Knight sighed and nodded his head. He looked like a dog with his tail between his legs. Literally.
Elizabeth smiled. “I like you more and more everyday, Hope Sinclair.”
The feeling was mutual little sister. Every moment I spent with Hope, I was reminded more and more of why I was risking everything to try to protect her. She was special. Strong, caring, beautiful. And I wasn’t talking about the outside. She was beyond gorgeous on the outside. But on the inside, she was absolutely radiant and hands down the best person I had ever known.
Chapter 29: Knight
We spent the day just hanging out inside. It was really cold out today and pretty much everyone was hungover.
I think everyone was done drinking for the trip. Aside from the fact that they’d almost cleaned out Caleb’s liquor cabinet, they were feeling shitty. It made me glad I wasn’t a big drinker.
The truth was, I didn’t want to risk becoming like my dad. He didn’t always have a problem with drinking. He used to be a social drinker. It wasn’t a problem, until it was suddenly a problem.
Addiction can really sneak up on you like that. One second, you’re fine. The next, you’ll do anything to get that next drink.
I couldn’t let that be me. So I tried not to drink at all. An occasional one, but never more than one. It made it easy knowing Hope didn’t like drinking either.
We were perfect for each other in every sense of the word. That’s why it was so aggravating to see her laughing with Christian.
He was a nice guy unfortunately. But he was a vampire. They couldn’t be trusted. I wasn’t one of those crazy wolves that thought you should eliminate all vampires, but I didn’t go around looking to be friends with them.
We were too different. Yes, we were both creatures of the night. But vampires killed people for fun. Wolves could be dangerous too, but only if provoked. Most of the wolves I knew took precautions to make sure they never crossed paths with people in their wolf state.
I went outside to get some air, but when I did, Elizabeth and Christian were out on the deck talking. They looked right at me. Stupid vampire senses. I couldn’t even try to sneak back into the house. Now if I went back inside I’d look like an immature prick. I was trying to respect Hope’s wishes.
I groaned before closing the door and walking over to them. “Hey.”
“Hey,” they both said. Their voices were laced with confusion.
“I was just taking a breather. I can only take so much of the three musketeers.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I’m assuming you mean Tegan, Aria, and Hayden.”
“Yes, that would be them.”
“They’re dreadful.”
I grinned. I did like the way they spoke. They were so proper and elegant. I wondered how rich they were. And were they always rich or did they compel themselves to be rich?
I’d probably compel myself a Range Rover if I was a vampire. I guess that's one cool thing about being a vampire. The only thing I could do was become a beast. And I couldn’t even do that yet.
We stayed quiet for a while. It was so uncomfortable. Christian kept his gaze straight ahead. He barely even acknowledged me. I was kind of a dick to him. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be around me.
I rubbed the back of my neck and blew out of my mouth. “Listen, I’m sorry about the wisecrack this morning.”
“Don’t worry about it. And I’m sorry too.”
“As am I,” Elizabeth said.
“We all want the same thing,” Christian said. He looked into my eyes. “To keep Hope safe.”
That is all I wanted. It was the only thing we had in common with each other. We’d both do anything for Hope.
Chrisitian put his hand out to me. I looked down at it. Do it for Hope.
I placed my hand in his and shook it. Just as I did, a gunshot rang out into the air. Christian hit the ground before I could even figure out what was happening. He had been shot.
Seconds later another shot went off, this time hitting Elizabeth. Elizabeth didn’t go down with the one shot. It took another two to get her to fall.
I looked around for the source. When I found it, I couldn’t even try to hide the shock in my voice. “Caleb?”
“Grab them and bring them to the cabin,” he said to three other members of his pack. I’d seen them around at some of his meetings. They weren’t locals though so they didn’t live in Salem Point.
I almost went to protest when they started dragging Christian and Elizabeth’s bodies away, but stopped myself. I wasn’t sure what was going on here. If I went against Caleb, he might drag me off too and I wouldn’t be able to warn Hope about whatever the hell this was.
“Caleb, what’s going on?”
He came closer to me and looked behind me to make sure no one was coming. “I’m fixing the vampire problem.”
I was all for that, but Christian and Elizabeth weren’t part of the problem. At least not at the moment. “Christian doesn’t even drink human blood.”
“That you know of. Knight, vampires can’t be trusted. I thought you knew that.”
“I do. I completely agree. I just didn’t think the Hale’s were a threat.”
“They are. All vampires are. Now, go back inside and don’t worry. This ends tonight.”
I watched him walk away and follow the other members of the pack while they dragged Christian and Elizabeth off to what I assumed would be their deaths.
I turned back and went back into the cabin. Everyone was in the kitchen. I sat down on the couch in the living room and tried to think.
I had to do something. Right? I mean I wasn’t going to cry over the death of the Hale’s. But, Hope might. She cared about them. Not just Christian, but all of them. Even that dick Wyatt. They probably had him too.
This was so bad. I didn’t know what to do.
“What’s your issue?”
