“Maybe she’s not,” Thomas remarked, a sarcastic edge in his voice. She could hear the teasing smirk in his voice. She peeked around the corner with caution. This could end badly if she didn’t step out soon. Draven’s eyes glowed with rage as he took a step forward and withdrew his gun, directing it at Thomas.
“That’s enough,” Zarah said, stepping out into the light and coming between the two.
“Put your damn gun back.”
Thomas let out a low chuckle and shook his head in disbelief before stepping aside to let Draven into the apartment.
“You should really learn to trust me, Guardian, because I’m all you have right now as a source for information. Otherwise, you’d be blind, and then defeated, and my sister would be killed.”
Zarah had already walked back into the sitting room, leaving the two guys at the front door. She hadn’t noticed the way Draven stared over at her in concern after her brother’s remark.
“That’s what I figured.” The Rogue muttered under his breath as the two entered the room. Only Draven had heard what he’d said.
“What are you doing here, Draven?” Zarah asked, finally looking over at him. She was seated on the couch again, her gun back in its holster, and she had relaxed by leaning back and propping her boots on the heavy glass coffee table in front of her, crossing her feet at the ankles. Thomas looked at her feet in annoyance. She raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged. He could clean his table later. He probably cleaned it ten times a night anyway.
“Looking for you, obviously,” Draven answered, frustrated. Thomas took a seat in a black leather recliner across the room while Draven sat down on the other end of the couch with Zarah. His eyes remained on her, his lips pressed in a firm, stern line.
“You should have waited on me.”
Thomas watched on in silent amusement.
“I don’t answer to you, and I didn’t have to wait,” she turned and growled at him.
“It’s apparent you had no trouble finding me, anyway.
“Zarah, it’s too dangerous for you to be out walking alone!” He was in a near shout.
“I take care of myself just fine, thank you.” She sat up straight, taking her feet off the table and glared at him. Thomas seemed to relax more when her feet came down. She refrained from making a sarcastic comment to him when his shoulders slumped in relief. Instead, her aggravation continued with Draven and she continued her argument.
“You, of all people, should know that.”
“Up until recently, you didn’t have Rogues hunting you down either,” he remarked with raised eyebrows. His eyes shimmered in amusement.
“So? Bring them on.” Her eyes narrowed.
“Damn it, you’re stubborn.”
“And you’re an—” she started furiously.
“You know, you two argue like a married couple. This is quite a show,” Thomas interrupted with a wide smile.
“Shut up!” The two turned and yelled at the same time. He only laughed and held his hands up in defeat. After his soft laughter died off, the room fell silent for a while with the exception of a nearby clock on the wall ticking away the seconds.
“In all seriousness, though, I do have to side with him, Zarah. He’s right. You shouldn’t be out alone during this time. They are seeking you specifically to take to the Commander,” her brother finally said with a sigh after a long pause. She glanced over at him and saw genuine concern…even within the depths of the red irises that marked him as one of them.
She gave a slight nod of defeat, lowering her gaze, but remained silent.
“How did you know she was here, anyway?” Thomas asked curiously, turning his attention to Draven.
“I know her well enough, I would have assumed her to have gone out hunting rather than here.”
Zarah turned her eyes up sharply and clenched her teeth.
“Nathanial forced a Bonding Pact between us during my cure. I only just now found out about it recently,” she answered before Draven could respond.
“Very interesting news. I never thought my sister to settle down with a mate,” he joked, chuckling.
“I am not settling down with a mate and it’s not funny!”
“Relax, Zarah, I’m teasing.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch again, crossing her arms over her chest. Draven had decided to remain silent during the conversation, but now he stared at her with interest.
“What are you doing here, Zarah?” Draven asked.
She frowned and shook her head.
“I came to tell Thomas about Mitchell.”
“No, not just that. As I said before, you’re here for more, too,” Thomas interjected, raising his eyebrows.
“I highly doubt the two of you are here to just hang out and watch movies all night.”
Zarah sighed. “Alright, fine, I came to also ask a favor of you.”
“Always with the favors…and yet, you’re just going to kill me in the end when it’s all over.”
Her lips twitched in a smirk.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, brother.”
“Well, maybe we won’t,” Draven cut in.
“You have been helpful. If you continue to help us, maybe we could let you go when this is all over.”
“We? There is no ‘we’, Guardian. You’re lucky I let you slide when you put that gun in my face at the door,” Thomas started with a growl, standing up from the chair.
“I will fight for my life against anyone else with the exception of Zarah. Only she can terminate me…and when she’s ready, she can gladly put her gun to my temple and fire away.”
Thomas’ mood had grown dark, and Draven had pulled back at hearing those words. When he glanced at Zarah, he saw that she was staring at him in return, but there was a look in her eyes he didn’t quite understand. Sorrow. Dark, deep, sorrow had filled her bi-colored turquoise-amethyst eyes and a moment of silence passed between the three of them.
