Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition))

by Zaroski, Melissa

  She gave his arm a squeeze and waved goodbye to everyone else in the room. Daniel walked with them to the door and they stopped before walking out. She turned to him and he gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “I love you, Emma.”

  “I love you, too Dan. See you in a few days.” She gave him another hug before she and Zachariah walked out the door.

  During the hour-long car ride to the airport, Zachariah and Emma held hands while he drove.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” He asked.

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to, he only summoned me.”

  “Or you just want to be alone with Aidan.” He bluntly replied.

  She turned to look at him with incredulous eyes. Slowly shaking her head, her voice turned dark, “I do not need your permission to be with Aidan if I so choose. And you know exactly how it feels to be pulled to your maker no matter how much you try to resist it.”

  He remained silent because he knew she had just won that brief argument. He did know the pull one had towards their maker; you’d drop anything for them, you physically desired them if you weren’t related and were the gender you preferred, you loved them more than anything in the world…you’d kill for them. Unfortunately for the one that was turned, those feelings were not reciprocated from their maker. If a maker chose, they could leave you high and dry and not give a hoot about it. However, a maker could develop feelings for their offspring as well. Zachariah was one of the lucky ones as Emma had loved him before she turned him; love was the very reason why she turned him over a century ago. He knew good and well how fortunate he was to have her as his maker even though his silent heart crumbled to bits time and time again.

  He had met Aidan once when he was still a new vampire and several times after that. He was from the ancient Celtic time and was at least 2,000 years old. He was 6’2” with deep brown hair and muscular, a remnant of his human self. He had been turned when he was 43 years old, so his handsome face was frozen as a middle-aged man. He was bold and brave, like most men were during his time. He was once barbaric, but had softened over his years while roaming every corner of the Earth. He just so happened to be the Vampire King of Europe and reigned over all the countries in that region. He was known to be powerful and to be feared, but was also fair to his undead subjects and humans alike.

  “You know I adore you, Zachariah. Please try not to be jealous. I’m sure any one of those pretty actresses would be glad to spend time with you while I’m gone.”

  He smirked and fully intended to take advantage of that while his maker and sometimes-girlfriend was away.

  He dropped her off at the airport where she boarded her flight bound to Scotland. During her overnight flight, she spent most of the time staring out the window into the darkness of the Atlantic Ocean. While most of the passengers on board were sleeping, she was able to see out into the night sky. Every constellation could be seen and she was able to faintly see sea life swimming in the ocean below with her excellent vision. She thought of Aidan and how she hadn’t seen him in several years. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him if he’d have her. Desire was the nature of the beast for their kind.

  She also thought of Todd; sweet, kind-hearted, and completely oblivious to his surroundings at her home, Davenport Manor. She thought about if she was going to tell him her secret and if she did, how would she do it? She knew he liked her, she’d hear it in his heartbeat every time he saw her. And she had to admit, she liked him, too. It had been over a hundred years since she had dated a human…not since Zachariah. But, Emma had become slightly arrogant over the years, now thinking that dating a human was boring and nearly pointless. It definitely wasn’t as exciting as being with a fellow vampire.

  Her flight landed the following morning and after she picked up her luggage, she used her sense of smell, not her eyes, to find Aidan. He was nearby; she knew his scent distinctly even after all these years. And there, standing next to a vintage Rolls Royce with a hired driver, was Aidan O’Shea. He was just as gorgeous as she remembered him to be and she instantly had the urge to climb him, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss him right here in plain view.

  She walked up to the car and they met eyes for the first time in years. The driver casually got out of the car and picked up her luggage to place in the trunk of the car. Aidan and Emma still hadn’t spoken.

  He swiftly moved forward and forcefully took her waist, pulling her against him. He towered over her small frame by over a foot, but their faces were inches apart. She could feel his breath on her mouth as he looked for the words to say.

  “My Emma...” He cradled her head with his large hand, examining her face that he hadn’t seen in so long. “My Emma…,” he repeated. “I’ve missed you.” He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her lips.

  She kissed him back and whispered, “I’ve missed you, too. Please let us not go this long without seeing each other again.”

  They got into the back of the car and savored each other’s presence in silence for a while. When they finally spoke, it was as if they had never spent a moment apart. After a long ride, the car finally pulled into the large driveway that lead to Aidan’s sprawling home. He showed her to her room where she unpacked and got settled. She joined him in his living room and sat down while he went into one of the bedrooms and returned with two young women.

  “Do you still favor O-Neg?” He asked, gesturing to the one on his right.

  “Of course,” she replied, glad to have a drink straight from the source for once.

  Aidan was a bit more traditional when it came to being a vampire. He was no longer barbaric like he was in his younger days and had regained most of his humanity back. However, he believed that humans were a food source and that nothing was more fulfilling than drinking straight from the vein. He often kept human blood supplies at his home, charming them to live there and willingly donate. He often picked people who had nothing to lose, no one important they would leave behind. In a twisted way, he felt that he was rescuing these people from a worse fate on the street and in a way, he was right. At least being live-in donors they would have food, shelter, and a relative amount of safety. They only price they had to pay was to let Aidan feed on them. He never killed them, but eventually he would get bored and let them go, searching for new donors.

