Bitten (The Graced Series Book 2)

by Amanda Pillar

  “She seemed quite nice. And she let me help her do an autopsy. I am thinking of asking her if she needs an assistant.”

  While he’d been working with the small human woman, it had occurred to Dante that he could enjoy doing a job like hers. He liked human anatomy, and had spent half his life studying it and human blood. And now he didn’t have any short-term goals. Aside from being a good husband, which was still a work in progress. Assisting in the coroner’s office would give him purpose.

  His father would have a fit, but Dante was less afraid of his parent now that Tatiana — his mother — had made herself known. He was still a little in awe of her. Throwing his father out of a window had been pure genius.

  But getting back to the matter at hand; working in a morgue would also provide Dante with ready access to cadavers for when Emmie would be ready to start her medical training. He was planning ahead, giving Elle less chance to argue against his recommendation.

  “You do realize that the coroner might not feel comfortable coming to an aristo’s house for dinner?” Anton said.

  Dante‘s face was blank. “She knows me now, and she already knew Elle. Plus, I said to bring her friend. Oh, and I asked Misty to come, too.”

  Anton’s expression fell slightly, but then he gave Dante a smile. “Okay.”

  Something tightened in Dante’s chest. He knew that Anton wasn’t crazy about Misty — she could be pretty difficult when she set her mind to it, or even when she wasn’t really trying — but she was Dante’s sister and he got along better with her nowadays. And so Anton tried to get along with her too, even though she made it hard.

  Dante thought Misty believed Anton wasn’t good enough for him, which was stupid. If anything, it was the other way around. But Misty was Misty. Once she made her mind up, it was hard to persuade her otherwise.

  Dante had grown so used to living in houses surrounded by people, that he didn’t think much of the sound of approaching footsteps. The butler appeared in the doorway of the Rose room and cleared his throat.

  “The Duchess of Ravens is here to see you, sir.”

  Nodding, Dante indicated that his mother should be shown in. His mother. It was still an odd concept. He’d never thought of Countess Maerylina as a parent, more an adult who paid him attention from time to time. And yet, she’d been more involved in his life than this strange woman. It was a shame Dante didn’t really mourn the countess’ loss. Oh, he felt bad for his sister, but not for himself. Then again, death — in some form or another — had surrounded him from a young age. Maybe he was desensitized to it?

  A few seconds later footsteps and quiet voices reached his ears. Did his mother have other visitors with her? And why did the smell of bear precede the visitors?

  Then Tatiana was walking through the doorway, a wide smile on her face. She held both hands out as she greeted Dante, and he realized he was meant to take them. Standing, he offered his own in return.

  Tatiana squeezed his palms, stepped back and swept an arm toward the doorway. Three other people filed into the room, each one looking slightly awkward, as if unsure of their welcome. They smelled of bear, dust, oaks and coal smoke; they must have been traveling. Of the three, only one was human, and Dante noted with interest that it was a male with Hazel eyes. The other man was a were — a bear, Dante gathered — who made even Clay look small, and the final newcomer was a woman who smelled like a vampire, but who had the darkest purple eyes he had ever seen. They looked black.

  Anton had stood up and was approaching the trio, hand outstretched for the female vampire to take it. “Hello, my name is Lord Greystoke. I presume you are Tatiana’s daughter?”

  The woman stared at Anton’s hand, as if it were a snake. Dante took a step forward, offended on behalf of his husband. But then Anton’s words sank in. Why would Anton assume that the new vampire was Tatiana’s daughter? Dante assessed her, took in her long black hair, pale skin and tall figure. She looked more like his father than Tatiana.

  And then it clicked.

  Could this be his missing twin sister?

  Oh, Misty was going to love this.

  Not.

  Losing her mother, only to have a new sibling arrive. He couldn’t imagine this going well.