“The cure. The Rogues are after Zarah for the cure, but what if we found it first?” Draven suddenly asked, finally managing to pull away from her gaze.
“I will not be a damn guinea pig,” she argued as she shot down his idea.
“Can you do me the favor or not, Thomas?” She turned back to the subject she had started.
“I would never turn you down, you know that. What is it?” He crossed his arms. He was beginning to grow impatient she could tell. It didn’t take her long to figure out then that Alyssa was out getting them ‘dinner’ and that he was probably growing thirsty. She quickly swallowed back her thoughts and concerns over whether or not they would still be there when her brother’s mate would return with a human meal.
“We need someone on the inside so-to-speak for this Rogue Army. Think you can join it? You certainly have the credentials being an ex-Guardian,” she finally stuttered out.
Thomas smiled.
“How do you think I’ve been getting some of my information lately? I’m an officer,” he began.
The two Guardians stared at him in shock, waiting for him to continue with an explanation.
“The other night when you asked me to find out more information behind everything they’re doing, that’s the step I took for you, rather than just randomly questioning and having them get suspicious of me.” He shrugged.
“And, Zarah, many of them live in this apartment complex… So, it’s not very safe for you to be here,” he added, concern crossing his features.
“We should go,” she quickly said, standing as Draven followed. Just as she did, the bolt on the front door unlocked, capturing their attention, and causing the two Guardians to draw their guns in a flash.
Alyssa appeared in the doorway with a human male at her side. He seemed to be in a daze, unaware of the three other people in the front room. While she closed the door, she looked between each vampire nervously before meeting Thomas’ gaze.
“I didn’t realize we were going to have company,” she said quietly.
; “It’s alright, sweetheart. Our Guardians were just leaving.”
Zarah glanced over at her brother and nodded before she grabbed Draven by the arm and began to tug him toward the door.
“You mean we’re just going to let them take the human?” he hissed in her ear.
“It’s what they do. Besides, Thomas already said that he and Alyssa only take the bad ones,” she replied quietly.
“Let him enjoy himself. I’m still killing him when this is all over, and he knows it.”
“Goodnight!” she called over her shoulder as they walked out of the apartment with a slam of the door.
When Draven and Zarah made it to the car, he stopped her before she could climb into the passenger side by touching her arm. She turned and looked at him in confusion. The night air had cooled some in their time at the apartment. Storm clouds were moving in, bringing in strong winds with them. The south always had strange, unpredictable weather. More so in the last two decades with many contributing global climate factors creating problems all over the world. Zarah loved autumn though, the season they were in right now. Nights were cooler, and the occasional storm was soothing.
“I want to know why you want to kill your brother. He is helping us. Don’t you think that maybe we could help him in return?” he asked softly.
Zarah narrowed her eyes.
“He’s Rogue, Draven. It’s our job.”
“And if there’s a cure found?”
“No. I’m still killing him.”
“So I think it’s more than that. There’s something you’re not telling me. Tell me now. Why do you really want to kill Thomas?” he said, stepping closer to her. His voice was soft and he tried to reach out and touch her arm.
Her face grew dark as the wind continued to tumble around them. She turned without an answer and climbed in the car. She would not fall for the charm. He sighed and walked around to the other side to get in also. Zarah didn’t want to tell him. They drove slowly in silence back to the Compound.
When they arrived, she tried to walk as quickly as she could to her room without any more conversation with him. There was no such luck. He caught up to her, grabbing her shoulder when she approached her bedroom door and spun her around to face him.
“I’m not letting this go. I want to know why it is you want to kill him. It isn’t just because he’s Rogue.” The charm he’d tried before was gone. Now it was serious.
“Damn it, Draven. It’s not your business!” she started, her voice rising. It was becoming high-pitched and on the squeaky side.
“I want to know,” he pressed. His volume was beginning to match hers. If they kept this up, they might draw some attention to themselves.
“Why the hell do you want to destroy Thomas? And why is he so set on letting you as if he expects it?”
She opened her door and took a step inside before turning back to face him. He was taken aback by the sorrow and fury etched in her features.
“Really, I’m going to bed. Don’t worry about it,” she started, trying to soften her voice although her teeth were clenched. Her mind swirled and pleaded inwardly for him to go away. This was one of the many conversations she didn’t want to have—a memory she wanted to lock away forever. She kept trying to push him away from her door. He was too tall. His hands held firm against her doorframe.
“No, I’m going to worry about it. Tell me.” He’d reached the yelling point. She broke and dropped her hands, forgetting about trying to move him for a moment as tears sprung forward at the corners of her eyes.
“Thomas was the one that had turned me Rogue!” Zarah screamed back.
Thirteen
Zarah tried to slam the door in Draven’s face.
