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

"This is all my fault," Mordecai said, pacing again.

"Ow, ow," Louis said. "It feels like a clamp is around my skull." He doubled over. He ran outside and threw up. My concern for him outweighed my need to speak to my brother. I went outside to help him.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"My stomach," he complained. He looked at me. "Dad...I think I have porphyrina."

"Soren!"

"Dad!"

I opened my eyes. "Did I faint?"

"You did," Father told me, kneeling over me. "Louis told us what happened. It's not serious. You know that, right?"

"First Reese, now Louis! I don't know what to think."

"Like I said, it's not serious. It's like Reese's. A subplot in the story of our lives."

"Reese's was serious."

"I know, but this isn't. Oh, Soren."

Mordecai was holding his sides and whining.

"Reese," he said softly. He missed his son. He was worried. I knew he was fearing the worst, and I also knew that Mordecai would be devastated if Reese died. I felt the same way about my son. My most precious treasure, besides my beloved nephew.

"I need a nap," Louis said, yawning.

"Then go to bed," I said. He glared at me, and I frowned at him.

"You know what? I will. Ow." He doubled over. "Porphyrina hurts. My gut feels like it's literally twisting and turning. Now I know how Reese felt when he had it."

Mordecai clutched his head and whined even louder.

"I will call Ethan Potter," Father said. "He has the antidote."

We had met Ethan, a vampire and a hospital nurse, the year before when he had been Reese's nurse. We became friends with him and now we pay him to assist us with our medical needs. He had also helped with Sarah's C-section when she had Cirino, which earned him a few more points.

"I need him," Mordecai said.

"We'll find Reese, Mordecai," I said.

"Yes, but I didn't mean him, although I need him more than anything. I was actually talking about Faolan."

"Faolan?"

"Soren, I...is it possible I'm like Reese? Bisexual?"

"You know as well as I do that many vampires are sexually ambiguous. It would not matter to me if your lover was an Elf, just as long as you were happy with him or her."

"Father doesn't think so."

"He knows as well as we do that homosexuality was prevalent in our ancestors. We were among the first Vikings, some of whom believed that homosexuality was normal. Hell, it occurs in over two hundred and fifty animal species, including dogs, penguins, and gazelles."

"For dogs it's a matter of dominance," Mordecai said. "With gazelles, it's only the females who hump each other during mating season. As for penguins, I did read about two male penguins who tried to hatch a rock together. They were given a real egg that the original parents couldn't hatch. The homosexual penguin couple managed to hatch her and cared for her as if she were their own."

He looked sick. "Soren, everything is my fault. Faolan...Reese...even Sarah and Sabine's predicament with their mother."

"Alicia threw herself to the dogs," I said. "Remember: she was an alcoholic for years, and only Becket Cresley could control her during a mood swing. She would have hit one of the girls eventually. I'm just sorry that none of us were there to stop her from assaulting Sarah."

"Toby was there," he said.

"Toby can't predict the future or see the present like you can."

Mordecai's gift is not prevalent, and it rarely occurs. He has the ability to see what is happening in the present, much like a seer who can only see what is happening in the moment. He rarely uses it, as he has a tendency to zone out and focus elsewhere other than where he is at that moment.

"I've tried to see Reese. Also...I gave up that power."

"What?"

"Do you remember the crazy half-Elf who tried to hold Reese hostage last year, Uriah Dreschler? I tracked him down and he took away my power."

"Mordecai, none of us would have asked you to do that."

"I know. But the fact of the matter is, it's pretty worthless. Sure, I've managed to save Reese a few times in the past because of it. But what if I'm too late because I'm so focused on the enemy and not him?"

"That's why you gave up your power?"

"There are many reasons why I gave up that power. Hell, I had to have a spy tell me where Reese was when Ambrose had him. And when Mathias captured him and took him to that beach, Reese had to contact me himself. The gift is only useful when our mental connection is strong. He was across the world during the Ambrose fiasco, and then he was unconscious for most of that little adventure with Mathias.

"Sure, a part of me still wishes I had it, because maybe he's closer this time and I can actually find him without help. But the chances of that are slim. Honestly, I feel much freer."

He sniffed the air. "The wolves are back."

"Already?" I opened the door as Faolan was just walking up the steps.

"Well, we lost his scent near the river. I did find a trail of blood, but it led nowhere."

Mordecai let out a distressed cry. "My baby! My baby is hurt! What have I done? What am I going to do?"

"Hold on," I said. I looked at Faolan. "Was it Reese's blood?"

He nodded gravely. Mordecai buried his head in his hands.

"He lost a lot of blood. I found a piece of his jeans," he said, holding up the darkened piece. Mordecai snatched it and smelled it.

"My son! He's hurt! If I find Torrance, I'll kill him!"

"Torrance?"

"Torrance is the name of the vampire that kidnapped Reese," I told Faolan.

"Faolan, I..." Mordecai trailed off. Faolan looked uncomfortable.

"Mordecai, let's talk in private," he said.

"Yes, we should," Mordecai agreed.

They had been talking for hours. The wolves tried to track down Reese again, to no avail. My worry was beginning to grow. I followed the trail myself; I got the same result. The blood led to the river, and then the scent disappeared.