  “Alright love,” he said after they had their fill and he sent away their donors. “Tell me, are you well? Happy? Do you have any more offspring?”

  “I am quite content with how my life is going. I still only have Zachariah as my offspring and no plans to make any more for now.”

  “How is Daniel doing?”

  “He is doing well considering the circumstances,” she answered as she glared at him with a raised eyebrow. “He went into a downward spiral for a while there, but Zachariah and I were just barely able to keep his head above water. He recently turned twenty-one.”

  “You seem very attached to this family member, more so than the rest.”

  “He is incredible; I love him like he is my own brother. Out of every generation of my human family, he is the one who I have been closest with. I don’t even want to think about how painful it will be when he dies,” she sullenly said while staring down at her hands.

  “I warned you when you were turned to just leave your family, that it would be the easiest way. Instead, you chose to stay and suffer each time you have to say your final goodbye to them. I told you not to get attached to humans unless you planned on turning them.”

  She chortled under her breath, “I know. That’s how Zachariah got turned. I fear he will forever hold resent for what I did to him. But, we loved each other for several years, when he got sick I couldn’t bear to let him go. That’s when he learned what I was.”

  “Do you resent me?” He asked.

  “No! I would do anything for you—although that is probably because you’re my maker. I know Zachariah feels the same for me.”

  He paused for a mom
ent and looked her in the eyes, “I am so proud of what you’ve become. I made a good choice when I made you; you’re sensitive, yet stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

  She beamed at him, so happy that her maker was so accepting of her and the choices she made.

  “Where is Mackenzie?” Emma asked, realizing that the house was incredibly empty for once.

  Mackenzie Campbell was another creation of Aidan’s who lived with him as his second-in-command. She was turned by him in her hometown of Paisley, Scotland where she was a young widow that worked as a weaver. Aidan saw strength within her; a woman who worked hard and was no holds barred when it came to speaking her mind. She was fiercely loyal and trustworthy to those around her. She was a ferocious fighter when she was needed for battle and Aidan couldn’t have picked a better second-in-command to his kingdom of Europe.

  “I sent her to run errands for me to prepare for the others’ arrival. I wanted a day to have you all to myself,” he replied in his thick Scottish accent with a sly grin.

  “Well, I’m all yours,” she purred.

  “You tempting little vixen,” he said with amusement. “We’ll get no work done if you keep that up. Now, let’s get down to business, the others will be here to join us this evening.”

  Chapter 5

  Todd was having a restless night and could barely sleep, constantly tossing and turning. The house just felt empty without Emma there. He looked forward to seeing her every day, passing her in the hallway, seeing her in the parlor and having flirtatious conversations. Before he met her, he was purely content with the thought of living at Davenport Manor for the next three months. But, now that he knew Emma, she was the reason for being here, not the Manor’s atmosphere.

  He looked at his clock and it was 4:30 in the morning, still dark outside. He laid awake with maddening thoughts racing through his head, eyes open and staring up at the black ceiling. He thought about what kind of history she and Zachariah had and it unsettled him knowing that he lived here at the Manor. Which bedroom was his—he didn’t remember anyone saying which room was Zach’s and never saw a headshot in the hallway, although he hadn’t actually looked for it. He made a mental note to casually look in the morning.

  He laid there and thought of Emma’s beautiful, flawless face, her gorgeous green eyes, and those perfect red lips. He thought of his drunken words to her the other night when he said his bedroom door was always open for her and rubbed his forehead. But, then he thought of her response, “I’ll keep that in mind…trust me, this is taking all the willpower I have.” She wanted him, too…she was just fighting it for whatever reason. Was she thinking of him while she was away? Did she miss him as much as he missed her? His brain was spiraling into a frustrating array of thoughts that eventually gave in to a light slumber.

  Todd awoke four hours later to his screaming alarm clock. They were filming outside again this morning, so he wanted to get showered and eat some breakfast before he had to see the makeup crew. He checked his phone and saw a text from an unknown, but local Illinois number. It read:

  “Hi Todd, this is Emma. So save my number into your phone! All is well here in Scotland. I just wanted to say that I miss your face. ;-)”

  He immediately saved her number into his phone and read over her message a few times, smiling to himself. He tried to think of something to write.

  “Good morning Emma, thanks for the text. Seems pretty empty here without you around. I miss your beautiful face, too. I want to talk to you when you get back.”

  He looked it over once more and his thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button. He held his breath for a moment and hit it. Now he would have to figure out just what he wanted to say when he saw her! His phone dinged with a new text and he anxiously looked at his phone.

  “I’ll be back before you know it and we can talk then.”

  He sent one last response, “Until then, you’re continually in my head.”

  He waited for her to reply, but none came. He got up out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower. He got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast where most of the cast and crew were gathered. He fixed a plate for himself and pulled up a chair next to Daniel.

