“Arabella is pretty,” I said to him casually.
“Mmm,” Cameron mumbled. He met my eyes with a look I understood. Companions were on the ‘no dating’ list. It was very much so forbidden. If a romance was discovered, the human would be sent away and the vampire reprimanded. Renard and Olivier had been in love for thirty years but kept it absolutely on the friend level for that very reason.
“Be careful,” I told Cameron while I twisted some tape around a streamer. “That’s all I’ll say to you.”
“Me be careful? You’re standing on a ladder with me and you’re four months pregnant. Why are you up here? Get down, I can finish it.”
“I’m pregnant, not infirmed. Even if I fell, my body would take the punishment, not the baby. That’s how our bodies work. Or so the doctor says.” He was the only person I could ask for advice. Well, the only one I wanted to ask.
“There,” Olivier announced, stepping back to admire our work. “We managed to turn a hunter green room into a pastel palace. Why is this room so green? Everything is green in here. No one likes green this much.”
“The cunning and ambitious do,” I commented as I stepped down the ladder steps.
“There’s a difference between emerald green and hunter green. One of them is pleasant. The other is not.” I stuck my tongue out at her. She was right, though. This room looked awful, like old man country club awful, but now it was awash with pastels and smelled like butter mints, so that made it a little better.
Olivier checked her wristwatch. “Five minutes left. They should start arriving soon.”
Benjamin and Alfred started walking towards the door, leaving once their work was done.
“Wait,” I shouted, and caught up to them. “You can stay. It’s not a vampire only party. You should be here.” I smiled encouragingly at them. I didn’t like their anti-social behavior. If I couldn’t be anti-social, then neither could they.
“Is that an order,” Alfred asked.
“No?” He left without another word. Benjamin stayed, showing an apologetic smile.
“He doesn’t like you very much,” he explained.
That hurt.
“But I’ve been so nice to him,” I said with a pout.
Benjamin dropped his head and said quietly, “He thinks you are a demon. That’s why he won’t tell you his name, he thinks it will give you power over him.”
“Then why did he sign up to be a companion?”
“He needed the money. His family is poor and his mother is very sick. One year of service to the devil, and they’ll be fixed for life.”
I scrunched my lips together at being called the devil. I was sure his superstitions came from wherever his family lived. There were legends about us all over the world. Most were incredibly unflattering and would make devil sound like a pet name. While the western world had mostly forgotten those types of horror stories, other parts of the world kept them alive and thriving.
“You’ll stay?” I asked Benjamin. He nodded.
All of the Born showed up at my party. Even ones we hadn’t invited.
I could say it was because vampires like parties, which was true, but everyone had a different reason for being there, and very few had the reason of liking me. Some wanted food. Some wanted gossip material. Some thought I was an oddity, the vampire no one really knew, and were eager to see what I was like.
No matter their reason, all of them eyed my belly with a wary glance.
I had a slight fear that Marie had shared Castilla’s baby reading, and everyone thought my baby was a dangerous half-werewolf or something, but Olivier assured me she hadn’t heard anyone mention Castilla’s words. Either way, my baby shower wasn’t turning out quite like I’d hoped.
My age counted for something in the respect department though, so everyone had at least brought a gift. While my guests nibbled on buttery cake and gossiped about the hostess’s private life, I opened gifts fit for a royal baby. Silken embroidered baby gowns with golden buttons. Silver rattles, silver spoons, silver cups. Hand-painted trays of children playing.
Nothing was modern. Everything was based on traditions we had known centuries ago. A wooden cradle, a wooden toy horse. Teddy bears. Bonnets and booties. Cloth diapers. Someone had even given me a handmade papoose, to carry my baby on my back.
I highly doubted that any of the handmade things had been made by the givers, but they’d put thought into what they gave me, and it warmed my heart despite the general detachment of the guests. Maybe being involved would be much easier than I thought.
Halfway through the party, the turned arrived.
They came in through the hallway door, Randall at the lead. We’d closed the drapes to accommodate Renard and Cameron, so Randall safely walked up to me where I sat in the middle of the room opening gifts.
“Randall,” Olivier greeted warily. “What brings you here?”
“We heard there’s a party, and we weren’t invited. Well, some of us were.” He nodded to Cameron and Renard with a significant glance.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested,” I said honestly. They had made it very clear they didn’t like me. Why would I invite them to my party?
“Why not? We love parties.” He grabbed a bowl of nuts and chomped on a few of them. The turned didn’t need food, but they enjoyed snacks like the rest of us. “Mmm. Now those are some high-quality almonds.” Othello approached Randall and grabbed the nut bowl from him.
“Excuse me,” Othello said sharply. “You and the turned were not invited. Please return to the dormitory.” I got up and tried to warn Othello that that wasn’t a good idea, but the damage had been done.
“Oh, I see. We’re not good enough for your party, is that it?” Randall shouted, purposefully trying to draw everyone’s attention to our conversation. “It may have escaped your notice, but we’re vampires, same as you.”
