Better Off Undead - Cynthia Eden Page 0,21
right after the attack…he came home to my mother. I-I was conceived.” Don’t think about what happened that night. Don’t think about the pain and terror that had been in mom’s eyes when she talked about her pregnancy. Don’t.
“My brother said our father was a monster.” She hated this part of the story. Jane hadn’t known…but Drew had. “He would whisper that, over the years. Whenever I asked about my real father, Drew said it was good that he was gone. That dad was a monster. Only my mom kept telling me…monsters aren’t real. Almost every night she would say it. Monsters aren’t real.” Jane licked dry lips. “It wasn’t until much later that I realized she wasn’t trying to convince me. She was trying to convince herself.”
“I’m sorry,” Annette said, sounding as if she truly meant the words.
“So am I.” She was her father’s daughter. Conceived when he’d stopped being human. But her brother…He isn’t like me. That was why she wanted Drew to stay safe. To stay very far away. “It would really help things out if you would tell me exactly when and where I’m supposed to die.”
Annette held her stare. “It doesn’t work that way. Things aren’t…so clear.”
“It seemed clear enough when you were telling me that I was the end.”
Annette’s long lashes shielded her eyes. “I think it’s…soon, Jane. It felt soon.”
Hell. “What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see who killed me? Was it the vampire? Is Vincent the one I have to watch out for?”
Now Annette’s brow furrowed. “He was there. So was Aidan. They were both there but…I don’t know who kills you.”
She spoke so matter-of-factly. As if Jane’s death were just a done deal. To her, maybe it was. “I won’t let it happen.” Jane spun away from the other woman. “Thanks for this little glimpse into my future hell, but I will change it. I’m not going to become a monster.”
She was nearly at the door when she heard Annette’s sad whisper.
“You already are…”
***
Jane didn’t slam the door when she left the Voodoo Shop. Just as she hadn’t pounded furiously when she arrived.
Blowing out a hard breath, Annette slumped deeper in her chair. She wished Jane’s fate had been different, but wishing didn’t exactly change anything. It—
A faint creak sounded behind her.
In a flash, Annette was on her feet, the knife in her hand as she lunged toward the man who’d somehow slipped past her security system and into her shop.
“Easy!” Paris Cole said, his voice low as he dodged her knife strike. “I’m not here to hurt you!”
Her teeth clenched. Werewolves. Freaking werewolves. “Sorry if I don’t believe you,” Annette gritted out. “I don’t have the best track record with werewolves.”
His golden gaze darted between the knife and her face. “Your ex was a bastard to us both. I’m sorry I ever called him friend.”
Her grip tightened on the knife. “These days, I just call him dead.” Because he was. “How long have you been here?” Her stomach clenched as she waited for his response. Werewolves could move so silently. Paris wasn’t an alpha, but he was still plenty powerful, and the guy was Aidan’s right-hand. If he’d overheard her talk with Jane…
“Long enough,” Paris replied grimly.
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop on private conversations!”
“When it comes to the pack, I do just about anything.” His body was battle ready. “Now are you going to stab me with that knife or can we talk like normal people?”
She slowly lowered the knife, putting it back on her table. It wouldn’t be much good against him, anyway. It wasn’t made out of silver. “We aren’t normal people.”
“True. But then, I’ve always thought normal was highly overrated.”
Her gaze slid over him. Paris. Handsome Paris. The ladies’ man. The charmer. The guy who usually wore a grin but… “I know what you are.”
“A werewolf.” He shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
“More. A werewolf in sheep’s clothing.”
He gave a little pout—one she was sure plenty of ladies had found incredibly sexy. “I think you just insulted me,” Paris drawled.
“You are far more than you seem. The easy going façade doesn’t fool me. Not for an instant. You’re a predator to your core.”
“Kind of goes along with being a werewolf…”
“You’re Aidan’s assassin.”
He stiffened. That sexy pout was long gone. Good.
“I know,” she said softly. “There is very little that I don’t see.”
“In that black mirror of yours?” He headed toward the table and picked up her mirror.
Now she was the one to stiffen. It wasn’t as if a