33.- Stay

TW: swearing, blood

Ambrosia POV

Ambrosia sat at the bar and slowly drank the alcoholic drink. It did not affect her. At the beginning of her transformation, she had been able to feel the burn down her throat and the haziness and nausea that came with it. But now... nothing. The only thing she felt was annoyance at the woman currently trying a little too hard to flirt. She had come here to unwind, maybe sleep with someone, but once she got here she felt nothing. She had never felt so empty before. It was confusing.

"Hey, she is not interested," Rowan said and pushed the girl away.

"She doesn't need you to talk for her," the girl said as she hung over Ambrosia's shoulders. "What do you say hottie? Wanna come to a private room with me?" she asked as she moved her hands down Ambrosia's waist. She could feel the nausea grow in her stomach as she did and quickly stood up.

"I'm not interested. But the girl over there has been eyeing you the whole night," Ambrosia said as she quickly walked out of the cramped bar and into the cool night air.

"You're a bitch," Rowan said as he came and stood beside her.

"Shut up," Ambrosia snapped and sat at a nearby bench. "I pushed her away. What more do you want?"

"I wasn't talking about the chick," Rowan said and sat down beside her.

"Why do you care?" Ambrosia questioned as she looked at him. "You hate werewolves. You have told me to stay away from her since the beginning."

"That is because I was a dick," he said and leaned back. "And I was worried about you. You haven't been a vampire for long, and she was new. Who knew how she could have been? Maybe she was a murderer. Or something worse."

"You worried about me?" Ambrosia said in a teasing manner, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes," Rowan said with a laugh. "I turned you. You are, in a way, my responsibility. I want you to have a good life, better than mine. And with that, you need to make good choices." He turned to look at her with a small frown on his face. "I was an ass when I met MJ. I denied the bond we had. I slept around. I thought it was stupid and didn't want to restrict myself to one person. Luckily MJ is stubborn as fuck and she didn't give up on me. Not even now." They both stayed quiet and Ambrosia looked at her friend. He had never been this open before. "You are taking my path. It doesn't end well. MJ trusts me but she has so much doubt, anger, and sadness welled up in her from that time. I wish I had accepted the bond earlier."

He stopped and looked down at his hands as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "You still have time to be better than me. The werewolf mate bond is stronger than "the one" for vampires. She is going to accept you no matter what and she is going to forgive you no matter what. She might be mad, but she will forgive you. Please -" he turned to look at Ambrosia, - "please, be better than I was. I would give anything to go back and accept her right then and there."

Ambrosia stayed silent and looked at the small rock on the side of the road. "I don't know what's wrong with me Rowan. I'm so confused."

"Girl, you changed genders, became a vampire, changed schools, changed parents, and found out you have someone destined to be with you forever. If you had your whole life figured out I would think my venom was somehow superpowered." They both laughed. It didn't quite reach their eyes, but it was a laugh nonetheless.

"I'm a bitch," Ambrosia said. "But I'm confused. I can't do this all at once."

"No one expects you to," Rowan said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But stop sleeping around. And begin thinking about officially accepting Lupita. She is nice. And hot."

"Don't," Ambrosia said with a hiss in her tone that surprised her. "I'm sorry I-"

"Nothing to be sorry about," Rowan said and patted her shoulder. "Shows how much you care."

Ambrosia thought about that. Her body reacted without her consent. It knew what it wanted, she just couldn't accept it with her mind. She knew what she needed to do but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her mind felt like static and her body ached as she thought about it.

"Take your time," Rowan said with a small smile. "I can feel your brain work from over here."

Ambrosia chuckled and softly hit his arm. "It feels like my gender identity crisis all over again."

"In a way it is," Rowan said and smiled when she arched her eyebrow. "You are finding yourself again, in a different way. You haven't even accepted that you are a vampire yet. Much less everything else."

"True," Ambrosia said with a smile and relaxed into the chair. "It's nice to talk to you," she said.

"You need to apologize to Lupita for almost rejecting her," Rowan said and Ambrosia groaned. "You are not allowed to complain."

"I know. Guess I'm just scared of commitment."

"Says the trans woman."

They laughed again. A real laugh this time. Ambrosia felt her heart swell at the man beside her and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for being by my side," she said and smiled as his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"As long as I am alive, I'll be there for you," he said and kissed the top of her head. "Don't let your girl see us like this though. As strong as I may seem in front of her, she scares me."

Ambrosia laughed but it was cut short by a pain in her chest. The pain grew quickly and she doubled over.

