Arianna started to move away from me, just like Trey, Raquel, and everyone else in the room. I wanted to physically restrain her, but that would only delay the inevitable. She was tranced to forget the minute she left the house…a walking time bomb. I still grabbed her hand at the last minute though; it was so hard to let her go again. Her hazel eyes flashed to mine, frustrated and worried like she wanted to leave, but she didn’t understand why.
I was about to release her, when someone pushed me away from her. “Let her go! She wants to leave.”
Shocked, I looked over at Simon. He was staring at me, his mouth compressed with irritation. I glanced around at everyone else I could see. Besides me, Nika, and Dad, everyone was doing as Nika ordered and starting to leave the house. Everyone but Simon. He was just standing there, staring at me. “Why aren’t you leaving?” I stupidly asked.
With pain in my heart, I noticed Arianna slipping around my dad and out the door. That was it. I’d lost her. Again. Simon caught my attention by shoving my shoulder back. “What the hell was all that?” he barked.
“What was what?” I seriously wished I had a better comeback.
Simon pointed at my sister. “Her. Commanding people…and them listening.” He looked around the room. “Where the hell are they all going?” His eyes returned to mine. “And what was all that about vampires? Are you guys insane, or do you really believe that stuff? And how did that guy move so fast!”
Dad walked up to Simon. “You don’t feel the urge to leave?” he asked, his tone thoughtful.
Simon looked like he’d rather be anywhere but in this room with me. “Well, yeah, I’d love to go home now, but not because she told me to.”
Brows bunched, Dad twisted his head to Nika. “Tell him to do something,” he said.
Nika walked in front of Simon. Expression serious, she said, “Give me your wallet.”
Simon raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
Nika frowned. So did I. Humans didn’t question an order given by a vampire. They just did it. “Tell him to do something unusual,” I offered.
Nika’s expression turned sour. “I thought that’s what I just did.” Shaking her head, she said to Simon, “Okay…cluck like a chicken.”
I grinned. That was definitely unusual. Simon put his hands up as if to ward her off. “Okay. You guys are all nuts. I’m out of here.” He started to leave, but Nika blocked his path.
“Don’t move,” she stated, her face dead serious.
Simon tried to get around her the other way while my eyes widened in disbelief. He shouldn’t be able to do any of this. Worried, Nika looked over at Mom and Dad. “I can’t compel him, Dad.”
Simon seemed even more bewildered. “Compel me?” He looked at Dad. “You’re her dad? No way. You’re only a couple of years older than she is.”
Dad’s expression shifted into concern. “He’s just like Jake and Ben…” He looked to me, then Nika. “We have to hold onto him, so Gabriel can test him.”
Simon didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “Screw you! I’m not being tested by you freaks.” He tried to barrel past Dad, but that was like trying to slam through a cement wall; Dad didn’t move an inch. His fingers clamped onto Simon though, and held him tight. Simon freaked out once he was trapped. “Let me go! You can’t keep me here. This is kidnapping! Your ass is going to jail for at least fifty years! Let go of me!”
Looking like he was repressing a weary sigh, Dad ignored his comments. Stepping up to him, I said in a low voice, “He’s right, Dad. We can’t keep him…he hasn’t done anything wrong.” I thought about Simon moving in on Arianna and frowned. “Well, nothing bad enough to contain him. So…what do we do with him?”
Dad suddenly looked very tired. “I have no idea, Julian.”
From downstairs, we all heard my mom say, “We take him to Gabriel and let him test him, just like you said. Then we’ll decide what to do.”
Simon started yelling and shouting for someone to help him. The last few kids walking past the room looked his way, but Nika merely told them to keep walking. Nobody was going to help Simon. His newly adopted family might wonder why he never came home though…
“Dad, we have to stop Arianna from leaving,” I stated, panic in my voice.
Dad let out the sigh he’d been holding. “Julian, now isn’t the time to talk about you and your ex-girlfriend. I’m very sorry about what went down, but you should be letting her go, not—”
Stepping forward, I cut him off. “No. Simon lives down the street from her. His dad is gone and her family watches out for him…he’s staying with them. She should be compelled with some story to tell her parents, so they won’t come looking for Simon when he doesn’t come home.”