“I said, the turned were not invited,” Othello repeated in a huff.
“Then what are Renard and Cameron doing here?” Randall challenged. He glanced at me and grinned, and I understood. That was why he crashed the party. He had something up his sleeve, and it involved singling Renard and Cameron out.
Othello didn’t notice the look on Randall’s face. “You and the turned will leave immediately or I will employ Arthur and the Hunters to escort you out.”
Randall held his hands up disarmingly. “Alright, we’re leaving. Everyone have a nice time without us. Cameron. Renard.” He nodded to them and led the rest of the turned out of the room.
Needless to say, the party was pretty much over after that.
The room cleared out faster than it takes a pot to boil. Olivier and her group took down the room while Benjamin helped me carry my gifts upstairs. An hour later, I was busy sorting through everything when Olivier burst into my rooms without knocking.
“Is that important?” she asked, gasping for air.
“Not really,” I answered, setting a baby dress down.
“I need you.”
That was all she said and all she needed to say. I instantly got up and followed her out the door.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked when we’d hit the first-floor landing.
“A fight in the dormitory,” was the answer.
“Christ,” I swore under my breath. I shouldn’t have been surprised, given the circumstances, but a fight in the dormitory was new. Logically, there’s only so many places insubordination can progress to. Fighting was one of them.
We went down the basement stairs and I started to hear the commotion the turned were making. Shouts, groans, and scraping. From the noise, I expected to find the dormitory completely trashed, but instead, there was just a pile of them in the middle of the room. A few were still hitting each other, most had given up and were lying in a puddle of their own blood.
“What in god’s name do you think you’re doing in here?” I shouted. It was then I noticed the few turned still swinging was Renard, Randall, and Cameron. I should’ve guessed. “Eve
ryone get up,” I barked out. I waited patiently while the pile separated and everyone got off the floor. I pointed to one of the turned that hadn’t been fighting. “You. What happened.”
She looked scared under the full force of my wrath, but managed to get out, “Someone said that Cameron and Renard were getting special treatment. They said it was because of you and Olivier, and said that its because...” She swallowed and I held my breath. “Well, there were a few unflattering things said about you, and then they said it was because Renard is fucking Olivier, and you’re fucking Cameron.”
Now fully enraged, I let out my breath and turned back to the mass with a death glare. “Who. Who fucking said it?” Everyone motioned to someone in the thick of the group. It was Randall, as if I was surprised. He was missing skin on several parts of his body and looked like he could barely stand up. His face was a swollen, bloody mess. I sent a side glare to Renard and Cameron, who didn’t look the least bit sorry. I motioned the bloodied Randall forward. “I’ll take your full explanation immediately,” I demanded when he was standing in front of me. He spat blood onto the floor, being careful to miss my shoes.
“They get special treatment,” he panted, his voice sounding like he had cotton in his cheeks. “You know it as well as I do.”
I let out a slow and even breath because all I wanted to do was throttle him further. “Continue.”
“First, Othello approving them for a turning without having to wait for the next group.”
“Othello approved them because it was a special circumstance,” Olivier pointed out. “They’re former companions. They didn’t need as much training as you did. It’s like that for any companion who applies to be turned, not just them.” He had the nerve to roll his eyes at her, but he put his hands up in acknowledgment of her point.
“Then there’s the party you didn’t invite us to,” Randall continued. “You clearly didn’t think we were worth being there for it. And finally, a burning question.”
I stared him down. “And that is?”
“Will they get to live here after training is over? This is a Born-exclusive Order, and it has been that way since its inception, according to your boring ass lectures. Will you snooty Born make an exception because they’re your friends? Or will you kick them out like you will us?”
I was very careful to keep all the thoughts I was having off my face. He was right. Renard and Cameron would probably live here with special permission. I had the sway. I could make it happen. But there was something here amongst the turned that I’d been sensing for weeks. An undercurrent that was stronger than their initial grumbles. This was something they’d been discussing and complaining about for much longer than today.
I tilted my head up and looked down at Randall in a display of dominance. “Renard is mated to a Born vampire. He will live here permanently. Cameron will leave with the rest of you.” Randall almost looked taken aback, but he managed to hide it under his smug grin. “I do not want to hear another word on this subject, is that understood?” He nodded. I looked up and around at everyone else. “I wasn’t talking to just him.”
Everyone chorused, “Yes, ma’am.”
It took every ounce of self-control to not meet Cameron’s eye. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to see the look of betrayal he probably had, though there was also that. I just couldn’t afford to show him favoritism. There were scales here, and I wasn’t sure what would tip them.
“Everyone is confined to the dormitory for a week as punishment for fighting,” I announced. They all complained, the loudest ones being those that hadn’t been in the midst of the brawl.
“But we weren’t fighting!” one of them said over the rest. A high-pitched noise from Olivier shut them up. I winced and pushed a finger to my ear to comfort it.
