Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

"I thought I was your best guy friend," said a skinny guy with blond hair and a whiny voice.

"Patrick, you are one of my best guy friends," Ariella said. "Reese, this is Patrick, Dante, Jun Sei, Martin, Lauren, Ashley, Sarah Finnigan, Keisha, and Daisy." Ariella gestured to each person as she introduced him or her. They all looked at me as if I was an alien.

Suddenly, Mia Rayport sat on Sarah's other side.

"Guys, you all know Mia," Sarah said. "She's one of my best friends." So they were still talking. I still didn't trust Mia, but Sarah seemed too. I thought she was making a mistake, but I knew better than to argue with a girl about her best friend. Especially girls like Sarah, who were utterly loyal.

Sarah sipped tea and ate a chicken wrap for lunch. Everyone else either had the regular school lunch, pizza, or salad. Jun Sei was talking about some young romance author who would be at The Book Mart on Saturday, and asked Sarah if she'd like to go.

"To see Jamie Swan? Yes, please," Sarah replied. Jun Sei pulled out her phone and showed a picture of Jamie Swan. He was incredibly good-looking. He had long blond hair pulled back, showing a sharp widow's peak on his forehead, sea blue eyes, and a beak-like nose. I didn't like him.

The girls seemed to like him, though. Apparently, he was only seventeen, but he'd been writing and publishing romance and poetry since he was twelve. He didn't glean to any specific sexual orientation, but said that he had dated and loved people of all sexes.

"That's always interesting," Ariella said. "What do you think, Reese?"

"I think he's a creep," I said, picking at the sandwich I'd bought.

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't trust anyone that looks like that," I told her. "He looks like a shark."

"Reese, are you jealous?" Sarah asked in a teasing voice.

"A little," I admitted. She looked concerned.

Chapter Eight- Protect

As I tore into the neck of my second human tonight, I thought about how far I'd come. Father watched me, amused, as the human stopped struggling. The human had been caught trying to strangle an unconscious woman earlier.

I had to go to the local beach town, Lovebreak, to find a meal. It seemed that there were no more criminals in North Hampton. The local news had done a story on us: LOCAL CRIMINALS BEWARE! UNKNOWN PERSON OR PERSONS ATTACKING THOSE WHO ATTACK THE INNOCENT!

Uncle Soren was amused, as was Louis. Grandfather didn't particularly care one way or the other. Louis even brought Meiko on a hunting trip one night. They were becoming close.

"He's finally found his soulmate," Father said. "He doesn't want to let her go."

Uncle Soren seemed to be jealous. Not of Louis, but of Meiko.

"I don't understand," he told Father one day. "I've never been jealous of a woman before. Especially not one of Louis' lovers." Father laughed and told him that he was overreacting. Then Father had to dodge as Uncle Soren swiped at him and bared his teeth.

"It's normal to be jealous," Grandfather said. "He'll always be your baby, and it seems like he grew up too fast."

"You're always ragging on him," Father said. "For not settling down and behaving like an adult. Now you're jealous. I can see why Louis took four hundred years to grow up." Uncle Soren growled at him.

"Boys," Grandfather said. "Really, neither of you have truly grown up in the thousands of years that you've been around. Soren, control your anger. Mordecai, don't tease your brother. Reese, you're filthy. Go take a shower."

"Nag, nag, nag," Father muttered.

After my shower, I collapsed on the bed. I was dead tired, and felt stuffed. My dreams were fuzzy, and when I woke up, I was next to a big black ball of fur.

"Shadowfang, get off my pillow," I muttered. He ignored me. I checked the time on my phone. It was noon. I sat up, earning a glare from the cat. His Royal Majesty jumped up and stretched before nudging me with his head. I scratched his ears and opened a window. Man, if I could smell this every day, I would never complain again. The cherry tree already had blossoms growing, the grass had been freshly cut, and a light sprinkle of rain had hydrated the earth earlier that morning.

I fought a sudden wave of nausea. I ran to the bathroom and expelled my dinner. Groaning, I leaned against the cabinet and flushed the toilet. I washed out my mouth with water and brushed my teeth.

I crawled back into bed, only to hear a loud door slam. A minute later, Father came into my room.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I threw up this morning, but I also feel fine otherwise."

"Are you sleepy?"

"Um...it's more like my entire body is exhausted, including my eyelids."

"Then try to sleep. If you get thirsty, there's some excellent A positive in the fridge. By the way, did you know that Shadowfang is laying on your head?"

"Yeah, he does that. He's fine where he is."

"Well, as long as he isn't bothering you. Cat, why are you glaring at me? I'm his father."

"Father, I seriously doubt that he cares. He probably just wants you to shut up."

"Yeah, probably. Get some rest. I'll have one of the guys posted outside your door if you need anything."

Father left. I slept for another couple of hours, then woke up to the sound of "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones. My new ringtone for Sarah.

"Hey, gorgeous," I answered.

"Hey, Reese. I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight? Ari and I are going to The Cryo with some of our friends around eight."

"Sure, I'd love to go. Should I just meet you outside?"

