Page 29 of Twisted

I pull my lips around my teeth and fight off the chill that’s threatening to run down my back.If her father was a hunter then that means she was given to the Malus family just like I was.“Were you in the Order?”

“Of course, silly.How else would I have gotten here?”

CHAPTER13

“You were a hunter?”I echo, sinking down into the chair across from her.

“Back then, girls didn’t hunt.We cleaned the weapons.Tended the house.Made sure a big welcome dinner was ready when our hunters returned.”She blinks and looks at me as if she’s seeing me for the first time.“You’ve killed a lot of monsters.”

“I have.”

“Would you like some tea?”

“Uh, sure.”

She picks up an empty teapot and “pours” me a cup of tea, the same way Gia would when we’d play pretend.I pick up my empty cup and pretend to take a drink.Mabel beams.“Thanks,” I tell her.“This is good.”

“It’s my favorite,” she goes on and picks up her own empty teacup.“Gladys Wright brought back the leaves all the way from England!She told me she had tea with the Queen but I don’t believe her.She’s always been such a busybody and makes things up.”

“She sounds like she would.But it’s probably just to impress you.I totally can see her being jealous.”I look behind me, seeing if I can sense anyone.I can’t, and really, I just don’t give a shit.“How many others were turned?”

“Other mothers?”She laughs and puts her hands up to her eyes.“Other Mother.Have you seen that movie?”

“Actually, yeah.Coraline is one of my favorites.”

“I don’t know,” she says, answering my original question.“I don’t think very many.”

I lean in.“Did you want to become a vampire?”

Her perfectly lined lips pull into a smile.“Have you ever been in love?”

“Yeah, I have.”

Her smile turns into a frown and her brows furrow.“It’s the best worst feeling.Or the worst best feeling.Isn’t it?”

“That’s actually a really accurate way to describe being in love.”

“Zeke fell in love with me,” she starts.“With my wit, my charm.”She looks out the fake window and the smile starts to come back to her face.“He liked how I cared for each of my children and was devoted to the family.And he protected me.Made sure I was safe and okay and happy.”Her gaze turns to mine.“He did everything in his power to make me happy.Even though I was just a human.He knew I had hopes and dreams outside having babies.”

She reaches out and puts her hand on mine.I’m almost startled by her cool skin since she seems so damn human right now.Maybe vampires have more humanity in them than I thought.

“You have to remember, back then, there wasn’t much more for us girls.”

“Right, you were born in the early 1900s?”

“Yes.Our love developed slowly, but they say that’s the best kind, right?Friendship on fire or some Instagramable quote like that?”She laughs.“When it came time to…to…retire…neither of us could bear the thought of having to live without the other.It would have been worse for Zeke.His forever without me was really forever.”

“So he turned you?”

“Xavier did,” she tells me with a shake of her head.“His blood runs through my veins, and I am his progeny.”

“I knew he was a controlling dick.”

Mabel laughs again and picks up her empty tea cup, taking a fake sip.“They didn’t speak for nearly a decade because of it, but I told them it didn’t matter.I was one of them, and that’s all we wanted.True, honest love is so rare.If you’re lucky enough to find it, you better not be stupid enough to let it slip through your fingers.”

“What happens if you do?”

“You better hope you can fix it.Because watching the person who loved you unconditionally move on without you is a fate worse than death.”