Bitten by Darkness (15 page)

“If you
go with him, Sienna—”

“Mom!
Don't go there. Since when do you get to tell me who I spend my time with?”
Sienna ground her teeth in frustration. Even Jasper's hand on her back didn't
soothe her. “You didn't have a problem with him before, remember? When he saved
our asses?” Somewhere in the background the elevator dinged.

“That was
before I saw him—” Her mother broke off and looked around.

“Jasper?
You were taking a while, so I thought I'd come see what the holdup was.” Sara
walked up to them.

Sienna's
mom swayed.
“Oh my God.”

Sienna
grabbed her before she fell down.
“Mom?
What the
hell?” She'd never seen her so off balance.

“Violet?
Is that you?” Sara frowned.

Sienna’s
mom stared at Sara. “Aunt Sara?”

“What the
fuck?” Sienna breathed, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. She
thought her mother’s aunt was dead.

Jasper
sighed.
“Yeah, that about covers it.
And explains a lot.”

Sienna
shot him a look but his face was inscrutable. What was going on? She wasn't too
thrilled about the possibility of more secrets. What was it about Jasper's
sister-in-law?

“But, how
is this possible?” Sienna's mother reached out, her hand shaking. Sara took it
in both hers.

“Violet, calm down.
I'll explain everything,” she said, but Sienna knew her
mother wasn't going to relax.

“Mom,
let's go outside.” Sienna took her mother's arm again and this time the older
woman let her steer her to the elevators. She knew everyone was staring at them
and wondered how Bill was going to spin this one. She'd probably be fired for
dragging personal 'drama' into the workplace. She grimaced, starting to get
angry.

Jasper
caught her eye, the look on his face sympathetic. She shook her head as the elevator
doors closed on the four of them. The ride down to the parking lot was
interminable. Sienna tried not to fidget too obviously, but it wasn't easy.
Once they got outside, Sienna steered her mom over to Jasper's SUV. The cool
air helped her calm down. She felt like everything was getting away from her
suddenly: her emotions, her sense of self. She hated that.

“This
isn't your car,” Sienna's mother said, frowning.

Sienna
looked at the darkening sky and took a deep breath. Happily, there weren't any
extra stars this
time,
she didn't know if she could
handle more spaceships and monster trauma. She especially didn't want to have
to stake vampire slaves with her mother watching. That wouldn't go over well at
all, judging from how her mother reacted to Jasper's actions the last time.

“I know.
Jasper lent me his SUV for the day,” Sienna said. She remembered what it was
like after her dad left, how her mom had wandered around alternately pissed off
and distraught. She hoped this wasn't going to turn out like that.

“I want
to know how you're here, in front of me, looking just the same forty-years
later,” her mom said, pointing at Sara, and abruptly Sienna realized her mother
had moved on from her and Jasper to another freak-out entirely.

“Forty-years
later?” she asked.

Her mom
shot her a look that said
you don't know
a damn thing
and Sienna bristled. She knew a lot of weird shit kept
happening.
“Mom.
Explain. Don't just get angry.”

Sara
rubbed her arms and moved closer until she was leaning against the car near Sienna.
“I'm sorry, Violet.”

Sienna's
mom shook her head violently. “How is my great-aunt standing in front of me not
looking a day older even though decades have passed?” She stabbed a finger at
Sara violently. “I thought you were dead. I read your obituary. The memorial
service was lovely.”

Sienna
frowned. Jasper shifted uneasily, standing apart from the cluster of women,
scanning the dark for threats. She knew he would let her know if anything came
for them, but tension still coiled down her spine. They were unprotected here.
And she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answers to the questions her mom was
asking.

“I'm not
your great-aunt. And I'm a lot older than I look,” Sara said, her voice low.

Sienna
looked at her, wondering what bombshell was going to drop now.
Dammit
. She just wanted to go to
sleep
.

“I've
spent my entire life half in the dark. I'd like to understand at least a little
bit before I die.” Sienna's mom was angry now, not as pale.

“I was
married to Jasper's brother,” Sara said, darting a quick glance
a him
. He nodded, face grim. “He was murdered on our front
steps and I took my son, Peter, and ran. Peter is your great-great
grandfather.” She looked at Sienna's mother as she spoke. There could be no
mistake.

Sienna
felt like someone had turned a radio way up and all that was playing was
static. Could it be true? That would make Sara … old.
Very old
.
And
if she was married to Jasper's brother—?
She looked at Jasper.

He nodded
gently. “Yes.”

Sienna
swallowed and closed her eyes. He felt like a warm, dark embrace deep inside of
her and she found, after several harsh breaths, that she didn't care he was
over two-hundred years old. He was still just Jasper to her. The man who'd
filled her empty spaces. When she opened her eyes again, he was in front of
her, eyes dark.
Sympathetic.

“Yeah,
okay,” she managed, voice cracking. She cleared her throat. “So, along with the
not-human thing, there's
an
I
live a forever
thing too?”

Jasper
smiled. “Not forever.
Just a very long time.”

He
touched her cheek with his hand and she leaned into it, savoring his warmth.
Her mother was arguing with Sara, voice quietly furious, but Sienna didn't want
to hear.

“How is
Sara still alive?” she asked him.

“She was
my brother's bonded mate.”

“The
blood does something, doesn't it?” Sienna fought to stay calm. This was going
to happen to her, and she'd had no idea. “You should have told me.”

He sighed
and pulled her close. “I know. I'm sorry.”

“You're
an asshole,” she muttered, punching him in the arm while shoving her face in his
neck. “How long am I going to live?”