Dad looked at Simon. “The Bennett’s are looking after you? Where is your family?”
“Hell if I’m telling you, freakazoid,” he muttered through clenched teeth.
Ignoring him, my dad looked at the floor. “Hunter…”
Hunter, having heard all of that conversation, immediately responded with, “I’m on it. She’s almost to the door, I’ll bring her back up.” My heart started beating harder. She hadn’t been erased yet. She still remembered me.
My parents’ bedroom door opened, and the sound of giggling filled the hallway. I cursed. I’d forgotten about the kids playing with the soundproofing. By the way they were talking, it was clear they hadn’t heard Hunter or Nika’s commands. Of course, they probably hadn’t heard me spouting about vampires either.
Dad groaned as he looked back at his room. “Our bedroom? Really?” Frowning, he returned his eyes to mine. “You and I are going to have a talk real soon.”
KNOWING MY DAD was about to kill Julian, and therefore kill me, since I was as much to blame for the party as my brother, I blurred out of my old bedroom to deal with the people leaving my parents’ bedroom. Julian and I were going to be in a heap of trouble over this. But, in actuality, it had proven to be a good night too. Well, not really. I’d nearly had sex with Hunter in front of a crowd. I was still mortified over that fact.
Hunter was in the entryway with Arianna. Even that short distance pulled at our bond. I wanted him to be so much closer. I ached with it. Sometimes I wanted to be free of the bond, of the stress and embarrassment. I just had to be patient though. It would fade over time.
I blurred to a stop in front of two guys and a girl. The guys gasped at my sudden appearance, the girl squeaked. “Stop,” I told them. They stopped moving, the girl stopped making noise. The only sound now was Simon shouting at my dad to let him go. Hopefully, he stopped doing that soon.
The group in front of me heard Simon. The panic in his voice, plus me seemingly materializing out of thin air, had the group on edge. I immediately put them at ease. “Relax, I’m not going to harm you. I just wanted to let you know…you won’t remember a thing about coming here tonight the minute you step out of the house…” With that baseline command given, I then proceeded to play around with their memories.
It was a heady thing to be able to alter people’s minds, but I took it as seriously as I could. I was doing this for the betterment of my family, not for my own personal gains. And family was everything to me.
By the time I had them scurrying on their way, Hunter was returning up the stairs with Arianna. The bond kicked in, as it always did when he started approaching me, but since we weren’t that far apart, it wasn’t nearly as powerful as before. I wanted to be with him, but I didn’t want to strip him, pin him to the floor, and make him mine. I breathed through the discomfort until it passed.
Our gazes locked when he appeared at the top of the steps. We both had goofy smiles on our faces that would have sickened anyone watching. But Arianna seemed like she was in a daze as she stood beside him, and my dad and brother were still in my old room with Simon. Mom was cleaning up downstairs, helping the last of the stragglers leave, and cursing about empty cups and broken picture frames.
Hunter and I walked toward each other at a brisk pace, a
nd gave each other a brief kiss when we reconnected. Arianna trailed behind Hunter, looking confused as to why she was following him. She had no choice though. Hunter’s command downstairs had been “Follow me,” so that was what she was doing.
Not dwelling too long with our joyful rejoining, we headed to my bedroom. Simon was still struggling against Dad, but it was a futile effort. He just wasn’t strong enough to break free from a vampire. Julian looked stressed, but the moment he took in Arianna, all of his turmoil faded and a smile exploded on his face. It was like he had a bond with her, just one she wasn’t aware of at the moment. Walking around Hunter, Julian took Arianna’s hand. She still seemed a little out of it.
“Arianna, are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft with concern.
Her brows scrunched together as she considered what she was feeling. Since my compulsion had told her to leave, and Hunter’s had told her to stay, I was sure she was mainly conflicted and confused. “I…I don’t know. I think so. Why am I back upstairs, Julian? I was leaving…”
Julian smiled even wider when she said his name. He swished a hand at Simon. “We need your help,” he stated.
Arianna’s eyes went to her friend’s. “Simon?”
