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

Koda put his paw on my leg, and Shadowfang sat up and pawed at Koda's head.
"Be nice," I warned him, scratching Koda's head.
"The dog says that feels good," Shadow said. "He likes his new family."
"Good, because we like him."
"I don't."
"That's because you're a cat. Can't you at least be civil?"
Shadow pretended to meow then, and Koda gave him a big, sloppy kiss.
"What else did you get Sarah?" David asked as he and Father played poker.
"I gave her some money for her wedding dress and accessories. I hired the best makeup artist in Denmark to do her makeup and a world-renowned hairstylist to do her hair."
"You spoil her," Father said. "I mean, shopping sprees, horses, cars, dogs..."
"She's growing," I said. "You can definitely tell she's pregnant now."
"I noticed. She's beautiful, Reese. Even more beautiful than before. Your mother was the same way-when she was pregnant with Selena, she glowed. You gave her a harder time because you weighed so much?"
"How much did he weigh?" David asked.
"Thirty-two pounds."
"Dad," I said, "No baby weighs thirty-two pounds when they're born."
"Okay, twelve pounds."
"I think you're telling a tall one."
"Okay, eight pounds."
"That's at least more reasonable."
"You were a little chunk, though. Of course, you got skinnier as you grew up, and now you're a stick."
We were distracted by Louis, who came in, wearing reindeer antlers.
"I, um..." he trailed off. "I lost a bet."
"What did you do this time?" Father asked.
"I got feelings for someone new. Dad bet me this headband that I couldn't go two months without liking someone new. And I did, and he caught me. The only problem is, I'm still dating Paul."
"I'm amazed," I said. "You're still with Paul? You've been with him for months now."
"Who did you fall for now?" Father asked.
Louis looked humiliated. He would have been blushing if vampires could blush. It's not easy to embarrass him, either.
I noticed David sneak a peek at Dad's cards, but said nothing. Cheater. Unfortunately, Dad noticed, too.
"Nice try, son," he said, smiling at my new brother. Now David was embarrassed. "I'll get the chessboard set up."
Louis took off the antlers and sat beside David. "I can give you some pointers, dude."
"No cheating, Louis," Father warned. "That's how I beat you the last hundred times."
"Um, Dad?" David began. "I, um...I don't know how to play chess."
We all gave him horrified looks.
"You've never played chess?" I asked.
"I'm up for learning how, though."
"Good boy," Father said. "It's a shame others don't share your thirst for knowledge and would rather cheat." He aimed the last sentence at Louis, who stuck his tongue out at Father.
"Who do you like now?" I asked Louis.
"Uh...nobody."
Father frowned at him. "Louis."
"Okay, fine. Well, you know, Cholena's pretty hot-"
"Oh, no. No, no, no. You are not falling for that girl," Father snapped. "I don't trust her one bit, and neither should you."
Louis scowled, then crossed his arms and sulked like the grown toddler he was.
Father taught David how to play chess, with Louis giving David bad advice the whole time.
"No, don't move there, or you'll put your queen in danger."
"Hey, Louis?" I broke in.
"If you tell me to shut up, Reese, I'll cut all your hair off."
I wisely kept my mouth shut.
"Where's Uncle Soren?" David asked.
"Doing research," Father said. "He's asking around about Kole, trying to find out where the girl came from. And trying to find Satira at the same time, but the old shrew seems to have vanished."
"You never got along with Satira, did you?" I asked.
"No, I didn't. She treats your mother like shit and introduced Liam Wolfheart to Selena, causing him to believe she was his soulmate. Now she wants your souls. For what purpose, I do not know, but it can't be good. It never is with her."
He and David played chess for a couple hours, while Louis turned on the TV and watched some stupid comedy. I read a book on how to be a good father. I knew the basics of how to change a diaper and feed a baby, but I didn't know how to be a father.
I texted Selena a few times, asking about Mother. She said Mother was still being watched. Luckily the bleeding had almost stopped-she was running on empty. Ethan kept stealing bags of human blood from Mercy Hospital and feeding them to Mother. He was still observing the babies carefully, looking for signs of death or injury. I liked how gentle he was with Mother. He had once told me that he assisted in delivering babies when he was human.
I waited anxiously for news about Mother and my unborn siblings for two weeks. I had partially moved back into Father's house, and Sarah stayed with me. She enjoyed getting to know David, and he enjoyed getting to know her. She told him how we met and began dating, although she didn't mention her trauma or Nales.
Sarah had started drinking coffee again, although it was at least decaf and sugar-free. The poor girl was addicted to the stuff. I enjoyed spoiling her, rubbing her feet and brushing her hair. She also enjoyed me putting my hands on her belly and feeling our babies. She loved being pregnant, except for the morning sickness and constant hunger pains. The girl could eat a horse's weight in junk food.
