As soon as the name was brought up, I noticed that each of the men grimaced, as if they were talking about something unpleasant. The name was not familiar to me at all.
“Who’s Jared?” I asked, glancing between the four guys. It took a while before Danny finally turned to me and answered.
“He’s… not someone you want to mess with. Think of him as like the mafia boss of vampires.”
“If he’s so dangerous why should we go to him for help?” I asked, confused.
“Because he’s powerful. He knows about everything that goes on in the vampire world, and so there is a good chance that he will know what is after you.” Damian answered. I nodded, I supposed that made sense, yet the thought still scared me.
“Wouldn’t we be intruding or something?” I was pretty sure a man as powerful as he was made out to be wouldn’t want five strangers showing up on his doorstep. Really I was just thinking of excuses to stay, I hadn’t even met the man yet but already he intimidated the hell out of me.
“Of course not, Jared’s actually expecting us to visit him soon.” Damian said, and Aaron’s head snapped in his direction.
“What?” he asked, his voice coming out strained.
“Did you not get the note, little bro? Jared wants us to come see him within the next century. He said it was time for another family reunion.” What did Damian mean by that? I was getting more and more confused by the second.
“I guess he won’t mind a surprise Christmas visit then.” Aaron said, his mouth set in a tight line.
“Will you please tell me who Jared is now?” I asked Aaron, now that we had settled on the plane. None of them had answered any of my questions as we had packed our bags or driven to the airport. I figured now, sitting squished between Aaron and Damian, would finally be a good time to get some answers.
“Danny already explained that to you.” Aaron mumbled, trying to avoid the conversation. Again.
“He kind of did. But I know there is more than you are telling me to this. What did Damian mean by ‘family reunion’?” He sighed and rolled his head to face me, clearly giving up.
“Jared is our father.” Aaron said simply. I nearly choked from surprise, earning me a scoff from Damian. I elbowed him in the side, but even with my increased strength it still hurt me more than him. I ignored the pain and turned back to the conversation.
“Your father?” I asked, glancing between the two brothers. “But you told me your father had drunk himself to death.” I recalled, remembering the intense conversation Aaron and I had shared in bed.
“You sure have told her a lot about our history, brother.” Damian observed, a hint of annoyance evident in his eyes. Neither Aaron or I acknowledged him.
“He’s not our father in that sense.” He paused, as if thinking how to explain. “He’s the one that turned us.” Understanding overcame me, and I realized that Aaron had meant father in the vampire sense.
“After Aaron and I were changed and left our family, we had no one to turn to except Jared. We tracked him down and he gladly took us in. We stayed with him for about fifty years, and during that time he taught us what it meant to be a vampire and all that went with it. We left to go our own ways though, and we only barely keep in touch with him now.” I was surprised at Damian’s story, fifty years was a long time to live with someone.
“But why do you guys seem so… reluctant to go see him?” I asked.
“Well, you’ll see when you meet him I suppose. He’s really not all that bad.” Aaron gave me a reassuring smile, but changed the subject nonetheless. “How are you feeling, Haven?”
“I’m fine.” I said, confused. “Why do you ask?”
“Just transforming can be hard at first. You seem to be taking it fine though. Just let one of us know as soon as you get thirsty, we can’t risk something bad happening by waiting too long.” I shuddered at the thought of accidently eating someone. It was weird to think that I was a vampire now. That I would have to drink bloodto survive. That I would live forever. Knowing that fact would be so much harder to handle if I didn’t have Danny, Aaron or Ryan with me. Hell, I even had Damian. So much had changed in so little time, only a few months ago Damian was our biggest problem, and now we were all going vacationing together. Life can be pretty damn ironic sometimes.
“You know, Damian,” I said, turning to the elder brother. “You really have turned yourself around since I first met you.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you saw the dead flight attendant in the cargo room.” He said smiling, and I felt my jaw drop. I hoped to God that he was kidding.
“This place is a lot like Cali. Only wetter.” I said as I observed Florida through the limo windows. The state was beautiful, tropical and sunny. We had only been in the car about twenty minutes since landing at Key West International Airport. “Where does Jared live again?”
“He has a house in the keys, it’s pretty secluded. We should be there in about a half an hour.” Aaron said, smiling at me. I gave him an anxious smile in return. Now that I had learned the truth about Jared, I was a little less scared about meeting him. In fact, I was pretty excited to meet the man who had ‘raised’ Aaron and Damian. As we drove on I noticed how the houses seemed to get further and further apart, and muchbigger. The driver made a sharp turn onto a side street, and we followed the road until we came to a large gate. A security guard stood next to it, and from what I could tell, he wasn’t human, but he stood too far away to see. I couldn’t recognize his scent, it was woodsy and almost had a hint of pine in it.
“Werewolf.” Ryan leaned over to whisper in my ear and I felt my jaw drop. Werewolves were real? I really didn’t know why I was surprised, I should have seen enough by now not to be.
“You can drop us off here.” Damian said, leaning toward the driver and passing him a wad of cash. We all got out and unloaded the small amount of possessions we brought before watching the limo drive away. There was no turning back now.
“Aaron? Is that you?” The guard said, once we were close enough to see each other properly. He was not what I would expect a werewolf to look like. He was older, maybe in his mid to late forties and had long light blond hair that he tied in a pony tail at his neck. Aaron and him clasped arms and he smiled, revealing a mouthful of pointed teeth. I tried not to shudder.
“Hello Raze. It’s been awhile.” Aaron said back, with a sincere smile on his face. They looked like they knew each other well. Damian and Raze greeted one another and then the werewolf turned to us.
“And who is this?” Raze asked, inclining his head to Danny, Ryan and I.
“Friends. Family. Is Jared in?” Aaron answered for us.
“He just got back about an hour ago actually, I’m sure he will be very pleased to see you.” Raze observed. The brothers said their farewell to the guard and we followed them up the steep driveway. When the house finally came into view, my jaw dropped. It was beautiful. And big. Very big. It was modern, painted white and had a cubic-look to it.
“Why does Jared have a werewolf working for him?” I asked no one in particular, while we were still out of hearing distance from the house.
“Jared has many types of people working for him. He’s powerful remember?” Danny answered. I nodded, suddenly afraid of what all could be living in that house. I had nothing to be worried about, I reminded myself, I was a vampire now. I could stand my own ground. We finally made it to the front door, and before any of us could knock it swung open to reveal the man I assumed to be Jared.
