by Moore, E. M.
Just as I jumped, someone shouted, “Wait!”
Panic strangled me, a cry caught in my throat. Then, some part of me heard laughter and I realized it was just Zeke trying to scare me. Mission accomplished. Asshole.
I slipped through the water, my head going under in an icy rush. I kicked to the surface as hard as I could. The total fear and excitement made me want to take a deep breath, but it wouldn’t be smart until my head broke the surface unless I wanted a mouthful of river water. Thankfully, it was only a second or two later, when I pushed above the surface. I breathed in long and deep and then held it in my chest as I swam to the bank. My whole body felt as if it was in an ice bath. Tremors shook me, some from the temperature and some from the nerves. My foot kicked against rocks and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Whoa. That was nuts.
Up above, I heard Evan say, “Way to go, Ariana.”
My lips broke apart in a huge smile. I couldn’t believe I did that! I didn’t want to do it again, but I was still on a high as I made my way up the rocky bank and grabbed one of the towels everyone else had used to dry off with. Shannon and Liv ran toward me. “Well?”
“Wow.” It was all I could get out.
“I know, right?” Liv said. She still hugged her arms to her chest. “A few of us already went down to start the bonfire. Come on!” She untangled herself for a brief moment to pull at my arm, and I followed. I needed a bonfire about now. It was freezing out here.
I followed the other girls back through the makeshift parking lot to a narrow path that led through the woods. I looked wistfully at Evan’s Jeep, wishing I could get in to grab my sweatshirt, but a quick check of the door handle said it was locked.
“You need something?” Shannon asked.
“I left my sweatshirt in there.”
She looked me up and down, a small frown pulling at her lips. “I guess we should’ve told you to grab it. We can ask Evan when he gets to the bonfire, but I’m pretty sure he’s jumping again. Let’s get you to the heat.”
I hurried after them. Luckily, the fire looked like it had already been going for a while when we got there. It was almost as tall as me. All three of us huddled around it switching between our fronts and backs and laughing about what we’d just done. I was having fun. Liv was nice and had a great sense of humor. Shannon was Shannon. She was a spunky little thing whose personality increased tenfold as soon as they started serving alcohol. I passed on that, figuring someone would need to drive home in case Evan decided to have a few. I couldn’t drive, but I figured anything was better than an impaired driver.
Within a half hour, the other group who’d decided to jump multiple times came up the path. Evan spotted us right away. He held up my sweatshirt and I grinned at him. “Thank you.” Now I could move away from the fire without freezing to death.
I put it on and zipped it all the way up. Even bringing the hood up in the back to keep my ears warm. My hands went to my pockets and I smiled when I felt the small cell phone. I’d forgotten I’d put it in there. I wasn’t used to having a cell phone, and I never took it with me anywhere at The Fort. A trainee named Josh had done that once and Samuel made him run an extra two miles for the indiscretion.
I took it out and turned on the screen. No messages. I couldn’t blame them. They’d thought I went to bed.
I pulled Shannon and Liv to my side and took a group selfie. I told them it was to memorialize our first bridge jump, but really, I sent it as a text to the guys. I wanted them to know I was fine and that I was fitting in. Finally.
A tingle of awareness started up my spine. I turned to find a guy hovering just over my left shoulder. He was way too close for comfort. I jumped away. Looking at him, I knew he wasn’t human. He had the strong, defined lines of the other vampires I’d met. Hard jaw, perfectly sculpted cheekbones, and his eyes, they were almost yellow. He was good looking, but in an almost feral sort of way. While the Ravanas made me feel at peace, this one made me want to run the other way. “Hey there,” he said.
“Hi.” I gave him a quick wave and then turned to find Shannon and Liv. I shouldn’t have been texting on my phone. They’d left, and I didn’t know where they’d gone off to. I searched through the crowd of people, but I would never find Shannon that way. She was too short.
