Under a Blood Moon

by Zoë Fox

  “You must have been turned around when he crawled up there. You were doing the dishes at the time, remember?” The way he said the word ‘remember’ sent chills down her spine.

  “See, Alex, Kirk wouldn’t hurt Toad.” Meredith said before things could get any worse. “It was just a misunderstanding. But no matter what, you can’t throw things at people.”

  “If he hurts Toad again, it’ll be the toaster I toss next time.” Alex kept her eyes focused on Kirk’s, refusing to look away. She was not going to be intimidated and she wasn’t going to stand by and watch him treat her kid brother like that.

  “Young lady!” Her mother shrieked. “What has gotten into you?”

  “Meredith, let me handle this.” Kirk patted her hand gently, but his gaze never left Alex. “You’re being protective of your brother. I get that, Alex, but I would never hurt either of you. You have to know that.”

  “I know I won’t give you the chance.”

  A vein in Kirk’s forehead twitched. “And that’s good. You should look out for him, but I’m not the enemy here.”

  Alex didn’t say anything.

  “How about next time you think I’m doing something like that, you ask, instead of throwing something at me?” His mouth smiled, but it didn’t make it to his eyes.

  “Like that will work.” Alex mumbled.

  His jaw clenched. “What did you say?”

  “I said, ‘like that will work’. You made me reload the dishwasher like five times today. You’re not much for questions.”

  “Maybe if you tried asking them with a little more respect.” The vein in his forehead was now vibrating.

  “Maybe if you gave me something to respect,” she countered.

  Meredith’s eyes widened. She sent Alex a silent look of pleading.

  “Listen here, young lady, this is my house now and what I say goes.” He stood up, advancing toward her. “When I tell you to do something, you do it. You’re going to respect me, even if I have to make your life hell to get that.”

  Alex pulled Toad behind her, but continued to keep her gaze level. “You’re not my father!” She was so angry her words came out as a whisper, as if her furry had filled her throat so completely that there was no room left for her vocal cords to vibrate.

  “Excuse me? I didn’t hear you.” He took another step forward, his hands at his sides.

  “You’re not my father.” She took a deep breath. “You’re not Toad’s father. You’re nothing, but the latest in a long string of guys my mother has dated. Stop acting like you own us.”

  His nostrils flared. “If I’d been your father, trust me, you would have learned some manners.”

  “Oh, well, guess I’ll just have to do without.” Alex could feel Toad’s little body shaking as he clung to her leg.

  “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Kirk’s hands clenched into fists. “Go to your room.”

  Alex stood there definitely.

  “You heard me, GO TO YOUR ROOM!”

  She looked past him to her mother. Meredith looked down, trying to make herself small and invisible.

  “This is between you and me and I said go to your room.”

  “And I think I’ve made it pretty obvious that I don’t recognize your authority.” Alex continued to stare at her mother. “I’ll go to my room when she says to.”

  Meredith sighed. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Alex, just do what he says.”

  Picking up Toad, Alex nodded. She made the point of slamming the hallway door that separate her and her brother’s room from the rest of the house.

  “He scares me,” Toad whispered after Alex had flipped the lock into place. “The spiders keep coming and going.”

  “He scares me, too,” Alex admitted. For a moment, she’d been convinced he was about to hit her. Part of her hoped he would. At least her mother wouldn’t be able to deny that it happened.

  “Tell Lucas to bite him.” Toad stared up at her.

  Alex smiled at him. “I’m sure Kirk’s blood is tainted. It would probably give him a tummy ache.”

  “Like the time Toad ate the whole jar of mayonnaise?’

  “Yeah, except you got better. I don’t think even a vampire could survive eating something as gross as Kirk.” She pulled the covers down on his bed and helped him change into his pajamas.

  Toad giggled. “He’s all spiders and stupid.”

  Alex nodded. “But we’re going to have to be careful around him the next few days, okay? I made him mad tonight and I don’t know what he’s going to do the next time mom is gone and it’s just him and us.”

  The color seemed to drain from Toad’s face. “Oh, it’s bad. Really bad.”

  But no amount of asking questions could get him to explain.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Alex was livid. She brought her feet down hard on the concrete as she walked, hoping to stomp out the tension in her body. Had her mother completely lost her mind?

  Before she’d slammed the door in anger, her body compelling her toward Lucas’ home, she’d tried once more to talk to her mother about what Kirk had done. She’d thought that, without him present, she could talk some sense into her, but, as was usually the case when it came to a man, her mother wasn’t willing to listen.

  “He explained it last night. Toad was about to fall and he caught him. You just misunderstood what happened,” she’d said as she poured Toad a bowl of cereal. “Isn’t that right, Toad?”

  “No,” her brother said, before taking a bite.

  Meredith acted like she didn’t hear him.

  “Honestly, I don’t see what you’ve got against Kirk. He’s been good to both of you. Tried to be involved in your lives, Alex, but you just keep pushing him away.” Meredith wiped furiously at invisible crumbs on the table.

  “Are you serious?”

