by Kate Wendley
“Because what could you do? You’re…”
His anger roared back to life, making her flinch and lean away from him.
“I’m what? Handicapped?”
Her voice trembled as she said, “You’re my baby.”
He growled out, “I’m a grown man, mother.”
Her eyes sparked in anger as she puffed up and snapped, “You’ll always be my baby and don’t you get snappy with me about it! I brought you into this world!”
He was a foot taller than her and almost twice as big around, so it was ridiculous for her to yell at him, but his temper deflated because of how brave she always was.
She seemed startled by his change in mood, so he more calmly said, “I’m a grown man. You need to treat me like one.”
She slowly nodded as her face crumbled, so he leaned closer and gave her a hug.
Gripping her tight, he said, “Do you have pictures of him?”
She whispered, “Yes.”
“Show me. I want to know everything.”
They released each other and Vince felt like he was home again.
“Please, honey, promise me you won’t go to Savannah. They won’t welcome you. I’m sorry, baby, but they won’t. They might even kill you.”
Those weren’t the words he imagined anyone wanted to hear about their parents.
“Honey? You’re not going to try to find him, are you?”
“No, mom. I don’t have a death wish.”
She took some deep breaths as she wiped at her tear streaked cheeks.
He said, “Do you have any other family? Do we?”
Her face shut down, but she finally said, “My dada died in a knife fight in a bar when I was twelve. He always had to try to prove himself to everyone. Ma said he picked the wrong guy that night. My ma, well, I’m not sure she even loved dada, not that he was always nice to her either, but… I have a sister and a brother. I wonder how they’re doing from time to time, but I’d never put our lives in danger to find out. You’re more important to me, honey. It’s just you and me.”
He stared at her, too mentally shocked to know how to respond to these revelations. He was still mad she’d lied to him all these years, but he reluctantly understood why she felt she had to. He briefly wondered if things had really been as bad as she portrayed them, then remembered Penny calling all the Savannah jaguars jackasses. An image of her being mouthy and gorgeous popped into his head and he had to stifle a smile.
Back in the real world, his mom cautiously said, “Honey? Will you talk to me? Say something. Please.”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to keep any more secrets from me. I might be… handicapped, but I’m far from helpless.” That word felt rotten coming out of his mouth…
She tiredly nodded, her voice taking on a world weary quality he rarely heard from her. “Come out to the living room. I’ll show you some pictures.”
**
Vince reached for the faded photos with an unsure hand, yet couldn’t stop himself from looking.
Some of the pictures looked like they’d once been in frames in someone’s home, a perfectly lined edge much more brightly colored than the main picture. There were mostly men in the pictures, and they all looked a lot like him. They were Asian, an older one looking proud and feral as he stood tall in his suit and tie. The youngest one looked to be in his early twenties, the others all varying ages in between.
She pointed at the youngest of the bunch. “That’s him. That’s your father.”
His heart thumped harshly in his chest as he stared into the guarded eyes of a man he’d dreamed of meeting so many times.
In the photo he looked younger than Vince and had a reserved, almost forced smile compared to the others. Vince’s eyes trailed over all four of them, the brothers all looking remarkably similar to each other, tall with square jaws and wide shoulders. Their features were striking, like Vince’s were, and even more so in the older men.
His gaze went back to the youngest man in the picture. His father. “Do you think I look like him?”
“Yes. You look like that entire family. Their genes are strong in you.”
“What was he like?”
“Of all of them, he was the quiet one, and because of that, and because he was the youngest, he got picked on by his brothers a lot so he learned to fight. He was good, too. Powerful like his brothers, but he didn’t seek it out like they did. Still, he had no problem hitting a pregnant woman…”
He flicked a look at her. “Ed doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”
A blush crept into her cheeks as she fiddled with the pictures.
He smirked at her modesty. “Ed seems like a good guy, and so does Zach.”
Her bashful smile instantly vanished and that world wise tone in her voice was back. “Don’t let your guard down around Zach. We still don’t know him very well.”
“I know, but look at the whole family. If Anthony’s in charge of all that, well, I’ve gotten to know his fiancé over the years and she’s a good person. If she’s going to marry the Master Vampire of Atlanta… it feels like these are good people, mom. At least the ones that are in charge of things here.”
She sighed and settled back into their ratty couch, smoothing her hair back even though it was pinned up in a bun. It was a tired gesture she’d always had.
“I know. But I was fooled before, honey.”
“Were you? You said they were powerful and the brothers always picked on each other. I haven’t seen that here. So far, anyway.”
She stared at him a moment before tears filled her eyes again. “You think I’m stupid, don’t you?”
He cursed himself in his head. “No, I don’t. All I meant was that maybe you were in love and didn’t focus much on those other things. The bad things.”
She scoffed, then slowly smiled. “You’re smart. Like your father.”
He didn’t know how he felt being compared to him. He flicked another look at one of the pictures, then away, as if looking at it too long would provide a direct link to a powerful man that would more than likely be disgusted to learn he had a deformed son.
