by Wendi Wilson
Every trick I’d learned from Warren about self-defense flew out of my head. My mind was blank save for one thought that scrolled through it over and over—my father is going to kill me.
Suddenly, his weight was gone, and I sucked in a ragged breath. I sat up quickly, my eyes rolling around wildly until I spotted Dad being held by Levi and Desmond. They each pinned one arm as Dad fought against them, trying to escape and come after me again.
His jaws snapped as he growled and jerked his body left and right in his attempts to escape. The sight made my eyes well with tears as I pushed myself up to stand before him. He looked like some savage animal, not my sweet, adoring father.
I’d done that to him.
“I break the compulsion,” I whispered, my tears flowing over to run down my cheeks. “You don’t want to attack me.”
Dad’s body went slack, and suddenly Levi and Desmond were holding him up instead of restraining him. He looked at me with wide, sad eyes, and I started to tremble.
“Dad, I—”
“Why would you do that, Piper?” he asked, his voice devastated.
“What’s going on?” Mom demanded as she joined the crowd of vampires that had somehow circled us without my knowledge.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Levi answered. “Your husband just attacked Piper.”
“What? No,” she said, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
“Everyone, stop,” I yelled, and they did.
Every vampire in that field froze in their tracks, and I hadn’t even been trying to compel them. My eyes moved to True, whose narrowed eyes told me she didn’t appreciate being included in this group compulsion. But I ignored her and refocused on Dad.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said quietly, then looked around. “I accidentally compelled him to do that. It wasn’t his fault.”
Several sets of eyes widened at my admission, and I sent a silent command to release them before dropping to my knees on the grass. I wasn’t fit to wield this kind of power. One stray thought had nearly gotten me killed.
Or exactly what you wanted, a dark voice inside my head shot back.
I watched as Mom comforted Dad, and Levi approached me with slow steps. True and Coco landed in front of me, dropping to their knees and asking me if I was okay in voices that sounded like they were echoing down a long tunnel. Dad was on his own knees, crying.
I almost forced my dad to kill me against his will, and it nearly broke him. How could I expect him, or Levi, or any of them to do that to me willingly? In my desire to become like them, I hadn’t really considered the logistics and the emotional toll the act would take on the ones I loved.
In order to turn me, they’d have to kill me first. They’d have to drain most of my blood, watching as the life slipped out of me. How could I be so selfish and ask Levi to do that? My eyes shifted from Dad to find Levi squatting beside me.
“Piper, can you hear me?” he asked, his voice muffled as my vision blurred with more tears.
“I’m sorry,” I choked out. “I didn’t realize…”
My breaths grew harsh as my eyes flashed from him, to Coco, to True, and back again. I wanted to run. I wanted to hug them tight and never let go. I wanted to make sure they never felt pain, which made me want to run even more. I would be the cause of their pain.
Because I’d seen it in a vision. I would be a vampire, and someone here would have to be the one to turn me. Someone I loved would have my death on their hands, and I knew they’d never forgive themselves for it.
“Her heart rate is too high,” Coco murmured.
“You’re breathing too fast, Piper,” True said, bringing her face close to mine. “You need to slow it down, or you’re going to pass out.”
“Can’t you do something? Like cast a calming spell?” Coco demanded. “Make her stop.”
“You want me to make her stop breathing?” True shot back, making hysterical laughter bubble out of me.
“Focus on me, Piper,” Levi said, nudging True out of the way so he could bring his face close to mine. “We’re going to breathe in slowly. Come on, do it with me.”
He made a show of inhaling deeply, and I tried to mimic him, but my panic breaths refused to slow. I shook my head rapidly and pressed my palm against my chest to keep my pounding heart from beating right out of it.
“Come on, Piper. You can do it. Breathe in,” he cajoled, taking another deep breath before exhaling. “And out.”
When I didn’t comply, his eyes turned sad before his expression morphed into one of determination. “I’m sorry for this,” he whispered, then leaned forward to lock eyes with me. “You will calm yourself, slow your breathing, and relax.”
His words washed away my anxiety and fear, leaving me feeling like a deflated balloon. I took a few deep, cleansing breaths as I watched the emotions play across Levi’s face.
Relief. Compassion. Anxiety. Guilt.
“You compelled me?” I asked in a low, stuttering voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do,” he whispered back.
“Thank you,” I said, leaning into him.
His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he held me close and whispered soft, comforting words into my ear. Words that told me everything was going to be okay. That it was an accident and could’ve happened to anyone. That my father would be fine, and I would be fine. We all would be fine.
Over Levi’s shoulder, I watched as my mother spoke intently to Dad, her hands brushing over him like butterfly wings as she tried to console him. He looked devastated, and it nearly broke me.
I pulled out of Levi’s arms, linked the fingers of one hand through his, and led him toward my parents. I had to fix this.
“Dad, I’m—”
“Piper, are you okay?” he interrupted.
His body nudged forward before pulling back, like he wanted to approach me but was afraid of how I’d react. I released Levi’s hand and darted forward, slamming into Dad and wrapping my arms around his waist as I sobbed into his chest.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” I cried as his arms circled around to hug me back.