  Her mother nodded. “You’ve never taken such a dislike to anyone I’ve dated before, so what is it about Kirk that you hate so much?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Alex said, glaring at her. “His personality? He acts like he owns us. Like he bought a family out of a catalog and we’re supposed to be a certain way or he’s going to send us back to Sears. Or maybe it’s the fact that he lied about hurting my brother and you just ate it up.”

  Meredith glared back at her. “You’re not going to ruin this for me. I’m not going to let you. Kirk is a good man.”

  “You would’ve thought Ted Bundy was nice if he paid you attention,” Alex snapped. Her pals flat on the table, she leaned in closer to her mother.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Her mother’s eyes became slits.

  Toad continued to eat his dinner in silence.

  “Exactly what it sounds like. Ever since Dad died, you’ve wanted someone to love you so badly that you’d take whoever was interested in you, no matter what kind of lying jerk he was.” She knew she was being cruel. Her mother was a romantic, hopeless one. Her heart was on her sleeve, her need to be needed driving her towards whoever might smile at her and make her feel important. What she really needed was to open her eyes and face reality. She’d attracted yet another loser.

  “Kirk is the one, Alex. Get used to it!” Meredith threw the dish towel over her shoulder. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  “It’s not just your life, you know,” she said softly. She’d heard her grandmother say the same thing to Meredith after John the Gambler, Toad’s father, had left their lives. “What you do affects Toad and me, too.”

  “Don’t even try giving me guilt trip about this,” her mother’s voice rose as she spoke. “It’s my damn love life and I’ll date whoever I want. Just do what he says and stop trying to cause trouble.”

  “Yeah, and the next time he loses it and gives one of us a black eye, are you going to make up some pretty little story to believe instead of facing the truth? All so you can have a man in your life?” Alex yelled back.

  “How dare you! I am your moth
er and you’re going to treat me with respect?” Meredith threw the towel in the sink and turned back to face her daughter.

  “Way to avoid the question, mother,” she said, sarcasm dripping off the last word.

  “Why don’t you want me to be happy?”

  Alex sighed. “I’ve got nothing against you being happy. But I’m not willing to watch Toad get yanked around just so you don’t have to be alone.”

  “He didn’t grab Toad!”

  “I saw it with my own eyes. He—”

  “Well, then your eyes saw it wrong!” Meredith interrupted.

  “Last time we had them checked, I had 20/20 vision, so it’s not that. Guess I’m right and you just can’t face the facts.” Alex trembled with anger.

  Toad covered his ears. “Please stop screaming.” He began to rock back and forth in his chair. “Makes my head hurt.”

  “Way to go, Alex. Now you’ve upset your brother.” Her mother snapped.

  “Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that his own mother would rather get laid than put his well being first?” She knew she’d gone too far the moment the words tripped out of her mouth. The shade of red her mother’s face turned only served to affirm that fact.

  “Get out!” She screamed. “Leave. I can’t even look at you right now.”

  “Fine. Whatever. I don’t want to be here anyway.” Alex's throat hurt from the force she used to say those words. She grabbed her jacket and slammed the door.

  She shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked. Thinking about the conversation made her even angrier. Why wouldn’t her mother believe her? She didn’t lie on a regular basis, and in the few situations where she had, she’d never been caught. Was this pay back for getting away with it those times?

  According to Toad, her mother was wondering, somewhere in her mind, if her children were telling the truth. If that was true, why did she defend him with such conviction? Was she trying to convince Alex or herself?

  As she approached Lucas’ front porch, her thoughts were completely consumed with these ideas, so much so that she didn’t see the tall figure hiding in the shadow of the bushes.

  “Well, if it isn’t my accuser herself,” Roderick’s voice broke her train of thought.

  “What do you want?” She snapped.

  He ignored her. “Lucas told me exactly what it is that you think I’ve done,” he said, stepping back onto the porch, blocking the steps.

  She glared at him. “He did what?”

  “Oh, you thought he’d keep your little secrets, did you?” Roderick laughed. “That’s cute. He’s known you for, what? Weeks? A month or two tops. You thought a few chaste kisses would beat out a friendship that’s lasted lifetimes? Sweetheart, you have to take off a bit more clothing and talk a little less to get that kind of loyalty from a man in such a small timespan.”

  Alex tried to swallow the lump rising in her throat to no avail.” Go away, Roderick.”

  “What? Are you afraid of me? Scared I’ll drain your blood out and cut your pretty head right off your neck?” He leaned forward and picked up a stray lock of her hair that rested against her shoulder. He ran it through his fingers.

  Alex pulled away. “Go to hell.”

  “Oh, how witty. Yes, now I see what it is that he sees in you.” Sarcasm dripped from his words. “Lucas won’t always be around to protect you. You know that, right? One night he’ll be distracted by some new idea, busy scribbling away, and I’ll be there.” He inhaled deeply. “I wonder what you’ll taste like.”

  The door behind him opened. “Get away from her,” Lucas growled. “I mean it, Roderick. Touch her again and I will break every bone in your hand.”

  “We were just talking. Are you so afraid she’ll let some other man taste her charms first that you’ve given into base jealousy?” Roderick slinked off the porch. His voice remained calm, as if they’d been discussing the weather. “Remember what I said, Kitten,” he whispered as he walked past Alex. “I just have to catch you alone once.”

