Havenfall Harbor: Book One

by Albany Walker

  The girl jerks her head quickly. A few of the kids around her distance themselves from her by taking a small step or leaning away. Someone coughs, “Rat,” under their breath.

  Griffin’s head tilts to the side as if he’s examining the group closely.

  “What was that?” His voice is pitched low, more of a growl than a whisper as he glares at the group of teens.

  The girl who spoke darts her eyes around without lifting her face. She knows what she just did is going to cost her, but she had the nerve to do it anyway. I watch as the uncertainty drains from her face, her head coming up and her back straightening as if pulled up by a string.

  She takes one step forward and every ounce of reservation washes away from her expression, replaced with determination. “Michelle comes out here too.”

  There’s a gasp, as if what she said before could be dismissed, but now she’s broken some unspeakable vow. The other children’s faces were sneering, but a look of trepidation replaces the scorn. The young lady walks to the front of the group, her shoulders back and chin raised in a defiant tilt. The kids around her shrink away from her, but this time it’s almost as if they’re afraid instead of rejecting her.

  I glance around quickly. What did I just witness? The girl only ducks her head and averts her eyes once she reaches Evan and Griffin. The slight slump of her shoulders and the shifting of her demeanor speaks volumes.

  While she stood up for herself in front of the other kids, she doesn’t have the same confidence when it comes to the two supernaturals in front of her. I realize I just witnessed a display of dominance among the kids. I glance at the group behind her again. Several of the boys are looking everywhere but at the girl, while only a select few are glaring at her back. I take note of each face. I don’t know any of these kids yet, but I commit each one of them to memory.

  “What’s your name, little cat?” Evan lifts his hand and lays it on the much smaller girl’s shoulder. She sags a little under the weight.

  “Etta.” Her voice cracks, but she clears her throat and quickly repeats herself.

  Evan raises his head and glowers over at the kids behind her. “It takes courage to pull yourself from the flock.” He sneers the word as if he’s calling all the other kids sheep. I roll my lips behind my teeth.

  A few of the boys who were glaring at Etta’s back shuffle their feet and get busy looking anywhere but at Evan.

  “A true leader knows when to speak up, never fearing the consequences, because we know where we stand.” He’s addressing the girl, but also the kids behind her. There’s a subtle warning, one I easily admit I don’t quite understand, but can feel nonetheless.

  Griffin steps forward, and a few of the kids in front take a quick step back, some bumping into the kids behind them and almost stumbling. He takes his time examining each face, making sure each teen knows he’s taking inventory. “Run along, children, we’ll find you if we need to.” He smiles then, but it’s more of a baring of teeth than anything else.

  The kids scatter, not one of them looking over their shoulders as they retreat. The sound of their running feet on the concrete triggers a memory, and I hear the words in my head. Oh shit! We have to go. I get stuck on the word we, there was more than one person when I was attacked, and the voice that spoke was a boy, not a man, but a boy’s voice.

  I reach for Evan’s arm because he’s closer. He glances over his shoulder at me, but something he sees on my face has him pivoting on his heel and reaching for my shoulders. His big hands gently encompass my upper arms. “Quinn?” He searches my face.

  “The running.” I point in the direction the kids fled. I clear my throat. “They ran away after I fell.”

  Griffin steps into my vision. “They?” His voice is deadly calm, but his eyes are barely restrained pits of fire. I lick my lips, nervous to tell them what I remember. I’m not familiar enough with supernaturals to know how they would deal with knowing it was kids who did this.

  His mind is quick, and he picks up on the fact that there was more than one person before I realize I even shared that part.

  “Are you remembering more?” Evan’s palms drag up and down my arms in a comforting manner.

  I blink quickly and look at his chest. It helps that he’s so freaking tall so I don’t have to make eye contact. I can see Griffin in my peripheral vision, but I keep my gaze averted from him too. I shake my head no, but say, “The sound of the sne—” I stop myself from finishing sneaker, not sure if it would give it away that it was kids. “Shoes on the ground. I remember the running.” I peek up at Evan to see if he caught my slip. His full lips are thinned, but the moment he notices me looking he shutters the anger on his face.

