Welcome to the Family (A Supernatural Saga Book 2)

by Caroline F Levy

  Roger regards me and grins. “We also get a cleaner, so don’t worry about the shoes-on-carpet. You will never see a speck of dirt in here, or a dirty towel, come to think of it.”

  Looking deep in thought. He is cute when thinking. I do an inward shake, what is wrong with me? I literally just split from Shaun and I am thinking other men are cute.

  I clear my throat and Roger glances at me. Without warning, he gives me a crushing hug. I step back out of the hug, gasping at him, wide-eyed with tousled hair. “Looked like you needed it, babes.”

  I look Roger square in the eyes, standing with my hands on my hips. “Titania has already told me to watch out for you.”

  Roger chuckles as he walks towards the door. He turns, reaching into his pocket, producing a card. “This is my flats phone number. Call it anytime you need me. I am only a few doors down. I’m off to bed, sweet dreams babes.”

  Blurting out. “I thought you lived near me?” I stand staring at him, feet apart, arms crossed in a confrontational pose.

  “Blame Archie for that one. It was his idea, babes.” And with that, he shuts the door, I am left alone in my new home.

  Chapter Eleven

  Iam stood in the middle of my new home. There is no excitement, all I feel is cold and empty. For the first time in what seems like years, I feel doubt. What do I do next? I am exhausted. I should go to bed, but I have no idea where my nightwear is. Entering the bedroom, I see a set of sliding doors I had not noticed before. Then again, I was in a rush to leave, I do not think I would have noticed a purple elephant with spots if it had been here. Sliding back the door, I am astounded to discover a walk-in wardrobe, all my clothes are hanging neatly in a row. They are in one tiny corner. The rest of the space is empty; it makes me think of how little I have in my life.

  I do not know which to do, laugh or cry. I start to laugh softly at first, so hard my sides start to hurt. However, this soon turns into sobbing. I am so confused right now, why me? I had a quiet life, no one bothered with me. I just tootled along, minding my own business, and within a matter of weeks, it has turned into turmoil. My little world has come crashing down around me.

  Walking into the wardrobe. Although it is not the best way to describe it, as it is as large as the bedroom and well organized. Even the wardrobe is luxurious. It has white walls and carpets, and glossy black shelving; there’s even a chaise longue and a dressing table. Over to the left, there is what looks like a crest set into the wall. I tiptoe towards it; my stomach starting to churn, fighting to keep the bile from rising. I can see the crest. Surely, it cannot be; But yes, on closer inspection, it is the same as the one the only item I own from my parents, the blanket. Underneath there is one word. Ladislav.

  Sitting on the chaise longue and tucking my knees into my chest. Today has been so dramatic, rocking back and forth, I have no clue what to say, do or think. I need to clear my mind. Can I trust these people? Who are they? Growing angry is good, it focuses me. Do they know who I am? Also, if these people do know who I am and where my family is. They must know why they left me. The anger is not an emotion I can continue for much longer. Feeling the overwhelming need to sleep, I am too tired to even think about moving.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  The earth is moving. No, someone is shaking me. Cracking my eyes open, I moan at them. I am stiff from sleeping in a chair. Why can’t they just leave me alone? Looking up to see Roger standing over me, concern on his face. Helps me to calm down slightly. Stepping back his sharp intake of breath, a flash of worry in his eyes has me wondering. Did I drool overnight, I am not that bad in the mornings. Pulling out his phone he mutters to the person on the other end of the line. Only hearing a couple of words, “She has started, change –” and then, “I am telling you, her eyes are red.” What is he talking about? Snapping the phone shut he scoops me up into his arms, carrying me out of the wardrobe. As we pass the dressing table, I catch my reflection, a flame-red pair of eyes staring back at me. Gasping with horror, before I think about what I am doing, I jump out of Roger’s arms. I try to run from the room, but in my usual clumsy fashion, I fall over my own feet, only to have Roger save me from falling again. Holding me tightly as I struggle, asking me to calm down, otherwise, I may hurt myself. Looking into his eyes I feel a calmness take over me. Taking a deep breath, I feel myself blacking out.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Fighting to open my eyes is more effort than it is worth. I just about manage to move my hand, it brushes up against soft silks, I must be in bed. I can hear voices. Why are they shouting?

