Page 58 of Claimed By Blood

At least Morwen and Mia have their own room.

I’m happy for the two of them, but no one wants to be privy to a graphic live performance of their sibling’s sex life. Poor Immy has to share with them, but there’s a screen that should hopefully prevent her from catching an eyeful of them in the middle of the day.

All of the vampires here—relatives of Samuel’s or not—address me as ‘Aunty Evonnia,’ a custom which is as endearing as it is strange. More than once, I’ve tried correcting them, or asking them to just call me Evie. It’s not really working.

The younger ones slowly started calling me Aunty Evie as we chatted while making up the dorm room for the pack, but getting them to drop the family title is impossible.

Dare I say, I kind of like it?

There are three double beds, spaced evenly across the back wall. They’re piled high with covers, because apparently the desert sun doesn’t do much to heat the caves during the day. Textiles are everywhere for that reason. The walls are hung with woven tapestries, decorated with patterns that make up for the bare stone, and the floor is piled high with rugs until it squishes beneath my feet as I pace across it.

I’ve explored every inch of the room, and now there’s nothing to do but wait.

The door opens, and I look up, eagerly only for my face to fall when I realise it’s not them.

Instead, Samuel’s son, Bakari, is framed in the doorway.

Before I can speak, he holds a hand up to silence me.

“You need to leave.”

I grind my teeth, caught between the urge to tell him to fuck off—with my sword if necessary—and the knowledge that doing so will probably cut short my visit here. If I leave before I find out what Samuel is hiding, we may never be free of our sire.

“I plan to,” I reply, deliberately keeping my tone even. “As soon as my pack has healed and your sire tells me how to kill Cain.”

He spits on the ground. “You’ve brought us to his attention. It’s only a matter of time until you lead him straight to our doorstep.”

“Bakari! Your father said you’d be lurking, but I thought you’d have the decency to at least do it outside.”

The soft voice makes him stiffen, and his expression turns from suspicious and guarded to almost…guilty. A small hand taps lightly at his shoulder and he shoots me a warning glare before shifting to one side to admit the much smaller woman behind him.

The first thing I notice is her large, beaming smile. Her warm brown eyes are decorated with laugh lines, and her lip, nose, and ears are all pierced with golden rings. Unlike most vampires, who are turned young, she wears her experience like a cloak. Streaks of silver flash like lightning through her gorgeous mane of bushy black hair, and her struggles have written themselves into the lines across her brow.

Her dress is loose and flowing, but there’s no tell-tale bulk of weapons hidden beneath the modest blue garment.

“Mother,” Bakari mutters, “Does Father—”

“Of course he does.” She dismisses his concern with a shake of her head, barely paying her son a glance as she reaches forward and takes both my hands in hers and squeezes them in greeting. “As if he would try to deny me the chance to meet my sister after all this time. I’m so glad you’re here, Evonnia. I hope my son has made you comfortable?”

I meet his eyes over her head, and a satisfied smile tugs at my lips at the look of pure panic that covers his face. This soft-spoken woman clearly terrifies him. I like her already.

After giving him alookwhich reminds him exactly how nice I’m being, I say. “He’s been really helpful, actually. And I go by Evie now.”

“You’re being too kind.” She snorts. “I know what he’s like—I’m his mother! Let me guess, he was probably lecturing you on security before I interrupted him?” She winks at me, before looking back at Bakari. “Go and help the others bring your uncles up from the garage.”

“Mother…” He trails off again, then picks up in that other language.

“Don’t be rude!” she snaps, cutting him off. “While your aunt visits, we use her language. Now, go and be useful, and I’ll make sure she’s settled.”

His fists clench, but he doesn’t object again. He doesn’t spare either of us a second glance as he spins on his heel and strides from the room.

“Lord save me from firstborns and their over-developed sense of responsibility.” She sighs long and hard. “I’m Noha, Samuel’s wife.” She squeezes my hands a second time before dropping them. “It’s good to finally meet you after so long. I want to let you know, whatever my husband or son have tried to convince you, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. In fact, I hope you come to call this place home.”

Taken aback by such a sudden and earnest sentiment from someone who is—for all intents and purposes—a complete stranger to me, I can’t do much more than nod mutely.

“I know this is nothing like New York,” Noha continues. “But if there’s anything you need to make you more comfortable, let me know. We’ve never had lycans here before, so I didn’t know what you’d need…” She trails off.

“I’m sure it will be fine, this room is more than enough, and the full moon is two weeks away, so…” I shrug, unsure of what else to say.

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