escaped her lips as she looked up at me, her gaze full of love and warmth. It was a nice change from Kestrel's hard stare. "S'okay," MaryLynnette said groggily, still waking up
from her snooze.
"You want to go back to bed? You look like you need the rest," I said, stroking her hair lightly. It felt soft between my fingertips, smooth and silky. She shook her head no, causing me to roll my eyes. "I'm not tired," she said adamantly, even though I could already see her eyelids beginning to droop. I couldn't help but smile at her stubbornness and her
blatant lie.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I leant back against the couch cushions, knowing any attempt to convince her to go back upstairs would be futile. Besides, I was happy enough to
let her rest here if it kept her content.
"Where are Jade and Rowan?" I asked curiously. It seemed like an effort for her to keep her eyes open, but she did so anyway as she answered. "Jade went off with Mark, and
Rowan said she was going to catch up with some cousin of yours."
I frowned, thinking which cousin she meant. "Thea?" I asked, hoping that she wasn't going to talk to one cousin in particular. I hadn't gotten around to making things right with
Poppy in James, I was too nervous to approach them. But in my defence, they hadn't exactly made an effort either.
Mare shook her head, resting her eyes closed once more. "Jez?" Another shake of her head. "Delos?" I asked, before realising that he was in the room behind me. Luckily he didn't
seem to notice that his name had been spoken. I'd barely said two words to him since I'd been here, spending most of my time with Rashel and Quinn. For some reason Rashel
didn't get on with Delos, probably for something that happened before I got here. He seemed like a decent enough guy from what I'd seen, but Rashel's dislike must have started
from somewhere.
As MaryLynnette shook her head again, a cute crease formed between her eyebrows. "You have a lot of cousins," she said, nestling into the cushion behind her. "The Redferns are
a big family," I replied.
By process of elimination, there was only one cousin left that lived in the mansion. I dreaded asking, but did anyway, already knowing the answer. "She didn't go to speak with
James did she?"
Mare's features brightened up at that as her eyes snapped open. "Yeah that's the one! Rowan said they hadn't spoken in ages, and she heard he'd found his soul mate."
"Yeah," I said nervously, trying to keep a cool mask. On the inside all I could think was, oh shit. Rowan without a doubt would find out about what I'd done to Poppy, which would as
a result get back to MaryLynnette. What would she think of me once she found out that I'd tried to get my own cousin's girlfriend executed? I'd done some pretty bad things in my
time, but that had to be one of the worst.
"What?" MaryLynnette asked, seeing my look of dismay. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she gave me a firm stare. "Nothing," I replied hastily, too fast to be convincing.
It seemed I could lie effortlessly to anyone but her.
"Ash Redfern, there is clearly some reason why you've gotten your knickers in a twist, so spill. Why don't you want Rowan to speak with James?" I was about to offload another
load of half thought out excuses, but one glance at MaryLynnette's hard expression, made me think otherwise. Honesty was the best policy, right? Maybe if she heard the story
from me, it wouldn't sound so bad.
"Well, James and I aren't exactly on the best of terms," I began hesitantly. How could I make this story sound like I was doing the right thing at the time?"
"What did you do?" MaryLynnette asked sternly, and my hand flew to my heart in mock hurt. "Why do you assume it was me who did something wrong?" I replied defensively, at
which she just raised her eyebrows in answer.
I held up my hands in surrender, shaking my head. "Okay, okay, it was me."
"I thought it was. Now what did you do to James, Ash?" She repeated her question sternly, and I gulped before launching into the story. "Well, it wasn't anything I did to James
directly. It was more of what I was going to do to his soul mate, Poppy." Looking towards Mare to see if she was following, she nodded her head, urging me to continue. "Well, you
know how it's against Night World law to tell a human about the Night World?" I asked, and she let out a 'hmmm' of agreement. "Well James told Poppy about it, and then turned
her into a vampire. And he'd also fallen in love with her, so technically he was breaking all the rules. I was well within my right to turn them in."
"Why did he turn her if he knew it could get them both in trouble?" Mare interrupted. She knew full well what the consequences of breaking Night World law were, and although she
looked displeased that I'd tried to turn them in, so far she'd seemed understanding enough. This was why I was reluctant to let go of this next piece of information.
'Well… Poppy had…uh…terminal cancer," I said, observing MaryLynnette's reaction. Her face remained still for a few seconds before a look of disbelief coloured her features. "So
let me get this straight," she said, looking me in the eye. "Your cousin turned his dying girlfriend into a vampire as the only way to save her life, and you, instead of offering your
support like any normal relative, decided to turn them into the council to be punished." She looked at me, silently asking if I'd missed anything.
"Yeah, I think you got it in one," I replied cheerily, glad that I'd gotten the truth off of my chest. I felt incredibly light. That was until I saw MaryLynnette's stormy expression. "Ash,
have you apologised to them? What you did was terrible."
"Hey," I said defensively, feeling the need to justify my actions to the girl I loved. "He was the one involved in illegal activities! I was just being a good Night World citizen by
enforcing the law!"
