Betrayal Bites (Tales of Sydney Sedrick Book 2) (4 page)

The recollection of what he was saying when the foggy haze lifted from my mind hit me. “Liam, you were attacked by a werewolf? Is that when Kieran made you a vampire?”

He shifted uneasily on the cushion while deliberating on what to say next. Was it not polite to ask a vampire how they were turned? I’d have to ask Kieran about what vampires considered proper manners when it came to asking about their vampire origins.

“It was a long time ago, Sydney, hardly worth mentioning.” Liam lifted his hand to peer at his watch. Did the vampire want me to think he had somewhere else he needed to be?

“No, I want to hear it. That is, if you’re willing to tell me.” I didn’t want to push, but I had really warmed up to Liam. He seemed like he really needed to get it out, since he chose to tell me while I was unconscious and unable to remember the story.

“Fine.” He drew a deep breath. “A long time ago, my brother and I were working on my father’s farm. It was night time, the moon happened to be full, and we didn’t pay enough attention to what was happening around us beyond the trees that lined the south end of the property. We were attacked from behind. My brother never knew what it was. You see, he didn’t survive the night. Kieran found me later when the wolves had been gone for some time and gave me his blood to heal my injuries. If he hadn’t, I would have died along with my brother. And for that, I’m very grateful to my coven leader.”

We smiled. Kieran did have some really good qualities as a person, even if he was a vampire. The fact that he had had a longstanding affair with my grandmother before she died gave me the willies, but otherwise he was a pretty decent man.

“So, did you know werewolves existed before you and your brother were attacked?”

Liam’s eyes glazed over, as if he were returning to that awful night when his entire life as he knew it was ripped away from him.

“My family was very superstitious, but we’d never seen a wolf before. There were stories the grown-ups used to frighten the young children, but I figured it was to make sure we stayed tucked in our wee beds when it was time to go to sleep.” Liam lifted his shoulders in a shrug. He was the vampire that had come the closest to mastering human gestures for the benefit of his conversations with people, making him appear more, well, human.

“How did Kieran happen to come along and find you on your father’s property the same night that you were attacked?” Liam was lucky Kieran had found him, otherwise he would have died that night, or could he have become a werewolf from the wolf’s bites?

“Kieran and his Knights were hunting the wolves in the area. The coven leader has always been protective over humans, Sydney. He was not much different when I first encountered him than he is this day. Anyways, Kieran and his hunting party were tracking the wolves by their kills. Wolves can be very messy when they attack. My poor brother . . .” Liam stopped talking, coughed to clear the lump I imagined was forming in his throat, and took a moment to regain his composure. Clearly he was not over the death of his brother.

“Liam, you don’t have to finish the story if it’s too painful.” I put my hand on his forearm and gave him a gentle, but supportive, squeeze. He turned his head toward me. That’s when I saw his eyes. Vampires didn’t cry, not that I’ve ever seen. But Liam’s eyes were more of a deeper color red than usual. Normally, Liam’s eyes were a vibrant red color, almost pink.

He took his other hand and patted the one I had resting on his arm. “Sydney, you’re not so bad, for a human.” With that, we both laughed. Liam was fast becoming my favorite guy vampire friend.

“Sydney, I’ll finish the story. There’s not much left to tell anyways. Kieran tracked the wolf that attacked us by smelling my brother’s blood. The wolf had almost all of my brother’s leg torn off, and there was a lot of blood. Vampires are not able to smell each other, or tell the difference between rogue wolves and those that belong to packs, but they are more than able to smell human blood. Even from far distances.” Liam sat on the couch, patiently awaiting my questions.

The thought of the nature shows I’d watched about sharks came to mind. Sharks could smell blood in the water from over a mile away. I never understood how they could smell anything while they were in the water, but then again, nature was full of complex details that didn’t make sense to me.

“Liam, why does Kieran let the Elders dictate how to run his coven if he doesn’t agree with how they conduct their own behavior in regards to how they feed?”

“Kieran’s loyalty to the Elders is like a child’s to their parent. The Elders turned and raised Kieran and his brother, teaching them the old ways as being the only way to survive. Besides, if Kieran went against the Elders, they would have the Knights get rid of him. Such an action would be considered treason, and they would deal with him as a traitor. Kieran is better off making his case, having the changes he wants implemented in small doses. That way they will be better received by everyone.”

