by Mandi Casey
“Yes, Kieran knows. No one else does, though, so keep it to yourself. We don’t want to set the traitor in motion or scare them off before all the security measures have been placed.” Morris pointed the cigar toward Blake for emphasis.
That peaked Blake’s interest. How deep was this secret being kept? “You don’t have to worry about me. Does Michael know?”
“Your cousin doesn’t have a need to know. We’re keeping this to a few key people. We’re not telling anyone that doesn’t absolutely need the information. So keep it to yourself, for now. If Michael needs to be told, you can do so when you see fit. For now, mum’s the word.” Morris took another deep drag from the cigar, tilted his head back, and then closed his eyes as he let the smoke slowly escape his mouth.
Blake stood silent. He never understood what his father liked so much about those smelly cigars, or how his mother could tolerate being in the same room after he’d smoked one.
After taking another long drag on the cigar, Morris said, “The vampire, Kieran, has been forthcoming with the information that someone in his coven has gone against him. I respect him more for discussing such matters with me. We’re going to keep quiet for as long as we can. It’s not usual for us to be able to work with the bloodsuckers. It would be good for the pack if we can make it happen without incident, and that includes making sure if information does get leaked out alerting the rogues to our plans, that the leak doesn’t come from us.”
Blake couldn’t believe his ears. “Dad, don’t tell me you actually respect that parasite?” That same parasite was the reason Sydney was going to be surrounded by nothing but killers all evening. Nothing was going to justify that to Blake. He believed if the vampire coven leader had any real concern for Sydney’s safety, Kieran would have made it so she wasn’t anywhere near the ball. Instead, he had sent her the dress for the evening, was giving her a personal escort, and demanding her presence. The vampire’s actions screamed complete incompetence at caring for the Selected. The vampire didn’t give a damn what happened to her.
“Calm down, son. You’d be best to understand and acknowledge your opponent, as I have with the coven leader. Kieran doesn’t want war with the wolves. He can’t help the position his Elders have taken against us. If you continue to be nothing but hot-headed toward the vampires, then you will do nothing to advance the relations between us.” Morris had really come a long way.
Hearing his father mention co-existence between the vampires and wolves shocked him. While growing up, Morris had laced every other word and lesson to his cubs with goals of annihilating the entire vampire species. Blake wondered what had changed.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be fine. If anything goes wrong, I’m going in either way.” Blake knew his father had nothing to say to him, yet, there was so much to say. A look passed between them, knowing this could be their last night together.
He knew he was strong. He was skilled in the ways of battle, but he wasn’t immortal.
Morris stood from the chair and came over to where he continued to pace. “Son, take care. Whatever happens tonight, make sure you come out alive. Your mother would never let me hear the end of it if anything happened to you.”
Blake laughed, shattering the tension. What his father said about his mother was true. Out of anyone in this world, his mother, Adaira, was the one person who could make Morris fall to his knees with the merest glance of disapproval. His father loved his half-breed wife. She was a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Blake and his father were her life, but she didn’t hesitate to put them in their places when she didn’t like what they were doing, especially when they fought with each other.
“I know, Dad. I’ll be fine. Don’t forget, you put Michael on as my partner. He’s a good guy. He’s becoming a good warrior as well.” Blake meant it. Michael’s focus on his training had been significantly intensified since he had met Sydney’s sister, Brianna. He was positive that Michael had found his true mate. He couldn’t wait until Michael told Brianna. It would be even more proof positive that he and Sydney were also meant to be together. Michael with her sister, and he with the Selected. Blake smiled inwardly. His arsenal against Sydney’s resistance was growing. Her defenses were weakening day-by-day.
The Goddess of the Moon had chosen well for him.
Chapter 10
Aunt Judith’s blueberry pancakes were to die for. The smell of steamed fresh blueberries and cinnamon filled the kitchen as I pushed open the rickety kitchen door from the living room. Her pancakes were the best I’ve ever had. I waited patiently while she served our breakfast, my salivary glands working overtime in anticipation.
“What do you think it means, these visions I’m having? Did Grandma ever mention she had them?” I was excited about finally getting a new Selected ability. The problem was, I had no control over the visions. I didn’t know what they meant, and I had no idea if they were significant in what was happening in the present with the wolves, vampires, and rogues.
How useful could they really be if I had no warning when they were going to come? Worse yet, I didn’t know anything more now than before they came. Well, other than the fact the rogues were up to something bad. But when weren’t they?
Details, I needed details.
“I don’t recall her ever mentioning anything like what you’re telling me. She had other abilities, but that wasn’t one of them. You are special, dear. Sydney, you may indeed be the Selected the prophecies speak of. That means you have very hard decisions to make regarding your suitor, and whether you want to allow the vampires to be able to walk in the sunlight.” She finished getting our scrumptious breakfasts dished up and brought our plates to the kitchen table.