  “I’m sorry.” I reach up and touch the side of my head and close my eyes. I hate that I’m using the injury as an excuse, but I need a few minutes to figure out what I’m going to say. “I just need a minute.” I spin out of his hold and take a few steps away.

  “Is she okay?” I hear the girl’s lowered voice. I’d almost forgotten she was still here.

  Griffin is gruff when he answers, “She’s fine.” His response tells her not to ask again.

  Evan gives me space. I watch him out of the corner of my eye as he faces Etta again. “You risked something by speaking up in front of those kids.” Evan crosses his arms over his chest, which makes him look even larger. I turn enough so I can watch them. The girl’s eyes go a little wide.

  “You asked.” Etta’s voice is low, and she gives a slight shrug as if to say she was helpless not to answer.

  “You know why they hang out here?” Evan takes another look around, his eyes scanning over everything quickly, including me.

  Another shrug as Etta stares at the ground. “Ya know, kid stuff.” A flush rises in her cheeks. “Not a lot of teachers come out here.” She chances a glance in Griffin’s direction.

  “You said Michelle, Minka, and Alexis, anyone else?” Evan still has his arms crossed over his chest as he watches her.

  “Boys, you know?” The redness across her cheeks deepens.

  “You’re fucking kidding,” Griffin sneers.

  Evan’s jaw ticks as he turns his gaze on his friend. His eyes say, you’re not helping. The girl shifts on her feet again, which draws Evan’s attention back to her.

  I close my eyes and let out a long exhale before walking over to Griffin. His eyes track my movements, but as I draw closer, he keeps his gaze on Evan and Etta. I reach over and touch the tips of my fingers against the side of his palm to get his attention. He jerks his head over and his eyes find mine without error.

  I lean up on my toes so I can speak softly to him. “This was probably an accident.”

  Before Griffin can respond, Evan states, “Etta, we appreciate you coming forward. If I have any more questions, I’ll let you know.” He dismisses her quickly.

  I look over my shoulder and watch the girl hustling back the way she came. “Wait,” I call out. I bite my lip, unsure if I’m overstepping my boundaries. “If any one of those kids bothers you because of this, please let someone know. What you did was brave, I don’t want you to have problems because of it.”

  Etta’s lips curl back into a grin, her eyes darting to Evan. “They wouldn’t dare,” is all she says before she gives me a stiff nod and strolls away.

  I watch her for a few seconds after she’s gone. I knew I was out of my element, but damn, I still have a lot to learn.

  Unaware of my inner musings, Griffin dips his chin and asks, “What do you mean this was an accident?”

  “You heard what she said,” I tell him, but I question my assumption for a second, pondering if I must have missed something, considering that girl’s confidence that she would be fine. I shake the doubt away. “I must have stumbled on someone’s make out spot and spooked them.”

  “Make out?” Griffin pulls his head back a little. “You realize we’re talking about sixteen to eighteen-year-old supernaturals, right?” He gazes at me, wondering if I’m really that n
aïve.

  I wave my hand, not wanting to think about these kids doing stuff like that, they seem too young. “Whatever.”

  Griffin gives me a tiny, indulgent smile before it gets wiped away. “It doesn’t matter, we still need to deal with this.”

  I pull Evan closer using his shirt sleeve. You’d think I would know better than to try to manhandle the giant of a man, but I do it anyway. He steps closer, humoring me. “How do you plan on dealing with it?” I glance between the two of them, focusing more on Evan, since he’s the more levelheaded of the two. I frown…well, I think he is anyway, it’s not like I can say I know him all that well.

  Evan’s gaze goes to Griffin over my head. I wait for them to answer, but after a few seconds tick by, I realize they aren’t going to.

