Had that really been jealousy in his eyes? She decided to call him on it.
“You sound jealous.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked and he couldn’t look her in the eye.
“Oh, my God. You are!” When had the world turned upside down? She knew he’d gotten an erection while drinking her blood, but they’d joked about that afterwards. He hadn’t seemed any more inclined to want to date her then. What had changed?
Jacob still wouldn’t look her in the eye, so she made him. Taking hold of his chin, she turned his face towards her until he was forced to meet her eyes.
“Confess,” she demanded, something they’d done since childhood when the other was hiding something.
Jacob rolled his eyes and submitted. “Yes. I’m jealous. Satisfied?”
Dropping her hand from his chin, she gaped at him. “But… when did this happen?”
He let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. When the memories of drinking from you wouldn’t go away? When I kept getting an erection every time I thought of you?”
Christ. This really complicated things.
“And now?” she asked, almost too afraid to get the words out. “When you look at me now, what do you feel?”
His tortured expression said it all, but she had to be certain.
“Do you want to kiss me?”
He huffed a laugh. “Oh, I want to do a whole lot more than that.”
“Fuck.”
“Precisely.”
She hadn’t meant it in the literal sense, but she supposed it could be taken as that.
“But you don’t feel that way,” he added, accurately judging her what-the-fuck expression.
If not for Greyvian, then maybe it would have been possible, but you couldn’t change what was. She shook her head.
“Great,” he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Just great.”
That about summed it up, yeah.
For want of somewhere else to look, her eyes drifted towards the front of the store as she tried to get her brain to work and figure out some sort of way forward. It took her a long moment to realise what it was she was seeing, but when she did, her heart rate jumped into the hundreds as adrenalin shot through her body.
“Shit,” she said, her eyes seeking and finding Knox and Lucas who were trying to be unobtrusive against the side wall. They were blending as well as any two males in a female clothing store could hope to blend, but she didn’t see it holding up for long.
“What?” Jacob asked, starting to turn around.
She grabbed his arm and turned his face away from the scene at the front of the store, hoping like hell that the two males that Katarina was talking to were not the vampires she thought them to be.
“Don’t turn around,” she warned Jacob. “Katarina is talking to some guys at the front of the store. I think they’re vampires.”
“Shit,” Jacob swore, echoing her expletive.
“I think she’s trying to lead them away,” she told him, trying not to be caught staring. “They seem to be resisting for some reas—oh, crap—they’ve spotted Knox and Lucas. They’re coming into the store.”
“Half-breed,” one of the males said loudly enough for her and Jacob to hear. “What the fuck are you doing here? Last time I checked this was a female clothing store. Or are you cross-dressers as well as abominations?”
So, not friendly vampires then. When the main speaker looked her way, she quickly became fascinated in the cash register, hoping like hell that the two full-bloods hadn’t seen her looking their way.
“Christmas shopping,” Knox replied pleasantly, as if he had run into an old friend and the full-blood’s words hadn’t been coated in venom.
“Riiiiight,” the other male replied, clearly unconvinced.
“Patrick, weren’t we going to lunch?” Katarina asked, trying unsuccessfully to drag the first, and more aggressive of the two, away by his arm.
Patrick looked at her then, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You’re here with them, aren’t you? Is this why you haven’t been home? Father has been thinking about sending a search party out looking for you and you’ve been with them the whole time? Are you sleeping with one of them?”
Katarina sighed loudly. “Patrick, just because you bear ill will towards the half-breed nation does not mean that I have to share your views. Yes, if you must know, I am here with them. What of it?”
The two full-bloods didn’t look happy—Katarina’s brothers if the family resemblance and the mention of ‘Father’ were anything to go by. The taller one who did all the talking—Patrick—said something Sienna couldn’t hear and then shot a glare in Knox’s direction. To their credit, the half-breeds didn’t bat an eyelid. If memory served, they were probably used to this reaction.
“Patrick, why don’t you just go home?” Katarina said wearily. “I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I do not need you to tell me who I can and can’t hang out with.”
“For fuck’s sake, Kat!” Patrick exclaimed, sounding a little weary himself. “Why do you always have to do this? First it was the humans, now this? Why can’t you just be happy with your own kind?”
Katarina crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at her brother. “Why can’t you be happy with the fact that they’re not so different from you and me?”
Sienna chanced a glance at Jacob, raising her eyebrows and smiling slightly. She knew an old argument when she heard one. Jacob made a face back at her and then resumed pretending to look through a magazine that he’d picked up from the counter.
To her horror, the other brother, not wanting any part of the argument, began wandering through the store towards her and Jacob. Before long she could hear him sniffing and then she felt his eyes on her.
Pretending to do bugger all at the cash register while a vampire was sniffing around you was very hard. She couldn’t understand how they hadn’t noticed Jacob yet. Did they not have a sixth sense as to who was a vampire and who was a human? She would have thought they’d spot him in an instant. Especially when the unnamed brother came closer to the register and Jacob was only jumping distance away.
