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

Nicolai was definitely the progenitor of vampires, but he's never told anyone how vampires came to be. Eventually, he fell in love with a human woman named Sonia. According to the book, he impregnated her, and she died in childbirth. He raised the son alone. That son was born a half-vampire. He was apparently still alive.

Many, many, many years later, he met Marina Santorino. My mother. She had been turned into a vampire by him. I immediately knew my mission. Find Alexander. I quickly showered and dressed. I took my time combing my long hair and brushing my teeth. I even cleaned my incisors.

I grabbed my wallet, attaching the chain to my jeans, grabbed my keys, and headed to the front door.

"Father, I'm leaving," I said, pausing by the dining room.

"Have fun, son." I rolled my eyes. I was suddenly angry with him, and I probably would be for a while.

I drove blindly, unsure of what I was doing. I silently prayed to God and Despoina, the goddess of mystery. I asked for wisdom, strength, and courage. First, I went to the Cold County library. I sifted through the stock, picked a few books (mostly by Steven King), checked out and left. I headed to convenience store next. I've always wanted to try coffee. I enjoy the smell, and I've never tasted it. I chose a vanilla cappuccino, paid, and left.

I took a sip, nearly burning my tongue in the process. I enjoyed the taste surprisingly; it was rather sweet. I downed the rest of it in one swallow. I topped off my Astro while I was there. I thought I saw Evan's car, and shook my head. I'm seeing things.

If I'm forced to stay on my toes, my mind needed to be clear and clean. Especially where it concerned Sarah and Alexander. I drove around for a while, thinking, listening to Halestorm and Creed. I eventually noticed a car following me. My heart became cold. I kept driving, looking for a way to elude him. Freaking psycho.

I eventually went home. Evan parked his car behind mine. I got out, and so did he.

"Why are you following me?" I demanded.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Look," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, "I'm under a lot of stress, so make it quick."

"I love you, Reese," he said. "I've been obsessed with you since forever."

"I'm only going to tell you this once, Evan. Leave. Me. Alone!" I snapped, punctuating the last three words. He looked like he was going to start crying any second.

"Sorry," he said weakly. "I don't know what's come over me. I can't stop thinking about you. I feel like I might die if I can't have you." Huh. That's kind of how I felt about Sarah. Whoa! Slow down there, boy! "I think we're meant for each other, Reese."

I turned around and walked into the house, leaving Evan there.

"What happened?" Father asked.

"Nothing," I retailated.

"Reese, be honest with me-"

"Like you were honest with me?" I interrupted. He didn't say anything to that, and I knew I'd hit the mark.

Uncle Soren was looking outside. "Who is that young man?" he asked.

"Evan," I sighed. "My ex." Whoops. I hadn't meant to reveal that tidbit of information. I bit my bottom lip as Uncle Soren's head snapped toward me.

"Your what?" Shoot fire. I was dead now.

"Reese is bisexual," Father explained. I shot him a dirty look. He responded with a confused one. Grandfather decided to enter the room then.

"Mordecai, a word." Crap. My uncle and grandfather are a bit old-fashioned. He was the last person I wanted to know. I mentally cursed as my father and grandfather met in the library. As I grabbed a snack, I fine-tuned my sensitive hearing.

"I love him no matter what," Father said.

"As do I. But he's starting to rebel. I should have gotten full custody of him all those years ago."

"Father, you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do," Grandfather said.

"Why don't you bury me in the process? He's all I've got."

"Watch your tone to your father and king. You risked him leaving you when you lied to him."

"Will you ever let that go?"

"No, I cannot. It's one thing to keep things from me, another to keep things from my grandson and your child. Alexander Nicolai has been searching for Marina Santorino for many years."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you! It is because of you that Reese's life is in jeopardy. It is because of you that Marina Santorino does not know who her true mate is. Reese himself is a blessing, but he was supposed to be Alexander's son." I stopped listening at that point. I finished drinking the blood and sat in my father's favorite recliner. My uncle sat on the couch. I was about to send a text to my best friend when I heard a knock on the door.

"I was literally about to text you," I told Ariella as I opened the front door.

"Well, then, I came at the right time," she said, stepping into the house. "Oh, hello." She and my uncle had seen each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Uncle Soren said, almost purring and kissing her knuckles.

"It's nice to meet you too. You're Reese's uncle, right?"

"Soren. Call me Soren." Was it me, or did he seem lighter?

"Well, I'll get my notebook," I said. I took the stairs two at a time. When I came back with my songbook, Ariella was sitting on the couch talking to my uncle, who was seated uncomfortably close to her. (Uncomfortable for me, I wasn't sure what was going through my human friend's mind.) I handed the notebook to Ariella. Sometimes I write songs for her band. She flipped through it while I told my uncle about the band.

"You're in a band?" he asked her.

"Yeah. We're called Everlasting Strife."

"That's an interesting name."

"Yeah, it's actually the name of our first song, which Reese actually wrote."

"Reese, you write music?" Uncle Soren said, sounding impressed.

"I do," I said. "Mostly for fun."

"And what is it that you do in the band, Ariella?" Uncle Soren asked.