  Chapter 26

  Griffin

  Quinn is looking between Evan and me with thinly veiled wariness. Her question about how we plan on dealing with the kids she thinks somehow accidently hurt her goes unanswered.

  I don’t think she wants to hear what I would like to do to them. I avert my eyes just in case she can see the answer there. I’m not all that concerned with their age, we’re not talking about twelve-year-olds here, we’re talking about kids getting ready to graduate in the spring, move on in the world, and get jobs and build lives.

  Part of the reason for Havenfall’s existence is to make sure the kids who come here are better than they would have been had they not attended. Almost killing a human woman and running away after is the opposite of what we’re trying to build. Plus, Quinn isn’t just any human woman, she’s mine.

  Quinn plants her hands on her hips. I keep my mouth closed, I don’t want to provoke her anger, but I’m not going to lie to her. Evan blows out a weighty sigh. “We’re not going to kill them.”

  I raise a brow—we aren’t? That’s news to me. Quinn’s shoulders relax a tiny bit. “But something has to be done about this, Quinn, we can’t allow something like this to go unpunished. What if we didn’t find you? What if it happened again, out there after they left? Something like that could cause a war with humans.”

  She bites her bottom lip and her hands slide off her hips. She knows he’s speaking the truth. The delicate balance between the species is fragile at best, volatile at worst.

  “Promise you’ll include me on what happens. That I can be there,” she demands, looking between the two of us.

  I again keep my mouth closed. Evan already promised we wouldn’t kill whoever is responsible, which is more than she’s going to get out of me. There’s still a very big chance that kids had nothing to do with this, and even if it were kids, I don’t buy the accident theory at all.

  “Promise,” Quinn insists.

  Evan’s jaw ticks and I hear his molars grinding. He’s going to agree, I know he is. Before he can concede, I distract her. “What do we get in return?”

  The moment the words are out of my mouth I realize just how they sound. When Quinn turns her head slowly to face me, her eyes are narrowed with a glare. I know exactly what she’s thinking, but that’s not what I meant. I wanted her to promise she would let us handle it. Our methods might not be human, but they will be humane if it really was kids and just some sort of accident. Before I can tell her that, she straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin.

  “Whatever you want.” The answer is pulled from behind her clenched teeth. I can’t help the place my mind takes her response to. I could make her agree to stay with me, with us.

  Quinn never fails to surprise me with her reactions. I don’t know if everything about her intrigues me because I’ve kept myself so isolated from everyone, or if it’s truly something only she can elicit from me. She’s willing to do anything for a group of kids she doesn’t even know.

  I bend forward so my lips are right near her ear. Quinn inhales quickly, holding her breath, but she doesn’t make any other outward signs I’m affecting her. I, however, can hear her blood rushing through her body, pooling in areas that are far too intriguing to explore right now. My nearness excites her.

  My bottom lip brushes her earlobe, and I have to lock my teeth together to prevent my tongue from lashing out to caress the flesh. “Even your submission?” As soon as I open my mouth to speak, I lose the battle not to taste her. The breath she was holding huffs out of her parted lips. The words I chose were purposeful. I do want her submission, but only if it’s given freely.

  I pull back, a grin made of sin tugging at my mouth, because I know she will have misinterpreted my words. That was the point. “We need you to promise to let us handle this in a way that is fitting for our kind. You have to promise not to be angry with us over this, not to hold it against us.”

  Quinn blows out another shaky breath, her eyes centered between Evan and me. If she thought I was going to take the choice to be with us away from her, she was wrong. I want her willing, craving, and desiring us the way we do her. Using this to get her to agree to be with us would ruin that, and I’m not letting her off the hook so easily. I think she already wants what we are offering, now we just need her to admit it.

  Evan

  Fucking hell, the blast of lust that emanates from Quinn when Griff whispers in her ear has me shifting to adjust my dick. One second I’m about to promise her what-the-hell-ever she wants, the next my dick is so hard I feel a little woozy from blood loss to my brain.

