The Blood-Book III

Chapter 16: Snakes Part I

They screwed with the wrong female.

"Charlie girl, just stay where you are. Do not move, we're coming girl. Just hold–"

My attention was tore away from Levi, because there was a laugh. A light chuckle that only made me angrier. It was followed by another crunch, but still, I held my ground.

"I told you it was true, brother."

Melinda.

I snapped around to see the red head walk forward. She pulled her hood down to reveal her green eyes looking me over in amusement while her red hair flowed behind her as if it were waves of fire. "Melinda?"

"It's Aurelia actually," she corrected.

I wanted to ask more questions but I knew that it was not the time for that. I needed to find Ethan and the others; the closer the red head dressed in black tights, black booties, and a long sleeve light cotton gray t-shirt got to me, the more I realized that we had made a grave mistake by trusting her.

My beast flashed her teeth at the witch, only making her chuckle some more. "You are Hadrian's daughter." She smiled sweetly at me and cocked her head. "Oh, I know all about that. Hayden and I both do, cousin."

I shook my head in disbelief and took a step to the side right as another figure caught my eye. A male. He walked out from the moonlight with a mess of dark hair and stormy blue eyes like mine. He was well built and littered with scars, but on the inside of his forearm was a tattoo of the rebels symbol–a circle with an X and seven dots in the middle of it.

It was him.

He was the one Ethan and I had seen before. The one Thomas had talked to in the tree after they killed them.

I rumbled lowly as a warning to him, but he just cracked an amused smile. Melinda–or Aurelia–or whatever the fuck her name was just waved me off. "Charlotte, I don't think you met my brother Hayden before?"

"I haven't had the pleasure," I replied lowly.

He shook his head then wiggle his finger back and forth at me. "Tsk tsk, is that any way to treat your family?"

"Family?"

"Hayden, she doesn't know that yet," Aurelia said while she looked over the rock.

"I thought you said Hadrian showed her?"

"Yes, but not that," she quickly corrected before she turned to me. "Sorry, I may or may not have been eaves dropping on your time with my uncle–I mean your father."

I felt like I was going to puke.

Aurelia just smiled and shrugged. "Hadrian was always so self-righteous. Too bad Dominic killed him."

"The troops are ready and our men are in place," Hayden said. "How much more time do you need?"

"Not long," she replied. "Do you still have sweet Dommy?"

"Course," Hayden said with a twisted smile.

Aurelia licked her bottom lip then looked back at the rock. "Well, I will need him, bring him here."

"What about her?" he asked while flickering his eyes to me.

I snarled at him, letting my blood lash out like a whip which seemed to make his eyes widen in shock. Aurelia looked at me then back to her brother. "If she's anything like Hadrian, then I suggest you leave her be–leave her to me. She has King blood and I won't have our line further destroyed."

He clenched his jaw slightly then nodded. "Fine. Anything else?"

"No just bring Dominic, my witches should be here soon."