Cassidy leaned across the space separating them to squeeze Julie’s knee. “I know that’s going to be difficult, but it is for the best.”
“Thank you, all of you, for coming for me,” Julie said. “I was sure Jasmine was going to kill me.”
“You can’t tell anyone about us,” Dante said. “You’d put all of us, and yourself, at risk if you do.”
“Oh, believe me, I know. One crazy vamp and her insane friends are enough for me for one lifetime. I will keep my mouth shut.”
“I’m sorry,” Preston said. “I know Jasmine started losing it after she changed me, but I never saw that coming.”
“It’s not your fault. I thought she was awesome until the night she took me.”
“What happened?” Dante asked.
Julie stared at the wall behind him as she replied. “I was walking to the T from Preston’s place when I heard someone calling my name. I turned to find Jasmine coming toward me. She told me she missed me and had a shirt she wanted to give me. She used to do things like that when she was dating Preston, so I didn’t think anything of it. I still had some time before I was going to be late, so I agreed to go to her place to get it. Except we went to Margie’s instead and…”
Her words trailed off as she shook her head. “Well, you know the rest.”
They digested her words in silence.
“Do you think they were mates?” Dante asked Cassidy after a few minutes. “Do you think that’s why she got so possessive and went so crazy after changing him?”
“If they were mates, she wouldn’t have gone crazy,” Cassidy replied. “Her behavior after changing him shows she was spiraling out of control before making Preston a vampire. She might have assumed changing Preston and having him in her life forever would help stabilize her. When it didn’t, it caused her to unravel further. She was probably fighting her impulse to kill for a while and gave in to it. I bet she started killing before Preston broke up with her. She smelled really bad.”
“I didn’t smell anything,” Preston said.
“Neither did I,” Julie said.
“Only those who are born vampires can smell the rot of a Savage’s soul,” Cassidy said.
Julie gawked at her. “There are vampires who are born?”
“There are.”
Cassidy saw no reason not to tell the girl about purebreds. Julie already knew a lot about vampires, and too much time had passed to change her memories; they were too ingrained. They could take control of her mind and compel her never to tell anyone, but she’d been through enough already. She didn’t need her mind messed with on top of everything else she endured.
“What a crazy world I got mixed up in,” Julie muttered.
“I’m going to keep you safe,” Preston said.
“It will be okay,” Cassidy assured her. “Not only do you have Preston, but we’ll also be here for you if you want.”
Julie sniffled. “Thank you.”
“I’m Dante Alvarez, by the way,” Dante said.
“I thought your name was Dan Vares,” Preston said.
“That’s what I told you it was before I knew if I could trust you. It’s also what your mom believes it is, and I would like to keep it that way,” he said with a pointed look at Julie. “I was once a police officer in this city, and I’d prefer to keep my anonymity as much as possible. Please, don’t tell your mom my real name, but if you need us again, you should know it.”
“I won’t tell her,” Julie promised.
Chapter Forty-Seven
That afternoon, Dante led Julie up the steps to the door of her home. He hadn’t called Mrs. Abbott to let her know they were coming; Julie wanted to surprise her mom, and he wasn’t going to take that away from her. She’d endured enough trauma, and now she was trying to bask in the joy of something.
Dante’s wounds were almost completely healed by the time Julie was cleaned up and confident enough to face her mom again. The girl’s anxious dread radiated off her in waves as she fidgeted with the ends of her sleeves. When they arrived at the top of the stairs, she chewed on her bottom lip and shifted from foot to foot as she stared at the door with a mixture of dread and anticipation.
“It will be tough in the beginning, but you’ll get through this,” he assured her. “Your mom really wants you home.”
“I wish I could tell her the truth. I won’t!” she blurted. “I would never do that to her, Preston, or any of you. Sometimes, living in the dark is better, but I wish she didn’t have to go through the rest of her life thinking I left her on purpose.”
Dante rested a hand on her thin shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “As long as she has you back and gets to keep you, she’ll get over her hurt.”
Julie nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.
“Are you going in?” he asked.
“It doesn’t feel like my house anymore,” she whispered.
Dante turned her toward him and grasped her other shoulder. “I met your mom, I sat with her, and I listened to her talk about you. She loves you more than anything. To her, this will always be your home. Things will probably be strained between the two of you in the beginning, but the tough times will pass, and it will get better.”
Her eyes shifted toward the door. “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”
“She could never hate you. I know love when I see it, and that woman loves you more than anything. However, I would wait a little bit before introducing Preston to her.”
He wanted Julie to tell her about Preston before Lindsay got the chance, but… “You have to work on your relationship with your mom before throwing another major thing into the mix. In a month or two, when you think the time is right, tell
