The Misadventures of Kade and Celine

“Do you have to go into work today?” Celine murmured sleepily into her pillow as Kade sat up on the edge of the bed. She opened her eyes and gave her best pout. “I’ll just be here all alone in this big comfy bed, missing my handsome fiancé and getting cold.”

Kade smirked, leaning over to tickle her sides. She laughed and tried to squirm away.

“Pouty face and flattery. I see we’re really breaking out the big guns this morning,” he teased. “Your tactics are highly unfair, princess. I just have to go in for a little while. I promise I’ll be back early, okay?”

Celine sat up and kissed him.

“I’ll be back really early,” he amended. Celine giggled, making herself get up too. She threw a robe on and went to prep a quick breakfast for Kade before he headed out. He planted a kiss on her cheek on his way out the door. Celine tidied up the kitchen and then curled up on the couch, admiring the portrait her father had given her.

“Morning, mom,” she said quietly. “I hope you like Kade. He and Daddy seem to be…getting weirdly along now. Which is good, because maybe he’ll visit more often now. Although next time he might bring a stamp collection and I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

Celine didn’t have much to do that day; they’d let Bayley tend to the yard a few times so she didn’t need to go pull any weeds, and she had the night off from the club. She didn’t even have much to tidy up. She snuggled down on the couch, jotting down lists of ideas for the wedding while she waited for Kade to come home. She heard a footstep on the porch, and then a knock came at the door. She sat up warily. It was still daylight out, so it wasn’t Silas. Another knock sounded and Celine went to answer it. Her gaze grew cold when she saw Lawson Styx.

“What do you want now?” she asked. He looked her up and down, sneering slightly as he took in that she was still in her nightclothes. She yanked the sash of her robe tighter.

“You ran off so fast last time we talked, I wasn’t able to finish our little conversation.”

“It is finished. I have nothing to say to you.”

Celine started to close the door and she went rigid as he blocked it, stepping over the threshold and into her house. She took a step back just to avoid being near him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snarled.

“If you have nothing to say, Miss Bellerose, then you can just listen. It’s better that way, really.” He closed the door and Celine felt her senses go on high alert. He stalked closer to her.

“It’s understandable that you and your mangy dog would want to try and get a taste of the finer things,” he said. “Trying to pretend you belong here. But we both know you don’t. You can buy a house and put a ring on your little finger but it doesn’t make the two of you any more respectable. It doesn’t change what you are.”

“And prancing around in your overpriced suits doesn’t change what you are,” Celine shot back. “Dress yourself pretty and surround yourself with shiny things all you want, it doesn’t mask what filth you really are.”

“Let me be clear. I am done faking niceties with some half-breed aberration who whores around with Mutts. I do hope you regularly check for fleas.”

“I don’t care what you call me but if you keep talking about Kade like that I’ll happily break those delicate little cheekbones of yours.”

“So, the little bitch likes to bite too, does she?”

Celine was startled when he grabbed her by the throat, yanking her closer. It was hard enough to twinge, though not quite enough to really choke her.

“Perhaps when we set traps we should’ve also seen about fitting you with a shock collar.”

Celine felt her fangs extend, and she snapped at his face. That seemed to catch him off guard but as she pushed away from him he caught her by the hair. She winced as he jerked her forward at the same time she was trying to leap back from him. It left her in a slightly bent position and he jerked her hair again, slamming her head into the table where her little blue vase sat. It wasn’t any kind of long lasting injury but it still hurt and left her a little dazed. The force of the blow also knocked the vase onto the floor beside her, where it broke. A shard of the glass flew up and cut her cheek.

Lawson finally released her hair, and she slumped forward, cutting her hands on shards of glass. He stood over her, radiating smugness.

“I dare say you belong down there,” he remarked. “Surely your mongrel lover eats off the floor. I assume you must join him.”

Celine felt a surge of intense hatred and she sprang to her feet so fast Lawson didn’t have time to stop her as she shoved him hard with both hands, sending him stumbling back. His back hit the front door.

“I told you,” she ground out, “to stop talking about Kade like that. Now get the fuck out of my house.”

“You’re going to regret this,” he hissed.

“You’ll be the one with regrets if you stay here in my home for one more second.”

“Suit yourself, half breed,” he sneered. He yanked open the door and left. Celine leaped forward and slammed it behind him, throwing the deadbolt for good measure. Her surge of hate-fueled adrenaline faded and she was left leaning against the door with her heart pounding. She looked down at the broken vase and the portrait of her mother, and she began to tremble faintly. She was furious, but the encounter also brought forth memories of the last time someone had decided Celine and her family didn’t belong in their own home.

