Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) (28 page)

Zander was watching me
closely. He must have realized that I'd recalled every close call
between me and Violeta. He blinked once and looked away, as if he
didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that the beast we were
discussing was his betrothed.

“
Why
now? Why tell me at all? She hates me.” I stood and paced the
length of the patio.

“
Violeta
doesn’t hate you. I have been trying to tell you that. One day
last year, before you met Tabitha, Violeta and I were in New Mexico.
We spent a few days there because the Steward that Solomon assigned
to watch you had to return home for a family birth. “

“
You
and Violeta were watching me?”

Stunned to learn that
more and more of my family members had been so close to me without my
knowledge, I sat down hard on a bench. Feelings of frustration began
to rise. Again I found myself wondering what my life would have been
like if I had met them earlier.

Zander continued,
ignoring my question. “You and Ms. Redding were shopping at the
mall and three of Grigor’s scouts were there. We weren't sure
if they had found you or not, but it was too close for comfort.”

Zander got up and
walked to the edge of the shrubbery that surrounded the patio. He
picked at the small white flowers absentmindedly as he relived the
story he told. There was a stiffness in his shoulders as he spoke and
I wanted nothing more than to hug my brother, even though I knew that
I couldn't comfort him.

“
You
had stopped at Victoria’s Secret and I refused to go in.
Violeta laughed at me and followed you into the store just as
Grigor’s scouts walked by. They immediately knew her by smell
and followed her. It was a rookie mistake on her part, but she says
that she was so entranced by the need to protect you that she nearly
slung you over her shoulder and carried you out of the store.”

“
Protect
me?”

“
Yes.
Why do you think she's so tough on you?”

“
Like
I have said before, she hates me!”

“
No,
Chey, she doesn’t. Ever since the day you were born, Violeta
has felt responsible for you and…”

“
Wait,”
I interrupted, “She was there when I was born?”

“
It’s
a long story, but you need to know that she blames herself for you
being placed into foster care. You should have been raised with us.
Violeta wanted to raise you.”

Zander sat there and
let the words sink in. The woman that looked like she was barley 2
years older than me had planned to be my adoptive mother.

“
I
don’t understand. You said Grigor had captured her.”

“
Moments
after you were born, Grigor and his people came for you. Violeta sent
you and Zola away when the alarms sounded. She single-handedly fought
off twelve Vampires so that you could escape. She almost died
protecting you so Grigor took her in your place.”

“
But…,”
I had more questions than my brain could process. All of this made no
sense when compared to the way Violeta treated me. This was the
epitome of irony and Zander was expecting me to wrap my mind around
it.

I stood and walked back
and forth in front of Zander. I stopped every time I turned and
waited for him to speak but he held his tongue. I wanted to scream. I
could have had a real family. I could have been raised with Chloe by
Zander and Violeta.

“
What
about Chloe? She’s younger than me. How did you find her and
not me?”

I knew that my voice
sounded whinny and resentful, but curiosity was getting the best of
me. I just had to know what happened to me once Zola escaped. And how
did she end up with Grigor? And, how did Chloe end up being raised by
the St. Clairs while I was raised by a single parent? It just didn’t
seem fair and I was getting angry.

Zander was watching me
as all of these thoughts ran through my head. I knew he could see the
emotions flash across my face as they rolled over my body like a
tsunami. I was getting dizzy and thought I would hyperventilate if I
didn’t move.

Spinning on my heels to
leave, Zander let me go, realizing that I needed time to digest what
I had just heard. Rushing to the edge of the patio I threw up. Images
of my training flashed before me and I could see Violeta in my
minds-eye; how she watched me when she thought I wasn’t
looking. There had been pride in her eyes when I executed a
successful maneuver. There was love, guarded although it may have
been. Violeta was trying to ensure that I would never be as helpless
as I once was; as she had been.

I
turned toward the house only to see Violeta standing in the window.
The sunlight made her look even more exotic than normal. Guilt
gripped me. I was so angry about being left out in the cold that I
didn’t even consider what Violeta must have felt…what
she must be feeling knowing that I was going to go willingly into
Grigor’s compound to free a woman who couldn’t protect
me. I still couldn’t reconcile her supposed love with her
treatment of me. Conflicted, I ran in the other direction, desperate
to put distance between myself and the situation. Solomon let out a
gasp when I passed him faster than I'd ever run before. He called
after me once, but someone told him to let me go. I ran as fast and
as hard as I could until I reached the edge of the forest that lined
the property. With one hand on a nearby tree supporting my weight, I
threw up again. I stayed this way until my stomach was empty and
tears were streaming down my face. What was I going to do now?

I heard a noise behind
me and froze. It had to be Violeta. I'd hoped that Zander and/or
Solomon were with her; hoped that I wouldn’t have to deal with
her emotions when I wasn’t sure of my own. I stood there for a
few minutes, steadying my nerves, and then I turned toward her.

But it wasn’t
Violeta that I was facing. This was a much taller and even more
feminine Vampire. Standing about 6 feet tall, with broad shoulders
and a narrow waist, this woman looked like a goddess. Her long raven
black hair and piercing blue eyes were the same as the woman’s
in my dream during the Ludos. Efia had commented on how her
descendants were of all ethnic backgrounds so it was possible that
she was simply another of my Vampire relatives. She stood two body
lengths away from me and looked amused at my shocked expression.

She had to be some sort
of guest on the compound since the security was top-notch and
impenetrable. Deeming her a harmless and nosy guest, I started to
turn away when I heard footfall to my left and right. I thought
Zander and Solomon had finally come to see about me. But, I was
wrong. To my left stood Violeta and opposite her was Tabitha. The two
of them stood looking at the newcomer; waiting.

“
Hi,
Cheyenne,” the stranger said, taking a step in my direction.

