by Kelly Oram
“Grace,” Andrew pleaded, bringing his forehead down to rest on mine. “Don’t do this to yourself.”
“Master,” Stefan said quietly, “you could let her go home.”
His words were so shocking I almost gasped. Had it not been for the last four days of being a zombie, I would have.
“You have done your very best, but the girl is unhappy here. If you do not wish her death, then perhaps it would be best.”
“Give her up?” Andrew asked.
“Watch her from a distance, Master. She might not be yours in that way, but she would be safe, healthy, and happy. Is that not what you want?”
“It is,” Andrew said. I’d never seen a person look more torn. “But I—I—I can’t. She would find someone else. Share her life with another. Give herself to another man. It would kill me, Stefan. I couldn’t trust myself not to…intervene again.”
I was surprised to hear honest remorse in his voice.
“I can’t do that to her again. It’s the death of the wolf that has made her this way. She can’t forgive me. I did this to her.”
“Then there is only one other way I can think of, but you won’t like it.”
“What?” Andrew asked.
When Stefan hesitated, Andrew nearly tackled him. “If you know a way to save her, Stefan, to save us both, then tell me. I’ll do it. I don’t care what it takes.”
“There have been studies,” Stefan said slowly. “About how human women change when they become mothers. They become not just survivors, but protectors. Were Grace with child, she would find the will she needed to live.”
I felt my empty stomach give out. He couldn’t be serious. I nearly jumped up and started shoving my face with the cold food on the table, but Andrew was on his feet before me. “Get her pregnant? You can’t be serious!” he roared. For a second, I thought he was actually concerned about my virtue. But then he said, “How would you suggest we do that? Hand her over to some random human? No! Even doing it the scientific way, the child would be someone else’s.”
“Calm down, Master,” Stefan said. “Of course I was not suggesting you let another father her child.”
Andrew stopped pacing the room and whirled on Stefan. He looked out of his mind with rage, but he paused to listen.
“The thought occurred to me the first night we brought her here—when I examined her and came into contact with her skin for the first time. Master, the way she made me feel human got me thinking.”
Andrew stared at Stefan with crazed eyes. “And?” he asked. He seemed to understand, but I had no idea where Stefan was going with this.
“I didn’t want to say anything that might get your hopes up, but yesterday I called the consulate and spoke with Councilor Sena. It is true what the young warlock claims about the Chosen One. When the girl touches a supernatural species, she physically becomes that species. If what Grace claims about being her opposite is correct, then it would stand to say that when you touch Grace she physically turns you human.”
Andrew got it before I did. “You think I could father a child with Grace?” he asked in disbelief.
Stefan gave him a long measured look. “I could never know for certain, of course, but I believe it is a possibility, yes.”
Andrew had to sink to the floor when his knees gave out. Stefan hurried to Andrew, but Andrew waved him off. His eyes were locked on mine.
“Master?” Stefan asked.
“Leave us,” Andrew whispered, without ever taking his eyes off me.
“No!” I gasped. It was the first word I’d spoken in days and it came out sounding horse. “Please, no!”
Stefan hesitated in the doorway, his eyes trained on me and filled with pity. “Master,” he said quietly. “If you’d prefer, I could do it the scientific way or at least give her something to calm her anxiety, or make her sleep. It may be easier for her that way.”
“No!” I cried again. I didn’t know what was worse: having to live through the experience or waking up afterward not remembering, but still knowing what had been done to me.
Andrew watched me for a minute with an expression I couldn’t read. I felt the moisture creep into my eyes as I shook my head frantically. Finally he turned to Stefan. “Thank you, Stefan. That won’t be necessary.”
“Yes, Master.” Stefan bowed as he backed out of the door. “I’ll inform the others that you are not to be disturbed.”
Ethan! I screamed as the door clicked shut, sealing my doom. Ethan, where are you? Where was he? I looked out the window again. Before I’d passed out, I’d been so sure he was near. I’d felt him near.
