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

bullshit. You’re not afraid to show off or dance. You take care of me. You treat me like gold. But it’s the same old thing over and over again.”

“All right. I’ll fuck a hot chick or a hot guy, you fuck a hot guy.”

“Will she be blond?”

“Possibly. I mean, I’ve already fucked Sadie. God, I won’t make that mistake again. Never again will I have sex with a werewolf.”

“Will you play with her emotions?”

“I already played with Evan’s emotions. I won’t do that again. Or we could just save time and energy and fuck the same person. I’ll find a hot guy for you so we can share.”

“I don’t want to share.”

“All right, then. You choose first.”

“Okay. I’ll pick first. You get approval rights. In return, I’ll let you do it with whoever you want. Can be male or female. I also get approval rights.”

“Deal.”

I leaned forward to seal it with a kiss, but before I could, she started sobbing again.

“I am the worst girlfriend ever!”

“No, you’re not. Hey, we don’t have to do it.”

“I’m a slut, a thief, a tease- “

“Stop that right now!”

“I’m a bad daughter, a bad sister, and a bad girlfriend!”

“I told you to stop that! You’re not a bad daughter, sister, or girlfriend! I understand the need for some excitement. Truthfully, I needed some, too. You’re not a slut. You don’t fuck random guys. You only fuck me.”

She kept crying, however. I’d about had it. I hugged her, then whispered that I had to go. She kissed me on the chin, then went right back to deprecating herself.

I wondered if I was a bad boyfriend for leaving her the way I did. No, she needed some alone time, and so did I. I shouldn’t have kept suggesting a threesome. I hadn’t meant to upset her, but I did. Now I’d have to pay the consequences. It was my own fault.

As we prepared to depart for Denmark, Sarah, Sabine, Selena, Mother, Alexander, and Cirino had arrived at our house. The dogs would stay home and be taken care of by Zie. Sarah worried about the dogs, who were upset when she and Sabine had left with their suitcases.

“It’s all right, Sarah,” Uncle Soren said, taking her face in his hands. I snarled at the action. Uncle Soren wisely backed off. “Take some of your Xanax. Isn’t that what it’s called?”

“Yeah,” Sarah said, taking his advice and popping two pills in her mouth. Selena handed her a glass of water, and Sarah swallowed the medication that was supposed to help her anxiety.

“I’ve never been to Denmark,” Sabine said. “What’s it like?”

“It’s gorgeous,” Sarah said. “The trees and flowers are beautiful, even in winter.”

“Happy birthday, Sabine,” I said.

“Thanks,” she said. It was her birthday on the seventeenth of December, that day. She had turned fifteen.

“The cats are coming,” said Father. “It wouldn’t hurt to have two more passengers on the plane, if only to ease Sarah’s worries.”

Both the Cresley girls got up and hugged him.

So now Zie was bringing them over so we could all go to Denmark.

She brought Spunk and Coffee over in record time, and the dogs were happy to see the girls. Sarah hugged Coffee, the little brown feisty Chihuahua licking her mistress’ face. Spunk kissed Sabine first, then moved onto me, since Coffee would bite him if he got too close to Sarah. For whatever reason, Coffee didn’t much like me, but Spunk loved me.

We all piled into the limos with our pets and our bags in the trunks, I was holding Shadowfang and Anakin, Father was holding Mishka and Belle, Louis was holding Frodo and Catniss.

“This is disgraceful,” Frodo complained loudly. He had a high-pitched, squeaky voice for a cat his size. I had yet to hear Catniss or Anakin talk, although Belle occasionally spoke up, but it was mostly Mishka and Shadowfang that did the talking.

Frodo started grooming his dark grey fur. We put the cats in the box in the backseat, then I climbed in next to them. Father climbed in next to me, then Louis, then Grandfather, then Alexander with Cirino.

“Where’s Uncle Soren?” I asked.

“He decided to ride with Mitra and the girls,” Father said.

“Oh, Mitra’s coming, too?”

“Yes, he asked her at the last minute. She didn’t want to leave the reservation unprotected, but he promised her that they would be okay.”

Cirino started fussing five minutes into the ride to the airport.

“Are you hungry?” Alexander asked. Cirino screwed up his face and started to cry, then Alexander passed him to me, and I rocked him, managing to get him to quiet down for a few minutes.

“You realize this is the first time he’ll be on an airplane?” I said. Alexander rubbed his face, and Father sighed.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’ll take him,” Grandfather growled, irritated. I passed the baby to him. He shushed and bounced the baby, managing to keep him quiet for the rest of the ride to the airport.

The girls and women boarded first, along with the animals. Mother carried the cats in the box, while Sarah carried Coffee and Sabine led Spunk on his leash. Then the males boarded next, with Grandfather still carrying Cirino.

Alexander called Kieran on his cell, letting him know that he would be arriving in Denmark soon.

Our private plane was stocked with everything, from a bar to a bedroom, where the girls led the animals. The cats immediately hid under the bed, and Coffee and Spunk made use of the bed.

Sarah went to the front of the plane, where I sat next to her. She nodded to me and opened a book. Sabine sat on my other side. I opened a book as well, and Sabine posted a status update. It was strange, being between the Cresley girls. It was strange that Sabine was coming at all.

