Max barked out a laugh. “You want to be a hunter, yet you can’t even retrace your own steps?”
Kade snapped his head in Max’s direction. “You’re a real ass, you know that?”
Max shrugged. “Just stating the obvious.” He turned around and broke into a jog, disappearing around the corner.
“We better go,” Kade said. “Do you want to sit this one out?”
Finn shook his head. “Not a chance.” He took a few hurried steps back. “You want to be a hunter? Prove you can retrace your steps.” He did a one-eighty and raced down the hall.
Kade still wore that sympathetic look on his face. “Two flights up then right, left, and then fifth door on the right.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’ve got this.” He gave me one more smile and followed the others, leaving me standing alone in the hall, trying to remember Kade’s directions.
Where the hell was my phone when I needed it?
This place should come with a map.
With Kade’s directions on a repeat in my mind, I made my way down the hall and turned the corner where I came to the stairs. I proceeded up two flights of stairs then headed down the halls that seemed to go on forever now that I was paying such close attention to my surroundings. Eventually, I came to the hall where Max had shown me how much love he had for me.
A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered how easily he’d gotten the upper hand. I laughed internally. Hell, who was I kidding? There was no upper hand. He’d flat out dominated me in every way possible.
I didn’t stand a chance against him.
But that would change.
It had to.
Taking a deep breath, I forced my gaze away from the wall that held a little too much of my dignity than I wanted to admit and made my way down the hall until I reached the fifth door on the right.
A smile spread across my face as I opened the door and entered Kade’s room.
Take that, Max.
I had the makings of a hunter after all.
With hope in my heart and a spring in my step, I looked out the window into the moonless sky. As much as I knew I could never again take human blood, I couldn’t help but wish for the extra abilities it inflicted on me. Being able to see in the dark was something I’d dreamed of when I was a child, when I’d been afraid of things that went bump in the night. That only worsened when I learned there weren’t just things that went bump in the night; there were things that had the ability to rip you limb from limb and drain the ever-loving life out of you to satiate their demonic desires.
My face slumped as I thought about how easily I’d succumbed to them. Sure, I still felt as if I had control. But did I really?
I sat on the window ledge, pulled my feet up in front of me, and rested my back against the frame as I stared aimlessly at the night sky, wondering what the hunters were all doing. Had they found Mason? Was one of the hunters injured—Max hopefully? That would’ve made my life so much easier. Then again, did he have to pay for despising my decisions? Scratch that, my decisions were mine, not his, and I clearly didn’t have any vampiric tendencies now, yet he still treated me as if I were one of the monsters they hunted.
I’d like to see what he would’ve done if he were put into the same position as I was.
Judgmental bastard.
With my feet jittering from unspent energy—or ,more so, with anger and frustration—I hopped off the window bench and paced the room, trying to calm down and not watch the clock slowly count the seconds since they’d been gone.
I folded my fingers behind my head and groaned. They’d only been gone for twenty minutes, and I was already going out of my mind with boredom.
Figuring they were going to be gone for at least another thirty minutes to an hour, I decided to let my curiosity get the better of me and head out into the open hall—and hope I could find my way back before they returned.
On the off chance—okay, big chance—that I wouldn’t, I wanted to make sure the douches, aka Finn and Max, knew I was smart enough to retrace my steps the first time even if I had a little bit of help from Kade. But that piece of information would hopefully stay between me and Kade.
I made my way over to his desk, grabbed a pen and paper, and scribbled a message to him that I’d gone exploring and he should come find me when he got back. That would ensure I would save face if I couldn’t find my way back a second time.
Leaving the note visible on the desk, I made my way out of his room and closed the door behind me. I looked to my left then right, trying to decide which way to turn. In a place this big, there had to be multiple routes through the building. I knew right took me to the cafeteria and past a whole heap of other rooms. Figuring left could’ve been a little more interesting, I made my way down the hall and let intuition guide me through the various halls and staircases that ensued. If I was to become a hunter, I needed to trust my instincts, and there was no way I was going to try that out while I was under the watchful eye of Finn or Max. Kade was another story. There was a softness to him that not even my brother possessed. It made me wonder what his story was. Why did he care for someone he barely knew?
His allegiance should’ve been with my brother, yet he’d already gone against him twice. And maybe the things he’d done weren’t really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but it was nice to have someone on my side—even if it should’ve been my brother.
Kade acted more like a sibling than my own flesh and blood.
I groaned internally. Kade was so not my brother. And it sickened me to think of him that way when I had a giant crush on the guy. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a crush per se. It was more like lust. And who could blame me? The guy was hot with just the right mixture of toughness and compassion, unlike the other bastard who’d taken an interest in me.
Sure, Max had the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going for him despite the heavy scars, but the whole wanting to kill me made him ugly.
