Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick (22 page)

“Brianna, Michael really likes you, too. It probably wouldn’t matter if his family doesn’t like you, so take it easy on yourself. Besides, you’re great. There’s nothing about you not to like.”

Brianna smiled, put her head on the armrest of the couch, and passed out. It would be so easy sometimes to have her ignorance. Not having to know people were out there who wanted me dead, or wanted to use me for their own selfish, power-hungry purposes would be kind of nice.

I took the blanket off the back of the couch and tucked it around Brianna, making sure she was warm. Doing such a small gesture made me feel a little better, since lies seemed to float right out of my mouth like a river lately. The guilt was eating at my stomach like an ulcer, too. After turning off the lamp on the end table, I headed upstairs for bed.

The next morning, I woke to the feeling that someone was staring at me. Somehow, my Selected senses told me someone was in my room. The heat of their stare was like two laser points scorching my forehead. Exasperated that someone would bug me during my sleep, I took a peek out from under the blankets to see who the despicable offender was.

Blake!

What the heck was he doing in my room? Someone had to have let him in the house, those traitors. I’d have to talk to my aunt and Brianna. They weren’t supposed to be letting men up into my bedroom, especially not with me still in bed. My pink flannel pajamas and white tank top weren’t exactly what I’d call sexy nightwear. Seriously, the white tank top wasn’t exactly something to wear when company was over. My nipples showed right through!

“What are you doing here, Blake?”

He deserved a little venom. A girl had every right to be mad when her inner sanctum was breached, even if it was by the sexiest man alive. After all,
I
hadn’t invited him.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine. You’re quite the happy morning person.”

He rose from the chair positioned by the window, the one I use to look out into the night, almost every night, to stare up into the sky to watch the clouds and twinkling stars interrupting the pure blackness of night.

“Why are you here? And what time is it?”

There was nothing short of a tornado that could make me get out from under the covers. I refused to give Blake a peep show. My tank top left nothing to the imagination. I’ll admit it, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself if he came onto my bed and kissed me like he did at the store.

“We had a deal. You said you’d go out to lunch with me, sleepyhead. It’s past lunchtime.”

He smiled a wicked smile, and laughed when I tucked my head back under the covers and groaned.

“Can’t you come back later? Like say, tomorrow? I’m not even dressed yet!” This was no good. Blake was breaking down my ‘I refuse to date you’ barrier with every encounter. I had to get a hold on my hormones. Those naughty cheerleaders in my nether region were shouting the ‘do me right now’ cheer. I needed a shower. A long, cold shower.

“No, sugar plum. I’m not coming back later. We’re going to lunch, just like you agreed to. Come on, get a move on.”

He grabbed the bottom of the comforter and gave it a hearty yank. I held on with all my might. “No! Stop! Fine, whatever you say, but you have to go downstairs and wait until I’m done getting ready.”

After another playful tug, he stopped trying to remove my comforter, and smiled in victory.

“Okay, that was easy.” He laughed with self-satisfaction as he closed the door behind him.

The clock on my nightstand said it was one o’clock in the afternoon. My Selected response to the rogue vampire had really affected me from last night. I still felt like a car had run me over, and that my body had been moved off the road by a giant snow plow. Rolling out of bed and lumbering around to my dressers, I grabbed a pair of jeans and my big well-worn sweatshirt. With my comfy wear in hand, I headed to the bathroom.

A half hour later, Brianna, Michael, and Blake were all sitting in front of the TV watching reruns of V, the original series about lizard-like aliens that came to Earth to utilize the planet’s resources, people, as food.

Brianna turned her head when she heard my footsteps. The guilty look on her face told me she was the traitor who’d let Blake into the house, and up into my room. I’d have to talk to her later about that. Just because she liked him so much, and wanted me to date her boyfriend’s cousin, didn’t mean she was entitled to go around breaking girl code and betray me to get in good with Michael.

I grumbled, “I’m ready.”

“Looks like it’s time for us to go to lunch. See you guys later,” Blake said as he waved to my new enemies before we left.

Lunch was enjoyable, a little too enjoyable. Trying not to like him was hard, but the furry guy was definitely growing on me. Blake had chosen a nice, laid-back restaurant with big windows facing the street. We picked a corner booth so we could watch the pedestrians as they stepped over the puddles made by the melting snow.

The broccoli-cheese soup and fresh-baked bread were delicious. He insisted I tell him every little detail of what happened the night before at Kieran’s. He made me go over everything from the second of my arrival to when my body sensed the rogue, then all the way to the time where I went to bed.

He even wanted to know what Brianna had talked to me about, which, of course, was none of his business. Despite my sister’s eagerness at breaking the sacred bond of our trust, I was not ready to do the same. Blake was interested in what Kieran had shared about the rogue, and how the rogue was probably working with an organized group. Blake’s anxiousness to go and tell Morris the information I shared was understandable. The information could be important to him and his pack. But what would they be able to do about it?

“Sydney, that rogue you sensed by your home, well, Morris thinks the rogue wolves are also starting to congregate together. His guards found an old, abandoned farmhouse on the northern part of the city. There were signs of wolves living there, together. Morris has been toying with the idea that the killings—” He stopped when my hand went up to interrupt him.

“What do you mean, killings?”

“Well, there’s been an increase in injuries and questionable deaths in the city at the last full moon rising. They were all in the same area. But the odd part about them is that they were far enough away from each other that now Morris is suspicious it wasn’t just one wolf. My father believes they were possibly working together.”

Aunt Judith mentioned the increased deaths reported in the newspapers, but she didn’t mention that they were happening on the same nights.

“Oh,” I said, trying to act nonchalant. “Well, Kieran mentioned there might be vampires getting together, too. Why now? Is there any significance of the timing as to why both groups of rogues would be working together with their own kind?”

“I really don’t know what it means, but you may be right. It’s a little odd, the timing of it all.”

As we waited for the waitress to bring the check so we could pay and leave, a tall blonde woman walked past the window.

“Ugh, let’s get the check and go, shall we?” Blake said in a clipped tone.

We stood when the woman came into the restaurant. To my utter surprise, she sauntered over to us at our booth. Her direct route to our table made me suspect she had already known we were there.

The woman smiled one of those brilliant, white-toothed smiles with lips covered in a perfect red shade of lipstick. She was an extremely attractive woman. She stared from me to Blake, then back to me.

“Darling, aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend?”

The way she said that instantly got my hackles up. Little friend? I’m not little.

Blake put his hands in his front pockets, like he was trying to control himself from throttling her. His rising ire was more evident as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Lisa, this is Sydney. Lisa, you’d be wise to behave when you’re around her.”

He glared at her with steely eyes. They must have had some kind of a past. From Blake’s nervous, agitated posture, I got the impression she had a habit of not behaving herself.

Lisa glared right back at Blake and narrowed her eyes. “Blake, honey, I’m always nice.”

“No, you’re not. It’s time for you to go. We were just leaving.” Blake put his arm around my waist.

I wondered if his gesture was to make some statement to her, about us. Exactly what that was wasn’t quite clear to me.

Not being able to help myself, I gave her a catty smile. Holding my hand out to her, I said, “It was so nice to meet you Lisa, but yes, we really do need to be on our way.”

The instant her hand touched mine, heat traveled up my arm. She hadn’t raised the room temperature when she had entered the restaurant, but she definitely had some type of wolf blood running through her veins. By the look in her eyes when she touched me, she knew I’d know what her secret was. Her eyes went round for a moment, and then she narrowed them again as they changed to that golden-bronzed color Blake’s eyes did when he was emotionally stressed or stimulated.

Except, she wasn’t just a wolf. She was something different, too.