"You good?" Rowan asked and placed a hand on her back.

"Something is very wrong," Ambrosia said, her eyes welling with tears. "So, so incredibly wrong." A howl sounded through the night and the two vampires shared a quick look before sprinting in the direction. Ambrosia felt the pain in her chest grow as they neared the place. What awaited them was not something Ambrosia ever thought she would have to witness. MJ was hugging herself as she stared at her mom with tears in her eyes and North and Valeria on the ground with Lupita tightly restrained. She was crying, sobbing. Ambrosia felt her tears stream down her face as she saw the girl.

"MJ," Rowan said softly to his girlfriend who threw herself into his arms. At the same time, Ambrosia felt something collide with her and send her tumbling down to the ground.

"Hey, hey," she said and slowly began brushing the girl's hair. A small whimper came from the girl and Ambrosia noted her bleeding arm. She moved slightly, getting in a better position, and moved the girl onto her lap to get a better hold of her. "It's ok. You are safe," the vampire said and hugged her close to her chest while carefully running her fingers through Lupita's hair. "We'll get you out of here."

A growl came from her and Ambrosia noted the blackening hair and threatening presence. But it all quickly disappeared as the broken girl relaxed in her hold.

"Please relax. I'm gonna get you away from here. Somewhere safe," Ambrosia said and looked at the others around her while carefully positioning Lupita's arm on her shoulder to keep it elevated. "What happened?" the vampire asked the others who had been staring at them the entire time.

"John is dead," MJ said and Ambrosia's hold on the werewolf tightened. "And there was a... vampire?" MJ turned to the white-haired werewolf for confirmation.

"Yeah," they said and stood up. Their clothes were full of blood. "He wore a mask so I couldn't see who it was."

"How did you get here so fast?" MJ asked still tightly in Rowan's hold. "We began running the second she left. And you two as well. How did you know?" She pointed to Ambrosia and Rowan.

"We escaped Val's family reunion for a bit, just wanting to get some air," North said and wrapped her arm around Val's shoulders. "We walked over close by here and saw the car wreck in the distance before I heard the commotion. I sprinted up here and came just in the nick of time." The wolf looked at Lupita laying limp in Ambrosia's arms. "I don't think she would have survived."

Ambrosia's hold on the girl tightened and she snuggled into her hair, careful of the gash on the side of her face. "We need to get her out of here," she said noticing all the wounds and blood on the girl. She vaguely heard Rowan explain how they got here and didn't bother to intervene.

"I'll call Elizabeth," Val said and took out her phone. "She can take North's room if they let her stay."

"Why not take her back to my place?" Ambrosia asked, feeling protective at the thought of Lupita staying with a girl who was crushing on her. And she wanted her close. To protect her. She needed to be close.

"A bloodied girl in a town of vampires?" North asked and gave Ambrosia an *Are you kidding' look. "And the one that attacked her was a vampire!"

"No one will want to drink her blood," MJ said and looked at Rowan for confirmation.

"Her blood smells off-putting," he said and glanced at Ambrosia. She hadn't noticed a smell. Hadn't noticed a thirst at all. But now that the thought was in her head, the blood smelled great. "No one will want to drink it," Rowan continued, snapping Ambrosia out of her haze. She shook her head and focused on the fuzzy feeling in her stomach, followed by a dull ache in her head.

"Still," North said with a small growl to her tone. "Elizabeth is closer. And no way in hell I'm letting you take her." The white wolf had turned to Ambrosia and was slowly growling at her. "With everything you have put her through. How are you so stupid to not think of anyone but yourself? Do you even know how the mate bond works for werewolves? Do you even care about anyone but yourself?"

"That's enough!" Abeba shouted. Everyone turned to the woman, tears streaming down her face but her face still stoick. "Everyone here has been through shit! Right now, that poor girl went through so much shit! You two can shut the fuck up and just help move her to the closest and safest place. You are free to fight and quarrel later. But right now. Shut! Up!"

They all stayed silent, though North still sent Ambrosia a death glare. Ambrosia focused on the girl in her arms, whimpering as tears slowly streamed down her face as they waited for a response.

For the first time since they met, Ambrosia took her time and truly looked at Lupita. She was beautiful. Bloodied, beaten down, and hurt, but oh so beautiful. And strong. Her insides became warm as she looked at the wolf. This was the person she was destined for? This was the person destined for her? The mate bond still didn't make much sense and the thought of it made her head hurt, but looking at the girl didn't. It just made her happy. And sad. That something had happened to her and she had been too much of a bitch to do something about it.