“Don’t be like that,” the guy said. “I hear you’re a toy of the Ravanas. I know them, you know.”
I gave him a hard look behind me. “If you knew them then you’d know I’m not their toy.” I turned around again, moving away. Somehow, the whole party had moved to the other side of the bonfire, and I was on this side, alone, with creeper vamp.
An ice-cold finger touched my neck, and I swung back around to face him. He smiled almost cruelly. “Then why is it that you’re here? If you’re not their toy, I mean.”
“Don’t touch me,” I warned. Was I allowed to touch vampires? I seemed to remember hearing it was frowned upon unless provoked. Surely if it was in self-defense it wouldn’t matter. I took a step toward the other side of the fire.
He followed. “I hear they’re at The Council meeting.”
I kept going. “Liv,” I shouted, because it was the first name I could think of.
His cold hand snapped out and wrapped around mine. His fingers were like a vise on my wrist. Just then, there was a rustle in the leaves. The vampire looked in that direction. I turned quickly, hoping it could be help, but it wasn’t. Zeke stood there. “What’s up, Ryan?” he asked.
The vampire nodded his head toward him and then me. “I thought you said she was down for the whole blood letting thing. She seems a little squeamish.”
Fear shot through me.
Zeke smirked. “Trust me, she’s—”
“If you touch me,” I started. Then, I picked up my foot and slammed my heel down on his toes. I wrenched my arm free and then ran. “Evan! Shannon!”
Hands wrapped around my waist and yanked backward. I fell to the ground, my shoulder blade landing on a jagged rock.
“Dude,” the vampire Ryan said. “She’s not into this.”
Blinking, I looked up to see that it was Zeke over me, trying to still my arms and legs as I flailed around, trying to get up and escape.
“She’s a vamp whore. She’ll like it.”
I kicked up, catching Zeke in the chin. I scrambled to my feet and backed away. Ryan was on his phone as if nothing was happening, and Zeke looked as if he could murder me. He stalked toward me, but Ryan held back on his arm. “I’m telling you, man. Do not mess with the Ravanas.” The guy looked at me. “I didn’t know.”
“Oh, just shut up,” Zeke said. He spat on the ground. “Just get out of here then.”
The vamp looked at me and then shook his head, disappearing into the forest.
“You asshole,” I screamed, staring right into Zeke’s cocky face. “I don’t know what your problem is with me, but you better get over it. I’m not a vamp whore. I don’t care that you don’t like to lose. In fact, you better get used to it because I’m going to kick your ass come course finals.”
Zeke’s eyes narrowed. He came forward, but I didn’t shy away. Not this time. I met him glare for glare, step for step. “Don’t push me, whore.”
I placed my foot behind his leg and did just that. I heaved my whole body into him, knowing it would take a lot to get him down. His eyes rounded, and his arms flailed, trying to catch his balance. He didn’t. He sprawled into the brush just like I had. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I spun on my heel and turned. I wanted to be long gone before Zeke got to his feet. A loud growl rose up behind me, and I turned just in time to see a black mass barrel into him.
Holy—.
Zeke went flying. The black mass landed on top of him. “If you ever touch her—”
The mass, which I could clearly see now was a person rearing back to punch someone trembled with anger. A sense of calm swept over me. “Stop!” I called out.
The figure turned. Stephan.
14
Tears threatened my eyes at the same time relief poured through me. “Don’t,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s not worth it.”
He took what I said to heart. Stephan got off him, and then pulled Zeke to his feet by his collar. Then, with a quick shove, he sent Zeke sprawling backward again. “Leave. Her. Alone.” There was an extra forceful growl punctuating his words.
He had me convinced. I’d never seen such a pure display of alpha male before. Damn. These vampires were fierce. The way he was able to push Zeke with little effort, and the big guy went flying. It was something else.
