The flight from Melbourne to Scotland was a long journey but James took comfort in the fact they had the use of a private jet. It’d been necessary to ensure that Alessandra could be taken out of the country. No self-respecting airline could let her be taken on board when she appeared to be unconscious.
Being an Immortal, James had been on this earth for many, many years and had accumulated an enormous wealth. His fortune was in the millions, so hiring a private jet was no burden to him.
Seated in the beige oversized leather seats next to his beloved Ally, he worried if he had done the wrong thing stealing her away like a thief in the night. Maybe they should’ve waited until morning…but what was he supposed to do? She wouldn’t want to hear what they had to tell her tonight, and her life was in danger after all.
James continued tormenting himself with ‘what if’s’ and ‘should have done’ thoughts for the first few hours of the flight.
Adele, seated opposite him, seemed to be lost in her own thoughts as well. Neither spoke, each preparing themselves in their own way for what was to come. They both knew that Ally would wake up soon of her own accord.
James finally dragged himself back to reality and decided he couldn’t take the torture any longer. “Adele, it is time to wake her. Are you ready?”
Adele bit her lower lip. “Now is as good a time as any I guess.”
James nodded and leaned closer to his one true love sleeping peacefully beside him. “Forgive me,” he whispered, and had a funny feeling he’d be saying that a lot in the near future.
“Alessandra, wake up my darling,” James murmured as he relinquished control of her mind.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Ally, sweetheart wake up,” Adele coaxed.
Ally opened her eyes and gradually took in the scene before her. She was still shaking off the fogginess of sleep, or perhaps she was still asleep.
“Gran?” She turned to her side. “James?” Ally was feeling very confused as to what was going on? Am I still sleeping? She wondered, convinced that this must have been a dream. She clearly remembered going up to bed and falling into a deep sleep.
“Am I still sleeping?” she asked them both.
James replied, “No, you’re awake now.”
Ally looked from her Gran and then back to James again. Fear threatened to suffocate her. “I was in bed...and now I’m not.” She glanced around. “Why am I on a plane? And where are we going?”
James and Adele looked at her with concern.
Maybe this was a bad idea, James thought.
Adele was very concerned for her granddaughter, but she knew Ally was strong and would come out of this victorious and stronger than ever before. She decided to let James begin, and she would fix the mess that would inevitably ensue.
James looked at Adele for confirmation that he could tell her.
She nodded her approval.
Meanwhile, Ally was eyeing them both warily, “I’m waiting…”
“We’re going to my home, Carlisle Manor, in Scotland.”
Ally tried to remain calm. “Why?”
“In order for you to understand, we need to tell you something,” James said as a smile slowly played across his lips, “and I believe you wanted something back.”
Ally was confused for a moment before understanding what he was referring to. She glared at him. “You had no right to take my memories. And yes, I do want them back!”
He knew she had a right to be upset. However, it troubled him deeply, this was how they were going to begin their lives together.
“When you remember what happened, it will help you to understand what we tell you and why we did it.” James said.
Ally fumed in silence.
James flicked his eyes to Adele then returned Ally’s stare. He leaned closer, never breaking eye contact. Finally, he gave the soft whisper that floated all over her skin. “Remember.”
She felt something tugging at the edge of her mind again. So that’s what this sensation is, she thought.
Before she could take another breath, the air was knocked out of her lungs as the memories came flooding back. She felt like she was there once again in the middle of it, the terror was as real as it had been that night. The fog had been lifted, and she had access to her memories again.
Ally watched Vincent kill Sarah. Next he came after her with deadly intent alluding to the fact that he had already killed her parents, and then she saw James…
Ally remembered James had come to her rescue. She was moments from certain death, when he appeared. She heard his voice in her mind, but this time, she heard the sheer terror in his voice. If she hadn’t already been sitting on the ground, she would have fallen down.
Slowly, the memories came to an end and she struggled to breathe, coming to terms with what she had experienced.
How could all this be real? Her brain understood the concept of mind control, but in reality, it seemed impossible, if not a little farfetched. But she couldn’t argue with what she had seen with her own eyes and experienced herself. No-one here was crazy or insane. This was simply their reality, and it wouldn’t seem as strange to them as it did to her. Unlike them, she hadn’t been born with the knowledge of what was possible.
James and Adele watched her in silence.
