Something Familiar (The Vandran Legacy Book 2)

by Anna-Louise Dann

  Their telepathic connection had grown stronger the last few months, so she knew she wouldn’t have to wait long for the familiar buzzing.

  “Clara, can you hear me?”

  “Hey sis, is everything OK?” Clara’s voice broke through the static sound in her brain. Emmie released the breath she had been holding, feeling nervous about what she had to admit.

  “I’ve done something so stupid, Clara.”

  “What is it Emmie? What have you done?”

  ”I had sex with Dominic and now me and Hope are in danger,” Emmie rushed out before she could chicken out.

  “What? What has Dominic done? Has he hurt you?” Clara sounded pissed.

  “No, it’s not him, it’s The Domini Bellatorum, they don’t agree with Dominic’s choice of mate. He has just left to see if he can negotiate with them. What have I done, Clara? I am so stupid.” She felt deflated and annoyed with herself at the same time.

  “No, you are not stupid, not at all Emmie. You didn’t know this would happen, and besides the electricity coming off you two last night, I am not surprised you two ended up doing things… things I don’t even want to think about, gross. Do you need us to sort you a safe house?” Clara asked her. At least she was calmer now.

  “Dominic wants us to stay at his mansion until he knows it’s safe. He said he can protect us.” The connection went quiet for a few seconds, like Clara was mulling over what to suggest.

  “Stay there tonight Emmie, we will sort you something else out. I don’t like the idea of you both staying in that house for longer than you must, it’s like you’re sitting in the lion’s den. Colt will come and get you and Hope from Dominic’s first thing in the morning. But Emmie, don’t tell anyone you are leaving. It’s better no one knows where you are,” Clara stated.

  “OK, thank you. I’m so sorry, Clara, you guys have only just got married and—”

  “Don’t you dare, you’re my sister, you know I would die for you and that little princess. Just stay safe until we get there, we’ll be there around 5am. I’ll cause a distraction, so you can sneak past his men, be ready,” Clara said, interrupting her apology.

  “I will. Love you.”

  Emmie was so thankful that Clara was so supportive, she knew she would have her back.

  “Be careful,” Clara said before connection went quiet. Emmie sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand over her face. What had she gotten herself into?

  Time to face the music, she thought as she let herself out of the cabin in search of Iris. How the hell did she explain all of this to Hope?

  Dominic

  He was used to sitting at tables discussing business, it was part of running a chain of night clubs; hours of negotiating and organising the marketing and finance issues but this was different. This was personal.

  The panel of five men and five women sat around a very large boardroom table looking like they would rather be anywhere but here. All of them were old spectrals, a mix of warlock and familiar. All of them had sworn a sacred oath when they were young to uphold The Domini Bellatorum legacy.

  “You have forgotten who you are.” Fredrick, the head of the table, spoke first. The authority radiated off him, he was a powerful warlock and the oldest known descendant of the original coven. Dominic wasn’t intimidated, and he wasn’t backing down; he knew he was stronger than anyone in this room. He wasn’t their puppet, they needed to start realising what he could do if pushed.

  “I can assure you I know exactly who and what I am, and you should all know what I am capable of,” Dominic said through gritted teeth.

  “Then you should be aware that your growing interest and union with a mere familiar goes against the birth right bestowed upon you by our great Dominus,” Fredrick spat. His eyes turned red for split second. Dominic wouldn’t be bullied no matter how heated this got.

  “Ms Stewart isn’t a mere familiar, she has the blood of the great goddess Airmid flowing through her veins. Dominus had an interest in Annabelle because of the magic that she possessed. Amelia carries that same magic inside her, she is the biological daughter of Cillian Vandran. Cillian had two daughters and Ms Stewart is the older sibling.”

  Dominic was surprised by the confusion on their faces at his information. They mumbled amongst each other. Had they not known that Cillian and Heather’s union had produced another child before Clara was born? Fredrick looked thoughtful, like he was contemplating his next argument.

  “She isn’t a Cailleach… Our coven has run for centuries, awaiting the day that Dominus would return. You are the embodiment of him and yet you seek to forfeit your legacy, and the legacy of our great Master!” Fredrick shouted, standing with his palms against the table, his voice raised aggressively. Dominic felt like he was being chastised, and he had to remind himself to stay calm. Fredrick’s outburst only spurred him on with a few facts of his own.

  “Nowhere in the prophecy does it state that my significant other has to be Cailleach, only that they should carry the Vandran blood in their veins. You obviously haven’t studied it as in-depth as I have. Do you forget how regimental my father was in having me study the scripture thoroughly every day? Do not dare try to lecture me with something you obviously know nothing about,” Dominic spat. He knew his birth right, he knew what was expected of him, he had it drummed into his head enough as a child.

  He shook his head. Dominic was aware of the slight pink in the old man’s cheeks, his outburst had hit a nerve and had hopefully instilled a little respect into these old fools. They obviously weren’t expecting him to have a legitimate argument.

