Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Jack
I ended up falling asleep at Julian’s. By the time I got home, the sun was setting, which meant the likelihood my dads were up was low, but not impossible.
I turned my bike off at the gate entrance and rolled it into my parking spot.
Trying to step lightly, I made my way to the front door and gently turned the handle.
Unlocked.
Meaning someone was up already.
Damn.
Practically holding my breath, I crept across the threshold and made for the stairs, hoping to wash off the smell of what I’d been doing with Julian before anyone caught me.
If I’d had clean clothes at his place, I’d have showered there first, then came home.
But doing so now would have been pointless, since I’d have to either borrow his clothes or put the sex-stinking clothing back on, which both missed the point of not drawing attention to myself.
“Well look what the cat dragged in.”
I froze like a gazelle caught by a predator. Slowly, I twisted my body around to meet my mom’s amused expression as she sipped from a steaming cup of coffee. Seeing that I’d been caught, I let my shoulders relax and stepped back down the two steps I’d taken.
“Hey.”
Wearing a cream colored, wrap-around dress, her hair pulled up on her head in an elegant twist complimented by the soft make up on her face, I’d say she was about to be stuck in meetings with Antoine all day. Then my eyes fell on her bare feet on the hardwood floor.
“Where are your shoes?”
My mom glanced down at her feet and then laughed. “It’s a video call. No one’s going to see my feet. Where were you all day?” She politely didn’t sniff the air around me, though the look in her eyes told me she knew exactly what I’d been doing.
“I… uh… went to see my friend Xinyi.”
She arched a brow.
Not liking her silent judgement, I found myself spouting off. “You know, it’s hardly fair to push me into being more normal by going to college and then ripping me away from it just as I was making friends.”
Smirking, my mom gestured her coffee toward me. “Smells like you’re doing more than making friends. Or I’m making friends wrong.”
“That’s beside the point,” I huffed, puffing my cheeks out as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Hey, I’m not judging.” She held her free hand up. “I have no room to talk in regard to dating two — or is it three? — guys.”
“It’s two,” I clipped and then wished I hadn’t when my dads, Drake and Allister, walked into the entry way.
“Who’s dating two guys?” Drake asked, wrapping his arm around mom and then kissing her on the forehead. Allister brushed his fingers along the side of her cheek before stealing her coffee cup from her hand, earning him a swat on the shoulder from her.
“No one,” I snapped at the same time that my mom said, “Your daughter.”
Drake’s head jerked toward me with a frown. “No, you’re not.”
I took a step back, arms over my chest. “I don’t think who I date is any of your business.”
“Uh… yes it is,” Allister interjected. He locked his blue-green eyes with his twin’s, a disproving look in both of their expressions. “We’re your dads. We should know who you’re dating.”
I huffed a laugh. “Why so you can scare them off?”
“Yes,” Allister said at the same time Drake said, “No.”
Before I could tell them both where to shove it, Rayne and Wynn meandered into the foyer. Marcus lingered back in the entry way.
Wonderful. Just great. All we were missing were Darren and Antoine to have all seven of my dads up in my sex life.
“Sex life, huh?” Rayne asked with a smirk. “So you guys made up?”
Drake and Allister glared at Rayne. “You knew about this?” the latter twin asked.
Rayne shrugged. “Of course I did.”
“Well, being able to read her mind is really an unfair parenting advantage.” Drake scowled, staring the redhead mind reader down.
“Unfair or pragmatic?” Rayne then shook his head. “I don’t have to be able to read minds to know who our daughter is dating. You’d know too, if you’d seen her ride off with that beefy werewolf earlier. It’s obvious she just got home from her date now.”
My mom snorted.
All eyes shot to her, and I begged to every god there was for her to keep her mouth shut.
“What was that sound about?” Allister probed, his eyes darting from me to my mom again.
“I believe,” Wynn began slithering into the mix, “that mon amour does not believe our girl was with the wolf this day.”
I glared silently at Wynn.
So much for being the laid back one of my dads.
All eyes swung around to me. Then the sniffing started. I watched in growing horror as each of them began to recognize the scent on me, my mom grinning from ear to ear.
I swear, I didn’t know if she got more pleasure out of embarrassing me or making my dads freak out over their daughter having sex. Either way she was enjoying her immortal life far too much for my comfort.
“Look, I’m tired and need to shower. I’m gonna just —” I pointed a thumb back toward the stairs, walking slowly backward.
“No, you don’t.” Allister darted around me, blocking the stairs. “Explain.”
I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut, unable or willing to tell them what exactly was going on in my love life since, honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure.
“Wait, wait.” Drake waved his hands in front of him. “I thought you were dating the wolf? Why do you smell like that hunter you’re always hanging out with?”
“She’s dating both of them,” my mom helpfully supplied.
Why doesn’t she just stab me now and save me from this humiliation?
“I thought the werewolf was with that vampire we don’t like,” Rayne followed up, reminding everyone once again that my current boyfriend was dating my maybe-probably-former boyfriend who hated our family.
“Is that the big guy with braids from the assembly?” Allister gestured at his own dirty blonde hair.
“Yeah.” Rayne nodded. “The vampire is the one who like smoked out the minute Jack walked in.”
“The one who was sired by…?” Drake snapped his fingers while he thought, his lips pursed.