Ally heard James speaking, bringing her focus back to the present. “Alessandra…everything that happened last night was very real. Vincent is trying to kill you because of the prophecy, and he was responsible for your parents’ deaths as he insinuated.”
Ally felt frozen to the spot, and she was trembling on the inside. Just hearing Vincent’s name struck terror into her heart, and now she knew that he was responsible for her parents’ death. Terrified and bewildered, she turned to her grandmother.
“It’s true, Ally,” Adele said softly.
“It can’t be! What I saw last night was impossible!" She was desperate for them to tell her this was all some cruel joke. That would be easier than dealing with the fact it might have been real!
Maybe she was still in her warm cosy bed at home, and this was all a really bad dream. “It’s not real,” she whispered again, trying to snap out of whatever nightmare she was caught in. Mind control she could deal with. A monster that should only be experienced in nightmares, being responsible for the murder of parents, was something she could not deal with.
James spoke again interrupting her downward spiral of fear. “You are right. What you saw last night is impossible for a human, but Vincent is not human. He is a vampire, Alessandra.”
Her hands flew to her neck where he had almost bitten her last night. Taking deep calming breaths, Ally tried hard to be reasonable and rational about everything she was being told. “He told me that, but I didn’t want to believe it,” She said as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Can one of you explain why we are on a plane bound for Scotland.”
“We’re taking you into hiding until you have everything at your disposal to defeat him,” James replied.
“Seriously? You kidnapped me in order to hide me away in Scotland?”
James stared intensely at her before replying. “Alessandra, it was for your own good. We only want to protect you. Surely, you can understand that after last night.”
Ally shuddered again at the thought of what had happened two nights ago. “I understand that you both want to protect me. But what I don’t understand is why I wasn’t given any choice in the matter! Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on? Or even ask me what I thought about going to Scotland?” She glared at both of them, whilst crossing her arms waiting for a reply.
James looked dumbfounded. He was beginning to realize that he didn’t understand Ally or women in general at all. Watching her for five years obviously hadn’t helped him one ounce in that department!
“Adele, maybe you’ll get more sense out of her,” he said, clearly frustrated.
Adele and Ally glared at him indignantly.
Adele leaned over and took Ally’s hand,
as she tried to explain things in a way that would make her granddaughter see reason. “Ally, you’re an immortal. Vincent is trying to kill you because of a prophecy that you are involved in.”
“An immortal…” she repeated. “What exactly is that? If you tell me I am anything like Vincent, I’m jumping off this plane immediately.”
“No, you’re not a vampire like Vincent. He is evil! We immortals are the guardians of the human race. We stand between them and the vampires.” Adele looked intently into Ally’s eyes as she spoke. “Your mother was an immortal as well. That’s why Vincent killed her and your father.”
James could see Ally trembling with fear and shock, so he wrapped his arms around her in a warm loving embrace to comfort her. Without thinking, Ally leaned closer into him.
She knew that he was holding her, and that she should be angry at his deceit, but right now she didn’t have the strength. All she wanted was comfort, and James provided that. There would be time for anger later.
Adele watched Ally slowly crumbling under the weight they had put upon her shoulders and wished there had been another way to do this, but the choices had been taken away from her. The reality was there never would have been an easy way to tell her.
“My mother and father were immortals?” Ally asked.
“Actually, your father was human. Vincent killed him because he was with your mother. It was a trap to lure you out so he could finish you off before you killed him,” Adele said as carefully as possible.
“It was meant to happen…” she said quietly.
James and Adele shared a look of confusion and surprise.
“What do you mean, sweetheart?” Adele asked.
“Madame Isabella predicted it, and said that it was all meant to be. That it would mark the beginning of the prophecy.”
“What!” James and Adele exclaimed in unison, before sharing a look of surprise.
Ally was confused at their reaction. “Don’t you guys know all about this? I thought I was the one in the dark.”
“I think it’s time you tell us exactly what that fortune teller told you.”
Ally took a deep breath and relayed word-for-word, what had been said to her all those years ago. It was burned into her memory. She didn't forget a single syllable.
When she had finished, James and Adele sat speechless for a moment, neither one able to believe that she had known all this for five years! They both also realized that it had been a pointless effort hiding the truth from her.
“All this time you have known…why didn’t you say something?” Adele asked.
