by E. J. King
“Well, we always have email and text messages.” I hated being this close to him. It was strange to see this monster, his human form just a few years older than mine, and know that he was responsible for my existence. He was also responsible for the deaths of my family. I hated him.
“This may not mean much considering the source, but I actually do like you, Kaylie. You’re tough and you have this spark that makes me feel a little proud.”
“Great. You don’t want to kill me, I don’t want to die. This is going to work out great for both of us. Win, win.”
His eyes narrowed into gold slits. “I don’t want to kill you, I want to turn you. But because of your blood, that’s not possible. So even though I don’t want to kill you, I have to kill you. I’m sure you can understand.”
“Sure, that sounds reasonable. Most parents feel like they have to kill their children eventually.” I wished that my hands were free so that I could wrap them around Benton’s throat.
Benton grinned wide enough that I could see his fangs. I had to assume that I got my smile from my mother.
“Such a champ, joking all the way to the end.” Benton had apparently had enough bonding time because he walked away.
While he chatted with his Soul buddies, I got busy sawing away the ropes.
“Anything?” Rafe asked.
“Close.” I just needed a couple more minutes.
Luck was not on my side. Whatever Benton had said made the Souls buzz with activity. So far, none of them seemed particularly interested in me and Rafe.
“Well. It’s been fun, but I really must be going,” Benton announced loudly.
“Weren’t you going to kill us?”
Rafe elbowed me angrily. “Did you really have to remind him?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t forget.” Benton looked downright giddy. “But I can’t kill you like a normal human. You have toxic blood, remember? I’m not taking any chances.”
That’s when it hit me- the wooden crates didn’t hold strategically packed antiques. Rafe and I were strapped to a pile of explosives.
“I did not see that coming,” I admitted.
“Try not to take this personally.” Benton exaggerated a bow and then spun on his heel. “Finish it.”
He left the room at Soul super-speed while his minions finished setting up the explosives.
“Looks like I’ll literally be going to pieces for you,” Rafe said. He started struggling harder against his ropes.
I made two hard swipes and my ropes dropped free. “Looks like I’m literally the reason you live,” I said, holding up my free hands.
“I always thought we would get to bondage in our relationship, I just had no idea I would be begging you to untie me.” Rafe glanced nervously over my shoulder while I reached around him.
My fingers fumbled a few times, but eventually I got a good grip and was able to undo the knot. “There.”
“My hero.” He rubbed at the raw skin on his wrists. “Wanna run away with me?”
“Gladly,” I said, looking around the room to plan our escape.
The Souls had just finished their work and were getting ready to leave us strapped to the explosives. They hadn’t even noticed that we had managed to free ourselves.
“We need to find the kids,” I said.
“Uh,” Rafe’s eyes widened. “We have some other things to take care of first.”
Our escape was no longer unnoticed. A dozen Souls were glaring at us with burning eyes and bared fangs. Rafe and I were both excellent, experienced Hunters, but a dozen Souls was a lot, even for us. Even worse, the explosives were hooked up to a detonator that was counting down from five minutes.
“This should be fun,” I said, taking a deep breath. My phone vibrated and I glanced at it hastily and let out a relieved sigh. “Ethan has the kids. They made it out safe.”
That solved one of our problems.
“Kill fast and if you see an opening, run.” Rafe stared hard at me. “Don’t look back, no matter what.”
“Let’s move.”
I rushed forward without waiting to see if Rafe was following.
The good news was that the Souls were new and reckless. The bad news was that they were also desperately hungry.
The next two minutes were a blur of punches, kicks, blows, and falls. I swung wildly at everything, focused only on getting to the door. When I finally made it, I’d taken out at least five Souls. But then I did something I wasn’t supposed to do- I looked back.
Rafe was on the ground and he wasn’t moving. Two Souls were closing in on him fast. I rushed to stop them. It took over a minute, but I was able to take down both of them. When I turned back to Rafe, he had managed to get to his knees.
“I told you not to look back,” he gasped.
“Did you really think I was going to start listening to you now?” I crouched next to him, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “We need to move fast.”
He grunted hard and we stood in unison. I put my hand on his chest to steady him and it came away covered in blood. There wasn’t any time to check the wound.
Even though each step was agony for him, Rafe managed to run at almost normal speed. We hurried out into the hall and only had a short distance to cover before we were flying through the front doors of the church. Twenty feet later, the church erupted behind us, the force of the explosion tossed us through the air like a couple of leaves. Seconds after that, my body collided with the ground and everything went dark.
CHAPTER FIVE
I woke with ringing in my ears and a throbbing headache. My eyes were swollen and I opened them slowly. After a few minutes, my vision cleared enough for me to look around. Somehow, I was back in my own bed.
“Rafe!” I sat up with a start, then immediately fell back when the room spun wildly.
“He’s okay,” Olivia said. She appeared at my side instantly, looking worried. “The explosion knocked both of you out, and he was pretty banged up, but he’s alive.”
I felt a little better. “And you and Ethan got the kids out?”