Simon started shaking his head and spouting, “Run, Arianna! They’re monsters! You need to run!”
Arianna couldn’t though, the order Hunter had given her made her want to stay close to him. Her eyes widened and she started shaking. “What’s going on? Why are you holding him?” she asked.
Dad altered how he was holding Simon, so he could slap a hand over his mouth. His loud complaints shifted to muffled ones. “You know this boy?” Dad asked her.
Arianna nodded, but she didn’t say anything more. Dad turned to Hunter. “Ask her to tell us everything she knows about him.” Simon struggled, and I could tell he was still beseeching Arianna to leave, but Hunter turned and spoke the question, and she couldn’t do anything but comply.
“He’s my neighbor. He’s been living with me and my family for the past few weeks. His dad is a traveling salesman. He was out on a job and never came home. We helped Simon file a missing person’s report, but his dad hasn’t turned up yet. The state is letting Simon stay with our family since he doesn’t have anybody else. Simon is sad, and scared. He doesn’t think his dad is still alive. It’s really tragic…”
Her voice died off as her summary of her relationship with Simon ended. Julian’s face was a mixture of sympathy and irritation. I’m assuming the former was because he didn’t like the fact that Simon was living with his ex-girlfriend.
Dad turned his head to look at Simon. He was red-faced, huffing against Dad’s hand as he struggled to free himself. “Traveling salesman? I don’t suppose you want to elaborate on your father, do you? Maybe we can help you find him?”
He released his hand so Simon could talk. Simon immediately said, “I’m not telling you anything. Let me go!” Dad returned his hand to Simon’s mouth, cutting off his demands, just as Mom joined our group. Mom didn’t look happy about any of this.
Arianna seemed even more confused by the exchange. She looked between Mom, Dad, Simon and me, then whispered to Julian, “What’s going on? Why is that guy holding Simon? What does he want with him?” She turned to face my brother. “Is this some sort of hostage thing? Are you a part of it? You’ve got to stop this, Julian. Let him go.”
Julian looked heartbroken as he searched her face. “I wish I could, I really do…”
Arianna shook her head. “Julian, I don’t understand…”
Julian cringed and glanced at me. “I know…I wish I could explain…but it doesn’t really matter, because, well…Nika needs to tell you something.”
Arianna instinctually looked at me. I wasn’t sure what to tell her. Remembering her story, I told her the only thing that seemed feasible to me, “You and Simon were out together. You ran into Simon’s father, and Simon left with him. Simon’s father said he found work in another city, and they are leaving to start their new life. You’re thrilled that Simon is happy, and with his family again. Oh, and you’ll forget all about this conversation, about ever coming to this house tonight, the minute you step outside the house.”
I looked over at my dad to see if that story was good enough. Dad nodded, and I let out a sigh of relief. Julian seemed sad as he looked back at Dad. “Can I walk her to her car?” he asked.
Dad pursed his lips. “You can walk her to the door, Julian. Any further than that, and she might get confused.”
Julian slowly nodded, accepting his answer, and then he turned to Hunter. “Can you tell her that she doesn’t need to follow you anymore?” Hunter nodded, and then gave the command so Arianna would no longer feel compelled to stay near him. Julian left the room with her soon after.
Mom gave Dad sad eyes. “I guess we should take the boy to Gabriel now.”
Dad let out a low sigh as he nodded. “I hate having to do this, but I don’t see another way.”
Hating the look of pained resignation on his face, I put my hand on Dad’s arm. “It will be all right, Dad. Julian and I will go with you to keep him company so he doesn’t feel like a hostage.”
Simon glared at me through narrowed eyes, and I was pretty sure he was slaying me in his mind. I thought I could turn him around though, once I showed him that my family and I weren’t the bad guys. Much to my surprise, Dad shook his head. “No, you and Julian need to stay here. You can’t go out there anymore.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Why not?” I twisted to Hunter. “What did you tell him?”
Hunter’s face was bleak, to the point of despair. “We should talk, Nika. Alone.”
