against her hip.
“Come,” I demanded, drilling my fingers harder and harder
into her slit. When she didn’t, I told her again, “Come.” I clamped
down on her shoulder with my fangs and her pussy spasmed around
my fingers, soaking my palm.
“Ginger,” she sobbed, rolling her head against her forearm.
“Ginger, God.”
“I’m not done with you yet,” I said, licking at the small dimples
I made in her skin. “On the floor, my Mila.”
Camila vanished through my fingers. I spun around to find her
stretched out on the floor, smirking in the darkness at the shock on
my face.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you.” I fell back to my knees and
pulled her pussy flush to mine, throwing her leg over my shoulder.
“Just doing what my queen told me to do,” she moaned as
I rolled my thumb over her clit. I ground my hips in a punishing
motion, rewarding myself with a violent shudder. Camila’s fingers
pinched at my nipples, pulling me closer. I leaned over her, riding
her as hard as I could into the floor, shocked at how suddenly my
orgasm tackled me.
I couldn’t keep in the loud, roaring growl that tore from my
chest. The sound pushed Camila over. She trembled beneath me,
gripping my sides to anchor herself to the floor. I knew she was
ready for more, but I rolled off her, my sensible self wanting to
check in with her lover before things went any further.
Her eyes fluttered open as I licked her shoulder. I just had to
kiss her now that I was thinking somewhat straight. “You okay?” I
murmured into her mouth.
“Of course, baby. I’m fine.” She wrapped an arm around my
waist and gently trailed her fingertips up and down my back. I
snuggled closer to her body, kissing and licking the scent of her
• 328 •
Better Off red
sweetness off her chest. “We should have done this in Tokyo’s
room.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Would have been nice to break some of her shit.”
“Oh, sorry.” I laughed, feeling more myself.
“Don’t be. The ashtray cost me five bucks, and when was the
last time you saw me drinking tea?”
“I don’t know what came over me.” I sat up and looked into her
eyes. “Will it always be like that, now that I’m queen or whatever?”
“Only if you want it to be, baby.” I thought about it for a little
while as I listened to Camila’s gentle breathing. Taking control was
fun, a major turn-on, letting the demon in me be the animal it needed
to be from time to time, but I didn’t need more change. Sexual
assault, temporary paralysis, and a shift to a different physical
species was enough for one night.
I kissed her one more time, guiding her hand between my legs.
“Let’s take turns.”
Camila agreed, pushing her fingers inside me.
❖
A while later, Camila put on a continuous loop of the slow
tempo techno jams we’d made love to and I’d fallen asleep to so
many times since we’d met. We climbed in bed, cuddling close on
either side of Samantha and Benny.
I slipped my arm around Sam’s waist and Camila gently
stroked Benny’s hair. I thought of the times she’d done that to me
and wondered how many more times she’d touched me that way as
I slept. It was such a sweet gesture, cute even to watch. Sam kicked
my shin, taking unconscious advantage of my distraction. I pinned
her legs between mine, just hoping she’d clobbered Greg a good one
during the nights she’d spent with him. I glanced back up as Camila
snickered, picking up on my thought.
She never yawned, but she blinked heavily for a moment and
confessed she hadn’t slept much since Cleo’s accident. She didn’t
argue when I asked her ever so affectionately to take a nap. I lay
• 329 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
beside them for a long time, watching the three of them sleep,
wondering how I would pass the hours now, what I would do until I
heard from Dalhem.
❖
Monday was the longest day of my entire life. I had to see it
as a first day. My first full day with my true na’suul. My first day as
queen of this weird but perfect family. The first day I could actually
boss Cleo around, but as exciting as all of those things sounded, the
hours dragged.
We sent Benny and Samantha off for breakfast and some last
minute cramming, then we went into the office. Camila hacked into
the Maryland DMV and had them send me a new driver’s license.
She changed my age to twenty-five. Then she ordered herself a new
ID. It had been almost ten years since her last name change. I didn’t
complain. Camila Carmichael had a certain ring to it.
Then Camila gave me a guided tour to my new queendom. She
had access to part of this mysterious database of vampire-demons
Benny had mentioned to me. Dalhem had the names of every vampire
and feeder in North America. I had access to all the vampires who
fed on former members of ABO as well as a general list of all the
vampires and feeders that resided in Maryland and the states that
bordered, anyone who would accidentally stumble upon one of my
girls. I had the names of every sister-queen and brother-king in every
chapter and could call upon them whenever I needed to.