"They are here soon," Val said as she came back and stood beside her mate. "Sorry for the wait. Elizabeth wanted to know the details." The kitsune shivered and North quickly wrapped an arm around her. "Is she ok?" she asked and motioned to Lupita, lying halfway unconscious in Ambrosia's hold.

"No," she said and looked at the group. "She is hurting." That was another thing. She could feel her hurt. The sadness was overwhelming and Ambrosia had to restrain herself from crying as she thought about the feeling. "A lot," her voice broke and she quickly cleared her throat.

"Any of us would be in a situation like this," Abeba said and moved toward them. "And not just on a psychological level." She carefully took Lupita's right arm. It was turning purple!?

"What is that?" Ambrosia asked, a tad bit too loud, consequently the werewolf in her arm whimpered and snuggled into her neck. "Sorry Lup," Ambrosia said and stroked her thumb on her arm to try and calm her.

"We get to the Moon's home and then we take care of her," Abeba said but pulled out a small white-ish crystal. "But this will keep her stable," she said and and carefully placed the crystal on the girl's forehead. It lit up for a second before subsiding.

Just as she was done, a car came crashing through the trees, miraculously not breaking any of them. Ambrosia guessed because this forest was partly enchanted. Elizabeth came stumbling out of the car, hurried toward them, stopped by Ambrosia, and gasped at the sight of Lupita.

"This is the second time," she mumbled and glanced at Lupita's hurt arm. "Get in the car." They all followed but Ambrosia was stuck on what Elizabeth had said. Second time? Had something like this happened before? "Everyone get in. North, Valeria, Marie, and Ambrosia, get in the back and make sure Lupita is comfortable. Abeba and Cassandra you can sit in the front. I can stay in the boot. Rowan can run." Everyone followed her instructions and slowly and carefully got in the car. Ambrosia waited for the three others to enter, Val turning into a fox to make space. When she entered she made sure Lupita didn't hit her head on the car and was comfortable once she was seated. The werewolf lay across their legs, her head in Ambrosia's lap.

"Are we ready?" Abeba asked from the driver's seat. She got an assortment of "yes" and one bark from the boot. "I'll drive slow."

The drive was silent. Ambrosia could hear everyone's heartbeat, some faster some slower. Lupita had a slow heartbeat, it was the one she focused on, making sure the beat was consistent. She counted each one and her breath stopped whenever she didn't hear it. Ambrosia took the time to inspect the collar around her neck. It was black. It was a thick rough fabric, it couldn't be comfortable. She touched the rough material and carefully began rubbing the skin under it. It was bruised and the wolf softly whimpered when Ambrosia made contact. Ambrosia also saw the faint scarring around her neck, making the skin rough under the small layer of fur. She needed to ask about what they saw, what she had been through.

"We're here," MJ said softly and touched her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts and making her quickly retract her hand. "You know no one will judge you here right?"

"I will," North said and got out of the car with the fox.

"And she is just mad," MJ said and helped Ambrosia out of the car while holding the unconscious girl. "And they care about her. You haven't been the best to her these months."

"I know," Ambrosia groaned and walked toward the house. It was pretty. It looked like MJ's house with a wolfy, human twist to it. "I'll be better," she said and stopped at the front door, feeling the invisible barrier around the house.

"You may come in Amrosia, and Rowan," Elizabeth said as she straightened her clothes.

"Thank you," Ambrosia said and stepped into the house along with Rowan and MJ.

"You are welcome," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Now, the room she will be staying in is on the second floor, North will show you to it. Abeba, tell me if you need anything."

"I do need a few things," the older woman said and followed Elizabeth to the kitchen as the others followed North up the stairs to a big room. There was a round bed on the floor with pillows in it like a nest. It was dark green, and the rest of the room also had a nature theme to it, along with splashes of orange flowers.

"Place her on the bed," North said, moving a few pillows to better support Lupita.

"Do all werewolves sleep like this?" Ambrosia asked and carefully placed the unconscious werewolf on the bed, making sure the pillows supported her neck.

"Most yeah," North said and sat down on the bed. "Mostly shifters, but most agree it is a great bed. It gets us somewhat more connected to our wolf side."

"It also has a lot of space," Valeria said, sitting beside her mate. "Which is good considering the mate bond and all that. You want to be as close as possible always."

Ambrosia nodded and carefully took Lupita's arm and elevated it. It did seem like a comfortable bed, especially for two people.

