Kapitel 19: Mates
Callum did not read werewolf romance books, but he had heard from a lot of supernatural beings that wolves had fated mates. Apparently, the attraction between mates was so irresistible and scorching hot.
But Sterling shook his head.
"Contrary to what you have heard, werewolves do not find insta-love mates in real life. It would be chaos if we went around biting people and shouting 'mine'." He chuckled as he pictured it.
Callum had never been interested in werewolves beyond the old and violent war between vampires and werewolves. So, he did not know which stories were true and which ones were myths and misdirection.
"So, how does it work?" He asked.
Callum and Sterling had gotten close since Sterling moved to Lake City, but they never talked freely about sensitive issues. They had drinks at The Citadel once or twice a month. The subject of their unique species and their inclinations was never considered.
"From what I have heard, it starts with a feeling of comfort in the presence of the mate. Then, a sort of psychic bond forms through continued interaction. When the bond is strong enough, it turns into a possessive obsession. No one explains it well enough." Sterling said.
"Interesting." Callum nodded.
"I heard vampires have mates too. How does that work?" Sterling was curious.
Callum looked a little uncomfortable at the question, but he answered anyway after a brief moment of silence.
"It is not exactly mates for vampires. We are creatures of the dark. It is not in our nature to form love bonds with others. What we have is called a bloodflame or simply a flame, and it does not necessarily end in a happily ever after." Callum explained.
Sterling had never heard the word before. It looked like vampires were not completely as open in the peace treaty as it was assumed. But again, it is not like the werewolves were entirely forthcoming either.
It was probably because no one knew if another war would break out.
"What is a bloodflame?" He asked.
Callum hesitated again before explaining. It was quite unusual for Sterling to see him being serious instead of relaxed and a little inebriated.
"It is someone who makes the blood of a vampire boil. Not literally, of course. Most vampires are cold and calculating predators. The bloodflame causes a vampire to lose their rationality and act on instinct." Callum explained.
Sterling nodded in understanding.
The explanation was a little like the existence of the inner wolf in werewolves. Most people assumed that the wolf was like a separate entity that werewolves could talk to and even be separate from it.
But it was not the case.
The human and the wolf were one, but they had different rules. It was the case of the id, superego, and ego. The wolf was like the id of a normal human. It was the part of the mind that relied on instincts and primitive needs.
The superego was the pure human part that operated on the moral instincts of the regular society. If a werewolf grew up in a human society where they could not embrace the supernatural, they would try to only function on a human level.
The true nature of a werewolf was the ego which mediated the instinctual desires of the dangerous wolf and the moral conscience of the pure human for balance. If the two were not in balance, a werewolf could become feral after a time.
"What happens when a vampire meets a bloodflame?" Sterling continued his questioning, unable to imagine himself functioning completely like a wolf, with all instincts and no rationality.
"Unlike wolves, vampires head straight to the possessive obsession. There is no warm bond or fuzzy feelings. Just pure obsession." Callum chuckled darkly. "And as I said, it does not always end with a happily ever after."
Sterling felt a bit of a chill because of the strange tone.
"What happens if not that?" He was a little afraid of the answer.
"It depends on the nature of the vampire, mostly. Not so long ago, before we had medical resources for supernatural beings like substitute blood, it almost always ended with death. The urge to possess is so strong that most would drain their flames of their blood in some sort of passion.."
"It is like the urge to have every part of the flame in themselves so that no one else can have it. That desire to possess was overwhelming. Those who could resist the blood would choose to control everything about their flame." Callum continued with that eerie voice.
"They would imprison and torture them, just to know that they were the centre of the universe for them. Some would get Stockholm Syndrome, and those who did not would just die cruelly."
Sterling could not imagine that kind of obsession. It sounded like complete madness, and it explained why vampires had such a bad reputation. The rumours about them were not completely unfounded.
And nothing that Callum explained sounded like the relationship werewolves had with their mates.
"There must be some happy endings," Sterling said with a naïve hope that made Callum chuckle.
"A long time ago, only a few people were able to transform the flame psychosis into love. Perhaps, only the strongest of the vampires." He paused. "These days it is practically the standard."
"Really?" Sterling was surprised.
It was not that Sterling was a romantic. Rather, he was interested in how the situation could change so drastically.
"It is nothing magical. A study discovered that vampires experienced some kind of psychosis from the pheromones of their flames. It made them lose touch with reality and become obsessed. So, they made a suppressant."
"Pheromones?" Sterling stroked his chin in deep thought.
"Adult pheromones," Callum said.
"I was not thinking in that direction." Sterling would have rolled his eyes.
"It is always good to clarify. Vampires have a bad enough reputation without adding new ones." He chuckled.
Sterling scoffed before a thought came to his head. "You described the whole thing so clearly; it is almost as if you have experienced it yourself."
"Maybe, maybe not," Callum said casually, relaxing in his seat.
"Do not tell me you are one of those vampires that drained the blood from your flame." Sterling was more fascinated than horrified.
Callum laughed. "Perhaps! But maybe, I have a basement with chains somewhere."
Sterling tried to picture it. "Not likely. You seem too lazy to put that much effort, even for a flame."
"You realise that we met because I was training Xavier," Callum said.
"In computer technology." Sterling almost facepalmed.
"Well, it does prove that I am not lazy."
Sterling scoffed. "If you have met your flame, I am sure you would take the easiest way out."
Callum cocked his eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"You would take suppressants until the day you or the flame died." He said with complete confidence.
Callum looked away to the window of the tearoom, and his eyes darkened with a rare vampiric bloodthirst, which was so unlike him. When he looked back, his greenish eyes were once again clear.
"You know me so well, my love," He teased with a laugh.
"Please stop," Sterling complained, but there was no heat in his words because he realised that the more he protested the inappropriate teasing, the more Callum got amused and doubled down on it.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein