by S. E. Babin
He was lying.
"You'd be surprised how many people want to know every event of their life. Personally I find it disturbing, but a girl has to pay the bills."
Lucas abruptly stood from the table. "Excuse me for a moment, Grace." He pulled his cell out of his pocket. "I have to take this. It's work." With an apologetic shrug, he left the table.
I sat there, confused, but nodded like a dummy. After five minutes, I knew for a fact that he wasn't coming back.
When Frank came over ten minutes later armed to the teeth with food and extras and saw my expression, he knew it too.
"Oh my darling," he said and slid into the seat his brother had occupied. "I shall kill him for you. I'll behead him, burn his body and salt his bones. Would that make it okay for you?"
I snorted with amusement, though tears sprang to my eyes. I reached out for my wallet but he gently pushed my hand away. "No. I'm not charging you a dime. I shall, however, charge my brother in triplicate." He winked at me as he stood. "He leaves his card on file with us so he doesn't have to deal with the checks. Would you like me to box this up for you?" he asked as he reached for my plate.
I nodded.
"Very well," he said with a sigh. As he was about to walk away, he stopped and turned back to me. "For what's it's worth, I know you will not have long before you find someone who cherishes you. My brother is a complete idiot, and I hope he comes to his senses soon."
I slipped my purse over my shoulder and stood. "If he shows up at my door again, I'll blast him so full of rock salt, it will burn every time he pees."
Frank grinned at me and unexpectedly reached over and brushed a kiss over my cheek. "In that case, I'll tell him he left something important at your house.”
We both laughed.
I headed over to the hostess stand to call a car service because I had no way to get home. A few minutes later, Frank gave me a massive bag packed with way more than my food. "Consider this an I'm sorry for the third time that my brother is a massive asshole present."
I peeked in and saw at least two bottles of wine and a massive slice of cheesecake. "I accept your apology," I told him.
Frank waved and walked away right before the hostess told me my car had arrived. Lugging the huge bag, I walked into the cool night air and got into the car.
Tonight was either the biggest waste of time or the coolest night ever. I couldn't actually remember a time where I'd gotten to insult someone as much as I had and still walk out with a bag full of expensive freebies.
4
Lucas
"If you smack me one more time, I'm going to drain every one of you," I said with the patience of an agitated viper.
For good measure, Frank smacked me in the back of the head one more time, and I flashed fangs at him.
"You're a total fucking idiot," my brother said. "Even in her weird ass clothes, Grace is drop dead gorgeous."
I sighed. He was right, but I had no desire to get tangled up with a clairvoyant, not with everything I had going on right now. Even though I kept all of the pissed off texts she sent me after I ditched her for dinner. Even the one where she told me she had half a mind to sleep with Frank just to annoy me.
I doubted she would.
But I wasn't sure.
I also wasn't sure if Frank was thinking along the same lines because in the last five minutes, he'd repeatedly mentioned how hot Grace was.
So...here I was. All three of my brothers looking at me like I'd lost my ever loving mind. And, looking in from the outside, I supposed I had.
"Thank the gods you got rid of that beard. That thing was so dense I bet I could have found the Holy Grail in there," Sam said as he sprawled out on the couch and grinned at me from ear to ear.
"Grace is...different," I admitted.
"Different in a bodies in the closet kind of way? Or boiling bunnies? Or different in a good way," my third brother, Colin, chimed in.
"In a good way." I paused and saw the looks they exchanged. "But that doesn't mean she's right for me!" I amended. "She's got a mouth on her."
At that, Frank let out a hoot. "Since when have you complained about the size of a lady's mouth!"
"All right, asshat," I said, "I meant she's sarcastic as hell and borderline mean."
Sam scrubbed a hand over his five o'clock shadow and stared at me like I was stupid. "You show up to her house like you've just auditioned for Lumberjack Lovers with boots you purposely put in cow shit and you think she should be nice to you?" His expression was bewildered. "The finest education our parents could buy and you're still as stupid as an unhatched chicken."
Frank snorted. "You do know that sarcasm is an indicator of high intelligence? And considering she brought you to your knees with her words, I think you're ashamed that she outwitted you!"
"She didn't bring me to my knees!" I growled.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Frank admitted, "it was the pretty blush she got out of you. Sorry, my mistake."
"I hate you all."
Colin put his fingers in a steepled position which meant he was thinking and everyone usually got very scared when Colin started to think because he could be quite diabolical. "You can't stop thinking about her, can you?" he asked quietly.
You could hear a stone drop in the room, so me pausing for a moment before I answered just made it worse.
"That's ridiculous." But my protests sounded false even to my own ears.
Frank sat down in the only empty space not occupied by Sam's sprawled out body. "Well, you have three single brothers here. One," he pointed to himself, "who is definitely interested. And," he pointed to Colin and Sam, "two others who will be as soon as I show them a picture of her."
"She's too short," I said. A weak protest if I'd ever heard one.
"The better to pick up and cuddle," said Frank.
"She's mouthy!" I said on a growl, growing ever more pissed off the longer I spent trapped in this room with them.
"The better to kiss my delicate areas," said Sam sweetly.
"She's a fucking clairvoyant!" I shouted.
Confused silence fell in the room and I cursed inwardly. None of my brothers were going to care about her being a clairvoyant. What they were going to care about, though, was why I cared that she was a clairvoyant.
"Are we a speciesist now?" asked Frank, his brow furrowed as we locked eyes.
"Because that would be quite ridiculous," said Colin as he tilted his head to study me. "After all, we do grow fangs and have a pesky need for warm blood, pumped directly from the source."
Sam stayed silent for a moment, but the look he was directing at me sank to my soul. He was the one who knew me the best. "You're hiding something, aren't you, Lucas?"
Frank pursed his lips together and gasped. "You are!" he accused. "And it's a big one."
Colin merely shifted in his seat. "So you aren't a speciesist, you just want your secret kept. Even from us." He studied his immaculate nails. "Interesting."
Frank threw him a bewildered look. "That's not interesting, you tool! That's terrifying. The only kind of secrets vampires keep are the ones that have the potential to kill us!" His gaze returned to me. "But you wouldn't be that stupid, would you?"
"Of course not," I scoffed. Unfortunately, I was totally that stupid, and I suspect Colin knew it and Sam had a good feeling.
"So what is it?" Sam asked, his voice calm and mild.
I stood. "This conversation is over. If any of you want to date Grace Banner, you have my blessing." Even though I'd said the words, from the prick in my heart, I knew I didn't mean them. I wasn't sure any of my brothers would do it, but Grace was a catch. Foul mouth and all.
My brothers remained silent, but I could feel their accusing eyes on me as I left the room.
I started up my old yet pristine Ford pickup and pulled away from my parent's mansion, glad to be away. The conversation between us was getting heated and I loved my brothers enough not to expose them to this potential danger. I checked my rearview and side mir
rors multiple times and drove around the town in various directions before I took the route over to Marissa's house, a friend of mine.
It was difficult to explain, this secret I had. On one hand I knew how dumb I was for protecting her. On the other, I'd promised my best friend to take care of her if he didn't make it back.
He never made it back, so it had been left up to me to keep her safe. But I only wished I knew about the minefield I was about to walk into before I made the promise.
My best friend was a werewolf and served in the same Air Force unit I had. Our bodies could take quite the beating, so we'd signed up to be Explosive Ordinance Techs. We were the guys who went in and dismantled bombs. And we were very, very good at it. Wolves and vamps serving in the armed forces was a relatively new thing but still kept classified. We were their best weapons, but somehow, the conflict area had gotten wind of it. Sikes had gone out to dismantle what should have been a routine roadside bomb, but it had been loaded with silver. Enough of it to take a team of highly experienced wolves and vamps down.
I hadn't been there that day. I'd had a clinic appointment so I spent my time back at the main camp rather than a “normal” day with Sikes. I'd regretted it ever since, and even though I knew it wasn't my fault, it didn't matter. Sikes was gone and I was still here.
The complication was Marissa. She was lovely, intelligent and free-spirited and I adored her. But she was pregnant. In normal situations, it would be a joyful occasion, but...Marissa was a vampire and mating between our species was strictly outlawed. If any of the vamps or wolves caught wind of her pregnancy, she and the baby would be terminated. Normally, there was never a viable fetus because the species were so different, but the few times on record showed an infant of indomitable strength and will, with clawed fingers, toes, and hands, retractable teeth and the ability to shift at will. They had no aversion to sunlight, any holy relics and could not be killed with silver. No one had yet figured out how they could be killed, except for beheading. The clans, brought together by a problem bigger than their rivalries, had instituted laws banning any procreation between our species. They didn't go so far as to outlaw interspecies marriage, but there could be no children born of the relationship at any time. To do so was to sacrifice the lives of the mother, the child, and the father by a swift execution.
So I was risking my life to help Marissa in order to keep a promise I'd made to my best friend. It was against my better judgment. All my judgment, really, but Marissa insisted the child was made out of love, and would be a product of love. I believed her, but it was terrifying to know I was allowing a tiny, killing machine to be housed inside of my dead friend's wife. And then into the world. The child would be the first of its kind to survive.
Nope. Not terrifying at all.
I pulled into the driveway of the secluded old mansion about twenty minutes later after checking what seemed to be a thousand times to ensure I wasn't followed. This place was supposed to be abandoned, but after Sikes passed away, I needed a place to stash Marissa so I picked this up at a steal during an auction. It was a bit of a pain in the ass because to keep my identity secret I had to pull a lot of strings to ensure the property was purchased via a trust that couldn't be linked to me. I'd said nothing to Marissa about my troubles, but when I took her here and saw the dubious look on her face it made me want to scream. After all, she hadn't made any of this easy on me. Even though she didn't realize what I was doing to keep her safe, it still rankled a little bit.
I cut the engine and stepped out of the old truck and into the too long grass. I didn't want to hire mowers because it could bring too much attention to the place. I would need to figure out a way to get around that soon enough, especially if Marissa was outside. A snake bite would only complicate the hell out of an already complicated situation.
I jogged up the steps and rang the sonorous doorbell. As if Marissa had been sitting by the door waiting for company, it opened immediately and her face lit up.
"Lucas!" she said and immediately rushed at me for a hug. I held her slight form for a moment, feeling the bump of her stomach against me and gently pushed her away.
"Marissa," I said, chuckling as I looked at her baby bump. "Seems the baby is cooking along nicely."
She ushered me in and harrumphed. "If by nicely you mean making me utterly miserable, then yes. It's very nice." I grinned at her slim back and followed her in.
She showed me to the living room and I sat down on the couch. Marissa was a beautiful girl. Long, dark hair flowed down her shoulders and her back, framing a face meant for Hollywood. Heart shaped, with almond shaped eyes and perfect bow lips, she looked like a modern day Snow White trapped in her own castle. Well...if Snow White happened to be a predator pregnant with a storybook monster, that was.
I'd never once been attracted to her. She was, for all intents and purposes, the little sister I'd never had, and my best friend's wife. The one I was desperately trying to keep hidden against all my better judgment.
Marissa offered me a cup of tea and I was pleased to see she wasn't drinking coffee. Before the baby, Marissa and her coffee were like two peas in a pod.
Or she could just be hiding the coffee somewhere else and putting on a good show for me. I tried not to be so overly involved in her life, but I couldn't seem to help myself. Marissa wasn't from Midnight Cove. All visitors were supposed to be cleared. Not doing so meant risking Portia Kadish's wrath, yet another reason I didn't want to get involved in her so called dating agency.
