“What was what, darling? Are you jealous?” He flashed a smile I’m sure he thought was charming, but all I saw was the wild look in his eye.
I thought about masking my disgust, but the thought was fleeting. I wanted to protect Betsy from him. I wanted to protect them all from him.
The thought gave me pause. When had I started thinking about others—other humans—as them rather than us? We’d been traveling for less than a day, and I’d already started separating myself from my people. Or were humans never my people to begin with? If I wouldn’t have fit in with the Shadows, did I still fit in with humans? How much longer before I started unconsciously aligning myself with a Shadow world that wouldn’t want me?
Kol opened the comically large, laminated menu. “You know what you want?”
“You’re not going to do anything to her, are you?” I whispered. Frustration clawed at my throat; his nonchalance worried me.
He flipped down one side of the menu to smirk at me, raising his eyebrows. “Would it make you feel better if I lied?”
“What—you—” Alarm sang throughout my body. “Promise me you won’t,” I begged, knowing it likely made little difference.
“Sure, love,” he smiled at me sweetly, but I knew it was dripping with venom.
Still, hearing it from him made me feel a little better, even if I didn’t fully believe it.
“Why does this bother you?” He leaned forward on his elbows and cocked his head. I hated how good he looked, even when he’d just insinuated threats. “I’m only taking part in the natural cycle of life.”
“Because it’s wrong.” Betsy cleared plates a few tables away but glanced over every few seconds, like she could feel something dangerous nearby. Not something. Someone. It wasn’t too late to leave. We could always try for a drive-thru.
“Tell me: is it wrong when your kind slaughter a cow for a burger, or a pig for bacon? Are you bothered when your people raise animals just to eat them?”
“This is different,” I muttered, my fingers playing with the corner of my laminated menu. Betsy walked stiffly back to the kitchen with an armful of plates, almost tripping when she turned around for another nervous glance at Kol.
“You’re not vegan, are you?” He looked at me with horror, placing the menu down. I saw nothing wrong with being vegan, but I supposed it was a vampire’s nightmare.
I shook my head. “We should probably leave. I think I want fast-food, anyway.”
Kol leaned back in his seat, content with the internal unrest he had drummed up inside of me.
“Sure thing,” he smiled and winked. “But I just have to use the washroom first, if you’ll give me a minute.”
He slid so smoothly out of the booth I wondered how I could have ever forgotten that he wasn’t human. He glided with an inhuman ease; every movement, big or small, was elegant and intentional. Every—
My breath stopped, and I suddenly heard nothing except blood pounding in my ears.
Something was wrong. The back of my neck tingled, and the hairs stood up.
Craning my neck to search the surrounding tables, I saw no hint of bouncy blond curls. I crawled out of the booth to look around the corner, my footsteps eerily quiet in the empty diner.
That’s when I saw them.
Through the glass outside, Betsy stood rooted to the ground, shaking in her uniform. A breeze gently blew some strands of hair that had come loose from her high ponytail. Kol stood several feet away in front of her, his eyes turning red. He was saying something. I couldn’t make it out, but I knew his voice was distorted, and he was compelling her to—to what?
It didn’t matter.
I ripped my gaze away and ran to the exit. I didn’t hear the door’s bell as I threw myself through it, racing around to the backside of the dinner.
Kol’s back was to me, and he held Betsy in his arms. If it weren’t for her terrified saucer eyes, I would have thought they were lovers in an embrace, catching an intimate moment in the grass behind the diner.
But they weren’t.
And she was terrified.
“Stop!” My voice rang through the darkening day, but Kol didn’t seem alarmed.
Instead, he took his time turning around, taunting me. Like he had all the time in the world. His grip on Betsy never lessened.
“Yes?” His fangs retracted, but his eyes were still red. Golden rays of the setting sun reflected on his platinum hair, casting a warm glow around him, but making his eyes bloodier than usual. He looked like a malevolent angel on the patchy grass.
