The Somber Call (The Ariane Trilogy Book 2)

by Michelle Dare

  “Ari?” Ford's voice pulls my gaze in his direction again. “Can we talk?” Right, the whole girl upstairs issue. I'm not sure what to say when I can't wrap my head around what I'm feeling. “Please,” he pleads.

  “We'll be outside,” I tell Wake and Paige.

  Ford steps past the bloody spot on the hardwood to open the sliding door. The sound of the ocean immediately greets us as the waves roll in to kiss the shoreline. Walking to the deck railing, I lean against it, letting the fresh, salty air blow my hair back as I watch the ships farther out at sea make their way along the horizon.

  The large dune in front of the house prevents me from looking directly onto the beach. That also means no one on the beach can see us out here. It's a gorgeous Sunday. I'm sure they're enjoying the beach and ocean. However, there are semi-close neighbors on either side, who are fortunately not on their decks. Or the houses are vacant until rental season starts. The rental business is booming here in the summer. At least we have some privacy.

  Ford steps up behind me but doesn't touch me, though I know he wants to. I can hear it in his mind.

  Turning, I glance up into those grey eyes of his. He’s still a foot away from me. “Who is she?”

  His face shows no emotion when he says, “A random hookup.”

  I cock an eyebrow at him. I can easily read his mind, but I want him to tell me. It's obvious he's lying.

  “Okay, I've seen her a few times, but it's nothing serious.”

  “Does she know that?”

  “Yes, I've told her.”

  I turn back to the ocean. I'm not sure what to say or do. I have no idea why I'm so jealous.

  Ford steps closer, his chest heating my back like the sun above. Strong arms brace on the railing on either side of me. He leans in, his warm breath skating across my cheek. “I know why,” he says, reading my thoughts.

  I suck in a breath at his nearness. “Tell me,” I say in my mind.

  “Because there's a part of you that doesn't want to share me with anyone. Because from the moment we met, my attention was fully on you. Now it's not, and you're not sure what to do about that. You want my attention, yet you can't return my affection. This isn’t a game, Ari.”

  17

  “A game?” I ask, spinning around. Ford's lips are a breath away from mine. “Is that what you think? You can hear my thoughts. The fact that you'd even say that…” I shake my head and try to shoulder past him. Even with all my gifted vampire strength, he doesn't move. Tears well in my eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because I want you to face what you feel for me.”

  “You know how I feel about you!” I don't care that I'm yelling. I don't care if the whole beach, Wake, and Paige hear me. “I love you, Ford!”

  “But...”

  “You know the but,” I reply quietly. “I can't change my feelings. I can't transfer them from him to you. That’s not how this works.”

  “I want to kiss you, Ariane. I want you in my arms. I want you to be with me.”

  My bottom lip trembles. “Don’t.” If he kisses me, we cross a line. One I don't want to drift over.

  Ford smacks the railing behind me with both hands. It shakes violently from his sheer strength. Turning, he paces the length of the deck and rakes his hand through his hair. “I don't know how to do this anymore. I want you but can't have you. I think about you all the time. The woman who was up there,” he says, pointing to the upper level of his home. “She's a vampire. I tried to lose myself with her and couldn’t. My mind always wanders to you.”

  “I don't think we should be friends anymore.” Every word I say causes my chest to splinter open.

  He stops and turns to face me. “Have you lost your mind? I can't give you up any more than I can stop drinking blood. Even if I never saw you again, your soul would call out to mine every time you were in trouble or upset.”

  This is a mess. If I had taken the time to look at our situation, I would have seen that. Instead, I kept brushing it off. Now, here we are. Both yelling. Both in pain.

  My voice cracks. “I don't know how to fix this. I hate that I'm hurting you every time I can't return how you feel. Every time you tell me you love me. Every single time you show up right when I need you. It's too much.” I bury my face in my hands, tears finally breaking free. “My heart belongs to him. We bond more and more every day. I'm his mate. He's meant for me.”

  “And I'm meant for no one.”

  “You don't know that.”

