Regal Renegades

Chapter 10

Daniel's POV

I sat with one leg crossed over the other in this cushioned chair my parents kept in their main office, reading over some of the local human news while they shuffled through their mail for the day.

Occasionally, depending on what they got or what needed to be handled, some responsibilities would be passed onto me to deal with.

It'd been a few days since mom had that talk with me, and thankfully she hasn't brought it up again since.

Not through words at least. Sometimes I could just see in her eyes that she was thinking about it when I was trying very hard not to.

Emphasis on trying. As if Caroline wasn't a favored topic in my mind

I don't think mom had mentioned anything to dad yet, that just didn't seem like her style.

I glanced up at them, seeing how close they stood next to each other with their backs to me to face their desk, barely leaving an inch between them.

My mother's hand trailed lazily down my father's back while he flipped through the letters and such, both making subtle comments about each one before placing them in their designated pile.

My focus lowered back onto the newspaper in my hand, waiting for one of them to speak my name and give me something to do to help out.

What caught my attention instead, was a rather curt sigh from my mother.

She was a patient woman, so hearing it pulled both my and my father's eyes straight to her.

She backed a step away from him, holding a dirtied envelope between her claws.

"This again," She grumbled, and I felt myself slowly straighten and uncross my legs to better listen.

"Who is it?" My father asked, leaning in to read the name on the envelope.

"It's those Ardigans again," She huffed, slicing open the envelope to remove its contents.

Dad's soft green eyes just blinked at her for a moment in subtle confusion.

She noticed the silence and looked back to him.

"What? You don't remember?"

"I remember the name," he clarified with a soft smile, "Every time we get anything from them, you read the note, get frustrated, and then toss it in the bin. I figured that it was just something not worth mentioning if it got you that worked up every time."

It was her turn to stare wide-eyed, as if just then realizing her own behavior.

"Oh...," She settled, letting her shoulders relax from their tensed position, "They're the leaders of this... 'clan'. Or at least they're trying to be a clan in our territory."

"Clan?" Dad questioned so that I didn't have to, "There haven't been clans in millennia since before the territory borders were established. What's the need?"

Exactly. What is the need? Primitive vampires used clans as a way of protection. Like-minded vampires joined with others back when we felt the need to hide what we were.

As we came to domesticate and co-exist, the need for them disappeared, and many considered that a good thing.

"That's the thing. These vampires aren't exactly...," She paused to search for the right word, "Normal."

Dad just gave her a look to continue while I set my paper down.

It took her a moment to collect what to say before she could give a response.