-16- Insight

Yibo was already crying for ten minutes in his father's arms when his father said: "I think you should..." And did not finish his sentence. Suddenly his father was silent. Yibo opened his aching burning eyes and saw someone standing next to him and his father. Dressed in a long black coat.

Only very slowly Yibo raised his head to look up at the person. His heart fluttered in his chest as his gaze went up. But even before his gaze reached the top of the face, the person he immediately knew that it was Zhan, squatted down beside him, put his arms under his body and lifted him up. Yibo wrapped his arms around Zhan's neck and laid his head on his shoulder while Zhan carried him to the sofa.

Zhan sat on the sofa and Yibo sat on his lap, clinging to Zhan and sobbing. Yibo's father got a chair and sat down next to the sofa. "Are you his mate?" He asked Zhan.

"Yes, I am." Zhan replied, stroking Yibo's back.

"I see. And could you explain to me, an unknowing person, what that actually means?" Yibo's father wanted to know.

"Well. No one of our species knows exactly why there are mates among us, since we get along very well on our own. Well, until the moment we meet our mate for the first time. Then you suddenly feel an incredible attraction to him or her, it doesn't matter for us, and you can't imagine being without your mate. They feel the same, they are always together. To separate them is, how shall I say, oh yes, torture. Like someone drowning you or burning you, and that again and again." Explained Zhan.

"And at what age do you usually find your mates? I don't suppose it was normal with Yibo at his age. Right?"

"Usually a few years after we became full vampires. But like me, it can take much, much longer. And no it's not normal, Yibo was actually an exception."

"And you could feel the same thing as him?"

"I felt his presence even before I saw him. I felt that he was there and that he was not well. I went into the room following my instinct and saw him, as a baby, pressed to the cold body of his mother, crying. The window was wide open and cold air came through. I knew immediately he was freezing."

"Did you know at once that he was your mate?"

"I knew it at once."

"Then why did Yibo tell me you didn't want to finish the ritual?"

"Oh, that's when I met him the second time and he just bit me. I was totally stunned because I didn't expect it at all. Actually, you only mark your mate with his permission. But Yibo was too small to ask. And I didn't want to finish the unplanned ritual at first because I thought he might want to live with his parents for a few more years. He was only 8 months old and hardly knew his parents. But, he didn't want to be with them, he never wanted to. One of the elders said that Yibo had probably felt my closeness from the day he was born. His parents and their clan lived only a few miles away from us. The elder said it was unusual but not impossible for a newborn to feel his mate from the moment he was born. He also suspected that Yibo cried incessantly because of this. Because he could feel me, but I was not with him."

"And then? You were put under pressure to complete the ritual, weren't you? Yibo's mother told me that."

"Such a ritual is celebrated in front of the families. To be honest, I wasn't prepared at all. And knowing that my mate is only eight months old was not easy. Because it is in our nature to unite with our mates as soon as we have found him or her. Of course, this is not possible with a baby. And I was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Did you love Yibo then, as he loved you?"

"I loved him from the moment I felt his presence. I was just afraid it was too soon for this ritual. But finally I gave in. But not because I was pressured by everyone, but because I knew that we belonged together and I just had to wait until we could unite."

"And now you've bonded, now that you've found each other again?"

"No. For that, he must first remember, and his transformation must be complete. It is one thing to sleep with someone, but to unite is something completely different. It's like, well I would say, like a wedding with a wedding night, only much wilder. I mean, the day of the union, the families celebrate together. At midnight, the two are taken to a house prepared by the family. The family accompanies them to the front door. Then the two spend three nights in this house where the reunion takes place."

"And how can I imagine what will happen there?"

"Well, I assume you can imagine it."

Yibo, who had been listening the whole time, finally realized that he had overreacted. And he was glad that Zhan didn't leave him, but came to him now when he needed him most, holding him in his arms and comforting him.

And now to find out that Zhan did love him all along, reassured him. Because that meant that he did not force Zhan to love him. He loves him because they belong together.

"Will Yibo really turn into a vampire in time?" His father asked.