“Kleon,” Marcus filled in for him, stepping out of the shadows. “His sire is Kleon. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away from our daughter.”
While my family hated Kleon for what he did to me, Marcus had all the more reason to despise him and his fledgling.
That Halloween night, the night I was kidnapped, it had been Marcus who had been there with me. I could imagine the amount of blame he placed on himself which only translated to his general loathing of Kyren.
I scowled at Marcus, feeling all eyes turning back to me.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Kyren isn’t talking to me right now.
And yes, I’m dating his boyfriend, Tate, and Julian.
And if I hear one more word out of any of you, I’ll remind you that there are SEVEN of you and only one of mom.
I think my two guys are inconsequential. And absolutely none of your business.”
They glanced at each other and then, all at once, nodded and murmured their agreement. Meanwhile, my mom just watched on with growing delight. While they talked amongst themselves, I took that opportunity to shift past Drake and hurry up the stairs.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to my bedroom before I was stopped by Antoine, standing in the open doorway of his office.
“Don’t blame them too much, Jaquelynn,” Antoine began, Darren peering over his shoulder from inside the room. “They’re only trying to protect you.”
I snorted. “Like you did by getting me suspended?”
Antoine didn’t respond.
“Well, I think I’ve had enough of people protecting me to last a lifetime. Maybe they should find some other hobby.”
Antoine’s lips twitched, his hand smoothing down the deep blue tie over his grey three-piece suit. “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”
Sighing, I bobbed my head. “Right.”
Before I could get two feet to my bedroom, he stopped me again. “I’m not going to ask what you were doing at the academy today. We’ll call it a freebie — as your mother likes to say — but I suggest you keep your romantic liaisons off school grounds from now on.”
“Fine,” I ground out, gritting my teeth together. Suddenly too tired to fight, my shoulders drooped. “Whatever you say. Can I go shower now?”
He sniffed the air and grimaced. “Yes, please do. Maybe then they will quit their incessant arguing.”
“Doubtful,” I scoffed.
To my utter delight, Antoine shut the door without further remark and let me finally — finally — get to my bedroom in peace. I shut and locked the door, dragging my clothes off on my way to the bathroom.
Twelve hours ago, I was worried about finding out who that vampire woman was and why Kyren had thought it important enough to kill her and expose himself to the humans. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was going to sneak around with Julian and Tate without stepping foot on campus.
The thought of bringing them back here sounded like torture. Not just for me but for them.
While my dads would eventually though reluctantly agree with me that it was hypocritical of them to object to me dating more than one guy, I had no doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t stop them from interrogating either of my lovers if they stepped foot into this house again.
Once I’d freshly showered and changed, I sat on the edge of my bed and stared down at the picture on my phone. It was the bloody words on the brick wall Kyren had written.
‘Leave her alone.’
That message had to be for someone. How Kyren knew that the right person would get the message was a mystery.
I wished I could pick up the phone and just call him to find out.
Except the last interaction we had with each other I’d been bleeding — dying — on his front porch and then, after healing me, he’d licked the blood from my body.
Something I remembered vividly and dreamed about nightly.
Unfortunately, while Kyren obviously was still attracted to me, that didn’t get rid of the glaring issue between us.
His dead sire. Until Kyren could let go of his need for vengeance, then I didn’t see how there could ever be anything else between us.
And, if I was being honest with myself, how Tate and I could keep going on as we were.
Kyren would eventually cause a rift and then no matter what he said, Tate would choose him over me.
They had a blood bond. A bond so great that Kyren’s death would kill Tate and, on occasion, the reverse happened to the vampire.
The only good thing about Kyren and me being on the outs was that I didn’t have to worry about Julian being alright with it. While Julian seemed to be accepting of Tate, his own prejudices against vampires would make any kind of foursome relationship between us tenuous at best.
No, I didn’t see how Julian would accept Kyren as easily as he’d accepted Tate. Especially knowing how he was related to my own childhood trauma.
Blowing out a breath, I threw myself back on my bed and closed my eyes. I should probably tell the guild who the vampire victim was, if they didn’t know already. Maybe they’d be able to tell me why Kyren might have wanted to kill her, if I could do so without pointing the finger in his direction.
Just when I decided to give Tristen a call, my phone dinged. Glancing down at the screen, I frowned. It was from the witch, Tabby.
Tabby: Hey!
Then before I could respond, I received several more messages in rapid succession.
Tabby: I wanted to see if tonight would be good for me to come over.
Tabby: Idk if you remember but you were going to let us… well me… help you figure out your powers?
Tabby: It’s totally okay if you don’t remember. We can schedule it for a different day. I just thought I didn’t have classes today and you are probably bored out of your mind stuck at home so…
I typed out a quick message to her before she went on another rant.
Me: Tonight is good.
Tabby: Great!
Tabby: See you in an hour?
Me: Sounds good.
I shook my head at my phone and smiled. And here I thought Xinyi talked fast. Though, I was pretty sure Tabby’s was from anxiety rather than an endless fountain of energy like Xinyi’s.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I took a deep breath, knowing I was about to have to brave the horde of my nosy parents once again. Maybe I could try my new ability on them, so they’ll stop bugging me about my love life.
Nah, I’d likely just pissed them off, and still they’d ask me twenty questions until they found something more interesting.
Which let’s be honest, nothing was more interesting than their daughter’s boyfriends.