“Yeah, I’m so special.” I couldn’t keep the cynicism out of my tone. I didn’t want to be different, but I was. Frankly, I was still struggling with all I had learned since moving back to Kenosha. I was the Selected—somehow through genetic luck, or un-luck. I was completely immersed in the politics between vampires and werewolves. No one even asked me if I was willing to participate. Now that I was having flashes of what the rogues were doing, I had an obligation to use that information to help the vampire coven and werewolf pack. They needed to ready themselves for whatever was coming their way. Something big was going down. I guessed it was pretty safe to say they were both going to have big problems, which meant I would also have big problems.
Having no choice in whether I wanted to deal with any of their issues was still ticking me off, immensely. I was always the daughter who instinctually did the opposite of what I was told. I wanted to walk my own path. My sister, Brianna, was a different story. She followed my parents’ guidance, finished her undergrad degree, and was soon set to start medical school.
Aunt Judith smiled sadly. “Sydney, you were born the Selected because the Heavenly Mother believed you are able to handle it. There has never been a Selected who chose not to deal with what she’d been given. Not one Selected has walked away from her responsibilities. Not that the vampires would allow that to happen anyway. Would you like some coffee?”
No matter what was going on, Aunt Judith was always able to keep life on a down-to-earth level. It wasn’t easy having her tell me there hadn’t yet been a Selected to give up, abandoning the so-called gift she’d been given. I didn’t like the fact that she felt it necessary to point that out, but she was being realistic. She was also trying to make me see that running from my Selected duties wasn’t an option, nor would it be the right thing to do. Luckily for me, Aunt Judith also dulled the sting of life by making the most delicious food on the planet.
“Coffee would be great.”
Without another word, Aunt Judith went over to the coffee maker and poured us each a cup.
When had life become so complicated? It would be so easy to go back home to Chicago, never looking back.
But I couldn’t.
Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, Cian was in charge of the Chicago vampire coven. He didn’t like me much. From what Grandma said in her journal, he wanted to take the title of Selected protector from his brother. I’d rather it stay just as it was. Kieran let me roam free. For the most part he didn’t bother me on a daily basis or try to interfere with my life overly much.
Cian didn’t agree with how Kieran chose to handle being in charge of the Selected. Cian wanted to imprison me, have me at his disposal any time he chose. Another thing I didn’t like was that Cian didn’t see humans as people; he only saw them as food and entertainment. The Elders didn’t mind his maltreatment of the humans in Chicago as long as he didn’t expose the existence of vampires to the general human public.
Unfortunately for his victims, that wasn’t a problem. Cian didn’t let any of the humans he toyed with live longer than a few days. He never let them escape. Millions of people went missing every year. I wondered how many missing persons’ cases Cian was involved with?
Maybe that was something I could someday use as leverage against the Elders? If they wanted me to cooperate and give my blood to the vampires to allow them to walk in the sun, maybe I’d make some of my own demands in exchange. I would have to seriously think about that. I would also have to talk to the werewolves before I made that sort of decision.
A loud knock on the front door startled us.
“Finish your breakfast, dear. I’ll see who it is.” Aunt Judith limped to the kitchen door before going through it. Her hip was giving her problems, again. That was another reason she liked to stay at the house while I ran the store. Plus, the house was where her precious plants were growing and she could spend time with trying variations of hybrids her and her friend, Meredith, thought up.
I heard the front door open. Aunt Judith didn’t come back into the kitchen.
I knew who it was before I saw him. The heat he gave off, even from the living room, surrounded me like a snuggly blanket on a cold winter’s day.
Blake strode into the kitchen, smiling.
“Hi.”
“Hi back.”
He came to where I sat at the kitchen table and gently kissed the top of my head. His body gave off a heat that stimulated my desire like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. And he knew it. The great thing was, I was the only one who could feel the heat he gave off. Ordinary humans couldn’t feel the temperature change when a vampire or werewolf walked into the room. It was one of my handy Selected abilities. Even though all of the werewolves gave off a significant amount of heat, only Blake’s set my toes to curling, every single time he was near me.
It was difficult concentrating on important things, like the scrumptious blueberry pancakes sitting before me on the table, when all I wanted to do was have him ravish me, cover his body with mine while wrapping me in his warmth.
“Sydney, I want to talk to you about the ball.”
I looked into his eyes. His desire reflected back at me.
“The demon Judge, Kasdeya, called me. I think you should reconsider and not go to the ball. There’s going to be Elder vampires, Judges, and members of the royal family there. Even she’s worried about what’s going to go down at the ball. Let Kieran have his fun without you, just this once.”
“Blake, I know you’re worried, but I have to go. The Elders are going to decide if Kieran gets to keep his coven, and me. I need to be there for him. Plus, I want to know what fate holds in store for me. Besides, the Judges will be there watching over the king. We’ll know if something happens, if someone attacks. I’ll keep an eye on what’s going on. You know I can feel when rogues come around. Besides, I’m your new visionary and rogue detector, remember?”
