Swear (My Blood Approves #5) Read online

  “Your hair looks nice,” I said, motioning to it.

  She normally wore her light brown hair in waves that cascaded past her shoulders, but now it was cut into a stylish pixie. It was lovely, but it made her look smaller and more vulnerable, but also lighter, almost airier than before. As if a weight had been lifted off her.

  “You like it?” she asked hopefully. “I needed a change.”

  Every time I spoke to Mae since we’d left Minnesota, that what she’s said. She needs a change or she’s making a change or it’s time for a change. She’s clinging to the hope that if she alters the exact right combination of things, she’ll be happy again.

  But the shroud of depression that had descended upon her wasn’t something that she could easily shake. The loss of her children – the ones she had that she never got to raise, the ones she could never have since becoming a vampire, and the tragic, complicated death of her great-granddaughter – had left her with a hole in her heart that nothing could seem to fill.

  “Milo and Bobby are in the living room,” I said, gesturing toward the rest of the apartment behind me. With Milo’s level of anxiety, he could definitely use Mae’s mothering, and it would give her some place to get all those urges out.

  Mae smiled at me, looking grateful. “I’ll see if they need my help.”

  “Where’s Jack?” Ezra asked.

  “He’s down at the comic book shop, but he’ll be home in time for the rehearsal tonight.”

  Jack still worked part time with Ezra, managing stocks and doing behind the scenes work in some international corporations. That was how we could afford a large apartment in the heart of Amsterdam. But most of the things Jack worked on could be done online, so he no longer had to travel all the time.

  That left him with a huge opening in his schedule. He saw me and Bobby going after our ambitions, and Milo had followed his dream of becoming an award-winning chef. So, Jack decided to pursue something he loved, and he opened a comic book shop.

  “I’m glad that’s working out for him.” Ezra nodded, looking impressed. “I’ll have to check that out while we’re in town.”

  “Yeah, I know he would love to show you around,” I said. “Are you and Mae staying at a hotel nearby?

  Ezra nodded. “It’s a nice place. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it for the next few days.”

  “Is it just the two of you?” I asked as casually as I could.

  “For now. Peter should be getting in late tonight or early tomorrow. He’s assured me that he won’t miss the wedding, but you know how Peter can be.”

  The last time I had seen Peter had been a year and a half ago at the house that he shared with Ezra and Mae in London. We’d been celebrating Christmas all together, and it had been a rather nice holiday with nothing dramatic or unhappy transpiring. But a few weeks later, he’d taken off, deciding that he needed to travel the world again and see what’s changed.

  As far as I know, he hadn’t been back to London, and none of us had seen him since then. Ezra still talked to him on the phone from time-to-time, and Jack messaged him quite a bit. But otherwise Peter was off the grid, running around on his own adventures.

  Before Peter had gone off on his solo escapades, he and Jack had actually begun working on repairing their relationship. They’d gone away together on a ski weekend in the Alps, and Peter had helped Jack pick out and renovate the storefront that became the comic book shop.

  That was one of the reasons that made Peter’s most recent disappearing act harder than the last few ones. At first, Jack took it personally, but eventually, through multiple texts and a few Skype sessions, they managed to get back on the semi-solid ground that they’d rebuilt.

  “Are you keeping yourself occupied back in England?” I asked Ezra, deftly changing the subject away from the somewhat-uncomfortable topic of Peter.

  “The renovations at Brunhamme Manor are keeping both Mae and I fairly busy.” As Ezra spoke, going into detail about each project he’d successfully tackled, his smile deepened with pride.

  Last fall, when Mae once again decided that she needed another change, they’d bought a dilapidated old manor alongside the River Thames. It had suffered some damage during WWII, then was left to rot in disrepair. In the past century, the acreage had changed hands several times, with each owner set on fixing problems that eventually became insurmountable.

  So now Ezra and Mae were trying their hand at it. The updates we got made it sound like everything was going well, and honestly, Mae looked better than I had seen her in quite some time. Restoring a piece of history seemed to be good for both of them.

