by Amy Richie
I followed her to the same empty place I had been sitting at before. The wolves still sounded further away in here. It was only an illusion because of the rock wall, but I still felt safer.
Miranda pulled off her long coat and laid it out on the ground so we could sit. I would have been fine just sitting on the grass, but I didn’t say anything; I just sat down beside her.
“So, what’s it like?” she asked as soon as we stopped moving.
“The sisters?” I guessed. She nodded, her smile stretching across her face. On closer inspection, I saw that Miranda’s face was lined with scars, but still, her expression was open and kind. Maybe Owen wasn’t as nice as I had first given him credit for. “Nicer than Owen,” I said without thought.
“What?” She blinked slowly, her smile frozen.
“You look like you’ve been through a war.”
She blushed, but didn’t look away. “This wasn’t Owen.”
That was hard to believe, though. I saw the way he had looked at her. It was obvious that he wouldn’t have let someone else hurt her. Oh well, though. If Miranda wanted to lie and protect him, I would let her. It didn’t really matter to me. I already knew he was a liar anyways. Owen had said he didn’t know the sisters kept a pet.
“Ok.” I widened my eyes and looked away.
“I don’t even belong to Owen,” she admitted softly.
“I saw you sitting beside him.”
“We’re friends.” She tried to shrug, but it was a half-hearted attempt.
Since when were humans and vamps friends? I didn’t ask, though. “Ok,” I repeated.
“Come on, I’ll show you who she is.”
“She?”
“Yeah,” she nodded and led me to the entrance to point out by the fire.
I followed her line of sight to where her vamp sat. She was the beautiful woman with long brown hair waving down the length of her back. “That’s her,” Miranda said in a reverent whisper. It was obvious from the shine in her eyes that she adored her. “Addison.”
“How did you…” I hesitated awkwardly. Would it be weird to call her a pet to her face?
Miranda understood, though, and smiled slightly. “I was only 16,” she began in the same low voice, “and Jewell killed my whole family. I was away… visiting some friends… or I would have been killed, too.”
“Lucky for you.” There was more to it than visiting friends, but I wasn’t pushing the issue if she didn’t want to tell me.
“I guess so.” We went back to her makeshift blanket before she continued. “I met up with this vamp named Philip.” She shuddered at the name.
“He was very cruel to me,” she said in an almost normal tone, “but I was alone and very afraid, so I stayed with him.”
She absentmindedly traced a deep scar across her chin. “What happened to him? Where is he now?” I didn’t know everything about pets, but I thought it was a lifetime of servitude type thing.
“He just… left me.” Her eyes were far away. What kind of state had he left her in? “Addison found me and watched out for me.”
“They said you belonged to Owen.”
She shrugged, unconcerned with anything they had told me. “Owen has his own pet.” She pointed out the girl with mousy brown hair. The one that already looked half gone. “That’s Vanessa.”
Owen hadn’t actually said Miranda’s name, maybe he had meant the other girl. Addison kept a pet, too, though. I wanted to ask Miranda a million questions. Like, did she get her blood sucked and what was that like? How did they live? Was it like I lived with the sisters? It seemed awkward though, so I didn’t say anything.
“Philip is the one who told me about you,” she said after our silence stretched long enough to hear the wolves again.
“I don’t know anyone named Philip.”
“He knows Damien Letrell.”
I already didn’t like him because of what he’d done to Miranda, now I really disliked him. “The sisters aren’t that bad.”
“Philip said they are deadly.”
“All vampires are deadly.”
“You aren’t afraid of the wolves.” It was more an observation than a question.
“They aren’t trying to kill us.”
“They want us for mates.” I shrugged. “You’re saying you wouldn’t mind?”
“I’m saying they would have to catch us first.”
“They have us trapped.”
I shrugged again. “Liza can run faster than any vampire, so she wouldn’t have trouble with a wolf.”
“She would carry you?”
“I would ride on her back.”
Her eyes widened. “Aren’t you afraid?”
“No.”
“Are you afraid of anything?” Her wide eyes searched my face.
Was I afraid of anything? I didn’t want Paris to take me to Blakesly House, but even if he did, I would get away again. Besides, not wanting it to happen was different than being afraid.
“I don’t see any point in being afraid,” I finally responded. “Fear will only hinder you.”
“I think even the vampires are afraid.”
“Because they’ve never been so threatened.”
She processed my words, then nodded. “I guess you’re right. Do you think they’ll leave their pets?”
I didn’t miss that she didn’t include herself in that category. “If it comes down to it, they might have to.”
She blew air out through puffed up cheeks. “I like you, Lexi,” she proclaimed unexpectedly.
My smile was slow, but it was genuine. I knew the sisters liked me, but only because they had to. That wasn’t the same thing. I didn’t delude myself into thinking we would be lifelong friends or anything, but it was nice to be liked.
“Thanks,” I chuckled. “You’re not so bad either.”
Her smile outdid mine. “Addison said I should come back here to get some sleep. She says you and the sisters are leaving in the morning.”
