Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18




MAX was pleased with himself. He manage to knock Cedric down a peg or two. That man needs to change his ways. If Jeffrey heard of his manwhore-ish days after they click together, it would be a bad thing. "Dolly, my love!"

"You look..." Dolly patted his cheeks with her face looking suspicious. "…like you just did something wrong and you feel good for it."

Max couldn't help himself and let out a chuckle. He held both of her hand. "Let's just say I played as a matchmaker for my own nephew. Don't you think it's nice of me to do this?"

Dolly's skeptical expression made Max stop. "What's the matter, Dolly?"

"The guy had a row with you. How is that you can still smile like nothing happened?" She smack her lips and with a scolding voice, she said, "You should stop that while it's still early. Jeffrey could get in trouble. Maybe you're thinking that... it's a positive thing, or that you're doing them a favor but your actions can mean otherwise. It doesn't sit well with me when I think someone out there could be secretly plotting your death just because of a misunderstanding."

Max sighed. He let go of her other hand to feel his chest. "Aw, so it's still here."

Dolly squinted. "What are you doing? Do you feel sick?"

"Nay. I'm just making sure my heart's still here. It jumped hard when I figured you care so much about me." Max winked. "You're the first person who scolded me like that."

"So you don't consider me a person, huh, brother mine?"

Max' smile turned to a nasty scowl. "Janette. My dear, this is my estranged sister, named Janette. Beside her is Mikael Duvas, her husband."

Janette looked young and sophisticated. She reminded Dolly of Laura's demeanor. Her long skirt swayed elegantly as she walk in a languid manner. The man beside her looked besotted, patient and happy. The redness in the irises of his eyes suggested that he had just turned into a vampire not long ago.

The pair looks perfect.

"Estranged?" Janette rolled her eyes. "You wish. Are you Dolly Cesaro? I'm sorry that you're stuck with my brother from now on. I know, I totally understand you, he's hardly a catch."

Dolly's expression went torn and indiscernible. She stared at Mikael with a pleading look. "How do you react at times like this?"

Mikael nodded at her. "Just smile like it's Christmas. That's how I did it the first time. I'm sure you'll survive."

"I'm determined to." She held Max' hand once again and grinned. "Hi, nice to meet you two."


Janette tilted her head. Her face became serious as she step in front of Dolly. Max tensed but he didn't say anything.

Dolly wet her lower lips and tried to smile. It felt painful. "You look nice."

The woman raised a brow mockingly. In the end, she huffed a laugh and patted Dolly's face. "You're so tense around me. Don't you know that you need to suck up to me the most? I'm his older sister. If you suffer any grievances because of him, you're supposed to tell me. So that I can finally have a valid reason to knock his head."

Dolly sighed in relief. She frowned at her. "Your face scared me. How can you be beautiful and scary at the same time?"

Janette giggled. Dolly can't believe her ears. Her shoulders was squeezed in a hug. "Hear that, Mikael? She called me beautiful. You could've done the same."

Mikael didn't shy and opened his mouth to boldly say, "I worship you every night. How come you're still doubting my love, baby?"

Mikael reminded Dolly of a big black wolf. Although he's clearly a human before, he gave the personification of the saying, 'A wolf in sheep's clothing'.

Janette's expression closed of in instant. Her face became devoid of any reaction but her ears were suspiciously vibrant red. "Where did you learn your manners, Kael? Stop it. Lest Max would think I didn't teach you well."

Dolly turned to smile at Max. Her mate rather had a pinched expression as if he swallowed something bitter. She couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you like that?"

Max shook his head. "They're doing this deliberately. They planned this on the way here. Janette, stop being silly with your husband. You won't succeed in making me envious!"

"He's a narrow-minded asshat sometimes, Dolly." It was a novel to hear Janette cuss her brother like it's normal. "He thinks the world revolves around him. Don't mind me and Kael. We're just both happy. Consider us newly mated."

Dolly stared at them fondly. "I get it. Thank you for coming today."

"You're going to be part of the family now." Janette motioned for them to sit. "Treat everything as if it's rightfully yours. Because it will be."

"The elders were discussing something while you're gone. It has nothing to do with you directly but this is indeed a thing that may concern you in the future, considering that the suspect is allegedly a five hundred year old bat." Mikael relaxed an arm at the back of Janette's seat. "There were only a few of you in the city. The elders might ask you if you personally know some of them."

"I received a copy of that report on my desk from Jeffrey. I will cooperate."

Max crossed his ankles. He patted his lap. Dolly feel smoke slowly rising from her neck. She sat beside him. "What happened?"


Janette regarded her with a patient expression. "In the past few months, a total of seven dead human bodies had been found. The coven believes it's a serial killer. A five hundred year old vampire on the verge of getting crazy."

"What does it has to do with Max?"

"Max is the only known vampire who's five hundred years old. Most of them are secluded."

Dolly blinked. "But you're his older sister?"

"Ah..." Janette laughed. "He's my older brother by age. He presented early. By the age of twenty five, he became a full vampire while I struggled with my transformation. I changed when I was 30. I looked older than him, so I asked Max to consider me as his older sister."

Dolly expected to be confused about her explanation but it works. To avoid getting questioned by normal people on the daily basis, Janette and Max tacitly agreed to this.

"Oh... then this should be a non-issue." She was relieved to know this. Dolly is not really keen to face any trouble at the moment. She wanted to find a decent paying job and work after exchanging bites with Max.

The matter about kids and pregnancy should be dealt with once they have both know each other's preferences. 'That's right. We should take it slow.'