Page 11 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

Date with the Enemy

J ules’s shoes squeaked on the marble entryway floor of the Martin family residence. Normally, human residences were impossible for Jules to enter. This white pillared, three floored, ocean front, house was the exception. At the Martins’ Jules had a standing invitation.

“We’re home!” Monica shouted.

“Hello girls,” Monica’s mother, Sherri, said as she entered from the direction of the kitchen. She was as stunning and tall as her daughter. A lawyer with a reputation as formidable. Her white suit contrasted with her dark skin in the best way.

“Hi,” they said in unison.

“Are you staying for dinner, Jules, dear?” Sherri asked, spectacles perched on her nose and an important looking file in her hand.

“Yes…” Monica started.

“Um… no,” Jules cut her off. “I’d better not.”

“You’re staying.” Monica rolled her eyes. “We need to pick out dresses for our date tomorrow,” Monica told her mother.

“Oh, in that case, I’ll let Dad know to pick up food for one more for dinner. You better get started.” Sherri smiled at them both. “With your indecisiveness, you never know how long that will take,” she said, teasing her daughter.

Jules laughed with her while Monica scowled. “Oh, come on.” Monica took Jules by the arm and pulled her up the marble stairs, complete with antique rug runner up the center, to her bedroom.

“I’m glad you’re here Jules, dear, we’ve missed you.” Sherri shouted after them. Jules replied in kind while allowing herself to be led past the balcony to Monica’s room.

“So, do you know where Tai is taking us?” Jules asked, perching on the end of Monica’s four poster bed.

“No.” Monica walked to her closet and started pulling out designer dress after designer dress, throwing them down beside Jules.

“But he told me to dress up.” She plucked a dress off the top of the stack, walked to the gilded mirror, held it in front of her, and then discarded it on the floor.

“I told him not to waste a bunch of money on something fancy, I doubt he listened.”

Jules stood and walked to Monica’s walk-in closet, rifling through the clothing hanging there.

“By the way, don’t be a pain about it but,” Monica hesitated, “your date is paying.” Monica picked up another dress and turned to smile at Jules.

Jules rolled her eyes. Monica knew her too well. “It’s not a date. It’s a favor,” Jules replied. “Why should he pay?”

Between ancient investments, centuries of financial success, and holding onto belongings for hundreds of years, most vampires were generally pretty well off. In fact, Jules had some first edition novels in her home that were worth a small fortune on their own.

“Yes, you are his date as a favor to me, but just because you won’t date a human, doesn’t mean he knows that.

” Monica continued to sort through the pile of dresses, carefully assessing each option.

“Besides, you could wear an orange jumpsuit with a stamped cell block on the back and he’d still become completely obsessed with you. You are that stunning.”

At this, Jules grumbled.

“I did say don’t be a pain about it didn’t I?” Monica discarded yet another dress onto the floor.

“Fine.” Jules’s fingers touched velvet. She reached into the closet and pulled a long, formfitting, black dress from the back to examine it.

Monica dropped the dress she was examining to the side and stared at Jules.

“What?”

“Oh, you should definitely wear that!”

Jules looked back at the dress. “I don’t know.”

“Try it on. If you don’t like it, don’t wear it. But it suits you.”

Jules had just managed to pull up the zipper when Monica called, “Hey Toad, come in here!” After a few moments, Ethan moseyed to the door and pushed it open. “What do you think of this?” Monica asked him about the dress she had tried on.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, lounging against the door frame.

“You’re almost a guy. What do you think?” Monica had on a short, red, strapless dress that showed off her dainty shoulders beautifully.

“It’s fine, I guess,” he said, and then looked over at Jules. “Now that’s a dress!”

Jules was about to respond but before she could, he blushed and walked to his own room down the hall, swinging the door shut behind him a little too forcefully.

They both laughed.

Jules’s breath caught when she smelled it. Blood. Fresh, dripping, human blood.

“Jules, what is it?” Monica asked. Jules stood statue still, fists clenched, lips pressed together tightly and had stopped breathing. These were the precautions that kept her from bolting toward the source of her bloodlust. Monica knew the signs.

“Downstairs,” Jules managed to mumble.

“Stay here. I’ll take care of it,” Monica said, walking around Jules and closing the door behind her.

Jules dropped to the bedroom floor, clamped her hands over her mouth, and whimpered.

She knew she couldn’t do what every instinct in her was screaming for her to do.