ETHAN!
“Grace.”
Andrew startled me out of my thoughts and I whirled around to see him sitting next to me on the couch. I scrambled away from him frantically. “Stay away from me!”
Andrew swallowed a lump in his throat and reached for my hand. “It’s a solution, love.”
I scrambled back again, so far that I actually fell over the edge of the couch. “You don’t have to,” I said, crawling over to the tray of food sitting on the table. “I’ll eat, Andrew. I’ll do whatever. I’ll start taking care of myself. I promise!” I took a bite of the sandwich in front of me to prove I was serious.
“It’s more than that, Grace.” Andrew was unable to hide the hope in his voice. “I know how women are. They change when they become mothers. If I were the father of your baby, you’d soften. This could make you love me.”
“It wouldn’t,” I promised.
“It would. You have no idea how many centuries I’ve wished…It is impossible for vampires to have children. If we did this, if it worked, you would see that I loved our child as much as I love you. You wouldn’t be able to help feeling affection for me.”
“Any child you steal from me would be half monster! It would be half you! I wouldn’t want it! I would hate it as much as I hate you!”
Andrew smiled and shook his head at me. I saw the change in his eyes. It was that same look my father got whenever he became resolved on an idea. Andrew’s mind was officially made up. “You won’t hate me,” he said. “You’ll see.”
I crawled backward, trying to get away from him, but we both knew there was no point. He had vampire strength and speed. I wouldn’t get far if I tried to run—which I couldn’t even do because I was in a cast and didn’t have my crutches.
Andrew started toward me slowly, as if I were a skittish animal he was trying not to frighten off. I kept backing up until I ran into something. The easel with the drawing pad tumbled over and the pencil kit rained down on my head. Andrew watched it all come crashing down with an amused smile on his face. “Always so clumsy,” he teased, closing the distance between us.
He pulled me to him right there on the floor. I tried to fight him. I wriggled and squirmed, kicked and punched as hard as I could, but he pinned me to the floor with ease and climbed on top of me. “This is for the best,” he promised as he brought his mouth down on mine.
I twisted my face away from him. “Please,” I begged. “Andrew, don’t do this. You promised you’d never hurt me!”
Andrew moved his lips from my face to my neck. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll be very gentle.”
“That’s not what I mean! There’s nothing worse you could do to me than taking my body against my will. I’d rather you did to me what you did to Preston!”
Andrew stopped kissing me and I saw anger streak through his eyes. “If I can’t make you love me,” he growled, “then there’s no point in not just taking what I want. You are mine, Grace, and your child will be mine also.”
Andrew ripped the front of my ridiculous princess dress open and sheer panic set in.
Ethan!
Little busy right now, Grace.
ETHAN! I need you!
I’m working on it!
He wasn’t going to get to me in time. I was on my own.
My hands were free now that Andrew was using his to tear off my clothes, so I hit him as hard as I could and ra
ked my fingernails down his face. He reared back with a surprised hiss, and I stared up at the angry red scratches on his face in awe. I shouldn’t have been able to do that. We both realized what that meant at the same time. As long as he was touching my skin, he was no stronger or harder than an average human boy.
To me, that meant I had a chance of fighting him off. For Andrew, it only meant that what he was trying to accomplish was actually possible. We shared a look for a single moment, and then I began to scream and fight as hard as I could while he pulled the last of my dress off of me with new vigor.
The minute my legs were untangled from the fabric, I threw my knee up into his groin. With all the adrenaline pumping through me I was probably as strong as he was.
I scooted out from under him while he was doubled over in pain but he was quickly on top of me again—only now he wasn’t playing around anymore. He held me down by my throat, making it hard for me to breathe, while he fumbled with his pants. We continued to struggle like this until there was a knock at the door.
“Master!”
“I’m busy!” Andrew roared.
Clara came rushing in anyway. “Master, the angel and the warlock!” she cried. “They’re here! They’re massacring the coven! Most everyone is already dead. You need to get to safety! They mean to kill you!”