“If Kieran’s coven is so loyal to him, why wouldn’t he just start his own coven, away from the Elders, with his own rules?” I got that Kieran was loyal to the Elders, but if he didn’t like the way they handled the vampire issues, then why not become his own governing body?

Liam took a deep breath, another human-like gesture for my benefit. He was good. “Sydney, you can’t just go against the Elders. They have been a part of vampire law and existence from the start. If Kieran were to start separating himself and his coven from their law, he would be killed. The Elders don’t want to lose control of their people. Think of the vampires being under a general dictatorship. The Elders are the dictators. They want Kieran to be their General, to enforce their laws.”

“But if Kieran is so against what they stand for, why not move away from them and live the life of a vampire as he sees fit?” Kieran didn’t seem like the type of vampire that would bend his morals too far, so why would he stay under the rule of a group of old vampires that demanded he do just that?

“The Elder’s reach doesn’t only extend to this area of vampires, Sydney. The Elders belong to a larger group of Elders that spans across the entire world. From what I’ve been told, the Elders that oversee this country are nothing in comparison to those over in Eastern Europe and even farther away, like the ones in Asia.” Liam began fidgeting again, inspecting his fingernails closely. We were clearly on a topic he was no longer comfortable talking about, but I wanted to know everything there was to know about the Elders.

The phone on the counter next to the register rang loudly, making me jump from the couch. I hadn’t realized how edgy the rogue’s appearance and what Liam was telling me had made me. I walked over to the counter, my legs shaking from weakness. Before I answered, I put a finger up toward Liam, signaling for him not to go anywhere. I wasn’t finished talking yet.

Brianna was on the other line giggling. “Sydney! I’m so happy you answered. We’re coming up to Kenosha in a few minutes so be ready, because we’re going to Max’s. Maybe you should ask Blake if he’d like to go, too?”

My sister, ever the matchmaker. She had no idea vampires and werewolves existed. Hopefully it would stay that way. Michael, her boyfriend, who was also Blake’s cousin, belonged to Blake’s werewolf pack.

I told Brianna to hold for a second, muted the phone, and set it down.

“Liam, is there anything I can do to repay you for your kindness? You didn’t have to stay with me like you did, but I really appreciate it.” I liked Liam. He was one of the good guys.

Liam lifted himself off the couch and walked over. Gently, and like a little brother would, Liam gave me a hug while patting me on the back. “Sydney, it was my pleasure. Besides, like I said before, if anything happened to you, Kieran would have my hide.” He smiled and headed to the door.

Before leaving, he turned and said, with a surprising amount of sadness in his voice, “See you tomorrow, Sydney. Take care of yourself.”

“Don’t think you’re getting off that easy, Bub. I still have a lot of questions for you about vampires. You are going to tell me about them,” I said with stern determination, telling him that I wasn’t going to let it go.

Liam nodded. His shoulders slumped lower, just a bit. “Sydney, no matter how much I would love to tell you, there are things about the vampire nation I’ve been sworn to keep to myself, even from you. But I’ll answer what I can. I don’t see any point in it, though. There’s nothing you, not even as the Selected, can do to change them. Vampires are pretty set in their ways. Besides, vampires can only fight the need to consume blood for so long. We all give in, eventually.”

“Liam, what aren’t you telling me?” I could see it in his face that he was holding back. Like there were things he wanted to tell me but wouldn’t, or couldn’t.

“Like I said before, Sydney, take care of yourself. You mean a lot to me. Whatever happens tomorrow night, just know that I’ll make sure you’ll be okay,” he said, while gripping the doorknob so tight I feared he’d crush it with his vampire strength.

When I was about to say something else, Liam put his hand up in the air and gave a little wave. I didn’t say what I wanted because I knew it wouldn’t matter. Liam was trying to tell me something about tomorrow night, but he couldn’t come right out and say it. What did he know about the ball?

Grabbing the phone and putting it back to my ear, I said, “Brianna? What do you mean you’re coming up tonight? What time will you be here?”

