“Indeed.” Alaric clenched his jaw and gripped the end of the couch.
From the other side of the room a shaky voice lifted. “My father’s a monster.”
Aerilyn took the cup of water from Riley’s hands and helped him up. He didn’t have enough strength to remain standing and sank back to the chair and sighed. Everyone who was clustered around the couch turned around to face him. She put the glass on the ground beside the untouched plate of food and wrapped her arm around him in support.
Riley looked like death himself. You could see his veins through his nearly translucent skin, and his eyes had sunken into his skull. It pained her seeing him like this. He pinched the bridge of his nose, getting upset once again.
Aerilyn whispered, “It’s okay.”
“It’s not.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I’m just like him. I’m just like that monster.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she tried to assure him, “No, you’re not. You’re nothing like him.”
Riley lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Yes, I am. I can’t survive without it, without blood. He told me so.”
She remembered Riley sitting in a crimson puddle and stared at the dried smears of red on his hands and clothes. Aerilyn whispered again, “Is that why he kept you in his closet—to force you to drink blood?”
Riley took a shaky breath and nodded. “Yes.”
Aerilyn looked up and met her father’s clouded eyes. He stepped closer to them and leaned down to catch Riley’s attention. “And did you?”
The boy shook his head. “No.”
“What else did your father tell you?” Aerilyn asked.
Riley closed his eyes and shuddered. “He told me I have to drink blood, or I’ll waste away and die. That I can’t absorb energy from food like I used to, that I need to tap it from the source so I can live in eternal youth.”
Eternal youth. That sounded familiar.
She rubbed his back, wanting to take away his misery. This was all so unbelievable, but when she looked at him in his state, she worried it was true. After all, if shifters were possible in this world, why not vampires?
He dropped his face into his hands, and his voice came out muffled. “Is it crazy I believe him?”
“No, son,” Alaric answered. “None of us think you’re crazy.”
The silence in response carried a heavy weight. The implications of everything that had just unraveled began to sink in.
From across the room, Emery tilted her head and whistled low. “I’ve been doing a lot of research into these bite wounds. I found a number of cases over the last couple decades that didn’t make sense. But maybe they’re beginning to.” She walked closer to Riley and squatted down. “So, your dad said you have to drink blood to survive?”
He didn’t speak, he only nodded in response.
“So, you can be ageless, just like us,” Emery muttered.
Alaric gave her a warning glare. The comment didn’t escape Riley’s notice. He frowned and asked, “Like us?”
“Shh.” Aerilyn moved closer to Riley, sensing him wilt beside her. “You don’t need to worry about that now.”
She put her arm around him again, not wanting him to fall off his chair.
Emery shared a glance with Aerilyn before muttering, “I hate to tell you kid, but you’re not looking too good. Can you eat?”
“It won’t do any good,” Riley said in defeat and slumped against Aerilyn. “I’ve tried, but it leaves me hungry.”
Alaric crossed his arms and looked at the doctor. She was drawing a blood sample from Garren and glancing over her shoulder at the kid. It was clear her attention was split.
Aerilyn’s father cleared his throat. “What do you think?”
Ila Khatri had been with their lodge since before Aerilyn was born. She’d moved with her brother from the East Coast when people started noticing her ageless beauty. She was a good dancer and an even better doctor. Ila pulled the needle from Garren’s arm and put a bandage on the entry point. She dropped the sample in her bag and disposed of the used needle.
Emery moved aside so Ila could kneel beside Riley. The doctor’s kind eyes assessed him as she asked, “May I examine you?”
Riley moved to get up. His face was strained and his eyes, wild. “I don’t have time for this. I have to get home—I shouldn’t have left in the first place.”
Aerilyn put her hand on his knee to hold him in place. “You’re not in the condition to go anywhere. Please let the doctor examine you.”