My heart soared with relief despite her use of the word massacre. Ethan and Russ were here! They were going to save me any second.
Andrew’s grip slipped off my throat, and for a moment his voice softened. “You go, Clara.”
While he was distracted, I reached around behind me for anything I could find and got hold of the toppled over easel. I got the best grip I could and prayed the flimsy posts wouldn’t be to heavy to swing.
“Quickly,” Andrew was saying. “Take anyone that you can and get out. If you’re outmatched, there’s no shame in running. Don’t stay and lose your life for me.”
Clara gasped in horror. “But Master! I can’t leave you behind!”
Andrew looked down at me and his eyes turned hard again. “I’ll catch up to you in a few minutes.”
Clara noticed me for the first time, realized what Andrew was doing, and sucked in a breath.
“Go!” Andrew shouted.
Clara froze with indecision.
I was grateful for her inner conflict, but didn’t wait to see if she would be brave enough to help me. Before Andrew looked back at me, I pulled with all my might and smashed the easel across the side of his face. I swung so hard I actually broke a piece of the leg off in my hand. The blow came as such a surprise to Andrew that I actually knocked him off of me.
“ETHAN!” I shouted. “Russ! I’m in here! Help me!”
My screams were cut off as Andrew pinched my airway shut. He was blinded by his fixation now, completely insane with rage and desire. He was going to kill me.
“Master!” Clara came rushing up behind Andrew. Her terrified eyes met mine for a brief moment, and then she began to shake Andrew’s shoulder. “You don’t want to do this!” she cried, tears spilling down her face. “This is your mate! You don’t want to hurt her! Please, Andrew! Stop!”
Andrew pushed Clara away and started to squeeze my throat so hard I couldn’t even cough. My head screamed in protest and my vision blurred.
Desperately, I pulled at the hands around my throat until I felt something underneath me. I reached for it and found one of the drawing pencils I’d spilled earlier.
My survival instincts kicked in and I jabbed the pencil at him with as much energy as I had left in me. I connected with his throat and the pencil pierced his skin with ease.
Stunned, Andrew sat back and pulled the pencil out of his neck. Blood began pouring in deadly amounts from the wound.
I guess the theory was really true—Andrew was definitely human right now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be dying. His face went white and he fell off of me. I was afraid that if he stopped touching me he would become a vampire again and heal, so I picked up his hand.
“Grace,” he croaked, choking on blood.
“I’m sorry,” I cried. “I’m so sorry, Andrew.”
Andrew blinked slowly and tried to smile. “Love…you…”
I saw the life leave him and knew he was dead, but I couldn’t let go of his hand. I’d killed someone. Andrew’s blood was on my hands, and I don’t just mean literally. Sure, it was self-defense, and I knew I would tell myself that every day for the rest of my life, but it was murder all the same. And all because he’d fallen in love with me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered again.
Clara sat up and groaned softly as she grabbed her head. It took a moment for her confusion to pass, but then she remembered what was going on. She gasped when she saw Andrew, but she didn’t throw herself on him like I was expecting. Instead, she crawled over to me. “Grace? Are you okay? I’m so sorry!”
With Andrew dead, Clara’s bond to him was broken and she could finally see past her blind devotion. As she thought back on everything she’d done under Andrew’s control, she finally broke down. She leaned over me and sobbed so hard that I felt the need to comfort her.
I didn’t get the chance to because Ethan and Russ came busting into the room, screaming my name. They crashed through the door looking half-crazed themselves, both covered in blood, weapons in each hand. They skidded to a halt at the sight before them. Their eyes darted back and forth between Andrew, Clara, and me until I couldn’t take it anymore and burst into sobs.
They both rushed to me and I fell into Ethan’s arms.
Russ grabbed Clara and before he could hurt her, I screamed, “No!”
Both Ethan and Russ looked at me as if I were nuts.