Brianna and Michael planned to arrive a little after seven o’clock but had to go to Morris’ pack house before going to the nightclub. Morris, Blake’s father, knew his nephew was dating my sister. As a favor to me, he made sure his pack members didn’t say anything in front of her she wasn’t ready to hear.

That would give me enough time to close the store, go home, and get ready for the evening.

My guess was Blake already knew about the evening plans. My sister was a fink who kept trying to make us date each other. Should I invite him? He had a terrible time seeing me talk, or even flirt, with other men.

It could prove to be an interesting night.

Chapter 5

The wind gusted in a cold blast as I shut the car door and ran up the front porch steps to Aunt Judith’s house. The sweet, tangy smell of lasagna came from the kitchen as I set my purse and keys down on the wooden table next to the front door. The smell consoled my senses. My mouth began to water in anticipation. Nothing was better than four melted cheeses, black olives, pasta, and homemade tomato sauce laced with oregano and sugar. Sugar was Aunt Judith’s secret ingredient in making the best sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Aunt Judith stood in the kitchen next to the sink, taking in the scenery through the window overlooking the back yard. She turned and smiled at my approach. When the timer dinged, she used two colorful potholders to take the delicious-smelling meal out of the oven and set it on the stove.

As she dished up our dinner, I asked, “Aunt Judith, have you ever heard Grandma speak about a Blood Rites Ball?”

Her hand holding the blue spatula halted mid scoop. Without turning around, she said, “Yes, she mentioned having to go. Why do you ask?”

She finished dishing out the lasagna on our plates, brought them to the table, and sat down with a little less grace than was normal for her.

“Kieran is having one tomorrow night. One of his vampires came to the store today saying that the Elders may assign someone else to watch over me instead of Kieran. He also said this happened before, when Kieran and Grandma started getting too close for their liking.”

I needed to know how Kieran and Grandma kept it so no one else was put in charge of the Selected. I needed to get stronger so it wouldn’t matter who was put in charge of me. From what I read from her journal, Grandma was powerful. Her powers were strong enough to keep the bad guys at bay. I needed to do the same for myself. Aunt Judith had said her abilities grew and developed over time. My instincts told me I didn’t have much time before someone tried to lock me away. I needed to figure out how to defend myself, fast.

Aunt Judith nodded. “I remember. My mother fell quite fast for the vampire leader. She used to tell me they were in love. But the Elders don’t like it when something, or someone, becomes more important to their servants than they are. So, they made Kieran choose.”

That didn’t make sense to me. Why would the Elders not want their vampire coven leaders to be happy?

Then it hit me.

Kieran had made a choice.

He chose the Elders over my grandmother.

“He decided to go along with what the Elders wanted instead of staying with Grandma. She must have been devastated.”

Sadness for my grandmother’s broken heart and disappointment that Kieran would pick power and privilege over the love of his life pounded another link in the armor being constructed around my heart against love.

Blake was destined to be the pack master of the Midwestern Werewolf Pack someday. What would happen if his pack didn’t accept their leader having the Selected for his mate, especially if she wasn’t the Selected who could fulfill their prophecy?

What choice would Blake make if forced to choose between me and his pack? I didn’t want to be the one to put him in the kind of position where he’d even have to make such a choice.

My heart hurt. Would Blake choose me over his pack?

No.

Aunt Judith’s fork scraped along her plate, bringing me back to the present.

“Yes. My mother was devastated, but not because of Kieran’s rejection. They decided together it would be better to have him in charge of her, as her protector, than it would be for them to try and run away together. There was no way the Elders would have allowed Kieran to live if he declared the Selected, a human female, of more importance to him than they were. They would have treated him as a rogue.”

Aunt Judith’s shoulders sagged, making her face seem a bit more aged than usual. She was under a lot of stress. It wasn’t just me who had to deal with all of this. Aunt Judith was pretty deep in the thick of things as well. From the stories I’ve now heard and read about, she’s always been submerged in the life of the Selected, one way or the other.

After she explained how Kieran didn’t leave my grandmother for power and glory, and that he’d made his choice to save both their lives, a bit of relief washed over me. I hadn’t realized how profoundly disappointed I’d been with the vampire leader when I heard he had basically dumped my grandma so he could live a posh life, rubbing elbows with the rich, powerful, and famous of his kind.

