Chapter Thirty-Four

Vaughn was spending more time at my house now, probably to get away from Vanessa. He arrived just in time for dinner. Vaughn playfully suggested we order a pizza, but Granny Mariotti was not having it. “Mine is better,” she said firmly.

“Really?” Vaughn’s eyes twinkled as he teased her. When he wrapped an arm around me, I leaned into his embrace. The deeper into this mess we got, the more I appreciated these moments with him.

“Better than Gino’s?” he whispered to me once Granny was getting dough out of the fridge.

“Much better,” I confirmed.

“Time to chop the vegetables,” Granny said.

We broke apart and then washed our hands before we helped with dinner prep. We chopped a mountain of veggies.

“How many people is your granny feeding?” Vaughn asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows? Probably around twenty?”

“Twenty?”

“Book club, Skyler, and us,” I said. Then I added, “Probably Rose and Thorn, too.”

“I was hoping we’d have a chance to spend some time alone,” Vaughn said. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“We could take a walk after dinner,” I suggested.

Vaughn was chopping tomatoes when it happened. A muffled exclamation and then his finger dripped bright blood onto the white quartz counter.

I stared at the drop of blood, unable to look away as the scent of copper and sunshine and the ocean at dusk filled my nostrils.

I forced myself to look away, and my gaze collided with Vaughn’s. There was something different about him tonight.

He held out his hand.

“Here,” he said, offering his blood to me.

I shook my head, but he put his finger to my mouth and traced the blood around my lower lip.

“Open up,” he said, and this time I did. Vaughn’s blood smelled delicious and tasted even better.

I drew his finger into my mouth and sucked gently. Vaughn’s eyes fluttered closed, and his head fell back.

Worry conflicted with the pleasure I was feeling. Had I compelled him?

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “I wanted to, Tansy. You didn’t force me.”

I made a doubtful noise, but he continued. “This was freely given.”

Blood freely given tasted good, no hint of fear or pain. I tested the drop on my tongue and relaxed. He was telling me the truth. My lips moved from his finger to his mouth. His blood tasted different, though. The werewolf tasted wild and sweet.

Our kiss deepened. Vaughn’s arms tightened, pulled me closer, but then we were interrupted when his phone buzzed with a text. I tried to step away to give him some privacy, but he held on to me.

He grabbed his phone one-handed, keeping his arm around me as he glanced at it.

I stiffened when I saw the name on the screen. Connor. I moved to free myself, and this time, he let me.

“I don’t know why he’s texting,” he said.

“It’s none of my business,” I said.

His face clouded, but then it cleared. “It’s your business,” he said. “You’re my girlfriend.”

I tamped down the insecurity I was feeling and said, “I know that. It’s just awkward that your best friend hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” He reached in and pulled me close. I relaxed into his arms.

I studied his face. “He’s not my biggest fan, then. Does that make it hard for you?”

He inhaled sharply and then admitted, “A little.” When he saw my face, he added, “Not because Connor’s pack leader. Because he’s my friend.”

I was still angry at the whole pack, but Connor was Vaughn’s best friend and had helped him through a confusing, stressful time.

Granny bustled in. “Tansy, it’s a beautiful night. Let’s eat outside.”

We took a citronella candle and the utensils, which were stored in a handy container with a handle for summer dinners and headed outside. For as long as I could remember, Granny had owned the two long wooden tables with owls carved on the legs.

Vaughn and Granny went back inside to grab plates, but I stayed where I was and breathed in the night air.

When I was little, I’d hung out under the table and talked to the carved owls. I used to tell everyone they talked to me, but I soon learned to keep that information quiet.

On impulse, I ducked under the table and said hello. When I popped my head back up, Vaughn stood there, a half smile on his face. “I remember when you used to talk to them,” he said.

I looked at my feet, embarrassed to have been caught committing such a childish act.

“I think it’s cute.”

Rose came in without her twin.

“Back from another PAC confab?” I asked casually. Inside I was tied up in knots wondering if everything my mother had said about the twins was true. “How’d it go?”

She smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile. “As expected.”

“So my mother told me my father’s name,” I said. “It’s Mason.”

Rose flinched.

And my stomach churned.

“You flinched when you heard his name,” I said. “Why?”

Rose didn’t say anything.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly cold. “You may as well tell me what you know. I’ll find out somehow.”

She hesitated but then nodded. “Mason Alicante is the most powerful and most hated man in the hidden world. The king of kings if you will.”

“I want to know everything there is about him.”

