Unfamiliar (The Vandran Legacy Book 1)

by Anna-Louise Dann

  Emmie turned to Colt without replying to her and stood, walking over to the other side of the room. “We need to get to Ireland as soon as possible,” she said, not even looking at Clara.

  She was obviously upset but Clara was starting to get annoyed with getting all the shit thrown at her constantly; she had found out about Hope’s abduction in that vision, for fuck’s sake. No one had bothered to tell her.

  She needed some quiet, her head was pounding. A headache always seemed to follow the visions, and this was a bad one.

  “I’m going back to my room, let me know if anything interesting happens, if you can be bothered that is.” She stood and stormed from the room; she didn’t want to take it out on him and she was sure Emmie didn’t mean to take it out on her, but she was so close to breaking and losing it with everyone. She was in a shit mood, tired, and needed to process everything she had just seen.

  Thankfully no one had followed her, she couldn’t deal with any more drama right now. She needed a warm shower and some down time. She turned the electric shower on and adjusted it to her desired temperature; she stripped her clothes off in the bathroom and stepped under the welcoming spray. She washed her hair and concentrated on massaging her scalp, it helped soothe her headache slightly.

  She hated taking painkillers and avoided them if she could, but this was turning into a migraine. She decided to take two paracetamols and call it a night. She didn’t know how she would sleep with everything happening but she needed to try, she hadn’t slept the previous night with worrying about the meeting with Emmie – she was exhausted.

  She dried herself off and put her sweatpants and a vest top on. She dug in the wash bag for the painkillers, popped two into her mouth and swilled them down with tap water.

  She walked back into the bedroom and was surprised to find Emmie sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands covering her face. Emmie was the strongest person she knew and she had very rarely seen her cry.

  “Emmie, I am so sorry that you and Hope have been dragged into all of this. We’ll get her back, I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I get her back.” Any anger she had felt towards her before was forgotten.

  Emmie’s shoulders shook, shedding silent tears for her little girl. “Emmie, please, I know you’re mad with me, but you have to understand this has been so hard on all of us and we shouldn’t be fighting with each other. Please, Emmie.”

  “It’s not your fault, Clara. I know that,” Emmie said, and sniffed, lifting her head to expose her tearstained face and red eyes. “I was just in shock before, I didn’t mean to get angry with you. You’re the last person I should have been mad with, I am just so conflicted right now.”

  Clara sat down next to Emmie on the bed and pulled her into a hug. “I understand. I’ve had weeks to deal with what I am, you have only just found out, it’s scary and confusing, but...”

  “I’ve known what you are for a long time, Clara.” Emmie cut her off.

  “What – what are you saying?” “I’m a familiar, I could sense the magic in you. I just didn’t know how to say it without freaking you out.”

  She pulled away from Emmie.

  “How long?”

  “Since you turned eighteen. I could sense the change in you, I was so afraid. But you didn’t seem to act any different, so I thought maybe it was another sense I didn’t know I had showing itself. It turns out I was sensing the magic inside you coming of age. I have felt it ever since. Do you really not feel the power inside you, Clara?” Emmie finishes, looking guilt-ridden.

  “No, our kind are supposed to be shown from birth the old ways of magic so we’re ready when we do come of age. Obviously, our mother had to give us up and didn’t teach us what skills we would require for dealing with this shitty situation. She assumed we would be safe and wouldn’t need our powers. Cailleach can’t sense other spectrals unless they are taught to use their magic, it takes training and lots of it.”

  “I’m so sorry, Clara.” “It’s ok, you must have been going through hell yourself, not knowing what was happening with the changes to your body. We can’t keep on blaming each other, we can’t blame our mother either. What? Don’t look at me like that,” she said when Emmie raised her eyebrows questioningly. “She thought she was protecting us. Trust me, she has suffered too. She loved us, Emmie, she was just lost and alone with little options. Our father had just been killed and we were being hunted.” She tried reasoning with Emmie but she didn’t look convinced.

