Ungifted

by Kelly Oram

  I looked pointedly at the crowd of people that were trying to be subtle with their prying. “It’s pretty obvious that my dad’s going to win tonight,” I said. “Which means I’m going to be in the media a lot now, and you’re giving people the wrong impression about us.”

  Andrew pulled my hand to his lips and teasingly asked, “What impression is that, exactly?”

  I sighed and pulled my hand out of his. “We’re not together, Andrew.”

  “But I intend to change that. Right now, in fact, so this—” he took my hand again “—wouldn’t be giving the wrong impression. It would be giving the right one.”

  “No.”

  “You didn’t change, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together. We’ll just have to do things your way—the human way.”

  “But—”

  “Grace, love, I must have you. One way or another.”

  My adrenaline spiked, and not in a good way. I tried not to let any of my feelings show, but I was beginning to see what Ethan meant by obsessed. Andrew spoke as though he’d already won, as if there were no way he’d leave the party tonight still single.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be with you.”

  “That will change.”

  I took a deep breath. I hadn’t expected to see Andrew tonight, but it gave me the chance to talk to him, and there was something I needed to say.

  “I’m glad you’re here, actually.” I cringed when his face lit up at my words. “We need to talk. Andrew, you can’t see me anymore.”

  Andrew smiled as if he found me to be an amusing little child. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “My friends weren’t exactly happy after they saw what you did to me.” Andrew grimaced at the reminder of how he’d hurt me. “They want to kill you. You said you realize what Ethan is to me. You must know that he’s capable of doing it. I told him to give you one more chance to leave me alone, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stop him again. Andrew, you have to stop talking to me. You have to leave me alone. I don’t like you that way. I’m not going to be your girlfriend. My answer is no.”

  I tried to be firm, but it made no difference. Andrew set my foot back on the ground and slid right up next to me. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me so close to him that his lips brushed my ear. “Grace, love.” He whispered so softly it sent a chill down my spine. “You do not want to tell me no.”

  My blood froze in my veins. I couldn’t breathe. The threat in his tone was unmistakable. When I started to shake, his arm tightened around me in a loving embrace. He pulled a camera from his pocket, held it up to take a picture of the two of us, and then turned it around to show me the display. I may as well have been a statue. He began to flip back through the photos in the camera’s memory. When I realized what I was looking at, I nearly screamed.

  Andrew felt me suck in a breath and his grip quickly became a restraint. He whispered against my ear again, even lower than he had before. “Careful, love. You don’t want to call attention to yourself and make people curious just now.”

  He was right, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t keep my eyes from filling with tears as he flipped through photo after photo of my dad with his mom. Mrs. De La Cote was a married woman—affiliated with an organization that had not only given my dad their endorsement, but had also donated generously to his campaign.

  These pictures would destroy my father. He would never work in politics again. He could even land in prison. Everything he’d spent his entire life working for would be taken from him in a matter of seconds if anyone ever saw these pictures. It wouldn’t matter that he hadn’t known what he was doing—not that anyone would ever know that besides me.

  “Turn it off!” I demanded.

  Andrew slipped his camera back into his pocket and then wiped my eyes. “Relax, Grace. No one needs to ever know these photos exist. You father doesn’t even remember what happened. It can stay our little secret.”

  In that moment I felt my entire world crumble down around me. I didn’t have a choice. Okay, technically, I did. I could still say no…and be the ruin of the next President of the United States, who, though he wasn’t always the most attentive father, was a good man and would be a great leader, and was, in a way, innocent of the crime he’d committed. I couldn’t do it. He was my father. Sometimes I hated him, but I still loved him.

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “I’m not doing this to you, love, I’m doing it for you.” More tears spilled down my cheeks and Andrew turned my face up to his. “Your life is empty. You don’t see it now, but you will once you have someone that truly cares about you. Your father thinks only of his career, your nephilim resents the gift he’s been given to be your protector, and your wolves are merely acting on orders.”

