Moonless Night

Chapter 12

  "Is that you, Little Miss?"

  My eyes involuntarily widened in shock as I recognized the soft velvet voice. The same voice from that day six years ago.

  "You know her?" The Seventh questioned, incredulous. "How in the world do you know her?"

  The beautiful man with long golden hair completely ignored him. He stared at me expressionlessly, the only emotion showing in his bright amber and hazel eyes.

  I stared back at him in shock and disbelief. The man I met on that night six years ago was a Kuran? And he just happened to look like an exact copy of the Seventh, excluding his golden hair and apparent liking to white clothing. Were they related? Was that why my awareness for them was so similar? Is it even possible for creatures like them to have siblings? Why didn't Aliss tell me about him?

  "I didn't know you were coming home," the Seventh said casually with a light voice. "You've been gone for the past five years. I was beginning to think you'd never come back."

  The golden haired man laughed, mirroring the Seventh's tone as much as he mirrored his looks. "Oh, that? Don't mind that. It was...an extended vacation."

  "Right," the Seventh said, dragging out the word slightly, sounding skeptical even to me. "And where exactly was that vacation of yours?"

  As they continued their rather casual yet anything but conversation, I used the opportunity to glance at the rest of the Kuran family.

  Sometime during the exchange between the lookalikes, Kaspian had drifted over to Aliss' side, and he wore a dark gray suit that matched his brooding looks. Across the room by over the top decorations, Serena stood wearing scarlet red cocktail dress that hugged her amazing curves. Beside her was Ezekiel in a black suit that showed off his muscles nicely. Then, I looked to their parents.

  Their adoptive mother, Elizabeth Kuran, had long light brown hair that flowed around her waist. She smiled brightly as she caught my gaze and it looked perfect in her smooth black dress. Her teeth were whiter than the pearls settled on her chest and I instinctively smiled back. She radiated a motherly vibe even my own mother didn't have. My eyes slid to her husband.

  Myles Kuran was probably the third most gorgeous man in the Kuran family, after the Seventh and that man. Like that man, he had bright golden that made me feel like blinking. His smile reflected the brightness but it was tender and fatherly at the same time.

  I liked them instantly. There smiles were welcoming and warm, something I hadn't thought would happen. And I could see their gazes contained concern as well, leading me to believe they were aware of the incident involving Leance Simmons. Well, Aliss did say Dr. Kuran was the doctor Leance was in the care of.

  "Will you two stop," Aliss interrupted the men I had tuned out. "This is about her."

  "That's right," the man said, smiling easily. "It's her birthday, correct?"

  "Yes," she answered. "I want to introduce her to you all." Aliss took my hand and pulled me towards her family. "As you already know, this is Serena and Ezekiel."

  I smiled shyly, trying to ignore my thoughts of the unfortunate events of the past few weeks. "Hello."

  Serena smiled beautifully, her white teeth contradicting with her red lips. "Hi."

  Ezekiel grinned. "Yo."

  Aliss moved me along quickly. "And these are the amazing Kuran parents, Myles and Elizabeth."

  "It's nice to meet you." Myles said, holding out a hand cautiously.

  I took it without hesitation and didn't shiver as I felt its coldness. I was already used to the cold. "It's nice to meet you, too."