19. Rule #19 Sometimes You Just Have To Be Vulnerable

Rule #19: Sometimes You Just Have To Be Vulnerable

Zoe

D aniel slid his hands under my thighs, picked me up and carried me back to my bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you back to bed," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His brown hair was mussed and his body still glistened with sweat, but it only made his scent of fresh rain and pine trees more prominent, and I had no problem burrowing into his warm, naked body. His arm slipped in under my head and he folded his other arm over my body, holding me close.

"Tell me what happened with your coven," he said.

I hesitated. Somehow telling him this story felt more vulnerable than being naked with him. Fucking was one thing. Letting him in to see who I was, I didn't know if he'd feel the same way about me after. Once he'd seen my darkness, would he run ?

His fingers drifted lazily up and down my arm, tracing the lines of my tattoo but he stayed quiet, not pushing me. His touch grounded me and gave me courage.

"I had a sister," I started. "She was my twin. Zara. We were the first set of twins born in our generation so it was assumed one of us would take over leadership of the coven one day. We were pitted against each other from a young age. Always competing. The one person who was supposed to always have my back became my nemesis."

He said nothing, letting me speak.

"It got worse as we got older. We competed over everything. Boys, clothes, social circles. But she was better at people than I was. She was the queen of the school and I was the social pariah. The dark one. The one who scowled and didn't make friends. At home they made us fight each other. Not just physically, but we had to use our magic against one another. One of us would have to come out on top. She tormented me at school, my own fucking sister. It started off with small things, filling my locker with condoms that spilled out in the full hallway when I opened it. It escalated, she pushed me into the school pool during swim practice and held me down with her magic. I panicked. It was the first time I felt my magic sputter out. She only let me go when I couldn't hold my breath anymore."

"You hate being trapped."

I nodded against his warm chest, thankful that he couldn't see my face. "That's why I panicked during the blackout."

Daniel ran a comforting hand up and down my back. Grounding me in the moment.

"My cat went missing," I went on. "She swore it wasn't her, but he turned up dead and mangled on the side of the road. My mother said I couldn't prove it was her, and I needed to harden up and bring evidence for accusations. "

"Bloody hell," he whispered, squeezing my waist.

"So I decided enough was enough. I could play her game. Our rivalry escalated. I did things that… that I'm not proud of. I set fire to her hair. I recorded her making out with her boyfriend's team mate and sent it to him. He was the quarterback. They got into an ugly fight and he called her a whore in front of the whole school. And I didn't give a fuck. At home it got so much worse, but that was the situation they had created. By the time we turned twenty-one we were full-on enemies. One day, when we fought so badly that we almost burned the house down, I left. I didn't want to be part of a coven that didn't value me. The only thing I regret is leaving Caleb."

"Caleb?" he asked, fingers skimming my waist, bringing me a small measure of comfort. I didn't think about him often. He was a boy, he would be okay without me.

"My younger brother. He wasn't a twin, so he wasn't subjected to the same kind of treatment we were."

"You miss him," he said. It wasn't a question, and a statement that didn't need an answer. I didn't think about my brother. Not because I didn't love him, but because the guilt of leaving him would consume me.

"He was five years younger than us. The apple of our parents' eye. I knew he'd be safe. Anyway, I moved here after I left. I was so lost. I found an underground bare knuckle boxing fight and entered. And I won."

Daniel huffed a laugh. "Of course you did."

I gave him a small smile, snuggling closer.

"That's where Lewis found me. He was betting on some fights and when I fought so much, I couldn't stand anymore, he got me out of there. He introduced me to Muay Thai and he saved my life."

Daniel tensed when I mentioned Lewis's name. I ran my hand across his chest and kissed it once, soothing the wolf inside .

"Not long after, I met Agatha and Katie at Amelia's. We clicked immediately. They understood me and I told them my story. They welcomed me like the sisters I had always wanted. I had never been happier. I let my walls down, they loved and accepted me, and we formed a coven. Then Marcus showed up. He was Katie's cousin and he was wonderful. At first. Never had a man looked at me like that before. But he would always make me second guess my decisions. ‘You should smile more. You're so pretty when you're not scowling'."

Daniel bristled at the words.

"I happen to love your scowling," he said, kissing me on top of my head. "Sounds like a right tosser."

I huffed a small laugh. "Yeah. He is. I didn't know that he had been talking shit about me behind my back. Making Agatha and Katie doubt me."

I lifted my left wrist, showing him the shadow of the four-leaf clover tattoo that was almost invisible now.

"When it's gone, I'll lose my powers," I whispered. He ran his thumb over my wrist and I shivered.

"I feel like there's more to this story," he said.