He struggled against her, but without the energy or stamina, he gave up and nodded in defeat. Ila unwound her stethoscope from around her neck, placing its end on his chest. Aerilyn watched in silence while the woman listened to his breathing, took his blood pressure and checked his tongue, eyes and curiously pointed teeth. Ila craned her neck and narrowed her brown eyes. “He has very pronounced, pointed canines. His heartbeat is weak, and his pressure, low. Though it’s no surprise looking at his current state. I have seen malnutrition and starvation many times before, but—”
“How serious is his condition?” Aerilyn interrupted.
Doctor Khatri sighed, “If he is physiologically different from us, I won’t know enough yet to make an educated guess. Though if what he says is true about requiring a diet of blood, he must consume sustenance or his condition will continue to degrade.”
“A real vampire,” Emery breathed out, raising her brow. “How is that possible?”
Riley’s eyes widened at her comment. He started breathing rapidly. Ila put her hand on his knee and said calmly, “Slow your breathing. You’re safe with us. We’ll do our best to help you.”
She caught his gaze, and he did as she instructed. Riley closed his eyes, so he missed the confused and startled expressions being passed around the room. Aerilyn’s father combed his fingers through his hair and turned to Deane. “How could we not know of the existence of such beings? How is this possible?”
“How are any of us possible, really?” Emery retorted with a shrug.
“This isn’t the time for yer comments,” Deane warned her. The broad-shouldered enforcer faced Alaric. “How do ye know the Society isn’t already aware of them? Do the representatives and grand consul share all of their knowledge with ye?”
Deane’s question hung in the air unanswered for a moment until her father crossed his arms and said, “They may not, but I need to report it to my chapter representative.”
Beside her Riley said with a raised voice, “Ms. Meyer, where have you taken me?”
Alaric shot his daughter a warning glare. She’d worked with numerous fledgling shifters and had witnessed their confusion and frustration when it came to understanding their abilities and this clandestine world. But Riley wasn’t one of their kind.
“In a safe place,” she said soothingly.
He wrinkled his nose. “I still don’t understand how you found me. And how did you even know my dad kidnapped me?”
Aerilyn sighed. “I didn’t. We were looking for our friend.”
She looked at the couch where Garren was lying, and Riley followed her gaze. He pushed himself off his chair and swayed on his feet. “I’ve been here long enough. I have to go home. I have to leave.”
Aerilyn stood up and held his arm, frightened he’d pass out. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Riley.”
Her student frowned at her and stumbled away, touching his hand against the wall to hold himself upright. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”
“We have no interest in keeping ye around,” Deane said and slipped his hand into his slacks pocket. He pointed to the end of the room. “There’s the door.”
“Deane,” Aerilyn scolded. “He’s not in the condition to leave. What about Ramsay?”
Riley hesitated, eyeing the door. He seemed to be estimating the amount of strength it would take to walk across the room. Then he glared at Deane. “What about my mom? She’s not safe.”
Deane strode across the rug and opened
the door. He leaned against the frame and looked at Riley with a surprising amount of fire in his eye. So much, it startled Aerilyn. He growled at the teen. “And what about yer safety? Ye got a plan running out of here like a fool? Ye that eager to go back to your bloody room in Ramsay’s closet? Lookin’ to end your life, are ye?”
Riley started breathing heavy and touched his back to the wall. He lifted his bloodstained hands to his forehead, sweeping up handfuls of hair between his fingers.
Aerilyn moved toward him, and he muttered, “He’s going to kill her. I can’t let that happen.”
She couldn’t believe Deane. She’d never known him to treat anyone like this. Not a kid, anyhow. Aerilyn stared at him in disbelief, growing more and more angry.
A voice broke the silence. “There a bathroom around here?”
She glanced over at Jax. He stepped away from the couch and started for the door. Deane reluctantly moved aside and muttered, “Down the hall.”
Jax approached the door and looked over his shoulder at Riley. As if he’d just noticed, Jax observed, “Looks like you could use some washing up. How about it?”
The malnourished teenager dropped his hands away from his head, and appearing as if he hadn’t slept in days, nodded in a daze. He shuffled away from the wall, and Jax put his arm out to guide Riley from the room.
