12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Micah

“ W hy are you all in my office?” Quinn grumbles and pins his gaze on Sally. “You left for lunch hours ago.” Sally saunters toward the couch and plops down.

“I had an extended lunch,” Sally smirks. “Wouldn’t you want me to extend a warm welcome to Micah’s mate?” Quinn glares and slides his attention to Heath as he sits in a chair in front of his desk and to Saphira, who smiles sweetly and joins Sally. He finally moves to Daisy and looks down at her hand gripped in mine.

“Mates, huh?”

I narrow my eyes. I didn’t think he would judge my mate because of her species.

“Yes,” I hiss. “Problem?”

“Of course not,” he snaps. “You should know better.” The ball of fury in my gut unwinds.

“We need your help,” I say.

“Why can’t one of us meet our mate and not need help?” he says dryly. He had his fair share of problems when he met Stephanie, a bear shifter who moved to town not long ago. Quinn wanted a mate for years and was lucky to finally get her.

“Your lives would be too boring,” Heath says.

“I can’t wait until you meet yours,” Quinn taunts. “I’m going to remind you of this conversation.” Heath rolls his eyes. It will be interesting to meet the person the universe thinks is a match for the beast of a man.

“Daisy?” Quinn asks.

“Yes,” she says hesitantly, moving closer to my side.

“I apologize; I didn’t mean to sound unwelcoming.” He leans forward, clasping his hands on his desk.

“Don’t worry about it,” she says quickly. Her scent is infused with trepidation, and I don’t like it. Quinn is big and gruff, but I know he would never make a move toward her in anger. He is a protector of women and respects the bond of mates.

“I will do anything I can to help. Can you explain what you need from me?” he asks gently.

“I need help finding my brother,” she starts. “He was sold by my Alpha years ago.” Her hand tightens on mine. “My Alpha, Turner, is looking for me. He trashed my friend's business and hit her.”

“Who did he hit?” he asks.

“Lace,” she answers and then turns to me. “Shit, I am the worst friend. I told her I would stop by.”

“Don’t worry. I asked Ryker to look after her. She couldn’t be safer living next to him,” I say, hoping to calm her.

“The black-haired vampire?” she asks.

“Yes.” I sent him a message, knowing Daisy would worry about her friend. “Ryker’s mate is half witch. Lace will like her.” Witches have a reputation, but I know Serenity will get along great with her.

“Thank you,” Daisy says, leaning further into my arm.

“I love witches,” Sally says excitedly.

“You love everyone,” Quinn says.

“You say it like it’s a bad trait,” she huffs, crossing her arms.

“Jesus, it’s not bad,” Quinn says, rubbing his forehead.

“Can we get back to the problem?” I ask. I’m used to being alone. I didn’t have to talk to anyone if I didn’t want to until I moved here. It has been a constant conversation, sometimes it’s exhausting. “I would like to take my mate home soon.”

“I’ll need your Alpha’s full name, address, description, phone number, and the same goes for your brother. Any detail you can think of to identify either of them. If you know their habits and likes, it would be helpful. Did your brother have a phone when he was sold?” Quinn asks bluntly. The trait was one I admired about him, but having it directed at my mate made my irritation rise.

“He did, but I’ve tried calling it for years. Now, it doesn’t ring.” Daisy chews on her nail.

“Doesn’t matter. Still need the number. Are we worried about other pack members?” he asks.

“I don’t think they would care enough to come after me,” she says.

“You never know. I want their names also.” Quinn rummages in his desk and pulls out a pad of paper. “Write it all down. Does Turner have another house? A place he goes regularly? Even if he frequents a restaurant, it could be helpful. Do you have pictures of either of them?” Daisy takes the paper and grabs a pen from the desk.

“Yes.” She pulls her phone from her pocket. “He’s younger in the picture.” After scrolling, she hands him her phone. “We don’t know who our parents are. We made up stories of what they would look like. He just knew our mom would look like me. We look alike, don’t you think?” she asks but bows her head. She clears her throat. “Never mind, that’s my brother.”

“You do look similar,” Quinn says. “Your eyes are the same.” Quinn holds the phone out. “Don’t you think, Micah?” I take the phone and study the picture of Daisy’s brother. His hair is a shade darker than hers, minus the purple streaks. Their eyes are similar.

