Scent of a White Rose

by Tish Thawer

  "Your mother? What are you talking about?" I guess it was true. The demon blood truly did have a masking effect on Terrance's thoughts and memories.

  Unable to control my rage a second longer, I went to take a step towards him when Christian grabbed my arm and shook his head.

  "You know exactly what I'm talking about you son of a bitch. You fed from my mother and her demon blood infected you. Then you lied to me about everything. Everything you told me about vampires was a complete load of shit. You never had any intention of changing me, since obviously–YOU CAN'T!" I was shaking with anger by the time I was done and I sunk back into Christian's embrace.

  After staring at me for a few seconds, Terrance shook his head. He slid back down to the floor. "I did feed from your mother, and yes, I lied to you. I lied to everyone. But you're wrong...your mom wasn't a demon and I didn't kill her...I loved her."

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Revelation

  (Rose)

  After Terrance's revelation, Christian pulled me away from the cell. It was probably because I was dangerously close to losing my temper.

  "Why are we leaving? We were just starting to get somewhere." I was desperate to know what Terrance had to say about the events surrounding my mom, especially the part where he'd said she wasn't the demon and that he'd loved her. What the hell?

  "I need to talk to Evie before we continue. There is something else going on here, and even though it's still unclear to me, I think it's important to let her know what Terrance has said."

  We entered Evangeline's office through the bookcase and then waited for it to close before heading out into the club. It was pretty clear that Christian thought what Terrance had said was somehow important, but I didn't understand why.

  After pulling me through the crowd by our clasped hands, Christian approached Dax. "Where's Evie?" Dax almost flinched at the stoic tone in Christian's voice.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'm not sure, but I just need to find Evie to discuss something, so where is she?" Christian eased up on the tension a little.

  "She's feeding upstairs." Dax looked at me as he said it, probably to gauge my reaction.

  Christian only nodded in Dax's direction then proceeded to pull me up the stairs. "Do you want to wait outside?"

  I raised my eyebrows at him. Obviously it was going to take everyone a little time to adjust to the fact that they didn't have to hide things from me anymore."I've watched Terrance feed from my mom tons of times, so if it's okay with Evie, I'd like to come."

  I loved the look that filled Christian's eyes as he leaned down to kiss me. "There is no way for me to put into words how happy it makes me to finally be able to share every aspect of my life with you."

  "I feel the exact same way." I kissed him back, trying to show him exactly how happy our newfound honesty had made me. "I can't wait until all this is over and we can actually start seeing each other on a regular basis again." I knew that right now wasn't the time to discuss it, but the idea of Christian spending the night and day with me in my new apartment was like a little slice of heaven.

  "We'd better get in there to tell Evie what happened or else I'm going to drag you into one of these private rooms and finish what we started the last time I was here." I slid my hands down his chest and I bit my lower lip in an effort to stop myself from kissing him again.

  "You're right. But very soon, I will be getting you alone." His voice had that sexy, gravely quality that never failed to make me melt.

  Christian stepped toward the curtained entrance and lightly called out, "Evie, may we enter? I have some news."

  Silence reigned for only a split second. "Yes Christian. Please come in."

  I have to admit, when we entered the room I had been a little nervous as to what I was going to see. Watching as Terrance fed from my mom was one thing. It had definitely taken some time to get used to, but after seeing how it really didn't hurt her in any way it had gotten easier. So I was pleasantly surprised to find Evie sitting on the velvet couch with her visitor's wrist pressed to her mouth. She had a little handkerchief that she used to dab the corners of her mouth as she pulled his arm away. She made it look so civilized, so pleasant, and for the first time since learning of their existence, I actually wondered what it would be like to be fed from.

  "What news do you have for me?" Evie asked. Her visitor stood up and silently exited the room, leaving the three of us alone.

  "Terrance recognized Rose and didn't try to deny it when he saw her. But the really interesting part is that when Rose questioned him about her mom, he was able to focus on the memories and actually told us that she wasn't the demon and that he didn't kill her, but that he had actually been in love with her."

  The confused look on Evie's face resembled the jumbled mess of thoughts that was currently rattling around in my head. I didn't see how this meant anything other than Terrance was still obviously lying to everyone.

  "That is extremely interesting and disconcerting at the same time." Evie stood and started pacing the luxurious room.

  "No offense, but what the fuck does that mean?" I was getting tired of feeling like I was being left in the dark.

  "Whenever I question Terrance about the woman I see in his thoughts, the one he was feeding from, the images are always blocked or fuzzy. When you told us that Terrance had been feeding from your mom it just seemed clear that your mom was the demon. But now I'm not so sure. Because if she had been the demon, he wouldn't have been able to focus or talk about her in any way."

  "What? I don't understand. You said that my mom was the demon and that feeding from her is what caused Terrance to drift dark and do the things he's been doing. Now you're saying that it wasn't my mom?" I would be absolutely thrilled if it turned out my mom wasn't to blame, but it still didn't clear up all the questions as to who was responsible and how it was connected to my mom's death.

  "What exactly did Terrance say?" Evie leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs.

