Reluctant Storm (13 page)

A loud banging noise coming from Riley’s direction startles me, causing me to jump in my chair. I grip the arms of the chair tightly, so as not to run out after him. I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing out there, but I know that we also have bigger fish to fry. Like why I’m suddenly seeing Mikail in a mirror with me. Turning to Anya, I grimace, shaking my head at her. Something about her just puts me off. I’m not sure if it’s the attitude, or the fact that she looks like she wants to kill me.

“So this has been a great family reunion. Let’s not do this again, okay?” I watch as she glares at me with her arms folded across her chest.

Noticing her mouth pull into a line at those words, I know we will never have that family bond, and I’m okay with that. I’m going to have to watch my back with her.

“We may be blood related,” she continues, “but the difference is I’m pure and well, you’re not. Your mother was nothing but a whore,” she says, staring me down, her hands clenched in fists.

“You keep saying that!” I say flippantly, “My mother was an evil woman, but you’re so much like her that I bet you two would have gotten along wonderfully.”

She tosses her hair at me and rolls her eyes but stays silent.

I glance over at Mikail and can’t believe how I thought he was so innocent in all this, and here he is embroiled up to the eyeballs in this mess. It was only a week ago that I was just a college student, and now this. It’s pretty unbelievable how everything has changed. I mean hell, I survived being kidnapped and tortured, ironically, thanks to Riley. I think I can handle the truth. Remembering that old phrase you draw more flies to honey than vinegar gives me an idea.

Sidling up to Mikail, I gently place my hand on his arm, pulling it back as I suddenly feel an electrical current the minute I touch him. He looks down at me with a strange expression on his face as he rubs where I placed my hand, but says nothing about it.

“Mikail, do you think you can tell me everything that’s going on and what’s going to happen to us? I’ve been in the dark for so long, and it’s time my eyes were opened.”

He shakes his head. “Not here, let’s walk around back so we can have privacy.”

I raise my eyebrows up at him but nod and push my chair back, waiting for him to follow me. Pushing his chair back, he rests his forearms on the table and looks up at the ceiling as if praying for forgiveness. I lean against the door and wait for him, watching him curiously when he finally stands and smiles at me.

“Just praying I won’t get my ass kicked for telling you all this.”

We step outside and walk side by side toward the woods, the leaves and branches crunching under our feet.

“Okay, remember this is just from what I’ve heard,” he says, stepping over a log and reaching his hand over to help me up and over it. “Once upon a time—”

“Really?”

“Every good story starts with ’once upon a time’ and stop interrupting,” he chides. “Once upon a time there was a man named Antony who apparently went to a club and met a human woman named Erika, your mother. Well, apparently they had a few drinks and a few things led to another and well, nine months later you entered the world. I mean he had to have been pretty shocked,” he says, looking over at me while biting his nail. “We vampires shouldn’t be able to get humans pregnant, but apparently he was able to get her pregnant. Vampires can get other vampires pregnant, but not humans,” he says, stepping over another log and holding his hand out to me, helping me over. “Come to find out though, she was obsessed with your father and wanted to marry him and have that life that goes with being a vampire. When you were born, he wouldn’t take the chance of being seen with a half vampire so he left. Your grandmother is a very important person in the vampire world. She had no idea you existed until you were about fourteen or fifteen. She was a vampire witch, one of the last few that existed.” The next thing he says shocks me: “Everyone thinks your grandmother is dead, but she is alive and kicking.”

I’m not really sure how I feel about finding out all this new information. I need to figure out how to just turn my emotions off, the more I learn, the worse I feel about the situation. Enjoying the view as his sinewy body paces back and forth as he talks, I take in all his tattoos and mentally take pictures of them. The feeling of familiarity is strong and my heart calls to him. Walking towards him, my feet get within a foot of him and can no longer move. It’s almost as if an invisible force is holding me back. I can’t explain what’s going on even if a gun was held to my head. I still haven’t had a chance to ask him about the mirror incident.

“It’s really a screwed up situation,” he says as he stops and looks over at me, shrugging, “Once your dad found out she was pregnant, he had you watched closely to see if you would become a vampire. Once you hit fifteen you never showed any signs, but he still kept watch of you. I really think he had good intentions until he was elected the Vampire King. It was then that he kidnapped Jason—”

“Wait, he kidnapped Jason? When?”

Drumming his fingers against the wall, he stares at it, leaning against it carelessly, as he thinks. “I think it was three or four months before you started college this year. He wanted you protected at all times, because he knew Griffin wanted to rule both East and West as one.” Clearing his throat, he continues, “So he made it in Jason’s best interest if he protected you from Griffin, who hired me to kidnap you.”

