Anthony didn’t see Zach or Sebastian in the club when he got home, so he went into his office and shut the door to have some time with his own thoughts. He barely even had to think about putting a sound barrier up to block the noise of the club before it was up and giving him solace.
He stopped in his tracks halfway to his desk. A large, dark brown spider sat in front of his keyboard. It was a lot bigger and more menacing than the ones they’d been battling here at home for a while, now. Sometime after his father left to travel, over seventy years ago now, they’d developed a problem with small spiders here and there. They were mostly just puzzling, and didn’t bother anyone in any other way besides always seeming to be around. But this one…
He frowned and stepped towards it, intending to kill it with his bare hand, only to stop short when it quickly disintegrated before his eyes. He stared in confusion at where it’d been, then absently looked around, freezing in shock at what was happening in his office.
Wispy spiders scuttled into the room from everywhere… minute cracks in the walls, under the door, the ceiling… absolutely everywhere. They rushed in, quickly disintegrating as they were sucked into a hazy, windless funnel taking shape in the middle of the room. He stumbled backwards towards his desk to put some distance between him and whatever this thing was. Power. It was pure power. But why hadn’t he felt it until now?
He let go of the tight control he always kept over his own power and readied himself to use it against this unknown foe. He tried to sense who it might be, but it was difficult to get a read on the creature’s aura. “Show yourself you coward!”
The energy continued to build, and he tensed when his sound barrier was shredded. He hadn’t known it was even possible for someone to do that to him.
A much stronger barrier quickly replaced his own, and he immediately had the suffocating feeling of being trapped in this small space. He raced to the door and opened his senses as wide as he could to get a feel for what was going on in the rest of the club, but a powerful force blocked him from anything past this room. Even the door handle was beyond his reach, feeling like the threshold of a human’s home, something a vampire was powerless to penetrate.
Dread and anger filled his soul as he whirled back around, imagining the worst for what was happening to the rest of his family. Too many vulnerable people could get hurt tonight.
Nameless faces of families, children, and the elderly flashed through his mind, but it was the crystal clear memory of Kaia’s smiling face that threw him into a desperate rage to dispose of this creature. And getting angry felt better than worrying about the incredible power he felt growing uncontrollably in front of him.
Anthony latched onto his fury that someone had invaded his home without his permission, and focused it. He was Master here and this thing was going to find out just what that meant. He threw power at the funnel as fast and sharply as he could, but the bodiless mass just absorbed his attacks and kept on growing. He quickly switched tactics and reversed his assault, focusing on pulling energy out of the funnel this time.
He didn’t see whatever hit him. He only felt the sharp ache of his entire body slamming backwards against the force field that trapped him in his office. Stars danced in front of his eyes as his slid down to one knee. His senses were stunned and the back of his head throbbed mercilessly. He could feel his body healing, though, and then he’d battle this trespasser again.
As his vision cleared, the hazy funnel in front of him started to look vaguely like a woman. Her rich, smoky voice seeped unhurriedly into his mind. ‘Do not do that again. I’ll forgive your temper only once.’
So it was a woman. That wasn’t much information, but it was something. And he’d irritated her, possibly even hurt her. He forced himself to stand up, then watched in awe and growing fear as her body filled out, her nakedness eventually being draped with a long, sheer slip. Her dark, gauzy dress was draped atop an ivory skinned, barefoot body that was slender and as toned as a wild animal’s might be. Her shoulder length dark hair was coarse and messy, tangled here and there. Everything about her was wildness and nature in all its glory and uncaring harshness.
She watched him with her whiskey colored eyes as she continued to absorb the ghost spiders that were still flowing in through every visible and invisible crack, though they were slowing in their intensity.
He stared in morbid fascination while her almost pure white skin began to glow with a healthy radiance he’d never seen before on someone so pale. He was in awe of how beautiful she was in her own primitive way, but he was wasting time gawking at her when he should be contemplating how he’d free himself from her trap. His gut told him she was more dangerous than anyone he’d ever faced before, so he needed to concentrate.
Her voice was sensual and wild at the same time when she said out loud, “There’s no need to contemplate freeing yourself, my son. I’m not here to fight with you. I’ve only ever been here to protect you.”
When he realized her limbs were almost completely formed, he thought if he was going to try to take her out he better do it soon, before she figured out how best to protect herself.
