Christian shook his head. "As far as I know, it hasn't," he murmured. "Even being turned against your will, even attempting to claim someone who doesn't want to be claimed hasn't caused someone to feel disgust the way it did for him. I wonder..." He let his voice trail off as he reached out and swept the curtain of brown hair behind her shoulder. She felt more exposed under his hungry gaze but it wasn't unpleasant. She didn't feel uncomfortable. "Perhaps it has something to do with your heritage. If you are a fairy, it wouldn't surprise me to know that your DNA has protection against predators."
"But you're a vampire," Maggie pointed out. "How are you able to feed on me?"
"That's a good question," Christian murmured before placing another kiss on her shoulder blade. Her skin responded by erupting into goosebumps. She swallowed, trying to moisten her theist. "Right now, though, I want to focus on the fact that I can taste you. In any way I want."
Chapter 22
The NDS interviewed Maggie and Christian that morning regarding the events that transpired last night. Christian was not charged with murder due to Maggie's witness statement as well as video footage of what happened in Tristan's office. A report was being written and charges were brought to Barry for tampering with HIPPA-protected information but that was a civil violation rather than a criminal one. Regardless, Christian fired Barry and vanished him from the clan. He also let go of Isabella simply because he didn't want her to shoot him longing looks while he was in his new office.
Once they left, Maggie took Christian to an on-campus burger joint where they ate cheeseburgers with grilled onions and thousand island dressing and cheese fries.
"I think we should probably talk," Maggie said after taking a long sip of her chocolate shake, eyeing Christian warily.
He didn't seem perturbed by her phrasing and relaxed in his seat, sipping on his coke. He didn't actually need the food or the drinks but it still tasted like food to him and he always liked burgers.
"Sure," he told her. "I think you're right. Where do you want to start?"
Maggie shifted in her seat. "Honestly, I have no idea," she admitted, looking at her hands on the surface of her table. "I've never had a talk with a boyfriend before. I've never really dated seriously. I still don't know what I am. And I don't know what that means for us."
He stared at her for a long moment before nodding his head once. "Do you want to know?" Christian asked, peeling his brow. "About what you may or may not be? It would you rather not know?"
Maggie shrugged, allowing herself a moment to really process his question. On the one hand, she didn't think it particularly mattered. She was with Christian and maybe the feedings and their blood chemistry enhanced those feelings, the feelings by themselves were real. No one could take that away from her, from them. On the other hand, she did want to know what she was. Maybe it would give her some insight on her father. Maybe it would give her an insight on herself. At least she would know for sure what she was. And if she wasn't anything special, if she was a human and that was it, she would be okay with that as well.
"I think I do," she told him in a quiet voice.
Christian didn't seem pleased by this but he nodded once,
Maggie furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?" she asked. She wasn't being defensive, just curious as to his reaction.
“Nothing is wrong,” Christian said.
“Christian,” Maggie murmured. “Look.” She reached out and placed her hand over his. He stiffened but not because he was uncomfortable with her touch; more like he was shocked that she was touching him at all. He wasn’t used to physical contact, it would seem. Possibly because he wouldn’t allow himself this sort of physical contact. It was affectionate and sweet rather than passionate and lust-filled. Maggie didn’t pull away and neither did he. “I don’t know what we are. I don’t know what you want us to be or how you feel about me. But I want us to feel comfortable being honest with each other, no matter what that is.”
Christian pressed his lips together. It seemed like he understood the validity of her statement but still didn’t particularly want to let down his guard. Which was fine with Maggie. She could be patient. He deserved that much.
“If you are a fairy,” he said, his voice low. “There’s a possibility that all of this, these feelings between us, is a sham. If you didn’t know for sure –“
“It would still be a sham, Christian,” Maggie murmured, looking down at her small hand covering his large one. “My feelings for you aren’t going to change anytime soon. We can’t predict the future. Humans fall in and out of love all the time. I’ve heard vampires don’t even fall in love that often. Except for Alek and Danielle, obviously. If it’s not what you want, I understand. But the fact that you’re a vampire, the fact that I may or may not be…” For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. To say she could be part fairy. “I want to be with you.”
