Pure Blood (The Pure Blood Series Book 1)

by Katie Dunn

  "So Troy? Lenny? What'd y'all think?" My mom asks.

  Troy and Lenny exchange glances. "I think I want to go again," Lenny says.

  We end up getting on the ride again. This time, I end up with Derek and my dad, Riley sits with the twins, and Lenny rides with Troy. My dad and Derek don't giggle as much as the twins did, but we still share some wild smiles—I know because Mom got some pretty clear shots.

  We move on from the Scrambler to other rides and games. To my liking, Troy and Lenny enjoy them all—even the kiddie rides. Eventually, we stop and grab some snacks. Frozen bananas, candy apples, funnel cake, popcorn, and my absolute favorite, cotton candy.

  Troy stares at the funnel cake on the table in front of me. "What is it?"

  I almost gape. Troy has never been to a Fall Festival, or any other event that would call for funnel cake, I remind myself. "It's fried cake batter. Yum." I slide the plate over to him. "Here. Try some."

  Troy gazes at me then the plate. He slowly inches his hand to the cake, like it's a rabid animal. He carefully picks up a piece and slips it into his mouth. "So?" I ask.

  He reaches for another piece. "That's some good stuff."

  I laugh at him. "And now you're thinking, 'Why haven't I had this before?'"

  He nods with a smile on his face. "That indeed."

  I almost ask Lenny if he would like to try some, but he reaches over the table and helps himself before I can. I notice that the bag of cotton candy is about empty. "Seriously, Riley?"

  She looks up at me and gives a guilty smile. "What?"

  I reach over and take half of what is left. "Nice doing business with you."

  Riley gives me a look, but maintains a smile. "You little thief."

  Something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. I thought something or someone moved from around one of the tents, but I'm not quite sure.

  "What is it, Britt?" My dad asks.

  I shake my head. "Nothing. I thought I saw—nothing."

  Lenny and Troy jerk their heads up. Lenny gazes at Troy. "Do you feel that?"

  Troy nods. "We need to leave, now."

  "It's them, isn't it?" My mom asks.

  "Yes," Troy answers. "They're here."

  I glance at the tent. Near the back corner, stands a wolf. A wolf with black fur and emerald green eyes. Nikolai. He turns and disappears behind the tent.

  "What do we do?" Derek asks.

  I gaze at Troy. "Go after him?"

  Troy nods. "Let's go."

  My dad snatches my arm. "I'm coming with you."

  Derek nods at Dad's words. "Me, too."

  My dad turns to Lenny. "Take care of the twins, your mom, and Riley. And whatever you do, stay together."

  Lenny nods. "We will," he says.

  My dad, Troy, Derek, and I pursue Nikolai. We race behind tents and duck under cables, trying to catch up to him. At one point, Derek and I split off and chase after Nikolai on the frontside of the tents—in case he decides to take a detour—while my dad and Troy continue following him on the backside.

  As I run, I glance down the strips in between the tents. I notice Troy has turned to his dog form in order to run faster. Sadly, the wolf is quicker. But thankfully, the crowd thins as we hit a more secluded spot in the Festival.

  "Britt!"

  I ignore the voice calling to me and carry on with my original task. I don't have a moment to spare. I have to keep going. We can't let Nikolai escape. We have to stop him or else it's goodbye, Brighton.

  "Brittany!"

  Somebody, who has a lot of nerve for calling me Brittany, grips my arm and stops me. Derek comes to an abrupt halt.

  I wave him on. "Keep going."

  He nods and continues with the pursuit. I turn and face my captor, almost punching him in the process. "What do you think you're—?"

  I realize my captor is Tom. Harmless, defenseless Tom. "Why are you and Derek running away from me?" he asks.

  "Tom, we weren't running from you. We were trying to catch up to somebody," I explain through labored breathing.

  He releases my arm, and his gaze drops to his feet. "Okay. Anyway, I've been looking everywhere for you."

  "Why didn't you just call me?" I'm still breathing hard.

  "Because you weren't answering."

  "What?" I pull my phone out of my pocket. "Battery's dead."