  The old man’s brow furrowed deep in thought and he sat back down, looking to the rest of the panel, who seemed to be hanging on to Fredrick’s every word, apart from Gretchen. Along with Fredrick she was one of the longest serving members of the coven; she was staring straight at him. He could always rely on Gretchen to fight his corner, she was one of the members who had always taken an interest in his upbringing and education.

  “Maybe we got it wrong, Fredrick, from what Mr Bellator is saying, this needs further investigation before we carry out any unnecessary punishments.”

  This little outburst from one of the higher ranking females of the coven caused some unrest amongst the group. Some of the panel began mumbling amongst themselves. It was not very often she spoke out against other members, but Dominic was grateful she had.

  Fredrick cleared his throat, looking rather rattled at this turn of events.

  “We were not made aware of Ms Stewart’s heritage, as you know we are still in the dark about a lot of things surrounding the time your sister and father were deceiving us with her hidden talents. This new information, although not ideal it could be a favourable for a union of both families. If she is in fact a descendant of Annabelle and indeed free to marry, then you will have our blessing. We have much to discuss and obviously as Gretchen has just stated, some more research to do before we make our decision.”

  The old man’s acknowledgement of their mistake surprised Dominic but he didn’t let it show on his face, he kept his expression neutral and addressed the room.

  “Your informant should be made to face this panel and face the consequences of falsifying information. They have misled you. They would have known exactly who and what Amelia is if they had done their job properly. Does this mean Ms Stewart and her daughter are both safe now? Are you calling off your threat?” Dominic asked in a commanding tone, feeling a little more hopeful.

  “We shall halt our proceedings for now to gather more information on the matter, but understand, if we cannot reach an agreement within this boardroom, your Ms Stewart will be dealt with accordingly, so will anyone who stands in our way. Your bloodline is centuries old and needs to be carried on; you are the embodiment of our great Dominus, your significant other has to be a descendant of Annabelle, it is what you were born for,” Fredrick said, the aggression back in his voice.

  “Well you should understand that if anything should happen to Ms Ste
wart or her child I will not be responsible for what I unleash upon the person or people who lay even a finger on them, no matter who they are. Please do your research properly and make the right decision. I look forward to hearing from you soon, ladies and gentlemen. And take note that in future if you are going to have someone gather information on me, make sure you hire someone who knows what they’re doing before you start putting death warrants out. Thank you for your time,” Dominic said, nodding his thanks to Gretchen as he left the room.

  He needed a strong drink after that and some time to calm down, his temper was at boiling point and no good ever came from him giving in to the anger that bubbled inside him. He instructed his driver to take him straight to Perdition, the fire building in the pit of his stomach needed taming before he saw Amelia again.

  Emmie

  Emmie sat on the edge of the big king-size bed in Dominic’s house. Hope was fast asleep and looked like a little doll hidden in the soft white duvet. She looked so peaceful. She had taken the news that they were staying here for the night surprisingly well, in fact she had never seen Hope so excited for a sleepover before. This made Emmie’s heart hurt, knowing her daughter was warming to the big bad Dominic as much as she was.

  She felt so conflicted about the thought of leaving without saying goodbye, but she knew it was for the best.

  Hope’s safety and well-being came before anything else, that little girl was her everything.

  She had decided that even if he had managed to talk the Domini Bellatorum out of hurting her, she was still leaving. She didn’t belong with Dominic. There was too much history for them to ever stand a chance at the happiness her sister had found with Colt.

  She wiped a tear away, she hadn’t even left yet but her heart felt like it was breaking in two. She had come to the realisation that she was in love with Dominic and had been since she was thrown into his life six months ago. The magnitude of admitting that to herself so soon had hit her like a freight train, but she knew that if she stayed here she would always be fearing for her life and her daughter’s safety, especially if her daughter carried the spectral gene. A union with him would cause too much chaos in their lives and God knows they had enough to worry about without Dominic’s mentally challenged followers trying to kill them. Tomorrow she would walk out of Dominic’s life for good and make a life somewhere else for her and Hope, take them both far away from the madness that surrounded their lives here. She would do this knowing she was leaving a piece of her heart behind.

  Chapter Seven

  Dominic

  It was after ten in the evening when Dominic’s driver pulled them through the gated mansion.

  The big house had been in his family for centuries and he despised it and all the horrible things these walls had witnessed.

  It was a magnificent building, built by his ancestors in the 17th century for the great Dominus to reside in with some of his followers and the occasional whores he took in to satisfy his needs. It was his once his father had passed, and although there were many perks of living in such wealth he would trade it all in tomorrow if it meant he could have a normal existence without having to watch over his shoulder every day of his life.

  This life and all its riches had never satisfied him. He had grown up with the ideology that anything could be owned with enough money thrown at it. His father had been driven by money, greed, and power, just like his father before him. He remembered as a child having it drummed into him, the importance of making men fear you. He had learnt all the old ways of magic before he could walk and once he was old enough he was trained to fight. All the constant training and spell practice was his father hoping that he would one day embrace his birth right and become the warlock he resembled so much, but he had hated that life and the despicable way his ancestor had used the power he possessed. Dominus had been a monster, and an abuser of women. Dominic refused to darken his soul and allow the hatred to take over him, no matter how much it clawed at his insides to be released.