"I sing, play guitar. I'm a vocalist and the lead guitarist. I also play keyboard sometimes."

"Fascinating. I would be interested in hearing Everlasting Strife play." I frowned. My uncle, a thousands-of-years-old vampire prince interested in hearing a rock band made up of high schoolers? Odd.

"Cool. Our next gig is at-" Ariella rattled off an address.

"I will be there, then." I gave him a confused look. I heard my father and grandfather coming down the stairs.

"Hello, Ariella," Father said.

"Hello," she replied.

"Hello," Grandfather said. "I am Reese's grandfather. You are Ariella?"

"That would be me." My grandfather also kissed her knuckles.

"It is nice to meet you at last. Reese has told me all about you." I actually hadn't, and I wondered if he had been listening in. He sat in my father's chair, while my father sat beside me.

"It's nice to meet you too," Ariella said.

"I hear that you are in a band?"

"Yeah...Everlasting Strife."

"Intriguing. I may be at your 'gig' as well."

"The more the merrier. I'll text Reese the address. My grandfather and friend seemed to like each other. My uncle also really liked Ariella. He liked her a little too much for my liking. Uncle Soren always treats women with respect, but he also seemed to be subtly flirting with her. I knew my uncle, and I knew Ariella. She couldn't see what was really happening, mostly because she was too into Damon Sage.

"Oh, my boyfriend is calling me. 'Scuse me." She took it into the foyer. Uncle Soren looked surprised, then hurt, then angry.

"She has a boyfriend?" he said so quietly, that if I was human, I would have have heard him at all.

"Get over it," Father snapped.

"Soren, Mordecai," Grandfather said. "This is serious."

"Because my son is bisexual? Because I'm a horrible father?"

"I'm not talking about that, you insolent boy. And that is not what I said. But yes, you are a horrible father for lying." My father took his father in a sudden chokehold, which scared me half to death. I stared, shocked and unsure. Uncle Soren looked surprised, and my grandfather looked the most startled. Father was baring his teeth.

"Do not bring that up again," he said in a dangerously soft voice.

"You're right," Grandfather said. "My apologies." Father's look softened, and he slowly released him. I heard Ariella coming back.

"Sorry about that," she said. Her eyes were brimming with tears. I could smell the salt.

"Ari, what happened?" I asked.

"Damon broke up with me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Father said.

"We were about to hit that point anyway," she said.

"He does not realize what he has," Uncle Soren said.

"That's sweet of you," Ariella said. "But it's been a long time coming." Huh. She didn't tell me she was having problems with Damon. Odd. Uncle Soren, however, seemed almost pleased.

I knew my uncle. I knew that he was attracted to her. How far his attraction went remained to be seen. He had a history of messy breakups, most of them were because of something he said or did.

"So, Ariella," Grandfather said. "Tell us more about yourself." Uncle Soren gave him a dirty look.

"Well...." She was stumped. "I like to sing, but you already knew that. Um...my favorite color is dark blue. I have a fish named Chips, a cat named Xena, and a cat named Leia." She blushed at the admittance of her cats' names. "Um, my mother's calling me. It was nice meeting you." And then she rushed out the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? I thought you wanted Reese to have friends," Father said.

"Sorry," Uncle Soren said, not sounding sorry at all. "I don't know what came over me."

"You are such a liar," Father continued. "And you!" At this he turned toward his father. "You scared her off!"

"She will make an excellent addition to the vampire community," Grandfather said. "She is quite beautiful. Reese, if this were Europe, you would already know your betrothed."

"It's not like that," I said. "I think of her as a sister."

"The boy denies it," Uncle Soren said. "Not only does he deny it, but what if his friend is meant for another?" I wanted to vomit.

"Soren, you are sick," Father said. "You are at least five thousand years older than me, and I am two thousand years older than her."

"You are two thousand years older than Marina," Uncle Soren said. My father grabbed his throat and pushed him against the wall.

"Boys," Grandfather said. "Control your tempers. Mordecai, relinquish your brother." Then he turned to me. "Reese, I have not met Sarah. I have met Ariella."

"Ariella is MINE!" Uncle Soren roared.

"Ignore him, Reese. I am asking for forgiveness." That caught me off-guard.

"You are forgiven," I told my grandfather.

"Thank you, my beloved grandson. Mordecai," he turned to my father, "you two will find Marina Santorino. Find her, and bring her to Denmark. We must discuss Alexander Nicolai." Denmark is where the vampire headquarters are. It's also where most vampire leaders live, including my grandfather.

I sent Sarah a text, asking how she was. She responded by saying that she was fine, she was on a break. I told her to enjoy her break, and she said she would text me later. I wanted to believe her, but part of me wondered if I was being a fool. I wondered if I was truly in love, or if I was fooling myself. No, I loved Sarah. She was mine. Who cared if I was destined for somebody else? I certainly didn't.

According to my uncle, my mother lived in Athens, Greece, where she was born and raised. I knew that I was half-Greek, although I had no idea where my mother currently lived.

CHAPTER THREE - NICOTINE

I read all I could about Greece. Of course, I already knew quite a bit, and of course I believed in the Olympic gods and goddesses, and there was still so much I didn't know. Still, I researched Greece until my