The Succubae Seduction Bk. 02: The Twins Ch. 14

"It's not good to bottle things up," Sonia offered, but didn't seem to press the issue. "Feel free to talk to me if you need to. I promise complete confidentiality."

"Except for the government?" Sheldon asked.

Sonia directed a dirty look his way, before shaking her head. "No. Laws protect patient confidentiality. That information is only shared if the patient requests it."

"Thanks, I think," Shelly said, still unsure of the woman. "But my grandfather helped me with that, and I know he can't tell anyone." She became aware of her father giving her a strange look, and couldn't hide her grimace. This wasn't going to go over very well.

"Shemhazau Encantado says hi, Dad. Apparently you really didn't kill him." She had to swallow a lump in her throat as she saw tears form in his eyes. "He happens to be living in my Mens Mundi."

"Dad?" Lyden choked with emotion. "Can it really be? I... I thought... In your—But how?"

"You never told me he was such a pervert," Shelly chuckled with unease.

She didn't expect his reaction as he launched himself for the bed and swept her up in a massive hug. That made for two unexpected hugs since waking up. At least her father was clothed! "That sounds like him, all right. He was always fascinated with Jennifer's boobs, and he had some other... odd, ideas. Can I talk to him? Can he hear me?"

"I don't know," she gasped, trying to fill her compressed lungs with air. Her dad was a lot stronger than he looked. "So far I've only been able to talk to him when I was near death. I haven't been able to access my Mens Mundi on my own. I was going to ask Gloria about it, but..." She trailed off as she caught the look in Eldon's eyes. Lyden let her go and stepped back. Everyone was either red cheeked, or looking away from her. Well, everyone other than Sonia.

Sheldon was the first to speak up. "Gloria... left." Shelly could tell that it took a lot for her brother to get those two words out, but like a dam bursting, once opened up, the rest soon followed. "She claimed I glowed brighter than the sun to her. By the way, the reason I glow in your eyes is because you care for me. The more I glow to someone, the more they care about me. Anyway, since she had refused to say it before, I was so happy! She loved me! But she claimed it was dangerous for her to love. To prove it, she made these two fall in love with me, and made everyone else so horny, they couldn't resist having a little orgy in here."

"She didn't make me love you," Mandy added. "I don't think I ever stopped."

"Even if she made me feel this way," Shlee piped in, "I don't regret it. Gloria was right about one thing. You're worth loving."

By the sick look that crossed her brother's face, Shelly suspected that that didn't make him feel any better.

"What about your fiancée?" Eldon turned on the werewolf. He wasn't angry with her. If anything, Shelly would say that he looked and sounded defeated.

"I still love him too," Shlee stated, then covered her mouth and glared at Mandy. "I don't want to talk about him, though. I can't because it's supposed to be a secret. People wouldn't understand if they—mnfmfm." The last part was muffled as she covered her mouth again.

"How can you love two men?" Eldon asked. He didn't demand. He didn't yell, or scream, or even act like he truly cared about the answer.

Shlee mumbled something behind her hand, and shook her head, pain and worry evident in her eyes.

"None of us will judge you," Lyden interrupted. "I know what it is like to love multiple women. At first I felt like a dirty lecher for it, but as long as you're honest with the ones you care about, and they are okay with it, there is no reason to hide.

Shelly noticed the woman's blue eyes start to turn golden as the hand covering her mouth grew claws. She knew she needed to intercede before something happened. It took more effort than she realized to get off the bed, but she moved to the strawberry blonde haired woman.

Shlee shied away from her, but Shelly placed her hand on the woman's shoulder and looked into her bright eyes. "It's okay. We're friends here. None of us will judge you. Look around." Her arm swept to point out people as she mentioned them. "My father has multiple wives, each one a different race. My half sibling, Bridgette, can be either gender he or she wishes, and by the looks of it has a fairy hanging on her every word. Mei is a half-dragon who apparently had sex with the enemy, if I'm judging his scratches correctly. Mihale might judge you, but his opinion is worth less than crap. My brother is the last person to ever be judgmental of another person. And me? Hell, apparently I was in love with my own sister." That still hurt to say, but it seemed to come easier each time she said it. "Whatever you have to say can't be any worse than that."

