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

“A dumb one, am I, little girl?” Alexander said lowly.

“Well, you’re big, and you’re dumb, so yes, I’d say you are.”

I was amazed at her cheek. No one speaks to Alexander like that and gets away with their life, unless it was me, Mother, or one of the girls.

“Well, Mitra Dearwood, you are sadly mistaken on several counts,” Alexander said. “One, this is royal vampire territory, two, I am the oldest human vampire around, and three, whatever humans you are protecting are in danger anyway. There is a large coven near the area.”

Her eyes widened. “Where?” she demanded.

“Who says I’m going to tell you anything?” Alexander said.

“She has a right to know,” I said.

“I like the little one,” Mitra grinned. I found that ironic, since she was smaller than me, a six-foot two-hundred-pound natural-born. She was a five-foot-four, skinny human-born vampire.

“What’s taking you so long?” Father asked, coming toward us. He stopped at the sight of Mitra. “Hello. I didn’t realize that there was anyone else here. How long have you lived here?”

“My whole life,” Mitra said. “I was changed last year. I’m the guardian of the Lenape people who live here.”

“I didn’t realize,” Father said. “Who is your sire?”

Mitra’s face fell. “I don’t know. He left, promising to return someday. He left me with no knowledge of who he was or what he was. I had to find out through my great-grandmother.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Father said. “What is your name?”

“Mitra Dearwood,” she repeated. “Is the big asshole a friend of yours?”

“The big asshole is no friend of mine, but unfortunately, we are related,” Father told her. “And I see you’ve met my son as well. What school do you go to?”

“I went to Martin Luther King Jr. until last year. I didn’t really have a clique. I just have one friend on the reservation, and he’s a guy.”

“I hate girls, too,” Alexander said, frowning at her.

Mitra smiled. “I only hate bitchy girls. Unless I’m fucking them.”

“Oh, you’re gay?” I asked.

“Bi. I like boys, too. I just think boys are less bitchy for the most part. I think there’s an exception in front of me,” she griped.

“Watch it, little girl,” Alexander growled.

“What on earth is going on?” Uncle Soren asked, trailing off as he got closer to Mitra. His eyes trailed over her body, landing on her eyes. She returned his look with a cold gaze.

“Before we get any more people out here, is there anyone else coming?” Mitra said. “I don’t want to have to repeat myself several times.”

“J-just m-me,” Uncle Soren stuttered.

“Hi then, whoever you are, I’m Mitra Dearwood. So far I like the blond guy and the little one, but the big dark-haired one is kind of a turd,” she said.

“Sometimes he is, Mitra,” I said.

“Hello, Mitra, I-I’m Soren,” Uncle Soren said. I watched as his Adam’s apple moved up and down. He was nervous. He only got this way when he fell in love on first sight. It happened with Ariella, it would happen again if Mitra dumped him.

“Great. Nice to meet you, Soren. It was nice to meet most of you. Well, I have to go. My mother wants me back on the reservation before sundown.”

She took off, running faster than I’d ever seen a vampire run.

“What a woman,” Uncle Soren breathed.

“She can’t be more than seventeen,” Alexander said. “All of you, I swear. Girls, girls, girls. Or werewolves. Sometimes both. Why can’t any of you find a decent woman?”

“Watch it,” I warned him.

“She’s a fast runner,” Uncle Soren said.

“It must be a gift,” I joked.

“That, and her beauty,” Uncle Soren said.

“She’s definitely one of the more naturally pretty ones,” Father said. “I didn’t see an ounce of makeup.”

“She mostly hangs out with herself,” I noted. “And whoever her guy friend is, he’s probably seen her without makeup.”

“Guy friend?” Uncle Soren questioned, a growl creeping into his tone. “She has a guy friend?”

“Sarah has guy friends,” I said. “You don’t see me complaining.”

“On the contrary, I hear you complaining all the time,” Father grinned.

“Get out of my head,” I growled.

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

Uncle Soren was definitely in love again. He would constantly ask about Mitra, how did we know her, was she a new vampire, what kind of vampire was she, who is her guy friend, who is her family, was she a part of the Lenape tribe, who is her guy friend, how did we meet her, do you think she’s single, and most importantly, who is her guy friend.

He couldn’t get her out of his head.

Louis thought it was hilarious, given their history of female companions.

“Girls are nothing but trouble,” Louis said. “That’s why I bang ‘em and leave ‘em.”

“You’re a slut,” I told him. He grinned at me and ruffled my hair as if I was a child.

“I’m in love,” Uncle Soren muttered to himself. “I have to see her again.”

“The reservation’s not far from here,” I said. “About ten minutes if you run.”

He looked at me, then pulled out his phone.

“You’re right,” he said after a minute. “I can make it in less than ten minutes if I run at my fastest. I can have her in my arms in that time.”

“She’s pretty stubborn,” I said. “Little Miss Independent.”

“She will be mine,” he said sincerely.

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

I helped Sarah as she climbed into Mother’s soccer-mom car. After a few days in the hospital, she was a little better, well enough that the hospital decided to let her go. She was eating without puking, at least. She was a little less thin, and a lot more hydrated. She had made a promise to Mother to be more honest and to tell her when she was thinking about harming herself. I wasn’t there for it, but Mother told me about it.

