Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

Ambrose actually looked like he might cry. Then he glared at me. "Who?"

"A special person called None of Your Business."

"Are you sure he's not Soren's son?" Grandfather muttered. I looked up as a figure approached our circle. It was Dean. He walked over to our side.

"Dean, get over here," Ambrose snapped. Dean obstinately shook his head.

"Dean," Peter hissed. "Come here."

"I'm sorry, Peter. I'm so sorry," Dean said. "I truly do love you."

"IT WAS YOU!" Ambrose grabbed Peter and held a knife to his throat.

"NO!" Dean cried. "Let him go!" Ambrose reacted faster than I'd ever seen him react. He slit Peter's throat in one smooth motion. Then he took off.

"Spencer, find Stephen and follow him!" Grandfather shouted. Dean rushed to Peter and held him, tears running down his cheeks.

"You...you..." Peter huffed.

"Ssshhhh," Dean shushed him. "Rest. I promise, I never wanted to hurt you."

"Well...you did. This mating is...is..." Dean closed Peter's eyes as he trailed off. He looked at Grandfather and Father.

"Please, help him. I can't live without him."

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

Two days later, Peter was almost completely healed. He'd been given Elf blood as well as human blood, so he healed quicker than he normally would have. Dean was staying with him.

"Peter," he said, as Peter woke up.

"Dean, this mating is over."

"No, Peter, don't do that."

"You betrayed our entire coven."

"My real coven is the Emerson clan. It always has been. But when I saw you, I knew that you were my soulmate."

"You lied to me throughout our entire mating. It's over. As soon as I am fully healed, I will leave. I do not want you to follow me or try to change my mind."

Dean left the room in tears.

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

"That's a sad love story," Sarah said as she stabbed a piece of steamed carrot. It was the next day, and I had brought Sarah to a restaurant for dinner. I had told her about the breakup between Peter and Dean.

Ever since the breakup, Dean had stayed shut in the basement, sometimes wailing. Uncle Soren had handcuffed Peter to the bed so he couldn't escape. I asked him what the handcuffs were made of, and he told me that I didn't want to know.

Sarah ate another carrot, chewing slowly. She had ordered soup everything tonight. French onion, then vegetable. I had simply ordered a steak, which I barely touched.

"It's so strange," she said. "I hope we never go through that."

"We won't," I promised. "Would you like my steak?" She looked at it.

"Yes, I would. Thank you. Anyway, how is everyone else?"

"Everyone's...eh, it's complicated. Louis still won't talk to us, and Noah is still acting like a jerk. Amara is being weird about the whole thing."

"I don't get it. Why Noah? He's not particularly handsome or smart." She blushed.

"I know. In fact, the only thing that stands out about him is his friendship with Mason. And his...well, his loyalty, which no longer exists. Why would he choose a girl he's known less than a month over the friend he's known for years?"

"Unless she's forcing him to like her."

"That's...entirely possible."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - ARE YOU STILL MY FRIEND?

I was singing "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton under my breath. It's one of Sarah's favorite songs, and she had played it on repeat the last time we were in the car together. It was lunchtime, and Mason, Duke, and I were sitting together.

"Can I sit here?" I looked up. Amara had asked the question.

"Of course," Mason replied. "You don't need to ask." Amara sat down. I noticed that she was wearing sweats, which she never wore to school. Her hair, which was still brown, was in a bun on top of her head. She only had a cup of yogurt and mixed nuts on her tray.

"How are you?" Duke asked her in a note of rarely-heard compassion from him.

"Lousy," she said. "I stopped taking my meds for a while, which is why I stayed away."

"Amara, you can't not take your meds," Mason scolded.

"I know, I know. Mom made me see a therapist and they're going to test me for drugs this weekend."

"What meds?" I asked.

"For depression," Amara said.

We all looked up at a raised voice. Two girls were screaming at each other. I realized it was Scarlett and Jordan Hart yelling at each other.

"I sense sisterly drama," Amara said.

"All they have is each other," I noted. "Plus their parents. They don't have friends anymore."

"They have only themselves to blame for that," Amara said. "To earn respect, you have to give respect."

"It all depends on how you treat people," I agreed. "And they treated the Beautifuls like puppets, forcing them to dabble in dark magic."

"Dark magic?" Duke said.

"I'm to blame for that," Mason muttered.

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

"Yes, it is," he said stubbornly. "Everything is completely my fault."

"Everything?" I postulated. He blushed.

"Well, no," he replied, embarassed. "But my dad grounded me for at least a month when he found out."

"It's not your fault," I repeated. I heard a sharp smack. I looked back at the fight. Scarlett had smacked Jordan.

"Bitch!" she cried.

"You're the bitch!" Jordan called out as Scarlett walked away.

"Both of them are bitches," I muttered.

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

That night, Dean and Peter still weren't talking, but Toby and Spencer were.

"I'm sorry I left," Toby said. "And I'm sorry I didn't realize it before."

"That's all right," Spencer said. "I'm just glad you're okay."

When they kissed, I left.

Anakin was asking to be petted. I scratched his ears, then tried to focus on my homework. I had a massive headache. It's hard to do homework when you have a headache and a zillion cats. I laid in bed and took a twenty-minute nap, then finished my work.