I look into my mate's wide, hopeful eyes. “Very similar.” Her smile blinds me, and it brings me an even deeper desire to find him for her. “I agree with Liam; your mom must look like you.”

“Thanks, Micah,” she whispers, sitting in the vacant chair and starting to write.

“Send me the picture,” Quinn tells me. “Do you have a picture of Turner? Any of the pack?”

“Yes,” she says, taking the phone from me. She scrolls and shows me.

“Put my number in her phone. I might have more questions.”

I am not fooled by his demand. Quinn has a soft spot for women of all kinds, especially the ones in the crew. He may not show it often, but he is always working behind the scenes. I add his name to her contacts and hide my grin when I put his name in as Grumpy Bear. “I didn’t know you were coming to town.” I look up to see Quinn questioning Heath.

“I didn’t plan it,” Heath says.

“I noticed your name on the group text,” I mention.

“Sally was kind enough to add me.” Heath sounds grateful. He may project an air of danger and “stay the fuck away” vibe, but when he considers you family, he will do anything to protect said family.

“He’s in the family, so why wouldn’t I?” Sally says, sharing a smile with Heath. Sally is a force; she will drag you kicking and screaming into the group. It’s one of the things I like about her.

“I’ve tried for weeks to opt out of those fucking group texts,” Quinn growls. “I’m either not doing it right, or you keep adding me.” He glares her way.

“Well, I better get home. I have a hot date tonight,” Sally says, quickly standing. “Thanks for the fun, Micah. Saph, pretty as ever. Heath, sexy as ever.” She walks to the back of Daisy’s chair, avoiding the bear's gaze. “Daisy, welcome again.” Daisy looks over her shoulder, which Sally squeezes. “Micah, give her my number, too. We’ll have a girl's night soon.”

“Thanks, Sally,” Daisy smiles.

“Sally,” Quinn calls as she starts to back out the door. “You’ve barely worked today.”

“I will tomorrow, boss.” She grins. “It’s quitting time.”

“Will you give me a ride?” Saph asks.

“Of course,” Sally nods, holding out her hand, and Saph hurries to grab it.

“Night,” Saph says brightly.

“Damn rabbit,” Quinn sighs.

I chuckle. “You love her just as much as the rest of us.” He doesn’t argue.

“I think I wrote everything down,” Daisy says, standing and handing Quinn the notepad. “If I forgot anything, I’ll let you know.” She moves back to my side.

“Are you going to be working with us?” Quinn asks me, nodding toward Heath.

“As much as possible,” I say. “I won’t be leaving Daisy alone.”

“Wait,” Daisy frowns. “You are assuming I won’t be involved.” The guys suddenly find the ceiling interesting.

“I want you protected,” I say carefully. I’ve been around long enough to know her tone of voice doesn’t bode well for me.

“You can protect me while we are searching for Turner and my brother,” she says, crossing her arms.

“That is the plan.” I smile. Fuck, the plan now. I value my life and don’t want to piss her off. The humor coming off the two assholes is ridiculous. “I want to get you home. You need a good night's sleep. We will start fresh in the morning.”

“Uh-huh,” she hums, eyes narrowed.

“Come on, love.” I slide my arm around her waist. “Night, assholes.” I don’t wait for their reply, sweeping Daisy out of the office, hoping blurring home will somehow make her forget my words.

Finding other ways to distract her will be my pleasure.

“I was worried about her,” Daisy grumbles, pacing the living room. “She’s having a slumber party with Serenity.” I didn’t have to distract Daisy. Lace sent her a text when we got home. Serenity was excited to have another witch in the mix and asked her to stay over.

She is adorable when she pouts.

“At least she is protected,” I offer and earn a glare for my efforts.

“She could have waited until we got back. I assumed she would be curious about what we found out,” she says.

“Are you hurt?” I ask. Her scent is filled with emotion.

“I guess I am.” She sits on the couch. “She’s all I’ve had,” she admits softly.

“I understand.”

“You do?” she asks skeptically as I join her on the couch. “You’ve probably had tons of friends over the years.”