From the way Kieran’s vampires adored and respected him, as did my grandmother, I assumed he was an upstanding kind of guy, for a vampire. I could have kicked myself. I should know better than to assume anything anymore.

I wasn’t so sure what kind of vampire Kieran was, but I had an idea I was about to find out at the Blood Rites Ball. If the Elders decided to take the power of the coven and the Selected away from Kieran, my bet was that he would show his true colors.

We finished eating dinner in contemplative silence. After cleaning the kitchen, I went up to my room to take a quick nap before Brianna and Michael came to pick me up. Before turning off the lamp next to my bed I spied the edge of Grandma’s journal poking out from under the mattress.

The feel of the soft leather binding soothed my beating headache. My heart lurched thinking of Grandma having to go through being the Selected all on her own.

Just like me.

The difference was Grandma Maria knew who and what she was her entire life. She had been brought up among the vampires and werewolves. She’d even formed bonds of friendship with some of them. Her mother insisted my grandmother knew what she was getting into.

Opening the journal to the page with the top bent inward, I began to read.

Kieran was stunned when he realized I started to be able to see into the short-distance future. He agreed to keep it between us until I was able to get a better grip on the ability and use it to our advantage.

Luckily, the visions have so far only come at night, while I was home. Kieran didn’t know how much stock to put into them, but I did. Through the visions, I could not only see what our enemies were up to, I began to experience the emotions they felt during the time of the vision. Cian, Kieran’s brother, hated me. My vision of Cian speaking to strange men
—
who wore tattoos coursing up their arms, traveling under their clothes, and re-emerging past their collars up to their jawbones
—
told me he was up to no good.

Kieran didn’t want to believe his brother would ever consider harming him. Kieran is of the ilk that blood is thicker than water. There was a time where I would tease him, during the lighter days of our relationship, that his blood was a tad thicker than most. Kieran wanted a caring and supportive relationship with Cian, but he will never have it.

Cian is Evil.

I can only hope Kieran will discover this for himself before his brother is allowed to cause too much trouble for my love.

Many other visions came to me. Dear Granddaughter, I had a vision of you, and at the time of this writing, you have not yet been born. The vampires and werewolves have spoken in hushed tones of a Selected so unique, so powerful, that she will either unite all of the vampires and werewolves, or she will bring them all to their knees.

My dearest child, my vision has showed me the Selected they spoke of is you.

I know what your mother and I chose may not have been the right choice for you. But believe me, child. Living a life surrounded by Others has been anything but normal. I wanted that for you. Before you were even born, I pleaded with your mother to give you a normal life. For I knew, when I gazed upon your mother in my arms after her birth, that she was the mother who would bear the daughter, the one to become the Selected they all spoke of.

So, my grandmother really believed I was the one? That made it even worse that she and my mother decided to hide me away in a different city and not prepare me for my life. I’ve decided to forgive my mother for her decision, but I’m still unable to let go of all of my anger toward her.

Dearest mine, I have feared for your safety from the day I myself became the Selected. Once I had given my blood to Kieran, exposing the truth that I was not the one they sought, I knew. I may even have known before my visions ever began appearing to me as my second sight that you were the one.

Don’t be frightened, but be wary. Use the abilities you develop to protect yourself. There are a lot of beings, both vampire and werewolf, which will appear elegant and genuine, that they only want what is best for you. But they are not genuine. They only care for their ambitions.

If the Goddess blesses you with gifts I do not list within these pages, and she will, use them wisely. The Others will want to take advantage of them and use them for their own means. Choose well who you divulge to what you are capable of. Not even Kieran is aware of all of my abilities. Only a fool would tell someone everything. You would only become a bigger and more sought after target than you already are.

That was why we were afraid when the Elders found out they had a seer in their midst they would take me and use me as their pawn in trying to take over the city of Kenosha. They would no longer leave me alone. As it stands, I didn’t serve significant to their plans. I wanted to keep it that way. One of my goals has always been to stay as far away from the Elders as possible. Kieran swears they are good and just in their controlling of the vampires. He believes there is legitimate cause as to why they make the rules they make. In my opinion, from what I’ve heard and seen for myself, a lot of what they do is not done for the greater good of the vampire nation. I’ve seen them wage wars that their people have no way of winning. Why would they send their own people out to hunt down werewolves during a full moon?

