1. Family is complicated

1

FAMILY IS COMPLICATED

W ith great trepidation, I slip into my four inch heels. My tennis shoes are waiting for me on the floor of the passenger side for after work. I slip my purse over my body and grab the two cardboard drink carriers full of coffee, bumping my car door shut with my hip. As I make my way from the parking garage to the elevator—the elevator because there is no way I'm taking three flights of stairs in these heels—I take small steps. Not because I'm worried about tripping in these heels, which I am, but because my pencil skirt only allows for small movements.

Stupid uniform.

Okay, it's not really a ‘uniform.' It's a dress code. One that nobody else has a problem following. Likely because none of the other girls are forced to wear four inch heels.

When the elevator doors open and I step inside, a guy about my age wrinkles his nose as he looks me over from head to toe. It's a reaction that I'm used to.

"Can you hit four for me, please?" I ask.

He pushes the button, not uttering a word to me.

Great—apparently being a hybrid is now considered a contagious disease.

A hybrid, that's me. At least, that is all others see about me.

The elevator doors slide open, so I exit as quickly as I can, wanting to get away from the snobby incubus in the elevator.

" Princess Madeline," the secretary sneers at me as I make my way to my desk.

"Deborah." I force myself to smile as I nod at her. I stop at my desk long enough to put away my purse, grab my bag with my laptop inside, and then head to the meeting room. I put down my computer before passing out beverages.

I am, for the most part, ignored as I pass out the coffee. I know from years of experience that the drinks won't be acknowledged unless they're wrong. I try not to take their attitudes to heart. This is, after all, what I'm paid for.

"Are we sure the hybrid should be here for this meeting?" Henry asks, his nose tilted in the air as he looks my way.

Henry acts like he's oh so important, but we both know I'm further up the line of succession than he is—a fact that he can't stand.

King Bennett doesn't bother looking up from his papers as he responds, "Henry, are you volunteering to take over Madeline's position?"

Henry snorts.

No, of course not. None of my cousins would ever want to do my job. They'd have to work if they did that, something they haven't done a day in their life.

Henry is, unfortunately, my cousin. I have a lot of cousins. My mom is the second born of ten children. And every single one of my cousins works for my grandfather, King Bennett, though not all of them are at this meeting today.

I ignore Henry and pull out my laptop, getting ready to take notes.

I don't participate in the meetings. I have no vote and no say in anything that takes place. But I am good at making notes for my grandfather to review later.

"Come on, Henry," Violet scolds him. "You know Madeline is too ugly to get hired anywhere else. We have to take pity on our homely cousin."

Short. Unattractive. Utterly pathetic. You'd never guess that I'm half succubus. Somehow the looks and the charm completely skipped over me.

My cousin Violet is everything a succubus should be. She's tall, standing at nearly six feet without heels, and has a body that could make a supermodel cry with jealousy. She's gorgeous with her dark auburn hair, olive toned skin, and long, dark eyelashes.

"Don't scowl, Madeline," Olivia says. "You're much more attractive when you smile. Besides, you know Henry and Violet don't mean it. They love you."

"Yes, we love you." Violet smiles widely at me. "It's not your fault that you're ugly."

Even though she is only teasing, it still sends a sharp pain through my chest.

I wish I could quit this job and do something different. It might do me some good to get away from my family, but what else can I do? I'm only twenty three and this is the only job I've ever had. It's not like I could put my job as an assistant to the incubus king on a human job application.

I open my laptop, getting ready to take notes. I don't respond to my cousins' comments because it's not worth the effort.

In truth, I don't think that I'm ‘ugly.' At least not to the degree that my cousins chide me. Whenever I am in the human world, I am often asked out on dates. But, in the world of the incubi and succubi, I'm not attractive. Too bad this is the world I live in.

The other half of me, I don't like to think about. I know that I have a father, but he never wanted anything to do with me. As long as I can remember, it's always been my mom and me. It's not worth acknowledging the other half of my DNA.

I try to hide a yawn as my grandfather starts the meeting. One of my cousins notices and shoots me a glare.

No matter how much I wish I could ignore half of my DNA, it's moments like this that I can't.

Mornings are difficult for me. Even coming to a ten o'clock meeting is torture. No matter how hard I try to train to become a morning person, I simply can't. I never go to sleep before the sun rises every morning. And I know it's because I'm half vampire.

Vampires may not burn in the sunlight, but the legends of them only coming out at night are partially true. They're nocturnal, making their sleep schedules backward from the rest of the world.

Why couldn't I be half anything else besides a vampire? Better yet, why do I have to be a hybrid at all? My life would've been so much easier if my mother had fallen in love with an incubus and started a family with him. Instead, my mother had a fling with a vampire that resulted in me. Only my father couldn't bother to stick around to see me grow up.

It's too late to be bitter about it now. I'm an adult and it's not like my father is going to come around now and teach me what it's like to be a vampire. This is my life and the sooner I accept it, the better off things will be.

So, here I am, taking notes for my grandfather. Even if I am a princess, it's not like I'll ever be a queen. Not since my mother's older brother is the heir, and he has ten children of his own.

I listen to my cousins give their opinions and wish for once that somebody would ask for my opinion. I have a lot of great ideas—things that I think could help the succubi and incubi communities. What would they do if I just started talking? Likely, they'd kick me out of the meeting and I'd be out of a job. My grandfather loves me, in his way, but I'm still a hybrid.