"He was saving his dying soul mate!" She responded in an incredibly highpitched voice. I knew no matter how much I argued my case; I couldn't get her to side with me. "Yeah,
well, he was still breaking the law," I responded sulkily, resting my chin on my fist.
To my surprise, I heard the girl in front of me let out a small, exasperated chuckle. I looked up, stunned at her reaction, and at the lack of anger on her face. "Oh, Ash," she said,
her eyes twinkling. She leant forward so that her forehead was resting against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, bringing her closer, revelling in the contact. I could feel
faint vibrations of laughter travelling through her, making me smile.
"You really are one of a kind," she said, her voice muffled by my chest. Placing my chin on the top of her head, relief flooded through me. She wasn't angry; she wasn't disgusted
or terrified by what I'd done. Things couldn't have gone better.
"You still need to apologise though," she added, lifting her head slightly, so that she could look at me in the face. "I will," I agreed, and I truly meant it. I'd find Poppy and James
tonight and sort things out. But for now, I just wanted to enjoy this moment with MaryLynnette.
The moment was short lived when Myles came crashing through the door, Thierry and Hannah in his wake. Each wore worried and angry expressions. "Morgead," Myles said,
addressing the boy in front of the TV. Immediately sensing the urgency of the situation, the vampire shot to his feet, covering the room to the door in two long strides.
Maggie and Delos also stood, although hovered in the corner. MaryLynnette and I looked on with interest, but I was becoming increasingly worried by the situation.
"What is it?" Morgead demanded, looking past Myles to Thierry. It was Maggie's brother who replied though. "It's Jez," he said. Everyone in the room listened intently, panic buzzing
through the air. Morgead looked as if he was going to throw up.
"Damn it," the boy called Morgead mutte
red furiously before pushing past those stood in the doorway. "Any idea where she'd have gone?" Thierry called, following Morgead out into
the hall. As they moved out of earshot, I could only make out Morgead's angry voice, but not the words he spoke.
"How long has she been gone?" Ash asked Hannah, rising to his feet. I instantly missed the closeness we'd just been sharing, but shoved my disappointment away. This was not the
time to be clingy.
Hannah shrugged, looking worriedly over her shoulder towards where the two boys had disappeared. "I don't know," she said agitatedly, wringing her hands nervously. "Myles went
to check on her and she was gone. The glass doors were open, she must have jumped off of the balcony."
"I thought she was on lockdown," a voice from the corner said. I jumped slightly, not realising the couple standing in the corner. It was the boy who spoke, his brilliant golden eyes
sparking in anger. The girl with auburn hair and fair skin put a calming hand on the boys arm, and for a moment they shared a looked, a silent conversation happening between the
two of them.
"She was," Hannah agreed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "But it's been weeks since her last escape attempt, so we decided to lighten her security." Ash scoffed at
that, seeming far less anxious than everyone else in the room. "You mean you decided to undo the bolts on her balcony doors. She's a vampire, that won't help."
"We didn't realise she was drinking blood," Hannah retorted, causing me to frown in confusion. There was clearly a lot I didn't know about.
"Still, even a hybrid she'd still pretty hardy. She doesn't need blood to survive a two story drop," replied, leaning casually against the couch. I couldn't but feel that he should be
taking this situation more seriously, as I caught sight of an amused smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. I resisted the urge to bat him in the arm.
"None of that matters right now. What matters is that we have a wild power on the loose, out of our protection. We need to go and find her," the girl from the corner spoke, clearly
on edge and ready to take action.
Ash snorted, clearly infuriating the others in the room. "Calm down, Maggie. Jez is a big girl; she knows how to protect herself. My bet is that she'll be back by nightfall, there's no
point in wasting everyone's time by sending out a search party. Jez isn't stupid; she'll keep herself out of trouble."
"We can't take the risk that the Night people will hunt her down," Delos argued, leaving his spot in the corner with Maggie at his heels, moving towards the doorway.
"Delos is right," Hannah agreed, again glancing back to the hallway where the voices had stopped. A moment later, Thierry and Morgead appeared in the doorway.
"We're not sending out search parties," Thierry announced, looking at everyone in the room in turn. His eyes were filled with such authority that I didn't think anyone would doubt
whatever he had to say. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Delos practically bouncing on the spot, dying to out his protest. A look from Thierry stopped whatever words were
eager to leave his mouth. "We don't want to alert the Night World that she's missing. By sending out large search parties, we might as well be putting out news alerts on national
TV, saying 'WILD POWER MISSING'. We don't want that. The fewer people that know she's gone, the better."
Everyone took in his words, silently nodding the ascent. I had to admit, what Thierry was saying made sense. It was clear why he was chosen as leader. "Ash is right," he
continued, earning a pleased grin off of my soul mate. I fought had to resist a chuckle at his light heartedness, as I didn't think it would go down too well with the others.
"Jez will probably come back in her own time, but I still want people out there looking for her. Maggie, Delos, you take the East side of the city. Ash, Morgead, you take West. I
don't want the knowledge of Jez's disappearance to leave this room, okay? We don't want a mob of angry Daybreakers hunting her down."
