“I don’t have a heartbeat, Charlotte…” Zachary whispered, pulling his wrist away from her.
Tears began to pour from her eyes, streaming down her face, “I know…” She whispered, choking back a sob. Zachary reached out and pulled her close to him. She buried her face in his chest as she began to cry harder. He slowly rubbed her back and leaned his chin on her head.
“I know…” Charlotte repeated between the sobs that now racked her body.
CHAPTER 15
The following day Alex walked quietly to the girl’s locker room. She went to the fourth stall on the right and stepped inside. She dropped her bag down on the bench next to Charlotte, who was lacing up her sneakers. She didn’t even glance up at Alex, the thud of her bag hitting the bench apparently not bothering her. Alex stood for a moment, with her hands on her hips, waiting for Charlotte to acknowledge her presence. When she did not Alex cleared her throat.
“I spoke to Runt last night.” She grumbled as Charlotte looked up at her.
Charlotte frowned deeply, “And?”
“Are we sure that we can trust this vampire of yours?” Alex’s voice was bitter as she curled her upper lip into a grimace.
“He isn’t just a vampire, Alexandria. He’s still Zachary,” Charlotte retorted sharply
“Alexandria? Who are you, my mother?”
Charlotte didn’t respond.
“Humph. If he was still your precious boyfriend he could come to school. He could go home to his parents. He wouldn’t be on the missing person’s list. Face it, he isn’t your boyfriend. Not anymore. He’s a blood sucking monster.”
“Shut your face…” Charlotte mumbled.
“Charlotte Lévesque, you need to hear this. Your judgment is clouded because you’re refusing to accept the reality. Your boyfriend is dead. A shadow of his former self walks around at night as an undead terror. I’m only saying this because I love you… You’re going to end up getting hurt.”
“Alex, I said shut up.”
“Charlotte! Fine, damn it. But if someone ends up hurt or if he double crosses us, it’s on your head. And I will personally hold you responsible.” Alex snarled. She turned away from Charlotte and pulled her shirt off over her head, beginning to change for class.
“Psh. You don’t have the authority to hold me responsible for anything. You’re not alpha yet.” Charlotte snapped.
Alex whipped around and got into Charlotte’s face, baring her teeth, “I will be alpha and I do have the authority. You’re my underling and as the alpha-in-training I will hold whoever I see fit for any bullshit that may arise for what have you responsible. And if the drama stems from your little bloodsucker, it’ll be you, dearie.”
Charlotte was silent for a moment, but then she growled, “Good luck finding a spouse before Riley gets hitched. Nobody is going to want to marry you. You’re a bitter twat.”
Alex growled, but turned away from Charlotte before she lost all self-control and smacked her clean across her smug face. Charlotte huffed and then ducked out of the stall.
***
After school Alex sat in the kitchen with Riley, Kyle and Maia. She and Kyle were sitting close, head’s leaned in towards one another so they could talk without the fear of anybody hearing their exchange. Alex glanced behind her towards Riley, who had a sour look on his face. Alex knew that it bothered him that she and Kyle got along so well. She also knew that Riley was very aware of the full extent of her relationship with Kyle. They had been sneaking around behind her father’s back. She hoped that Riley wasn’t going to tell Colin, as she knew that he was going to be furious. Especially since Kyle was far below her in rank and from another pack, which seemed to matter to her father a little too much.
Kyle lightly put his hand on Alex’s, “After this meeting would you like to go out somewhere?”
Alex smiled softly and whispered back, “Let’s save our money and go down to the beach instead… My parent’s own a beach house about an hour and a half away from here…”
“Perfect…” Kyle cooed, rubbing his thumb across the skin on the back of her hand.
One by one pack members began trickling into the room. Colin and Bridgette walked in and Kyle and Alex sat up straight and shifted away from each other, pretending the other didn’t exist. Riley growled to himself and crossed his arms, glaring at Kyle. Alex turned and whacked him on his arm, giving him a dirty look that clearly said “stop it”. He smiled mockingly at her and rolled his eyes in discontent.
