Charlotte After Dark

Chapter 40: Punching Bag

Author's Note: OK, so today I seriously knocked this chapter out of the park. This was supposed to be a part of the last chapter, but I just couldn't get things going.

Please let me know what you thought about the chapter! I love hearing from you guys. Also, Charlotte After Dark made it to the NUMBER 12 SPOT on the Vampire List. How awesome is that? Maybe one day it'll be in the #1 spot (a girl can dream :)) Anyway, enjoy!

***

I laid back into my bed after surviving grueling hours under Valentina's instruction on the various vampire families. Although three had almost been completely separate from their bloodline, four still remained intact: the Corentines, the Apollonaires, the Katarines, and Erasmine. Dates and names swirled around in my head, accompanied with the nagging voice of Valentina as she spoke poorly of the other bloodlines. Metradoa, notably had been the most recent casualty of Nyx's original children, having been killed in the Blood Rebellion of the Nineteenth century, and was the subject of most of Valentina's disdain.

Most notably, Valentina seemed to skim over Erasmus' heavy involvement in the Blood Rebellion as well as Metradoa's death. She so confidently explained what she called the sanguarchy of the vampire world—a world where your worthiness was depending solely on your bloodline. I had come to realize that I was entering a world I was only beginning to understand, and for once, was lucky with the straw I had drawn.

Quite possibly, the history lesson was the only bearable portion of the entire evening, even with Valentina's small view of the world in relation to our family.

Our family, I repeated the words to myself. Valentina treated me like an unwanted stepchild, chiding and punishing me for even the smallest indiscretions. Thankfully, I was free of her reach the next evening. The next evening I would see Abel, and all things would be like they were before Luca found me, and before Gwendolen's revealed betrayal.

I couldn't believe I had caught myself uttering the words, our family. Perhaps there was more to this than I thought. As my thoughts refused to stop interrupting my dire need to sleep, I let them drift off to happier thoughts. To time with Audra, Cormac, or even Andrew. I had let my anger subside and was feeling warmer towards Cormac than I had in the past few days; perhaps it would have been more importune to let him explain his side.

He had never treated me horribly in my time with him, and seemed genuinely concerned when I left. What I really wanted to know, more than anything, was what Gwendolen had offered him in exchange for keeping me around, protecting me all that time. What could have been so dear to Cormac that he would have partnered with Gwendolen so easily, knowing her plans, whatever they were? They couldn't get good, if she was forced to make plans with people in order to get them to help her.

Sleep came easily as I remember the positive times in my short time at the penthouse. Surely, I had come to miss it more than anything as I let the darkness of the unfamiliar room surround me before drifting off to sleep.

***

"You're already more excited than I have ever seen you," Joaquin said, lacking amusement. He seemed less thrilled with carting me to Abel's warehouse than I was to be escaping the house. He stood beside a sleek black car, ready to open the door for me as I bound down the steps of Luca's large house, my footsteps echoing around us with each step I took on the stone steps.