CHAPTER TWO
“Congratulations, Miss Thomason. You can start working with us tomorrow. We are happy to make you part of our team.”
It was the best news she’d received all day, and Eva Thomason did her best to smile at her new boss and appear the happiest hired person on the planet. It wasn’t that hard to do, but she wasn’t exactly in the best of moods right now.
A month ago came the news of her brother dying on a mission, and she’d been grieving since then. The letter was a smack to the face about how they had drifted apart, considering how different they were from each other—he being the vampire he was, bitten so young and dedicating his life to the clan since, and she…well, she was born a fox shifter but hadn’t really developed the ability to shift, so to speak.
In short, she was nobody.
They used to be really close when they were kids, and even as teenagers. It was those memories that triggered her usually emotionless defense to crumble, and Eva found herself crying into her pillow on the second day of finding out the news. Then she picked herself up and didn’t let herself cry for the rest of the days, keeping it bottled up inside her and doing her best to be strong regarding the matter. She needed to earn money, and she needed to build her defenses back up.
She needed to protect the kids Michael left behind.
Eva shook hands with her new boss, paying attention as the middle-aged woman named Sara Jones gave her a general tour of the bakery she was going to be working in. It wasn’t a big-time bakery, but it was one of those in their town that was picking up in popularity, particularly because of the creative way they presented their stuff—rose-shaped breads, pumpkin-chocolate pies served with edible glitter, and the like. When the baker had moved to another state after getting married, Eva had seen it as an opportunity to apply, and the results pleased her.
When the tour was done, Sara gave her a list of the menu they usually put out, something that Eva was already familiar with. She then told Eva to take hold of her own creativity and incorporate it into their delicacies, as the owner was planning to announce a new line and setup, anyway. Eva took that as her chance to shine, and for the first time in a long while, she found herself getting excited at the prospect of finally working at something she loved. She used to write freelance, but that hadn’t panned out well, considering her heart was into baking and cooking more than anything else.
“Is there anyone who will be babysitting your niece and nephew when you go to work? I’m sorry to hear about your brother, by the way.”
Eva shook her head. “Thank you. Peter and Ana are capable of taking care of themselves. Plus it’s summer, so they’ll just be playing around in the house. They’re well-behaved children.”
Actually, they were too well-behaved—something that puzzled Eva at first until she realized that it was how they were raised. Michael had done his best to be there for them, but the life of a vampire had consumed his every waking moment. It left the kids alone to fend for themselves or be taken care of by nannies, which Michael seemed to have a lot of money to pay for. The irresponsibility and organization of it all angered Eva, helping in cutting off the grief for a little bit.
But it didn’t cut it off completely, especially when she learned that her brother had left his inheritance to the three of them upon his death—a pretty huge amount that would set the kids for life and give them the education and free will to do what they wanted.
After finalizing everything with Sara, Eva went somewhere for a little bit before heading home immediately, where she called out for the kids. Her house was an old home that she used to rent until she had enough money to buy it, which she did six months ago and has started renovating since. The paint was brand new, and she’d just had the floor refinished and polished. She still had a long way to go, but she liked how the Victorian-style two-story house was faring up.
Her nephew, Peter, came almost instantly to the foyer at her calling, a smile pasted on his face. Eva softened, giving him a smile in return. He’d always been the cheerful one, taking positivity to the next level even at the tender age of ten.
“Hi!” he exclaimed. “How was your day?”
“It was fantastic,” Eva said. “Where’s your sister?”
“Here,” a female voice called out.
Ana appeared immediately, as quiet as a mouse. She was the older of the two at twelve, and generally the broodier. The girl almost never smiled, and even after one month of living with them, Eva wasn’t quite sure if it was because of her father’s death or just her personality in general.
They both looked at her expectantly. Without further ado, Eva held out the package she had in her hand, one she acquired from the hospital—an illegal acquiring, not that it mattered. Her friend there could be trusted to keep her secret.
“I got you guys some blood for dinner. Shall we eat together?” she asked. Normally, Eva didn’t really like the sight and smell of blood, but she wanted to show a kinship and make them feel that they were welcome, no matter what.
Dinner was a quiet affair, with Peter doing most of the talking and Eva responding as best as she could. They all had steak while the kids had their blood in huge mugs, and the way they sipped almost daintily told Eva that this had been instilled in them, too. She watched the two blond heads, amazed that within those bright, pretty looks were the instincts of a vampire—half-vampires, yes, but vampires all the same. They didn’t act like those bloodthirsty creatures she often heard about in their supernatural world, and she supposed she had to give credit to Michael for that, too. When dinner was done, the kids quietly filed away from the dining room, with Ana asking permission for the two of them to go out and explore the forest in the back. Eva hesitated at first, but reluctantly nodded, knowing she couldn’t stop them if they wanted to get a suck on some rabbit’s blood.
It was always about the hunt with predators, and it looked like mug blood just wouldn’t be enough. Maybe she just had to learn how to deal with it.
Eva washed dishes. She cleaned up the house. It wasn’t until almost an hour in that she felt it—a prickling at the back of her neck, indicating that there was a presence outside that wasn’t Ana or Peter…and not entirely friendly. She almost dropped the cloth she was using to polish the kitchen tiles to run to the back, but forced herself to be calm as she called for them. It took only seconds before the two slipped out of the forest and calmly walked to the backyard, no sight of blood on them. But Eva smelled the squirrel and knew exactly what they feasted on.
“It’s late. Come on in and get yourselves ready for bed.”
They got in without question, obviously not picking up on the presence like she did. She could feel it getting closer now, and did her best to remain unaffected as she watched the kids trudge up the stairs and disappear into their designated bedroom. She then locked up the doors, something that wasn’t really necessary considering her house was protected by a spell from a witch—the same witch who’d helped her out with the hospital blood. No one could enter unless they were invited in.
Of course, not all spells were foolproof, and her witch friend wasn’t exactly the most powerful in the lot. Deciding that she needed to do more, Eva waited until the upstairs was dead quiet before she went to her own room and opened the hidden compartment inside her closet. She got out one of her guns: a shotgun. Knowing it would tear out the chest of any creature she pointed it at.
Eva went back downstairs and sat on the couch, her back ramrod straight. She removed the lock on the gun and aimed it at the door and the windows within her vision, where whatever was lurking outside was bound to try entering first. She hadn’t felt anyone stalking her property since she came to this town years ago, so the explanation was simple—they must be after the kids.
While she hadn’t been close to Michael in the end, she did make a promise that she would keep them safe.
And so she would.