  I opened my mouth to refute that last accusation, but Andrew stopped me before I could.

  “Remember, I have spies in the resistance, love. You don’t believe it’s a coincidence that the children of one of the highest resistance leaders are your friends, do you? Trust me—your wolves are under orders to get close to you. It is the reason they transferred to your school after your father announced his candidacy last year. If you don’t believe me, just ask. The males couldn’t care less about you, and the guilt eats away at your female friend.”

  He was right about the timing of the Laytons’ transfer to Atherton; Cynthia had singled me out almost immediately.

  I didn’t believe it. I wouldn’t. But it still stung.

  “You deserve so much better, love, and I’m going to give it to you.”

  I didn’t understand how Andrew could look at me the way he was, when he was so viciously blackmailing me like this. Did vampires come without a conscience, or was he really so crazy-obsessed that he actually believed he was helping me? I finally understood the fixation thing. I wished I hadn’t brushed it off so easily before.

  “You are mine now, Grace,” Andrew said as he ran his thumb beneath my wet eyes again.

  I tried to turn away from him, but he tilted my chin back up and brought his lips down on mine. As he kissed me, a sob hiccuped in my chest.

  “Don’t be sad. You will love me eventually,” he promised between his kisses.

  I prayed he would stop. I’d never wanted anything more desperately in my life than I wanted him to never touch me again. I couldn’t have been more scared had I been drowning in an ocean of sharks. I bet the feeling was probably similar. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t escape, and Andrew was ripping me to pieces.

  Ethan! I started to call, but then stopped myself.

  What could Ethan do? Nothing. I couldn’t call for him. He wouldn’t care about my dad’s life if mine were in any way in danger. He’d take me away from here and then Andrew would show his pictures to the dozens of reporters present. Or he’d kill Andrew when he found out what was going on. Then he’d go to prison and Andrew’s parents would still release the photos.

  “Kiss me back, Grace. People are watching.”

  No, Ethan couldn’t fix this. He could protect me, but he couldn’t protect my father. I was trapped. Andrew as good as owned me.

  I kissed him back.

  Thankfully, Andrew only held the kiss for a moment longer. “I suppose we should stop before we upset your father,” he said with a hint of regret.

  He must have heard my dad coming because it was only seconds later that Dad was towering over us, beaming with excitement. “There you are!” he said, yanking me to my feet. He pulled me into an enormous bear hug and spun me in circles as bells began to sound and thousands of balloons enveloped the entire room. “We did it, Gracie!” he cried. “We did it!”

  The polls hadn’t even closed on the west coast yet, but Dad was far enough ahead that it was already official. My father was now the President-elect—a dream he’d come out of the womb chasing.

  He was so happy, so complete. As he spun me around the way he hadn’t done since I was a small child, I realized I couldn’t let anythi
ng take this away from him. I wrapped my arms around his neck so tightly I half expected the secret service to tackle me away from him. It may have been Ethan’s job to protect me, but it was my job to protect my dad, and as long as there was a way for me to do it, I would. No matter what it was going to cost me.

  “Congratulations, Dad.”

  My dad heard my voice crack and set me back on my feet. “Don’t you cry, Gracie,” he scolded playfully. “Don’t you dare cry. If you cry, you’ll make me cry, and we can’t let the world see what a big softie I am this early in the game.”

  He actually looked like he meant it. I sniffed once and wiped my face. “Sorry, Dad.”

  He laughed again, but when I couldn’t laugh with him he took a closer look at me. “Grace? Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

  I didn’t get the chance to respond because we were suddenly swarmed by reporters. Apparently the scene of the widowed President-elect being congratulated by his tearful daughter was too good to pass up.

  I stood there at my father’s side for the next twenty minutes answering questions with him. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be because everyone expected me to be emotional and overwhelmed. They just assumed I was that way due to excitement. They never even came close to suspecting the true horror I was experiencing.

  Eventually, one of the reporters who’d been hovering not so far away from me all night noticed Andrew standing back just behind the crowd. “Let him through,” he called to the other reporters. “I’m sure Grace would like to be congratulated by her boyfriend.”

