"I'm sorry ceann beag (little one), I hoped you'd come back, I'm sorry how I phrased things. I should've talked with you, all of you about tomorrow night. Please forgive me ceann beag, I don't think I'd bear it if you hated me."

Coming away from the woman, Niki kissed her cheek where there were a few tears running down her cheek, she wiped them away and smiled. "I can never hate you Mathair, I just want to know what's going on."

"I understand, now who is this young man?" she turned to Jason with a smile on her face.

"Hey, I'm Jason," he said. He was still on thinking how hot Niki's mom was, being over seven thousand years old and looking like a twenty-five year old she was lookin good.

"Hello Jason, I'm Niki's mother Emalyn, but can call me Ema. It's good that Niki has found a friend here in the city," she nodded to him a bit, "if you two would like there are some cookies in the oven still warm. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to rest a bit in the lounge, you're welcome to join me if you'd like," she walked down the hall, with Niki and Jason on her heels. Down the hall, a few doors down was where the music was coming from. Walking inside a sitting room, there was dimmed light from two lamps on both sides of a couch in front of a large window. On the couch was a man sitting up against the arm of one of the arms, one leg bent, the other was out straight on the cushions. By the dimmed lamp closest to the man's head was an old, unlabeled bottle of what looked like some sort of rum and a large pill bottle full of two different colored pills.

The man heard them come in, "Good Evening Niki."

"Hey Tanner," she said and went to sit in one of the three arm chairs around the room, while Jason sat in one closest to her. Her mother went to the couch to lay in between Tanner's legs to lay against his chest, his arm then laying over her back.

Ema was facing towards the window, her eyes seemed as if they were glowing with the moonlight shining through the window. One of her hands was tucked into her chest, while the other was clutching Tanner's shirt.

"Mother, when I went out I met Jason and he came up with a great plan. He said his boss is the master of the city and they can put together a ball so you can maybe find your mate. We can all-"

"No!" Ema yelled in Tanner's shirt as she faced it.

"But Mother! They can have all the supers at the ball, you don't have to talk to anyone, just look and-"

"No! I will not!" Ema gasped and shot up off of the couch. She faced Niki, "I am going to the afterlife tomorrow night and meeting my mate there!" she winced as if pain and clutched at her heart. "He is not here, I can not feel him here, I want to be with him," she walked over to the armchair that Niki sat in. Dropping to her knees before Niki she laid her head on Niki's knees and hugged them. "I need him, please ceann beag. I hurt so much, I can't go on without him, please ceann beag, please."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Jason's heart was ripped in two as he seen how much pain Ema was going through. He could hear her heart bleeding from it. She wanted to die to be with her mate, who she never before had seen. That he was supposed to be the light in her darkness.

Niki soothed her mother's hair, "Oh Mathair, do this one last thing for me and I'll let you go. This ball can be your going away party, to welcome your mate as you pass on. We can all say goodbye properly, please Mathair. One last try and you can go, I promise, I won't stop you."

"If...you will....forgive me...I will...agree to anything you....wish. Sunday at high noon I wish to meet my mate, so....I will...give you...until then my ceann beag," it was Sunday night now. So they had a week to prepare, have the party Saturday night and if it doesn't work Ema will have her way.

"Thank you Mathair," Niki whispered and leaned down to kiss Ema on the head.

Ema then got up to go back to the couch, but when she touched Tanner's leg to get back onto the couch, her forest green eyes widened. Tanner himself moved so quickly up and over the couch for a human. He yelled and clutched at his leg where a red hand print lay on his bare leg. Ema shook and held her arms around to hold her shoulders.

Niki noticed a female vampire, Marisa in the doorway. "Risa, please escort Tanner home. Tanner we will contact you if we need you again. I'm sorry," she said as Risa helped Tanner walk out of the room. Niki got up and moved to her mother's side. "Mathair? Is it getting worse again? Here, why don't you sit down?" Touching a man, who was not her mate was making Ema burn, just with a small touch. Over her thousands of years, it happens every once and awhile, but more frequent since they've moved into town. It also made Ema's violent tendencies show up soon after the incident.

Speaking of, Ema's eyes turned a blood red and her arms shot out and grabbed one of lamps, about to throw it at the wall. But her eyes turned back to their normal forest green and set the lamp back down shakily. Plopping down on the couch, she grabbed for the rum bottle as well as the pill bottle to take a handful of the pills and a large gulp from the rum. To curl up with the bottles to her chest as she lay her head deep in the cushions of the couch to start sobbing.

"I want him! Please give him to me, please, please," she cried.

Niki clenched her fists and turned towards the door, "Come on Jason, we have a lot of stuff to get done by Saturday."