“Yeah, I know, that’s another reason why I don’t want you to go. What’s going to happen if you’re swirling around in some sexy as hell dress on some over-polished dance floor with some suave bloodsucker and you have a vision? Worse yet, what will happen if the Elders realize what you’re capable of? I know you’d never tell them, but you won’t be able to hide it if you pass out like a log on the fire.” Blake ran his hands through his hair, mussing it up so parts of it stuck up almost straight in the air. His wild look was quite charming, and it wasn’t even what he was going for with the action.
Swirling around in a sexy dress with a suave bloodsucker on an over-polished dance floor? Blake had obviously been over-thinking the details and what was going to happen at the ball. He was worried about me being around the vampires all night, without him. The endearing part was that it wasn’t just because they drank blood and liked it.
He was jealous of the strikingly gorgeous male vampires that he knew I would be surrounded by all evening. Sad to say, it warmed my heart even more toward him.
I knew there wasn’t anything I could say to make him feel better about my attending the ball. He knew there was nothing he could say to keep me from going. It was too important, regardless of the danger involved. We were at a standstill, neither happy about what was going to happen, but both unable to do anything about it.
Sure, I could run away with Blake, hoping the vampires wouldn’t come after me. But they would. There was no running away from them.
They would hunt me.
Besides their coming after me, they would slaughter any wolf that got in their way, especially one who was trying to protect me from them. I wouldn’t do that to Blake or the wolves of his pack. Besides, I wouldn’t humiliate Kieran by not showing up at the ball that was so important to him.
Brianna and Michael walked into the kitchen before Blake could argue more about it. I gave Blake a wink. Hopefully that would be the end of his badgering me not to go. I had as much choice about attending as he did in turning into a werewolf when the moon was full.
“Hey guys, what’s up?”
“Nothing,” we said in unison.
“Are we interrupting anything?” Brianna smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. No matter how many times I told her nothing was going on between Blake and me, she still had hope. Yes, it would be fun to be dating my sister’s boyfriend’s cousin. Yes, I realized that sounded like one of those weird relationships’ descriptions you hear about in movies about inbreeding. Blake and Michael already knew each other and liked each other. Besides, they were both werewolves and knew that I was the Selected. Problem with the whole scenario; Brianna didn’t know anything about any of us. I hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Eventually, I expected her to either blow a gasket when she found out that everyone around her was keeping secrets about vampires and werewolves, including that the guy she was dating was a werewolf. Either that or she would go crying and hide under her bed—like I wanted to do when I first found out.
Hopefully she would be more understanding toward my mother about her lying to us our entire lives. I hadn’t totally forgiven our mother yet, which was probably what had her drinking day and night.
The pressure from Blake was wearing on me, in good and bad ways. But it wasn’t meant to be, being together. I wasn’t his life-mate, no matter how tempting the idea was. How great would that be to have the man of your dreams only have eyes for you for as long you both shall live? No, I didn’t really believe in such happy endings. Blake had it wrong. We were not meant to be.
I was the Selected.
People would literally die if we dated. I wasn’t willing to have that on my conscience just so I could have a chance at the happy ever after with Blake, even though he was ready and more than willing to deal with whatever repercussions came our way if we officially became an item. Besides, I couldn’t see myself ever being happy if wolves and vampires were dying because I wanted to have a boyfriend.
Leaning over, Brianna snapped her fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of the ‘what if’ scenario review of my life.
She smiled innocently when
my eyes met hers in question. She knew it annoyed me when she did that. She did it whenever she wanted my immediate attention. Well, it worked, and sometimes not in a good way.
“What are your plans for tonight, Sydney? I thought maybe we could grab a late dinner after you close the store and then maybe head out to the club again?” Brianna used her big pleading ‘pretty please’ eyes while fluttering her eyelids with a smile.
I hated lying to my only sister, but I couldn’t tell her I was planning on spending the time watching vampires and demons party all night long while waiting to have the rest of my future decided for me by ancient vampires that didn’t have any respect for humans. Oh, and hopefully I wouldn’t be imprisoned or killed in the process if the Elders did decide to give Cian the job as overseer of the Selected.
Besides that, I really hoped the rogues didn’t attack the ball because there would be a lot of bloodshed, and I seriously hoped none of it would be mine. No, that discussion with my little sister wouldn’t really go over too well. I hoped to keep Brianna out of the loop for as long as possible.
“Brie, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have to come home right after work and get ready for another meeting with other store-owners and distributors.”
Her bottom lip stuck out. My sister was good at pouting, even though she was in her twenties. In truth, it usually worked on me to get her way. But it wouldn’t work this time. It was time for me to be a grown-up, with real responsibilities.
“Can’t you miss just one of those stuffy old meetings? I’m sure they’ll get along just fine without you, just this once?” Brianna put on her best sad face, trying to make me feel guilty. Unfortunately, I wasn’t actually going to a stuffy meeting with the old fogies that I told her about as an excuse for another time that Kieran had insisted I attend one of his get-togethers when she was in town wanting to do something.