  “That’s what I love about you, Clara, you see the good in everyone. Even when they might not deserve your forgiveness you’re willing to give them a second chance.”

  “She’s our mother. We can’t hate her, she gave us life,” Clara said with a sad smile.

  Emmie threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. “I love you, baby sis.”

  “I love you too, big sis, right past the stars.” “And back again,” Emmie finished.

  “What happened with Will?” she said and Emmie’s face dropped. “He was working for them. He had gone mad, Clara. I’ve just found out he was having an affair with the Master’s sister Juliet. H-he left our baby girl with her. I had to pretend I wanted him back so he would go and get her. Juliet killed him when he told her he was coming back to me. Before he left. He – he... I thought he was going to rape me. He knew what I am, Clara. He knew all along... Is it wrong that I can’t get upset over him? I just feel anger when I think of everything he has done... All the deceit.” She runs her hands through her blonde hair.

  “I don’t think it’s w rong, Emmie, you dedicated years of your life to him and he betrayed you in the most despicable way. He had us all fooled, I thought he was a good guy.”

  “Yeah, so did I. He was my first everything, Clara. Oh God, Clara what do I tell Hope? She is going to be devastated,” Emmie wailed, burying her head into Clara’s shoulder again.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes, I think she’ll surprise you though. Hope is going to be ok, Emmie. She’s a clever little sausage, she won’t let them manipulate her. She’s too much like her mummy – she’s probably already got them running around after her.”

  Emmie lifted her head, smiling through her tears. “Probably.” She nodded. “I think we should try and get some sleep. I have a bad headache that won’t shift and you must be exhausted, sis,” Clara said, yawning.

  “I am not tired, but you get some rest, Clara, you look shattered. I’ll go see if Colt has any more information on when we leave.”

  “Thanks Emmie, I always get a headache after a vision. I am sure I’ll feel better after a few hours’ rest.”

  Emmie got off the bed, kissed her on her forehead and headed to the door. Before she walked out she turned and said, “Give Colt a chance to prove he’s worth a shot, I thought he was going to have a stroke when you were passed out before. He’s made mistakes, Clara, but he seems like a good guy... Sweet dreams, sis. Love ya.” And she was gone.

  What had Colt been discussing with her sister? Should she be worried? She climbed into bed. The tension and stress of the last few days had taken their toll on her. She rubbed her temples to try and dull the ache a little. She turned the bedside lamp off and lay down. pulling the covers over herself, closing her eyes. Exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When Clara woke, it was still dark outside. Warm comforting arms wrapped around her from behind. When had Colt got into bed? What time was it? She reached for her phone on the bedside table – it was just gone four in the morning. Wow, she had slept for seven hours straight without waking and her headache was gone, thank God.

  She snuggled in closer to Colt’s warm body, loving the feeling of security she got from being so close to him. Her pyjama-clad bottom rubbed against him; she felt the effect she had on him immediately. She felt his hard cock twitch and he moaned, stirring from his sleep.

  “Keep doing that, Clara, and I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he growled into her hair,
his deep voice gruff and sexy from sleep.

  His arms tightened around her and she accepted his challenge, rubbing her bottom against him again playfully.

  He flipped her onto her back and hovered over her, his dark eyes full of need and lust. She met his gaze with the same want. Lifting her hand, she traced his muscled chest with her fingers and rubbed the pad of her finger over one of his nipples, he made a hissing sound through his teeth.

  Wetness pooled between her legs, she loved knowing she had this effect on him. She moved her hand to his face and traced his bottom lip. He nipped at her thumb and sucked it into his mouth – she nearly cried out at the pleasure that radiated through her.

  “Make love to me, Colt,” she whispered, never breaking eye contact with him.

  “Fuck, Clara, are you sure?” he asked, his voice strained, uncertainty in his eyes.

  “I’ve never been more sure,” she said, pulling his head down until his mouth was just inches from hers. “I can’t promise to take this slow, Clara.” His breath fanned against her mouth which made another wave of pleasure travel down her body.