She went through the inner workings of the house. Florencia’s
kids—children I had no clue she had—owned every service we
used, from catering to cleaning. They had their own schedule that
worked so smoothly I never noticed their coming and going in all
the hours I’d spent below ground. If I had any requests, which of
course I didn’t, I could go to Florencia herself. Two of her sons were
Faeth’s backup feeders. Her daughter fed Moreland. I decided to
leave that one alone.
There were other tidbits like the fact there was a house the
Alpha chapter owned in St. Martin that operated as a safe place
• 330 •
Better Off red
for the girls to stay during spring break. It was supposed to be a
surprise for us new girls next semester. I playfully pouted, whining
to Camila that I wanted to go. She scowled back, reminding me that
after dark we could go wherever the hell we wanted.
She lifted my hand, gently twisting my wedding ring, and
generously offered to let me take part in all her personally owned
business ventures. I told her I’d have to get back to her. I had no idea
what I wanted to do now, and I figured it was best to get a hang of
the whole queen thing before I started taking on part ownership in
tattoo shops and hotels. Plus, I had some Japanese to learn.
She gave me Dalhem’s phone number and Benny’s mother’s,
just in case. That brought our joking and teasing up short. I just
wanted to know what was going on with my parents. Tuesday
morning couldn’t come soon enough.
With exactly twenty-four hours left till I heard from Dalhem,
I opened the door to Amy. She was a me
ss, tap dancing, sobbing
like a fool in the hallway. After I got her to stop crying and yelling,
“Oh, Ginger,” she agreed to grab a few things from our room that
my parents would never notice missing, my letterman’s sweater and
pair of flip-flops I’d spent all summer breaking in.
It eventually sunk in that I wasn’t actually dead, and she asked
me what my official story of death was going to be. I’d admitted I
didn’t know, but assured her I’d work Greg in there somehow as
the villain. Danni came by to get Amy for her econ final. She just
hugged me, thank God. She dragged Amy with her dramatic good-
byes out the door, skipping all the crying and theatrics.
I went back to the office with Camila. Just as I sank back in her
lap, I got a text message from Mom. She wanted to know if Camila
and I had made up and if I was okay. She also wanted to know if
I’d picked up my birthday presents from the university post office.
I kissed away the pained look on Camila’s face as she read the text
over my shoulder, then I deleted it. I texted Amy and asked her to
go to the P.O. to find out how long they kept packages before they
returned them to sender.
After a few deep breaths, Camila explained to me the importance
of subtle behavior around humans.
• 331 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“People only remember a passing pretty face for a few minutes,
a day at best, but they remember if you do something, say something,
that stays in their mind. Always be forgettable, Red,” she said.
“Although that won’t be easy.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll just shift into Cleo if I ever feel like making
a scene.”
A few hours later, Natasha showed up with my two additional
feeders. Paige and Anna-Jade. They’d volunteered as soon as
they’d heard the news. Barb hadn’t called a chapter meeting. I felt
terrible for taking two feeders from Natasha, but she didn’t seem
bothered by it at all. She and Rodrick shared several feeders outside
the house, and she could still see the girls every day. She hushed
my buts and what-ifs and released Anna-Jade to me before I could
argue anymore. I thanked her before she disappeared, promising her
I would take care of Anna-Jade and Sam just as well as she had. She
winked at me and told me she knew I’d do much better.
Before I accepted Paige, she turned to Camila.
“You’re not angry, are you—that I’m leaving you?”
“No. Ginger’s my wife. I’m willing to share.”
“Oh,” Paige said, shocked. “So I still can’t sleep with her?”
Camila barked out in laughter, tossing her head back. “I release
you, Paige Charlotte Plummer. Serve this sister-queen as you would
serve the master himself. As you would serve me.”
I accepted the little horndog’s vow, shaking my head as I
grabbed her hand and sliced a cut, nice and deep. She didn’t even
flinch. I sealed the bonding wound, licking the blood away, and
somehow I should have known that out of all my feeders, Paige’s
blood would be the most potent aphrodisiac. I was very happy
with Anna-Jade and Paige. I kissed and held them both, a little
embarrassed at how sad the thought of them leaving for the three
weeks after finals made me.
They headed off to class just as Rodrick appeared at the door. He
had a letter from Greg’s father, apologizing for Greg’s “unfortunate”
behavior. I told him I’d read it later, but thanked him sincerely for
everything he had done. He and Pax had already returned the body
to Greg’s family, who had planned to officially report Greg’s death
• 332 •
Better Off red
as a suicide early next semester. They’d work me in however I
decided—as soon as I heard from Dalhem.
Samantha was still a little out of it when she came back from
the newspaper office that night. I had Cleo bring Andrew by and we
ordered some pizza for them. Andrew was just so calm and gentle,
it was impossible not to like him. He didn’t hesitate to tell Sam
how Greg had acted with him. Knowing Greg had been that cruel
with more than just her helped Samantha relax a lot, but the comfort
wasn’t enough to keep her from spending the night in our bed.