  "So if you're not too busy, do you want to walk with me and play a few games? I'll win you a goldfish," Tom asks.

  Boys are winning things for me left and right. I must be popular. "Actually, Tom, I really do need to go. I have an important matter to take care of, but I'll definitely take you up on—"

  Out of the corner of my eye I see something large and black sprinting down the strip in between the tents toward me. I glance in its direction. Nikolai races toward me with Troy right behind him. Will Nikolai go around me, or will I have to get out of his way? Apparently, neither.

  At the last second, Nikolai leaps up and turns back into a man. Since Troy is directly behind him, he does the same. Nikolai attempts to rush around me, but I jump out and snatch his arm. All that does is slow him down. He grabs my hand and pushes it away like my grip is nothing.

  Nikolai keeps going and glances over his shoulder at us. He flashes us an evil smirk, before disappearing into the crowd. My dad and Derek meet up with Troy and me. "Doggone it!" I mumble. "We almost had him."

  "How…? What…? Who was that?"

  For the first time, Troy, Derek, and my dad notice Tom. In all that was going on, I had completely forgotten that he was here. "Uh, that was a guy named Nikolai."

  "Nikolai? Who's Nikolai?" He turns to Troy. "And you. What the heck are you, dude?"

  My dad, Derek, Troy, and I exchange glances, speechless. None of us know what to tell Tom. But what would we say? There's a group of evil people with the ability turn to into animals, and they have come to destroy us all, and Troy and Lenny are our only hope? Well, that does pretty much sum it up.

  "Tom, we can explain everything," Derek says.

  Tom looks to me. I nod. "If we try to explain it all, will you promise you won't tell another soul?"

  Tom glances at Troy, then to me. "You lied to me, Britt!"

  I shrug. "I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you."

  "That's the same thing!" Tom yells.

  Apparently, this is going to be tougher than we thought. It's a good thing I'm excellent at keeping it together, during the impact of a time like this.

  TWENTY

  FOR THE MOST PART, Tom seems pretty understanding. I mean, considering he has to try to understand magic, skinwalkers, the D'yavol pack, my dog being a skinwalker, the death of Riley's parents, and the possibility of my dad being a warlock. Boy, that's a lot of drama.

  Though Tom has been fairly accepting of everything I told him about, he acts like he's kind of scared to be around Troy and Lenny. Troy, more so.

  Tom, Riley, my brothers, and I sit in the living room watching a movie. Lenny, in his dog form, lies under the coffee table. Troy on the other hand, also in dog form, jumps up onto the couch with Tom and me and lays his head on my lap. I scratch behind his ears like I used to. I have gotten so used to him being a person that I've forgotten all about what canine him is like.

  "Are you okay, Tom?" Riley asks. I gaze at him. He was staring at Troy with a little bit of fear and disgust until Riley spoke.

  "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine," he says.

  I take his hand in mine. "I promise, Tom, it'll get easier," I assure him.

  He turns to me. "Yeah. Okay, Britt." He turns his attention back to the TV.

  I drop my gaze down to Troy. He stares up at me with his blue eyes. All this skinwalker stuff is taking more of a toll on Tom, than I had originally thought. I guess since I was able to get over it and Riley was too, I didn't really think anything about Tom having a hard time.

  At least after a while, Tom will get to know Troy and Lenny better and see that they aren't anything like the D'yavol pack. That's the only t
hing people need when they gain knowledge to these kinds of things—time.

  Halfway through the movie, my dad tells us he has to get to the shop. Apparently, his weekend workers put a new motorcycle together, and they can't get it to run. "I'll be back in a couple of hours," he says. Troy jumps off the couch and catches up to my dad. They walk out the door in a hurry. Troy can never resist helping my dad at the shop.

  Tom relaxes when Troy leaves. It makes me a little bothered that he feels so uncomfortable around Troy and Lenny. Finding out about skinwalkers is a huge thing to come to terms with. But I wish he would at least try to keep in mind, that if they wanted to harm him, they would have already made an attempt by now.

  After the movie ends, I walk Tom to the door. "Tom, I know you're a little weary of Troy and Lenny, but they're both nice guys. Neither one of them would ever hurt anyone. And besides, Riley found out their secret weeks ago, and now they're all good friends. So anyway, they're both really friendly."

