Chapter 2 #2
I cocked a brow. “Oh, she did, did she?” Ridiculous. But something was deeply uncomfortable about hearing it. Like the strange heaviness that came from realizing someone had built you into the villain of their story.
And now apparently their twin had too.
I folded my arms tighter across my chest, mostly to stop myself from fidgeting. “I didn’t take anything from her,” I said. “Marcus broke up with her long before he met me. And Marcus loves me. That wasn’t something she could steal just because she wanted it badly enough.”
The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them slightly. Not because they weren’t true. Because suddenly Addison looked at me differently. More focused. Like I’d accidentally touched on something important.
And I really, really didn’t like that look.
I felt Darian move and watched as he ran back to the kitchen. The boy had realized that pancakes were a lot more fun than listening to grownups talking.
I turned my attention back around on Addison. “I’m not sure what you want, but if you think you’re going to get an apology, you’re sadly mistaken.”
What the hell did she want from me? No idea. But I had the feeling the longer she stayed here, the sooner I would find out.
Beverly suddenly sighed beside me. “This reminds me of the time I dated twin vampires.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
Of course it did.
Dolores looked exhausted already. “Why?”
“They were identical,” Beverly continued, completely ignoring her. “Tall, dark, devastating cheekbones. One wore leather pants.”
“Only one?” I asked.
“The other preferred silk robes,” Beverly said dreamily. “Very open silk robes.”
“Beverly, not now,” growled Dolores.
Beverly gave a shrug. “What? I’m providing emotional context.”
“You’re describing undead foreplay,” corrected Dolores.
“It was the seventies. Everyone was experimenting.”
Addison’s gaze drifted slowly between all of us. “You really are exactly how Allison described you.”
That made my skin crawl. “Oh good. Love hearing that from people connected to attempted murder.”
Dolores stepped slightly in front of me now, staring down at Addison. “I don’t trust you,” she said bluntly.
Addison didn’t even look offended. “I didn’t come here for trust.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked sharply. I’d had enough of her, and so had my Nexari.
I didn’t know much about twins. But what I did know was that they were extremely close and loyal to each other.
A twin would never betray the other. They had a bond, an unbreakable one.
And my witchy instincts were telling me that whatever the two sisters had shared about me and my family, it was clear that the hatred was equally shared amongst the sisters.
And Addison? Yeah. That woman had arrived fully loaded. Maybe it was the way she looked at me. Like Allison had spent years painting this horrifying little portrait of me, and now Addison was standing here comparing the real version against the story.
But the more I looked at Addison, the more I kept seeing tiny flashes of Allison underneath the calm—not physically but emotionally. A certain sharpness around the eyes. The way her mouth tightened when Marcus’s name came up. That simmering intensity sitting just below the surface.
The difference was Allison exploded.
Addison looked like the type to quietly plan your destruction while maintaining perfect posture.
For the first time since arriving, something shifted in Addison’s expression. “I wanted to meet the woman responsible for my sister’s death.”
My temper snapped. “Okay, enough.” I stepped forward before anyone could stop me.
“Your sister was unstable. She attacked people. She tried to kill me. She threatened my child. She manipulated Marcus for years. Nobody forced her into prison except her.” My voice rose despite myself.
“I’m not doing this guilt thing. I’m not standing here pretending Allison was some innocent victim when she literally tried to rip my life apart every chance she got. ”
Addison’s face remained composed. That pissed me off even more.
“She died in prison,” added Addison.
“And that’s horrible,” I shot back, “but it’s still not my fault.” The Nexari energy hummed unpleasantly beneath my skin again. I didn’t want to fry this wereape, but if she didn’t get off my aunts’ porch in the next sixty seconds, I might have to.
Dolores shot me a warning look.
I ignored it, mostly because I was too irritated to stop now.
Addison studied me for a long moment, her nostrils flaring as she took in… what? My scent? My magic? All of it? Yeah, probably. She knew I was wired tightly.
Then finally, slowly, the wereape stepped backward off the porch. “I understand now.”
I frowned. “Understand what?”
A small smile touched her lips. The kind of smile people gave right before terrible decisions. “Why Allison hated you so much.”
Well. That felt emotionally unnecessary.
Addison glanced once toward the house behind me, toward the kitchen where Darian had disappeared, and then back at me again. “I’ll see you later, Tessa.”
And there it was.
That feeling. Cold and immediate. The sudden certainty settling deep in my gut that Addison hadn’t come to Hollow Cove for closure.
She’d come for revenge.
Awesome.