“Which isn’t too far off now.” There was a faint purple starting to show in the sky. Did that count as first light?
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep, though.”
“Me either.”
“We’ve been here two days already and I’ve barely slept at all.”
I didn’t tell her that we had been on the run for four days and only gotten a few hours of sleep here and there. Or maybe it was five days. They were all starting to blur together now. I didn’t feel as exhausted as before, though. My adrenaline was too high now.
“The wolves…” She glanced back nervously, “…they haven’t left. What do you think they are waiting for?”
“More pets.”
She obviously hadn’t expected that kind of answer. Should I have said I don’t know? “What do you mean?”
“They herded us all to one place. Must not be enough of us yet.”
She looked around quickly, realizing the truth of my words. “That’s… That’s horrible.”
“Kind of,” I shrugged. “They’re waiting, so that gives us time to get away. We’re just staying here for the night.”
“We’ve already been here two nights.”
“I saw Owen talking to Paris and Achilles. Maybe you guys will make a run for it now, too.”
“Paris and Owen are friends from a long time ago.”
“Really.”
“Yeah, Addison told me about them.”
“I’m sure they’ll be smart and realize this is a trap.”
“They’ll chase us.” A slight rise of panic started in her voice.
“Vampires are faster.”
There were loud snarls and a loud thud made the whole nest shake. Miranda’s eyes widened with terror. I didn’t stop to think, I scooted closer to her until I could wrap my arm around her waist. It always made me feel better as a child when my mom did that to me.
“Don’t worry,” I whispered loudly. “Even if they get in here, we’ll get out to our vamps and they’ll get us ou
t of here. Even if the others run away, ours won’t leave us here.”
She still looked scared, but she nodded anyways. “You’re right. Addison won’t let them take me.”
“And the sisters will wait for me,” I said with confidence. Paris probably would, too, but I wasn’t going anywhere with him.
She nodded again, her terror fading even more when the wolves got further away. “We’ll be fine,” she said more to herself than me.
“Try to sleep.”
I watched as Miranda lay down on one side and curled her legs up close to her chest. I was surprised by my own comforting words. I normally didn’t bother with anyone but myself.
Living with the sisters, I had learned early on that if I didn’t take care of myself, no one else would. The other pets just made me want to keep my distance. Why was Miranda so different?
It bothered me a little that we would part ways soon and I wouldn’t know if she lived or died. Addison would try to keep her safe, but would that be enough? Hopefully they would just run through until they were out of the valley.
As I curled up beside Miranda, I thought about how the sisters were when I first met them—how they still were really. No wonder they were so careful not to care what happened to me. Worrying about someone else was exhausting.
Chapter 14
A sudden noise startled me awake. The sky was still a little murky, but daylight was finally almost there. It had been a long night. I glanced at Miranda, but she was still sleeping. What had woken me up?
I could see the pets better now that it was light, but their faces didn’t give much away. They were standing now, though, which was strange. They looked ready to bolt at any second.
Another loud bang brought me more fully awake. I sat up, cocking my head to the side. What was that? The third bang finally woke Miranda up. Seeing me already up, she was quicker to her knees than I had been.
“What’s going on?” she asked. What more could we possibly all take?
“Not sure.”
The others had started scrambling, running form one side of the nest to the other as the banging continued on the walls. There was a lot of chaotic noise, but it was hard to see what exactly was happening.
“I think it’s just the wolves trying to get through the wall.” They had been half-heartedly trying all night, but this seemed a little more deliberate.
“Owen said the walls were strong.”
I shrugged, my teeth worrying my bottom lip. “I’m sure they’ll get through eventually.”
“”We should…do something.”
“No,” I shook my head, but didn’t look back at her. “We don’t even know what is going on. We need to just sit tight for a minute.” I watched the others, running around but not going anywhere. Yeah, it was best to wait.
My eyes scanned the nest, but I didn’t see anything. The others were running around too much. I kept as calm as I could though, knowing that if I panicked, it would be easier to make a mistake that would be fatal.
I was more worried about Miranda than myself. She looked almost as scared as the others. I was glad she wasn’t up running around, though. Then I would have probably left her.
She looked up at me, eyes wide and lips clamped tight. “What’s going on?” she asked loudly, desperate for answers.
“I don’t know. I can’t see anything.” I crawled forward slightly, still not sure if we should leave the nest.
“Where are you going?”
“Just wait here,” I held my hand out impatiently. “I’ll be back.”
“Lexi,” she hissed, but stayed where she was.
I jumped to my feet and made my way to the other side of the nest where most of the banging noise was coming from. I examined the wall. Pieces of rock had broken off and were scattered along the floor, but it was still in one piece. For now.
Another jolt sent a large piece of rock to the ground and the pets scurrying to the other wall. The situation wasn’t much better there. A different wolf was trying his luck on that side. This one would break free first, though.
I hurried back to where I had left Miranda, grateful that she had stayed put. “The wolves are trying to get in,” I answered the questions I saw on her face.