“It’s not exactly a normal conversation to have, Gran.” She laughed softly at the thought of trying to start such a ridiculous conversation. “And how was I to know that you were involved in all this. I knew James was but when he didn’t return…well I figured, it was just some freaky coincidence.”
“How did she know all of that?” James asked.
“She is psychic I guess, I don’t know. But she didn’t really explain exactly what the prophecy is. All I know is killing Vincent, and saving an ancient race.”
With a look at James then at her granddaughter, Adele began to answer her question. “In order to understand the significance of the prophecy and your part in it, you need to know about the immortals as well. There is a lot of information, but I will just give you the basics for now. The prophecy is about a half immortal girl, you my darling, brought into the world under the cover of a lunar eclipse to hide her presence from the ones that would seek her destruction. The prophecy was written five hundred years ago by our oldest and wisest Immortal Seer, Gabriel. There are different kinds of immortals, one type being the Seers, but that is something for another day.”
Ally nodded encouraging Adele to continue. “Our kind was once a mighty force to be reckoned with, but long ago the vampires took us all by surprise and killed half our people. The remaining half was so terrified, most spread across all the corners of the globe trying to hide from Vincent and the other vampires. A few remain in Scotland but not nearly enough.” Adele paused to take a breath. “So, the immortals are no longer the proud, strong people that we were. According to Gabriel, the prophecy girl would change all this. She would reunite the people and lead them into battle against the vampires and their leader, Vincent. In essence, Ally, you are the last thing that stands between us and extinction.”
Alessandra was staring at her grandmother in shock and confusion. She pulled out of James arms and felt suddenly bereft. “I think there has been a mistake. I can’t possibly be that girl.”
Please, oh, please tell me this is a mistake.
Hot tears fell from her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. “This is too much. My life has already been turned inside out. I just can’t handle this sort of turmoil again!”
Adele grabbed her and looked right into her bright glistening green eyes. “Yes, you can! You were chosen for this role because you can do this. There is no choice baby girl…there never was. But I have faith in you.” Adele wiped Ally’s tears away with her thumb. “Alessandra, you’re not alone in this. There are people that will stand by you every step of the way. Two of us are right here with you, James and myself.”
Alessandra looked back at her grandmother and seemed to draw strength from her words. She had to believe what her grandmother was saying. If she didn’t have faith, then this whole situation would be doomed to fail from the start. Ally remembered Madame Isabella’s words, ‘No matter what, do not lose hope. If you lose hope, then you have already lost, and you will die.’ She mustn’t lose hope…at least not yet.
Ally turned her head to the side to look at James, their eyes locked and the world melted away.
Oh Alessandra, have the courage to stay and fight, he silently prayed.
Adele spoke, and the trance was broken. “Ally, we will help you through this.”
Intellectually, none of this made much sense to her. Things like this just don’t happen but at the same time her soul was crying out with joy. The pieces slid into place, and she no longer felt like she didn’t belong anywhere. She had a place, a very important place in the world.
Finally, I belong somewhere, she thought, as she felt her heart soar for one blissful moment, and she breathed a sigh of relief amidst the fear she felt.
Before Ally even noticed, the fear had taken control again. She found herself speaking without thought, “I will go along with this for now, Gran, but I’m not happy about leaving Melbourne and I intend to return home as soon as possible.”
That simple statement sent James over the edge. “For God’s sake Alessandra, you’re not going home!” he snapped. “Didn’t you hear a word Adele said? Your destiny is here in this country, with your people…with me. No matter what you think, you can’t run from this. Vincent will find you wherever you go, and he will kill you. Make no mistake Alessandra, the only reason you are alive now is because I found you just in time. You can kick and scream all you want, but you will do what you are destined to do!” With that, he got up and stalked toward the cockpit. He needed a breather. The tension between them was driving him insane. All he wanted was to love her and comfort her, but he knew she wouldn’t accept it yet. He hadn’t meant to yell, but it was too much when he saw how determined and stubborn she could be!
I should never have lost my temper, but God help me, she would drive a saint to crack, he thought as he stormed off.
Ally was stunned into silence at James’ outburst. She knew she was being temperamental about the whole matter, but her entire life had been turned inside out. A murderous rage came over her as the shock of his words wore off.
