Dizzily, I woke to the sound of birds sweetly singing above me and the gentle rustle of leaves as the trees swayed in the breeze. It took a moment for my mind to catch up, to remember where I was. Jake sat beside me, his eyes fixed on mine with quiet concern as I took in my surroundings. We weren't by the lake anymore. Instead, we were nestled beneath a tree closer to the house. I turned to look at him, and he offered me a soft, tender smile.

"Welcome back."

I had no response, as I tried to remember how I had gotten here. Then a fresh flood of nausea washed over me as I remembered our recent conversation.

It was filled with stories of Half-Vampires, bloodlines, Angels - Jake was a half-Vampire, my dad was an Angel, and there are also Shapeshifters and Witches roaming the Earth.

Then I remembered what I was thinking before I passed out. If my dad really was an angel, that would make me a half-breed, too.

I'm a half-Angel.

What does that mean for me? What would that mean for Jake? I was really, really hoping that this wouldn't impact our friendship, but I had an ominous feeling that this would change everything.

Everything I had once thought about the world wasn't real, and everything I thought about myself was an illusion.

It was almost ironic. I had always thought of myself as just a human, just like everyone else. But now, I couldn't have been more wrong. The fact that I'd been cursing myself for not realising sooner that I wasn't fully human... It was almost laughable.

I must be losing my mind. I was half-angel, and the weight of that realisation hit me harder than I expected. I had no idea how this would change my future, or how it had already shaped my past. But one thing was clear—Jake probably wouldn't have the answers I needed.

"What are you thinking?" He whispered into my ear, interrupting my train of thought.

I rested my head on his shoulder before answering. "I'm a half-breed, too."

I couldn't see his face, but I felt his nod, slow and heavy, against the top of my head. The weight of it made my chest tighten, as if his understanding was wrapping around me like a blanket, offering comfort in the midst of my chaos.

His arm slid around my shoulders, pulling me closer, and I could feel his breath against my hair, warm and steady. It was a quiet kind of reassurance, but it was everything I needed in that moment—a gentle promise that, no matter how overwhelming this all was, I wasn't alone.

"What does that mean for me?"

"I don't know as much about Angels as I do about Vampires," he admitted. "but I have a pretty good idea."

"Will you tell me?"

"Of course. Angels have some similar traits to vampires – good looks, immortal, very strong and fast..." he trailed off for a few moments before picking back up again. "Obviously the don't drink blood, but they can fly. I know for a fact some of the higher-ups - which are like our government - have special abilities, but no one truly knows what they are."

"So how much does that pass onto me?"

"I'm not sure – I haven't met many half-Angels. I'd assume you stop ageing at eighteen, and can live centuries like me. And the good looks are definitely there."

I was glad he didn't see my face, because my face turned hot as my skin turned bright pink.

"Thanks," I murmured. "I'd say the same about you." Although I could barely hear my own shy voice, Jake seemed to have no trouble, laughing softly.

"Thank you."

I sat up, as a new question washed through my mind. "How much does my mum know?"

Jacobs hand arm on my shoulder tightened, as his body tensed slightly. "I think she knows everything." His brown eyes looked carefully into my own, judging my reaction.

"I'm assuming this is why she told me to stay away from you?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you see—" He cut off, unsure whether to continue or not. "Angels are supposed to be the better of us. Their jobs are the protect the humans, everyone else just seems apt to destroying them."

It was my turn to tense, and he must have noticed, as wrapped his other arm around me, and placed his head on top of mine. "Don't worry – we're not all bad. Most of the time, we try not to be the monsters we were created to be. If anything, the whole 'monster' thing is outdated."

His words caught me off guard. "I don't think you're a monster." I whispered it, my voice barely audible, even though my earlier thoughts had painted a different picture.

The weight of his empathy hit me then, heavier than I expected. Despite the twisted thoughts I'd had about him, the idea that maybe he was dangerous or cruel, the kindness in his voice shattered that belief completely.

He wasn't just speaking the words—he felt them. He saw me, beyond the confusion, beyond the fear. And that small shift in his gaze, the quiet care he showed me in the darkest of moments, told me everything I needed to know. He was nothing like I'd imagined.

"That's nice of you to think, especially after my dad nearly killed you."

"It wasn't on purpose." My words where strong and sure of themselves.

"I suppose, but that's exactly my point. We don't usually mean to hurt anyone, but sometimes our instincts take control over our minds."

"You've never lost control with me – or barely anyone, for that matter - so I trust you. But what where you saying before?" I said, changing the subject back to my question, "About the Angels being the better of us?"

He sighed, and his arms tightened again, as if scared I was going to move away from him. "The Angels aren't supposed to get along with the rest of us. There have been numerous wars throughout history, with two distinct sides. It's always been the Angels verses everyone else."

"So... your saying I shouldn't be friends with you?" It was impossible to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"No, no! Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you?" he rushed to say, his voice tinged with panic. "I'm just saying... it's just not exactly... well, looked upon."