That same invisible force slammed him against the solid force field again, and he dropped hard to his knees. He was powerful, though, and his mind and body quickly healed, just in time for him to recoil in horror as the woman lunged at him, her form changing shape a hundred times before his eyes.
She stopped inches from his face with fangs extended and the blackest eyes he’d ever seen. Her skin had morphed into leathery flesh and she had huge, bat-like wings that brushed against the ceiling, walls and bookshelf in his small office.
His heart hammered in his chest and he finally understood what it felt like to be terrified of just looking at someone. Was this what others in the family felt like when they looked at him?
Her hideous screech sounded like a cross between an incredibly loud cicada and a rabid animal. After her burst of rage, she rasped out in a more human voice that was equally harsh and in a pitch that hurt his ears. “I am your Vampire Mother and you will show respect to your mother.” She stepped back and he was slammed to his knees again, then forced to bow before her.
She was his vampire mother? He’d never heard of such a thing, much less known of any vampire that could transform their body like she could, or have the incredible level of power she had.
For the briefest of moments, while he found himself unable to move, thoughts of Kaia floated through his mind and he had a powerful desire to make it through tonight so he could see her again. He wasn’t giving up the fight with this creature, but he’d never found himself at the mercy of someone stronger than him, and that worried him. He was Master of the Atlanta territory because he was the most powerful person around. If others were invading his territory… He couldn’t even think about what that meant for his family.
The bat creature that was supposedly his mother snorted like an angry animal. She squeezed Anthony painfully tight with an invisible hand of power, then huffed and let him go. Anthony kept his eyes down, but snuck a peak at her clawed toes as she slowly shuffled from side to side, her nails making clicking sounds against the hard cement floor.
He froze when her wings folded in closer to his body, and he worried she’d try to wrap them around him while he sat here still unable to move. His power flowed freely around him, but no matter how hard he tried, she held him tightly, effortlessly, and there was nothing he could do about it. She was powerful, there was no doubt, but his main fear now was how to get the situation under control so the family wouldn’t get hurt. His own safety was an afterthought.
The Vampire Mother snorted again, but this time it sounded like she might be chuckling. Her wings swiftly retreated and a horrible sounding laughter filled the air before she finally stepped jerkily out of his personal space. Eventually she stilled and he watched in awe as her clawed toes morphed back into the glowing white skin of her human feet.
“You’re a good Master, my son. Come. You may rise.” Her lighthearted tone didn’t match her smoky voice, which was completely opposite of the creature’s scratchy rasp.
With his body finally free, he cautiously looked up at her. She’d fully regained her human form, and watched him closely as he slowly stood.
She was a few inches shorter than him, but his height was the only advantage he seemed to have, so he tried for diplomacy instead of brute force. “Forgive me for offending you, ma’am. I wasn’t aware I had a vampire mother.”
She slowly smiled, her expression ending in a smirk. “No, you wouldn’t know that. I don’t make myself known to all my children. Very few, actually.” She gave him a sly look, then started lazily walking around the room. Her fingers trailed over his desk, his bookshelf, then over his books on business and investing. She pulled one out, flipped it open, then carelessly shoved it back onto the shelf.
“I am known to those I care for as the Spider Woman, the protector. I am known to others by my given name, Laufeia.” She looked pointedly at him then. “I gave of myself to create your kind. I am your mother.”
Her gaze was intense and he wasn’t sure what she wanted from him. Perhaps an emotional reaction to her admission. He’d heard much more creative stories than hers about how vampires had come to exist in the world, though, and whatever she thought she was here to protect him or the other vampires from was beyond him. She certainly didn’t protect Jim from getting killed.
Laufeia narrowed her eyes and said with a hint of a smile, “I protected you, my son. I protected the majority of my children from being found out by the humans by bringing that man and his family here. You’re the Master of Atlanta, are you not? I trusted that you’d do what was necessary to make sure most of my children were kept safe. And I was right. You care about your brothers and sisters.”
He scoffed at her logic, and was dismayed that she was right. He did care about his family enough to kill to protect them. It irritated him that she was so smug about it, though, but mostly it irritated him that she knew so much about him…
She held her hand and arm out like she was modeling something, then said with a sly look, “Of course I know a lot about you. I’ve been everywhere in your home for years now.” He jerked back when her entire arm morphed into a thousand spiders. She chuckled, and instantly her arm was just an arm again. She let it flop to her side.