“Stop,” I said again, hating the shaking in my voice. “You can’t do this.”
Great. How clever of me. I was hoping I’d have some brilliant speech prepared, but nothing came to mind when his ruby eyes met mine.
“Again, I must reiterate that this is the circle of life.” He peered at me through half-closed eyes and turned Betsy around so I could see her. One arm circled her waist while the other held her wrist up. He sniffed her neck. “You eat diner food. I eat the diner girl,” he grinned darkly.
“I can’t let you do that,” I shuddered. Betsy let out a shaky breath, her eyes glassy with unshed tears, pleading. Begging me for help. She didn’t understand what was happening, but I did. But what could I do about it? I was weak—I was merely human, whereas he had every advantage over me. We were both at his mercy and whim.
“And what are you going to do to stop me, love?” His eyes flashed with something—anger? Impatience? Excitement?
“I—” my mind was blank. He was right. He was stronger than me. Faster than me. There weren’t even any oak trees nearby, not that I’d have time to do anything with any oak wood, anyway.
Suddenly, an idea formed. A weight burned in the back pocket of my jeans, waiting to be unleashed. It was small, and I didn’t know if it would work, but it was something. Something I’d forgotten I carried with me at all times in case of emergencies. And this was an emergency.
I reached behind me to grab the multi-tool, the metal cool against my clammy skin.
His head tilted in wait to see what I would do.
In one swift motion, I flicked the blade out of its sheath and held it up against my neck. I had no idea where my jugular was. I had no idea whether to slice or stab myself. But I needed him to believe I would do it anyway. I had to try.
Kol’s eyes widened, and he nearly dropped Betsy.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He snarled, genuine anger marring his otherwise beautiful features.
“What does it look like?” I challenged him despite the shaking in my voice. “If you bite her, I will stab myself and take you down with me.”
A million thoughts swirled in my mind. What if he had been lying about the bond? What if he risked it and bit her before coming to save me? I’d never seen a person die before. I didn’t know what would happen if I went through with it. I didn’t know how it would work. Would I die instantly? Would I bleed for hours, alive and in pain?
Would I even be able to stab myself?
Kol’s eyes narrowed.
My sweaty hands shook as I edged the knife closer to my neck until I could feel the cold steel against my skin.
“Let her go,” I demanded, proud of how clear my voice sounded despite the maelstrom of emotions rocking me.
We locked eyes. His, a bloody red swirling in grey as thoughts turned in his head. Mine, probably full of fear.
Finally, as the sun set beneath the mountains and the last of daylight faded away, so did his resolve.
He turned her around and—before I could react—voice distorted, he told her to forget what happened here, forget us, and forget that we had ever stepped foot inside the diner.
Then Kol let her go and held his hands up in defeat. Betsy, wide-eyed and confused, ran back to the diner, not looking back.
“You win, love.”
Sighing, my knees buckled, but I kept the knife against my neck until Betsy was safely inside the diner and away from his clutches.
In a blur and a whoosh of air, Kol was suddenly behind me, holding me the way he held her. One warm hand splayed across my stomach, pressing me close to his hard body. The other held my wrist up and away from my neck, the blade useless in my hand.
The sound of my pounding heart filled my mind, and I wouldn’t have heard him if he hadn’t whispered right up against my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck.
“Now let’s not be hasty, shall we? Let’s just drop the little knife before anyone accidentally hurts themselves.” His voice was dark and low as he purred against my ear, full of unspoken threats that I couldn’t discern. Promises, too. But promises of what, I couldn’t tell, either. I hated myself for reacting to his husky voice.
Heat exuded from his body, but I shivered, a lump in my throat as I let out breaths trying to stay calm. I was afraid, but I also felt alive. I’d almost died earlier today, but this brush with fear—with him, so dangerous and so close—something within me exploded awake. I belonged in the Shadows.
I said nothing as I dropped the knife. It hit the ground with a dull thud, landing sideways on the grass.