Taking a step back, I
ran into a tree. I didn’t know who this woman was and I wasn’t
eager to find out. She stopped in her tracks but continued to hold
the amused expression on her face. Taking a deep breath, trying to
maintain control, I realized that I didn’t want to control
myself. I was tired of being used and deceived. Tabitha and Violeta
were just standing there while a complete stranger was on our
property. I'd had it!

I released the breath I
was holding and quickly inhaled again. This time I tried to focus all
of my energy on the stranger. At first, nothing happened. I knew that
she felt it because I saw her eyes widen slightly before relaxing.
She smiled at me as she fought the effects of my power. That smile
was her death certificate. I arched an eyebrow and drew in air until
my lungs were full. The air around me changed direction, thinning as
it swirled, and I welcomed the sensation. The stranger's knees
started to give way and she fell to the ground, one knee and hand
were the only things keeping her from being flat on her face.

Releasing a bit of the
breath I was holding, I withdrew some of the energy from her so that
she could stand. As she rose I could see that she still had that
amused look on her face, despite the sweat that was on her brow.
Right when I was taking another breath to put her back on her knees,
Tabitha put a hand on my arm and gave her head a slight shake.

“
Chey,
it’s alright. She’s with us.”

“
Great,”
I say sarcastically, “and which ‘us’ are you
talking about, Tab? So far, this ‘us’ never appears to
include me!”

“
Chey,
…,” Tabitha started.

“
No,
let me explain,” the stranger stepped up, putting her hand on
Tabitha’s shoulder.

Tabitha flinched when
the stranger made contact and then stepped out of her reach. She was
entirely too close to me but I felt more annoyed than threatened, so
I took a step back until I was even with Tabitha. From this close,
the stranger looked like she was made of porcelain. She was the
quintessential Vampire, if you read into all of the folklore.

“
Cheyenne,”
she started again, “let me introduce myself. My name is
Isidora…”

At the sound of that
name, my flight or fight instincts took over and I assumed an attack
pose before I knew what I was doing. Where had I heard that name
before? I ran through an invisible database in my head until I came
to it; Lord Vladimir Oleander the First and his Wife, Lady Isidora.
This woman was Grigor’s mother. I rushed her faster than I had
ever done in practice and was satisfied when my perfectly executed
roundhouse kick landed directly in her stomach. I immediately
followed with a three punch combination and an elbow to the face.
Everything was going my way, or so I thought. The stranger, Isidora,
was on her knees in front of me with one hand outstretched. Mercy,
however, was not on the menu.
“Enough!”

I looked up at the
sound of Violeta’s voice. There she stood; wearing all black
and looking dangerous. Gasping before I could stop myself, Violeta’s
lips switched into a momentary smirk. She stood between me and
Isidora with the pride and protectiveness of a mother wolf to her
cub. At that moment I saw what Zander had talked about. For months I
had been living under the assumption that Violeta hated me.
Apparently she had kept me at arm’s length because she loved me
and wanted me to be safe. Even though she probably thought she was
doing me a favor, I was really pissed that she stopped me.

“
You
think this mess is funny?” I rushed her, surprising both of us
by making contact and pushing her to the ground.

“
You
think this is some kind of a joke? You want some of me? Huh?”

Violeta’s arms
were pinned under my knees as I sat on her chest. Too angry to let
fear rule me, I slapped her again and again. The third time I raised
my hand I heard that familiar growl. This time it vibrated upward
causing a surge of adrenaline through my body. My fight or flight
kicked in and I had a decision to make. I was nowhere near stupid
enough to think that I could outrun Violeta; I would have to stay and
fight.

It seemed like time had
slowed between the growl and my decision to fight and Violeta’s
eyes changed from brown to black. I had read about the differences in
Vampire’s eyes and knew I was in for the fight of my life.
There were only a few chances I had to weaken her and I took it.
Swinging my arm, closing my hand into a fist as it came down, I
punched Violeta in the face. Just like in training, I quickly
repeated this with both fists until my knuckles came away bloody and
Violeta threw me off of her. She threw me so hard that I hit a nearby
tree and slid to the ground and everything went black.

I couldn’t see
very well when I finally opened my eyes. Someone was crouched in
front of me but I could only make out a vague shadow against the blue
sky. When I tried to move, however, the shadow growled and stopped me
in my tracks. Hot breath was now on my neck and my life flashed
before my eyes. This was how it was going to end; killed by the very
person who was suppose to help me win.

As I tried to calm
myself down, I recalled all of the hours of training, trying to
remember anything that could help me right now. I could not do a
round-house kick from my position on the ground and I didn’t
think a quick right-hook would work. We had never covered the
possibility that your trainer would try to eat you…I had no
defense for that. I took a deep breath and held it, thinking that I
could slow my heart down a bit. I held it until I heard footsteps and
voices coming our way.

“
You
should have taken me out,” Violeta berated me.

“
I
couldn’t,” I said, through a new stream of tears. “I
can’t.”

“
Yes,
you can,” she said, and then she walked away.

“
Chey?
You okay?” Zander asked.

I looked up at him,
trying to focus a little better. I knew that Solomon was at his side
even though my vision was blurry and I became angry that they hadn’t
come sooner. I struggled to my feet, shrugging off the hands that
were trying to help me. Frustration and embarrassment fueled me as I
used the tree to finally get to my feet.

I stood there looking
at Violeta. Her eyes were brown again and she looked every bit the
gorgeous spit-fire that she was. I searched her eyes for the love
that I now knew was there. I searched for the slightest piece of
evidence that she didn’t hate me and got nothing. She had put
up her walls and commissioned the guards. She shook her head as if in
disgust and turned away from me.

I
didn’t ask for this; I didn’t want this.

I turned to Zander.