"Roland does God hate me?"
Roland chuckled, "Why would you ask that?"
"Because I have this sweet cop trying to date me, but I can't make myself forget about the freak show guys like me." She sighed, "Marcus is exactly what he said, everything and nothing. And something, maybe an unnatural force, makes me want to be with Aleks. Then there is Sam. Oh my god Sam is driving me nuts. I actually forget where I am when he's around. He has the sweetest way about him."
"You need to look at all those relationships and those people and decide which one lifts you up, improves upon what is already inside of you. I think that you are too young and you should wait to make decisions."
"I guess, yeah."
He smiled taking the silver tray with one mug of cider back to the kitchen, "You don’t want to walk onto the car lot and buy the first car you see, you have to test drive them. You're young, have fun with it and relax."
She struggled to keep her cider in her mouth. She coughed as it went down the wrong passage, "Oh my god."
He chuckled softly leaving the room.
Her face flushed thinking about test-driving. Andy may not make her heart soar the way Marcus did but she could definitely imagine taking him out for a spin. But then every naughty thought led her back to Sam.
She followed Roland back to the kitchen, "Who was my mother?" She asked quietly watching him tidy up.
He frowned, "Why?"
"My father met my mother seventy-five years ago Roland. I'm assuming she was something more than a regular mom."
He nodded, "Yes well I suppose that’s the truth of it. I was told we would never have to have this conversation and yet here we are. Your mother was a Siren."
"The women who call ships to their death?"
"No. That’s not entirely true. They don’t need to sing, they just need a strong breeze. They used to hang out along the coastline when ships were the mode of transportation."
"I'm confused."
"She was a Siren, a temptress, a seductress."
"My mom?"
"Yes."
"Did she kill men?"
He laughed, "Only with her looks. No she was a sweet woman. Her and Cecile became friends before you were born. Cecile hated your father but loved your mother."
He turned smiling, but his dark eyes seemed hollow, "Humans can't help themselves. Human women and men love Sirens. Supernatural men lust after Sirens. But most supernatural females despise Sirens. Cecile was a regular human woman, she loved your mother like a sister."
"Why would they leave me with her if she was evil?"
He shook his head, "No one knew she was evil. She was a very devoted friend to your mother. No one believed her capable of anything. Your father tested your blood yearly against your mothers and his. You never showed any signs of either of them. Cecile was the best bet. She was human, you were human."
"Up until Cecile poisoned me, I was a regular human?"
He nodded, "Your father realized a couple years ago that you had none of the Siren in you and none of him. It was assumed you would grow to be a normal kid. He would have brought you to live with us if you had been abnormal in anyway."
"What changed it all?"
Roland shrugged, "I'm afraid all we can ever do is guess it was the poison. All I know is no one from our world was ever allowed to know you until the day the change occurred. He wanted you to have a normal life."
She rolled her eyes, "That panned out well."
"You know what they say about best laid plans."
"So if I'm half a Siren?"
"You're a whole lot of trouble for men."
"My life just keeps getting better."
Chapter Thirty-One: Toast with a side of trouble
Aleksander
She had insisted on sleeping in his bed. He hadn’t been certain how to convince Giselle he wasn’t interested in her in that way. She had been adamant that he had saved her because he was developing feelings for her.
Hanna was all he thought about, he couldn’t describe his feelings for her. It was if there were no feelings, just animal lust.
He walked into the kitchen to see the youngest of the Nephilim children sitting at the table.
"Morning."
Sarah faded becoming nearly as invisible as Annabelle.
"Did Annabelle make you breakfast?"
She nodded letting her color come back.
"Danny had a bad dream last night, he saw them breaking in here and taking us." Her little squeaky voice spoke softly as she bit off a piece of toast.
"Do his dreams come true?"
She nodded, looking up at him with her dark eye, "Yup."
He frowned, "Hmm, maybe I better talk to Lydia about that. Where is Danny?"
"He's hiding in Annabelle's room."
He turned and walked out of the room. Annabelle had the attic all to herself. He walked up the stairs not wanting to just appear in her room. He knocked on the small brown door at the very top of the second flight of stairs.
"Yes."
Aleksander opened the door, "Morning Annabelle, I was wondering if I could speak to Danny quickly?"
