How the hell could she possibly go back to the way things were, to worry about lesson plans and syllabi, when she knew there was another side to history she could never share with her students? When Kenton was out there somewhere?
Laria had explained that, once they came into their abilities, some Cheld dedicated their lives to vampires. Some in a purely research context. Alessandra had to admit, spending her time detecting hidden history and the possibility of a secret archive of vampire knowledge did appeal. Others, Laria had explained, chose to help them blend in with human society. She had even told her there were some towns and villages around the world where Cheld and vampires coexisted, humans, aware of their presence, accepting them as a part of the community.
“Why don’t you live in one of these places?” she’d asked.
Laria, whom Alessandra now loved, simply shook her head. “We stay in them from time to time, but my brothers and I are committed to keeping our ancestors safe. Our job isn’t over.”
Basically, whenever a Cheld began to come into his or her power, when a vampire unknowingly triggers their arousal, the Derrickson family came to the rescue.
Just as they’d done for Alessandra and her brother.
The Morleys knew of the existence of these places, but they could never find them, even after all this time.
And now Alessandra knew why.
“We would happily share our secrets with them if they would agree to stop hunting you down . . . uh, sorry.”
But it wasn’t Laria’s fault.
It wasn’t even Kenton’s to some degree. He’d seen the worst of the Cheld, and both of his parents had paid the price. She could maybe even forgive him for what he’d intended to do—for what he’d done before to others—but Alessandra could not forgive him for lying to her.
He should have told her sooner.
And what would you have done if he had told you? Said, “No Worries. I completely understand why you would want me dead”?
Alessandra snorted aloud at her own joke. It was easier than breaking down in tears, something she refused to do.
She was a Cheld. Kick-ass and super strong. A woman who could take down a vampire. She’d tangled with one of the strongest, and if Kenton hadn’t stopped her . . .
She would never cry over another man again.
But she would wander the streets brooding over one, apparently. Somehow she managed to make it through the rest of the day. When Toni finally came home from work, she practically leapt on her.
“Thank God,” she said. “I’ve been going stir-crazy.”
Toni looked her up and down. “Girl, you are a mess. Go take a shower.”
“I already did.”
“Maybe concealer—”
She tried to swat her friend, but Toni ducked away too quickly.
“OK, OK. I get it, I look like crap. But please tell me you’re not too tired to go out. I’m losing my mind here.”
“Be ready in twenty.”
That girl could transition quicker than a chameleon.
Alessandra put on a pair of jeans and a white, flowy top, refusing to wear concealer on principle. Her brother said she looked like a pirate hooker every time she wore this shirt, but it was one of her favorites.
And right now Alessandra desperately needed something to comfort her. Because it felt as if the ground would open up at any moment and swallow her. Worse, she thought she’d probably welcome it.
“What are we going to tell Birdie?” Toni asked as they headed out with no particular destination in mind. She’d already told Toni everything, of course.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she said. “Laria said that Lawrence might want to stay around for a while, which means mum’s the word. But we already told her about the Cheld, so I think she needs to know at least part of the truth.”
Telling her everything would only scare her, and that was the last thing Alessandra wanted to do.
“By the way, where are we going?”
Toni nodded up the street. “Murphy’s . . . I know, I know. But I’m in the mood for wings.”
And no one had wings like Murphy’s Pub.
“Works for me.”
As they walked, Alessandra was acutely aware that less than two weeks ago she’d walked this same path with a completely different outlook. Then, her fantasies had been about buying one of the brightly colored Victorian houses or, when she was feeling particularly fanciful, quitting her job and opening a little bookshop on Main Street. Life had been so simple and straightforward.
And maybe a bit dull?
“You OK?”
They walked inside the familiar bar, the bar’s regulars none the wiser that they lived among creatures, herself included, who weren’t quite like them.
“Yeah,” she said, finding an open high top. “No.”
Toni laughed. “At least you’re honest.”
Lot of good that did her.
With the murmurs of regular conversation around them, about this person’s misbehaving child and that person’s incontinent cat, Alessandra and Toni ate, drank beer, and avoided all talk of supernatural beings. Toni spoke of Tyler, and Alessandra nodded as politely as possible. She asked for the millionth time if she should go back to school, and for the millionth time, Alessandra told her that she should do whatever made her happy, even if it meant working at Curiosities until she was as old as most of the patrons.
Mostly Toni was rolling out their best hits in an effort to distract her from the obvious.
Alessandra was heartbroken. Too bad being a Cheld only gave her physical strength.
Ugh.
Her hand froze midair. Putting down the frosted mug, Alessandra glanced around in every direction. A vampire was here, and she couldn’t tell yet if that meant danger. Twisting her new bracelet, Alessandra finally spotted the source of the sensation at the bar. The bartender handed him a drink, some type of gin, no doubt, and then he turned to face her.
Alessandra struggled to breath. She struggled to breath normally, anyway.
