Hers From The Start: A Collection of First In Series Reverse Harem

by Laura Greenwood

  I closed my eyes as he put the phone in my hand. Even though I was still skeptical, I prayed that he was telling the truth and I would recognize the boys. I’d give anything to find my boys safe and whole. Opening my eyes, I focused on a picture of two beautiful children. They were the appropriate ages. The older appeared to be about eleven and the younger around six. Zooming in on the older boy, I brought the phone close to my face. Dark blond hair hung down low over his eyes.

  The sob—stuck in my chest for half a decade—broke free. Michael’s brow line and cocky smirk teased me from the image. David. The phone shook as I swiped the picture over to study the younger of the two. A warm hand touched my back. Anthony—he couldn’t stop himself from trying to calm me physically since his mind tricks wouldn’t work.

  Daniel was still a baby when I’d seen him last, with my strawberry blonde hair and cheeks so round that everyone he met tried to pinch them. He’d been delightfully chubby, although he’d begun to slim down once he’d learned to walk a month before he was taken.

  I didn't recognize myself or Michael in the child on the screen. Except for the hair that could’ve been swiped from my own head, I wouldn't have known him if I passed him on the street. He was skinny and tall for his age, and I couldn’t tell his eye color in the grainy cell phone photo.

  Once again, my emotions warred. I was ecstatic that my sons were alive and healthy, yet I was tortured that I didn't recognize my Daniel.

  “Do you have more?” I asked.

  “I do. Swipe through, that album is full of them.”

  I carried the phone to the living room and tucked myself into the corner of the couch. Elias sat on the floor at my feet, and Anthony settled in beside me, pulling my feet up onto his lap. Distracted by the pictures, I didn’t even notice him slipping my sneakers off.

  Scrolling through the images gave me a sense of peace. I swiped through them several times before sighing and handing Elias his phone. “Please, E. Please take me to see my children. There’s got to be a way. You don’t have to tell them who I am.” I pleaded with Elias. “I’m sure it would confuse them. We’ll have to reintroduce me into their lives carefully.” I would forgive the betrayal—I could let everything go if they'd take me to my boys.

  “I’ll believe everything you tell me, without complaint. I won’t fight you. I’ll listen to your entire story. Please, let me see them.” My heart bled as I begged.

  “The only way I can think for you to be able to see them is if no one knows you’re there,” Anthony replied. I met his gaze, amazed to find a possible ally. “Our government, they take this stuff seriously. We wanted to tell you every moment of the last five years. We just didn’t want to die.”

  “Why now? Why are you coming forward now?” I clutched Elias's phone to my chest. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever you want if you take me to them.”

  Elias grabbed my hand. “Riley, the first thing you must do is sleep. You slept what, a couple of hours last night? Honestly, you look like hell. Sleep while we plan a way to let you see the boys,” he said. He continued before I could scream at him to take me to them immediately. “Riley, we can’t take you up there willy-nilly. We have to make a plan, and you might as well rest while we do.”

  Maybe Anthony’s mind tricks worked better than he realized, because when they insisted I needed sleep, my body became exhausted. I finally registered that Anthony was rubbing my feet, and it was heavenly. I glared at his hands. “Okay, I’ll sleep. But I’m sleeping on this couch, and you have to stop rubbing my feet.” Anthony jerked his hands away. “I’ve agreed to do whatever you both say, and I will, in time, get over your disgusting betrayal, Elias, but that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with either of you.”

  Elias jumped up and pulled a blanket out of a corner cabinet. Anthony stood and grabbed a throw pillow from the chair next to the couch. They handed me the bedding, and I tucked myself in for a nap. “Now, go plan. When I wake up, I want to hit the road.”

  My body relaxed into the overstuffed sofa, and I watched the men walk into the kitchen. I could see them sitting at the table from where my head lay on the pillow. My eyes grew heavy watching their lips move and I fell asleep with a heart swollen with hope.

  Chapter Four

  They found you; they’re on their way. You still can't trust Elias, but he'll keep you safe until I can find you. Wake up, Riley and run! Remember this, remember my words, and hurry. Wake up, Riley. Run!

