41. FAMILY

41

FAMILY

C harlotte looked at Aiden as he led her from the dorm building. She didn't understand why seeing the bathroom wrecked made her break down the way it did, but she couldn't handle it all anymore. She looked down at the cobblestone beneath her feet.

Through the entire ordeal with her stalker, she kept her wits about her. She contacted the police, secured her home, did everything right. Now she felt like a blubbering damsel-in-distress running to Aiden to save her from the big bad.

Her mouth parted as a thought dawned on her.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, knowing he felt the shockwave of panic that went through her system. "What if he went to my mom's next? What if he's with them now? What if he's hurt them?"

Riley angled toward her as they walked. "I can call Sara." She pulled out her cellphone .

"No!" Charlotte lifted her hand. "I thought they couldn't know."

"I'm not gonna say anything stupid. I'll ask her about my hours this week. I mean, I don't actually remember them anyway, and it wouldn't be the first time I've called her about it. She's used to it at this point." Riley shrugged. "If something is wrong, she either won't answer or will say something."

Charlotte listened as Riley carried on a lively conversation with her mom on speakerphone. They were at home watching a movie and eating takeout Chinese food. The panic and tension in her muscles eased. She didn't know what she would do if James hurt her mothers.

After the phone call ended, and they started walking again, she said, "I feel stupid."

"Why?"

She looked up at Aiden. "Instead of doing the right thing and contacting security like Seth did, I turned into a mess and made you take care of me. And now Riley is checking on my moms instead of me. I feel kinda useless right now."

Aiden stopped, forcing her to stop too or let go of his hand. She turned to look at him. The others came to a stop around them.

"Don't do that." He squeezed her hand. "You're allowed to stop and have a moment. You're allowed to break down." He stepped forward and cupped her cheek. "I'm here. Break, scream, cry. I'll still be here. I will hold you up until you're able to stand on your own again." His thumb swiped a tear from her cheek.

"We're here too," Riley said, and Lukas and Seth nodded.

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Charlotte. We love you. You've always been my sister, and I hated you weren't with me through this."

Charlotte turned and threw her arms around Blaire's shoulders, sobbing. "I thought you didn't care about me anymore. I thought I'd lost you." Blaire's shoulder muffled her cries. Later, she might feel embarrassment about her emotional outburst, but right now, it felt cathartic to let it all out.

Blaire hugged her tightly and laughed. "You haven't lost me. Never will."

"I love you so much."

"Me too, Char."

"How cute. Isn't human love wonderful?"

Charlotte released Blaire, and they all turned to see five men and two women standing across from them near the side of the main building that faced the dorms.

"What do you think, Lee?" A woman on the far right sporting skinny jeans and an army green T-shirt looked at the man beside her dressed in baggy jeans and a red T-shirt.

"Only love that matters is yours, babe."

"Ain't he the best?" She smiled, and they shared a quick kiss.

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" the man in the middle said. He stepped forward. His sun-kissed brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that fell down his back. He wore light-wash jeans with a white T-shirt and a leather jacket similar to Lukas's and Noah's. Were they not hot? "Ignore those two. They just bonded, and we've been subjected to their fuckfest all week." He swiped a hand down his face. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."

Lukas glanced around. "How the hell did they get on campus?"

"What do you mean?" Blaire looked up at him. "Who are they?"

"Rogues."

"How do you know?"

Riley crossed her arms. "Who else would approach us in the middle of the night after their room got trashed?"

"I don't know. Students?" Blaire's voice faltered. It sounded like she didn't trust her own judgement.

A woman near the end laughed, drawing Charlotte's attention. It was the deputy from the police station when she reported her stalker—Madeline, if she remembered right. She knew something seemed weird about the officer. "Oh you delusional little human. I wouldn't be caught dead attending one of the clan's institutions."

Movement on the other side of Madeline caught her attention. It was the intimidating officer built like a mountain she met the day of the break-in. Brooks. She sure remembered his name. His catlike eyes now glowed an eerie shade of chartreuse and lingered on her.

These people weren't students. Not at all.

"What do you want?" Seth said, stepping in front of Riley to join Lukas and Aiden, who already stood blocking Blaire and Charlotte from the rogues in front of them.