  Griff bargains for her acceptance while I’m still wondering if my pants are going to be enough to hold my dick down.

  “Anything else?” She finally looks at him with feigned indifference. I smother a smile. If she had any idea how much her body gives away, I know she would be mortified. I make a promise to myself to tell her as soon as I know it won’t have her running for the hills. I can’t wait to see that pink flush across her cheeks.

  Griff traces his eyes over her chest that’s rising and falling a little faster than usual, then down the rest of her body. “You still have to stay with us.” He tilts his head to include me. “I know you think this was an accident, but I’m not convinced. We still want you with us.”

  I nod my head like I’m mute when she glances over at me for confirmation. If I did speak, it would probably be more of a growl than actual words.

  Quinn tosses her hands in the air. “Fine, whatever. You’re going to get sick of me hogging your bed at some point,” she snaps, like it’s some sort of warning.

  “Hardly.” Griff actually rolls his eyes and reaches out, snagging Quinn and drawing her closer to us. With deft movements, he spins her and places her between us so we’re all facing the same direction. She gives him a glare, but allows him to manhandle her. “Let’s go see what we can find out about Melissa.”

  “Michelle,” I correct him. “Minka and Michelle.”

  “Do you know them?” Quinn inquires, walking between us until the path narrows, forcing us into single file.

  “I do,” I admit, without hiding the tiredness in my tone. “Michelle is a bit of a troublemaker.” I look over my shoulder at Griff. “Unblooded vamp, keeps trying to sneak into the staff wing.” I’m sure that’s enough to refresh his memory.

  “Shit,” he curses.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” I agree, using my keycard to enter the building.

  “Why does she keep trying to get into the staff wing?” Quinn questions, keeping her voice down now that we’re back indoors.

  Griff reaches over and folds his hand over Quinn’s. I wish I didn’t need to remind him who this girl is—hell, I wish it wasn’t her. Michelle has been caught trying to sneak into the staff wing three times. One of those times she made it all the way up to Griff’s room. It’s not a stretch to assume that was her destination every time. Now he’s going to blame himself for what happened to Quinn more than ever.

  “It’s my fault,” Griff tells Quinn, confirming my suspicions about him condemning himself.

  “It’s not,” I admonish him. “She’s just a young girl with a crush.” I make sure Griff sees me as I say this. I ho
pe he can read the rest of what my face is saying without words. She isn’t Eva.

  Griff steps even closer to Quinn, keeping her hand in his as we make our way over to the student dorms.

  Quinn

  Griffin is walking so close to me, we keep bumping into each other with every step. I ask Evan with my eyes if everything is okay. I think he understands me when he gives a small shrug and pulls open another door for us to pass through. His answer doesn’t settle me though.

  Instead of taking the stairs, Griffin leads us to an elevator behind the main floor desk. It’s not as fancy as the one on the staff side, but nice enough. When Evan steps in behind us, I scoot back against the wall as far as I can go. Heat rises up my neck when I realize how close we’re standing together. Evan looks at me over his shoulder, then turns his body to face me. I can barely meet his eyes for fear of him seeing just how much I like being this close to both of them. Without taking his eyes off me, Evan reaches back and hits a button on the elevator panel that has the door closing. I peer around him as he goes to hit another button—a red emergency stop button. I open my mouth to warn him, but he’s too quick.

  The lift jerks to a halt just seconds after we begin to ascend. “Oops,” Evan says while watching me, but the ‘oops’ sounds fake. I meet his eyes and he takes another step closer, crowding me even more. I swallow, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.

  Griffin tightens his fingers on mine and draws my attention to him. “Are we stopped?” I ask dumbly. I know we’re stopped. I just don’t know why.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be a few minutes. Once the emergency stop is hit, the system has to reset before it will start working again.”

  “Oh, okay.” I’ve never heard that before, but it seems reasonable. By this point, Evan and I are only separated by a few millimeters.

  “Since we have some time, have you thought about our proposal?” I clear my throat and volley my gaze between the two men.