long enough to learn control.”
“Super, so he won’t eat me the next time he wants a midnight snack and he’s too lazy to go down to the kitchen. Awesome.”
She looked so small and alone, huddled against a building, arms wrapped around herself against the cold that I could barely feel. Maybe she couldn’t handle the truth? “I can make you forget, if you want. I can erase this whole conversation and tell Mason to leave you alone if you don’t want to see him anymore.”
“You don’t know Mason as well as you think if you believe you can tell him to do anything he doesn’t want to do,” she snorted.
“I know he’ll listen to me if I need him to.” My compulsion would see to that if he refused.
“No, I’d rather know about it all. I wish you’d told me about this sooner . That’s a big part of this reaction, you know.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” We leaned against the building in silence, her breath steaming in the night, mine – not so much. “What are you going to do now?”
“I have no idea. How can I possibly trust him now?”
“He’s the same man you fell in love with . He just has an alternative lifestyle.”
Hanna actually laughed at that, and I thought I saw a chance there for her to accept it and be happy. Just as quickly it was gone though, and the glum expression returned.
“We should head back to the car. I can give you a ride home if you don’t feel like going back up to Mason’s.”
“I have my car here, but thanks all the same.” Still, she fell into step beside me, heading back in the right direction. “What’s the deal with the car and the bodyguards really ? Is that something to do with being a vampire?”
“Yes and no. It’s not like you get a free pack of bodyguards and car service with every newly turned vamp, but I’m in sort of a unique position.”
“What position is that?”
“I’m the Jarl of the Northwest.”
“Which means…”
“It means I offer my protection to the vampire population as best I can, give them counsel, and try to keep the Order off their backs.”
“I thought the Order was there to protect and serve.”
“It’s not like the normal cops.” I was about to suggest she ask Mason more about them before I remembered I’d advised her not to pry into Order business. “Let’s just say they’re dangerous, and I do my best to make sure no one ends up tangling with them.”
“No offense, but how are you able to do that if you’re a newbie? Why would they care what you have to say?”
Boy, she really knew how to ask the hard ones. “That’s a whole other can of worms I’m not sure we should get into right now.”
“Oh no, you started this. Now tell me everything.” She came to a stop and I hesitated over how much to tell her. The more people who knew my secrets, the more dangerous it was for me, but it was my sister asking. I wanted her to accept me for who I’d become; the least I owed her was the truth.
After a furtive check to make sure we really were alone, with no sign of my protectors within hearing distance, I launched into a condensed version of my circumstances, including what it meant that Jakob was an Ellri . When I was through, I didn’t know what to expect, especially given her reaction to Mason’s news earlier, but she took the deeper details of my double secret life in stride.
“Wow. I can’t believe you’ve been dealing with this the whole time and I had no idea,” she said finally, as we resumed our stroll back towards her car. “I’m really proud of you for holding it together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. I don’t know if I could have handled it half as well as you have.”
I didn’t realize how much I’d needed her validation before she said the words, but once said, they opened a floodgate of emotion and I pulled her into a teary hug. I tried not to notice when she froze for an instant, instead focusing on
“Super, so he won’t eat me the next time he wants a midnight snack and he’s too lazy to go down to the kitchen. Awesome.”
She looked so small and alone, huddled against a building, arms wrapped around herself against the cold that I could barely feel. Maybe she couldn’t handle the truth? “I can make you forget, if you want. I can erase this whole conversation and tell Mason to leave you alone if you don’t want to see him anymore.”
“You don’t know Mason as well as you think if you believe you can tell him to do anything he doesn’t want to do,” she snorted.
“I know he’ll listen to me if I need him to.” My compulsion would see to that if he refused.
“No, I’d rather know about it all. I wish you’d told me about this sooner . That’s a big part of this reaction, you know.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” We leaned against the building in silence, her breath steaming in the night, mine – not so much. “What are you going to do now?”
“I have no idea. How can I possibly trust him now?”
“He’s the same man you fell in love with . He just has an alternative lifestyle.”
Hanna actually laughed at that, and I thought I saw a chance there for her to accept it and be happy. Just as quickly it was gone though, and the glum expression returned.
“We should head back to the car. I can give you a ride home if you don’t feel like going back up to Mason’s.”
“I have my car here, but thanks all the same.” Still, she fell into step beside me, heading back in the right direction. “What’s the deal with the car and the bodyguards really ? Is that something to do with being a vampire?”
“Yes and no. It’s not like you get a free pack of bodyguards and car service with every newly turned vamp, but I’m in sort of a unique position.”
“What position is that?”
“I’m the Jarl of the Northwest.”
“Which means…”
“It means I offer my protection to the vampire population as best I can, give them counsel, and try to keep the Order off their backs.”
“I thought the Order was there to protect and serve.”
“It’s not like the normal cops.” I was about to suggest she ask Mason more about them before I remembered I’d advised her not to pry into Order business. “Let’s just say they’re dangerous, and I do my best to make sure no one ends up tangling with them.”
“No offense, but how are you able to do that if you’re a newbie? Why would they care what you have to say?”
Boy, she really knew how to ask the hard ones. “That’s a whole other can of worms I’m not sure we should get into right now.”
“Oh no, you started this. Now tell me everything.” She came to a stop and I hesitated over how much to tell her. The more people who knew my secrets, the more dangerous it was for me, but it was my sister asking. I wanted her to accept me for who I’d become; the least I owed her was the truth.
After a furtive check to make sure we really were alone, with no sign of my protectors within hearing distance, I launched into a condensed version of my circumstances, including what it meant that Jakob was an Ellri . When I was through, I didn’t know what to expect, especially given her reaction to Mason’s news earlier, but she took the deeper details of my double secret life in stride.
“Wow. I can’t believe you’ve been dealing with this the whole time and I had no idea,” she said finally, as we resumed our stroll back towards her car. “I’m really proud of you for holding it together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. I don’t know if I could have handled it half as well as you have.”
I didn’t realize how much I’d needed her validation before she said the words, but once said, they opened a floodgate of emotion and I pulled her into a teary hug. I tried not to notice when she froze for an instant, instead focusing on
Similar Books
