Lost (10 page)

Four
protective big brothers sucked ass sometimes.

“
You’re
pureblood
, and you mated with me,”
she said. I couldn’t tell either way.

He grinned, but seemed false. I would’ve bet money its sole
purpose was to hide what he was really feeling. “That
is…seriously…magnificent.”

“
Excuse me?” I exclaimed sarcastically.

“
No, it
really
is.
Just...unexpected.”

I knew
he’d meant that, even though it warred with my suspicions. Was this
“let’s all surprise the hell out of Sara day until she is forced
into loony bin” day, or what?

“
Loren’s a good man for you, Sara.” Marcus nodded. When the
shock left him, he picked his game back up like nothing was out of
the ordinary.

“
You think so?” I asked sceptically, sitting back on the
couch.

“
I know so. Not one I would’ve ever
considered. I’d thought him one to stick to
his
blood, but apparently not,”
Marcus said, then focused to a red race car on the screen. “He
always…acted like it.”

Many
purebloods never gave us the time of day, but with Loren I tended
to forget his status. Half the time, I’d forgotten that he was over
four centuries old, and not a mere thirty like I was. No matter how
much I teased him.

“
My love, you’re keeping me young,” Loren whispered in my ear,
but I didn’t react. Somehow, some small part of me knew he was
here.

His arms
wrapped around my shoulders, and he knelt behind the couch to kiss
my cheek. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, watching Marcus
play the video game.

The
moment Marcus glanced at us that came to an end. The digital race
car smashed into the digital curb, and surprisingly enough, it
exploded.

Kelly
chuckled, with her eyes aglow.

“
You did that,” I accused.

“
Guilty.” Kelly shrugged, and Marcus gave her a droll stare.
“But I just blew it up, didn’t actually crash it. That was all
him.”

“
Thank you for keeping her…sane, while I worked,” Loren said,
brushing his lips against my ear.

Marcus nodded, grinning like an idiot, even now. Loren
regarded him with careful disdain. My skin hummed ever so slightly,
signifying a possible conversation, or perhaps even a small
spell.

The grin
never left Marcus’ face, but his eyes hardened. Whatever was said
didn’t please him much. “Thank you for taking care of her when she
needed to be. It doesn’t happen often. She’s my baby sister, and
I’m glad someone was there for her when I wasn’t.”

Well,
that hadn’t been expected.

“
Marcus—”

“
No, Sara. I failed you, and I’m sorry.” He squeezed my hand,
his gem-like turquoise eyes iridescent in the abundant sunlight.
“My only saving grace was Gene failed you worse than I ever
could.”

“
Yes, he did,” Loren concurred.

“
Enough!” I pleaded, but continued on in my
head for Kelly’s benefit, the real distress never touching my
face.
Stop being so nice to
me.

“
Yes, let’s not give that man one more ounce of our effort,”
Loren said ruefully. “My love, there’s something I’d really like to
do though.”

“
What?”

“
I want to go get your belongings. From there, I can take you
wherever you want.” Loren looked to Marcus for confirmation,
surprising both of us.

“
I could kick him out,” Marcus contemplated, and I
laughed.

“
Don’t do that.” I knew I wasn’t that cruel, but it didn’t
mean I couldn’t fantasize. “And as his Maker, do I go with
him?”

“
Max has a place for you,” Marcus said carefully. He glanced
back at Loren, and it was filled with meaning. By the intent way
Marcus studied him, he was weighing him.

“
You can stay with me. My apartment is yours,” Loren offered,
in such a way as if it had already been decided.

“
Okay.” I nodded, more comfortable with that idea than I
wanted to admit aloud. I caught up Loren’s longish black hair to
twirl between my fingers.

Kelly
bounced in her seat again, always so expressive when she was
happy.

Marcus
shot her an indulgent look.

“
Mmm,” Loren mumbled against my throat. “We should go, my
love. I have to stop by the office in an hour or so.”

He would
need to be alone to deal with such things. I didn’t want to burden
him or anything. I could hang out with Marcus and Kelly.

“
Don’t think that way. You’re coming with me. It won’t take
long,” Loren replied possessively.

Loren
was showing me a side to him I’d never seen, and it pleased me.
Everything about the way his arms curved around me, to the way he
spoke was different, softer perhaps.

Maybe he
wasn’t as rough as he first appeared.

Just like you.

He was
like me, far more so than Gene ever could be. I could barely
remember what I’d seen in the man, not when he stood next to Loren.
Though this had been a bumpy ride, I was glad it was over, and I
would move on.

I just
wasn’t a believer of “it was better to have loved and lost, than to
have never loved at all”.

Chapter Six

I stood
in front of what used to be my house and ignored Marcus’ not so
veiled threats.

“
You don’t have to leave, Sara,” Marcus said again.

Kelly
elbowed him stiffly in the stomach, but as usual he didn’t react.
Much to her chagrin, he didn’t even blink.

She was
definitely pro-Loren.

“
It’s really okay, Marcus.”

If I had to say that once more, there would be a not too far
off investment in a tape recorder, just so I could replay my overly
repeated answers. If that didn’t work, I would shove it up their…I
hated repetition, and each time it happened, I detested it even
more.

Loren and Marcus could read my freakin’
mind. But no, they had to be careful of my
feelings
.

Feelings
were overrated.

“
I know, but if you ever want to come home…”

“
You’ll murder Gene, and give me his room. I know Marc, and
thank you.” I stood on my tip-toes and kissed his cheek, even
though he had to bend for me to do so. “It’s okay.”

