Chapter Thirty-Three
We only had five days until the next full moon, but every time I thought we were closer to an answer, a zillion more questions came up.
Tonight, I was at Vaughn’s house, but instead of hanging out with my boyfriend, I was in his living room—with Vanessa. Vaughn and his dad were both working at the catering company. My mother had asked me over, and I couldn’t exactly say, No, thank you, I’d rather not spend the evening with an evil mastermind right now. Try me again on Thursday.
Vanessa was calmly flipping through a fashion magazine, as if she wasn’t part of some sinister plot, while I tried to remind myself why spending time with her might actually help me.
Oh right. I was cozying up to a vile possibly not so ex-vampire because I needed to find out what she was up to and to squeeze some information out of her about my biological father. The usual.
“How are you coping with managing all of Jure’s properties?” she asked. “I’d be happy to help you organize your new possessions.”
“They’re not mine,” I said. “They belong to the realm. My job is to decide what’s best for my subjects. I’ve been donating a lot.”
Her head snapped up. “Like what?”
“The ranch where he took my friend,” I said.
She relaxed. “I’ve already been there.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
She hesitated like she’d just realized what she’d said, but she covered smoothly. “Just that it was a wise decision to get rid of that place. It was tacky. Jure had no design sense.”
Why had she been at the ranch where they were abusing girls?
“Are you ever going to tell me anything about my father?” I asked. “Besides the fact he had horrible taste in women.”
She smirked at me, but not before I caught a flicker of something that resembled hurt in her eyes.
I sighed. “Sorry.” Insulting her wasn’t improving the situation, and it made me feel like a jerk. She’d promised she’d tell me about my father, and she’d gone back on her word. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was. It was a good reminder not to get too close to her.
“I have something for you.” She dug through her wallet and handed me a photo. It was a strip of shots taken from a photobooth. I stared at it. My mother, young, human, and judging by the way she was looking at the guy next to her, in love. In the first, they were both staring at the camera, the second, she was in his lap, eyes on each other, and in the third, they were kissing like they didn’t even know they were being recorded.
“Is that him?” He was thin but muscular, and there was something wild in his dark eyes, something hurt and trapped.
I didn’t think she was going to answer me. She just stared down at her younger self. “I haven’t looked at this for a long time.”
“Is that him?” I repeated.
“Yes.” He was tall and handsome with dark eyes and hair, but I didn’t see even a little bit of him in me.
“Can I have a copy of it?” I cringed at the pleading note in my voice.
She nodded.
“Thank you,” I replied.
She slipped the photo back into her wallet without looking at it.
I didn’t tell her, but I’d noticed the writing on the back. Vanessa and Mason, Balboa. My father’s first name was Mason. Interesting. Mason was the first name of the PAC leader. If my father was Mason Alicante, he’d know where I was and hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself.
“Mason Alicante is my father?” I asked.
“You already knew?” she asked.
My stomach dropped, and I couldn’t form words. It was true?
“I suppose you know about Rose and Thorn, too.”
That snapped me out of it. “What about them?”
“They’re your sisters,” she said. “Half sisters, to be exact. Mason already had twin toddlers when we met.”
What?
The same man that Thorn resented so much because he favored Rose, the same man who had sent hellcats after his own daughter? That asshole was also my father?
Did they know, too? Was everyone keeping secrets from me?
“You’re lying,” I said, but my heart was pounding.
“I’m not,” she said. “Ask them if you don’t believe me.”
“I will.”
I sent an SOS text to Skyler. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely type.
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.
“I’ve got to go,” I told my mother, but she barely looked up from her phone.
“Have fun with your little friend,” she answered absently.
I got into Skyler’s car. “You are a lifesaver.”
“Where’s Vaughn?” Skyler asked. “Maybe we can all hang at your house.”
“He’s working. Let’s go out to Janey’s for dinner instead.” Rose and Thorn might be at my house, and I wasn’t ready to confront them yet about what my mother had told me. Sisters? Vanessa had to be lying. “That way I can bring some pie home to Hecate.”
