Ronan stared at her, his strangely colored eyes gleaming in the light of the room. Beside her, Ian shifted closer protectively. Please just kill me and not Ian too, she pleaded silently when a ripple of color slid over Ian’s skin.
“And I’m not asking you to,” Ronan replied. “I try to avoid killing hunters too, unless it becomes necessary. You are right, they are misguided, but they have their place.”
Paige remained hesitant as she stared at the man across from her. A man who could tear off her head and punt it like a football, while whistling Dixie, before anyone in this room even realized her head had become a field goal.
“I was given something to drink every time I met with my handler,” she told him.
Ronan folded his hands behind his back. “What was in this drink?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“You drank something without having any idea what was in it?” Ian demanded.
She shot him a look. “I was told it was an energy and vitamin drink that would help with my fighting and help me to withstand a vampire’s abilities. Nabel said it consisted of vegetables, fruits and herbs, but I didn’t ask for the exact mixture or ingredients.”
A vein throbbed to life in his forehead. “They could have given you anything,” he grated.
“You didn’t live through what I did, Ian. You can’t know, or understand what it is like to lose someone you love, to live in constant terror, and then be offered a chance to avenge that death and find safety. I would have done or taken anything they gave me for the chance to have what they offered.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close against him. Kissing the top of her head, he inhaled her fragrant scent as he sought to control the steady unraveling growing within himself. He didn’t know this Ronan, didn’t trust him. He could have killed Paige already if he’d truly wanted to, but having her so close to the man rattled his control. He’d seen what Ethan had gone through when Emma had been uncertain about their future together, but he’d never felt that unraveling he’d witnessed with his brother. He could feel it in him now, feel rage simmering beneath his surface, the growing urge to kill something building within him. He didn’t know if he could protect her from Ronan, and he didn’t like it, not one little bit.
“Do you mind?” Ronan inquired of Ian.
Ian’s upper lip curled into a sneer. “What do you intend?”
“Only to smell her.”
Paige rested her hand reassuringly on his chest. “It’s fine.”
Ian didn’t protest when Ronan took a step closer. The aged vampire leaned over Paige and inhaled deeply. A low rumble worked its way up Ian’s throat; he somehow managed to keep himself restrained from making a move toward Ronan, but his muscles quivered from the effort.
“Hmm,” Ronan murmured. “I smell apples mostly but also spinach along with acerola berries, the herbs borage, devil’s claw, and…” His eyes closed as he inhaled deeply again. “And saffron spice. It’s an interesting combination of fruit and herbs. One that would aid in your fighting and the soreness that follows physical combat.”
“Is that combination enough to block us from being able to change her memories?” Ian inquired.
“I don’t think it’s that combination; I sense something else inside of her,” Ronan replied.
Paige glanced worriedly at Ian. The hunters hadn’t been what she’d believed them to be, but had they also done something to her? “What is it?” she croaked out.
“I believe it’s their blood,” Ronan replied.
Paige took a startled step back. “No. I never gave them permission to do that.”
“I suspect that didn’t matter. Not once you agreed to join their ranks,” Ronan replied and stepped away from her. “They weren’t going to take any chances you could be persuaded into bringing a vampire back to where you met with them. They weren’t so much concerned you would reveal anything about them, I doubt you know much.”
“I don’t,” she admitted.
“What are these hunters?” Emma inquired. “Where did they come from? How is it possible their blood could counteract a vampire’s abilities.”
“They are the mortal version of a vampire,” Ronan answered. “Vampires got the more demonic side, the bloodthirsty side when the first humans and demons mated. Hunters don’t have our thirst for blood; they don’t have the restrictions some of our kind have when they kill too much, and they can withstand our powers of persuasion. However, they do age, albeit much slower than a human, but they will eventually die from aging. They’re also not as fast or as strong as we are, but they could go one-on-one with, and survive, a fight with a new vampire. They know of our existence and have hunted us from the beginning. I’m not sure if they realize not all of us are killers, but they kill us all without hesitation.”
“Do they also have mates?” Aiden asked.
“I don’t know. That is what I do know about them, and only because I have access to all of the documents, studies, and libraries vampires have kept since our creation. It’s taken that long for us to know that much about the hunters. I doubt they know much about us either.”
Ronan looked pointedly at Paige when he finished speaking. “I really wasn’t told much,” she admitted.
“I believe you.”
Before Paige could stop herself she blurted a question, “Why do you believe me so easily?”
A small smile curved the corner of his full mouth. “It’s very easy to tell when a human is lying. However, your heart rate hasn’t increased, your voice hasn’t changed, no sweat is beading across your brow, and I smell no heightened body odor from you.”
A vampire human lie detector, that’s freaking awesome, “Well that’s a good thing, I suppose,” she muttered.
“It’s a very good thing. If I suspected you were lying to me, I would get the answers from you one way or another.” She didn’t quite know how to take that, but she was glad she didn’t know anything that would have caused her to lie to the man. “I suspect the combination they gave you is given to all members of the human race they bring into their fold. It would also help to make you a little stronger and faster. I doubt you were given much of their blood, or you would have tasted it even over the obvious abundance of apples they put in the drink, but it would have enhanced you a little. How did they find you?”