“I have
no idea,” he said, kissing her head. “I didn't expect Sara to live this long,
especially not without Ambrose. But she has and you have the blood of my people
inside you, too, through my step-brother, apparently.”

“That's
what's been wrong with me, isn't it? Growing up, never feeling just right.” A
chill shot through her.

“I think
so,” Jasper said quietly. “My people grow up with a family bond in place. I
lost that when I lost my true parents. But the bond we form with our mate takes
precedence over all others.”

“I just
met you,” she murmured, trying to figure out how this happened to her. The girl
no one would date. “And it's like we're married.”

“It goes
deeper than that,” Jasper said, faintly regretful sounding. “I’m sorry.”

She
pulled away. “Don’t be. Just—
“ She
took a deep breath.
“You had better not disappear on me.” She poked him in the chest.

He smiled
and captured her hand. “I have no plans to do so. Remember, you filled the
empty space in me, too.” He kissed her fingers.

Sienna
ignored the melting sensation in her heart and pursed her lips. “You had other
plans when you came back here, though.”

Jasper's
gaze shuttered and he let her go. “I have enemies.”

“For
fuck's sake, Jasper—” she began, reaching out and grabbing him by the
shoulders, but a voice interrupted.

“Count
Librae
.
Fancy meeting you here.”

She let
her hands fall, gripping his arms instead as he turned his face away from her.
An older man was walking up to them, dressed in a black trench coat with a
cane. The severe expression on his face made him look like a walking cliché of
bad-guy
.
His hair was silver and his eyes a strange reddish brown. Even though he was
clearly older, he didn't seem at all feeble. Sienna's gut told her to run. Her
heart told her to protect Jasper. Her mind told her to keep her mouth shut.
Jasper's forearms went tight under her hands and then he turned around, placing
her behind him.

Chapter Twelve

“
Alucard
.
I didn't expect you so soon,” Jasper said
smoothly, hiding his shock. How had he gotten to Earth so quickly? Jasper
thought he'd have at least another week before they tracked him down. He hoped
Sienna would keep quiet behind him. He didn't want his enemies to see her
clearly enough to understand how vulnerable she was.

Alucard
laughed. “You didn't expect me at all.” His hand caressed his cane like it was
a weapon.

Jasper
shrugged,
an insolent gesture that he tried to imbue with as
much contempt as possible. He didn't often feel stressed, not after everything
he'd been through in his life, but his connection with Sienna was so new and
her mother so
upset,
he truly felt off-balance like he
hadn't in over a century.

“You left
before handing the specs for your star-skimmer off to the Council,”
Alucard
said, stepping closer. “I do hope you're not
planning on violating your contract.”

Jasper
snorted, trying to ignore the way
Alucard
tossed
information around in front of the women, as though it didn't matter what they
heard. The reasons why it might not matter made his gut clench. “We don't have
a contract,
Alucard
. I never signed the damn thing.
It's not my problem if you persist on pursuing imaginary agreements.” He paused
and smiled coldly. “I've heard the memory is the first thing to go when one
grows old.”

Alucard's
eyes flashed for a moment and Jasper hid his satisfaction. His barb had hit
home, but it wouldn't do for
Alucard
to sense his
emotions. Always better to keep the monsters off balance and defensive, his
true father had taught him.

“Now is
not the time for semantics.”
Alucard
looked
meaningfully at Sienna's mother and Sara.
“Ah, what a
surprise.
I didn't know the countess still lived.”

Jasper's
blood ran cold. He struggled to keep from reaching out and crushing
Alucard's
neck beneath his fingers. Thankfully, Sienna put
a hand on his back. She must have sensed his rage. He told himself that keeping
his temper was necessary if he wanted to get the
nanites
working and embedded in the next blood shipment.

“Oh, come
now. I hunted her for years. Did you think I wouldn't recognize Ambrose's human
mate after so long? I didn’t think you were that stupid, Jasper,”
Alucard
sneered.

Jasper
felt Sienna grab the back of his shirt. He hoped she'd stay there. “What does
it matter to you?” he asked, trying to sound indifferent. Something flickered
behind
Alucard
and Jasper abruptly realized the
monster had brought reinforcements. His car beeped and he heard Sara urging
Sienna's mother inside. Sienna must have used the key to unlock it.
Alucard
watched them climb inside without a flicker of
irritation.

Shit
, Jasper thought.
Something
bad is going to happen
.

“It
doesn't really matter to me,
Librae
,”
Alucard
said mildly.

Before
Jasper could answer, Sienna yanked him backwards, her grip strong and
desperate. He staggered, off-balance, but she steadied him as a steel bolt flew
past where he'd been standing and thudded into the side of the SUV.
Alucard
was holding his cane like a rifle.

“Shit!”
she said, ducking to the side. “Jasper—”

“Get in
the car.” He shoved her toward the door.

She opened
it just as another bolt hit the ground. Her face was pale, eyes wide, and then
she had the door open and was clambering inside, shoving past the center
console to the passenger's side. Jasper followed her in, not surprised to find
her already twisting the key in the ignition. “Get us the hell away from here,”
she said, ducking down as glass shattered.

Jasper
grunted and hit the gas. The car skidded as it careened forward, but Jasper
knew they hadn't got away from
Alucard's
pet monsters
just yet.

“They have
cars, Jasper!” Sara yelled.

“I see
them,” he called to her, yanking on the wheel. He slammed on the brakes and
they squealed around a corner. There were three cars following them. Shouldn't
be too difficult to lose them, he thought. They had enough of a lead that he
figured he could confuse them on the back roads, then kick the SUV into high
gear on the highway and put some distance between them.