Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
“That was fun.” I close the front passenger door to the G-Wagon and reach for my seatbelt. “And could have ended badly.”
Xavier starts the engine and takes my hand. “If anything happened to you Wren,” he starts and brings my hand to his mouth, kissing my fingers. “There would be hell to pay.”
“I know,” I say, locking eyes with him so he can see I understand the weight of this.
Theo’s concerns are valid; Xavier would stop at nothing to protect—and avenge—me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen. Actually, I’m not.
That was a lie. I feel bad I didn’t listen in case it made you worry or that this maybe is going to create a conflict with Theo since I did cast a sleeping spell on him. ”
His lips curve into a smile. “I’m more upset that I didn't get to see it.”
“I can do it again.”
“I’m curious how it feels.” He lets go of my hand and brushes my hair back, looking at the wound on my neck.
“I didn’t know it would work on vampires.”
“I didn’t either.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Theo is?” I make a face.
“Nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry about him. If he gets too annoying, I’ll snap his neck again.” He laughs. “It will probably buy us the same amount of time as your sleeping spell.”
I click my seatbelt into place. “I can’t imagine being stuck with my siblings for seven centuries.”
“Did you cast sleeping spells on them?”
“Oh, using magic on family was strictly forbidden. So, only a few times and only on Larissa,” I laugh and then a knot forms in my chest. We haven’t even talked about what’s going to happen to her.
She kidnapped Mabel.
That’s not something any of the Maluses will let go. They shouldn’t either. What Larissa did was wrong. She didn’t act alone, but she was the brains of the operation. She’s hated me not since my powers started showing, but since it started making me a better hunter.
We could have been an unstoppable team. We could have been best friends. Together, we could have found out about the deal the Order made and run away together. Things could have been so different.
Sitting here next to Xavier, I’m glad they’re not.
Theo is waiting in the garage as soon as we pull in.
“Man, he needs a girlfriend,” I mumble. “Or a hobby.”
“I’ve been saying that for decades.”
“He hasn’t gotten laid in that long? Explains a lot.”
Xavier laughs. “It certainly seems that way. Ask him. See how that goes.”
“Hah. I’m sure he’ll sit down and have a heart-to-heart with me. Willingly.”
He leans in and kisses me before we get out of the car. “You have blood on your shirt,” I say when he pulls away. “What were you doing before I called?”
“Putting someone in their place.”
“Is that place a hole in the ground?”
“Bottom of a pond this time.”
“It really should be concerning how much that turns me on.”
He lets out a guttural growl and kisses me again and we both get out of the car. Theo opens the door for me, but he’s not being polite. Instead, he wants me out of the way as fast as possible. I go in, take off my shoes, and find Mabel in the kitchen.
“I brought you food from the bar!” She motions to several takeout containers on the counter.
“I was going to heat some things up, but I don’t know which food is supposed to be served hot.
Like this one. It’s mac and cheese but it’s covered in something called Flaming Hot Cheerios maybe and I know those come in a box and shouldn’t be served warm. ”
“Cheetos,” I tell her. “And you’re right. They’re typically room temp, but if you top it on mac and cheese, the whole thing would be served warm. Also, it smells delicious.”
“I can microwave it for you.”
“Not in a metal container.”
“Why not?” Mabel holds up the rectangular dish.
“Metal and microwaves don’t mix and I’m just now realizing that microwaves weren’t around when you were human and since you’ve been turned, you’ve had zero reason to use one. You’ve never used a bidet either.”
“I actually have.” She zooms over and gets a bowl from the cabinet.
“I wanted to see what it felt like. The water was warm.” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Eating is such a bonding human experience. I don’t miss food, but I do miss sitting around a table with my family or friends.
We used to stop at as many diners as we could when we were out hunting monsters. ”
I get a spoon and dish half the spicy mac and cheese into the bowl. “Thirty seconds should be good, then I’ll mix it and zap it again,” I tell her. “Thank you for bringing food back. I would say preventing a vampire-werewolf battle always makes me hungry, but that was my first time doing so.”
“I didn’t hunt the same way you did,” Mabel starts as I put the food in the microwave.
“And sometimes my mind likes to pick itself up and go for a walk without me. I don’t remember everything from my human life, but I remember enough to know that if demons are gathering in one area, jumping from body to body, it’s for a reason. ”
“I forget you have some Order knowledge.”
