"Depends on the purpose of this meeting." Adonis's chill vibe was still on point and he shrugged to emphasize that he didn't care enough to wake his brother unless the meeting proved to be vital. "Maybe you can enlighten us about what the problem is, and I'll determine if it's worth me getting yelled at for waking him up."
"I would begin, but there's an elephant in the room." Margaret’s silver eyes were staring straight at me. I blinked innocently, my fake smile still going strong as I slowly looked around.
"Oh? Did we purchase an invisible elephant without my knowledge?"
Margaret looked like she was going to hiss at me, but Everett took a step forward, his movement enough to catch our attention.
"It's fine if Cassandra remains. She's usually with her brothers so it's important that she's aware of the situation," he reasoned in my favor.
I gave him a genuine smile, and I knew he would have returned it if Margaret hadn't turned her piercing gaze on him.
"Do I need to remind you, Everett, that she is but a human? She isn't the target and the information I'm about to share is classified."
"I'm aware of what Cassandra is. No one in this room needs yet another reminder of the blatantly obvious. We have a dinner to attend so I suggest we get to the point of this meeting."
Ouch. Papa Dearest was not in the mood today. That actually meant this was bad, which only piqued my interest.
"Well, last time I checked, Otis didn't want Cassandra being involved in anything classified," Margaret proudly defended.
That's new.
Glancing at Adonis, I noticed his eyebrow arch up in question, which told only me and the other two that the information being presented was missing a few key details.
“I can speak for myself.”
Tristan’s hand pressed against my mouth to muffle my gasp, as I was looking at Margaret and Everett across the room one second and the next Otis's butt was in my face.
Don't get me wrong. It's a good view, but I didn't expect the sudden movement.
Tristan moved his hand and I gave him an appreciative glance. He nodded, and we turned our attention to Otis as he carried on, “And I never once said that. I would remember. We vampires have good memories. Maybe it has to do with our slow aging process. Seeing as I'm only 25, I think my memory is still at one hundred percent."
Margaret actually hissed. "You did mention that at the last meeting, at which you represented your brothers, because they were getting a certain human out of the fight she started," she reminded.
I remember that.
Obviously, I was minding my own business like I always did before all hell broke loose . It landed me in the middle of the fight when a bunch of girls from my kickboxing class tried to jump me because...well, I kicked their asses in kickboxing class.
It was the dumbest reason to get into a fight with ten other girls, but it was only a big deal because half of them were supernaturals and I was still kicking their petty booties to the floor.
How that happened was always a mystery when my BTS kicked in, but I never got in trouble when fights broke around me, because my bros somehow arrived at the right place and time. That usually triggered an obvious surrender and quick clean up, and the place was back to normal like nothing had occurred.
Probably why I hadn't yet been arrested for all the fights I'd had to deal with. I simply had bad luck. That was one of my usual excuses.
That and because I'm a boring-looking human who is easy to pick on. Thanks to the apparent fortune I must be carrying in my wallet because I hang with the supernatural bros.
None of us needed to see Otis's expression to feel the rise of annoyance building up between the two.
"I stated, 'Cassandra doesn't need to be a part of our affairs if it puts her at risk,' which was a statement approved by my brothers. I then followed up by stressing that on other occasions where Cassandra's life is not in jeopardy, she may be included in all conversations that involve us." His emotionless tone would make anyone quiver in fear. "Should I repeat myself just in case you misinterpreted my explanation, Ms. Widow, or should I retrieve the recording that was made on my brothers' behalf due to their absence after the emergency call from one of your departments that stated a gang of supernatural females was ganging up on an innocent human?"
That shut her up really quick. I smiled like it was my birthday all over again, and my taunting eyes locked on hers.
She's lucky I try to respect my elders, or I'd have a thing or two to mentally say to her.
"Let's get to the point. What's so important for us to know?"
Margaret still had a scowl on her face, but she began right away.
"Supernaturals are being kidnapped."
"Nothing new," Adonis acknowledged like it was a common thing. "What's changed?"
Her disapproval of Adonis's careless attitude was apparent in her eyes, but she continued. "They are being kidnapped and imprisoned in hidden locations across the country. Many important leaders, members of society, and even celebrities have gone missing in a matter of days. All secret services and crime-stopping organizations are doing their best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, but it's come to the point where we have to alert those of high ranking and public status."
"So," I began. "You guys are warning anyone you deem valuable and powerful, so they can hide, protect themselves, do whatever, before you tell the rest of the world — which will most likely leave humans in panic — that supernaturals, aka powerful beings, are being kidnapped by a mysterious group or organization. Which means we humans don't stand a flying chance at surviving."
"Essentially," she dryly replied.
"At least you're honest." I leaned back in my chair and picked my pencil up. "You're right, nothing to do with me seeing as no one is going to target me."
"It's nice to have some verbal confirmation that you know where you stand in all of this, Cassandra Thorn." Her tone poked at the wrong nerve.
The one thing I hated was when people tried to talk down to me like I was nothing but a cockroach. I could handle the whole, 'humans are weak and pushed to the side,' but degrading me wasn't going to fly and this woman was testing me.
So what better way to handle a test? Fail it gracefully.
I rose up, took my sketch pad and pencil, and headed toward her. I could already see the start of a gleaming smile on the vile woman's face. It almost made me laugh because she already assumed she'd won.
Boy, is she wrong.
I stopped right in front of her, towering over her short frame as I purposely straightened my back to emphasize my 5'7" height. Staring down at her, I narrowed my eyes.
"You may love to give me such friendly reminders of where I stand, Ms. Widow, but let me just remind you of who I am. Cassandra Thorn. Human child of the Thorn family, who so happen to be on the list of Top Ten Most Influential Humans in the USA. I may never understand why they abandoned me over something as simple as being human, like them, but hey. Maybe they didn't think they would have a feisty daughter who could give a good kick or two. Until I one day have the time and care to search and ask them myself, I'm just going to continue playing along with your games. But remember this. I may be human, but I won't let anyone make me feel invaluable. Not Everett, not my bros, certainly not you. So I suggest you remember this conversation. I don't know, put it in the valuable part of your brain so you don't need Otis reminding you. Now, if you'll excuse me."