How dare he! She thought. I have every damn reason to be acting like this. James has no idea what this feels like. He has known who and what he was since the day he was born.
Adele reached out to her, and Ally came back to reality. “Don’t worry about James, sweetie. He’s just terrified that Vincent will find you.”
“I understand that, but this news is a h
uge amount to absorb, and I need more time,” Ally paused. “I believe what you have told me, but…”
“I know, sweetie. I know. I should’ve told you a long time ago,” Adele sighed.
“Why didn’t Mum and Dad tell me?”
“They were going to on the morning that you found James in the kitchen. He was –” she stopped short realizing she was about to say too much.
“Gran…” Ally said giving her a look that said, Tell me now or else!
“Well, he was there to claim you as his soul mate.” The words hung in the air. “Madame Isabella was right about that, too. We all have one soul mate, the man you are destined to love like no other. James is that man for you.”
She felt completely out of control of her life at this moment. “So I never had a choice in this either?”
Adele laughed softly. “You didn’t. But Ally, the man is quite a catch.”
Ally was amused by her grandmother’s comment. “Whether he is a catch or not is beside the point. I know nothing of his nature or character and what I have seen so far does nothing for me, gorgeous looks aside of course.”
“Oh, Ally, I’ve known James for a long time, and he is a wonderful man. You truly are a perfect pair. I will admit you are seeing the worst of him right now, but he is reacting out of fear.”
“Perhaps.”
“Have I ever misled you darling?” Adele replied with a sweet smile.
Ally just looked at her.
“I didn’t mislead you. I withheld information, so don’t give me that look.” Adele did love her granddaughter’s spirit. “Do you really think I would hand you over to a barbarian? I will admit that James is a bit of a caveman in some aspects, but everything he has done is out of love for you.” She winked at Ally. “Besides I know you will knock the caveman right out of him.”
Ally couldn’t help but smile at that. “If anyone can it’s me.”
Adele knew that she had to use a different strategy with her granddaughter to make her see beyond James the Immortal. “Before you knew all this and worked out that James was involved, what did you think of him?”
She shrugged, and a smile that she couldn’t fight no matter how hard she tried crept across her mouth. “I thought he was wonderful. I was almost in awe of him to be honest. ” Ally looked at Adele and arched an eyebrow. “I get what you are trying to point out Gran. There was something there last night, something powerful and wonderful but after everything that I have learned, I just don’t know now.”
“Yes you do. You’re just not ready to admit it yet.” Adele smiled gently.
Ally casually shrugged and looked out the window for the first time. The sun was beginning to rise in the sky above the plane and below was a vast deep-blue ocean.
Looking back at her grandmother, she added, “You could have woken me up once we got there. You know I hate flying.”
Adele laughed. “Sorry honey. Next time I promise I won’t wake you.”
Ally rose an eyebrow at her again. “Next time, if you don’t mind, also get my consent before taking me out of the country unconscious.”
Looked around, she wondered if Coco had been brought along. She could use a cuddle from her dog right now. “Where’s Coco?”
“Don’t worry, we made sure she came with you. Actually, James did. She is quite taken with him, you know.”
As if on cue, James came sauntering towards them having calmed down, with Coco walking behind him.
“Traitor,” Ally said to her dog.
As usual, Coco just cocked her head to the side and then flopped down beside her new best friend, James.
“She has good taste in people, don’t you think Alessandra?” James teased scratching the dog behind her ears. Coco grinned up at him in her own doggy way, and pawed at him for more when he stopped.
Ally watched the two of them and rolled her eyes at the scene before her. “Normally she does. She must be having an off day.”
He couldn’t help but laugh, and what a laugh it was, she thought. The laughter seemed to vibrate throughout her whole being. It was smooth and deep just like his voice. And that smile…oh my God, what am I thinking?
“I think I might take a stroll about. My old legs are starting to stiffen up.” Adele interrupted Ally’s thoughts and sent a pointed look towards James as she was leaving.
“Now is your chance to make things right.”
“Thank you, Adele.”
“You’re welcome, caveman.”
James gave her a confused smirk then turned back to Ally. He smiled at her with all the charm he could muster. “Alessandra, I’m so sorry I snapped at you, but you need to take this whole situation more seriously. Your life depends on it.”
“Whether I take this seriously or not is nothing to do with you. It’s my life!” she snapped.
