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

“The reports said his body was drained of blood and his heart was missing.” I had, in fact, drained his heart of its blood and burned it.

“We know for a fact that you’re vampires,” Emma Greene said. I stared at her.

“That’s nothing new,” Uncle Soren said. “It’s no longer illegal for humans to know about us, at least in the vampire world. The human world is a different story. Last year, someone called me and thought that I would give him a big sum of money to keep his mouth shut about me. I basically told him that he was wasting his time, that I was well-known throughout the world anyway, even among the non-supernatural. He had only made a fool of himself. Now, if that’s all, you are welcome to leave.”

“We will get the truth,” Suzanne said firmly. The redhead glared at me. “No matter the cost.”

“How frighteningly cliché,” Louis said sarcastically.

“I will contact your superiors and inform him that you have threatened my son,” Father said. “You have no cause to accuse or arrest any of us, and you know it. Now leave. Last warning.”

Emma Greene and Suzanne Moon stood up headed toward the door. They almost ran into Mitra on the driveway, who was hurrying up the steps.

“I was hoping you come to see me,” Uncle Soren purred.

“I didn’t come to see you, old man. I came to see Eilief.”

“And what did you want with me?” Grandfather asked.

“To discuss territory issues.”

“Ah. I will be with you in a moment.”

As soon as he left, I freaked out.

“Oh gods,” I said. “They’re going to arrest either me or Father. I can’t let Sarah see me in handcuffs. It’s my- “

“Hey!” Uncle Soren grasped me and turned me to face him. “Look at me. Focus on me. Don’t look at him! Look at me. Focus, concentrate. Take a deep breath. Smell the air and the grass and the earth. Smell the cats, smell me. Relax. Retract your fangs.”

I relaxed and retracted my extended fangs. Father growled and moved me behind him.

“Mordecai, don’t be stupid. I’m not going to take him from you. I know- “

“MINE!”

“For Odin’s sake, I know, Mordecai! I know, I remember tearing your arms off when Louis was a baby. I reattached your arms myself.”

“Vampires are exceptionally territorial,” Shadowfang said to Frodo. “They’re almost like cats. Some of them even look like cats. I wonder if we’re related?”

“Father,” I squeaked. I was too anxious, too stressed.

“Hush, son,” he said, petting my hair.

“I can’t breathe!”

“You don’t need to breathe, remember!”

“I have to…I have to go…”

I started off, but Father grabbed me around the waist. I kicked and squirmed. He buried his nose in my hair, purring. His purrs soothed me. He turned my head so I was looking directly into his eyes.

“Focus on me. Regulate your breathing. You are colder than normal. Are you getting dizzy? Faint?”

I kicked him in the crotch. He doubled over, cursing.

“I think you broke it!”

I was already halfway across the room. Louis pounced on me and held me down.

“Take a chill pill, little buddy,” he said. I hissed and panted heavily.

“I’m calling Ethan,” Uncle Soren said. “I have a theory, but I hope I’m wrong.”

“Your theories are usually wrong.”

“Shut up, Louis.”

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

“He still has porphyria,” Ethan said. He had finished analyzing the blood sample that had been forcibly taken from me. I had to be held down by my cousin, father, and uncle, according to them. I had blacked out during this time.

“What does a real vampire need with porphyria?” Louis asked. “He actually needs blood to survive.”

“Mostly in real vampires, it causes panic attacks and hallucinations,” Ethan explained. He ran a hand through his short brown hair. “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. The best thing you can do is keep him calm and relaxed. He needs constant vigilance so he doesn’t, well, freak out.”

“So the cure didn’t work,” Uncle Soren said, rubbing his face. “I had been so sure…”

I was pacing the living room on all fours, my fangs extended and my eyes orange, according to Louis. I hissed at random objects and silently complained about being in a confined space. The room was too small. I needed to be outside. I needed air, and grass, and rain. No, not rain. Too wet.

I smelled blood, but it wasn’t human blood, it was cat blood. I didn’t like animal blood. It tastes like armpit. I needed a break. I needed to be outside, but my family and the vampire nurse refused to let me roam.

“Can I at least take him to the pool area?” Father asked, studying me worriedly.

“Not a good idea. He’ll abhor any kind of wetness or moisture, except blood. Your best bet would be to bring a human to him to eat.”

“I can’t…we’ve killed too many. People are starting to notice a pattern.”

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” I hissed. “So hungry…”

“Drink from me,” Father said, offering his arm. I looked at him. Ethan and Uncle Soren stared at him in shock. Louis pretended not to notice, as he was brushing Shadowfang.

Father bit into his wrist, and everything went red.

The next thing I remembered was waking up in bed. I was clean and dressed in a shirt and pajama pants. I was fang-free and oddly calm.

Father!

I sat up and flitted into his bedroom. Faolan was laying beside him, rubbing his chest. Faolan glared at me.

“What did I do?” I asked.

“You nearly killed him. You went crazy. You drained him dry. Soren had to offer himself instead.”

“Did I really drain him completely?”

“Almost. He had half a pint of blood left when you were pulled off of him.”

I knew that the only reason why I wasn’t getting murdered on the spot was because my family would kill Faolan, and that would devastate Father. Faolan whimpered, burying his nose in Father’s neck. I whined and crawled in next to Father. Faolan growled at me, and I growled back.

