Shadow Lake Vampire Society Book Two: The Count

by Wendi Wilson

  As they marched toward me, Hannah in front and True behind, I locked eyes with True. “What in the heck is going on?”

  True shook her head, her expression telling me that if she started to unload right now, her anger might cause her to say some things that little ears should not hear. Like really bad things.

  “On second thought, Hannah, you sit on this bunk while I talk to Piper, and then I’ll take you to the dean. Do. Not. Move. Do you understand me?”

  Apparently Hannah did understand because she flopped down on the bunk with a groan. Before I could say anything, True grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the cabin and shut the door behind us.

  “I swear to God, Piper, I am not cut out for this. These children are demons. They’re worse than any group I’ve ever had.” She put her hands in her curls. “Arg! Did you know that Amanda took three of my bras? Three!” She held up fingers to illustrate.

  I quickly worried about my own bras before asking, “Why was Hannah throwing her shoes?”

  “Because she doesn’t want to go to another campfire,” True said in a mock whiney voice. “She wants an outdoor movie, but there isn’t an outdoor movie on the schedule until Friday. And is that my fault? No. But does that matter to her? Also, no.”

  True scrubbed her hands over her face, looking as exasperated as I’d ever seen her. All this time, I’d kind of thought she had everything under control, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

  “Geez, I’m sorry, True. Where’s the help Warren sent over?”

  “What help?” True shot back. “That Becca girl that was here last week never showed. I’ve been on my own this whole time.” Her eyes found me, as the words hit. With the accusatory tone she was using, it was hard to miss her meaning.

  “I had no idea, True. I didn’t know you were alone. I didn’t know the girls were freaking out.”

  Her eyes went dark as she gazed out over my shoulder. “Yeah, you didn’t know because you’re never here.”

  Whoa. Where was this hostility coming from?

  “Ouch, True. You act like I’m out shopping or going on a spa day. I have been learning to fight so I could maybe save our asses the next time a vampire decides she wants a snack. Remember Sarah?”

  Visions of the cabin and Sarah pinning me down swam through my head before they quickly morphed into the ugly vampire from earlier today. The situations had been so strikingly similar. The sharp bite of fangs. The pull of my blood as they started to drain me. I shivered.

  True seemed to notice. She sucked in a big breath and blew it out. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just… mad. They’ve pushed my buttons all day, but it’ll be okay. Plus, you’re here now. Anyway, how was the training, and what the hell happened to your neck?” She reached for the bandage, but I backed up.

  I touched it with delicate fingers, probing the tender skin. “I got bit by a rogue vampire in the woods.”

  “What?!” Her eyes bugged wide. “What were you doing in the woods? Where was Warren? What the hell is a rogue vampire?”

  “Shh,” I reminded her, since her voice has risen to a level that probably carried halfway to Canada. “We were training, and the vampire attacked and dragged me into the woods. Warren came after me. But, he didn’t save me. I killed the vampire.”

  Her eyes went wider than I ever knew possible. “Ho-ly shit, Pipes. You’re like a regular Van Helsing.”

  I shook my head, still inwardly wincing at the nickname Coco used to call me. “It was the blade from Levi. Without that, I’d be dead.” I felt its weight in the bag over my shoulder and vowed to wear it even in my sleep.

  “The blade that you used,” she shot back. “Don’t forget that, Piper. You’re a force to be reckoned with. Damn. Any word on Levi, by the way?”

  I shook my head, sensing that hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I’m really worried.”

  “It’ll be okay,” she said, patting my shoulder. “Levi’s a badass.”

  There was a crash inside. Both of our heads shot up as we said in unison, “Hannah.”

  True bolted around me and wrenched open the door. “Hannah, I swear to God…”

  With our conversation cut short, I realized all my thoughts and feelings would have to be processed later. Right now, True needed me. Hannah probably needed me too because, by the way things were going, True was about to rip that girl a new one.

