by Jaye Wells
“Raven, please be seated,” she said, motioning to a pair of Queen Anne chairs. She and Callum sat across from me on the sofa. Between us sat a glass-topped coffee table with elaborate scrollwork for legs.
A young woman entered the room at that moment with a tray bearing a tea service and finger sandwiches. Her almost white blonde hair and light blue eyes gave her the appearance of innocence, yet I felt old energy emanating from her. The contrast was odd, but I dismissed her quickly. Servants weren’t worth my time. I studied my fingernails as she set the tray on the coffee table and looked toward Kira for permission to serve.
“Would you care for refreshment?” Kira asked, looking at me reluctantly.
“No thanks,” I said. I made myself as comfortable as possible in the chair as blondie poured tea for Callum and his mom. The silent woman left the room after Kira dismissed her with a nod. When she reached the door, her eyes cut to me. She saw me catch her but didn’t flinch. She just turned slowly and walked out. What was up with servants these days? They had no respect anymore.
Kira sat back toward the cushions, looking relaxed as she took her first sip of tea. Callum cradled his own cup in his large palm and glared at me, adding to my discomfort. Only an idiot would miss the tension hanging in the air like a black fog, permeating each nook of the room.
“Now,” she said after taking another sip. “Callum has filled me in on his meeting with your father. I must say, if it were up to me, you would already be on a transport plane to Norway.”
She paused and looked to me for a reaction. She frowned when she saw none.
“However, Orpheus is the leader of our sect, and I will concede to his wishes. For the present. But, young lady, I must make this very clear. Are you listening?”
I nodded. My aggravation was rising, but decided to see how this all played out.
“Good because I am only going to warn you once. You so much as look at one of my children or any member of our staff the wrong way and I will forget my allegiance to your father and take matters into my own hands. You are lucky you were allowed to walk out of that rat hole you held poor Sydney in without a severe limp.”
“Mother—” Callum tried to interrupt.
“I am not finished,” she said, waving him off with her hand. “Furthermore, I will not tolerate tantrums or balking. Our job is to transform you into a solid citizen of the vampire community, and you will do as we say without question. Is that understood?”
I hesitated, struggling to suppress the dozen retorts fighting to get out. How dare she speak to me this way? As a “Pure Blood,” a genetically pure vampire born and bred, I outclassed her. Kira was turned by her husband, which made her a “Halfie,” as all turned vamps were called. Granted she was a lot older and more respected in the Brethren Sect.
Despite all that, I believed each of her threats. One call to my father and this woman could get my threatened exile bumped up by a few hundred years. In addition, if I pissed her off enough, she would find far worse ways to make me pay for my sins.
I swallowed my pride, doubting it would be the last time in the near future.
“I understand. And let me say, I fully appreciate the gravity of my situation. I know I am at your mercy,” I said.
A cough that sounded suspiciously like the word “bullshit” sounded to Kira’s right. I glared at Callum, who smiled angelically back.
“That’s enough, Callum,” Kira snapped. “Raven may have a history of outrageous stunts, but she is no dummy. She knows she has no choice but to concede. To do otherwise would be most imprudent.”
Actually, she was right. Before this meeting, I had thought I could bluff my way through this charade. But now I understood that even if I could fool Callum, Kira’s eagle eyes would be watching my every move.
“Now that that’s settled, we need to discuss how to deal with Logan,” she said. “I’m afraid the situation has become a little more complicated since we last spoke.”
Callum cut her off. “Perhaps we should wait until later to discuss this,” he said, glancing at me meaningfully.
“Nonsense. Raven needs to understand what’s going on if she is expected to understand our way of life.”
Callum sighed. “Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“Sydney,” Kira responded.
“Shit, what happened?”
“It seems your brother declared himself to her last night after we rescued her.”
Two sets of eyes cut to me. I tried not to flinch guiltily. Here’s the deal: Sydney was a curator for the Raleigh Museum of Fine Art. A few weeks earlier, Logan had showed up at the museum to claim a portrait of himself in the museum’s possession. Some villagers stole the painting from him a couple of centuries ago, and somehow it ended up at the museum.
Instead of admitting he was a vampire, Logan told Sydney that he was the descendant of the man in the painting. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have any hard evidence of that fact. So Sydney had to go through the Murdoch archives to verify his claim. In the course of working together, Logan and Sydney took a shine to each other.
“His sense of timing always did suck,” Callum observed.
“Sydney threw a fit. She accused him of asking her to give up everything while he made no sacrifices. I talked to the poor dear this morning.”
“Mother, you didn’t,” Callum said, sounding exasperated. “Logan will be furious if he finds out you meddled.”
“I couldn’t be expected to sit idly by. Those two children are so in love with each other yet so scared of love it’s ridiculous,” Kira said.
She shook her head and continued. “I told Syd just because two people are soul mates doesn’t mean they don’t have any issues. My dear Angus and I argued all the time.”
Callum patted her hand as Kira looked off in the distance for a moment as if recalling a bittersweet memory of her long-dead husband. Then she shook herself and refocused on the conversation.