The man with the ponytail pulled a handgun from the back of his jeans and pointed it at them. Aiden let out a strangled noise. "The blonde and the redhead. Give ‘em to us and we'll leave nice and peaceful-like." A couple of men behind him laughed.

"Seth, go get the security guys at the gates," Lukas said.

The man with the ponytail threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, now that won't do. I doubt they'd be much help. Not with being dead and all." This time, all the others laughed.

Charlotte looked around the empty courtyard. No one was around to help them. Her gaze darted to the dorms behind them. If they tried to call for help, would the guy shoot them? Did the others have guns? She didn't want to put other students in danger. Still, they needed help.

Following her gaze, the man with the ponytail waved his gun at her when she opened her mouth. "Don't get any ideas, Little Red. You'll be dead on the ground before anyone hears you. "

Madeline smirked. "Silly girl thinks someone can help them."

Charlotte's eyes moved to Aiden as fear that wasn't her own paralyzed her, distracting her from the taunts of the rogues. His hands shook at his side, his gaze focused on the gun in the man's hand.

She moved behind him, resting her hands against his back where the rogues couldn't see her. She didn't want to point out his fear for the rogues to see, but it felt like she was drowning in it. How he stood under the weight of that terror was beyond her.

"Why don't you go away!" Riley yelled from behind Seth, and he groaned.

A woman wearing army fatigue pants and a white tank top rolled her eyes and popped a gum bubble, swinging a baseball bat loosely at her side. She scratched her buzzed hair and mocked Riley's voice with a laugh, glancing at Madeline and Brooks to her left.

"While this is fun and all," the bearded man on her other side said. "Let's get this show on the road. I got cold beer waiting for me at home."

The man with the ponytail that Charlotte deduced was their leader hooked his thumb in their direction, and the others sprang into action, running toward the students.

Brooks went straight for Blaire, and Lukas intercepted him. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and grunts.

Seth slammed his fist into the face of the man with the beard. He dropped like a sack of bricks to the ground, surprising Charlotte with how weak he was. He hadn't looked very muscular, but she expected more of a non-human. The rogue lay on the ground clutching his face, groaning, and blubbering as blood poured through his fingers from what she suspected was a broken nose.

Lukas struggled against Brooks, trying to free himself from beneath the mountain of a man. He narrowly avoided having his hands and neck shredded by the sharp fangs gnashing in his face when Seth rushed over, using the momentum of his sprint to knock Brooks off Lukas, giving them the opportunity to tag team the man.

Riley grabbed Blaire's arm, pulling her away from everyone. The man with the ponytail focused his attention on them. He chased them toward the tree grove when they broke into a sprint across the front of the courtyard.

The mouthy Korrena pair and the woman with the buzzed hair corralled Aiden and Charlotte toward the side of the main building. Madeline joined them while Seth and Lukas fought behind them.

The male half of the Korrena mates didn't hesitate to go for Aiden, throwing a fist into his jaw, followed by a sucker punch to his gut. He grunted and doubled over before righting himself, a bruise blooming on his jawline. He snarled and lunged at the man when the woman with buzzed hair took advantage of Charlotte's distraction over Aiden's fight and sprang at her.

She screamed, turning and running in the only direction where rogues weren't in her path—the forest. She couldn't fight at all, but she was fast. Blaire used to force Charlotte to go running with her all the time. It nearly killed her, and she hated running, but she was faster than Blaire.

Madeline's voice called out, "Run away, Little Red! The big bad wolves are coming for you!" A chorus of howls and whooping laughter followed her declaration.

She wasn't used to the forest at night. She'd come out here several times since joining Blackthorn Academy when she thought her stalker was dead, but she avoided entering the forest at night. Bobcats, coyotes, rattlesnakes, and copperheads were some of the predators she had to worry about in the forest.

Tonight, she had a new predator to fear, and she was their prey .

The longer she ran, the more she worried she wouldn't find her way back. She no longer heard the pursuing rogues or the sounds of the fight she ran from.

Stopping to catch her breath, she placed her hand on the bark of a pine tree and bent at the waist, coughing.

The forest wasn't as dark as usual with the full moon overhead. It illuminated a clearing a few feet away from where she stood. A small group of fallen trees at the center blocked her view from the other side, casting eerie shadows.

Entering the clearing would put her on display and make her easy pickings.

"Charlotte!"