  “COME AT ME AGAIN. This time don’t hold back.”

  I stared at Warren, panting and trying to catch my breath as he beckoned me forward. We stood squared off on the soccer field as the day bled into night. I’d picked at my dinner, knowing we’d be back at training this evening, and here we were, me swatting at mosquitoes and sweating while Warren looked amazing as always.

  The days had passed with awful slowness, but the week-long training ban that Dean Purty had instituted was finally over. Warren had shown up exactly one week from the vampire attack, raring to go.

  He’d also handed me an ornate, wooden training blade, telling me that he’d rather not accidentally die at the hands of an eighteen-year-old girl if he didn’t have to, thank you very much.

  He’d said it with a flirtatious wink, solidifying the fact that he was still pursuing me—regardless of my efforts to stop him.

  As I caught my breath, I glanced across the lawn toward the direction of the cabins. Twilight was falling, meaning it was just about time for another campfire. “You said that Becca was covering for me for sure, right?”

  He nodded, looking spry and ready to go in designer athletic wear. “I swear, Piper, she’s there with True. She and I had a little talk after the last time.”

  His tone made me shiver. I realized I didn’t want to know how Warren dealt with underlings who didn’t do what they were told. For the umpteenth time, I reminded myself Warren Thornberry was a man who got what he wanted, regardless of the cost.

  He brightened up, taking the mood from serious to playful again. His lithe, yet muscular body moved effortlessly as he stretched. He was in phenomenal shape, but then they all were.

  “Try the knife this time. Aim for my heart.” He put his hand on his chest and patted it as if it still beat beneath his ribs.

  I reached down, picking up the wooden practice knife from the grass. I wasn’t exactly sure how this was safer since I’d killed Sarah with a wooden stake, but at least this one had a dulled tip and edges.

  What did I really know about using a knife or dagger? Even though I’d used my real blade to kill the rogue vampire, it had been all adrenaline. Sparing while on a grassy hill with the crickets chirping in the distance and children’s voices calling from the cabins was completely different than being attacked and nearly drained dry.

  I ran at him, swinging the blade, but every time I’d tried, Warren easily deflected my blow and knocked the blade out of my hand, sending me spinning. After three tries, I was spent. He saw the frustration on my face as I gripped the handle and walked off yet another bruise.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners, making him look boyish as he studied me. “Come on, Piper. Where’s that spunk you showed when you blasted that rogue into oblivion?”

  I shook my head. “Back with the rogue vampire?” Or, rather, his ashes. I could still taste them on my tongue.

  Warren shook his head as if disappointed. “This isn’t the Piper I know. Where’s the moxie? The fire?” He relaxed his posture and walked toward me.

  I bit my lip wondering the same thing. It seemed like so much of my daily life had drained the energy from me. When I wasn’t faced with life-or-death situations, I just didn’t have it in me to fight. Plus, if I was honest, I was really wondering if Levi had taken the opportunity to run off without me. It had been three weeks since his vow to track down and kill my father’ murderer. Three weeks with no word.

  Add to that the fact that True and I were squabbling more often than not these days. She was still spending tons of time with Xander but got mad and huffy if I had to train with Warren. Even with Becca helping he
r with the fresh batch of campers that came in today, she was short with me when I told her Warren was here, and I had to go.

  “Piper,” Warren said, drawing me back to the present. “You’re not focusing.”

  My shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I’m not. Maybe we should do this another time.”

  “No,” he barked. “You might have handled one vampire, but what if two come? What if a whole clan does? You need to learn this now.” He jabbed a finger down as his brow furrowed.

  I sucked in a breath as I shook my head. “I can’t…”

  “You can. Close your eyes.”

  I gave him a look, but he was undeterred. “Close them.”

  Reluctantly, I did what he said.

  “Now, take a deep breath and hold it.”

  I sucked in a breath and kept it locked in my chest.