And she did love her food-spicy jalapeno chips, coffee ice cream, asparagus, cauliflower, decaf mochas, milk, cheese, pizza, French fries, Mentos, cola, and so on. She always wanted food. We constantly got delivery people at the door with Chinese or pizza or Cajun. Father was concerned that all the food would make her sick, and it occasionally did.
She also loved baths. Bubbles, bath bombs, lavender oil, tea tree shampoo, rain-scented perfume, and so on. I once caught her falling asleep in the tub. I carried her to bed where I dried her off and then dressed her in a clean gown and panties.
She would occasionally cry as well. She cried for the smallest things, from a lost book to leaving a blanket on the couch, to a late package, and she cried for big things as well, such as Mother and all of her unlucky pregnancies. We still didn't know anything about what had happened to the babies that were currently inside her.
She worried so much that it made me worry. Her anxiety was through the roof. I made her keep taking her pills every morning and night, before she went to bed and after her breakfast. Even the obnoxiously big ones, which she tried to hide under her tongue. I forced her to open her mouth and checked under her tongue after I caught her flushing a specific pill down the toilet. She would only drink milk with her pills-it was the only thing that didn't upset her stomach.
Selena had all sorts of advice to give, some of it was actually very helpful. She'd been pregnant before several times, and even though she'd lost every single one, she still knew how to handle these things.
Finally, Ethan called me. I put him on speaker, as Sarah and Selena were in the room with me, discussing the best baby necessities.
"What's up?" I replied. I heard sobbing in the background.
"I'm so sorry," Ethan said. "Your mother's fall did...how do I say this? One of the babies has died."
The sobbing grew louder, and I looked at Selena and Sarah, both of whom burst into tears.
"Poor Marina," Sarah said. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Just be there for her," Ethan said. "Don't force her to talk about it or bring it up. There's still a risk that she may lose the other two. Marina, do you want to talk to your kids? Sorry, kids, she doesn't want to talk right now. I'll keep checking in on her every few days and watch the progress of the pregnancy."
"Thank you, Ethan, goodbye," I said, hanging up. I blinked back tears. My poor brother or sister. Screw Alexander. He went too far this time. He'd pay for this.
My father came into the room, looking sad.
"You heard?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Louis, David, and Soren heard as well." He sat beside me and hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry, Reese. You too, Selena. I promise we'll get revenge on Alexander one day."
My sister burst out sobbing. The guys came into the room and sat beside her. Louis gave a half-hearted attempt at a hug, but Selena pushed him away. He gave her a stung look, and I realized that he cared more than he showed.
However, Sarah accepted hugs from David and Uncle Soren, then they both hugged me. We were all silent, the girls and I crying our hearts out. I cursed Alexander and called him every name I could think of in my head. I needed to destroy something. So I told my family I'd be back and then went into the woods.
I killed an unfortunate coyote, a fox, a bear, and a herd of deer, destroyed many trees, and even cracked a couple of tombstones in the cemetery. I went to the lake and dove to the bottom, tearing up several fish with my teeth. Then I ran around the territory a few times, urinated on a patch of wild roses, and then went back home.
Father informed me that now Selena was out destroying something, and I hoped my sister would be okay. Sarah was still crying, hiccuping. Her wings were starting to poke out of her back, and I took her out to the pool area. Her wings burst out of her back, and she began flying around, half-blinded by her tears, trying to get her anger out of her system.
I'd seen Sarah upset on a few occasions. Frustration, anxiety, sadness, and irritation were common with her. Rarely had I seen her truly angry as she was now. Her beautiful brown skin turned tomato red, and she began shouting expletives at the top of her lungs. I didn't try to stop her, I just let her vent.
Our heartbreak continued on even as we prepared to leave for Denmark to get ready for the wedding. Sarah, as usual, packed more than what was necessary, and she helped me remember a few things that I would have forgotten otherwise.
She asked me if she could invite Jamie Williams, and I reluctantly agreed. Our wedding guests would consist of more than friends and family-it would have allied covens, politicians, the Vampire Council, and so on.
I was beginning to get nervous. There was still so much to do. Luckily, I had help. Toby made himself useful on several occasions when I forgot to invite somebody or send money for a plane ticket. I raised his salary in gratitude.
But things got even more stressful when Spencer showed up. He'd been fired for his lack of usefulness during a time which we needed all the guards to be vigilant. And he'd cheated on Toby. Now he wanted Toby back, and he wouldn't take no for an answer.
I heard them arguing in the mornings and at night, and Toby was becoming more and more upset each time.
"Take me back," Spencer said. "We're soulmates, Toby."
"I'm not the one who put my dick in a sixteen-year-old," Toby snarled. "Leave me alone, Spencer. Fuck off."
Uncle Soren appeared then, and glared at Spencer. Spencer wisely slunk away. As Uncle Soren's fledgling, Toby was under his protection.
And another thing: Sabine was missing again. Sarah tried calling