Unraveling Selena by Marisa Maichel (best ereader for comics TXT) 📖

And with me being separated from my mate with a baby on the way…”

“Who is your mate?” Louis asked, grinning at Father.

“Alexander. Our marriage was technically arranged, but over time, we fell in love. But I’m beginning to see a side of him that I don’t like. It’s abusive. If I’d been a better father, if I had just watched out for my son…”

“I tried that, and my son is a womanizer,” Uncle Soren said. “He can’t get within ten feet of a pair of breasts without wanting to do naughty things with them.”

“That sounded so wrong coming from your mouth,” I told him.

“I think I’m gonna puke,” Louis said, looking green.

“Boys, get over it. You’re going to hear a lot of things that you won’t like.”

“I just miss both of them,” Other Mordecai said. That tore at my heart. I sidled up next to him and nudged him with my head. He smiled at me and ruffled my hair. “You raised a good boy, Mordecai.”

“I know. He’s mine. In other words, you can’t have him.”

“I don’t want him. I want my own Reese.”

I looked at Uncle Soren.

“Your father’s instincts are telling him to separate the two of you. Other Mordecai doesn’t have his Reese with him, so your father’s instincts are telling them that he’s trying to take you away from him.”

“I would never do that,” said Other Mordecai, looking surprised. “I came here for my own Reese, not this one.”

Father grabbed me and hissed at him.

“Mordecai, that’s enough,” Uncle Soren said. “I know your paternal instincts are kicking in right now due to all the threats. So are mine. If another Soren was here, I’d feel the same way, but I wouldn’t rip his throat out just because he talked to Louis or Reese.”

“I’m not you though, am I?”

“You’re acting ridiculous. Almost childish.”

“Soren, I swear to Odin, I will tear your intestines out of your stomach and use them as guitar strings.”

I shuddered and looked at him with wide eyes. He looked at me. His orange eyes slowly turned back to yellow and he sighed deeply.

“My apologies for frightening you, my son,” he said.

“I will never play a guitar again,” I said.

“How long do you think that’ll last?” Louis asked, grinning. “A week? Not even two weeks? He can’t even go two days without picking up a guitar or playing the piano.”

“I’m sorry, sweet one,” Father repeated. “I apologize to you as well, Mordecai. I don’t know what came over me.”

“No apology to me?” Uncle Soren grumbled. Father frowned at him.

“Be nice,” I warned him.

“Fine. I’m sorry I threatened to do what I’ve wanted to do for hundreds of years, Soren.”

“Father, be nice,” I said again.

“He’s never been nice to me. No, I take that back. He was nice to me in his younger years. Up until about the time I married Alga.”

“Oooh, a fight,” said Frodo. The grey cat jumped up onto the table. “Can I watch?”

Other Mordecai stared.

“We also have several talking cats,” I explained.

“That’s odd.”

I absentmindedly noticed two crows outside. Strange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I saw Eric Martin and Faolan growling at each other in our yard after school the next Monday, I was only partly surprised.

“What happened?” I asked Father, who stood behind Faolan.

“You remember Bartimaeus’ clan, right? A couple of them ventured onto werewolf territory.”

“Damn. That’s not good.”

“No, not at all. I’m trying to help Faolan convince Eric that we had nothing to do with it.”

“Why does he think Faolan’s involved?”

“Because he’s aligned himself with vampires. The top vampires.”

“Shut up, ticks,” Eric growled. “If you go onto my territory again, I will kill the next leech who comes along.”

“That will do no good, Eric,” Faolan said. “Most of them are ignorant about territories and laws.”

“It turns out that Bartimaeus has been portraying himself as a king,” Father explained. “Your grandfather and uncle aren’t too happy about that, and I can say that I’m not, either.”

“Why did he come onto our land?”

“Most vampires are ignorant of our American territories. I kept this place a secret for a reason. Somehow, Bartimaeus found out where we live and decided to pretend to be our friend, then attack us.”

“What is this, middle school?”

Father smiled at me. “Unfortunately, Reese, most vampires who are bitten are frozen in time. Their minds are as mature as they were when they were human. Bartimaeus was bitten in his late twenties. A lot of men are still immature at that age. I don’t know what he was thinking. If he’d tried it with the Council, they would have seen it sooner, but both you and Father want to see the best in everyone. It’s not a compliment.”

I cursed aloud.

“I agree. I suggest a meeting of the pack and the vampires in the woods.”

“A splendid idea, Mordecai,” Grandfather said behind me. I literally jumped four feet in the air. “Sorry, Reese. Eric, do you agree?”

“Fine,” the wolf said, growling. “I can see I’m going to be outvoted.”

“Should have brought more wolves, dickhead,” Louis said. “I swear, wolves are becoming stupider by the generation.”

“You’re one to talk about stupidity,” Eric told him. Louis frowned. He would never admit it, but Eric had one on him there.

“More entitled,” Faolan rumbled.

“Oh, and what are you, old man? The middle-aged soccer mom?”

Faolan threw a fist at him, but Father caught it. “Not now, Faolan. Later.” Faolan grumbled.

“Go inside, Reese,” Father continued. “Take a shower and put on a shirt. You’ve been at school all day, surrounded by humans, and the last thing we want is the scent of humans at this meeting tonight.”

“Who says it has to be tonight?” Eric smirked. “We can wait until tomorrow.”

“Fine-tomorrow. But no later than that. Understood, wolf?”

“Understood, tick.”