"Agatha and Katie knew what my sister had done to me. They had no sympathy for her. They were my fiercest protectors. So when Zara came around looking for my help because she had got herself into some trouble with a group of warlocks, they turned her away. But I didn't. She was my sister. So without their knowledge and without their approval, I went with her to get her things from their house. It turned out to be a crack den, but the drugs were way worse than just cocaine. They'd mixed it with a pinch of belladonna and were selling it on the streets to humans. They got them addicted then when they kept coming back, would lock them in the basement and drain them of their life force, making them stronger. Zara wanted out. But she needed back up. We were almost clear of the house when the four of them got back. We fought back as best we could, but we had never been trained to fight together. Only against each other. It was a mess. But when one of them had me against a wall by the throat, she hurled him off and slit his throat. I didn't see the fireball coming for me, but she did. She pushed me down and it hit her in the chest instead."

My body shook with grief. "Katie and Agatha showed up soon after that and took the others out, then took me home. But Marcus used that against me too. We were already fractured because of his whisperings and he said I had been reckless. I'd put the whole coven in danger and that I shouldn't lead. He put it to a vote. I thought I'd just be demoted. Maybe he was right and I shouldn't be in charge. But then he motioned for me to be banished."

A growl rumbled through Daniel's chest and his grip on me tightened. I was grateful that he was incensed on my part.

"They said that they couldn't understand why would I let myself be dragged down into the darkness for someone who was involved with soul-stealing warlocks. That it was better for them if I left. Who knew how my blood was tainted if that's what my twin could do."

"That's bullshit. She was still your sister at the end of the day. Your loyalty is one of my favorite things about you," Daniel said softly. "And despite it all, underneath everything, you still wanted a relationship with her. You're grieving not having that chance. The relationship you should've had. The one you wanted."

"Why can you understand that when they couldn't?"

"Because they used it as an excuse. You know that's not true, right?"

Daniel's hand slid to my cheek, tilting my face up to look at him. "I also live with guilt and grief. And I see you, Zoe. Not many people can understand that, and that's okay."

Daniel laid a soft kiss on my forehead, holding me tighter .

I took a deep breath, trying to settle this feeling that was taking root in my chest.

"Long story short. They said I wasn't fit for leadership anymore and it would be best if we broke ties. And here I am."

Daniel stayed quiet for a while, and I listened to the steady beat of his heart.

"I get why you're reluctant to trust again," he said. "But I like your dark parts. They make you human."

"Not human though," I joked and he let out a laugh.

"Yeah. Me neither."

Daniel had slipped out as the sun was rising this morning. Not before leaving sweet kisses all over my body and face, then making love to me slowly before he left. It had been different from last night. Last night had been a claiming, both of us giving into weeks of tension. This morning was filled with promises. Promises that I still wasn't sure he could keep, even though I knew I could. I was loyal to a fault. It was the reason I kept getting hurt.

I smiled lazily as my muscles stretched, and the delicious ache between my thighs made remember all the dirty things he had done to me. Rolling over, I hugged a pillow and breathed in Daniel's scent that had seeped into it. The sun peeked through the curtains by the French doors and I smiled again. I didn't know when the last time was that I smiled this much. This bubble of happiness in my chest made my fingers tingle and I pointed a finger at the vanilla scented candle on my nightstand, lighting it with no problem. Maybe the ley line was working after all. My alarm went off, meaning I had two hours before I had to be at work. I rolled out of bed, took a quick shower then dressed before going down to raid the kitchen.

To my surprise, I found Rory there nursing a cup of coffee standing by the windows with the sun shining on her face.

"These UV filters are a godsend," she said as soon as I entered, taking a few more seconds before she turned around to face me. "Coffee's still warm." She nodded to the coffee machine on the counter.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing a mug and then the vanilla caramel creamer from the fridge. I busied myself with a bowl of Lucky Charms then sat at the kitchen island.

"What do you have planned today?" I asked. "I thought you'd sleep in."

"I'm off to bed," she said before turning around to face the window again, "I just wanted to feel the sun on my skin this morning." She sounded wistful.

"Won't coffee keep you up?" I asked.

Rory smiled sadly. "No. It doesn't do anything to me. I just love the taste. Feels like normalcy."

"Rory?"

"Hmmm?"

"You don't like being a vampire much, do you?"

She turned to regard me, taking her time to answer. "It wasn't my choice, no. I mean, there are perks. The speed, strength, super senses." She gestured to her body. "I get to look like this forever." She took a long sip, considering her next words. "But I miss the things that made me human. I miss living in the light. I wouldn't choose this life. And I would never make the choice for someone else."

I nodded. "Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"For trusting me with that. "

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, a small frown forming on her pretty face. "You're my friend."

A friend. I'd had those before. Sisters, and they'd betrayed me. But Rory was honest in everything that she did, and what you saw was what you got with her. Maybe I could use a friend.

She rinsed her mug and placed it in the dishwasher before making for the kitchen door.

"Goodnight, Rory," I called.

"Goodnight, Zoe. And happy looks good on you. I like the werewolf for you."

My head whipped around. "How did you know he was here?"

Her nose wrinkled before she said, "It smelled like dog in here."

I burst out laughing and so did she. I was starting to like her.