  I remembered once when I was talking to Ezra about how one goes about filling the time when you have all of eternity. He’d told me to learn to cherish the moments I was in, but most importantly, that I must find something to live for. That I had to discover my own purpose.

  A wonderful sense of contentment settle over me when I realized that we all had found a purpose. Something that we loved that we could put our heart into. Ezra and Mae with the manor, Jack with his store, Milo with his restaurant, and Bobby and I with our hunting.

  But then my heart twisted when I realized that wasn’t exactly true. I mean, all of us had found something to live for. All of us, except for Peter.

  THE BOTANICAL GARDEN WAS IN full bloom, with bright blossoms of white and blue scenting the air. Milo and Bobby had chosen the far rose garden, in late afternoon just before the sun set to get married. Before the ceremony were pictures, and just as they had commenced, a light rain began to fall.

  I’d expected Milo to freak out about it, but the rain added a beautiful, magical touch to the day (not to mention that the overcast skies kept the vampire induced sun-exhaustion at bay). He’d actually become surprisingly calm once he’d gotten dressed, and when we gathered under an awning of roses, he smiled serenely at Bobby.

  They wore matching muted gray suits, though Bobby wore the jacket with his while Milo just wore the white shirt and vest. Milo had a bow-tie in light blue – Blue Frost, apparently – and Bobby had a long skinny tie. They complimented each other perfectly, in every way, and I don’t think I’d ever seen either of them look happier.

  “I just can’t get over how handsome you look today,” our mother, Anna, gushed from where she stood off to the side, waiting for the family portraits to start, and our father, Leif, stood beside her, holding a large umbrella.

  After the two of them had finally reunited, Mom and Leif had eloped, and then she’d chosen to become a vampire herself. The transformation sat amazingly well with her. Her dark hair was still as wild as ever, but her skin had softened, the bags under her large eyes had disappeared, but most importantly, there was a tranquil happiness that settled over her.

  For years, Mom had coped with Leif abandoning us by drinking and gambling too much and working overtime to pay the bills and avoid the pain of a home without him. But since Leif had returned, she smiled more easily, laughed more freely, and just generally seemed more at ease.

  Leif had only returned to my life almost six years ago, so I don’t know much of what he was like before reuniting with my mom. I knew he had lived a wild life, as in he lived in the woods with a pack of rabid vampires for years. But now he had cleaned up, brushed his hair, put on shoes, and looked like a regular member of society.

  Since he’d been a vampire long before I was born, he still looked like he was only in his twenties, which sometimes made things feel awkward. Not to mention the fact that he’d been absent for all of my formative years. Milo had taken to calling him, “Dad,” but I don’t think I would ever really feel comfortable with it.

  When the photographer finally called for family to join the picture, Mom rushed over to Milo, her flowy blue pantsuit swirling around her.

  “Oh, this is so wonderful,” she enthused, wrapping her arm around Milo. “You’re so handsome and so grown up. I’m so happy for you both.”

  She couldn’t seem to help herself, so she leaned up and kissed Milo on
the cheek with a loud smack, leaving dark pink lipstick on his skin.

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” She laughed as she wiped it away with a handkerchief.

  “It’s okay, Mom,” he said with a laugh.

  “What about you, Bobby?” Mom asked, glancing around when she noticed that it was only me, her, and Leif joining Milo and Bobby under the awning. “Where’s your family?”

  “My brother couldn’t make it today,” Bobby replied shortly and tried to hide the hurt in his eyes.

  Years ago, his father had left, and his mother had died, so the only family he had left was an older brother. He’d spent months trying to convince him to come to the wedding, but unfortunately, it had been to no avail.

  “Well, we are your family now, so you’ve got plenty here,” Mom assured Bobby just before the photographer snapped the picture.

  After a few different shots of varying poses with the five us, Milo motioned to where Ezra, Mae, and Jack were standing off to the side, watching the festivities unfold.

