Romeo and Juliet: A Vampire and Werewolf Love Story (15 page)

Tybalt was standing on a car addressing the crowd.
“
Family, friends
,
and others who have joined our call to wipe
out the world
. Stand up with me as we pledge to take out and eliminate by any means necessary all other immortals who don’t follow our code.”

The crowd cheered
.
What code is that?
I thought.
We drink more blood before 9:00 a.m. than most people do all day?

I looked on in horror and couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. It looked like a vampire lynch mob ready to attack any werewolf on sight. This wasn’t the safest place in the world for me to be at this moment. I didn’t care. All I cared about was seeing Juliet.

At the corner of the street
,
I
could see Juliet standing
and cheering.
From the bottom of my heart I hope
d
that was her cover to appear to be like they
wer
e.
I don
’
t know what ha
d
happened to Verona. Before, there was a definite hate between the two families and two different immortal
factions
.
Now it seem
ed that
both side
s
want
ed
to wipe the other side out
,
at all costs. Leaving zero value to life itself.
Maybe it wasn’t just about making a buck anymore. It looked like the vampires wanted to wipe out everyone, and Mercutio’s sentiments regarding werewolves weren’t far behind.

I watched on and slowly the mob broke up and started going home.
After a while
,
everyone
finally
left. I waited till I couldn
’
t stand it any longer
,
and
then
made my way
back
up to Juliet
’
s room.s spat>

I leaped onto the balco
ny with little regard to the repercussions,
a
far cry from just two nights before.
I expected Juliet to alr
eady be outside, but she wasn’t
. I transition
ed
to my human form and knocked on her
back
door
on her balcony
.

I waited and then Juliet slowly m
ade
her way to the door and unlocked it.
“Is everything okay
?” I asked.

Juliet looked at me and began to cry. “No
,
it is not okay.”

I ran over to her and she so
bbed in my arms.
“What is it
,
honey?”

“I am being…
” She stopped short of finishing her sentence.

“You are being what, sweetheart?” I asked.

“I am being forced to marry Paris
!
” Juliet cried out.

“By who?” I asked.

“By my family,” she answered
.

“Over my dead body,” I said without hesitation.

“You don
’
t understand, Romeo. This has been my father
’
s plan since I was a little girl. Paris h
ad finally taken a liking to me
, and now my family wants me to marry him.”

I was shocked and I didn’t know quite what to make of it.
“Has he proposed?”
I asked.

“He proposed at the end of our first date
three months back
.”

“You have been dating him?” I asked.

“Not in the way you think. He courts me. He has taken me to movie premieres and royalty functions. Nothing romantic. In his mind, he thinks he’s being romantic, but we have never been alone and have never kissed.”

“And he wants to marry you?”

“That’s the way these rich folks do it.”

“And he proposed to you on your first date?”

“Yep.”

I looked down smiled at Juliet. “That is actually quite funny that a person of such high esteem could be so clueless.
I have a feeling it is more about his uncle and less about him.”

“
Less about Paris?” Juliet looked confused. “
Why is that?”

I looked at Juliet and smiled.
“Paris is obviously gay.”

Juliet’s eyes bulged out.
“No, he
’
s not.”

“Come on,” I said.
“He hasn’t even wanted to be alone with you. Rich folks or not. A guy interested in women doesn’t do that. I think it’s obvious he is in love with Prince Escalus himself. He watched over that man with love.”

“Do you really think that is the case?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I hope to God you’re right. But if something might be going on between them, why would he act interested in me?”

“It
’
s because this is about his family and your family merging. And it
’
s obvious what they want to do once that happens.”

“Which is what?”

“Merge witches with vampires. The leaders of your family obviously feel that a marriage between you and Paris would open up the gate for them to learn sorcery.
Maybe they are trying to find a loophole or something. And it’s obvious the ruling House of Verona want to merge because if they join the side with the most wealth, they will have the upper hand.”

“Maybe
. R
egardless of any of that
,
I don
’
t want to marry him.”
Juliet leaned in and hugged me tightly.

“Listen, that will never happen.
I promise you that. Gay, straight, vampire, werewolf, warlock…no one is marrying you except me.
”

“
Are you speaking the truth?”

“Of course. I want to marry you. I want to spend every waking moment with you.”

“And I with you. But…
I need to know.”

“Need to know what ?” I
asked.

“I need to know if you
<"+0">’
r
e
all
in
for this.”

“Of course I am,
”
I protested.

“This is going to be bigger and more serious than anything we have ever known.”
Juliet looked at me deeply and tears dripped from her eyes.

I reached out my finger and wiped the tears from her face.
“I don
’
t care what happens, as long as I am with you.”

“I love you, Romeo.”

“I love you, Juliet.
We need to let
everyone know tomorrow night. I have set everything up. My servants have worked it out with your servants.”

“Yes, I know. Tomorrow night, we will announce our love to everyone.”

Juliet and I embraced. I held her tightly and said, “We are doing the right thing.”

“Are you sure
, Romeo
?”
Juliet said, still holding me around my waist.

I gripped her tightly back and said,
“It
’
s the only way we won
’
t have to live in secrecy anymore. The likelihood is we will be ostracized by our own kind, but that isn
’
t going to matter
…”

“
…
Because we have each other.”

“Yes, Juliet, because we will have each other.”
I couldn
’
t explain why any of this made any kind of sense. But I kn
ew
we need
ed
to do something big.

Then we reclined
on
top of her very large bed,
facing the ceiling.
Juliet extended her arm and said, “Look how skinny I am.”

“You have some meat.
Especially in the right places,” I said jokingly, but meaning every word that I said.
I looked at Juliet and said “Tonight, I don
’
t want to worry about any of that.
I want you to come with me to a special place.”

“A special place?”

“Any place is special as long as you are with me. This place I want to share with is the most special physical place on this earth to me. Will you go with me?”

“Of course I’ll go with you.
What should I wear?”

“Dress warm.”

Julie
t put on a light leather jacket and we stepped out on her balcony.
I
looked down at Juliet and
said,
“
I haven
’
t seen you turn yet.
”

“How do you know that I
do?” Juliet answered.
“
Not all vampires have the gift.
”

“But you do?” I inquired.

“I may. Are you curious there
, my Romeo?”

“With this kind of build-up?
How could I not be?”
I said, giggling softly, mindful I could be heard out on the balcony.

“Okay, if you want a show, I’ll give you a show.” Juliet kissed me and took a step back.
Juliet then turned into a beauti
ful red hawk. She was gorgeous. She had two slick black stripes on both sides of her body.

“Very nice. That is one sexy bird.” Then
I turned
in
to my
gray and
white werewolf form and the
n the
two beast
s
of the night were off to Liberty Island.