  “Could you please stop shouting, I have a banging headache.”

  I hear Archie. “Well, that confirms it, she can hear us.”

  I sit up, a little too quickly. The room spins. “What is going on?” Managing to open my eyes to find a room full of people a few of them dressed in white lab coats. I scoot up in the bed, trying to cover myself, I am in shorts and t-shirt, with not a lot else. A woman comes towards me. I assume she must be a doctor, as she has one of those white coats on.

  “Hello, Angela my name is Doctor Sheridan, but you can call me Mary or Doc if you prefer.”

  I give her my full attention.

  “You must be a bit disoriented. How do you feel, dear?”

  I feel like crap, but for now, all I want to know is what is going on. “Why are there so many people in the room?”

  The doc studies me and turns to Archie. I notice that Roger is nearby, and I motion him over. He glances over at Archie who slowly shakes his head, and Roger stays put. By now, I am getting pissed off. I just feel like I want to rip someone’s head off. Oh jeez, what is happening to me? The room goes quiet, and everyone files out in silence. Leaving me, Archie and Roger stood alone.

  Archie makes his way over to the bed and sits on the edge. He watches me intently. “Angela, I have a story to tell you. I want you to listen, and not interrupt. I will answer all your questions, as I am sure there will be many. However, you must let me finish first.”

  I peer over at Roger and he just shrugs his shoulders, looking a bit sheepish. “Okay, I will try, but I have never been one for long stories.”

  Archie smiles at me. “You may not believe some of what I have to say, try to be open-minded please.”

  I have a sudden rush of fear. Please do not let me have fallen in with a cult.

  “The Human race is not the only race to exist.”

  I open my mouth to protest, but at the look on his face, I quickly shut it although now my mind is galloping on ahead. They are a cult. I am in so much trouble.

  “There are other beings out there. All the fairy or horror stories have a little truth to them. There are things out there that do go bump in the night. I am going tell you about just two of them today. It is a lot of information, but time has eluded us, and you need to know.”

  “The first, call us, species, are Vampires.”

  I shuffle up into the corner of my bed. I need an escape route but cannot see a way out. Even if I did get past Archie and Roger, I know there will be other security people outside. I’m trapped, and they are clearly mad.

  “Angela, I did say open mind. And no, we are not mad.”

  I had not said that aloud. I look at Archie with utter shock, and he smiles a sad smile at me.

  “One of the gifts some of us have is we can read your mind. Sometimes if the emotion is strong enough, we get the thought involuntarily, as I did from you just now.”

  “We can also move quickly.”

  One minute he was there sat next to me. I do not even have time to blink and then Archie is on the other side of the room. My survival instinct kicks in and I scream. It is hard to grasp the speed at which he has just moved. I would be running for the hills, but blind panic has me frozen to the bed not able to move a single muscle, then just as quickly he is back at my side.

  I am starting to think of questions. Like, are you going to kill me? Archie carries on talking as if this is normal. I am paralyzed with fear, so have no choice
but to stay put and listen.

  “We do drink blood, but no, we do not kill people. Feeding is a special moment, often between lovers or someone close to you. As taking blood can have, let us say, orgasmic side effects.”

  I can feel myself blushing, but Archie does not even notice my discomfort, for which I am grateful.

  “There are many rules and laws to bloodletting. I will tell you of these in the next few days. As I have said, a lot to go through. We do eat what you would call normal food. We are born as fragile as the humans are.

  I will try to keep this simple for you to follow. We normally turn into a vampire in our mid-to-late-twenties, stronger vampires will turn earlier. Once we have turned we are hard to kill, and we live for a long time. I am a few hundred years old.”

