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

Alexander started laughing, holding his stomach and doubled over.

“It’s about time!” he guffawed. “With all the women he fucks. Come inside, friend.”

The albino took his invitation to heart. His eyes roamed over the house, landing on Mother and Selena, who stared back.

“Beauties,” he purred. “I assume you are Marina, wife of Mordecai?”

“Ex-wife,” she corrected. “Fiancée of Ambrogio Nicolai.”

His eyes went to Alexander. “The loud one?” He looked at me. “A little one. Can’t be more than eighteen years old. Tall, but smaller than most male vampires. About two hundred pounds. Yellow eyes, black hair, beak-like nose. You must be Reese.”

I self-consciously touched my nose. Was it really like a bird’s?

“My son,” Mother said.

“Yes, you have the same nose and chin. Except yours makes you look very attractive and distinguished.”

Ouch.

“Enough flirting,” Alexander growled. “What do you really want? Money? We have an endless amount. Whatever sum you want. A house? We can get you one? A lover? I know lots of young women and men, whichever you prefer.”

“I happen to like both,” said the albino. “But what I really want is to know my father. I can see that I really am at the wrong house. Perhaps I’ll go…”

“The sun’s at its highest point,” I said.

“True, and my condition doesn’t help.” He lifted the hood off so we could see his face properly. He had handsome features, with a sharp nose and full lips. His eyes were full of depth and sparkle, his chin was slightly narrow due to his heart-shaped face. He was cute. Really cute. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Selena flushed, as much as a vampire can, and hid behind Mother, who still brandished a butcher’s knife.

It didn’t take much for Louis to come along. By then, all the cheerleaders had gone home, (all of them stopping to look at Kellan, the albino), and Sarah had introduced herself to him. She blushed and fumbled as she greeted him. He smirked, amused. I gritted my teeth. I decided that he was a potential rival.

We merely had to tell Louis that someone from his past was here, and he came quickly, along with Uncle Soren.

“We came across Mitra at a small pool,” Louis said. “She wore a cherry red bathing suit, and damn. She’s hot.”

He paused as he saw Kellan, who smiled. “Hello, Father.”

“Excuse me?”

“Forgive me, where are my manners. My name is Kellan, and I am your son.”

Louis froze. When he didn’t move for three minutes, Uncle Soren poked him and said something about a hot alien chick.

Louis stared at Kellan. “Who? How?”

“You remember Annabelle, yes? She was my mother. She died recently, and told me the truth just before she passed.”

“Annabelle Murkwater? The English brunette in the purple dress?”

“Ah, so you do remember my mother.”

“I remember everyone I fuck, even if they’re not that important to me.” He studied Kellan. “You’re not shitting me, are you?”

“No. My mother told me just before she died,” Kellan explained.

“Annabelle is dead?” Louis asked. “When?”

“Just the other day. She was tired of living, and thought me dead because we had not seen each other in years.”

Louis paused. “I don’t think you’re my son.”

“You may think what you wish, but it is fact.”

“No one else in our family is…is…”

“An albino? I know, I did extensive surveillance on the rest of the family.”

“He’s lying,” I said. “He thought this was where you lived, Louis. It doesn’t even have much of your scent.”

“I don’t think he’s telling the truth at all,” Alexander said, crossing his arms. “What say we torture him for information?”

“Alexander,” Mother said quietly, wrapping an arm around Selena.

“I agree,” Selena said. “Who are you, and what do you really want?”

“Okay, the truth is…I knew this wasn’t where Louis lived. I followed Reese.”

“Why?” Louis asked.

“My name is Kellan, but Louis isn’t my father. He’s my brother. And Annabelle Murkwater isn’t my mother. Alga is.”

“How did you know about Annabelle, anyway?” Louis asked.

“Like I said, extensive surveillance. Years and years of it. Before Alga died, she and Soren had one more romp. I was produced. Mother wanted to hide me, so she sent me to live with monks in Italy. I lived near the Vatican for years and years.”

“If there’s a grain of truth in that, we won’t kill you,” Louis said. “If you’re telling the truth and you are my brother, Dad needs to know.”

I still didn’t believe a word of it. It sounded to me like a load of bologna.

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

Uncle Soren thought it was a load of bologna as well.

“It’s true that Alga and I did get together one last time before she died, but she died a few weeks later. Even vampire babies need more time than that to develop. He’s lying.”

“So far, he’s lied about everything,” I said. “Why should we believe anything he says now?”

Father, who was strong enough to lift himself up, added in his two cents. “I say we kill him.”

“Hold on, he could be working for another party,” Grandfather said. “He’s clearly trying to infiltrate the family, but he’s not doing it very well. We need to find out who the other party is and why.”

“I still say we torture him,” Alexander said, pounding his fist against his palm.

“You’ll get your wish, Alexander,” Grandfather said. “I will say, though, he looks a lot like Kieran.”

“Kieran is not an albino,” Alexander sniffed. “He has brown hair and blue eyes.” He stood up straight. “I’ve had enough. I’m going to find Kieran if it’s the last thing I do!”

“You won’t have to,” Toby said, looking outside. “He’s here.”

Time stood still once again. Alexander ran to the window, then ran outside. I followed after him, followed by Uncle Soren and Grandfather. Father stayed behind, to much begging from Faolan.

“Hello, Father,” said a handsome vampire with long brown hair and bright, crystal-clear blue eyes.

“I’d heard you were in St. Louis,” Louis said.