Samantha and Melody then entered the room. Riley stood to greet them, gently kissing Samantha on the cheek. She barely looked up at him and went to her seat, not even saying hello. He frowned and turned to say something to Melody, but he saw Kedar following her into the room. He scowled, looking Kedar up and down. He turned to Samantha, who was sitting in her seat, not appearing to be amused.
“What is he doing here, Runt?” He grumbled as he returned to his seat.
“First of, I have a name Riley. Second, he has every right to be here.” Samantha retorted shortly.
“Says who? Last I checked he wasn’t a pack member. This isn’t an open meeting.” Riley contested.
“I’m helping you handle the situation on your hands, aren’t I, mutt?” Kedar snarled. He sat down beside Samantha. He stretched and reached his arm out, putting it on the back of Samantha’s chair, around her shoulders.
“Now, now, children. It’s not the time to bicker. Kedar has already received my permission to sit in on all meetings for the foreseeable future. Now, where are Charlotte and her little pet?” Colin spat. He turned to Chantal and Devin, raising his eyebrow, directing the question of their daughter’s whereabouts at them.
“She went to get him,” was Devin’s bitter reply.
Alex glanced towards the clock. It was five passed seven; late enough for vampires to be out. She looked back towards her father, who was asking Devin how he felt about the situation. She smirked at his response.
“I am…far less than pleased, Colin…” Devin grumbled.
Just then Charlotte entered the room, her hands stuffed in her pockets, “Zach insists that he needs permission from the head of the house to enter.”
Colin grumbled but stood and left the room. He came back a few moments later, Zachary following close behind him. All eyes followed Zach and a low growl traveled through the room. Alex watched Zach as he walked, almost glided, across the room and took a seat beside Charlotte. Colin took his seat once more and folded his arms across his chest. The whole pack stared at him anxiously as he glared at Zachary.
Finally, Colin spoke. “Charlotte, your friend here wants to explain himself to the pack?”
Zachary nodded, “Yes, I do, sir,” He answered on his own behalf, “I think I could be…”
“My father wasn’t talking to you, leech!” Riley snapped, cutting Zachary off. Colin growled and gave Riley a disapproving look. He just huffed and sat back in his chair, glancing at Alex, who snickered.
“Though it was not my son’s turn to speak, he is right. I was addressing Charlotte, not you Zachary.” Colin snarled through clenched teeth angrily.
“Yes, sir. Zach would like to address the pack.” Charlotte responded, discontent clear in her voice.
Colin turned to Zachary, “Now you may speak.”
“As I was saying, the brood has accepted me as one of their own. They’ve entrusted me with their secrets, their very lives and I am more than willing to share what I know with your pack.”
Colin raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Alex and Riley. Alex pursed her lips, aggravated with the situation. Colin turned back to Zachary, “Continue.” He practically ordered.
“What would you like to know, sir?” Zachary asked.
“Anything that you can tell us. Kedar here has a knowledge of your kind, but of course any additional information is helpful.” Colin responded.
Zachary nodded slowly, “Well, right now I don’t know very much. I know that we can only survive on blood. Human’s bloo
d as your pack member Kedar pointed out at our… Confrontation yesterday. I’ve been feeding on game, but the others aren’t aware of that. The older brood members feed much more often, some of the younger brood members haven’t even needed to feed yet. Most of the fledglings can go months without feeding after their first, from what I was told. We don’t have many weaknesses, and a lot of what most know about vampires is a myth.”
Colin shook his head, “Just tell us what you know. I’m not interested in myths, only the truth. More to the point, I want to know what your brood mistress is planning.”
Zachary hesitated, “Honestly, sir, I haven’t been made privy of that information yet. But when I am, you will be the first person to know.”
Colin stared at Zachary, his face twisting in aggravation. Finally he stood, crossing his arms across his chest, “Very well. Now, I’ll ask you kindly to remove yourself from the premises. You are no longer welcome in my home.”
