Unraveling Mordecai, Marisa Maichel [ebook reader .TXT] 📗

a tear away and sniffed. "You mean that?"
"Of course I do. The first thing I noticed about you was your eyes. They're a beautiful shade of green, and your hair is so soft and curly! And your nose is cute, and your face is a nice shape, and so are your lips! They're full and red and pouty. Perfect for kissing. I love every part of you, including your flaws. In fact, I think your stretch marks are the most beautiful part of you. They show that you're strong. You've been through a lot, and you came out on top. You're a survivor."
She hugged me, wiping her eyes on my shirt. "I'm being silly, aren't I?"
"Just a tiny bit, dear Sarah Harper."
"Sorry I freaked out. But I love you so much, I don't want to lose you, or drive you away, like I've driven away so many other people!"
"Sarah Cresley, you are not responsible for other people's actions. If anything, they are responsible for abandoning you."
"My parents, my sister, my best friend, my crush...they all hurt me in some way or another. You would never purposely hurt me, I know Daddy wouldn't, either, but my mom did. She was supposed to protect me, keep me safe. She failed."
"You have a new mother now," I reminded. "If you choose her. My mother adores you, you know. She sees herself in you and thinks you're intelligent and sweet."
Sarah shyly peeked out at Mother, who gave her a reassuring smile.
"Can...can I hug you?" Sarah asked Mother.
"Of course, dear. Just be careful of the fledglings." My two favorite women embraced, and my mother kissed my girlfriend on top of the head. I remembered the first time I saw them together, in the library in our castle in Denmark. They got along so well. Sarah was studying the rites of Aphrodite, if I remembered correctly. Her own ancestor, but she didn't know she was studying her goddess ancestor then.
Mother came from a different background-one full of witchcraft and dark magic, which she abandoned for Roman Catholicism. She'd told me a bit about her life before becoming a vampire. Satira, her mother, was a well-known practitioner of the dark arts, and so were her sisters. She didn't know the whereabouts of my aunts, nor did she act like she cared. She said that her sister all looked similar-curly hair and blue eyes. But she also said that she had a redheaded sister and a blonde sister.
I knew very little about Satira other than that. She had been turned into a vampire by some kind of wraith vampire that hadn't seen the moonlight or eaten a meal in a long time.
Sarah and Mother had similar histories in that both their fathers died, and their mothers were not good mothers, and they were both essentially raped and had produced a child. I was the product of my mother's rape, Sarah had produced Cirino. They both loved to sing and draw, and they both loved being pregnant. Then there were the physical similarities-dark curly hair (although Sarah's hair was lighter in color and shade), light-colored eyes, smooth skin, heart-shaped faces, and both were strong women.
And then I saw him. Michael Nales. He'd wisely stayed away since he was resurrected, and the mere sight of him now filled me with anger. He saw me, too, and avoided eye contact as he walked into the library. But he paused and looked at Sarah. Her eyes went wide when she saw him. Then she walked up to him, stared at him for a minute, and then blam! She socked him.
He actually fell to the ground clutching his nose. "Okay, I deserved that," he said. Sarah smacked him across the face. Then she yanked his hair and shoved his face into the concrete.
"Okay, baby girl," I said, easing her away. "That's enough, Sarah."
She gave me an extremely hurt look, then ran away. Mom glared at me next. "That was insensitive, Reese."
Then she took off after Sarah. Shit. I'd upset her again.
I needed to see Grandfather.

My grandfather had been transformed into a human almost completely. His heart was beating again, and he was extremely wrinkled and his red hair was gone, replaced by white strands barely sticking on. He was blind in both eyes, but he heard just as well as he'd ever had.
"Hello, Reese," he croaked, finally sounding like the thousands-of-years-old vampire that he was.
"Hello, Grandfather," I said. "How are you doing?"
"As well as can be expected. How are you?"
"I'm...not so great, Grandfather. There's been some...developments."
"What kind of developments?"
"Sarah finally punched Nales in the face, and I told her to stop. But before that, Mitra's daughter, Cholena, showed up. Then Satira-"
"Satira's back?!"
"Yes, Grandfather. She's back, and she wants mine and Selena's souls. No doubt for some dark purpose."
"Satira has always been practiced in black magic. I never much liked her, anyway. She's a whore and a bitch. And she's horrible to her daughters, especially Marina. I always liked that nose of your mother's, but Satira makes fun of it. As for getting your soul, I wouldn't let her go within a hundred yards of you or the other children."
"And, ah, there's something else."
"What is it, Reese?"
"No, I shouldn't be the one to tell you, Dad should."
"I know about David, Reese."
I was taken aback. "You do?"
"Yes. Mordecai even introduced me while you were away at the Nicolai house, abandoning me for your absent mother."
"Grandfather, Sarah's pregnant with twins. I had to stay with her, and she's more safe there than here. More guards posted, plus Zie's keeping her well-fed and watered."
"Twins? Oh, be still my heart. Boys or girls?"
"One of each. We've already picked out the names. The boy will be called Joseph, after the Earthly father of Jesus Christ, as a reference to Sarah's Christian half, and the other will be called Caitlin Juniper. With an I instead of a Y between the L and the N. Sarah likes it that way. And Juniper, because, well, you know what junipers are."
"Yes, I used to own a bit of wood that had quite a few juniper trees. Those are good names, my grandson." He coughed dryly. "I hope I get to see you married before I die."
"Grandfather, you're not going to die. We'll find a cure."
"No, Reese, I will die. One way or the other, soon, very soon, I will die."
Tears came into my eyes. "But you can't die! You're my grandfather!"
He smiled gently in my general direction-not at me.
"Almost everyone except gods die. Even vampires."
I reached out for his hand, and he grabbed mine-his was covered in wrinkles and liver spots and was bony. I cried for a long time.

