Family Is Forever

  I don’t know if there was something in my expression that tipped him off, but he suddenly stopped talking and stared at me with curious eyes. “You keep trying to make me stay here…is something going on?”

  Smiling, I raised my hands. “No. What could possibly be going on?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. Crap. Why did I agree to play defense for Julian? Right. Because I killed his sister and obliterated his girlfriend.

  With shrewd understanding, Teren narrowed his eyes and said, “You asked to speak with us alone…the twins are up to something, aren’t they? They’re still at home though, so…” His eyes widened and he snapped his head to Emma. Hers eyes widened too. At the same time, they both said, “They’re having a party.”

  I closed my eyes, wondering who was going to kill me first—Julian or Teren. Teren snatched his phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed someone. At first, I thought he was calling the house, but then I heard Starla pick up the line. I also heard blaring, thumping music in the background. If Julian and Nika didn’t turn that down soon, they were going to get complaints from the neighbors.

  “Vamp boy!” Starla’s cheery voice proclaimed.

  Teren’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me that, especially if you’re at a party. Are you at a party?”

  Starla started giggling. “Every day’s a party, vampy.”

  Teren closed his eyes and looked like he was counting to ten. “Where. Are. You? And where are my children?”

  “I’m at the house. And they’re here too…somewhere.” To someone else, we all heard her yell, “Hey! You seen a couple of kids around here? Yay big? Black hair, blue eyes? Brown hair, brown eyes? Yeah, I know that could be anyone. Is that a yes then? Hey, where are you going? Ungrateful little twerp.”

  As she started prattling on about not being helpful, Teren let out a long exhale. “Starla…”

  Starla’s voice returned more directly into the receiver. “They’re here somewhere, I swear. No need to worry. Wait, you have trackers on them. Don’t you know where they are? Why the heck are you asking me?” She started laughing again, and making a pinging noise like a submarine radar.

  Teren clenched his jaw. “Are you…drunk?” he asked her.

  That only made her laugh more. “I don’t know. Maybe. Gotta go, vamp boy. Chow!”

  After that, she hung up. His cell still clutched in his hand, Teren pointed at me. “You’re helping the kids have a secret party while we’re gone? Forget everything I just said about you being a good boyfriend.”

  I started to lift my hands and protest, but he was already gone. Emma blurred away a second after him.

  Great. Well, at least I was able to buy Julian a little bit of time. Hopefully it was enough.

  Because I was a full vampire and Teren and Emma were only part vampire, I was able to overtake them. I blurred passed them like they were merely jogging at a leisurely pace. I’d set out for Nika’s house with a desire to get there first, but as I flew across the pastures, another desire overrode that one. The bond kicked in, and all of a sudden, I needed to get to her simply because I needed her. Nothing in the world existed but her, and I couldn’t move fast enough. My heartbeat quickened and I felt shaky all over. I pushed myself nearly to the breaking point of my abilities. To anyone looking, I’d be a momentary blur in their vision, something easily dismissible and forgettable. It still wasn’t fast enough for me though.

  I was aching, panting with desire. Things blurred passed me that I should have recognized, but I didn’t. They were just smudges of green, brown, black, trace scents of pine, water, blood. None of it mattered, nothing but getting closer to the intoxicating presence of my mate. Her face in my mind superseded everything else in reality. The remembered smell of her pushed back the abundant nature between us.

  She was too far from me to sense if she was pacing, but I imagined I could feel her anticipation of my arrival growing. I pictured her restless, breathing heavy, running her hands over her body, wishing it was me. I was completely ready to be one with her. It was all I wanted, all I needed…

  When I got to her street, I expected to see her, to feel her rushing toward me. She hadn’t moved though, and the loss of her was painful. I rushed into her home, breezing past people entering and exiting the house. I couldn’t wonder who they were or why they were there, I only knew, they were keeping me from my goal. I sensed my love in an upstairs bedroom, and shoved past the humans in my way. They didn’t even see me. Fighting broke out behind me, as the simple-minded people started blaming each other for the jostling. I didn’t care. Nika was all I cared about.

