Icy A

Chapter 6

As if there hadn't had enough drama in the last 48 hours, right after Kelly lost consciousness, M-J, Blake's niece, snapped. She had never been particularly close to her father to say the least, but that didn't stop her from mourning his death. At the end of the day, Lucian was still her father.

Andreas understood her, pitied her, but was a little bit angry at her as well. For her to snap so easily for someone who barely cared about her, that was the epitome of idiocy, and lack of control. And there was almost nothing Andreas despised as much as lack of control for a supernatural being. One thing he could praise her for, however, was her honesty with Blake and how she didn't seem to hold a grudge against him for killing her father. Admittedly, he had every reason to do it.

The air around her crackled with unseen electricity and Andreas prepared himself to intervene should he get the permission-s***h-order from his sire. But Blake being Blake didn't. Much like the legendary Michaelis siblings, he only used force when there was no helping it, and had engrained that principle into his vampiric progeny.

When Andreas went as far as to verbally express his readiness, he received a negative shake of the head. So, he shrugged and allowed himself to relax. Blake had always been a smooth talker, and after centuries spent observing human and supernatural beings alike, he could very well be a master of psychology.

When she had calmed down, Blake suggested she take one of his cars since she expressed her desire to be alone. When Justin, her mate, tried to go after her, he teleported to block his path. Her nice had been fairly clear.

Just as he started to explain why, and the werewolf took a demanding tone that didn't seem to bother Blake but pleased none of the other vampires, Andreas heard Kelly's heartbeat increase ever so slightly and her brow furrow in a troubled frown.

“She's coming to,” he stated flatly, wanting the werewolf to leave the matter to later since post-revelation humans weren't exactly easy to deal with, and he would rather not have her frightened by something else.

“We'll finish this conversation later,” he heard his sire promise. Justin didn't look convinced. And as he heard the roar of an engine coming to life, signaling his mate's departure, he looked ready to bolt. “You will not go out.” Blake stated flatly with an eerie tone of finality that made the werewolf leave the living-room unhurriedly to find some place to sulk.

Kelly felt comfortable laying on her bed but something in the back of her mind told her she should not be feeling comfy. Images blurred in front of her closed lids, making her somewhat nauseous. She gasped at what her mind refused to accept as the truth and snapped her eyes open.

“Oh my god,” she groaned, raising her hand to her forehead to see if she was feverous. The dream – could she even call it that? – was not like anything she had dreamed before. It was frightening, albeit not enough to be called a nightmare, and didn't make any sense.

At one point, during her musings, she realized she was not lying on her bed. The next second, she was sitting down, eyes widened, on the sofa of Blake's living room. She didn't understand why everyone was looking at her. Sure, she had had a nap – not that she knew why – but they didn't need to make her feel so weird about it.

Truth be told, she was already feeling weird enough as it was.

She found Maria sitting on a chair near her, her face alight with a small smile but her eyes were troubled for some reason. No matter how much she wanted to reassure her friend, she couldn't bring herself to start the discussion in her confused state of mind.

“I brought you some water,” She almost started when Felicity spoke.

Why are you so jumpy, i***t? She reprimanded herself.

The smile Felicity flashed as she offered her the glass made her calm down a little bit. She took her time reaching out to her, fearing for some unknown reason that something might happen at any given moment.

She didn't what was wrong with her, but after finishing the glass in record time, she could only try to laugh it out. “I've had the weirdest dream.”

“What was it about?” Maria's enthusiasm made her feel silly about her fear. She didn't even believe in dreams and things of the sort, why should she start now? She should just forget about it.

“Nah!” She waved her hand in dismissal, “It's so unreal, it's embarrassing.”

“Oh come on!”

“Seriously, it's not worth mentioning,” Kelly replied, rolling her eyes, trying to hide her nervousness, “but I can't believe I fell asleep…”

“Ace truly is a vampire,” Andreas cut in, in a flat tone from where he stood, back resting against the wall.

As if of their own accord, Kelly's eyes darted to Ace before settling back on Maria. She must look like a frightened bird but she couldn't bring herself to care. She no longer knew what to think.

Surely, they were pulling a prank on her. There was no such thing as vampires. Those were but children's tales.

“There's nothing to be afraid of, Kelly,” her best friend assured her in a tone that was so soft, it bordered on the motherly.

Even her friend was in on the prank. How silly was that?

“They're joking, right?” Kelly tried to laugh it off one more time.

It just couldn't be true. But as her friend shook her head seriously, she remembered the facts. She had not been taking a pleasant well-deserved nap, she had lost consciousness.

Ace had shown her his real face, the face of a killer. And the fangs… she was sure she was bound to have nightmares about them. And yet, her friend looked unfazed for some reason.

Kelly began plotting their escape. No matter how dire the situation could be, she would help her out. They could only be keeping her against her will. Surely, that was what the don't-approach-her rule earlier had been about.

But Maria looked just fine, unharmed, happy even now that Blake had come home. She must have known, was her only conclusion.

“How can you be so calm about it?” She heard herself whisper-yell after a moment, puzzlement and fear battling it off like crazy within her. Her heart was thumping loudly in her ears and she was almost sure a panic attack was a breath away… not that she had had any in years, but she believed that if there was a reason for her panic, she had a pretty good one.

