by S. K. Yule
“This better be important.”
Ashe stood on the other side of the door, and Wilhemina didn’t miss the surprise that flared in his eyes when he saw her standing behind Aldin.
“Sorry to bother you, brother. But I assure you it is very important. Uriah is here.”
Didn’t these people ever sleep? And who was Uriah? Was it common for them to have visitors at this ungodly hour? Her curiosity was getting the better of her, and she was trying hard to tamp it down before it got out of control.
“I thought he wasn’t coming until tomorrow night.” Aldin straightened.
“Surprise.”
“I’ll be down in a couple minutes,” he grumbled.
Ashe nodded before leaving.
Wilhemina could barely contain her embarrassment when he turned to face her.
“I—I’ll go back to my room.” She hurried to get past him, but he wrapped his fingers around her arm and tugged her back to him.
“There is no reason for you to be embarrassed.” He stared down at her.
“Your brother just caught us having sex. I beg to differ.”
One brow shot up. “Last time I checked, we were both adults.”
“You’re still my friend’s brother-in-law. A friend who invited me into her house.”
“Your point?”
She threw her hands up. “Forget it.” She tried for the door again, but he refused to let her go.
He bent and kissed her slow and lazy, and when he lifted his head, she was panting again.
“I will find you later.”
Her tummy did a flip-flop and warmth shot through her body all the way to her toes.
“I’ll see you later then,” she whispered before he finally let her go, and she slipped out the door.
She practically ran all the way back to her room where she shut the door and locked it. Why did Ashe have to interrupt them when he had? She’d wanted Aldin with a ferocity she didn’t know herself capable of, didn’t understand. Still wanted him. The ache between her thighs was maddening.
She went to use the bathroom, and while washing her hands, she looked into the mirror at her neck. She was surprised when she didn’t see the mother of all hickeys there, but instead saw two red spots that kind of resembled a spider bite.
“Yeah, a six-foot-seven spider named Aldin,” she muttered.
Had he bitten her? She shrugged. It hadn’t been unpleasant, and she wouldn’t mind if he did it again. She groaned when she glanced at the clock. It would be dawn soon. She stretched and got into bed hoping to get at least a couple hours of sleep before breakfast.
She started to doze, and smiled when an image of sexy turquoise eyes danced behind her closed lids.
Chapter Fourteen
Wilhemina jerked awake, and groaned when she looked at the clock. It had only been a half hour since she’d fallen asleep. Her occasional bouts of insomnia had started after she’d gotten that dreaded call while at college. She hadn’t had an episode for several months, and she hoped this would not be the start of one. Her mother and father had died when she was young and she and her sister had gone to live with their grandparents. They’d had a happy childhood, as happy as one could have without parents, and she and Lindsey had grown close.
Not only had Lindsey been her sister, but she’d been her best friend. They had been inseparable throughout their childhood and school. Wilhemina, being two years older than Lindsey, left for college first with plans of Lindsey coming to visit on summer break. Her departure had been hard on them both. They had survived and learned to keep in touch over the phone and Internet when they couldn’t see one another in person.
They’d lost their grandfather shortly after Wilhemina had gone to college and Lindsey had grown hesitant about leaving their grandmother alone after she graduated. With a lot of assuring and convincing, Grandma Lou had managed to reassure Lindsey and Wilhemina that she would get along fine without them. The fall after graduation, Lindsey packed and left to meet Wilhemina to enroll for her first year at the same college. Wilhemina lived in the dorm on campus, and had gone a week early to get the room set up for the two as they’d planned to be roommates.
Lindsey had never arrived. Wilhemina remembered the events of that day as clearly as if they happened yesterday. She’d been excited about seeing her sister, was eager to share in Lindsey’s college experience and being close to her once again. She’d waited and waited and waited for Lindsey’s arrival. She’d called her sister over and over, but Lindsey had never answered her cell.
Finally, her grandmother had called late that afternoon to tell her that Lindsey’s car had been found on the side of the highway, and that Lindsey was nowhere to be found. Wilhemina hadn’t been too worried at first, figured the car had broken down, and Lindsey would show up at a rest stop calling on a payphone with a story about how she’d lost her car charger and her cell phone had died.
But as the days went by, it had become evident that Lindsey was not coming home. Wilhemina had put her education on hold, had sunk every last miniscule resource she had into searching for Lindsey, but there had been few leads and less tips. The police promised to never give up on the case, but Wilhemina hadn’t missed the way Detective Walter wouldn’t quite make eye contact with her during their last meeting.
She knew Lindsey would ultimately end up in a pile of unsolved cases buried in a room where no one would notice her ever again. It had been heartbreaking and had proved too much on her grandmother’s failing health. One year after Lindsey’s disappearance, she’d lost Grandma Lou as well. Since that day a little over seven years ago, Wilhemina had been on her own.
She’d never given up hope of finding Lindsey, but she had nowhere left to turn. She’d followed every lead, every tip, and every one of them had come up empty. It was as if her sister had disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace.
She rubbed at her eyes and kicked the covers off. Sleep would not come now. She needed coffee. She hoped Ebony hadn’t been exaggerating when she said McKayla, the housekeeper, kept hot coffee available in the kitchen at all times.