  I sat up, terrified, my skin clammy. “Elias! Anthony! Where are you?” They ran in, alarm on their faces.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Elias.

  Throwing the blanket off, I leaned over to snatch my sneakers off the floor. “Do either of you know of a vampire—”

  “Supay,” interjected Anthony.

  “Supay,” I mocked. “Do either of you know of a Supay that could send me messages while I’m asleep?”

  They shook their heads. “No. Anthony’s ability is pretty rare. I don’t know of anyone else with a power associated with controlling or communicating with another person. Why?”

  I shook my head. “Just tell me.”

  Anthony quirked his eyebrows at me. “I’ve got a Great-aunt Roselyn that can move small objects with her mind, and my grandfather could tell if a person’s soul was good or evil.”

  “Since Michael died, those are the only ones I know of,” said Elias. “If I have an ability it hasn’t manifested itself yet.”

  My fingers quivered around my laces. “Michael had an ability?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what else Michael had hidden from me.

  “Yes,” replied Anthony, “Michael could lure a human, almost put them in a trance.”

  My heart dropped. Did he use that power on me? It was love at first sight…

  “As much as I want you to expand on that information, we’ve got to go. There’s a vamp—or some sort of creature—out there that can communicate with me when I’m asleep. Maybe the barrier that keeps you out, Anthony, is gone when I’m asleep.” They looked at each other skeptically. “I don’t know. I mean, hell, it might not even be a Supay. But he told me that someone has found me and they’re on their way to get me.” Elias's eyes widened, and Anthony’s jaw dropped.

  “I take it you know who he meant?”

  They took off running, faster than I ever could. I yelled up the stairs after Elias, “Get my guns! You never know when we’ll need them!” I grabbed my bag from its spot beside the couch and waited for the men to join me. Footsteps pounded overhead as they ran from room to room gathering supplies.

  My voice echoed up the stairs as I yelled again, “Guys, we're driving somewhere in a car. You don’t need to pack for a journey to Mordor! We can stop and pick up anything we’ve forgotten!” I sighed when their shuffling and running didn’t slow.

  After a couple of minutes, they thundered down the stairs. Each carried a bag of clothing and an overstuffed bag of guns and ammunition.

  “Do guns even work on Supay?” I asked as they ushered me out the door.

  “They’re not as effective as they are on a human, but a direct hit to the heart or brain will usually kill us.” Elias rushed me toward the car. “It doesn’t help that we can’t go to traditional hospitals, so our medical care is often limited.”

  Well, at least I know how to get my kids out, if it comes to that.

  “So I sharpened my stakes for nothing then, eh?” I joked awkwardly. Anthony ignored my joke and grabbed my bag with his own. “I can get it. I’m a big girl.”

  Anthony stopped in the driveway and turned to me, wasting precious seconds. His eyes bored into mine. “It's my pleasure.”

  Shivers ran down my spine, and my happy place perked up. No, happy place, no! Calm down. We’re still mad at him.

  After relinquishing my bag, I climbed in the rear seat of Anthony’s blue SUV to give them the front to drive and navigate. Anthony looked disgruntled when I reached the door first and didn’t let him open it.

  “Boys, I realize
you both like to be proper Southern gentlemen, but it’s not necessary for you to hold my door or carry my bag every damn time.” I slammed the car door in his face and pretended I didn’t see him roll his eyes.

  Anthony drove and Elias turned in his seat to talk to me. “Riley, there's still so much of the story you don’t know. We told you a lot, but we need to tell you more.”

  My arms crossed defensively. “Seriously? More? How much more could there be? The only thing I can think of is I need to know details of how you feed.” I laughed, nervous and a bit horrified at what I might learn. Maybe they’ve found a way to adopt a lettuce diet.

  Anthony’s voice drifted back. “We eat blood, Riley. Well, we drink it. Human blood.”

  “Right, okay. But how do you get the blood?”