“Through a mutual acquaintance,” Paige answered. Please don’t ask who, she inwardly pleaded.
“I see. I’m sure the places you met them, and this acquaintance, have already been moved far from where you last saw them.”
“Do you think they’ll search for me?” she asked nervously.
“No, I’m sure they consider you dead, but they would move any locations you did know about as a just in case. You’ve been written off in their world.”
Paige’s hand tightened around Ian’s arm. She’d never thought of it, but she realized now if she had returned to them, they most likely wouldn’t have been there to receive her. She didn’t know how to feel about that. A part of her felt more hollow at the realization of how little she’d meant; the other part was relieved they wouldn’t be coming after her, wouldn’t think to look for her. The last thing she needed was someone else hunting her.
“So that brings us back to my three options. It may be their blood has worked its way out of her system and you can change her memories,” Ronan continued. “But since you don’t want that, you’re down to two. Death or eternal life?”
Every eye in the room burned into her; she found her gaze locked upon Ronan’s. Beside her, Ian’s body vibrated with tension, he held his breath as they all waited for her answer. “That’s not much of a choice,” she murmured.
“It’s more than many others have had,” Ronan replied.
Ian stared at her bent head, willing her to look at him. She remained focused on the man across from them. He knew what he so badly wanted her answer to be, but he wouldn’t take her choice away from her. “It doesn’t have to be today, Paige,�
�� he told her. “When you’re ready.”
“Sooner rather than later is preferable,” Ronan replied. “I believe you don’t know much, I believe you won’t return to them, but you know too many of our secrets now to be allowed to continue to walk about this world freely. I won’t be leaving here until the change is completed, or I’ll be taking you somewhere until it’s done.” His gaze flickered to Ian. “I know he won’t allow anyone, besides him, to touch you in such a way, so he will have to come with us. Neither of you will be granted your freedom until the transformation is over.”
Paige’s fingers curled into Ian’s forearm. The thought of being locked away until she was changed made her feel like some strange form of breeding stock. “No,” she whispered.
“You have three days to make the choice, or I will make it for you,” Ronan said briskly.
Beside her, Ian bristled. “Back off, Ronan.”
Ronan’s eyes burned into his. “Do what has to be done, and soon. I’m being far more lenient than I should on this.”
Before any of them could respond, Ronan opened the door and left the room. He may be gone, but Paige had the impression he could be fifty miles away and still know exactly where they were. “Where did you meet him, Brian?” Ian demanded.
Brian ran a hand through his white blond hair. “It’s a big world outside of your little family, Purebred. There are plenty of us still out there fighting against the savages amongst us. Some of us are more entrenched in it than others.”
“Who’s more entrenched, you or him?”
“Him more so than me, but even at my age there are new things to learn. Stefan and I knew Ronan and his group existed, but we had little to do with them. Their world requires more responsibility and rules than either one of us were willing to deal with. Vampire society, especially amongst ones like these purebreds, is a lot more intricate than what we are accustomed to.”
Brian’s gaze landed on Ethan. “I told you before you were capable of more than you realized. You all are. I may live on the outskirts of Ronan’s world, shit I live on the outskirts of all worlds and groups, but I’m aware of that.” His gaze swept around the room before landing on Ian. “He’s not playing around about this. Don’t make him force it. You can’t beat him, and he’s not one to be messed with.”
Paige’s fingers dug into Ian’s arm; she turned her cheek into his bicep. She’d known she would have to make a decision about her future soon, but she’d planned to have more time to get accustomed to the idea of becoming a vampire. Not a couple of days, and not under the promise of being locked away until she was ready to die. It made her want to go out there and punch Ronan in the face, but she far preferred her head right where it was.
“Now, what happened to my cabin?” Brian inquired.
“It has a new doorway in the living room, but it’s still standing,” Ian informed him through his gritted teeth.
“Good. What about the assholes who put that doorway in?”
“Buried.”
Brian cracked his knuckles and looked them over. “Too bad, I would have liked to help kill those bastards.”
“You’re going to get staked one of these days,” David murmured.
“Maybe,” Brian replied with an absent shrug. “Why did they show up there?”
“My father sent them.”
Paige’s words were more of a breath against his arm, but Ian still heard them. The others exchanged startled glances before focusing on her again. Ian pressed a kiss against the top of her head before expanding on her words. “He sent scouts to see what he would be dealing with, our brief encounter in the alley was far too short of a time for him to get a good idea, and I bested him. I think he wanted to see what I would be capable of.”
“Why hasn’t he come looking for her here?” Aiden asked.
“Because he doesn’t have a death wish,” Ian growled. “I guarantee if he didn’t flee after what happened at that cabin, if he was still in the area, he took off when you all arrived here.”
“Would you have known if he was in this town?” Paige asked.
