Betrayal Bites (Tales of Sydney Sedrick Book 2)

by Mandi Casey

  “I wish I could, but I’m the responsible adult now.” I tried to put disappointment in my expression, but it was hard to look genuine when lying to my own flesh and blood. Finding out I was the Selected and that there were vampires and werewolves who thought I could save them all was the first real thing I have ever kept from my sister.

  After I moved to Kenosha, it was also the first real amount of time we have been apart. My sister was one of my best friends. We told each other everything. Hopefully, she wouldn’t hate me for what I knew. I also hoped one day, when she did find out, she would understand that I hid everything from her for her own safety.

  Luckily Brianna wasn’t like me. She forgave people for their misdeeds. Me? Well, that was another story. So, I hoped she would not be like me—having the not so admirable quality of holding grudges for far too long—and forgive me for keeping the super dangerous reality that was now my life a secret from her.

  “Blake, what are you doing tonight, since Sydney’s going to be busy?”

  Blake looked stunned. He hadn’t expected her to ask him about what he was going to be doing. I thought it was a good sign that he didn’t have a lie ready on the tip of his tongue. Maybe he was telling the truth that the werewolves weren’t planning on using Brianna against me to get what they wanted–a child born between the Selected and a werewolf, so said child would have full control over their change regardless of the moon cycle.

  I had my suspicions that the pack planted Michael down in Chicago to meet and befriend Brianna, to use her as a pawn in their war against the vampires if it ever came to that. Grandma wrote in her journal not to trust anyone, and that included the wolves. I also had a feeling that if the wolves did plant Michael down in Chicago, it was never their intention to have him fall in love with my sister. By the looks of it, how he treated her and hung on her every word when I saw them together, I’d say he had fallen for her quite hard.

  Could it be possible that Michael and Brianna were life-mates? The thought of having my sister immersed in their world her entire life left me with a heavy pressure on my chest, making it difficult to take a deep breath. I didn’t have an anxiety disorder, but it sure felt like I was developing one, fast.

  “Well,” Blake started. He clearly didn’t know how to handle lying to my sister. When he turned his face toward me, his eyes bulged, his luscious lips pursed, he raised his brows, silently asking for my help in how he should respond. I wasn’t going to let him off that easy.

  Blake took a deep breath while looking at the table as he finished with, “Actually, uh, Michael and I both have to go to a family-only meeting at the house. So we’ll both be busy most of the night. Maybe you could hang out with your aunt or something? I know she’d love to spend time with you.”

  Brianna looked shocked, hurt, and appalled at the idea of not going out for a night of fun and drinking. My sister liked to work hard, but she liked to play even harder. In her mind, Saturday nights were not meant to be spent preening over plants, with names she couldn’t pronounce or remember, with our aunt. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t mind that kind of non-eventful evening, spending quality time with Aunt Judith.

  My sister’s eyes glistened with soon-to-be shed tears. She looked to see what her boyfriend had to say for himself.

  “Michael, you never said anything about a family meeting. How long have you known about this?” Brianna was trying to hold it together and not cry. Her face was becoming red from her emotions and the effort to not show everyone in the room how upset Blake’s statement had made her.

  Michael didn’t know what to say. He was clearly not a good liar, either. His discomfort was obvious by the constant shifting of his feet. He avoided meeting her eyes when he spoke. I’d have to remember that about Blake and Michael. They both shifted their eyes from the person when they were telling lies. Interesting.

  “Uh, I didn’t know about it until my cousin here just said something, I swear, honey. I would have told you if I knew.” Michael put his arm around Brianna’s shoulders and pulled her close against his body while snuffling her ear and neck. “Don’t be mad. You know you shouldn’t be mad at me, my little snuggy wumpkin.”

  Brianna continued to pout. She refused to meet his eyes, but I knew she was less upset with him when a giggle escaped. Brianna said, “But honey bear, what am I supposed to do on a Saturday night, in such a lively little town like Kenosha all by myself?”

  “Okay, that’s enough of all that lovey-dovey crap,” I said. “You two are creeping me out. Sorry Brie, looks like you’re on your own tonight.” So, Michael must be in on providing security for the ball. Nice of Blake to let me know. Michael, too. Didn’t they have that psychic link?

  Men. They were the worst communicators on the planet.

  Brianna giggled against Michael’s administrations while he rubbed his scruffy jaw along her cheeks. I didn’t like the fact that my sister was dating a werewolf. I also didn’t like that he hadn’t told her about what he was, yet. But what I saw, how he was when he was around her and how he treated her, made me a believer that he really cared for her. I believed he would do well protecting her if push ever came to shove.

  So, he had my reluctant vote.

  Plus, I hoped her feelings for Michael would play in our favor when she finally did find out about who was really around her. I know, sort of cowardly on my part, but I used my own feelings for my mother and how ticked off I’d been when I found out she had kept my super-secret identity a secret, even from me. I didn’t want to lose Brianna because she hated me for basically doing the same thing to her.

  “Well, kids, I have to get ready for work.” I stood and stretched from the chair.

