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

Alcoholics Anonymous was another option we hadn't tried yet. Mother had gotten the number and sent a few phone numbers to Sarah.

Sarah was going to be extremely busy, I would not get to see her as much. The thought depressed me. My girlfriend needed me to protect her and love her. Girlfriend didn't seem like the right word. Soulmate was more like it.

My soulmate was Sarah Cresley. I liked saying that over and over again. My sweet love.

I grabbed her and buried my face in her shoulder. I tensed as I smelled another male on her.

"I smell a male," I said.

"That would be my friend Elliott," she said. "I had lunch with him yesterday to go over our schedules. We're starting a study group."

"What does Elliott look like?" I asked, my eyes darkening.

"He's obese," she said, and I relaxed slightly. But only slightly.

"What else?"

"He has dark curly hair and brown eyes."

"How dark?"

"The same shade as my hair. Reese, are you jealous?"

"Yes."

She giggled, at first, then grew serious. "I don't see Elliott as anything more than a friend, I promise. I don't think he likes me like that, either. He has a girlfriend."

I relaxed a bit more. The fact that he had a girlfriend was a bigger comfort than his alleged weight issues. My girlfriend was mine. I smelled her all over, focusing on the parts I liked best. I didn't smell anything suspicious, much to my relief and disappointment.

I growled and pulled her into me. "Did he touch you?"

"He hugged me."

I growled. No other males were allowed to even look at her, and I told her so.

"You're being silly," she said. She stood on her toes and kissed me. "Soulmates, remember?"

I relaxed. "You're right. I-I'm so sorry. I just can't lose you."

"You won't lose me. I'm yours forever."

Yes. Mine. This female was mine. I wrapped my arms around her thin waist and pulled her up. She wrapped her legs around me. She leaned forward and kissed me. I kissed back, carrying her to the bed, where I started to nip her neck. I spread my scent around her, letting every other male know who she belonged to.

She nibbled my lip, and in my excitement, I accidentally tore the front part of her shirt, exposing her bra. I took off her shorts, took off my jeans and shirt, and ravished her for a long time. My beloved was absolutely stunning after her pregnancy. Of course, she was stunning before and during as well, but now she was like Aphrodite in human form.

She was so sweet and had that innocent look. I smelled her hair. Each human's blood smells different. Hers had the scent of gardenias, but there was also a sweet muskiness. Her maternal scent. This particular scent drove me wild.

"How is the baby?" I asked.

"Cirino's okay," she said. "He's adjusting really well. Marina sent me a picture." She showed me a picture of the little guy napping. He was adorable. His tuft of blond hair was slightly mussed. She looked at him and smiled. Despite the tragic story behind his birth, she still loved him. She reported that her sister Sabine was excited to be an aunt, although Alicia wasn't fond of becoming a grandparent so early.

Mother and Alexander had him now, however. They had adopted him.

I was certain about one thing. Sarah attracted bees like nectar. I couldn't let anyone else get close to her. I spread my scent around her, then kissed her.

I spent a few more minutes with her before I had to leave.

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

I growled. Louis growled back. Then we crashed into each other.

"You will not defeat me!" he cried.

"Oh, and what makes you think that?" I asked as I grabbed him in a sleeper hold.

"Just the fact that I have had hundreds of years worth of experience, and you are only seventeen!"

"I may be seventeen, but I have had lots of recent experience!"

"Don't let your father hear you say that!"

"Trust me, he's heard it before!"

Louis grinned. "Arm wrestle. You and me. Now."

"You always win!"

"Exactly!"

He pinned me.

"It's not fair. All of you are much older than I am!"

"It's all right, little cousin. I won't go easy on you," he teased.

"Oh, shush!"

I kneed him in the stomach.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

"All's fair in war!"

"Not necessarily!"

He pinned me again.

"Geez. Okay, you win."

"I always win!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Dirty, we headed inside. I made sure no one was looking, and started rolling on my back and purring. One of the cats, Frodo, stared at me. I invited him to play, and he accepted. I picked up a cat toy with a rope and feather on it, and swung it around as he chased it. There was something special about these cats.

They'd been picked up by Uncle Soren and Father while they were on a mission to rescue me. Frodo caught the feather and sniffed it.

Good catch.

I turned and smiled at Shadowfang. This was definitely a special cat. He could talk into our minds. He was a big Maine Coon with long black hair.

"That was good, wasn't it?"

I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Frodo. And he wants you to swing it around again.

I smirked. Shadowfang had a typical cat attitude, which meant that he had a major one.

Time for lunch. Hop to it, vampire.

"You only get two meals a day," I told him.

I demand three square meals a day. Chicken, duck, and turkey. Slightly undercooked.

He haughtily flashed his tail at me.

The doorbell rang. I went to answer it, and when it opened, I received a kick to the gut. I looked up. My attacker was a male vampire with red eyes and long black hair. He grabbed me by the shirt and started to drag me out.

Toby jumped on him, knocking him down the steps. The strange vampire jumped up and hissed at us. Toby stood in front of me protectively.

"Who are you?" he growled. The other vampire just snarled.

"Give me the boy," he said. His voice was a deep bass with a German accent. The strange vampire crouched down on all fours, Toby following suit.