  Paige slides open the door. “You two about done? Orion is blowing up your phone, Ari.” I left it on the counter in the kitchen.

  I take a few deep breaths, calming my mind and reach out to him. “What's going on?”

  “Did Ford try to kiss you?” he growls in my head.

  “No.”

  “Really? Because I have a pretty clear picture of what's been happening through you.”

  “I'm sorry. I can't win. No matter what I do, I screw things up. You're mad. Ford's mad. Wake's depressed. Paige is confused. I think I need to be alone.”

  I glance over at Ford. “Please take Paige home for me. I'm leaving.”

  Ford’s fangs descend. “What did he say to you?” He tries reading my mind, but I put a strong block up—one he can't break. “Don't do that,” he hisses. “Don't shut me out.”

  “I have to.”

  With a quick snap of my fingers, I return to Paige's house and quickly grab my things. Ford appears inside the house, calling my name as I run out the door to my beat-up old Buick. I don't respond to him. I can’t. There’s nothing more I can say. Nothing that will fix this.

  He teleports next to my car a second before I reach it. “You can’t run from me, Ari.”

  Opening my driver’s side door, I throw my bag inside. “I don't know what else to do! Can't you see that? I'm being pulled in so many directions, I'm surprised I can figure out which way is up!”

  “Running away isn't going to solve that.”

  “I'm not running away. I'm going home, Ford. I need some time.”

  A black Jaguar screeches to a halt at the bottom of Paige's driveway, effectively blocking my exit.

  “For the love of…” He must have been driving around Paige’s house, waiting for me to come back.

  I could teleport again, but what would be the point? Rion would tell Ford where I went, thanks to our connection, and Ford would teleport to me.

  Rion is out of his car, slamming the door, and approaching me in long strides. Anger flows from him in palpable waves. His eyes are emerald green; he’s a second from shifting. But it isn't me in his sights.

  He grips Ford by the front of his shirt. However, he can't move him. Ford is solid where he stands. It makes me realize something. The other times Rion and he got into it, Ford let Rion gain the upper hand. But why?

  “Gotta keep things interesting, princess.”

  “You don't talk to her,” Rion growls. “If you ever try to kiss her, I will kill you myself.”

  “If I wanted to kiss her, wolf, I would have.”

  Rion pulls something shiny and sharp from his back pocket. He angles it so it's pointing at Ford's chest.

  “Is that silver?” I gasp.

  “Solid,” he replies.

  “Why do you have that? Get it away from him!” I can't believe this. He's a second away from killing Ford. This can’t be happening.

  “I always keep silver on me, little mouse. You never know when you'll have to kill a vampire.”

  Ford grips Rion's hand holding the knife but doesn't actually touch the metal. “Do it,” he goads. “Stab me!” That causes Rion to hesitate. “I'm serious!” Ford yells. “Put me out of my misery!”

  I rush to his side. “You don't mean that.”

  Trying with all my might to pull the silver knife away from his chest proves fruitless. Even with my strength, I can't do it. I let go, scared if I make the wrong move, the knife will pierce him.

  Ford turns to me. “Do it, princess,” he sa
ys sadly. “I mean it. All I do is chase the woman I love, who will never love me back. This isn't a life. It's torture at its finest.”

  My throat clogs with emotion. “Death isn't the answer.”

  I shove Rion out of the way. He stumbles back, unable to compete with my strength and immediately shifts into his wolf. The silver knife clatters to the ground at my feet.

  “Oh, put it away,” I tell Rion. With my hands planted on Ford's chest, I ignore the wolf at my back. “I never again want to hear you say that. Ever. Do you remember how I felt when I thought Brayden was going to die?” I can't use Ford as an example. He was unconscious when I thought he was dead. Ford nods. “That pain I felt, amplify it by a thousand. That's how I'd feel if you died.” Then I punch him in the chest. He falters back but quickly rights himself.

  “You've known him for years and me for way less than that. You would be worse off if you lost him.”