I groaned again. What was up with me and looks—or guys for that matter? I needed to get control of myself if I was to become a hunter.
That was my priority.
That was… I trailed off as I heard a noise coming from behind a large set of wooden doors at the end of an empty, open foyer.
Letting curiosity get the better of me, I crept toward the doors, thankful they were slightly ajar, and peered inside.
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a woman with two medieval daggers in her hands, going through the motions of combat. I’d found the training room.
Take that, Max and Finn.
Leaning the side of my face against the door, I studied the woman practicing by herself. The fluidity and fierceness in every move she made were awe-inspiring. She was obviously a hunter.
“You can come inside,” she said without missing a beat.
13
My heart rate skyrocketed as I tried to assess my options as to whether I could sneak away and pretend this moment never happened or go inside. She hadn’t even looked my way yet somehow knew I’d been watching her like a creeper.
Swallowing what little dignity I had left, I opened the door and slipped inside. The room was enormous, and I wondered what it had been used for before the hunters took over. Various weapons straight up out of a horror movie lined the wall to the left. Giant ornate windows took up most of the far wall, and mirrors lined the remaining walls. A state-of-the-art gym was set up to the right of the door, with numerous weight and cardio training machines. It was a gym junkie’s dream.
The remainder of the floor was divided into equal sections, one being made out of what appeared to be rubber, the next wood, and the other concrete. And right in the center of the room was a single medieval sword encased in glass.
The symmetry of the weapon was captivating, as was the subtle glow surrounding it.
“What are you doing?” the woman asked, breaking my train of thought.
Snapping back into the moment, I realized I’d somehow
traveled across the room and was staring like a freak at the glowing sword. Shaking my thoughts away, I tried to play it cool. “This has special meaning, doesn’t it?”
She let her arms drop by her sides, the daggers resting by her thighs. “Why? Because it’s in a display cabinet in the middle of the room?”
Wow! Was being an asshole a prerequisite of becoming a hunter.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Of course, it’s special.” She lifted her weapon, pointing it at me, then moved it to the side. “Go sit over there if you want to stay.”
“Right,” I said, my brows raised as I followed her directions or, rather, her order. If I hadn’t wanted to prove a point to Finn about my navigation abilities, I would’ve hightailed it out of there. But I had to suck it up and hope Finn wouldn’t be too long, leaving me with an abrasive, knife-wielding hunter.
Alas, he did not. And I was stuck watching the perfectionist moves of a hunter, proving how inadequate I was compared to them. She had grace, style, and killer instincts I could only dream of. It would take years to work up to her level, and I only had days. There was no way I could be of use to Mason’s rescue.
That didn’t mean I was going to throw in the towel and give up. It meant I had to work harder.
I sighed, thinking about how easily the skills had come when I’d been hyped up on juice—the human kind. Freshly squeezed… I shook my thoughts away. I didn’t have bloodlust.
I didn’t.
Then why was I so drawn to the effects of the sin?
Biting my lip, I tried to work out how I felt about blood. I didn’t crave it. What I craved—no, needed was the abilities that came with it.
“Why did you do it?” the woman asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
Getting myself together, I focused on her five-and-a-half-foot athletic frame looming above me, hands by her sides, still clenching the knives as if they were an extension of herself. She absently twirled them around in her hands as she waited for my answer. The one that would either prove my insanity or loyalty. I preferred the latter.
“They have my little brother, Mason.”
She twirled the knives again. “So, you thought becoming one of them would fix things?”
I shrugged. “How else was I supposed to find him? I had no idea hunters existed.”
“No one does,” she said. “But did you really think becoming a vampire would enable you to find Mason and not rip his throat out the second you saw him?”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
She raised a brow. “Oh no?”
“Of course not.”
“You’d be the first to control the bloodlust?”
I stood, no longer feeling comfortable in the situation. It appeared Max wasn’t the only one who had a problem with me. “Look, in hindsight it was a stupid decision, but that mistake led me to being here, and if that’s what needed to happen so I could find Mason, then I’d do it again.”
“You think one life is above another?”
“That’s not what I said.” I breathed out harshly in frustration. “I think it was a means to an end.” I crossed my arms in front of me. “I’ve already done my time in quarantine, which proves I’m no longer a threat.”
“No need to get defensive.”
Seriously? What did she expect?
She tilted her head to the side as she studied my face. “I’m trying to figure you out.”
“You and me both,” I mumbled under my breath. Sweeping my hair up into a makeshift bun, I said, “Look. I know everyone agrees that what I did was wrong. I get that. But do I have to explain myself to every single person in this place?”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I turned on my heel and headed to the doors, no longer caring if I became lost in this place.
“Where are you going?”
“I have no idea,” I called back. “Another thing I apparently suck at.”
“You’re proving them right by leaving.”
“And the alternative is to stay here and listen to you pass judgment on my never-ending screwups.”