"Shhh, they're both asleep."
"Has Reese been here the whole time?"
"Yes. Try not to wake him up."
My father's and uncle's voices hit my ears. My dreams were vague-something about a hotel and my cat and a flood and greasy human food.
I slowly stirred and rubbed my eyes. I realized I was still holding Grandfather's hand, and eased out of it. My father was starting to cradle me in his arms and purr. The only thing more important than a mate to a vampire is their parent or creator. Fledglings are not considered as important because so many are made-the ones who are born the normal way are considered much more valuable. It's rare for female vampires to carry a child to term, especially twins or triplets. Even human-borns like my mother often have long and difficult pregnancies.
Vampire babies are naturally stronger than human babies, and they like to kick-hard. My mother already had bruises on her stomach due to my siblings' antics. I missed her now, even as my father held me. There's nothing quite like a parent's loving touch. The closest example is that of a mate. Except that my mate was still angry with me for my insensitive comment earlier.
My father's purring increased as I started to purr.
"I wish my son loved me as much as yours loves you," Uncle Soren sighed. I squirmed a bit, and Father growled and tightened his grip.
"I need to talk to Sarah," I protested. He mumbled, but relented, letting me go so I could talk to her.

I was greeted with dog kisses and jumps when I stepped through the door. Both the new dogs and the old dogs congregated on me, especially Spunk and Jasmine. I almost didn't see Shadowfang until I accidentally stepped on his tail, and he yowled.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I apologized profusely.
"Reese?" Sarah sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes.
"I'm sorry, baby, did I wake you?" I asked.
"It's okay; I waited for you. I wanted to say I'm sorry if I've been a bitch to you lately. I'm not making excuses, but pregnancy hormones and all that."
"It's okay, lover," I said, leaning over the couch and taking her face in my hands. "And no, you haven't been a bitch to me. I've been dealing with my own shit lately, and I took some of it out on you. I should be the one apologizing, not you."
I kissed her lips, and looked out at the spread before her. Decaffeinated tea, a magazine, a book, the TV remote.
I told her about the strange new vampire, Kole, and and mentioned her strange behavior around Cholena.
"They seemed to know each other," I said. "And then we heard Satira calling for Cholena. I have my suspicions."
"It is odd," she said. "Why do all these vampires come to you? And then David and Cholena show up? And then Satira? It's weird."
"It's a mystery," I agreed. I updated her on Grandfather's condition, and then she fell asleep. I carried her upstairs to our new bed-a king size. It dwarfed her when she laid in it. I preened her while she slept, stroking her hair and admiring her collarbone and her cleavage. I looked around. I decided to clean up a bit-dirty clothes in the hamper, books on shelves or on the side table, notebooks and laptops on the desk, shoes in the closet, makeup put away...and then I saw her purse.
I'd gone through her purse before, and I always hated myself afterwards for invading her privacy. A woman's purse is sacred. This week's edition was a Louis Vuitton Speedy in 35, so Sarah had told me when she pulled it out of the closet. Her purses always were bigger than she seemed to need them to be.
Just a peek.
I took in a deep gulp of air, then opened the mouth of the bag. I saw all the usuals-her wallet, her makeup bag, and...was that a gun?!
It was, it was a gun. A Glock. I opened it up. No bullets. But there was a box of bullets in her purse. Why did she have this? She was surrounded by vampires, people who would protect her, gladly give their lives for her. Maybe she needed this for extra security?
I knew she carried a small knife around, but I'd never have thought of her as a gun carrier. I kept looking. Old water bottles, extra keys, lipstick, lotion, hand sanitizer, extra cash, movie tickets...movie tickets? Huh. I hadn't gone to the movies with her, and we hadn't seen any of our friends from school since we graduated.
I kept looking for any sign, any evidence. I found one other odd thing: a flip cell phone, the old kind that was used twenty years ago. Stomach twisting into a knot, I carefully put everything back where I'd found it and got ready for bed.

CHAPTER FIVE - SUSPICION
She was up before me. I woke up around noon, feeling refreshed. I hissed slightly at the bright sun streaming in from the cracks in