“There’s a good girl,” his lips brushed against my ear and electricity shot through my veins, a mixture of equal parts adrenaline and terror.
As quickly as he appeared, he was gone again, standing several feet away from me and a devilish grin on his lips, my knife safely sheathed again within the plastic casing of the multi-tool. He studied his nails, the picture of insouciance. “So, which fast-food joint works for you?” He tossed my tool, and I fumbled, barely catching it.
Still reeling from the loss of warmth and the sudden, unexpected realization that I might actually have a death wish, I glared at him. The tool neatly tucked back into my pockets, I realized that this was a game to him, and he let me win this round.
CHAPTER 4
“I’M A VAMPIRE, LOVE. I do whatever I want,” Kol raised his eyebrows and smiled at me as we climbed into the car to leave. My stomach protested, but there was no way we were walking back into the diner.
“Trust me, she doesn’t even remember us anymore. I’ve thoroughly wiped her memory.”
“No.”
“Do you not believe in my powers?”
“I don’t believe in your ability to not cause distress to others,” I huffed. His stupid crooked smile made it hard to stay angry at him despite every reason to. Besides, if we were to be stuck together for a while, staying mad at him only made this journey more difficult for me. He didn’t seem to mind either way.
“Well, encanto is useful, and it gets me the things I want. Why wouldn’t I use it?”
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
“Now you’re sounding like a mother. If we’re to be traveling together, you’ll just have to get used to some things. Trust me, once you embrace the whole immortality and getting what you want thing, life becomes a whole lot better,” he smirked.
“I still can’t wrap my head around this immortality thing,” I changed the topic; I didn’t want to think about Betsy and the incident anymore. Didn’t want to think about the fact that I was traveling with a monster. “So you have to die, and then come back to life, and then you live forever?”
He tutted. “You watch too much TV.”
“Which part did I get wrong?”
“Normal vampires are Made when a human is on the brink of death, and they drink a vampire’s blood. Our blood is healing for them, but if there isn’t enough human blood for the person to survive, then the vampire blood will take over. The person will either survive as a human or as a vampire.”
“Normal vampires? As opposed to abnormal ones?” I pulled into a drive-thru and raised my eyebrow, teasing him.
“Yes, like me,” he smiled crookedly.
I barely noticed the woman’s voice crackling over the speaker when I processed his response. An internal voice groaned. Of course I would be traveling with an abnormal vampire. As though my day hadn’t been strange enough.
We placed our orders quickly so I could drive away from the microphone.
“What do you mean you’re abnormal?” I hissed as soon as I was sure the drive-thru lady wouldn’t hear me.
“I wasn’t Made the same way that other vampires are,” he drawled, clearly enjoying my reactions.
I paid for the food and pulled away to park. It might have been silly to pick up drive-thru food only to eat it in their own parking lot, but I didn’t want to risk another human catching Kol’s attention.
“Here,” I shoved a burger into his hands. “Have a snack so you don’t eat anymore humans.”
“You know this will not satiate my hunger?” A half smile rested on his face.
Warmth rose to my cheeks under the heat of his stare. I caught a hint of hunger in his eyes, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t the romantic kind. He probably wanted to drink my blood since I’d stopped him from his actual meal earlier.
“Well, do your best to hold it in or something. We’ll have to get you an alternative or something...” I scrunched my nose, racking my brain for a solution. “What about animal blood?”
His lips pulled up into a dark grin. “You’re asking me to become a vegetarian for you? That’s quite a lot to ask so early in our relationship, isn’t it?”
“Given the circumstances of our meet-cute, I think you’ll give leniency,” I said dryly.
“There’s a hospital in every major town. I can persuade some nurses to give me blood—” he raised a hand to stop my interruption. “Blood in the form of blood bags. Donated blood. Is that good enough for you to stop threatening to stab yourself every time I get hungry?”