“I don’t care who was fighting,” I told them. “When one of you is in trouble, you’re all in trouble. That’s the rule of our species. Everything you do affects all of us. If I catch any of you breaking the rules again, you’ll wish my punishment was a week of dormitory confinement.”
I turned, taking so much care to not look at Cameron, and left the room.
Olivier followed me, not speaking until I reached the empty kitchen. I grabbed an orange and angrily tore it in half with my hands.
“Well,” Olivier said once the kitchen door had swung closed. “Thanks for grounding my boyfriend.” She was only half complaining. She agreed with my punishment, though she hadn’t said so.
“I hated doing that. I hated…” Though I hadn’t seen Cameron’s face, I could picture it, and it hurt my insides. He chose this life for me, and I’d just said he would be sent away from me. I’d broken his heart, and my own at the same moment.
“Hey,” Olivier soothed. She reached for my fists and gently opened them. I’d accidentally clenched my fists around the orange halves. The floor and my hands were covered in orange juice and pulp. She took the pieces from my hands and threw them away.
“Sorry.” She chose not to comment and wiped up the floor with paper towels while I rinsed my hands in the sink. “There’s something off with them,” I said once my hands were clean.
“I know. I can feel it too. Do you think it’s getting worse?”
Frowning, I nodded as I dried my hands off. “There’s unrest. But it’s more than that. I’m afraid they might be organizing.” I didn’t have to explain how dangerous that was. Olivier instantly straightened up.
“I’ll have Renard keep an eye on them. He can let us know what they’re whispering.”
“That’ll help, but I’m sure they guard their words when he’s around. For now, let’s wait and see if things will die down.”
And I hoped to god they would.
I’d have to face Cameron eventually and explain my actions. I didn’t want him to be sent away. I wanted him here with me. I needed my brother. The number of people I considered family was very small, and I’d lost one of them forever. I didn’t want to lose anyone else, but I doubted I would have much say in the matter.
The turned dormitory confinement went by quickly, which was good for me because Olivier had become a grouch without Renard around. It also meant it was time to confront Cameron, something I was not looking forward to. I was putting it off, but I ended up running into him on accident.
I’d woken up with nightmares, something that was a regular occurrence now, so I went downstairs to get something to eat. The kitchen was dark, and opening the fridge flooded it with light. I grabbed an egg and whipped up some creamy meringue, which I put in a cup and took with me outside, already dipping into it with my spoon. The moon was up in the sky, and I couldn’t help but think of Knight. He should be running around as a werewolf right now, happily chasing butterflies and bunnies. But he was dead. The moon would never catch his shadow again.
Cameron was lying outside in the dark, staring up at the moon, his head propped up with his hands. I smelled him before I noticed him. For one second I considered going back inside, but I decided not to be a coward. I approached him, and after taking the last spoonful of meringue into my mouth, I set my empty cup on one of the nearby tables.
“Hi,” he said without looking at me.
“Can I sit?” He shrugged, so I sat and stretched onto the ground next to him. He was silent, watching the stars and ignoring me. Finally, I sighed and said, “I can’t read your mind.”
“Good.”
“That’s polite code for please talk to me.”
He scratched his nose. “I know you’re sorry, so don’t say it. I also know that you have more to consider than my feelings. But I’m still mad at you. Not for what you did. Because you made me feel like I wasn’t important to you.”
“I know. But you know that’s not true,” I said. “I hated doing what I did. I had no choice. There’s something off with them. I can feel it. And if I’d showed you special treatment, it would’ve stirred the pot.”
“I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Then don’t. But
you should know, I already applied for you to live here permanently. The other turned will leave and you’ll stay.” I hoped that would make him feel better, and maybe forgive me a little, but I was wrong.
He groaned and sat up quickly. “You don’t understand. That will make it worse. You said there’s something going on with them, and you’re right. Right now, it’s just whispers. But you do that and it’ll become shouts. And you’ll have a real problem when that happens.”
“I can handle whispers.”
“You’re not handling anything.” He got up and walked away.
10. Out of proportion
At that point, during the most horrible year of my long life, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. As one might suspect, I was very, very, wrong.
The Hunters completed their training course, all of them just barely making a passing grade, and they were preparing to leave the Order as soon as Othello gave them their new assignments. The turned, on the other hand, had no interest in their training. They refused to participate in anything we tried to involve them in, and because the Hunters were still here, I had a feeling Othello was delaying their departure in case we needed backup.
And the day came all too soon when we did.
My days had become much less busy, considering I had no one to teach now. Mostly I just went to the doctor’s suite so I could see my little baby on the monitor. She was so big now at five months. Her head was down to normal proportions. Her fingers and toes were fully developed. I never wanted to stop seeing her little body on the screen.
Sadly, the machine turned off and I sat up. The doctor handed me more photos for my album and I left his suite. After leaving the photos in my rooms, I went to the beauty parlor on the bottom floor of the Order. It was another new thing I was trying in my attempt to be more social. I signed in and found a seat in the shampoo area while I waited.
The Born Vampire series: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Complete Series, NSFW Edition) Page 26