The next day after school was over, I headed for the shower immediately. I used my Axe body wash and even spritzed myself with cologne. I debated whether or not to wear a black button-up or a white button-up. I decided on the black one. I would be less noticeable if it turned into a fight.

Night really is the best time for vampires and werewolves, so we waited until dark.

When I stepped into the clearing, I was shocked to see Mother and Alexander, and even Mitra, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged and blowing grass whistles. The self-proclaimed guardian of the Lenape tribe was singing Melanie Martinez under her breath between whistles.

“I’m losing patience, Eilief,” Alexander said to Grandfather.

“Sorry, Alexander, but that’s not my fault,” Grandfather said. “You’re the one who decided to arrive early.”

Mother sat on the ground beside Mitra. “Sarah wanted to come, but I told her no. It would be too dangerous if one of them got a whiff of her and decided to make a meal of her.”

“I’m glad you said that,” I said.

“She’s sulking, but she will get over it. I’m more worried about Sabine at the moment. She’s been acting strangely. Secretive and moody.”

“Like all teenagers?” Uncle Soren said, grinning. “I’ve met countless adolescent crotch goblins, Marina. They’re all like that, trust me.”

Mitra sighed loudly and uncrossed her legs.

“Hello, Mitra,” Uncle Soren said, sounding hopeful. She turned her head toward him and nodded in his direction. I would have laughed, except that my uncle looked truly hurt. Once again, he was moving too fast. She had zero to very little interest in him, and he had already fallen hard for her.

Bartimaeus’ coven showed up next. Bartimaeus and my uncle frowned at each other. The coven sat on the other side of the small clearing. They looked at our side curiously.

“This is Alexander, Marina, and Mitra,” Uncle Soren said, gesturing to each of them. “And you all know Reese.”

Mitra and Alexander glared at the other side, who shifted around. I realized I didn’t know any of their names except for Bartimaeus, until:

“Hello, Mitra. My name is Romeo,” said a male with long dark hair and a scarred face.

“’Sup?” Mitra responded.

“I have not seen you around.”

“I live on the Lenape reservation.” She left out that she lived with humans, her human descendants.

“Interesting. You are Native American, yes? I am from England.”

Mitra stretched her legs and stared at him. I saw a flicker of interest from her. Romeo was quite handsome, his scars interesting. Mitra looked at her watch.

“I told my friend Ellis to show up. He should be here by now. He’s bringing the silver bullets.”

“Mitra, we’re not killing the wolves,” I told her.

“I know, I know, this is just in case. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” I thought I saw a flash of fear when she mentioned the silver bullets and when I mentioned the wolves. I wondered if she’d had a run-in with one or a pack.

Before long, a vampire male with long hair and a goatee appeared, holding a rifle.

“You know I can’t shoot,” he told Mitra.

“For God’s sake, Ellis. You’re more of a girl than I am. Just aim it in the right direction and pulled the damn trigger!”

“Okay, Miss Bad Attitude.” Mitra winced and glanced at Romeo. Uncle Soren noticed, and he snarled.

Father and Grandfather came into the clearing, followed closely by Eric and the rest of the wolves. Immediately, all the vampires prepared for a fight.

“Get over it, leeches,” Eric said, glaring at everyone.

“Watch it,” I warned him. He glared at me.

“Well, if it isn’t the fairy-loving tick. This tick has a fairy girlfriend, you know.”

“You loved her too!”

“Loved her? Hell, no. I just wanted a piece of her hot ass. How tight was it?”

I had him by the throat in a matter of seconds. “Talk about her like that again, and I rip your throat out.”

“Let him down, Reese,” Father said. “This goes to everyone: no insults. Don’t even think them. We don’t want a fight tonight.”

“Not all of us want peace,” Louis said, frowning at Eric.

“Eric is an arrogant berk. Ignore him. Reese, don’t fight with him. Eric, don’t mention Sarah again.”

“A fairy?” Bartimaeus asked.

“Half-human. She has not yet been turned for personal and medical reasons. She is to receive the same respect as any other princess. If she doesn’t, I will know why.”

My thoughts turned to my sweet mate. I ached for her affection at the moment. I ached to protect her from the likes of Eric Martin and Bartimaeus. I would kill anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way.

And I had.

Grandfather stepped into the clearing. “Now that that is settled, we have several issues to discuss. First of all, Bartimaeus is not the king of the vampires. I am. My name is King Eilief, son of Emery, cousin of Ambrogio Nicolai, the first vampire.”

Muttering broke out in the clan. Grandfather continued.

“Soren and Mordecai are my sons, and Louis and Reese are their sons. I am their grandfather. Normally, we reside in Denmark, but we are in America for personal reasons which I will not discuss. Bartimaeus, my sons and I have discussed your punishment. You will not be imprisoned, but rather, given a warning. We normally do not give out warnings such as these; however, these are exceptional circumstances, as we don’t believe your coven can survive without some form of leadership. Some of them are still very young and do not understand our world.

“My sons and I have decided on something. The coven will not be separated from each other, but will be given a new leader, which we will elect based on experience. Therefore, you will all be sent to Denmark in a private plane. There, you will be taken to one of our guest castles. You will be sent a temporary leader by the name of Bornac. He is a friend of mine. He will help you elect a new leader, and you will be taught all about our world and educated. You leave this Sunday.”

“Who says we’re leaving?” Bartimaeus said.

“Watch it, boy,” Uncle Soren snarled. “I am ten thousand years old. I am among the very few who still remember woolly mammoths and saber-tooth cats. I was able to take down a bull mammoth when I was sixteen. I was