Unraveling Sarah Cresley, Marisa Maichel [thriller books to read .txt] 📗

pit.

"Reese!" Father cried, as I started to fall. Then someone grabbed my shoulders, and we were flying. When I looked up at my rescuer, he or she didn't have a face or name. My stomach plummeted, and I felt like a rock was rolling in my gut. I was falling again. My rescuer let me go, and I fell, landing on a giant pillow. I slid down, and found myself inside an old house. There was a corpse in a rocking chair, and that was the only piece of furniture inside the entire house. I didn't recognize the corpse, only noting that it was an old woman.

My heart started to beat then stopped as she turned and looked at me. Then she raised a bony finger at me and said "Thief. Abuser. Liar. Rapist." Then she turned into dust.

I was being shaken. "Reese, baby, wake up! Baby, please!"

I startled awake. My eyes were full of tears, and my neck felt like it had stretched. I also had a hold of Father. He looked worried, studying me with fearful eyes.

"Daddy!" I hugged him. "I was so scared! First there was an island with unfriendly natives, then a bottomless pit, then a corpse who turned into dust! I was so scared!"

"Shh, quiet, love. I've got you. Nobody is going to hurt you. Do you think you can still sleep?"

"Stay with me, Daddy."

"Shh. I'm not going to leave you. You look exhausted, and you're cold all over. I will have the guards fetch more blankets. Spencer, I know you can hear me. Grab some quilts out of the linen closet and then come back. I will give you permission to enter. Shh, Reese, don't cry. Will you allow me to hold you?"

Still shaking, I nodded. Father picked me up and cradled me. He wrapped a spare blanket around me and rocked me. "Try to sleep, dear one. Sorry, Shadowfang." I looked up. The cat was looking at us with a mixture of annoyance and interest. He got up and stretched, then jumped down and walked over to us. He rubbed his cheek against my leg.

"What's he doing?"

"He's saying he loves you, and that he's here. You are his favorite, after all." Uncle Soren walked in.

"What's with all the ruckus?"

"Reese had a nightmare. Sorry to have disturbed you."

"No, you're not. Is Reese okay?"

"He will be. He's just cold and frightened. Is Father awake?"

"He is. He's wondering what's going on."

"Well, tell him. Idiot."

Uncle Soren graced his younger brother with his middle finger and walked out as Spencer walked in, carrying quilts and sheets.

"Thank you, Spencer, that's all for now. You are dismissed. Close the door on your way out."

When we were finally alone, Father set me in bed. I gasped.

"No..."

"Hush, son. You are safe. I am here, and Shadowfang is here, and Louis, and Soren, and Eilief, Spencer, Toby, Janna, and Dimitri. You will be well protected, and the guards are loyal. They will save you from a corpse or a bottomless pit." He was trying to joke about it, but neither of us really thought it was funny. I started shaking again.

Father sighed and cradled me some more until I fell asleep. I stayed in a half-sleep, going in and out of consciousness, until almost four in the morning, when I finally fell into a REM sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Father had a glass of warm blood waiting for me the next morning. I slept better after I was coddled for a while. Father had wrapped me in nearly every spare sheet, blanket, and quilt, and I didn't want to get up, I was so warm and comfortable. Father insisted, though. He wanted to take me to a doctor, which I refused.

Grandfather checked my temperature.

"Has anyone fed the cat yet?" I asked, wanting to be left alone.

"Louis took care of Shadowfang." Curses. "Are you sure you're not ill, Reese? I think you are. I will have a doctor run some blood tests. I think he should get more sleep, Mordecai. He needs lots of rest."

"I don't need any stinking rest!"

"Don't be stubborn. Everyone needs rest."

Sarah texted me. I told her to come over right away. She said that school was about to start, but she'd text me at lunchtime. I started worrying. My mate was possibly in danger, and I couldn't do anything about it. I distracted myself by thinking about her body. Her silky light brown hair with flecks of blond, her bright, intelligent, expressive green eyes, her amazing curves. I was getting excited now just thinking about her soft breasts and perky hips.

And that ass is all mine. Well, not all mine. Most of it belonged to her. Okay, all of it was hers. Soon enough, though, it would be mine again. I started to satisfy myself. It hurt like hell, but it was so worth it. I didn't care if everyone in the house could hear me. I needed this. I missed her terribly.

My heart ached for a long time. I stayed in bed all afternoon. I tried to read books and watch movies, but I couldn't pay attention. My heart was stricken. I needed her. Then I got a horrible thought. What if Alexander got to her, or Scarlett, or Ryan Arthur, or Mike's ghost? I started flitting toward the front door.

I was suddenly grabbed around the waist.

"Reese, calm down. What is it?" Father asked.

"S-Sarah! I need to get to her!"

"Settle down. She's fine."

"NO! Alexander is still out there! He'll hurt her! If she gets hurt, it will be my fault!"

"Whoa, calm down," Grandfather said. He grasped my face and looked into my eyes. "His pupils are blown wide. He needs Sarah NOW!"

"It's not even ten in the morning! And besides, she's at school!"

"Why aren't you at school, Mordecai?"

"Because it will look suspicious otherwise, and I'm not leaving Reese alone. His own mind scared him half to death last night! Anyway, her mother will never consent, and she needs to finish her finals."