“I know,” he said. His chin was strained, his eyes were staring at their clasped hands and he traced his thumb up and down the back of her hand. “I know. I just… I’ve never been with someone in the same way I want to be with you.” He covered her hand with his, finally locking eyes with her. “I suppose that I’m afraid to lose you. I don’t want you to realize I don’t deserve you.”
“Christian,” Maggie said, her voice low but sharp. “Everything your uncle said before he died was a lie. You must know that.”
“I know,” Christian said with a nod. “Of course, I know. It’s just, I’ve been alive for a thousand years. I’ve had to live with the knowledge that I killed my parents because of my lack of discipline. And it wasn’t as though my uncle made me feel better about myself. So I would fast for long portions of time, I raised my expectations for the blood I would consume. I needed to punish myself but no matter what I did, I could not alleviate the pain. Once I found out you were fairy, I was afraid I would do the same thing to you. I wouldn’t be able to control myself around you. I would hurt you because of it. If we didn’t know for sure if you were fairy or not, I wouldn’t worry as much about losing control again.”
“You don’t have to worry at all,” Maggie said. “I trust you.”
“I have no idea what you went through when you were first turned. And I have no idea how it must have been for you, being with an uncle who controlled you, belittled you, only wanted you for selfish reasons.” She swallowed, cocking her head to the side as she looked up at him with shy eyes. “Christian, my uncle’s and my mother are in this due legal battle because my grandparents are dead. My tuition money is tied up in that, which is why I had to start this job – because it paid well and it was easy and wouldn’t affect my studies. I know our situations are a little different, but I’m also aware that sometimes, your family is what you choose rather than the blood in your body. I love my mom. She’s my family. When they were alive, my grandparents were everything to me.” She squeezed the hand she was holding. “You are my family, Christian. I choose you.”
Christian nodded. “I know,” he said. “I know you’re right.” He pressed his lips together and then shook his head. “I’m sorry for even-“
“It’s okay,” she told him, interrupting his apology. “I understand. You don’t have to apologize.”
“Let me make a few calls and I’ll set up another appointment with someone in the Cruz company,” he said. “He has people we can trust and we should get the results back quickly.”
Maggie nodded and watched as he stood up to do just that. They still needed to talk about them, about their arrangement, but maybe now wasn’t the best time. She could wait until they were both ready, until the dust settled. For now, she enjoyed watching him speak, being in his company, and knowing that, for now, everything was going to be all right.
--
“I didn’t know Lucas Cruz knew how to draw blood,” Maggie murmured as the werewolf business mogul disappeared from the exam room in order to grab a syringe and a test tube.
“He was a Lone Wolf who ditched his pack,” Christian po
inted out from his seat on the plastic chair. His bulky frame made the chair look small. “They weren’t going to offer him any assistance once he left, not even medical assistance.”
Maggie furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand all of these wolf pack tendencies, these vampire codes.” She shook her head.
“Yeah, well I’m sure Avery was in the same boat as you when she and Cruz first got together,” he pointed out. “If you have any questions, she’d be an excellent resource.”
“Avery Montgomery?” Maggie asked, surprised. “The princess of Somerset would take time out of her business schedule would talk to me?”
Christian looked at her like the answer was obvious. "Avery Montgomery is literally the nicest person I know besides you," he told her. "She would laugh at the notion that she's a princess and she would be open to seeing you no matter what."
At that moment, someone knocked on the door to the exam room before the door opened. Maggie turned her head and in walked Lone Wolf himself, Lucas Cruz. He was extremely handsome and oozed charm. He wasn't tall but he made up for that with his personality. He was lean, filled with muscle, with olive skin and short curly black hair. His eyes were dark but warm, with sharp cheekbones and a chiseled jaw. He was dressed casually, with fitted dark jeans and a grey t-shirt that clung to his frame and showed off an amazing set of biceps.
