Darkest Risings (22 page)

“What?
You are half werewolf or something too?”

“No.
Something not supernatural. Something that I think will bring you joy, but also
much anger.”

“Then
why even tell me about the vampire stuff? All I’m going to be thinking about is
the vampire stuff now. I have tons of questions, you know? Even though I still
don’t think I quite believe it.”

“I’m
certain once I tell you, you will forget about all the other
stuff
for a moment. The only reason I
told you about the
vampire
stuff was
to try to make you understand the reason for…the…other…thing.”

“Now
you’re even confusing me.” She laughed.

“I
think I may be confusing myself as well.” He reached for her and wrapped his
warm fingers around her hands.

“I
would never do anything to hurt you, Wilhemina. Ever. I hope you believe that.”

A
funny flittering started in her stomach. “I know you would never hurt me,
Aldin. But I have to admit, you are starting to scare me just a little bit.”

“Sorry.
I’m going to come right out and say it. It’s about your sister.” He took a deep
breath.

Every
muscle in her body tightened, and every cell turned to alert mode. “How do you
know about my sister?” She frowned and then it hit her. “Of course, you read
about it in the papers when it happened.”

“I
did not.” He shook his head.

“A
friend told you?”

He
shook his head again.

“You
saw it on the news on television?”

Head
shake again.

“You
read it on the Internet?” She snapped her fingers.

He
blew out an exasperated breath. “Wilhemina, I…”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Son
of a bitch,” he cursed.

“It’s
okay. We can finish this conversation after you answer the door.”

The
feeling of unease gnawed at her incessantly as she watched him walk across the
room. Yet, even through her unease, she was able to recognize that he looked as
good going as he did coming. Suddenly, for some reason, she had an overwhelming
urge to follow him. She wasn’t far behind when he swung the door open to reveal
Marilena.

“Lindsey
is here.”

Her
next step faltered and she gasped. Lindsey? Were they talking about her sister
Lindsey? But no, they couldn’t be. Lindsey had been gone for years. And
although she’d never given up on finding her sister, she’d come to the
resolution that she would most likely never see her again.

Aldin
spun and trained his unsettling gaze on her. When she read the hint of guilt,
the hint of despair that shined in them, her stomach dropped.

“No.”
She had to force the word past the lump in her throat.

“I
didn’t want you to find out about it this way.” His eyes never left her.

“Are
you telling me that my sister—the one I have not seen for over seven years—is
here?”

His
lips pulled into a tight line, and he gave a quick nod of the head.

“No.
I don’t believe you. H-how is this possible?” She leaned against a small table
by the doorway to keep herself from falling into a heap on the floor.

Aldin
reached for her, but she jerked away from him.

“Don’t
touch me!” Even through the cacophony of emotions flailing her, she didn’t miss
the hurt that shined in his eyes from her rejection. She couldn’t deal with his
feelings at the moment, though. She was trying too hard to deal with her own.

“Wilhemina,
please—”

“My
sister is downstairs?”

He
nodded.

“Take
me to her. Right now.”

He
continued to stare at her. The storm swirled and grew in his eyes.

“Now!”

Finally,
he released a long, slow breath. “Follow me.”

By
the time they reached the room where she’d hung out, eaten pizza, chocolate,
and drank wine with Ebony and Avril, her legs were shaking, her heart was
racing, and she felt as if she might pass out. When Aldin stopped in front of
the closed door and turned toward her, a shiver ran the length of her spine.
This had to be some kind of sick joke, or they had the wrong person. How could
Aldin or any part of his family have known where Lindsey was?

Maybe
they’d found her? Maybe it was all a simple misunderstanding and her
imagination was making it into something it was not.

“Please
let me explain first.”

“I
want to see my sister. Now.”

If
Lindsey was in that room—and she’d have to see her with her own eyes to believe
it—explanations could come later. Right now, she had to know if her sister was
in that room.

He
bowed his head and stepped aside.

When
she walked through the door, she nearly sank to her knees at the sight that
greeted her.

“Lindsey?”
she whispered, expecting to wake up from a dream at any moment.

“Wilhemina!”
Lindsey flew across the room to her and squeezed her tight.

“It’s
really you?” She leaned back to look into gray eyes that were similar to her
own, gray eyes she thought she’d never see again.

“It’s
really me,” Lindsey answered, voice shaking.

Tears
rushed to spill down her cheeks as over seven years of grief, determination,
and finally, reluctant acceptance came pouring from within. She took her
sister’s hands and led her to the couch. After they both sat down, she stared
at her without saying a word, still afraid this was somehow not real.

“I’ve
never stopped thinking about you once. I’ve searched for you everywhere. Where
have you been? What happened that day?” Wilhemina asked.

Her
sister looked healthy and well, yet she couldn’t help but notice that some of
the spark she once had was dulled.

“I
think I can answer those questions and a few more,” Marilena said after walking
through the door.

Lindsey
glared at Marilena. “You may have answers, but there is nothing you can say
that will justify what you did.”

“Someone
tell me what the hell is going on,” Wilhemina demanded.

Aldin
shut the door and stood with his back against it. He stared at Wilhemina, but
she refused to be intimated or turned on by that gaze at this particular moment
in time.

“I am
the one who kidnapped Lindsey. I take full responsibility. Aldin, Ashe, and
Aiston only found out about this yesterday. Please don’t hold my actions
against anyone else. Once I told Aldin, he insisted I bring your sister here
immediately.” Marilena’s voice was monotone, as if she was preparing for the
onslaught that would soon head her way.