She staggered when Aiden bellowed her name. Before she could call back to him, she heard the sounds of crunching foliage drawing closer. She didn't know if it was Aiden or not.

Staying still would end in disaster; she had to take her chances by crossing the clearing.

As soon as she broke the tree line and progressed several feet into the open space, a man stepped out from behind the fallen trees. She screamed, and Aiden called her name again. He heard her. The man grinned at her with his teeth showing as several others joined him.

She called Aiden's name. The others called for her, too. They would find her. She knew it.

Her heart rate increased when Aiden yelled, "Keep making noise! I'll find you!"

The man tsked several times like scolding a child as she continued to call their names, telling them she was in the clearing. He moved closer, away from the shadows, and the moonlight caught the shock of red hair on his head.

Several feet to her left, her friends burst through the trees into the clearing. Noah and Dominic were with them. They rushed over, and Aiden enveloped her in his arms. Blood stained his arms and shirt. His lip looked busted, and drying blood crusted around his nostrils.

"I'm okay," he whispered when she touched his face. "Dom was showing Noah to their dorm since they'll be sharing so Dom can keep an eye on him. They showed up mid-fight. Security is handling it now."

That explained why the other rogues hadn't gotten to her and she didn't hear them anymore.

"Such a touching sight. So, you're my daughter's Korrena?"

She spun, and Aiden kept his arms locked around her from behind.

"I'm sorry," Riley said. "I think I just had a stroke. Did you say daughter?"

The man's gaze slid to Riley. "I did."

Lukas swiped the blood from his cheek.

"Charlotte doesn't have a dad," she said, crossing her arms. Riley didn't intimidate anyone standing there in a skirt with hot pink tulle underneath and a little T-shirt with a pink pixel heart on the front. She looked like a goth Care Bear. "Sperm-donor, sure. But you expect us to believe that's you?"

"I think I know my own child." He turned his attention to Charlotte.

She tried to step back but couldn't because of the wall of man behind her. He tightened his hold in reassurance.

Her father was Vasirian? How was that possible? The Oracle would have said if she wasn't human, so she knew he wouldn't have been a Vasirian at her birth. He would have needed to be reborn Vasirian. The only thing she knew for certain was turning humans went against Vasirian law and only Korrena pairs could do it. Did this man have a Korrena? Did that mean Blaire and Charlotte weren't the only humans with Korrenas?

"What do you want?" Aiden called out.

"My daughter, of course."

Seth stepped forward next to Charlotte and Aiden. "We're supposed to believe you're her father? What the hell are you doing with rogues?"

Lukas stood at her other side. "He's not a Vasirian," he said, glancing at Charlotte. "He shouldn't know about us. Shouldn't be with rogues."

Her eyes widened, and her gaze snapped to the man claiming to be her father. He smirked. There went the rebirth and Korrena theory.

"Well, when you run the biggest rogue cell in the Southeast, what do you expect? I know all about this world, and I have for over twenty years."

Lukas cursed.

"Of course, we weren't always in Georgia. Your area has smaller groups, not comparable to my empire." He held a fist in front of his mouth. "No, definitely not comparable. But absorbing them into mine proved easy enough."

"What are you talking about?" Riley snapped.

"After we heard about Blaire's place in the Vasirian world, I moved us from Florida. You see, we can't have her around ruining everything."

"She's saving us, you moron!"

The red-haired man glared at Riley.

"She is a plague." He looked at Charlotte again. "My sweet girl. You understand that I had to keep my identity from you, don't you? Before you knew of Vasirian, I had to stay away. I knew about you, though. When your mother died, I was heartbroken. I couldn't keep you. I couldn't stand the thought of raising you alone without her. A reminder of what I'd lost."

"You're disgusting!" Riley stepped forward, and Seth grabbed her around the waist. "Screw that guy. Let me go!" She stabbed a finger in the red-haired man's direction. "You expect us to believe you're her sperm-donor? Like that makes a difference! She doesn't know you! What gives you any claim to her?"

Blaire shook her head. "What kind of father abandons a baby like that?"

"Oh, come now. You children don't understand." He frowned as if sad.

Charlotte knew he wasn't. The man had no feelings. How could he be her father? It made her stomach sour.