"Hi," he said, giving her a smile and locking eyes with her. Maggie felt herself straighten and Christian cut her a glance as though he could hear her heart start to beat quicker just because Lucas Cruz smiled at her. Christian bit back a smirk and shook his head. "I'm Lucas."
Maggie felt her cheeks turn pink but she placed her hand in his and shook his hand.
"Maggie," she said. She cleared her throat and looked away as she rolled up the left sleeve, exposing her arm.
"Christian told me what's going on," he said, taking a seat in a chair next to her. "I want you to know your secret is safe with me. And Avery. I tell her everything." He shrugged. "Anyway, my lab tech has no idea what he's testing for but if you do have the fairy gene, we will be able to identify it from the results. I'm going to draw your blood in order to ensure we don't cross-contaminate it. The less people we involve in this, the better."
Maggie nodded. "Thank you," she murmured.
"No worries," he said. "I appreciate your trust even though you didn't necessarily choose to tell me. We'll take your blood and get the results to you as soon as possible. I'll probably call you in just so no one can overhear our conversation."
"Sounds good," Maggie said.
She felt her heart lurch as she heard him out on the latex gloves. She hated the feeling of the needles piercing her skin. She would t even look at it even though it didn't actually hurt. She took a breath as Lucas placed a syringe around her arm and felt for a good vein to draw blood from.
"I'm glad Christian found someone that can put up with his crap," Lucas said as he slid the needle into her skin. She flinched and Christian reached out to place a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Even though the guy's been around forever, he still enrolled in business school and we graduated the same year. He's a good guy."
"Yeah," Maggie said, as Lucas slid the needle out of her skin before placing a cotton ball on top of the prick, putting pressure on it. Her eyes flashed over to Christian as gauze was wrapped around her arm to hold the cotton ball in place. "He is."
Chapter 23
The following week, Maggie took Christian’s second car and drove south to her aunt’s home. It was a two-hour drive south of the city. Once she was out of the city, there was a two-lane highway with beautiful scenery on either side. The grass was lush and green thanks to the weather that always provided rain – even when it was unexpected. There were trees everywhere, tall trees filled with dark green leaves that liked to block out the sun, provide shade, and cast shadows everywhere. There were pockets of houses in gated communities. Many wealthy residents owned mansions out in the forest. The two registered werewolf packs had their own section of woods – one was south (the Sterling pack) and one was north (the Cruz pack). It wasn’t uncommon to see wolves running around but they never hurt anyone.
Maggie’s grandparents lived in a pocket of the Sterling Forest called Night Shade. It had twenty or so other houses in the neighborhood. The house was dark wood with a black roof, black trimmings, and white numbers for the address. It was two-stories with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. She loved living here; it was quiet and tranquil. Rose inherited the house after Maggie’s grandmother passed away due to the fact that Rose was successful and housing Maggie during. Which meant Rose inherited the house because she had Maggie. Her uncles fought her on it, however, because Maggie, as an adult, would not be living at the house while in college and they didn’t think it was fair that their sister was awarded something for nothing.
Court battles ensued. Months later and nothing had been resolved.
Maggie felt bad that her aunt had to deal with this all by herself. The only people who really helped were her parents and Maggie’s mother. Even her brothers were off doing their own things – which was fine. Selfish, but fine. Which meant Maggie was extremely close to her grandparents and her mother and her aunt and not that close to her uncles.
And since it was here uncles who caused her tuition to be tied up, Maggie didn’t really appreciate the fact that their selfishness could potentially hinder her education.
However, Maggie was not here to talk to her aunt about any of that. Maggie was here to find more about her father and she hoped Rose thought she was old enough to understand what had happened between he and her mother and why her father was never around. Regardless, she wanted to enjoy Rose’s company for a while. It was nice to get away for a few hours and recharge, remind herself where she came from.