  “Mornin’ buddy, how are you today?” He said as he sat down.

  “Good! How about you?” Daniel said while gnawing on a piece of bacon.

  “Not bad, I was just texting with Emma. What was her friend’s emergency that she had to leave so suddenly?” The curiosity was getting the best of him, but he didn’t want to ask Emma directly in fear of sounding nosey.

  Zachariah slid up next to them with a glass of tomato juice in his hand. “Mornin’. What are we talking about?”

  “Todd was asking what the emergency was that Emma had to leave so quickly,” Daniel said, not knowing what to tell him. As soon as Todd looked away, Daniel gave an intense shrug to Zachariah.

  “She didn’t say what happened with him, just that she needed to go.” Zachariah took a sip of his juice from his bent straw.

  “He?” Todd asked, not realizing this friend of hers was a male.

  Zachariah’s mouth twitched up into a half-smirk when he realized Todd was sporting some jealousy. “Yes, he, meaning Aidan…”

  Todd nodded slowly while trying to hide his true feelings. “She must be very close to him since she jumped a plane across the ocean…”

  Daniel, wanting to alleviate Todd’s suspicion, added, “They’ve known each other for a long time, they’re very close.”

  However, Zachariah was relishing in Todd’s discomfort with the situation. He thoroughly enjoyed watching Todd squirm while knowing that Emma was with another man. To add fuel to the fire, he said, “…and occasional lovers…”

  Todd and Daniel both looked at him incredulously while he tried to contain his grin. This was just too much fun for him. Todd, not wanting to think about the fact that Emma could be doing God knows what with this Aidan guy at that very moment, pushed the idea to the back of his mind and changed the subject.

  “Is that tomato juice? That looks good right now.” Todd asked while pointing at Zachariah’s glass.

  “It is, but I took the last of it, sorry man.”

  Daniel looked at the clock on the wall and got up from the table, “I gotta go. I need to run upstairs before I have to be down in makeup.”

  Alone for the first time since Todd arrived, there was an awkward silence between Zachariah and him. Zachariah shifted in his seat about to get up, but sat back down. He looked at Todd and took a breath, as he was about to say something, but tried to find the right words. Todd looked at him from the corner of his eye, waiting for him to talk. He was pretty darn sure that it was regarding Emma. He was right.

  “I noticed you seem a bit smitten by Emma,” Zachariah started. “It’s not a good idea to pursue it.” His hand was balled up in a fist and his eyes gave him an alarming stare.

  “Why is it a bad idea?” Todd responded without looking at him and still chewing his food. “Am I in the way?” He brazenly asked with nonchalance.

  “Emma is a lot more complicated than you think. She’s beautiful, charming, and an amazing person. But…”

  “But, what?” Todd interrupted, setting his fork down with force. “I know you two have a history, that’s no secret, Zach. I think you’re jealous that she’s interested in me. And I really don’t care.”

  Zachariah’s voice was now threatening, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

  Todd narrowed his eyes and stared at him, thinking of a response. He was sure that the reason was because it tore Zachariah up that Emma was interested in someone else. But, his curiosity piqued and he was wondering where he was going with all this. “Okay then, tell me what I’m getting myself into.”

  Zachariah searched for the right words to say without spilling Emma’s secrets. “Look, Emma has had her eye on you for a very long time, since your first film…”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Todd replied, clearly confused.


  Frustrated, Zachariah replied, “No, it’s just…ugh! Just don’t get involved with her! Take it from me, you do not want to go down that path.” His tone was urgent, practically desperate and pleading. His face didn’t exude anger, it looked more worried.

  Todd pushed his chair back and stood up, with a snarky tone he replied, “I think I’ll take my chances.” He ambled out of the dining room and headed to makeup.

  Zachariah was torn; he didn’t know what else he could do to deter Todd from getting involved with Emma without seeming like a jealous freak. When Todd first arrived at the Manor, he was admittedly resentful of him. Emma openly spoke of her attraction to him, but he was used to her interest in other men after all these years. He should have known she would charm him and he would, in turn, be attracted to her as well. But, he was also insanely jealous, as the connection between Todd and Emma seemed to be more than just at a sexual level. Emma being with others didn’t bother him because the other men she was with were always vampires. She rarely had any emotional connection with them that went beyond friendship. Aidan was the only exception to that rule as he was her maker and she was as devoted to him as Zachariah was to her.

  On the other hand, Zachariah felt bad for Todd because he clearly had no idea of the danger that lied ahead. He himself had been down this path well over a century ago and he had not seen Emma behave this way with a human ever since he was a human. How was he supposed to warn Todd that if Emma ended up falling for him, he may end up immortal? You can’t just slip that into a casual conversation.

  Now he had caused an awkward tension between him and Todd—who now thought that he was the jealous ex who just couldn’t get over her. He didn’t like seeming pathetic, he was much too proud. After spending some time with clashing thoughts running through his head, Zachariah decided that this really wasn’t his battle. He tried the best he could, but he would just have to sit back and let things unfold how they may.