  Anton’s smile withered as the woman still failed to move. His hand had begun to droop when the Hazel-eyed human stepped forward and shook it, a bit too vigorously. Tattoos wreathed the man’s hand, as did a series of small, newly healed scars. His face was covered with fading bruises, but the bright smile he gave Anton made his husband falter. Dante narrowed his eyes. Could this other human be handsome? Was being blond, tall and muscular appealing? Is that what made Anton react? Dante wasn’t sure he liked this new human with his interesting Hazel eyes.

  “Name’s Fin Castle, nice to meet you.” No accent. The man spoke Pintonese flawlessly. “This is Lady Hannah Romanov, and the big hulking fellow over there is Byrne.”

  No surname. Just Byrne.

  The description of the were was rather apt. The man had needed to bend to get in the room, and was standing slightly hunched within the doorway, since the others had failed to move aside and let him enter properly. Something small was strapped to the were’s front.

  “Is that a baby?” Dante asked, ignoring the introductions.

  Five sets of eyes stared at him and everyone took a step forward. And then a wolf barged its way through the door. It avoided brushing up against anyone, its movements quick. Stopping in front of Dante, the wolf yapped.

  Dante sighed. “What is your problem, Clay?”

  Another yap.

  Dante pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “In case you missed it, I don’t speak wolf.”

  Clay’s muzzle dropped open, but Anton turned back to address him. “If you want to participate, go and change shape then come back.”

  With a bright yellow glare, Clay slunk from the room. He gave the bear a sniff on the way through, earning a scowl from the other were. Was it impolite for them to sniff each other?

  “He was probably checking who had invaded his territory,” Tatiana offered, as if reading Dante’s thoughts.

  “So whose baby is that?” Dante asked, not too intrigued about were politics when there were other matters at hand. After all, he could easily grill Clay later. Dante was unable to see the face of the baby, but its skin tone indicated that it was not the bear’s. And it smelled human. Which meant that it wouldn’t be Hannah’s, as she was a vampire, even with her very dark purple eyes.

  “It is Hannah’s adopted daughter,” Tatiana said.

  There was a tickling sensation at the corner of Dante’s mind. He never would have been able to detect it before he’d Chosen Elle, but he knew now when someone was trying to read his thoughts. No one in the room had Green eyes, aside from the human male, who had Green in his Hazel — so Dante concluded it must be the baby.

  This raised a number of questions about Graced development that Dante was keen to explore.

  Tatiana flicked a hand through the air. “Dante, I would like you to meet your sister.”

  So Anton had been correct.

  Hannah tilted her head in acknowledgement. That was not normal behavior. Dante moved closer to her, and she stepped back, careful to avoid bumping into anything. He was now close enough to see that her eyes were not purple. They were Black.

  Then, before his brain could stop it from happening, he blurted, “Are you Graced?”

  The room went eerily quiet.

  “Graced?” Hannah repeated.

  “I—uh—”

  “How do you know about the Graced?” the Hazel-eyed human asked.

  Dante gave a little shrug. “I Chose one.”

  Fin shook his head. “Impossible, Graceds don’t survive being Chosen or Bitten.”

  “They do if they’re Hazel.”

  Fin appeared to want to say more, but Dante turned away from him to his new sister.

 
Well, old sister.

  Same-age sister.

  Sister.

  “So, what can you do?” He took another step closer, but Hannah edged away, toward the human.

  Clay strode into the room then, dressed in his human skin and a pair of trousers and a shirt. He had bare feet. “Byrne! What are you doing in town?” he said, giving the bear a slap on the back and grinning. “And with a baby! Your sister has been all over the countryside trying to find you, I’ll have you know.”

  So they did know each other.

  Byrne’s good humor faded. “You’ve seen Gina?”

  “Wasn’t Gina, it was Ruby. She’s been through Gorke a few times looking for you. Her and her mate.”

  “Mate?” The were’s eyebrows raised.