I nodded at her and she poured me a cup of steaming tea. It smelled of chamomile and mint. She offered me some honey or sugar but I declined. Once I had it and took a sip, I set it down and studied her.
She smiled tentatively at me. Pregnancy with a tiny monster was agreeing with her. Her dark hair shone in the dim light of her living room. Her face was flush with good health.
"How's your supply?" I asked.
Marissa shrugged, a delicate blush coloring her cheeks. "It's fine, though I'm running low on red meat. I confess I can't quite shake the cravings these days."
She'd admitted to consuming large amounts of raw meat over the last couple of months, something vamps never did, but wolves definitely did. We could eat and did at social occasions, and sometimes even at home, but mostly we relied on the Midnight Cove Blood Bank for sustenance. Wolves, however, ate a lot and quite ravenously at that. So I had to start delivering large amounts of raw red meat cuts to her door. I'd been weirded out by the whole thing, but I'd also never been pregnant or even around kids that much.
"I'll grab you some more next time I come to visit. Do you have enough left to last a week?"
She nodded. "I could go out and get some," she said, a hopeful note creeping into her voice.
I shook my head. "You know if you go out it could raise a lot of questions we can't answer."
She huffed and sat back on the couch, her arms crossed and a mulish expression on her face. "I'm dying in here, Lucas. It's terribly boring! I can't do anything. I can't go anywhere." She rolled her eyes. "I take it back. I can do something. Grow fat and swollen!" She glared at her ankles as if they were out to get her. "Why can't I take a walk? Or start a book club? Or go out to eat?"
I’d been over this a thousand times. "You know why. I'm taking a huge risk just having you here. And to add to that, your baby." I made my voice as serious as I could. "We would both come under the ax if even a single person knew what you were carrying."
She snorted. "You make it sound like the baby is going to tear out my insides and come roaring into the world full of bloodlust."
I sipped my tea to keep from answering because that's kind of exactly what I thought was going to happen. If it got to that point, I wasn't sure what I would do, but I knew Sikes would want this baby, too. If it killed her, well...honestly I wasn't sure it could kill her. It was something we'd have to see. At minimum, the baby would have to be contained.
Or it could just be an adorable, super weird baby, but luck was rarely
on my side these days.
"Oh for the gods sake," Marissa snorted. "My baby is not going to be some clawed tiny ninja assassin. Good grief, Lucas. If we are to survive, we must be willing to change."
I let out a laugh at that one. "And how many of us do you know who are open to change?"
Her lips thinned. "Considering I'm sitting here pregnant with one of the first werewolf-vampire hybrid babies, I'd say at least one."
"Well good luck to you on changing the world then, Marissa," I said, and immediately felt guilty when a hurt look crossed her face.
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." I took another sip of tea. "You know how difficult it is to deal with an immortal. Both the wolves and the vamps came together to specifically outlaw this one thing. I would not push your luck. I'd have the baby and then we can deal with getting you out of here and into a safer place." What I didn't tell her was the second her child did something out of character, I wouldn't be able to stop the hordes of violence that would come its way.
"Fine," she huffed. "Have it your way."
"I shall," I said and stood. "Send me your grocery list within the week and I'll make a stop for you. Try to tone it down on the candy. I don't know if vamps can get gestational diabetes, but I also don't want you to be the first case."
Marissa snorted. "What else have I got to do around here besides stuff my face?"
I picked up the remote control and tossed it to her. "I paid for a year of Netflix. Watch it."
"The regular world has much better tv. I'm so sick of zombies," she said as she tossed the remote onto the coffee table.
I shrugged. "I'll stop at the library and get you some chick books."
"Go away, you misogynist pig," she said, but there was no heat in her voice.
As I walked away, she shouted, "Get me books with sex. A lot of sex!"
I shook my head at her. Marissa was getting Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. Or whatever I could find that had the least amount of sex in them. Before I'd gotten into my car I began to wonder if our library had a Puritan section. Now that was a time in our history when even the mention of sexual relations could have earned you a burning.