As she spoke, Shelly noticed that Shlee calmed dawn and returned to normal. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed between the twins. She saw the love in the werewolf's eyes as she stared at Sheldon, but also saw fear behind it. After another moment, she nodded and lowered her hand.

"His name is Dimitri Volglov," Shlee's voice came out weak but clear. "You have to know, Lyden, I don't ever want to hurt you. I—"

"I'm getting tired of hearing that," Sheldon cut her off, showing a little emotion. She would have expected him to be angry or furious, but instead, he sounded tired and resigned.

"I... I understand, my love. I'm sorry. I'm just... I mean..." Her chest rose as she visibly gained courage. Whatever it was, it had to be powerful to keep her from spilling everything out in Mandy's presence. "Dimitri is a... a... vampire."

Everyone was silent for a long while, as they tried to absorb that information. Bridgette was the first to break the silence, summing up almost everyone else's thoughts in one word.

"So?"

"Dear..." Brooke placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Werewolves and vampires have been mortal enemies for centuries. They hate each other with a passion that is almost instinctual. The thought of two of them getting together and... It doesn't make sense."

"Like a mermaid getting along with the Pillar of Fire?" Lyden asked with a small smile.

"That's different," Brooke stated. "Whenever I go into Angela's demesne, I have to have Becky cast certain spells on me so that I don't dry out. Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies. Usually when one is in the presence of the other, they go into a rage and try to destroy each other."

"Aren't vampires supposed to be evil?" Mei asked. She'd remained quiet for most of the conversation. Enough so, that Shelly kept forgetting she was there, unless she looked right at the half-dragon woman with her scaly legs and curled horns protruding from her temples.

"Dimitri is different," Shlee stated and all eyes returned to her. "He doesn't act like the other vampires. He's better than them."

"But your family wouldn't approve if they knew, right?" Becky asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Approve?" Shlee asked in shock but didn't look away from Sheldon's eyes. "They'd tear me to bits and burn and burry the remains. Not necessarily in that order."

Shelly's heart went out to her brother as she saw new pain blossom in his face. It looked like the twins were destined for heartache, no matter what happened. Jessica had hurt them both, and now Gloria had doubly pained Sheldon, both by leaving him, and saddling his heart with a woman who was already taken. Shelly believed that Shlee now loved both men, but she understood her brother's morals. He would never willingly steal another man's woman.

She wanted to be angry with Shlee, but understood her position as well. She had to keep her fiancée a secret, or face something worse than death. She hadn't asked to love Sheldon, but had it forced on her. Shelly didn't doubt that love was real, even if it hadn't come by genuine means.

She was torn. She could see the hurt and anger on Sheldon's face, but she also sympathized with the fear in Shlee's eyes.

"Sheldon, maybe we should—" she started to say maybe they should wait until they had some time to cool off before making any decisions, but the Orange Bubble stopped and Sonia stared outside.

"This car is a security risk." Sonia didn't look happy. "Somehow we're stopped on the front lawn of the White House. How the hell did we make it past all the security?"

"This wonderful car doesn't get noticed unless it wants to," Lyden said as he ran a loving hand along one wall.

"I can worry about the logistics and dangers of that later," Sonia didn't seem to like that idea at all. "Right now I need to get to the President, make sure she's safe, find out where Mihale's son is and eliminate him as a threat, and if we're lucky create peace between two worlds."

Mihale struggled against his bonds, but almost no one paid him any mind.

"I'm not sitting this one out," Lyden stated and pulled out a pistol. He pulled back the top, verifying there was a round in the chamber before looking around to meet everyone's gaze. No one argued. There wasn't time to argue.

"Let me take the lead," Sonia stated as they piled out of the Volkswagen Beetle. They weren't worried about leaving Mihale alone in the car. The Orange Bubble would make sure no one could save him. "If we run into the Secret Service, let me do the talking. Most of them know me."

"Sheldon, grab my neck," Shelly ordered her brother. "Try not to kill with me too much if you can avoid it. It has... odd effects—affects?—on me."

"Like?" he asked even as he gripped her neck and she changed into the form of the dull gray katana.

"Just don't!" she snapped at him, vibrating to make the noise.