"I went to Ireland on an assignment and met your mother. It was a whirlwind love, and you were conceived in only a few months. I was granted an extension on my visa to stay with her, and once you were born and she passed, I gave you to the orphanage."

"I don't care! Why are you here now?" Her eyes burned. She wanted answers for so long, but now that the man in front of her was telling her history with clinical detachment, she didn't want to know anymore. If he wasn't her father, he knew enough about her to know her birthplace and about the orphanage where her mothers adopted her from. But anyone could find that information if they dug deep enough.

"Oh, Charlotte, I love you. Don't you see? Now that you know about these monsters, you can come with me, and we can build a bigger empire. You can even bring your Korrena. He can join us." The deranged smile that crossed his face made her stomach knot and sour.

"Fuck that," Aiden said, his hands running over her arms. "You can take your empire and shove it. "

"You expect us to believe you run an entire organization with Vasirian at your beck and call?" Dominic crossed his arms. "You're human."

"Well, when you have the kind of money I have to grant someone unfettered access to any vice they desire, people tend to fall in line—Vasirian or human."

"Great. So he's rich," Riley grumbled.

"I still don't see how that matters," Charlotte said. "Aren't all of you rich?"

Dominic shook his head. "Not exactly. Those of us who follow the law and come from families who've been around a while have more assets than most, but rogues typically abandon their families to live a life away from the rest of our kind. They lose access to the things the Blackthorn Clan grant our kind and lose the support of their families." He looked at the red-haired man. "If a human has enough money at his disposal to provide a comfortable life, coupled with access to things they couldn't get easily—like drugs and weapons, it wouldn't be a stretch to believe he could manipulate them to do as he wanted."

"But they could easily overpower him. How the hell?"

Dominic looked at Riley. "If he dies, what happens to his assets? It's not like they have claim to any of it. His longevity benefits them."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Riley threw her arms up. "Idiots."

"Money and vices control even the most powerful men." The red-haired man shrugged. "Think of human government. How many of them are swayed by lucrative donations despite having the power to crush the ones who offer them riches?"

"Anyone else over the monologue?" Riley jutted her hip to the side, crossing her arms. "Blah blah blah, I'm so rich and powerful I manipulate people less fortunate to get what I want. Seriously. Can you be any more obvious? All you need is the thin mustache to twirl in your fingers and you'll have nailed the smarmy villain role."

The man glared at her.

Charlotte looked down at her feet.

This man didn't care about her. He only saw an opportunity to get to Blaire by appealing to a daughter's heart, thinking she would fall into his arms once he made contact. She wasn't an idiot. She knew better than to trust a man who abandoned her without a second thought— if he was even the man he claimed to be.

Using his underling's obsession and heartbreak against him to isolate her so when he made himself known she would come, having no one else to trust. That by knowing the supposed truth, she would trust him and help him get his hands on Blaire.

It sickened her to consider any additional reasons he had for his behavior. Why was he involved with the Vasirian if he was a human? What made him use his fortune to manipulate them? What did he gain from that?

What he didn't count on, though, was the trust she had of the people gathered around her. They accepted her and let her in. She was no longer alone. No longer the outcast. They were her family. Her mothers were her true parents.

"Come now. We can break that bond of yours if he's unwilling to join us." He didn't know they hadn't sealed their bond yet.

Aiden moved her behind him and stepped forward. "Father or not, I will kill you before I let you touch her."

The rogues at the man's side stepped forward, and he held up his hand. "Do not interfere. We have other things to deal with first." His gaze moved to Noah, who stood next to Lukas.

"As for you, traitor, you will die for your insubordination."

Noah narrowed his eyes. "Fuck you, James."

"Recognize my voice, do you? No matter. You'll be dead soon enough."

She looked at Noah. So the man claiming to be her father was James. The one who kept tormenting her after Brent died. The one who orchestrated everything might be her father. The idea of sharing DNA with someone so vile disgusted her.

"Leave him alone," she said. "Why are you doing this? This is my family. Leave them alone."

James sneered at her, dropping all pretenses of a loving father. "Oh, sweetie. You are as stupid as your mother was, it appears." Her eyes rounded. "Do you think these monsters care about you? That they would care about a species beneath them who isn't good for anything more than being a glorified blood bag for them to feast upon? You poor delusional girl."