Charlotte looked over at Alex, whose lips were still pursed in frustration. She sighed, took Zachary’s hand in her own and led him out of the house.
The rest of the pack began to leave as well, but as Samantha stood, Alex grabbed her arm and mouthed “stay”. Samantha nodded and she sat back down. When all the adults had left the room Alex stood and she closed the door. She turned to the others and put her hands on her hips.
“What do you guys think of him? Zachary that is.” She asked as she raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t trust him…” Kedar snarled immediately.
“I second that,” Kyle said, nodding his head in agreement.
“Agreed,” Riley and Jaden chimed in unison.
Alex nodded, “And what do you all believe that we should do?”
“I think that we should take him out before he causes us any type of trouble,” Kedar suggested.
“But what if he can actually help us?” Olivia wondered.
“Don’t be stupid, Liv,” Riley snapped, turning to her.
“She could have a point…” Maia chirped.
“A ‘point’? A fucking point, Maia? They killed our mother! Don’t stick up for them!” Kyle snapped, standing. Everyone began talking all at once, yelling at each other and arguing over Zachary’s trustworthiness. Samantha stood and stomped her foot on the ground.
“Shut up!” She demanded. Everyone froze and then turned to look at her, “We can’t sit here and fight amongst ourselves. I don’t trust him either, but unless we try to trust him we will never know if he has valuable information that he can offer us.”
“And what happens when he betrays us,” Riley practically hollered, standing from his seat and taking a step towards her, “Ever think about that Runt?”
“Then we handle the situation then,” Samantha responded simply.
“Don’t be so sure that he will betray us, though,” Olivia interjected.
“How can you trust that monster so easily, Olivia?” Riley shouted.
“Enough! I have had enough! We can’t do much about this, it’s my father’s decision. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to be keeping tabs on him though. Is that understood? Or are you all going to fucking continue to argue and make me repeat myself?” Alex yelled. Silence answered her, “We will play it by ear for now.”
The room continued to be silent for a moment longer, each member digesting what Alex had said. Riley, outwardly unhappy, stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Alex rolled her eyes as he clamored up the stairs noisily. Nobody said anything and Kedar also left the room angrily. Samantha glanced at Alex, who just sighed.
CHAPTER 16
A few days passed and Charlotte avoided her pack members. She wanted to distance herself from the rude comments that Riley and other members would make about Zachary and his “condition”. Samantha feared that Charlotte was disclosing pack-only information to the vampire, but she wasn’t sure how to confront her about it.
***
One night after Samantha had finished her shift at Da Vince’s, the Italian Restaurant the Riley’s father owned, she was walking out to her car when she saw Zachary getting out of a new car with an incredibly attractive young woman. Samantha watched as he led her into the restaurant, holding the door open for her and then slinking his arm around her tiny waste. Samantha pursed her lips and got into her car, dialing Charlotte’s number.
“Hello?” A disgruntled Charlotte answered.
“Can we talk? I just saw Zach…” Samantha was quiet, afraid of hurting the already fragile relationship between the two of them.
“With a young and attractive woman? I know. He told me that the brood mistress demanded that he take her daughter out in order to further his loyalty to them,” Charlotte responded bitterly.
“And you’re okay with this?” Samantha question, befuddled.
“No. Not particularly. But the more that I can trust him the more that he can help us. It’s not any of your business, anyway. Jaden was looking for you earlier, why don’t you go bother him?” Then they was a click as Charlotte hung up on her.
Samantha frowned and glanced back towards Da Vince’s as she dialed Jaden’s number.
He didn’t answer until the third ring, “Hello?”
“Charlotte said that you were looking for me,” Samantha started, “What’s up?”
“Oh, hey Sam. Yeah, dad wanted to have you over for dinner tonight. He wants to get to know you and Riley better. Something about formally meeting his daughter’s future husband.”
