William (The Valentines) - By Sam Crescent Page 0,16

saw Adam.

“Doing his own shit. Sit,” he ordered Poppy.

He saw her fists tighten as she pulled her cape closer around her body, covering herself up.

“This thing with Katie is going to get him killed.” Robert placed his hands on his hips and stormed around the room.

“He’s going to do what he needs to do.” Adam would defend his brother’s decision. Someone had to.

The other men in the room stayed silent, glancing around at nothing, whilst avoiding eye contact.

“What did you want, Robert?” Adam kept his eyes on Poppy.

“We’ve got some information…” Robert said. Then he stopped, looking from Adam to Poppy. “Who’s the girl?”

Adam turned his gaze his brother. “She was following me and William. Says she’s a necromancer.”

“Impossible!” Jason spoke for the first time since Adam had entered the room.

“How dare you?” Poppy stood, her rage directed at the whole group.

Jason stepped across and went toe to toe with her.

“I dare because necromancers are horse shit. A bullshit theory.” The aggression came off him in waves.

“Jason, back off.” Adam pushed past him and stood between them.

“Get her out of here, Adam. She’s a waste of space,” Jason sneered.

Poppy pushed Adam out of the way and went for his brother. “You want me to prove I’m not some bullshit theory? Test me, boy, and you’ll be sorry.”

She barely reached Jason’s shoulder. She pulled her hood back and showed him her face, her eyes sparkling a vivid red as she approached him.

Adam tensed, wondering what the hell was going on with his youngest brother being aggressive to a woman. He shook his head. They really didn’t need this right now.

Poppy showed the men her scars and the power within her eyes. A true necromancer could radiate a spiritual force that helped them to find their target when raising the dead. After a nasty assignment, though, her spirit self was taking a rest—she wouldn’t be able to call it forth for a while.

Raising the dead was a dangerous business, especially raising immortals.

Poppy could sense this man’s discomfort with her. He was afraid of necromancers, frightened to believe that they might be a reality.

Shaking her head, she turned back to Adam.

“I came to help you. I’m not going to take being insulted,” she said softly, her eyes changing back to their natural colour, grey.

“We’ll talk once I’m done.” He helped her outside and found her a chair. He clearly thought she was in pain because of all of her scars. Poppy liked the help. For once, she could feel like a female with a man to take care of her.

Poppy watched him go back in and shut the heavy door behind him. She could sense the death surrounding the family. It hadn’t been long since they’d lost a loved one. Necromancers couldn’t contact spirits but they could sense them; feel them around. Whomever they had lost wasn’t passing over. If she wanted to raise the body, he would be easy to find.

Her arm tingled from Adam’s touch. She glanced at the door.

She wished she didn’t have all the scars. But some dead bodies still had another fight left in them.

Poppy didn’t understand why she was feeling emotional. She had no clue who this family was, but she couldn’t stop the reactions within her body. When fate wanted to throw her into someone’s path, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She listened to the vampires in the other room, her body calming down as she realised she was supposed to be here. Being a necromancer heightened her hearing far above that of vampires and humans. She heard spirits from the other realm, for crying out loud. A thick wood door was nothing.

“What is your beef?” Adam asked as soon as they were in private. Jason glanced at the other men in the room as if looking for support.

“No, you don’t just stand off with a woman and expect other people to fight your battles. Be a man and take responsibility.”

Jason was the youngest male in the family and the most coddled. Even more coddled than the women. Even though Rose was the youngest of them all, she had been forced to deal with her own problems.

“She’s a necromancer,” he murmured.

Adam pointed at him, his rage surfacing. “I don’t give a fuck what she is, you don’t take to fucking threatening a woman,” he yelled.

“Do you even remember what necromancers can do?” Jason stuttered back.

Adam threw his hands in the air as he glanced at each man individually.

“Last time I checked, brother, you