Resigned to my fate, I type away, letting my thoughts get lost in the monotony of it.

Once the meeting is over, my cousins line up to give me their order for lunch. I try not to let my frustration show. This is my job. On days when there are meetings, I have to order food for all of them. But it's like they purposefully make my job harder by requesting ridiculous things.

Sophia stops in front of me, looking down at me with narrowed dark brown eyes. "I've never noticed how short you are." Her eyes keep looking down and they widen as she looks at my heels. "Oh, wow. You're wearing very tall heels. Those do not look comfortable."

I can't help but grin. "They're not comfortable."

Sophia is one of my nicer cousins.

Truthfully, I'm not that short. I'm 5'5". But considering every single family member of mine is at least five inches taller, I am short compared to them.

Henry nudges Sophia out of the way to give me his order and goes out of his way to call me ‘Hybrid' like it's a derogatory slur no less than four times in the span of a thirty second conversation. As soon as he leaves, Sophia gives me a sad smile.

"He's in a mood today," she comments.

I sigh. "Yes, it's so hard to be rich, royal, and attractive." I frown, hating even to call Henry ‘attractive.' He's an incubus, of course he's attractive, but his personality makes him ugly.

She laughs. "Oh, Madeline, you have a wonderful sense of humor."

"She needs a sense of humor to make up for her appearance." Violet comes up beside Sophia, wrinkling her nose as she looks at me. "I could give you the number for my hairdresser—some highlights would help. And, trust me, you need all the help you can get." She pauses, a scowl on her face as she studies me. "Though nothing can help your face. I've heard humans can do plastic surgery. Maybe you should look into that."

Sophia elbows Violet in the side. "Come, Violet, we both know you're just upset because Eric dumped you."

Ah, I did wonder. Violet isn't usually so moody.

Eric is, or I guess was, Violet's boyfriend. They've dated for four years and everybody assumed they'd get married one day.

"I'll order some macarons from that bakery you like," I offer Violet, trying not to take her words to heart.

We're family and family is… complicated. Especially since my family is full of succubi and incubi. Our species tends to be… arrogant. Fortunately—or unfortunately—the other half of my DNA is cynical and far less beautiful.

Violet's eyes light up. "The pink ones that I like, please. You're an angel, Madeline."

Sophia links arms with Violet and pulls her away from me. I sigh in relief once everybody has gone to their own offices. Deborah, the secretary, glances my way only long enough to glare before looking back at her computer screen.

I sigh.

Four more hours and then I can go home.

A few hours later, I make my way up the stairs to my apartment.

"Maybe you should put yourself out there. Try dating somebody."

I hold my phone to my ear with my shoulder while I attempt to carry my groceries in one hand and unlock my door with the other.

"Mom, I'm a hybrid. Nobody is interested in dating me." I finally get my key in the hole and push open the door to my apartment.

"Because you don't put yourself out there," Mom scolds. "Nobody says you need to date an incubus."

I grit my teeth as I put my groceries on the kitchen island. "If you tell me to date a vampire, I will block your number for a week."

I love my mother, don't get me wrong. It's been just her and I for as long as I can remember. But because I'm all she had, she thinks it's her mission in life to see that I'm happy. And happy for her means I'm married with a kid on the way. Never mind the fact that she never got married herself.

"Maybe you should adopt," I muse. "I'm sure there are plenty of supernatural children who need a mother."

"You are more than enough for me," Mom says.

"I don't want to date anybody right now," I tell Mom, trying to be firm. "I have enough pressure already with work."

"A job that you don't need."

I begin to put away my groceries. "Yes, but one that I want. It makes me feel useful. I don't want to be a layabout like half of my cousins."

Mom snorts. "Even the ones who work with Father are layabouts."

She's not wrong, but I don't give her the satisfaction of agreeing with her. "You worked with him at my age."

"You're right. That is how I met your father," she says. "If there is any business with vampires, your grandfather will send you. Who better to be an ambassador than you? And maybe you'll meet a nice boy."

"I'm hanging up," I warn.

She sighs. "Fine. Goodbye, Madeline."

"Goodbye, Mom."

The call comes to an end and I slip my phone onto the counter. I rub my face with my hands, wondering if my mom is right. Maybe I do need to quit my job—it would certainly make all of my cousins happy. As for the boyfriend thing… my mom is going to be waiting a long time for that one.

A few hours later, after I cook dinner, do dishes, and grab a quick shower, I curl up on my living room couch with a good book. It's just after midnight, but I'm wide awake. Thanks to the vampire side of me, I've always enjoyed the nighttime. It's so peaceful and quiet. The rest of the world is asleep and it's just… me. That's why, when there is a knock on my door, I jump and accidentally throw my book onto the floor. I push myself up, wondering who would come to visit me at this hour.

I peek through the hole, seeing a man standing on the other side. I don't recognize him, but I can tell that he's supernatural. I hesitantly open the door. I'm about to ask the guy what he wants when I get a good look at him.

The guy stands about six inches taller than me. But it's not his height that has me looking. It's his eyes—they're the same shade of blue as mine. And when I look closer, I notice his hair is the same shade of blond as mine. We look… so similar.

Could this guy…

I cut off the question in my head.

Nope. No. We're not going there.

I clear my throat. "Can I help you?"

"Madeline?" he asks.

I nod. "Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Christian Scott. Your father."