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

I feel plenty justified,” Cholena said.
“Fucking bitch,” he cursed. She stomped on his hand, cracking the bones. I heard him cry out again, and then he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her to the ground. She landed on her back, and he dragged her, so she was level with him.
He grabbed her head and started to twist it, and I shouted, “Uncle Soren, think of who she is!”
He growled, but he stopped trying to snap her neck at least.
He grabbed her by the throat and held her up off the ground by three feet. “Try that again and I won’t be so merciful, girl.”
He dropped her onto the ground where she lay, coughing.
I predicted that these two would be crazy about each other in a matter of days.
“She’s just like Mitra, isn’t she?” Satira gloated. “Strong and powerful. The Ancient Feminine is incredibly pleased with the Dearwood women.”
“How did you meet her?” I asked.
“Through a friend. Quite a coincidence, really.”
“You’re not telling the whole story.”
“Oh, the whole story will eventually come out. But not today. What do you think of her, Soren?”
Uncle Soren grumbled under his breath about impertinent women and ancient witches who annoyed the daylights out of him.
“Why are you really here, Satira?” Father asked.
“I told you. Marina, your sister and I miss you dearly. Do you think you could-“
“No. I chose Catholicism, and you chose witchcraft. Do not try to tempt me.”
“But your children, the unborn ones, they still have a choice, and so do Reese and Selena.”
“Stay away from my children,” Mom growled. “Leave now.”
“Satira, get off my property,” Father warned. Satira sighed dramatically and shrugged.
“As you wish.”
She turned around and left, Cholena following close behind.
“Bitch,” Father muttered. “Marina, why did you bring her here?”
Mother blushed. “I thought she’d changed.”
“Well, obviously she hasn’t. Please, be more careful whom you bring around our son.”
“Just a minute, Mordecai-“
“Please don’t fight,” I begged my parents. “I didn’t even know she was still alive until today. I don’t know anything about your side of the family, Mom. Do you really have a sister? How many siblings do you have?”
“Five, all sisters,” Mom said. “Two of them are dead and one of them lives with Satira. The other two, I don’t know about.”

 

CHAPTER TWO – ONE, TWO PREGNANCIES

We didn’t see Satira again for several days. By then, Cholena had made a regular presence at the edge of Father’s property. She was usually carving wood or sketching in a drawing pad or writing in a composition book.
I figured she was keeping an eye on us, possibly intimidating my uncle on purpose. Sarah divided her time between Father and Mother’s houses, bringing a set of clothes each time. She was more tired, hungrier, and thirstier. What was even odder, was that she began to have strange cravings similar to mine. She would only eat rare beef or sometimes even eat raw hamburger. I asked her to stop, but she glared at me.
I began to have my own suspicions. We’d been down this path before, where I’d thought Sarah was pregnant, but I was wrong. This time, I was more certain.
Meanwhile, everyone got along with David swimmingly except for Uncle Soren. He acted like he didn’t exist, even outright ignoring him during question-and-answer time. Father made an announce of the “appearance of a child” on the vampire news.
Not everyone had taken the news that vampires were real and alive well. I still got death threats daily. But we had also begun a new project: the first vampire TV station, dedicated solely to the supernatural and paranormal. It was stationed in Trenton, the capital city of New Jersey. Father needed to be gone for days at a time to take care of it-or Uncle Soren. This time, though, we all went.

The driver pulled up to the station building. Across the street were religious protestors-it looked like Westboro Baptist Church members. I showed my ID and was led to a makeup room. A man with caramel skin and silver eyeliner introduced himself as Jimmy, and he said he would do my makeup and hair.
“How long have you been growing out your hair?” he asked, picking up a brush that I recognized as a Mason Pearson brush.
“It’s been long since I was fourteen,” I told him. “The white tips are a trait of our family. Even Louis has white tips, and he’s the only one who doesn’t have yellow eyes. Emerson eyes, some call them.”
“Whatever you call them, they’re beautiful,” Jimmy complimented. “Now, how much makeup do you usually wear?”
“I used to wear eyeliner and black lipstick,” I said. “But I stopped doing that except for special occasions a few years ago. Now I usually go au naturel. I also used to wear earrings.”
“I can see the scars,” Jimmy said, examining my face. “You’ve got a nice complexion. Small pores. What kind of blood do you drink, human or animal?”
“Human,” I responded.
“That explains it. Animal drinkers usually rot from the inside out unless they have human blood every now and then. It’s a slow death.”
“My father always said that animal drinkers were an abomination.”
Jimmy laughed. “I’m an animal drinker.”
Well, that was embarrassing. For me, I mean.
“But you say that animal drinkers rot?”
“Eventually, but it takes years and years,” Jimmy said. “I think I’ve got time.”
“You could always drink bagged blood.”
“Tried it. Hated it. Okay, is your hair naturally straight, or do you straighten it? I’m thinking a low ponytail. Is that okay with you?”
I answered his questions and consented to the ponytail. He fixed my hair up and used a black elastic to keep it tied together. Then he applied a thin layer of foundation and powder, and then lined my eyes in black. After some thought, he decided to paint my lips a slightly pinker color.
I actually looked handsome when he was done.
“Do you usually prefer prey or predator?” I asked.
“I actually prefer wolf, if I can get it,” he said. “But if I can’t, cow’s blood will work. It’s against my religion to eat any pork products.”
“My girlfriend’s Jewish.”
He laughed. “So am I.”
“Stay away from her.”
“No worries-I only like men. Particularly rich, handsome men. I wouldn’t go for her, but I might go for your dad.”
I nearly barfed. He laughed at the look on my face, and finished my makeup by spraying a finishing spray.
The wardrobe girl handed me an expensive white shirt and black pants with dress shoes and socks. She allowed me a curtain, at least, so I could dress in private. Her name was Sheila.

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