  “Focus on your body. How the air feels in your lungs. How your feet feel on the ground. How your heart feels in your chest.”

  I did as he said, letting my mind wander to my lungs, my feet, my chest. I felt the tension in my body, but I also felt it relaxing as I let everything else fall away.

  “Good,” he said. “Now let your breath out.”

  This was similar to the trick Levi taught me, and my mind flitted to my worries about him before I forced it back to the moment. I blew my breath out, and it felt as if I’d blown most of my worries out with it. My mind was clear. Focused.

  Warren nodded once. Then he ran at me full tilt.

  I barely had a moment to register his attack, but at the last second, I dodged, slipping away from his open arms. As he soared forward, I spun around and kicked out, my foot catching him in the ass and propelling him away. He fell, rolling in the grass, and I jumped on top of him. Straddling his body, I pinned his legs with my thighs while I pressed the blade to his throat.

  “You’re dead,” I said between pants.

  On the ground beneath me, he smiled.

  “There’s my Piper.”

  His hand slid around my back and rested there as if we were a couple, and this was an intimate moment.

  Just as I was about to pull away, a male voice behind us snarled, “What’s going on here?”

  I whirled around in time to see Levi take in our compromising position, his expression crumbling, before he turned on his heel and stalked away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Levi!”

  Joy filled my heart for a fraction of a second, then evaporated as I watched him walk away, ignoring my call. I tried to push myself up, but the arm around my back tightened slightly, holding me in place. My wild eyes darted to Warren’s smug face, his casual smirk striking me dumb for a moment before anger exploded inside me.

  “You did that on purpose,” I growled as his arm slipped off my back, releasing me. But I didn’t move. I kept my dominant position as I all but dared him to admit the truth.

  “Of course, I did, ma belle. All’s fair in love in war. That’s what you humans say, isn’t it?”

  I looked back at Levi’s retreating back. He was still moving away from us, but at a much slower pace. His back was rigid, and I could see his hands curled into fists at his sides. Oh, he was pissed.

  But not as angry as me.

  Without another thought, I curled my own hand into a fist, letting it fly. Pain exploded across my knuckles as they slammed into Warren’s granite cheek. I howled and leapt to my feet, shaking my fingers out as he slowly sat up, completely uninjured by my surprise attack. That bastard was still smiling, too.

  I was half-tempted to hit him again.

  A low, guttural growl sounded behind me, and I whirled to find Levi standing there, his lips twisted into a snarl, his wide stance tense and aggressive. His dark, dangerous aura was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in weeks.

  “Levi, it wasn’t… I didn’t…”

  “I know,” he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me behind him.

  “Will you attack me now, young Levi?” Warren taunted as he climbed to his feet, lifting his arms into the air at his sides. “Come. Show me what you’ve got.”

  Thoughts swirled through my head like an out-of-control carousel, spinning faster and faster until none of the fragments made sense. Levi was back. What had he found in the mountains? What had he thought when he saw me straddling Warren? Was he angry at Warren? Or me?

  I shook my head to clear it and latched onto the back of his t-shirt. Gripping it tight, I leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

  “You can’t fight him, Levi. We were only training. Nothing happened.”

  “The girl is right, Mr. Kass. You cannot fight me. You will lose the battle, your position in The Society, and your place at this camp. Stand down, child.”

  As Levi’s shoulders grew tighter at the taunt, I reinforced my grip on his shirt as if it would keep him from charging. He didn’t move, but quiet growling sounds were still vibrating in his throat.

  “Don’t let him provoke you, Levi,” I hissed. “He will never take me from you.”

  I felt some of the tension ease from his body at my words, and I knew I’d said the right thing. But he remained squared off in front of Warren, who’d moved a few steps closer.

  “I claimed her, Thornberry. By your own law, that makes her off-limits.”

