Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (7 page)

“How do you know about Garrett and Liam and
Samson and the rest?”

“I read your mind
while you were sleeping. It helps with the boredom. Here let me show you what other fun stuff I can do.”

While I was recovering from
the shock that he’d read my mind, Isaiah disappeared and Liam stood before me in his fighting attire. Isaiah/Liam walked around the room, hair floating around his head, swinging his fae blade, looking and moving exactly like my good friend. Next, Bridgett appeared slumped in the chair pouting and whining about something. He got me laughing with that one. But when Bridgett was gone and Garrett stood next to the bed where Kennet had stood before, I had to turn away and cover my face.

Isaiah appeared
again sitting at the table. “I see I’ve upset you. You love him very much.” There was no emotional connection to his words, just a statement of fact.

I couldn’t speak for a moment
as I tried to hold back the sob. Finally, when  I thought I'd regained some control, I said, “I wonder how he’ll feel being mated to a part-demon?’

“He’s a vampire. He’ll have to suck it up.” I rolled my eyes as he laughed at his own joke.

This had really gone on too long. “I don’t believe it, you know. I’m not a demon, as good as your arguments have been.”

“There’s a way to prove it. T
wo ways in fact.”

“Are you going to conjure up a blood test kit? I’ve had my blood tested and nothing weird showed up in the results.”

“It wouldn’t. Demon and fae traits don’t show up in a standard blood test.” He stood, waved his hand and a mirror appeared. ”Show me your birth mark, Jackie.”

I was shocked into silence for a moment, then smiled as I guessed how he’d known. “You read about it in my mind, didn’t you?
" How else could he know? Only Garrett knew.

“It’s behind your left ear, where all demons are marked at birth. The shapes vary according to the level. Mine is a full c
rescent. May I see yours?”

I shrugged, not seeing any harm in him looking at it. “It’s just a birth mark.” I lifted my hair and he came close for a good look.

“ An ellipse: one level higher than my own. But don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you.“ He leaned in to whisper, “I’m full blood after all.” He grinned and I glowered, starting to get annoyed by his stupid games.

“So let me see
yours
.” At this point I wanted to get the training started. He moved his average brown hair off of his seemingly normal neck and there it was behind his left ear, a perfect crescent, the exact same dark shade as mine. I started to sit back down in the chair, feeling a little shaky, but he gently pushed me over to the mirror and stood next to me.

“Wait a minute, “  I said. This probably isn’t what you really look like, right? So you can put a birthmark be
hind your ear anytime you want.

“No matter what form I take, my birthmark is there. Even if I have no ears, it’s in a spot close to my bra
in.” He changed to a yellow Labrador retriever and there it was, tucked under the fur near his left ear. When he transitioned into Lord Caelen I found it there again. He changed back to the young man with the average face.

He nudged me
excitedly. “Look into the mirror and think about Kennet and how much you want to hurt him. Think about everything he’s done to you and Ethan and those fae prisoners. Think about Garrett and Liam putting themselves in danger to search for you. Think about what he did to Bridgett and what he might do to you.. Think about every nasty thing you'll to do to him, if you ever get the chance. Don’t hold back any of your rage. It’s only thoughts. Think of something really brutal." His eyes glittered in that creepy way. "Bring up all that anger you’re holding inside.”

"This is silly."

"You won't think so when you're back with your vampire."

I sighed and stared at the mirror.
At first all I could think about was how awful I looked with my swollen red eyes and my messy hair, dressed in the stupid fae gown, but soon I was thinking about what Isaiah had suggested. I thought about what Kennet had done to Ethan and Bridgett and what he'd made me do, allowing my anger to rise to the surface. How wonderful it would feel to kill him the way I’d killed Antoine. To see his face twisted in pain as I plunged Liam’s blade into his heart and his gut again and again. To see his head roll across the dirt and to see his body turn to dust. Oh wait, he wasn’t a vamp so it would just lay there twitching. Even better.

"Come on, little demon, you can do better than that." He had the nerve to sound annoyed.

I swallowed bile and clenched my fists, my anger flashing on Isaiah and his demands as well as Kennet. It was all too fucking much, this fae lord and his demon servant taking everything from me and then insisting that I obey them. My rage reached super nova levels—and then it happened. My green eyes flashed bright orange and I stared at the furious stranger in the mirror…and fainted.

Chapter Twelve

Bridgett
: 2:15 AM Wednesday

Garrett had
gone to find Jackie. That meant Sasha was in charge. I was feeling a little bit worried with this scenario. He’d called a meeting and was sitting in Garrett’s usual arm chair with Heinrich in the chair next to him. Sinc and I were on the couch with Will.

“H
ere’s tonight’s plan,” he began. “Bridge, you answer any calls that come in. Take thorough, accurate messages, cheetah. I won't be happy if information gets misdirected or isn't exact." I shrunk down a little bit and nodded, trying to stay under his radar. Garrett had kinda flipped me out when he was angry, so I didn’t want to repeat that experience with Sasha. I didn't know if I could trust him not to hurt me.

William put his hand on mine and spoke up. “Sasha, please call her Bridgett, and don’t threaten her. She’s been through a lot.”
I peeked up through my lashes. Heinrich and Sasha were staring at him as if he’d just beamed down from the Enterprise.

“Will, are yo
u actually growing a set?” They laughed at him, but William glared back, not backing down.

“Fine
, I’ll call her Bridgett.” He looked at me with his most seductive stare, lowering his voice so it felt like silk on my skin when he spoke. “I apologize if I offended you.”

