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

find Selena," she said. "I know that Mordecai has told you about her, or at least someone has. She's my first child, my first natural child. Your older sister. She may have a different father, but damn it, she's still part of you!"

"Mother, let's talk first," I said. "You don't know where she is."

"Actually, I do," Mother said. "All I need to do is trace this call. Louis is the...how do you say it? Family tech geek."

Cirino started crying then.

"I will check on him," Alexander said. "Reese, don't let her do anything drastic or unsafe."

I did as my stepfather told me and kept an eye on my mother. Unfortunately, she wasn't very cooperative. She ran into her bedroom and started packing a backpack.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I asked.

"My daugter is alive and needs my help! I don't care what Alexander says! She's more important!"

"Marina!" Alexander said, coming into the room. "For the last time, she's dead!"

Mother flitted across the room and slapped him right across the face.

"You don't care about her at all!"

"How dare you? I am the first vampire, a king! What I say goes! When I found you, you were nothing but a scullery maid! You and Selena both! We can do this two ways. You can stay here and be my wife, or the wedding is off!"

"Screw you! I don't have to listen to you! I'd rather swallow a pineapple whole than let her suffer!"

"Marina, she is dead! She no longer exists! And her birth was not warranted, was it? You were not even married until you left me for Mordecai!"

"How could you bring that up? You know how guilty I feel about it!"

"The point is that I didn't deserve it!"

"Mordecai put a spell on me!"

"Yeah, right. You only fell for his good looks!"

"Alexander, you know how I feel about him! I cannot stand him! I hate his guts as much as you do!"

"Lying whore!"

"The wedding is off!"

Alexander stomped out of the room, grumbling. Mother continued to pack.

"Do you want me to help you?" I asked. She looked at me.

"No...just tell Eilief not to worry about me. And Alexander, when you get the chance, although I doubt he cares at this point. I need to talk to Zie." She hugged me. "You're a good son, Reese. I only wish I'd been a better mother." She turned away; eyes full of tears. "Goodbye, Reese. And tell Sarah I love her."

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

By the time I got home, I was severely shaken. That was the worst fight I'd witnessed between Mother and Alexander. It looked like things were over. I went up to my room, finished what little homework I had, and took a long shower. I wondered if I should tell someone. Someone who wasn't Alexander. It turned out that I didn't need to.

After I dressed in clean boxers, a shirt, and sweatpants, I heard Grandfather on the phone.

"Yes, Alexander. Here he is now. I'll ask him." Grandfather looked at me. "Reese, what happened with Marina?"

I told him about the whole fight, including the slap.

"Thank, you, Reese. That is all. Alexander?"

"It's all my fault, Eilief. I did this." My stepfather sounded distraught. "Zie said that Marina talked to her and told her that she was going on an urgent business trip. Zie thought that sounded strange, but she knows better than to question us. She even held Cirino before she left. Her scent is all over him."

I felt guilty, like I could have prevented this from happening. Logically, I knew I couldn't have stopped her, though. If Sarah, Cirino, or I were in danger, she'd do the same thing that she was doing now. Maybe even Kieran, Alexander's half-human son, though no one had seen him in years. Maybe even Taran and Viktor, her ex-stepsons with Edward Babin.

Alexander continued to moan that it was his fault, while Father stopped into the room, ears alert.

"Marina is missing?" he asked me. I nodded, and repeated the story to him. He sighed. "Silly woman. There's no way Selena could have survived that explosion. It's someone's idea of a joke."

"She swore it was her."

"Impossible."

"Eilief, tell Mordecai to shut the hell up. And send Reese to bed."

"I'm not fucking five!"

"Tell him to watch his mouth."

"Tell Alexander that he should have watched his," I retorted. Silence on the other end.

"All of you hush up," Grandfather said. "Mordecai, tell Dimitri that his presence is needed at the Nicolai/Santorino household. We are going to find Marina and knock some sense into her. Remind her of the current children she has if we must. She shouldn't risk her life for a ghost."

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

The next few days were hectic. Since Dimitri was the best tracker, he was sent, along with Stephan for backup. Father had several business meetings, and Grandfather's opinion was wanted in Washington D.C.

"I swear, if the president is late again..." Grandfather muttered. Sarah watched all this bright-eyed.

"You know the president?" she asked Grandfather.

"Of course. And all his predecessors. I even met Robert E. Lee once, and Jefferson Davis. He and I disagreed on a number of things, including slavery."

I inherently glanced at Toby, who was the son of American slaves. He smiled gently at me, letting me know that he was okay with this conversation.

Sarah sipped her hibiscus and berry tea.

"I didn't even know she had a daughter," she said.

"She didn't like talking about Selena," Uncle Soren said. "Partly because she blames herself for her death, and also because she and Selena had a huge fight before that night. I remember it as if it was yesterday. The smell of sulfur and gas made my nose burn."

Sarah cuddled into me, and I kissed the top of her head.

"It was quite some time before Marina could be left alone, and when she finally agreed to marry Alexander, that's when Mordecai had to sneak a love potion into her drink."

