“It’s clear you know all about us.” A vein in Egan’s neck bulged. “And that we’re at a disadvantage.”
Egan was very secretive and liked to hold his cards close. I’d never seen him this rattled, but they knew more about us than we did about them. It had to put him on edge, especially since I wasn’t exactly comfortable.
“I wouldn’t go that far, what with you being in our home, which is supposed to be hidden.” Cassius cut his eyes to Lillith and sighed. “But at least, you are safe.”
“This is my dad,” Lillith said, pointing at Cassius, and then she motioned to the older woman with dirty blonde hair. “And my mom, Dawn.”
“Those are your parents?” I hadn’t been expecting her to call her sire that. “I mean … that’s an odd way of putting it.”
She chuckled. “No, they’re actually my parents. We were born vampires.”
Those were rare. The more supernaturals I met, the stranger this all became. “That’s not normal.”
“And hanging around a dragon is?” Dawn smiled kindly at me.
“True.” Vampires weren’t immortal like in the movies, but they aged very slowly once they hit their twenties. “But I thought born vampires were rare and …” How did I say evil without insulting the very people keeping us safe—for now?
“Our family has always been odd.” Cassius puffed his chest. “We’re one of the original bloodlines and haven’t been tainted by the vampires who turned after us. Becoming a vampire is a gift that many have taken for granted.”
The room fell silent as we processed that bit of information.
“And this is my mom, Julie.” Katherine placed her hand on the woman with light blonde hair who’d been attempting to help me with Donovan. Then she looped her arm through the arm of the man on her other side. “And my dad, Paul.”
The middle-aged man grinned with adoration at his daughter, warming his pale face. He had the same dark brown hair as his daughter, but his eyes were more gray than brown. “Katherine has told us plenty about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Are all of you vampire born, then?” Egan asked, his body becoming more rigid.
Paul gestured to Lillith’s family. “No, we were turned by them about ten years ago.”
If they’d turned these people, they couldn’t be as good as we had originally thought.
“They were in a house fire, and we helped them.” Lillith cleared her throat, reading my thoughts. “They almost burned to death. We got to them too late to save them, but they begged us to do whatever we could to help them live on. I’d always wanted a sister.” Lillith averted her gaze from mine as if she was ashamed.
“And we didn’t drink from them,” Dawn reassured us. “We only bit them to inject the venom.”
“What about those two?” Roxy pointed at the two younger male vampires behind the group. One looked a few years older than us while the other looked younger.
“Those are my brothers.” Katherine turned her head toward them. “The younger one is Luther.” She gestured to the one on the left who looked almost identical to her. The only difference was that he had five inches on her. “And that’s Athan.” She pointed at the older one. He looked like an even combination of their parents with his father’s gray eyes and his mother’s light blonde hair. “Athan was visiting from college when it happened.”
I wasn’t sure whether I should say I was sorry or not. They all looked well acclimated, even though Katherine’s two brothers gave us a wide berth.
“I’m surprised those two are already up and walking around.” Dawn crossed the room and peeked out the window. “From what I gathered, most newly turned wolves can barely function, especially with whatever disability results from the change.”
Whatever they were, I had a feeling Donovan might hate me now.
“They may not.” Egan wiggled in his seat. “They were partial wolves, so it’s not like a full-blooded human getting changed.”
“Really?” Cassius’s head tilted back in surprise. “How do you figure that?”
“Their eyes glowed at times.” In those moments, I’d gotten completely lost in his eyes. “And Roxy is Axel’s mate while Donovan is mine.” How I wished I could say I was Donovan’s, but I wasn’t so sure anymore.
The front door opened, and Axel entered the room. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Sadie, you need to go out there and talk to him.” His tone held an edge.
I jumped to my feet. “Is everything okay?”
“Well, I don’t know.” Axel inhaled sharply, and his nose wrinkled. “What’s that super sweet smell?”
“It’s the vampires.” Roxy patted the spot I’d just vacated beside her. “They smell sweet to hide their cruel and vicious natures.”
“Is she serious?” Athan asked with disbelief.
“Just ignore her.” Lillith waved a hand at my redheaded bestie. “She projects her self-hatred onto others.”
“Please.” Roxy huffed. “There is nothing to hate about myself.”
Even though I enjoyed their banter, tonight was the exception. I was exhausted and heartbroken, and their carefree joking grated on my nerves. “I’ll go check on Donovan.”
“He refused to talk to me, so I hope you have better luck.” Axel grimaced as if that nugget of information pained him to admit.
Yeah, I doubted that. “We’ll see.” I forced my legs forward, and my hand shook as I reached for the doorknob. I hated leaving Egan, Axel, and Roxy alone with the vampires, but they didn’t give off any threatening vibes.
The outside air had a chill. It was early October, and we were high in the mountains. Temperatures like these were the most comforting. It was hard for a shifter to get cold, and so coolness always felt amazing against our blazing-hot skin.
The crisp mountain air filled my nose. It wasn’t polluted like the cities we lived in. Yes, we always lived out in suburbia, but it didn’t come close to smelling this pure.
I stepped off the porch and caught Donovan’s scent. I sniffed and followed his signature smell toward the woods. I didn’t like him being out here alone, this far from the house, but it wasn’t like I could get on him about it. He was a grown man, for God’s sake.
I stepped into the woods and heard him breathing. He couldn’t be more than a hundred yards away.
The trees grew denser, and squirrels scurried through the branches. A few owls hooted close by, and when I glanced up, the moon seemed much closer than it usually did. It almost felt like the world had stopped moving.
When I passed a large oak tree, I found Donovan sitting on a log, staring up at the night sky.
There was enough room for me to sit next to him, but I wasn’t confident enough to do it. I’d always felt insecure around my father, but right now, there was no comparison.
“I take it Axel sent you.” Donovan kept his focus upward, but he’d acknowledged my presence.
“Yeah, but if you want me to leave, I can.” I closed my eyes and steadied myself for his rejection. It’d hurt, but he deserved to process this in his own time. His whole life had changed in the past three hours.
“Look, I get I’m being a prick.” He nibbled his bottom lip. “But I’m so angry.”
I could empathize with that. I remained silent, letting him say whatever he needed to.
“I worked my ass off to get to that school.” He stretched his legs out in front of him. “And now, it’s just thrown away because monsters exist. How did I not know about this before?”
“Our kind …” I started, and he winced.
“God, I hate the way that sounds,” he spat. “Our kind … I’m supposed to be human.”
That stung. “The supernatural races are kept secret from humans.” If I wasn’t too specific, maybe he’d stay calm.
“Why?” He caught my eye. “So they can be prey?”
The problem was, I again couldn’t discern what he was feeling. It was like a bomb of emotions exploding inside him. “That’s not fair, and you’re stereotyping.”