The two of them, as directed by Phyllis, were to play with the animals, giving the photographers cute, happy snaps.
Morgana would have cuddled the puppies regardless. Even she couldn’t resist them.
Oscar and Vivienne stood to the side while Oscar did his ‘candidate duties.’
“The Rescued Animals Haven will be one of my ‘pet’ projects. Excuse the pun,” Oscar joked, making the crowd laugh.
Morgana rolled her eyes while scratching the brown and white fur bundle in her arms under its chin.
“We’re hoping to re-house rescued animals from abusive homes.” Oscar squatted down and scooped up a critter trying to chew on his expensive leather shoes. “Like this little fella here who, with his siblings, were found abandoned in a cardboard box. We hope to find them new loving and caring homes.”
“Do you think Oak Wood Hills needs a place like this?” asked one reporter.
“With the developments and the influx of new residents coming to this town, I’d say it’s the perfect time to open a place like this,” Oscar replied.
“And do you currently own any pets, Oscar?” another reporter asked.
“No. But I was hoping to adopt one of these.” He held the puppy up to his face. It was a mass of black fur flared around its head like a mane with patches of tan on his paws, chest, and along his jawline. The puppy growled and bared his sharp canines.
“Christ, he reminds me of an angry vampire,” Gareth muttered low, so only the vampires could hear.
Morgana and her parents chuckled.
“What’s so funny, Mr. Van Wilden?” Ava asked, her hazel eyes flicking in Gareth’s direction. She must have known he’d said something.
“I was laughing at this guy’s antics. He’s quite the brute. Reminds me of myself.” This caused the crowd to laugh. Oscar looked back at the puppy, saying, “I’ll think I’ll keep you. Call you Brutus. What do you think, love?”
Both Oscar and Brutus turned their attention to Vivienne who smiled warmly, her blue eyes twinkling, raising a hand to scratch the puppy behind the ears. “I think he’s quite the little cutie. I say we keep him.”
Brutus barked in agreement.
***
The publicity event was ending, and the reporters were packing up and exiting, leaving the Van Wildens standing in the animal shelter.
“I can’t believe you adopted a puppy.” Morgana shook her head. “What are you going to do after we move from here?”
Oscar lifted Brutus to his face again. “We’ll take him with us. I’m sure he will love London. What breed are they?” he asked the animal shelter attendant.
“They are Tibetan mastiffs, sir. From the looks of them, I’d say they’re purebreds,” she added.
“Why would anyone want to abandon puppies like these?” Oscar snuggled Brutus closer to his chest.
“There are some cruel people in the world.”
Oscar’s lips thinned. “Yes, there are.”
Morgana refrained from snorting.
“You’ll need to sign these papers, but I can let you take him home today.” The attendant held out a clipboard.
“Of course.” Oscar passed Brutus to Vivienne who grinned while Brutus licked her face.
“We’ll meet you both outside,” she said to them.
Morgana and Gareth nodded before exiting the animal shelter.
They stopped walking when they felt Mariza approaching.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, now she is like a dog with a bone, and a bitch, too,” Gareth muttered beside her.
Morgana hissed, looking wildly around at the reporters leaving. “What are you even doing here? Your appearance could set back the good publicity we’ve created today. You could derail Father’s campaign.”
“Would it be such a bad thing? Have you lot even thought this cover story through?”
“Yes.”
“And what if Father wins? What will you do if you guys get reassigned? Would you pack up and leave? If I foil his campaign, he won’t win, and you’ll be free to move on.”
Morgana stepped forward, lowering her voice, “We always knew Father wasn’t going to win, Mariza.”
“Then why are you even bothering to go through with it at all? Why didn’t Father pick another boring human job?”
Morgana sighed. “You know, Father always wants to do something different. When we scoped out the town, we heard about the campaign and thought it would make a great cover story.”
Mariza rolled her eyes. “I never thought Father would lower himself to such human dealings.” Mariza flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder. “This must be all your human-turned mother’s fault.”
Morgana menacingly took a step toward Mariza.
Gareth shifted in behind her.
She didn’t need the bond to feel the anger rolling off him. She gained comfort from his presence. “We’re not the same as we were over four hundred years ago, Mariza. If I were you, I’d watch what I’d say about my mother around me. I’ve killed more vampires than the humans you’ve faked relationships with.”
Mariza’s eyes flashed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” Morgana hissed through clenched teeth
“Darling,” Oscar warmly called out as he approached them, his arms wide.
Morgana took a few steps back but not before glaring at her sister.
Gareth rubbed Morgana’s arms and glowered at Mariza.
“Are you okay?” he asked her softly.
She nodded.
“What about you? You were awfully quiet before.”
“What I want to say to Mariza shouldn’t be said in front of a lady or nearby reporters.”
“Daddy,” Mariza’s fake bright voice drew their attention back to her. She’d plastered a smile on her face when she tried to embrace Oscar, but Brutus growled at her, halting her movements.
“I like that dog,” Gareth said out of the corner of his mouth.
Morgana shook her head but smiled at his efforts to make her laugh.
