by A. Vers
“Did you say it was a vampire, Ryder?” Aunt Joe asked.
I nodded.
Her lips pursed. “Just be careful. Vampires are devilish. Like a succubus with fangs.”
Dad scoffed. “He knows better than to let one get that close, Josephine. Now stop bickering at the boy. He’s had a long morning.”
I looked at him in surprise.
“And as soon as he moves those damn boxes in the hallway, he can go to bed.” He blew on the empty barrel absentmindedly, but never glanced at me again.
It had been too much to hope he was getting nice in his old age.
I turned on my heel with a curt nod and went to move the boxes.
Most of them were mine. Things leftover from the move here. Others went to the kitchen, and I lugged the rest into the basement.
Some of the guys were training inside the dusty cellar, and the old long tables had been folded up and moved to the side of the brick room.
Stucky pinned Mike with a quick roundhouse and it never ceased to amaze me that a guy that size could move so fast.
But no one called for me to join in.
I trained with Dad only. It was an unspoken rule. And I couldn’t afford to show up to Lokworth covered in bruises. So I set the boxes under the rickety stairs, went to my room, changed clothes, and ducked out the back door.
We had secured a lot at the edge of town. Trees made up one side of the property line and the other was a high privacy fence we had fixed before moving in. The closest neighbor was a quarter of a mile down the road. That minimized prying eyes and calls to the cops.
The sun was already high enough that the heat was stuffy and hard to breathe past. Even this far inland, we still caught an occasional ocean breeze from the port, but by the time it got here, it just made it hotter.
I went through some stretches and a full body warmup, including sprints to the trees and back. Then I went to town on the old punching bag hanging from the back porch.
By the time I was sufficiently loose, I went inside, washed up with a scent killing soap, and changed into military grade camouflage with only very light gear.
It was nothing to snare the keys to Stucky’s SUV and maneuver across town before noon. I left the car at Easthaven Memorial Park and started the trek on foot from there.
Lokworth was about two miles north, and in the light of full day, it was a little less eerie as I gazed up at the towering structure. But more quiet.
I worked my way along the perimeter of the trees, recounting exits and windows without worry of being spotted. Most of the supes would be asleep at the hour, and those that rose early would not be interested in the tree line.
The sun continued its track across the sky as I worked. But in the shadows of the forest, it was cool and quiet.
Too quiet.
I went still.
There were no birds singing, no chatter of squirrels. Nothing but my breathing and a light breeze.
I crouched slowly, surveying all around my recon spot for the intrusion into my afternoon.
Across the courtyard, Ames was walking toward my hiding place off the stone pathway, idly tossing an apple in one pale hand. I knew it was him by the casual gait and loose curtain of his hair. But Morgan was nowhere around.
He sat down on one of the benches nearby in the full sun, pulled a leather-bound novel from his waistband, and crunched a bite from the piece of fruit.
I waited, scowling and hoping he didn’t plan to stay there all afternoon.
“You’re an idiot if you think that foul-scented concoction hides you,” he said, turning a page.
I felt my eyes widen, but made no move to further give away my location.
He continued, “I could hear your heartbeat from the door. As can every other full-blood and shifter inside Lokworth. I don’t know who you are, but I advise you to leave. It is not the season for hunting.”
Relief swept through me. He could only scent the soap I had used and could not recognize me by heartbeat alone.
I huddled in the shadows, weighing my options.
Ames did not strike me as the attack first type. He had given his warning. But I also knew from his protective stance around Morgan that he would do what he had to do to keep her safe.
I wasn’t sure what they were together, since they didn’t act like an actual couple. But I had little experience with vampire pairings to weigh that against.
I had done what I wanted to do. My recon mission gave us the information we needed to take the school, and it had even given us a basic layout to utilize.
But something prideful in me would not allow me to move.
I wanted to step from the shadows and prove his kind was not as smart as they wanted to pretend to be. To show him I had infiltrated his precious school. And after earlier, I wanted him to know why he needed to worry about me.
My hands curled into fists.
Ames stood, stretching. He took a final bite from his apple and hurled the core into the trees.
It hit a sapling a foot away and shattered into applesauce and four seeds beside me. A bit even spattered my cheek.
“As I said, hunter,” I glanced back at him to find his gold eyes glowing strongly and his fangs down. “Leave.” He turned on his heel and went back inside without another word.
My eyes went from the closed oak panels to the remnants of his breakfast.
The difference between our strength levels glared back in juicy droplets.
And for the first time since I came to Lokworth, I felt a breath of unease for humanity.
Chapter 16
Morgan
I found Ames in the library after I awoke, his dark head bent over a copy of Pride and Prejudice. That was the thing about Ames, he never discriminated based on genre.
He raised his gaze, skin a soft gold in the dimness. His smile was toothy. “Good morning, Mor.”
I scowled. “You’re in a good mood.” Considering how irate he had been that morning, the change made my head spin.