"That looks just like Murasame, except the blade's a bit different," Lyden commented. Shelly thought she heard a slight hitch in his voice. "You really do have my father in your head. He'd better keep his hands to himself." His voice dropped to that of a concerned parent with such abruptness, that it startled her. Lyden Snow had always been the type of father to teach his kids but let them make their own mistakes. All things considered and learned over the last few hours, it struck her as odd.

"Halt!" Someone cried out as they approached the front entryway. The White House was huge, with tall white columns supporting a high white roof. It was too much of one color for Shelly's tastes, but she didn't have to live there.

"Emergency!" Sonia yelled to the black suited guards. They lifted their rifles and pointed right at the running group. "POTUS is in danger! Authorization: SONIA-15-03-80."

One of the guards placed his finger against an earpiece and listened, but no one slowed down. It only took a second before he waved to the other guards. "Stand down. It's Sonia." He had a grin on his face as he looked her over. "Go save her, toots!" He slapped her rear as they ran past.

"Thanks, Randall," Sonia ground her teeth. "And tell your wife I said hi."

That dropped the smirk from his face, as the other Secret Service agents chuckled.

"What was that about?" Eldon asked the android as they barreled through the front doors.

"I am a sex-bot," Sonia growled. "Some people took advantage of that fact. He was one of them."

"You were forced to service them?" Sheldon asked, anger thick in his voice. Shelly felt pride in her brother's indignation, then he had to go and ruin it. "That's not right! Even if you are just a machine, you shouldn't be forced to—"

"Just a machine?" Sonia asked as they raced down a hallway. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up while you still can," Shelly whispered to her brother.

"I can smell President Louise this way," Shlee commented. She'd changed into her wolf form, and was a good four feet tall at the shoulders. "I can't smell any fear or panic in her scent."

"Something doesn't seem right," Brooke said from her position at the rear of their column. "Everyone here is too calm."

Shlee changed shapes as they burst through a large set of double doors, and saw Martha Louise sitting calmly at the head of a long oak table. Well-dressed men and women sat around the table, while Secret Service agents lined the walls. Those at the table looked at them with shock, while the agents drew their side-arms and took aim.

"Ambassador Snow," President Louise was the first to break the silence. "I'm glad to see you got your family back, but I don't think your weapons are appropriate." She was calm and collected, which only added to Shelly's confusion. She was supposed to be in danger. They'd rushed here as fast as the Orange Bubble could take them, but she appeared to be just fine.

"Your life is in danger, President Louise," Sonia stated with conviction before turning her gaze on the agents still pointing weapons at them. "The agents at the door should have warned you already. Why haven't you gotten her to safety?"

"We've received no word of danger," one of the agents standing behind Martha Louise stated. "Stand down, Sonia. She is in no danger here."

Sheldon slowly lowered Shelly until her tip touched the ground. She couldn't see very well from this angle, and shifted back to her normal form. There were a few gasps as she appeared, and some of the pistols shifted to cover her.

"What is the meaning of this?" a man in an expensive looking black suit that did nothing to hide his heavyset frame, demanded. He squared off against Lyden. "Ambassador Snow. I would expect nothing less from a monster like you. How dare you barge into this meeting! Aren't you civilized enough to know what a closed door means? In case you aren't—"

"Senator McConley," Lyden grinned, but Shelly could see it was forced. "I'm quite aware of what a closed door means. I wonder, though. You weren't part of this conversation. Do you often barge into conversations that don't concern you?" Becky placed her hand on his arm, but he didn't look away from the glaring senator.

McConley sputtered for a moment before finding his voice. "How dare you! I should have you arrested. No one speaks to me like that! You are interrupting a serious meeting. We were just about to vote on naming the creatures from your vile world. I was against it at first, but now I see that giving them a vile name to match their vile nature is perfect." He turned to face the President. "I vote yes for officially naming them Lydonese."

Everyone remained tense and no one moved for a couple seconds. Shelly saw her father's jaw tense as he ground his teeth together. A sure sign he was furious. Lyden's eyes moved to Mandy and a grin split his face a moment later.

"Tell me, Senator. How much money has the Paladonic Knights donated to your campaign?" Lyden's voice was silky smooth as he asked the question.