“They were in one of the rooms in the back, unharmed. We got them out well before everything blew up.”
“That’s good,” I let the information sink in. The kids were safe. Ethan and Olivia had gotten out. Rafe would be okay. Then I remembered. “Where’s Lincoln?”
This time when I sat up, I fought back the vertigo and nausea and made it to my feet before Olivia could stop me. After we had all separated before going into the church, I hadn’t seen or heard from Lincoln a single time. What if he hadn’t made it out before the explosion?
“Kaylie. Stop.” Olivia grabbed for my arm, but I jerked away.
“We have to go back!”
“Settle down, killer.”
Just like that, Lincoln was back from the dead again. He stood in the doorway, looking at me like I was crazy.
“Link!” I hugged him, hard, then punched him in the arm. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Twice is enough.”
Lincoln rubbed his arm and pouted. “But I didn’t do anything.”
“Exactly.”
“What?” he asked as he peered into my eyes. “I think you may have suffered brain damage.”
“That’s a given.” I was only partially kidding- my vision was still blurry and I was having a hard time stringing thoughts together. “Where is Rafe?”
“Upstairs,” Lincoln said without too much annoyance. “But you shouldn’t go up there, Kaylie.”
I glared at Olivia. “You said he was fine.”
“I said he was alive,” she corrected me.
I didn’t wait around for more details. My feet flew up the stairs two steps at a time. I barged into Rafe’s bedroom, bracing myself for a worst-case-scenario. What I found was much more complicated.
He was propped up in bed, his head resting on a pile of pillows. Someone had removed his shirt and bandaged a wound that should have healed by now because of his Soul blood. But I could see fresh blood seeping
through the white gauze and his skin was a sickly shade of pale.
“James.” His name came out as a whisper, but he opened his eyes.
“That bad, huh?” he said when he saw the way I was looking at him. “That’s the same repulsed look you used to give me when we first met.”
“Stop trying to make me laugh. This is serious.” I perched on the edge of his bed, careful not to bump or jostle him. “You’re bleeding.”
He flinched. “I am.”
“Why isn’t your body healing itself like it usually does?” I gently placed my hand on his chest next to the wound and was surprised at how warm his skin felt.
Rafe’s hand closed over mine. “This is it, Kaylie.”
I blinked hard and my head shook. “No. No, it’s not time.”
“We knew this was going to happen.” He looked at me so calmly that it made me furious.
“No!” I felt like punching something. My hand closed into a fist around his. “I’m not going to let this happen.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” he said, voice steady. “Let’s just be here together while we still can.”
The more that Rafe faded, the harder it would be for him to be around me. In the end, the Soul part of him would take over completely.
“I’m not ready,” I whispered.
“It will be okay.” He tugged at my arm until I sank down next to him. “We still have some time.”
“Not enough,” I said as I buried myself into his warmth.
“No,” he agreed. “Not enough time.”
For the next few days, I never left Rafe’s side. Olivia had to bring me my meals because I forgot to eat. Eventually, Rafe insisted I at least take a shower. When he didn’t make any jokes about joining me, I knew things were getting really bad.
“Send in Ethan,” Rafe said, his eyes closing.
The fade hadn’t just been hard on me. Ethan was also struggling. He split his days spending time with us, watching over Hope, or desperately researching a cure. Now that things were getting so bad, I was certain I could convince him to give into my plan. I just had to get some time alone with him. But I needed to shower first.
I was gone less than fifteen minutes, but Ethan was waiting at Rafe’s door, refusing to let me in.
“He’s really bad, Kaylie. Being around you, it’s basically torture for him.” Ethan gave me a look so apologetic that I felt bad for him. “I can’t let you in there. It’s not safe for you. Rafe asked me to keep you safe.”
I was certain that he expected me to put up a fight. A big part of me wanted to do just that. But I also knew that we had reached the point where aimless fighting wasn’t going to help Rafe. He only had one chance.
I went to Hope’s room not sure which Hope I would find. It was a longshot, but I needed my friend. She seemed to be doing a little better, and when she looked at me she was my friend again.
“Lincoln has been checking in on me,” she said. “He even brought me some animal blood. It tasted disgusting, but it curbs the cravings.”
“That’s good,” I said.
Hope sighed loudly. “Lincoln and I have been talking about my situation. The animal blood helps, but it’s not a long term solution.”
“You don’t know that. It might work.” I wanted desperately to believe that Hope could find a way to exist without drinking human blood.
“It won’t,” she said grimly. “But Olivia knows some people that might be able to help me. Tomorrow night, I’m going to leave with her. And Lincoln is coming with us to make sure everything goes okay.”
I was shocked to hear that Lincoln was going to leave me. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not really sure. Olivia says these people have experience with Souls like me. I have to try it, Kaylie.”
“We can still get the Alpha blood, Hope. You don’t have to leave.”
“I can’t stay here waiting for that to happen when it might not. Do you really think I want to spend my life strapped to this bed?”
“You said you were into bondage,” I joked lamely.