“Hush, now,” he murmured into my hair. “I should be the one apologizing. If Levi and Desmond hadn’t stopped me…”
“That wasn’t your fault, Dad,” I said, pulling back just far enough to look at his face. “I got distracted.”
“Why would you be thinking about me attacking you like that?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The other vampires who had crowded around us slowly dispersed, and even Levi moved away to stand with True and Coco to give me some privacy with my parents.
“I wasn’t,” I said quietly. “I was thinking about how I wanted to become a vampire.”
“What?” Dad barked harshly.
“Oh, honey, no,” Mom added, her face drawn with despair.
“Almost everyone I love is like you,” I said, my gaze darting back and forth between them, pleading with them to understand.
“All we want is for you to live a long, happy life, Piper,” Dad said.
“I can’t do that if I’m dead,” I said, ignoring that tiny voice in my head that reminded me how awful it was to ask them to kill my human body in order to turn me. “I’m a liability in this frail form, and we all know it.”
“So what would you have me do?” Dad asked, his voice angry. “Would you have me kill my own daughter? Rip her throat out and drink her blood until her heart stopped beating?”
“Scott,” Mom scolded softly, but he ignored her.
“Do you really expect me to condemn you to this life? To the constant thirst? The need to drink blood? All when it isn’t even necessary?”
I flinched away from the wrath in his voice, which hit me like a slap to the face. He was making some really valid points, but he refused to see it from my perspective. I needed to make him understand.
“I’m in love with
Levi,” I shouted, and Dad snapped his mouth shut. “I love him too much to make him watch me grow old and die. I love you too much. Both of you. I want us to be together, forever, and we can do that… but only if I’m like you.”
“You can’t make a life-ending decision based on a relationship you’ve had for five minutes,” Dad said softly.
“You don’t know anything about my relationship,” I shot back, anger growing inside of me. “I know what we have, and it’s worth dying over.”
My words came out on a growl that reeked of finality. Dad’s expression turned a bit shell-shocked, but I didn’t back down. I was no longer the little, scared girl he hid under the floorboards that fateful night last year. I’d seen too much. Been through too much.
“I will get what I want,” I said, keeping my voice firm, “but I also learn from my mistakes. I won’t ask you to turn me. Either of you. I realize now how painful it would be for you to be the one to end my human life. I wouldn’t want to be the one to cause you that kind of pain.”
“You don’t think seeing you as a vampire, your young life brutally ended, would bring us pain?” Dad asked incredulously.
“Maybe,” I said, “but I’m sure you’ll learn to see it as I do—not as an ending, but as a beginning.”
With that, I turned on a heel and stalked away. A twinge of guilt streaked through me at the harsh sting of my words, but I needed to be honest and my parents needed to hear me.
Not just because I wanted it and was stomping my foot to get it, but because it would happen. I’d seen it. I’d felt it. My vision couldn’t have been any clearer.
By the end of this war, I would be a vampire.
Chapter Eighteen
“Let’s go, mamacitas. Move your meat.” True swung her arm in a wide circle as if directing our movements like a traffic cop on speed.
“Hold on,” I said, grabbing my purse from the cubby near my bunk in Saka’am. “Wait. Am I going to need money?”
True cocked a hip and pinned me with a sassy look. “Two witches and a vampire are going out on the town, and you think we need money?”
“We’re not using our powers to steal,” I said, clutching her wrist.
She laughed. “Of course, we’re not. But look how hot we are. You think we’ll need to pay for anything tonight?” True turned to the full length mirror at the end of the cabin and adjusted her curls.
Coco stepped up behind her and applied lip gloss. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is to have the time of our lives,” True replied. “Everything around here has been so serious, and nothing bad is really happening right now, so we get a night out. It should be fun.” She pointed an accusatory finger at me.
I held up my hands in defense. “I used to know how to have fun.”
“Just like riding a bike, you never forget how,” Coco said with a smile. She was looking hot in a bright blue, spaghetti-strapped dress and ballet flats. She’d curled her long, black hair so it fell in beach waves down her back, and her makeup—what little she needed—was both natural and breathtaking.
Damn vampires. I looked downright homely in comparison.
True was also stunning in her red A-line dress that brushed the top of her muscular thighs and showed off her lean legs. True’s curls were perfect glossy spirals, and her lipstick would make any guy want to kiss her.
Maybe that was the problem. Maybe my friends looked too hot to take out safely. Especially since True had instructed the boys to wait in the car. This had all been some elaborate plan True had begun orchestrating the moment she woke up. She’d secured permission from the dean and my parents to take us to the only dance club in the state that allowed minors. And she’d gotten Desmond and Levi to agree to take us and leave us to ourselves inside the club. They’d complied only on the condition that if they heard or saw anything suspicious, they were busting in and dragging us out, no matter what song was on. If things stayed kosher, they were just going to prowl around and look tough and intimidating.
True had agreed, but secretly whispered to me that if it was a Prince song, they would have a hard time dragging her ass out of the club.
I had to laugh. True made the days bearable, and this plan just might work.