Mother had suggested a bat mitzvah for Sabine, but Sabine didn’t want one yet. She wanted to wait until after the new year, which Sarah said was odd, but not unheard of.

In a few days, Mother and Alexander would be married, and then a few days after that, the Holiday Ball. Parties and events would ensue until the middle of January, when things would die down. I’d already had to purchase three new suits and a tuxedo.

Total cost: $3,000.

One suit alone was $1,500.

I fell asleep with the book in my lap, so we seemed to arrive faster than normal.

As we picked up the animals, Mother took Cirino, who had stayed remarkably quiet, most likely due to her soft singing, which always soothed him. Spencer took my suitcase and Sarah’s, and then he led us through the airport to another waiting limousine.

This time, Sarah and I got in one together with Sabine, Cirino, Mother, Alexander, and Selena. Everybody else would be the other limousine. I got a glimpse of Mitra as she strode out holding Uncle Soren’s hand. He was definitely smitten.

I held the box of cats close, where all the cats meowed and purred and hissed. They had been found in a ravine near the castle. They were excited to see Denmark again. I did worry about the wolves and other predators nearby, but Shadowfang insisted that the cats’ mental connection would keep all of them safe and that they would stay close to the castle.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – MARRIAGE

When we arrived at the castle, I was relieved. The home where I’d spent every winter and spring break since I began school was welcoming. Claudia, the old cook, was waiting for us at the front gates, along with several guards, including Chris and Toby.

Chris hugged Sarah when she got out, much to Mother’s chagrin. She took Sarah’s bag and Spunk’s leash, while Toby took the box of cats.

“Welcome back, Prince Reese,” said a guard named Randall.

“Thank you. I trust that everything’s all right?”

“As well as could be expected.”

I was greeted by several more guards, and Spencer took my bags up to my room. I liked my room in the castle. Over the years, the crib had been traded in for a toddler bed, which had later been traded in for a king-size bed which was kept well-sheeted and clean by maids. I took the new elevator up to my room, which had been installed for Sarah and Sabine’s sake.

Chris had taken Sarah to her room, and everyone else had been taken to their rooms. The cats had been set loose in the living room with a warning to stay near the castle.

I kicked off my boots and crawled into the white sheets. I was tired. I felt a furry body crawl in next to me.

“Hi, Shadow,” I said.

“Sorry, hon, it’s not Shadowfang,” said a female voice.

“Mishka?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s me. Shadow’s with Sarah. They’re talking.”

“Aha. About what?”

“Sorry, can’t tell you. Confidence and all that.”

“How can you and the other cats speak?”

“We’re not ordinary cats, you know that. We’re familiars. Shadowfang’s your familiar. I have yet to find mine.”

“So, can you take the form of a human?”

“Only advanced familiars can do that. Familiars who have been around for a while and have been with their others for a long time.”

I scratched her ears. “Hmm, behind there…yeah, around the shoulders…yeah, right there….”

“So why did Shadow choose me?”

“Only he can tell you that.”

“How did familiars come into place?”

“Witches and vampires need familiars, or they get lonely. Humans tend to want to kill what they don’t understand or see as evil. Not that all witches or vampires are evil. In fact, I met a male witch who had the ability to control water. He put out countless fires, as he lived in a dry climate where a lot of fires were started. People began to think that he was the one starting the fires, so they tried to burn him. Tried to being the key words. He smothered the fire and was able to get away. I think he’s somewhere in Africa now, somewhere where it rains a lot.”

“Does everyone have a familiar?”

“No, not everyone. True familiars are very rare, and only familiars can create more familiars, which is why Shadow and I mated in the first place.”

“Why was he in America and you and the kittens in Denmark?”

“Ah, that would be telling our secret. Only Shadowfang can tell you our secret.”

“Because he’s my familiar?”

“Yes.”

“Is it a stupid reason?”

“Depends on how you look at it. Hi, Shadow.”

I looked over and saw the large cat.

“Hello, wife and vampire,” he said. “I’ve just been talking to Sarah. Sorry, I can’t tell you about what. You’ll have to ask her yourself. May I speak to Reese alone, Mishka?”

“Absolutely, husband.” Mishka jumped off the bed and left the room.

“So why were you in America and she and the kittens weren’t?” I asked.

“Because you needed me,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Mishka hasn’t found her witch or vampire yet. We were all born in Denmark, Reese.”

“Like me.”

“Yes, like you. That’s how it usually works. A familiar gets close to their witch or vampire, they sense their presence and go to find them. They immediately know when they’ve found them because of the mental connection.”

“Mental connection?”

“Yes, like you and your father have a mental connection, and you and Sarah will have that connection when she’s turned into a vampire. It’s just like a familial or mate connection. It’s deep and profound, like an Edgar Allan Poe quote. Is that not the right analogy?”

“I don’t think that is an analogy, buddy.”

“Sorry, I don’t read very often.”

“You read?”

“Yes. I’ve known how for a while. But I find it boring, especially since I don’t have opposable thumbs or long fingers.”

“Sorry,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say.

“What are you sorry for? It’s just the way I was made. Some humans don’t like reading, and they do have long fingers and opposable thumbs.”

I scratched his ears. He purred loudly.

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

The next day was filled with preparations and plans. The venue had to be set up, supervised by Mother. Fresh flowers were needed-baby’s breath and roses and lavender. Blood was delivered in different forms for the next