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

I was still revved by the experience when I thought about it. But Sarah no longer revved me up the way she used to. I knew everything about her at this point. There was very little spark. Plus, she’d gained some weight. I know that’s extremely shallow and self-centered, and I know that pregnant women are supposed to gain weight, but she just had so many stretch marks now that I found it ridiculous.
Sarah glared at me for my brief fit, and then she went to her closet.
“Damn, I cut the tags off those shirts,” she said. “I was going to return them.”
Oops.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We picked the dogs up on Saturday. First, we got the husky, Koda. He was a pretty blue-eyed and black-and-white-furred yearling stud, and he jumped around us and licked our hands as I handed over the cash to his previous owner, a woman named Judy.
Then we got the Boston terrier pup named Scooter, and he came from a puppy mill owner. She explained that he’d just gotten over kennel cough, and was still weak. He was beautiful, with black and white spots all over him. He and Koda growled at each other at first, then started to play in the backseat of Sarah’s gold Honda.
They also jumped all over me. Koda kissed me multiple times, and tried to lick Sarah, but I kept him back so she could drive safely.
We went to the shelter where Jasmine was being kept, and we found a lovely tanned-brown happy-go-lucky pitbull with one brown eye and one blue eye playing with her sister. We were less happy when we found out that the owner went back on his word and promised Lola to another family. Sarah got upset, and I yelled at the owner for lying to us. And then we were even less happy when Scarlett came to pick up the dog.
“Hello, Reese, Sarah. Abe,” she said, walking toward us.
“You’re the buyer?” I asked in disbelief. Scarlett shrugged.
“Hey, she was promised to me.”
“She was also promised to us.”
She shrugged again. “Too bad. I need the protection more.”
“You bought a dog for protection?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, my parents threw me out of the house, and now I’m forced to work as both a dancer and a barista while I scrounge up metal to sell. They won’t even pay for college anymore!”
“And you blame us?”
“Well, it is your fault. You had to let everyone know what we were doing, Reese. And so did you, Sarah. You know what, I don’t even want the dog anymore. Go ahead and take her.”
She stalked away, and that’s how we wound up with Lola.

It was cramped in the car with four dogs. I had the Boston terrier pup in my lap, and the two pitbulls and the husky in the back. Lola and Jasmine were sniffing Koda, while he was sniffing Jasmine.
When we got home, all the dogs burst out of the car when we opened the doors. Koda spotted a rabbit and started chasing her, while Jasmine and Lola started smelling the lilac bushes. Scooter jumped out of my arms and immediately ran over to an ornamental cherry tree.
I opened the door, and was greeted by Shadowfang in his cat form. He twisted around my legs.
“You smell like dog,” he complained. Then his fur stood up on end and he arched his back. Lola had come inside, and was now staring at him curiously.
“You did bring a dog over,” he said.
“Actually-“
“Oh my god, I see more than one! How could you do this to me, Reese Emerson?!”
“Hey, they aren’t mine, at least, not fully. They belong to the girls.”
“Why so many?”
“Two of them belong to Sabine, the other two are Sarah’s.”
Just then, Spunk and Coffee appeared, and Coffee growled from a distance while Spunk sniffed Lola and she sniffed him back. Sarah let the other three dogs in, and it was pure chaos for about an hour while the dogs introduced themselves to each other and Jasmine chased Shadowfang around the living room. He finally jumped to the top of the refrigerator and refused to come down.
“Are you ever going to forgive me, Shadow?” Sarah asked.
“That depends. Are you keeping the mongrels?”
She shrugged. “Sorry. But yeah, they’re permanent.”
“Then no.”
She turned to me with a hurt look.
“He’ll forgive you,” I assured her, chuckling. “Eventually.”
Mom walked downstairs then with Selena and the chaos started up again. Zie appeared with Cirino a few minutes after that and they all wanted to meet the baby. He wasn’t sure if he liked all the dogs. He’d smile, then it would disappear and he’d hide his face in Zie’s chest.
“Why’d you get the mutts, anyway?” Shadow asked.
“Sarah needed an emotional support animal,” Mother replied. “Spunk could be it, but he’s stupid, and Coffee is a bitch. We are going to train these dogs to be good dogs. Besides, we need protection. We are going to train Koda and Lola and Jasmine to be protectors of the girls. We need them when we cannot be around. And we cannot trust the guards anymore. Chirag was only the latest to betray us, and before we know it, even Toby may turn his back on us!”
“Toby wouldn’t,” I assured her. “He’s too loyal to my uncle, and I consider him a friend.”
“More guards are coming tonight,” Alexander said, moving the baby gate as he walked downstairs. “I believe their names are Marcus and Renata. They are mates, as I’ve been told. They take their jobs seriously and came highly recommended from the vampire governor of Minnesota.”
“There are vampire governors?” Sarah asked.
