" Warren offered.

"It's a part of it. But that's not all" Karolyn explained getting more and more uncomfortable by the moment. "It's… more intimate, and not just physically, emotionally as well" She sighed.

"Emotionally"? Warren frowned.

"Like… they can feel each other's emotions. I think they can even have private conversations in their heads, although that perk is shared by packmates to a limited extent".

"Wow, sounds awesome" Warren smirked. "You seem to know a lot about it, you speak from experience?" He asked.

"What"? Karolyn deadpanned.

"You know, like you have a mate"? Warren shrugged.

"I… I do" She admitted hesitantly. "But it's different for me. I am still figuring this out" She admitted honestly.

"Why"?

"In my case it's fated mates. I have found out recently. It's… complicated" She admitted honestly.

"Why? Is it a girl?" He asked.

"No"! She raised her volume.

"Do you want it to be a girl"? He asked again.

"What, No"! She shrieked. "I am straight and my fated mate is a guy".

"Then what's the problem"? Warren raised his eyebrows curiously.She hesitated but didn't say a word. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's personal stuff, I am sorry for pestering" Warren prompted immediately realising how deep his question was.

"No… it's not actually" She blurted. Warren tilted his head encouraging her to continue, "My fated mate is...you".