Still, she was happy with the way things had turned out and she wasn't giving Atreides up for anyone or anything.
She closed her eyes, the happiest she'd ever been…for now.
When Selena woke, she realized it was time to go to her parents’ home for lunch. She kissed Atreides. "I’m off to my parents' place."
"You'll have an escort there."
"I'll be fine. I'll just drive. Your people can't go with me. It's too sunny out."
He ground his teeth. "Then have your brother or sister join you here and pick you up for lunch. With Cliff out for your blood, I don't trust you being alone."
She sighed. "All right." She got out of bed and dressed, then left the bedroom so Atreides could sleep further. He needed to be at the top of his game to fight whatever he needed to also.
"Hey, Daniel," Selena said, calling him on her cell phone.
"We're already on our way over to Atreides’s place. You're not safe with Cliff wanting to take you down. He could do it at any time, night or day," Daniel said.
"All right. I'll be waiting here for you." She was glad he was taking the threat to her seriously.
Within half an hour, Daniel drove up in his Jeep and Selena climbed into the vehicle and saw Rosa sitting in the back seat.
"I think Mom and Dad might know already," Selena warned them.
"We were hoping not, but thinking the same thing," Rosa said.
"Mom sounded upset and she asked if I wanted my favorite dish for lunch."
"Italian sausage spaghetti? She only fixes that for you for your birthday," Rosa said.
"Yeah, I think she thought it would be like comfort food for me. I don't know what I was thinking. I just thought she would react the way you two did."
"We were fine with it since you seemed to be all right with it. Mom hasn't seen you yet," Daniel said. "When she realizes you're not all broken up about it, that will be different."
"Okay, well, I hope it won't be a tearful reunion."
No one said anything, and she figured it would be.
She got on her phone and called the League Council secretary. "This is Selena Townsend. I need to make an appointment to meet with the League Council."
There was dead silence on the phone. Daniel glanced at her.
"Hello?" Selena said.
"Uh, yes, hold a minute."
Then Selena heard relaxing New Age music playing. "Apparently it's a big thing. The secretary put me on hold."
"They know then," Daniel said.
"Maybe. I wonder if they learned of it and talked to our parents about it. I doubt our parents would have learned of it and told the League Council. They would have wanted me to talk to them first, I'm sure." Or maybe not. Maybe her parents had contacted them to learn what they should do. They did have a League psychologist and maybe they even met with her.
Then the secretary got back on the phone and said, "Would one this afternoon work well for you?"
Selena's jaw dropped. Never had the League Council convened that quickly for a single hunter unless they thought they had to avert a war.
"Yeah, sure, one this afternoon would be fine. I'll be there then." She ended the call.
"Holy hell, they know," Daniel said. "No way would they hurry up and convene that quickly otherwise."
When they arrived at their parents' two-story, brick home, both their Mom and Dad came out to greet them. Her mom had definitely been crying, and she looked a little hesitant to hug her, as if she was afraid of what Selena had become. She gave her mom a warm hug. "Love you, Mom, Dad." She gave him a hug, both warmly hugging her back.
And then they all went inside the house. All the surrounding neighbors were hunters, all protecting each other in the event rogue vampires threatened any of the families. Since they were in the business of killing rogues, they were always on the alert should the rogue vampires they were hunting begin hunting them.
As soon as they walked into the house, they smelled the delicious spaghetti cooking in the kitchen and all the best dishware and silverware were set out as if it were a holiday or other special occasion. Selena guessed it was. She was still alive, after all.
"We know something of what had happened," her dad said as they sat down to eat. "No sense in pretending we don't. But we only know bits and pieces."
So Selena ate some of her meal and then proceeded to tell them all that had happened. Daniel had to get a tissue box for Selena and her mother because when her mother cried, it made Selena cry. And then Rosa was crying. She'd held out the longest.
Daniel and their dad looked on sympathetically.
She was glad to get all this out in the open. She hadn't realized what a relief it was.
"When are you going to tell the League?" her dad asked.
"Right after lunch."
"You should have seen it, Dad," Daniel said. "As soon as she called them to speak with the Council, they scheduled her for one. That never happens unless there's the threat of a war going on."
That could either be good news or bad. She suspected it wouldn't be all good. And she hoped they didn't have hunter guards standing by because they were afraid of her.
Selena smiled. "It has to be good news." She wouldn't let on that she was worried it might not be.
"They can't kick her out of the League." Daniel ate a slice of bread.
"They would be foolish to do so. She can telepathically communicate with other vampires," Rosa said. "She made friends with two huntresses who had been turned and are living in one of the border towns."
"Oh, is that wise?" her mother asked.
"It's a whole different world now," Selena said. "I don't have a lot of choice. But if I can help both sides, I'm all for it."
"It's going to take some getting used to. If you get angry with someone, do you show off your canines?" her dad asked.
"Only once, and they're not very big. Not like the ancients have. I guess it will take some time to work up to that. But I have to admit the transportation and flying leaps sure are fun to use, especially when I need to get to places fast."
"Or leave places fast," her mother said. "You know how we always say the vampires would rule the world if they weren't so arrogant. If they were getting overwhelmed in battle, they need to just vanish, and gather more of their people."
"I know, Mom. I promise that I'll vanish if I get overwhelmed by the bad guys—whether they're hunters or vampires." At least in theory she would. She wasn't sure if it might just be in their genetic makeup that made them feel the need to finish a battle against the hunters. Maybe, now that she was one, she would feel the same way.
"What do you think they're going to say to Selena?" Rosa asked.
"If they know what's good for us, they'll keep her employed as a hunter and give her a special job that she's going to be well-trained for," her dad said.
As long as they didn't expect her to spy on good vampires and just learn what she could about rogues. She could see herself getting killed quickly if she was just serving as a spy for the League. Besides, she wanted to help the vampires with dealing with hunters who didn't respect that some vampires were the good guys.