"It's not my fault," Father said. Uncle Soren raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what happened afterwards was my fault. Completely. But the person whom we should be blaming for Selena's death is-"

"Mordecai, shut up."

"The kids have a right to know, brother. I'm not leaving Reese or Sarah at a disadvantage because they don't know the whole story. Children, the fact of the matter is, Selena was killed by a stalker."

Sarah shuddered.

"Who?" I asked.

"Liam had fallen deeply in love with Selena and refused to take no for an answer. Eventually Marina got involved and told him off. That's what the fight was about, Selena thought Marina's interference would only make things worse. Liam had made his decision then. He would have Selena, one way or the other.

"It was at that factory where Mathias died earlier this summer. The one where Soren buried that stupid book that should have been destroyed fifty years ago but he failed to do so."

"Don't test me, Mordecai-"

"Enough!" Grandfather said, exasperated. "Continue the story, Mordecai. And no more insults directed at your brother. And don't remind me of Mathias."

I gulped. Grandfather had been forced to kill his adopted son after he tried to kill me and Uncle Soren, and after he had already killed my grandmother, Amalia. He didn't like to be reminded of it, as he blamed himself for all the destruction and grief that Mathias caused.

"Anyway, Liam told Selena that he had something she would want. Selena was not stupid, but she was gullible. At this particular time, she wanted a child more than anything, as she was not fertile. He pretended that he had a child that had been orphaned. Marina and I told her not to go, that he meant trouble, but her need to be a mother overpowered any rational thoughts in her mind.

"He had a bomb strapped to his chest shaped like a baby. He told Selena that it was a baby girl whose parents had died of an overdose. Selena picked up the bomb, and then set it down after she realized what it was. Liam pulled out a bone knife and grabbed her. By the time we got there, he was threatening to kill her and then himself. The knife was dangerously close to her throat. Now, Raquieca, Reese's cousin, was staying with us at the time, and she hates to be left out of anything, especially if there's drama involved.

"Raquieca told Liam that she had a better plan, that she would give him her island so that he and Selena could be happy forever. Liam asked her if she thought he was stupid. He knew that we'd take Selena away from him. Well, Raquieca told Liam that there was a solemn guarantee that they would be left alone. Marina started screaming at this point, and I didn't catch everything she said. In the middle of the screaming, Raquieca snuck away, and so did Louis."

"I hate myself for that," Louis sighed.

"Liam picked up the bomb, and then Selena bit him to get away. She was running towards us when Liam literally dropped the bomb. The last time we saw Selena, she was engulfed in flames. We all assumed she had been turned to ash after that. Now it appears that there is someone who is pretending to be her, and Marina has fallen for it."

"What if it's really her?" Sarah asked. Father looked at her.

"Sarah, the chances that she's still alive are astronomical. The same goes for Liam."

My girl bit her lip. I kissed her ear, saying "It's possible. Vampires are tough."

"Children," Uncle Soren said. "So idealistic."

"I need a cigarette," I muttered.

"Same here," Sarah said. I looked at her in surprise. "My mom started smoking cigarettes whenever she gets a craving for vodka. I've become addicted to the smell."

"That's not necessarily a good substitute," Louis said.

She leaned against me. "I'm worried about her. She blew through our funds for alcohol, she got so drunk that she stopped caring, and now she's addicted to the vice that my dad hated most besides drinking. But forget about me. Any news on Marina?"

"None," Father said, studying her. I took a sniff of her hair. There was a faint smoky scent. She yawned.

"Tired, baby?" I said.

"Yeah. It's been an epic few days. I can't wait to sleep in."

"It's all my fault," Alexander muttered. He looked at me and leaned forward. Father hissed as Alexander kissed my hair.

If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself.

I blinked.

Did he just-

Yes, Reese, I did. I spoke in your mind. I didn't want to say it out loud, or Mordecai would never let me hear the end of it.

What if he reads my mind later while I'm thinking about it?

At least I didn't say it out loud.

I embraced my soulfather, and he embraced me. I heard Father growl quietly.

"You know, Alexander, no one has seen Kieran in years-"

"That's enough, Mordecai," Grandfather said tiredly.

"I'm going home," Sarah said.

"Drive safe," I told her, pecking her cheek. "Call me if anything happens."

After she left, I felt moisture on my cheek. I realized that Alexander was crying. He wiped the tears away before my father saw them.

I'm weak, Reese. I feel exhausted mentally and physically. I need to see my beloved again, and my Kieran. I can't go another day without them.

"I am also going home," Alexander said. "Good night, everyone. Go to hell, Mordecai."

"See you, wouldn't want to be you," Father replied.

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

I set down A History of Vampires and paced the front room.

"Quit it, Reese," Louis said tersely. I frowned at him. It was the weekend, and everyone was in a bad mood. Sarah and Alicia had gotten into a fight about her drinking and smoking, and Alicia threatened to give away the dogs, so now Spencer was tasked with making sure Alicia didn't go overboard.

Louis and Uncle Soren had also gotten into a shouting match the night before, resulting in holes being punched in the wall and a vow to never speak to each other again. Father and Grandfather had also gotten into a fight about Marina, and I got dragged into it. I'd been basically forced to say that I wasn't