Damn it,
there it was again.

I heard
a soft hiss, and I knew exactly who it was.

Sorry, my love. I can’t help it.

I squeezed Loren’s hand, which hadn’t let go of me since we'd
arrived. He didn’t like being this close to Gene, and not be able
to do anything about it.

In fact, I was manned with an emotional army. Kelly and
Marcus stood between me and the structure like it might bite me,
and Loren just wouldn’t settle down. He was looking for a fight,
and we all knew Gene was in that house, looking for the
same.

We could all feel Loren’s impending bloodlust, but none of us
had any doubt who'd be victorious.

Every once in a while he'd lunge forward only to look at me
and just stop. He knew too well. If I wanted a fight, it would have
started already.

“
Just get my stuff, and get out,” I mumbled under my
breath.

I
couldn’t deny I was still hurt, and plenty angry. In fact, the more
I thought about it, the angrier I became. I didn’t care whose fault
it was anymore.

I
wouldn’t feel guilty. Never would it occur to him to feel guilt. I
knew how much hatred filled him, and now he needed to prove he was
in the right. It was an interesting mix.

And this was a whole new level of pissed, compared to the
messages I'd listened to. But I wasn’t the only one listening to
what Gene thought.

“
If he comes near you, I’ll rip his brainless head off.” Loren
sneered, and I patted his arm.

“
Baby, just chill.”

Loren’s
eyes warmed at my slang, which I’d slowly been teaching him for the
past few months. The man needed to loosen up a little, and I was
just the person to accomplish such a formable goal.

“
Chilled, my love.” Loren bent down to kiss my cheek. A
vicious snarl made me turn to see Gene standing on the last stair
of the porch.

I hadn’t
paid enough attention to notice he’d come outside.

Gene’s cold gaze flickered over Loren and me together. His
lip curved over his canines, and my rapidly beating heart was
thundering in my ears. Only the briefest peek, told me his mind was
an unfathomable domain.

“
Go back inside the house, Gene,” Marcus said coldly. “You
promised…”

“
I promised shit.” Gene snarled. His eyes were already filling
with blood, body tensing and coiling under the loss of his control.
“I said if she came alone.”

“
Get your ass back in that house and let the
woman
you
kicked
out of
my
home,
get what's hers. You have no reason to be out
here.”

Marcus
was his superior in all ways and when nothing happened, he took an
aggressive step forward, but Kelly automatically stopped
him.

She’d
done it every time in the past when Marcus’ constantly touchy
temper raged out of proportion. Except this time, she stared at her
hand for a moment and then let go, taking an obvious step back from
him. He stared down at her in surprise.

“
I knew you'd side with the bitch.” Gene scoffed at her
distastefully. He gained a lisp from his fangs when he continued,
“Never guessed you’d stoop this low, Marcus.”

“
I will always side with my family, and so will he,” Kelly
said callously, not letting her mate answer, but I felt the ring of
his voice in her words. Immediate hatred manipulated every line of
her body.

“
There was a time you thought I was family.”

“
I still would, if you got your head out of your ass. You
brought this on yourself, Gene.” She raised her voice with him,
probably for the first time ever.

“
You don’t know shit, Kelly. Your family is nothing more than
a useless whore, who will spread her legs for anyone who crosses
her path.” Gene looked pointedly to Loren’s hand in mine, and then
moved up to his face.

I took a
deliberate step back and felt the slap as sure as I would’ve had it
been physical.

“
But, you’re the one who wanted…” I stumbled
uselessly.

Like
Marcus had said before; it was his idea to go to these parties and
to do what we did. He’d taken his pleasure with countless women in
front of me and with my blessing. Far more than the amount of men I
had slept with at those same gatherings.

How had
I gotten his feelings so wrong?

“
And you were just too happy to climb on top of them.” Gene
pointed to Loren, who sneered viciously. “Especially
him.”

Loren grinned. The smile was filled with contempt and
satisfaction. The expression on his face, the power and confidence
that radiated from his very being entranced me.

“
Ever think why that might be, Gene?” Loren walked forward
tugging me gently along with him. Marcus and Kelly kept in stride
with him.

My apprehension doubled. I’d decided before we’d come here,
Gene couldn’t hurt me. Yet, he was doing just that. He stared on,
with eyes only for me. He was so young and he wasn’t making any
attempt to control himself.

“
I give her what she needs. As I will always give her,” Loren
said, making it sound like a threat.

“
Move out of the way, Gene,” Marcus warned again. “I’m not
beyond decking you, and neither of my women will stop me
now.”

“
And why exactly are you against me, Marcus?
Have you turned into their bitch as well? Is Kelly’s pussy so
great, you’ll go against
everything
you used to stand for?”

My best friend, the one who didn’t care for any sort of
violence, had enough. She flew past Marcus, who’s attention was all
for Gene. No one expected her to do something so stupid, nor had
known to watch out for it.

She had no idea that the last thing you do
to an irate fledging was run
at
them, unless you were looking for a fight. Kelly
didn’t know how to scrap, and really couldn’t protect herself.
Against her, Gene knew too much.

I shed
Loren’s hand, and was less than a step behind her. I knew how
unstable Gene was right then, and no matter what, I wouldn’t let
him hurt Kelly even in her stupidity.

Just as Kelly got within Gene’s reaching distance, my hand
darted out and stopped her cold in her tracks. I forced her body
back a few feet for Marcus to pull her into his arms.

Gene’s
feral eyes met mine in defiance. I growled and his eyes
darkened.