Hyde (20 page)

He nodded, "Well I'm glad you know she isn’t a
relation to you. Anyway we found out she was spending your trust
fund wildly. She owns three other houses, all bought in the last
six years. And even worse she owns five vehicles."

Hanna's scowl matched his, "I don’t
understand?"

"She wasn't your real family and she was taking
care of you after your mother died. Basically it seems she only
took you in to get access to the money."

"I knew that but not about the houses and cars.
So she has all these places everywhere? When did she go to them? We
never took trips."

"I think they were part of the after you died
plan."

"Oh wow. So she's in jail and still owns a ton
of things she bought with my money?"

He nodded, "Well had. I've had court orders to
have them all transferred into your ownership as your money bought
them. She tried to argue she was taking the money as payment to
look after you but the judge was adopted as a child. It didn’t go
well. Anyway it’s a fraud case now."

Hanna sighed, "How did I miss all of this?"

"Hanna she is a sneaky woman and apparently an
amazing actress."

She shook her head, "I'm so stunned. I honestly
always believed she loved me."

He shrugged, "I figured you'd be a mess about
it. I actually almost never came to the party. I was scared I would
remind you of everything that happened."

She looked into his bright blue eyes and nodded,
"You do but that isn’t your fault."

He put his hand on hers, "Hanna I want you to
know I am here for you."

She smiled, "Thank you."

He leaned in brushing his lips against hers. She
responded to his kiss. It was gentle but not expectant.

He stood up, "I'd like to see you again."

"Unofficially?" She laughed.

He nodded, "Very unofficially."

"That's too bad because seeing you in the
uniform makes me want to confess to some crimes."

He laughed, "So bring the cuffs first date
then?"

She nodded, trying desperately to get her mind
back on track, "Give me a call. I'm not sure what Roland has
planned over Christmas."

He laughed again, "Yeah it looks like Martha
Stewart came by to help him out."

She nodded, "Pretty much."

She walked him to the door, "What do I do now,
regarding my aunt? Or rather Cecile."

"Well the judge has the weekend to go over the
paperwork and court orders. She will be deliberating on Monday if
you want I could call you when she calls me and tells me her
decision? Most likely she will liquidate the assets and you'll be
owed the money." He grabbed his coat and smiled at her.

She nodded trying to be casual, "Let me
know."

He opened the door, "Okay well I have to get
back to work. Tell Roland I said thanks anyway for the cider."

She nodded smiling at his uniform, catching
herself staring at his chest.

He smirked, "Yeah yeah yeah. Stop looking at me
like I'm a piece of meat."

"You look like a stripper."

He chuckled, "Nice. Okay I will call Monday if
you don’t call me first."

He walked out and she tried hard not to watch
his butt in his police pants.

"Your cider."

She turned to see Roland holding a tray. She
smiled and took a mug of steaming cider. She waved as Andy drove
out of the driveway.

"Roland does God hate me?"

Roland chuckled, "Why would you ask that?"

"Because I have this sweet cop trying to date
me, but I can't make myself forget about the freak show guys like
me." She sighed, "Marcus is exactly what he said, everything and
nothing. And something, maybe an unnatural force, makes me want to
be with Aleks. Then there is Sam. Oh my god Sam is driving me nuts.
I actually forget where I am when he's around. He has the sweetest
way about him."

"You need to look at all those relationships and
those people and decide which one lifts you up, improves upon what
is already inside of you. I think that you are too young and you
should wait to make decisions."

"I guess, yeah."

He smiled taking the silver tray with one mug of
cider back to the kitchen, "You don’t want to walk onto the car lot
and buy the first car you see, you have to test drive them. You're
young, have fun with it and relax."

She struggled to keep her cider in her mouth.
She coughed as it went down the wrong passage, "Oh my god."

He chuckled softly leaving the room.

Her face flushed thinking about test-driving.
Andy may not make her heart soar the way Marcus did but she could
definitely imagine taking him out for a spin. But then every
naughty thought led her back to Sam.