  “Nowadays we mostly use donors.” Elias sighed. “It’s a little underhanded, as they think they’re donating to humans in need of blood transfusions, but it’s forbidden to drink directly from a human. The majority of Supay agree with the law.”

  “Mostly? Mostly use donors? Please clarify mostly.” The burning taste of bile rose in my throat.

  “There are those among us that refuse to drink from donor bags,” Anthony explained. “They still draw in humans to drink from.”

  “Don’t freak out, Riley!” Elias said as he saw my eyes widen. “We have to be secretive. We aren't allowed to kill a human—if for no other reason than it draws too much attention. Vampires sometimes go rogue and kill, but they're rapidly hunted down.”

  The scenery raced by as I contemplated the new information. “If it’s such a secret, how are you able to bite a human and drink their blood without them freaking out?”

  Elias turned to talk directly to me. I went a little dumb as the sunlight hit his profile, lighting up his blond hair and making his eyes pop. I felt the urge to caress his cheek. Hah. Maybe caress it with a baseball bat.

  “We don't really know. We’ve long been forbidden from studying the sciences. But most of us get the same education as your average human. We do a sort of homeschool program.” I began to ask another question, but Elias cut me off. “We aren't allowed to study the sciences because if any of us were scientists, we would be too tempted to study ourselves. And if we study ourselves, there's a chance the information could get out. We aren’t the only Unseen creatures that are hiding. There’s a high council for the Unseen called the Junta of the Tipua. They make final decisions, settle disputes between species and clans and are the final authority. They recently elected a young Fairy to be the new lead, and he’s making some positive changes for the Unseen across the world—but it'll take time.”

  Quiet for most of his long explanation, I raised my eyebrows at the term Unseen. “The Unseen?”

  “Yes, that’s how we refer to anyone in the supernatural world. That way we aren’t specifically saying the witches, or the shifters, or the merfolk.”

  “Ah. Wow, I have a lot of information to process.” The Merfolk? “How long until we reach my boys?”

  A sigh slipped past my lips when they told me half an hour. I was sure we’d been driving for hours, but we’d only been moving for about twenty minutes. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I realized my boys had been living less than an hour away from me the entire time.

  I fought for control so I could continue siphoning information from them. “Where are we going?”

  “We have a home base up in the mountains. The locals call it Thunderhead Mountain. We asked a witch to hide it years ago when we moved to this area. It’s the safest place for an Unseen for a good three hundred miles.”

  “Are any Unseen welcome there?” I asked.

  Anthony shifted in his seat. “Not anymore. That’s why we moved. We created a hidden fortress in the mountains, and the location is given to select few. The story behind that move would take far more time than we have now.”

  “To answer your earlier question,” Elias said, “when a Supay bites a human, the human feels like they’ve had an intense orgasm. Our venom heals the skin, so no wound remains—if done properly. It’s a bit like a sexual trance, and the human might think their partner had a bit of a biting kink. We don't know how or why it works.”

  I glared at Elias in consternation and tried to control my rogue thoughts. As if I wasn’t already fighting sudden, strong desires. They’ve got an orgasm bite. Great.

  Mountains as familiar to me as my own living room gave me a modicum of peace as we drove. I’d driven, hiked, and swam in the rivers of these mountains for as long as I could remember. “Elias, where exactly is this place? I’ve hiked from one end of Thunderhead Mountain to the other and haven’t seen any houses up there.”

  “I mentioned we had a witch hide it. You would find the wood and brush impenetrable and have to walk around the border. If you tried to hack through the brush you’d be transported straight through to the other side of the property.” He spoke about magic as if I would understand and be okay with it. I kept my cynical thoughts to myself since I was on my way to see my children. The snark could wait.

  Halfway up the winding mountain road, Anthony slowed and parked at what we always called a pull-off: a spot to be able to get out and take pictures of the view. The river snaked in a ravine beside us.

  “We have to walk from here, and there’s no trail. We’re going to sneak onto the property and let you see the boys. You won’t get to speak to them, and they won't see you. You must agree to this, or we won't take you, and you'll never find them on your own,” Anthony said.