“Is it good for hellcats to eat pie?” She pulled out and started heading in the direction of PCH. I texted Vaughn and asked him to meet us at Janey’s when he finished his shift.
“They’re not like regular cats,” I said. “So far, Hecate can and has eaten almost anything.”
Skyler found a great parking spot near the front door. “You didn’t even have to use your magic!” she crowed triumphantly.
“I’m not doing that anymore,” I said firmly. The last time I’d used my magic to get a parking spot, Travis had bitten me.
Vaughn beat us to the restaurant and was sitting at a booth in the back when we arrived. “Dad let us close early,” he explained. He made a face. “He wanted to go see Panda.” The mention of Mr. Sheridan’s pet name for my mother’s barely made me shudder. I was just glad to see my boyfriend.
“Rough day with your mom?” he asked.
“You have no idea,” I said.
Sky shot me a look. “I thought you were getting along.”
“She showed me a picture of my dad,” I said.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her,” Vaughn said cautiously. Skyler looked equally as concerned, and I realized I needed to fill them in.
“She said she’d tell me about my father,” I said. “But I have to spend time with her for that to happen.”
“You know she’s about as stable as a toddler on a sugar binge, right?” Vaughn said.
A woman who looked a lot like Vanessa walked into the diner. “Speak of the devil, and in she walks,” I said in a low voice.
She was alone as she took a seat at the counter. When she put her bag on the chair to her left, I noticed her hands were shaking and her skin looked gray. She seemed like she was in desperate need of a meal. Or maybe some blood.
Janey, the owner, said something to her, but Vanessa waved her off.
“Duck,” I said. I scrunched down in the booth and hoped she didn’t see me.
“What’s going on?” Vaughn said, craning his head.
Boris walked in and said something to her. How did she know him? She lifted her bag, and he sat in the seat where it’d been.
“Don’t look,” I hissed, tugging Vaughn down. “My mother and Boris are here. Together.” I hated the fact that I was disappointed in my mother, that I’d started to believe, even a tiny bit, that she had been telling the truth. Now her story was unraveling. Fast.
She’d been lying to me the whole time. Maybe she’d even lied about who my father was. And that Rose and Thorn were my half sisters, not just vampire hunters I’d met this summer. I wanted to stand up and scream liar at the top of my lungs, but instead, I watched her.
They sat at the counter with their backs to us. They both ordered something to drink. It looked like iced tea for the werewolf and black coffee for my mother, but neither of them touched their orders.
Boris said something to her, and she reached into her bag and came out with what looked like a wad of cash. She slid it quickly across the counter to him. He didn’t count it, just pocketed it, then put something small down on the counter and left without another word. My mother scooped it up, put down a couple of bills, I assumed enough to cover both their drinks, but didn’t leave. Instead, she poured something into her coffee and sipped it slowly.
When she got up to leave, her face was in profile. Her skin was flushed pink, her eyes sparkled, and her hungry look was gone. She exited without having seen us, and I slowly straightened.
What had Boris given her? Some kind of drug, but what exactly? And why was a werewolf selling it to her?
“Are you ready to order?” Dave’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Just some water,” I said, and he turned to Vaughn, who I knew would be ordering plenty enough to spare me a bite of his. I had bigger problems than deciding on dinner.
I thought back to when Skyler had run off with The Drainers. Vaughn’s dad had just started dating an unknown woman back then. Was my mother the mystery woman from the summer? Had she been planning this the whole time?
After Dave left to put in our orders, I turned to Vaughn. “Can you find out from your dad how long they’ve been dating?”
”I think so,” Vaughn said. “Is it important?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “But I can’t help thinking this is all part of a bigger scheme.”
Realization flashed in his eyes. “You think your mom has been planning something since this summer?”
“Possibly,” I said. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but I think your father is in grave danger.” After all, my mother never stuck around, not even for her own daughter, unless there was something in it for her.