The sudden one-eighty he took, belittling her and trying to put a rift between her and the people she loved, made her furious. They weren't monsters. They were more of a family to her than he ever had been. Her lower lip trembled as she held back the words she wanted to scream at him. Her nails dug into her thighs.

"I'm done with this family reunion. Take care of them," he said, turning to the rogues at his side. "Keep the blonde alive. Someone has a vested interest in her." He disappeared into the shadows of the trees piled in the center of the clearing again, returning to whatever hole he crawled out of, evidently done with trying to sway her to his cause.

When the rogues advanced, Seth, Lukas, and Aiden met them in the middle. The rogues outnumbered them. She looked around. Another rogue held Noah on the ground with gloved hands around his throat, snarling at him with fangs bared.

To her left, Riley clung to the back of another rogue like a monkey, tearing into their shoulder with her fangs. Maybe she was more intimidating than Charlotte thought .

Blaire screamed when a rogue lunged at her, and Dominic intercepted them, tackling the man to the ground in a flurry of fists and fangs as they bit and punched at each other.

Charlotte ran in her direction. "What do we do?"

"We can't run. There are still rogues on campus with security. If they catch us in the forest, we're dead. Watch out!"

She screamed when she turned around and a rogue came at her with a bar held above his head. Before the bar connected with her head, Noah crashed into him and tackled him to the ground, snapping his neck.

When he staggered to his feet, he caught Aiden's eye. They froze, staring at one another, both panting from their fights. Aiden nodded and turned back to the battle as Noah moved to join him; the shared moment of acceptance was over.

Riley screamed, grabbing Charlotte's and Blaire's attention. They looked in the direction she did.

A rogue slammed a baseball bat into Seth's stomach while another tackled him to the ground and grabbed his face, attempting to get his hands around Seth's throat to snap his neck.

Riley cleared the distance to Seth, flinging herself at the rogue's back, sending them both over Seth's body. They rolled, and the rogue ended up on top of her. She shrieked, her eyes blazing a glacial blue as she clawed the guy's face until he recoiled, giving her the opportunity to throw his weight off her and mount him. She bent and sank her teeth into his throat, ripping out his jugular.

"Holy crap," Charlotte said in awe.

"Riley adores Seth," Blaire said, watching Riley get up and rush to Seth, who looked worse for wear, fussing over him while Dominic dispatched the rogue with the bat. "If I could, I would do the same for Lukas. "

Charlotte remembered Blaire had the power to turn her love into a weapon. Not with teeth, but with a blade. She took on a rogue for killing Aiden, leaving little doubt she would do the same for Lukas.

When an arm banded over her shoulders, and a hand grabbed her arm, Charlotte screamed. Someone had ambushed them from behind.

Blaire turned. "Charlotte, no!"

Aiden and Noah turned at the sound of her name.

She felt the cold press of the barrel of a gun at her temple and her blood froze in her veins. Her eyes flew to Aiden's, worried about what the sight did to him. He stood stock still, eyes wide and trained on the gun.

This couldn't be happening.

Noah came toward them, and the rogue holding her from behind shouted at him.

"Stay the fuck back!" said the man with the ponytail. She recognized his voice. "Now, you!" He pointed the gun at Blaire. "Come with me or she dies." The barrel pressed against her head again.

Aiden snarled, and she looked over at him. His eyes glowed, reminding her of a green pit viper. He pushed past Noah and ran toward them, teeth bared, fangs descended. Another rogue intercepted him, and they hurtled toward the ground, colliding with Charlotte and the man holding her.

Quickly righting himself, ponytail-man snatched her from the ground. His eyes darted all around, but he couldn't find his gun. "Oh well, we'll get better acquainted this way, then." He opened his mouth, and she watched in horror as his canines lengthened.

Blaire called out her name and ran at them, crashing into her and dragging both her and the rogue to the ground again.

Blinking away the dazed feeling after her head smacked against a log, Charlotte focused on the body hovering over her, straddling her lap. It felt too light to be the rogue. She squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them to find a blurry veil of unmistakable blonde hair hanging over her.

"You'll always be my sister," Blaire said, panting, shielding Charlotte with shaking arms braced on each side of her head.

Before Charlotte could get her wits about her to respond, the rogue with the ponytail ripped Blaire away from her.

Her focus returned in time to scream as the rogue sank his fangs into Blaire's throat.