  I am now officially going into shock. My arms and legs feel like lead weights, and my head is pounding even more. I swear my vision has turned red. Not knowing what to do or say, I sit there in total silence. Archie waits a moment, gazing into my eyes. After my vision clears, I see him relax.

  “The other beings I will tell you of today are a race called Were-animals. They come in many different forms. Roger, for instance, is a were-bear.”

  I glance over at Roger. He puffs up his chest as if he is making sure I know he is proud. Looking back towards Archie I swallow dry air loudly.

  “You have heard tales of werewolves, and yes, they exist too. Folk law and storytellers have distorted the facts. They do not go around howling at the moon or ripping people apart. I will leave explaining the Were-culture to Roger. A vampire does sleep during the day, not because we die, but because we are sensitive to the sun. We burn quickly, although we do not burst into flames. Many, many years ago after the Blood Wars, we were near to extinction, so we made a pact with the were-animals. It is a sacred pact to protect each other. Again, there are rules and rituals to all of this, and once again, I will leave that for another day. It is a shame that I have had to tell you as soon as this. We hoped to wait a while until you had settled in and would trust us. Unfortunately, the metamorphosis has begun, and you need to know all of this because – Angela,” he paused and swallowed. “You are one of us. You are a Vampire.”

  “Well that does it, now I know you are mad! You do exist, but I am not a Vampire! I cannot be. Can I?” I look at Roger and he looks sad.

  I get off the bed and walk over to him. I place my hand on his chest, looking him in the eye. It is then I get a feeling, or connection, I am not sure which? It is all starting to fall into place. Brent. I always felt calm whenever he walked into Annie’s cafe. I had mistaken seeing him as a supernatural as friendship. This must be how they recognize each other. I have had these feelings in the past, just walking past someone in the street and thinking I know them. I put it down to having eaten something bad. Something inside me now knows Archie is telling me the truth. Wrapping my arms around myself. Will I ever be safe? What else is life going to throw at me?

  I have so many questions rattling around in my head but haven’t a clue where to start. Turning back to Archie who pats the bed. Finding myself falling as I try to walk towards him. I do not hit the floor, as Roger catches me yet again and carries me over to the bed. My head is splitting. The pain unbearable, it feels like someone is poking me with hundreds of hot needles, and everything looks like I am wearing glasses with a red tint on them. “What is happening to me?” I remember seeing my eyes in the mirror. They were the color of blood. I am battling to stay awake. I can hear Roger begging me to give in, stop fighting it, it will be better if I sleep, but as usual, I do the opposite. I sit, breathing in and out, calming myself. It is just a panic attack, and the red mist starts to clear after a couple of minutes.

  “That is impressive, my dear. Most vampires normally take a couple of weeks to master clearing the blood-haze.” Archie is talking to me, what does he mean by blood-haze? It sounds gruesome, but all that has happened is the red mist I was seeing has cleared, so he must mean that.

  He continues to tell me I have started the metamorphosis. I stare at him with confusion although this must be my normal look now, as so much is happening. “You are starting to transform into a vampire. It has begun. You are young to be going through the metamorphosis, but there is no going back I’m afraid.”

  I have a feeling of panic. If this is true, I will miss so much. Sunbathing for one; not that I ever get to sunbathe but still. Besides, I do not even want to think about the blood drinking. Then I have a sudden thought; children.

  Archie reaches over and pats my hand. “Angela, you can still have children, that is another myth. I have so much to tell you and so little time. We only have a few weeks before you have transformed and have to go in front of the Vampire Council.”

  I am reeling. How can this be? “You must have it wrong. I am a nobody. A baby left on the steps of a church, unwanted and abandoned by my family.”

  Archie grabs me by my arms, looking deeply into the eyes. “Your mother wanted you, do not ever think otherwise.”

  I stammer, “You know my mother?” My heart is hammering in my chest. Too much, it is just too much. I feel the blackness closing in once again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Iawake to a cool cloth pressed to my forehead. It is the Doc again.