“Hey Pat,” the male said, standing right beside her and taking a deep breath. “You’ve got to come over here and smell this chick.”
Sienna closed the register and pretended like she had something to do that was well away from the full-blood. Unfortunately, the vampire followed, sticking close and taking deep drawing breaths as if he were snorting cocaine.
Too soon, Patrick left his discussion with Katarina and joined his brother, the two of them circling her like Hyenas while she tried to make out like she had no idea they were there. It was hard, because she wasn’t sure exactly what a human who was unaware was supposed to do in this situation. What did she do when they stood right in front of her?
“I’ve never smelt anything like it,” Patrick said, his nose practically in her ear as he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Kat, did you know about this?”
Katarina came over and wrapped her hand around Patrick’s arm, pulling him away from her. “Leave her alone, Patrick. You don’t like humans, remember?”
Patrick jerked his arm from her grip and glared at his sister. “I think I might be able to start in this case.”
Sienna couldn’t help it. She flinched when he stepped back towards her.
“Fuck!” Patrick exclaimed, grabbing hold of her arm and turning her towards him. “She’s fucking Aware!”
A sudden memory of the delivery boy popped into her head, so she just played dumb, staring through him and keeping her expression blank, as if she were a robot awaiting a command. It wasn’t quite how the delivery boy had reacted, but she didn’t think she should chance doing the whole eye-slide thing without giving herself away.
“She is not,” Katarina scoffed, playing along. “You’re imagining things.”
“Oh, really,” Patrick scowled, his eyes never leaving Sienna’s face. “I guess she wo
n’t react if I have a little taste then, will she?”
“Get away from her,” Knox ordered, voice like steel.
She hadn’t realised the half-breeds had come to her defence, but there they were, standing behind Patrick and his brother, ready to attack if need be. She would have sent a grateful look in their direction, but that would have given her away.
“Why? Does she mean something to you?” Patrick asked, pulling her into his body like a shield, positioning his mouth near her neck as he faced Knox. “Would it break your little half-breed heart if I were to drain her dry?”
She had to do something. She couldn’t just stand there like an idiot hoping one of the others would be able to stop the bastard from sinking his fangs into her neck. But what could she do? He was a vampire.
And then she remembered. These vampires didn’t have super strength or speed—that was only Greyvian. These vampires were like regular human beings—they just lived longer and drank blood.
She could totally beat the dickhead up.
As if sensing she was about to take action, Jacob decided to save the day and at the same time ruin any chance he had of remaining undiscovered.
“Patrick, I think you should go home,” her best friend said calmly, walking around the counter towards them, looking so much like Greyvian that maybe, just maybe, they might be fooled.
Patrick sucked in a sharp breath of air. “Greyvian.”
Jacob said nothing, simply stared at the guy in his best impersonation of his father she had ever seen. She hoped that it had been a very long time since Patrick had seen his brother. Long enough that the male didn’t see the obvious differences between father and son of height, nose, and mouth that she had noticed immediately.
“You look different,” Patrick said, the grip he had on her arms going slack as he focused on his ‘brother’. “Of course, the last time I saw you, you were covered in blood and looking like a feral, so I suppose anything is an improvement on that.”
Jacob shrugged one shoulder, expression remaining impassive. She was impressed. Jacob was never impassive.
“You know I have orders to kill you on sight,” the male said, finally putting a little distance between him and Sienna as if he were readying himself to do just that.
Jacob smiled slightly, showing a little fang. “You could try.”
Nobody moved or said anything for the longest time. Finally, Patrick broke the silence. “Father will want a word with you, Katarina. Fraternising with half-breeds and hanging out with Greyvian?”
“That’s not Greyvian,” the other brother said suddenly, surprising her into looking in his direction before she could stop herself.
She had a split second to see the shock on the male’s face as he met her eyes before realising her mistake and quickly dancing forward out of Patrick’s reach.
“I fucking knew that human was Aware!” Patrick shouted, falling in beside his brother as Sienna took up a defensive position beside Jacob. The two brothers looked like they wanted to attack, but held back for some reason.
“You should leave,” Jacob said, voice hard.
Perhaps they were afraid of getting their asses handed to them?
“Who the fuck are you if you’re not Greyvian?” Patrick asked, eyeing him over.
“What, you need it spelled out for you?” Knox asked, all cocky smiles and cheek.
The full-blood looked back at Jacob and shook his head. “No way.”
“What’s your problem, Patrick?” Lucas asked, taunting. “Can’t handle the fact that now there’s two of them?”
“Father will flip when he hears this,” the other brother hissed.
“I don’t suppose I can get you to stay quiet about this, can I?” Katarina asked hopefully.
Patrick looked at her as if she were insane.
She sighed. “I didn’t think so.”
Knox and Lucas shared a look that Katarina couldn’t help but notice also.