  Tom gazes at his feet. "Actually, Britt, I'm not all that worried about making friends with them."

  I place my hand on his arm. "Well, if that's not the problem, then what is it?"

  He looks up. "It's not normal. People shouldn't be able to turn into animals. It's just not natural."

  I nod. "I know. And no, it's not. But sometimes things happen, and you have to make the best of it."

  He gives a sad smile. "You are always so optimistic."

  I smile at his words. I do try to be a positive person, even when it's really, really hard.

  "I think that's what I'm gonna miss most about you."

  I meet his gaze with wide eyes. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

  His face holds a sad expression. "Britt, I'm breaking up with you."

  My heart drops. It feels like someone ripped out my heart, then stomped on it. "Oh." I step back from him, as tears prick my eyes. It hurts when someone you've known for years just dumps you all of a sudden. I haven't ever really thought anything of what break-ups felt like, until now.

  I meet Tom's gaze. He too has tears in his eyes. "Believe me, I don't want to break up. But I couldn't be with you either, knowing you lied to me and—"

  "And what?" I push.

  Tom shakes his head. "It doesn't matter."

  "Yes, it does matter," I say. "If you're gonna break up with me, then at least give me a reason! Tell me why!"

  Tom stares down at me. "I can't be with you knowing one of them is in love with you!"

  Troy? In love with me? "Why would you say that?"

  After a moment, Tom offers me his hand. "You're a witch. If I can bring it up, then you should be able to see for yourself. Right?"

  I glance at his hand then back up to him. "I suppose." I take his hand, and we both close our eyes.

  Tom conjures the memory he wants to show me and allows me to see it. He anxiously paces around, trying to decide what he thinks of everything I had told him earlier. I realize this particular memory took place last week, after the Fall Festival.

  Someone knocks at the door. Tom peers through the peephole, before he opens it. Troy stands outside.

  "Troy, what are you doing here?" Tom asks uneasily.

  "I just wanted to check up on you, mate," Troy replies. "I know it's all a lot to take in."

  That's an understatement. Tom's thoughts echo in my head. He scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, it is."

  Troy nods. "I wanted to make sure you knew that Lenny and I aren't anything like the D'yavol pack. If we wanted to hurt you, we would have already tried."

  That's comforting. Despite his thoughts, Tom simply nods at Troy's words. "Good to know."

  Troy glances down at his feet. "I also wanted you to know that Britt wanted to tell you earlier on. She didn't want to keep any secrets from you. She was only protecting Lenny and me."

  Tom looks at Troy and smiles. "That's Britt. Always putting everyone else first."

  Troy nods in agreement. "Yes," he says thoughtfully. "She is, isn't she?"

  Is he in— In the middle of his thought, Tom speaks out. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

  Troy looks up from his feet. "I'm sorry, mate. Yes, I am. But I promise, I won't take her from you. She cares for you deeply."

  The memory dissolves. Tom stares down at me. "I've known for a while that something was going on with you two. In truth, breaking up works out for both of us."

  I stare at him in disbelief. "Why do you say that?"

  Tom sighs. "Because I don't really want to be around all of these darn skinwalkers. And, Britt, if you love Troy back, then you're free to be with him. I don't want to stand in your way. I want you to be happy."

  I take a deep breath. My boyfriend is breaking up with me, so I can be with someone he doesn't feel comfortable with? Wow. I didn't expect this. Then again, who would? Besides, I don't even know exactly how I feel about Troy. I mean, I know I care for him, but that is the only thing I'm certain of.

  When I think about it, I may care for Troy more deeply than I let on. I recall all of the moments we've had. When he won the stuffed dog for me, when he slept on the floor beside my bed to comfort me, when we danced at the Lyle's party, when he snuck out to watch and protect me. All of them were more than just moments.

  Tom goes and leaves me to my thoughts. I lie on my bed, trying to sort out what I feel about everything right now. My break-up with Tom, my feelings for Troy, and then there's always the D'yavol pack. Tears well up in my eyes again and I cry. I bury my face in the pillow and let it all out. I lie in bed for a couple of hours. Thankfully, everyone leaves me alone.