  “Yeah, some big cat decided she smelled right and that she was his. She happened to agree with his assessment. You later-generation weres do it strangely, let me tell you. A bear and a tiger. Odd mix.” Clay shook his head. Dante wasn’t too good at the social situation thing, but he could see this news appeared to sadden Byrne, and that the human, Fin, was staring at him rather intently as a result.

  Tatiana, however, was fixated on Clay. She hissed. “You.”

  Clay gave an easy shrug. “Me?”

  Tatiana glowered at both of the weres. “You’re the alpha of that clan Trace belonged to.”

  Dante had no idea what clan she was talking about. Or who Trace was. Odd name.

  Clay thought a moment. “Not me, that’d be my uncle, Wolf.”

  Fin sniggered. “Your uncle was called Wolf? Original.”

  “His name was Wolfgang.” The look Clay gave the human added an unspoken ‘ass’ to the end of the sentence.

  Tatiana nodded, but she didn't look too happy. “What are the chances of meeting two descendants of that time?” Her voice was low, thoughtful.

  Dante and Anton stared at Clay, who sighed. “It was a really long time ago. I was just a teenager.”

  That meant it was so long ago as to be almost legendary. And while that was fascinating, Dante had other things to deal with.

  “Apparently, I have a twin sister who is Graced.” Dante said. “Anyone care to explain to me what is going on?”

  Chapter 60

  Alice eyed the black and white tiled entry foyer of the Greystoke townhouse in awe. Every aristo place she’d been in since becoming involved in the vampire murder case was opulent. Would she ever get used to this?

  Tal stood next to her, dressed in a stunning black gown that hugged her figure, one that Alice hadn’t seen before. Her best friend loved to shop, unlike Alice, who mostly enjoyed going out to buy medical equipment. But Tal’s outfit made Alice feel a little self-conscious, because Alice was wearing the same dress she’d worn a couple of weeks ago, when the second body had been found. It wasn’t floor length, but she didn’t want to wear the orange gown again and there weren’t too many other options left in her wardrobe to choose from.

  Footsteps accompanied by a clacking sound approached and a handsome human male appeared. He was dressed in a charcoal suit, with a snowy white shirt and blue cravat. He was also using a cane, the source of the clicking. Alice wondered what had happened to his leg. “Welcome, I am Lord Greystoke.”

  Alice dropped into an awkward curtsy, Tal sweeping into a more elegant one beside her. “Pleased to meet you, I am Doctor Alice Reive, and this is Professor Talan Silver.”

  It was strange using her title, but Alice figured that when with aristos, do as they do. And she’d earned it, after all. Six years of medical school at the university, plus a year as a doctor in the city hospital before working as an assistant to the former coroner. It’s just that she wasn’t all that fussed by it. Even the guards didn’t call her doctor — it wasn’t like she was a sawbones for living people, after all.

  The baron tilted his head in acknowledgment, and then motioned for them to follow him further into the house. Alice and Tal nodded subtly at each other then trailed after the human. “We have a few unexpected guests here this evening, so you will have to excuse the somewhat haphazard organization that has taken place.”

  Alice didn’t know what that implied, but if it meant this wouldn’t be too much of a formal affair, she was happy. She wasn’t sure she could do formal.

  They soon emerged into a room decorated in a series of pinks and reds, and trimmed with gold. One of the chairs alone would be worth more than all the furniture in Alice’s house. She hoped her gawking wasn’t too obvious.

  The room wasn’t devoid of people, though.

  The baron’s husband, Dante, was there, standing in a corner talking with a woman who looked remarkably like him; tall and lithe with long black hair and dark colored eyes. Next to her was a blond man who was a bit too pretty for his own good, and a woman with dark red hair and flashing violet eyes. They were having an intense conversation and didn’t really look up when Alice and Tal entered.