I must've looked bewildered, because he immediately tried to explain with an analogy. "It's like... imagine there's a war between two countries. Now, picture a citizen of one country becoming friends with someone from the other side—someone who's actively working to destroy it."

"Oh. So, because your half-Vampire, and I'm half... Angel... people won't be happy seeing us together?" It felt very strange using the word to describe myself.

"That's right. But we don't need to listen to them – we can make this work."

I sighed. "I suppose. But what about my mother?"

"She doesn't need to know, if you don't want. I'll be careful to stay away from you if she's nearby."

"But it just feels so... wrong. Not being your friend, of course, but just keeping this away from my mother."

Suddenly, the guilt wrapping around my heart transformed into some mutation of anger. It swept through my stomach, curling its arms around me and holding me tight. "Then again, I can't believe she didn't tell me!"

Hatred filled my gut, and suddenly I thought of my mother of a thief, keeping something this important away from me. "This is my whole life! And she took it away from me!"

"Hey, it's okay, Kaitlin," Jake said softly, his voice full of reassurance. "I think she was doing it to protect you. She was with your dad for a long time. She must know the dangers of being an Angel."

"The dangers of being an angel?"

He stiffened again, and straightened his back releasing me from his hold. I huffed in disappointment. "You see," he started, "the angels are supposed to be our biggest enemy. We are supposed to hate them with our whole existence."

"But you don't hate me?"

"I like to think that being a half-breed, I only have to hate you half as much." He laughed softly to himself, and his serious expression turned joking. "But with you also only having half-blood, it can cancel out the hate completely."

I felt my muscles relax slightly at his words of affirmation. "I'd like to agree with you."

He grabbed my hand, and jumped to his feet, pulling me with him. I stumbled a bit with his speed and strength, and he gripped my elbow to steady me.

Then he started walking East from the house, and I followed in suit. But I still had a million, unanswered, burning questions.

"Wait, if my mum's human, then why does she dislike you so much?" Was she human at all, or was she an Angel too?

"Well, I suppose if you marry an Angel, you will see things more from their opinion."

"That does make sense. But what about my dad? He told my mum, and my mum was human. Was that dangerous for him" And my dad had died 5 months ago... could that be connected to his being an angel?

Jake seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure. But maybe his death was connected?" Although he said the words with careful sensitivity, I still felt a sting in my chest.

"Yeah." I didn't want to talk about my dad's death – I didn't feel like crying right now – but I knew it was crucial if I wanted to find out the truth.

"I mean, if he told your mother about his heritage, then that would get him into big trouble with the elders. However, if she where the one to figure it out – assuming she kept the secret – it wouldn't put him in any danger."

"I need to ask my mum right away! Do you have a cell phone with you?"

"Yeah, but I can't let you call her."

"Excuse me?" I huffed. "This is between me and my mother, and you have no say in what I talk to her about."

"I know, but it involves me too if you tell her what I told you. She couldn't do anything to me, with my being half-Vampire and her being human, but I still don't feel like being on her enemy list."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that he already was on her enemy list, but I still didn't like the way he was talking about her, and I stopped short in my tracks.

"What?" He seemed startled by my sudden turn in mood, but I needed him to give me his phone. I could feel myself fuming, and wouldn't be surprised if there was smoking pouring out of my ears.

"Give me your phone!"

"No. I'm not negotiating this. You can talk to your mum about this when she gets home."

I knew that was probably the best idea, but I refused to let him win that easily.

"I don't care. Let me talk to her now, and I'll stop being annoying."

"You're not being annoying – just a bit pigheaded." I noticed a dimple appear above his left cheek again, hinting he was trying to hid a smile.

"And your being arrogant."

"She's at work – it won't be good for the either of us if she starts talking about fairy tale creatures in front of everyone at the office. It would get us into trouble – I doubt you want that."

Despite my efforts, it was clear Jake had won. "Fine," I huffed.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, before he lead us back to the lake. "How do you know your way around?"

"I have good senses. Vampire, remember?"

"Oh, yes. That's right. Your strong, and smart, and have a good sense of smell. I bet you can smell my blood right now." I wasn't expecting an answer, but he responded anyways.

"Yes, actually, I can."

I was slightly taken aback, but I tried to hide my emotions the way he had all afternoon. "W—what? That's uhmm... interesting."

He grinned at me, entertained my poorly hidden surprise. "But don't worry. It doesn't tempt me the way it would if I was a real vampire."

"I wasn't worried," my voice was slightly on the defensive side. "Does it smell... good?" I cringed straight after I uttered the words, but he smiled.

"I'm particularly good at picking out liars, by the way, and I've already told you there's no reason to be worried. And... yeah... I suppose it does smell good."

I blushed, and tried to ignore his answer about my blood. "Well try not to use your over-the-top abilities with me, please!" I seemed to have a very short temper that was a mixture of frustration and amusement, but there was so much information thrown at me it was hard to distinguish everything from each other. All the words mushed together into one. Vampires... Angels... war... immortality... super-powers... magic... blood.