“They’ve been trying.”
“I think they’re more serious this time.”
“We should get out of here.” She scrambled up to stand beside me.
I watched the entrance with indecision. The vampires had to hear what was going on. The sisters would come tell me if they wanted me to leave. Maybe things were worse out there. I had only survived this long because I always did what I was told.
“No,” I shook my head. “We need to wait until they come for us.”
She grasped my hand tight in hers. “Let’s stick together.” I nodded, eager to agree.
I pulled her close to my side and we both went towards the middle. That was the furthest we could get from the walls for now and so the safest we could be. More rocks shattered to the ground, making Miranda scream out loud.
She wasn’t the only one screaming, but the noise startled me. “We’re ok,” I tried to call out over the noise.
“Lexi,” she pointed a shaking finger at the wall behind me. I had been watching the side I thought would break through first.
I spun around, not wanting to see the wall broken through. It was even more shocking than I imagined when I could actually see it. Everyone had been huddled over there, thinking along the same lines as I had.
Dust and rocks were everywhere now. And I could see through to the other side. Blocking most of my view though, was a huge white wolf that I recognized only too well. “No,” I whispered, “it can’t be.”
My heart stammered painfully in my chest at the sight of the huge white wolf. No way could this be the same wolf who had attacked me before. No way had he followed us.
He glared at me with his huge intelligent eyes, snarling and growling our way. I had stepped in front of Miranda, but I didn’t give her much thought as the wolf took a step towards us.
“Come on Lexi,” she cried, pulling on my arm. It was like I had forgotten how to walk though, and I couldn’t even move. “Lexi,” she almost screamed.
I kept my eyes on the wolf, who took another step forward. This was it, he was going to either kill me or haul me away. It would be better if he just killed me, but I doubted he would. He took another step. I saw the muscles in his giant legs tense up and he jumped. I flinched away, expecting the impact any second. It didn’t come, though.
I whipped my head back towards the creature, wondering what had stopped his attack. Paris was there, crouched low in front of me. His teeth were bared in a ferocious growl. I was completely amazed when the wolf backed away.
“Get out of here,” Paris snarled back at us. “Come on.”
Miranda was already darting for the entrance when I turned around. I almost stopped to admire her quick reflexes, but Paris was pushing against my back.
“Stupid,” he muttered, but I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me.
“Where’s Miranda?” I asked as soon as I ducked out of the nest. Some of the other pets had already gotten out, so everything was chaotic.
“Go find the sisters,” he ordered.
“Where are you going?”
His eyes searched mine and then softened. “That white beast is mine,” he grinned.
“You’re…you’re going after it?”
“He wants you.” His grin hardened to a scowl. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Paris, let’s just find the sisters and get out of here.”
“Don’t worry about me, Lexi. Just find the sisters. Don’t wait. I’ll find you later.”
A moment passed, just one moment, but in that moment, I knew that I didn’t want Paris to go chasing after the wolf. I also knew that he was going to anyways. “Be careful,” I said softly. He nodded and disappeared back into the nest.
Paris had said to find the sisters, but I needed to find Mir
anda first. I needed to make sure she was ok. I looked behind me, at where I had last seen her, but there was only chaos.
Everyone was running or screaming or both. I wanted to yell at them to stay out of the woods, but I couldn’t worry about what they were doing.
I spotted Addison first, hovering over something and snarling almost as loud as the wolves. I rushed forward, relieved to see that what she was guarding was Miranda. Her relief at seeing me was pain on her face, but I didn’t have time to talk.
“I’m going to find the sisters,” I shouted before I even reached them. Addison nodded.
I had barely taken a few steps, though, when the huge white wolf came out of nowhere.
I jumped out of the reach of his long teeth just before they snapped shut. I had been so sure they weren’t trying to kill us, but now that didn’t seem true. Paris was there again, shoving me behind him before I could protest. Where had he come from?
I tried looking for Miranda again, but they had disappeared in the crowd of screaming pets. Everyone was just saying the same thing over and over. “She’s dead! Vanessa is dead!”
“Achilles,” Paris’s voice boomed out above the mayhem.
“Brother,” came the immediate answer and the bald Letrell was suddenly beside us.
“Let’s get these wolves out of here.”
I stared in disbelief. Did he really think he would be able to drive the wolves away? Three had already broken through and I was sure more would soon follow. The white wolf alone was enough to make my skin crawl.
Achilles only nodded, though. He turned and lunged at the wolf behind us, his voice nothing but a ferocious growl. The other two wolves that had broken through recognized his power and came to help their brother.
“Perfect,” Paris yelled with a cocky grin.
Owen joined forces with the two brothers and began pushing the wolves back. It was an amazing display of power and I could only stare in awe. I couldn’t hear anyone behind me, but I wasn’t sure if that was because of the growls in front of me or because they were watching in amazement, too.
Finally, the wolves gave up the fight and retreated, leaving an eerie silence in their wake. I still couldn’t tear my eyes from the three vampires who had forced them out.
