Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

"The ghost just glared at us," Sarah continued. "We freaked out, that's why we swallowed the forks." She seemed ashamed. Dr. Lapoit, Dr. Foster, and Stella were all looking at us with skepticism and surprise.

Alicia looked confused. Sarah looked at me. "Can I tell her about your diet?"

"Of course, she's your mother. It's better if she knows now."

"Mom, the Emersons, Marina, and Alexander are all vampires." Alicia burst into laughter.

"Funny, Sarah."

"I didn't mean right now!" I scolded.

"Too late."

Alexander looked like he was ready to kill her, while Mother looked oddly proud. Uncle Soren simply looked nonchalant. The doctors and the nurse were already leaving the room.

"Let me take you home," Alicia said. "Ariella, do you want to come with us?"

"Sure," she said.

We all went our separate ways after a quick kiss and hug goodbye.

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

"SHOW YOURSELF!" I shouted at the sky. "SHOW YOUR DAMNED ECTOPLASMIC SELF, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

He shimmered into view. He looked the same as he did in life, with blond hair and blue eyes, and extremely attractive. Only now, he was transparent.

"What do you want, bloodsucker?"

"I want to know why you scared her half to death."

"She's the reason I'm dead!"

"You lying, hypocritical piece of ghost shit. You're the reason why you're dead!"

"Do you know what Hell is like?"

"I can imagine," I said. "She didn't do anything wrong! You fucked her without her fucking consent!"

"She sent me to jail!" Nales shouted. "I suffer, even after death, because of you and her! Not only that, but she almost killed my baby! And instead of giving him to my parents like a good girl, she's giving him to a couple of bloodsuckers who turn out to be vampires. I should have known. You're the weirdest kid I've ever met."

"Watch it," I said dangerously. "It's my fault you're dead, Michael, not hers!"

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Do you really think a human could get into that prison? Fuck no, but a vampire could. I happen to be a vampire born from vampires. My father killed you."

"You son of a bitch! I should-" He was cut off by a high-pitched howl.

"Shit," I cursed. "Werewolf." A female wolf. Less dangerous than males, but still dangerous and temperamental, especially in heat. And I was a vampire, and I was alone. I started running in the opposite direction.

She still heard or smelled me, since she started chasing me. I looked up. It wasn't totally nighttime yet, but a full moon was out. I glanced back, which was a mistake. All I saw was nine hundred pounds of furry and ugly. She was on all fours, her ears flattened and her eyes slits. And the stench emanating from her was unbelievable.

She was still young; this was probably her first or second moon cycle. She was inexperienced. Then again, so was I. I got a glimpse of my own father as I passed the house. He looked stunned, then started moving.

I turned and ran back to the lake. I wondered if the wolf would follow me if I jumped in. I heard a commotion behind me. I looked back. Another wolf was in the fray. Father finally reached me.

"How the hell did you meet a werewolf?" he said with a mixture of concern and anger.

"It's a long story," I said. "I have no idea where she came from."

"Neither do I. Is...is that Faolan?" His anger turned to worry as he watched the brawl. Teeth, claws, and fur were flying. Blood was darkening their fur and the ground. Finally, the male pinned the female, his mouth around her neck. She whimpered, her tail between her legs. Then the fur melted away, the claws shrunk, and a naked teenage girl was laying on the ground with Faolan on top of her.

"I submit," she said.

"You'd better," Faolan said. It was the first time I'd heard him speak. His voice was a smooth baritone, not quite a tenor, not quite a bass. He looked at us. "Are you all right, Reese?" I nodded, surprised that he even knew my name.

"What is your name, and are you alone or part of a clan?" Faolan said to the girl.

"Sadie," she said. "And I'm a member of Eric Martin's pack." Faolan hissed. Father sucked in a breath. Now she'd done it. Eric had beaten Faolan years ago and stolen his pack. Many of the original members stayed, but some left. It had grown quite a bit in size over the years.

Father turned me around. "Reese, tell me exactly what happened." I told him everything, beginning with what I discovered at the hospital. His eyes got darker and darker. When I told him about summoning Michael's ghost, he said "You did what?!" but he still let me finish. When I did finish, he was furious. "I...I think I need to destroy something. Why on earth would you summon a ghost? Without me with you? Faolan, why are you leering at me?"

"What do you want me to do with Sadie?" Faolan asked.

"Throw her in the dungeon at my house. I need to question her. I need to think. Reese, do you have Eric Martin's phone number?"

"Why would I have his phone number?"

"Don't use that tone with me. I'm not in a good mood."

"I wasn't using a tone!"

"Now you are." He threw me over his shoulder and started walking back to the house. "Follow me, Faolan. Sadie."

"Mordecai, why do you have Reese on your shoulder?" Uncle Soren asked.

"Leave me alone, Soren. Reese is so grounded for eternity."

"Pff. You don't have the guts to ground him."

"You're right, Soren. I don't. Reese, go to your room and lock yourself in. I will be there shortly."

"Father, don't be overbearing."

"Hush, you."

"Father, can you please put me down?"

"Fine." He set me on my feet.

Faolan had half-dragged Sadie to the house.