Aerilyn was thankful for Jax’s interruption. He’d pulled Riley from a moment of pure anxiety and given him a normal task. She took a deep breath and wheeled on Deane, launching across the room. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Aerilyn—” Her father cut her off and placed his hand on her shoulder. “No harm done.”
“No harm done?” Her voice rose. “Are you kidding me? That attitude’s the last thing Riley needs right now.”
From over her father’s shoulder she could see Deane’s face darken into pain and sadness. “It’s that attitude that’ll keep him alive.”
The enforcer left the room and went into the darkened hallway, leaving a bewildered Aerilyn staring after him. Alaric let go of his daughter’s shoulder and rubbed his temple. “Leave him.”
“Why should I?” She felt like hitting something. “That’s not how you treat a child who was just rescued from a bloody closet!”
Her father glanced at the doorway. “I wasn’t about to let the kid walk out of here unprotected. It’s clear Ramsay wants him. No matter what he is—blood-sucker or not—I don’t want to see him turn into a monster like his father.”
Aerilyn’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Her throat closed up as she tried to talk again. “What do we do now?”
“I want to confirm his mother’s safe,” Emery said from across the room. “We could have Riley call her, and Deane and I could go by her house to look out for Ramsay.”
Alaric seemed uncertain. “What about the man who attacked you at the house? Ramsay’s not alone. If he’s a blood-sucker too, and if their bite can paralyze, we can’t be too careful.”
“What about Riley?” Aerilyn’s primary concern was her student. “I could take him to my place.”
“You heard him,” Emery muttered. “I don’t think he wants to go anywhere but home.”
Aerilyn’s anxiety rose again. “How can we let him? Not with his father out there looking for him.”
Alaric frowned, and she knew her father was considering all of his options. After a moment, he answered with finality, “We need to know more about these blood-suckers. If the world finds out about them, they might start wondering if anything else is out there, and we can’t have that. It’s best we take care of it ourselves discreetly.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Aerilyn demanded.
Twenty
Riley lowered the phone from his ear and muttered, “She isn’t picking up.”
Jax didn’t have to look at the teen’s face to empathize with him. It was clear the boy was worried about his mom and for good reason.
Aerilyn took her phone back from her student and slipped it in her pocket. Her arm returned to its resting place around his shoulder. Alaric had found a fresh button-up shirt for Riley to wear when he was in the bathroom cleaning up which replaced his bloodstained T-shirt. The clothing looked strangely out of place on the teen.
Alaric rubbed his hands together and glanced at his enforcers. “Time to load up and get going. Deane, you have the address?”
The Irishman gave a nod and spun his key ring around his pointer finger. Emery started for the door. She adjusted her red bandana around her head and cracked her fingers. Jax went to say goodbye to Aerilyn, acutely aware that Alaric was watching.
He kneeled in front of her chair, and she leaned over to press her forehead against his. Her hair tumbled onto his shoulders, filling his nostrils with the smell of her shampoo. The room got eerily silent, and he felt everyone’s eyes on them.
Aerilyn whispered, “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah, I do.” He gazed into her eyes. “I’m doing this for KT, the kid and for you. I’m a part of this now.”
She touched her lips to his. “Stay safe.”
Jax didn’t care if her father was watching, and clearly Aerilyn didn’t either. He was living in the moment. His feelings for Aerilyn had taken him by surprise. They were what had chased him out of town, but most importantly, they were what had brought him back. He wanted to keep her safe, and as long as Ramsay was walking the streets, no one would be.
Beside them, Riley muttered, “I want to go, too—make sure she’s safe.”
Jax pulled away from Aerilyn and looked at Riley. “We’ll bring her back, but you’re not in any condition to go anywhere.”
The kid mumbled, “Whatever,” and glared at Deane standing in the doorway.
Alaric’s icy voice interrupted. “Time to go.”