“My closest friends have been Quinn and Heath. Of course, Bash and Ryker have been in my life since almost the beginning of my vampire years. Saphira and her brothers are my family also.” She turns toward me, her arm on the back of the couch, tucking her feet on the edge of the cushion.

“I would love to hear about your life. The things you have seen and done. I can’t imagine.” She reaches out, running her hand through my hair. I close my eyes, relishing her touch.

“My life has been filled with death and destruction,” I start, opening my eyes and stare out the window. “I don’t remember my human life anymore. My memories start the day I woke up as a vampire.”

“Micah,” she whispers, scooting closer.

“At the beginning I vaguely remember smells, blurry images, but with time they disappeared. Maybe it was a blessing. Maybe my human life was filled with horrible things. There is always the chance I was the bad guy.”

“No,” Daisy says fiercely. I cup her knee.

“I appreciate your confidence.” I watch my thumb move back and forth. “I woke up in an alley, but I wasn’t alone. A woman was lying beside me, and she was also turned.”

“Who was she?” The jealousy in her voice pleases me, even though she wasn’t born yet.

“She was my sister. I didn’t remember her, but I knew she was.” I pause, hesitant to speak words I haven’t said to anyone. No one knows the circumstances of my turning or the years afterward.

“Did she lose her memories too?”

“Yes. She didn’t remember anything either. When you told me about your early years, not knowing how you came to be, I related on another level.” I wish we didn’t have such an odd thing in common. “We could smell and sense our relationship. I guess our past must have been so trauma-filled that we got the gift of losing our memories along with the powers that came with being a vampire. Whoever bit us didn’t stick around to help us control all the emotions and yearning we felt.” I drop my head back, and her fingers thread through my hair.

“The first emotion wasn’t curiosity about what we were or our connection. The immediate thought was drinking blood. My throat burned with the need for it. The only vampires I knew then were in stories and myths. I instinctively knew I was one. I wasn’t in denial or scared. All I could think about was blood. My sister, Maddy, was the same. I don’t think we even spoke at the time; we just automatically went in search of a drink.

“We killed the man we found. We didn’t know when to stop or how. We drank him dry and left his body in the street.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” My defensive mate.

I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t the last one we killed.” I pinch her chin. “There were thousands.” I wait for her open expression to fill with disgust. I drop my hand back to her leg, shaking my head when her gaze remains unchanged. I don’t think I deserve her graciousness. “We left dead bodies everywhere we went. We didn’t cover our tracks, which led to many close calls with the humans and others. It was even worse when we discovered our ability to change people's memories. We learned more things we could do every day, and the power was…” I close my eyes briefly. “Tantalizing. We were untouchable. If we needed money, we would convince someone to give it to us and drink their blood to seal the deal. At first, we took it without asking for permission. It can be painful for humans. As we learned our new bodies, we made it pleasurable. In the end, they still died.”

“I felt nothing but pleasure when you bit me,” she says.

I grin. “Of course. I would never hurt you.” I lick my lips, turn my head, and glance at her neck. “I have the power to make it very painful.” I tear my attention away and back to the window.

“What changed?”

“It took many years to come out of our bloodthirst. We became more aware of the destruction we were causing. One night, we were looking for our next meal. Maddy stumbled across a lost child.” I swallow hard. “The smell of her blood was too delicious. It scared us. We held back, but barely. We used our speed to get as far away from her as possible. We ended up in a field, grasping each other's hand. That’s when Maddy shared with me she had a strong sense she lost a child. I didn’t question her, just like I didn’t question if she was my sister. We had a very hard but honest conversation that night. We had to stop. We had to find another way. We didn’t know how, but it had to be done.

“From that night forward, we kept each other in check. There were still times when we drank from humans. It was difficult to stop. We ensured it wasn’t painful for them and didn’t drain them. We took small steps. Maddy was my best friend, my soulmate. She was everything to me.”

“You love her,” Daisy says.

“I loved her deeply. So deeply I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to give any love to anyone else.”

“Oh,” she sighs, dropping her head.

“I was wrong. What I felt for her was love for a sister.” I tip up her chin. “I know our bond will be on such a different level. If something happened to you, I would ask all my powerful friends to kill me because I couldn’t go on.”