Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Kathy carefully wiped the blood from Anthony’s mouth, her hands trembling as she helped him into clean clothes. The living room felt colder than usual, the dim lamplight stretching long shadows across the walls and catching on the dark smear of blood still staining the floor. The air held the sharp metallic scent of it, mixed with the faint warmth of untouched food from the kitchen. She eased Anthony onto the narrow bed pushed against the wall, smoothing the blanket over him as exhaustion dragged him into a deep, restless sleep. For a moment, the only sounds were his uneven breathing and the low hum of the house around them. Then Zack stepped inside in his human form, silent and watchful, his presence filling the doorway. Kathy lifted her eyes to him and crossed the room.
“There’s a body in my bathroom,” Kathy said, keeping her voice low. “Get rid of it.”
Zack’s gaze flicked toward the hall. “Yes, miss.”
Kathy grabbed her cell phone and went into the kitchen, the untouched dinner still waiting on the counter. She leaned against the edge, wondering how she was going to explain any of this to her father. It was late, and her parents were probably asleep, but she needed to talk to him. Taking a deep breath, she dialed his number and pressed the phone to her ear. When his voice came through after a few rings, she was surprised he was still awake.
“Kathy?” her father answered, his voice instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”
Kathy swallowed hard. “I’m fine, but something happened. I need you here.”
“I’m on my way,” he said. “Your mother and the babies are asleep. Stay where you are, and don’t touch anything else until I get there.”
“Hurry,” Kathy whispered.
Kathy hung up and set the phone on the counter, then hurried to her bedroom to get Dorian’s unopened letter for her father. When she returned to the living room, Seth was already there, standing beside the bed as Anthony slept. The scent of blood still lingered in the house, and Seth noticed it immediately.
Seth’s gaze shifted from Anthony’s pale face, and the color drained from his own. For a moment, the anger in his eyes gave way to fear. “Kathy,” he said, his voice low and strained, “tell me exactly what happened.”
“Not here,” Kathy said, glancing toward Anthony. “In the kitchen. I’ll show you everything.”
Seth followed Kathy into the kitchen, his eyes fixed on the letter in her hand. She held it out to him, and he took it slowly, his jaw tightening as he turned it over and saw the seal. “Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice dropping. When Kathy didn’t answer right away, his grip tightened around the paper. “Kathy, this isn’t something you should have.”
Kathy held out the letter. “Do you know the name Dorian Vale?”
Seth went still. “I haven’t heard that name since I was a teenager. Dorian Vale was a vampire elder. Then he vanished.”
Once Kathy hand over the letter and Seth turn the letter around to see that seal before Seth could say anything, Kathy clear her throat, to get her father attention.
Kathy forced herself to meet his eyes. “What happens if Anthony drinks fresh human blood?”
Seth’s expression tightened. “He’s only ever had synthetic blood. Why are you asking me that?”
“Because he fed on one of the hunters Dorian sent,” Kathy said. “The guards arrested the others, and Zack is handling the body. Anthony said he felt dizzy afterward. Then he collapsed.”
Seth exhaled sharply. “Some vampires can feed on humans without a problem. But newly turned vampires—and half-vampires—are different. We start them on synthetic blood for a reason. Human blood can hit like a rush, especially if they drink too much. When it wears off, the body fights back. Pain, dizziness, sickness. That’s why I kept Anthony on synthetic. It’s easier on him, especially since he still eats human food.”
Seth read the letter, then look at Kathy who really didn’t say nothing about then look at the letter.
Dear Kathy,
Your dear stepsister, Skye, came to me looking for you and asked me to track you down. After I learned you had killed one of my men, I sent my hunters after you and your children. I also know your mate, Anthony, has become a vampire. In exchange for the information Skye wanted, she paid me with her blood. Now I offer you a choice: her life or yours.
Dorian
Seth’s mouth tightened as he lowered the letter. “So that’s what this is,” he said, his voice cold. “Your stepsister doesn’t just envy your life—she thinks she can take it.” His eyes darkened. “If she tries to force herself into this family, or Anthony’s clan, she’ll be torn apart before anyone even has to stop her. She has no idea what kind of world she’s reaching for.” He looked back at Kathy, the edge in his voice sharpening. “Tell me one thing. What happened to the man she stole from you?”
“He dumped her after he found out two of her children weren’t his,” Kathy said. “Skye had been living off his money and acting like she had won something by taking him from me, but the truth caught up with her. Once he realized the lies, he cut her parents off too—money, house, cars, everything. Last I heard, he wanted nothing to do with any of them and had already moved on with someone else.”
Seth handed the letter back to Kathy. She looked down at it, but the threat on the page no longer felt as heavy as the fear she saw in her father’s red eyes. For the first time that night, she let herself breathe. A small, trembling smile touched her lips—not because the danger was gone, but because he was there, and she did not have to face it alone. Whatever Dorian wanted, whatever Skye had started, Kathy knew one thing with quiet certainty: her family would not break so easily.
Kathy looked at him, her throat tightening as her voice softened despite herself. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as if holding herself together. “I still don’t understand what my mother sees in you,” she said, though the ache in her chest made the words come out gentler than she intended.
“Because she is my mate,” Seth said. “I waited a long time for her, but I had to earn her trust. After her ex-husband betrayed her, promises meant nothing, so I protected her quietly instead. I had my men watch over her, sent the food she craved when she was pregnant with you, and left money after your father took everything. When your ex-husband was supposed to pick you both up from the hospital, I arranged for a nurse to take her to a recovery center so she could heal safely. I knew she was mine, but I couldn’t tear her from her family. Then I saw you asleep in that basket, and when you wrapped your tiny hand around my finger and smiled at me, I knew you were part of that bond too. You know the rest.”
“You really loved my mother,” Kathy said softly. “I wish you could have taken us away from that toxic family.”
“Yes, I wanted to take you both in,” Seth said. “But I had problems in my kingdom, and bringing your mother into that danger would have only put her at greater risk.”
“You should get back home to Mom before she starts calling my phone looking for you,” Kathy said.
“You are right,”
Seth leaned down and kissed Kathy gently on the forehead. For a moment, he let himself linger, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms the way he had wanted to when she was small. He remembered the tiny hand that had once curled around his finger, the way her infant smile had reached some guarded place inside him, and the silent promise he had made to protect her even if he had to do it from a distance. Now she stood before him grown, bruised by the very dangers he had prayed would never find her, with blood in the house and an enemy’s threat in her hand. Guilt pressed hard against his chest, but beneath it burned something stronger: she was his family, and he would not fail her again.
“Good night and sleep well,”
“You too papa.
He was gone in the time it took to snap his fingers. Kathy leaned against the counter, the letter held loosely in her hand, as her tiny fire fae reappeared on her shoulder, its gaze also fixed on the parchment.
“You are so late. Why are you here?”
“I need to get away, I am going to sleep here for tonight,”
“You making it seem that it a problem,”
“It’s not a problem. My mate won’t like it,”
“Come on get some sleep,”
Approaching the bed, Kathy ducked underneath it, reinforcing her barrier. She then looked at her mate, caressed his forehead with her finger, and lay down on the pillow, drawing the blanket over her. Her eyelids grew heavy, and as she closed them, the quiet stillness of the afternoon lulled her to sleep.