  “Oh, pshaw,” Warren replied, waving a hand in there as if to erase Levi’s claim. “Everyone knows your claiming her was a ruse meant to keep a poor, defenseless human out of our world. But you brought her to us, Levi. And she’s not defenseless.” His eyes moved to meet mine over Levi’s shoulder, probing my mind with their dark depths as he added, “And she’s not claimed. I can practically smell the virgin on her.”

  Levi launched forward, his shirt slipping from my grip before I could even take a startled breath at Warren’s words. Time slowed down, everything moving in slow motion as I watched Levi leap into the air. My eyes darted to Warren, who was smiling with anticipation as he widened his stance.

  This was what Warren wanted. He wanted Levi to attack him, to give Warren any excuse to get rid of him. I opened my mouth to shout at Levi to stop. As I inhaled, another voice cut me off.

  “Levi!”

  I whirled around to see Dean Purty charging toward us. When I turned back, Levi was standing in front of Warren, his chest heaving with unneeded breaths as he fought some internal battle between rage and common sense. And Warren, that asshat, was still smiling.

  “Stand down, Levi,” the dean said as he ground to a halt beside them.

  I could tell Levi wanted to argue. He wanted to put his hands around Warren’s neck and choke the afterlife out of him. He wanted to drive a stake through the man’s dark heart.

  I couldn’t let him do any of those things, so I did the first thing I could think of.

  I dashed forward and let my foot fly. Warren’s wide, combative stance gave me just the space I needed to wedge my size nine sneaker against whatever he was packing in those loose basketball shorts. His face paled as a high-pitched cry slipped through his lips.

  Huh. I guess even badass vampires aren’t immune to a strong, swift kick to the nuts.

  The thought slipped from my head, as well as the possible ramifications of my actions, as Levi’s arms went around me. He lifted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist, sprinting away before I could even take another breath.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed, panting hard as he skidded to halt near the lake and set me to my feet. “I just kicked a centuries-old vampire in the junk. Why did I do that? How did I do that?”

  “His focus was on me,” Levi murmured. “I posed a threat. You did not. He didn’t realize you were attacking until it was too late to defend himself.”

  I started to say something smartass about Warren underestimating me, but the words died on my lips as I realized where I was and who I was with. Levi was back, and I had zero desire to talk about Warren Thornberry. Without another thought, I leapt back into Levi’s arms.

  My hands delved into his hair as my
mouth pressed against his. His fingers gripped my hips, nearly bruising in their intensity, but the sting of pain only increased my need. I gripped the dark strands of his hair even tighter as my tongue plunged into his mouth.

  “Piper,” he mumbled between kisses. “Piper, stop.”

  My blood froze in my veins as his words penetrated the haze of lust clouding my brain. I unclenched my hands and let them slip from his hair, but his grip on my hips only tightened when I tried to step away from him.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling my face heat with embarrassment. “I don’t know what came over me. I—”

  “Piper,” he cut me off, leaning his forehead against mine. “I didn’t want to stop.”

  My eyes flicked up to meet his, and I went a little cross-eyed at the proximity. Levi pulled back an inch, his own eyes burning with grayish-green fire. Then he jerked his head to the right.

  I turned to look in that direction, my face heating up as I saw several young girls standing near the teepees, giggling in our direction. When they saw me looking, they squealed and ran down the path, their giggles floating out behind them.

  When I looked back at Levi, he was smiling.

  “So, you missed me, huh?”

  “Shut up,” I said, pushing a hand against his shoulder before propping both fists on my hips. “What happened in the mountains? I was worried sick, and you never called.”

  I flinched a little at the accusation in my voice. I was the reason he went in the first place. He’d been trying to help me, and here I was, being a brat about the fact that he didn’t check in.

  He opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut as his eyes zeroed in on my neck. I self-consciously brushed a palm across it, wondering what he was looking at until my fingers grazed the raised, puckered skin of the still-healing vampire bite.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Levi muttered, his voice deep with anger and the promise of retribution.

  “Too late. I already did,” I said, my attempt at levity falling flat.