  She was in her old bedroom. I burst through the closed door, halfway breaking it off the hinges. My love was being held back by two men I didn’t recognize at the moment, although the scent of one stirred something deep within me. Other people were in the room…two women, another man…but I didn’t care. One of the girls screamed as I came to a stop in the center of the room. It hurt my ears, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Nika. Each man was holding back one of her arms, pinning her in place. Once Nika spotted me, she jerked free from one of her captors. She lunged for me, but the other man slipped his arms around her waist and restrained her.

  Fangs lowered, I hissed at the man keeping us apart. Someone else in the room cursed, and I could sense movement by the doorway, but I didn’t care. I wanted Nika, and nothing was going to stop me. I thought I heard my name, followed by the word, “No,” but it barely registered with me. I blurred to Nika, pulling her free. The person behind her tried to grab her again, but I shoved him into the wall, cracking it. The other man who’d been holding her stepped forward, and I pushed him away with one hand. He flew, tumbling over the bed, and landing on the far side of it.

  With everyone between Nika and me gone, we melded into each other’s arms. Lips found lips, hands found bodies. We sank to our knees as the urge to be together overwhelmed us. I pushed her to her back, laid over the top of her. She was panting, moaning with desire for me to take her. Our mouths never stopping, I pulled at her jeans, tearing them in my desire to get them off. Her hands pulled at my shirt, ripping it.

  Odd sounds pricked my ears—cheering, gasping, whistling, agitated voices yelling. None of it penetrated deep enough to stop me though. I was with Nika, and nothing would ever come between us again. As I yanked her jeans down her hips, a sudden unexpected sensation cracked through the bond’s hold over me.

  Burning hot water splashed over my back, neck, and head. I was soaked, but more startled than anything else. The surprise of it made me forget about Nika writhing beneath me. I snapped my head up to the person in front of me holding a bathroom-sized, plastic garbage can. I scrunched my brows, trying to understand what was going on.

  “Julian? What the hell are you doing?”

  Julian sighed in relief, then indicated the room we were in—a room packed with curious people watching. “Just stopping you from having sex with my sister in the middle of a party.”

  My eyes flashed down to Nika beneath me. She was soaked from the warm water and panting with the residual desire of our intense connection. A throat cleared in an authoritative way, and we both looked over to see a very irate Teren and Emma Adams. Teren’s eyes shifted from me, to Nika, to Julian. “Everyone needs to leave. The party is over.”

  I FELT LIKE some weird, male-version of Cinderella, staring at the clock, waiting for it to strike midnight. Only I wouldn’t be losing all my magic when the bell tolled, I’d be getting filleted alive by my overprotective parents. Somehow, I had to get everyone out of the house before that happened. And a part of me really didn’t want to. Because, oddly enough, I was having a good time.

  It was fun hanging out with kids my own age, even if I didn’t know most of them. Sure, I’d seen them before at school, but Nika and I kind of kept to ourselves. We’d always known living in Salt Lake was temporary, and so was every friendship we made here. So why open up to people if it wasn’t going to last? Why give yourself the
grief of missing them later on down the road? Plus, Nika and I had to lie about so much in our lives, that it sort of took the fun out of socializing.

  But tonight, none of that mattered. Being part vampire didn’t matter. Being undead, as in my sister’s case, didn’t matter. And having a rogue vampire hunter chained up at the family ranch didn’t matter…because I was passing out Jell-O shots. I was the King of the Kitchen, and all of my subjects were coming to me for a bright, cheery refreshment.

  It had been Trey’s idea. When he saw how stressed I was, he’d ushered me to the kitchen, set me up at the island in the middle of it, and proclaimed me the Lord of the Land, Ruler of the Fridge, and Doler of Drinks. I’d rolled my eyes at first, but eventually I’d started having fun with my bartending duties.

  And people confided in me while I got them juice, water, pop, or something stiffer if they preferred. Sally told me that Ian was a jerk for cheating off her in chemistry. Ian told me that Holly had an unnatural obsession with teddy bears. Holly told me that Ryan was a conceited, self-absorbed asshole with no taste. And Ryan told me that his underwear cost forty bucks.