“I’m not lying about being your mother. I protect those I care about, and my children are what’s most precious to me. You are precious to me.”
Unsure what to say to end this strange siege, silence grew between them until she eventually resumed looking through his few things scattered around the room. Something about her movements and the look in her eyes gave him the impression she was tired.
She cocked an eyebrow. “I suppose I am, though not too tired to put you in your place.”
He jerked back when she was suddenly just inches in front of him. It shocked him that he hadn’t even seen her move. No one he’d ever come across was faster than him. No one.
She cocked her head and eerily smiled, then slowly reached up and pet his hair, looking fascinated by it. She let the long strands slide through her fingers, then ran her gaze down his body, eventually taking his hand in hers. An uncomfortable shiver ran through him and he fought with himself over wanting to jerk away from her touch. When her power seeped over him and held him firmly in place, he tensed and realized there had never really been any choice in the matter.
“I thought when your father left that I’d be needed here. However, you’re a self-made man, are you not? The road was bumpy at times, but you found your way as Master.”
She’d been here since before his father left? And he’d never noticed her here?
She stared at his hand and said, “I’m leaving now. I need to feed and only the motherland can nourish me properly.”
Her eyes lit up when she looked back up at him. “You take such good care of my children, Anthony. Even the naughty ones. It was a pleasure to see them all gathered in their beds, day after day, all under one roof. Your roof. A mother does so love to keep her eye on her little ones, and because you’re such a good Master, I’m giving you a parting gift to aid you in your responsibilities. I’ve only given a small amount of my power in creating your kind, but you’ll soon have an additional power.”
A shiver of deep dread overcame him as he stood helpless in her grasp once again. And deep down he was also reluctantly starting to believe everything she was telling him, but it threw an uncomfortable spin on what he thought he knew about himself and this world. Logically her story sounded ludicrous, but her aura was smooth and even flowing while she effortlessly held him in place like no one else had ever been able to do. Not even his father, his maker.
She gave him a knowing smile, then forced his hand palm side up and touched the center of it with her pointer finger. His eyes went wide when a tiny spider formed on her fingernail and quickly scurried to the center of his hand. She smiled in fascination as she attentively watched the little creature, gripping Anthony even tighter with her power when he tried to free himself. His heart thumped harshly in his chest as he stood unable to move while he was forced to watch the little spider tunnel into his skin. There was a sting followed by an itchy feeling before it disappeared inside him, and the wound completely closed itself afterwards thanks to his vampire healing powers.
Repulsion washed through him unlike anything he’d ever felt before. What did she just do to him? Thoughts of Kaia surged through his mind and he was terrified he’d now someday turn into the horrific creature this Spider Woman had been only a few minutes ago. He hadn’t even revealed himself as vampire to Kaia. How could he ever tell her he was now an even more terrible monster?
He stared at the spot where the little spider disappeared inside him and wondered if he could somehow dig it out, though he knew that was a ridiculous thought since it obviously wasn’t really a spider at all. It was a tiny speck of this woman’s energy.
He glared at the Vampire Mother with intense anger and hatred in his heart for adding another obstacle to his new relationship with Kaia.
The Spider Woman scoffed at him. “I haven’t turned you into a monster, my son, but even if I did give you the power to transform yourself, you’d still be beautiful. All my children are beautiful. But don’t worry. What I’ve given you will be a beneficial gift. You’ll see. And if your lover is upset by it, then she’s not the right lover for you.”
Anthony had the defiant thought that Kaia was the right one for him. He wanted her to be the right one for him, but he tried to calm his anger because he knew he was no match for the Vampire Mother.
She looked innocently at him while she released her powerful grip. “You won’t notice your gift right away. It’ll grow in time.” She smiled expectantly at him and he just stared at her, too terrified about what was going to happen to him now to do anything else.
She took a step away and looked around the room, her wild hair and demeanor at complete odds with her sweet expression. “I’ll miss this place, but it’s time for me to go back home now. My curiosity kept me here for so very, very long, but I need to feed soon. The mother will nourish me. No one here can do that.”
He stared at her in shock, revulsion, and horrific curiosity. He had questions for her, things he’d never understood about being vampire, but he couldn’t force himself to ask a single thing because he didn’t want her focus on him anymore. For once in his life he felt actual fear as he faced someone, and more than anything he just wished she’d leave.