I went to my bedroom to change clothes before questioning Sadie.

As it turned out, she'd been a werewolf for only a month. She was bitten on the last moon cycle and turned into a werewolf by a wolf named Quentin. He had died, and she was left without an alpha until she met Eric's pack and joined them, but they failed to give her a potion or keep her locked up. She still had no control over her wolf form, so that's why she went after me.

Werewolves are, for some unknown reason, attracted to the scent of vampire blood. Also, our food source is similar. We both love blood, especially human blood.

Sadie apologized profusely, which I accepted. Father gave her a potion to keep her wolf under control and the recipe so she could learn to make it herself. I also lent her an old shirt and athletic shorts to keep herself covered.

"Will you be my new alpha?" she asked Faolan. He looked surprised.

"Yes, I will," he said. He wrapped his mouth around her neck, and she crouched down on her belly. If she was in wolf form, her tail would be between her legs. Her dark hair spilled over her tanned shoulders. Faolan released her, then led her outside, where they talked.

"I'm glad everything worked out," I said. Father glared at me.

"She chased you, Reese!"

"It wasn't her fault, Father! It was really her pack's! They should have known better." He took a deep breath.

"You're right. It was really Eric's fault. Well, at least you're okay, and that's all that matters to me."

It didn't stay peaceful for long.

Sarah came by and eyed Sadie warily, especially when I told her what had happened. There was an incident in the garden when Adam tried to attack Sadie, and I was forced to step in and stop it.

Eric came by and demanded to speak to me.

"What?" I asked him.

"Your scent is all over Sadie's. Where is she?"

"Chill, Eric, I'm right here," she said, stepping in front of me.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her.

"No, I'm fine."

"That's good. Come with me."

Sadie left with him, leaving the rest of us confused.

"Not once did she mention any family other than the pack," Uncle Soren noted.

"She asked me to be her alpha," Faolan said. "So why did she go back to Eric?"

"It's better that you weren't involved," Father said, wrapping an arm around Faolan. "You and he would have fought, and that would not have ended well." Faolan tipped his head up and kissed Father's chin. That action surprised myself and Father.

"Come talk to me," Faolan said. He took Father into the library.

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

Faolan left a few hours later. He left suddenly, without warning. Father went to chase after him, but Uncle Soren held him back.

"You don't even like werewolves, Mordecai," he said. "And you're not...um...like Reese."

"That's true, but it still hurts," Father said. "Faolan is different. I don't love him in the same way that I love Marina, but he is still special to me."

"I wonder," Grandfather said, "If Reese is the way he is because of you and Faolan."

"Father, he didn't even know Faolan existed until a few months ago. He's bisexual because that's just who he is. I thought you had accepted that."

"I have," Grandfather said, with the tone of voice that said he was lying. I was hurt and went to call Sarah.

"Hello, gorgeous," she chirped.

"You're in a good mood."

"Why wouldn't I be? This baby will be out of me in July, I have an amazing boyfriend, a shitload of friends, and your mother adores me. I still don't know about Alexander, though."

"Alexander doesn't really like anyone except himself," I assured her. "And Kieran and Cirino. And me. And Mother. That's it. How is Cirino, by the way?"

"Very kicky," she told me. "I wish you could feel him right now. He knows the sound of my voice. Oh!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a hard kick. He's ornery."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I was covered in cats. Remy, Anakin, Sugar, Mishka, and Shadowfang.

"What did you think of Sadie and Faolan?" I asked Shadowfang.

I don't like wolves at the best of times.

I noticed for the first time that his "voice" was slightly accented. I wondered where he was from.

"Can the other cats speak?"

Not in a language you understand. He licked his paw and cleaned his face.

"Why can I understand you and not the other cats?"

I only speak to whom I choose. I was really getting tired of his cryptic messages.

I understood. I could communicate with Shadowfang, and only him. No one else had spoken to him. For some reason, he chose me. I wondered if I should tell Father. I sat up and went to find him in the library. He was reading in a chair.

"Father, I need to talk to you about ," I said.

"What is it, son?"

"It's about Shadowfang. I can...I can talk to him."

He set the book on his lap. "Explain." So I went through each instant, detailing everything. When I was done, Father rubbed his chin. I noticed that he had some blond stubble.

"Interesting. I wonder if he will talk to me?" He marked the page in the book and stood up. "Reese, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't know if what I was hearing was real. Now there's no doubt in my mind."

Father touched his forehead to mine. I knew he was reading my mind. "I'm glad you told me, baby boy. Now I need to question a cat as well."

I went to my bedroom and pulled out my laptop. I wanted to write down my thoughts, but I didn't know where to start. The screen went black after a few minutes, and I pressed a button. I typed in my password and went to Facebook. Sarah had added some more pictures of her belly.

Sarah Cresley- is feeling excited.

Little dude is kicking around. I think he knows everyone's voices by now! He knows when his mom is happy!

I liked her post, along with her belly pictures. I could tell that she felt nothing but love for Cirino, glad that she had decided to go through with the pregnancy. I only wished that the baby was mine instead of Michael's.

Father entered my room