บท 19: Fangs And All
(A/N - Daoist MTL Chat - GPT here. I had thought about leaving you all on cliff-kun till the morning here in Australia, but our sect must grow with love and care. I shall release the manual early! Much love <3)
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Rosalie froze. Her whole being was completely and utterly shocked to its core as her mind shut down. The one thing she feared most was Gabriel discovering what she was.
She knew that any sane person would be terrified of the concept of a supernatural being, especially one that was known throughout history as a machine of primal hunger that feasted on humans.
She hated what she was to her core, but she never blamed Carlisle for turning her. He saved her from a world of darkness and death.
Gabriel felt her body seize up before she started shaking. Wrapping his arms around her at an unnatural speed, he pulled her deeper into his embrace and kissed her neck.
Had she not been having a mental breakdown, she might have noticed it.
"How?" she whispered, her face downcast as she lacked the courage to look up.
"Rose, let me explain a couple of observations I've had." Gabriel gently caressed her arms in comfort.
"First, none of you eat lunch. I've literally seen no one in your family even touch a glass of water, and I've spent enough time with you all. But that's a weak guess," Gabriel said as he felt Rosalie squirm within his arms.
"Second, you're all absolutely pale and cold to the touch. I'd know because I've been near you in such an intimate way."
Gabriel didn't wait for Rosalie to speak, knowing she was too scared to confirm his observations.
"Third, I literally saw Edward almost teleport toward Bella this afternoon. Speeds like that are completely impossible unless you had a superpower or were something supernatural."
Rosalie turned her head, staring deep into his eyes as she waited for him to say the last words he was leading up to.
"Lastly... sweetie, you don't have a bloody pulse." He chuckled as he placed his hands on her wrist, waiting to feel any semblance of a heartbeat.
Rosalie couldn't understand how she had missed the obvious shortcomings she had. Gabriel was absolutely right at each point he made. Especially the final one. She could fake everything else, but the pulse was a dead giveaway.
Her eyes shook as she struggled to maintain eye contact with Gabriel. "I—," her voice quivered at the first word, "I understand if what I am scares you, or even revolts you. I hate what I am too. I wish I wasn't this way."
She attempted to escape Gabriel's arms, trying to flee from the disgust he would definitely show at her confirmation. Pulling his arms, she tried prying them away with full force, each attempt a futile struggle as her well-trusted supernatural strength failed to even budge his arms.
"Gabriel, what the hell is going on?" she exclaimed out loud. This was physically impossible for a human. In actuality, if she tried any further, she was afraid she'd snap his arms clean off.
Watching her try to move his arms, Gabriel let out a sigh before releasing her, the sudden movement launching Rosalie to her feet. "If you're being honest, I guess I should be too."
Grabbing Rosalie's hand before she could escape, Gabriel walked towards the basement door near the kitchen. Turning on the light, the duo descended into the underground gym he used once to test his strength. Rosalie followed quietly, bewildered by the current turn of events.
They both stood in the middle of the room, the silence between them palpable as Gabriel willed the courage to explain his situation somewhat.
"There's one more way I knew you and your family were vampires." Opening his mouth so Rosalie had a clear line of sight, Gabriel willed his canines to extend, their sharpness and length amplifying to the extent they could bite down on diamonds easily.
Rosalie's jaw dropped as her eyes widened. She almost took a step back before stopping herself and staring at Gabriel's face.
Gabriel closed his mouth, his fangs still elongated as his face exuded gentleness. "I'm something of a vampire, too. I guess you could refer to me as a hybrid of sorts, but a hybrid that has never existed before."
Listening to his words, Rosalie couldn't contain her curiosity. Stepping forward, she placed her hand gently on Gabriel's face. "H-how is this possible, Gabe? Being a hybrid should be impossible."
Placing his hand over hers, Gabriel stepped forward and kissed her forehead. He had thought about a reasonable explanation for his impossible existence. Though he felt bad about lying to her, he also knew that he should never explain his true origins.
"It's my bloodline," he said, pulling her down to the bench and placing Rosalie on his lap. "Moving here awakened something within me. Later, I realized I had memories that weren't mine originally, not like someone else's memories, but more like an understanding of what I am."
Rosalie clutched at Gabriel's shirt as she braced for the information. "Have you ever wondered who the original vampire was? The forefather of every vampire that exists to this date?"
Rosalie instantly grabbed onto the slight hint Gabriel had given her. "You don't mean?"
"You're right. My blood is the origin. Once the original host of this bloodline dies, which is impossible unless they willingly end their own life, the curse waits until it finds the next qualified person."
"I don't know how long it's been since the original vampire ended his life, but I know that I have become the next one to carry on the bloodline."
Rosalie sat there in silence, unable to process the information Gabriel had revealed properly. The vampire progenitor, Gabriel, being the next one, and what it meant for their future.
Caressing her hair once more, something Gabriel realized he enjoyed doing more than he cared to admit, they both sat in silence.
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes eventually turned into an hour of silence.
Fed up with waiting, Gabriel grabbed Rosalie's chin and turned her face towards him. Leaning in, he pressed his lips against hers in a fierce but gentle kiss. There were no tongues involved, but the kiss expressed his emotions—his acceptance, and his apology for not telling her.
"I know simple words can't change how you feel about yourself, but I don't see you that way. You're perfect the way you are, Rose. Human or vampire, the only thing that matters is the person on the inside." He smiled at her while holding her dearly.
"Plus, I can smell the venom in your body, along with the musky scent of dogs near the Reservation. Honestly, I don't know how people haven't realized you all exist here. You're like the Addams Family." Laughing out loud, Gabriel couldn't help but think about how poorly executed the supernatural world was.
Feeling Gabriel's body shaking from laughter, Rosalie couldn't help but crack a smile at how he could turn something so serious into a joke in a matter of seconds.
"Oh, and don't forget about the graduation hats sitting in your house, no beds in any of the rooms, your fridge had no food, oh, and Jasper literally talks like he's from the 1800s! C'mon Rose!"
Unable to hold herself anymore, Rosalie broke out in a fit of laughter as she realized how oblivious they were to their failures in hiding their vampirism.
"Shut up," she said, playfully slapping Gabriel's arm. She leaned into his embrace. "So, we played a game of cat and mouse, huh? I feel like a bit of an idiot, but I also understand why we were both holding out on one another."
Smiling sweetly, she felt as though a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She had found her mate, found out he was something even more mystical than her, and their dynamic hadn't changed at all.
"So, can you explain to me a little more about what you can do? I'm sure you're hiding more than you're telling."
Standing up, Gabriel pulled Rose along with him as he guided her back to the living room. "I'll explain as much as I know, but for now, let's just relax a little."
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(PS - Big thanks to Shuten for giving me the idea for Gabriels backstory, honestly was better than my original idea!)
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