We might actually have fun. Bubbly Piper wanted to break free and shake her booty.
It was hard, however, to feel only excitement. I also felt guilt, a heaping load of it. Who were we to leave and have fun while the other vampires sparred and prepared? They didn’t tire and spent hours each day practicing hand-to-hand combat, sneak attacks, even prisoner-of-war training. My dumb, frail body just couldn’t keep up with them.
But my parents had insisted that I could use a night off. And a girls’ night did sound pretty great.
“Come on, come on,” True said, tugging us out of the cabin. “The boys are waiting.”
With one more glance at my hair and dress, I allowed True to pull me through the door and down the path. My wedges crunched on the gravel as we hustled to the parking lot. There, Levi’s fancy, black car waited, freshly washed and detailed despite having to traverse down dusty camp roads. I knew he wanted it to look nice for us and had probably spent some time making it so.
When he stepped out to come around and open the back door for us, I threw my arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
He brightened. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re wonderful.” I beamed up at him.
He slid a hand down my hip and pressed his lips to mine. “You’re pretty wonderful yourself.”
“No time, guys,” True said, pulling Coco to the car. “We gotta go.”
Desmond laughed, leaning in to plant a kiss on True before she slid into the car after Coco.
“Your girl is crazy,” I said.
His grin widened. “And I love it.”
We piled into the car, and Levi pulled out of the camp. As we drove out, I realized I hadn’t gone out with the sole purpose of having fun in weeks. I watched the small town drift past, happy not much had changed there. It seemed much of the world was the same even if my world had completely shifted.
The club was thirty miles south so it took us over forty-five minutes to get there. On the way, we chatted, laughed, and sang at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs as Desmond played DJ. It felt so good, sitting between my two best friends with my boyfriend in the driver’s seat, that I could almost forget we found ourselves in the middle of a vampire war. And, when old-school Brittney Spears came on, there was no holding back.
It was nearing eleven when we pulled up to the dance club. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but the club was nice—very fancy and a little too bougie for my tastes, but True insisted this was the place to go. At least it wasn’t a Society function where I had to worry about getting a bloodletting.
I was starting to get in line when True grabbed my hand. “Nuh uh. We’re up here.”
She snaked us up to the front, through a group of young adults who were none too pleased, to where the bouncer stood near the door. He was over six feet tall and at least two hundred and fifty pounds with a shaved head and no neck to speak of. His black suit coat hugged his broad shoulders, straining as he moved as if he were one quick movement away from tearing it to shreds. The guy regarded us with a raised eyebrow as if he already knew what shenanigans we were about to pull, and he wasn’t having it.
“Maybe we should get in line,” I said as his gaze swept over me and seemed to find me wanting.
“It’s fine,” she said, pushing right up to the velvet rope. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Back of the line,” he said, thumbing over his shoulder without giving her more than a two-second glance.
“But my friend here is real royalty. She’s a princess all the way from Moldovia. Tell him,” she said, pushing me in front of her.
“True, what are you…” I trailed off as I found myself face to face with the bouncer. He looked like he was going to bounce me. Hard.
“Moldovia, eh?” he said, unimpressed. “Heard that before. Back of the line!”
“Okay, no problem,” I said, but True stopped me as I was about to leave and spun me back around.
“Tell him,” she said through clenched teeth. Then, in my ear, she said, “Come on. Get us in.”
I shot her a glare, but she returned it with one of her own, nodding that I should play along.
Shit. She wanted me to use my compulsion powers on this no-necked sap. And how did I feel about that? I didn’t know, and I didn’t have time to find out. He was getting pissed and beginning to walk our way as if to physically remove us. If I didn’t want this night to end with True pissed and Coco disappointed, I needed to act. Now.
I stared in his eyes and said, “I am a princess. You want to let us in.”
He blinked, the angry expression falling off his face. “Very sorry, princess. Right this way.”
He lifted the rope and gestured us through.
My gut churning, I gave him an awkward smile as we walked past and entered the club.
“You did it!” Coco said, wiggling my arm. “You’re amazing. I can’t wait until I learn to do that. Oooh, boys!” She pointed at a group of twenty-somethings near the bar.
“I tricked that guy, and I feel like garbage,” I said over the music that now thrummed around us.
But they didn’t seem to hear me, or maybe they didn’t care, too swept up in the lights and sounds. Had they brought me just to get them in? What did they care if I had to sully myself if they got to grind on dudes to bad techno?
The problem was, it mattered to me. What good were cheap parlor tricks if I couldn’t actually help when we needed it? And where was the line when it came to tricking people to get what we wanted?
I didn’t have time to stew on it because True began dragging us to the dance floor. Soon, I lost myself in the music, dancing away my frustration and anxiety until my feet were sore and my mind was clear.
My heart, however…
“Can I cut in?”
I turned to find Levi standing behind me. He always looked attractive, but tonight, he looked downright sizzling in his designer suit coat, open collared, black, dress shirt, and dark jeans. Girls on all sides of him were undressing him with their eyes. Quickly, I put my hand in his and pulled him away from the dance floor before I lost him to the throng of thirsty eighteen-year-olds.