Unraveling Mordecai by Marisa Maichel (types of ebook readers txt) 📕

I sat on a couch beside my father a few minutes later, David on his other side. Sarah sat beside me, dressed in a formal knee-length crimson dress with rose detailing. Her hair was done up in an intricate curly updo, her makeup applied perfectly by Jimmy. Her lips were a brownish red, her eyes had silver and blue makeup around them.
Her ring was clearly visible on her finger, her nails painted a dark red. I’d never noticed before how unusual she was. Her skin was dark, but her eyes were bright green, her hair was thick and curly, almost always tied up, and she seemed too beautiful to be real.
I reached for her hand, and she smiled at me.
“Okay,” said a man coming over with a microphone clipped to his shirt and earbuds in. “It’s nice to meet you, Your Excellency,” he said to my father, shaking his hand. “I’m Cal Zigg. I’m the producer of your show.”
“It is nice to meet you, as well,” Father said. “As you know, I am Prince Mordecai, and these are my sons, Reese and David, and Reese’s betrothed, Sarah.”
Cal shook all of our hands and kissed Sarah’s knuckles. Someone started playing gothic music and then Kate Un appeared. Oh, great. I knew that Uncle Soren had promised her a position on this station in order to keep her mouth shut about their brief affair.
I sat up straight and urged Sarah to do the same. David looked nervous. He kept messing with his collar, and Father had to keep adjusting it.
Kate Un sat in the host’s chair and greeted us with a nod. Then she plastered a fake smile on her face as the assistant cameraman counted down.
“We are on in three, two…one.”
“Hello, and welcome to Live Talk, the only live show on the first ever vampire channel. I’m here with Prince Mordecai and some other very special guests. Prince Mordecai, why don’t you introduce us?”
Insolent bitch.
“Twenty-six years ago, I met a young woman,” Father said. “This was before I married Marina Santorino and produced Reese, who, as you can see, is on my left, along with his beautiful fiancee, Sarah Cresley. On my right, there is a child I didn’t know existed until very recently. He found me and told me who he was, and I believe him. Now, there have been many fakes and attempts to claim familial bonding, but this is a true connection. I know it is, because my gut instinct is never wrong. This is my son, David.”
The camera panned to David, who abashedly looked at his lap. Then he looked up.
“I never knew who my father was until three weeks ago,” he said. “There has never been a man in my life. I had to learn how to be a man on my own. Now that I know who my father is, I’m eager to get to know him, along with my brother and other relatives.”
“How did you find Prince Mordecai?” Kate asked.
“After my mother…” He cleared his throat. “After my mother passed away, I went through her old journals and found Prince Mordecai’s name. I read the whole book, and learned about the affair. I looked him up by name, and found his photo online. I felt an instant connection when I saw him. I mean, the similarities, the hair and eyes alone, it’s uncanny.”
My father wrapped his arm around David’s shoulders and pecked him on the cheek.
“Prince Reese, what are your thoughts about all of this?” Kate asked.
“I’m as excited as Dad is,” I said. “I’ve always wanted an older brother. Little did I know that I actually had one all along.”
“Sarah?” Kate asked. “How do you feel about all this?”
“I’m happy for Reese and his family,” she said. “It’s like getting a brand-new family member. There’s always room for more.”
“Sarah is correct,” Father said. “Like she said, there’s always room for more. I’ve gotten many, many fakes, vampires claiming to be related to us, but they’ve always been proven false. This one is real. David is, in fact, my son.”
“What fantastic news,” Kate said, layering on the sweetness. “A new family member for the Emerson-Nicolai clan! This is Kate Un, reporting for Live Talk on the new station VTV!”
Sarah clung to me and gave a big smooch on the cheek.
Then Uncle Soren began raging.
“Outrageous!” he shouted. He pointed at David. “That boy is no more your son than Alexander is mine! This is absolutely ridiculous! I don’t believe for one second that he’s related to us! I don’t care what your goal, is, boy, but it ends here and now!”
He moved toward David threateningly, but Father planted himself in front of David.
“Touch him and I’ll rip your arms off, Soren,” he promised. “The DNA test will prove that he’s my son. I don’t care what you do to me, but if you hurt David, Louis will have a father to bury.”
“That was dark, Uncle Mordecai,” Louis said. My father and his father both ignored him. Uncle Soren continued to glare at David, who cowered and quavered under the look of the most powerful vampire in the world.
Sarah clung even tighter, and I realized without looking at her that my uncle had frightened her.
Beckett appeared. He looked at Sarah. “Ca va, Sarah?”
“Oui, Daddy, je vais bien,” She replied.
“Il t’a blessé ?”
“Non, je vais bien, papa, vraiment. Qu’est-ce que tu fais ici de toute façon?”
