by Ariel Marie
“Cooper, please don’t shoot him,” she pleaded as the guy laughed.
“What the fuck is the human’s bullet going to do to me?” Toma asked pointing his hand at Cooper.
What the fuck?
Human?
What the hell is up with this guy?
Two more extremely large men dressed in all black came out of the woods. Both had their swords drawn too!
Swords?
Who the fuck carries a sword?
“Nadira? Ah, hell… what the hell are you doing here?” A brown-haired guy groaned. Cooper recognized him from the club the other night.
“Teague!” Her voice became high pitched. She nodded toward Cooper. The newcomer’s gaze jerked towards Cooper and rolled his eyes.
“Really, Nadira, the cop?” Teague groaned.
“Shut up! We were on a date!” she yelled back at her brother.
“He comes with us,” the first brother said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Cooper said raising his gun again as two of the giants walked toward him. Cooper was tall at six-foot-two, but these guys towered over him. He aimed his gun. “Don’t come any closer!”
“You don’t want to do that, Cooper!” Nadira said while the other male hung back with her. She inched her way back towards Cooper, but the other brother grabbed her arm.
“I’m warning you!” Cooper shouted. The two didn’t stop advancing.
He pulled the trigger.
5
~Nadira~
“How long is he going to be unconscious?” Nadira paced the floor near the couch where Cooper lay.
“I should have knocked him out with my fist!” Adrian growled, pissed that Cooper shot him.
“Well, he warned you! You should’ve listened!” she reprimanded Adrian as he rubbed his shoulder where Cooper’s bullet hit him. When they arrived back home, she had to be the one to dig the bullet out of his shoulder. Once the bullet was out, Adrian’s body began to heal immediately. He would barely have a scar.
“How much did he see?” Nicu demanded, storming into his office with his infamous scowl on his face.
“He saw Toma kill the rogue,” Nadira said softly, biting her lip nervously.
One glance at Nicu and she knew that he was pissed at her. She had left the mansion without telling anyone, unprotected, and with a human. She already got chewed out by Toma in the SUV on the way home; she didn’t think she could handle getting yelled at again.
“What were you doing in the park after dark with the human?” Nicu asked, sitting down behind his desk.
“We were on a date. We just went for coffee and were going for a walk,” she answered, plopping down in one of the oversized recliners. “It was harmless.”
“A date? Where did you meet this human?” Toma inquired from his side of the office. He leaned against the wall by the window, waiting for her answer.
“The other day at the diner when the girls and I met after work. He’s a nice guy, he’s a cop, and he’s —”
“Human.” Nicu cut her off.
Cooper groaned from the couch. Nadira rushed over to him. He winced as he tried to sit up. “Be careful, Cooper. Don’t sit up to fast,” she said softly, slowly helping him to sit up.
“What happened?” he asked, blinking his eyes at her. “Where are we?”
“You’re at my family’s home.” She sat next to him on the couch, gripping his hand. She felt horrible that he had been dragged into this. Their date was going great until Toma just had to kill a rogue vampire in front of them. She didn’t know how she was going to explain to him what happened.
“How the hell did we get here? The last thing I remember is—” he stopped, looking around the room, noticing her four older brothers in the room.
All of them were dressed in their black attire they wear when they were out patrolling for rogue vampires. The Olaru brothers were warriors and looked every bit the part. Toma, Adrian, and Teague were positioned around the room, still armed with their weapons. Nicu moved from behind his desk to stand in front of his desk. She gripped Cooper’s hand tighter, not knowing what her brother would say.
“Mr. Cooper, my name is Nicu Olaru. You’ve already met Teague and Adrian and our other brother over there is Toma,” Cooper nodded to each brother.
“Nicu….” Nadira stopped what she was about to say when his gaze flickered to her. She swallowed hard, mentally kicking herself for interrupting him as his hardened eyes moved back to Cooper.
“There has been a misunderstanding tonight,” Nicu started again.
“There was no misunderstanding. Your brother Toma killed a man in front of me. He decapitated the man that he was engaged in a fight with.” Cooper stood up; his body stiffened as he looked around the room. “I am a police officer and I am obligated to arrest him,”
“Tell me, Detective Cooper, how much do you know about our dear sister?” Nicu asked quietly, changing the subject. Nadira’s anxiety grew because she knew that a quiet Nicu was the most lethal side of him.
“I know enough,” Cooper responded coolly, not backing down from Nicu. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.
“Nicu! No, please don’t do this! Not now!” Nadira rushed to Nicu, pleading with him not to tell Cooper that she was a vampire. In the short time they spent together, she had really come to believe that he was her Fated Mate. She wanted to tell him on her terms, since she knew that humans were not aware of vampires. She wanted to break the news gently to him for fear of how he would react.
“Move, Nadira,” Nicu said, pushing her towards Teague who gently held her back from Nicu. “You may think you know enough, Mr. Cooper, but I assure you, she is quite different than your average human female.”
“I’ll do it!” She cried out, breaking free from Teague. She quickly moved in between Nicu and Cooper. She stared up into Cooper’s beautiful trusting eyes.