“They’re my brothers, Knox,” she said in warning. “They might be complete dickheads about some things, but they’re still my brothers.”
The half-breed made a face and visibly relaxed, bringing attention to the fact that he’d been coiled to strike. “Suit yourself. I’ll let you do the explaining though.”
Not needing an invitation, Patrick and his brother slowly started to back away.
“Kat,” the male said, looking pleadingly at his sister, “come home now and save yourself some grief.”
Katarina shook her head and stood with the rest of them. “I’ll come home when I want to, thank you very much.”
“Fine. Be that way.” With that, the two brothers left the store, glancing back over their shoulders often.
“Well, that went about as well as can be expected,” Knox said sourly. “I fucking knew something bad was going to happen today. After the training we just experienced, I just figured it was Greyvian going hard on our asses. Damn.”
“Bags not being the one to tell Greyvian,” Lucas said to no-one in particular.
* * *
“Have you managed to get a hold of Katarina?” Kobus asked his wife, one true love, and the mother of all his children.
Lieke smiled fondly at the mention of her daughter but shook her head. “No. She is avoiding my calls. She did, however, send me a text to say she was fine and wouldn’t be home for a few days or more.”
He shook his head in frustration at his daughter’s social life. Of all his children, she was the one errant child who preferred to spend more time outside of the estate than in it. Too much time spent amongst humans was not a good thing.
“I hope she isn’t getting herself into any trouble,” he grumbled, accepting a kiss on the cheek with good grace.
“She’s a grown woman, my love,” Lieke scolded gently. “Leave her be.”
Kobus harrumphed, but smiled as she left the room, leaving him to his piles of paperwork.
Not even a minute later, his phone started its annoying buzz that told him someone wanted to speak with him. Was there never any peace to be had?
“What is it, Patrick?”
“I found out what Katarina’s been doing with her time,” his son replied, anger in his voice. “She’s been hanging around with that half-breed, Knox, and his equally irritating son. The pair who are constantly causing trouble.”
Kobus would have liked to say that he was surprised, but his daughter had always been fond of the humanites.
“That’s not all though,” Patrick continued. “Greyvian’s been breeding.”
The sound of his son’s name sent a now familiar shock through his system and sucked all of the air from his lungs. First, he turns up out of the blue wanting the blood drained from his body, and now this? Was it just coincidence, or were the two linked?
“Are you sure?” he asked when he was certain his voice wouldn’t betray him.
“Michael saw it first,” Patrick confessed in a strained voice. “I thought he was Greyvian the resemblance was that strong.”
Another pain went straight to Kobus’s heart. Why did the Gods hate him so much that they would perpetuate his image within two monstrosities? What had he done to offend them? Should he have tried harder to find his son and put an end to the curse before this could happen? Would this male carry the affliction?
He wanted to ask Patrick if the half-breed was also mad, but the words stuck in his throat.
“And Father,” Patrick said after a moment’s pause, his tone uncertain, “there was a human with them. Her scent was… intoxicating. And... she was Aware without us making her so.”
His hand tightened around the phone. “Are you certain?”
“Yes. Our shields were intact the entire time.”
Stone cold terror washed through his body, seizing his heart in its iron grip. Memories flashed through his mind, unlocked from someplace deep and dark.
“Call Marcus,” he growled into the phone, “tell him everything. I want to know about this human. Where she lives, who sired her,
everything.”
Waiting for the information was torture. He spent the next fifteen minutes with his fingernails embedded in the hard wood of his desk, staring at nothing whilst the nightmares of his past came rushing back.
As soon as his phone rang, he snatched it up and held it to his ear.
“Sienna Rayven Jones,” Marcus’s dry voice sounded without so much as a hello. The male knew him well. “Twenty-five years old—born in May. Lives in an apartment at 23 Oxford Street, Delaney, with one Jacob Greyson—twenty-four-year-old male who works as a martial arts instructor. Her parents were Maria Rebecca Carter and Travis Paul Jones—died in a car accident two years ago—both human. No living relatives or siblings that I could find. She owns the clothing store where Patrick met her, paid for with the trust fund her parents left her. Shall I continue?”
Twenty-five. Born in May. Too old to be a half-breed.
Human. A human that was Aware.
“No. Get someone at her apartment and the store. I want her contained. The half-breeds will probably keep her away, but maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Marcus hung up without another word, the male deadly in his efficiency.
Kobus sat back in his chair, a trickle of sweat running a path down his back. His human-blood-drinking son was in the area along with his half-breed grandson and now this? Was it sheer coincidence that the half-breeds were with the human or were they planning on using her against him?
If so, what was Katarina’s aim in all of this? Picking up his phone, he dialled his daughter’s number. It went straight to message. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if his daughter was no longer in possession of her phone. Not that that would stop Marcus from tracking where it had been.
Kobus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Yes. Of course. Marcus would track her phone. Perhaps they could sort the whole of it out in one go. Greyvian, his grandson, the human. He felt calmer with this knowledge in mind.
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