Jason bursts into the woods, making me jump, and gets into
Mikails face; I didn’t realize he had followed us.

“Did you tell her that her dad used her as bait so that Anya wouldn’t be taken and she could be the next Queen? Did you tell her that her ’dad’,” Jason motions using air quotations, “only used the façade of caring for her to get Griffin interested in her? Don’t make Antony out to be the good guy that he isn’t.”

The feeling of betrayal from my own blood doesn’t sit well with me, but at the same time I never knew my dad, so it’s hard to feel any type of familial connection. Not to mention, processing the fact that my dad would betray his own child so another one could have the throne and live is beyond what I can deal with and handle right now. Staring past them both with my mouth open, I watch as Riley walks up to us nonchalantly with his hand dripping blood, a piece of wood pierced through it. The one time I really need to have a private talk with Mikail and everyone and his brother shows up. Frustrated, I walk over to the log and sit down, ignoring them.

“Have either of you told her that you killed him?” Riley asks, looking at both Jason and Mikail, who won’t look at me.

Stunned, I sit there silently, looking at my lap. This is just too much to take in, and I can’t think about it. If I let myself think about it, I’ll cry, and I’m not sure why, but it seems like something normal people do when their dad’s been murdered. I haven’t cried since I was captured. I don’t have time right now for a breakdown.

“Did you kill my dad?” I ask point blank.

Mikail is the first to speak. “I had to or he would have killed us.”

I nod. I can accept that. I want to feel sad that he’s gone, but he was never in my life so I don’t have a connection with him. He only came into my life to benefit him. The sorrow I feel is that we never had the father-daughter connection that he obviously had with Anya. Riley walks over to me and pulls me into his arms so my head is resting on his chest.

“There’s something else,” Mikail haltingly says. “Since Anya is younger, and that would mean that you, Claire, will be the rightful Queen of the Vampires. This is great, except that you know nothing about vampire politics or anything vampire. That’s not even the main issue, which we are going to have to deal with. Griffin still wants that throne and obviously will do anything to get it, including killing you.”

Looking Mikail right into his serious blue eyes, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, “Teach me, train me, and help me be the queen I need to be.”

The crickets are the only noise in the forest. The guys stare silently at me after my proclamation. I watch as Mikail’s mouth widens into a smile and shiver as Riley’s face scowls over at me. Mikail reaches out his hand to me, and I grip it, shaking it tightly.

“It’s on,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “Training begins at 5:00 AM. Be there and be ready to work your ass off.”

I nod as I lag behind while the others walk toward the house. I lean over, whispering in his ear, “You and I have a lot to talk about. You have things that you need to tell me, and I have things I need to tell you. Got it?”

Pulling away, I watch him nod with a serious look on his face before his face shutters again and he is once again the smiling guy he was before. I let him know I was on to him. He’s a good actor, I’ll give him that.

Watching him catch up to the others, I listen as they talk before I make my way toward the house. I need to be alone now, and the bedroom seems like the best place for it. No sooner do I walk past the guys, when someone grabs my shoulder. I don’t even think, I just react. Shrinking down into as small a ball as I can, I start whimpering and whispering for Griffin not to hurt me. I’m transported back into that cell, back to when I had no way of knowing if I would make it out alive, and all I see is darkness. Suddenly, I feel water hitting my face, which is probably the worst thing they could do to bring me out of it, because that brings back the horrifying memories of the water torture that Griffin dealt me.

“Not the water, not the water!” I vaguely hear Riley yell at them right before it hits my face.

Sputtering, I open my eyes to see Riley going after Jason with his fists.

I sit up, soaking wet, and look around at the chaos that is Riley and Jason fighting. The look in their eyes tells me this has been building for a long time.

“Stop!” I yell at them to no avail, and try to stand up. My face is burning, embarrassed to have reacted like that. A hand reaches out to help pull me up, and I gratefully accept it and realize its Mikail that’s supporting me. I don’t know if I should pull away or let him help me. He grips my hand and gives me no choice but to let him assist me. He puts his arm around me, shielding me from the two of them and walks me to the house and into my room.

“Will you be okay here if I leave, so I can break up the fight before they destroy each other?”

Nodding at Mikail unsteadily, I cross my arms over my chest and wait for him to leave so I can break down, alone.

I shut the door behind me and walk straight to the bed and plop down on it. Laying there with my face smashed into the pillow, I let the tears fall freely, my sobs muffled into my pillow. I’m not sure how long I’ve been crying, but it’s like once I start, I can’t stop. I cry for my dreams, my lack of family, and most of all, my loss of innocence. Drifting off, I let my dreams take flight as I fall into a deep sleep.