Vivienne’s ice-blue eyes glared at Mariza as she walked up behind Oscar, striding over to where she and Gareth stood.
“Daddy, shall we go grab something to eat?” Mariza asked. “There are quite a few tasty morsels around this town.”
“You can’t be serious?” Morgana asked incredulously. “We can’t live-feed here, not when we’re on a mission.”
“I don’t understand why not.”
“Because it will jeopardize all our reports and evidence. Not to mention our credibility with the other Council Elders.” Morgana clenched her fists. She nearly swung at Mariza, but Vivienne placed a hand on her arms.
“Not here, dear,” she whispered in her ear.
Gareth raised an eyebrow.
“How about we adjourn back to the house. We have plenty to eat there,” Oscar suggested, ignoring the tension between the three females.
Vivienne stiffened.
Morgana turned to her. “Hawthorn,” she mouthed.
Vivienne’s eyes widened then smiled. “Yes, Mariza, we have plenty of blood,” lowering her voice at the word blood, “… at the house.” Neither of them would use the weapon in Oscar’s presence, but Mariza didn’t know that—the stench of her fear was betraying her.
Gareth chuckled as a smug feeling swept through their bond.
Oscar cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, I believe you coming to the house may not be such a good idea.” He turned to glare at Morgana and Vivienne, obviously sensing they were up to something.
Morgana crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m sorry, love.” Oscar raised Brutus up. “We’ve got to get this pup back home and get him settled in.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Come by the office tomorrow, and I’ll take you to lunch out of town,” he added when Morgana opened her mouth to protest.
“Fine,” Mariza bit out.
They left her standing there, watching them sullenly.
Chapter Thirty-One
Alastor stood off t
o the far side of the Van Wilden’s training room. Not wearing a shirt, his arm muscles rippled as he swung at the wooden training dummy, and he wasn’t holding back. He paused when he felt Morgana walking down the basement stairs.
“What are you doing down here?” she asked.
Alastor grunted before hitting the dummy again. “Had to do somethin’ with me day while ye lot were at the campaign event.” He stopped and turned to her. “What are ye doin’?”
At the bottom step, she stopped, resting her hip on the end of the railing, crossing her arms loosely over her body. She was wearing a black tracksuit. “I’m in the mood to hit something as well.”
“Aye?”
“Mariza turned up at the animal shelter.”
“Jaysus. Glad I didn’t go then.” He turned back to the dummy, continuing with his karate chops, twirls, and kicks. The joints were groaning under the immense pressure. Alastor punched the dummy, splintering the wood.
“Hey, watch it. Ohana gave it to me.”
Alastor felt sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aye, sorry. Vivienne told us about yer old mentor.”
“She was a tough one. I miss her,” Morgana lifted her chin toward the dummy. “From the way you’re hitting her dummy, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the arms flies off.”
Alastor grimaced. “How did Gareth and Mrs. V. take it?”
“They were both surprisingly quiet. It was mostly Mariza and I at each other’s throat.”
“Where’s the boy now?”
“Gone home to change out of his monkey-suit and to beat the living daylights out of anything and everything.”
Alastor raised an eyebrow.
Morgana shrugged. “His words, not mine.”
The sound of footsteps and scratching noises could be heard above them. Alastor looked up toward the ceiling. “What’s goin’ on up there?”
Yips and high-pitched barking made them both wince and reverberated through the floorboards.
He looked at Morgana. “Sounds like a dog?”
Morgana grinned. “Ah, yes. Mother and Father… well, mostly Father, adopted a dog while we were at the animal shelter. His name is Brutus.”
Alastor shook his head. “What kind of vampire gets a dog?”
Morgana looked down. “One that’s trying to be human,” she said quietly.
Alastor nodded with understanding. While he and Gareth tried to blend in with humans wherever they lived, the Council Elder was trying to be one.
Morgana stepped off the stairs, walking toward him. “Do you want a sparring partner?”
Alastor smiled. “Aye, that I do.”
Alastor circled Morgana, both holding their fists up, jumping from foot to foot. Sweat dripped down Morgana’s face, drenching her gray tank top—her zip-up sweater had long since been discarded. She scrutinized Alastor as he watched her contemplating what his next move might be.
“Don’t go easy on me because I’m a woman,” she taunted. “I’ve still got at least two hundred and fifty years on you.”
He kept walking around her, his fists moving across his chest. “But aren’t ye half-human?” he taunted back. “Wouldn’t that make it easier to beat ye?”
“Not if you’re the daughter of a Primus.” She jabbed at him with her left hand.
Alastor smiled wickedly. “Ye want to keep doing this?”
“Bring it on, Ireland.” Her fists were at her chest, dancing around him. “Besides, it looks like you could let off some more steam.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He swung a right hook toward her jaw. His fist connected with her flesh before her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He had caught her off guard. She stumbled backward, falling onto the blue mat.
“Jaysus, Morgana, are ye all right, lass?” Alastor’s face paled as he crouched over her.“Wow.” Her eyes blinked rapidly. “One heck of a punch you’re packing there.” She adjusted her jaw.
“Sorry about that, lass.” He offered his hand to her.
She took his hand, allowing Alastor to help her stand.