  My eyes instantly met Andrew’s. He said nothing, gave away nothing. He only waited to see what I would do.

  What could I do?

  “‘Boyfriend’?” my dad repeated. He was so startled that all the cameras immediately focused on me again.

  For my dad’s sake, I summoned up courage I didn’t know I was capable of and flipped on my best politician’s daughter smile. “Busted,” I said, shrugging sheepishly for the cameras. Everyone laughed. “He only asked me tonight, and I was trying to tell my dad when you all interrupted.” I turned to my dad then, trying to look repentant. “Sorry to spring it on you like this. I guess it’s true what they say about CNN knowing everything before the president.”

  I got another big laugh from the crowd, and then they parted to let Andrew join us. My dad looked confused but Andrew quickly clasped his hand, erasing any skepticism from my dad’s mind instantly. “I hope you don’t mind, sir.”

  “Of course not, Andrew.” My dad chuckled. “I suppose you’re a boyfriend a father could be proud of. And besides, I’m pretty sure that if you break her heart I can have you tried for treason.”

  Apparently the St. Claires were a family of comedians. The media ate up our every word, asking to be introduced to the First Daughter-elect’s first boyfriend and begging to hear the story of how we met. They really liked that the son of the American Hospital Association’s president had fallen for the World’s Biggest Klutz—a title Andrew had playfully given me, and I had been unable to deny while standing on crutches with a cast up to my knee—in the hospital, of all places.

  The interviews lasted another ten minutes or so before Andrew begged my release, declaring that I needed to rest my leg. My dad happily surrendered me and was promptly whisked off. When the crowd of reporters went scrambling after him, Andrew and I were left standing there with only one other person—Ethan, and he looked beyond pissed.

  My night had just done the impossible. It got worse.

  Andrew pulled at my waist, attaching me to his side possessively, and smiled politely at Ethan.

  “Ethan! W-what are you doing here?” I stammered nervously.

  “You called me.”

  Andrew slid a glance at me and I blanched. “No!” I assured him. “I didn’t!”

  After a second of me shaking my head frantically, Andrew chuckled. “It’s all right, love, calm down,” he said, pressing a quick kiss on my lips.

  I heard Ethan suck in a breath. I snuck a glance at his face and my stomach turned inside out. He looked murderous. When Andrew laughed and said, “She’s so high strung tonight from all the excitement,” I thought Ethan was going to lose it and lay some angel smackdown right there in front of the whole room.

  Please don’t cause a scene, I begged him silently.

  I flinched when I felt his reply enter my mind. What the hell is going on, Grace? Even mentally he managed to sound angry.

  I ignored Ethan’s question and turned to Andrew. “I’m sorry, I’m just tired. It’s been a long night. That’s all.”

  Please just go home, Ethan.

  Ethan narrowed his eyes at me, and then he said, “If you aren’t feeling well, I’ll tell your father and take you home. You really shouldn’t be out for so many hours on that leg, anyway.”

  I felt Andrew’s grip on me tighten the tiniest bit. “It’s okay,” I said, pleading with Ethan now. “I’m all right. I’ve been off my foot most of the night.” I swallowed back bile and then forced myself to add, “Andrew’s taken very good care of me.”

  Andrew was so completely psycho that he considered my compliment sincere. He relaxed instantly and sighed happily. “And I always will,” he muttered into my hair.

  He kissed my temple and then, after appraising Ethan’s state of temper, sighed again. It was clear Ethan wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this. “Perhaps it is time for you to go home and get some rest,” he agreed reluctantly. “I have other things I need to attend to tonight, but I will come to you as soon as I can, love. I promise.”

  Andrew handed me over to Ethan then, shocking both of us. “I know you’ll take very good care of her, warrior,” he said.

  Ethan sucked in another breath.

  “I didn’t tell him,” I promised when Ethan shot me a betrayed look. “He was watching us when you told Cynthia in my room that morning.”