She took a quick cool shower hoping it would clear the fog from her sleep deprived mind, dried off, and dressed in a soft pair of her favorite broken-in jeans, a white fuzzy sweater, and flip-flops. After brushing her teeth, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and made her way downstairs.
She was halfway to the kitchen when she heard voices from down the hall. She frowned. Good God, she was now convinced that none of the Aleksandrovs slept. She couldn’t stop herself from tiptoeing toward the cracked door of the study. She tilted her head to the side and listened, not wanting to go any closer for fear of being caught. At least if she got caught here, she could still say she was just on her way to the kitchen. However, if she had her ear pressed to the door, she doubted that excuse would fly.
“How could you do this to our brother?”
Wilhemina jumped when she heard Aldin’s angry voice.
“I cannot begin to express the guilt I feel for locking your brother away, for not telling all of you that you had a brother, for not telling you about your father. But whether any of you choose to believe me or not, I did it with the best of intentions. My actions were harsh, bordering on insane maybe, but I did it to protect all of you because I cannot bear the thought of losing any of you. And after Estril…”
Marilena’s voice was strong, but the pain in each of her words was evident to Wilhemina’s ears.
“That’s a fucking understatement. She could put Joan Crawford to shame with her mommy dearest bullshit.”
Wilhemina frowned when she didn’t recognize the male voice.
“I will only say this once, and it would do well for all of you to listen carefully. I am your father whether you like it or not. That fact cannot be changed. I have made mistakes. Your mother has made mistakes. You are all allowed to deal with it how you must, but I will not tolerate any outright disrespect toward your mother.”
Another man’s vo
ice that Wilhemina did not recognize.
“It’s all right, Ragnor.”
“It is not. If any of you disrespect Marilena, you will deal with me. And although I may have a few gray hairs, I warn you that you will not like the consequences if you do not heed me on this. Marilena made horrible choices, choices that affected everyone’s life in this room, including mine. But I know that she made them to try to protect her family.”
“Are you saying you agree with what she did?” Ashe asked.
“No. I do not agree with what she has done. I’m saying that I know she did not do anything with malicious intent, and I will stand by her no matter how angry or upset I might be at her actions. She has chosen to come clean, to try to make amends for her mistakes.”
Wilhemina barely heard the voice she now knew to be Ragnor’s. It was low, but as soft as it was, it had the ability to give her chills. Whoever this Ragnor was, she got the distinct impression that he was not one to cross.
“No need to worry about me, Daddy-o. I plan to have as little contact as possible from now on with Mother.”
Crack. Crack. Crackity crack.
A gasp came from inside the room, and Wilhemina practically felt the pain in the response. She guessed it had come from Marilena.
“Stop the damned knuckle cracking, and don’t be a smart ass, Uriah. You have every right to be angry, and I will never attempt to deprive you of your emotions, but I will get involved if you continue with your hurtful remarks. They are unnecessary. Everyone here has strong feelings that need to be dealt with, but hurting each other in the process is unnecessary.”
Ragnor’s voice was once again calm and low, but held that commanding tone that seemed as natural as the sun. She shivered. Probably not unlike the sun either. Warm and inviting one minute, scathing and raising blisters the next.
“Why don’t we discuss the issue at hand that needs most taken care of? After that, I would like to get to know my brother.” Ashe sounded tired, and by the grunts she heard in response, the others agreed.
“As you know, once you all find your life mates, I will be able to perform the virtus ritus so you all will go through the Adveho en vox. After that, you will possess the power to stop the uprising.”
“The information we’ve gotten from the drifters indicates that Trinidad is a true blood and as powerful as you,” Aiston said.
“There are no other true bloods left. Only myself. While I do not know who Trinidad is, I am certain he is no true blood. It is simply not possible. However, I cannot dismiss the possibility that he is something that I am not aware exists. The prophecy shows the uprising to be led by one who cannot be defeated by a normal vampyre.”
Vampire? True blood? Virtus ritus? Latin and monsters. What the hell were they talking about? Wilhemina leaned as close to the room as she dared, still feeling guilty about eavesdropping, but unable to help herself at this point.
“There is no need to worry then. The prophecy will never come about because I will never find my life mate,” Aldin stated.
“You’ve already found her, and don’t look at me with that brooding, surprised stare. You know it’s the truth. And to put it bluntly, Uriah’s viata amant is close by as well. Isn’t she, Marilena?”
The room got deathly quiet, and Wilhemina was sure if a pin dropped at that precise moment, it would sound like an explosion.
“But that is a discussion for later.” Ragnor again.
“I assure you, Aldin, if you and Uriah do not accept what Fate brings you, all of you will be slaughtered. There will be no hope for any of you to survive. The prophecy has been clear on that one point from the start. You must come into your true blood powers in order to defeat the leader of the uprising.”
Again, what the hell? Were these people crazy? Were they rehearsing some kind of mystery dinner theater crap? Wilhemina couldn’t begin to comprehend what they were talking about.
“For now, I think that is enough. You should spend some time with Uriah and get to know one another. You are all brothers. Marilena, let’s leave our boys alone for the time being, shall we?”