  “Me neither.” She lifted her mouth to his, closing the gap between them. He kissed her back with the same need, sucking her bottom lip into his gorgeous mouth.

  His hands made light work of her pyjamas, mercilessly stripping her naked. He found her nipples with his mouth, swirling his tongue around her hardened peaks. She cried out with the sweet torture.

  His hand fanned down her flat stomach and made its way to her wet, swollen centre where he found her sweet spot and worked it with his fingers, bringing her so close to exploding.

  “Fuck, Clara, you’re so wet and ready,” he panted. She whimpered her response.

  He released her for a moment to dig in his wallet for a condom; he wasted no time in stripping himself of his boxers, tearing the wrapping and rolling the rubber onto his long hard cock.

  He joined her on the bed and moved over her, positioning himself at her throbbing entrance. She whimpered when he delayed entering her.

  “Look at me, Clara,” he said when her eyes drifted closed. She met his lustfilled stare. “You’re mine,” he growled as he filled her up.

  There was a slight burn when he was fully sheathed inside her, but the pain passed almost instantly and pleasure took its place. She cried out again and wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust. It wasn’t long before she felt the familiar wave of pleasure build inside her and she climaxed hard around him, whimpering his name over and over. He found his release only seconds later. The aftereffects of her release were still coursing through her throbbing sex, milking him of every drop as he pumped into her a few more times, roaring out her name.

  They lay in each other’s arms for a while, her head pressed against his chest. She could hear his heart beat and wondered if her own was beating in time with his.

  “You ok?” Colt whispered. “Yeah, I was just thinking of this thing I read about lovers’ heartbeats falling into the same rhythm when they spend enough time together. I was just wondering if our heart beats matched.”

  “My heart only beats for you, Clara.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

  She lifted her head and smiled shyly at him, planting a kiss on his lips.

  “Does that mean you’re asking me out?” she said with a smirk. “Considering you have just screamed my name while I was balls deep inside you, I don’t think I have to ask. You are mine, Clara,” he said, growling the ‘you are mine’ bit.

  She liked his dominant side and he was right. “Ok, caveman, but a girl likes to be asked these things, you shouldn’t just assume. You know what they say about assuming, don’t you?” she said, amusement in her voice as she toyed with him.

  “Yeah, you make an ass out of you and me, Miss Smarty Pants.” Was it possible for this man to look even more sexy? He suited smiling, it lit up his features and made him seem less like a big bad wolf.

  “Talking about pants, I think we should get a shower and put our pants back on. What time are we leaving?” she asked, tracing her fingers along his jawline.

  “We’ve got to be in Liverpool for noon, Heather has sorted a boat from a private docking area to take us home.”

  She removed her hand from his face, her brows furrowed.

  “Noon? Isn’t it a bit risky being seen in the day?” Colt pulled himself up and out of the bed, walking into the bathroom. “I thought the same thing at first b ut apparently Jack, the guy who brought us was called to another job, his older brother Bernie is doing it instead, but he could only do daytime. We’ll be at a hidden part of the dock away from the public, Jake and Iris will be waiting at the other end with my van. It’ll be dark when we get back. You’ll need to wear the disguise again just in case but I don’t think we’ll have any problems.”

  She hated that bloody blonde bobbed wig he had made her wear on the way here, it was so uncomfortable and make her head so sweaty.

  She felt uneasy about this whole thing, but she was sure Heather knew what she was doing. Colt walked back into the bedroom naked; her eyes feasted on his sculpted chest, moving lower to his sexy V. As her vision moved lower, she felt her body respond in the way it always did around him.

  “So, we’ve got about two hours before we need to start getting ready to leave, what do you want to do to pass the time?” he asked, catching her watching him. He had a mischievous look on his face that made him look even sexier. “Hmm, I heard someone mention a shower?”

  “A shower sounds good.” Her voice was husky. He held out his hand to her and she took it, letting him lead her into the bathroom.

