Sterling Silver: (Sterling Hunter 1)

by Melody Personette

  But it hadn’t been a nightmare and Tabitha had woken up too many times already to find that nothing had changed. Her life was still one big mess. Her dad dead, her mom dead. Her best friend exposed to the other half of Tabitha’s life. No doubt Chelsea wanted an explanation…

  But before the heartache and misery could get too bad Tabitha burrowed under the blankets and squeezed her eyes shut forcing herself back into sleep, despite the nightmarish dreams that awaited her.

  It wasn’t until her body forced her to wake up that she finally heard, really heard, Sebastian talking to her. Her stomach cramped and rumbled with hunger since she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten, and her throat was parched from not drinking anything for who knew how long. Tabitha stayed frozen under the blankets waiting for the tears to come back but… they didn’t. They had abandoned her. Her one line of defense, her excuse for pretending the world didn’t exist had abandoned her. Sebastian’s hand was on her leg, tracing circles over the blanket and skin as he spoke.

  “… and I love you, Tabitha. We’re going to get through this. You’re going to get through this. Your siblings are worried about you. Chelsea’s worried about you. I’m worried about you. I lost both my parents in a matter of two years. I know what you’re going through so just please… You don’t have to say anything or do anything or even eat anything. You just have to wake up and show me that you're still alive under there.”

  He was pleading with her. Tabitha swallowed the lump in her throat, took a deep breath and pulled the covers back. Sebastian’s eyes widened as they met hers as if he was surprised, she had actually listened to him. He gave her a grim, relieved smile, his hand moving up her leg and resting on the hand she had pulled free from the confines of her blanket. all the bite marks and blood were gone, but she was still in so much pain. Not physical. Tabitha vaguely remembered blood seeping into her mouth. Either Alistair’s or Sebastian’s. Either way it had saved her life and closed off her wounds. No. Her pain came from the heart. A broken heart who had lost too much.

  Sebastian nodded fiercely and crawled onto the bed, sinking down next to her. Tabitha maneuvered herself around him, taking his hand in his as he placed it between them. His presence soothed some of her pain at least. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed her hand against his lips. Tabitha closed her eyes too, taking in the feel of his lips against her skin. Without thinking she touched his face and pulled him closer, inviting him further onto the bed. He did, and Tabitha cuddled up next to him, taking in what little warmth he gave off and pressed her lips to his. It was a small relief but a relief, nonetheless. When they pulled away Sebastian traced a line down her cheek, his eyes smoldering and taking her in. Tabitha reveled in his gaze, letting the love on his face burrow into her broken and fractured heart. His gaze made her think that she had lost her mom, and it was painful, but she wouldn’t hurt forever.

  “I kind of lied,” he murmured.

  Tabitha raised her eyebrows, taken aback. “What?”

  He gave her a small smile. “I lied. I said all you had to do was wake up but… I would really appreciate it if you ate something too.”

  Those words tugged Tabitha’s lips into a smile, and she rolled her eyes, trailing a finger down his cheek. “What a liar.”

  He grinned. “Will you eat something if I bring it up to you?”

  “If I have to… How long have I been asleep?”

  “It’s Monday… so just through the night.”

  Tabitha grimaced. It didn’t feel long enough. “Where am I?”

  Sebastian scooted even closer and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. She nestled her head under his chin, against his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat against her ear. Maybe the tears were done and now she could just pretend nothing had happened. Get to the stage in grieving where she could just pretend everything was fine and her mom hadn’t died and that there was a murderous vampire bent on killing her on the loose.

  “In my house. Your brother’s staying… here as well while everything is sorted out. Your Aunt Lucy is coming to… arrange the…”

  Tabitha sucked in a breath. “The funeral.”

  He nodded against her head. “Yes. That. Will you be all right if I leave you for a moment to get you food?”

