Niccolo (Blood Brothers) Read Online Free PDF

Petra was dead. My parents and your father all blamed me for her death.”
    “But it wasn’t you fault! And you were a young witch. How did could they expect your powers to withstand four rouges practicing the dark art?”
    “Grief can be an irrational emotion. They knew I didn’t kill her, but they felt there was more I could have and should have done. My father even wished that I had died instead of Petra.”
    Jagger’s eyes widened in his apparent horror. “My father ... did he say this, too?”
    “No. Your father was never deliberately cruel, but then again, he didn’t have to say a word. His eyes said it all. Niccolo and Papa had a falling out shortly after Petra’s death. During Petra’s crossing-over ceremony, I went to Niccolo and one thing led to another—well, I don’t need to tell you what happened next.” She sighed again. “I thought we had shared something special, but when I revealed my feelings to him, he turned me away. A few weeks later, I discovered I was carrying you. I wrote to Niccolo, but perhaps my letter was lost. It wasn’t until you were just about two years old that he discovered your existence. Since then he has taken care of you in the only way he could.”
    “Why did he never offer to do the right thing by you?”
    “You mean marriage?”
    “It would have been the honorable course of action.”
    “Even if he had, I’m not sure I would have accepted, at least not with things the way they were. There’s no hope for me and your father.”
    “But you still love him, don’t you?” he demanded.
    “Yes,” she whispered.
    She was an idiot for still caring about a man who had never felt a thing for her except a brief moment of lust.
    “Do you know where he is now?”
    “He travels quite a bit and has homes all over the world, but I believe he spends most of his time in Los Angeles.”
    “I see. No, actually I don’t. I don’t understand how he can discard you so callously.”
    “Please don’t get upset on my behalf. Regardless of how he feels about me, he loves you very much.”
    “How can I not get upset when I know how much pain you’ve suffered over him?” Jagger stood abruptly. “Look, I have to get out of here. I’ll talk to you later.” He leaned over to give her a brief hug.
    She got up and followed him to the door. “Please, Jagger, don’t leave like this. Where are you going?”
    “I haven’t decided yet.” He kissed her cheek and left.
    Sasha had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where he was going.
     

 
     
    Chapter Two
    “You knew what the Council would say before you went there. They’re a bunch of assholes. Why did you even bother?” GianMarco asked, raking his fingers though his shoulder-length blond locks.
    Dante grinded his teeth in frustration and turned to look at his youngest brother. “It was still worth a shot. I’m grasping at straws here and any lead I can get would be helpful. I swear if I ever get Devlin Locke alone for two minutes, I will rip his entrails out and make him eat them,” he vowed.
    Marco nodded in obvious approval. “He’s a sniveling waste of flesh. It seems pretty odd that a vampire who is not quite three hundred is head of the Council.”
    Dante felt the same way but knew Locke’s appointment to the head of the Council was a political decision more than anything else. “He’s heavily connected. The whole idea of the Council is nonsense anyway. That they would try to dictate how we should live our lives is a sham. Particularly when many of us have been around longer than the Council has been in existence.”
    “Is it possible the Council could be behind the attacks on us? I swear to God that if they are, I’ll kill them all myself. When I think of what could have happened to Maggie—” GianMarco broke off.
    Understanding how he felt, Dante patted his brother on the arm. The bond that Marco and his wife Maggie shared was so intense Dante was aware that the mere thought of losing his bloodmate caused