She didn’t laugh. “I know you really wanted to get Benton’s blood and cure me, Kaylie, but I was selfish to even let you try. He could’ve killed all of you tonight. It’s not worth it.”
“Of course it is. You are my best friend.”
“Then you’ll understand why I have to give this a shot. I need to try to save myself for a change.”
She was right. As much as I didn’t want to say goodbye to my brother and friend at the same time, it was what needed to happen.
“I’m sure it will work,” I said, mustering up as much confidence as I could. “And then you will come back and we’ll return to dominating Jackson College.”
Hope smiled sadly. “How’s Rafe?”
I was surprised at the change of subject. “You know?”
“Ethan has been checking on me, too. He’s been keeping me updated.” She smiled sadly. “I’m missing a lot being locked away in this room.”
“You are,” I agreed.
“I want to help,” she said, sitting up determinedly. “I know about your plan, and I think it will work.”
“How?” I gasped.
She grinned sheepishly. “Ethan has been visiting me since the beginning, and he spilled the beans. I think it’s a pretty good plan.”
“You’re the only one that thinks so,” I admitted.
“No, she’s not.”
Olivia had entered quietly and she didn’t look at all sorry that she had interrupted us. Her face was stony, perfectly unreadable.
“You think I should give Rafe my blood?” I asked skeptically.
“No, I think you should kill him.” She held up a hand to stop my imminent tirade. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m a Hunter and Rafe is on the verge of attacking someone and become a Soul. That’s something I would like to prevent and the easiest way to do that would be to put my knife in his heart.”
“I would kill you before you even got close.”
She shrugged. “You probably would. Which is why that’s not what I’m going to do. Instead, I’m going to help you do it your way.”
“Why?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Why would you want to help me?”
“Let’s just say I understand what you’re going through.” Her face softened just a touch. “I lost someone I loved very much, and I would’ve done anything to save him.”
Olivia was just full of surprises.
“We have to get past Ethan.” I knew he would never keep his promise. I had been fooling myself to think that I could convince him otherwise. His promise to his brother to keep me safe was the one that he would keep.
“Leave that to me,” Olivia said.
“And I still have to figure out how I’m going to convince Rafe to drink from me. He’ll never do it willingly.”
Olivia took a tentative step into the room. “I think I have an idea that will work.”
The three of us planned and conspired for the next twenty minutes. It turned out that Olivia was an excellent schemer and the guys had already given us the perfect opportunity. Lincoln and Ethan were planning to break into the local blood bank and steal some roadie blood for Hope’s trip. They would be gone for at least an hour, giving us just enough time.
I felt confident about our plan up until the moment that I stood in front of Rafe’s door. He was on the other side, dying. If my plan failed, he could become a Soul or I could die. Or both of those things could happen.
Hope and Olivia were going in with me. We had a deal. I would get Rafe to drain me, and Hope would feed me her blood just in time for it to heal me. If anything went wrong, if Rafe turned, Olivia would take him out.
“You okay?” Hope asked.
It was funny that she was the one asking me that. This was the first time Hope had been untied since her transition and she was handling it well, even if she did keep looking at me like I was a giant steak.
“You know what you have to do?” I asked Olivia
.
“It won’t come to that,” she said. After I stared at her, she added, “But, yes. I know what to do if this doesn’t work.”
Before I could talk myself out of it, I pushed open the door.
Rafe was spread out in bed, eyes closed and breathing raggedly. I could see a sheen of sweat on his forehead and his eyelashes fluttered in his sleep. As I stood next to him and looked down, I was overwhelmed by affection. I knew that I was making the right choice. My knees buckled and I sank onto the bed next to him.
The blade stung as I sliced it down my neck. I hurriedly moved over him and leaned down, letting the blood drip onto his lips. His eyes flew open and he stared at me in horror for just a second before the Soul in him took over.
His fangs ripped through my skin and I choked back a scream. Deep down, I knew that if I asked him to stop, he would. Rafe would find a way to stop. But I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted him to drink all the way to the last drop.
The more blood he took, the colder I got until my limbs felt like they were frozen. Rafe clutched at me as he fed and it was a good thing because I could no longer hold myself upright.
“That’s enough,” Olivia said. “She can’t have much blood left in her.”
“He has to take it all,” Hope replied calmly, her voice sounding very distant. “I will know when it is time.”
My vision started to fade around the edges and I closed my eyes, focusing only on the beat of Rafe’s heart. It grew stronger as mine grew weaker. The last thing I heard was his voice, urgently calling my name.
“Kaylie!”
Then, nothing.
CHAPTER SIX
After Rafe drained my blood, everything went dark for a long time. When consciousness finally came back, it did so slowly, in soft waves. I would catch bits of conversation, Hope and Ethan talking softly to each other. Lincoln telling me to stop being so difficult. Rafe whispering that he loved me, and that he was sorry.
I wanted desperately to respond to each of them, to let them know that I was still there. From the worry in their voices, I could tell that they thought I might have already left them.
