Chapter 65
W e were due to leave that night. I’d been a vampire for less than a month, and I was leaving my family, my home. I missed that I couldn’t talk to my best friends about all that had changed. That I had lost them both hurt, but I could only blame myself for that. They had always been there, but I had gained a clan who had accepted me without question.
Carlos ordered all vampires to leave the den for a few hours to ensure I felt comfortable about my parents being there. I made sure I was well fed, which led to both me and Matteo cleaning the blood from each other’s faces before giving in to our desire for each other. Carlos had his own house to pack up and promised to be back later. Matteo had advised Carlos to have an escort like Erik or Josef in case Gabriela challenged him. But Carlos had declined the suggestion.
Mum and Dad would arrive soon. They had emptied my apartment, and alerted us that Hunters were still watching it. Movers had taken everything, leaving the den empty. Every piece of art, furniture, and all that we owned was on its way to Venice.
“The others, where do they stay?” I asked.
I had finally learned all of their names. Aside from Erik and Lorenzo, we had Annika, Celeste, Andreas and Josef.
“We each have homes of our own, but we often still end up sheltering together.” Matteo told me. “It’s called a den. We’ll have one in Venice. We’re a small clan, so I think Carlos will want us all together, rather than spread out.”
A smashing sound came from the back of the house, glass raining down. We ran to find Carlos on the ground, the door gone. On the other side was Gabriela.
“You made a vampire on my territory, while part of my clan, but you think you can join another?” she demanded, fury darkening her eyes.
“I stopped being a part of your clan when you gave me up to the Hunters,” Matteo growled.
Carlos wasn’t looking good; She’d torn into his throat. Blood flowed freely from the gaping wound. He’d need blood. A lot of it. My need to protect him overwhelmed me as I growled. Matteo pushed me behind him.
“I challenged him, and he lost; you have no choice but to re-join me.” Gabriela’s eyes were red, and she bared her fangs.
“If he dies, then I succeed him as his second,” Matteo said .
“He was my second!” she roared. “I made him what he is.” She kicked Carlos. “Viper.”
Carlos opened his eyes and made a choking sound. Relief surged through me. He tried to push himself up from the floor, but she forced him down with a foot on his back.
“I’m going to make you suffer for your betrayal, little killer,” she said down to him. “Nine hundred years and you dare turn on me now? Did you not have everything you hungered for?” Gone was the woman amused by everything; her fury crashed against me in waves.
Matteo took a step forward, but Carlos shook his head.
“My loyalty and high regard for you ended when you started to abuse your power,” Carlos revealed. “You used your command against us, made slaves of us for your own purposes. I’ve wanted to leave you for the past hundred years, but was unable to, until now.”
“You took Matteo, too? He’s mine!”
Carlos growled and tried to get up again. “Maybe it’s time Matteo knows the truth about why you brought him to us in the first place.”
Gabriela punched her hand towards his back, fingers outstretched.
Matteo left my side, moving fast as he let out a menacing growl, slamming into Gabriela, the momentum propelling them forward, away from Carlos. The wall shook as they hit it.
Savage growls came from Matteo and Gabriela. I knelt over Carlos. The sound of a car sent panic through me. Mum and Dad .
“Go,” Carlos choked out.
I didn’t get far before something hit me hard, knocking the air from my lungs. Gabriela slammed me into a wall, and her hand closed around my throat. Behind her, Matteo was on the ground, Carlos still where I’d left him.
“I’m going to rip your throat out, right in front of your maker,” she hissed.
Everything stopped. Gabriela was on her knees, hands pressed against her ears, screaming in pain. Mum stood at the end of the hallway, entering the lounge with Dad behind her. She was humming, but it seemed to come from inside her. Her eyes glowed green, as they had when she took down Carlos.
“I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of that this time.” Carlos grunted.
“Siren,” Gabriela choked. “I thought your kind had died out.” Her eyes darted between Mum and me, realisation passing over her face.
“You know of us, then you know what we can do,” Mum said. “I suggest you keep that in mind if you come near my daughter or her clan again.”
She released Gabriela, who took the opportunity to leave. Fast.
“Mum, you’re a badass,” I marvelled. “How do I do that?”
She laughed. “Niamh will teach you. Your voice can draw people to you, but it can also be a weapon. You’ll be able to bring people under your command, and bring enemies to their knees. Like I just did with whoever she was.”
She stepped aside, and Niamh stood there. “Holy shit, you look so good as a vampire!” My sister grinned at me. “I’m so excited, I get to teach you siren stuff. Just no kinky vampire shit in my presence, I don’t need to see any of that.”
I laughed and glanced at Matteo, who was climbing to his feet. “Make sure you knock or something, then, before you drop in. We tend to bite and get it on whenever the need takes us.”
She rolled her eyes, then looked down at Carlos. “He doesn’t look so good. Are Mum and Dad safe?”
Carlos growled from the other side of the room. His red eyes darted towards my parents. The wound in his throat had closed, but his hunger was at a dangerous point for Mum and Dad.