  Tabitha nodded even though she knew she wouldn’t. She didn’t want to be left alone, but she let him go. He kissed her forehead and left. Tabitha scooted up in bed and realized she must be in his room. Dusty bookshelves full to the brim with books lined almost every wall and high windows let in sunlight. Two glass doors led out onto a balcony and a desk sat in the middle of the room over an old, expensive looking rug.

  Grimacing from the distant ache in her neck she pulled herself up and out of bed, pushing the sheets off her and getting to her feet. There was so much history crammed into this little room. Journals and broken-overly used books. A suit of armor sat in a corner watching over her and paintings, beautiful paintings hung on the walls. Maybe if she stayed in this room forever, Tabitha wouldn’t have to face her problems. Just live in Sebastian’s room for the rest of her life and never leave. That seemed like a perfect idea. At least in here, she could forget that she now had lost not just one parent, but both of them. She was officially an orphan. Living up in Sebastian’s room, hiding up there, seemed like the best thing to do.

  Right as she was about to walk over to the balcony the smell of food wafted into the room and the door opened. Sebastian walked in with a plate brimming with food in his hands. Eggs and bacon and toast and sausages and biscuits and a large glass of milk.

  He flashed her a fanged grin and sat down over the blankets, setting the tray down and patted the spot next to him. Tabitha forced a smile back thought… it didn’t feel like a real smile. Not yet. It was too soon for a real smile.

  “Take whatever you like,” he gestured at the plates. Tabitha walked over and sat down, crossing her legs.

  She stuffed her face and drank as Sebastian filled her in on everything that was happening–per her request. There was one big funeral being planned, coordinated by Mrs. and Mr. Carters’ parents, Tabitha’s grandparents and her Aunt Lucy. The whole town was in mourning and helping to prepare for the funeral along with giving Jonas and Tabitha’s family a ridiculous amount of flowers and casseroles.

  On the vampire side of things Emmeline and Alistair had disappeared.

  Every file and piece of information they had on vampires had been scrubbed from the computers. Several of the vampires working with the Moirai had vanished some afraid of the repercussions of Alistair’s actions and some spies for him ready to defect. For now, Jonas’s uncle, Kyle, was taking over the Carter’s diner and their vampire activities. There were cover stories being made and police being told to be on a lookout for Alistair and his beautiful blond accomplice Emmeline.

  Sebastian’s lips tilted down into a mix of a scowl and a frown whenever he talked about Emmeline as if he were both furious at her and disappointed. He got a murderous glint in his eyes whenever Tabitha said Alistair’s name. “So,” Tabitha concluded for him finishing up the last of the eggs. “Everything is… fine you mean? I… don’t have to worry about anything?”

  Sebastian shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “No, you don’t have to worry about a single thing. We have it all under control. You grieve and take as much time as you need.”

  Tabitha frowned and ducked out from beneath his arm. He gave her a troubled look as if he were trying to sift through her mind and figure out what she was thinking. She nodded, staring down at her hands as she tried to figure out what she was thinking herself. “I do need time to grieve. I lost my mom and… Alistair hurt me pretty bad. And I’m sure I’ll need some time off but... Sebastian, I don’t think I really want time off.” Her eyes flickered up to meet his, his face mirroring her questioning look. “Alistair hurt me and he’s still out there. I want to find him, and I want to end him. The last
time one of my parents died, the only way I coped with it was through hunting. I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t do something about what happened. I can’t sit around and do nothing.”

  Understanding filled Sebastian’s face and he nodded, reaching for her hands in her lap. “Tabitha… I’m not going to stop you from hunting him down. I’ll help you, and I’ll help you kill him but first I want you to have your strength back and to have time to process and grieve your mother’s death. I also want to give the Moirai a chance to work themselves out. If you’ll just give me and you some time I promise, we’ll go after Alistair. When everything is figured out.”