Stephan turned and came over to me, taking my face in his hands. They trembled against my skin. Not out of fear, or chill, but in pure rage. I’d only been that angry once in my life, and I could remember it vividly. “Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. How are you—?” I peeked behind him, making sure Zeke wasn’t as stupid as I thought he was and try to attack from behind.
“Shh,” he said. “I need to calm down. I’ll get calm, you think of your questions, and then we can talk.” He tipped my chin to force my gaze on him. “He will not hurt you.”
His emerald eyes blazed into mine. I nodded, transfixed by the anger in his usually soft expression. It was a good thing I stopped him from hitting Zeke. His fist would’ve gone straight through his skull. I reached up and put my hands over his. “Okay,” I said, smiling for his benefit.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s get out of here. You got everything?”
I checked my sweatshirt pockets. No phone. My keys had somehow tangled in a loose string, so they were still there. I looked down at the forest floor. “My phone must’ve fallen out.”
He took his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call it.”
I cringed. “It’s on vibrate, I think.”
He looked at me, his eyes blinking. When I just continued to stare back at him, he said, “Oh, I thought you were joking. Super hearing, remember?”
Right. I needed to get used to things like that. Using his above average hearing abilities, Stephan found my found about the place where my back hit the rock earlier. While he bent over, I looked toward the area I’d seen Zeke last. He wasn’t there. Not that I could blame him. Stephan was intense, and the weird thing was, he was the last of the Ravanas I would’ve thought capable of such a thing. Like Nicolai’s name for him in my phone, he was a healer. He didn’t inflict damage, he took it away.
Stephan entwined his fingers with mine and we walked back up the path. Ryan stood on the outskirts of the circle the trainees had made around the bonfire. He gave Stephan a nod, and we walked up to him. “Thank you,” Stephan told him.
Ryan looked from him to me, then down to our entwined hands, and then up again. He nodded again. Though he didn’t say anything, it was evident there was nothing but respect in his gaze.
Stephan pulled me away, but I hung back. “I need to tell who I came with that I’m leaving. I don’t want them to worry.”
Stephan’s eyes traveled around the other trainees. Others had noticed us and were staring, but I didn’t see the girls or Evan. Stephan took a step back and faced Ryan again. “Can you do one more thing for me tonight? Please tell…”
Stephan looked at me, his eyebrows raised, expectant. “I came with Shannon, Liv, and Evan.”
Stephan’s hand tightened around mine when I said Evan’s name. He didn’t so much as flinch as he addressed Ryan again. “Please tell them I am taking Ariana back to The Fort.”
“Will do,” Ryan said. He turned around and sauntered into the crowd with that easy gait that all vampires had. It almost looked as if they were floating over the ground, not actually walking.
This time when Stephan led me away from the bonfire and back up the path to the parking area, I let him. I stayed close, leaning on his arm. Not so much for support, even though my back was killing me, but for comfort. Stephan was here, and I’d missed them so much. He stroked my hair as he walked me past the other cars and to a sleek, silver Audi that was haphazardly parked, blocking the entrance and exit to the makeshift lot. He opened the door and I got in. Like his brother, he pulled the seatbelt around me and made sure it locked into place. His hands lingered by my side, then he crouched down so we were face-to-face. He swallowed. “I hope I didn’t scare you back there. Sometimes it’s hard to control my anger. Especially—” His jaw worked. “Especially…”
He trailed off and I put my hand on his. “It’s okay. I get it.” I could imagine if our situations were reversed and I’d seen him in trouble. All the training at The Fort would’ve kicked in immediately. “Are you really taking me back to The Fort?” I asked.
His brows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I just…,” I said, looking down into my lap. “Last time they said nasty things about us.”
Below my hand, his fingers went rigid as they dug into the leather seats. “Which is the reason you were in this mess tonight.” I tried to shake my head, but he wasn’t having it. “Don’t try to deny it, Ariana. Ryan told me what that trainee brought him there to do.”
“How did you—?”
