Unraveling Mathias - Marisa Maichel (most read books of all time txt) 📗

because of those damned dogs.

"Sarah? What's Sarah got to do with it?" Louis replied.

Nothing. I just like her.

I was even more confused now.

"Well, it's good to be back," Louis said.

"It's good to have you back," I told him.

Uncle Soren came into the room, and when he saw Louis, he embraced him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm sorry, too," Louis said. Uncle Soren squeezed him so hard that I heard his ribs crack.

"Sorry," Uncle Soren muttered. He kissed the side of his head. "My boy."

I sat on the couch and turned on the news, giving them some privacy.

"-the strange wolf symbol has appeared again, this time on a neighborhood watch sign. The words beside it say 'You can't protect them. We are always watching'." I sighed. That was likely Eric. He enjoyed making people squirm, including his own. Werewolves. They were a thorn in our sides.

We hadn't heard from either Faolan or Sadie in a while, and I wondered how they were. My father had really broken Faolan's heart. I especially wondered how Sadie was, given her inexperience, and I wondered if she'd slipped again. Werewolves say it's harder for them to maintain control over the beast inside than for vampires. Most vampires would disagree, given that we have to deal with the cravings for blood twenty four/seven.

I looked back at the beautiful reporter. Now she was talking about a will where a rich old man had given all his money to the ASPCA and none to his money-hungry children, and now his children were suing his lawyer, his new wife, and the animal charity.

I sat up completely as I heard something about North Hampton High.

"Another North Hampton High faculty member has been found dead. Last November, Matthew Herman, who was found to have been texting underage students, and Darla Danielson, who was found to have been bullying students with special needs, were found with their hearts torn out of their chests and their bodies drained of blood. Now Peter Scott, who taught Math, has also been found dead in the boiler room of the high school. Everyone is forbidden to go near the boiler room except for select people, including the principal."

"Damn," I muttered. "I know him." He had taught Advanced Calculus my freshman year. He was my current Trig teacher.

"Mr. Scott's family and the high school will organize a memorial when the police release the body, which has teeth marks and scratches that look like they were made by giant wolves. All residents are warned to keep away from wild wolves and to report any wolf that may have rabies. If you see a wolf, don't run, and don't turn your back. Park Ranger of the Lakota Wolf Preserve Sophia Vermeen has more information."

"Don't run, don't turn your back. Make as much noise as possible, whistle, raise your arms over your head, throw sticks and stones, don't fall, don't look scared. Back away slowly, and if you have a gun, keep it ready in case of an attack. Don't stare the animal down, and if you need to, curl into a ball and keep your face and stomach protected. And if you spot a large pack circling you, pray for a miracle."

"Now, why did she say that?" Uncle Soren said, looking suspicious.

"She knows," Louis said. "All the major park rangers and police officers do."

"How do you know?" I asked him.

"Gut intuition," he replied.

"Guys, I seriously doubt that," Father said. "She's just being cautious. Wolves don't normally attack humans."

"This wasn't an ordinary wolf," I said. "It was one of our wolves."

"How do you know?" Louis snapped.

"Gut intuition," I retorted. He shut up. We all jumped at a knock on the door.

Spencer opened the door. "Hello, Sadie," he said. I flitted over to the door. Sadie looked nervous, fiddling with the belt loop on her jeans.

"There's going to be a challenge," she said. "Faolan is going to challenge Eric for the Alpha position. It was no coincidence, that teacher's death." Her words were as scattered as she looked.

"When?" Uncle Soren asked her. She avoided looking at him.

"Around nine tonight. Faolan is going to challenge Eric Martin in front of the whole pack."

"Where?"

"There's an abandoned house that we use." She rattled off an address. "I have to go. If Eric sees me here, it's game over." She scurried off, getting into a bronze Pontiac and speeding away.

Father looked at the clock. "We have a few hours before nine o'clock. Soren, we need to talk. Let's collect Father and go into my study. Boys, turn off your ears."

"Hey, I'm almost four hundred years old!" Louis cried.

"You've got about thirty five years before you're four hundred, son," Uncle Soren said. Louis sulked.

"Want to go wrestle?" I asked Louis.

"Sure," he said, then grinned at me and pounced. I flitted out the door into the backyard. He followed. He pretended to be distracted by a bird, and I pseudo-stalked him. Before I could make my move, he pounced on me.

"Good luck, little cousin," he teased. "I swear, you're more like a little brother to me than a cousin." That was the most affectionate thing I could remember him saying to me. I rolled over, and he grabbed me around the belly and pulled me toward him. A strange thing happened then. He started purring. It had been a long time since I'd heard him purr. Heck, it had been a long time since I'd seen him.

I crawled out from under his grip and turned to look at him. He was staring at the guest house with a look of longing.

"Do you miss Meiko?" I asked.

"I do. I don't know what to do. I've never felt this way about anyone before. She broke my heart."

I didn't know what to say. I sat on my haunches and studied him. He seemed to have been eating well. He had not lost weight. His hair was longer and shinier. His blue eyes seemed far away, although there was a happiness in them as well. Suddenly, he turned and grinned at me. I barely had time to react before he pounced.

"I missed you most of all," he said, scratching my head. "How is Sarah doing?"