Her troubled eyes were wide as they searched his face. “Not if he stayed far enough away. I never sensed him at the cabin either. I have a feeling he’s keeping his distance, trying to figure things out, and searching for weaknesses. He may not have witnessed what went down at the cabin, but when his three friends didn’t return he got even more information about what he’s dealing with.”
“He’s not completely stupid,” Ethan murmured.
“No, he’s not,” Ian agreed. “We’ll figure it out and take care of it Paige. I promise.”
“You have something else to take care of first.” Brian shot a pointed look at Paige.
Turning on his heel, he opened the door and walked out of the room. Paige stared at the group surrounding her, uncertain of what to say or do. She didn’t think she had many options on that front.
Chapter Twenty
“You were human?” Paige inquired.
Emma put the menu she’d been flipping through back in between the condiments. “I was,” Emma confirmed. “And in the beginning I planned to stay that way.”
“But then?”
“But then, as I’m sure you’ve realized, the men in the Byrne family have a way of digging their way into your heart to the point where they’re all you think about. Being a vampire isn’t bad, I know the idea of it is a little frightening and overwhelming, but you adapt. I only feed from Ethan, I still have my family, and with the recent move I’ll be closer to them. I’m still not sure what will happen with my family in the future. I try not to think about it right now. Before the move, I had a job I really enjoyed in Oregon. I’m hoping to find another one soon. I’m going to miss being so close to Mandy and Jill, but I know our friendship isn’t going anywhere, and I’ll see them as often as I can.”
“You were working?”
Emma smiled at her. “What else was I going to do with myself?”
“What else indeed?” Paige murmured.
She’d spent four years of her life hunting for her father, he was still out there somewhere, but was she going to spend an eternity with her life revolving around revenge? The thought had never crossed her mind before, mainly because she’d expected to die young, but an eternity of hatred and fighting didn’t feel like a pleasing proposition to her. It made the years seem endless and lonely, even if Ian stood by her side through it all.
What would she do without her constant need for vengeance? The endless possibilities felt not only refreshing but also extremely daunting. The only thing she’d ever loved was drawing, maybe she could return to that or painting. Maybe she could… She could do anything, she realized. The possibilities were endless, there was so much to see and do in this world that she’d never considered before. And she would be with Ian.
Could she move past her hatred and thirst for revenge in order to do so? The notion caused her blood to turn to ice. She wanted happiness in this life, or non-life, or whatever. However, she knew she could never truly move on with the threat of her father constantly looming over her. She’d always be looking over her shoulder, always feel as if she’d let her mother down. Moving on was a step she had to take; she just couldn’t take it without making sure her past could never come back to haunt her.
“You’ll be with him forever and Ian is a good man,” Emma continued. “They all are. A little overprotective and overbearing sometimes, but they mean well. If you’re worried about your family…”
“I have no family,” Paige told her.
Emma leaned forward and rested her hand on Paige’s. “I’m sorry, but you will now. A very large and extremely loving family.”
Paige’s fork clattered against her plate when she put it down. “But will they accept me? I disrupted their lives. Because of me they were forced out of their home.”
Emma’s gold-flecked hazel eyes sparkled in the light. “They’re not one to hold grudges. From what I’ve been told, Stefan didn’t exactly enter the
family under the best of terms either. He and Ethan had some problems in the beginning, but they’ve moved past them. The whole family has. I can assure you, no one holds you at fault for what happened. You’ll see, and understand, when you finally get to meet the rest of them.”
“And it sounds like there are plenty of them to get to know.”
“And they’re growing!” Emma said with a laugh. “It took me a good month to get everyone straight, and I still confuse Vicky and Abby once in a while. They’re identical.”
Paige shook her head. “Even more fun.”
“They really are, all of them. The Stooges are like uncles to everyone and a blast.”
Paige glanced out the window at the group gathered in the parking lot by Ian’s pickup. “I haven’t seen Jack or Doug yet.”
“You will.” Emma assured her. “It’s all so fascinating and strange, isn’t it? I mean I’m a vampire now, and I’m still amazed that such a world exists alongside of ours. Who would have thought it was all true?”
“Not me, at least not until I was eighteen.”
Emma gave her hand a compassionate pat. “I’m sorry about whatever you went through. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here. We are going to be sisters after all.”
Paige couldn’t help but smile at her as she lifted her fork back up. “I never had a sister. I’ve barely had any friends in the past four years.”
“Well you won’t be able to say that anymore. You have me, and Isabelle is looking forward to meeting you too. They all are. I’m going to give you fair warning they’re all very curious about you.” Emma released her hand and sat back in her seat.
Paige’s heart fluttered in panic. “Why?”
Emma tapped her fingers on the table. “It’s not as overwhelming as it sounds; they were all the same way with me. Be prepared for a barrage of questions from Issy though.”
“Why were they so curious about you?”
Emma’s eyes became distant, a smile curving her mouth. Her gaze drifted out the windows to the men gathered together outside. Love radiated from her as she stared at Ethan. “Because, I was the first girl Ethan ever brought home. He wasn’t much for people, still isn’t, but he’s definitely gotten better.”
The Vampire Awakenings Bundle: Books 1-5 Page 106