“I can’t keep you sheltered forever, honey. You need friends like you. You need to meet new people and find your own way in life. Just promise me you’ll keep your eyes and ears open. We don’t know these people, and they’re saying a lot of nice things, but in the end, everyone wants something and it’s not always what you want to give. Just be careful. For me.”
He frowned, suddenly painfully aware of how strong his mom had always been for him. She’d carried this burden of knowledge, of pain and heartache, besides then raising a child with all kinds of problems and without being able to get help because the world wasn’t ready to know about their kind.
It made him feel selfish and frankly, childish, for being mad at her lately. She’d had more burdens to bear than was her fair share, and she did it all for him. She even gave up her family for him.
She was right, though. He needed to meet other shifters. She’d grown up with others like herself, but he’d never had the experience of getting to know his own race of people. He’d opened up a can of worms by going to the club, he knew that, but he wouldn’t take it back even if he could, so all he said was, “I’ll be careful.”
Chapter 11
Anthony woke for the night in irritation because Kaia wasn’t near. He fed from Sebastian, then reached for his phone, but there were no messages from her.
“Did you hear from Kaia today?”
“No.”
His gut clenched. He’d been putting off assigning guards to her, mostly because she was a private person and he didn’t want her to feel like agreeing to be with him the rest of her life would make her his prisoner.
He called Zach. “Have you heard from Kaia today?”
“What do you mean? I watched her walk downstairs to the vampire basement about an hour ago. She was headed straight for our front door.”
Anthony’s eyes went wide. “Shit.
”
He dropped his phone and flew as mist as fast as he could to Dag’s room. The vampire had a spell on his door, though it wasn’t physically locked. Anthony smashed it open, ignoring the sticky, burning feel of the spell as it quickly disintegrated against his power.
He shook all over he was so blind with stupid jealousy to see Kaia resting soundly next to Dag’s giant, still sleeping body. She’d barely stirred at the sound of him breaking into the room, and now she was curling back into the giant Viking again.
Due to Anthony’s own ignorance of what it took to heal vampire bites on a human, Kaia now had small amounts of Dag’s blood in her, which made her enthralled to the man. Since Anthony had only ever fed from shifters his entire vampire life, and any vampires in his territory were family-bound to do the same, he’d never needed to know how to heal bites to a human. Meeting Kaia had changed quite a lot of things for him, and made him question more about what was possible with humans than he ever had in the past. Because of that, he couldn’t blame Dag for what was now happening since Anthony had been the one to ask him to heal her bite marks.
He leaned over her and gently touched her arm. “Kaia. Wake up.”
She slowly opened her eyes, but it was too dark in here for her without any light, so he turned on the lamp next to the bed.
Kaia looked curiously at him and said in a sweet, friendly voice, “Hi baby. What are you doing here?”
His jaw tensed as warring emotions tore through him, and he had to remind himself this wasn’t Kaia’s fault either. As a thrall, she was now in a lesser version of a trance, so she had no control over what she was doing. Still, his jealousy was right at the brink of turning into blind rage.
The feel of Sebastian and Zach coming closer helped calm him. They stopped in the doorway as he said, “Kaia, I need you to come with me.” He tried to help her out of bed, but she resisted.
“I need to stay. He’s not awake yet.”
Sebastian suspiciously asked, “What’s going on?”
Through gritted teeth, he reluctantly admitted to his mistake, though he couldn’t look at his friends as he spoke. “Dag healed her bites with his blood, but didn’t know it would make her his thrall. Whenever he’s near, she’ll want to go to him. In essence, he’s her master and could ask her to do anything for him, and she’d do it out of blind devotion.”
Kaia looked like she might understand what he was saying, but she didn’t look upset. It was opposite of the horror he felt from both Zach and Sebastian.
Zach said, “You can’t undo it?”
“When I turn her vampire, yes. My blood will overpower Dag’s. Not until then, though. If Dag’s blood was too powerful for her, mine certainly is and I don’t want to risk her going insane, or worse.”
Kaia innocently said, “I’m not insane, baby.”
The sun continued to set, and Dag’s eyes finally opened and locked on Anthony. He wisely didn’t move, didn’t speak, or even look away when Kaia gasped and turned her attention back to him.
When she caressed Dag’s bare chest with what looked like a lover’s touch, Anthony lost it. He yanked her hand away a little too roughly, then forcibly lifted her off the bed as she cried out from being taken from a man he knew deep down she didn’t love.
Trying to be as calm as he could through his rage, he said, “Kaia, I apologize for being rough with you, but we’re leaving. Dag, feed as quickly as you can and leave for the night. Zach, please find someone to repair Dag’s door and keep his room secure in the meantime.”
Anthony didn’t waste time taking Kaia back to his place. He was so mad he practically tossed her onto his bed, then slammed the door shut behind them with his power. He stepped back from her and leaned against the door with crossed arms, forcing himself to stay where he was as he watched her. He couldn’t even speak to her right now he was so furious about seeing her in bed with another man.