“As long as you’re not threatening to eat more people,” I glowered. It was naïve to believe him after the situation with Betsy, but my instincts said he was telling the truth this time around. Or at least, he believed he was telling the truth. That was good enough for me—for now.
“Let’s revisit this abnormal vampire thing,” I popped a fry into my mouth, feeling the strangeness of the words. It was as though the existence of vampires wasn’t strange enough already.
“I told you that’s how normal vampires are Made, but I wasn’t Made that way. I was the first vampire, so an old coven of batty witches Made me.”
I balked, fry in my fingers frozen in mid-air. “You’re the first ever vampire?” Just how old was he?
He nodded, finishing the last bite of his burger and crumpling the paper into a little ball. “Yes. But that’s a story for another day, love.” He winked before stealing the fry right out of my hand.
“Do vampires really live forever?” I asked, skirting around the question that was actually dancing in my mind.
“Young and devilishly handsome and at the peak of life forever, as I have mentioned,” he smirked.
“And just how young are you then?” I narrowed my eyes.
“You ought to know better than to ask a gentleman for his age.”
“I’m not asking a gentleman, am I?”
“Touche,” was all he said.
“So if wood doesn’t kill you, what about other vampires?”
“Other vampires can’t kill me, either.”
I rolled my eyes, and he laughed. It was a deep laugh that filled the small car’s cabin, one without malevolence. He sounded like he was truly enjoying the conversation.
“Oh, it’s very much lethal to other vampires if you can get it in their hearts. But if you’re looking for a way to kill me, I’m looking at her.”
“You really think that I’m the only way you can die.” I dropped the food wrappers back into the paper bag. “There’s really no other way to kill you?”
“I’m one of a kind, darling.” His dark, crooked grin sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't believe that I’d forgotten he wasn’t human; I’d never met anyone more self assured than he. No one who commanded as much attention as he did just by existing. And yet, here I was sharing a little car with him as he stole my fries.
“I’m sur
e it’s for the best that there aren’t more of you around,” I muttered, wiping my fingers and bagging the garbage.
BY THE TIME I PULLED into the parking lot of a SuperMotel, my body ached and the moon was high in the sky. Briefly, I wondered if there were any werewolves out on the prowl, and whether the moon actually affected them.
Kol woke up and squinted at the bright neon sign. I was shocked when he fell asleep earlier, but I guess that just emphasized how differently we felt about each other. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to fall asleep around him. “A SuperMotel? This is where we’re staying for the night?”
“Look, I’m unemployed and I don’t have that much money, so we have to make do.”
“Again, I feel obligated to remind you. Vampire,” he pointed at himself, rolling his eyes. He got out of the car without waiting for me to grab my bag. I rushed after his lithe form, marveling at how sinister he looked walking in the poorly lit parking lot at night. Leather jacket and all, he looked like a dangerous man dripping in sin. Someone walking by might have thought he’d strutted straight out of a dark romance movie.
“You could have waited for me,” I grumbled. He was already at the counter.
“Kol,” I warned, elbowing him out of my way to face the employee. “Hi Chester,” I read the nameplate. “We’d like—”
“Two rooms, side by side. Get me some clothes that’ll fit and look good,” Kol’s deep voice rumbled behind me, distorted.
“Kol!” I placed my hand on his chest to push him away, but he didn’t budge. I turned back to Chester. “You don’t have to do that. We’ll pay.”
Chester seemed not to have heard me at all, fingers flying over his outdated computer keyboard. “Two rooms. 201 and 202, side by side. Here are your keys, sir.” He smiled and handed us two white plastic cards. “We’ll get your clothes sent up to your rooms.”
“Chester, can I pay you?” I knocked Kol’s outstretched arm aside and pushed my credit card into Chester’s hand to no success.
“No, ma’am. We’re very honored that you chose our SuperMotel.” Chester beamed at me and swatted my card away, passing the room keys directly into Kol’s waiting hand.
Life Bound: The Shadow World Book 1 Page 4