  “Come on,” Milo said, with one arm around Bobby and the other around our mom. “One with the whole family.”

  Jack ran over, looping his arms around my waist, but Mae hesitated, glancing up at Ezra. I wasn’t sure if her ambivalence was because she didn’t want to impose or if it was because Peter hadn’t yet arrived, so it wouldn’t really be all of us in the picture.

  “Oy!” Mom shouted, waving them over. “We’re all one big happy family now, and we ought to take a picture to commemorate it. Now get on over here.”

  “If that’s as you wish.” Mae sounded uncertain, but she smiled as she joined us under the awning.

  “There’s a lot of you, so you’re all gonna have to squeeze in,” the photographer told us.

  It’s a funny thing, when I thought about it. Before meeting Jack, it had felt like just me and Milo against the world. But now I had so much family, we could barely all fit in one picture. Mae had warned me that turning into a vampire meant I would give up many things, leaving my family behind and being unable to have children.

  But the truth was that since I’d become a vampire, all the love in my life just kept multiplying.

  I STOOD WITH JACK, HIDING around the corner, fidgeting with the hem of my Blue Frost summer dress. He wore a dark gray suit, since he was Milo’s Best Man while I was Bobby’s Best Woman.

  The rain had let up, but the sky was still overcast. With the setting sun and lights strung everywhere, it gave the garden an enchanted glow that only added to the magic and romance of the day.

  Right at the end of the aisle, next to a rosebush, was a large sign proclaiming the day’s union.

  “If I haven’t told you yet today, you look beautiful,” Jack said, his voice low so all the guests waiting in the seats around the corner wouldn’t hear us.

  I smiled up at him. “And you look pretty foxy yourself.”

  His soft blue eyes sparkled as he smiled. His sandy blond hair seemed to be in a continuous state of disheveledness, but somehow, it always worked for him. And when he put on a suit, like the one he wore today, he could pass for a GQ model.

  “Don’t I always?” Jack asked with a light laugh that sent delicious tingles surging through me.

  A pianist played something by Debussy before deftly switching to a tasteful cover of Sigur Rós’s “Hoppípolla,” but I was too enamored by Jack’s smile to notice it right away.

  “That’s your cue,” Milo whispered behind me. I mouthed sorry to him, but he just waved me off with a reassuring smile.

  Jack held out his arm for me. “Shall we?”

  I took his arm, unable to hold back my wide smile, as I rounded the corner with the love of my life. Bobby was waiting there, his lips twisting into an excited grin, so Milo could meet him, and they would walk down the aisle together.

  Rose petals were sprinkled down the aisle runner, and as Jack and I walked together, I was acutely aware of everyone’s eyes on us. Bobby and Milo hadn’t invited that many guests, but almost everybody that really mattered to us was here.

  Coworkers, both vampiric ones on Bobby’s side and unsuspecting humans on Milo’s. Even Olivia had flown in from Minnesota, and she sat in the third row – wearing all black, of course.

  But as we reached the alter, I couldn’t help but notice the empty seat next to Ezra and Mae. Peter still hadn’t shown up, and I felt a pang in my stomach. A seed of worry had been planted when he hadn’t arrived yesterday with Ezra and Mae, and it only continued to grow the longer he went without making an appearance.

  Even after all this time, and everything we’d been through, I couldn’t help but worry about Peter. I never regretted choosing Jack, and I’d been unimaginably happy with him over the years. But all I really wanted was for Peter to have the same thing – to be as happy as we were.

  The music swelled, and the guests rose to their feet as Milo and Bobby took each other’s hands at the end of the aisle. I pushed any thoughts of Peter out of my head. Now wasn’t a time to worry – I should be happy, celebrating the union of my brother and my best friend.

  And I was. As soon as I saw the glow on Milo and Bobby’s faces, I couldn’t feel anything but happiness and love.

  The ceremony began smoothly, with the officiant thanking everyone for coming. When it was time for their vows, Bobby had written his own, and with trembling hands, he pulled note cards out of his pocket.