  “I agree.” I’ll do anything.

  Elias put his arms around me from behind. I sank into him, appreciating the comfort of my best friend as I contemplated seeing my children again. Then I caught myself, remembering that the arms around me belonged to a lying traitor. I sprang forward, scooping up one of the packs we were carrying with us. “Let’s go.”

  The only thing I disliked about hiking was the mosquitos. My blood must’ve tasted like sweet honey to a mosquito, because they loved to bite me. I chuckled at the irony of slapping little blood suckers off of my skin as I climbed a mountain with two big blood suckers.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Anthony.

  “Mosquitos. It’s nothing,” I said. Elias shrugged. I continued to chuckle, elated to be heading toward David and Daniel.

  I stopped abruptly, the bag full of weapons banging against my butt. They could’ve been leading me up into the densest part of the mountains to kill me. When did I get so comfortable with the two men that had essentially kidnapped me?

  “What’s wrong? We don’t have much farther to go,” said Elias.

  Anthony inspected me over Eli’s shoulder with one eyebrow quirked.

  “Are you two taking me up here to rape and kill me? If you are, just tell me so we can get the fight over with, because I won’t go down easily.”

  Anthony huffed. “Here I thought you’d begun to trust us.”

  I peered up at the clear blue sky, pondering his words. Realizing I had begun to trust them, I soldiered on. Why do I? What the hell is it about them?

  An overwhelming bolt of pain shot through my temples. It made my previous headache seem like a paper cut. I hit the ground hard and was so focused on the agony in my head, I didn’t register the pain in my knees and hands. Elias and Anthony reached me so fast that I was surprised they didn't catch me on my way down.

  A voice shot through the pain. "Riley! They're right behind you, and they're gaining on you! RUN NOW!" As swiftly as it came, the pain was gone.

  "Run!" I took off, launching from my crouched position, trusting them to catch up and lead me to our destination. "Whoever is chasing me is right behind us." My feet pounded the forest floor as I weaved between trees and leaped over roots and fallen branches. I again found myself glad for the years of training that had increased my stamina. Anthony pulled ahead of me, out of sight, and Elias kept right on my heels.

  "Riley! What happened? What made you run?" Elias asked.

  "I heard the voi
ce again.” I panted the words out. "Whoever it is, they must've pushed pretty hard to get through whatever that barrier is." I couldn't say more. Even in my good physical condition, I was moving fast enough to lose my breath.

  Anthony's voice came out of nowhere. I was too focused on making sure I didn’t kill myself by falling flat on my face in the undergrowth to see where he was. "We’ll hide in the old stables. I'll scout ahead and provide a distraction in case anyone is out on that side of the property."

  A few minutes later, we broke through the forest onto a lush green lawn. I spotted an old horse barn to our left and sprinted there, Elias breathing down my neck. Throwing the doors open, I ran in and doubled over, hands on my skinned knees, gasping for air.

  Elias wasn't winded. His hair was barely ruffled, the jackass.

  I inspected the barn as I caught my breath. The smell of fresh hay made my nose tingle, and I almost squealed at the sight of a couple of horses peeking out of their stalls at me. The interior was stuffy and oppressive after running through the unseasonably warm October mountains, though it would become cozy and inviting when winter decided to eventually move into eastern Tennessee.

  "Who’s after me? And where did Anthony go? Is he safe?" Once I could speak, the words came out in a rush and almost a yell.

  "Shhhh, we're trying to keep you hidden, remember?" When he put his arms around me, I had an even harder time catching my breath. His strong chest smushed my face, so I pushed him back a little—but didn't make him let me go. I’d already decided to trust them, if not forgive them, so allowing a small bit of comfort seemed fair.

  "There’s still more to tell you," he said as he let go. "We don't have time for details, but your boys are showing some traits that typically only turn up in pure Supay. That’s why we were tasked with watching you after Michael died, why they allowed me to integrate myself into your life. David started showing his powers a few months after he came here." The familiar gape was on my face again. Every time they opened their mouths to explain something to me, I became dumbfounded.