“That’s not true. You know that we’re soul mates. Anything that concerns you is my concern too.”
“You really are a caveman, aren’t you?” she said, her voice lowered from agitation.
“Ah, you ladies were discussing me while I was gone.”
“Hmph,” said Ally.
“I’d hoped you would be happy to see me after all this time,” he said, drawing her attention by laying his hand on hers. “You felt the connection that day. I know you did.” He started to rub his thumb against her hand. “And last night, you can’t deny that there was something strong between us, there still is…”
She flinched at his touch but was captivated at the same time.
“What I don’t understand is, if I was that important to you, why did you walk away from me?” Truthfully, she was hurt that he had left her, when he was supposedly her soul mate. Ally felt the connection. There was no denying it, even if she wanted to.
“I never left you. I was always there. You just never knew.”
“So you’re a stalker then?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but not in a creepy way.”
She couldn’t help but smile at that.
“I promise I didn’t desert you, little one. It only appeared that way,” he said with a smile that was so mesmerizing her heart skipped a beat.
Ally contemplated what he was saying. How he could have been there without her knowledge was something she couldn’t grasp. Surely, she would have seen him. Even if it had only been out of the corner of her eye as he turned a corner to avoid being seen. An image of James watching her from the shadows rose unbidden in her mind. Looking into his eyes she was pleading for him to explain how he had been there. Even if it had been from a distance, it would have lessened the hurt that she was now feeling.
“What do you mean?” she asked, fighting the trembling sensation that was trying to take hold of her at the thought. James might have been there all along and not abandoned her when she might have needed him most. “For five years you watched me? Why didn’t you approach me?” she asked.
James looked at her tenderly. “It wasn’t the right time,” his voice was filled with regret. “I wanted to, Ally. Believe me I did. But I couldn’t.”
Ally searched his eyes for every emotion she might find. Regret, sadness and heartbreak stared back at her.
“You never left me?” A sense of relief spread to her soul. The man whom she was destined to love hadn’t deserted her after all.
“No I didn’t. I watched and guarded you for twenty-one years. The moment you were born, I knew that you were my soul mate, but it wasn’t appropriate for me to approach you until you had reached a certain age. Then after your parents died, I continued protecting you and watching over you until the time was right.” James smiled and the emotions swimming in his eyes changed to what she imagined love looked like.
Her heart skipped another beat, the moment she became aware of how much love this man felt for her. Previously, it had been all about soul mates and connections, but it had only been words that were bandied about to her.
For some reason, Ally hadn’t been able to understand the depth and reality of the emotions that James f
elt for her, until now. She was captivated by the moment and couldn’t have pulled her eyes away from the love she felt pouring out to her, if her very life had depended on it.
James was the first to speak. “We should be landing soon. Think about everything you have been told. If you listen to your heart, it will all make sense.”
Still caught in his gaze, Ally softly said, “Like I could think about anything else.”
Despite finally understanding the depths of emotion and love that James felt for her, she wasn’t ready to leap into a relationship or the soul mate equivalent just yet. Ally needed some time to process things and decide what she wanted and how she wanted to do this.
Destiny was playing a major role in her life, that couldn’t be denied. However, she felt like there was still some control that she could take back. Knowing that it would be difficult to hold James back for a while, she decided that it was essential for her to get some space from him. Which is going to be hard, considering I’m staying at his house, she thought to herself.
Nevertheless, Ally was always one who knew what she needed. A few days of normality were at the top of her list, followed by getting to know James, slowly.
Despite everything, she still felt hurt that he didn't move heaven and earth to be with her. According to him, it wasn’t possible, but she didn’t believe that. Slowly, she began to feel the irritation rise within her at his words, but outwardly she wore a mask of calmness and what she hoped passed for serene. Once they had gotten off the plane, then Ally could start putting some space between them, just until she had taken things in and made some sort of sense of it all.
At that moment, Adele came wandering back to her seat. She sat down and looked from Ally to James and smiled at them with happiness.
“Give her time, James. It appears Ally is coming around.”
James looked over to Adele and sighed internally at the dilemma he knew was coming. Ally needed time, but that was something they had in limited supply. “I can give her anything but that. We have already wasted too much time as it is.”
Adele sighed quietly, with frustration and resignation. She knew that his words were true, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
Chapter Thirteen