“They’re all dead,” he discloses, resting his forearms against the marble. “Efficient really, almost like we had a plan going in. Well, except for the idiot who ran into the fray.”
The blonde doesn’t look much better after the verbal railing than before. Fear takes the place that shock vacates and I know eating will help, but I don’t offer that suggestion. Leo can do it.
“Now we should get going,” Ben insists, returning several weapons to a black duffle bag. Two tabbies rub up against Tess’s legs, marking her as their own and I nearly scoff at the irony. Leo tries to convince them to stay to no avail.
“It’s their decision,” I state, pushing anything I’m feeling to the far corners of my mind. I don’t want a mate. The sooner she leaves the sooner I can forget her. “Let them go.”
Unable to stand in the same room as her I retreat back up the stairs, feeling less like a powerful shifter able to tear my enemy in two and more like a coward.
Pacing the length of my room doesn’t help me work through my feelings or offer any reprieve. It isn’t until I hear the screen door close that I breathe easier, disregarding the piece of me screaming to go after her.
My heart is still hammering in my chest when I strip my clothes, stepping into the tiled shower. Cold water beats against my face, running in rivulets down my body as my hands press against the wall. I trace the veins of color with my eyes, wondering why this had to happen. And why her? I should never have phased. Then I wouldn’t have found out. I could have continued on my merry way in happy ignorance.
Every detail of her face is burned in my memory and I bang the wall in frustration. My parents have been happily mated for over twenty-five years and show a level of devotion to each other unmatched by those in our pack. For a split second I allow the thought of a future with Tess before watching it swirl down the drain.
It’s going to be a long night.
***
“What’s this?” I ask the guy setting up a laptop on my front porch. His classic cut pea coat holds off the late evening chill and my bare feet are getting cold standing in the doorway. The last rays of the dying sun beam through the trees casting him in an orange glow.
“A warning of what happens when you meddle,” he says, his accent faintly Yugoslavian or somewhere from that general vicinity. After working quickly to accomplish whatever task he is doing, the man puts his hands in his pockets and descends the short flight of steps toward an unmarked car. He says something to the driver before getting in the passenger seat and driving away.
I look at the computer warily, worried about it being a bomb. I did not get enough sleep for this. But the only thing it shows is a news feed with a living room full of people.
Using the heel of my palm to help clear away my blurry eyes, I examine the screen more carefully before carrying the computer into the family room. No need to leave the door open and I’m not going to get dressed just to sit on the porch all night. Brooding around the house has worked quite well for me today and I don’t want to give up my streak.
“What’s that?” Caleb asks from the kitchen.
“No clue.” Settling into my spot on the couch I look at the faces of those on the screen. The camera isn’t quite in the corner of the room but the angle shows the majority of the area. The only odd thing about the scene is that everyone is standing with the exception of two people. A man and woman sit on a loveseat holding hands. No, not holding, gripping. There’s too much tension for it to be benign.
Reviewing the dozen or so people standing, I notice their movements are just a little too sharp, a little too fast for it to be normal. They may not be vampires, but intuition tells me they are.
I don’t understand what this has to do with anything until Tess walks through the front door. That’s when my heart stops.
CHAPTER 3
HER
My hand rests on the doorknob as I stare numbly at the hostile vampires tainting my home. I don’t understand; how could they have gotten in? No one jumps to attack me so I set my keys on the shelf next to the door.
The rotting fruit stench makes my eyes water and I have to quell my gag reflex. My feet stay cemented to the floor while quick calculations show there are too many to handle at once. Dmitri and Viktor blend in with the others quite well and it’s a reminder that we’re no longer at Hillbrook. Not that being there stopped them from trying to kill me, but it’s obvious now that they are with their own kind.
“You were a difficult person to track,” a vampire snarks, her short hair matching her petite figure.
“I guess I’m just an overachiever,” I reply smoothly, my eyes raking the faces until I see my mom and dad sitting on the couch. Struggling in vain to keep my breathing even, I can feel my nails elongating ever so slightly with every step I take toward my parents.
“My Master wants a meeting with you.”
“Isn’t that kind of archaic?” I ask, clocking the location of each vampire as I move deeper into dangerous ground. It will be harder to fight my way out. “I mean, do vampires even need a Master anymore? Feminism and all that?”
Her face turns up in a sneer which is unfortunate because she looked better before. Some people get defensive when they’re scared, others shut down. I get snarky.
“You should have just died that night,” Dmitri says quietly with a slight shake of his head. “It would have
