Chapter 127

I shook my head. My stomach churned. That couldn’t be true. I couldn’t be—she couldn’t be.

“You’re lying.”

She gestured to her face. “Am I?”

“You’re lying!” I shouted. “You can’t be—”

She rolled her eyes and cast her voice low and gravelly like something out of a movie I’d seen just once a long time ago.

“Hedy, … I am your sister.” She burst into giggles and clapped. “I’ve always wanted to do that. Didn’t think I’d get a chance. One more off the--”

“You aren’t my sister! Don’t ever call me that! I only have one sister—”

“That other idiot? Bella, right?” She shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t have said it out loud or ever acknowledged it considering her choice in fiancé… and the fact that she’s a thief. But, hey, whatever floats your boat."

She frowned. “Did you get mom’s necklace back? Oh, and her ring? Could come in handy—"

I shook my head. “Vampires can shapeshift! That’s not even your real face!”

She snorted. “Into animals, sure.”

“Damian changed his face!”

“An illusion.” She gestured her hand through the air and her face changed to mirror mine, right down to the clothes I was wearing. She leaned against the wall and tilted her head. It was uncanny seeing her look at me. Seeing her wear my face with her personality. I felt ill and I stagged back.

“Maybe you’d prefer someone else?” she asked with my voice. “You seemed quite fond of Candido.”

I gasped and froze as she seemed to grow taller. Her shoulders broadened as she appeared to be Candido in his mission gear. She pulled the hood and the mask down from his face, revealing Candido’s face right down to his green eyes. They flashed with a bit of moonlight.

“More to your taste?” She asked with his voice. “Me alpha king, you Hedy.”

“Stop it,” I gasped. “Stop it, right now!”

She shrugged and walked towards another bookcase. The image of Candido melted into shadows that trailed like whisps of smoke after her. My mind was whirling. This was too much. I couldn’t deal with this.

She was… a vampire? My mother was a vampire?

“You’re really going to have to get a sense of humor, or at least a stronger constitution,” Raven said. “Mom was a fierce woman, heir to so much and so very powerful. She and Uncle Ian were the firstborn after all.” She sighed. “Doesn’t get much better than that. Oh, have you met Uncle Ian yet?”

She frowned. “No… I suppose you haven’t yet, considering the way you’re acting…”

“You’re lying.” I shook my head. “You have to be lying. M-My father—"

“Steven wasn’t her husband,” Raven said, “But she needed a cover here, and she was… drowning in grief.” She lifted a shoulder. “I would have picked someone less dumb, but I suppose she was after the look of him not the contents.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, Steven could have been a brother for my father, her husband,” she nodded, considering it. “Well, maybe a twin when he was younger and a little less evil, I guess. Maybe. Not sure. She wasn’t forthcoming on the details except for the fact that you were on the way.”

“Husband… What do you…?”

Raven met my gaze, her piercing red eyes lost all laughter and mocking. “She drove herself nearly insane rather than following him into the afterlife. Bonds like theirs are the basis of all the mate drama you werewolves talk about.”

“Mate…” I swallowed. “You make it… You make it sound like it’s not real.”

“Because it’s not,” she said and looked away. “I think mom tried to hang on for me, maybe. For Uncle Ian and Shiloh, Messiah… But more than that, I think she believed she had a purpose. I mean, how else do you decide after centuries of languishing to go out and find a man?” She glanced at me. "Then, she gave birth to you, so I’ve been curious about what’s so special about you. So far, I’m not impressed.”

My heart lurched. “Centuries…”

I couldn’t even understand how the woman in front of me was centuries older. She didn’t give me the same ancient feeling as Francia did. I wasn’t sure if that was because she was younger or something else. As I looked into her eyes, I recognized little glints of criticism. I flinched under her gaze and wanted to be upset with myself for doing so.

She was a vampire, spouting nonsense. Why should I believe her?

“Yes, centuries,” she said. “Vampires have a way longer lifespan, especially born vampires. Hell, even turned vampires have a longer lifespan than werewolves.”

She laughed. “Though, your short lifespan is the reason we’re in this predicament I guess.”

“What does that mean?”

“Short lives: short memories.” She gestured to me. “You all can barely keep track of your last dictator, let alone who was still alive after the war ended… They lost by the way.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Werewolves lost.”

I shook my head. “You’re lying. You’re the one who’s been living in caves all this time without sunlight.”

She pursed her lips. “You’re an idiot and unobservant if you think I live in a cave.”

My jaw set. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Throwing a hissy fit during a mission, endangering yourself and your mission partner, nearly getting yourself killed, getting captured, and generally charging in without a drop of training?” She tilted her head. “Do you really think that being quick on a keyboard is intelligence?”

I set my jaw. “I’m not an idiot.”

“I’ll wait for you to come up with a real rebuttal,” she said. “Honestly, the goddess must have some plan… mother must have had some sort of plan.”

She shook her head. “I almost feel bad for your Candido.” She smirked. “Though I suppose your youth is most of your charm. Has he turned you over his knee, spanked you, and called you a bad girl yet?”

My face heated as the image flooded through my mind. Her eyes rolled and she waved her hand in front of her face.

“By the moon, tell that man to get over his purity kink and pound you into the mattress already. You reek of unruly hormones.” She chuckled and looked at me. “This… is surprisingly fun. I hadn’t expected it to be considering that she died. I suppose that’s what they meant by a mother’s wisdom.”

She straddled a chair backward and gestured through the air. One floated from across the room to settle in front of me.

“Are you going to sit and listen to your dear elder sister for a bit?” She asked. “I might even give you some advice about how to go about getting your Candido a little more invested in giving you what you want.”

My face heated as I slid into the seat. She snorted and pulled out a pipe. With a flick of her finger, fire appeared and lit whatever was in the pipe. It smelled sweet and just like the cigarette Shiloh and Messiah had shared.

“Is… smoking a thing for vampires?”

Her eyes lit up. “You poor thing. You have no idea how many sensual delights are things for vampires. Sex included. Don’t feel odd about wanting it. It’s a remnant of… about three alpha kings back that the age of majority became twenty.”

She rolled her eyes and took a deeper puff. “Suggestion? Change it back to eighteen.”

I swallowed. “Why… do you say his title like that?”

“Because it’s a ridiculous title,” she scoffed. “But, hey. The people with the pens write the history.”

I swallowed. “What… happened to your father?”

“He was killed. Centuries ago. Before you were even a passing thought.” She took another puff of her pipe and frowned. “Would you like some?”

I eyed it, feeling a little tempted. Candido would scold me, but I was curious. I’d heard about what happened on campus, but I never got to go.

“I won’t tell your daddy if you don’t,” she teased and sent the pipe floating toward me.

I took it out of air and took a small puff, before choking as the smoke hit my lungs.

“Poor thing. You’ll get better at it,” she said and the pipe floated out of my hand. “Deep breaths.”

I coughed. “You said… the Red Moon Pack was yours?”

“Oh, yes.” She shrugged. “Well… our pack. Mom and dad ran it for a little while before the war. Blood Moon Coven is the leader of the United Vampire Covens. We established the Red Moon Pack as our hand in your world to help you poor little cubs along. It’s… gone a little sideways due to some political changes on our side…” Her eyes turned serious as she eyed me. “This is the point where I stop joking and tell you that if you want to survive the real war that’s coming, you’re going to have to tap into your powers.”

“What do you mean?”

She nodded. “And you’re going to have to keep it a secret from Candido.”