"She's fine," I said. "As far as I know. She says that the baby has been kicking her more."

"She'll likely feel him kick more," Louis said. He looked up. "Oh, fuck. Here comes the vampire eater and his gang."

"Vampire eater?" I asked.

"Yeah, vampires who drink the blood of other vampires have red or purple eyes, like Zeke and Ambrose."

"Isn't that..."

"Illegal? Yes. It doesn't stop them from doing it, though." I turned around and crouched defensively. Zeke and his wife Jessica were walking toward us, both of them looking furious.

"Where is Adam and Janna?" Zeke questioned angrily.

"How the fuck are we supposed to know?" Louis snapped. "That bitch quit on us. And Adam insulted both us and our human coven members."

"You deserved it!" Zeke yelled.

"Where is Sarah?" Jessica said.

"Why do you care?" I lipped. Jessica smacked me across the face.

"She is my daughter!"

Suddenly, a blur jumped onto Jessica and started pounding the shit out of her. Father. And then another blur started to help him. Mother. Alexander, with a twisted smirk, held Zeke back, keeping him from helping his wife.

"Are you all right?" Louis asked me.

"I'm fine," I said. Louis turned my head.

"It doesn't look like your cheek is cracked or bruised. Drink some fresh blood and you'll be fine."

Father spent a few more minutes pounding Jessica, and he had to pull Mother off.

"She hurt my baby! I'll kill her!" Alexander let go of Zeke and grabbed Mother around the waist, still kicking and screaming. Jessica's face and chest were destroyed. Holes in her forehead, cheeks, and chin, cracks and bruises everywhere. Zeke ran to his wife and held her.

"It's time for you to leave," Uncle Soren told them. Jessica took one look at Mother, whose eyes were a furious red and pupils slitted, and took off for the guest house.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way," Zeke said. "Of course, after I tell everyone what the royal vampire family is really like-"

"Look up, stupid," Father said. "CCTV cameras everywhere, even inside both houses, in almost every room. Good luck with that."

Zeke turned pale and ran off.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - GET AWAY

We arrived at the werewolf hovel later that night just before nine. It was rundown and weedy. Several wolves were already in wolf form. Father held onto me like a vise. He glared all around, sniffing the putrid air. Their stink was all around. I felt sorry for Alexander, who had the best sense of smell out of all of us. He stayed on my other side while we walked to the backyard.

Faolan was already there, only wearing a pair of old boxers. Sadie and several other female wolves were behind him, some in wolf form. Eric walked over and took off his Naugahyde jacket and Calvin Klein jeans. He put on a pair of athletic shorts and stripped down to a white wifebeater.

"I beat you thirty years ago, I'll beat you tonight!" he shouted over the field. Immediately, wolves started howling and growling and snarling.

"Why are most of the girl wolves behind Faolan?" Louis asked.

"He's always been more open-minded about women's roles in the pack," Father said. "He's also a lot nicer to new wolves or young cubs. Eric is a complete jerk."

"Hey look, it's the blood brigade!" Eric shouted. All eyes turned to us.

"You drink blood too, asshole!" I retorted.

"Ooh, I'm so insulted. Even girls think I'm better than you!"

"The most important girl in my life begs to differ," I smirked. He frowned.

"So what? That's just one chick." I started toward him, only to be grabbed around the waist and held back.

"Calm down, Reese," Father said. "Ignore him. He's trying to cause a fight."

"I'll kill him," I hissed.

"Settle down, little one," Mother whispered in my ear. She put her cheek against mine and purred, which surprisingly worked. Both my parents purred, which calmed me down enough to relax in my father's arms.

"Plenty of bitches like me," Eric bragged. "Including all these bitches." Immediately, there was an uproar.

"How dare you!" shouted one female wolf. Faolan turned to his rival and started changing. His nose became longer, his teeth grew longer and sharper, and he grew a tail. Soon, he was a full werewolf. He howled, and all the wolves except for Eric crouched, even the ones who were still in human form. Eric shifted then, taking his time.

Finally, he was big, ugly, hairy, and smelly. He and Faolan circled each other, then Faolan made the first move. He jumped onto Eric, who slashed him across the stomach. Faolan barely noticed as he suddenly bit Eric's neck. Eric howled. And then it was chaos.

Biting, scratching, blood everywhere. Father tried to cover my eyes at one point, but I moved.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"It's a mess," Uncle Soren said. "I can barely keep track of what's going on."

"Faolan's winning," Father said with a note of pride. I squinted to see if that helped. It made things even more confusing. Wolves began howling, and small fights broke out among the pack. Eric grabbed a hold of Faolan's throat and tried to get him to submit. Faolan twisted his neck and bit down on Eric, who swiped a huge paw at Faolan.

Suddenly, it was over as soon as it began. Faolan pinned Eric, who lowered onto his belly and whined. Faolan let out a noise of satisfaction, then started to leave. As soon as his back was turned, Eric jumped onto him and started the fight again.

"That was dirty!" Father shouted.

"I'm honestly not surprised," I said. "When I was dealing with him when he had a thing for Sarah, he always tried to play dirty. He only backed off after she told him that she'd never date him."

"I doubt that her words are what made him back off," Louis said. "Wolves are stubborn as hell."

I looked over at Father, who had that glazed look every time he saw what was happening