She seemed oblivious to what was going on and even stood up a couple times as if she’d leave the room, but every time she locked eyes with him, she carefully sat back down.
He felt Sebastian step into the apartment and stop on the other side of the door. “Anthony−”
His voice came out harsh and angry as he barked out, “Not now. He has to leave first.”
Kaia’s eyes went wide at his tone and she stayed very still as he glared at her.
It was at least ten minutes before she started frowning in confusion. She looked all around herself, then at him. “What just happened?”
He stayed where he was because his temper was still too hot. “You were not yourself.” She had better not have been herself.
As her wits came back to her, she looked more and more upset until she finally raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth in shock. She shook her head as she stared at him, and all he could think to say was, “You are mine and I am yours, and as it turns out, seeing you touch another man like that makes me insane with jealousy.”
Tears came to her eyes as her whole body trembled. “I don’t want anyone but you, Anthony. I don’t know what happened. That wasn’t me.”
He saw the truth in her aura, and his anger evaporated as he slowly went to her, then sat next to her and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you. We didn’t know his blood would do that to you. Once you’re vampire, the link to him will be broken.”
“Will I be insane like that with you, too?”
He reluctantly chuckled. “No. That can only happen to humans. A Master to a vampire is a different thing.”
She sounded wounded when she said, “How different?”
He paused, realizing they’d never talked about this aspect of her becoming vampire, and he wondered if it would finally turn her away from him. “A Master can’t control your mind, though a Master can control you. The extent depends on the Master’s power.”
“Dag controls my mind?”
He felt bad for being so angry earlier as he looked into her worried eyes. “In a sense. When you’re near him, or like tonight, when no one’s distracting you otherwise and he’s close by, you’ll feel drawn to him and be willing to do anything he asks.”
He needed to stop this conversation soon because he was getting mad again thinking about her willingly doing anything for another man.
She sucked in a sharp breath and he was ashamed to realize he was grasping her too tightly. He could never forget he needed to watch his strength with her, at least until he turned her vampire. “Forgive me. I’m mad at myself that I even went through with having him heal your bites. I never wanted this to happen to you. For now, the best I can do is make sure he leaves immediately after he feeds every night and that he doesn’t come back home until you’ve gone to bed. You seem to be fine in those circumstances.”
Her jaw clenched tight.
“I’m sorry for keeping this from you.” He pet her cheek and quietly said, “I continue to fear that the more you learn about some things, the more you won’t want to stay. I’m selfish and want you here with me, though.”
She quietly sighed and nuzzled into his touch. After a moment, she said, “I love you, Anthony. You. As long as you’re with me, that’s all that matters. But no more secrets.”
**
Anthony showered and dressed, then texted Zach and Sebastian to tell them to choose guards for Kaia. Regardless of her comfort level, he refused to let anything happen to her before her turning.
Chapter 12
Vince’s least favorite night of every month was full moon. He couldn’t shift, but his body apparently knew it was supposed to and always did its best to make him feel like crap on those nights.
His second least favorite night was two weeks before that, when the moon was nearly invisible. It always made him feel like he was missing a piece of himself. He’d never quite put his finger on why he felt that way, the melancholy just came on whether he realized what night it was or not.
Tonight was two weeks before full moon. He didn’t even have to look
at a calendar, or up at the night sky to know it was true. He was shifter enough to feel the differences in the air as the moon cycled through its orbit, and tonight’s energy felt cold and empty.
It took him ten minutes to get to Brookhaven from work. He’d considered cancelling on Penny since it’d been a long day again and he wasn’t sure he had the energy to stay focused on looking like a normal shifter all night. But then he’d imagine her in her snug outfit and curvy body, along with her biting sense of humor, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Besides, he was the one who’d started this whole mess, and he did want to learn more about the supernatural world he’d always lived on the outside of. Along the way, maybe the doctor would even figure something out.
He got out of his piece of crap car with a heavy sigh. He’d always known he was different, and he’d even sort of suspected he might be handicapped, but hearing Dr. Williams confirm it really put a lump in his gut. Now he couldn’t get the image out of his mind of himself as some twisted up half beast. He forced himself through the parking garage, his gaze wandering to a giant handicapped parking spot on his way. He cynically wondered if he should be parking in those painted blue spots now, then wondered who the spot was actually for if shifters weren’t supposed to be handicapped.
His gut fell because he was exactly who they were for.
He blew out a breath and quit thinking about it. Tonight was about relaxing, seeing some live music, and hanging out with sexy Penny.
**
Penny’s mood dropped when she finally saw Vince. He looked tired, and not totally into being here as he took heavy steps across the club to her table. That wasn’t the walk of someone ready for a night out. That was the walk of someone dreading life. Great. Just great.
He dropped into the chair across from her with a heavy sigh. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
She wasn’t too hot at small talk, but she gave it a try anyway. “So… long day at work?”
He frowned and gave her a strange look. “Yeah. It’s almost Christmas. People are insane with their shopping right now.”