“Why?
Why did you rob me of seven years with my sister? Seven years! You should be in
prison. I’m going to call the police right now.”

Wilhemina
stood, but Lindsey tugged her back down on the couch. “It won’t do any good.
Besides, none of them will allow her to go to jail,” Lindsey said.

Wilhemina
glared at Aldin then raised a brow. His barely discernible nod confirmed what
Lindsey said. Maybe Aldin hadn’t been a part of this from the start, but he
sure was a damned part of it now. Her heart sank. She’d been wrong when she had
told him nothing could change her feelings for him. She couldn’t turn her love
for him off, but her stomach churned in anger and hurt at the horrible betrayal
she felt.

“Why?”
Wilhemina directed her question toward Marilena.

“My
son told me that he’s informed you of what we are.”

“Oh.
The ridiculous vampire thing again,” Wilhemina mumbled.

“As
crazy as it sounds, it is the truth, Wilhemina,” Lindsey told her.

“They’ve
brainwashed you too?”

“No.
I’ve seen proof with my own eyes. She can show you if you wish.” Lindsey
motioned toward Marilena.

Wilhemina
leveled her gaze on the woman she was quickly developing a deep dislike for.

“Fine.”
She crossed her arms over her middle. “Prove to me that you are a vampire.”

Marilena
stood, and when Aldin took a step forward, she turned her head and leveled a
determined gaze on him. “Let me do this, Aldin. I’ve done some foolish things,
but I would never hurt your life mate.”

He
stopped only when Wilhemina nodded at him.

Wilhemina
turned her attention back to Marilena and gasped when she suddenly disappeared
from in front of her and reappeared beside her.

“How
did you do that?” She stood.

“It’s
called shimmering. We can all do it any time we like unless we are too badly
injured. We can also read minds, compel others, which we do often to our
sources when we feed, and have superior strength, stealth, speed, sight, and
hearing.”

“Sources?
I suppose you mean humans?”

How
could this be real? But hadn’t she just seen Marilena disappear and reappear
with her own eyes? There was nothing logical she could come up with that would
explain that one.

“Even
if you are a vampire, that doesn’t explain why you kidnapped my sister.”

“Your
sister is Uriah’s—and I’m deeply sorry he struck you—life mate.”

“That
asshat hit my sister?” Lindsey stood beside Wilhemina examining her face.
“That’s where these bruises came from?”

“It
was an accident,” Wilhemina admitted.

“Regardless.
He’s an asshat and I will never have anything to do with him. Even upon our
short meeting earlier—before knowing he hit my sister—I thought him to be a
pompous jerk. Never going to happen.”

“Wait.
I don’t understand. Did you kidnap her to give her to Uriah?” Wilhemina asked
as the horror of that scenario turned the blood in her veins to ice.

“No.
I kidnapped her to keep her from meeting Uriah, to keep them apart,” Marilena
answered.

Wilhemina
rubbed at her temples. “You kidnapped my sister to keep her away from Uriah?”

“Yes.
Even though I had Uriah under lock and key, I couldn’t risk them ever meeting.
Fate has a funny way of getting her way even when the circumstances seem
impossible.”

“Wait.
How could you possibly know that my sister is Uriah’s life mate? And you had
Uriah locked up too? How could they have possibly met, and what would have been
the big freaking deal anyway?” Wilhemina’s brain was beginning to hurt.

Marilena
sighed. “Ragnor has a gift of seeing things. Years ago—more than you can
comprehend—he saw an uprising of the drifters. This uprising would be led by
someone of great power and would be aimed toward my family. The prophecy could
only be fulfilled once all of my children found their life mates and Ragnor
could perform the ritual that would bring them into their true blood powers.
The outcome of the battle was unclear.

“I
could not bear the thought of any of my children dying. When I became pregnant
with Uriah, I concealed the pregnancy from Aldin, Ashe, and Aiston. When he was
born, I had him hidden away under lock and key. I foolishly thought that I
could stop the prophecy if I could keep all the pieces of the puzzle from
falling into place.”

“What
the hell are drifters?” Wilhemina asked.

“Aldin
can explain that to you later,” Marilena answered.

Wilhemina
rubbed her temples. Had someone slipped her an elephant-sized hallucinogenic?
None of this could be happening. But it was, and when things got tough in life,
she’d always faced them head on. This time was no exception. She decided not to
push the drifter issue at the moment and move on.

“You
thought by keeping Uriah locked up it would stop the prophecy and keep all of
your children safe?” Wilhemina might be able to understand the desperation
Marilena felt to keep her sons safe, but it didn’t mean she condoned her
actions.

“Yes.”

“But
I still don’t understand why you think my sister is Uriah’s life mate or why
you felt the need to kidnap her if you already had Uriah locked up.” Wilhemina’s
head was beginning to throb.

“I
told you of Ragnor’s gift. Being his mate, I have a
connection
to him. Sometimes I see what he sees when I’m dreaming.
I don’t sleep often, but on one of those rare occasions when I decided to rest,
I dreamed about one of Ragnor’s visions. It was only bits and pieces, but it
showed me a girl kissing Uriah with strawberry-blonde hair, gray eyes, and a
unique butterfly birthmark on the back of her hand. I knew instantly upon
waking that she had to be Uriah’s life mate. Why else would Ragnor have a
vision of a girl unless she was important to Uriah in some way?”

“So?”
Wilhemina shrugged.

“I
thought if I could find this girl, I had double insurance against the prophecy.
Uriah grew more powerful with each passing day. That combined with his
intelligence gave me enough worry that he might one day figure out how to
escape. If that happened, I still had a card to play against Fate.”