❖
I thought it would be best to take the quick bullet from Dalhem
and get on with my day. I invited Cleo to bring Andrew over for a
nice breakfast with Samantha in our apartment. Florencia felt a little
bad about all the dying and families breaking up, so she whipped up
some pancakes for us. I had no desire to eat at all until we lifted the
lid off the five short stacks and the mountain of bacon she sent down.
I was good to go after one pancake, but I still groaned pathetically as
I ate it. Butter and syrup had never tasted so good.
After Samantha left to take her algebra exam, Camila turned
to Cleo.
“I have to apologize,” she said.
“Why?” Cleo asked as she reclined against Andrew’s chest.
“I should have asked you before it became a matter of your life
hanging in the balance.” Camila glanced at me and I took her hand. “I
should have asked all the girls. And we will, from now on. We should
know what you all want the very first night of initiation. It would have
killed me to let you go, but it was your choice and I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too. I have been a complete shit head, but I
understand why you did it,” Cleo said. I didn’t miss the gentle way
her hand moved up Andrew’s thigh. “I still want to see my mama,
but I’m sorry for being an asshole to you.” Then she turned to me.
“I’m sorry I dragged you though any part of it too, my Queen.”
“It’s okay. I think I put myself in it. Tomorrow, with Camila’s
• 333 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
agreement. We’d all been so caught up in my accident and my
transition that the trip Cleo had been promised was nearly skipped
over. “No,” Cleo replied. “They know I love them. I have to move on.”
“You’re sure?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Apologies accepted, Cleo and Andrew said they
wanted to hang around until I got the call. Faeth showed up to join
in the wait. And then Tokyo dropped in. And Omi. We fought the
awkward moments, filling silences with stupid stories, hatching
ridiculous plans for the rest of my life. I liked Cleo’s idea that we
start a rumor I’d run off to join the circus. Camila played along for
a while, joking that I would love a career in hotel management, but
slowly she grew more and more quiet the closer it got to eleven
a.m. Still, when I looked at her, she was sure to smile. I kissed her
gently, every time reminding her it was the two of us, no matter
what, forever.
Eleven o’clock, eleven oh five, eleven thirty came and went.
By eleven forty-five, I’d considered whether Dalhem himself would
come and break the news to me.
At noon, I took a moment and silently said good-by
e to Todd,
my mom, and my dad, knowing they would do much more than
survive without me.
I glanced over at Camila once my prayer was over. I’d managed
to keep it together, but her eyes were gleaming.
“Just let it go, okay?” I said hoarsely.
“Okay, Red,” she murmured back, swallowing her tears.
I took one more kiss from my Mila, then let out a hopeful sigh.
“Do you know what Seamus does for Caana?” I asked.
“He’s her bounty hunter.”
“Seriously?” Tokyo asked, her eyes lighting up a little too
much.“Yes. That’s why he’s so hard to find. He goes off the grid when
he’s working and Caana doesn’t give him much time off. Dalhem
had him summoned the moment you were changed,” Camila said.
“Well, maybe I’ll text him or something. I want to talk to him
some more.”
• 334 •
Better Off red
“About this Seamus…Is he fit?” Faeth asked with all the
subtlety of a bull.
“Did you just ask me if my uncle was hot?” I scowled back at
her. “No, she asked if he was fit,” Cleo mocked.
“He looks like Red, just a foot and a half taller with a beard,”
Camila replied.
“I can work with that,” Tokyo said, flashing her fangs.
“You are not fucking my uncle.”
“Why?”
Suddenly, my cell phone jumped on the coffee table. Cleo
grabbed it and tossed it to me. I snatched it out of the air, snarling
when I saw the name on the display.
“Yes, Amy.”
“Omigod, Ginger. What happened? Did they call?”
“No, they didn’t. They—”
The call waiting beeped. I pulled my phone away from my ear.
Incoming Call: Alfredo Carmichael. Home
“Amy. I have to go.”
“Ginger, wait.”
“It’s my mom! I have to go.”
I hung up on her and switched to the other line, trying to hold
down my small breakfast.
“Mom?”
“No, Ginge. It’s me,” Dad said. “…Linda, I will. Sorry, your
mother is trying to talk through my head…Linda, I’ll ask her…
Sorry. How you doing, sport?”
I looked over at Camila, completely confused about what to
say. She just shrugged, the same shocked look on her face. “I-I’m
fine. Um, are you and Mom…”
“We’re fine. Linda…Okay. Hold on. Your mom has to speak
with you immediately.” There was a space filled with some