“Je suis venu aider Mordecai. J’ai été engagé comme producteur pour un de ses spectacles.” He nodded to me. “Reese.”
When he left, I asked Sarah what that was about.
“He heard Soren’s yelling and came to check on me,” she said. “Your dad hired him as a producer for one of the new shows.”
“That’s…good,” I said.
“It’s fantastic,” Sarah said. “Daddy needs money. He and Mom are finally getting officially divorced.”
“He’s still wearing his glasses.”
“He says it’s due to habit, but I think his vision hasn’t improved any. That’s the tough part about being part human. You’ll always have some human qualities.”
“He doesn’t like me.”
“No, Reese, that’s not the case. It’s actually…I shouldn’t say this, but you’ll find out anyway. He’s jealous of you.”
“Jealous? Of me? Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“You’ve been able to protect me better than he ever has. You’re young and virile, and he wishes he had your body. He also thinks you’re more attractive than he is. He’s jealous because you’re my first love, and he wasn’t around to see me fall for you. He’s also a little wary, since you’re a vampire.”
“He’s a vampire, too.”
“But he wasn’t until recently, and he had to have the help of a goddess. Our ancestor, even. I still can’t believe I’m part goddess. But anyway, you shouldn’t take his rudeness seriously. I’ll have a talk with him if that makes you feel better.”
She pecked my jaw. And then we realized that the cameras were still recording everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Shit, shit, shit.” Father paced around the living room. “Shit, damn, fuck. Fucking bitch. Who knows how many people saw that nastiness? The one that is my brother?”
“Approximately a hundred million, give or take,” Louis said. Father glared at him.
Sarah was in our room, singing “Top of the World” by the Carpenters. I was sitting on the couch. Sarah came down, wearing gray yoga pants and a white jacket.
“Aren’t you hot, babe?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, “But not because of the jacket.”
I grinned at her sudden burst of vanity. But a part inside of me groaned. She sat between me and Louis, who was currently flipping through cartoons. He settled on Baby Looney Tunes. While he and Sarah laughed at the characters’ antics, I wondered what was wrong with me. Sarah never used to annoy me this much. Okay, maybe I did blame her a bit for saying too much on camera, but it really wasn’t her fault.
I’d long ago accepted that she wasn’t perfect…or had I?
I mean, her physical beauty alone…everyone thought she was perfect. She worked so hard to maintain that façade that it had worn her down, and she suffered physically, mentally, and emotionally. She even had seizures and a heart attack. How much more could she take?
I realized she was reaching for my hand, and I moved away slightly. She gave me a hurt look, then scooted closer to Louis, which made me jealous. Was she making me jealous on purpose?
As soon as the cartoon was over, Louis flipped to the news.
“OMG, stop right there!” Sarah shrieked.
“Did you really just say ‘OMG’?” Louis asked her. She ignored him.
“Jamie Williams is in town! He’s like, my favorite author of all time! He writes the best books, and the best poems! He’s soooo romantic!”
“Hey, I can be romantic,” I protested. She ignored me. Instead, she eyed him. I looked up and saw him.
He had shoulder-length straight blond hair, bright green eyes, and a widow’s peak with a slightly balding forehead. He was skinny and tall, and he wore a Victorian-era suit with a top hat and cane. He even wore gloves. He waved at the camera crew, and Kate Un stepped up to him.
“Jamie, what can we expect while you’re in town?” she asked.
“My dear lady,” he spoke in an English accent, “I will be signing copies of my new book, Blood Moon, and I will be…ah, my agent said not to say anything, but he’s not here, is he? I will be holding a contest for all the young ladies and gentlemen who enjoy my work. A poetry contest. It can be a haiku, free thought, or any other. It can rhyme or not. Whoever comes up with the best one will be escorted to dinner by me at Sea Gala, a restaurant by the beach here in New Jersey. He or she will enjoy a fine meal, romantic talk, a fully-paid-for dinner, a romantic walk on the beach, maybe a little romantic book shopping or museum-hopping. The poems are due Friday the thirteenth of September, and I will read the contest winner the next Monday. Good luck!”
He walked away, turning his back to the camera and laughing maniacally.
“Sarah,” I said, “I absolutely forbid you to submit anything to him.”
“Excuse me?” she turned to glare at me. “You are not the boss of me.”
“How many times did he say the word ‘romantic’? Did anybody keep count?” Louis asked.
“Sarah, I’m only thinking of us,” I told her.
“No, you’re jealous. Again,” she said. “You’re suffocating me with your jealousy, Reese. I love you, but if we want to make this work, you have to let me make my own decisions and mistakes.”
“Sarah-“
“Don’t you ‘Sarah’ me! I don’t even know if you truly love me, or if you’re just obsessed with my looks. Sure, I’m gorgeous, but I’m also a human, damn it! Well,