[kiasusam]

I tensed, but every head shifted to look at the newcomer. Halina sauntered into our midst, the sun having set while we were talking. The entrance to her lair was actually in the living room with us, hidden as a closet, but no one had noticed her opening the door, too engrossed in Tracey’s latest suggestion. They all gaped at her, both at her sudden appearance, and her startling similarity to Alanna…and Teren. And her outfit probably didn’t hurt either, at least for Ben’s stares. She was wearing a form fitting, long-sleeved dress that stopped just below her ass. It was horribly provocative and nothing appropriate for ranch wear…and completely Halina.

Hot Ben’s eyes drifted down to her long, snow-white exposed legs and I thought that he’d get smacked if Tracey was paying more attention. She wasn’t though. Her eyes were drifting between Halina and Teren, trying to figure out the familial connection.

Teren stood and gave her a swift hug, happy to see his great-grandmother, but needing to look as if he was only greeting his step-mother’s younger sister. Ah, the never-ending charade.

“Guys, this is Alanna’s little sister, Halina.” Teren grinned widely, barely suppressing a laugh, and I could instantly see why. Behind his back, where only I could see it, Halina pinched his thigh, hard. On a human, it probably would have incapacitated him. The oldest woman in the house apparently did not like being referred to as the “little” sister.

Hot Ben instantly stood and extended a hand to her. That got Tracey’s attention, and her eyes pulled away from Halina to glare at him. As he had a stupid ‘wow, you’re hot’ look on his face, I thought they may have more than one uncomfortable conversation this weekend.

Halina smiled at him crookedly, obviously enjoying his reaction to her. And I suppose it would be even more apparent to her. Since she was one hundred percent vampire, she had the most acute senses of all of them. And she enjoyed men. She enjoyed their attentions, just as much as she enjoyed terrifying them. As she listened to his…blood flow increasing, while shaking his hand and purring his name back to him, I could only imagine how satisfied she was with that.

“A pleasure,” she drawled out, her eyes dragging over his body.

Tracey immediately stepped between them, breaking their contact, and waved at Halina, not wanting to touch her. Tracey looked a bit afraid under the mask of bravado she had on, and I thought that maybe some part of her was sensing what I’d sensed the first time I’d met Halina, that she was dangerous. It was a nearly primal feeling to not want to be in her presence. Of course, Tracey wouldn’t understand why, so she’d brush it off as jealousy or something, but it was so much more than that.

“Hey…Tracey. Ben’s other half,” she added with a slight smile.

Ben made some sort of noise behind her and Tracey nonchalantly elbowed him. Yeah, definitely a conversation later. I cringed when I realized that Halina would hear it…and love them arguing about her. Then Halina’s eyes drifted to my sister. Her entire demeanour changed. The cold, calculating vixen that had just mentally undressed Hot Ben, was suddenly a 19 year old girl, embracing her long lost best friend. She swept Ashley into a warm hug, both of them giggling like they were finally reuniting at summer camp. I shook my head as I watched them.

They’d bonded when Ashley had visited. In a surprising way, Halina had taken to my sister, and she had nearly the same protective instinct towards her that Teren did. Halina hadn’t chosen this life, and had lost a lot when it had been forced upon her, namely her beloved husband. But also, the normalcy of working hard on their farm during the day and watching the sun set every night, the potential to fill that farm with children. Although she hid it well, the absence of that life crushed her daily. My sister had also had a fate not wanted thrust upon her. Her horrific scarring and the death of our father had set her on a path that most people wouldn’t wish on anyone.

The two brutal fates had bonded the women, almost tighter than blood could have.

Tracey was openly glaring at Hot Ben while my sister and Halina caught up. I laughed and started to go over to tell her not to fret too much about it, Halina just had that affect on men (thank god, Teren was related), but the last vampire finally made her appearance before I could take a step.

Teren and Halina both looked over a few seconds before she entered the room, but no one noticed their seeming precognition. Halina slung an arm around my sister and turned to watch her daughter enter the room. Imogen walked straight up to me and swept me into a hug. In her exuberance she actually lifted me a good foot in the air. It looked a little odd, considering the woman was no bigger than I was, but my friends were too busy staring at her appearance to notice. She set me down and I pulled back in her arms to look at her. She had on the long skirt and proper blouse that she preferred to wear, her hair neatly pulled back into a braided up-do, but the face, that perfectly ageless, vampire face, was yet another copy of the family genes.

Teren walked up and gave her a polite hug, again downplaying their closeness, and introduced her to the group, “This is Alanna’s twin sister, Imogen.” I startled at that, before smoothing my features. I hadn’t known the story involved the mother/daughter being twins, I imagined the two of them loved that, they were very close. I bit my lip, a little irritated at myself for not knowing all the lies I’d have to tell, and then a little irritated at how many lies I had to memorize. Oh well, it was the life I’d signed up for.

Teren pointed out Ben and Tracey, who greeted Imogen with friendly waves. Imogen was attractive, they all were, but she exuded an older vibe, like the grandmother she was, and not the raw sex appeal that just seemed to effortlessly drift off Halina, so Hot Ben’s eyes didn’t stay focused on Imogen for very long. After his greeting, he was back to ogling Halina, who played with a strand of her wildly free hair and gave him a look that clearly said, ‘I have chains in my room, wanna see?’

Under my breath, I muttered, “Stop it right now, Halina. Tracey is my best friend. If you try and sleep with him…I won’t let you come to the wedding.” No human in the room heard me, but Imogen cracked a smile and Teren chuckled beside me.

Halina openly pouted. Then she fixed her face into a wry smile and adjusted her super-short dress. Raising an eyebrow at me, she muttered, “There is no ‘try’ about it, but…fine.” She glanced briefly at him and then sighed softly before turning to leave. Ben and Tracey looked really confused by her seemingly random statement, but Ash looked over at me and cracked a smile, guessing what I’d said to her.

She got to the doorframe and paused, putting a hand on the wall and seductively leaning into it. Ben openly watched her and Tracey finally smacked his chest, bringing his attention back to her. Halina smirked at the exchange and looked over at me. “Plenty of other fish anyway,” she muttered. Shifting her gaze to Imogen and then Teren she brightly said, “I’m going out to eat. Have fun at…dinner.” She smiled oddly at that and then left the room.

My face went pale white, and I clenched Teren’s hand. I didn’t like the thought of her “going out to eat”. That usually meant exactly what it sounded like, and I didn’t want her anywhere near my hometown, hungry. “Teren,” I whispered, stress in my voice.

He leaned over to kiss my cheek, whispering in my ear as he did, “She won’t kill. I made her promise.” He pulled back and gave me a serious expression. I swallowed, but nodded.

She won’t kill. I knew that stipulation was only a temporary one. Halina enjoyed what she did, and even though she only took the lives of people she deemed dead already, i.e., child molesters, rapists, general scum bags, it was still taking a life and it still knotted my stomach. I knew Teren had somehow coached a promise out of her to please me this weekend, and I also knew that the “promise” wouldn’t extend as long as I’d like it to.

Imogen gave me a soft smile and shrugged her shoulders. Imogen had deep regrets over her own few kills and wouldn’t do it again, but they each sort of took an ‘it’s your choice’ stance on the matter. Especially when it came to Halina. But then again, as Teren had told me once before, “Have you ever tried to stop a full vampire from doing something they want to do?”