She followed Roland back to the kitchen, "Who
was my mother?" She asked quietly watching him tidy up.

He frowned, "Why?"

"My father met my mother seventy-five years ago
Roland. I'm assuming she was something more than a regular
mom."

He nodded, "Yes well I suppose that’s the truth
of it. I was told we would never have to have this conversation and
yet here we are. Your mother was a Siren."

"The women who call ships to their death?"

"No. That’s not entirely true. They don’t need
to sing, they just need a strong breeze. They used to hang out
along the coastline when ships were the mode of
transportation."

"I'm confused."

"She was a Siren, a temptress, a
seductress."

"My mom?"

"Yes."

"Did she kill men?"

He laughed, "Only with her looks. No she was a
sweet woman. Her and Cecile became friends before you were born.
Cecile hated your father but loved your mother."

He turned smiling, but his dark eyes seemed
hollow, "Humans can't help themselves. Human women and men love
Sirens. Supernatural men lust after Sirens. But most supernatural
females despise Sirens. Cecile was a regular human woman, she loved
your mother like a sister."

"Why would they leave me with her if she was
evil?"

He shook his head, "No one knew she was evil.
She was a very devoted friend to your mother. No one believed her
capable of anything. Your father tested your blood yearly against
your mothers and his. You never showed any signs of either of them.
Cecile was the best bet. She was human, you were human."

"Up until Cecile poisoned me, I was a regular
human?"

He nodded, "Your father realized a couple years
ago that you had none of the Siren in you and none of him. It was
assumed you would grow to be a normal kid. He would have brought
you to live with us if you had been abnormal in anyway."

"What changed it all?"

Roland shrugged, "I'm afraid all we can ever do
is guess it was the poison. All I know is no one from our world was
ever allowed to know you until the day the change occurred. He
wanted you to have a normal life."

She rolled her eyes, "That panned out well."

"You know what they say about best laid
plans."

"So if I'm half a Siren?"

"You're a whole lot of trouble for men."

"My life just keeps getting better."

Chapter Thirty-One: Toast with a side of
trouble

Aleksander

She had insisted on sleeping in his bed. He
hadn’t been certain how to convince Giselle he wasn’t interested in
her in that way. She had been adamant that he had saved her because
he was developing feelings for her.

Hanna was all he thought about, he couldn’t
describe his feelings for her. It was if there were no feelings,
just animal lust.

He walked into the kitchen to see the youngest
of the Nephilim children sitting at the table.

"Morning."

Sarah faded becoming nearly as invisible as
Annabelle.

"Did Annabelle make you breakfast?"

She nodded letting her color come back.

"Danny had a bad dream last night, he saw them
breaking in here and taking us." Her little squeaky voice spoke
softly as she bit off a piece of toast.

"Do his dreams come true?"

She nodded, looking up at him with her dark eye,
"Yup."

He frowned, "Hmm, maybe I better talk to Lydia
about that. Where is Danny?"

"He's hiding in Annabelle's room."

He turned and walked out of the room. Annabelle
had the attic all to herself. He walked up the stairs not wanting
to just appear in her room. He knocked on the small brown door at
the very top of the second flight of stairs.

"Yes."

Aleksander opened the door, "Morning Annabelle,
I was wondering if I could speak to Danny quickly?"

"Oh Mister Aleks you knows you can comes and
goes in here. He be in the window cupboard." She pointed to the
huge dormer closet as she left the room.

He walked softly, "Danny can I ask you
something?"

He opened the closet and smiled. Danny had built
himself a fort out of blankets in the closet. He sat with an Archie
Comic and a flashlight.

"How's it going?"

Danny shrugged.

Aleks sat on the hard wooden floor, "Want to
tell me about your dream?"

He nodded, "K."

Aleks waited but the chubby boy never spoke.

"Now?"