"Leave," said Toby. He shook his hair.

"Not without the boy. I am getting paid too much to not be able to deliver him!"

"To whom?"

"None of your fucking business! Let me have him, and I'll let you live."

"I swore to protect this family with my existence, and that's what I'll do."

Father ran out and grabbed me. "Kill him," he ordered. Toby ran toward the male vampire, who kicked him in the gut, sending him flyiing back. Spencer ran out and ran to his mate.

"I'm fine, Spencer," Toby said.

"No, you're not! I won't let you be hurt!"

"Spencer, I was ordered to kill him!"

"And now I will."

Spencer jumped, knocking the other male down. They started pounding the shit out of each other. I wondered if that was necessary, given that Spencer had recently recovered from getting his head and arms torn off. I could still see the scar on his neck.

The strange vampire finally kicked him off. Spencer landed fifty yards away in the soft grass.

"Ask him his name," Father said. "And then ask him who his employer is."

The strange vampire smirked. "My name is Torrance. And like I said before, I am getting paid too much money to leave empty-handed!"

He ran toward me again, and Toby cut him off halfway.

"Stop interfering, black demon!"

"Do not call him that!" Spencer yelled, charging at Torrance again. Torrance dodged Spencer, and then he took off into the woods. Spencer started to go after him, but Toby grabbed him.

"Let him go!" Father cried. "Dimitri! Follow him!" Dimitri took off after Torrance.

CHAPTER TWO- IMAGINARY

Father was anxiously pacing the front room.

"How did he get onto our territory, let alone our porch?" he said. "Do I have to get all new guards?"

"We just need more," I said. Father sighed and sat on his haunches.

"You're right. It's my fault he made it this far. I tried so hard to protect you from our world, and it blew up in my face." He started pacing again.

I started flipping through the TV channels, landing on the news.

"The two men found in an alley were known rapists. Kirk Fleinhardt and Jack Floll, who kidnapped a seventeen-year-old girl two years ago and raped her for two months before she escaped and ran to the police station. Since she is no longer a minor, and has actually asked not to remain anonymous, her name and face are allowed to be shown to the public. Vanessa Slaughterman."

I sat up. Vanessa Slaughterman was a girl I'd drank from, and then helped. She was an eighteen-year-old lady of the night when I'd met her. Our meeting was brief, and I had not expected to gain much from it, other than a meal. Her name had also been mentioned by Mathias, my traitor uncle who had recently died after several attempts to kill myself and Uncle Soren and who had murdered my grandmother, Amalia.

I anxiously paced the room on all fours. Father came over and nudged me. He wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry, Reese," he said. "I'm so sorry. This really is all my fault."

"Father, please."

"I know, I know, I'm touching you."

"No, I was going to say that you shouldn't blame yourself. I'm the stupid idiot who opened the door without checking to see who it was."

"Reese, shush. It's not your fault, my young. I should send more guards over here. Okay, that's what I'll do. Fourteen guards in all."

"Fourteen? I meant just a couple more. The guys can handle most things."

"Clearly not," he said, glaring at Spencer, who looked sheepish. Spencer turned and pecked Toby on the side of his head.

"My apologies, Prince Mordecai," Spencer said. "I was concerned about my mate."

"No excuses," Father growled. "I sent you over here to watch Reese."

Spencer looked upset. "I know. It was unacceptable for me to make the mistakes that I did."

"It's not his fault," I argued. Father still glared at Spencer. "Father." He finally looked at me. He purred and nuzzled me.

"Since I can't trust either of you, you are dismissed until I need you again."

Toby and Spencer went to the bedroom they now shared.

"Do you have to be so harsh? He was really upset," I said. Father purred.

"You are too sweet, Reese. Sometimes as a prince and a father, I must make hard decisions. Some of those decisions involve your protection and safety. I'm a father first, an uncle, brother, and son second, and lastly, a vampire prince."

"Father-"

"Shush. Enough for now. You need sleep."

"Don't do that again."

His eyes swirled. "Fall asleep. I will cradle you and hold you until I am sure that the threat has passed."

I fell asleep in seconds.

I hate it when he does that.

I looked out at the sand. I was in a desert. I saw cacti, scorpions, even a fennec fox about a mile away, searching for food. The fox looked up and barked. He was spooked by something and ran in the other direction. I turned around.

Torrance was there, smiling at me. This wasn't an evil smile, though.

"Mate," he purred. Unwillingly, I walked toward him. I stood up and kissed him on the chin.

"You forgot to shave," I told him.

"I've done much worse." He grinned at me. "Much, much worse."

"Where are you from?"

"Not from where you are. Light years away. Sometimes billions, sometimes I could be standing right next to you."

"That doesn't make sense. If you're next to me, why can't I see or hear you?"

"Because I'm in another place. A dimension. Where the other you came from."

The rest of the dream became blurry, and I woke up.

"That was a short sleep," Father said. He was holding me in bed again. "You only slept for thirty minutes."

"I had a strange dream. About the strange vampire named Torrance. He called me 'mate' and kissed me, then said he was from another dimension."

Father tensed behind me. "He won't go near you," he said. "I've called several more guards. You won't have time to get