Feeling the bed rock, I turn my head and find Mikail of all people sitting next to me, staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

“What are you doing in here?” I look at him, rubbing my eyes trying to rid them of tears. Sitting up and backing up towards the headboard, I grab a pillow and hug it tight.

“Did you really think that act fooled me? Do you remember me at all?”

It’s time to tell him the truth. Playing with the threads on the pillowcase and looking down at the intricate pattern, I finally start talking.

“You are so familiar to me, like home, but I have no idea where I’ve met you before. When we first met in the cafeteria, I knew there was something about you that drew me to you, but nothing ever clicked. Then when I saw your image with mine in the mirror playing before me like a movie—”

“Wait…what happened in what mirror?” he interrupts.

Flipping to my back and putting my hands under my head, I glance over at him with my eyes all puffy and red from crying. “I looked in the mirror and you and I were in it, but I was the only one in the bathroom. You and I were in a white room with a huge window that stared out into the ocean. We were happy, and you walked up to me, and hugged and kissed me.”

“And this was like a vision in the mirror?”

“Exactly like a movie playing. It really freaked me out.”

“Wow…yeah we really need to have a very long talk, but we can’t right here where others can hear us. It’s important for you to know who you truly are.”

“Who are you, Mikail? You’re so mysterious that I have absolutely no idea if you are the good guy or the bad guy.”

“Then I’m doing my job well,” he says, laughing, sitting next to me on the bed. “I would never hurt one hair on your head, Claire, that I can promise you.” Biting my lip, I give him a short nod and look in the opposite direction.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he quietly asks me.

“I had a flash back to the time I was in the dark cell when the water was thrown on me and it’s so not a happy place for me.” Staring into the distance, I tell him how scared I was and the feelings of despair I felt.

He grasps my hands between his and puts them to his lips. “Do you know that for twenty-one years of my life I lived without love? My dad only wanted me because he thought he had something to gain by me? By the time I was fifteen, I’d lost count of how many people I’d been ordered to kill. It was either agree with him or be beaten, and the beatings don’t stop the killing, it just made it more painful for me, so I gave in, until you. Your grandmother, the Queen, took me under her wing and out of my dad’s home, and the day we walked into your house I knew that you were someone that would change my life forever. Do you know how many people I have ever loved before?” He turns to the side of the bed taking off his shoes.

“No,” I tell him honestly.

“One person and she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, even if it does make me horribly jealous when I see you with Riley.”

“It makes you jealous?” My interest is piqued.

Nodding, he looks at me with a look that for some reason has my insides burning. What is going on with me? One minute I’m hot for Riley, and the next I want to jump Mikail faster than a cat on a hot tin roof.

“I want you undressed and under me,” he says, looking longingly at me. “I’m used to feeling jealous, but when you were talking with them all I wanted to do was punch Riley in the face. Which was exactly why I had to hold myself back, or I would have killed Jason for throwing water on you.”

Sitting up, I wrap my arms around Mikail with my chest pressed against his back, inhaling into his neck and enjoying the feel of his muscular back under my hands. He smells faintly of cinnamon, and I have no idea why. It’s so comforting that I inhale again. Shivering, I suddenly grasp the covers up to my neck.

“Why do you smell like cinnamon?”

“What?”

“Your smell, it smells like cinnamon.”

“I have no idea, but why do you smell like vanilla?”

“Touché.”

I pull my shirt off and throw it over the side of the bed so he can watch the shirt fall to the ground. Before I can get to the buttons of my pants, he has somehow twisted himself and moved over me, pressing me into the mattress.

“You. Are. Mine. Do you understand?” he asks as he presses his hips firmly against mine with each word. Feeling how hard he is against his jeans while pressed against me gets me giddy with pleasure. Wiggling, I try to get even closer to him.

“I am yours, Mikail, all yours.”

He growls seductively when he hears those words coming from of my mouth. He rips my clothes off and shows me just how much he wants me.

Waking with a loud gasp of air, I sit up, looking around the dark room and notice I’m still on top of the bed where I landed, fully dressed. There is someone else in the bed. I reach over and touch them and watch as they roll over. My heart is in my throat, and then I see its Riley. Pushing my hair out of my eyes, I take several deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart, and my even more excited body. I stay that way for a while, staring into the darkness with covers clutched to my chin.

