Dad’s grin didn’t falter, remaining intact while I picked my jaw up off the floor. He chuckled, the sound warm and throaty, while tugging Flora over to his side.The woman with the kind eyes and soft curls smiled at me, her pink lips matching the petals on the dress she wore. She was clearly nervous, twiddling her fingers and glancing around the kitchen with interest. I felt a tad guilty considering I hadn’t really spoken more than a couple words to Flora. The last thing I wanted her to think was that I had a problem with her and my dad being mates.“That’s great, dad! You’re like a whole new person, but how did this happen?” I had to ask, glancing over at grandma when she made a noise in her throat.She said nothing, currently hunched over as she stuffed our refrigerator full of her homemade sweets. There were tupperware containers stacked on the shelves, and from a distance I could make out a couple batches of cookies and even a plate of brownies. I’d have to sneak away later on and
A few hours after the sun had set and the chill of night kicked in, the rest of our guests showed up.Tristan and Holly stepped inside toting a cooler full of blood bags, which I eagerly took to the icebox in the garage. My reserved half-sister looked elegant as ever, wearing a midnight cocktail dress that somehow seemed to blend in perfectly. Her hair was identical to my own, falling down her back in long dark waves, only it was pinned back with a single crimson bow.She smiled shyly at everyone, but was quickly swept away by Cassidy, who had no qualms striking up conversation with anyone. Kendrick followed her around like a lost puppy, but judging by the cheeky grin on his face, he was just happy to be here. Tristan remained by her side, a detail I quickly noticed, but he too could only stay quiet for so long with Cass launching question after question at him.During their stay in Asher’s family home, Dad and grandma had become good friends with his parents and wandered into the liv
For the rest of the night we laughed, ate, and talked. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun, where there wasn’t some threat looming over my shoulder. Since taking on the responsibility of Luna and Queen of the Vampires, there wasn’t much time to kick back and relax.Even Tristan and Giovanni seemed to be enjoying themselves. The latter was absorbed in a conversation with Asher and his dad. Breyona kept her distance, but every time Giovanni’s eyes lit up with interest, she’d practically squeal. Tristan was elbows deep in whatever argument Zeke had incited, but judging from the occasional smirks they gave one another, it wasn’t serious enough to intervene.Before long, a few of us began packing things up. There were enough leftovers to feed a small army of humans, which meant there was just enough for Asher and I to last the week with. Grandma’s desserts, on the other hand. Those were gone before anything else.Dad and grandma, along with Asher’s parents, were the fir
After personally apologizing and promising Kendrick a plate of grandma’s lavender cookies, we headed back into the living room and continued with the game.Whether it was the blood, wine, or scaring the shit out of Kendrick, Holly had finally loosened up and no longer fiddled with her fingers or picked at the hem of her pj’s. She chose Breyona next, who quickly picked ‘truth,’ and proceeded to ask her about her relationship with Giovanni. There was a light blush staining my half-sister’s cheeks as she asked about the ins and outs of their relationship.Breyona, who answered Holly’s question gracefully, set her sights on Clara.“Clara, truth or dare?”The curly-haired witch set her glass of wine down and quickly licked the residue off her lips before smirking.“I’ll go with truth. I know you been chomping at the bit to ask me about my thing with Mason, so I’m giving you the chance for one question.”My eager best-friend gasped, clasping her hands together while contorting her face into
When I came back inside the living room, nothing had changed. Zeke was still dancing with Breyona while Giovanni watched with a mixture of irritation and adoration on his face. Tristan continued to glance at Holly, who was curled up on the couch watching the two dance with blush-stained cheeks. Clara and Mason looked like they wanted to join in, while Cassidy laughed at Kendrick’s terrible moves.Only Asher noticed me come back in, his dark stare soft as it turned to my face. There must’ve been something—some fragment of truth in my expression because his eyebrows slid into a grimace and his jaw tightened.“What is it?” He asked, coming to my side.I held the papers in my grasp, still trying to process what the hell I’d just read. The envelope with Breyona’s name on the front sat at the very top, another hole in my heart because I knew this letter would dampen her mood. It was from her parents, a last farewell to their only daughter before they were murdered.The single envelope felt
There wasn’t much of a sleepover after that, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying.Cassidy and Clara could feel the tension in the room and knew from the looks on our faces that what we talked about hadn’t been good. Soon after wrapping up, Breyona came downstairs, her eyes raw and red with the opened envelope clutched in her hand.I knew Breyona needed space, but I also knew that leaving her alone wasn’t the right thing to do. It didn’t take much convincing to get her to say, but I think deep down she wanted someone to confide in, someone who understood.After promising Cassidy I’d show up to training tomorrow, she and Kendrick left, following Mason and Clara. The four planned on going out for drinks, and I was glad they were able to continue their night. Staying here would’ve just meant drowning in all of our foul moods.Holly decided to stay, and I found I was genuinely glad she did, even if she had to leave early the next day for a therapy appointment.Late in the night, Breyona,
“A curse. Now there’s a damn curse we have to deal with?” Zeke sputtered, his voice flooding the cars speakers.I turned the volume down a notch, wincing as I glanced over at Asher. He was chiseled from stone, his arm rigid as he held the wheel, eyes narrowed on the highway ahead.“I told you what the Shadows said. There’s no way to ‘deal’ with it. Even if there was, Cordelia and Rowena can’t sense anything on him. You’d think two powerful witches could sniff out a curse.” I grumbled, sinking deeper into the seat.My bottom was on the verge of becoming numb, but we didn’t have much longer to go before we’d hit our meet-up point. Fifty miles away, at a small gas station with one of our own wolves posted as cashier, we’d find the others. Breyona, Giovanni, Tristan, Sean, Mason, and Clara had taken a different route to avoid suspicion. Going off of Breyona’s idea when she rescued us from Ember and Tessa, we borrowed a work van from a local company in the pack for them to use.There wasn’
“Glad to see you survived.” I commented, my attention sliding to the woman that clung to his side.Bridgette met my stare, her eyes strong and slender nose upturned as she nodded respectfully. She’d once looked at me like I were the enemy, analyzing the way I stood and moved as though she were searching for weak points, but not anymore. She seemed completely at ease in this quaint little house, perched on the arm of the antique sofa with a glass of what I knew to be blood in her hand.She wasn’t the only one in the room, though. There were a few other Vampire’s, most of which had been here for a few weeks now. Two men around Asher’s age, one with hair as pale as snow and the other with curls that mirrored Giovanni’s, though they were a tad bit more unruly, were situated on a set of recliners just off to the side.“Well, when you told me this one here was alive, I had no choice but to get back to her.” Deacon grunted, his ice-cold gaze thawing when he turned it towards Bridgette.Asher