Blood Thirsty

Ch. 2: The Glue to this Family

The spirit of Anthony's former teenage self took over his body and slammed his bedroom door as hard as possible. His body was a glass bottle full of angry bees, shaken around, and dying to be unleashed. All this anger and frustration with nowhere to place it other than his family. Just like a bee, if Anthony stung them, Anthony would also suffer... But that didn't make the revenge some less enticing.

Anthony's room was a collection of his greatest comforts with a closet bursting with so many thrifted clothes, he had to buy two more racks that were rolled out like decor. It was that or open his own consignment shop. Shelves with books of little merit, but plenty of drama with sprinkles of the most haunted looking trinkets Anthony could find from all corners of the world, like dead eyed porcelain dolls or taxidermy hybrid crossing a raven with a fox.

Wherever Anthony went, he liked taking a little of it home.

Now, he didn't know where his home was.

His whole life, Anthony had never had a serious partner, but people in their position never dreamed of leaving this castle. Even Bianca stayed here after she married, but now that Anthony spent an extra second of thought on it, that was what almost led to her divorce.

With a huff, Anthony pulled out a suitcase from the back of his closet. Anthony didn't pack for work trips or vacations. Whatever fit inside a carry-on were his essentials. Anything he needed, he bought there.

It struck Anthony suddenly, he didn't know when he was leaving, when he was allowed to come back, or if he would ever only visit during holidays. If he was marrying the king of a coven, did his family win out? Did the Lavigne family suddenly take priority? Anthony had to sit down. He didn't know where Knox lived. He was too blinded by rage to read the plane ticket.

This was Nino's business. Not his. Not until now.

A knock on the door pulled Anthony from his spiral. Appearing with a smile and in an outfit way too fancy for a home visit, Anthony's older sister Bianca waved at him. "Hi handsome."

Bianca Ventura wore a pink mini dress with a peter pan collar, sleeves, and matching white leather boots that went all the way up past the hem of her dress. Her dark hair laid stick straight past her shoulders. She held the tiniest purse in existence that could maybe hold one lipstick tube and a dream.

Rolling his eyes, Anthony got up and stormed to his dresser, grabbing things just to grab them, just so he'd have something to do with his hands. Bianca was holding back a laugh. "I'm getting this sense that you might be upset."

"I can't believe you knew Dante sold me off and you didn't warn me."

"What?" Bianca still spoke too nonchalantly when the gravity of this situation was so high. She stayed by the door, crossing her arms and leaning against the threshold. "Why would I do that for you to kill the messenger? Absolutely not. I'm always happy to let Dante take the brunt of anyone's anger." Her eyes narrowed in on him. "I know you, little brother. I know you'll get your revenge in due time, and I'd like to be standing at a safe distance when that happens."

"It's not fair," Anthony said.

"That's life. You've been alive for what? Give or take fifty-two years and you haven't figured that out? What a charmed life for Anthony Ventura."

Somehow, Anthony's frown deepened. "You're not funny. You don't understand. You didn't have to have an arranged marriage."

Bianca shrugged, showing zero signs of sympathy. "Well, I can't help that I have excellent taste. I was born this way. I'm just lucky my husband is also attracted to power and money like me."

Going back to his dresser, Anthony grabbed fistfuls of socks and crammed them into his luggage pockets. "Do you think if I pitched a fit and ran away like Nino, I'd be able to get away with it?