  “I could have handled him myself,” Alex snapped at Lucas the moment she was safe inside. She hated the idea of Roderick waiting for her, like a predator setting a trap for its prey.

  Lucas raised an eyebrow. “I am sure you could have, seeing as he is once again simply attempting to scare you.”

  “Really? You think that’s all he’s going?” She was furious. First her mother and then Roderick. Anger swirled around inside her, looking for a way to escape. “He just threatened my life and it’s all your fault.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Lucas took a seat on the couch, balancing his right ankle on his left knee. “And how, pray tell, are Roderick’s actions my fault?”

  Alex crossed her arms over her chest. “Apparently, you told him that I told you that I think he’s a psycho killer.”

  “Madam, I can barely follow what it is that you just said, so again I ask you, how is this my fault?” Lucas leaned back.

  Alex sighed. “Look, did you tell Roderick that I think he’s the creep whose been running around chopping off people’s heads?”

  “Oh that,” he nodded. “Yes, I did.”

  “Why on earth did you do that?” She snapped.

  “Correct me if I am wrong, but do you not believe exactly that?”

  “That’s not the point!”

  “Then what is?”

  “He just threatened to kill me!” She ran a hand furiously through her hair.

  “He’s not going to hurt you, Alexa. I promise you this. He enjoys believing that he is dangerous.” He watched her carefully. Something else was bothering her, but he couldn’t tell what.

  It was all more than she could take in one day. She felt at her rope’s end. “Why did you tell him about that?”

  It was Lucas’ turn to sigh. “I took your fears seriously, despite my own personal opinion and addressed the matter.”

  She felt betrayed. Not only had she told him something in confidence, but it was also information that could, potentially, get her killed. Roderick had touched her. Wondered about what her blood would taste like. Her skin was crawling and the room seemed to be getting smaller. “Great! Thanks! When he lops off my head, I hope that helps you sleep at night, er, day. You know what I mean!”

  “Alex, you are acting hysterical.”

  “No, I’m not! That freak is going to kill me.” She took a deep breath, but it did nothing to soften her tone. “All he’s got to do is catch me when you’re not around. That’s what he said.”

  “Calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!”

  “Even if it is exactly what you need to do in this moment?” His eyebrow rose as he spoke.

  “If one more person tells me what I ‘need’ to do, I swear to God, I’m going to lose it. First Kirk and now you.” Her face was flushed red.

  He could smell her blood rushing through her veins, even across the room, her rapid pulse spurring it on. She was beautiful when she was angry. The fact that the current moment was an inappropriate time to be caught up in his attraction to her was not lost on him.

  “So, this is not about me.” Lucas said softly.

  “No, this is about you! This is your fault.”

  “Then why did you mention that awful man? It sounds as if you had another altercation with your mother’s boyfriend.” He paused. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  His eyes went hard at the thought. If he laid a hand on her or her brother again, Lucas was quite sure he would literally rip his still beating heart from his chest.

  “That’s beside the point. This is about us!” She insisted. “I told you something, something I was afraid of and you ran back and told that jerk.”

  “Roderick is harmless, Alexa.” He stood and walked toward her as he spoke.

  “Don’t call me that.” He’d moaned her name the night before in such a way that hearing him say it right now threatened the wall of rage surrounding her. At that moment, she didn’t want to be Alexa, the gir
l that he held and kissed. She wanted to be Alex, tough, someone who didn’t need anyone. Someone not like her mother.

  “Is that what you’re afraid of?” He asked, having read her mind. “You’re not like your mother. You do realize that, don’t you? Wanting me and needing me are two different things. And even need doesn’t make a person weak.”

  She clenched her teeth tightly together, afraid of what she might say. She didn’t want to ask him to hold her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to keep on yelling, to scream until nothing was left inside her. “Don’t read my mind. My thoughts are private. If I can’t even trust you to keep a conversation between us, why would I want you in my head?”

  He pulled back, as if burned. “You did not tell me that what we spoke about was a secret.”

  “You should have known!” She glared at him.

  “That is impossible, if you insist on forbidding me to read your mind.” The idea that she didn’t trust him stung.

  “Oh, come on! You’re almost four-hundred-freaking-years old! You know when something shouldn’t be made public information.” She snapped.

  “I spoke with Roderick in an attempt to gather information that would assure you of his innocence.” He said in his defense.

  “Yeah, he’s so innocent he’s already thinking about how my blood tastes.” She rolled her eyes.

  “He offered to show me receipts proving that he couldn’t have possibly been in the vicinity during the last murder,” Lucas brushed a stray strand of his loose hair out of his eyes. “I believe his feelings were hurt that I would think it possible he could commit such atrocities. When his feelings have been injured, he has a tendency to act like a trapped animal. You two are not unalike in that way.”

  “Don’t compare me to that blood thirsty freak!” She yelled.

  He looked as if he’d been slapped. “Does it repulse you so much? Am I, too, a so-called freak in your eyes?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Roderick is not the only one who thirsts for blood. You realize this, do you not?” He snapped, thinking back to a few moments before, when he had been excited by the scent of her blood on the air around them.