“Why shouldn’t I be?” The question seemed to mean more than I knew. “My blood is in your veins, I scared off a hunter that dared get to close this morning, and ... once again ... my blood is in your veins.” He shrugged.
My face flamed. “Say that a little louder next time.”
He closed his book and stood. My head craned back. It never ceased to amaze me just how tall he was. “I’ll scream it from the rooftops, little Mor. Everyone already knows. They can smell it.”
I blinked. “What?”
The smile broadened. “Your fragrance is mixed with mine. And it will be until my blood burns from your system.” One long finger stroked down my face. “And if I have my way, it will never truly burn away.”
I stepped back, heart thundering in my chest. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
His expression grew confused. “Why should it matter? Everyone knows what we are. Who we are. Even your human can probably tell the—”
“Ryder is not my anything,” I snapped. “Why do you keep bringing him up?”
Ames stiffened. His gold gaze flowed over my face like weight. Whatever he saw, he didn’t like. He snatched up his book and bent his head closer to mine. “If you don’t want the answer to that, then maybe you shouldn’t ask.”
He pushed past me and stalked from the library like a big cat on the prowl. I growled low and long.
“Of all the conceited—”
“Problem, Ms. Read?”
I spun.
Professor Giroux was feet away in the shadows of the dark shelves. His massive frame was mostly hidden, but his dark eyes were like lifeless coals.
My face flushed and my heart picked up speed. “No, sir,” I said.
He appraised me. “It does no good to lead a young man on,” he murmured, turning away to scour the books closest. “I hope you know that is true of any race.”
I backed up. “Of course, sir.”
“Good.”
I pivoted to leave, unnerved by his otherwi
se still presence.
“And Ms. Read?”
My heart slammed again.
“Yes?” I asked, careful not to meet his gaze again.
“I hope you and Mr. Hanlon are working diligently at the task I assigned you. I would hate for someone else to get ... hurt because you delayed.”
I licked my dry lips. “Me too, sir. Me too.” I rushed from the room and out into the darkening expanse of the courtyard. I wanted space. Open air.
There was something disturbing about Giroux. He was like the creepy vicar that haunted a human church, always preaching evil walked among us when it lived inside him.
I shuddered and started along the stone paths.
There were hours yet until class. I didn’t want to go to the dorm and argue with Ames. Nor did I feel like facing the glowers from the other vamps, or the empty stares from the resident supes. I didn’t want to deal with Riki or Roman pounding on my door to talk. I had nothing to say to either of them. At least not yet.
Everyone made mistakes. I knew that. But not believing your best friend? Not believing in them? That wasn’t something I could easily let go of.
But knowing everyone could smell Ames on me ... Maybe that was what they wanted. To ask if I had finally lost my mind.
I groaned.
How could Ames have not told me that? How had we not gone over that in class? Everyone knew the moment his blood mixed with mine.
They knew!
It was like a Claiming. I was marked with him. In everyone’s mind, I belonged to Ames. This was only proving it. My entire life had been preparing me for it. But in reality?
He was arrogant and narcissistic. His wit was sharp, his humor dry. He had a temper too. Though not one I had seen since coming to Lokworth.
But he was handsome, kind, and he believed in me when no one else had. To be given his blood ... It was a gift, and I knew it.
I had not felt hunger since I drank from him. My throat did not burn, and the humans were just other beings. Even Ryder’s spicy fragrance did not cause me discomfort.
Could I really complain?
Yes.
Because he still should have told me everything beforehand.
I looked out over the courtyard and realized I was no longer in it. Instead, I was a foot away from the tree line.
“Hmmm …” I murmured, gazing around in confusion. I began to turn, to go back.
Something pale green caught my eye in a thicket of bushes.
I peered over my shoulder. The paths were empty. I ducked into the trees and pulled at the bit of paper.
A slim notebook came free.
It had a spiral binding at the top. The covers were some kind of hard plastic and each page was coated in a strange waxy feel.
I flipped through it and found nothing but consonants and numbers.
W-174
D- 4
MD-2X
There was nothing else. Just little tally marks made with the half-chewed pencil in the spiral band. I flipped the book over and at the very back, etched into the plastic, were two more letters:
MH.
Could it belong to the hunter Ames had so casually mentioned? Should I turn it in?
But I could see no harm in ticks and tallies. Maybe it was no hunter, but a bird watcher. The W could be a wren. They were active in the forest around Lokworth.
My fingers clutched at the notebook. I saw no reason to hand it over to Harrington, but I also did not want to leave it where anyone else would find it.
Surely the owner would notice it was missing.
I bent down and carefully dug through the leaves at the base of a holly bush. Tucking the notebook back into the bush out of sight and smell range, I headed back inside to ready for the day.
Chapter 17
Ryder
I made it back to the safe house at nearly dusk. The place was just as packed with cars as when I left, and voices poured around the house from the rear of the property. I slipped through the front door and dropped Stuck’s keys on the table.
The run in with Ames was still nagging at me. It wasn’t fear of the vampire. More a kind of cold reality that I wasn’t sure I could swallow.