"Donated? Ha!" the senator scoffed. "They are my campaign. I've belonged to them for a few decades now. I hardly make a decision without checking with them first. They fund almost everything I do." By the triumphant look on his face, he didn't realize that he'd just put himself in a lot of trouble.

"Does that include putting the President's life in danger?" Lyden asked, remaining at ease.

The senator grew confused even as his mouth opened to answer with complete honesty. He had no choice but to tell the truth with Mandy in the room. "The assassination attempt wasn't my decision. I was told where not to be at the time, to remain safe." McConley's eyes grew large as he realized he was giving away his secrets.

"Arrest him," Sonia ordered a couple agents, and they broke from their shock to comply.

"I didn't mean to say that! It's the truth, but I meant to lie! This isn't right! Unhand me! I can have someone kill your wife and children within the hour, if you don't let me go right this instant."

"Make sure he can't contact anyone," Sonia ordered as the agent got a worried look in his eyes. "Find a deep dark hole to shove him in until we can ask him more questions later."

"That was... unexpected," President Louise stated, still on her feet.

"Everything will be clear in a moment or two, Madame President," Lyden stated. He then faced one half of the long table. "Are any of you in league with the Paladonic Knights or Daughters of Respite? Have any of you conspired to assassinate President Louise?" He was greeted to that question with a number of indignant denials.

He turned to the other half, and Shelly could see two people—one woman and one man—sweating profusely.

"President Louise," stated the woman, "this is ridiculous!" The man sweating next to her nodded with enthusiasm. "We're all loyal Americans here. It's not illegal to accept money from certain groups."

"It is if they are labelled a terrorist group," another female senator stated. "I have never accepted money, or bribes from either group."

"But surely Ambassador Snow or his witch wife has cast a spell," the sweating man said. "Nothing he says, or forces us to say, is admissible—"

"No spell has been cast," Mandy stated. She received a number of glares for cutting off the politician—or maybe it was that she was obviously not human with her four arms. "No one can tell a lie in my presence. No spell has been cast. All of you still have free will, and can act as you please. The only thing that my presence affects is your ability to lie. If you try, you will end up speaking more truth than you intend. I have no authority here, but I recommend that if you're guilty, you come clean of your own choice. It will be less embarrassing for you."

"But also less entertaining," Oberon complained. "You should lie, so I can laugh at you."

If anyone was angry with Mandy's words, they became infuriated with Oberon's statement. Voices erupted in livid heat as they denied any accusations. The only ones not speaking were the two sweating senators.

President Louise banged her fists against the table, trying to regain order as Bridgette grabbed the Fairy King and held him behind her back. She shifted forms, becoming Brock, and glared at anyone who even looked like they might come after the four-inch man. Standing there in his mechanical legs, he looked truly intimidating.

Sheldon stepped forward before Shelly had a chance to stop him, and slammed his fist down on the table. The large wooden surface looked solid, but it didn't stand a chance against him. A three foot by four foot chunk smashed against the floor, and everyone went silent. He looked around the room with disgust on his face. A couple of the agents eyed him warily, but none of them drew their weapons.

"I find it hard to believe that you are supposed to be leading this nation," Eldon stated, his voice dripping with disdain. A woman who'd already professed her innocence tried to speak up, but he silenced her with a hand gesture. Shelly had never seen her brother act like this before. She didn't know whether to be impressed, or afraid. "Real leaders, leaders like President Louise, know better than to sit here and bicker. You are acting more like children than elected officials. If you're innocent, say so when I point at you."

"We're politicians," one man in an expensive suit stated. "None of us are innocent. We lie to our constituents on a daily basis. If the American public knew how their government was really being run, we'd all be executed as mfff—" he slapped his hands over his mouth as he realized what he was saying.

Shelly was getting used to seeing that look on peoples' faces again.

"I assume you're done talking?" Eldon asked and the man nodded. "Good, except for one thing. Are you conspiring with the P.K.s or the D.O.R.s?" The man shook his head, and Shelly saw her brother's face darken. "You need to speak it."

"No," the senator uncovered his mouth long enough to speak.

"Good. You can sit there quietly now." Sheldon grinned as though he were talking to a little child and pointed to the next senator. "How about you?"