Devour, A Paranormal Romance (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 3) (7 page)

“Claire!” Her face beamed with complete and utter surprise before she bounded into my arms. “Oh, sweetie! I thought I’d never see you again. How are you? Come inside!” She bubbled over with excitement, stumbling over her own feet as she ushered me in.

I followed her into the living room to discover piles of boxes covering every inch of free space. Was she moving? She caught me eyeing the space and dashed over to a box, pulling the flaps open to dig inside.

“Take a look at these! Aren’t they amazing? I had them done a couple weeks ago, they just arrived.” She pulled out a handful of buttons, before handing them to me one-by-one. They each had individual sayings like; “Donate for Life”, “Blood = Love”, and “Don’t Hate, Donate!”

“They’re very nice.” I offered her back the buttons after feigning interest in their design. She was as consumed with VR as she ever was. Her obsession with vampire relations had definitely gotten worse without me around.

“Oh, keep them! Give them to your friends.” She smiled like she’d just given me the greatest gift and then shifted her eyes toward the television to peek at the news. I dropped the pins into my purse and rolled my eyes. Shifting my body aside to block the television, I lowered my head so I could make eye contact with her.

“I came here because there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Of course, of course. Come, have a seat.” She shuffled through a mess of papers on the couch, before picking them up and dropping them on the coffee table.

I sat down awkwardly, remembering that the last time I’d sat here was when Fox had uttered the words that changed my life forever. Where would I be right now if he’d never shown up? I turned to look at Arrick as he stood by the front door; would he still have come for me and taken me to Naos, or would he have let me live my life out as a human? Despite all the darkness that had entered my life I was still proud to be a vampire. I still felt the loss of the dreams I had once had, but I could no longer imagine a life without him in it, or the rest of my vampire family for that matter. They were my world now, not the one I’d left behind. Yet, here I was in the living room of a woman who’d always favored work over me. She’d never been cruel to me in any way, but there had always been something missing in our relationship. Even so, I couldn’t leave her here, defenseless against The Dark should they decide to attack the city next.

Her attention was finally riveted on me and her eyes widened as she gazed at my face. “Let me take a look at you.” She leaned in, cupping my cheek with one hand and caressing my long hair with the other. “You’re even prettier than on TV. Immortality suits you my dear.”

“You saw me?” I’d wondered if she’d seen me. My heart fluttered at the thought. I still craved attention from her, acceptance.

“I did. You look beautiful…” she took in my full form as I sat slightly slumped on the couch, “but you looked tired now. Is everything okay?”

I sighed. We were finally getting on topic. “No, everything is not okay. That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about.”

“Who’s your friend?” Her eyes shifted over to Arrick, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from moaning. She had always been riveted by vampires, and even though I now was one I
still
couldn’t get her to pay attention.

“That’s Arrick. He’s my…” How do I explain him? Humans didn’t know about Blood Mates and I didn’t feel like explaining it to her. Now wasn’t the time for that, I had other things I wanted to discuss. More important things.

“I’m her personal bodyguard,” Arrick answered for me with pride. He stepped further into the room, his hands locked behind his back. He’d kept the suit and tie on from the news interview, making him looked polished and virile.

“Splendid! Please have a seat.” She pushed off rolled up posters on a nearby armchair and gestured for him to have a seat. “It’s good to hear you’re being protected. You can never be too cautious in times like these. I saw the news. I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about.” I grabbed her hand to direct her attention back toward me, she was worse than a child sometimes.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was suddenly concerned.

How do I say this? There was no gentle way to let this cat out of the bag, so my only option was to just come straight out with it. “What you saw on the news wasn’t the whole truth.” Her brow wrinkled in confusion and she glanced back at the news that was repeating the interview, like she’d missed something. I couldn’t hold back a moan of annoyance, and as I clenched my teeth; my fangs pushing into my lips. Arrick nodded at me to continue. “It wasn’t the anti-vampire league that attacked the palace.”

