Page 13 of The Reluctant Heir

“The last thing I want is to hurt you or your mother,” I say, hoping to reassure him.

Julien’s blue eyes land on me, his shoulders sagging in relief. “You know, I didn’t believe that I had a sister until I met you. We look alike.”

I grin at his observation. “We do.”

“Lucien takes after Mom,” Julien says. “He has dark hair and eyes, though he’s tall like Dad. He’s quite favored among the females—you’d think he was the one who was half succubus.”

His words make me grin. “Incubus. Only females are succubus. And he’s probably a lot more charming than me.” I wave a hand over myself. “Clearly the succubus charm skipped over me.”

He narrows his eyes. “I can already tell that you’re going to need me to look after you.”

“Look after me?” I ask.

He slips his arm around my back and leads me from the room. “Let me show you around the place.”

I allow me to guide me from the room and into the hallway.

“How old are you anyway?” Julien asks.

“Twenty three,” I answer. “Dad said you’re twenty one.”

“My birthday was just last week.” His grin widens. “You missed a killer party—Dad invited all the clans.” He pauses his stride and turns to fully face me. “Now that you’re here, I’m sure he’ll invite all the clans again. Even if you weren’t the heir, he has a daughter to show off now. And since you’re half succubus, pretty much every single male will be in love with you the moment they lay eyes on you.”

I roll my eyes. “Let me assure you, that’s not what’s going to happen.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because guys aren’t attracted to me.” I shrug, trying to show him it’s not a big deal.

He narrows his eyes but doesn’t comment as he nudges me forward again. “You may be my older sister, but you have so much to learn, young one.”

I try to stifle my laugh, but it comes out anyway. Julien is so much better than I thought he was going to be.

Before we make it very far down the corridor, Dad steps out in front of our path.

“There you are, Madeline.” Dad looks at Julien. “I’ll take over from here. You should go talk to your mother.”

Julien nods. “Good morning, sister. See you tonight.”

Tonight?

Oh, right. Vampires have a backward sleep schedule from the rest of the supernatural world. The same sleep schedule I’vebeen fighting my whole life. As much as I’ve hated to admit it, sleeping in the day feels so much more natural.

“Would you like me to show you to your room?” Dad asks, once Julien disappears down the hallway.

“Yes, please.”

5

THE ONE TO MAKE LUCIEN DISAPPEAR

Ihave a brief moment of panic when I wake up at five o’clock that evening. It takes me a few moments to realize where I am.

I’m not in my little apartment and I’m not eight hours late for work.

Sitting up, I look around the large room that my dad brought me to this morning. I’m pretty sure my entire apartment could fit in this one bedroom. While this place is nice, I can’t help the feeling of homesickness. I loved my tiny apartment. Sure, there was a stain on the carpet in the living room that I could never clean up from the previous tenants and my upstairs neighbor liked to listen to music a little too loud, but it was mine. This place doesn’t feel likemine. Because it’s not.

The bedroom is nice. The furniture fits the vibe of the rest of the rest of the house and the sheets are the softest I’ve ever felt in my life. As I push myself off the bed to check out the rest of my room, my feet hit a plush rug. My feet feel like they’re stepping onto a cloud.

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