Scent of a White Rose

by Tish Thawer

  * * * * *

  (Meredith)

  The moment I crossed the bridge back into Masen, I headed straight for my apartment. I couldn't believe that Jeremy had kicked me out and called things off between us.

  There was no way that I was letting that half-breed daughter of his ruin everything that I had gone through to get to him.

  I remembered the day that Jeremy Reynolds had walked into my office over a year ago. Tall, confident, and gorgeous as hell. I had sensed right off that he was a demon, but after spending a few hours in his presence, it was clear that he had no idea.

  I knew there were other demon bloodlines out there besides my family, but Jeremy was the first one that I had ever run across, which had meant that I'd have a shot at continuing a pure demon bloodline. The only thing I needed to do was get Mr. Reynolds into my bed.

  After a few business meetings that I had manipulated, Jeremy became the head of all of our marketing campaigns. That meant that he would be spending a lot of time here in Masen and a lot more time with me. And time was exactly what I needed if I was going to figure out a plan to get him to cheat on his wife.

  Everything had been going great during our business meetings. I had gotten to know him over long phone calls, video conference calls, and of course the monthly, overnight meetings here in Masen. But the one thing that I had learned from all this time spent together was that he loved his wife with all his heart. She was a swim instructor and they enjoyed a simple life, raising their daughter in their family home. How picture perfect. Too bad none of them knew the truth about themselves or the world around them.

  It hadn't taken me long to find a vampire clan close to Jeremy's home. So once I had visited The Rising Pit and chose the vampire that I wanted to do my dirty work, I offered myself to be his visitor for the night. Terrance had been more than willing to escort me to one of the private rooms.

  Once he had set his fangs in my neck and began taking long draws of my blood, I could sense right when my demon blood had started to infect him. I had gone back a few times after that, knowing that my blood would have caused his memories of me to be hazy. So we repeated the processes again and again, making sure that he was well on his way to drifting dark.

  I had learned of the old stories and demon histories from my mother, as she had learned them from her mother, who had learned them from her mother. But I wasn't completely sure this would work since there hadn't been a record of it in over 100,000 years. It was actually pretty rare that there was anyone left who truly knew that the demon/human bloodline even existed.

  There were cases every now and again in the bigger clans where a vampire had accidentally bitten a demon while feeding and had drifted dark, but the cases were few and far between and the vampires had no idea what had caused the odd events. And since they could never figure out why it happened, their "rule" was to deliver the true death to any vampires that had drifted permanently dark. It was so convenient. By killing their infected vampires, the clans were helping to keep our race hidden from the world without even knowing it.

  I had thought that I would be able to control Terrance since he'd been infected with my blood. All I would've had to do was give him suggestions through the mind bond we shared and he would do anything I asked. The poison would then conveniently wipe it from his memory.

  I had never imagined that Terrance would have fallen in love with Loraine. I guess I should have known something was off when he first reported that her blood tasted different to him. He'd been more than willing to continue to feed from her and keep her occupied while I'd arranged late night meetings with Jeremy. When Rose discovered him, the easiest thing to do was to have him continue to keep both of them occupied by lying and feeding her fantasies of becoming a vampire. It had given me plenty of time to continue to lure Jeremy into my bed.

  At first, I really didn't have any desire to actually kill Loraine, but once I noticed that Terrance was close to completely drifting dark, I knew it was only a matter of time before his Sire delivered the true death. So, unless I got Jeremy to sleep with me before that happened, I was going to be forced to find another vampire to continue this charade. And now that Rose had gotten involved, I knew it would be easier to just get rid of Loraine altogether. Besides, I had really grown fond of Jeremy and could see myself building a life with him instead of just a one night stand. Plus, I wasn't even sure that I would get pregnant during our first encounter, and who knew if I'd ever convince him to sleep with me again. No, getting rid of Loraine was the only thing that I could do.

  At the time I had thought that Terrance would of course be the one to do it. It could've easily been a "side-effect" of his drifting dark. He would just happen to lose control while feeding from her, but with his emotions so deeply involved, I wasn't completely sure that my mind bond would be strong enough to actually force him to kill the woman that he loved. Plus, there was the problem of dealing with Rose. My initial thought had been for Terrance to just bite her and use his sedative to make her forget, but then I had remembered she was half-demon. I had no idea if Rose's blood contained enough poison to give her control over Terrance and I wasn't willing to risk it. No, it had turned out that I would have to be the one to take care of things myself.

  * * * * *

  (Rose)

  After digging for the first three hours, I had found nothing incriminating on Meredith Karver. I had at least found out what her last name was. It had been easy enough as I knew she worked for a company in Masen that was one of my dad's clients.

  Since my initial discovery however, I hadn't run across anything else of use. I traced her family back to the southern area of New Mexico, but if what Evie had told me held true, the demon families would have scattered across the world throughout history, so knowing where she came from really wasn't going to make much of a difference.

  Now that I was completely out of ideas as to what the hell I should be looking for, combined with the fact that I'd been up for over twenty-four hours straight, exhaustion was really starting to set in.