“He was mine first,” Faolan said firmly.

“He’s my father,” I told him. “I’m sorry, Father. I didn’t mean to do this.”

I know you didn’t, Reese.

You can hear me?!

Yes, I can, but I’m too exhausted to even open my eyes. I can’t sleep, though, because the leftover blood is keeping me awake. Faolan, I’m all right.

A pause.

It’s not his fault, Faolan. He had no control over it. Don’t blame him.

I curled up and sniffed. I laid my head on my father’s chest.

I’m so sorry.

Shh, it’s okay. Like I said, it wasn’t your fault.

Still, I’m-

Shhh. No more talking. I’ll live. Faolan is just angry-he’ll get over it. I will survive. You’re what’s important.

I went down to the basement and sat on the piano bench. I pressed a few keys. A tune formed in my mind, and I played that tune over and over again. I realized I was playing “Show Me What I’m Looking For” by the Carolina Liars, which is one of Sarah’s favorite songs. I needed to see her, but what if I hurt her? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. I still hadn’t forgiven myself for hurting her in the past. Learning to forgive others came easier to me than forgiving myself.

Unless they hurt my family or my girlfriend.

I hadn’t seen Cirino or Sabine in a while, and that pushed me out of the basement and into my Toyota. I missed my Chevrolet Astro.

Sarah was in the yard, jumping rope. She stopped when she saw me pull up.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Exercising,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“Have you eaten today?” She didn’t answer. “Uh-huh. I’ll fix you something.”

She looked thinner than usual, and I could hear her stomach growling, which she knew. I adored Sarah’s figure, but no so much that I wanted her to suffer from bulimia. She took her braid down and let her curls flow loosely. She retied it into a high ponytail and went to Cirino, who was in his bassinet. He glared at me, his green eyes sparkling. Blond tufts of hair peeked out from the top of his head.

“Is he talking yet?” I asked.

“No, he mostly burps and coughs still. He probably won’t start babbling until he’s six months old.”

She smoothed back her son’s hair. I stared at him. I hate myself for this, but it was hard to like Cirino at times, even though none of what she went through was his fault. I knew that. But sometimes children are blamed for their parents’ actions. It’s not kind, or true, but it’s a fact of life. But I am in no way defending myself for not liking him. I tried to like him. He was sweet and quiet. But as I looked at the top of his hair, I became angry. His hair came from Nales.

If he’d been mine, it would be black or dark brown. Sarah’s hair was medium brown with flecks of blond in it.

“Hey, little guy,” I said. He passed gas. “Where are the dogs?” I asked, noticing that Spunk wasn’t jumping on me and trying to lick my face and Coffee wasn’t barking at me from a distance.

Sarah’s shoulders slumped. “Coffee was attacked by what we think was a coyote,” Sarah said. “She’s at the vet. Spunk is just on a walk with Sabine.”

“Is that safe?” I asked warily.

“Alexander’s with her,” she said, which surprised me. Alexander doesn’t like teenagers, especially middle schoolers. It hit me just how close he was becoming to the girls and Cirino.

Sarah left Cirino with Zie and took me upstairs to her bedroom. She sat on the bedcovers, looking sad.

“Hey, Coffee’s tough,” I said. “She’ll live.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said.

“Want to come back to Denmark?” I asked. “This Christmas, I mean.”

“Of course,” she said. “I’m a princess now, aren’t I?”

“You’re my Belle,” I informed her. “December starts in a couple of weeks.”

“Thanksgiving is next week,” she said. “Are you going to stuff yourself like you did last year?”

“No. I can still feel the pain from my jeans digging into my belly. Plus, puking it all up was not worth it.”

She kissed me. She pulled me on top of her, and we kissed. The heavens opened up, Valhalla sang, someone lost their virginity to the person they loved most in the world. Of course, I’d lost my virginity before I started dating Sarah, but she was my first female partner. I could remember Evan calling out my name as I fucked him.

I rolled her onto her belly, gently pulling down her shorts. Then I paused. She was sick. She didn’t need this right now. I pulled them back up, promising to give myself a short break later on.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I can’t do this to you. You’re still sick. Your heart will beat too fast, and you’ll burn too many calories.”

“Reese, just once?”

“I’m sorry, Sarah. Not today.”

She pouted for a moment, then smiled and kissed me. I nibbled her lips, my fangs protruding, nipping her lip. I licked the blood away, enjoying the taste. I undid my jeans, getting excited. I was about to break my silent promise.

And when she screamed my name, it was worth it.

I lay with her for an hour afterward, keeping her encased in my arms, loving her, protecting her. I growled when Alexander entered the room without knocking, giving him a warning hiss.

“There’s been an Elf spotted in the area,” he told me. “A red-haired one named Marius.”

“He was at the meeting with the Faery King,” I said. “He insulted Sarah.”

“I know. I have a theory about what happened to Coffee. It turns out Marius is a shapeshifter. He can take the form of a wolf. I’m going to kill him if I can reach him.”

With that, he left. Sarah was in tears, pulling herself up.

“So it’s my fault Coffee got hurt,” she mumbled.

“Don’t be silly,” I said. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have brought you to the meeting. Besides, it doesn’t concern you. There are some supernaturals, like certain Elves, who think that humans shouldn’t be involved