Confused silence fell in the room and I cursed inwardly. None of my brothers were going to care about her being a clairvoyant. What theyweregoing to care about, though, was whyIcared that she was a clairvoyant.
"Are we a speciesist now?" asked Frank, his brow furrowed as we locked eyes.
"Because that would be quite ridiculous," said Colin as he tilted his head to study me. "After all, we do grow fangs and have a pesky need for warm blood, pumped directly from the source."
Sam stayed silent for a moment, but the look he was directing at me sank to my soul. He was the one who knew me the best. "You're hiding something, aren't you, Lucas?"
Frank pursed his lips together and gasped. "You are!" he accused. "And it's a big one."
Colin merely shifted in his seat. "So you aren't a speciesist, you just want your secret kept. Even from us." He studied his immaculate nails. "Interesting."
Frank threw him a bewildered look. "That's not interesting, you tool! That's terrifying. The only kind of secrets vampires keep are the ones that have the potential to kill us!" His gaze returned to me. "But you wouldn't be that stupid, would you?"
"Of course not," I scoffed. Unfortunately, I was totally that stupid, and I suspect Colin knew it and Sam had a good feeling.
"So what is it?" Sam asked, his voice calm and mild.
I stood. "This conversation is over. If any of you want to date Grace Banner, you have my blessing." Even though I'd said the words, from the prick in my heart, I knew I didn't mean them. I wasn't sure any of my brothers would do it, but Grace was a catch. Foul mouth and all.
My brothers remained silent, but I could feel their accusing eyes on me as I left the room.
I startedup my old yet pristine Ford pickup and pulled away from my parent's mansion, glad to be away. The conversation between us was getting heated and I loved my brothers enough not to expose them to this potential danger. I checked my rearview and side mirrors multiple times and drove around the town in various directions before I took the route over to Marissa's house, a friend of mine.
It was difficult to explain, this secret I had. On one hand I knew how dumb I was for protecting her. On the other, I'd promised my best friend to take care of her if he didn't make it back.
He never made it back, so it had been left up to me to keep her safe. But I only wished I knew about the minefield I was about to walk into before I made the promise.
My best friend was a werewolf and served in the same Air Force unit I had. Our bodies could take quite the beating, so we'd signed up to be Explosive Ordinance Techs. We were the guys who went in and dismantled bombs. And we were very, very good at it. Wolves and vamps serving in the armed forces was a relatively new thing but still kept classified. We were their best weapons, but somehow, the conflict area had gotten wind of it. Sikes had gone out to dismantle what should have been a routine roadside bomb, but it had been loaded with silver. Enough of it to take a team of highly experienced wolves and vamps down.
I hadn't been there that day. I'd had a clinic appointment so I spent my time back at the main camp rather than a “normal” day with Sikes. I'd regretted it ever since, and even though I knew it wasn't my fault, it didn't matter. Sikes was gone and I was still here.
The complication was Marissa. She was lovely, intelligent and free-spirited and I adored her. But she was pregnant. In normal situations, it would be a joyful occasion, but...Marissa was a vampire and mating between our species was strictly outlawed. If any of the vamps or wolves caught wind of her pregnancy, she and the baby would be terminated. Normally, there was never a viable fetus because the species were so different, but the few times on record showed an infant of indomitable strength and will, with clawed fingers, toes, and hands, retractable teeth and the ability to shift at will. They had no aversion to sunlight, any holy relics and could not be killed with silver. No one had yet figured out how they could be killed, except for beheading. The clans, brought together by a problem bigger than their rivalries, had instituted laws banning any procreation between our species. They didn't go so far as to outlaw interspecies marriage, but there could be no children born of the relationship at any time. To do so was to sacrifice the lives of the mother, the child, and the father by a swift execution.
So I was risking my life to help Marissa in order to keep a promise I'd made to my best friend. It was against my better judgment.Allmy judgment, really, but Marissa insisted the child was made out of love, and would be a product of love. I believed her, but it was terrifying to know I was allowing a tiny, killing machine to be housed inside of my dead friend's wife. And then into the world. The child would be the first of its kind to survive.
Nope. Not terrifying at all.
I pulled into the driveway of the secluded old mansion about twenty minutes later after checking what seemed to be a thousand times to ensure I wasn't followed. This place was supposed to be abandoned, but after Sikes passed away, I needed a place to stash Marissa so I picked this up at a steal during an auction. It was a bit of a pain in the ass because to keep my identity secret I had to pull a lot of strings to ensure the property was purchased via a trust that couldn't be linked to me. I'd said nothing to Marissa about my troubles, but when I took her here and saw the dubious look on her face it made me want to scream. After all, she hadn't made any of this easy on me. Even though she didn't realize what I was doing to keep her safe, it still rankled a little bit.
I cut the engine and stepped out of the old truck and into the too long grass. I didn't want to hire mowers because it could bring too much attention to the place. I would need to figure out a way to get around that soon enough, especially if Marissa was outside. A snake bite would only complicate the hell out of an already complicated situation.
I jogged up the steps and rang the sonorous doorbell. As if Marissa had been sitting by the door waiting for company, it opened immediately and her face lit up.
"Lucas!" she said and immediately rushed at me for a hug. I held her slight form for a moment, feeling the bump of her stomach against me and gently pushed her away.
"Marissa," I said, chuckling as I looked at her baby bump. "Seems the baby is cooking along nicely."
She ushered me in and harrumphed. "If by nicely you mean making me utterly miserable, then yes. It's very nice." I grinned at her slim back and followed her in.
She showed me to the living room and I sat down on the couch. Marissa was a beautiful girl. Long, dark hair flowed down her shoulders and her back, framing a face meant for Hollywood. Heart shaped, with almond shaped eyes and perfect bow lips, she looked like a modern day Snow White trapped in her own castle. Well...if Snow White happened to be a predator pregnant with a storybook monster, that was.
I'd never once been attracted to her. She was, for all intents and purposes, the little sister I'd never had, and my best friend's wife. The one I was desperately trying to keep hidden against all my better judgment.
Marissa offered me a cup of tea and I was pleased to see she wasn't drinking coffee. Before the baby, Marissa and her coffee were like two peas in a pod.
Or she could just be hiding the coffee somewhere else and putting on a good show for me. I tried not to be so overly involved in her life, but I couldn't seem to help myself. Marissa wasn't from Midnight Cove. All visitors were supposed to be cleared. Not doing so meant risking Portia Kadish's wrath, yet another reason I didn't want to get involved in her so called dating agency.
I nodded at her and she poured me a cup of steaming tea. It smelled of chamomile and mint. She offered me some honey or sugar but I declined. Once I had it and took a sip, I set it down and studied her.
