Jealous Albert is intense. And now he's "marked" her in a manner of speaking. She wants the truth, but how much can he tell her about the Order?
I wanted tonight to go differently than this. Since leaving the Order Tuesday, we’ve all felt it. Someone was watching us whenever we leave our house. It’s like our house is the only safe place. It was driving us all crazy. We needed to figure out how to ditch whoever was spying on us. Until we did, being around Hana was a no-go. We didn’t want Hana on the Order’s radar more than she already was. Sure, we could bank on her family connection to deter some, but that’s if they were smart enough to realize the connection. She goes by Yashida in school, and that surname doesn’t mean shit to anyone who can’t look it up in the guild to know her mother. Even if they did figure out who she’s connected to, it might not be enough. Lower-level members in the Order would, of course, stay clear, not wanting to piss off the Bloodmoon Alpha. But people like Azer, Eliezer, and worse, Scorcha, it’s a gamble I couldn’t take. Why did I show up for the date if it’s such a gamble? Because I’m a dumbas
“You are, but maybe stick to one subject at a time.” I smiled. “For now, we’re talking about Auðr.” “Fine, but I will learn more about you, Albert,” Hana warned as she poked my chest. “Sure,” I smiled. “Now then. Auðr was a couple of years out from being turned when we met. He’d come north, wanting to put distance between him and his surviving family so they could move on and mourn the death of who he was.” I began. “Okay, before you go further. You said Auðr’s living descendents are the Darby members of Ombres Sanctifiées. I know that pack and the Darby family. I did a bit of digging since Tuesday. Shikoba is Léonel’s cousin. She’s a human that’s mated to Persephone’s guard. It was a bit crazy when she and Shannon learned their dad is the illegitimate son of François Darby.” Hana interjected. “Yep. I knew that. Mostly because Shannon’s with Byron.” I nodded. “Well, thanks for telling me. But my question is, why is his name Auðr? That’s not exactly the kind of name I’d expect
I’m not proud of what happened on the train with Albert. That’s not the kind of behavior I would typically take part in. I chalked it up to this unexplained way these males short-circuit my brain without a mate bond or their powers at play. I at least managed to shut that down before it went too far, much to the ire of my vagina. She’ll survive. If Pam stays overnight with Malcolm, I can handle things myself when I get home. No man necessary. The heavy petting and hickey aside, the train ride gave me a meaningful insight into who Albert is. His connection to Auðr was cool. Albert has a passion for music, even if he never pursued it as a career because his grandmother didn’t consider music a career. My heart broke for him when he told me he never knew his mother and his father was an absentee drunk. That explained what he meant when he said he lacked faith in humanity. I still think it was his father, Gustav, who turned Albert. He can live his immortal life in denial if he likes. I,
As the final song ended, Albert tightened his arm around me, pressing me against his chest. I sighed, leaning into him as he kissed my neck below my ear. His lips were cool and felt nice enough, though I worried being sweaty was a turnoff for him. For me, his cool touch was refreshing. “Ready to meet the band, Liebling?” Albert asked. “Um. Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, with Agustín already having a ton of questions?” I asked. “It’ll be fine. Come on.” Albert assured me as he slipped his hand into mine. Albert led me away from the crowd and through a door marked for staff only. When Albert showed the passes, the bouncer nodded to us. We made our way down the hall and into a room in the back filled with chatter and laughter. When we walked in, the room went silent, and everyone turned in our direction. I’ve never felt so out of place in my years of attending important functions as the Bloodmoon Princess. It was surreal to be in the same room with all of them. Part of
I won’t commit matricide. I won’t commit matricide. This has become my mantra since Scorcha showed her whore-self at the Order weeks ago. I know it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black. I’ve fucked my way around the world for centuries. The difference is I have standards. Scorcha doesn’t. Example A: she slept with my father. It takes a special kind of stupid and horny for that shit. And now, she openly flaunts that she’s fucking Eliezer at the least and has some freaky mommy kink shit going on with Azer around the Order. Why do I know this when I avoid being at the Order’s headquarters? Because the fuckers have been having a MANDATORY WEEKLY roll call. All members within North America, for species able to teleport or within an 8-hour drive for those who can’t, are required to show up once a week and report to their faction leader to be marked as present—failure to report results in being fetched and locked up for a month. Paxton is serving week three for missing one of Scor
I hadn’t accomplished what I wanted before the semester ended. Sure, I passed all my classes, but that’s not what I meant. I haven’t found anything regarding Gustav Weeber, which makes me think that, like Auðr, he changed his name after his ‘death.’ I’m still digging. The other thing I haven’t worked out is who summoned Albert, Isak, and Aidan. I only know whoever it is has placed a curse or something like an alpha command forbidding them from speaking of it. They are incredibly dangerous since they have avoided interacting with me in person, and people are following them to ensure they stay away from me. As weird as it may sound, I missed them. I missed seeing them around campus and especially spending time with them. It has been strange and fun passing secret letters to them. Albert was the easiest. I would turn in an assignment and include a letter, and he’d include his letter when he returned my graded paper. Isak and Aidan were trickier, as we had Harris, Pam, and Malcolm as m
Something wasn’t right. No, I don’t mean the overall hole in my heart knowing Hana was on the other side of the country where we couldn’t even write to her. I can worry about that later. Hana and the mixed feelings we likely all have about her aren’t a priority right now. Aidan is. He went to the Order this morning to report to one of Scorcha’s roll calls and hasn’t returned. While each leader’s meetings vary in length, this was getting ridiculous. He’s been gone for seven hours and twenty-six minutes. Something bad has happened. I can feel it. I’m not the only one either. Albert has been pacing for the last five hours with worry. Our eyes connected as he paced toward my side of the den. At that moment, we both silently agreed: Time was up. We would fetch our friend, and someone would pay if he were hurt. “All right. We’re going.” I nodded, standing. “About fucking time. I swear to Cain, Lilith, the Creator, Moon Goddess, God, or whatever fucking being is listening if anyone ha
Thankfully, Daisuke wasn’t at dinner last night. Aurelia told him it was a family dinner, so he wasn’t included, and we went to Uncle John’s to have dinner with his family. I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful to Aurelia for saving my neck. Yes, I know she literally saved me from being killed by Siegfried as a child and nearly died as a result. I’m eternally grateful for that, but ensuring my first night home wasn’t spent awkwardly eating dinner with a lackluster fling is up there. It was great to see Uncle John and his family. I adore my little cousins. They helped keep Dad and Uncle John from putting me through an inquisition regarding my love life at college and who took me to Barcelona. Whenever they started to take the conversation that way, I asked one of the kids a question. Which turned into thirty-minute ramblings about what new thing they did, learned, or saw. CJ and AJ caught me up on ALL the Bluey episodes I missed. It was super informative. I had fallen asleep