“Oh…” Samantha mumbled as she clenched her teeth. Riley was still parading around as though they were getting married, as if everything between them was okay. Of course he would think that, however, Samantha had yet to tell him otherwise.
A long and awkward silence descended upon them, and Samantha checked to make sure that she hadn’t lost the call.
“Well, Riley said that he was busy tonight when I had spoken to him about it, but you’re still more than welcome to come. Liv can’t make it either.” Jaden finally said.
“I…I don’t know J…” Samantha was hesitant and she picked invisible lint off of her skirt.
“Please?” Jaden practically begged, “Consider it an early birthday present.”
“Your birthday is in July,” Samantha retorted, unimpressed by the blatant desperation in her half-brother’s voice.
“You are a life saver. Best littler sister in the world.” Jaden replied excitedly.
“I’m the only sister you have, you don’t quite have the luxury of having a comparison. For all you know I could be a shitty sister.”
Jaden laughed, “I’ll see you shortly.”
“Bye, J,” Samantha responded as she hung up. She quietly drove to Jaden’s house and she pulled into the driveway. She shook her head at Jaden, who was sitting on the lawn with his shirt unbuttoned. Samantha stepped out of the car and walked up to him, an eyebrow raised.
“Oh, a button down shirt. It must be a special occasion,” She laughed.
“Dad demanded that I dress nicely…” Jaden grumbled and he rolled his eyes. He stood and gave Samantha a loose hug, “Thanks for coming…I know we don’t talk about our family situation a lot, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“What are sisters for?”
Jaden laughed, “Honestly, I don’t know.”
They went into the kitchen where Samuel had set up a buffet style meal. Samantha looked up at Jaden who shrugged.
“Was he expecting a small army?” Samantha whispered.
“Most likely…” Was Jaden’s response.
“There you are!” Samuel’s voice came from behind them. They turned to face him, “It’s great to see you Samantha…” Samuel continued as he gave her an awkward hug. He turned to Jaden and looked him over, “Button up your shirt.”
“Dad…it’s only us here…” Jaden whined in protest.
“Jaden Michael…” Samuel scolded.
“Fine…” Jaden began buttoning up his shirt, grumbling under his breath.
“So, Samantha, I hope that you like Mexican food,” Samuel said playfully, turning back to her, “I made everything myself.”
Samantha smiled sheepishly, “Cool…” Her response was awkward and she shifted.
“Where is your boyfriend tonight? You do have a boyfriend, right Samantha?” Samuel pressed.
Samantha shifted uncomfortably looking down at her shoes, “He had work.” She lied.
“Let’s eat, guys,” Jaden interrupted the uncomfortable exchange.
Quietly Samantha and Jaden made themselves plates and sat down at the table. They ate in silence, both of them staring down at their plates. Samantha was uncomfortable to say the least, and she shifted in her seat and glanced at Jaden, who barely looked up at her. Finally, Samuel broke the awkward silence by clearing his throat. Both of his children looked up at him, but did not say a word.
“So, Samantha. Tell me, what do you think of the current situation with Charlotte and her boyfriend?” Samuel asked, looking towards her.
“Jaden’s told you about that?” Samantha replied, giving Jaden a sideways glance.
“No,” Samuel responded, “I have my own way of checking up on things.”
“The situation is complicated. Personally I think that if he is truly on our side that he has the potential to be a great asset.” Samantha looked away from her father and pushed her rice around on her plate.
“What makes you say ‘if’?” Samuel asked curiously.
“The pack barely knows anything about him. We never have. Plus, he’s a vampire. Kedar is very adamant that there is no such thing as a good vampire. He says it’s not a fairytale and that vampires that try to retain their humanity end up dying. Besides, the only kind of good vampire is a dead one.”
“Kedar?” Samuel tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow, “Isaac Taylor’s grandson?”
Samantha shrugged, still not looking up from her plate, “I don’t know his grandfather’s name since he barely talks about his family, but I guess so. Kedar isn’t a very common name, so there can’t be too many around here.”
Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Page 13