  The hangover feeling that flooded my body when I’d seen or felt a rogue loomed over me like a dark gray cloud. Unfortunately, the effects usually lasted for a good twenty-four hours. This morning was a little less painful than other times when I’d encountered one. Maybe my powers were getting stronger? I hoped I would finally be able to be around a rogue and not give myself away as the Selected. Curling over on the floor with excruciating cramps while puking whenever a rogue was within a few blocks’ radius kind of gave me away as being the Selected.

  A while ago, a certain devious half-breed lightning demon-werewolf rogue had come into Aunt Judith’s house and brought a few of her lackeys with her. I, paralyzed from pain, ended up puking all over the carpet before I lost consciousness. Then they kidnapped me. If it weren’t for Kieran and Blake working together, I don’t know what they would have done to me. I understood they wanted me dead. They hoped to end the bloodline of the Selected, but luckily for me they tried to use their having me captive as a bargaining chip to cajole Kieran into giving his blood, mixed with mine, to make the half-breed demon into an immortal. Kieran worked with Blake and Aunt Judith to rescue me from being killed.

  I really didn’t want my sister involved in that sort of danger. My new life wasn’t safe for her to be in. The rogues, the vampires, and even the werewolves could use her as a tool against me. It was true. I would do anything to keep her safe, and they would be right. I would probably do whatever they wanted if it meant they would let her be. At least Aunt Judith was already a part of it. I was relieved she at least knew what was going on.

  I felt betrayed by my mother, though. She knew, too. Yet, she stayed down in Chicago while I was under constant threats of being kidnapped or killed. Yeah, I wasn’t my mother’s biggest fan at the moment. But at least she would be down there when Brianna was in school. Mom would be close by if Brianna ran into trouble. She’d be able to help keep my sister safe.

  Blake stood, pushing away from the table. The scraping of the wooden chair legs on the kitchen floor brought me back to the present. Putting his warm hand on my shoulder, he walked with me out of kitchen.

  When I reached the bottom of the staircase that led up to my bedroom, he gently grabbe
d my arm to turn me to face him. He was so close I could feel his warm breath on my lips, making the nerves running down my neck tingle with hope for his attention.

  “Blake, I really have to get ready for work.”

  “I know. I just wanted to let you know the pack is meeting at the den an hour before sundown. We’ll move into position as soon as we’re given the location of the ball. I’ll come by the store sometime this afternoon. I have something I want to give you.”

  “What?” I had no idea what he was talking about. I wasn’t a very materialistic girl, but a gift from the man that set your heart to racing? Who wouldn’t get at least a little excited? I couldn’t believe how my body was reacting to him mentioning a gift. My face flushed red-hot embarrassment. I could feel the tips of my ears warming. To change the subject, I said, “You know, you don’t always have to come check up on me. I am a big girl, no matter what my parents think.”

  I had already told Blake I felt a strong need to prove to them I was capable of being on my own and taking care of the store. They had both made independent comments that they didn’t think I’d be able to run the store well enough to maintain a profit and help Aunt Judith. They thought I was the lost sheep in the family, incapable of succeeding at anything worthwhile in my life.

  That was another reason why my mother’s betrayal burned deep. She knew my whole life what I was to become. She watched while I struggled to find the path I was to take in life with preparing for my future. Another reason it burned was that she let my father treat me as if I were less intelligent than Brianna. She let him look upon me with the sympathy of a father who had a wayward child. They showed their thoughts, expressing what a disappointment I was to them. I would prove them both wrong. I couldn’t wait to shove my success in my mother’s face, one way or the other.

  My parents expected me to fail. I could tell when they compared me to Brianna. Brianna was the child that went to college; she was the one they assumed was bound for greatness. Me? Well, I was now bound to either save a lot of lives or be the cause of many lost. But they wouldn’t know that. My mother knew what I was, but my father would never know. He’d always think of me as the lost cause, the loser child with no real direction in her life.

  My sister was already scheduled to start medical school in the upcoming fall semester. She had her whole life planned ahead of her. I was a different story. I didn’t really have a plan of any kind. I was three years older than Brianna, and I hadn’t done so well with the college thing. I tried. I just didn’t like it, to my parents’ dismay.

  Trust me, I heard about it all the time. I was glad Brianna knew from a young age what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she was actively working on achieving her goals. My goals weren’t so specific. I knew what I wanted. I wanted family and friends to share my free time with. I didn’t know what kind of career I wanted. Now I didn’t have to choose. It was chosen for me.

  Blake laughed as he must have seen the glazed expression on my face as I thought about my future. Leaning forward, he put his lips close to mine, breathed in deeply, then stood back.

  Damn him.

  “Sydney, you keep phasing out on me. Are you okay?” His eyebrows clinched together in a worried expression.

  “Don’t worry, I just have a lot running through my mind right now, but I’ll be fine.” I put an overly fake smile on my face to give him reassurance. With the rise of one brow on the very masculine forehead, I knew I hadn’t succeeded.

  “Did I ever tell you your blush when you lie is a very sexy quality?” Putting his hand on the stairway banister, he leaned in.