Up until now, every time she’d seen Kenton, including last night, he’d worn jeans or pants and either a button-down shirt or a sport coat. Polished. Pristine. Like a banker, but of the hot variety.
Tonight he wore jeans, a black T-shirt and a black hoodie, likely due to the cold spell that had settled temporarily in Stone Haven. Alessandra was wholly unprepared for the sight of him, and even less so for his dangerous-looking, sexy outfit. He looked like . . . like . . . a vampire.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered.
“Probably cannot save you,” Toni said.
She glared at her friend, whose response was a guilty smile.
“Please don’t be mad. He didn’t think you’d meet him—”
“He tried to kill me, Toni,” she hissed.
“No, he just wanted to kill you. There’s a difference.”
Alessandra would have laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement if Kenton had not begun walking toward her.
“Just hear him out,” Toni said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “He came to the store earlier, and I swear, Allie, he was devastated. I really believe he’s madly in love with you.”
She didn’t respond, mostly because her throat felt like it was filled with sand.
Her awareness grew with every step, as did her nerves. She hated him for lying to her. Hated what he’d come here to do. Hated that he’d wanted to eradicate all Cheld from the earth—and likely still did, except for her and her brother.
But she loved him too, and right now, Alessandra did not know which of those emotions would overtake the other.
“Allie,” he said, his voice huskier than normal. Or did it only seem that way because of how different he looked tonight?
Toni gave her an odd look. Hardly anyone called her that.
“He could hear you,” Alessandra explained, “as he walked over here.” She pointed to her ears, and Toni’s eyes widened when she realized what she’d said.
&nbs
p; “Oh my God, I—”
“Was right,” he said, looking at Alessandra with those brilliant blue eyes. They looked like an ocean of sadness tonight. “Everything you said was right, Toni.”
She knew he was saying that he loved her. That he was devastated. But that wasn’t enough. He’d lied to her.
“Can we talk?”
She was about to say no when Toni blurted, “Gotta go, kids. Tyler’s here.”
Alessandra groaned. This whole night had been staged. Sure enough, Toni’s boyfriend had just walked in.
Perfect.
Giving her a look that said she would deal with her later, Alessandra returned her attention to Kenton.
“Do I have a choice?”
He placed his drink on the table and took a step toward her.
“You always have a choice, Alessandra. But before you make it, I need you to know one thing.”
“What?” she said, her voice sharp.
“I do love you.”
He was a long way from winning back her heart. If indeed he’d had it in the first place. Kenton would like to believe there was some part of her that he could reach, mostly because he could not leave Stone Haven without her.
He’d tried.
Lawrence had reassured him that Alessandra’s secret was now safe from everyone but his brothers. And yet, Kenton had found himself unable to walk away. Even though he knew he did not deserve a second chance, Kenton simply could not leave Stone Haven, leave Alessandra, without at least trying.
So he’d started with the most logical step he could think of.
Go to her friend.
He liked Toni, mostly because she so obviously cared for Alessandra. He didn’t need to understand the psychology of body language to see that the two women shared a special bond.
It had been easier to plead his case to her since he’d already decided he wouldn’t give up. His mind was made up. He wouldn’t leave Stone Haven without first making his case to Alessandra.
“Ten minutes,” he said. “That’s all I ask. After that, if you want me out of your life, I will leave Stone Haven tonight and never return.”
A furrow formed in her brow and she opened her mouth.
He was suddenly certain she was going to say no.
That indomitable will of hers was one of the things that fascinated him most about Alessandra Fiore. Though Kenton suspected it had something to do with her father leaving. Or perhaps her mother, who’d raised her quite capably as a single parent, had instilled that forcefulness in her. Either way, he watched with fear and a healthy measure of respect as she battled her demons.
She was rightfully angry at him, but she leaned closer nonetheless.
“Sit,” she said.
The word was practically growled, and yet it was the sweetest word he’d ever heard.
Kenton wouldn’t waste any time.
“I should have told you sooner,” he said, taking her invitation. “And you’re right not to trust me.”
Alessandra said nothing. She merely looked at him in a way that indicated he’d better say his piece now or forever hold his peace.
So he did.
“I came to Stone Haven to kill you. My brothers and I have been hunting Cheld for many years.”
“I know it well,” she said, her voice flat.
“He’s gone,” Kenton said. “I can promise you that.”
She already knew he was. Alessandra hadn’t felt Rowan’s presence since the incident.
“Please let me explain.”
She waited for him to do just that.
“We woke one morning with a powerful bloodlust none of us understood. Unlike Lawrence and his family, we didn’t have the benefit of understanding what was happening. Lady Isobel was there to explain what she’d done and guided them through the darkest days. We had no idea what was happening to us or why. Uncontrolled, we killed innocents . . . and we nearly tore apart everything my great-grandfather had built. Just when we thought to flee, to leave the earldom and all of the people we loved behind, my brother Drake discovered by chance that it was possible to feed without killing.” He smiled. “He’s always been the best of us.”