Rose shook her head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty—” 

“I prefer that you call me Tansy,” I said. “We’re friends, right? Just start with what he is. Is he a vampire?”

She frowned but did as I asked. “There are many other creatures in the PAC,” she said. 

“Then what is he?”

She shrugged. “It is a well-kept secret.”

“Maybe he’s a witch,” I suggested. “Or a werewolf.”

“The werewolf representative is Cormac Mahoney from Ireland,” Rose said. “Connor’s uncle.” She’d changed the subject and probably hoped I didn’t notice.

“So back to my dad,” I said. “Does he know about me?”

“Yes,” she said flatly.

I sucked in a breath, trying not to let the knowledge stab me in the heart. “Then he just doesn’t care.”

“You’re putting words in my mouth,” she said.

“Sorry.” It had been a long week. I was stressed out, and my mother’s return brought all those feelings of abandonment back. Why hadn’t she wanted me? Why didn’t he want me?

Evelyn and Edna arrived, with Skyler trailing behind them. “Are we interrupting something?” Skyler asked.

“No,” Rose said at the same time I said, “Yes.”

“I forgot the tablecloths,” Rose said and rushed inside before I could ask her anything else.

The book club ladies brought flowers in potted plants and three bottles of wine, which Granny did not let me sample. But dinner was amazing.

While everyone was organizing dessert, I again tried to corner the twins.

“Why were you two gone so long?” I asked Rose and Thorn, but I was not expecting their reply.

“We wanted to talk to you about that,” Rose said. “It’s private, though.” She glanced around the house, which was filled with friends and family.

“I don’t have anything to hide,” I said, crossing my arms.

“We’re your sisters,” Thorn said flatly.

“What did you just say?” My mother had been telling the truth. I felt like throwing up.

“Our father is Mason Alicante, the leader of the PAC, and he sent us here,” Rose said.

I gaped at her. I heard the words the twins were saying, but they weren’t making sense.

“You’re my sisters and your dad—no, our dad sent you here to spy on me?” I asked.

“I know it must come as a shock,” Rose said.

“A shock? I thought we were friends,” I said. “But you were spying on me for Mason Alicante.” A stray tear dripped down my cheek, and I wiped it away.

“He’s not your enemy,” Thorn said. “He’s your father.” From the few things she’d told me, he wasn’t a very good one, not to the twins and certainly not to me.

This wasn’t happening. I glanced at Vaughn. My boyfriend looked as shocked as I felt, wide-eyed and openly staring at Rose and Thorn.

My sisters were introducing themselves like they were strangers. Which Rose and Thorn were. I’d never even known I had a sibling, and now I had two.

I needed to get away from all the people staring at me. I rushed into the house and took my frustration out on the dirty dishes. Rose and Thorn followed me in, though, and all three of us stood at the sink and got to work.

Thorn washed while Rose and I dried, and while I toweled off a plate, I tried to think of a way to ask them. I kept giving them sidelong glances when I thought they weren’t looking, but finally, Thorn lost patience. “Ask your questions, Tansy.”

Where to start? I went with the first thing that popped into my head. “How long have you known?”

Thorn said, “We found a picture of your mother when she was pregnant with you. We asked our dad who she was. He told us they’d been together when we were little. He told us a few other things.”

“Like how in love they’d been?”

“Like how she wanted to slit the throat of the man who’d knocked her up.”

“Mother of the year award goes to Vanessa Mariotti,” I said.

“Why is it so important to you, anyway?” Thorn asked. She handed me a glass, and I started drying it to give myself time to think. Why did I want to know so badly?

“Vanessa is a terrible parent,” I said. “Would it be so awful to want to know if our dad isn’t? If both of my parents are awful, what does that make me?”

“We aren’t our parents, Tansy,” Thorn said. “At least, we don’t have to be.”

“Why hasn’t he reached out to me?” I asked. “Especially now that I’m part of the PAC?”

“Your boyfriend is a werewolf, part of the most powerful pack in the world, your grandmother is a witch, and you’re a striga vie,” Thorn said.

“Why does that matter to someone who’s the head of a paranormal organization?” I asked.

“He only sees a consolidation of power,” Rose said.

“My own father thinks I’m a threat?”

“Yes,” Thorn said.

“Do you?” I asked them both, but my newfound sisters didn’t answer me. Great. The only thing worse than this would be if—

“Last question,” I said. “Does my granny know?”

Suddenly, both twins had never been so interested in the art of dishwashing before.

I set the glass I’d been holding down onto the counter so hard it cracked, then stomped into the family room to confront my grandmother.