A chill went down my spine. There was no situation in the world where that combination of words was a good thing. None. Mom and Dad exchanged a look, then left the room with Simon. I nearly begged the three of them to stay; I suddenly had no desire to be alone with my boyfriend. I didn’t know what he was going to tell me, but I had a feeling it would hurt. I reflexively crossed my arms over my chest. Sighing, Hunter ran his fingers up and down them. His skin was bone-chilling to people who were alive, but to me, he felt lukewarm.
“Nika,” he murmured. Just the sound of his voice made me want to bolt, but I somehow stayed put.
“Don’t say it,” I bit out.
“Say what?” he said, his voice soft. “You have no idea what I’m going to tell you.” The sadness in his face grew with every word he said.
I swallowed, and my eyes felt thick with tears, my vision hazed with red. “I know whatever you’re going to say is going to keep us apart, so I really don’t want to hear it.”
Hunter squatted down to look me in the eye. “Something happened at the ranch. Jake…attacked, and people were hurt.” My eyes widened as fear punched through my trepidation. Seeing my question, Hunter immediately added, “Everyone is fine. They healed.” I relaxed a little and nodded. Thank God. I couldn’t handle anything bad happening to my family. Not now. Not after everything we’d already been through.
Hunter ran a hand down my hair. “Your father and I…we both feel…” He stopped, forced down a hard swallow, then continued. “The bond is dangerous right now. It distracts us, overwhelms us, clouds our judgment. It’s going to be the death of us—”
I agreed with him, so I interrupted with, “And that’s exactly why we shouldn’t be kept apart. It’s worse when we’re apart.”
A sad smile crept into Hunter’s lips. “The ranch is too dangerous right now…but it’s where I’m needed. And you’re needed here with Julian, with your family.”
Not understanding, I raised my hands. “So, your solution is what? Because it sounds like you want to keep staying at the ranch and you want me to keep staying here. I don’t see how anything is being resolved that way.”
Hunter cupped my cheeks as he let out a weary exhale. “Gabriel’s shot. I’m going to start taking it again. I’m going to break the bond…break our bond.”
I felt like he’d just ripped out
my stomach. “But…we…I thought… You really don’t want to be bonded with me.” Heavy, blood-red tears dropped to my cheeks.
Hunter brushed them away with this thumbs. “No, no that’s not it at all. I love being bonded to you. I love knowing where you are. I love the feeling that comes over me when you’re around. But…I need to keep you safe. That’s more important to me than any of the good feelings the bond brings with it. And right now, the bond isn’t keeping you safe. It might pull me away from a situation I need to be a part of. It might pull you into a situation you need to stay away from. And…nothing else matters once it’s kicked in. Only you.” He looked down, guilt all over his face. “And as much as I love you being the only thing that matters to me, I can’t stomach the idea of you getting hurt because I was blind to the danger. I’m sorry, Nika. I just can’t handle that.”
I wanted to object with his assessment of our bond’s power, but everything he said had merit. We’d narrowly escaped exposing ourselves in a very public, embarrassing way. I swallowed a knot in my throat, then whispered, “I know.”
Hunter drew me into his chest for a quick hug. I wrapped my arms tight around him, wishing we could stay like that for a million years. Hunter quickly broke the moment by saying, “And we should be honest about our relationship. Everything happened so fast…and you’re so young.”
I looked up, about to object to that comment but he silenced me with his next statement. “We were thrust together by some pretty traumatic circumstances. It’s like our feelings have been put on overdrive instead of naturally growing at a slow, steady pace. And now, the bond is ramping up every sensation we have… How much of what we feel for each other is because we really feel it, and how much of it is from the bond?”
I blinked at his question. My feelings for him were something I’d never worried over. I loved him, with every fiber of my soul. But he had a point. We’d been thrust into a dramatic, live-or-die situation, where every moment was intensified. Then the bond had taken over our lives, skewing our feelings. If we put all that aside, would we still have the same warm, loving relationship we had? I felt positive we would but we’d never really know our true feelings if we didn’t explore them. I didn’t want to wake up ten years from now, when our lives had settled and the bond had lessened, and realize that my feelings for him had never been real. Or vice-versa. That would be incomprehensible. I didn’t think I would feel any differently years from now, but…if we didn’t take this opportunity to find out now…how would we ever know?
Family is Forever Page 21