“She tried to stop him,” I said. “She tried to help me. She’s not under his influence anymore. Please, leave her alone.”
Russ grunted and threw her aside. “Is she okay?” he demanded.
Ethan looked me over and nodded. “It’s not her blood,” he said. “She’s in shock and she’s freezing, but otherwise she seems intact.”
Russ grabbed the remains of my dress and draped the material around my shoulders, helping to pull it around the front of me. Then he tilted my face up and grinned brightly. “I think I’m going to have to start calling you Buffy the Vampire Slayer from now on.”
The guys made me dye my hair and Russ used magic to make me a fake passport to get me back into the States. When I asked why that was necessary, Ethan told me I didn’t want to know. His face was grim enough that I didn’t ask.
I found out when we hit U.S. customs. Even with red hair and a passport saying I was “Jennifer McDonald of Cleveland, Ohio,” the guy still nearly flagged me as the missing daughter of President Elect St. Claire. I’d been so preoccupied with being kidnapped and almost murdered that I hadn’t even thought about what my disappearance would have meant to the whole country.
Suddenly, I wasn’t in much of a hurry to get home. After dropping Clara off at her house—she’d insisted she could deal with her mother on her own, though I’d offered to go with her to help explain—Ethan, Russ, and I stopped for dinner at the Chinese restaurant down the street from my house.
“So,” I finally asked after I had some hot wonton soup in front of me, “how bad is it? Do you guys even know?”
“It could be worse,” Russ promised. But all that meant was that things were pretty ugly.
“We took care of Preston before we came looking for you,” Ethan said.
“Took care of him?” My voice cracked.
“We moved his body and cleaned up the backyard. We knew things would be worse if we left him and your dad came home and found him.”
“W-what do people think happened?”
Russ threw his arm around me when I started to cry. They both gave me a second to compose myself and then Ethan explained. “We couldn’t tell his family what happened. That would have started a war between the D.C. pack and every vampire in this city. It probably would have escalated to something much wo
rse. We took him out to a national park in West Virginia and left him where he’d be easily found. Police declared it an animal attack.”
“That’s what it was,” I whispered. I shuddered and felt Russ squeeze me again. I leaned into him gratefully. “What does the pack believe?”
“They don’t know what to think, though Caleb and Cynthia most likely suspect the truth because of your disappearance.”
“They must be devastated.”
“Any worse than you are, Grace?” Russ asked. “What exactly happened, anyway?”
Once again I got too emotional to speak. After a minute, the best I could manage was, “I can’t talk about it.”
That seemed to translate into “I can’t talk at all.”
We were all quiet for the next twenty minutes while I slowly sipped my soup. My stomach churned and I wasn’t hungry, but I’d had so little to eat over the last couple of weeks that I forced it down anyway and prayed it stayed there.
Eventually, I gave up on my soup and leaned back to find Ethan watching me with the strangest expression. He was obviously very upset about something, but he wasn’t angry. It was more like he was sad.
“I hope you’re not blaming yourself for not being there,” I said to him.
“No,” he said quietly.
I had to ask him to elaborate. “Then what is it?”
It took him so long to reply that I wasn’t sure he even would. “I want you to accept our bond, Grace.”
I hadn’t seen this coming. None of us had brought up the subject since the day Ethan swore his oath to me. It was way too awkward and something I didn’t want to think about. Ever again.
“Oh.”
Ethan knew I was afraid—anybody could have seen that—and my fear made his face drop even more.
“Please?”
“Um.” I gulped. “I don’t know, Ethan. I don’t know what that will do to us. The way your dad talked about it…I don’t need you to give yourself to me.” I felt myself starting to blush and it was suddenly the perfect time to stir my soup. “I don’t want to take away your freedom any more than I already have.”
“But that’s just it. You won’t be taking anything from me. I choose this. I know I don’t deserve it, but I finally understand. I want to make up for my mistakes. I’m a warrior. It’s in my blood. I can feel it. I can feel you.”