She parked in the driveway, in front of the attached two-car garage, and headed to the front door to knock. When Maggie moved out, Rose made her give her keys back to try and show her that she couldn’t have a home in two places at once.
A lot of people thought that that was cold but Maggie didn't care. She had no problem calling ahead of time to make sure Rose was there in the first place. It was just being courteous, especially since Rose could be dating someone and she definitely didn't want to walk in on that.
When she got to the heavy wooden door, Maggie opted to ring the doorbell rather than knock. It only took a moment before her aunt answered, beaming at seeing her niece standing in front of her. Without warning, Rose threw her hands out and pulled her daughter to her even though Rose was a head and a half shorter than Maggie was. Rose was also incredibly strong, much stronger than she appeared considering she was slender and fit. Rose had always eaten healthy, opting for organic food rather than preservatives. She didn't force Maggie to adhere to her diet though Maggie didn't mind the healthy change.
Rose took a step back and looked at her daughter with the same big brown eyes Maggie had. "Let me see you, Mags," she said, her eyes sweeping over her daughter's frame.
Maggie was wearing nothing special - just a floral blouse and boot-cut jeans. Her hair was thrown in a simple ponytail and her makeup was light.
"You look amazing!" she exclaimed. "Who's the guy?"
Maggie snorted. "Rose," she said. "I saw you a couple of months ago for winter break. I can't possibly look any different."
"No, no," Rose said, shaking her head and taking a step back so Maggie could walk into the house. "There's something about you. A glow. But not a pregnancy glow. It's more like a happiness glow. And I just assumed a guy made you happy. Because, honey, I could tell you weren't really happy the last time you were here. Almost as though you didn't really know what you were doing with yourself."
"Rose, you know I want to be a nurse," Maggie said, walking over the wood floor to the kitchen bar and took a seat.
"Yeah," Rose said with a nod, "but you seemed lost. In general. Now, you seem like you have some kind of idea of where you're going." She gave her daughter a knowing sm
ile, her hands on her hips, raising her brow. "I want to know if there's a man behind that smile."
"I mean..." Maggie let her voice trail off and she grinned. "I have started seeing someone and he has helped me figure out what I'm going to do with my life but... I'm happy because of me, Rose."
"Of course you are, dear," she said, heading over to the kitchen where the scent of breakfast potatoes on the stove hit the air. Maggie could smell the bell peppers and her mouth started to water naturally.
Maggie remained silent as Rose started to move the food from the frying pans to waiting plates. Maggie could see a buttered roll, the eggs and potatoes and some fruit salad being distorted. She pressed her lips together to hold back a smile. Her mother, in her infinite healthy food wisdom, still liked to overfeed her daughter just to make sure Maggie was eating well enough, even though Maggie was at a healthy weight for her height.
Rose brought over both plates of food and sat down across from her daughter. Orange juice with ice had already been waiting for Maggie and she took a long sip before she dove into her food. Rose let out a giggle, almost as if to say some things didn't change, before eating her own food.
"So," Rose began after swallowing down her food with a gulp of ice water. Maggie did not understand how anyone could drink water so early in the morning but her aunt was a unique type of person. "How's school, honey?"
Maggie pressed her lips together to keep from snapping at her aunt. She didn't call to make small talk. She called for a very specific purpose. She needed to find out who her father was, if there was any detail her mother could give her that would link the fact that she could be a vampire to someone. Because Maggie knew no one on her mother's side was fairy - although her uncles’ were arguably just as vicious.
So she curbed her impatience and answered her question. School was tough. Exams were hard and there a couple of quizzes she got C's on rather than her typical A's and B's. But she was attempting to rectify the situation by writing an extra credit report. Other than that, she was on track to graduate and, if she could get her grades up to at least a solid B, she'd be graduating with a 3.3.
An Education in Scandal: A Somerset Novel (Somerset Series Book 5) Page 14