Unraveling Soren by Marisa Maichel (books under 200 pages txt) 📕

stared for a second before jumping up into a crouch and hissing.

“Mason, I’m your sire,” I said.

He cocked his head. “Sire?” His new voice had a slight hissing quality. He shook his head. “I don’t know who you are, or where I am. Or even who I am. But I’m not going to be anything for you.”

“You have to let me teach you,” I said. “You’re my fledgling. Your name is Mason Salazar Godfrey, and I turned you into a vampire because you died.”

“I died?”

“Yes. I was born a vampire, but you had to be turned.”

“I was turned? Did I have parents? Did I have pets? How old am I? Did I have a lover?”

“Yes, I turned you, yes, you have parents. Your father is here, actually. You didn’t have any pets, but your mother has a bunch. You’re eighteen, and about to graduate high school. You did have a lover, and her name is Elsa.”

He shook his head. “That’s not right. Not about the lover part. I don’t feel the need to be near anyone. Except you, but you’re my sire. So what does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Just then, he noticed Krauvas in the corner, sleeping. “Who is he?”

“That’s your father. Krauvas, wake up!”

Krauvas’ head shot up and he blinked, looking at Mason. “My god, you’re different. I knew you would be, but this…Reese, why is he different?”

“Because he’s designed to pull in human prey,” I said. Krauvas nodded and looked at Mason.

“I’m sorry I missed the moment you woke up, but I won’t miss anything else, I promise.”

Mason licked his lips and eyed his father’s throat.

“So hungry…”

“Uh, Reese? Do you want to go get some blood?”

“You’d better do it, Krauvas. He’ll be safer with me than with you.”

Krauvas ran downstairs and returned with ten bags of warm blood, that Mason snatched up and drank from in seconds. He was so fast I barely noticed his fangs, which were long, pointy, and white, like all vampires.

Mason gorged himself on twenty-one packs of blood, and then he yawned and stretched out.

“Sleepy?” I asked. He nodded, and I pulled out the bed underneath and set it up.

The next day was a school day, and I didn’t know what we were going to do. Mason couldn’t miss any exams, and neither could I. Finishing high school was too important.

Mason drank thirty more bags of blood, and then I loaned him my shower and some extra clothes. He was still shorter than me, so the clothes looked baggy on him.

I helped him clean his teeth and comb his hair, and then I asked Sarah to come over for a test run.

When he smelled her, he froze, and then sniffed the air again and again.

“What is that incredible smell?” he asked. “Is it a female?”

“Yes, it’s a female. My female, actually. Mine and mine alone. You are not allowed to touch, let alone bite, her without permission.”

“She smells delicious.”

“I know, but she’s mine. If you hurt her, I will kill you without hesitation. Am I clear?”

Mason whined and lowered his head. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, come in, Sarah.”

She entered through the front door. She had clearly been crying last night-her eyes were still red, despite the makeup, and her cheeks were flushed.

“Bad night?” I asked her.

She sobbed and wrapped her arms around me.

“Bad news, kids,” Louis said, looking serious.

“You’re healed,” I said, surprised.

He rubbed his neck. “Yeah. Grandpa healed it. Anyway, there’s been a threat made to the high school. A bomb threat. So there’s no school for the next week or so.”

“A bomb threat?” Sarah squeaked.

“What about exams?” I asked.

“What about them?” Louis asked dryly. “You’ll either have them or you won’t. But the point is, it’s a serious threat. Check it out. Oh, and I see your buddy is awake. Good job, Reesie Peesie.”

“You know I hate that nickname.”

“I do; that’s why I love calling you that.”

Louis turned on the news. Kate Un, who sometimes fucked my uncle, was reporting.

“A mysterious large box the size of a person has been mailed to North Hampton High School,” the beautiful dark-haired woman reported. “No one has been able to tell us what the box contains, but it’s also wrapped in twine. I’m here in front of the school now, and the bomb squad should arrive at any moment.”

The bomb squad did arrive, and they surrounded the box. The camera was trained on it as a police officer slowly approached it. Then a claw ripped through the box.

It was Mathias!

He ripped through the rest of the box and then started attacking the nearest officer with his teeth and claws.

“It’s a vampire!”

“Shit,” I said. I turned Sarah toward me. “I have to take care of this. Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone. Louis, guard her with your life.”

Louis was staring at the TV, open-mouthed.

I ran outside, and then I heard a loud hiss. I’d forgotten about Mason. I sighed and picked him up, then ran to the high school as fast as I could.

It was terror. Absolute terror. The cameraman was dead, and so were several officers. Mathias was causing pure devastation. He turned and saw me, then grinned.

“So it’s you,” he chuckled. “You came to stop me. You are the weakest member of my ex-family. You are pathetic. You are-“

But he didn’t get a chance to answer, as Father and Uncle Soren grabbed each of Mathias’ arms.

“Please, Mathias, don’t make me do this,” Father begged.

“It’s too late for apologies, little brother,” Mathias hissed. “This is your fault and Soren’s. You are both unbelievable.”

I grabbed the camera, pointedly said, “There’s nothing to see here; we’ll take care of it.” And then I turned the camera off.

But then I noticed a lot of people filming across the street.

Shit.

I turned back, and Uncle Soren and Father used titanium chains to secure Mathias and ran off with him. I turned to Mason, and saw him laying on the ground.

“Mason?” I asked. Oh, no! The sun!

But then I realized he was drinking from a half-dead man, and I sighed and pulled him away. There were burns on his face and scalp, but he was more interested in the blood.

I restrained him and carried him back to the house.

Grandfather and Louis were shouting at each other, and so was Father and Uncle Soren.

Father was holding Faolan, while Uncle Soren was holding Mathias.

I sighed and went upstairs, where I put Mason back into the spare bedroom and sat with him a while, cleaning his face.

Next door, Father was singing softly, and I realized he was singing “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx, which was his and Faolan’s song. I sighed.

I blacked out all the windows in the house with some old tarp we had, shut off the lights, and then sat with Mason while he recovered. I gave him some more blood. Father had bought a warming machine, so we didn’t have to microwave it all the time. Besides, the odor lingered when we did that.

Sarah had left to go back to her new home, so I read a book while Mason slept and sometimes ate. I finished the first book around eight at night, and I heard Father and Uncle Soren scolding each other again.

“Everything you do is for you and you alone,” Father was saying. “Now, look. Faolan is dead, Mason is a vampire, Mathias is back, and Samuel got away.”

“I did my best to follow him, Mordecai. I even walked into the ocean and swam for miles. I killed a shark. But still no luck. I cannot apologize enough for Faolan’s unfortunate demise.”

 

 

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Publication Date: 04-27-2020

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