I don’t agree with their fighting and warring with each other, but to wait until their enemy is at their most dangerous before they attack is akin to committing murder of their own people, or vampires.

I put my arm out and stretched, then covered a yawn with my hand. It’s kind of funny when I thought about it, the things people do when no one is looking, things they normally do when people are, like covering a yawn.

It had been a seriously long day, but I wanted to keep reading. Grandma knew things about both sides that they seemed unwilling to tell me themselves.

Their actions don’t make sense to me. The Elders made moves, politically and socially, that don’t improve their station within the city limits, or out in the surrounding townships where the wolves tend to congregate. It was confusing, why the Elders would have such great interest in a small and insignificant city as Kenosha, until Kieran explained why.

Kenosha is concentrated with Ley Lines, intersections of supernatural power riddling the city. The Elders want to harness that power. They want to control the comings and goings of the demons from the Underworld. In essence, they want to control the world, and everyone in it.

The Elders want to walk in the sunlight.

The Elders want to no longer need blood to survive.

The Elders want to be the only supernatural, and in their minds, superior, beings in existence.

The Elders want it all.

Small segments of scenes from the future began to flash before me. At first, they came in random intervals, completely unexpected and usually when I was in bed at home, with no one else around. For a time, I thought the visions had a mind of their own, that some higher power was deciding what I would see, when I would see it, and who was around me when it happened.

The more frequent they became, the more I began to understand what triggered them, for there was no higher power calling the shots. There were events in my life that would initiate the onset of the visions. They had one thing in common. Every vision had something to do with those who were different. Non-human.

Not all of the visions were useful. Some were of simple, mundane, everyday activities like the werewolves shopping for food to create the glorious meals they prepared. Others were much more helpful.

Visions of rogues started to emerge the closer it became to the full moon. Rogue wolves were starting to work together. I could tell from the visions they were making plans; they shared some common goal. But no matter how hard I tried to direct them, the visions wouldn’t let me have control of where I went or whom I followed. I was given the sight I was meant to see, and that was all.

The visions became longer and longer over time. As they developed, what I saw become clearer. I was able to retain more detail. I also began to feel what the participants in the visions were feeling. That’s when I realized vampires do indeed have real feelings. The only difference between them and the wolves is that the wolves wear their emotions like a coat, not that they need a coat. They are always warm.

I laughed at that. It was endearing to me that my grandmother would mention the fact that werewolves didn’t need to wear winter gear during snowstorms, for they were very warm-blooded. That’s how I figured out how to spot that my sister’s boyfriend, Michael, was a werewolf when I first met him. That was before I learned to let my senses guide me to knowing who belonged to which group of Others.

Kieran wasn’t worried about the rogue wolves, so I went to Morris.

The pack leader was still leery due to my affiliations with the vampires, but he took my words as a warning and started his own investigation.

What he found was quite unexpected.

A wolf among his pack was giving information to the rogues. Morris didn’t know how the member of his pack was able to block the mind communication pathways during his treacherous acts, but he was. The pack leader suspected that the traitor was dealing with beings learned in the ways of magic, and the wolf must have found a willing witch in the area that had something against Morris or the pack. The area was full and ripe of beings not completely human, so there was plenty of opportunity for the wolf to find such a person.

Morris knew the identity of the pack member but not what information he was passing. Either way, Morris had a big problem.

The pack had a lot of enemies.

I closed the journal and leaned my head back against the soft pillow, enjoying the cushion against my head. Taking a deep breath in, I let the smell from the apple pie scented candle on my nightstand consume my senses as I began to drift off.

Once I stopped reading, my nap proved to be a fitful one. My mind raced with thoughts of betrayal among pack members. It was unnerving and kept my mind from relaxing enough to fall asleep. The thought of werewolves betraying each other, pretending to be productive members of their own pack only to set family members up for torture or death was horrible, and my uneasiness made sleeping elusive.