"Yeah, just go inside. It's a five dollar cover, though. And you'll need an ID."

"What for? They don't serve alcohol."

"Just trust me."

I didn't know what that meant.

That night, I drove to The Cryo, a club for people from ages fourteen to nineteen. Alcohol was not even allowed. After I paid the five dollar cover fee and was patted down, I smelled the air and tried to find my Sarah.

There she was-backed into a corner by the crowd of people dancing around. I made my way over to her. She looked relieved to see me. She wrapped her arms around my midsection.

"What's going on?" I asked over the obnoxiously loud music.

"I don't know. Ari left some time ago. I think she forgot that I'm here. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into a filthy bathroom. Then she began to change. She grew taller, her hair darkened, her eyes darkened, and her tan changed.

"Glen!" I realized. He just stared at me. "Where's Sarah? What have you done with her?!"

"Nothing. She's fine. She fell asleep. It was all too easy-she left her phone on her desk when she and her sister decided to take a walk. It was almost too perfect to change my voice and lure you here."

"And why would you want to lure me here?"

"To kill you."

He punched me hard in the stomach. I doubled over, clutching. He grew a pair of wicked looking talons on his fingers and swiped at my neck.

"You're a shapeshifter!" I realized.

"Yes and no." He swiped at my belly. I jumped out of the way just in time.

"Why are you doing this? There are other women in the world!"

"None like her." He grabbed my throat and started squeezing.

"I don't breathe, you idiot!"

"No, but your neck can still break." I aimed a well-placed kick inbetween his legs. He gasped and clutched the area. I grabbed his head to remove it, and got a punch to the chest. I felt my ribs break. He punched me in the stomach repeatedly.

I aimed a punch at his face. He caught my fist, and used that fist to punch me in the face. Getting hit by yourself in the face is not fun. He grabbed both my arms and kneed me in the gut. He threw me down onto the dirty bathroom floor.

He pinned me with both his legs and elbows. He elbowed my nose, causing it to crack and temporarily blinding me.

"Shit, I should've brought some matches," Glen said. He glared at me. "I guess I was too eager to kill you." A look of realization came over his features. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette lighter. "Thank you, Melissa!" he cried. He flicked it. He held the flame close to my chest. It was so close that I could feel the heat.

Then he pulled it back up, then held it next to my side.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked him.

"Enjoying a little torture."

I shook my head in exasperation. Freaking moron.

He repeated the process several times, each time holding to flame next to a different part of my body. Then I heard a vampiric roar. Glen heard it, too, and he let the flame die out. I expected Father, but it was actually Uncle Soren who came to my rescue.

He knocked Glen over and felled him with one punch. He helped me up roughly.

"Are you all right, Reese?"

"Yeah. How did you...?"

"Sarah noticed a call to you on her cell phone that she didn't make. She couldn't get ahold of Mordecai, so she called the house phone, and I happened to answer."

"He pretended to be her," I said, gesturing to Glen. Uncle Soren looked at him with disgust.

"I can't believe he used to be Louis' friend."

Glen looked from me to Uncle Soren, realizing that he was outmatched and outnumbered.

"You," Uncle Soren grabbed Glen around the throat. "You dare lay a hand on my nephew, fake friendship with my son, and harass my niece. If you ever go near any of them again, I will kill you. Do you understand, Crow?" Glen nodded. "Good. Leave now, and don't ever let me catch you around my family again."

Uncle Soren dropped Glen onto the linoleum, then led me outside.

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

I crawled into bed, exhausted. My ribs were hurting, my head as well.

After a deep twelve-hour sleep, I awoke to the sound of Sarah. I rubbed my eyes. I noticed two pills and a glass of water on my nightstand. I took them, grimacing as the water went down. I checked my phone. It was nine in the morning on a Saturday. St. Patrick's Day was next week.

I jumped as the door opened, then groaned at the pain in my chest. Sarah came in, crying.

"I'm so sorry, Reese!" she sobbed.

"It's not your fault," I told her.

"Yes, it is," she almost whined. I sat up and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Babe, I'm not angry with you. I repeat: it's not your fault. It's mine, for being so stupid."

"It's neither of your faults," Father said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. It really is my fault, for blocking you out, Reese. I'm sorry, to both of you." Sarah wrapped her arms around me. Gently, though, because she knew I was hurt. She cried for a long time, her tears wetting the tank top I was wearing.

"Hey," she muttered after she was done. "You've got underarm hair. I never noticed that."

"I've never gotten that reaction before," I said. "It's just armpit hair, Sarah. Most guys have it."

"But yours is different. You don't have as much as most guys," she said. I looked at Father quizzically. He shrugged, as if to say he didn't know what was so special about it. I tipped Sarah's chin up. Her eyes, cheeks, and nose were still red. I pecked her soft lips. She reacted by pressing her mouth against mine harder. I broke the kiss first. She made a small noise in her throat.

"How is he?" Uncle Soren asked.

"His chest hurts," Father said. I looked at him. He'd been reading my mind again.

"Your chest hurts?" Sarah squeaked, sounding very much like a pixie whose mate has been severely injured. I pulled up my shirt. Bruises