My eyes darted to Hayden’s. She sat down next to me. She was the last person I would go to for anything. But it was her father that was trying to kill Hope’s friends. Maybe she could tell me what the right thing to do was. Actually, this was Hayden. Maybe I would just do the opposite of what she suggested.
“I just saw your dad.”
She looked pissed. “Is he spying on us? Where the hell is he?”
“No. Hayden, he’s trying to kill Christian and Elizabeth.”
“What?”
“He just shot them outside and now he’s dragging them off to who knows where.”
“He’s killing them?”
“Yes! And that would be fine if it weren’t for…”
“Hope.”
I sighed. I knew that Hope was a touchy subject for Hayden. “Yes. I don’t know if I should tell Hope.”
She looked unsure too.
This was so fucked up. This would get them out of the way, but Hope would be hurt. And I would be responsible for that hurt.
“They weren’t the vampires that attacked me,” she said. “I don’t trust them, but they are trying to protect Hope. I think we need them, and as much as it pains me to say this, we have to tell Hope.”
I was stunned. Hayden actually wanted to do the right thing. I didn’t think she cared about keeping Hope safe. That was new.
“Come on,” I said. “We should hurry.”
We rushed up to the room Hope was staying in. She was working on some of her reading for school, because she was the kind of person that did schoolwork on a vacation.
When she saw Hayden and me together she did a double take. “What’s going on?”
I looked into her eyes. I didn’t know how to say this to her. I was about to tear her already torn world even further apart.
“Our dad is trying to kill Christian and Elizabeth.”
I looked back at Hayden. That was one way to do it.
Hope hopped up from bed. “We have to stop him.”
Chapter 30: Christian
My head was pounding. I felt like I was burning from the inside. It was agonizing.
Dying felt better than the feeling of hawthorne coursing through my veins.
This was the consequence of not drinking human blood. It made me incredibly weak. Just a little more hawthorne and I might have died for the second time around.
I opened my eyes and looked to my side. Elizabeth was sitting next to me. Wyatt was sitting next to her. We were all tied up. They had already been awake. No doubt because they followed the right diet for a vampire. They weren’t weak like me.
I was really considering making a lifestyle change. How was I supposed to protect Hope like this?
“What’s happening?”
“Nice of you to join us,” Wyatt said. “Caleb’s trying to kill us.”
My eyes met Elizabeth’s. She was scared. I could see it in her eyes. Elizabeth didn’t scare easily. This was bad.
My hands were tied with ropes dipped in hawthorne. Even if they weren’t I probably wouldn’t be able to break free anyway. I could barely keep my eyes open. The darkness of my mind was calling to me. I was fighting as hard as I could not to let it overcome me.
I looked at Caleb. He was speaking with another wolf. “Hey.”
He ignored me.
“Hey!”
Caleb looked at me. He looked back at the wolf and told him to wait outside and that they’d begin soon. The wolf gave us a dirty look before leaving the cabin. Caleb came over to us.
He looked down at my wrists and grimaced. “Sorry about that. I’ve been there myself before. Wolf’s bane. It’s brutal.”
“Then let us go,” Elizabeth said.
“I can’t.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Why?” Wyatt said. “There is such a thing as a dumb question Christian. Caleb here is a vampire hater.”
“You’re wrong. I’ve known vampires and as long as they live peacefully and don’t attack people we don’t have a problem.”
“And we haven’t.”
“My daughter.” He said it with rage in his eyes. Rage that only a father could feel. The feeling of someone hurting your own child was enough to drive even the most sane person mad. “One of you attacked my daughter.”
“No. I swear to you none of us attacked Hayden. Why would we?”
“Why does any vampire do what they do? For the kill. My guess is, you didn’t like the taste of werewolf blood.”
Wyatt laughed. “Trust me. I’ve had my fair share of werewolf blood. There’s nothing like it.” He grinned devilishly. He wasn’t helping our predicament.
“This is why I have to do this. I will protect the people of Salem Point.”
“Like you’re any better you dog.”
“Wyatt, shut up,” Elizabeth spat.
“Say what you will about werewolves, but at least we don’t prey on the innocent.”
“You’ve got this all wrong,” I said. “You’re making a mistake. We’re not the monsters. We’re protecting Salem Point.”
He looked at me sadly. What struck me as bizarre was that he was being genuine. He felt genuine remorse for what he was about to do to us. “You’re just a kid. All of you. I’m sorry that your lives were cut so short. It’s not your fault what you are. I know you can’t help it. Trust me, I don’t like this anymore than you do.”
“Then let us go,” Elizabeth pleaded.
Caleb looked at her. “You’ve left me no choice. I have to protect my daughter. And I have to protect my pack.”
He turned away from us and walked out of the cabin. Elizabeth started crying. Wyatt was struggling against the ropes. It was no use. The more he struggled, the more hawthorne that went into his system, weakening him even more. And me? I was useless.
We were going to die in this cabin tonight. There was only one person in my mind at that moment. She was going to be left all alone, vulnerable to be attacked and taken to Rex Cassius.
Hope.
Chapter 31: Hope
Lexie and Aria helped me perform a locator spell to find the Hale’s. I had a feeling that Caleb had Wyatt too. He had to. Otherwise he would have stopped him from taking his siblings.