“You know I would never intentionally hit a respectable woman in anger, and especially not you,” he muttered. His mind kept playing the moment in his head.
“It’s fine. See, it’s healing already.” She turned her cheek to him, showing the purple bruise beginning to fade.
Alastor rubbed his forehead. “Gareth is going to kill me for hitting his woman.”
Morgana snorted. “I get worse out on the field. Besides, I encouraged you to do it.”
“Aye. But still, I’m sorry.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Whatever has got you so pent up?”
Alastor sighed. “I can’t stand she’s here.”
“Mariza?”
“Aye. Ye didn’t see him, Morgana, the way I found him.”
“No, I didn’t,” she said quietly. “Can’t imagine what it was like.”
“She doesn’t even regret it, either.”
“What is it about her being here that upsets you so?”
Alastor turned to her. “She hasn’t shown any remorse about what she did to him. She acts like he’s a thorn in her side. But to me, to ye,” he pointed to her, “he means so much more. It’s getting Mrs. V all irritable. And it’s made more work for Ava writing up the article. Not she’s complainin’ about it. It’d be better if she weren’t around.”
Morgana smiled. “Yes, hopefully, Father will be able to top up her bank account soon, so she can leave. Better yet if she was gone for good.”
“Aye, is there any way we could kill her without upsetting Oscar?”
“Or The Council.”
“Aye, true. But she ain’t a Council employee like ol’ Ginger was.”
“No, but she is an Elder’s daughter.”
“She’s also yer family.”
Morgana smiled at him again. “You and I both know blood may make you related to someone, but it doesn’t make you family.”
“Ye think of me as family?”
“You’re part of the Van Wilden coven now. Of course, you’re family.”
Alastor grinned.
Morgana looked at him, a devilish glint in her eyes. “But there’s something you could do for me which may make you feel a bit better while she’s still around.”
Alastor raised an eyebrow. “Aye, what’s that, lass?”
“I need you to hide something very important for me.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mariza walked up to Ragnorok in a huff. “Fuck, you’re a hard man to find. I’ve been searching for you for hours. First, I went to the hovels you call home in the forest. Then I wandered around town. It wasn’t until I followed one of your skulking minions that I found you here.” She looked around at the big red brick house with the smell of dead vampires hanging in the air.
Ragnorok had his back facing her and didn’t acknowledge her presence as he stood over the piles of ashes scattered around on the ground. Her anger spiked at being ignored. She opened her mouth to let forth her tirade, but he spoke first.
“These are what’s left of this faction of the Forest Clan… piles of their ashes. I returned here after a few days to find them like this. They didn’t deserve to die.” He turned to her now, his gray eyes blazing with hatred. “But members of your coven, they deserve to die.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Mariza looked around, her anger replaced with some empathy. They’d chosen a fucking puppy over her. “They are bastards. Every one of them. This…” She waved her hand over the dead vampire ashes, “This is what they do. Destroy lives.” Hers especially.
“Yes. These were good men and women. And they claim to do it all in the name of The Council.” His top lip curled.
Mariza nodded in agreement. But really these vampires meant nothing to her, their presence fading into nothing. She was trying to get on Ragnorok’s good side.
“Why are you here? I’m not in the mood to fuck if that’s what you’re after.”
The
venom in his voice and words was biting, but Mariza only laughed, holding her stomach and doubling over as she did so. She even wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “Woo, haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”
Ragnorok lifted an eyebrow.
“Just because I use sex to achieve what I want doesn’t mean I have an insatiable appetite for it.” She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “I’m here because I have another requirement of you.”
Ragnorok’s cruel smile spread across his face. “Do tell.”
“I want the same as you. I want them all dead. Except,” holding up a finger, “Daddy. I don’t want to bring the wrath of my brothers or the other Elders down on me.”
“And why can I not kill the great Oscar Van Wilden?”
“You could try, but you wouldn’t know how to, anyway.”
“But, my dear,” he placed a finger under her chin, lifting her face to his, “I want them all dead.”
Mariza smiled, pulling out of his reach, “It’s nigh impossible. You don’t know how to. The Primus Vampyr don’t die easily.”
“Then tell me.” He moved closer to her, touching her cheek.
Mariza laughed. “No. I still need my bank account balance to reel in the billions. Please, if you knew how to kill him, you could turn against me and kill me, too. No, I’ll need some leverage over you.”
Ragnorok dropped his hand. “Then I’m afraid we don’t have a deal.”
Mariza huffed. “Fine, you can stake him. It’ll feel like you’ve killed him.”
“No, I’m afraid it isn’t the same thing. He will revive and kill me without a second thought.”
Mariza tilted her head. “Tell me who’s the one who actually killed her?”
“Who says I’m doing this for a woman?”
“No one goes to these extreme measures for revenge if not for love. And I don’t believe you’re gay, so it must be for a woman.”
Ragnorok looked up toward the dark sky, sighing. “Fine. It was my creator, Angelique. Morgana was the one to kill her. I saw her do so with my own eyes on orders of The Council. Where your father presides as one of the Elders.”
“So, kill her then. Leave my father out of it.”
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 36
