The vampire and the mistress

Chapter 9

When we got back, Xander helped me out of the car and gave me the flowers again. I kissed him as I passed him and went inside, I glanced to find where he'd gone but he hovered near the door for a moment and then came in.

"I'll be up in a few. I just need to take this call."

"Don't take too long." I whispered back and headed up to my room. I knew Xander would come in here first, and I wanted to put my flowers into one of the vases in my room.

Once I'd sorted the flowers and filled the vase with water from the bathroom, I headed out on to my balcony and took out the charm as I looked at it. Just who was that woman, and what was with the charm? I had no idea as I stood looking at the butterfly. I lifted it up with my other hand and turned it over, but it was the same as the other side. I bit my lip as I thought about going to Dorian tonight with it. I knew Xander would take a while, as it seemed his phone conversations were getting longer and longer. I guessed that's what happened when he was playing hunt with his brother.

A knock on the door made me put the charm in my pocket again. "Come in." I called, not really sure who I was expecting tonight besides Xander.

Sarah peeked her head into the room first and then came in along with Mara and Claire. Claire didn't seem at all happy to be there, but I certainly wasn't letting her foul mood ruin my mood any more than it already was.

"We came for a visit; I hope you don't mind." Sarah grinned as she shut the door while Mara and Claire went and sat in my chairs by the fire that wasn't lit.

"Not at all." I chuckled. "Sorry if I'm a little dazed; I've just got back with Xander." I let out a small sigh.

"It's fine. We were just wondering what plans we could all make together while this nice hot weather is here." Sarah grinned.

"I voted for a beach party." Mara shrugged.

"How about a beach day? I'm pretty sure we could pull off a daytime visit." I suggested it, as I figured that it meant there was no reason I couldn't go, considering if Helena or Lucian tried to hunt me, I was sure the sunshine would turn him to ash.

"Sure, you can get the Lord to let you go for a full day." Claire muttered. I rolled my eyes and took a small breath to calm myself.

"Yeah, pretty sure he'd go for it since vampires turn to ash in the daylight hours." I shrugged casually. I had a feeling it would take some talking him into it, but I'd get it figured out.

"Cool." Sarah answered. "So that's the plan? When are we all free next?" We all then began to try and figure out a time and date that would work for us all. We all eventually agreed after the wedding which worked nicely for me and it gave me plenty of time to talk Xander into it as well.

As we were all talking, my door opened and Xander walked in, and the girls all went silent as Xander seemed to freeze where he was, as he'd not been expecting this in the slightest, and then again, neither had I. I figured I'd be spending the night on my own, as that had become the norm when he took a phone call.

"Hello, Sarah, Mara, and Claire." He smiled at them all, which lightened my mood a little more.

"Good evening, Lord Xander." Sarah and Mara seemed to say at the same time, while Claire seemed to look at Xander in a way I didn't like. It was almost as if she'd wanted him right there in that moment to notice just her. Had this been what her foul mood towards me had been about? Had she simply been jealous of me and of what Xander and I had, even though she knew nothing of what we had?

Xander came across, stood next to me, and kissed my head lightly. "I'm pleased to see that you had company while I was busy." I looked up at Xander and decided to take my moment right now.

"We were just talking about having a beach day after the wedding, you won't mind if I go with the girls would you?" I noticed Xander frown a little. "We were thinking of going during the day."

"It's fine, tell me when your planning it for and I'll make sure theres no work for you that night." Xander looked at them but he seemed to look at Claire for a few moments longer and then at me. What the hell had that been about? "Anyway, I won't hang around anymore so when your free..."

"It's fine, Lord Xander; we should head back to work before Glenda finds out we snuck off to see Rosa." Mara confessed.

"It's fine, really. I think after tonight, Rosa could do with her friends being here. I have plenty of time. I'll go and tell Glenda you're all busy elsewhere for me." He winked, then kissed my head again, and then left.

When Xander left, Mara fanned herself with her hand. "I never realized just how good-looking he is. Probably because he used to walk around in a grump all the time, but now he's actually smiling." Mara looked at me, and I just rolled my eyes as I made a face that said I had no clue what she was talking about, which made Mara and Sarah laugh. "So do you still give the Lord your blood, Claire?"

I bit my lip as I began to understand what her mood was all about now. Since Xander had taken my blood all those months ago, he'd not wanted to drink anyone else's, so that meant that Claire was out of the picture with Xander. I understood it all perfectly. I looked over at Claire and noticed the way she was blushing and keeping her eyes away from me.

"He turned me down and told me that now his mate is around, so he won't need me anymore." I didn't say anything as I kept watching Claire and listening as the story seemed to grow much stranger, but I could see the way she looked over at me as if she knew our secret. Xander had wanted to make it known to the humans that I was his mate; however, I asked him to keep it secret from them. I didn't want to cause trouble, but it seemed that by keeping it secret, it meant that there was trouble, so clearly I couldn't win.

"So how comes Xander still treats you like his favorite? Or was he lying and just trying to let Claire down lightly?" Mara asked as if she was trying to stir the pot a little.

"I guess I grew on him." I shrugged, and I looked over at Sarah as she gave me a look that told me she wasn't buying it. "Either that or his mate has accepted that I'm around." I shrugged again. "I don't know. Xander and I don't really talk about that stuff."

"Huh... So what do you actually talk about?" Claire asked bluntly.

"He mostly tells me about what is going on with Lucian." I told Claire. I could see from the way she looked at me that her behavior had been fueled by jealousy. That meant there was probably more to come, which I didn't like the idea of, but I couldn't say anything outright; I didn't want to cause a scene.

"Why's that?"

"Because Lucian is out there trying to get his revenge from what I heard, and for all I know, I could have pissed him off in some way, shape, or form. Anyway, what has any of this got to do with plans?" I asked as I folded my arms over my chest.

"Getting a little defensive." Mara grinned.

"She looks tired, so of course she'll be getting defensive, especially when you're accusing her of something and she's told you she knows nothing." Sarah muttered.

"All I'm going to say is, I hope his mate is a woman, or it will be shameful to see such a hottie playing for our team." Mara sighed.

As she said that, I couldn't help but laugh a little. "If I find out, I'll make sure I break the news to you about his preference."

"Come on, we should head off. I think Lord Xander wants Rosa for something, so..." Sarah came across and hugged me.

"Thank you." I whispered in her ear.

"You owe me the truth." She whispered back and then pulled away. I said goodbye to Mara, and I begrudgingly said goodbye to Claire as well, as they left me alone in my room. I let out a sigh, pinched the bridge of my nose, and closed my eyes for a moment or two. It had been hard keeping it from them, but I knew now I had to be careful around Claire, and I had to warn Xander to be careful around her too. I didn't want any more trouble than we already had. I went back into my pocket and pulled out the charm. I walked over to a box Xander had given me and put it for safekeeping in there. When you're ready to learn the truth, speak to Dorian. It wasn't so much about wanting to know the truth, it was the speaking to Dorian part that I knew was going to be trouble. I let out a slow sigh and made a mental note that tomorrow I'd talk to Dorian and try and patch things up and ask who the woman was. If she knew him, then surely he knew her, or I hoped he did.