"If you want to be precise, he always was one. In certain situations, he can even raise his fangs. But of course, that's only possible if he knows it too. That everything on him looks human doesn't mean that he is human because of it. The poison with which he can infect others has always been within him. He could have fed himself with blood all his life instead of human meals. Then he would now probably be much stronger."

"And will the transformation be difficult for him?"

"I fear so. My father specially mixed a serum to help him become stronger and healthier faster. Because once the fever breaks out, it can even kill a weak body. We do not know how much time Yibo has left. But it won't be long."

"How do you know that?"

"His smell has changed. He used his fangs without noticing it when we were intimate with each other. He bit me several times and did not even notice. All his memories come back too. Hypnosis does not work on a vampire. He does not need light at night. He hasn't even noticed that his eyes now work at night."

Yibo stared at Zhan. "I really bit you? And my eyes now see at night too?" And while he was still asking the question, he remembered that he didn't turn on a light last night when he woke up from his nightmare. He saw without any problem, without any light.

Zhan unbuttoned the first buttons of his shirt, pushed it aside and showed Yibo his neck. Several small round holes were visible there. "You bit and you drank from me! Therefore I am convinced that you will soon get the fever."

"I have your blood, so I really drank your blood?" Yibo asked, shocked.

"Mmm. But don't worry, it wasn't much and obviously your body needed it. You will have the desire for blood much more often now. You will not like your normal food anymore. It will smell and taste like vomit. The serum will delay all this a little longer. But now that your body is obviously beginning to prefer blood, I think you need something else."

"And what?" Yibo asked confusedly. Zhan handed him a bottle of what Zhan himself had drunk at the country house. Yibo opened it, he smelled on it, and it smelled delicious, contrary to what he thought. He took a sip, and it tasted so good that he greedily drank the rest as well, without a single stop.

Yibo felt it enter his stomach and satiate him. He suddenly felt so strong and liberated. Zhan smiled and explained, "Your body needs this drink, this blood mixture. Because the human food, does not give it any energy anymore. It even drains the energy from you. From now on, we should replace your meals little by little. In the beginning you will be very hungry and you will need about 4-5 bottles. Later, 2 bottles per day will be enough."

Nodding, Yibo listened to what Zhan explained to him. "And what should I do now? Your mom said it is too dangerous for me to be alone. Why is it too dangerous?"

"Your fever will get very high and you need to be monitored. If necessary, your body must be cooled down. Your hunger will become very strong and there is a danger that you will attack humans. That's why she wants you to move in with us until your transformation is complete and you get used to the mixed blood. After that..."

"Then we unite? Can we then live somewhere else?"

"Are you in a hurry to unite? And yes, we can live elsewhere. We don't have to live with my parents. But it's better under the clan's protection."

"I want to have this union ZhanZhan. I, I thought by biting you as a baby that I forced you to love me. I thought I couldn't do that to you and I didn't deserve you."

"Yibo, that's what humans think. And I understand why you think that. I know there's so much you don't know. But believe me, you haven't forced me to do anything. I love you, I always have. Whether you were a baby or a 13-year-old scared kid or now. I love you."

"I love you too, ZhanZhan, and I'm sorry for the way I acted. And I want to be with you. I don't want you to find a way to break our connection. I'm coming to your house too."

"It's our home since you bit me. But I' m only saying this in passing. Mom and Dad will be happy to have you with us and they can take care of you. And I' m not gonna leave your side, either. I'll be with you all the time."

"You will? And what if you have to work?"

"Not until you're completely transformed."

"And will I go to work with you, too? Will I have to fight evil vampires, too?"

"No. I mean, with the proper training, you could join in. But I would rather have you home and safe. It was never planned to make you a Guardian."

Yibo's father obviously realized there was nothing he could do or say now, so he said goodbye. He asked Yibo to stay in contact with him before he left the apartment. Yibo packed a suitcase with his clothes, a few things he wanted to take with him, and then accompanied Zhan to the country house, where he will live with Zhan in their room. At least for as long as needed.