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

to know them like you've been doing with Toby, however. They'll only be here a short while. Until the threat is eliminated."

"We've dealt with threats before."

"But none as big as this. We still don't know why Torrance tried to kidnap you, or who his employer is."

"Oh, Father."

"Oh, Reese."

I squeezed out and settled myself on the couch. I heard a meow. I looked over at Mishka, who nibbled my finger.

"Father, I'm fine."

"Shush. You are most certainly not fine. I need to be here for you."

"Dad, you're being overprotective."

He turned me around, smiling widely. "You called me dad."

"Um, yeah, you are my dad. Alexander is a stepdad."

"And soulfather."

"I still don't know if I believe in that."

"Silly Reese. Of course you have a bond with him, one of the many reasons why I want to rip out his intestines."

"Father! Be nice."

He chuckled. "No doubt that he wants to rip out mine as well. His woman is my ex-wife, and your mother. I still love her. I...oh gods, Reese, I'm a mess." He smiled weakly, eyes shining. "I lost my mother, I raped your mother and then lost her, I lost my brother, and now I'm about to lose you." His eyes shot behind me. I turned around.

Faolan was glaring at Father, trembling. "Is that what you feel?"

"Faolan, who let you in?"

"Soren did. Now I see what you're really like. Don't expect my pack to come to your aid again."

"Faolan, I'm sorry. We need to talk."

"We are talking. It's over, Mordecai."

And with that, the werewolf stomped away.

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

Mother was brushing Sarah's hair for the next day. Sarah had allowed my mother to brush through her brown curls, since the next day was the first day of senior year. I was holding Cirino, burping him. He made a noise, and I kissed his cheek. He loudly burped.

"Good boy," I praised, setting him in his carrier. He grabbed my finger and put his other hand in his mouth.

"That's a big boy," Sarah cooed. He looked at her and his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed confused by all the school and beauty supplies scattered around. "Should I wear my new plaid dress or a cotton skirt?"

"You look pretty in the skirt," Mother told her. "But if you decide to wear that white shirt, it will show your tummy."

"Only a little bit," Sarah said. "Raspberry gloss or red lipstick?"

"Raspberry gloss," I said.

"Yeah, you're right. It's the first day of senior year, and I need to look cute. Should I wear my brown cowboy boots or black flats? You know what, I think I'll go with those new white sneakers. I'm going to do a lot of walking."

She sighed and pinched her upper arm.

"Sarah, you're beautiful," I told her. "You have an amazing body, a beautiful face, gorgeous hair, and on the inside, you'll knock anyone dead. Whatever you choose to wear, you'll look amazing."

"He's right," Mother said, frowning as she picked a white fluff out of Sarah's hair. "You have already been to the hairdresser, correct? And you know how to do makeup better than any girl your age that I've met. May I braid your hair?"

"Sure," Sarah said. "Reese, do you remember my friends Ashley and Brianna? I'm going to grab a coffee with them after cheerleading, so I won't have time to spend with you."

"I can deal with that," I said, fighting my irrational jealousy.

"Two cute braids," Sarah said. "Or maybe a high ponytail. I'll wear my black cotton skirt, those white sneakers, that white shirt with the gold cross studs, and a hoodie jacket that I can wrap around my waist. I've already organized my locker, so all I have to do is get the textbooks and start filling out my new journal. I decided to do bullet journaling this year."

Mother nodded at Sarah's plan. Cirino started to fuss, so I took him and checked him for a dirty diaper.

"Hungry again?" I said as his tummy rumbled. "Babies eat a lot."

"That's not the rumble of hunger, that's the rumble of a tummyache," Mother informed me. "Try to get him to sleep."

"His stomach growled?" Sarah asked. She glanced back, and Mother told her to stay still. "Is he okay?"

"He needs another burp," Mother said. "Stroke his back this time, don't pat it."

I stroked Cirino's back until he let out a loud burp, and then I rocked him until he fell asleep. Mother finished brushing Sarah's hair and started to pull it into a braid.

"I have to thank you, Marina," Sarah said.

"For what?"

"For taking the baby. I couldn't take care of him, even with the money I have now. I would not be a good teen mother."

"But you are a good mother," Mother said. "You did what was best for yourself, and, therefore, Cirino."

"He seems happy. Well, as happy as a one-and-a-half-month-old baby can be."

"He is. I've started to pick up on his mind, and so has Alexander."

"Can you read minds?" Sarah asked, wide-eyed.

"Vampire parents can read their children's minds. And mates can also read each other's minds, if they are both vampires."

Sarah looked at me in horror.

"I forgot to tell you," I said, smirking. "I can't read your mind now, but if...when...you become a vampire, I'll be able to. You'll also be able to read mine." Her brow furrowed.

"Will I also be able to read his?"

"Possibly," Mother told her. "But since you gave up parentage, it will only be a possibility."

"And what about Alexander?"

"He can read mine, Reese's, and Cirino's minds."

Now I was horrified. "Um...how long...?"

"Since he thought you were biologically his. Which was quite a few months ago. You were supposed to be his, and your bond with him is that of a parent/child bond, so that's why."

"And why didn't he tell me?"

"He didn't? Oh, I thought you were bluffing. I could have sworn he said he told you..." Mother frowned, breaking the hair tie. She sighed and grabbed another one from Sarah's new vanity. "Why did he lie?" she muttered. "I hope he's not turning into Mordecai."