“What is he talking about, Nadira?” he questioned her, looking around at the large men in the room.
She swallowed hard, glancing at Nicu whose stone-cold glare made her quickly turn back to Cooper. “He’s right, Cooper. I’m a little different,” she paused. “I’m a little older than you think” she began.
“Ok, so what are you thirty?” he asked, confusion clouding his face.
“A little older than that,” she led off. His eyebrows rose sharply; she knew that she didn’t look a day over twenty-five. “I was born different than you.”
“In what way?” he asked.
“Nadira! Get to the point!” Toma snapped, causing her to jump. Cooper’s eyes narrowed at Toma before turning back to her.
“I was born a vampire,” she blurted out, holding her breath, waiting for his reaction.
Cooper looked at her for a second, searching her face. She kept her face free from emotions. “Ok, funny. But really, what is going on Nadira?”
Her incisors extended, breaking through her gums. She smiled a soft smile knowing that her small fangs would show. A low gasp escaped Cooper as he backed away slowly; his eyes locked on her mouth. She knew what would come next; her heart broke a little at the thought that he would not want to have anything to do with her. She was certain beyond a reasonable doubt that he was her Fated Mate. She was destined to spend the rest of her life with Cooper.
Her heart wouldn’t feel as if it was being torn in two if he was not for her. Her brothers just couldn’t let her have just a little happiness. Damn them! Her chest became heavy as a look of horror passed his face. Rejection hurt like a bitch!
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” she quickly tried to comfort him.
“Those aren’t real!” He pointed at her mouth, shaking his head in disbelief. “Vampires aren’t real,” he said, looking around the room. Her brothers chuckled at Cooper’s reaction.
“Oh, we’re very much real, Detective Cooper,” Teague said, bearing his fangs. Cooper moved slowly towards the door but Adrian flashed quickly to the door, blocking the exit.
“Stop it!” Nadira screamed at her brothers knowing that they are having a field day tormenting a human. She ran over to a panicking Cooper, quickly reaching up to grab his face, forcing him to look at her. Hating herself for what she had to do, she stared into his beautiful eyes using her vampire compulsion. “It’s okay, Cooper,” she said softly. Her vision blurred from unshed tears. She felt his body relax as her compulsion commanded him to relax.
She reached inside of his mind, finding all of his memories of her — her standing outside the nightclub speaking with the police officer, her smiling at him in the coffee shop, her looking up at him laughing at something he said during their walk. Tears streamed down her face as she erased tonight’s events from his mind. She witnessed his initial reaction to her in the diner, after he turned and spotted her at the table with her friends.
Not having the heart to erase every memory of herself from his mind, she left his first glance and impression of her knowing that after tonight, they would probably never meet again. She knew it was a little selfish of her, but she wanted to leave at least one impression of herself with him. Once she was done, his glazed eyes just stared off into space, in a trance, waiting to be released from the compulsion.
“I hope you guys are happy. Please take him home, unharmed,” she said quietly, holding back her sob as she quietly left the office.
* * *
~Cooper~
Cooper opened his eyes, wincing at the small elephant stomping around on his brain. Headaches first thing in the morning sucked. What the hell? He rolled over in the bed slowly, staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, praying that the elephant trudging through his brain would cease.
How the hell did I get in the bed and why am I still fully dressed?
He couldn’t remember climbing into the bed last night. His phone chirped, signaling a text. He rubbed his hand across his face as he grabbed the phone, looking to see who it was. Sam. Banging could be heard from the front door. He cursed, rolling out of the bed, stumbling to the bedroom door.
“Hold on!” he yelled out as he slowly made his way to the door. He glanced out the peak hole, seeing his partner standing outside. “Hey,” he said, opening the door.
“What the hell? Why haven’t you answered your phone?” Sam demanded, pushing his way into the apartment.
“I must not have heard my phone. What’s going on?” he asked, combing his fingers through his hair, shutting the door.
“We need to go to the coroner’s office. Dan said he has something for us.”
“Let me jump in the shower,” he said while Sam plopped down on the couch. Maybe the hot water would help his head. He had absolutely no recollection of last night’s events. He tried to remember any part but a slow ache formed in his brain, causing him to wince.
Twenty minutes later, Sam and Cooper were in his car, heading to the coroner’s office. Sam noticed Cooper’s quietness. “What did you get into last night?” He asked.
“Nothing, that I can remember,” he responded, glancing at Sam. He had the weird feeling that something did happen but he couldn’t put a finger on it. The last thing he remembered clearly was getting dressed. After that, his memory had been wiped clean.
“If you were drinking that hard, you should have called me.” Sam chuckled.
“No, I don’t think I went anywhere last night,” he looked out the window, watching the city fly by. He remained quiet for a few minutes as Sam maneuvered the traffic effortlessly.
“You okay?” Concern clouded Sam’s voice, making Cooper glance at him.
“I think so,” he tried to smile but failed. “It’s probably exhaustion. I knew I was running on fumes. It probably just caught up to me; that’s all.”