What I thought was this: Reese had either managed to get away, or he was dragged by Torrance and dunked in the river to disguise his scent and wash the blood away. I could only imagine what horrible things were done to my nephew.

I sniffed around on the other side of the river. His scent was fainter here, but it was still there. I considered which way he might have gone. I sniffed around some more, and lost the trail. I sat back on my haunches and huffed. How could he have disappeared completely?

"Any luck?" I looked up. It was Toby.

"None," I told him. "Sniff around, see if you can find anything new."

He bent low to the ground, his nose working.

"What I think is this," he said, sitting up. "Reese either fell into the river or was dumped into the river. That's why his scent trail suddenly ends."

"I thought the same thing," I said. Toby sniffed the ground again.

"It's definitely him. There is also a faint female scent that smells like Sarah. He spends a lot of time with her."

He was right. Reese had been with the girl shortly before he was kidnapped.

I headed back to the house, defeated. Mordecai was sitting on the front porch, smoking a cigarette. I took one from his pack and lit up. I offered one to Toby, who politely refused.

Suddenly, Mordecai stood up and sniffed the air.

"It's him!" He started bouncing around. "Reese! He's back! REESE!"

We turned around. Alexander, who had been in the house, ran outside, followed by Father, Louis, and Spencer.

We stared as a lone figure appeared out of the woods across the road. It was Reese. He was stumbling, and I realized with horror that his right arm and left foot were missing. His dark matter was matted with blood. He stumbled across the road and into the yard, panting loudly, his fangs still out.

Faolan grabbed Mordecai around the waist before he could run to him.

"My baby," my brother whispered.

Reese made his way across the yard and stumbled into my brother's chest.

"Vampires...red eyes...other Reese..."

And then he fainted.

CHAPTER FIVE - REESE

The pain was unbelievable. I dreamed about darkness as I was unconscious.

After a few days, I woke up in bed. My arm and foot were still missing, and my shoulder and ankle hurt like hell. I was hungry, and my throat burned. I whimpered out, and Father was at my side in seconds.

"My baby," he said, nuzzling me. "My sweet baby." He held a straw to my lips. "Drink."

I sucked on the straw, enjoying the fresh blood. I winced and grimaced at the pain in my shoulder.

"Oh, baby," Father whispered. "My poor, sweet Reese."

I growled at him. He growled back.

"Sarah," I commanded.

"Rest," he commanded. "Eat. Drink. Sleep."

"Don't you dare hypnotize me."

"Don't tell me what to do." He and I frowned at each other. Then he smiled. "Someone missed you."

A large weight landed on my belly. Shadowfang sniffed me, then walked forward and gave me a kiss. He hissed at the sight of my shoulder.

I'm glad you're home.

"I'm glad to be home."

"Prince Mordecai?" Father turned to face Spencer. "We found Prince Reese's arm. We are still trying to locate his foot."

"Thank you, Spencer. Bring his arm to me."

I whimpered as my arm was reattached. Toby found my foot fifty yards away from my arm and brought it to Father.

Father held my arm in place until the all the skin and veins were reattached. I would have a bruise there for a while. I whimpered, licking my arm. Father leaned forward, and I growled at him. He growled back.

"Let me help."

He started licking my shoulder. His saliva helped soothe the ache.

"I need Sarah," I said.

"She's coming, Reese."

And she did. She sat beside me the next day. "Hey. How do you feel?"

"I'm in pain. A lot of pain. I was so scared, Sarah. I thought I'd lead him to you. I technically did. I'm so sorry."

"I'm confused now. What did he want?"

"To kill me." Father hissed at my answer. "To destroy me. To take over my life."

"Who was he?"

"He was another Reese. He looked exactly like me, except his eyes were a bit paler, more a creamier color than my bright yellow. Sarah, I was so scared. He tried to kill me, and then he and Torrance started arguing, and he tore off my arm and then my foot. I wandered around for a while, then jumped into a river to lead him off my scent. Then I wandered around some more. I was so hungry...so thirsty. I almost killed some female hikers. They saw my fangs and screamed, then one of them tripped and hurt her ankle."

Sarah didn't look scared, to my relief, merely concerned. "How long did you wander around?"

"I don't know. I lost track of time. I fell asleep once. I killed a buck and drank his blood. It was disgusting, but I was so hungry. I smelled the guards, and decided to head home. Then I smelled Uncle Soren, and I...I don't know. It felt like my heart constricted. I missed all of you, especially you and Alexander." Father hissed again. "Everything was muddled, and I could barely see when I started walking home. I was still hungry, and I was losing blood fast. When I saw my family, it was like being let go after someone tried to strangle me. I'm sorry, that's a bad analogy. I missed all of you."

Sarah kneeled by me and kissed me gently. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that."

"Don't be. It was my own fault."

"Don't be silly, Reese," Father said. "None of it was your fault. It was mine."

Sarah kissed me again, petting Shadowfang, who settled himself on my chest. "Good boy, Shadow," she said. "Give him some lovies. He needs them."

"From you," I said. She pecked my lips. I growled and pulled her closer. I winced as I lifted my hurt arm. She put her hand on that arm