The Allies of Old; Book Two Renewal: Chapter Seventy Eight "Reunion"
Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul
If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn
Table of Contents for Fifty Five chapters of Renewal, created by @bashadow
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter Seventy-Eight
On the drive to the airstrip Jenna cranked the music, unwilling to ruin the post coital glow with words, particularly since they never seemed able to carry on a conversation without it turning into a fight.
Once on board the jet Mathias broke their silence. “Excited to see your sister?”
She nodded smiling at him, her thoughts turning to Jess. She still had trouble believing she was a vampire since she hadn’t seen it for herself. She wondered if it had changed anything about her besides the physical and desperately hoped not. Even though Jess could drive her up a wall she’d realized how much she loved her sister for who she was.
Thinking she might be dead had shed light on a lot of things, namely the fact that she’d never given her any slack. She’d expected Jess to be more like her which was ridiculous not to mention self-serving. From now on, she vowed she would treasure her differences.
She wondered if her feelings for Michael would progress into anything. She had been surprised to learn of Jess’s infatuation with the male. She definitely couldn’t have asked her sister to make a better choice on this one. Her main problem with Jess in the past was concern over her bad decisions about men, if she ended up with Michael it would be an enormous relief.
Mathias broke into her thoughts, “Are you thinking about Jess, or us?”
She turned to look at him and saw that his expression was guarded. “I was thinking about Jess actually, what are the odds of her and Michael ending up together?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged one large shoulder. “It’s hard to say, my friend has high standards that unfortunately your sister doesn’t quite meet in his eyes.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes, “Why not?”
“Hey, don’t get mad at me, I’m not saying he’s right,” Mathias quirked his lip. “You gotta understand the male’s been celibate his whole life, waiting for his predestined female. In his mind she will be white as pure driven snow, and Jess has a bit of a history.”
Jenna frowned. “Not really, there’s only been Nate.”
“And Tyros,” he pointed out.
“No, she didn’t sleep with him.”
“You sure about that?”
Jenna frowned again. Was she? She looked out the little window and Mathias put a hand on her leg.
“I’m not saying it isn’t possible, I’ve caught him looking at her like he wanted to bend her over the arm of the couch if that counts for anything,” he grinned as Jenna’s head whipped towards him.
“If she gets him into her bed the deal is pretty well sealed, so like I said, it’s possible.” It was his turn to frown a little and he turned away hoping she didn’t catch it. She did.
“What? What’s wrong?”
He pushed his tongue down on his lip and narrowed his eyes a little at her. “I don’t want to fight with you Jenna. Can’t we just make it through an hour without fighting?”
Her eyebrows drew together. “What are you talking about?”
He shook his head and made a sound of frustration. “I’m just not so sure that your sister is a good…fuck, if I say this you’re gonna get defensive.”
“Uh, you can’t leave me hanging, a good what?”
“Fine. A good match for him. She’s fickle, she’s proven that over and over again and I would really fucking hate to see my buddy get hurt. Don’t be pissed at me, it’s not that I don’t like her, I’m just not convinced her feelings towards him are more than fleeting. I mean she was attached to Virus’s hip a month or so ago and has since forgotten all about him.”
Jenna met his intense stare and sighed. She couldn’t muster up anger over his feelings since he was just being protective of his friend and she could definitely appreciate that.
“I understand,” she said quietly.
He relaxed and smiled. “So, once we get there we’re going to be surrounded. I don’t think we should waste our last couple hours of alone time.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Her body instantly responded and she promptly became a part of the exclusive mile high club.
As the plane touched down she saw Jess and Anna waving wildly from the runway.
The moment they were on solid ground Jess leapt into her arms. She felt tears well up and dashed them away pushing Jess back so she could look at her.
“You still look like you,” she sniffled.
“Except for the fangs of course,” Jess grinned, “I’ll show you later. Oh my God, I missed you so much!” she hugged her again.
“Ow, not so hard superwoman,” she complained.
Jess released her looking sheepish. “I forget about that sometimes.”
“So Anna basically filled me in on everything, I can’t wait to meet the ones who saved you! All this time we thought it must’ve been Tyros. Speaking of which, what in the world happened with him? Why did he disappear?” Jenna cocked her head to the side.
“I think we should head back to the mansion for this conversation,” Anna interjected.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Jenna was appropriately awed by the extravagant Vegas home and when she was introduced to the Brothers Three her eyes misted as she expressed her eternal gratitude.
After which the girls settled at a patio table and Jess haltingly outlined her final day with Tyros.
When she’d finished Jenna shook her head. “Thank God you didn’t end up with him.”
Jess looked away for a moment. “I hope he’s okay though, I feel responsible for him leaving like that.”
“Don’t,” Jenna told her firmly. “He was only after one thing, he told you that. He was probably just afraid you were going to tell the others that he scared you. Especially since he was so close to biting you, which means he’s obviously drank from humans before.”
Jess’s eyes darted to the three brothers and she leaned forward. “Not all vampires who drink from humans are bad,” she whispered.
“The Brothers Three do,” Anna explained when Jenna’s brows shot up. “Or at least they did.”