  I feel conflicted with all of the problems in my life right now. I want to shove it all out of my head and just deal with it tomorrow, but I can't. My mind won't let me. My brain says I have to begin sorting things out now. Well, maybe I can do something useful without having to deal with the three things I want to avoid right now. I sit up and wipe my eyes.

  I descend the stairs and step into my dad's office. Boxes are piled high in the corner. We have almost everything out of here, except for the computer, which is still plugged in to the wall. The room is just about ready for Troy. I know he's excited to get off the couch.

  My dad sits in his desk chair, staring at the computer. He promptly looks up at my entrance. "Hey, baby girl."

  I sit in the chair across from him. "Hey. Can we talk?"

  He nods. "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

  I draw my legs up onto the chair and wrap my arms around them. "I've been meaning to talk to you about how the D'yavol pack got into the house when they weren't invited in."

  My dad leans in. "I'm guessing you have a theory?"

  I nod. "The house is in your name, right?"

  Dad nods. "Yeah. I bought the house before your mom and I got married. We were gonna put it in her name as well, but we never got around to it."

  "Troy said that if a residence is owned by a human then skinwalkers can only be invited in by the owner. And I know you would never invite the D'yavol pack in."

  Dad levels his head. "You're right. I wouldn't. But what exactly are you getting at, baby girl?"

  I cross my legs and lean in. "The only thing that makes sense, is if you're not human."

  His eyebrows furrow. "I don't understand."

  I sigh. "The boys are warlocks and I am a witch. Troy said sometimes that kind of stuff is hereditary."

  "And you think that I may be a warlock," my dad guesses.

  I offer him an apologetic smile in case that's not what he wants to hear. He stands from his chair, walks over to me, and kneels beside my chair. "Britt, don't you think that if I were I'd already know? I mean, you and your brothers started being able to do different and unexplained things at a young age. I'm in my forties, and I've never been able to do any of those things. Heck, I don't think anything strange has ever even happened when I had been around."

  I raise an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

  He considers it for a moment. "I'm pretty sure." He rests
his hand on my cheek. "Baby girl, I own a motorcycle shop for goodness sakes. I get frustrated all the time. And I've seen when you or your brothers get frustrated, you make something strange happen without meaning to. Like, when you made Dean's water bottle explode, or when you made the airbags go off in that man's car."

  "Or when I accidentally killed Isaac," I add.

  My dad's expression softens and becomes slightly pained. He and my mom said it was impossible that I made Isaac drown the way he did. But now they know that I really did do it, and that it was an accident. "What happened with Isaac—"

  "Was all my fault," I interrupt.

  My dad takes my hands in his. "You can't keep blaming yourself, Britt. It was an accident." He shakes his head. "You didn't know at the time."

  I stare off into the distance. "I only hope Isaac knows that." I turn back to my dad. "Before we completely rule out the warlock thing, will you at least try to prove it?"

  Dad sighs. "Okay, but how?"

  I stand and walk over to the boxes in the corner. I open one and pick up one of the candles lying inside. I set it on my dad's desk. "Here. Just picture the candle lighting up all by itself. It's not really that hard."

  Dad nods. "Here goes nothing," he mutters.

  He watches the candle intently, waiting for it to light itself. Nothing happens. Dad tries closing his eyes, but the candle refuses to light. Dad opens his eyes and sighs. "I'm sorry, Britt."

  I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Daddy."

  Dad returns to his chair and continues with whatever he was doing on the computer. I remain sitting where I am. "Hey, Dad?"

  He gazes up at me. "Yeah?"

  "You knew all along, didn't you? About Troy being in love with me?"

  After finding out about Troy's feelings for me, I kind of realized my dad knew. All the private talks and worried glances were because Troy is like a son to Dad, and he didn't want Troy to get hurt.

  Dad gives a small smile and nods. "Yeah. I kind of figured he did. He asked me not to tell anyone. But how did you find out?"

  I lean against the back of my chair. "Tom told me."

  Dad raises an eyebrow. "Tom knows?"