Jules knew that if she gave in, by just a fraction of a thought, she would kill whoever was leaking out their life-source.

It was likely she would kill everyone in the house once the initial bloodlust was satisfied.

And these people were like family to her.

“Monica. Jules,” the doorknob to Monica’s bedroom began to twist. No.

No. No! This couldn’t be happening. Ethan was coming too close.

She couldn’t kill him. She couldn’t. But if he opened that door, could she stop herself.

He was a child. He was family. But he was also a human.

Blood, pure rushing blood lay just beneath the skin.

Pumping, pumping through his body. Adrenaline.

Jules began to rock. Trying to soothe the pain in her throat and lock onto something other than Ethan’s blood.

“Ethan!” Monica’s shout was too far away. Still down stairs. “Stay out of my room!”

“But Jules…” He began.

“Is naked!” Monica shouted back.

“Oh. Wow.” Ethan took his hand off the doorknob.

“Sorry Jules.” He shouted through it and his footsteps receded.

Blood tears slid from her eyes and down her face, staining the white carpet near her knees.

The relief she felt at having resisted threatened to tear her in two.

She shouldn’t be here. In this house. With these people.

Demons and humans were not meant to coexist.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours, the smell of fresh blood disappeared. Its memory still burned into Jules’s mind. She took a few, steadying breaths.

“Mom got a nasty paper cut,” Monica said, returning and closing the door. “You should see the sensitive legal document, it’s…” Monica’s voice trailed off.

Jules nodded but didn’t speak.

“Oh Jules, it’s okay.” Monica grabbed a box of tissues off her desk and sat down on the floor in front of her. One hand pulled a tissue free and stretched out toward Jules, the other took Jules’s hand and grasped it tightly.

Jules focused on Monica’s touch. The human she cared about most, sitting in front of her, anchoring her back in the living world. “It’s over Jules. You didn’t hurt anyone. It’s over,” Monica continued softly.

Jules wiped at her eyes with the soft bit of paper, it came away red. More composed, Jules looked up at Monica.

“Yeah, that’s still gross.”

“What?” Jules asked, taken aback.

“You got a bit of…” Monica pointed beside her own eye to indicate the blood she’d missed.

“Oh,” Jules wiped at it again while both girls chuckled softly.

Monica gagged.

“You let a blood sucking murderer into your home and blood tears are what get you?” Jules asked.

“It leaks from your eyeballs.”

“Tear ducts,” Jules corrected.

Monica’s nose was still scrunched in disgust. “At least you didn’t cry on your dress.”

Jules laughed and Monica joined her.

Carson had gathered those closely ranking beneath him to announce his decision regarding the vampire situation.

He had taken enough time indulging Luca with the idea that he would consider his Beta’s plea.

Vampires did not deserve, nor would they ever receive, any mercy from him.

A vampire was a demented killer, and that was that.

All his Den member subordinates were watching him intently, as his impassioned speech came to an end. Well, all but one. Carson scowled down at his Beta. “Do you have somewhere to be?” Carson snapped, as Luca checked his phone for the fifth time.

“I do,” Luca said, offering no further explanation.

Having this entitled whelp as a ceremonial second was becoming more and more bothersome by the day.

If only Luca’s lineage wasn’t… Carson halted that train of thought and returned to the task before him.

“That said,” Carson began again. “If any of you come in contact with one of these bloodsuckers, or any vampire for that matter, you are to report their position immediately. A proper offensive will be formulated, and I assure you, the threat will be promptly dealt with. If you can, follow them to their dwelling, that would be ideal…” Carson stopped as Luca looked down at his phone yet again.

Ben reached over and tapped Luca’s leg to get his attention.

“Going to be late?” Carson snarled.

“I am now,” Luca said, standing and making to leave the room.

“Luca Cain,” Carson called. Luca’s audacity was boarding on insubordination.

Luca’s Beta status did allow him to be somewhat legitimately adversarial.

Carson had to accept that. Thus, this behavior was simply a consequence of the position Luca held within the pack.

So, in favor of not escalating this irritation any further, Carson swallowed his rage and said, “if you see a vampire…”

“I know what to do.” Luca sighed and left the house, the screen door slamming behind him.

Carson continued, speaking more freely now that the thorn in his side was out of earshot.

Jules was woken up around midday the next day by a frantic Monica with clothes and makeup in tow. Jules sighed. It was going to be a very long day.