"It's also great for sex," North said and laughed as she was swatted in the head by both Val and MJ. "I'm stating facts!" they said in a posh accent and ducked away from the assault.

"Some facts don't need to be stated," Val said and tugged at the werewolf's ear. Ambrosia dully noted that their ears were slightly pointed. She looked at Lupita's ears and saw they almost looked like wolf ears, though quite a bit smaller and without all the fur. Looking closer, Ambrosia realized how wolfy the girl looked compared to the others.

"Did you get laid while being out?" MJ asked out of the blue, causing Ambrosia to almost snap her neck looking back at her friend.

"What kind of question is that?!" she shouted feeling a small amount of heat in her cheeks.

"I'm trying to lighten the mood," MJ said with a shrug. "You have been complaining about your high sex drive and no relief for a while."

"First, that's personal. Second, no I didn't get laid. But the girl that tried sure hoped I would," she said and brushed through Lupita's hair. "I'm going to stop going out now. Nothing good comes of it."

"Good," MJ said and gave her a side hug. "I'm glad you're improving. You don't want to end up like this guy." She jabbed a thumb in Rowan's direction who rolled his eyes but took her hand and kissed it.

"I turned her, so she took it from me. I take the blame," he said before kissing MJ's cheek. "And as always, I am deeply sorry and regret it with every fiber of my being."

"I know," MJ said ruffled his hair. "And I forgave you a while ago."

Ambrosia smiled at her friends and looked back at Lupita. Could she really forgive her for everything she had done? Would they be able to have a good relationship? Her head began to hurt as the thoughts spun in her head and she tried to focus on something else.

"Where is Jazmyn?" she asked. The halfling hadn't shown up yet, and with how much she cared about Lupita, Ambrosia would have guessed she had been there to greet them at the door.

"Out on a date," North said with a smirk. "Being half human the mate bond is weak for her, and the one she thinks is her mate is also a halfling. Half-human, half-werewolf as well. They got the human genes but they are slightly stronger than a human. They both have a weak mate radar but felt something. So they are trying. We haven't said anything about the situation so they can enjoy themselves as long as they want."

"That's so sweet," MJ said with a small smile. "It's nice to know that someone can enjoy themselves as we all try to hold our sanity together."

"Out of my way kids," Abeba said and pushed herself to the front, placing a hand on Ambrosia's shoulder when she was about to leave. "She needs you." Ambrosia nodded and moved onto the bed on the other side of Lupita to be out of the way. "But I need the rest of you to back up and give us some space to work here."

Abeba began by slowly removing some of the clothing on Lupita. Ambrosia helped and carefully folded the clothes and laid them to the side. Once Lupita was exposed but still decent, Abeba took out a bowl with water.

"Clean the gash on her face, be very careful and I need to check if what happened to her arm happened to her face," Abeba instructed and began inspecting her arm while looking in a book.

Ambrosia began to carefully wipe away the dried blood on Lupita's face, making sure she held her breath so as not to smell the blood. The blood wiped away easily but the gash was deep and it wasn't healing. Luckily there was no purple aside from bruising around the wound. Lupita stayed unmoving for the whole process. Ambrosia would have thought she was dead if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of her chest and the steady beats of her heart.

"It looks good. Deep, but good," Abeba said as she looked at the wound. Elizabeth came over to her side of the bed and began dressing the wound. Ambrosia clenched her fist tightly as Lupita began whimpering and wanted nothing more than to soothe her.

"I'm done now, Ambrosia," Elizabeth said and Ambrosia began softly brushing her hand through Lupita's hair again. As soothing as it seemed like it was for the girl it was soothing for her.

"Ok, I think I know what's wrong with her arm," Abeba said, holding open her book for MJ to read over her shoulder. "Wolfsbane and silver. A deadly combination for sure. Luckily we got to it fast." She pulled out a clear crystal and held it close to the puncture wounds in Lupita's arm. "Ambrosia, I'm going to need you to hold her down. This will hurt her. But I need her to be still to do this."

The vampire nodded and assessed the situation. She needed to hold her down, how was the best way to...?

"You could just straddle her," MJ pointed out when she saw her friend hesitate.

"Is that appropriate?" Ambrosia asked and glared at her friend.

"You need to hold her down. As long as your mind is out of your gutter I think it's gonna be ok," MJ said while smirking.

"I agree with Marie," Abeba said which earned Ambrosia a small smirk from the girl. She sighed and carefully managed to get on top of the unconscious girl, making sure not to put too much of her body weight on the girl, and carefully placed her hand on the girl's shoulders, being careful of the bruised one.