“It comes and goes, and I think I told you, back then women weren’t allowed to know as much as the men.”
“It was like a hundred years ago and it still irritates me.” I shake my head. “Don’t worry. I’m figuring out what’s going on, and I’m going to stop it.”
“If anyone can, it’s you.”
“Yeah,” I agree, not wanting to sound doubtful in any way.
“Want to watch the reel I just edited?”
“Of course,” I tell her, getting a drink to go with my food. We sit together at the counter while I eat, and Mabel shows me all the pictures and videos she edited to post on her feed tomorrow. Once I’m done eating, I go upstairs to change into sweats.
Devon’s in the parlor, sitting in the dark, and almost startles me when I walk by. I blink, eyes adjusting to the dark.
“I heard you told the wolves Xavier sees you as an equal partner,” Devon says, standing up without a sound. “You’re not.” I laugh and wait for his face to light up so I know he’s joking, but it doesn’t. “You can’t be his equal. I just thought you should know.”
“Okay,” I say slowly, not liking the darkness in his eyes.
“You’re human.”
“I’m aware.”
“You can’t be equal to us. We’re stronger. Faster. I see things with so much more clarity now than I did before. My mind is so much better. I was so naive to think I was worthy to even be in their presence before.”
“I’m starting to think you’re not worthy to be in mine right now. You’re being a dick.”
“I’m being honest.”
“There’s a way to go about it, and whatever this is, isn’t it. Being an arrogant asshole isn’t flattering for anyone.”
“Funny, that’s what you like about him.” He laughs, flashing his fangs. “I get it. I was weak. Pathetic. You suggested running away and then never did because deep down, you know you’re weak too.”
“What is wrong with you?” I lean back, abhorrence on my face and then shake my head. “You’ve been a vampire for like two days. You’re adjusting and not thinking clearly because the Devon I knew wouldn't say these things.”
“I’m realizing my true potential.”
“Okay, Andrew Tate. We can talk again when you’re feeling more like yourself.” I extend my hand, fingers touching his forehead. “Somnum,” I say, casting the sleep spell. He slumps to the ground, head hitting the coffee table on the way down. I wince, glad he’s a fast healer now.
I want to be mad at him. I want to call him out and tell him what an asshole he is.
Instead, guilt rips through me. Devon didn’t want to be turned.
He didn’t want his humanity ripped away.
Was Xavier lying just to make me feel better when he said people don’t really change when they turn, they just lose the fear they once had?
I can’t believe Devon wasn’t really a good person. He was kind and caring and smart enough to challenge things, even when he knew it was risky. Now he’s angry and full of himself. This isn’t him.
Feeling unsettled, I go upstairs and change into a dark gray sweatsuit.
Not wanting to sit inside, I get the Book of Shadows Mabel got for me and go outside into the garden.
There was a new moon several days ago, and the sky is cloudless and dark.
Setting the book down on the little, white cast iron table and go to the koi pond.
“You guys are lucky,” I tell the fish. “You just swim and swim and eat and then swim. You don’t have to worry about anything else.
” I watch them for a while and then turn and look out at how pretty the garden is.
Pulling the hood over my head to keep the mosquitoes away, I sit cross-legged on the cobblestone and let my vision blur as I look at the fish.
There’s a little bubbling fountain in the middle of the pond, making the most peaceful sound of moving water.
“I wish you were alive, Mom,” I whisper into the dark.
“Everything has gotten so complicated, and I don’t know how to protect everyone…
or if they even deserve protecting.” I pick up a fallen leaf and tear it into little pieces, dropping them back onto the ground.
The energy shifts, and I can sense it is Xavier.
“You were right.” I turn my head, watching him silently move down the path. “It does bother me.”
“What’s bothering you?” he asks softly and comes right up behind me, sinking down onto the ground so his legs go around me. I lean back against his chest.
“How fucked up it is that Vivian killed my mom to take over the role. How did she do it? I had no idea. I really thought she loved me.”
“A part of her probably did even though she wasn’t supposed to.”
“I hope so. She is a mom so you’d think that maternal instinct would kick in, right?”
“I don’t know.” He pulls my hair back and gently kisses the nape of my neck. It sends a chill through me. “But what I do know is how incredible you were tonight.”
“You’re not mad?”