“But that’s what King Nicolae said. I just saw it on the news. Those protestors have turned into a full scale gang since you left, dear. They’ve caused trouble all over the city and not just at the palace. Did I tell you they vandalized my office building?” The words were flying out of her at high speed, so I threw my hands up to silence her.

“Okay, okay. That may all be true, but they
didn’t
attack the palace and I know that for a fact.” I gave her a stern, challenging look and she swallowed hard. I realized then that she probably felt what I had when I’d first met Fox. Did I have the same effect on her? If I did, I should probably keep my anger in control. I leaned back and softened my expression.

“What are you saying?” Jacklyn asked, sounding fearful.

“What I’m saying,” I grasped her hands in mine and sighed, “Nicolae said it was them because he didn’t want the people to know what really happened. It would cause mass hysteria, and it would be too dangerous for people to know the truth right now, but I couldn’t lie to you. It’s not safe for you here.”

Arrick leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “What Claire is trying to say is that a danger far greater than the anti-vampire league is at work here.”

Jacklyn shook her head. “Why are you telling me this?” Her voice was wavering in fear.

I dropped out of my seat to my knees and knelt before her. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to warn you.” Before I knew it I was emitting my emotions toward her and embracing her with them, trying to calm her fears. “I want to keep you safe.”

“Wha… What really happened then?” She began rubbing her temples as her voice calmed and her breathing relaxed.

“There’s a group of really bad vampires that don’t like the way we live.” I was sugar coating it to say the least, but did I really need to tell her that evil personified wanted to kill us all?

“Bad vampires?” She said those two words like they didn’t make sense to her. I should have known she wouldn’t understand. In her eyes, vampires were as good as gods. Bad and vampires were two words that didn’t go together.

“Yes.” I pulled myself back onto the couch. “You know the history of the dark ages, don’t you?” She nodded. “Well…” I was going to have to stop beating around the bush and just come out with it. Maybe she would be able to handle the truth better than I thought she could. “There’s a vampire named Baal that Nicolae fought in the dark ages. Everyone thought he was gone, but he’s been spending all this time regaining his power. And now…” I could see her mind reeling as her eyes grew wide. How could I put this without making her head explode?

“Baal has returned. He craves a world of chaos, where vampires hold dominion over humans. Where they feed freely and kill whomever they desire,” Arrick interjected without faltering.

Jacklyn slapped her hand over her mouth in shock. “This can’t be!” She gasped through her fingers. “Nicolae would never let that happen.”

My brow furrowed, she still wasn’t getting it. “None of us want it to happen, and we’re going to do everything we can to stop him, but he’s already attacked so many. Not just in this region.”

She rose from her seat slowly, before starting to pace the room. “This just can’t be,” she repeated over and over as she hugged herself.

After what felt like an eternity of watching her walk back and forth like a clock pendulum, I rose and clicked off the TV before grasping her by the shoulders and holding her before me. “Come with me. I can keep you safe.” I searched her watery eyes, but she avoided my gaze.

“I can’t.” She pulled away from me and walked to the china cabinet where she kept her liquor. She poured herself a glass of the amber liquid and downed it in one gulp. “I can’t come with you.”

“What? Why not?”

It never occurred to me that she would say no. I only worried that the truth of what happened would scare her to death, and even though she looked like she’d seen a ghost, she wanted to stay.

She poured another drink, but sipped it as she took a seat on the arm of the couch. She eyed the many boxes throughout the room; the flyers, posters, banners, and buttons, before she spoke. “Our world was once a dangerous place to live; and it will be again, not because of the evil in it, but because of those who don’t stand up against it.”

“What?” I’d heard what she said, but I didn’t understand her reaction. Was she seriously going to stay? She would be defenseless against them. Their vile minds wouldn’t think twice before consuming her life blood and slaughtering her with a single swing.

“Do you know who said that?” Jacklyn took on a faraway look as she swallowed the last of her drink.

“No, and I don’t care. You can’t stay here, Jacklyn! It’s too dangerous. How are you going to protect yourself from them, huh? Do you have any idea how powerful they are?”