“Believe me when I say nobody here will hurt you,” Maria's words, although dripping with conviction, did nothing to appease her. One the contrary, it only served to instill a new fear in her.

“Are you saying it's not only… that one?” She began in a panicked high-pitch voice but finished in a mere whisper while pointing with her finger at Ace, without giving him as much as a glance.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god,” she scanned everyone within the room before her eyes settled back on Maria's face, the only familiar face she felt comfortable looking at.

Then, an idea struck her. “'Don't tell me you're one as well!” She exclaimed, aghast all of a sudden.

“No,” Maria giggled for some reason.

Kelly didn't share her amusement. This was no laughing matter. They were in real pinch. “There are like six of them!” She cried out, horrified, trying but failing to merge with the back of the sofa in her attempt to put distance between her and all the nonsense that was playing in front of her. She then added in much the same tone, “How can you be so freaking calm?”

“Technically, I'm a werewolf,” Felicity supplied in a light tone from where she sat on one of the chairs near the sofa.

Because your being a werewolf makes it any better, Kelly inwardly countered but refrained from voicing out her concerns.

“As I said, they will not hurt you,” Maria repeated patiently, putting emphasis on the “not” part.

“Why wouldn't they?” Kelly argued, still not reassured despite her friend's serene face.

“Why would they?”

“They are freaking vampires!” As she spat out the words, she straightened up, regretting her action the moment her back left the comforting back of the sofa but refusing to submit to the urge to run. Her friend looked comfortable around them. Maybe if she got her alone, she could teach her some basics about food chains… maybe if she wasn't so scared out of her wits, she could tell her something that would let the fog clouding her judgment dissipate. There was simply no way Maria hadn't been brainwashed or something. She was not one to take stands or decisions without giving them thought, that was Kelly's role.

“Had we wanted you dead, you would be, wouldn't you?” Andreas interjected, putting the messy rumblings of her mind on hold.

“And you have one way with words, don't you?” She heard herself counter bitterly. She had not even been thinking of responding to him, but before she knew it, her comeback had been shot and her eyes had been shooting daggers at him, all traces of fear gone.

“That's putting it mildly.”

“Stupid leech!”

“You do realize I heard that,” Andreas drawled, answering both Ace's snarky comment and Kelly's insult.

Why should she care what he thought? If he had intended to frighten her some more, he had messed up big time. For some reason, the moment he had spoken, she felt the need to antagonize him. And with her stubborn side coming to the surface, her fear and earlier confusion were forgotten.

“Bite me!” Kelly scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Almost the second the words left her mouth, when her eyes refocused, the tall gray-eyed man that was causing her mood swings was leaning over her. She couldn't believe someone could be so fast as to cross the living room in a matter of millisecond. Could it be she was seeing things?

Kinda early to start daydreaming about the guy, don't you think? She inwardly rolled her eyes and blinked in an effort to make the unpleasing vision vanish.

Andreas was not known to be playful or sarcastic. That said, he was not above rising to the challenge when it was worth it. From the looks of it, his mate's fiery character made it impossible for her back down. If he had to use that trait of hers to make her less frightened of his kind, then so be it. He was, however, careful to leave enough space between them, so as not overwhelm her.

“Are you offering?”

Hearing him talk made her startle. Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. He was truly in front of her, too close for comfort even. She felt her heartbeat increase dramatically and she could only hope she wasn't about to pass out again. His gray eyes, despite their chilliness, sucked her in while trying to gauge the inner mechanics of her mind.

He was a vampire. She was human. He was a hunter and she was a pray… but damn it, she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

“Argh!” As his mate pushed against his chest in what appeared to be pure annoyance, he allowed her to have her way by straightening up, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No.”

“It was a rhetorical question!” She rolled her eyes at him and he wondered what it was with girls and eye-rolls.

“And you still haven't answered mine,” he countered, deadpan, finding pleasure in seeing her so worked up over a few words. He heard Jessica and Ace fake a cough in an attempt to conceal their laughter, and if he were honest with himself, he really wanted to smirk… but that would not do. Showing emotion was not something he indulged in, and for good reason too.

A painful reason even.

Let's not go down that road, he inwardly sighed, turning his attention back to the present just in time to hear her hiss at him, “Of course I wasn't offering.”

Whether it be outrage, anger or mere annoyance, he'd take it all, as long as she wasn't indifferent to him.

“Keep your tongue in check then,” he advised calmly before turning to head for his spot.

“I swear that guy is the weirdest one of them all,” he heard her mutter under her breath, making Ace and Jessica burst off laughing, and making him feel like he had accomplished his goal. He had wanted to distract her fear away by using their physical connection. Since she was desperately trying to fight her attraction for him, he knew they'd clash, and he used that knowledge to make her more at ease.

Deep down, he knew he wouldn't have bothered had it been someone else… but she was his mate, and already she was affecting him.

“I don't think she can handle being told we're mates right now,” he let out in a tone that was to be heard by the supernatural beings only.

“We'll do that when the time is right,” his sire reassured him just as Felicity entered the living-room, holding no less than five boxes of pizza in each hand.