“Well, sure,” I said. “There are also vampire mayors, vampire presidents, and so on. But we’re at the top. The vampire presidential position for the USA has been vacant for years, which is one reason why my father chose to come here. The old president hated his guts.”
She looked confused, so I dropped the subject.
“Well, the king and the princes and the Council can’t keep track of everything and enforce laws in every country by themselves, can they?” Alexander said sarcastically.
Sarah ignored him and bent down to pet Jasmine, who was eagerly sniffing Coffee now. The little tyrant was starting to growl in warning, so Sarah picked her up and petted her. Selena and I put out bowls of food and water for the dogs, then I went to coax Shadowfang down.
“It’s perfectly safe,” I encouraged.
“I’m perfectly safe up here, they can’t get to me,” he replied. “I swear, I will never forgive your girlfriend for this, Reese Emerson.”
“It’s not her fault,” I argued. “She needs an emotional support animal, and so does Sabine. Besides, you didn’t meet the owners We did. One of them was a puppy mill owner. Almost all the dogs had kennel cough, and a few had heartworms. They were in cramped cages with barely any water and rotten food. One of them was so underfed you could see her bones poking through the skin.”
“All dogs are a menace,” he talked back. “I hate dogs, and I especially hate females. They always want to cuddle with you and kiss you and make sure you have food.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Of course it is! It’s a trick just so they can get you later. After a few days they’re feasting on what’s left of your flesh, and your bones are being chewed on by ants and worms.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, I may have had a mate who at one point was eaten by a stray dog. It broke my heart. And all our kittens died because I couldn’t feed them and they were still drinking milk.”
“Oh, I…I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t know. I didn’t tell you. Of course, afterwards I found Mishka and we had kittens, one of whom you ran over. Thanks for that.”
“I know, and I still hate myself for it. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Shadow.”
My heart broke all over again when I thought of Remy.
Trying to control my tears, I went to find Sarah on her bed, brushing Koda.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” she asked, noticing my eyes. Her brow furrowed with worry lines. I told her about my conversation with Shadowfang, and she got up and embraced me. “Oh, babe, I’m so sorry.”
This was why I loved her, I reminded myself. She was so kind and selfless. I was not worthy to lick her boots. After a few minutes, though, I pushed her away gently, and we sat on her bed again.
“Question: will I still have hairy legs when I’m a vampire?” she asked.
I grimaced at the bad timing. “Sorry, babe.”
She groaned. Huh. That was odd. Normally she wouldn’t be that heartless so quickly. It irked me, and once again, I thought of Scarlett. Scarlett had nice legs. Creamy and slim. I’d now encountered her twice this month, and I wondered if I’d see her again.
My heart broke even more when I thought of me and Scarlett together. It would tear Sarah apart if I voiced these thoughts. Scarlett was the girl who’d turned all my beloved’s friends against her. She started a thieving ring and blamed Sarah when they were caught, even though it was Jordan who told all the parents, not Sarah.
Stomach sinking, I bit my lip and tried not to cry.
Be a man, I chastised myself. I went to the window and looked outside. Sabine was back from her walk, and she was dancing along to music blaring from her phone. She looked up and saw me, then glared at me. She still blamed me for James’ death. Then I saw something else.
No, it can’t be…
I thought I saw a cat with dark grey fur run by. It looked like…like Remy. But that was impossible.
Resurrection is entirely possible, but only with a god or goddess’ aid.
But it was. I heard sobbing a few minutes later, a scream, and more crying.
I ran downstairs, afraid that Mother or Selena was hurt, but it wasn’t them. It was Remy. He was alive!
“How…What…?
“Hi, Reese,” he said, cheerfully. “I know this is a shock, but I can explain.”
“Please do.”
“I faked my death to get away from Samuel.”
I started banging my head against the nearest wall.
Remy and Shadowfang circled around each other, meowing, purring. My heart leaped into my throat, and Sarah followed me into the room.
Shadowfang looked up at her. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know for sure,” she admitted. “But I’d seen him once or twice. I thought it was his ghost, the way Daddy tried to haunt Reese.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded. “We were supposed to be honest with each other.”
“Like I said, I didn’t know for sure,” she said.
“I’ve been blaming myself,” I said, irritated. “Damn it, Sarah.”
She flinched at my sudden anger. I winced. “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to snap at you. But please, tell me next time.”
“I will,” she said. But she avoided me while we cuddled with Remy, with my nose inhaling the scent of his soft fur and white dandruff. (He had a major dandruff problem.)
Father came over with the rest of the cats as soon as he got the call. For an hour, it was pure chaos. Everyone wanted to sniff and lick Remy, a few tears were shed from both me and Sarah (actually, a lot of tears were shed), and I slowly began to forgive myself. It wasn’t wholly my fault, anyway. Samuel had forced the cat under my car wheels.
Then, for some reason, he’d revived the young feline, and Remy was here now. He was safe. I was not dreaming. And yet,