Danny put down the comic with a sigh, "I was
standing in the kitchen and we were eating. I was getting juice. A
woman came into the house, she was a human but she was special
somehow. She grabbed Sarah and stabbed a needle in her arm. She did
the same thing to me. I dropped my juice. Then another woman was
there and she did what Aimee does and winked us to a new house, it
was cold and dark. I just remember the glass shattering to the
floor and juice spilling everywhere."

"I see. So something like this would come true
normally? Your dreams come true?"

He nodded, "If it’s the last dream before I
wake."

Aleks put a hand on him, "Well lucky you have
them then. We can bump up security at the house."

Danny picked up his comic again and started
reading, "I'm not going in the kitchen, just saying."

Aleks laughed standing up, "Okay. I will get
Annabelle to bring you breakfast up here."

"Milk no juice."

He smiled and let the warm wind take him to the
kitchen.

Sarah had finished her breakfast and was
laughing talking with Sam. He was the oldest of the Nephilim
children. He was twenty-eight but looked to be about nineteen. His
strength was unmatched. Aleks suspected his parentage to be one of
the Archangels.

"She tell you about the dream?" Sam asked
looking at him sternly.

Aleks nodded, "I spoke with Danny, sounds pretty
possible. They’ve been taking blood from Hanna. They could make a
weapon with her blood."

Sam smirked, "Hanna Hyde? Yeah we decided when
we make the toys to sell from our super hero franchise Hanna Hyde
will be her name. It has a nice ring to it."

Aleks frowned, "Don’t push it. You piss her off
and she tears the house down, you'll be sorry."
Sam laughed, "I can only imagine what she's like when she's angry."
His black eyes sparkled.

"What's for breakfast Annabelle?" Lydia asked
walking in pulling her long gray hair into a bun.

"Trouble Miss Lydia, today it be trouble for
breakfast." Annabelle pointed to the window.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Sell my soul to sleep
with a siren

Hanna

"Is that why Aleks is into me? Why he can't stop
coming on to me? Why Andy wants me? And Marcus?"

Roland nodded, "I believe it is. People can't
fight their love and attraction for Sirens. You force feelings on
them."

She stopped pacing around the kitchen and
pointed, "You said people, Aleks isn’t people. Neither is
Marcus."

"I told you supernatural beings feel lust,
incredible lust. Some even mistake it for love."

"This is disgusting. I was wondering what was
going on. I went from regular girl to, well something else. God
hates me, I know it. Shit. So even Nephilim can be affected?"

"Well I once knew a man who was a very powerful
Fae Shifter, definitely not a man. Anyway he was so in love with a
Siren he lost everything. He swore an oath to serve her and her
children for the rest of his life. He gave up everything to be near
her.

"She let him do that? What kind of people are
Sirens?"

"They're known for being fickle in love. One
minute they love you and the next they can't stand the sight of
you. They love a new man every week sometimes. No man can take the
loss of a Siren."

"Where is the rest of my family?"

"Greece and Italy. You have a grandmother and
Aunts who are like you."

"I have family?"

He nodded, "They will want to see you now that
you are the way you are."

She frowned, "Maybe we should wait until I get
the other me under control."

"Wise choice."

Hanna walked to the table and sat down, "So my
father was besotted with a Siren and they had a kid. Half monster
from my father's blood and half Siren from my mother's? Oh my god
my mom was a slut who made my dad want her. I'm the product of some
filthy affair."

"Never speak that way of her Hanna. She was a
dear woman. She loved your father dearly."

She ignored him and thought about Marcus. She
nearly threw up.

Roland sat across from her, "I am sorry my dear.
I wanted to tell you but I was sworn to secrecy. Your father never
wanted you to know about this world. He would have died if he
thought you believed your mother didn’t love you and him. She
did."

"How could he not love her? She forced him. She
took his love against his will. I bet everyone loved her. This just
gets better and better."

"The worst part is that you feel a natural pull
to supernatural beings. Hanna what you feel isn’t real. It's apart
of your ability. You fall as hard as they do. Nephilim and Fae and
Vampires, Aleks. All of them. What you feel for them isn’t
real."

"So I magnetize them as much as they do me?
Great. My poor father."