  That… sounded reasonable. Tabitha didn’t want to wait, but she knew she needed to do. For her own physical and mental health. And he hadn’t said no. He said “we” would go and hunt down Alistair. Tabitha liked the word “we.” It sent a chill through her and spiked her heartbeat in a good way. She grinned at the word “we.” She loved that word and most importantly she loved him.

  Since the moment they bumped into each other in that parking garage Sebastian had challenged Tabitha’s mindset. He made her see the world in a way she never had before. Made her see herself differently. Before she met him, she had been so overly confident. She had thought she had it all put together. School, herself, her hunting. But then Sebastian came and made her realize she didn’t. Made her realized she was missing one crucial part of life. Love.

  Love and acceptance and unwavering trust.

  She had had a future, a family, Chelsea, straight A’s. Everything except for love and trust and now that last piece clicked into place and Tabitha felt more whole than she ever had before.

  Tabitha grinned and leaned toward him. He leaned down, and they kissed. “We’re going to find him and kill him,” she whispered when they came up for air.

  Sebastian nodded, pushing the nearly empty tray aside and enveloping her in his arms. His lukewarm arms. Tabitha wrapped her arms around his neck. Despite her mom’s death, Tabitha couldn’t think of a better place to be. In Sebastian’s bed, hugging him. “Yes,” he whispered, a grin on his lips. “We’re going to find him. Right after the funeral. Right after I take you on a proper date and right,” he tapped her lips, emphasizing his words, “after I kiss you.”

  Tabitha grinned back, ignoring the tinge of sadness, the mark of darkness in her heart as he pulled her in close. “I think I like that plan.”

  They were so close now Tabitha could feel his breath on her lips. Every nerve in her body ached, begged her to kiss him and get lost in him. “Good,” he murmured back. And then he bridged the excruciatingly small gap between them and swept her up in the most amazing kiss Tabitha had ever been in.

  She forgot all about her mom. All about her dad. All about Alistair. All about everything. Every problem and difficulty and challenge and sorrow she had been through in the last three years, leading up to last night, Sebastian wiped it all away with his kiss.

  Tabitha would grieve her mother. She would deal with her siblings and her grandparents and her aunt and Kyle Carter – who she didn’t trust one bit. She would hunt down and get revenge for her mother and her father’s deaths. She would do it all with Sebastian at her side.

  She would think about Alistair’s promise and how he had fulfilled a part of it. Rip open her mother’s neck in front of her. Tabitha refused to let him fulfill the rest of his promise. Her siblings would stay safe. He wasn’t going to touch them or get anywhere near them.

  Not as long as Tabitha was alive. But for those were thoughts for another day. For tomorrow.

  Today she was going to be in love and get lost in Sebastian and forget everything. Live in this moment and hide in his room like a coward. With a grin she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, pulled him into her and kissed him furiously, and let him help her forget everything.

  Revenge would come soon enough.

  Epilogue

  Emmeline glanced over her shoulder down the second-floor hotel hall before gripping the doorknob and turning. The metal and lock broke with a snap, and she stepped through into the suite.

  She’d compelled the man at the front desk to give her Alistair’s room number and now he was in for quite a surprise.

  Emmeline still loved him. Oh, how she still loved him. A few small mistakes, a few lies couldn’t wipe away all the good times they had had together. all the love they had shared for years and years. But that didn’t mean she was letting him off the hook. For all she knew he could have destroyed her relationship with Sebastian.

  After kidnapping Tabitha’s best friend, Sebastian may never talk to her again.

  That thought fueled her and she threw the door open, stepping into the suite. A wall of windows overlooked New York City, far, far from Tabitha and Sebastian, a mass of couches in the middle and a TV mounted on the wall over her head. And in one of those couches lounged Alistair. He smiled when he saw her, a finger tapping against the glass of blood in his hand. Keller sat in one of the chairs near him a scowl on his face as he stared down at his phone.

  Emmeline folded her arms and spread her legs apart, glaring at him. “You lied to me.”

  He smirked and cocked his head. “Well hello to you too. Don’t you look… ravishing,” he purred as his eyes skimmed over her.

