Page 36 of Patrick’s Seduction (Scanguards Vampires #19)

36

S hortly after Patrick had left to meet up with Virginia to drive to Marin County, the door opened, and Isabelle appeared at the entrance to the office. Fallon jumped up, startled. Patrick hadn’t mentioned that he was expecting his sister. Instinctively, she tensed. Even though Isabelle had taken care of her when she’d thrown up the previous night and even held her hair back like a girlfriend would do, her werewolf instincts were trying to push to the surface, warning her that vampires were her enemies. She suppressed these instincts as best she could because her human side knew that Isabelle wouldn’t hurt her.

“Oh, hey, Isabelle. Patrick just left,” she managed to say without her voice shaking.

“I know.” She turned halfway, then addressed somebody in the hallway. “Ross? Are you coming with Mummy?”

A little boy waddled in, grinning. Since she didn’t have much contact with kids, she couldn’t be sure of his age, but he was definitely not of school age yet. He had a full head of dark brown hair and stunning green eyes like his mother.

When he spotted her, he walked toward her, tiny fangs suddenly descending as he opened his mouth. A soft hiss came from him.

“No, Ross, stop!” Isabelle said firmly and snatched him by the back of his sweater, lifting him up with one hand.

He peddled his feet, trying to escape from his mother’s grip, while he pointed at Fallon.

“You’re not human. But not a vampire.”

Isabelle turned him toward her so he had to look at her face. “Ross, didn’t I teach you to be polite?”

“But she’s not human, and she’s not like us,” he insisted and looked over his shoulder, pointing at her again. “What is she?”

“She’s a werewolf.”

“A wolf?” The little boy stared at her in disbelief. “You don’t look like a wolf.”

“I’m sorry,” Isabelle said quickly. “But he’s at that age where he’s so curious.”

“It’s okay,” Fallon said quickly, not wanting to embarrass her. “How old is he?”

“I’m four,” Ross replied and showed his palm with his thumb tucked in, indicating the number four. “And you?”

“I’m thirty-five.”

“That’s not old,” he said, sounding much more grown up than he was. “My daddy is over 100 years old.”

“I think I’ve seen your daddy before.” She shifted her gaze back to Isabelle. “Your mate is Orlando, the owner of the Mezzanine Patrick mentioned, right?”

A warm glow seemed to settle over Isabelle’s face when she answered, “Yes, Orlando is mine.”

The last word would have felt odd if a human had spoken it, but knowing what she now knew about vampires and their mates, she understood that the word wasn’t an exaggeration or a jealous declaration. No, it was a simple statement that everybody in their world accepted without question. Their world . It was strange to think that way. Yet within twenty-four hours everything in her own world had been turned upside down. Now she was living in their world, the world of supernatural creatures.

“Did Patrick ask you to look in on me?”

“Not directly.” She walked toward the sitting area and put Ross back on his feet. “Go find the Legos.”

The little boy ran to a cupboard and opened the lowest drawer from which he pulled a huge box with Legos.

“There!” Ross said triumphantly. He sat down on the floor and started to play.

Isabelle finally turned back to her. “All families with small children have been asked to report to HQ. The others should be arriving soon too.”

“Oh. Why is that?”

“Because of the werewolf threat.” She gave her a quick smile. “Once Patrick and Virginia are back, they’ll all be getting ready to fight the Gallaghers should they not give Cameron up to be executed for his crimes.”

Executed. The word sounded so final. Yet Isabelle spoke as if this was nothing new. And maybe it wasn’t new in her world.

“I doubt his father will give him up.”

“It’s to be expected. They’ll fight back, so we’re taking precautions: the human blood-bonded mates and underage children of all Scanguards employees have to stay at HQ so they can be properly protected, and can’t be used as bargaining chips by the Gallaghers.”

Fallon let out a breath of air. “All because of me. I’m so sorry.”

Isabelle put a hand on her forearm. “It’s not your fault. It’s Cameron’s. And even if he hadn’t terrorized and turned you, he would still have to be taken out. We can’t have a killer in the city. It’s too dangerous for everybody, humans and supernatural beings alike. That’s what the city pays us for: to keep the streets safe.”

“The city knows about this? Is that because Anita is married to a vampire?”

“No, that’s not the reason. The current chief of police has known about our existence for several decades, and he’s kept our secret for just as long. There are only a few select police officers who know about us, and they send cases that involve vampires or other supernatural creatures to us to handle. We have a contract with the city. We patrol the streets at night.”

“That must be so dangerous.”

“It is. But we’re all well-trained.”

“Patrick said you work as a bodyguard too. Do you still do that?” She gestured to Ross. “I mean with having a little one now?”

“I do, though I don’t work full-time anymore. This little boy needs a lot of supervision.” Isabelle ran her eyes over Ross, who was building a castle with his Legos.

“He showed his fangs earlier,” Fallon said. “Isn’t that gonna be a problem when he goes to school?”

“By then, he’ll understand that he can’t give away what he is. He doesn’t go to preschool or kindergarten because of it. Scanguards has a little informal preschool in the building where all hybrid children can play together and learn the basics so that they’re ready for first grade.”

The more she learned about Scanguards and the vampires who ran the company, the more normal it all sounded. They lived like normal families, or almost, because surely the fact that pure-blooded vampires like Patrick’s father, Samson, couldn’t be outside during daylight meant that their daily schedules were upside down. Night was day, and day was night.

“You okay?” Isabelle asked softly.

Fallon nodded quickly. “Yes. It’s just… well, there’s so much that’s happened in the last few days, and I’m still trying to adjust.”

But what she really thought she kept to herself. She didn’t want to voice it. All the vampires and vampire hybrids she’d met so far appeared so civilized. She, a werewolf, was the odd one out: she didn’t feel civilized. She dreaded the coming night and the rising of the moon, because it meant she wouldn’t be in control of herself. And she hated that feeling. She hated being ruled by the beast inside her. And to think that this could be her future if they didn’t succeed in bringing down Cameron. Could she really live like this?