"I never thought I'd see the day where you put someone else before your own son!"

"I'd never do that!" While they argued, I blacked out briefly. I was carried back to bed. "Reese, calm yourself."

"NO! I NEED HER! SHE NEEDS ME!" Father held me tightly around the waist.

"What's going on?" Uncle Soren asked Grandfather.

"Reese is going through mate separation anxiety. He needs Sarah, but we don't know how to get her away."

"Call her mother and tell her that Reese is in jail."

"Soren, shut up," Father said. "Reese, please, calm yourself!" He sounded worried.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND! SHE'S IN DANGER! SHE NEEDS ME! HER MATE!"

Father and Uncle Soren went into the hallway and barred the door. I screamed in frustration. I tore books out of the bookshelves, posters off the walls, and I even tore the wooden bookshelves to slivers. I tore a textbook in half, tore the blinds off the window, and flipped my mattress over. I went into the closet and tore clothes off the rack. As soon as the closet was empty, I sat in the closet and rocked myself. I burst into tears.

Mate...sweet mate...I'm so sorry....

I cried softly until I felt cool arms surround me.

"Son, shhh. It's me, your father. It'll be all right, little one."

CHAPTER TWENTY - BOUND HEARTS

I smelled her. I glanced at the clock. She had five minutes left until her lunchtime. I walked over to the window and looked out. Her car was pulling in the driveway. She opened the door and stepped out.

I flitted out the door. I ran at human speed down the steps and pulled her into a hug.

"Sarah! Are you hurt? Are you all right? Are you hungry? I'll make you lunch!"

"Whoa, Reese, what's going on? Your father said that I had to get here as soon as possible. I'm going to have to make up the final exams. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, baby, but I had a breakdown. I needed you to come home as soon as possible. I love you." I buried my nose in her hair. Her scent calmed me. My heart seemed to pound as I held her close. I lifted her up. She let out a small cry of surprise. I carried her upstairs to my destroyed bedroom. Well, not destroyed anymore.

Father ordered the guards to help clean it up, and it looked somewhat decent after a few hours of cleaning. Butterflies attacked my gut as I placed her on the freshly-made bed.

"What happened in here?" she asked, looking around.

"I...went a little crazy. Nothing that some cuddling and maybe some sex won't fix." I said. Then I bowed my head, embarassed at my own callousness.

"Not tonight, Reese. I feel a little nauseous," she said. I sulked for a minute before focusing on choosing a book for us to read. "Do you still have some of that fried rice?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. Janna, heat up a bowl of rice for Sarah," I commanded.

"Who's Janna?" she asked.

"One of the guards."

"Reese...are you royalty or something?" she asked. I paused, taking in a deep breath.

"I...I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"First of all, the stupid cat keeps interrupting us, and secondly, to explain who I am completely, I have to reveal a huge secret. Bigger than my missing mother and questionable paternal parent. I've never felt so completely alone, even when Ariella and I weren't speaking."

Janna came back with a bowl of fried rice, which I set on the nightstand. Sarah picked it up and started playing with it. I closed the door, but not before Shadowfang squeezed his way in.

"Weasel," I said. He smirked at me. I sat beside Sarah. "The truth is, I...kind of had separation anxiety of a certain kind today, and it made me lose my mind."

"Did you miss me?" she asked, jutting out her lip slightly. It looked irresistable.

"Yeah," I said. "That's an understatement. The truth is, I couldn't bear to live without you. I love you more than anything, Sarah."

"Then why won't you tell me your secret?"

"It's not the right time. It's too soon. But I promise, I'll tell you soon."

"You promised you'd tell me before Hannukah started. It's going to start in a few days."

"I have to go back on that promise. I'm so sorry. I promise I'll tell you before New Year's Day. Excuse me for a moment." I went into the library and found a book on vampire diseases and disorders. I looked for mate separation anxiety.

Mate Separation Anxiety occurs when one mate feels that they have been away from each other for too long, they feel inadaquete for the other mate, or a new rival interferes.

I took the book back into my bedroom and showed Sarah. I sat in my desk chair and started fiddling around on my computer. Sarah looked in the book. When she saw the title, she looked at me with wide eyes.

"Vampire Diseases and Disorders?" she repeated. I bowed my head. "Reese, are you...oh my God." She stood up. "I-I h-have to g-go. I'll see yo-you l-later." I was suddenly standing in front of her. I kissed her on the lips.

"I love you. Please don't ever leave me."

"Goodbye, Reese." And then she grabbed her purse and practically ran out the door, nearly slipping in the slush.

I sat in the desk chair, wondering what I was thinking. I was such an idiot, and now I was going to lose her for good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was listening to Deadstar Assembly, an underrated metal and rock band, and sulking. I'd been staring out the window for almost two days now. I only ate when I was forced to. Grandfather took several samples of my blood and sent them to a lab for testing. Finally. Now we'd figure out what was wrong with me.

By now, everyone in the family and the guards who were with us knew what happened. I screwed up. I revealed our secret to a human.

Truthfully, we had no laws anymore about revealing the secret; it was abolished in the 1950s. But I am a prince. Royalty. And I potentially