Rodriguez looked at her. â€œIâ€™m a vampire Christy. We mark our mates to protect them from those we should be able to trust but canâ€™t.â€ He said simply. â€œFunny Iâ€™ve always been there ever since you were a baby. Therefore, technically...this is only the first time Iâ€™ve contacted you personally.â€ He said. â€œI always sent things for you.â€ he muttered. Like the money for them to help her get a car when she was sixteen. That was one of those things. He looked at her puzzled for a moment. Then it clicked. â€œSo that is what they told you. Yes. That is what I told them. It makes sense that they would place things at face value. Humans do odd things like that. I told them that to protect my mate who was but a baby in grave danger.â€ He said simply. Ignoring her as he began sniffing the room for signs of danger as he got up.<br/><br/>Looking at her as she said she wasnâ€™t hungry. â€œYes. Ice cream. When you were a kid you loved red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.â€ he said with an amused smile. â€œI guess you out grew cake and replaced it with ice cream.â€ He said in a light tease. He had laid back down. â€œForever. You are my mate. I will protect you until the end of time. Unfortunately I can not let you go. You are in danger from my family. They have been hunting you down since I hid you from them. I could not let my mate be given to my older evil psychotic brother as his bride. It would have killed me. Vampires know their mates. Its instinctual. Whether you like it or not you are stuck with me. You run...I will track you down. You hide...I will find you. You are in trouble...I will kill whoever placed you in trouble.â€<br/><br/>He watched her take his pillow and blinked. Chuckling as his head hit the bed. He burst into laughter as she stole the blankets too. â€œFine. Fine. You donâ€™t have to sleep in the same bed as me.â€ He smirked and got up. Walking over to her and scooped her up blanket and all. Depositing her back on the bed. â€œYou get the bed to yourself then. I could never make my mate sleep on the hard floor. I could sleep in a coffin so Iâ€™ll take the floor.â€ He said. Sticking his tongue out at her. Then grew serious. â€œI told them I was your father so they would take it seriously. I needed....I needed you to be safe as you grew up. I took you to the last place on earth my family would think to look for you. Your beginning was not a smooth one but I found people who would take care of you. Who would make wonderful parents for you. What I did I did to protect you. To give you a chance at a normal life. That is what mates do...they sacrifice their own happiness for the safety and happiness of their mate.â€<br/><br/>He laid down on the floor. His eyes closing when his head hit the pillow. â€œI am doing this for your own good now Christy. Your life is in great danger. Not all vampires are like me. Not all of them want the best for you. Some of them want you for darker purposes.â€ His eyes stayed closed as he yawned. â€œVampires mark their mates when they are human so no other vampire can take them. So no other vampire can claim them. Like it or not you are safer with me than without me.â€ He started to doze off. â€œIâ€™m glad you kept the locket...its...one of...a kind....â€ Was the last thing he said before he fell into a deep sleep. Almost comatose like. He needed a few hours sleep before he woke. He knew she would be okay. He hoped she would sleep and not do anything stupid. She seemed like a firebrand which amused him. Yet at the same time it annoyed him because he was thinking of her not himself.