Everyone nodded, Maggie and Delos getting ready to leave right away. I saw Ash's muscles tense as Morgead began to follow Delos and Maggie. What is it? I asked him, via our
psychic link.
Before he could answer, Morgead spun around in the doorway, staring Ash down. "Come on, Redfern. What's the hold up?"
"I'm not going," Ash replied, straightening up from his casual stance, predicting the confrontation. The glare Morgead sent Ash's way was strong enough to kill.
Deciding I probably had a better chance at getting through to Ash than the angry vampire did, I took his arm gently, turning him to face me. "What's going on, Ash? You need to
help them search. I know you have faith that Jez will stay safe, but I think they could still use your help."
I received my answer through the soul mate bond. I'm not leaving you, he said, his ringing inside my head. Oh, so this was what this was all about? He didn't want to leave me? If it
wasn't so ridiculous, I'd be touched.
I'll be fine, go help them. I replied, staring him in the eyes, making myself as convincing as possible. In truth, I didn't really want him to leave me in this house full of people I
hardly knew, but I knew this was what he needed to do. His loyalties were to Circle Daybreak just as much as they were to me. Besides, he couldn't keep by my side forever.
Go, I said, seeing his look of indecision. Giving him an encouraging smile, I said out loud, "I'll be here when you get back." After another couple of moments where we both just
started at each other, he gave a reluctant nod, moving towards the door.
Morgead seemed satisfied that Ash was following him, so disappeared into the hall, out of our sight. It was clear that he was eager to get a move on. I would be too if it were my
soul mate that were missing.
Just before Ash left the room to follow, he spun around suddenly. "Wait, I forgot something," he exclaimed. I frowned, what on earth had he forgotten. I got my answer when he
strode over to me, leaning down and planting a kiss on my lips. Every part of me yearned to collapse into him, deepening the kiss and make the rest of the world disappear.
Ash pulled back, giving me a huge grin, like he'd just gotten away with stealing a bag of sweets from the corner shop. "Go," I repeated, unable to stop my own smile of satisfaction.
Giving him a light shove on the shoulder, I turned him around in the direction of the door. "I'll see you when you get back," I called as he left for real this time. Even once he'd left
the room, I continued to look at the empty doorway, unwilling to drag my eyes away.
I heard the front door close with a slam, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. The touch of Ash's lips still lingered on my own, making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I
lifted my hand and carefully traced my fingers along my bottom lip, feeling where he'd kissed me just moments ago.
"You two are good together," a voice from the doorway said, causing me to jump in fright. I looked to see Hannah watching me with an amused smile. I flushed in embarrassment,
blood rushing to my face as I lowered my hand, burying it in my lap. "You bring out a softer side to him."
With that she left, leaving me alone with my own thoughts. Before long another wave of tiredness rolled over me, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Either the events of last night or
the remedies I'd been given, were taking their toll.
I'd held back from tell Ash about my coughing fit, as well as the blood that had come of it. I didn't want to worry him over nothing. I was sure that I'd be as good as new soon
enough, and couldn't stand the thought of causing Ash to have even more sleepless nights.
I felt my eyes begin to drift closed, sleep tugging men under its dark cloak. I'd only been awake for a couple of hours, so tried to fight off the exhaustion. Surely it wasn't natural
for someone to want to
sleep so much. But try as I might, I was eventually pulled under.
I awoke some time later to loud voices coming from the hallway. I took me a moment for my sleepy mind to remember where I was, and what was happening. Groggily I sat up,
looking out of the large windows to see that the sun was high in the sky, telling me it was already midday. Wow, I'd been asleep for quite a few hours.
As the voice moved nearer, I sat up, hoping to catch some of the conversation. Straining my ears, I listened as hard as I could. "That lead we went to investigate was a load of
bullshit," a female voice said, reverberating through the door. From what I could hear, she sounded pissed. "All we found was some werewolf junkie sleeping in some shed on a
council estate."
"You're sure they weren't the last wild power? It could be anyone, Rashel, regardless of what state and position they're in. You can't just blow this werewolf of because he sleeps in
a shed." I recognised Hannah's voice, soothing and reasonable like always.
The other female voice let out a humourless laugh at Hannah's words, but it was a male voice that replied. "Yeah, we're sure it wasn't him. Like I told Thierry, we tested him and
there's no way it could have been him."
"You're sure?" Hannah questioned, clearly trying to look at things in perspective. I'd heard how important the search for the last wild power was, so I couldn't blame her for wanting
to make absolutely sure it wasn't this dude. Finding this last wild power was equivalent to trying to find a certain needle in a stack of millions of other needles.
"Yeah, we called Keller and she said that the informant was just as clueless, and probably high. They more than likely just hallucinated this blue fire and called us as a practical
joke. Nissa, Keller and Winnie will be back by tomorrow. It was a complete waste of our time." The anger was draining out of the girl's voice as she spoke, giving way wariness.
There was a pause in conversation, and I assumed they'd all parted ways, but the girl spoke again. This time her tone held traces of worry. "How's Ash, is his soul mate okay? We
hated having to leave while he was like that."
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