by Amira Rain
It had only been a big deal because he and Mark had had to clear a few bystander’s memories when Sam had picked himself right up off the pavement not a minute after being shot in the head, with the bullet hole already closing up and healing itself, no less. All the bystanders had thought that he was surely dead, and if he’d been a mortal man, he definitely would have been.
Hayden and I talked a little bit more out by the fence-building site, and then he said he had an idea. “Why don’t I head back up to the house and take a shower, and then how about we both call it a day early, feed Chrissy her dinner and whip up a bite to eat for you, too, and then spend the rest of the evening just spending time together as a family. Maybe we’ll even have time for a few kisses after we put Chrissy to bed.”
Knowing full well that by “a few kisses,” Hayden meant more than a few kisses, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I think I like the sound of all this.”
He started to crack a smile, too, which was something of a rare sight during these tense days. However, before he could even smile fully, a shout sounded from somewhere nearby, and Hayden turned his gaze to the woods.
“There’s got to be another. The Warrens never send just one lone scout.”
Hayden hadn’t even finished speaking when we both heard one of his men shouting again, saying that there was another Warren scout fleeing east.
After casting an apologetic look in my direction, Hayden took off, and my heart sank. I just knew that we weren’t going to get our family time that evening, and I wasn’t wrong.
The following day, Hayden decided to close the creamery and the pick-your-own-berry fields to the public for the season, saying that the Warrens were encroaching on our property far too frequently for it to be safe to have members of the public coming onto the property anymore.
And by “safe,” he really meant “not safe for us.” He knew that he and his fighters could protect members of the public from the Warren scouts, but he couldn’t protect members of the public from seeing vampires fighting in the process, and he didn’t want to have to clear anyone’s memory unnecessarily. And besides, there was no point in taking any chances. Not to mention that he’d planned to close up the creamery and the berry fields early anyway, not knowing exactly when the Warrens would launch a full-scale attack.
It wasn’t a full-scale attack, but four days later, a small group of about a dozen Warrens attacked the farm, charging in during full daylight in the afternoon with their fangs bared. With a set of binoculars, I watched from the tree-covered hills at the southern edge of the farthest clearing to the north. I only watched the scene of Hayden and his men battling the Warren group for about a minute, though. This was just long enough for me to see that the Warrens appeared to be a different “breed” of vampires than Watchers.
The Warrens were all men and women with nearly chalk-white faces, which Hayden had told me was the result of drinking human blood. The Warrens were also different in that they had a way of almost flying instead of walking or running, moving forward or backward or any other way they wanted with such speed that their feet just barely skimmed the ground.
Although I knew they had to be moving their feet, just very rapidly, it was as if they moved by being pulled by some invisible string, becoming basically just blurs as they fought. They were incredibly fast at avoiding Watchers, too, sometimes just appearing as blurs of darkness for seconds at a time, because all-black clothes seemed to be their official uniform.
Though the group of them on the field wasn’t large, especially compared to all the Watchers who were fighting them, there was something about the pale-faced Warren vampires that was fearsome to look at, and it was clear that even a small group of them could do serious damage. In fact, despite Hayden and his fighters outnumbering the Warrens maybe three-to-one, Hayden and his men soon became so bloody that I couldn’t stand to look anymore and had to turn away, developing a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. All I could think about was how things might go when all the Warrens attacked at once, and Hayden and his fighters were outnumbered.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Hayden and his fighters to defeat the small group of Warrens who had attacked the farm.
“That was just a test,” Hayden told me later, back at home. “They just wanted to test us to check out our fortifications and see how we were going to react to them.”
“Well, you and your men kicked their asses, so maybe the couple of them that got away will tell Axel Warren that, and maybe he’ll now think twice about launching a full-scale attack on the farm anytime soon.”
Sitting up to the island, kind of hunched over a glass of whiskey in his hands, Hayden said he didn’t think there was a chance of that. “I think Axel is still determined to attack us, and what happened today makes me think it’ll probably be soon. My spies have told me that he and Carla are getting restless. Carla wants her revenge on me, and she wants it now, and as for Axel, he’s just ready to wipe out all us Watchers so that he and all his vampires can unleash mayhem on Sweetwater.”
I knew that Axel was also ready to try to kill me and Chrissy, too, and I knew that Hayden obviously knew this, but I appreciated him not mentioning it. We’d both long since learned that any discussion about this only served to make me anxious.
Hayden and I went on to discuss where stretches of fencing had worked to “funnel” the Warrens to places right where Hayden wanted them, and where the stretches of fencing had failed. One particularly long stretch of cement-fortified chain link to the east had actually been flattened by three Warrens charging right into it at once and would need to be rebuilt. This would be no problem for me and the crew to do, I told Hayden, provided we had enough time before the Warrens attacked again.
Hayden said we’d definitely have enough time. “I don’t think Axel will send another wave of scouts or fighters out for a few days. He’ll want to mull over what his returning fighters tell him about today.”