  I point at him. “You don’t get to tell me how I’d feel. I might have been friends with Bray for a long time, but you and I are connected. Connection trumps any period of time. Your death would break me. Orion's death would break me. No one else has the power to destroy me like the two of you do. So, for the love of all that is good, don't ever again tell me or anyone else to kill you.” I step closer until there is only an inch between our bodies and peer up at him. “I've found a way to get vampire powers, don't underestimate me. I'm sure there's a ghost somewhere that would show me how to visit the afterlife without really dying. I'd. Bring. You. Back.” He laughs. Is he serious right now? “Are you laughing at me?”

  “No matter what I say…” he pauses to laugh, “you find a way to top me.”

  I throw my hands up in the air. “I'm done. I'm so done.” Turning, I go to my car and climb inside. After I dig out my keys, I start it and roll down the window. “Move the Jag, Orion, or I'm driving the Buick right into it.”

  Orion stands in the driveway for a second. His black wolf is looking between Ford and me and back again. Eventually, he shifts and stalks past me, not saying a word aloud. But in my head, he says, “I'm following you home.”

  “Whatever makes you happy!” I yell back.

  “Can I follow you, too?” Ford asks, laughing still.

  I shift the car into drive and hit the gas with only one target in sight—an idiot vampire. He jumps out of the way a second before I touch him. Slamming on the brakes, I come to a stop a millimeter before plowing into Paige's parents’ garage.

  “You were going to hit me,” he states, finally wiping the smile from his face.

  Shifting into reverse, I back down the driveway now that the Jag has moved. “Never underestimate me.”

  These two need to get a grip. I hate being in the middle of them. Ford thinks this is a game to me. Ha! I'm the one who's being jostled around on a daily basis. Maybe I need to find a mage and ask them to put a spell on me, blocking everyone from hearing and following me. Maybe then I'd be truly alone and finally able to think for once. Maybe I’d finally get some peace and quiet.

  I pull into my driveway with Rion right behind me. By his thoughts, he doesn't care that my parents are home, or that they may hear our conversation. He wants to get through to me, though I'm not sure how he'll be able to. First, Cace died because of me. No matter what anyone else says, if I didn't exist and didn't get together with Rion, he would still be alive. Plain and simple. Now that I've accepted my part in this, that Aries was right and Cace would want me to honor his life, helping to put an end to this rift between the Avynwood and Diaminsey Packs, I have to deal with a suicidal wolf and vampire.

  After putting the car in park, I kill the engine but don't get out. Rion is at the passenger side, opening the door and climbing his tall body into my car, shutting us inside. I glance up, waiting to find my parents pressing themselves to the front window to spy on us. Luckily, they haven't realized we're out here yet. That or they’re giving me space.

  “Your mom is upstairs taking a nap and your dad is asleep in the recliner in the living room,” Rion says.

  “You got all that walking from your car to mine?”

  He smiles hesitantly. “Wolf hearing.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “I don't know how to help you, Ari.”

  “Maybe stop trying to fight Ford. Or better yet, not killing him.” Then a thought occurs to me. “Oh, no.”

  I unbuckle my seat belt and snap to teleport back to Paige's, where I find Ford leaning against the garage with his head tipped toward the sky. His eyes are closed as if he's soaking in the sun. A vampire. In broad daylight. In a leather trench coat. In North Carolina. So much is wrong with this picture.

  “Why are you back here, Ari?” he asks, without moving or opening his eyes.

  “I forgot something.” Looking around, I don't see the silver knife anywhere.

  Ford drops his gaze and reaches into his coat pocket, pulling the knife out, he holds it out to me by the black, leather wrapped handle. “Take it. I thought I could do it, but I can't.”

  “Does that mean you tried while I drove home?”

  He shrugs. “You turned me soft, princess. I used to be this tough, cocky vampire before I met you.” He lifts his head and his eyes meet mine. “The thought of leaving this world and never seeing you again made me stop. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.”

  Stepping up to him, I take the knife. “There's someone out there for you. You just haven't met her yet.”

  “I did, but she's taken.”