  Emmie A dark air filled the car on the drive to Liverpool. Her mind raced at a hundred miles an hour, flitting back and forth about the pending future and what it held for her, and her baby girl.

  She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. She knew she was uneducated in her kind’s ways and how they dealt with situations like this, but where her daughter was concerned she would fight to the death. The last two days had been a whirlwind of emotions and she couldn’t take much more.

  The need to see Hope was unbearable, she felt like her a piece of her heart had been ripped out. The pain was more unbearable than losing her sister.

  She had made up her mind that she was going to stay here, she would go to the funeral and wait for this Dominic’s men to come for her. If he was as obsessed as it seemed he would be at the funeral himself, she would agree to go with him, she would be reunited with Hope, then she would tear that bastard’s throat out.

  She just had to convince Clara and Colt to let her stay behind.

  “I can’t go back to Ireland with you,” she stated into the silence.

  Clara, who was sitting in the front, shot round to face her. “What?”

  “I can’t go with you, I am going to let the Master take me to Hope.” “Have you lost it? Do you not realise what he is capable of? Have you forgotten what he’s already done to us?” She could hear the anger rising in Clara’s voice.

  “Just hear me out, ok?” she pleaded. “If you still think it’s too much of a risk then I’ll come with you.” She turned to Sarah who looked just as taken aback as Clara. She met Colt’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. He nodded at her to let her know they would hear what she had to say.

  “I’ll go home tomorrow evening and get ready for the funeral on Thursday, I’ll make out to everyone I have been away for a few days to get my head together.” She took a shaky breath. “I’ll tell everyone Hope is spending a few days with her dad. They are not aware that I know thethey killed him.” A tear spilled down her cheek and her lip quivered; she wiped the tear away quickly and regained her composure. “The Master will be at the funeral, there is no way he wouldn’t come if he’s as obsessed as you say. I will play the grieving sister and when the time comes I will go with him willingly.”

  “What if he gets nasty, Emmie? What if your little plan doesn’t work?” Clara spat. “It could work,” Col t said, turn
ing all heads towards him. “If we play this right, we could use this to our advantage.”

  “Everyone has gone mad, I won’t be a part of this. I can’t believe you are even considering this, Colt.” Clara’s’ glare burned into the side of Colt’s face.

  “Clara, I understand why you would have reservations ab—” “RESERVATIONS, are you shitting me, Colt? He’s a psychopath, a murderer, a child snatcher and a fucking evil warlock reincarnated. I think I have a little more than fucking RESERVATIONS.” She didn’t wait for Colt to answer before looking back at Emmie. “Emmie please, I can’t lose you. If he even thinks for a second you are lying to him he will kill you.” Tears clung to Clara’s eyelashes, her eyes wide and full of desperation.

  “I have to do this, Cla ra, I have to be with my little girl. She needs me. She will be terrified, thinking I’ve abandoned her. Other than Hope I’m his last link to you, he will be getting desperate. If he thinks I am willing to go with him we can gain the upper hand.”

  “There’s a way for you to both know how the other is at all times, a way for you to be connected without actually being anywhere near one another,” Colt interrupted.

  All eyes landed on Colt again.

  “Can we do that being blood related?” Clara asked. Emmie frowned. “Do what exactly?”

  “Colt is talking about us performing the bonding spell, it means we’ll always be able to sense each other. In some cases the bonding can allow for telepathy – our magic will be synchronised, making it more powerful. I am just not sure if it works with siblings.” Clara looked at Colt again for an answer.

  “It’s definitely worth a shot. If it does, are you going to be alright with this plan?” Colt said to Clara. “I am not going to be alright with it, but it will make it less painful if I know I can find her straight away.” She turned back to Emmie and grabbed her hand. “I love you, sis. If we do this and it works you have to promise me one thing.”

  Emmie blinked away some tears which threatened to spill. “What?” was all she could muster without her voice cracking again.