Page 36 of Haunted Nightmares
“She’s been dead… a long time.”
The female swallows hard as she rolls to face me completely, curling on her side on what appears to be Declan’s couch. “I figured as much.”
“So why…” I pause to take a deep breath then clear my extremely dry throat. “Why do you want to know if you assumed she was dead?”
Sadie merely arches a brow and if this had been several months ago, I may have chuckled at that. But instead, I accept that she isn’t going to leave me alone until I answer. “Archer’s mother was a human female, one caught up in servitude much the same as your family.”
“How do you know that?”
“Your blood had much to say. If you’d like me to share before I’m back to full arsehole strength, try not to interrupt.”
She nods then pulls her blanket higher, careful to avoid the IV sticking out of her arm.
“His mother was a human in service to vampires shortly after the war, her family and yours going back to when settlers came to this godforsaken country, and she worked for me.” Technically she worked for Atticus but I don’t find it relevant to sharehowAugustana and this female’s grandmother to the nth-power were employed, just the things that answer her questions. “Duke had served in court for centuries, back to the time of Kadoc but had always been loyal to him and eventually me, which is how he and eventually your mate became affiliated with Declan.”
Sadie’s brow furrows before I can physically see the lightbulb flicker on in her brain. “No,”she gasps with a curious smile.
“Yes,” I mimic before turning to look up at the ceiling. “Declan and Duke fucked for years but it was nothing more than a plutonic meeting of needs when the mood struck. Scratching an itch if you will, right up until Duke came to the first Counsel meeting and set eyes on Augustana.”
“They were fated mates?”
I nod. “He wasn’t sure at first, not completely, he just knew she was to be his and after discussing it with my friend, they were going to remove her from my family's employment.” If she’d actually been my servant I would have let her go willingly because I had no need for her, but that wasn’t the case. “Atticus got wind of it and because he was even more of a bastard than I am, he had her killed.”
“And Declan was the one to tell Duke, and to come get you,” Sadie says with a touch of sadness in her voice. “And because Declan is your best friend, you did what he asked.”
“Something like that.”
“But how… if the conversion was successful, then how?—“
“Humans have about a thirty percent chance of successfully carrying vampire young, conversion only brings that to fifty because the original DNA didn’t account for the abrupt invasion and complications our offspring bring to the table.”
Augustana died shortly after Archer was born due to extreme complications of both labor and delivery, and that was the one and only time I’ve ever assisted in either. And it is exactly why I could never forget those neon green eyes of his.
“Will… will that happen to me? If Archer and I…”
With a long suffering sigh, I start tracing the square patterns of Declan’s ceiling. “Fifty percent is better than thirty, and since you and your mate have to remain with me,”—thanks to the pesky human law about species mingling that I’ve yet to abolish—“you’re probably looking at something like seventy if you and that twit decide to procreate one day. So long as you don’t mind a tiny little fanger trying to suck your soul from your body via umbilical cord.”
Sadie giggles a little and the sound is like a sledgehammer to my brain. One that accidentally set off my own littlelightbulbthat’s now practically shooting from my eye sockets.
“What time is it?” I grunt as I force myself upright, gripping the arm of the couch I’m on with one hand while grabbing the IV in the middle of my chest with the other. “Day or night?”
“Night…” Sadie says slowly as she watches me. “Archer said?—“
“I don’t give a shite what he or anyone else said, just tell me where my shirt is and I’ll be off to do some cleaning.”
She sits up gingerly, that dark blue gaze locked on me. “Cleaning? What are you talking about?”
“There, that’ll do.” I point to the wadded up T-shirt on the floor by her feet then extend my hand for her to throw it to me.
Which she does not.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Noted,” I say as I focus my energy enough to use my power and bring the ratty cotton material to my fingers. “I’m not going to tell you where I’m going but I’m not stupid enough to think you won’t call for Declan or your mate as soon as I leave, and since you are eternally indebted to me, I’m simply demanding you give me a head start.”
Sadie’s brow furrows again as she watches me get dressed the best I can. “So you can clean?”
“Clean. Scrub. Suck a few souls. It’s all the same, my dear.” Then I’m on my feet and walking toward the door. “Head start, now. I mean it.”