  18

  This is a lose-lose no matter how I look at it. Without another word, because honestly, there's nothing more I can say, I teleport back to my car and Rion. He notices the knife in my hand and holds his palm out for me to give it to him.

  “Do you promise not to try to kill Ford again?” I ask.

  His jaw clenches. “Yes.” I know how hard it was for him to get that out, but he does it for me.

  “You two are going to have to play nice. I can't keep doing this. He loves me. You love me. I love you both in different ways. With you, it's like I'm not whole unless you're near. Every part of me always wants you by my side. I crave your touch and attention. But with Ford, he's one of my best friends. We connect on another level. There's this part of me that calls out to him when I'm in trouble. That's not something I can control. There must be a reason why you were both brought into my life, and I doubt it's to make everyone insane. Though, if anyone is getting a padded room, I'll be first in line.”

  With so much going on, I don’t need this on top of everything else. I have enough to deal with. I shouldn’t have to constantly pull Rion and Ford apart. There has to be a way to have them both in my life and not trying to kill each other.

  Rion’s eyes hold mine. “When I see him, it's pure jealousy that burns through my body. And it's always followed by rage. Do you have any idea how angry I was knowing he was so close to kissing you? How I wanted to rip his limbs from his body?”

  “I get it—”

  “No, you don't! No woman is coming on to me the way he does to you. I'm not telling any other female I love them. You're my entire life, yet I'm only a portion of yours.”

  Tears fill my eyes as his torment slams into me. He's not asking me to complete our mate bond or never to see my friends again—to ignore Ford and not speak to him. All he wants is my time and devotion. He wants me to be the person I said I’d be—his girlfriend.

  I hadn’t realized how much my words of love for Ford affected him. I should have. It was foolish of me not to consider Rion’s feelings. He’s right in the fact that I’m not giving him as much as he’s giving me. But how do I do that when there’s so much going on?

  “I'm being pulled in so many directions: you, Ford, Paige, Brayden, school, my parents. My life isn't all about the pack. I haven't even graduated from high school yet.” Reaching over, I press my palm over his heart. He covers my hand with his. “I feel you. Everything you're going through. It's torturing me not to be able to give you all of m
e. But please know this: I'm devoted to you. There is no one else I want to be with. My friends are all in my life, too, though. We have to figure out a way for this to work that doesn't involve me wanting to run Ford over with my car, then crash it into the side of your Jag.”

  His lips quirk up. “I saw that. It makes me feel a little bit better.”

  Leaning toward him, I cup his cheek in my other hand, brushing my thumb over the stubble, which has grown since the last time he shaved. “I love you, Rion. No matter what Ford says to me, or what he does, my heart will only ever beat for you.”

  He closes the distance between us, his lips meeting mine as he says with his mind, “I love you, too, Ariane.”

  My lips part in a breathy sigh, allowing his tongue to search for mine. His hand threads through my hair to hold me close as I melt into his touch and kiss. This is nirvana. The place I could spend the rest of my life. Freezing, I stop the kiss.

  Rion pulls back. “What's wrong?”

  “Did you hear my thoughts?”

  “Yes.”

  “I could spend the rest of my life with you.” I can't believe I just said that out loud. This is crazy. I'm eighteen, not in my twenties, thirties, or older. How can I state something so boldly and with clear honesty? I'm too young to be thinking this way.

  He cups the back of my neck. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.”

  “If you propose to me right now, I'm going to jump out of this car and run.”

  He chuckles. “Wolves don't propose. We mate.”

  “Whatever. I'm not mating with you in my Buick.”

  Rion glances around the car. “I would hope not. There isn't enough room in here for everything I want to do to you.” My face quickly heats. Rion moves to put his knee on the seat so he can lean closer to me. “You have no idea what I want to do to you, little mouse; how much I desire you.”

  A part of me comes alive at his words and touches me deep down. I've never been with anyone intimately. I've never gone beyond kissing someone. But with Rion, I want to explore this connection between us. I want to fully bond with him.