  I didn't want to risk seeing my dad yet, so I decided to head back to the club like Evie had suggested and get some sleep. I figured that way I would be there when the clan woke up and I could inform them that my little research trip had been a complete waste of time.

  I gathered up my books and headed down the hall just as the bell rang. The halls filled up with commotion, so I didn't really notice when Jillian had slid up next to me.

  "Hi!" She certainly sounded like she had gotten enough sleep last night. Lucky bitch.

  "Hey, how are you?"

  "I'm okay. Last night was fun, huh?" The look she was giving me was freaking me out. I knew that Justin had given them some kind of cover story, but I hadn't exactly gotten all the details.

  "Um, yeah...it was great!" I decided that sticking to vague answers was the way to go.

  "We should road trip more often. Then that delicious dinner we had with our friends...YUM! We are so going back to that restaurant. Actually, remember Mom said that we could probably go back this weekend when you spend the night again. Anyway, I can't wait. Catch ya later!" She bounded off in a flurry of ponytail swishes and tennis shoe squeaks. I assumed that Justin had removed himself from the story last night which was fine by me. I really didn't want to have to start explaining things to Jillian too. So right now, I was utterly happy to leave her in her bubble of ignorance.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Follow My Gut

  (Rose)

  When I arrived back at the club, I used the key that Evie had given me to let myself in. It was so odd being here during the day, knowing that everyone was below sleeping in the pit, including Christian.

  It only took me a few seconds to find the button that he had used before to open the bookcase in Evie's office. I figured if I was here and was going to be getting some sleep, I wanted to be doing it in my boyfriend's bed.

  Thankfully, finding Christian's room had only taken me openin
g one wrong door. I had found Bobby sprawled across his bed, fully clothed, thank God. The next door I opened revealed Christian. He was lying on his back in only a pair of snug fitting boxers and no shirt. The sight of him took my breath away.

  I wasn't exactly sure how this would go, but since I assumed that he really did mean dead to the world, I didn't think I would disturb him as I climbed into bed.

  He wasn't cold or stiff...ahem. I maneuvered him out of the way as I made room for myself and curled up next to him.

  It felt so perfect to finally be resting in the arms of my boyfriend, that at this point it truly didn't even register that he was a vampire. Christian, and everyone in his clan for that matter, had always been completely nice to me, Terrance notwithstanding. They had never once made fun of me or showered me with pity because of what had happened. In truth, these vampires were nicer than most of the humans that I knew, and I couldn't wait to become part of their clan.

  I let these thoughts fill my head as I started to drift off to sleep. What better way to spend my dreaming hours than imagining myself as part of Christian's life forever.

  * * * * *

  (Christian)

  The moment I started to rise from being comatose, I knew something was different. As usual, the image that formed in my head was of Rose, since she was the last thing I had thought of before lying down. But this was different. It was like I could actually smell her.

  The moment that I broke through into consciousness, I realized that Rose was actually here in my bed, snuggled up against me, sleeping softly. My God, what did I do to deserve such a reward?

  This was how I wanted to wake for the rest of my existence: Rose's beautiful blonde hair, pouring over her shoulders and onto my arms. Her sweet scent filling my nose, her sexy body pressed into me just right. Damn, I had never wanted anything more than I wanted her in that moment.

  I decided to follow my gut and reached around to smooth her hair away from her face. She started to stir as I kissed my way down her neck. "Good evening, angel."

  "Mmmm. Good evening indeed." Her voice was sultry and smooth as honey as she started to wake. The way her body moved and curved as she twisted around to face me sent delicious shocks racing along my nerves. I was ready for her in an instant.

  She must have felt my growing need. "Mmmm...this is exactly what I was just dreaming about," she said.

  I was so on fire that I couldn't even reply. I continued to kiss and caress my way down Rose's body, making sure to soak up every single inch as we peeled each other out of our remaining clothes.

  "Are you sure we have time for this?" Rose asked.

  As I looked up and met her heavy-lidded eyes, she must have taken in my darkened appearance, because a sexy smile spread across her mouth. One that made me ache to kiss her until we were both left breathless.

  "And here I thought it was a bad thing when you drifted dark." She giggled between kisses, while continuing to run her hands down my back.

  With the level of emotion that I was feeling right now, I was probably as dark as Terrance. But this kind of drifting had nothing to do with demons, or poison, but instead an intense desire and passion that stemmed from the love I felt for Rose.

  "I love you Rose. I love you with everything that I am, which may not be much, but it's all yours." I knew that sounded stupid and sappy the moment it left my lips, but it was the truth. In that instant I knew that I'd give her everything and anything she ever wanted. I refused to live without her.

  "I love you too, Christian. And I'm yours, now, and soon to be forever. Will you please make love to me?"

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  New Life

  (Jeremy/Dad)

  After spending the rest of the afternoon car shopping for Rose, I decided that it just wouldn't be right for me to pick out her first car for her or to use it to try to smooth things over between us. I've never had to buy my daughters affection in the past, and I certainly wasn't going to start now.