I stuck out my chin. “I accept your apology.” Heinrich and Sasha laughed again and that was that.

“To continue,
Sinclair
, if you would please sit with
William
at the computer and go over the basics with him, I would greatly appreciate it. You should move your laptop down here.”

Sinc nodded and said, "That's fine, only I've already taught him a lot and he's been working hard on his own. I'll bring down my computer right after the meeting." She went back to
filing her nails looking calm and cool. I wish I had that kind of confidence.

“Rick, take a look around, report back, and
then you can head out to feed. I’ll go out after you get back. I’ll bring someone back for William.” Heinrich nodded and vamp-speeded into the kitchen and out through the patio door.

I must have lost some color because Sinc turned to me and said
, “Are you feeling, Okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’m fine. Really.”
I was
definitely
not feeling fine thinking about the girl they were going to bring back for William to drink from. Plus I was positive he’d be drinking for more than a minute. I flashed on them having sex, then stood and walked to the stairs. “I’m taking a shower and then I’ll get a notebook and sit by the phone to write down any messages that come in.”

I went up the stairs two at a time and walked into my bedroom, shutting my door quietly behind me. I grabbed some fresh clothes and jumped into the shower. When I finished,  I found a notebook and a pen in my desk drawer, grabbed my laptop and then went to sit in the upstairs den next to the phone. I really didn’t want to be anywhere near William right now. I needed to think about what I was feeling for him and why these feelings were so strong
, so fast. I needed to be logical and not act like some junior high school airhead .

I’d just lost my dad and
so I was feeling kind of vulnerable and lonely. Maya had said this was normal. I couldn’t allow myself to crush out on a vampire who had sex with different partners every night while he drank their blood. That just wasn’t going to happen. Yeah, he was cool and I’d enjoy working with him. I could be just as professional as the next girl. There would be no more touching or holding hands or anything like that. I’d needed his blood to heal faster and that was the last time I’d ever be that close to him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Shit, I could still smell him.

I opened my eyes and he was sitting in a chair across from me. I jumped. “Jeez, I didn’t hear you at all.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You did look pale.”

“I’m fi
ne.” I think I sounded harsh because he winced.

He was staring at me with his beautiful  blue eyes and I was starting to feel a little warm again
. “Can I tell you something?” He asked.

"Um, sure."
My mouth was dry and I was afraid if I said too much it would sound more like croaking.

“I like you
and I want to get to know you. Maybe when this is all over we can go to a movie together? Or I could take you out to dinner.” He seemed a little nervous too.

I twisted my mouth in a frown. “You don’t eat food.”
Man that was so lame
.
If I could have kicked myself without looking like even more of a dope, I would have.

He smiled shyly and I noticed this cute little dimple near this mouth.
“I could sit and drink coffee and we could talk while you ate. You can choose the restaurant or the movie.”

My heart was thundering in my chest. Is this gorgeous guy really interested in me?
My brain must still be jumbled from Kennet’s beating because I had to be misreading his signals. No one was ever really interested in a scrawny, flat-chested girl with a big mouth and practically no impulse control, were they?

True to form, my
next comment popped out before I could stop it. “I’m sure you have plenty of girls to keep you busy. Like all your human donors.” I didn’t mean to sound so, well, I guess I sounded snippy. Or maybe even jealous. Where did that come from? I needed to get a grip. Maybe drinking his blood had been a really bad idea.

He spoke seriously
and shook his head. “I need those girls to survive but I don’t feel like I want to get to know any of them. I’ve never asked one of
them
to go out to a movie or have dinner with me.“

“But you drink from them.”

“Yes.”

I looked down at my laptop so he wouldn't see how uncomfortable I was. “And you, you
make love to them.”

“No.”
I peeked up as he shook his head again.

I huffed in exasperation. “
I mean you have sex with them.” I started typing away, trying to act cool, like this conversation was no big deal.

“No.”

I didn’t respond for a few seconds, still unable to look up at him. “You’re a liar. I know what happens when a vampire feeds. You get turned on.” My face was so hot, I knew I must be blushing.

“Yes. I can’t help it. It’s natural.”

“So, then you have sex with them, right?” I finally lifted my chin and looked up at him, pissed off that he wasn’t being honest.

“I’v
e never had sex with anyone.”

I didn’t know what to say. What guy would ever admit that? It had to be true. He was a virgin, like me.

He continued, before I could ask another stupid question. “I was a virgin when I was turned at nineteen. Eleanor wouldn’t allow me to hunt. I was starved and weak all the time. Garrett, Heinrich, Sasha and Yvette helped me when they could, but Eleanor would punish them when they were caught.” I saw his eyes go a little dead as he thought back to that time. I wanted to reach across and hold his hand, but only minutes ago, I’d sworn off physical contact with him. Jeez, why would I swear something like that?

“Since Garrett has accepted me into his nest, I’ve
fed regularly and I feel healthy for the first time since I was turned. But the women I feed from don’t interest me. They’re mostly vamp groupies attracted to the danger and the turn on and they don’t really care which vampire feeds from them. If they’re interested in more, I point them toward Heinrich or Sasha, who are happy to oblige.”

I whispered,
“But I’m sure they’re pretty.” Prettier than me, I thought to myself. I looked down at my hands. “This really isn’t any of my business. I’m sorry.”

“
It's fine. Sure, some of them are pretty but I don’t want to spend time with a woman who only wants me because I’m a vampire." He wrinkled his brow and shrugged. "I wanted you to know.”

I looked back at his face. “Why?”

“I told you. I want to spend time with you and, I don't know. Maybe we should try to start out being honest with each other.”