She knelt to clean up the glass, tears pooling in her eyes. She carried the broken vase into the kitchen, setting the pieces on the counter. Then she burst into tears and shook violently. Her head hurt and she was sure there was going to be a bruise. If she was a full vampire it would be almost healed already, but for her it would take longer. Most of the cuts on her palms were beginning to heal already, though there were a couple deeper ones that might take slightly longer. She didn’t know if there were any marks on her neck from when he’d grabbed her.

Celine managed to collect herself slightly, then panicked as she remembered that Kade was coming home early. A glance out the window revealed him about to turn onto the small walk that led from the street to their door. Celine scrambled to undo the deadbolt, since he would definitely notice that she’d locked the door. She hastily tried to arrange her hair to cover the bruise and cut on her cheek and scurried into the kitchen as she heard him come onto the porch. She realized she was just standing in the middle of the kitchen like an idiot, so she lunged for the refrigerator as he came inside.

“Celine?” he called. “I’m back.”

“I’m in the kitchen,” she called back, feeling like ber voice sounded too loud. “I was about to start dinner.”

She tried to keep her face hidden behind her hair and the pile of random food she’d grabbed. Kade came into the kitchen and arched an eyebrow at her. She leaned over to set everything on the kitchen island, immediately kneeling to stick her head into the cupboard underneath so he couldn’t see her.

“Celine, what are you doing? Is this the antique vase we found?”

Celine froze; she’d forgotten that she hadn’t hidden the shards. “Oh. Um, yes,” she said.

“What happened?”

“I…I was cleaning and I bumped it. I tripped, and I fell into the table. You know me, clumsy.”

“Celine,” he said slowly. “Please stop hiding in the cupboard and tell me what’s going on.”

“What do you mean? I’m just looking for some rosemary down here. And I told you, I broke the vase by accident.”

“Celine you have never done anything clumsy in the entire time I’ve known you. You move like a ballerina on a tightrope.”

Kade came around the island and knelt beside her. She stood quickly and moved to the sink. She was doing a terrible job of not making him suspicious.

“I was thinking maybe pork chops for dinner,” she said. She was talking too fast to try and cover the faint tremor in her voice. “I can make some potatoes do you think you can peel some for me they’re in the pantry, on the left hand side I think-“

“Celine. What is going on?”

She sighed, still not turning around. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

“What is nothing you can’t handle?” Kade approached her, gently grabbing her waist and turning her toward him. She kept her head ducked and turned slightly away, still trying to hide her cheek.

“I’m fine,” she repeated.

“You’re shaking.”

“It’s kind of cold in here.”

Clearly unconvinced, Kade gently lifted her chin. He took in the marks on her face and neck, and the dampness of her eyes. His body went rigid.

“What happened?” he asked slowly.

“I…I fell, I told you. I hit the table and knocked over the vase.”

“And the table choked you?” He shook his head. “Who did this?”

“Kade, I’m really fine. I dealt with it. It’s almost the full moon again and you already have so much on your mind-“

“You’re what’s on my mind, Celine. You are the only thing I care about and I need you to tell me who did this.”

Celine bit her lip, but she knew there was no sense trying to keep it from him.

“Lawson came to the house,” she said quietly. “He came inside and was trying to tell me we should leave. I…basically told him to fuck off and he grabbed me. When I tried to jerk away he grabbed my hair and slammed my head on the table. That’s how the vase broke.”

Kade had gone incredibly still, he seemed to barely be breathing. But Celine recognized it as the kind of stillness a tiger might adopt before mauling unsuspecting prey.

“But I handled it,” she added. “I made him leave and I’m already healing and I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m okay, it just brought back memories of when…” She trailed off but Kade clearly understood.

“Has he threatened you before?” Kade asked.

“Not exactly. He was at the club, the night you had to stay home because of your leg. He tried talking to me but I got away from him as fast as I could so I could come home and make sure you were okay.”

Kade’s eyes blazed. “So he waits until he can corner you alone, like a coward. And then he…does this.” He looked at her face again. Despite how stiff with rage he was, he was gentle as he touched her cheek with his fingertips. Her stomach was knotted with worry.

“He’s not getting away with this.”

“Kade, you don’t need to-“

“Yes, I do. Celine I can’t let this go. And I can see you about to argue with me but the gift baskets and the traps were one thing. This? This he’s going to answer for.“