I dashed to her in less than the blink of an eye, clutching her hand in mine. If I had to beg her I would, anything to get her to come with me. She might not have been my real mother, she might have been consumed with her work, but she raised me. For eighteen years she was there with me every day, and I didn’t want to see her hurt. I didn’t want to see her dead. I knew I was going to outlive her, but I wasn’t ready for that day to come anytime soon.

“Titan,” Arrick answered solemnly.

“Titan? Who’s Titan?” I turned around to face him, my hands on my hips. He was supposed to be helping me convince her to come, not joining in on her riddles.

“You know your history.” She beamed at him, all the fear gone from her face. “I read once that he never believed the dark ages would be gone for good.”

“He didn’t.” Arrick joined Jacklyn as she invited him to take a seat at the dining table.

“I snuck into the restricted section of the library once and read about him.” She pulled out a seat and let herself down with a sigh. “He made me fall in love with vampires. I was about Claire’s age when I pledged my life to them. It’s been my life’s goal to get others to see them as I do. So many only see the evil of the past, they can’t look beyond it and truly see what amazing things they are capable of.” Her face took on a dreamy expression that was the complete opposite of my own.

“You’re really going to stay? Seriously?” I did my best to hold back my anger, but my annoyance bubbled through freely.

“Now, more than ever, I’m needed here.” She rose and took me in her arms for the first real hug we’d shared in longer than I could remember. “If there is a force out there that wants to tear us apart, the only thing we can do is stand together. This is my calling, Claire bear. Do you understand?” She used the childhood nickname she’d given me that I hadn’t heard since I still had recess during school.

I did understand, but I didn’t like it. I thought she was being careless and selfish. Had I really expected her to choose me over her work? I suppose I had. I felt Arrick’s hand fall onto my shoulder so I pulled away as unshed tears clung to my eyes. Leaving her here now was harder than when I had left to move to the palace. She’d made her choice and I tried my hardest to respect that. All my life I’d been jealous of her work, but now I realized that to her it was more than just a day job, it was
who
she was. Jacklyn was going to continue fighting for what she believed in and I admired that, but I also hated her for it.

“If you need anything…” My words came out strained as I fought the emotions inside me. I wanted to lash out at her and pull her to the car against her will all at once. The thought that I could easily do so was hard to ignore.

“I’ll call you,” she answered with a smile, cupping my face and planting a kiss on my cheek. Tears spilled from her eyes as she pulled away. “I’m so proud of you, Claire.”

The dam on my tears broke and they flooded out with reckless abandon. I’d waited my whole life to hear her say those words. Why had she waited until now to say them?

“If you change your mind…” Arrick leaned around me, handing Jacklyn a small business card, “you can reach me directly at this number.” He pointed to the card and she nodded.

“Thank you.” She wiped at the tears on her face, the bracelets on her wrists clinking with every movement. With her arms wrapped around herself in a hug, she looked to Arrick and me. “Take care of her.”

“I will.” Strength resonated in his voice and I felt his arm slide around my waist as he held me to him. The vibration of his heart pounded against my shoulder blades.

Before I knew it we were saying our goodbyes and making our way out the front door. Letting go of Jacklyn was a lot harder than I had expected. I had never realized how much she really meant to me. Maybe because I was always too busy being a rebellious teenager. Maybe because I would never allow myself to, period. Or maybe, after having spent so much time with Ione and Evilyn, I had begun to truly appreciate how much the women in my life had done for me, and all they had sacrificed.

There was so much more I wanted to talk to her about; things I wanted to ask her, but they would have to wait. Now wasn’t the time to reveal I knew the truth about my birth; that she had adopted me and I was a vampire by birthright. I’d already dropped one bomb on her already. Maybe she had never intended to tell me I was adopted, or perhaps she had been waiting till the right time, but it really didn’t matter. I knew who my real parents were now, and that was all that mattered. Jaclyn would still always hold a very special place in my heart no matter how I came into her life.

Arrick opened the door of the car and I dropped inside with the weight of the world on my shoulders. He slid into the driver’s seat beside me seconds later, shutting the door with a nearly inaudible click. “You okay?”