This actually didn’t turn out to be the case, unfortunately. The very next day, Axel Warren sent another small group of a dozen or so fighters to attack the farm, perfectly willing to send them on what was essentially a suicide mission simply for the purpose of antagonizing us Watchers. This seemed to enrage Hayden, and although I wasn’t anywhere near during the attack, and was instead up at the house with Chrissy, I heard all about it later. Sam told me that not only had Hayden killed five Warren vampires single-handedly, he’d done so “in a pretty brutal way.”
Leaning against the refrigerator, I snorted. “You mean in a more brutal way than the usual way of stabbing through the heart, followed by decapitation? Are there any ways to kill vampires more brutally than that?”
Sam said technically, no. “But there are ways to kind of…I don’t know. Drag out the vampire-killing process in a way to make it even more gruesome and painful than usual.”
I asked him what he meant, not sure that I really wanted to know the answer.
Having a seat on a barstool, Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. If a vampire wants to drag out the killing process, he or she can stab the enemy vampire all places on their chest except their heart, saving that for about twenty stabs in. Then, if they really want to drag out the pain, they can start the decapitation, but then give the enemy vampire a few more good stabs before finishing it.”
Borderline horrified, I moved from the fridge to the island and had a seat across from Sam. “And is that what Hayden was doing today?”
Looking a bit sheepish, Sam said yes, rubbing the back of his neck. “He was just really enraged, not that I blame him at all. It kind of reminded me a little of how his dad used to be back in the day, though…just kind of really caught up in dishing out punishment to the enemy, if you get what I mean.”
I did get it, and I also got a faint little chill just thinking about Hayden’s dad, and what Hayden had told me about him. I also remembered how Hayden had feared that he would one day become just like him, which I’d insisted would
never happen. I was still sure it would never happen, but I was also sure that it was a good thing that Hayden had so many family members on the farm who knew who he really was. I was sure that Sam, Trevor, Mel, or Mark would say something if they felt that Hayden was getting a little too “caught up” in taking out the enemy. I was pretty sure, anyway.
The next day, after yet another small-scale Warren attack, Hayden called for a “council meeting” to be held that evening. All family members were invited to attend, as were numerous Warren cousins who lived in the community, as well as other Watchers who weren’t MacGregors but who Hayden had appointed as council members anyway. The meeting was scheduled to take place in our spacious dining room at the house at eight o’clock.
By the time I’d finished bathing and feeding Chrissy and putting her to bed, it was just a minute or two past eight, and everyone else was already in the dining room. Some people were sitting around the long, rectangular dining room table, which had room for fourteen people. Other people were sitting around a circular oak table of a much smaller size, which Mark and Trevor had hauled up from the basement.
Hayden sat at the head of the table, facing the door that opened to the wraparound porch, and the opposite seat at the other end of the table was empty. To Hayden’s right sat Mark, and the seat on his left was empty. Assuming this was where I was supposed to sit, I scooted in and had a seat, feeling somewhat conspicuous being that I was late, and also because I’d never attended a council meeting before. I had no idea what would be discussed or what was usually discussed. All I knew was that I was sure it would have something to do with the waves of Warren vampires streaming into the farm on a daily basis.
Hayden soon began calling the meeting to order by thanking everyone for coming; however, it turned out that I wasn’t the only latecomer. Interrupting Hayden, Jen came dashing into the dining room from the direction of the kitchen, apologizing for her tardiness. “I just had to finish up my snack out there because I didn’t want to come in here being completely rude by eating in front of you all.”
Sitting across and down a few spots from me at the table, Mel snorted. “Well, you’re being rude by now arriving late.”
My face suddenly flamed because I had also been late.
Seeming to immediately realize this, Mel suddenly turned her gaze to me. “I didn’t mean to imply that all latecomers were rude. Just Jen. You had baby care stuff to do.”
If Mel was going to say anything further to me, she was prevented from doing so by the sound of Jen dragging a heavy oak chair along the floor, making a very loud, prolonged dragging-slash-scraping noise for at least fifteen seconds until she reached the long main table.
Then, huffing and puffing from her exertion, she shoved the chair between two others, hitting the table with a bang. “No, no one get up. No one got up half a minute ago to help me drag this chair across the floor. Just stay seated, all of you. Please.”
No one had moved a muscle to help her, which I felt just slightly guilty about now. However, I hadn’t made a move to help her because she could have easily taken a seat at one of three empty chairs at the circular oak table adjacent to the main one. I had a feeling she’d taken one look at that table, though, and had mentally deemed it the “kiddy table.”
After rolling her large green eyes at Jen, Mel turned her gaze to Hayden. “Do you have to allow her to attend this meeting?”
Hayden had simply sat with his jaw clenched during the interruption of Jen’s prolonged chair-dragging, and now he looked even further put out by Mel’s question. And when he answered it, it was in a terse sort of way that made me think his twin cousins were both irritating him equally.