  The suffering he saw his mother endure at the hands of his father cemented his path in life, he had sworn he would never be anything like that sadistic bastard again whatever it cost him.

  He would be his own man and shape out his own path. He would be the first to admit that he could be a mean son of a bitch if he needed to and he ran his business with an iron fist. He expected loyalty and respect from his employees and they would have his in return, that was one of the main reasons his club business had thrived. His ability to appreciate diversity in his life and look at his fellow man as equals, rather than below him as his father had done, had served his livelihood well and gained him many true and trustworthy friends and employees.

  He wasn’t always so open minded, there was a time when he was his father’s son and lavished in watching others suffer. He was a selfish bastard who only cared about bedding different women and destroying people’s lives. He still had nightmares about the things his father had forced him to do when he turned eighteen, learning the darker sides of their family’s magic; he could still hear the screams of his victims and see the blood on his hands whenever he closed his eyes, they were dark, self-destructive days that he never wished to repeat again ever, unless it was against someone threatening those he cared for. His mind wandered back to his very first kill in the dark basement his father kept for practicing his magic underneath the house.

  A bloodied body lay metres away slumped in the corner of the room, shallow breaths rattled around in the poor bastard’s chest. One more conjuring and his life would be ripped away from him. The smell of urine coated the air, his father was glaring at him, his eyes demanding he finished what they had begun. It was too much, he couldn’t do this, he thought doing his father’s bidding would fill the hole he’d had inside him his whole life, if he just followed his calling and became what everyone expected, but hurting innocent people…

  “What are you waiting for, boy? Finish your training,” his father spat.

  He raised his arms, scared to fulfil his father’s demand but terrified of what Marcus Bellator would do to his mother if he refused. She was always the one who took the beatings whenever he disobeyed his father’s wishes.

  “Adducere eum morte!” he cried, knowing what was to come next.

  Blood poured from every orifice of his victim creating a crimson pool around them, gurgled screams of pain left him as his skin began burning. The man took his last pained breath. He dropped his arms as the reality of what he had just done to this innocent imbedded into his soul; this was just the beginning of what would become his life for the next two years.

  The delighted cackle coming from behind him told him his father was enjoying every second of this horror show.

  “See my boy, you truly are the embodiment of our great Dominus, be ready for more training tomorrow… And Dominic? Next time don’t stall.”

  He shuddered and shook himself out of his horrible daydream, glad those days were over. His driver opened the door for him.

  The mansion was quiet, the only people around were his security but they knew better than to interrupt him unless he called for them; they were well hidden out of sight. The eerie silence reminded him of how lonely this place was, that was one of the reasons he hardly spent any time here, choosing to travel, looking for new and exciting destinations for expanding his club franchise. He had new clubs opening all over the world.

  The good thing about being away so much was having people who didn’t know him to talk to in the evenings, even if it was strangers at a hotel bar, that held more appeal than sitting in a lounge sipping whisky on his own. He enjoyed socialising; he had always hated his own company. He often had the company of different women while he was away but they never lasted longer than a night. He was still male and had needs, as long as he didn’t get attached The Domini Bellatorum couldn’t interfere in his personal life while he was out of town, and besides, he hadn’t found anyone he’d felt a connection with until he laid eyes on Amelia, all his other conquests h
ad faded into obscurity as soon as she batted her beautiful aqua eyes at him. None of those women even compared to the beauty who had worked her way under his skin and into his soul.

  He pulled off his suit jacket, took off his tie and headed up the stairs; he needed to see Amelia, her beautiful face had been in the forefront of his mind all day and he couldn’t wait a minute more to see her. He would invite her to have a night cap with him, so they could discuss what was said at the meeting. She was probably still annoyed with him and would give him what for, but that, he could handle, in fact he enjoyed the feistiness in her when she was mad. The way her pale cheeks reddened slightly the more frustrated she got. It was the same blush that appeared when she was turned on. His already painfully hard cock twitched against the material of his boxer shorts at the thought of Amelia laying naked before him with her cheeks all flushed, begging for him to take her. He groaned. He needed to snap out of this. If she was still pissed she wouldn’t appreciate him ogling her like some filthy sex pest.

  He got to her door and tapped lightly… there was no answer. He pushed the door open and crept in expecting to see her snuggled next to Hope, asleep. Hope was there, her little snores filled the room. His heart melted at the sight of her spread out in the big bed with her dark hair covering her pretty little face. That little girl was his Achilles heel; she had him wrapped around her little finger with just a bat of her big green eyes. He wondered if Amelia was using the washroom, but he couldn’t hear anyone in there.

  Where was she?

  He decided to get into more comfortable clothes and freshen up before he looked for her properly. He hated wearing suits, they were a necessary part of his business image and made him look every bit the arrogant bastard he was. He opened the door to his walk-in wardrobe and headed straight for the shower room where he stripped and welcomed the warm spray of water as he washed the day’s grime off.