  “You know I’m not super good with words or anything,” Bobby said with a nervous laugh. “So I thought I’d write it all down, and hope it came out better this way.”

  As he began reading, I felt a warmth glowing inside me – like a brilliant ball of bright white light and love and joy filling me up. It burrowed deep inside me, flowing through my veins and mixing with the marrow in my bones until I felt nothing but wonderful.

  I looked over at Jack standing on the other side of Bobby, and I realized it was coming from him. Ever since I’d met him, we’d always had this strange connection where he could push his emotions onto me, and I could feel whatever he felt.

  Since I’d become a vampire, that had lessened some, but there were still times – like right now – when he felt so amazing he simply couldn’t contain it. As Bobby finished reading his vows, I was surprised to find happy tears welling in my eyes.

  THE CLOUDS HAD FINALLY CLEARED, leaving a starry night sky twinkling above the dancefloor. While a band played covers of pop songs from the last several decades, Jack and Bobby had commanded most of the attention as they danced off to “Truly Madly Deeply.”

  Milo sat at a nearby table with a bemused smile on his face, with our mother and Mae. I watched Jack and Bobby for a few minutes, laughing and applauding, but then I spied Olivia on the far side of the dancefloor, standing by the hors d’oeuvres, with a flute of merlot-colored blood.

  She was eyeing up one of Milo’s coworkers with a hungry look in her eyes, and I decided to intercede before she got any ideas.

  “Of course, you would wear black to a wedding,” I commented with a smirk, and she laughed before taking a long sip of her drink.

  Her long black hair was up in a loose bun, and a few tendrils had come free, perfectly framing her face. While Olivia never spoke much of her human life, based on her appearance, I guessed she had to have been in her forties when she turned, though the transformation kept her looking like a very stunning woman for her age – or really any age.

  She had sharp, refined features, with porcelain skin, and her wide blue eyes usually had a hazy quality to them, since she often drank so much blood it left her in a constant state of near-intoxication.

  “It’s a lovely dress, though, isn’t it?” Olivia gestured to the flowing chiffon and lace, and I realized that this might be the first time I saw her forgoing leather.

  “It really is,” I agreed. “When Milo invited you, I wasn’t sure if you were going to come all the way out here.”

  She looked at me from under her long lashes, and the subtle smile on her lips had a wistful qu
ality to it. “I haven’t seen you all in ages. Of course I had to come and find out how you were.”

  “I’m doing well. Everything’s going amazing here.” I gestured to where Jack and Bobby appeared to be having the time of their lives doing a horrible rendition of breakdancing. “How is it back in the States?”

  “Violet’s gotten everything under control at V,” Olivia explained with a shrug. “I have to thank you for introducing me to her. After this, I’m going on an extended trip, travelling to all my old haunts in Europe. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a proper vacation.”

  “I’m happy to hear that Violet is working out so well for you.”

  “Me too. How is your job?” She appraised me more seriously, narrowing her eyes. “You’re still alive, so I’m assuming it’s not too bad.”

  Olivia had been the one that trained me to be a vampire hunter. She’d been one herself, until she retired half a century ago, and ended up opening a vampire club in Minneapolis, which is how I’d met her.

  “I’m enjoying it, as much as you can enjoy that sorta thing,” I said.

  “I thought I saw Ettie Lefèvre around here.” She turned her attention out to the crowd, scanning it until she spotted Ettie on the other side of the dance floor, dancing with Abner Driscoll, both of them channeling 1950s Hollywood glam to the nth degree.

  Ettie was tall and slender, with an understated elegance about her, that belied what a tremendous bad ass vampire hunter she was. Her black hair was cropped just above her scalp, and the gold of her dress popped wonderfully against the satiny dark brown of her skin.

  “Yeah, she’s my boss,” I said.

  Olivia nodded in approval. “I worked with her years ago. She’s wonderful. You’re in good hands. Of course, it’s not as nice as it would be if you were in mine, but….”