This was all because of me. I should have just told him who I was from the start. I could have told him that they were protecting me. They weren’t evil. Well, in Wyatt’s case not completely evil.
They were protecting me and now they were at risk of dying because of it. I ruined everyone that crossed paths with me. I was starting to feel like I was cursed. Maybe I inherited all that dark mojo from the countless number of vampires that were killed at my family’s hands.
Knight, Hayden, Lexie, and Aria were going to come with me to try to stop Caleb. Tegan was distracting Jade. How she still didn’t figure out that something was going on was beyond me, but I’d have to worry about my friend later. The Hale’s needed me.
Francesca appeared in front of me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Get the hell out of our way,” Lexie said. She’d had it with the vampire too. She was just waiting to snap at her.
“Francesca, move now.”
“I think you need to go back into the house, Hope.”
“Wyatt and Christian are in danger and I need to help them.”
She laughed hysterically. “What are you going to do to help them? You’re barely even a witch.”
I glared at her. I didn’t like being talked down to. It wasn’t my fault that I just found out what I am. I may have not spent my entire life training to be a witch, but that didn’t make me any less of a witch. Not to mention the werewolf part. “I can stop Caleb from killing them.”
“Tell me, how do you plan on doing that?”
“With the truth.” I took a deep breath. It was time everyone knew who Caleb was to me. I couldn’t run from this anymore. “Caleb is my father.”
Francesca looked surprised. She smiled and looked me over like she was appraising me or something. “Wow. The daughter of an alpha. That’s something. You’ve been holding back on me Hope.”
I heard Hayden sigh behind me. I knew she was going to have a problem with me admitting we shared the same father. I’m sure she was hoping the truth was never going to come out. I was surprised she was even helping me, but for whatever reason she was.
“Great, glad I could impress you. Now, we have to go.”
“I’ll go with you. Everyone else can stay behind. I can handle the wolf.”
“The hell you will,” Hayden said. “He’s my father and I’m not letting you anywhere near him you psychotic bitch.”
“Easy, down girl. I wasn’t planning on killing him. Just rough him up a bit.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I can talk to him.”
“Fine, but I am going.”
“Do whatever you want. I just want to save the Hale’s.”
We took off towards where Lexie and Aria tracked them to. I just prayed we weren’t too late.
* * *
We were almost there. I could see a cabin up ahead. I took off running, ignoring Knight’s calls for me to wait up. I had to save them. There was no time to wait up. They needed me now.
I saw Caleb. They were preparing to torch the house. I ran faster. “Stop!”
Caleb looked at me in bewilderment.
“Stop!”
He motioned for them to wait as he walked towards me. “Hope?”
“Please, you have to stop.” I took some steadying breaths. It was a good thing I was already a runner even before the whole hybrid discovery. That’s about the only thing I was good at.
Knight and the others caught up to me. Francesca was taking her sweet old time. It was obvious she didn’t care if the Hale’s lived or died.
Caleb gave Knight a dirty look. He was pissed that he told me. “You guys need to get out of here now.”
“You have to listen to me. They’re not evil. They’ve been trying to protect me from the vampire that is attacking people in Salem Point.”
“Dad, the vampire that attacked me wasn’t any of them.”
“You
can’t be sure they aren’t with whoever it was. Vampires usually travel in families honey.”
“No. They’re only still in this town because of me.” They could have left the second their lives here were put in danger, but they didn’t. “They’ve put themselves in danger for me. Vampires are only coming to Salem Point because of me.”
“Why?”
I opened my mouth to speak, closed it, opened it, and closed it again. I took a deep breath and pushed myself to say the words that had been at the tip of my tongue for the past few weeks. “Because I’m a hybrid. Part witch, part werewolf. And you’re my father.”
It was his turn to be speechless. Only, he didn’t seem that surprised.
“Did you know?” Hayden said. She asked what I was thinking.
He looked at Hayden and sighed. “I suspected.” His eyes met mine. “But I thought the timing was off. And I thought that if you were mine, that Melinda would have told me. That she wouldn’t keep something like that from me. But I guess I was wrong.”
I could tell he was really upset about this. I imagine he felt betrayed by my mother. He was right. She should have told him. But I had to believe that she had her reasons for keeping me a secret from him.
“I have no idea why she didn’t tell you, and I’m sorry to spring this on you. Right now I just want to make sure you’re not going to kill my friends.”
He exhaled loudly. “Hope I…”
“If you kill them you’ll be killing some of the only vampires that don’t want me dead. The only vampires willing to protect me.”
Caleb nodded. He looked back at the members of his pack. “Let them go.” He looked back at me. “For now. But Hope if I find out that they are in any way a part of the attacks, I’ll have no choice.”
I pursed my lips together. I didn’t like him threatening their lives. I cared about them and anyone threatening them pissed me off. Even if he was my father. “Fine.”
I sighed in relief when I saw Elizabeth and Wyatt helping Christian out of the cabin. Christian looked so weak. It was amazing he was even standing.
Saving Hope: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Bloodmoon Series Book 2) Page 10