“No, wait,” he quickly said while shooting his hand out and stopping her again. “Stop doing that. Stop shutting me out every time you get angry. I’m tired of this door being slammed in my face.”
She stared at him with narrowed eyes and shook her head.
“I have nothing else to say to you.”
“Tell me what happened the night he turned you then.” His voice had grown soft. When she met his gaze, she saw compassion and curiosity. His cerulean eyes shone intensely down on her, and his hands held steady on the open door.
Zarah remained silent, closing her eyes as the memory and images flooded her from that night. All she wanted to do was forget, but it only haunted her now more than ever.
She had been chasing that bitch Rogue around on the rooftop of some abandoned building. After having finally shot the thing in the leg to bring her down, she got the job done with quickly in hopes to hurry and get back to the Compound before daylight.
But when she turned to go down the fire escape, there he was.
Thomas—her Rogue brother.
And what did she do? Absolutely nothing.
It had been six months since he had disappeared…since they had been ambushed that night and he had been bitten and dragged away by the rabid that still plagued her nightmares. Thomas looked the same with the exception of those burgundy eyes.
Those deep, crimson irises had stared straight into Zarah’s soul that night as he stood before her—and all she’d done was gaze back at him without making a single move. How many nights had she wandered the streets secretly hoping to run into her lost brother? She felt like she’d even allowed him to approach her, because when he did, she still didn’t move. She had been frozen…stunned.
She snapped out of it though when he began speaking and tried to reach for her.
“Zarah...” he said, his voice barely audible.
Like the one who had stolen him from her, he spoke. Though he seemed to struggle with the words as if he was still learning, she’d heard him, and the confusion swept through her once again. It couldn’t be possible.
Trying to reach for her gun, she fumbled, and he charged at her with his teeth bared. His voice chilled her. Her hands shook…and tears instantly stung at her eyes as she choked on a sob.
“You’re not supposed to talk!” she screamed, still fumbling to grab her gun, dodging his attacks at the same time.
Their fighting was evenly matched. Where he was always the stronger one, she was always the faster one. She threw up a high kick to his jaw and knocked him back a few feet just as she managed to finally pull her gun free from the holster on her hip. Before she could fire, he was charging her again, knocking the gun from her grip and sending it flying across the roof.
He’d had her in his grip then, and no matter how hard she’d struggled, she couldn’t break free…
“Little sister…” his tone was sinister in her ear. “Don’t fight. You’re only losing anyway.”
When he bit into the tender flesh of her neck, a scream pierced through the cold night air. It only took a second for Zarah to realize that it was herself as her nails dug in and clawed at his back, and she continued to fight.
She remembered her scream slowly dying out as he continued to drink from her. She thought he was draining her dry rather than turning her Rogue until he released her moments later. When his grip loosened, she stumbled forward, landing on her hands and knees. He knelt down in front of her, taking her chin in his hand and turning her face up to meet his gaze. Their eyes met…and for a brief flash, she saw their father instead of him. Thomas looked so much like their father had…
Their parents. That was another story in itself. When they were young, still not fully fledged Vampires, their mother, a human, had been out shopping one evening when she had been attacked by a group of Rogues and ripped apart. As soon as their father found out, he went after the group on a mission of revenge, only to commit suicide by being turned Rogue himself. Three years later, Zarah and Thomas had to burn him one night. They promised each other that very night they would do what was necessary for the other if there was another situation like that. She was supposed to be Thomas’ ticket to a release, but now how was that going to be possible if he’d just turned her too?
She had begun losing a lot of b
lood after that, but knew it wouldn’t take long before the wound would heal as the rabid poison had already begun setting in. Her vision swam.
He stood, picking her up and carrying her into the building where he sat her back down. He hadn’t said another word since biting her, but she knew what he was doing. As she lay on the cold, concrete floor on her stomach, shivering and convulsing violently, Thomas had placed her there so she wouldn’t be caught out in the sunlight. She had tried to crawl, to move and get out. What comprehension she’d had left told her to destroy herself before it was too late but the pain was too much, paralyzing her in place. Thomas cleaned her of all her weapons to be sure anyway, tossing them off of the roof.
“Thomas…” she stuttered out in a whisper, but he only started to walk away from her in silence.
“Thomas,” her voice rose a little higher as she continued to watch his back retreating. Her lips were trembling then, her body frozen and paralyzed, and her head was spinning wildly as she tried to focus.
“Thomas! I’m going to kill you!” she finally screamed, hoarse. He stopped in the doorway, turning to face her….
And he smiled.
With that final image of him etched into her memory, he slammed the heavy, metal door, plunging her into darkness as she continued screaming for her brother. A few seconds later, she could no longer fight the pain or the spinning in her head, allowing her body to succumb to unconsciousness….
“Zarah?” Draven said, pulling her away from her thoughts and back to the present again. He was looking down at her with worry.
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