  “You lied to me. You said no one was going to get killed,” Emmeline said.

  Alistair sighed and set his cup of Keller’s blood on the lamp table next to him and glided to his feet. With the sun shining over his brown hair, those brown eyes gleaming. Those eyes, that face, the look of pure adoration he gave her always melted her heart and made her forget all of his wrongdoings. “I didn’t kill anyone. I’m not sure what you’re referring to Emmy.”

  Emmeline gave him a look. “The Carters are dead. Tabitha said you killed them.”

  Alistair’s eyebrows shot up, genuine surprise in his eyes. “I didn’t kill the Carters. A car accident? Not exactly my thing. You know that.”

  “Then who did?” she asked, arms folded.

  He shrugged, lazily lounging on the couch. “I have no idea. But if I ever find out, I’d like to thank them for dealing with that particular problem.”

  Emmeline swallowed as he strode over to her and took her hands in his. She didn’t say anything, just waited for him to explain. He had to explain himself. This time he had to. “Emmeline, I’m sorry for what happened. I know it must have been hard to see your brother again, and in such a bad situation. I just… didn’t want you involved in the nasty business of it all. I didn’t want your hands stained with more blood than they already are. Please Em, I did this for you. For us.”

  He could see the hesitation in her eyes, and his eyes reflected an urgency, his grip tightening on her hands. Emmeline shook her head, her heart tearing in two. One side of her wanted to sink into him and forgive him and just be with him. And the other side of her wanted to push him away and run into Sebastian’s arms and beg him and Tabitha’s forgiveness. “Did we at least get what we came there for?”

  “I’m afraid I’m only one step closer to getting Tabitha but as for the files… yes. We have everything we need now. I’m so close Em,” he whispered. He stepped forward and grabbed her hands in his, pulling them up to his lips and kissing them. Emmeline bit her lip to stop from sighing. Why did she have to love him so damn much? “I have the files, I have everything. Including a clue to the location of what we’ve been after all this time. You didn’t tell your brother about this did you?”

  Emmeline shook her head. He wouldn’t agree with what they were doing. “You’re sure you have the right files?” she asked, not wanting to get her hopes up.

  Alistair smiled and drew her further into the room and to the couch. Emmeline didn’t let go of his hands and let him guide her to sit down. His eyes smoldered, intense and serious. “Yes, I’m positive. I have a whole list of Soothsayers we can start working our way through.”

  Emmeline’s grip on him tightened and before she knew it, she had already forgiven him. He
’d done it all for a good reason. Done it for them. To save them and stop the Moirai. To protect not just the vampires, but the Loup Garou and Soothsayers too. They didn’t deserve to be on a watch list.

  She took a deep breath and nodded, staring him in the eyes. “Alright. I’m with you. I’ll do anything to help you. But, please, would you stop this obsession with Tabitha? It’s growing tiresome.”

  Alistair gave her a dangerous look, telling her not to even think about telling him to stop his revenge plot. Emmeline knew how much Tabitha meant to him. She knew how much he wanted her strength on his side. But Tabitha was a nice girl. And if Sebastian loved her then she had to be a good person too. She didn’t deserve this horrible plan Alistair had in store for her.

  “Tabitha will be mine Em. She’s a part of my plan, don’t worry.”

  Instead of pressing the matter, Emmeline just nodded. She didn’t like the idea of sharing Alistair with Tabitha. He talked about her more than he talked about Emmeline. She loved him, for better or for worse and she knew a long time ago that if she was going to stick by his side, she would have to deal with a little bloodshed and gray areas.

  “Ok, I understand. I won’t mention it again,” she murmured.

  Alistair gave her a coy smile and leaned forward. Their lips touched stealing Emmeline’s breath. all to quickly he pulled away and let go of her hands handing her the glass of Keller’s blood. “Good. Let’s get to work then. We have a lot to do my sweet Emmy.”