"This feels wrong," Ambrosia said looking at the snickering mother and daughter.

"Too bad," Abeba said and focused on the wounded arm. "Now I need you to hold her still. It's fine if you hurt her, if we don't get this out it will be much worse." Ambrosia nodded and adjusted her stance a little before nodding again. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Abeba didn't waste any time and began chanting. Ambrosia had to stop herself from gasping as she saw purple liquid ooze out of the wound. And just as it started, Lupita began shaking. She began thrashing around, her face scrunched up into all kinds of grimaces. She began growling and Ambrosia had to hold her in place as the wolf tried to pull her arm out of Abeba's grip. The growls slowly turned to groans, and her groans turned to screams as Abeba continued. Ambrosia noticed her hair slowly turning pitch black and tears streamed down her face.

It hurt to see her like this, more than she ever thought it would. Her own tears began streaming as she desperately tried to hold the girl still. It felt like hours before it ended, and when it was, Ambrosia was still holding the trashing girl down as Abeba desperately tried to dress the wound. Once done, Ambrosia slightly let go, only for the girl to shoot up and growl at everyone in the room, her eyes glowing red and her hair slowly turning black. But it didn't take long before she collapsed into Ambrosia's chest who had been forced into a sitting position at the girl's outburst.

"Get her dressed and let her rest," Abeba said. "We will stay the night to make sure she is ok." Everyone nodded and Abeba quickly dressed a few of the other wounds and applied something on the bruises, though it was hard with the girl still leaning on Ambrosia. When she was done, they all got ready to leave the room, though, Ambrosia couldn't.

"I'm in a bit of a situation here," she said while rubbing Lupita's back who had a steel grip around her waist.

"Then you sleep with her," North said and handed her a big t-shirt and shorts. "This night, she gets whatever she wants. And she wants you." The wolf then walked out of the room with Valeria and the others leaving Ambrosia and Lupita alone.

"This is fine," she whispered to herself and looked at the t-shirt on her side. "Is it more comfortable in a sports bra?" she asked herself as she carefully pried the werewolf off her. The shorts were easy to put on, but then came the T-shirt. She didn't want to be gross and undress the girl as she was unconscious.

"I do."

"Hey," Ambrosia said and softly began brushing the girl's hair, her thoughts quickly forgotten as she focused on the girl. "You don't need to, just tell me what I need to do."

"Not. You. Un...comf-." Each word seemed to take more and more energy so Ambrosia quickly stopped her.

"No. I'll do it. Just say if you prefer a shirt or just your bra?" she said and smiled as the werewolf let out a weak purr. She didn't know werewolves could purr!

"Shirt," she whispered and tried to sit up. Ambrosia quickly placed a hand on her back and helped peel off the tight fabric. Without looking too much, Ambrosia slid the oversized t-shirt on the girl.

"Is that comfy?" she asked once she helped Lupita lay back down. The girl nodded and moved around. She then shook her head and placed her arms over her stomach. "Not comfy?" The wolf shook her head again before she carefully looked at Ambrosia. Lupita hesitated for a moment before shyly reaching out her hand and tugging at Ambrosia's blouse.

"Please," was all she whispered. It was a weak whisper, her voice cracking slightly at the small plea.

"Of course," Ambrosia responded and looked around. She saw a small pile of clothes on a chair. Neatly folded and with a magical buzz around them. She grabbed them and changed with her back facing Lupita before getting under the covers and carefully tucking Lupita in. Before fully settling in, she grabbed a pillow and helped Lupita lay on her side with her injured arm slightly elevated. Then, she got behind her, snaked her arms around her waist, and hugged her tightly, feeling the warmth seep into her bones. "Comfy?"

"Yes," Lupita said and Ambrosia smiled as she nuzzled into her neck feeling the scent of trees and rain calm her senses.

"I'm right here," she said feeling a big hand engulf her own. "You are safe."

"Thank you," came a weak response before her breathing evened out. She was exhausted. And so was Ambrosia as she felt herself drift to sleep faster than she had in over a year.

AN: hello! I'm almost done with school, so hopefully I'll be done with this soon. I am really excited!

Also, sorry for thevlast chapter 😅

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and if you see any spelling mistakes it would be lovely if you pointed them out (kindly please).

Hope you are all taking care of yourselves both mentally and physically. Make sure to eat and drink something.

If no one has said it to you yet: I am incredibly proud of you!!

Hope you have a lovely day/night/evening.

Love you all and thank you for reading. Leave a vote or comment, they are very appreciated! ❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