Page 31 of Twisted
“Think you could help me film a ‘get ready with me’ video?”
“Uhh, yeah.I can def can do that.”
The floor creaks behind me and I turn, seeing Zeke standing in the threshold of the parlor.He’s holding a steaming mug of blood.Gross.
“Darling, it’s time to eat,” he says and holds up the mug.
“I’m not hungry,” Mabel tells him and sits back at her spot at the table.“I’m full from my tea.”
“You need something with more substance, doll.”There’s concern on his face, and now that I think about it, Mabel only took one or two sips of blood from her teacup last night.
Fuck, this is so weird.
“Well,” I start and take another pretend drink of tea.“I have a busy day, so I should get going.Thank you for the tea, it was delicious.And I’m excited for tonight.”
“We’re going to have so much fun!”Mabel pretends to pour herself more tea, though I don’t know if she actually knows there’s no tea in the pot.Something scrambled her brain, and I’m sure it had everything to do with being held spellbound so many times and then being turned into a vampire.
“We are!”I look from her to Zeke and smile sweetly.He’s shocked, not surprisingly, of course.If he loves Mabel the way she said he does, then he wouldn’t let anything come between her and the friend she finally made after longing for one.I walk out of the room telling myself that it’s smart to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
But deep down, I get this unsettling feeling that I’m going to have a really hard time treating Mabel as an enemy.
CHAPTER14
“All right, Mrs.Malus, you’re good to go.”The phlebotomist smooths a band-aid over the little needle prick on the inside of my elbow.“The lab is a little backed up so you can probably expect to see your results tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, head spinning at being called Mrs.Malus.Technically, that’s who I am now.Legally, at least.I filled out all the papers to change my last name and I’m sure Xavier has strings to pull to make sure anything dealing with him gets filed and stamped or whatever right away.
“Good luck!You’ll make a beautiful mother.”
“Thanks,” I say again and do my best not to roll my eyes.As far as everyone here in this OB/GYN office is concerned, I just got my yearly exam and IUD removed in preparation for trying to get pregnant.Xavier doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a vampire.He’s pretty involved with the VC, actually, probably because a lot of politicians are in his pocket.How is he going to explain it when his human wife is seen out in public with a baby bump?
It’s not like I can go around telling everyone my husband’s distant “brother” knocked me up because the whole fucking family is obsessed with carrying on their biological line, but when you stop and think about it, the math ain’t mathin’ because where are all these vampires that have been created?Why do only three Malus brothers live in this house?
What happened to the rest?
Nina is outside waiting for me as I leave the doctor’s office.
“Hungry?”she asks when I get into the car.
“I could eat.”
“What would you like?Sushi?Might as well get some while you can.”
“Uh, sure,” I say, not bothering to say I can eat veggie rolls while pregnant.It’s the raw fish you need to avoid.Watching the scenery pass us by, I hear Xavier’s voice echoing in my mind.They kidnapped you.
Why would Vivian kidnap me?It just doesn’t make sense.There’s a chance Xavier lied, but why would he?He’s cold and calculated and doesn’t do things that don’t benefit himself…lying about that doesn’t work in his favor.
“You can join us,” I tell the driver when we get out of the car at a Japanese restaurant.He hesitates but then nods.As a hunter, I’ve been trained in a variety of areas, not just combat.I’m pretty good at reading body language, but my ability to sense people’s emotions is better.
He and Nina have a thing going on.It started with them getting drinks after work so they could talk about how crazy the Malus family was, and they’d fill each other in on anything they might have been forced to forget.I smile and look from him to her, secretly rooting for this relationship.Everyone deserves love…just not me, I guess.
I eat my weight in ramen and vegetarian sushi rolls, making small talk with Nina and the driver, whose name is Henry.They’re very closed and guarded…but distracted with each other enough that they don’t notice when I swipe several tealight candles from the tables as we leave.Now I just need to sneak into the kitchen at the house, get what I need from the herbs, and I’ll have more to work with in terms of doing magic.
After lunch, we go to the jeweler to get my ring.It fits perfectly and as wrong as it feels to have this giant rock on my finger, I can’t deny how pretty it is when it sparkles in the late afternoon sunlight.I almost walk into the doorframe as I leave the store because the light hit the ring and nearly blinded me.
“You all right?”Nina asks.
“I have no idea,” I reply honestly.Because I really don’t know.My dream life is unfolding before me effortlessly.The house, the ring, the financial stability to never have to work again, a sister-in-law I can be friends with…even marrying into a family who isn’t afraid of the fact I’m a witch.
