Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (26 page)

I was left there, alone, sitting on the floor with a strange baby who was red in the face and really freaking loud.

I had never even held a baby before. I had no clue what to do with him, and after quietly shushing him and bouncing him a little from where we sat, and with no luck of quieting him, I finally stood in the hopes that a higher altitude might help.

I rocked him in my arms, swaying, and quietly telling him it was okay, and that his mommy would be back soon. I wasn’t sure this promise was reassuring to the little guy considering how unhappy he was even before his mom had handed him over.

Eventually, his cries
became more of a whimper, and his gray-blue eyes focused on me. I spoke softly to him while I continued to sway. His little fist was tight as his eyelids started to grow heavy.

I was feeling
pretty victorious as his little body relaxed in my arms. But then he was startled awake as the house grew loud with arguments and children screaming. Again.

He began to whimper, and I was beginning to panic. I wasn’t sure I could take more screaming. I found a pacifier attached to the front of his clothes, and I gave it to him, holding it in place while I continued to sway.

Once his eyes had stayed closed for a good amount of time, I took a seat on the couch. Then I just held him, wondering when, and if, his mom was coming back for him.

He wasn’t all that big, and I was terrible at guessing baby age, so for all I knew, he could’ve been a month or maybe six months. I had no idea. However, he was precious when he was sleeping.

I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I adjusted myself so I could grab it and not disturb the baby. It was a text from Oliver.

I love you so much.

I looked up from my phone to find him watching me from where he sat, still playing cards at the dining table. He smirked and looked back down at the cards in his hand.

I smiled in return, my body overflowing with happiness.

The baby’s mom finally returned. She took him from me after informing me she had gotten the kids set up watching TV in the bedroom.

I was a
bit sad to let go of the little guy’s warm, sleeping body. Mostly because I figured the poor, sweet, little guy was going to turn into a nightmare like his brothers. But partly because I knew it was something I might never get the chance to experience, for myself. Plus, he smelled good.

I stood as she walked away, not thanking me for caring for her infant, of course. Whatever.

Oliver and Levi’s game had ended. The old people were bitching about the game, because they had lost, while the guys walked away.

Ricky included, we filed out of the room in search of Nikki.

The football game was still going. The men watching were cheering and high-fiving each other. When the fiancé saw us, he chided Levi about his team being down. Levi ignored him as Ricky led us out the back door. I knew Levi didn’t care about Jace’s football game, but he was definitely interested in Jace’s fiancée.

We found Nikki on the
back patio. She wasn’t alone. There was a really obnoxious little dog that just kept bouncing up and down while barking. Constant, nerve-racking, never-ending barking.

How the hell was Nikki not insane?

Nikki was sitting at a patio table. Her boots and a pair of black socks with winged, pink pigs all over them were on the ground beside her chair. She had her bare feet resting in the chair next to hers as the sun set behind the pink clouds in the distance. There was an open bottle of wine sitting on the table in front of her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed when she saw us come out the
back door. She pulled her feet from the chair and straightened in her seat.

“Haven’t you left yet?” she said, looking up at Levi.

Ricky took a seat next to Nikki, in the chair where her feet had been. He grabbed the wine bottle and took a long swig from it.

“Yeah, we should get going,” Oliver said.

The dog was bouncing and barking beside Oliver, and I could see it in his eyes, he was done. I was pretty sure he wanted to kick the dog. I sure as hell wanted to!

“Yeah, you should,” Nikki said, clearly exhausted. She took the bottle from Ricky and tipped it back to her own lips.

Levi grinned mischievously and took a seat on her other side. “I think we will stay,” he said as he folded his arms and rested them on the glass-top table. He gazed at her. Thankfully for Levi, the backyard was very shaded and the patio was covered.

“No, you’ve had your fun. Now give me my ring.” She held
out her hand.

They bantered back-and-forth like this for some time. He even suggestively thanked her for her “hospitality,” which, by the way her face turned red, I was sure had nothing to do with
dinner.

It was all good fun. Not really. Oliver wasn’t the only one who had had enough. However, he was the first one to voice it. He told them that we were leaving, with or without Levi, and that we were not coming back for him.

Defeated, Levi followed us back through the house. No one paid us any mind as we went out the front door.

Nikki followed us out, and even Ricky was leaving. Ricky kissed Nikki on the cheek, told her that he loved her, and that he would see her soon. Then he told the three of us goodbye and left.

Nikki held out her hand, and Levi reluctantly placed her engagement ring on her palm, but he did not let go when her fingers closed around it.

“Please, Nicolette, leave this place, leave those wretched people behind and come home with me,” he pleaded. His voice was so sincere, and somewhat desperate. Anyone else would have jumped at the chance to have him speak to them like that. Well, almost anyone.

Oliver and I walked away and waited by the car. I rested my head on Oliver’s chest and he held me while he leaned against his car.

“That was exhausting,” I whispered. His arms tightened around me and he agreed. “That’s her idea of normal?” I questioned.

Oliver chuckled.

I mean, I
didn’t grow up in a “normal” traditional household, but I was well aware Nikki’s life was not the “norm” anyone would willingly seek out.

Maybe she was into self-punishment…

A few minutes later, Nikki spun around and headed inside the house, and Levi trudged our way.

Levi was in a foul mood as we headed back to the hotel. None of us spoke as we drove back to the city, or even when we headed upstairs to our rooms.

Levi went to his own room for a change, and I went straight to the bathroom in our own room to wash the day off of me and put on my pajamas.