“Anyway, I have confidence they’ll work it all out soon. In fact, I believe Sydney may be over there right now begging him to take her back,” she said with a smile.
I started to ask what made Sydney change her mind, but then I realized I had no interest in getting wrapped up in family drama. Luckily, Callum was curious too and asked so I didn’t have to. “Mother, what did you do?”
“Me?” Kira asked innocently. “Really nothing other than talk to Syd and help her finally admit she loved him. I also helped her understand that being turned didn’t mean she couldn’t have a life. The rest was up to them to work out.”
Callum looked unconvinced. “What does that have to do with Raven’s rehabilitation?”
Kira sighed impatiently, as if the connection should be obvious. “If I’m right, and I normally am about these things, Logan and Sydney will soon be getting married. I don’t think after what happened he’ll be too happy about his future wife’s kidnapper hanging around.”
We all fell silent at that point. Callum and Kira obviously were pondering what to do about this new development. I was trying to figure out how to stay out of Logan and Sydney’s way for the next three months.
“We can’t very well hide Raven’s presence for the next three months,” Callum said, running his fingers through his thick hair.
“We have a few days while the two love birds figure themselves out, I guess. Let’s just see what happens and decide on a course of action later,” Kira said.
Callum nodded absently, seeming to be lost in his own thoughts. I didn’t bother hiding my yawn. It couldn’t be helped. I was tired, and this conversation was boring the crap out of me.
“Now, is there anything you need tonight to help get Raven settled?” Kira asked.
Callum shifted in his seat. “Actually, I was kind of hoping she could stay here.”
Kira laughed. “Nice try.”
“Mother, I live in a one-bedroom condo in the middle of downtown Raleigh. There is no way she can stay with me.”
Kira considered this for a mom
ent. “I see your point. Okay, fine. You can stay here.”
He frowned. “Raven will stay here, you mean.”
“No,” she said slowly. “You and Raven will stay here. You didn’t really think you could just drop her off here and expect me to handle her rehabilitation, did you?”
A faint blush rushed up his cheeks. I was really enjoying this. Despite the fact they were discussing me like I wasn’t there, I loved watching his mother make Callum squirm.
“Of course not. But there’s no reason for me to sleep here too. I’ll just come by every evening after work and give her lessons.”
Kira snorted and speared her son with a look that I was glad wasn’t aimed at me. “You listen to me, young man. You will move your things here and work from here if necessary. If there is business you cannot handle from here, either Hannah or I will pitch in. But I will not allow you to dump her off on me to deal with for the next three months. She is your responsibility.”
I tried not to laugh, really I did. But a chuckle escaped anyway. That was a mistake.
Kira’s blue gaze turned on me then. “If I were you, I would wipe that grin off my face right now. If you think that you will be able to coast through your time here, you’re wrong. Tomorrow morning, Callum and I will sit down and devise a plan for your training. I can promise you that your debt to this family will be paid in full by the time you leave here.”
Callum smirked at me as I sat there like a kid in the principal’s office.
“Now that that’s settled, Callum, why don’t you run to your apartment and get your things. I’ll have Hannah show Raven to her room.”
Callum stood and started for the door, but I interrupted him.
“Excuse me, I know I am just a lowly prisoner here, but when is someone going to go get my stuff?”
Kira’s mouth opened in surprise. “Oh dear. It didn’t occur to me that you didn’t have anything with you. Callum, you’ll go to Raven’s place and get her stuff on your way back, won’t you?”
“Can’t she just borrow something for tonight? I have no desire to go all the way there and try to figure out what she needs. Knowing her, she’ll bitch that the shoes I pick don’t match the outfits or some nonsense,” he said, looking as if he’d rather handle a snake than my clothes.
“I refuse to wear someone else’s clothes. And I am ready to burn this outfit after wearing it for two days straight. If I have to, I’d rather walk around naked for three months.”
Honestly, why didn’t anyone think about my feelings here?
Callum looked me up and down quickly, and I swear I saw a flash of interest in his eyes. But I decided it must have been a trick of light. No way was a guy who obviously hated me and everything I stood for interested in seeing me strut around in my birthday suit.
“No need to get melodramatic,” Kira said. “Callum, why don’t you take Raven with you? That way she can get exactly what she needs.”
Now, this idea I liked. Not only would I be able to get some fresh clothes and my other necessities, but I could also check on my lair and see if the minions were around. The poor souls were probably twisting in the wind without my inspirational leadership.
That’s what I got for recruiting mortal teenagers to run my errands and do my dirty work. I seriously needed to consider trading the pimple brigade in for a badass gang of rogue vamps. But right now, what I needed more was a clean pair of panties.
“That would be great, thank you,” I said sincerely to Kira. Callum glared at me from behind her.
Once in the car, we switched back to silent mode. I wasn’t mad anymore. I was simply too worn out to make small talk with my captor. Although, I had to admit the meeting with Kira had gone much better than I’d anticipated. Sure, she’d threatened me, but that was to be expected. It didn’t sound so far like they had any nefarious payback plans for me.