“You should probably leave,” Matteo said to my parents. “He’s going to need blood.”
“We can help,” Mum said, and moved towards Carlos without fear.
“Mum, stay back,” I warned.
She ignored me, though, and crouched down in front of Carlos, Dad right beside her.
“Let us help you,” Mum told him.
Torn between protecting my parents, and the loyalty I felt for Carlos, I took a step forward.
‘ No, ’ Matteo said.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Don’t let him hurt them.”
Matteo moved towards them, ready to act if needed. He helped Carlos sit up. Mum held her wrist to his mouth, and I flinched when he bit her. The scent of her blood made my own fangs descend.
“Are you okay?” Niamh asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah, still getting used to some stuff. Matteo says it’s normal, though.”
Mum sat down, hard and started to hum. It was her happy humming, and I joined in, unable to help myself.
Niamh smiled at me, encouraging. “That’s it. Mum’s been humming to us our whole lives, it just takes a little while to work out how to control your intentions.”
Matteo froze, his eyes on mine. Carlos released Mum’s wrist, and Dad held his out. It didn’t take long before Carlos pulled back, and with Matteo’s help, rose to his feet.
“Thank you,” Carlos told my parents. “Although, you shouldn’t have risked yourselves for me; I could have hurt you. I would rather not have killed Quinn’s family.”
“Not while I was humming, you couldn’t have.” Mum revealed; and as she climbed to her feet, she swayed.
I was across the room in an instant, grabbing her elbow. “Mum?”
“It’s okay, I’m just a little woozy, maybe I should sit down.” She saw the broken door for the first time. “You’ll need to replace your door.” Then she passed out in my arms.
Matteo took her from me and carried her outside, laying her down on the only piece of furniture that remained, a permanent fixture of the deck.
“I think I’ll stay here for a bit,” Dad said from inside.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
Carlos stood behind me. “She will be. She probably just needs to take it easy for a while. I didn’t take enough to do any real harm, but more than I usually do. From both of them.”
Matteo frowned at Carlos. “You let Gabriela challenge you without your clan? What were you thinking? I told you to take someone with you.”
“She was on me before I could react,” Carlos grumbled.
“You’re still hungry. You need to feed,” Matteo said.
“You’re a bossy second, aren’t you?” Carlos laughed but became sombre quickly. “You should know, most of the deaths haven’t been at your hands. I realised a century ago what she was doing, but she commanded me to keep my silence. She’s used your lack of control to hide those she kills. Naturally, everyone would believe it was you, and that worked in her favour. That’s why she never caged you. You also didn’t kill anyone the night you were caged.”
“Why?” I asked.
He frowned. “She despised the accords. Bringing a vampire with the feral nature that Matteo has to us, meant that she could kill freely. She knew she’d eventually have to kill him but planned to replicate what made Matteo as he was. It’s why she was so adamant that you be turned.”
Ice gripped my heart. “She would have killed him, leaving me unbonded. And feral.”
Carlos cupped my face. “I’m glad that didn’t happen.” He lifted his gaze to Matteo. “I’m sorry I never told you. I couldn’t. I tried many times.”
Matteo’s eyes hardened. “That makes sense. I never understood why she kept me around. Ferals were outlawed, and the Elders would have killed me.”
Mum opened her eyes and took in all of us. “I passed out, didn’t I?”
Matteo crouched in front of her. “You’ll need to drink plenty of water. Can you sit up?”
He helped her, and I took a seat next to her.
“Liam?” She called out to Dad.
“I’m okay, just staying right here,” Dad called out. “I’m a little lightheaded. Plus, that venom is uh…” He left the sentence unfinished, much to my relief.
“Don’t you have a plane to catch?” Mum asked.
“She’s right.” Matteo said to me. “Do you want time alone with your family?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, my daughter Called you, you’re family,” Dad said, finally on his feet.
“You are certainly members of our clan,” Carlos said. “You will always be protected in Venice. Thank you, Ava, and Liam.”
It sounded strange to hear Carlos using my parents’ names.
Niamh leaned towards me. “He’s hot,” she whispered. “If I wasn’t already connected to Luke…and dead…damn, I’d let him bite me any day.”
I said nothing, glad Carlos couldn’t hear or see her.
Dad pulled me into a tight hug. “I’ll miss you, my little Rock Star,” he whispered in my ear.
Mum pulled me into her arms next. “I have to stand before all of Australia tomorrow to show grief for the loss of a child I know is alive.”
“I’m sorry you have to do that.” I told her.
She nodded. “It will give the public closure. I don’t think you’ve seen how upset people have been. Tributes have come in from across the whole country. Lilith came by; I can tell she’s not sleeping.”
I had avoided watching the news since the announcement of Mia’s death.
“I love you, my little songbird. Be happy. Never stop singing,” she said.
I let her go. It was time to leave, and we had one more stop on the way to the airport.