  The heat his body gave off when he was so close turned me on. He knew what state I was in by smelling the scent of my desire on the air. His awareness only intensified the ache to have him touch me, lick me, rub his fingers all along my body. It didn’t matter what was going on in the outside world when he was around. His presence consumed me. All rationale thought went on a vacation, far, far away.

  I pushed away from him. “Okay, you have to go now.”

  I shook my hands, rotated my wrists, and rolled my neck, touching my ears to my shoulders. The demons and rogues weren’t the only dangerous beings in my life. I had to do something to be able to shake off the reaction my body had every time Blake gave me even a sideways glance. I was sure he did it on purpose.

  Blake smiled. Yep. He knew all too well what he did to me. He wrapped his warm muscular arms around me and placed both his hands on my ass. Because I was standing one stair up, I was almost as tall as he was.

  When he pulled me roughly against him, his large erection rubbed against my very sensitive center, all too ready to welcome him. My body ached to be touched. I wanted him to do the touching. My inner folds swelled and pulsated. It was torture knowing that all I had to do was take him to my room and let him ravish me thoroughly.

  He would, willingly.

  My nipples tingled.

  “Blake, I mean it. You. Door.” I lifted my arm to point at the front door and gave him a stern glance for good measure.

  I swallowed hard. The thought of him being in my mouth made my salivary glands go into overdrive. I could feel my face flush all over again, but this time it was with need. I wanted him, but I couldn’t have him. That fact made it all the more difficult to resist him.

  “Okay, Sydney, whatever you say. You want me just as much as I want you. The more you fight it, the sweeter it will be when it happens.” He put his mouth next to my ear and quietly said, “I can’t wait to taste you, too.”

  Every hair on my body lifted to attention. My body shivered in anticipation. My skin instantly became covered in goose bumps, regardless that my brain was saying ‘no’. My body seemed to have a mind of its own whenever Blake was around.

  “Yeah, okay, big boy. I’m not so sure that’s going to happen.” I felt like an ex-junky having their next fix being handed to them on a silver platter, but on that platter was a zapper that would electrocute me if I lifted the drug off of it. There were too many strings attached if I let him give me my fix.

  But it would be the best fix ever, no matter how bad the burn was afterward.

  Ugh! Stop imagining his luscious body naked on top of yours, Sydney. It only makes it harder to tell him no. Geez. I was like my own worst enemy.

  “You will give in. I’m going to enjoy making sure of it.” Blake’s eyes changed to that amber-bronzed color they did every time he was turned on. Was there anything about that man’s body that didn’t make me want him? The answer was a big fat ‘no’. There was nothing about him that helped me persuade my body, from the neck down, that being intimate with the heir to the werewolf pack was a bad idea. In fact, most of me was screaming at my brain, crying at the audacity of my brain to not let him have his way with my body.

  I couldn’t give in. Plain and simple.

  I needed something to focus on, to use every time he made a pass at me. The problem was—he didn’t even need to flirt. Having his body in my presence was more than enough.

  “Oh yeah, well, what if that does happen and I’m not everything you’d hoped? Then what? You’ll drop me like a wet newspaper in the trash.” Visions of having to someday watch him walk down the street, arm-in-arm with a sexy she-wolf–the girl who was truly meant to be his life-mate—made my heart ache. It couldn’t be me; fate wasn’t that kind.

  Blake laughed and stepped away. Even the chorded muscles in his neck were sexy and masculine. I took the opportunity of his distance to walk up a few more steps.

  Distance was good.

  “You know that’ll never happen. I promise.”

  “Promise shmomish. You don’t know what you’re going to be like if we ever did get together. I can’t even imagine the ego you’ll have, let alone all the macho posturing I’m sure will go right along with it. Just remember, whatever happens, I’m nobody’s propert
y. I like setting my own rules, so don’t think you’ll ever be able to tell me what to do, no matter what happens between us, Mister.”

  “I’ll keep that under advisement when I have you beneath me in my bed, when I’m buried to the hilt inside of you. We’ll see what you have to say then.”

  I looked around for something to throw at him as my body shuddered with the exquisite vision he painted.

  “See you later, before the ball. I love you, Sydney Sedrick.”

  “Blake.” I didn’t want to say it back. Saying those words meant a lot to me. I didn’t take it lightly. I knew Blake didn’t take saying those words lightly, either. But I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to tell him how I really felt. We couldn’t be together anyway. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud even though he probably felt I didn’t say it because I didn’t love him back. If he knew I was in love with him too, it would just make my arguments against us being together less convincing. To both of us.

  “I understand. I can wait. Just don’t make me wait too long. I’m not a very patient man when there’s something I want. And I want you.” His voice was thick and heavy. His eyes were staying the amber-bronzed color. Apparently, he wasn’t done lusting. Usually his eyes faded back to their normal color once he realized nothing was going to happen between us at that moment. This time, they didn’t fade at all. His eyes were just as telling as the bulging area in his jeans, and just as tantalizing.

  After Blake left, I got ready for work. My mind couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming night’s events. The Blood Rites Ball was going to be an event to remember. Brianna would be in town tonight, which I didn’t like one bit. I worried that the rogues would come to the house and kidnap Brianna or Aunt Judith while I was away. Then a thought hit me.