“Really? I thought that was a huge No No.”
“It is, but for the last couple of centuries the rules have been muddied,” Anna told her.
“Yeah but I thought there was a danger of becoming an addict and going too far,” Jenna persisted.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s just like any kind of drug use, in moderation it’s not a big deal but if you abuse it…I don’t know all I can say is the Brothers Three don’t appear to have a problem,” Anna shrugged.
Jess waved her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter either way since they stopped doing it once Michael gave them an ultimatum.” She glanced over at the object of her affection wistfully.
“Michael,” Jenna looked at her sister searchingly, “you really think he’s the one for you?”
Jess sighed. “I wish, but he definitely doesn’t feel the same way.”
Jenna chose her words carefully. “Maybe it’s just infatuation?” she suggested gently.
Jess turned to her sister and was surprised to find her expression so soft. Normally she would be dripping with sarcasm. “I don’t blame you for thinking that considering my track record. And honestly I think he probably feels the same way. I can insist that it’s different this time, but I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before.” She sighed again. “I’m not giving up though, and I suppose only time will tell the truth.”
Jenna nodded and decided not to press it, she really wasn’t in a place to pass judgment on the validity of her sister’s feelings. Her gaze skated over to Mathias and he caught her looking and winked. Her stomach did a flip flop and she turned to see Anna staring at her hard. She shook her head slightly glancing at Jess and Anna nodded slightly in return.
She wondered how much longer she could keep Anna in the dark and thought the answer was probably Not Much.
The males came over to the table led by Jared, and the enormous vampire’s demeanor suggested something was about to be discussed. Anna was looking at him in anticipation and Jenna noticed Michael was as well.
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I'm waiting for a book :)
I am afraid you will be waiting until spring for that. But I am going to start posting a new book soon...haha, not sure if it will be your taste. You could check out my playground series, short stories, I will be putting the ninth one up soon and hopefully get more regular about posting them. This has all of the other parts: https://steemit.com/story/@dreemit/the-playground-series-reality-in-fiction-episode-8-recap-the-earth-vs-the-world. But if you do read them don't bother voting on them, it won't count anyway. You can comment though :)
Thank you for amazing story.
Your writing style is abstract - emotional and full of energy and rhythm. Now I read several parts, fantastic @dreemit
You need to write poetry you will have 100% success
Fixed it for you, sis ;)
Well that was a nice reunion, if a bit subdued. I'm a bit bummed that more than 50% of this chapter was dedicated to Matt/Jenn. It would've been great if their conversation was an afterthought and the spotlight was shone on the sisters. That moment where Jenna reevaluated how she was too controlling was a real high point though.
@verbal-d's recent comments on the story made me read how my sentiment regarding Matt/Jenn has changed haha! It's funny what the differences a few chapters make. Back then I theorized if Jenna was impregnated by vampire sperm. I think I even hoped for it. But now, I'm not so sure. I mean, adding in a baby would reignite the dynamic for me. It would surely be a welcome addition instead of Anna (again) getting the honor.
My biggest grip however is upon their reunion, they immediately switched the topic to Michael. Ugh. Personal hatred aside, I lighted up when the Brothers Three was mentioned, especially since they took Jess in at a crucial point. She could've easily gone to Demetrius and this would be a different story. Maybe if they tabled the Michael gossip for a different time, it would be better. I'm really trying to read Michael's name as someone else, thinking it might improve my sentiment on it haha!
See here, this is one of the problems with how I have to figure things out with steemit. The actual chapters are not broken up this way, Jenna and Mathias's chapter end at the mile high mention. But I'm always afraid of making it either way too short or way too long.
I should warn you, we're getting very close to the end of book two. Man I wish I was ready to start posting book three right after, I know you're really going to like it so much better lol. But it's not ready unfortunately. Instead you will be treated to my stand alone novel while I not only finish up book three but then let it sit so I can do the rewrite with fresh eyes--haha, I can't even imagine what you're going to think of this other book. It should be very entertaining to read your comments about it.
It requires a fairly lengthy introduction to all of my readership. I think I've already told you the gist? If not then, you'll be getting it soon.
xo
Yeah, but the length though. Even if it's not broken apart like it is here on Steemit, it has the same length on the book itself, right?
Looking forward to anything coming from you, sis. You know that right? :)
I like your writing skills you have a way of leaving us wanting to hear some more
Leaving a hook was something I had to learn for this platform, glad to hear it's working!
You are doing great job!
I'm enjoying reading it.
I hope to see updates very soon.
Looks like Jess is really growing up. And you had me hooked in the first page of Reborn. ;-}
Great Job Waiting for your creations :)
I do agree with @jedau on certain things, this definitely has started becoming more relationship focused more than the war at hand, and that could be a necessary yet drawn out mechanism to strengthen love and bonding but I feel Jess and Jenna definitely needed to have dialogue in this chapter about missing one another, Jess being a vampire, and not so much on Michael or any male related infatuations. Either way, that is just a light critique, I do enjoy reading your writing because your style is inviting, but I'm getting slightly antsy because the last attack on demons with Jared and the group while Anna got abducted was a bit light handed with not so many descriptive in-battle details.