  She leans in to take my pulse. “That was quite a scare you gave us all there, Angela. Your blood pressure went a little too high, so you blacked out. You have to try to stay calm when you are in metamorphosis.”

  That is easy for her to say. I just discovered the people I work with, including Archie; know my mother. “I need to speak to Archie, I would like some answers and I want them now.”

  The Doc treats me like a petulant child, folding her arms and looking down on me. “Until you can control that temper of yours, and keep your blood pressure down, the only people you are going to be seeing are myself and Roger. He is bound to you. He will have a calming effect on you.”

  I need to get out of here. I get up and walk as calmly as I can to the door. I open it and walk into a wall of nothing. I can see through it, but I cannot walk through it. I turn around in disbelief, I find the Doc watching me.

  “There are witches in this world too, Angela. I am one. If I say you will not leave this room, the barrier will stay in place. This is for your protection as much as the others. Now, I mean it, doctor’s orders, back to bed.”

  Just to spite her, I try to leave the room. Roger stands over by the door but moves aside for me.

  After trying to leave the room and landing me on my bottom more than once, I give up. Roger is finding this way too entertaining for my liking.

  Rather than linger on something I cannot change. I decide to question Roger about being a were-bear, and what exactly it means. In addition, I want to know more about the link he has to me.

  It has been twenty-four hours since the bombshell of being a vampire dropped. I am struggling with Vampires and Were-animals exist. Discovering I am a vampire has blown me away. I sit back on the bed and Roger joins me, the Doc has left the room. I question Roger about being a were-bear.

  “Does this mean you change into a cuddly bear?” I have a grin a mile wide, I do not have a clue why I am trying to bait him, but it feels good.

  He flexes his hand, and I see the fur flow over it, massive claws growing out of the ends of his fingers. Roger sees the look of awe on my face. In a gravelly voice, “Go on, I know you want to. Have a feel, babes.”

  The fur is soft and warm, but the claws are sharp to the touch. It is impressive he can control how much of his body he can change, but I am under no illusions. He is not a cuddly teddy bear. He grabs me into a hug and squeezes, making me squeal aloud. With laughter or surprise, which one I am not sure. However, he is ever so gentle with his hold.

  “You can trust me, Angela. I am here to protect you.” I see his hands are back to normal; that is such an impressive trick.

  “When you change, would I know you?” Holding my hands, I feel the warmth between us and n
ot the clammy-hands warm. This travels up my arms and seeps into the rest of my body, like a cocoon wrapping itself around me.

  “It is all to do with the link, Angela.”

  “So, this link, how does it work?”

  Roger releases my hands and I feel the cocoon leaving. It is cold in here now and I shiver. Reaching across, Roger pulls me to him and we settle back into a cuddle. “Each Vampire has a were-animal who can link to them. It is a choice you both need to accept. Although sometimes fate can be cruel, and you never meet. You do not have to accept the link, although for a were-animal it is instinct to protect. That is why there are many of us working for the protection agency. I knew you were mine to protect the day you bumped into me in the hall. Normally the link forms when the were-animal senses the other person in danger. I sensed the trouble you were having with Shaun and so we formed our link or bond if you wish to call it that.”

  This is fascinating and alarming all at the same time. I know he is not a lunatic. I do not have a clue how, but deep down inside I know he is telling the truth. “How did you know, Roger?” I feel his chin rubbing my hair.

  “You smell all fresh air and earthy, like home, is the only way I can describe it. There are many rules for a protector. It is frowned on for us to be in a sexual relationship. The protector link is different from the one you will have with your fated mate.”

  I swallow hard and I hear a chuckle rumble up through Roger’s chest. “I was beginning to think I had lost my Mo-Jo.”

  I splutter as I make to deny the attraction. Oh hell, with all that is happening. Having an attracted to someone is low on my list of worries.

  “I am supposed to be your protector, if we were intimate, then it would distract me from my job.”