“Let’s swing by the diner and grab some coffee,” Sam said, flicking his turn signal on. A young woman’s face flashed into Cooper’s mind.
A beautiful face.
Ice blue eyes
Luscious lips that curve into a sexy smile.
Her face.
But who the hell is she?
6
~Nadira~
“You are going to have to speak to me eventually, imp!” Teague said, standing next to Nadira as she sat at the kitchen table. She had been minding her own business, drinking a glass of her favorite blood type, AB positive, when Teague came into the kitchen, pleading for her to speak to him.
“No, I don’t,” she responded, not looking up from her book. It had been a week since the night she snuck out to her date with Cooper.
“Ha!” He grabbed the chair next to her and sat down on it backwards. “You just spoke!”
“You could have spoken up for me,” she started. He opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand. “But no, you go right along with the other brothers, intimidating my mate!”
“He’s not your mate, Naddy,” he said, using her childhood nickname.
“How would you know? When a person meets their mate, they know. It hits them here.” She slammed her open palm on her chest above her heart. “Have you found your mate? Do you know how it feels to look at a person for the first time and just feel a connection? Like finally two halves are moving together. Feeling almost complete?” His face filled with regret. He tried to say something, but no words passed. He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. “You guys took that from me!” She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before they fell.
“Naddy, I’m sorry…” he trailed off.
“I’m not,” Nicu said, interrupting from the kitchen entrance. He glared at Teague, nodding for him to leave. Teague looked to her first; she looked back down at her book, dismissing him. He sighed as he left the room.
“He’s not your mate, Nadira,” Nicu continued, sitting down at the table across from her. She continued to ignore him, refusing to look up at him. “I know you’re not really reading the book. Look at me, Naddy.” She rolled her eyes as he too, used her childhood nickname. She sat back in her chair as she looked at her eldest sibling.
She wished that her parents were here so that she could speak to her mother. The king had business in Paris and the queen naturally went with him. For support, the queen claimed, but everyone knew the shopping in Paris drew her to travel with the king.
“Nicu, just let it be. You got what you wanted,” she sighed as she closed her book, setting it on the table.
“Seeing you sad and moping around the house is not what I wanted. I’m trying to protect you,” he said, massaging his temples.
“From my mate?” She could feel her eyebrows almost reach her hairline. “Why would I need protection from my—”
“Enough!” Nicu roared, slamming his hand down on the table. “The human is not good enough to be your mate. You need a strong vampire to mate with! Our line cannot be polluted by a human’s blood!”
“Our line? I have nothing to do with our line! That is between you, Toma, Adrian, and Teague. Your children will carry on the family name, not mine!” She stood up suddenly, yelling. She was so much smaller than her older brother was. Even her standing in front of him, they were still eye level. His eyes narrowed on her, locking on her, causing a shiver to slide down her spine. She knew she went too far. She was talking to Nicu. No one yelled at him, except the king, and Nadira was definitely not the king.
“Sit down, Nadira,” his voice remained low and calm. She knew better than to test him. She quickly sat back down in her chair. “You are the vampire princess and you matter to this family. Your children may not carry our last name, but they will still carry Olaru blood and will be just as important as if their last name was Olaru.” He looked away for a second before turning his eyes back to Nadira.
“Why do you hate humans so much?” she asked quietly.
“You know that the Dark Shadows’ mission is to hunt down the rogue vampires, protect our people and that of humans, even though they do not know of our existence.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she pointed out.
“A human male cannot p
rotect you as you should be,” he said, crossing his arms across his massive chest.
“From what? When have I ever been threatened?”
“The current threat is being handled. You do not need to worry. You are not to leave this house without an escort again.” He stood, walking towards the kitchen door.
“What are you talking about? I deserve to know!” she followed, yelling at his back. He paused at the door.
“We are handling it,” he answered without looking at her and stalked out the kitchen.
That answer was not good enough for her. She ran through the house looking for her brother Adrian. She knew that she had him wrapped around her little finger and he would tell her what she wanted to know. She knew that she was lucky to have four older brothers who loved her, but they could be smothering at times. She held a special relationship with each of them.
With Teague, they were two years apart and had always been thick as thieves. As children, they were always getting into trouble together. He understood her like no one else could as if they had a special sibling bond. When she wanted to learn more than self-defense, he was there to teach her to master the art of combat and weaponry.
Toma, twelve years older than her, still looked at her as if she was still that little girl that would run to him for protection. She never had to worry when she was scared or afraid; she knew that Toma would keep her safe. When Nadira was eight years old, a nasty thunderstorm woke her up in the middle of the night. She didn’t run to their parents’ room for safety, but to Toma’s room. She would knock two times, pause, then knock two more times, then enter his room. He wouldn’t say a word, but pull back the covers so that she could huddle in the bed with him to wait out the storm.
Adrian, seventeen years her senior, was wrapped around her finger so tight, that she could pretty much make him tell or do anything she wanted. There were no secrets between the two of them. Adrian was who she was most comfortable speaking with about any matter. When she was younger, he would provide her with cover stories when she would sneak out to hang out with her friends.