"Oh Mister Aleks you knows you can comes and goes in here. He be in the window cupboard." She pointed to the huge dormer closet as she left the room.
He walked softly, "Danny can I ask you something?"
He opened the closet and smiled. Danny had built himself a fort out of blankets in the closet. He sat with an Archie Comic and a flashlight.
"How's it going?"
Danny shrugged.
Aleks sat on the hard wooden floor, "Want to tell me about your dream?"
He nodded, "K."
Aleks waited but the chubby boy never spoke.
"Now?"
Danny put down the comic with a sigh, "I was standing in the kitchen and we were eating. I was getting juice. A woman came into the house, she was a human but she was special somehow. She grabbed Sarah and stabbed a needle in her arm. She did the same thing to me. I dropped my juice. Then another woman was there and she did what Aimee does and winked us to a new house, it was cold and dark. I just remember the glass shattering to the floor and juice spilling everywhere."
"I see. So something like this would come true normally? Your dreams come true?"
He nodded, "If it’s the last dream before I wake."
Aleks put a hand on him, "Well lucky you have them then. We can bump up security at the house."
Danny picked up his comic again and started reading, "I'm not going in the kitchen, just saying."
Aleks laughed standing up, "Okay. I will get Annabelle to bring you breakfast up here."
"Milk no juice."
He smiled and let the warm wind take him to the kitchen.
Sarah had finished her breakfast and was laughing talking with Sam. He was the oldest of the Nephilim children. He was twenty-eight but looked to be about nineteen. His strength was unmatched. Aleks suspected his parentage to be one of the Archangels.
"She tell you about the dream?" Sam asked looking at him sternly.
Aleks nodded, "I spoke with Danny, sounds pretty possible. They’ve been taking blood from Hanna. They could make a weapon with her blood."
Sam smirked, "Hanna Hyde? Yeah we decided when we make the toys to sell from our super hero franchise Hanna Hyde will be her name. It has a nice ring to it."
Aleks frowned, "Don’t push it. You piss her off and she tears the house down, you'll be sorry."
Sam laughed, "I can only imagine what she's like when she's angry." His black eyes sparkled.
"What's for breakfast Annabelle?" Lydia asked walking in pulling her long gray hair into a bun.
"Trouble Miss Lydia, today it be trouble for breakfast." Annabelle pointed to the window.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Sell my soul to sleep with a siren
Hanna
"Is that why Aleks is into me? Why he can't stop coming on to me? Why Andy wants me? And Marcus?"
Roland nodded, "I believe it is. People can't fight their love and attraction for Sirens. You force feelings on them."
She stopped pacing around the kitchen and pointed, "You said people, Aleks isn’t people. Neither is Marcus."
"I told you supernatural beings feel lust, incredible lust. Some even mistake it for love."
"This is disgusting. I was wondering what was going on. I went from regular girl to, well something else. God hates me, I know it. Shit. So even Nephilim can be affected?"
"Well I once knew a man who was a very powerful Fae Shifter, definitely not a man. Anyway he was so in love with a Siren he lost everything. He swore an oath to serve her and her children for the rest of his life. He gave up everything to be near her.
"She let him do that? What kind of people are Sirens?"
"They're known for being fickle in love. One minute they love you and the next they can't stand the sight of you. They love a new man every week sometimes. No man can take the loss of a Siren."
"Where is the rest of my family?"
"Greece and Italy. You have a grandmother and Aunts who are like you."
"I have family?"
He nodded, "They will want to see you now that you are the way you are."
She frowned, "Maybe we should wait until I get the other me under control."
"Wise choice."
Hanna walked to the table and sat down, "So my father was besotted with a Siren and they had a kid. Half monster from my father's blood and half Siren from my mother's? Oh my god my mom was a slut who made my dad want her. I'm the product of some filthy affair."
"Never speak that way of her Hanna. She was a dear woman. She loved your father dearly."
She ignored him and thought about Marcus. She nearly threw up.
Roland sat across from her, "I am sorry my dear. I wanted to tell you but I was sworn to secrecy. Your father never wanted you to know about this world. He would have died if he thought you believed your mother didn’t love you and him. She did."