Although the family Nikki was marrying into was dreadful, the busyness of the day had been a good distraction for me. It
was my first Thanksgiving without Lilly. I missed her terribly, and I wondered what the day would have been like if she was still alive.

I seriously doubt
ed she would have approved of me skipping town with Oliver. Scratch that, I knew she wouldn’t have approved.

I also wondered if we would have spent the day with her, had she still been…alive.

When I left the bathroom, I was looking forward to finally spending some quality time with my boyfriend. However, once I was snuggled in his lap, we ended up getting in an argument over someday having kids of our own.

“Damn it, Laney!” Oliver shouted. He
dumped me onto the couch and stood. He walked a few feet away before turning around. “We’ve already talked about this.”

“Please, Oliver. Just one. Not now, later,” I pleaded, trying to get him to be reasonable.

“No, Laney.” He was angry, but I could also see that he was torn between wanting to give me anything I wanted and afraid of the unknown. “I am not losing you,” he said, looking me in the eyes.

“You won’t,” I said, looking up at him from the couch. I tried to sound confident, but I knew just as well as him, there was no guarantee.

“Yes, I will,” he said. “I’ve seen it too many times. It’s unlikely you would make it.”

“Are you calling me weak?” I smirked and stood so I was right in front of him. I slipped a finger into
one of the front belt loops of his jeans and pulled him a little closer.

“Far from it,” he said, a crooked grin
appearing.

“Then why not one? Just one?”

His smirk disappeared, fast. “I said no,” his voice was low, his green eyes were narrowed on mine.

“And I said yes.” I stood a little taller and held my head high. I wasn’t giving up.

He blinked at me in surprise.

I slid my hand around his waist and pressed myself against him. “Change me,” I said, softly. “Then you won’t have to worry.”

His eyes narrowed again. “The fatality rate is still high, even then.”

Okay, this surprised me, but I still argued my side. “Are you really telling me that if this is what I really want, you won’t let me have it?”

He sighed. “There is nothing I wouldn’t give you.” Hope filled my heart. “However, put it this way,” he said, sounding exhausted, “if the tables were turned, how would you feel?”

Damn it!
He had me there, and all hope was gone.

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

“I need some air,” I snapped. I pulled away from him and went out on the balcony.

I hugged myself, upset that Oliver was so unwilling to bend on this subject. It wasn’t like I was asking him for a baby right that minute. I was asking him to consider, just consider, that maybe, way down the line, we might give it a try. Maybe.

Of course I didn’t want to die, but I also didn’t want to give up on my dream of someday having a family, of my own.

With a deep sigh, I stared up at the large
, full moon. I wondered how Carter was doing, and if he had gotten to see his mom and brother for the holiday. I also wondered if he too had enjoyed his own Thanksgiving drama.

“You son of a bitch!” I shouted at Felix. “I thought she was dead! I don’t give a shit about the fucking damage to the house!”

Kiera
took a few steps away from me when I blew. It was probably wise of her, because I wanted to punch that massive bastard.

“Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding,” Felix grumbled.

“Misunderstanding?” I yelled. “Are you kidding me?”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Laney.

“Hey,” she said when she answered.

“Hey? I thought you were dead! And all I get is ‘
Hey
’?”

After Laney reassured me she was okay, I felt bad for yelling at her. It wasn’t her fault Felix was an enormous asshat.

After talking to Laney, I realized how much I missed her, especially when Kiera went home for the night and I was left all alone in the apartment. It was boring.

School was out for the holiday, and I worked as much as I could the next few days while Kiera was busy doing wedding stuff with her mom and Zoey.

I was lonely in the apartment without Laney around, and I wondered when she was coming back, but I didn’t want to bother her. Plus, I’d kinda made us both uncomfortable when I told her that her “mate” owed me a box of rubbers. I really wished I hadn’t said anything.

Monday night I got home late from work and rummaged around the kitchen for some food. The macaroni and meatball tacos I made told me it was definitely time for a grocery run.

I was working the evening shift the next day, so I stayed up late watching old movies while having my fill of a not-so-scrumptious dinner. I regretted it the next morning—both the food and the late-night movies—when Felix called and woke me, saying he was on his way to pick me up.

After
my unwelcomed wake-up call ended, I stumbled to the shower.

My hair was still dripping wet when Felix arrived
to haul me off to the vamp hospital. But I was dressed, maybe not fully awake, but I had clothes on as I headed down to meet him in the parking lot, and that’s all that really mattered.

With the full moon only two days away, Felix wanted to run some tests to see if there had been any changes in my system from the previous month.

As much as I hated needles, I was kinda too tired to really give a shit while I waited in one of the rooms at the vampire hospital. But when Felix began rolling my way on his little roller stool, my ass woke up just long enough for me to freak out and grip the edge of the bed as if my life depended on it.

I was half asleep, curled in a ball on the hospital
bed, when Felix returned from wherever he’d gone to check my blood. The paper crinkled too loudly as I pushed myself up to look at him.

“You have permanent cellular variations. There are factors that have not changed since last month. They never will,” Felix explained.

I just stared at him like he was speaking gibberish.

He barked out a laugh in response to my expression. “It is called transmutation. The Were bite triggered your vampire gene. However, the Were bite also suppressed some of those genes. Then there’s the Were bite itself. You seem to have retained some Were traits. For instance, your need to run, the subtle color change of your hair. Also, I would not be surprised if the full moon becomes a mating time for you, or causes you to become more aggressive.”