“That’s not what I was doing. I was only stating the facts. Those things can’t be changed. But that doesn’t mean I was passing judgment,” she said. “And I don’t think you’re really in a place to pass up help.”
With my fingers wrapped around the door handle, I paused. I wasn’t sure what part of what she said was an offer to help. But I wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity—even if I wasn’t sure it was an opportunity.
Biting my tongue, I turned toward her. “What exactly do you mean by help?”
She twirled the daggers in her hand. “You need to learn to fight if you want to become a hunter, and by the sounds of things, I don’t think you’ll have many offers.”
Actually, I had none.
She grabbed the daggers, holding them in place as if she were going to slit my throat if I said the wrong thing. “What do you say?”
I scrunched up my face as I tried to work her out. “Uh… thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “But is that a yes or a no?”
“It’s a yes.” I shook away my initial judgment of her and tried to start on a new foot. I strode across the room and held out my hand. “I’m Kali.”
She gestured to the knife in her hand, once again proving how much I wasn’t hunter material. “I’m Lana.”
“Oh, right,” I said, pulling my hand back. “When can we begin?”
Lana spun the daggers around. “Meet me here tomorrow at 4:00 a.m.” She cocked her head toward the door.
Following her train of sight, I turned in time to see Finn walk through the doors with Kade behind him. They were both covered in dirt and blood, and an unusual stench preceded them.
Finn scowled the moment his eyes locked on me. “What are you doing here?”
“Talking,” I said, knowing where this conversation was heading. “And before you go on about the dangers of walking around this place by myself, need I remind you that you’re the one who happily let me navigate my way back to Kade’s room alone?”
He came to a standstill a couple of yards away from us and folded his arms across his chest, revealing a deep cut below his elbow that really needed to be treated. “I said Kade’s room. I didn’t tell you to go check out this place.”
Once again, Kade sandwiched himself between Finn and me and placed his hand on Finn’s chest. “Come on. You can’t expect her to stay put. She’s not a dog.”
I bit down on my grin.
“Of course, she’s not a dog.” Finn’s nostrils flared as he held in whatever he wanted to say. “Let’s go.”
“Or not.” I sauntered toward the wall, pretending to be interested in the various weapons displayed on it.
“Well, this is awkward,” Lana said. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I gave her a small smile, letting her know we were on for tomorrow morning. Finn left me no option.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Finn was all up in my shit again. “What the hell were you doing with her?” Before I could answer, he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him. “Do you even know who she is?”
“Yeah, her name is Lana,” I replied. “And now you have a problem with me speaking to other people?”
“She’s not other people. She’s an Osmond.”
I raised a brow. “And I’m supposed to know what that means?”
“No, you’re not,” Kade said, jumping in to save me once again. “Because we haven’t had a chance to tell you.”
Finn twisted around to face him. “Stay out of this.”
Kade held up his hands. “I’m only trying to stop you from doing something you’ll regret later.” He took a couple of steps closer to Finn. “You agreed to let Kali stay, so that means she’s going to be involved.”
“Yeah, in a completely safe position where she will never come in contact with a vampire or fledgling again, and I won’t have to wor
ry about her, no one will recognize her, and no one other than you, Max, and me will know what she’s done.”
I scrunched up my face in confusion. “What have I done that no one can find out about?”
“You drank from the sacrifice.”
14
My stomach lurched as his words replayed on a loop in my head, taunting me. Squashing my thoughts to the back of my mind, I focused on my arrogant brother standing before me, trying to wrap me in cotton wool. “I know what I did was wrong, but I’m not a freaking vampire. I passed your quarantine test, so why won’t you drop it? Why do you need to keep rehashing all my mistakes? Which by the way, you far outweigh me on, so stop acting like you’re freaking perfect.”
Finn leaned in close and lowered his voice. “You may not be a vampire, but you should be. And the fact that you spat up black blood means so much more.”
I frowned. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing.” He turned his back to me. “I need to get cleaned up.” He strode toward the door. “And you need to wait in my room until I come get you.”
I looked at Kade who just gave me a shrug. Where was his supportiveness when I needed it? The last thing I wanted was to be confined to another form of jail.
“Are you coming?” Finn called over his shoulder when he reached the door.
Focusing on my breathing, I tried to calm my nerves when everything inside of me was yelling at me to tell him where to go and I could do this on my own. The truth was I could. But it would be a stupid move on my part.
I needed to keep my anger in check if I was going to get my way. It was easier to let him think I was being the obedient sister he wanted me to be than to fight him when I already had someone willing to help me.
I would wake up early, get in a training session with Lana, and be back before he woke up.
It was late, and I needed sleep if I were going to be at optimum performance. And I needed all the help I could get.
Sucking it up, I trotted after him, prepared for the lecture that was surely to come.
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