Nik's POV
"Is that Tammy bitch coming to the gathering in a few days?" Poppy asks.
"Yeah, she's required to go. All vampires are required." Wyatt tells her.
"We have to find her and speak to her before she comes. She still hasn't been confronted about Brexley or Poppy."
Wyatt nods in agreement.
"Brexley? Isn't that Zoey's old best friend, from the group home?" Poppy links together in confusion.
"They were best friends?" Wyatt looks back at her shocked.
She told us they weren't that close.
"Well yeah. She was the only person who was nice to her from what I understand. Zoey said she left the group home at eighteen since they kick you out. She's a few years older. When Brexley left, they lost all contact."
Anger bubbles inside me. Why the fuck would she lie to us?
I turn the car, making it go towards Tammy's house. The tires screech across the road, leaving skid marks in its tracks.
"What the fuck dude!" Poppy exclaims as she holds onto her door handle.
"He's pissed, don't make eye contact." Wyatt tells her jokingly.
I notice Poppy look down at her lap, avoiding my daring gaze.
Wyatt isn't wrong, looking me in the eye while I'm angry...my brain connects that as a challenge. It brings out the monster in me quicker.
"Nik?" Poppy asks after a while.
I look up at her through my mirror, signaling for her to continue.
"What about my boyfriend? Can I see him?"
I sigh. Normal humans shouldn't have an idea that vampires exist, it could cause utter anarchy, mass fear, or even create more hunters for us to deal with.
"No." I say bluntly, just ripping off the band-aid.
I hear her sigh as I make a left turn into Tammy's driveway.
"What if I promise not to eat him?" She persists.
"No, Poppy. It's too risky. Let's go." I shut it down quickly to not get her hopes up.
I notice her attitude as she slams my car door and walks with her arms crossed on her chest.
"Nik? Hey! How a-" Tammy freezes mid sentence, noticing Poppy.
I guess she heard us pull up.
"Tammy." I tilt my head, greeting her.
An awkward silence washes over us as we stand outside Tammy's house. It's small but modern, looks to maybe be a two bedroom home.
"We have a lot to talk about." I state, hoping to scare her a little.
Tammy nods, walking towards her door to invite us in.
She scrunches her nose as Poppy walks by, but that may be because she's jealous that she's with us.
"So," Wyatt says as we sit at the table, "care to explain why you're creating newborns."
Tammy's shoulders touch her ears, tension drawing from her back.
"What?" She asks, seeming honestly confused.
"You turned Poppy." I state bluntly.
Her eyebrows scrunch together, "why the hell would I do that? I know the rules on newborns."
I glance over at Poppy scratching her neck with pursed lips.
Maybe bringing her here was a mistake. Newborns emotions are heightened along with everything else.
"Where were you the night the restaurant burned down?" Wyatt asks her.
She scoffs, "I was working, like everyone else."
"Lying to the face of her king should earn her the death penalty." Poppy snarls.
Tammy quickly stands from her seat, dashing towards Poppy. Her fingers grip around Poppy's neck, giving her little room to breathe.
"Listen here little bitch. I may be an asshole, but I'm not stupid. I don't know who turned you, but it sure as hell wasn't me." Tammy spits.
"Claws off, Tammy." Wyatt intervenes.
It's as if Tammy's brain flips a switch. She pulls the chair she's flipped onto the floor and sits her ass where it should be.
"Brexley Napper. Ever heard of her?" I ask.
She takes a moment to think, "not even once." She says, holding eye contact.
"Come on, she's obviously lying!" Poppy complains.
I know how Tammy looks when she lies, she blinks too much while telling a fib. She's not lying.
"Tammy, we are going to search your house." I inform.
She groans, "fine. Whatever." She rolls her eyes.
"Poppy, go wait in the car." I order.
She looks at me then back at the woman she loathes.
"You don't really believe her, do you? She did this to me!" Poppy grows increasingly more angry.
That's why I want you in the car.
"Wyatt." I state, knowing he will already know what to do.
I step away, looking under the table and chairs as I hear Poppy struggle against Wyatt's hold.
"I see that her emotions are still high." Tammy comments slyly taking a knock.
"You bet your ass!" Poppy yells from outside the front door that Wyatt forced her out of.
I chuckle, "I guess her hearing is beginning to come in too."
I search all over her home, every drawer, table, cabinet, appliance, hell, even the insides of all her shoes. Nothing.
"What on earth are you looking for? If it's a good time, just ask." Tammy flirts.
My eyes roll. I already have the best. No way I'm downgrading.
"A hex." I sigh, resulting in nothing.
"Wait." Tammy holds up a finger, rushing into her bathroom. "Two nights in a row, I woke up in my uniform...soaked in blood."
I quizzically look at the dirty black uniform in her hands.
"With no memory of anything happening?" I ask, taking the uniform out of her hand.
"Not a clue. I didn't really think much of it the first time, I thought maybe I cut myself on something at work and it healed," she sighs, "but the second time, that couldn't have been a coincidence."
What the fuck.
"Why didn't you come to the mansion?" My voice gruffs.
"I was scared, Nik. I never been through something like this and I didn't want you to think I was crazy."
I reach into the left side pocket. A lump draws my attention quicker to finding what's inside.
"I knew it." I whisper.
"What? What is it?"
I hold a small brown bag the size of a bottle cap in front of her face, "a hex."
Tammy gasps, taking the bag into her hand, "what the fucking fuck. What do I do?"
Get the fuck out of dodge.
"Stay out of sight until the annual gathering, once we are there, this will be addressed. We will see if any others have been going through this."
She nods, "okay, I know I can be a bitch...but I hope you know, I wouldn't purposely do something that causes your job to be harder than it already is."
I smile, "I better get going, you have my number if you need me."
For once, an interaction with Tammy wasn't all about her flirting or her trying to jump my bones, it was a mostly a normal conversation.
Once getting back to the car, I see Poppy gulping blood from a blood bag.
"Good?" Wyatt asks.
The whole way home I explain what's going on. Poppy's anger for Tammy is clouding her judgement on the situation. She refuses to believe that a hex would drive Tammy to do what she's done, but I've been alive for much longer, I know what hex's can do.
"So, now we have to find the witch that hexed Tammy and why they seem to be targeting Zoey's loved ones."Wyatt pieces together.
"Indeed. It has to wait until after the annual gathering though. I need to see if anyone else is experiencing this before we move forward."
Poppy coughs in the back seat, choking on the blood that she's gulped down too fast.
"Damn, blood going down the wrong pipe is just as bad as I remember water being." She continues to cough as we pull up to the house.
I laugh at Poppy's statement as we get out of the car and get inside.
As soon as we walk through the door, the smell of something strongly familiar stops me in my tracks.
No, they're early.
Thank you all for reading! Please remember to vote, comment, and follow!