“I was already on my way back to you.” He sat on the lip where the car door rested when it was closed and looked at me. “I told the rest of them my suspicions about the photo you shared with us. They all agreed I should come back early to check it out even though they all wanted to. The only reason why I got to do it is because of my caring abilities. I was already halfway here when I got the photo you shared with you and your friends. I thought maybe I’d been too hasty. Then not twenty minutes later did I get a text from Ryan saying what was happening.”
“So that’s what he was doing?”
His usually smooth forehead wrinkled with confusion. “Ryan? Yes, he texted me that the trainee convinced him you were into bloodletting, but when he could tell you weren’t, he let me know right away.”
“I understand now. When Ze—the other trainee had me down, I saw Ryan on his phone, and I didn’t understand what he could possibly be doing.”
Stephan’s eyes glazed over and he stood, fists at his sides. His hands clenched and reclenched. “He was just on his phone while you were being attacked?”
Stephan stepped away from the car and I went to follow him, but the seatbelt held me back. Stupid thing! “Stephan!” I called out. He was already five paces back across the parking lot. Damn. They were so fast. “Please come back,” I urged. “I haven’t seen you in almost a week. I want to get out of here. Please.”
My whining voice was on, but if it would stop Stephan from getting into a second fight today, I was okay with that.
It worked. He stilled and then strode back to me. His finger traced a line from my ear to my chin. “You’re right. I need to get out of here before I do something stupid.”
I leaned away as Stephan closed the door. He was opening his door and sitting within a second after. I barely had time to blink. “Are we going back to The Fort?” I asked again. I didn’t really want to. Not right away anyway. The events of the night were starting to sink in and I trembled a little. There was a lot I still didn’t understand about this world, and I was afraid I’d never fit in.
“I have a place we can go,” he said. He pulled out onto the road. It was dark and eerie outside, and every time I looked outside the car, I thought I saw Ryan’s yellow eyes coming to prove how much of a vamp whore I was. I shivered, and Stephan put his hand on mine. “It won’t take long.”
He was right. Within a few minutes, we were pulling up to a black metal gate much like the one at The Fort and Stephan was punching in a code. I didn’t say anything as he drove up the circular driveway and up to an enormous brick house. “What is this place?”
He unclicked his seatbelt and leaned over me to look up at the place. “This is where my parents stay when we’re at school.”
“It’s your house?” I asked. “Then why aren’t you guys staying here now?”
Stephan shrugged.
“Our parents weren’t exactly on board with what we were doing so they made a compromise. We had to stay at The Fort house while we watched over your training.” He reached up and picked a dry leaf out of my hair. “We’ll be safe here.”
I nodded, my throat dry as Stephan got out of the car and came around my side to get me out. We walked up the stone walkway and to the large door. Stephan unlocked it with one of the keys from his keychain and ushered me inside. The interior of the brick house took ‘open floor plan’ to a whole other level. “This is…huge,” I said.
Stephan offered a reserved smile. He wasn’t in the mood to be happy yet. “This is nothing compared to our big house.”
My eyes widened as I looked at him, trying to gauge his seriousness. He was, in fact, very serious. The big house must be a mansion…or a castle. Maybe it had a moat like the movies on TV. Wasn’t that a vampire thing?
He pulled me in and set me down on the couch. “The guys and I wanted to stay here, but it wouldn’t fly. We come here every so often. Speaking of—” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and grimaced down at the screen. “They’ve been blowing up my phone asking if you’re okay. You should call them.”
“Me?” I squeaked.
“They’re not going to take it from me,” Stephan said. “They’re going to want to talk to you anyway. Might as well get it over with.”
“What am I going to tell them?”
“The truth.”
My heart slammed inside my chest. The truth? If I did that, all the Ravanas would be here as fast as they could. What about Ryan? And Zeke? Not that I should care what happened to him, but I knew his actions were based out of fear. I’d rather prove him right than wrong. I wanted to kick his ass at the final course run. “I don’t know…”