  My favorite conversations were the ones that centered around Arianna and her circle of friends. Her friend Pam told me that Arianna wasn’t seeing anyone. Her friend Liz told me that Simon was cute, and she was going to date him if Arianna didn’t. I silently wished her well on that mission. Her friend Nicky said she thought Arianna and I would be a good match. I kind of wanted to hug Nicky.

  Simon didn’t seem to have any friends at the party. Nobody seemed to know him either. All I could get out of people was that he lived next to the high school, but he didn’t go there. I already knew that much. He spent the entire night by Arianna’s side, which irritated me to no end. It was the only part of the party I didn’t care for. But Arianna only seemed to be respectful of him, not interested in him. I watched them like a hunting vampire whenever they wandered into the kitchen for drinks. Arianna would smile and shake her head every time Simon offered her a snack. I wanted to reach out, grab him, and yell at him that she wasn’t hungry anymore. But I resisted.

  Arianna smiled whenever she saw me. I was handing a guy named Scott a lime-green Jell-O shot when she approached me alone. I raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve got four left…want to try one?”

  She bit her lip. It was adorable. “I don’t know…I don’t really drink.”

  I handed her a pretty pink one, while I took an electric blue one. “I don’t either. Together?”

  Giggling, she nodded and took the small, plastic cup. We both tipped them back. Mesmerized, I watched her mouth as she swallowed. Then the alcohol hit me and I gagged. That made her laugh even more. “You’re cute,” she mumbled.

  I thought I probably wasn’t supposed to hear her say that, but my enhanced ears picked it up. I grinned into my cup. Over her shoulder, I saw Simon heading our way. Nika stepped in front of him, detaining him. He stopped short of running into her, then tried sidestepping around her. Trey popped up on one side to block his path; Raquel popped up on the other. My smile grew. I had the best friends.

  Arianna chewed on the rim of her glass as she studied me. Tilting my head toward the archway that led out of the room, I asked her, “Do you want to go somewhere quieter?” I realized it sounded like a pickup line after I said it, but the music in the living room was thumping loud now, so it was a legitimate request.

  I thought for sure she’d tell me no, but setting her cup down, she smiled and said, “Sure.”

  The room was packed with people, so I reached down to grab her hand. It was warm and familiar, and felt better than anything I’d felt in a long time. I pulled her through the living room toward the stairs. Bodies were all around us now—I couldn’t believe how many people were here. I’d already heard a couple of things break, and garbage was everywhere. I was pushing that from my mind though. I’d deal with it later.

  Arianna balked when she realized where we were going—to the bedrooms. I looked back at her innocent, angel face. Leaning in, I whispered in her ear, “It’s the only quiet place in the house, but if you’re not comfortable, we could go outside or something?”

  She stared into my eyes, maybe judging how trustworthy I was. I dropped every wall I had, and let her see how much I cared about her. I would never hurt you. I love you. Remember me…please. She smiled, like she’d somehow heard my silent plea. “It’s okay. We can go upstairs.” She poked her finger into my chest. “The door stays open though.”

  Laughing, I nodded. “Fair enough.”

  As we reached the steps, I looked around for Arianna’s human-shadow. I didn’t see Simon anywhere though. Trey popped his head out from the crowd, spotted me and where I was going, and gave me two thumbs up. I rolled my eyes. This wasn’t going to be what he thought it was. Not tonight. Not when she didn’t love me.

  People were everywhere on the stairs. I sighed when I saw that they were all over upstairs too—in all of the guest rooms, in my room, in Nika’s room, and even in my parents’ room. Groups of them were huddled on each side of my parents’ door, laughing and exclaiming, “Shut it! You’ll see!” I cringed as I realized what they were doing—testing the vampire-worthy soundproofing. Great. If they somehow broke the seal, my parents would notice instantly. God…I was going to have so much to clean up when they all left. Thank God for super speed.

