Page 29 of Happily Undead in Dark River

It was a vulnerable feeling, and Tex had flown to a different country to chase me with exactly this much sight and only a vague feeling that I was alive. And he had found me. It was a miracle, or fate, or the mate bond or whatever. But I now had a real appreciation for his day to day struggles. Even with my vampiric senses.

But when I stepped outside into the sunshine, felt the bite of heat on my skin, I was glad I was so heavily blindfolded because no one would see the tears leaking from my eyes. It had been so long since I felt the kiss of the sun. I had missed it so much, craved it as much as I craved sustenance from blood. However, even as I basked in the sun’s warmth, I could feel it burning me, my skin now more sensitive to its rays. Brody’s arm was suddenly around my waist. “Come on, Red. It won't be the last time the sun hits your face, I promise. The sunburn isn’t worth it.”

He directed me toward the car, and I could feel the eyes of Judge, Walker, and X on my back. I’d said goodbye, but I had to resist the urge to go back and say it again. It felt wrong, leaving them behind even for a moment. I could hear Tex’s heartbeat where he stood by the door of the Impala, and when I reached him, he leaned forward and kissed me. “We’ll be back before you know it. Come on, in you go. A big step up, then you’ll be able to feel the seats and squeeze through into the back. Brody will cover you up just in case.” His voice was soft, cautious. He’d seemed off ever since Nico had suggested I stay on Pack lands. I wanted to know what was wrong but now didn’t seem right. Plus it couldn’t be worse than Lucius the Sociopath.

As Brody covered me with a reflective blanket, I resisted the urge to hyperventilate. I was being ridiculous. I’d left Dark River before, but never without Walker. When I asked what would happen if I lost control of my thirst and ate Brody’s whole Pack, no one seemed overly perturbed. Apparently, I had cast-iron control and also two blood banks to keep me topped up so I wasn’t hungry. But if it was a problem, Judge could be there in twenty minutes. But twenty minutes was enough to decimate a small village. I just had to trust that something in my Mate bond with Tex, or my relationship with Brody, meant that I no longer found shifters as appetizing as normal humans. Or maybe I was just more satisfied. At least, I hoped so. I didn’t think that Brody would forgive me for eating his entire family. That was not a first impression you could come back from.

The dichotomy of my nature hit me hard once more. I was a girl, meeting her boyfriend’s family for the first time and I was nervous as hell. I was also a vampire who was being sent to the chocolate-coated crack factory.

Fortunately, I was tired as hell. The low rumble of Brody’s Impala lulled me to sleep better than a lullaby and I didn’t wake until the car slowed to a roll. The sun didn’t seem as hot on my skin as I sat up.

“Hey, Sleepyhead. We are at the edge of Pack lands. We are just waiting for someone.”

I frowned, though they couldn’t see it behind the blindfold. “You know, when I used to think about being blindfolded, I thought it would be sexier. It’s just annoying,” I sighed unfolding myself from the back seat of the Impala. “Who are we meeting?”

A weird sensation washed over my body, like coming too close to a live wire. Then I heard a familiar tinkling laugh. “Me. It is nice to see you again, Raine.”

Miranda. Ah shit.

I kept my hands at my sides because I didn’t want her to accidentally read me. She’d find out all about X. I didn’t know how the Witch Miranda would react if she knew that both her previous consorts were interested in me.

I cleared my throat. “Nice to see you too, Miranda. Well, kind of see you,” I said in a falsely upbeat voice. I felt vulnerable without my sight in front of her. But I trusted Brody and Tex. The scent of Brody’s Alpha power was stronger here, this close to Pack lands.

As if he knew I needed him, he came over and placed a hand on my back. “Miranda will have to let you through the ward. It’s spelled to keep out all vampires, except Nico, as the Dark River Town Council’s representative, and Walker, because he’s a charming bastard.”

Miranda laughed again. “And now you. Three vampires in a handful of centuries. I wonder what makes you so special, hmm?”

She grabbed my hand and I felt something sharp pierce my finger. I knew it would be the ceremonial knife from when she had warded my apartment. “Oh!” she whispered, and I knew she was mining my mind for hints of Judge. Instead, she was getting a whole wad of X. I tried to block my mind, but she was old, powerful and I was just a baby vamp. Plus, I had terrible impulse control, obviously because I now had four and three-quarter boyfriends. So, when I told myself not to think about Tex and X and their weird little powerplay last night, it was the first thing I thought about. Maybe she’d just throw me into her interdimensional vagina slit and put us all out of my misery.

Miranda started to giggle. “Interdimensional vagina slit? Seriously? I really, really want to hate you, Raine, but you make it so difficult when you say shit like that.”

She let go of my hand and chanted in whatever language her magic spoke. All the hair on my arms stood on end. “It’s done.” She patted me on the back, probably a little harder than necessary. “I can tell you’re worried about my feelings,” she emphasized the word like it was a four-letter curse. “But I really am happy that they have both found someone. Those two, they are a lot more connected than they believe and you might just be the right person to bring them together.”

With that, the buzz of her interdimensional vagina slit ran across my skin again, and with an inaudible pop, she was gone. Brody’s fingers curled around my hip. “Now that you mention it, it does kind of look like a giant vagina.”

Tex laughed. “What does a giant vagina look like? You should describe it for us poor blind people.”

Brody walked me back to the car. “Like an alien and a Shar-Pei had a baby.”

The laugh that burst from me was so sudden, I choked on my own saliva. “What the hell?”

Tex was laughing too. “I’m never asking you to describe anything ever again. Fuck that sounds horrifying.” He reached out and grabbed my waist. Brody’s hands protected my head as Tex pulled me into the front seat of the Impala, settling me on his lap. “Only a little further. I want to get as much of my scent on you as possible so none of these horny shapeshifters get any ideas,” he whispered into my ear.

I rested my head back against his shoulder as Brody climbed into the driver’s seat. “I think two horny shapeshifters is my quota.” I let my body melt back into his, the small light inside me that was all Tex’s, glowing like a beacon.

I wanted to say we bounced down a rocky, potholed road into the wilderness, but Brody’s Impala swept down the well kept main road with ease. “We’ll head to my place first, wait until you get your eyes back before I make you face the lion’s den.”

“The proverbial lion’s den, right?” You could never be sure with shapeshifters. I knew Brody liked to turn into a housecat, but he had a tiger he was dying to show me. Maybe they met new people in lion form. It would certainly make an impression. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

Tex’s body went subtly stiffer beneath my body. Uh oh. Brody, however, sounded nothing but confident. “My grandmother is going to love you, and she’s the matriarch. I might be Alpha, but she would happily kick my ass from here to Houston.”

The lie in his statement was in the omissions. A lot of people can lie while telling the complete truth. I’d been lawyered. I wanted to press, but we were rolling to a stop. “Tex…” I started, but he cut me off.

“Home away from Sweet Home,” he said overly cheerfully, even though it made no sense. He all but tossed me out of the car, grabbing my hand and hustling me into the house. I think he forgot that we were both blind right now. Once inside though, I tore off my blindfolds. My eyes took a little time to adjust, but it was good to be able to see again.

I looked around Brody’s house, and it was exactly how I imagined it would be. Rustic, utilitarian, but with odd little touches. A moose head wearing a Santa hat. A framed poster of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? A TV the size of a small house.

“Holy shit, that’s huge,” I gasped.

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