Chapter 3: Forever, Anna

Ian knew that she was interested in him, he also found her very attractive, but at his mother's request, he never got involved with female employees. Perhaps the day she quit her job and went into business for herself, he knew she was studying literature, so he could give her what she always hinted she wanted when they were alone.

As he suspected, after the employee had left, other employees arrived and served such a full breakfast that he was left wondering what to eat. He didn't feel like eating anything, his anxiety didn't allow it, but he knew he had to eat something, or the staff would hand him over to his mother, and she was relentless in her punishments when people didn't do what she had made clear to them to do, and that hadn't changed in his twenty-five years. His mother was still the same tyrant as ever.

What he liked most about his mother was that she hadn't lost her beauty or her youth, although he knew that she wore make-up to look older, because vampires didn't age, and although she no longer had some of the vampires' gifts, she still didn't age. But she was different. Most vampires aged internally, became serious, bored, as if they were already dead, but not Anna. She was lively, perceptive and never missed an opportunity to torment her children.

Many of his friends, when they saw her, thought she was his sister, and many times he let them believe it, just to amuse himself while he watched them try to win his attention. Anna had her own way of scaring off her suitors. Sometimes she'd make a fool of herself, which got a lot of laughs from Ian, and sometimes she'd accept their advances with such debauchery that her friends didn't know if she was serious. Once, after a long time, one of her best friends, who still didn't know that she was his mother, tried to get her to go out with him, that she would be with him, but that her religion only allowed her to do that after they were married. His friend tried to convince her to date first, but she wouldn't give up the tradition of getting married first. Ian only intervened when his best friend really started planning his wedding to her. Then he had to tell him that she was his mother and that it was all just a joke. But he suspected that, until that day, he still had a platonic love for Anna. And as if his memories were the same thing as having called her, Anna appeared in the dining room and sat down in front of him.

“You're up late.” Anna said after a while, watching Ian in silence.

“Yes. Don't you think I have the right to rest until later, on the last day of rest I'm going to have?”

Anna stared at him deeply, and Ian was embarrassed, it was as if, with those beautiful green eyes, she could see inside him, and know all his plans, and all his secrets. Ian had always feared that she did, in fact, know, since she was Bruma, the most powerful kind of witch there was.

“Of course you can, Ian. What you can't do is make the staff clear the table twice. Wherever you intend to go, always remember this. If you get up after everyone has had their breakfast, go to the kitchen, and have your meal there.” She said, scolding him, then smoothed her face. “Your father will go with you to the barbershop... You two look so much alike it scares me...”

Ian smiled. His mother was the one who always surprised him, and she was starting to get predictable.

“I knew you wouldn't give up on seeing me perfect by your standards...”

“Don't talk nonsense, Ian. You came out of me, that's enough to make you perfect.” She said pretentiously, but with an amused smile. “This grooming is just to enhance your natural beauty even more.” Anna said, and picked up a cookie from the table and started chewing. “Why aren't you eating yet?”

Ian stared at her, angry, but he couldn't feel that way for long. She was ironic about everything and made him laugh. It was different with his brothers. They never understood her irony and were always afraid of displeasing her.

“Mom, has anyone warned you that your pretension is going too far? Careful, you don't have wings.”

She shook her shoulders.

“I didn't tell any lies.”

“I don't think my physical appearance is to your credit, Mom. Look at me, Donald, David, Dad Adam, Dad Maxwell and Ryan? We're almost identical! Except for Papa Adam, who chose to grow old...” He said and began to eat his breakfast thoughtfully.

Anna wasn't put off by Ian's words and began to tell him about the preparations she had made for his graduation party. All his graduating friends had been invited, and in addition, his grandfather's allies and men would be present, because Henry would be handing over responsibility for running his business, and he wanted everyone to get to know his new boss.

Ian stopped eating. Now totally preoccupied with what she said at the end.

“Mom! Are you going to put my university friends together with werewolves?”

“I see no reason why we shouldn't. It's nothing new.”

“Mom, do you know why we're called werewolves?”

“Half man, half wolf...” She said nonchalantly.

Ian shook his head.

“We're much worse, Mom. We're monsters. Werewolves can't manipulate people, stop them running from their advances, or protect themselves from their attacks.”

“What do you have in common with wolves, then?”

Ian went back to eating.

“Apart from the killer instinct and a taste for human flesh? Hardly any similarities.”

Anna smiled.

“I've never seen any werewolves eating humans.”

Ian glanced at Anna briefly, before concentrating on his bread.

“If I know that one day, you've been allowed to witness this barbarity, I'll tithe the entire pack responsible for it.”

“You don't need to protect me from werewolves, my son. I am a Bruma. You're Alpha, not a monster. Werewolves stopped hunting humans centuries ago. Don't think about it anymore.”

“Have you forgotten that I can see through the eyes of every one of them?”