Jax gave Aerilyn’s hand a squeeze before getting to his feet and going across the room, avoiding Alaric’s narrowed eyes.
In the darkened hallway, Emery and Deane waited for Jax and Alaric. No one said a word as they filed downstairs to the back door. Parked in the darkened alley was Deane’s white van. They climbed in, Emery sitting in the passenger seat beside Deane while Jax and Alaric sat in the back.
Deane fired the engine to life and started off. Emery mumbled something to him, starting a private conversation in the front of the vehicle. Jax tilted his head back, feeling every bump and turn through the metal siding. He sensed Alaric’s eyes on him and met his furious glare.
Aerilyn’s father continued to stare at him unapologetically. The muscles in Alaric’s jaw flexed. “You’re not good enough for her.”
It wasn’t anything Jax hadn’t already told himself. “I know.”
“She deserves a generational shifter from a good family,” Alaric said flatly. “You’re just a half-blood.”
Jax agreed. “I may be, but shouldn’t she get to decide for herself?”
Alaric’s gaze moved to the front of the vehicle where his two enforcers were deciding on the fastest route to Riley’s house. He muttered, “It’s only a matter of time before she sees you for what you are. I can wait.”
None of what Alaric said upset Jax. It was strange hearing all of his fears and concerns voiced aloud by her father. He felt strangely calm. Jax shrugged. “I can, too. And I will, because she’s worth it.”
Alaric stared at him stone-faced. “You hurt her, and you’ll regret you never took my offer to leave. You’ll wish you were dead.”
A chill went down Jax’s spine. He knew it wasn’t an empty threat.
The rest of the drive went in silence until they neared the neighborhood, and Deane spoke up. “I’ll knock first. If there’s no answer, I’ll use the spare key Riley told me about. Emery’s taking the back door—Alaric, ye stick with her, and Jax is with me. Don’t shift unless ye have to, and remember, if Ramsay’s in there, don’t get bit. We’re here to get Riley’s mother to safety.”
Jax felt the van slow to a sto
p, and he crouched onto the balls of his feet. Deane and Emery were craning to look through the window, checking up and down the street. Deane muttered as he unbuckled himself, “Okay, I think it’s clear. Go quietly—we don’t want to be alertin’ the neighbors.”
Emery opened her door and got out. Alaric and Jax followed her onto the sidewalk. Deane went up the front walk as Jax looked at the beige home. A pair of garbage cans sat in front of the two-car garage, and the porch light was out. The windows were dark and showed no sign of activity inside.
Deane raised his knuckle to rap on the front door and waited. Jax watched Alaric and Emery go around the side of the house, silently letting themselves in through the gate. Jax stepped closer to Deane, who shook his head and frowned. The enforcer turned the handle and the door creaked open.
Deane peered inside. Soft light came from the rear of the home. He waved for Jax to follow, and they slipped into the entryway. Deane looked around the darkened living room before exploring farther into the house. The sound of a television filtered down the hall.
“Hello?” Deane glanced at Jax and tried again. “Riley sent us to get ye, Marilyn. We’re here to protect ye from your ex.”
They went into the kitchen and family room. A soft blue glow came from a television, which had an infomercial playing. Deane flipped on the kitchen light, and Jax went to the sliding glass door and unlocked it, letting in Emery and Alaric.
“Anything?” Emery whispered as she came inside.
Jax shrugged. “We haven’t gone upstairs yet.”
Deane wandered around the couch to turn off the television when he tripped on something. He looked down with a frown. “Marilyn?”
The enforcer kneeled to the floor as Jax hurried to his side. A blanket half covered a woman sprawled face down on the carpet. Deane swept her dark hair from her face and reached to detect a pulse.
“Is she alive?” Emery asked with a frown.
“I can’t tell—I can’t detect a pulse,” Deane muttered and looked up at her. “Take Alaric upstairs and do a sweep of the place. Make sure we’re alone—hurry.”
Half-Blood Descendant: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 1) Page 20