Unraveling Selena by Marisa Maichel (black female authors TXT) 📕

Soon enough, the dance was over, and I walked Sarah to her car. Principal Turner and Uncle Soren were still talking to the hooded figure.

I took Sarah to her car, kissed her, then watched as she drove away. My instincts said to chase after her, so I got into my new GT-R and followed her, sighing because I missed my Chevrolet Astro.

I followed her to Alexander's house, where she got out, grabbed her stuff, and let herself in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I worked like crazy on Saturday. Father was planning to move Emerson's Electronics into the mall, so we were having a closing sale. Everything was ninety percent off. I told him he was crazy, and he thumped me on the nose.

Richard, our full-time employee, was working his tail off. Richard had worked for Radio Shack for thirty years until that particular location closed down, and then he worked in the electronics section of a Walmart before he came to work for my father.

We were also hiring a few new employees, so Father was interviewing them in his office. In the midst of the chaos, Richard waved me over to the register. When you see Richard, picture a tall black bald man in his fifties.

"What's up?" I asked, looking between him and the customer.

"This guy doesn't know what he's talking about!" the customer screamed. "I am the owner's son!"

"I have a brother?!"

The customer took off, muttering the n-word under his breath.

"Don't call him that!" I shouted. "And don't come back!"

"It's okay, Reese. I'm used to racism," Richard told me.

"It is most certainly not okay. Racism is never okay. If he comes back, call me over and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Reese."

Toby entered the store, looking nervous.

"Hey, Tobe, what's up?" I asked him.

"Reese...it's about Sarah," he said. He glanced around, then pulled me into a corner.

"Is she hurt?"

"No, nothing like that. But the Other Reese has been harassing her. She knew it wasn't you, because of the scar you gave him. He's been pestering her to go out with him."

"Where is she now?"

"She's with Master Alexander and Dimitri."

I cursed under my breath. "Hold on, I need to talk to Father."

I knocked on his office door.

"Come in," he said. I opened the door and whispered in his ear, ignoring the nervous female candidate. "Hmm. Go see her. Richard and I will hold up the fort here." He smiled at the candidate. "Maybe this will be a chance to show me how you handle customers."

"Richard, I have to go," I said. "Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?"

"Of course. Go right ahead."

Toby ran, while I took the car.

She was sitting on her desk, typing away on her laptop.

"Hey, handsome," she said without looking up.

"Hey, gorgeous," I replied. "What are you doing?"

"I have this stupid paper due on Tuesday. 'Name the Main Topics of Interest During the Spanish Civil War.' How freaking easy. All I have to do is look through the book and Google. And then I have a crossword due on Monday. How dumb. Crosswords are for elementary school kids, not high schoolers."

"I agree," I said. "What do they expect to do? How do they expect us to act when we're treated like little kids?"

"Exactly! I feel sorry for Sabine; she's gotten really behind. Math is hard for both of us, but especially for her."

"I could tutor her."

"You're sweet. She'd love that. Alexander loses his temper when he tries to help, and Zie doesn't explain it very well."

I found Sabine in her room, playing around on Facebook.

"Hi, Reese," she said, glancing back at me.

"Hey, Sabine," I said. "Sarah mentioned that you needed some homework help?"

"Sarah! But yeah, I could use some help."

She pulled out her math book.

"Stupid fractions make my head hurt," she said. "Were fractions hard for you?"

"When I was first studying them, my uncle had to explain them to me. It's easier than you might think. This number is called the numerator, and the number on the bottom is the denominator."

I walked Sabine through her homework, and then helped her figure out a system for getting homework done. When I finished, she gave me a hug.

"You're the best boyfriend of my sister ever," she said.

"That's good to hear," I said, hugging back.

She and I headed into Sarah's room.

"Bean, you're not allowed in my room," Sarah said.

"I thought that was only when Reese was over," Sabine said sarcastically.

"Did you know that walking into your sister's or brother's room carries a hefty fine in some countries?"

"Does it really?" I asked.

"I don't know; I just made it up."

She turned back to us. "Well, that stupid paper is almost done, and now I have the rest of today and all of tomorrow to finish that stupid crossword."

"I thought that was just for extra credit," Sabine said.

"It's not. It's an actual assignment. Bean, can you give me and Reese some privacy?"

"Whatever." Sabine rolled her eyes and left.

I shut the door behind her, my eyes darkening.

"Reese, we need to talk," Sarah said.

"Oh, we'll talk," I growled. I picked her up off the chair and kissed her hard. She kissed back.

"The Other...oh...Reese...ouch, that hurt...came by and tried to get me to dump you."

"You won't, though, will you?" I said, my hand down her shorts.

"Of course not. He has some kind of ability...ouch, not so hard...to twist minds to his will."

"That's odd," I said. She gripped my neck, huffing and puffing deliciously. My fangs grew, scraping her neck. I wanted so very much to bite her and turn her. But if I did that, Alexander would kill me.

My belly twisted as she unbuttoned my jeans and traced her finger from my pelvis up to my navel.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," she replied. I purred. I gripped her arms and threw her onto her back on the bed. I tore her shorts off, then her tank top. "Sorry," I grumbled. She looked terrified.

"Reese..."

"Sarah." My voice became husky and deeper. She was mine. Yes, mine.

My female. My mate. MINE!

I crawled on top of her. Stomach quivering with anticipation, I laid myself on her and ravished her.