  “You needn’t worry about me revealing your true nature,” Andrew said to Ethan. “Exposing the truth of Grace’s importance to the Creator would make her a target. I would never endanger her like that. I couldn’t bear it if anything at all ever happened to her.” He brushed the back of his hand down the side of my face and added, “She is my everything now. Good night, love. I’ll come to you as soon as I can.”

  When he was finally gone, my adrenaline crashed immediately and I sagged. Ethan had to scramble to catch me before I fell to the floor. “Grace!” he hissed.

  I was too exhausted to explain myself. “I’d like to go home now. Please, Ethan.”

  Ethan bit back whatever nasty criticism he wanted to spew at me and set me down in the nearest chair he could find. “Don’t move!” he ordered.

  While I was waiting, my phone rang. I answered it numbly. It didn’t really matter who was calling to yell at me now. None of them could change anything. “Hello?”

  “What the hell!” Cynthia screeched. “I just saw you on CNN!”

  Ethan came back with my coat. He started to say something, then waited when he realized I was talking to Cynthia. He probably hoped she’d get more explanation out of me than he did. She wouldn’t.

  “Are they saying nice things or blasting me?” I asked. “Did I look too stupid?”

  “You looked like you were very comfortable with Andrew De La Cote.”

  “You’re always saying I need a boyfriend. Now I have one. What’s the big deal?”

  “What’s the big deal? What’s the big deal?”

  I forced myself to get angry so that I wouldn’t burst into tears and tell her everything. “He’s good-looking, my dad likes him, and he wants me. So what if he’s a little intense? At least he honestly cares about me. He’s probably the only person in the whole world who does.”

  “How can you say that?” Cynthia screamed. “I care about you! Why do you think I’m so upset right now?”

  “You don’t care about me! You were ordered by the resistance to be my friend!” I shouted, finally losing control of myself.
/>
  “Grace,” Ethan warned. “Keep it down.”

  I lowered my voice, but I was crying now and couldn’t stop no matter how many people were watching. “Weren’t you?” I demanded to the silence on the other end of the phone. “You and your brothers actually transferred schools when my dad announced his candidacy just so that you could gain my trust, and the resistance could have a connection in the White House if we won.”

  “That’s ridiculous, Grace,” Ethan said. “That’s Andrew filling your head with lies to get you to turn on the people you love.”

  “If it’s a lie, then let her deny it!” I was shouting again. “Deny it, Cynthia!”

  Instead of a denial, I only heard crying. It was the truth. The one person in my life I thought I could trust. The only person I thought really cared about me. The betrayal was too much for me on top of everything else that had happened tonight. A piece of me died, and I began to sob.

  “Grace,” Ethan whispered, sitting down next to me. He put his arm around me and muttered, “Try to get hold of yourself. You said you didn’t want a scene, and people are starting to stare.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to make the tears stop.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Cynthia blubbered. “It’s a pack thing. When the alpha gives an order, I literally have to obey. He sent us to Atherton, but I am really, truly your friend, Grace. I swear it. I’ve hated myself for it forever, and I hate the pack for making me do it. You know I hate the pack!”

  “Your brothers?” I asked.

  “Preston was only instructed to be a friend and keep an eye on you, like me, but Caleb’s orders were…more specific.”

  “How specific?” I asked.

  Cynthia started bawling again.

  “How specific?” I demanded.

  “When the pack learned you were different, that day in the cafeteria, Caleb was asked to claim you as a mate.”

  I gasped, but this time so did Ethan.

  “He was going to turn me? Before what happened with Andrew?”

  “I didn’t know!” Cynthia cried. “They kept it from me because they knew I would never let him! They were angry with me for keeping you secret for so long. I got in a lot of trouble, Grace. I was forced to bring Caleb with me to your house that night, but I didn’t know what his orders had been until after you didn’t turn. I swear, Gracie, if I’d known I would have done something! I would have died rather than let anyone claim you! You have to believe me!”