  "He said, 'I did feed from your mother, and yes, I lied to you. I lied to everyone. But you're wrong...your mom wasn't a demon and I didn't kill her...I loved her.'" Christian's verbatim account of what Terrance had told us seemed to leave Evie with even more to think about.

  "There's something else." Christian's statement had me on high alert. I couldn't imagine what he was going to say, since Terrance hadn't said anything else to us.

  "What is it?" Evie asked. She was apparently just as curious as I was.

  "I think my new ability, the one you said I'm developing, somehow worked while we were with Terrance. I can't explain it, but for some reason, I just know that Rose's mother wasn't the demon. Terrance was telling the truth."

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  True Love

  (Jeremy/Dad)

  The moment I spun around to face Meredith's rage I swore that her eyes had been glowing red. But once I refocused, it was clear that it had only been a play of light from the red vase that she'd smashed on the floor. The sun was streaming in through the bedroom windows and had apparently hit the vase just right, lighting up her face in scary relief.

  "Answer me! Are you seriously going to let your daughter control how you live your life?" She was clearly still upset but had sunken back down onto the bed and covered herself up with the sheets.

  "I'm sorry if this is hard for you. But you have to understand, Rose is my life. She's my only family now, and I will always put her first." I tried to speak calmly in order to soften the blow, but I wasn't in the mood to coddle her. We were both adults and it wasn't like this was true love. I had already had that once in my life and I knew nothing else would ever come close again. "I'm going to get in the shower, and then I'm going to go pick up my daughter. You're more than welcome to wait until I leave and I'll walk you out, or you can just go and I'll call you later this week. It's up to you."

  I heard her quiet sobs as I shut the bathroom door. I knew I should fe
el worse than I did, but the only thing I could concentrate on right now, was getting to my daughter and apologizing for being such a terrible father.

  * * * * *

  (Meredith)

  The moment Jeremy shut the bathroom door I tried to dry my tears. I couldn't believe this was happening. After everything I had gone through to be with him, one little hissy fit from his daughter ruins everything. I just couldn't allow that.

  I got dressed and gathered my things. There was no way I was going to wait around so he could walk me out, carting me to the curb like a piece of fucking trash. Screw this! I'd leave alright, but you could damn sure bet I'd be back.

  * * * * *

  (Jeremy/Dad)

  Meredith was gone by the time I finished my shower and got dressed. I couldn't pretend that I wasn't relieved. I really did need to get to Rose and make sure that she was okay. I noticed that I had missed a call from her, so I was hopeful that we would be able to work things out today. But for some reason, my anxiety had ratcheted up a few notches since last night. I hadn't gotten any other reports from Adrienne, so I assumed the girls were fine, but I just couldn't settle my thoughts. The urgent feeling to reach Rose was quickly climbing to an uncontrollable level.

  As I rounded the corner, I saw Jillian's car in the Case's driveway. This was a good sign and definitely helped to relieve my stress. I parked and headed towards the front door. Just as I was reaching for the bell, the door opened and out walked Jillian.

  "Good morning, Mr. Reynolds." She was dressed in her usual sporty attire and seemed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I had expected to see Rose following closely behind, but instead Jillian shut the door and started towards her car.

  "Morning, Jillian. Where's Rose?" So much for my stress levels staying in check.

  "She actually took the bus to school this morning. She said to let you know that she's not quite ready to talk and that car shopping will have to wait. She said that she'll see you at home tonight though." Her words hit me hard.

  I guess I should have expected it, but the news of her heading to school to avoid me really hurt. I had been looking forward to telling her how sorry I was, and that I had called it off with Meredith, but obviously that would have to wait until tonight. "Well, thank you for the message Jillian I won't keep you."

  I headed back to my car, wondering just what I should do to fill my day. I rarely took days off from work. I was never sick, and since Loraine died, unless Rose was home, I didn't really enjoy being in the house alone. So with the entire day to myself, I decided to head to the gym to clear my head. After pumping some iron I should be a little less stressed and then maybe I would go looking for Rose's new car anyway. Anything to pass the time.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Deal with the Bad Stuff

  (Rose)

  Christian, Evangeline, and I were still sitting in the private room of The Rising Pit when Dax entered the room. "What's happened?"

  Evie smiled at her consort and began to explain. "When Christian and Rose went to question Terrance, he didn't deny that he recognized her. He was also able to focus on Rose's mother and he admitted that he had in fact fed from her." Dax sank into the chaise opposite Christian as Evie continued. "Terrance told them that Rose's mom wasn't the demon."

  "Do you believe him?" Dax asked.

  "Thanks to Christian's new developing ability, yes, I do."

  I hadn't had the chance to ask Christian what they were talking about yet. It sounded like a good thing and something that Evie was coming to rely on, so I decided to let it go. We definitely needed to deal with the bad stuff before we could get to the good.

  "So if Rose's mother wasn't the demon, then who was? And why were they having Terrance manipulate and lie to Rose?" Dax asked.