"There's a little hair on your belly," she said.

"Huh?" I looked down. Huh. I had a new happy trail on my stomach. I'd never noticed it before. My six-pack was still there, thankfully.

"You are the most perfect male specimen," she purred. I rumbled, glad to hear that. "You have just the right amount of hair on your tummy, perfect eyebrows, dark eyelashes, intense, beautiful eyes, perfect long hair, a nice Roman nose, bow-shaped lips, a pointed chin, and the most perfect chest."

"You are the most perfect female specimen. Your hair is long and curly, a nice shade of brown with flecks of blond, beautiful minty green eyes, a cute button nose, full lips, amazing curves, the perfect chest, a soft, curved tummy, a very cute butt, and amazingly muscular and curvy legs with tiny feet and hands. Did I mention your green eyes and curly hair?"

She giggled. "I think you have a nice butt, too."

I leaned down and kissed her. I focused on her tummy, namely, her navel. I licked her trail from her pelvis to her navel, nipping it a bit. I marked her as mine. The way she screamed my name will forever be music to my ears.

CHAPTER FIVE - DOPPELGANGER

He was stalking her. I knew it as he watched her take her top off. It was the next day, and the Other Reese was here, watching Sarah undress. I prepared to pounce. Suddenly, I was grabbed around the waist. I kicked and fought, attempting to bite whoever had me.

"Hush, hush," he said.

"Ambrose?" I said. "I thought you were in Germany."

"I had heard that you went missing. I had to see if you were okay. This...I've never seen this before. Do you have a twin?"

"No," I said, glaring at Other Reese. "He's a doppelganger."

"He exudes danger. Stay down; I will question him."

Ambrose carefully walked up to Other Reese. Other Reese spotted him.

"There you are, Torrance! Where is Reese?"

"Torrance?" Ambrose was puzzled. "I'm not Torrance." Other Reese squinted at him.

"You look a lot like him, except your eyes are violet."

It was true. I'd never noticed it before, but Ambrose and Torrance looked a lot alike.

Ambrose grabbed Other Reese by the arm and dragged him over.

"I got him," he said.

I was surprised again as members of my family appeared beside me.

"Where did you all come from?" I said.

"We've been here for a few minutes," Uncle Soren replied. Father went over to me and sniffed me all over.

"Did he hurt you?"

"I'm not hurt," I said.

"What the fuck is going on?" Other Reese snapped. "How the hell did you find me?"

"We figured you'd want to find Reese any way you could, even if it meant going through her," Louis said, gesturing toward Sarah's window.

"You used my girlfriend as bait?" I snapped. Louis avoided my eyes. "How long has this been going on?"

"Reese, she agreed to it," Alexander said, coming up to me. "We talked to her yesterday after you left. She was to get his attention any way she could, and she did. She did it for you."

I grumbled. Even Sarah wasn't telling me things. I found that aggravating.

Louis sniffed Other Reese. "He's definitely a doppelganger. He came from another universe."

"Balderdash," Alexander retorted. "Fancy children's fiction. Mordecai had an illegitimate child with my sweet Marina and gave him up for adoption because he could not care for both boys."

We all stared at him.

"Fuck this, I'm getting out of here," Other Reese said. He kicked Ambrose in the knee, causing him to let go, and Other Reese started running toward the woods. Alexander and Ambrose went after him.

"The fact that I have a secret twin actually makes more sense," I said.

"Reese," Father said, "I swear to you, there was no twin. Only you. I helped deliver you. There was only one baby that Marina gave birth to that day on the first of October."

"That she gave birth to," I said. "But how many more were in her womb? A dozen? Two dozen?"

"That's enough, Reese. There was just you. I promise on my mother's ashes."

"You cannot promise that, because there was a second baby, one way or another," Uncle Soren said. "Whether he's a secret baby or if he's from another dimension, there is a second Reese somewhere."

I paced and huffed. "Why me?"

"If he is from another universe, he needs to kill you to survive," Louis said. "There can't be two Reeses, one will cancel out the other one; like fire and water."

"Well, he didn't get far," Alexander said, dragging the Other Reese back with Ambrose. "He's just as feisty as our Reese."

"Fuck everyone," Other Reese quipped. "I don't need this. Let me go!"

"We have to decide what to do with him," Alexander said.

"What's going on?" said a high-pitched female voice.

"Sarah!" I pounced and kissed her. "Thank the gods that you're okay!"

"Of course I am," she squeaked. "I'd do anything for you."

"Gag me," Other Reese said.

"Kill him," I commanded.

"We can't," Louis said. "If he dies, you'll die."

Silence.

"Oh my," Alexander said. "That is quite a pickle."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We took Other Reese and kept him in the dungeon. He was brought small animals to eat, and his bed was a worn mattress.

Sarah and I had a long discussion about her risking her life for me. I told her that no one is worth her risking her life, and she told me that there were a few exceptions. People that she loved unconditionally, namely, Sabine, Mother, myself, and Alexander.

I went down to the dungeon. Other Reese had clearly been crying.

"Look at me," I ordered. He glared at me. "Why did you leave?"

"My father hates me," he said. "So does my boyfriend, and my mother. I needed to leave. I tried to kill myself, but I couldn't. Then I came across a warlock who was opening a portal to this world. I asked him if I could enter it, and he said yes." He chuckled. "What's the point? I