Page 31 of Undead & Unfed

Lottie let out a furious shriek. “What the fuck have I gotten myself into? My Uncle’s will not have this, they’ll have him killed, for real this time. Cain too if they figure everything out.”

Vance nodded. Lottie knew he probably didn’t know what she was talking about, but he was being as supportive as he could. She slid down the wall, burying her face in her hands. “They’re probably already on their way.” Her voice was muffled she kept her face in her hands. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

The silence in the room was deafening. Lottie felt frozen. She needed to contact someone from the Jovial but who? Was there anyone left there she could trust?

The ringing of her phone broke the stillness in the room. “It’s Nova. I’m not ready to talk to her.” Lottie’s voice was low and sad.

Vance sat next to her on the ground, gently lying an arm around her shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help? You name it and I’ll do it.” Before Lottie could answer, Selena walked into their room.

“I borrowed a card,” she shrugged as way of explanation. She sat in front of Vance and Lottie. “Go. What happened. Why’s McNamara on their way?”

“How do you even know about this?” Vance whispered, in awe.

Selena and Lottie both chuckled. “Eve called me,” she said shrugging again.

Lottie shook her head and rolled her eyes at her friend. “Eve and Sein are, generally speaking, close friends. When something happens, she always knows before us.”

Vance smiled. I don’t even know who McNamara is.”

“The McNamara Brothers are my uncles. They sit at the tip top of the Jovial Council, the rule makers of the entire vampire existence. They were all ‘born’ in Italy, of course. Scarlett Fever wiped out our entire family. My three uncles, my mother, and her two sisters as well as their spouses and my mother’s parents were all taken into a sort of vampire underground railroad. There are several theories about who the original blood sucker was. The OG, if you will but there has never been any proof. The McNamara brothers thrived in their new undead lives. They stayed together and traveled the world for years and years. They’re each qualified medical doctors, attorneys, and engineers. Sein even sat as the CEO of Cornell University for several years. Wilder taught at the school during the same period, while Atlas was getting a degree in Ornithology up the road at Ithaca University. At some point in 1901, after the brothers had come across several factions of Lamia all over the world, they realized there was no governing system. There were no rules. Some factions ran wild, turning people, drinking from whoever, whenever they wanted. The McNamara’s believed they could live in harmony among humans, but someone should explain the best way to do that, so they did.”

“That’s fascinating,” Vance listened intently. “What are they like?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Selena quipped, checking her phone. “Oh, damnit! This is going to be an entire thing, isn’t it? Merry just sent me a screen shot of their reservation and notes from Jianna.” She stared at Lottie, waiting for an explanation.

“For the love of all things undead, how did this all spiral out of control so quickly? This started as trying to get a date with a cute girl!” Lottie stood up, pacing again.

“Lots, it has always been more than that and you know it. Now, tell me what is going on.”

Lottie stared at her friend but didn’t answer. After another minute of the two women glaring at each other, Vance cleared his throat. “I can tell you what I know.” Vance explained what had happened in the last hour. Selena just shook her head as he finished explaining. “Fuck” was all she said before pausing at the door.

“I’m going to grab Mr. Gibbs and double check the Vampire’s Nest. If you see Marcus before I do, can you give him the heads up. You know they’ll request him while they’re here.”

Lottie nodded. “Hey, does their reservation say how long they’re staying?

Selena made a face. “Indefinitely.”

“Fuck,” Lottie said as Selena nodded and left the room.

“I’m sorry, Lots. Is it a terrible thing that your family is coming?” Vance asked. “And who is Mr. Marcus and Gibbs?”

Lottie laughed. “It’s Mr. Gibbs, Selena cat and Marcus, Selena’s brother. He’s a driver and they always request him when they’re in town. No, it’s not terrible that I get to see them, it’s few years, which is normal for us but they’re, well let’s just say they’re larger than life. They areroyaltyin every sense of the word. Sometimes they can create more issues. There are people out there who think they should be unseated; term limits and such. I am excited to see them though, they’re a lot of fun once they’ve taken care of business.”

Vance nodded with a slight smile on his face. “I’d love to meet them.”

“You will,” Lottie assured him. “Right now, I need to make a few phone calls. I’m going to try and reach my mother. Who knows where she is right now but she’s usually around when her brothers are.”

“I’ll catch up with you later then, I have to meet up with some of the other students for a small project.” Vance waved his fingers at her leaving her alone in their room.

###

The pomp and circumstance surrounding the Jovial the next morning was absurd, but everyone bought into it every time. Lottie watched as her mother, Hela, lead the parade of nonsense into Crimson Mood Hideaway. Atlas and Sein followed but Lottie didn’t see Wilder anywhere. She was immediately concerned.

Jianna and Merlin stood in the middle of the lobby, waiting to greet the chaos.

“Foolish, isn’t it?” Selena whispered, starling Lottie on her left.

“Aye,” Willa agreed from her right. Then let out a low whistle. Alex stepped out of the elevator dressed in a short red dress, sky high heels, a full face of makeup, and her hair cascading down her back in perfect blonde ringlets. She winked at her friends as she walked past, heading toward Jianna and Merlin.

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