At least she was still listening.
“Over time, we learned to live with it, even live somewhat normal lives. Until, of course, the people around us started to wonder why we did not appear to be aging. And, just like that, the four of us found ourselves alone, isolated from the rest of the world. We resorted to moving from place to place, trusting only in each other.”
He took a sip of his drink.
“My father was killed only a few years after we were turned by one of the original Cheld in a battle with Clan Karyn, a stake through the heart he never saw coming. My mother was never the same after that. Theirs was a love match even though their marriage had been arranged, a rare thing for nobility in the Middle Ages. Nearly two hundred years later, as my brother Rowan stood with her in front of our townhouse in London, a Cheld ripped out her heart in broad daylight. She’d wandered outside, drawn to the vampire hunter, and had been caught unaware.”
He hated to think of either incident, and bringing them up now made his stomach roil. But she had to understand. It was the only way she might forgive him.
“Gleaning what we could from the Derricksons, we began to understand what had happened—that the Balance had created what we believed to be a bloodline of hunters intent on wiping out every single vampire from the earth.”
He stopped. Had the frown lines around her mouth softened, if just slightly?
“We blamed them for the curse. For the counter-curse. For our parents’ deaths.” He shrugged. “It was easier to do that than to accept there was nothing for us, really, except an eternal life of growing close to people who would die in the end.”
“But you could turn them into vampires. If you fell in love, I mean.”
I’ve only ever truly loved once, Alessandra. You’ve helped me see that.
“Yes. My brother Rowan fell in love once with a French woman and turned her much too soon, against our advice. She wasn’t ready, and in her innocence, she made herself vulnerable just as a new Cheld aroused—”
“No . . .”
“Yes. Bad luck, karma . . . call it what you will. But you can see why Lawrence’s claim that all Cheld are not bad, that some even try to help us—”
Alessandra leaned toward him. She was listening intently, which was more than he could have hoped for. “They said there are places, around the world, where vampires and Cheld live in peace.”
“So we’ve been told. You think the Derricksons want us to know of such places? They protect the bloodline of their brother . . . even those who do not deserve it.”
He didn’t wish to speak further of Lawrence and his family. Or of ancient history. He’d only told her so she could understand.
Even if she no longer wanted to be with him, he hoped she would at least forgive him.
“I’d never hesitated before,” he said, not wanting to remind her of that day but knowing it was necessary. “I had planned to kill you in my house that day I sent you home. But I didn’t. I knew something was different about you, about us. I thought at first I was drawn to you simply because of what you are. I’d never been in such close proximity with a Cheld—”
“Without killing them.”
He couldn’t very well deny it.
“But Lawrence said it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t only drawn to you because of your ancestry. I was, am, drawn to you for the strength that bubbles up inside you and shines from your eyes every time you speak. I’m drawn to your smile and to the strength inside you. When I realized Rowan was in town—”
“He didn’t tell you he was coming?”
“No. And he was pissed I came here alone—”
“Why did you? Come alone and not tell your brothers?”
He took a deep, steadying breath. For a seven-hundred-year-old vampire, he really was having plenty of firsts here in Stone Haven.
; “I thought it was because they, well, Rowan mostly, get . . . overly ambitious.”
How else could he say his brother was bloodthirsty, even for a vampire? Alessandra wasn’t the only person he’d worried about with Rowan loose, especially after last night.
“But now I think it’s because I was meant to find you.”
Alessandra took a long swig of her beer, drinking straight from the bottle rather than the frosty mug she’d been given, and he tried not to notice the way her pillowy lips wrapped around it. He’d already tried, and failed, not to notice how inordinately hot she looked in her outfit tonight. That was Alessandra.
“You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who believes in fate.”
“I don’t.”
Sitting back in her chair, Alessandra watched him as an osprey watches the water.
“Who is Simon of Winchester?”
“Excuse me?”
“Simon of Winchester? Toni’s aunt talked to someone who had heard of the Cheld, and she mentioned Simon. Despite all of my digging, I haven’t really found anything else.”
“Ahh, the day at the library.”
That furrow found its way between her brows again.
“You have to stop stalking me, Kenton.”
“Why?”
Alessandra’s exaggerated eye rolls were only one of the many things he loved about her.
He nodded. “Simon of Winchester was a somewhat famous vampire. One known for cruelty—”
“And I take it he was murdered by a Cheld?”
“Yes, gruesomely so. Along with some of his friends, who should have been done away with long before that.”
“So you admit the Cheld have their purpose?”
He would never willingly admit to such a thing.
“We would have gotten to them eventually.”
Her already wide eyes rounded.
“You kill your own kind?”
“When they threaten to expose us like Winchester and his gang did? Yes. There’s no hierarchy or vampire kings and queens, as some of the popular culture would have you believe. There are only vampires and older vampires. The older are stronger and tend to have more sway.”
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