  "I'm not sure. It could be that the two things aren't even related. Terrance could have fed from this demon, and then once he started to permanently drift, the lying and manipulation just came as a natural part of him going dark." Evie stood and made her way to take a seat at the end of Dax's chaise. "This could actually be good news for everyone. Not only is Rose's mother not the demon, but now we have a chance of finding this woman alive. And, maybe that means we can still find a way to save him." She leaned down and kissed Dax's cheek.

  We sat there in silence for a few moments, which allowed me to try to put all the pieces together in my head. Finally, I came to the one question that I just hadn't figured out. "I know you said that you thought my mom was the demon because of the timing of everything: Terrance's feeding from her, her death, and his drifting. But if you've seen this woman in his thoughts, then shouldn't you have known that it wasn't my mom from the beginning?"

  "Well no, Rose. Actually it was quite the opposite. When you were explaining everything that had happened and when you described your mother's appearance, it made perfect sense. The woman I saw in Terrance's thoughts were just as you described: tall, thin, and with long, blonde hair."

  It took me a moment to process what Evie had said. Tall, thin, and with long, blonde hair. Holy shit! "I can't believe this. I know who the demon is!" I jumped up and reached for my cell phone. I had to call my dad and warn him that the bitch he was seeing was actually a demon. "I just met my dad's new girlfriend, and you wouldn't believe how much she looks just like my mom." I was going to nail that bitch to the wall.

  "Rose, come here." Christian grabbed my hand and guided me back down on the couch next to him. "Think about this for a minute. The only reason that we thought it was your mother was because of all the other coincidences. This woman you are referring to could just be another person with blonde hair. It's most likely that she has nothing to do with it."

  I knew that he was making sense. I mean, it wasn't like my mom and Meredith were the only two women in the world with long blonde hair and tall thin bodies. But for some reason I really thought I was on to something. "I don't know Christian. It just seems too much of a coincidence that she came into my dad's life right after my mom was killed and all this was happening around the same time as when Terrance drifted dark. I really do think there's a connection."

  "We can't afford not to check it out," Evie said. "Rose, it's almost sunrise, so why don't you borrow Christian's car and head to school? See if you can use the library at the college to dig up anything on this Meredith woman. I had Justin take Jillian home and use his sedative to convince her and her parents to give your dad a cover story. And if I were you, I would probably avoid seeing your dad until we get this figured out. I'll leave a key to the club for you with Dominique. Pick it up on your way out. That way you can come straight back here afterwards."

  Evie stood and walked towards me. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you and Christian finally have things out in the open. Normally, he would have been required to keep our secret from you until the new Sire is chosen, but since you came to us, there are no rules that have been broken. I'm very happy for the two of you." She kissed my cheek and then headed for the door with Dax following closely behind.

  I never expected for Evie to be so gracious in welcoming me. As a matter of fact, I had thought she was going to rip my head off the second she heard I knew vampires existed. I sat back down next to Christian on the couch.

  Christian's hair and eyes started to drift as soon as I sat down. I wasn't one hundred percent sure how this drifting thing worked yet, so I wasn't sure if this was a good sign or a bad one. "What is it?"

  "It just makes me so angry that all of Terrance's lies have left you with such a violent and completely distorted vision of us." He ran his hand down the side of my arm.

  "I know it will take some time for me to sort through all the lies, but I'm really glad that I finally told you the truth, but this also means that I won't be surprising you by becoming a vampire any time soon." I reached up and touched his cheek. I couldn't wait to start my forever life with him and it almost brought me to tears to think that there was no way to make that happen sooner.

  "I woul
dn't be so sure about that." Christian's response had me confused but filled with hope at the same time.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Do you remember when Evie and I were talking about my 'new developing ability'? Well, Evie thinks I'm showing signs of being triggered. Which if it's true, means that I'm in line to become the next Sire."

  I about fell off the couch at Christian's revelation. Holy shit. My boyfriend was going to be the next Sire, and that meant...he could be the one to change me. The coming morning had just started to look a whole lot brighter.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Digging for Dirt

  (Rose)

  I was so tired after being up for twenty-four hours, but there was no way that I could sleep with the idea that my dad's new girlfriend was the demon that had infected Terrance. So, instead of heading home to catch a few hours of sleep, I headed straight for school like Evie had suggested.

  Once I'd gotten there, I was happy to see that Mr. Thompson had assigned open study time for his class today. He was notorious for doing that when it was so close to graduation in order to give any of the slackers time to ask questions and really buckle down on their papers. Luckily I was not one of the slackers and was way ahead of the game when it came to my thesis, but Mr. Thompson didn't need to know that.

  "Mr. Thompson, may I have a pass to the library for the rest of the day? I've really fallen behind and there are quite a few points that I need to double check." Thank goodness the only problem I had ever caused in his class was one that I had recently created myself.

  "Of course. I wouldn't want one of my best students to not have her thesis completed on time." Mr. Thompson wrote me the pass, so I was set to hang in the library for the rest of the day. Now I just hoped that it wasn't going to be a huge waste of time. I really did think that Meredith was the one we were looking for and if I had to spend an entire day digging for dirt on her, then that's exactly what I would do.