“I was. My mate…he died. I couldn’t stay, so I came here. I remembered the house that Mordecai had purchased not long after Reese was born. You must be him,” he said, nodding to me.

“He’s Reese, all right,” Louis said. “Did you say your mate died? I had no idea.”

“Neither did I,” Alexander said.

“I didn’t come back for you, old man. I came back for the rest of the family. I smell that you’ve already met Kellan.”

“Yeah, we can’t figure out who he is or what he wants,” I said.

“You’ll have to forgive him. I’m afraid his mind has gone, well, haywire, ever since…it’s not important. But he is a friend, and possibly related to us, I just don’t know how.”

Kieran scented the air. “I smell Marina. Is she still around? I always liked her. And…gods, is it possible?”

“Selena survived,” Uncle Soren said.

“But the fire…the explosion…”

“I know, we thought so too, until recently when she returned after being held captive by Wolfheart for years.”

“Come inside, you’re much too thin,” Grandfather told Kieran.

“Thank you, Eilief. You were always kind to me.”

“Of course.”

Faolan growled at Kieran, and Kieran crouched defensively until I told him that Faolan was my father’s mate. He looked bemused.

There were now so many family members in the house that Kieran would have to stay in the guest house if he didn’t want to live with Alexander. Kieran replied that that was better than anything Alexander could have done for him. My soulfather could not mask the look of hurt that flittered across his hardened visage.

I showed Kieran all the bedrooms, told him where the dungeon was located, and pointed out the guest house. I told him that there was another couple living there who resembled Alexander and my father, that they were from another universe where men and women lived on separate planets. He looked at me like I was nuts, until he saw Other Mordecai crossing the yard.

“He looks pregnant,” he noted.

“He is,” I told him. A look of disgust crossed his handsome features.

“I also smell human,” he said. “Female.”

“That would be my girlfriend,” I told him. “Her name is Sarah Harper Cresley and I’m going to marry her.”

“I fell in love with a human once. He became my mate.” Kieran sniffed.

“You loved him, didn’t you?”

“More than the universe. He was my universe.”

“What was his name?” I asked.

“Thomas. Thomas Gold. He was my gold.” His eyes shined with tears. He casually wiped at his eyes. “It really is my fault he’s dead. But whatever. Show me where I’ll be sleeping.”

I took him to the house, briefly introduced him to Other Alexander, and showed him a free room.

He accepted it and settled himself under the covers.

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

Alexander paced.

“I have to see him,” he said. “He’s my son. He’s hurting. I need to help him.” He sat on an ottoman. “But he hates me. He blames me for Celine’s death. It was technically my fault. But I would have had to marry her, and I did not love her. My place is with Marina, my soon-to-be wife. As a father, I should support him.”

He looked up and saw me. He got up and hugged me tightly, making Father growl. Pure instinct told me to back away, but my love for Alexander told me to stay where I was. Yes, I loved him; he was like a second father to me. Father read this in my mind and snarled.

“He’s mine,” he growled.

“You’re mine,” Faolan responded.

Jealousy made the room tense. Growls erupted from everywhere. Father and Alexander growled at each other, Faolan growled at me and I growled at him in return. Then Alexander and Father both growled at Faolan, and Faolan buried his head in Father’s shoulder, looking abashed.

I hissed a bit as Alexander pulled me into him, growling at Father. Father growled back at his archrival, warning him not to crush me on accident. I slid out from my soulfather’s arms and walked around in a circle on all fours, releasing some pent-up energy.

My stomach growled and my throat burned, and I realized how hungry I was. I purred, feeling odd, almost dreamlike. I settled onto the floor and rubbed my scent into the carpet.

“What is he doing?” Faolan asked.

“Marking his territory,” Father replied, smiling at me. I purred and adjusted myself so my body language was inviting him to play. Shadowfang jumped off his perch and greeted my invitation with a playful twitch of his tail. I grabbed my hoodie string and moved it around the carpet.

The cat grabbed at it, pretending it was a bird or a mouse. Or a snake, as he preferred killing.

“He needs blood,” Father said. “Hey useless, go get my son some food.”

“Burn in hell, Mordecai.”

“I’ll see you there.”

“Whatever. Reese, calm down.”

I growled and prepared to pounce.

“Don’t even think about it, boy.”

Then I remembered who he was. I continued to purr, but I turned to Faolan instead.

“Not me, either, teenager.”

I kept purring and marked my territory again. My cat climbed onto my chest, purring just as loudly. I kissed his nose, and he licked my hand with his papery tongue. His yellow eyes shined at me, and I saw myself in them. Both supernaturals, both with black hair and yellow eyes, purrers, growlers, hissers. He was a parent, and I was a child still. Well, no, I was legally an adult, but I was the child of two vampires who had once claimed to love each other.

I only stopped purring when I noticed the others looking at me strangely. Father was smiling, Faolan was frowning, and Alexander had a smirk.

I yawned widely and got up, causing Shadowfang to jump off and hiss. I needed blood, so I went into the kitchen, trying to ignore my exhausted, dizzy feeling. I could no longer ignore it when I started to fall toward the floor and my eyes blurred.

Alexander reached me first, being the one to catch me before I hit the hard tile.

“He fainted!” he called out.

“Alex?”

“Shh, my son. Hush. You nearly split your head open.”

Father was there in a split second. He hissed at Alexander and took me from him. I noticed Faolan didn’t look happy.