I heard shouting. I peeked out my window. Zeke and Uncle Soren were yelling at each other. Meiko was off to the side, looking like she was pondering whether to intervene or not. One of the silent blond twins, either James or Jeremy, tugged on Meiko's hand. She glanced at him, then followed him around the side of the house.

Grandfather approached the fight, looking furious. He said a few words to Uncle Soren, then to Zeke. Father walked outside, cigarette in hand, followed closely by Dimitri and Stephen, the new guard. He talked to Uncle Soren, who shook his head.

I walked downstairs and outside.

"Go back inside, Reese," Father said when he saw me. I stubbornly stood there. "Dimitri, take him inside."

Dimitri put a hand on my shoulder. "Fine," I grouched. I walked back inside, but still watched the fight from the window. I noticed that the grass needed cutting again. I figured I'd have to be the one to call the guy who normally mowed our lawn. Father was under too much stress. I felt a piece of fluff touch my leg. I glanced down and noticed Frodo asking for food.

"Toby, could you feed the cats?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied. He went to refresh their food and water. I looked back at him. I realized just how little I knew about him. I knew he was just over a hundred years old, and that he liked, possibly loved, Spencer, but that was it. He also sometimes wore earrings and had dreadlocks that he was slowly combing out.

I looked back at the fight, which was winding down, until Uncle Soren punched Zeke in the face. Father and Grandfather got a hold of him and dragged him away.

Someone wrote the word "faggot" on the car I was using, an old Toyota Corolla. Spencer was the first one to spot it, actually, and the yell he let out would have woken the dead. Father was furious and ran to the guest house to interrogate Zeke and his clan. He ran inside and yelled obscenities until Uncle Soren and Grandfather dragged him away.

They were relentlessly questioned. From what I heard, Adam and Janna finally admitted to doing it. They were gone the next day. Zeke apologized, and Father asked him to leave several times. Each time, he refused. Jessica even asked about Sarah, and Jeremy spoke up for once, and asked about Sabine.

"Not that it matters to either of you, but they're fine," Father replied. He left then, causing dirt to fly as he drove away.

I needed a break. I opened my Mythology And Folklore textbook. I flipped through until I spotted a passage.

There are many stories to explain the disappearance and/or deaths of children. But none are as feared as the vampire. He or she can attach themselves to a child and feed off of their energy. Vampires who do this are called energi vampyrer. The connection between a vampire and a child whose energy calls to them can be mistaken for the soulchild bond, especially if the child resembles or sounds like a child from the vampire's past, either their human life or undead life.

Did that even mean anything pertaining to my life? I sat up, thinking. I wondered if Mother really was being paranoid about Jessica. I certainly didn't want her around Sarah. While I debated the meaning with myself, I heard more arguing, this time between Uncle Soren and Grandfather. My nonexistant heartbeat jumped.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - ALL THE REASONS WHY

I don't know how many DVDs I sold by noon the next day-at least a hundred. A dozen videogames. The register was taking a beating. And I was by myself for once-Richard had asked for the day off to go to his daughter's wedding. My sensitive ears were pulsing with all the noise and chatter, but I still spoke up when I heard the bell over the door ring.

"Hi and welcome to-" I broke off as Mathias walked into the store. "Oh no. What are you doing here?"

"Relax, nephew, I just want to talk to your father," he said.

"You tried to blow up my uncle!"

"I am your uncle!"

"My other uncle! You tried to kill him and you bothered Louis and Sarah!"

"I swear I don't know who Sarah is. Nor do I care. That wasn't me who tried to blow up Soren, either. I swear on my own ashes."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't. You don't know as much as you think you do, and neither does he."

"He who?"

"All of them. Eilief, Mordecai, Soren. Even Louis."

"Get out of this store!"

"No! You're going to stand there and listen to me!"

"I don't have to listen to anything you say!" I shouted. "FATHER!"

Father ran out, looking furious. "Reese Emerson, I was in the middle of-" He cut himself off and looked at Mathias. "How did I not hear you?! Get out!" Mathias glared at both of us.

"It's not like you think! All of you are being played with! I'm not a murderer!"

"I don't give a shit whether you killed or didn't kill Alga. I always hated that bitch. I do give a shit about you trying to kill my brother!"

"You should worry! I didn't kill Alga, the mafia dei vampiri did!" Father flinched.

"I said I don't care! OUT! NOW!"

"FINE! BUT WHEN YOUR PRECIOUS REESE WINDS UP DEAD, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!"

"Spencer, Dimitri!" Suddenly, both Spencer and Dimitri appeared seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed Mathias.

"Son of a bitch! Let me go, idiots!"

I looked back at Father. He put an arm around my shoulder. "I'm not going to risk losing you again," he said. "Which is why I had Dimtri and Spencer hide here."

"Why didn't I smell them?" I asked.

"I asked them to mask their scents with cologne. I got the idea when Soren went on that date with Ariella. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I'm such a fucking moron!" He went into the back.

I stared at the now-empty store and sighed. Some of the customers disappeared after the shouting match, and even more left after Spencer and Dimitri grabbed Mathias and dragged him away, but not before catching it on their cell phones, I'd bet. Crap. I shouldn't have shouted.

I started cleaning up the store. I thought, it could be worse. I could work at the