Feeling a little better about my plight, I settled back into the soft leather seat of Callum’s car. My captivity would be tough, but I’d made it through rougher patches. I could handle rearranging my sleep habits and drinking synthetic blood for a little while. Besides, no one said I had to maintain the Brethren lifestyle once my three months were over. I figured I’d take some time off from my underground activities to get the council’s attention off of me. Then I could go back to my old ways, being more careful to stay under the radar.
“What are you scheming over there?” Callum asked, breaking into the silence.
I looked at him, feeling affronted by his suspicions and chagrined that he could read me so well.
“Nothing,” I promised. “Just wondering what I’ll do with my time after you rehabilitate me.”
“Yeah right,” he said.
“What? I have every faith that I’ll pass your tests.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Your father was pretty confident you wouldn’t last three days,” he said.
I snorted. “Yeah, Dad never did give me much credit.”
Callum glanced at me, his expression incredulous. “Can you blame him?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said, affronted.
“It’s no secret you have done everything in your power to undermine his vision for the Brethren. Although, I have to admit, I used to kind of grudgingly respect the way you stood up to your old man.”
“Used to?” I asked.
“Before you attacked my family,” he said, his tone hard.
“Callum, it was not an attack on your family specifically. I have no grudge with you guys. It’s the synthetic blood I was against.”
“You kidnapped the woman my brother loves! It doesn’t get much more personal than that.”
“It wasn’t personal!” I yelled back. Taking a deep breath, I tried to regroup.
Sitting in silence, I wondered how to approach this with him. How could I defend my actions to someone who didn’t understand my philosophies?
“It must be nice. Sitting there all smug knowing that you’re in the majority. All you Brethren types are alike. Thinking you know the right way to do things. Believing that anyone who differs from you is automatically wrong,” I said.
“So it’s better to fight a losing battle in a war no one believes in but you? Raven, your ideals are so outdated they’re laughable.”
I clenched my fists. “Laugh at me all you want, but at least I am not a sheep following the herd. I am an independent thinker, unlike some vampires I know.”
“I am an independent thinker,” he said defensively.
“Oh, really? Is that why you’re still under Mommy’s thumb? Is that why you run your family’s company instead of branching out and making your own mark on the world, out from your brother’s shadow?”
He lurched the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes, stopping on the shoulder. Then he turned to me, his eyes blazing in the darkness of the car.
“Let’s get something straight. You do not know me, and you do not know my family. It doesn’t surprise me that someone with no understanding of family or duty would believe I resent my station. But you’re wrong. Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean everyone else is.”
My mouth dropped open. No one ever spoke to me that way.
“I’m not miserable.”
“Bullshit. You’ve got more baggage than the carousel at JFK Airport.”
“I do not!”
“Frankly, you don’t need to be banished. You don’t need rehabilitation. What you really need is a damned shrink!” he said, banging his hand on the steering wheel for emphasis.
I wanted to scratch his eyes out. I wanted to slam out of the car and run as fast and far away as possible. But I sat there stunned, unable to move or fight back.
My silence must have thrown him off guard because he took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
After a moment of tense silence, he threw the car in gear and spun back onto the road, spitting gravel with his rear wheels.
It wasn’t true, I told myself. He was just tryi
ng to tear me down so I’d be more compliant.
“I’m sorry I said that,” he said quietly after a few moments.
“No, you’re not,” I whispered.
He glanced over at me, a frown marring his golden features. “Really. I know this has to be tough on you too. But don’t you see? Don’t you understand how your actions have led you here?”
I refused to reply. To go from accusing me of mental instability to trying to counsel me? Fuck that.
“Don’t try to play therapist with me, you schmuck. You just told me I don’t know you. Well, you know what? You don’t know me either. And frankly, I’m not interested in hearing your opinions or advice.”
“Unfortunately, listening to both my opinions and advice are part of the deal. So get used to it. If you can’t take it, there’s a nice resort in Norway waiting for you.”
“I really hate you, you know that?” I said, crossing my arms.
His jaw clenched as he stepped on the gas. “Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.”
Chapter Five
Two days later at the butt crack of dawn, someone knocked on my door. I rolled over and covered my head with a pillow.
“Time to wake up, sunshine,” Callum’s voice came through the door.
He probably couldn’t hear my groan, muffled as it was by the bedding, but it wouldn’t have stopped him if he had.
The door clicked open, and a few moments later he ruthlessly ripped the pillows from my grasp. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter as light blasted through my eyelids.
“What are you trying to do, kill me?” I yelled and pulled the covers over my head.
“You’ve been on Sun Shield for two days. Indirect sunlight won’t actually hurt you. Your eyes are just sensitive.”
“Sensitive?” I said, my voice muffled by the down comforter and sheets. “I feel like my eyeballs were dipped in acid.”
“Come on. It’s not that bad. I brought you some sunglasses to wear around the house. That should help you adjust,” he said.
It was hard to tell from under my protective bedding, but he sounded both amused and annoyed.