Wilhemina started to tiptoe quickly toward the kitchen, but managed to catch Ragnor’s next sentence before she got out of sight and earshot.
“Aldin, Ashe, I assume your injuries have healed? Dominic, who I ran into earlier in the hallway, informed me that you nearly bled out from your injuries and both required a source to heal. Please do be careful. The humans and our kind are depending upon you to come out the victors in this uprising. I don’t need to tell you what will happen to them if you don’t.”
Wilhemina barely got around the corner and into the other room before Ragnor and Marilena exited the room. She froze, not daring to move a muscle.
“How did you know? I told no one,” Marilena whispered.
“About the girl? You’ve always had way too much confidence in my powers where doing the impossible is required and too little where they are strongest. My love, there is nothing you can hide from me. Don’t you understand that by now?”
“Uriah will never forgive me. Hell, once Aldin finds out, he will most likely never forgive me.”
“I don’t think Uriah has any intention of forgiving you anytime in the near future anyway. And as far as Aldin is concerned? I think if you are able to make amends with one particular woman in his life, you will have a good chance of earning his forgiveness. You fail to convince her of your good intentions and you may very well be right in your assumption about losing him.”
“How did this happen?” Marilena cried.
“It happened because of bad choices. Now, we must go somewhere else to finish this discussion. Our conversation is not private.”
Could Ragnor know she was listening? Not freaking likely unless he’s got superhero hearing. Wilhemina’s heart pounded in her chest as she listened to their retreating footsteps. She waited a few moments before finally continuing on to the kitchen.
She was thankful to find a full pot of fresh coffee on the countertop. After finding an empty cup hanging on a hook under the cabinet, she filled it nearly to the rim then added sugar. After taking a sip, she sighed. It was some of the best coffee she’d ever drunk. Of course it is. Everything in this mansion is the best of the best.
She looked around the kitchen, astonished that she was at all surprised by the luxuriousness of the room after seeing most of the rest of the mansion. Everything was high end from the stainless steel appliances to the pots and pans to the granite countertops. Even the coffee pot was something anyone would brag about. She wasn’t jealous—perhaps a bit envious—but not full out jealous. It wasn’t that she’d been one to wish for a life of indulgence, but to have the type of money the Aleksandrovs obviously had would allow her to search for Lindsey without worry about funds.
She took another sip of her coffee and frowned. So much was rambling around in her brain in a jumbled mess it was giving her a headache. But out of all of the confusing things she’d overheard, the one that weighed on her heaviest was Aldin’s possible injury. Had he been lying about the blood in his room earlier? Had he been hurt? But she’d seen him naked and hadn’t seen any type of wound on his body that could account for the amount of blood she’d found on the floor.
And what was all the nonsense about requiring a source, life mates, the prophecy, vampires, and all the other mumbo jumbo she had no hope of deciphering? She couldn’t begin to piece together a logical explanation for what she’d overheard. She massaged her temple. Maybe if she got a few hours of decent sleep, she would have a better chance of making sense of the whole mess.
“Well hello there.”
She jumped and her half-empty coffee cup slipped from her fingers. Before it crashed to the floor, a hand shot out and caught the cup without spilling a drop.
She looked up into turquoise eyes that resembled Aldin’s and his brothers’, yet distinctly different.
“I’m Uriah. The youngest Aleksandrov brother. And you are?”
“I didn’t kn
ow Aldin had another brother. I’m Wilhemina. Ebony’s friend.”
“Ah. Well, Ebony is lucky to have such a beautiful friend.”
She felt her cheeks heat and took the cup from him when he handed it to her. He had some impressive reflexes and was as blessed in the looks department as his brothers were. Not quite as good-looking as Aldin, though. His coppery-brown hair was different too. Ashe and Aldin both had black hair, and Aiston had blonde—which she’d figured he must have gotten from his father. Now she wasn’t so sure.
He was tall, but not quite as tall as Aldin, and had somewhat of a boyish charm about him. Although, she got the distinct feeling that anyone who underestimated him would be sorry. He had that same commanding air about him that seemed to come natural to the Aleksandrov brothers. He didn’t look any younger than his siblings. In fact, now that she thought about it, all of them looked the same age. How was that possible?
Good genes.
Uriah was dressed in faded blue jeans, brown, form fitting t-shirt, and brown boots. He was leaner muscled than Aldin, but was just as ripped. She doubted he had any trouble attracting female attention. Suddenly, his smile faded, and he took a step toward her, which nearly put them toe to toe. He leaned closer and slowly perused her from head to toe and back until his eyes rested on her face.
“There is something about you, Wilhemina. Something intoxicating.”
What the hell? Was Uriah coming on to her?
“You bet your sweet ass I am.”
“W-what? I didn’t say anything.” The situation was becoming weird fast.
The devilish grin that curved his lips gave her an overwhelming urge to run to her bedroom and lock the door. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of him, but her instincts were kicking in hard. Right now they were telling her that Uriah was not the calm, cool, collected man he was portraying. She got a distinct feeling that there were so many layers to him even a professional painter wouldn’t be able to strip them all off to uncover the original surface below.