Sarah laid in the backseat with a bucket in front of her in case she threw up on accident. Mother put a thin blanket over her and kissed her before she climbed into the driver’s seat and I climbed into the passenger seat. I kept glancing back at her as Mother put the car in reverse and drove down the parking lot and onto the highway.

When we reached the house, Sarah had only thrown up once, but she still felt sick. She opened the door and threw up on the driveway. Zie, the housekeeper, was outside smoking a cigarette, and she looked surprised at the look of Sarah. Mother got out and picked up Sarah while I emptied the bucket into the yard. The smell was unbelievable.

I went to help my girl into bed. As I walked into the house, the smell of bleach and ammonia hit me.

“Zie,” Mother said, turning to the housekeeper, “Did you mix bleach and ammonia?”

“No, I do not clean with ammonia,” Zie said, looking confused.

“Do you not smell it?” Mother asked, gesturing to the air around.

“No, I clean without ammonia,” she repeated. “My sister help me clean today. And another lady, my sister said she was okay.”

“What did this other lady look like?” I asked.

“Black hair, black eyes. Very soulless. You could tell that she was not very friendly.”

“Did she have ivory skin and wear hoop earrings?” I asked. “Red lipstick?” Zie nodded. I looked at Mother. “Scarlett Hart. She must have thought it would be funny.”

“The bitch who tried to hurt my baby?” Mother said. “I must have a talk with her parents, and with Zie. This is unacceptable. My daughter is sick, and they want to make her sicker!”

I took Sarah from her and carried my girl upstairs to her bedroom. Coffee was on the purple duvet, wagging her tail and barking. The little brown Chihuahua jumped off the bed and scurried around my feet. I put Sarah on the bed, taking her shoes off and her jeans. I carefully took her jacket and her shirt off as Coffee jumped onto the bed and started licking Sarah’s face. I shooed her away, but the dog insisted on making sure Sarah was okay. I gave her a kiss and put a bucket next to her. Mother came in with bottles of water and straws.

“Her bathroom is to the left,” Mother pointed out.

“It’s nice to have a bathroom inside my room,” Sarah said, smiling weakly.

“Love, I’m so sorry,” I said, stroking her hair. “I should have known.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. You are the best boyfriend I’ve ever had,” she said.

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” I said. “I’ll talk to Father and see if he’ll let me stay here on weekends.”

“Zat would be wonderful,” Mother said. “I can see my son and he can make sure his love is okay.”

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

My heart fell into my gut as I approached my father’s house. I smelled other vampires; vampires I did not recognize. Before I reached the porch, though, my father ran out and grabbed me, carrying me back inside.

“They’re on the edge,” he said. “You probably didn’t see them, but they were at the edge of the woods, looking at us.”

“That’s creepy,” I said. “Dad, put me down.”

“No, I will not do that. You are in danger. I have to protect you.”

“Put me down! Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. Can I stay at Mother’s house this weekend?”

“What for…oh. Sarah. And Marina is your mother. Yes, I give you my permission.”

He set me down gently.

“Where is everybody?” I asked.

“I don’t know where Dimitri is, but Toby is out hunting, and Spencer went with Louis to some event. Your grandfather is in a bad mood, so he secluded himself. Your uncle is talking to him, making sure he won’t…do anything violent. Of all the times for the guys to be missing…well, Toby and Spencer both have good reasons. Toby hasn’t eaten in a week, and Spencer was needed because Louis needed protection. Dimitri is my best guard. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to fire him. And Faolan is talking to the pack. Apparently, there is some internal issue.”

“Where’s Other Mordecai?”

“He’s in the guest house. By the way, we found Peter and Dean. We had assumed they left, but they didn’t. They were hiding in the dungeons. You should have seen Dean…actually, I’d rather you didn’t. He looked like a wraith. Peter was very thin and had lost most of his spark. They were close to death. We sent for Ambrose to come get them.”

“I find it odd that Other Mordecai isn’t joined by Other Alexander.”

“Don’t mention that again. I think I may vomit.”

“Sorry. Anyway, any luck finding Torrance or Other Reese?”

“Toby spotted Torrance, but he sped away before Toby could chase after him. He’s one of the fastest runners I’ve ever met. Along with Mitra Dearwood.”

“Uncle Soren’s in love again,” I said.

“That he is,” Grandfather said, coming down.

“Where is he?” Father asked, looking past Grandfather.

“I do not know, I assumed he was with you.”

“Crap,” Father said. “Who wants to bet that he went to look for that girl?”

“Three bucks says he’s staring at her through her window, falling more in love with everything she does,” I said.

“No wager says that he’s doing that,” Grandfather said.

Toby came in the door then, looking exhausted.

“I barely escaped their gaze,” he said. “I may have messed up when I used the trees above their heads.”

“At least you’re okay,” Father said. “Father, we need to confront them.”

“Not without Soren and a full guard, we shouldn’t. Remember last time?”

“Last time, my baby was nearly killed!”

“I’m not a baby,” I muttered.

“You’re my baby, no matter how old you are.”

“Either way,” Grandfather interjected, “-we have to confront them.”

“You just said- “

“I know, I know. But we still must wait for Soren and Spencer.”

It would be a week before we were able to confront them, and it was in late October, on Halloween. Sarah had planned to go out with her friends to a party that night, and Noah had invited me to go with him and Duke to a haunted house.

It was in early morning when I was out walking in the woods. Louis and Toby were with me, lagging