  Tal muttered something under her breath that Alice didn’t catch. It didn’t sound too complimentary, though. Suddenly Alice could tell someone was staring at her. Beside the empty fireplace, was the tallest man she’d ever clapped eyes on, and she’d thought that Kyle and Captain Mikael were vertically gifted. He was also horribly handsome, with beautiful dark black skin and a full mouth that begged for attention. She didn’t normally look at mouths and think they needed kissing; well, she hadn’t for a while, at any rate, but this one... His bright yellow eyes were locked on her, and a blush rose in her cheeks.

  He’d caught her staring.

  The man took a deep breath, and then he started toward her, as if drawn. He was wearing tan pants and a brown shirt more suited to traveling, rather than a drawing room, but they were right on him. And there was some kind of sling around his torso, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off his face.

  Forcing herself to look around the room, Alice wondered what she should do. She’d never met a were before. What was the protocol?

  “He’s coming this way,” Tal said, moving to stand slightly in front of Alice. Was she being protective? Tal’s gray eyes flashed at the were as he stopped in front of them.

  “What brings a were to these parts of town?” Tal asked, her tone almost rude.

  Alice straightened. “Tal.”

  “Just visiting,” the were said, his voice deep and gravelly. It sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

  Another were had followed him over, and this one was also tall, but not as towering as the dark-skinned man. He had brown hair that looked like it had been combed by fingers, and a bright glint in his yellow eyes.

  The second were spoke. “You must be Elle’s friend, the coroner.”

  Alice nodded. “And you’re Clay?”

  The were gave her an easy grin. “Glad to see she’s mentioned me. Hopefully everything she’s said is good, because that would mean she’s lying, otherwise.”

  She laughed, but Tal only gave the two men a tight smile. Alice hadn’t been aware that her friend had issues with weres; not when she’d joked about wanting to sleep with one to just see what it was like.

  The taller of the weres leaned forward, gently clasping one of Alice’s hands in his, and raising the back of her hand to his lips. “Name’s Byrne, it is a pleasure to meet you.” His voice was warm and deep, and it did strange things to Alice’s insides.

  Fighting another blush, she smiled. “Nice to meet you, Byrne. I’m Alice.”

  That was when she spotted that the sling around the man held a baby.

  A rush of emotion zapped through her, and she drooped a little, until she saw that the baby had olive skin, paler than her own. This infant was unlikely to have been the were’s. Maybe he was minding it for the couple on the other side of the room?

  Not that it mattered if he had a baby. He could be married or with someone for all she knew. But she didn’t want him to be unavailable, and that startled her.

  “Doctor Reive,” Tal said, sidling closer to Alice an
d bringing her thoughts back to the room.

  “Doctor?” The were let go of her hand, and the loss crumpled something inside Alice.

  She nodded. “I’m the city coroner. This is Talan Silver, she’s a professor of applied mathematics at the Royal University.”

  “A professor?” That was from Clay.

  “Yes,” Tal said without altering that strange smile.

  Clay’s yellow gaze was piercing. Something was off about this exchange — Tal’s behavior, Clay’s response — but Alice couldn’t tell what. Besides, there was the fact that the handsome were was making her heart beat a little too fast.

  Then, from the other side of the room came a startled, “What?”

  Dante nodded. “Touch the latest victim in the murder case.”

  The red-headed vampire had crossed her arms over her chest and was shaking her head firmly. The blond man was glaring at Dante. “No, absolutely not.”

  “Hannah is her own person, she can answer for herself,” Dante said, loud enough that Alice could hear it.

  “And she’ll say no,” the blond man said. He glowered at Dante.

  The woman in question — Hannah, Alice presumed — opened her mouth to speak. “I—I—”

  Then the human took another step forward, jabbing his finger on Dante’s chest. He was either very brave, or very foolish. The vampire could break his neck in seconds. “You don’t know what you’re asking. No.”

  Hannah shoved the blond man aside, standing in front of him, concern etched on her face. “Fin, you have to be careful. He’s a vampire.”

  “I know he’s a vampire.”