She gave him an appraising look and said in a more subdued tone, “You learn quickly, even for as stubborn as you are. Let me give you a piece of advice, if I may. You know plenty about being vampire. More knowledge will come in time. For now, it’s better you don’t know much about me, and if asked, it’s wise to never speak of this night.”
She stepped closer and looked intently into his eyes as she more quietly said, “And if you choose a path that brings you closer to me someday, do not, under any circumstances, go through the door that leads to my homeland. It’s a wild place and I can’t guarantee your protection there, even if I wanted to. You’ll know the meaning of this if you ever happen upon it. It’s closer than you know, but be careful because the King is powerful, much more so than I. Never try to do to him what you tried with me tonight. It would be a shame to lose your life over such a futile attempt at bravery.”
She stepped away from him and unceremoniously turned into wisps of energy just before his office door opened on its own. To his shock, she turned into a giant bat, flapped her large, leathery wings, and took flight across the club, disintegrating into thin air just as quickly.
And no one seemed to notice… except him.
His hands shook while his gaze skimmed over all the faces of the oblivious people here tonight. Zach was socializing with a group by the empty stage and gave him a head bob before quickly making his way over.
He looked confused the closer he got to Anthony. “Hey dude. How did your date go? Is something wrong?” He stepped closer and very quietly said, “What did Ethan do?”
What? Oh, right. He’d called Zach and asked for Ethan’s number tonight.
“Nothing. Will you come here please?” He led Zach back into his office and closed the door. He felt guilty for taking the time to do this when he needed to go check on the rest of the family, but he needed to know.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you notice anything different about me?” Zach was jaguar, and the cats were a lot more sensitive to their surroundings than the other animals were.
“Different how?” A slow grin spread across his face. “Did you and Kaia kiss tonight?”
He shook his head in frustration. “No. Not that. Concentrate. Please. Use your senses. Do you notice anything about me that seems… off?”
Zach frowned. “What’s going on dude? Just tell me.”
Anthony snapped, “Please! Just concentrate. Hurry!”
Zach’s frown deepened, but Anthony soon felt his power fill the air. His green eyes started gleaming, and the feel of Zach reaching down the link between them grew stronger, to the point of feeling like a personal invasion.
“Nothing dude. I don’t sense anything different about you. Now what’s up?”
He looked down at his hand, opened it up wide, then fisted it into a ball. Had he imagined the Vampire Mother being here tonight? He turned around and saw the book she’d haphazardly jammed back into his bookcase. No. He wouldn’t have done that with the book. She’d been here. And if she’d been here, then he needed to keep their encounter to himself because she could still be here, ready to put him in his place for disobeying her.
“I need to go check on some things. I’ll be back later.”
“Hey!”
Anthony had already turned to mist before Zach could argue any more with him. Even when he returned he wouldn’t be able to tell them anything. He couldn’t if he wanted to protect them from the Spider Woman. Zach and Sebastian both were powerful, the most powerful shifters in Atlanta, but Anthony’s strength was still far greater than theirs.
And the Vampire Mother was even stronger than that.
He floated through the buildings of his home, opening his senses wide in case the Vampire Mother had wreaked any other havoc tonight and hidden it from him.
He found nothing. His home felt as it always did, with the usual levels of emotions and energy and body heat that shifters and a few vampires usually gave off. Nothing to indicate that a fight with an incredibly powerful creature had taken place here.
He materialized in a darkened classroom lit only by moonlight streaming in through the windows. He sat on the edge of the teacher’s desk and let his hand slowly turn into mist. There was no spider creeping along just under his skin, but that didn’t stop him from grasping at the air where his hand should be with his other solid hand.
He did it again, and again, then turned other parts of his body into mist and tried some more until he was frantically out of his mind. He needed to get this spider out of him. He didn’t want to turn into a monster. Before he didn’t care, but now he’d met Kaia. Now he did care, and he didn’t want to turn into a creature like the woman he’d just met. He’d do anything to not become any more of a monster than he already was when he was with his sweet Kaia.
Ultimately, he knew it was too late for him, though. He couldn’t change what happened tonight, or who he really was. And supernatural creatures and all the problems and issues they brought along with them would always be in his life, too. The question now was, how long could he keep all that from Kaia?