Page 14 of Twisted

“Not quite.You see…” He takes in a breath as he starts, looking genuinely uncomfortable.I’m starting to think Devon isn’t the hard ass bad boy he wants me to think he is.The energy around him is gentle.“I’m more like a brother, technically a first cousin, I think.Maybe.It’s best just not to think about it too much.”

“What the hell are you talking about?And don’t give me any bullshit or drama.Just cut to the fucking chase here.”

Devon gives me a curt nod and goes over to the window.“Xavier isn’t just the ‘mob boss’ as you put it.He was the first in the Malus family to be turned.He had a brother then, back when he was human, a brother who wasn’t turned.”

“Okay, and?”

“His brother had two sons.The first son went on to have five children.A boy, three girls, and another boy.The second was turned when he became of age.”

A sense of anxiety starts to cover me like a cold and clammy blanket.“What happened to the first son?”

“Nothing.He died of old age.But his first son was turned when he became of age.The youngest married and had kids of his own.”He pauses, waiting to see if I can catch where this is going.I can, and I feel sick.

“You keep one human alive in every generation to biologically continue the family, turning only the boys into vampires when they come of age.”

“Precisely,” he says with another sharp nod.

I swallow the lump of vomit that’s threatening to rise in my throat as I mentally do the math.There were rumors among the Order that a vampire sired by a biological family member is superior to other vampires in terms of strength, speed, and the ability to hold humans spellbound.No one had encountered enough family-sired vamps to really put the theory to the test.

Until now.

“Okay, so you guys have an incest kink.”I raise my eyebrows.“How the hell do I come into play?Or anyone from the Order for that matter.”

“We figured cutting a deal with them was a win-win, as we could be more selective.The Order keeps extensive medical records and, typically speaking, only those in excellent health make it as a demon hunter.If we’re to continue our line, we might as well have the best genes, right?”

“Wait,” I say, unable to help the words that are tumbling out of my mouth.“So that means…no, please no.”

“Uh, yeah…” He trails off, running his hand up the back of his neck and messing up his thick, dark hair in an annoyingly attractive way.“You and I, we’re, uh, we’re gonna have a baby.”

CHAPTER7

There’s no stopping the laugh that comes out of me as I stare at Devon’s serious face.“Just like that?”I ask and then start laughing again.

“Yes,” he replies, looking annoyed at my humor.“It’s my duty to carry on the Malus line.”

“Okay,” I say sarcastically.“Malus means ‘bad’ in Latin, you know.It’s not a real surname.”

His annoyance grows.“It is now.”

Lots of vampires just picked names when they registered, as there was no way to verify someone’s identity from hundreds of years ago.I would pick a cool name, too.“Well, if that’s really the case then you’ve messed up.The Order doesn’t have records of me like they do the others.I’m a witch.Also, I have an IUD so even if I was okay with this, it’s not like you can just knock me up.”

He opens his mouth and then closes it again, slowly shaking his head.Emotion crosses his face and I get a sense of his energy, and dammit, I recognize something within him.It’s fear, not of me or of what the vampires will do to him, but of letting them down and being a disappointment.There’s a longing weaved in his heart to belong.To fit in.

To be part of the family.

“You want to say something.”My expression softens.“But you don’t think you should.”

“There’s a way we’re supposed to do this.”

Biting my bottom lip, I stare at him for a moment and then nod and go over to the tray of food.I pick up the plate and a fork and go back to the bed, sitting on the edge as I eat the eggs.

“I’ll find out soon enough, right?”

“Yeah, you will.”

“How many children have you, uh, fathered so far?”

“None,” he says quickly.“That I’m aware of, at least.”