“Yes. All MacGregors of legal adult age are welcome to attend council meetings, and that includes Jen.” Momentarily clenching his jaw again, Hayden shifted his gaze from Mel to Jen. “That being said…Jen, if you can’t manage to sit through this meeting quietly, except when making appropriate comments about matters being discussed, or when asking appropriate questions about matters being discussed, I will have to ask you to leave. And if you refuse to leave, I’m sure your dad will help you make your way out of the dining room. Do you understand me?”
Surprising me, although not really, Jen simply said, “Yes, Hayden,” and then fell silent. For whatever reason, Hayden seemed to be the only one that she ever really listened to and obeyed. Maybe at least half the time, anyway. Fortunately, this particular evening seemed to be one of those times.
With Jen now quiet, Hayden called the meeting to order, saying that the first item on the agenda had to do with a few “weak spots in defense,” as he said. “The daily guard patrols running east and west are doing all they can, and covering ground as fast as they can, but there are still a few areas that I think are under-patrolled and vulnerable to attack; so, I’d like to reorganize all our patrols to help shore up these weak spots. I have a few ideas I’ve been thinking about, but I’m open to suggestions as to how we might best do this.”
What followed was a lengthy group discussion about patrol shifts, the different areas that were patrolled, areas of the property that might actually be over-patrolled, and things of similar nature. While everyone talked, Jen scrolled through her phone, clearly not listening to anything being said, but at least not disrupting the proceedings, either. As the group discussion progressed, she began giggling near-silently at something she was watching on her phone, but even after a minute or two, she never let her near-silent giggling develop into full-blown disruptive laughter.
After it had been decided how the patrols would now be reorganized, Hayden moved onto a different subject, something about having decided to use a new fighting formation during the next fight against the Warrens, no matter how big or small of a fight it was, and he wanted to make sure that everyone was on board with it. Once he’d confirmed that everyone was, he moved on to something else.
If he or Mark or anyone else thought that I was going to jump in with an idea or suggestion at any point in the meeting, they were wrong. Most of what was being discussed in regard to guard patrols, different fighting formations, and killing strategy was so technical that I barely understood it. Clearly, I would have a lot to learn when I eventually became a vampire.
When the meeting had been going on for maybe a half-hour, I became aware that I was starting to develop a problem. Throughout the meeting, I hadn’t only been glancing at Jen to see if she was still behaving herself; I’d also been taking peeks at Hayden’s incredibly handsome, strong-jawed, stubbly face, and now it was getting harder and harder to keep myself from focusing on his full, delectable lips.
I realized that I wanted to kiss them badly, preferably while being held in Hayden’s strong arms; and I didn’t even kid myself by trying to pretend that I didn’t. In fact, it was beginning to fully hit me just how much I’d missed Hayden. It was also beginning to fully hit me just how much we were having to give up as a couple just because of the Warrens.
It didn’t seem fair, and while my mind wandered, I began to have an idea about having a talk with Hayden after the meeting, just to tell him how much I missed him and how much I was starting to resent how his job of being leader of the Watchers on the farm.
However, at the same time, being realistic, I knew that the best course of action would be for me to say nothing. Just like I’d thought when I’d wanted to talk to Hayden about Pam, I figured that Hayden already had enough on his plate without me coming at him about being resentful. After all, I knew that he was doing what he was doing in order to keep Chrissy and me safe. We both were.
Even knowing this, later that evening, once the meeting was adjourned, I couldn’t help but ask Hayden for a kiss. Smiling, I waited for his answer. However, when he finally said it, my smile instantly faded.
CHAPTER 12
“Not right now. I’ve got to go.”
I stared at Hayden, speechless, while he sat on the side of our bed, jamming his work boots on while looking like he was a million miles away.
Still looking like he was a million miles away, Hayden didn’t answer.
“Hayden? Did you even hear what I just said?”
He finally finished lacing his heavy brown work boots and looked up at me. “What?”
I resisted the urge to scoff, instead willing myself to simply speak with all the patience I could muster. “I asked you if I could have a kiss before you leave.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Hayden stood up from the bed. “Oh. Sorry. I thought you were asking me earlier if I wanted to check on Chrissy with you before I leave.”
I almost didn’t know how to respond. “I…didn’t ask you anything even remotely like that. I just asked if I could have a kiss, which…I don’t even want anymore.”
With his expression apologetic, Hayden came over to where I was standing by the dresser and pulled me into his arms. “I’m sorry, Syd. I really am. My mind is just a million miles away right now.”
“I can see that.”
“I do want to give you a kiss before I leave. We’ll have to make it quick, though.”
“I know. It’s the same with everything lately. We can feed Chrissy together, but we’ll have to make it quick. We can read her a book together, but we’ll have to make it quick. Now our kisses have to be set on a timer, too.”
“Syd, listen. I—”
“No, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I get it. This is a difficult time with all the Warren attacks, and you’re under a ton of stress. I do understand. I also understand that you’re working as hard as you are just to keep me, Chrissy, and everyone else safe. I appreciate you for that, and I love you for that. But even with all that being said, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t getting frustrated about all this and I’m starting to wonder when, and if, it’ll all be over. I just want some semblance of a normal life with you and our daughter, Hayden.”