  I took Arianna into Nika’s room. Somehow, taking her into a girl’s room seemed less intimidating than taking her into my room. And…I could hear the sounds of someone making out in my room. I was going to have to get new sheets.

  With a stern voice, I told the three people lounging on Nika’s bed to leave. When they didn’t move, I told them there was a fresh plate of special brownies downstairs. They left pretty swiftly after that.

  Arianna blinked when she saw the feminine décor. Flushing with color, I quickly explained. “It’s my sister’s room.” I glanced at the bathroom separating Nika’s room and mine. Nika’s side was open, while mine was thankfully closed. “Mine’s on the other side of the bathroom.”

  Smiling, Arianna sat on Nika’s bed. “Oh…I didn’t even know you had a sister. Why doesn’t she go to our school?”

  I sighed as I sat beside her on the bed. Yeah, you do know I have a sister. She’s your best friend. “Um…she’s homeschooled. She just…prefers to be alone.”

  Arianna tucked her hair behind her ears. “Oh. I have an aunt who is agoraphobic, so I get it.”

  I widened my eyes like I didn’t know that, but I did. I knew most everything about her. “Oh, wow. That must be hard on your parents.”

  Arianna’s face relaxed as she nodded. “My mom, yeah. She doesn’t understand why her sister won’t go anywhere. She thinks she’s being unreasonable, paranoid. Life is scary but…hiding yourself away and not living it…that’s even scarier.” She shrugged. “To me, anyway.”

  She gave me such a warm smile that I almost believed she knew me…I mean, really knew me. But then her expression turned embarrassed and she looked away. “I can’t believe I just told you that. I don’t really talk about my aunt.”

  Needing to touch her, I lightly put my hand over hers on the bed. “You can tell me anything. You can talk to me.”

  I thought she’d pull away, but she looked back up at me instead. “I know. I’m not sure how I know…but I know.”

  My grin was unstoppable. She might not remember me, but she instinctually felt safe with me. That was a good thing. A very good thing.

  Bringing her legs up cross-legged on the bed, Arianna leaned forward over her thighs. “Okay, Adams. Tell me everything there is to know about you. Every single detail. Let’s get to know each other, like you said.”

  I couldn’t contain my smile, and, for the next several minutes, or maybe it was several hours, I proceeded to tell Arianna everything I could about my life. I loved it, and I hated it. Since she didn’t remember who I really was, I had to tell her the lie we told everyone—Starla was my mom, my dad was dead, Nika wa
s a 100 percent normal teenage girl. It gave me a lot to say to Arianna, and our conversation was light and breezy, but I felt guilty. I wanted to tell her everything we’d been through together…good and bad. She’d only think I was nuts though. Once a compulsion was done, it was as if those wiped moments had never happened. Not even another vampire’s compulsion could bring them back. They simply no longer existed; it was why Arianna had inexplicable holes in her memory.

  Arianna had relaxed quite a bit during our conversation. Her demeanor was casual as she played with the strap of her shoe. Her laugh came naturally. It was easy to pretend that we were still together as we sat there talking. Our arms were even touching. It sent a jolt of electricity down my spine to feel my skin against hers again. It felt like we were finally shifting, finally moving in the right direction. It was everything I’d hoped tonight would be.

  After a brief pause in talking about our summer plans, Arianna pursed her lips and said, “Why have we never been friends before now? We’re in the same grade, and we must have had classes together before…but I don’t recall ever seeing you before a couple of months ago.”

  I sighed, not sure how to answer that. “I don’t know… We must have just kept missing each other. But I’m so glad that’s not the case anymore. You…there’s just something about you. You’re kind, warm, accepting. You see past people’s faults, to the person they are underneath. You’re patient, forgiving, and open to things that are a little…different. But you don’t take crap from anyone either, and you stand up for what you believe in. You’re just…amazing.”

  Her expression was blank. “You saw all that, sitting across the room from me?”

  I peeked up at her with a small smile that I couldn’t hide. “I see you, Arianna. I see the real you.” Straightening, I met her eye and held her gaze. “And I really like what I see.”