"Turn into that wretch?" Alexander said, coming up through the window. "Marina, I never said I told Reese."

"Then my mind must be getting old," Mother said.

"How is he?" Alexander asked, nuzzling Cirino.

"He had a bit of a tummy ache earlier," I said. "I didn't burp him enough."

Just then, Cirino coughed all over himself.

"Oh, son," Alexander sighed. "I love you deeply, but you are messy." Cirino gurgled.

"I will take him home and have Zie clean him," he said. Zie was their housekeeper. "Later, boys and girls." He picked up Cirino, tossed the carrier out the window, and then jumped out the window with the baby in his arms. I was amazed that Cirino slept through all that.

Mother finished braiding Sarah's hair.

"Coffee, cheerleading...no. Cheerleading, then coffee, and I have to organize my journal."

"Don't overstress yourself," I told her, remembering her seizure last year. I'd been worried that it would happen again. She stood up and hugged me. I growled, pulling her into me. I needed to be as close as possible to her now that I'd reminded myself.

My mate looked at me, concerned. I picked her up and put her on the bed.

"Reese, not now," she said. I growled, but I knew she was right. She needed her sleep and my mother was there. I purred, licking her hair.

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

The next day was torture. My stomach felt sick, but I couldn't skip today. When I saw Sarah, my jaw dropped. She looked amazing in a black cotton skirt, a tight white shirt with tons of gold studs in the shape of a cross, and her hair was loose and voluminous. I really wanted to touch it, feel it.

Her white sneakers squeaked as she turned and waved at me. Her legs were smooth, with not a hair in sight. She smelled sweet, like vanilla. Her lips were raspberry colored, her eyes deepened with lavender eyeshadow. It looked beautiful on her.

I kept a sharp eye out for competition. My new schedule didn't give me much time to see her. At lunch, I sat by myself, as I was angry with Mason. He had told Jordan that he loved Sarah.

He can't have her. She's mine.

She headed to the Computer wing first, where her Graphic Design class was. I headed to my first class, Advanced Senior English.

"Good morning," said Mr. Hu. "I trust you all read a good amount this summer? Mr. Emerson?"

"I read Dostoyevsky."

"Good boy. Anyone else? Miss Hart?" I turned and looked at Scarlett Hart. She twirled a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Do magazines count?"

"Certainly not! Well, I suppose it depends on the kind of magazine you read. If you read one filled with good, thought-provoking stories, then yes, it counts. This year, we will cover Shakespeare, Bronte, Faulkner, Fitzgerald. We will be detectives, romantic heroes, the friend of a romantic hero! There will be a test after every book or story we read. Pop quizzes every other Friday."

He handed out the syllabus. Right now, Sarah would be tucking her syllabus into her bullet journal, making a mental note to herself to write down everything on it.

Mr. Hu talked about F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Bronte. He described the intricacies of the complicated web that every good story needs. He described heroes, anti-heroes, the damsel in distress, and the villain. He described the different genres. General/realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, romance.

My romance was different. My sweet one was different from all the other females in good stories. She was a story in of herself. I daydreamed about her, listening occasionally and getting all my answers right.

Our first book: The Great Gatsby.

Sarah flounced out of her first class, hair bouncing.

"Hey, Reese," she greeted me.

"Hey, beautiful," I said. "Do you need help finding your next class?"

"Reese, I've been going to this school for three years," she giggled. "I think I know my way around."

I frowned. Since we were headed to the same wing anyway, I walked with her. She walked into the Mythology & Folklore class, and I walked into World History. My stomach dropped as I noticed that Mason was in this class as well. I snarled at him. He looked down at his desk, cheeks flushing.

I chose a seat right next to him, so I could keep an eye on him.

"Reese, we need to talk," he said, just as the bell rang.

I ignored him through the rest of the day, despite his attempts to talk to me. I didn't get another chance to talk to Sarah, either. Since she had driven herself, I left right after school.

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

When I got to Mother and Alexander's house, it was chaos.

"Marina, listen to me!" Alexander said, holding my mother's wrists. "She's dead! Gone! Ash! We all saw her perish in the explosion!"

Mother shook her head, eyes shining with tears. "That was her! I know it was! I know the sound of my daughter's voice!"

Daughter? Is she talking about Sarah?

"What happened to Sarah?" I asked. Alexander glared at me.

"Not Sarah. Marina, are you still listening to me?"

"What the hell happened?!" I demanded. Alexander took mother's phone and played a voicemail.

"Mom? Mom? Oh god...Mom, are you there? It's me. Oh god...I think he's finally gone. No...oh crap. Mom, I have to go now. Don't try to look for me. Liam, what are you doing here?"

A muffled male voice answered.

"I don't give a crap...Liam, don't touch me!" And then the voicemail ended.

"Selena!" Mother cried. "She needs me!"

"Marina, it's someone's idea of a sick joke," Alexander said. "We all saw her die. You, me, Mordecai, Soren, Louis, Eilief, even Raquieca! Darling, it's not her!"

I flinched as Mother tried to hit him across the face, and he grabbed her wrist.

"Marina, control yourself! I promise, if there was ever a chance she was out there, we would find her. But she's dead, my love. Dead!"

Mother wrenched herself free. "I don't believe it! That was my daughter! Selena! I know it was! That was her voice! She needs her mother!"

"Mother," I said. She turned and looked at me, then wrapped me in a hug.

"Mommy has to