***

Getting up at four-thirty in the morning is extremely hard when you’re exhausted. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I was kidnapped. Between Mikail’s appearance in my dreams and the nightmares that come in the dark, I’m severely lacking in the sleep area.

Another lie I’ve found out is the whole sleeping: vampires still need it. They don’t go dead either, just a normal sleep. Being a vampire seems pretty boring. You would think they would do something out of the ordinary. Other than drinking blood, I haven’t really seen much of a difference from being a human. It’s been somewhat of a letdown.

Shuddering, I pick up the same clothes I’ve been wearing for the past few weeks. I cringe at the idea of putting the dirty clothes back on and throw them down. I walk over to Riley’s bag and sort through it, finding a pair of gym shorts that are huge, but I throw them on sans underwear since mine are still drying from the washing I gave them in the sink last night. Throwing on my stained shirt goes against everything I want, but at this point I have no other choice. I lace up my shoes and look over my shoulder at Riley’s sleeping form and am surprisingly jealous that I can’t still be asleep.

I stand up and bend over and brush my hair upside down. I pull my thick hair into a high, tight ponytail before checking the mirror. Sticking my tongue out at my horrible reflection, stained shirt, baggy shorts and crazy hair, I’ve got it all: I’m a hot mess…work it, girl.

I make my way into the kitchen and open the fridge, with my mind on one thing and one thing only: blood. Sorting through the clear packages, I grab one, assuming they are all the same. I tear open the bag and bring it to my lips, and just as I’m about to tear the cap off, I’m attacked from behind. The person’s weight is pressing into me, pushing me into the counter and making me feel helpless. Panic starts to overwhelm me, but before I let it consume me, I kick my leg out. I come into contact with what I assume is a leg, hearing a groan from my attacker and I know I’ve successfully hurt them. I manage to untangle myself and look around at what I could use for a weapon and zone in on the toaster. Yanking it from the plug, I turn around to face my attacker and see nothing. I pivot around and still see no one. I walk slowly towards the dining room with the toaster over my head, so I can slam it in their face when I find them. From out of nowhere, I’m pulled into a tight hold around my shoulders, making it so my arms are locked into place, and the toaster falls to my feet. I feel warm breath touch my neck as I shiver and unsuccessfully try pulling away, but am unable to. Shaking with fear and with my hearts pounding in my ears, I pull my leg back hard and fast, kicking at the attacker again and hearing a satisfying groan. I continue trying to get away when he drops us both to the ground, tackling me so I can’t kick him anymore.

I’m still struggling to get away when my attacker whispers softly with triumph in my ear, “This is why you need training. You’re a vampire and yet you don’t act like one.”

Taking in the familiar voice, I get angry. “Mikail, get the hell off me now,” I say through gritted teeth as I hear him laugh and move away from me. He holds his hand out to help me up, and despite my anger, I allow it. I get right up in his face and shove him.

“Don’t you ever do that again, you asshole! Who the hell does crap like that?”

“I do.” He watches me with his arms clasped together as I go off on him. “You don’t understand, Claire, you have such potential and yet no one’s given you the training, so it’s like you’re not even a vampire.”

Walking up to him, I squint up at him, sticking my finger in his chest. “I’m going to eat breakfast,” I say, poking him in the chest again. “Then you and I are going outside like we scheduled,” I say, stressing the word ‘scheduled’. “And I’m going to learn how to kick your ass. I don’t care how long it takes; you will teach me everything you know.” I continue poking his chest for more emphasis.

Rolling his eyes at me, he turns away, walking towards the door and heading outside. That pisses me off; looking at the bag of blood in my hands I tilt my head as Mikail walks through the door. I let my anger get the better of me because I launch that sucker right at his back and take immense pleasure as it breaks open all over his back drenching him in blood. He stops in mid step and turns around looking at me.

“I know you’re pissed at me for what I did, but I’m the best of the best so you’re lucky to have me training you. I was going to go easy on you, but now it’s on.”

Pulling off his shirt does nothing but bring back memories of my dream last night with him in all his tattooed glory. He continues on oblivious to the fact that he’s got me hot and bothered from a dream he starred in. “You better bring your A game or you’re going to wish you had never met me. Oh, and when you throw, make sure you aim first, you’ll get better results. I’ll see you outside in five,” he says, grabbing a towel and washing the blood off him.

“Oh, Mikail?” He stops walking, turning around, and looks at me questioningly. “Why did I see you in a mirror when you weren’t there and why were you in my dreams last night? Will you clue me in? I know there is something you aren’t telling me, and my mind is saying it’s something pretty big.”

He looks at my strangely, his face going white, and drops the towel.