I shuffled through the main room and down the hall to the kitchen. Boxes of half-eaten pizzas covered the entire surface. Each slice had already cooled. Congealed.
How many years had it been since I had a homecooked meal? Since we didn’t eat out of cartons or containers?
Sighing, I snared a partial box of pepperoni and a bottle of water before making my way to my room.
Nudging the door closed with my boot, I dropped my dinner onto the bed and collapsed into the spindly desk chair as I pulled the string for the lamp. Soft amber light flooded the room.
I reached into the pocket of my fatigues for mom’s old notebook.
The pocket was empty.
I stood fast and patted myself down, but every pocket presented the same. A whole lot of nothing.
My head turned to the sheet-covered window.
“Shit,” I snarled.
I had probably dropped it somewhere along the pathway back. And there was no chance to go find it in the woods now. Not in the dark. I would have to wait until daylight to scour the path I had taken.
I dropped back into my chair and scrubbed my face. It was one of the only things I had of hers. Dad hadn’t even kept a picture.
A hard knock sounded on the door.
“Yeah?” I called.
The panel cracked and Dad leaned into the frame, his thick arms crossed. Without his flannel, the heavy scars over his tan arms were more prominent. Even in the low light of the lamp. “Where have you been?”
I raised a brow at his hard tone. “Recon.”
His lips tightened. “And?”
Anyone else would have shifted. But I had long given up on caring what he thought of me. Still, he looked ready to brawl. With me. With anyone. “Ran into a vamp outside the school. Didn’t get as much as I wanted,” I lied.
The square line of his jaw worked. “A vamp?” I nodded. “One of the students?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds awfully aggressive,” he said. “Could this vamp be the one that took out the Marks’ girl?”
Ames?
For a solid minute, I tried to picture that.
Then I shook my head. “Nah. He thought I was a run-of-the-mill hunter. Nothing more.”
Dad gave a crisp nod. “Fine.” He glanced past me to the bed. “Ain’t you got school in a few hours?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then eat and get your ass to bed.”
My lips turned downward.
“And Ryder?”
I looked up. “Sir?”
His dark eyes grew cold. Empty. “Next time a vamp comes at you, do what I trained you to do. No excuses.”
I sat in rigid silence as he walked from the room, closing the panel firmly behind him.
There was no reason to think through his words. To weigh them in my head.
He was right, and I knew it.
When Ames pulled his little stunt, I should’ve taken him then and there. One less bloodsucker to worry about.
Only one problem. Every time I thought of taking his head, it was Morgan’s face that filled my mind. Her lilac eyes and the long sweep of her midnight hair.
I knew I shouldn’t hesitate. Couldn’t afford to. And Ames was proof of that.
So, when the time came, how the hell was I going to kill them both?
***
After a few hours of less than restful sleep, I changed into the Lokworth uniform, and hit the school yard as the bus was already pulling out. It turned the corner of the fence line and disappeared in a cloud of exhaust. I let my backpack slide down my arm. It hit the pavement with a small slap and I swore under my breath.
“Dammit.”
It was another ten back to the house, and nearly double that to beg to use one of the squad cars.
I wound up stuck with an older model truck that
took the hill up to Lokworth at a solid fifteen miles an hour. Anything faster and it sputtered and threatened to die on me.
The bell rang as soon as I reached the main door. So I hightailed it to homeroom and barely slid in my desk before it registered that most of the room was empty.
I looked around, taking in several of the surrounding seats. Thomas and Rhett were near the back, their heads bent together and practically joined at the temple. “Where is everyone?” I asked.
Thomas looked up. “Home.”
“Why?”
Rhett made a sound of disgust. “Eliza is dead, Ryder. No one wanted to come back to this freak fest.”
“You two came,” I pointed out.
They exchanged a glance. “Not by choice, trust me,” Thomas muttered. He leaned over the aisle. “They’re talking about closing Lokworth.”
“Closing Lokworth?” I peered at him, brows narrowing. “It’s already closed to the public. So what?”
His smile was ferocious. “No. Closed for good. As in no more supes. No more school. Just an empty building.”
Rhett cackled. “After nearly a hundred and twenty years, this circus finally did what everyone said they would. They killed a human. It won’t be long now.”
Thomas joined in on the laugh fest as I turned back around.
There was no teacher at the desk to supervise us. No one to take roll call. Nothing but the guy’s incessant chatter and their words circling over and over in my head.
It was what we wanted, right? To finally get rid of such a large deposit of supernaturals?
We wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. Hell, I could stop investigating Eliza’s death and just let the situation grow darker until it finally imploded and the doors closed for good.
It wasn’t like the supes had nowhere else to go. It’s just that wherever they ended up ... It wouldn’t be an Easthaven problem anymore. Mission complete.
I climbed to my feet and headed for the door.
“Oi,” Rhett called from behind me. “Where are you going?”
I threw my hand up. “The head, man. Stay put.” I didn’t wait around to make sure they both listened. Wasn’t my concern.