  So after a quick shower, I made myself a sandwich and waited for Rose to come home from school.

  I thought things would go pretty smoothly after I had the chance to tell her that I had broken things off with Meredith, but I wasn't stupid. I knew she felt betrayed that I had kept my relationship a secret in the first place. And the even bigger hurdle was that I was sure she was feeling very protective of her mother's memory. Who could blame her?

  I had never truly expected to start dating Meredith after Loraine's death but while dealing with my grief she listened, consoled, made me laugh, and encouraged me to focus on Rose. I was truly grateful to her for helping me deal with the pain.

  Then one night, during my overnight meeting in Masen, she had expressed her feelings for me. I remember being a little surprised, but not really. She always seemed to have that glint in her eye; the one that makes it pretty clear to any man when a woman is interested in him. She had told me that listening to me talk about Loraine and Rose had made her realize what a wonderful man I was, and that she couldn't deny that she was developing feelings for me. She also said that if I felt she was being disrespectful of Loraine's memory that she would understand if I wanted to end things.

  But I should have been stronger. The truth was, as much as I liked Meredith as a person, it was because she reminded me of Loraine that I fell into her bed.

  Thinking back now, it had been wonderful and just what I needed at that time. I know that made me sound like a terrible person, but the truth was, if I hadn't had Meredith to turn to during these past months, I probably would have just withered away, or even worse, been more obsessive about Rose's life than I already had been.

  I knew Rose humored me by letting my driver take her and pick her up from school. And she was always such a sweet girl about following my insane rules when it came to her safety. If I was being honest with myself, I knew it was only a matter of time before she snapped. I'm actually pretty surprised it took this long.

  But now we could clear the slate and have a fresh start. I realized that my overprotectiveness was only going to push her away, so it was time I let my little girl grow up. I needed to start a new life, too. I couldn't continue to fake my way through a relationship with a woman who looked like Loraine. It was time to move on.

  * * * * *

  (Meredith)

  I had to figure out a way to get Jeremy back. Not only to continue my pure demon bloodline, but because I had truly fallen in love with him. I had never met anyone so dedicated to his family. He was the perfect man: tall, dark, handsome...smart, sophisticated, and sexy. I absolutely refused to let him go. But how? How was I supposed to get around the fact that he was now focused on his daughter and her feelings about our relationship? What a bunch of bullshit. The girl was almost twenty-one and would very soon be staying twenty-one forever. I had to get back into Jeremy's life, because when Rose turned into a vampire, he was going to be devastated all over again, and just like last time...I'd be there to pick up the pieces.

  But who knew how long it would take for Rose to actually get accepted into the clan and changed, or what effect the change would have on her? Word on the street was that Evangeline couldn't sire any more new vamps and their new Sire hadn't been triggered yet. I supposed I could get rid of her the same way I did her mom. It hadn't really been all that hard when the time had come to finally do it.

  Since I knew where Terrance met Rose and Loraine, I had waited in the parking lot of the swim complex until he'd finished feeding and then I had used my mind bond with him to instruct Loraine to leave her bedroom at 2 a.m. Once everyone had gone their separate ways, I followed Loraine and Rose back to their house.

  I only had to wait a few hours, and then right before 2 a.m., I broke in. She was coming out of her room just as instructed. I figured that I would use the recently closed puncture wounds that Terrance had left to make it look like a vampire draining. Demons don't have fangs like vampires, but our incisors are sharp enough that if we want to drink blood l
ike our ancestors had, we definitely had the ability. I remember when my grandmother had first told me that drinking human blood was not only the way of our demon ancestors, but that they'd believed it filled them with the essence of the person from whom they drank. I figured in this case, since I already looked enough like Loraine, it could only help me to actually ingest her essence while I eliminated her.

  Once she had been drained, I remembered leaving with the feeling that I had just come home. Whether it was her essence already flowing through me or the fact that I now knew that Jeremy and I would be building a life together, it had been euphoric. Getting rid of Loraine had been the best idea I had ever had.

  But getting rid of Rose was a different story. I couldn't risk biting her in order to kill her like I had her mom. Since she was a half-demon, there was a possibility that her blood would actually allow her control over me if I were to ingest it. I wasn't going to be able to control her in any way since she wasn't a vampire yet, so I had no way to infect her with my poison like I had with Terrance. I had no idea how this was going to work.

  I knew she wouldn't willingly help me get back on Jeremy's good side, so I was going to have to come up with a different plan all together: one that would put me back in Jeremy's life and eliminate Rose's hold over him.

  I'd already decided that infecting another vampire was too much trouble at this point, so the only option I had left was to threaten Rose and turn her father against her. I had thought about simply killing her in a more modern way, like shooting her, or a random stabbing at her college, but as much as I wanted her gone so I could build a life with Jeremy, I didn't want to risk starting a war with the vampires. I knew that Rose's death would put them on the hunt, and with Terrance still alive, it would only be a matter of time before they found me out.