Nobody was talking at first and that made me even more uncomfortable. I had the distinct feeling they were on to me. I tried to shake it off, but what Luna said next made my fear an almost certain reality.
“Gen, I need to talk to you in the kitchen.” Luna stood up, weaving her way between her brothers’ knees and the coffee table. “Why don’t you boys play nice and try to come up with a plan to rescue Gen’s mom and aunt.” She glared at her brothers, probably mentally warning them what she would do if they got out of line. When she was satisfied she’d gotten her point across she headed for the kitchen. I followed Luna, but shot a worried look at William as I passed by.
I pushed through the kitchen door behind her and let it swing closed. She was looking at the food and papers still thrown about the room.
“It was worse. I picked up the furniture already. It was upside-down and tossed all over the room. Zane really did a number on this place.” I kinda smiled, in a sad way. I was nervously rambling and she knew it.
She looked at me for the longest time before saying anything and I realized if she was trying to communicate mentally, I couldn’t hear her anymore.
“Gen … what’s going on?” she asked skeptically.
I shrugged my shoulders. “What does it look like? Zane broke in, trashed the place, and took my aunt.”
Luna’s brow creased, her suspicious look made her appear older than she really was. “That’s not what I mean,” she scoffed. “What’s up with you? You’re definitely not being yourself.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest, and started tapping the toe of her shoe on the floor.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, but then it quickly dawned on me she had probably been trying to talk to me in my mind. I promptly started rubbing my temples. “I’ve got a terrible headache.”
Luna nodded, only slightly and pursed her lips. “I guess that’s why you can’t hear me mentally, right?”
I grimaced, trying to play up the headache lie. “Yeah. It’s really intense.” I closed my eyes and kept rubbing at my temples, but I could feel her watching me. I heard her heartbeat speed up, and in a flash William rushed through the door.
He stopped abruptly when he saw everything was okay. “I was just, uh …” he trailed off, then turned around and left the room.
“Can I see your ring?” Luna asked, in a calm tone; one that I thought said her anger had left the building.
When I held out my hand, she grabbed my fingers with one hand and my wrist with the other hand. She stared intently at something, then looked me in the eyes. I scrunched my brows. “What are you looking at?” I asked, totally confused.
“Oh my God,” she said quietly. “You did it, didn’t you?” Luna asked, with a repulsed look on her face. “You actually went and did it.” She dropped my hand and backed up to the counter. An expression filled with hurt and betrayal covered her face.
“Did what?” I asked. I wasn’t about to admit that I had William change me to a vampire. I wasn’t ashamed of being a vampire. I was ashamed that I hadn’t been truthful with Luna. I was afraid if I would have confided in her, she would have never agreed to cover for me.
Her eyes filled with tears at first, but she quickly grew angry. “Cut the crap, Gen. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. An Adlet’s middle finger and index finger are the same length. See?” She shoved her hands up at me, showing me her fingers. “Your pulse is way too slow, and your skin is like ice,” she shouted.
I jumped up from my chair. “All right. Yes … I did it.” I lowered my eyes, and stared at the floor.
Luna wiped away her tears before looking at me. “What have you done, Gen? How could you betray us like that? How could you use me?”
It broke my heart to see her so upset. Her words stung, but only because they were true. Luna was right. After everything they had done for me, I had betrayed them.
I tried to comfort her, but she jerked away. “Don’t touch me,” she snarled quietly, glaring up at me.
“Luna, I didn’t mean to hurt you or your brothers, but I didn’t have a choice. I promise I will still help take the throne. Maybe not in the way it was intended, but I won’t let Zane become ruler.”
I pleaded with her to try to see it from my point of view. “I had to do it to rescue my mom. And now he has my aunt, too. Don’t you see? It was the only way I could defeat him—”
“No! We would have helped you defeat Zane, and rescue your family.”
“We would have lost,” I uttered. “And you know it. He is much stronger than the Adlet clan, but he won’t be expecting me to be a vampire. Your grandfather told me the only way I would win was if I outsmarted Zane.”
“My grandfather would never say that.” She shook her head “You’re lying.”
“No, Luna. I’m not lying. He told me no one could ask this of me. I had to make that decision on my own, but he did say if I did it, I could win.”
When I reached to put my arms around her again, she didn’t move away. We were hugging when I suddenly realized how delicious her blood smelled. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose, slowly letting her scent fill me. My heartbeat sped up to match hers and I felt my fangs grow sharp.
William had felt what I was feeling, because he flew into the kitchen just in time to see my mouth opening. “Genevieve!”
I promptly snapped out of whatever kind of haze I’d been in. I was completely helpless of the fact that I was about to bite Luna. She would never know how William had probably just saved her life.
Hearing William startled Luna and she jumped. I quickly stepped closer to William so she couldn’t see my face until I calmed down.
“I wanted to know what you have to drink for our guests in the den.” He forced a smile.
“She knows,” I said flatly.
William raised his eyebrows, looking back and forth between Luna and me.
I nodded. “Yeah … I told her.”
“Did you also tell her I had nothing to do with your decision? And how I tried to talk you out of it?” he asked tone steely.
William seemed to be aggravated that I had told her. He paced the floor. “Okay, look. What’s done is done. We need to focus on working together to stop this son of a bitch. I know there’s no love lost between you, your brothers and me, but I know you guys care about Genevieve.” He crossed the room and stopped right in front of Luna, looking her in the eyes. “I care about her too, Luna.” He paused for a moment, then turned to face me, and smiled brightly. “I’m hopelessly in love with her.”
I was caught up in what William had said and didn’t hear Joseph walk in.
“That’s a bunch of bull, Gen. Don’t believe it.” Joseph said, but his eyes never wavered from William. “Vampires aren’t meant for humans, or Adlet. They can’t fall in love.”
Chapter 50
“You just never stop do you?” I yelled, and tried to lunge at Joseph, but William held me back.
Even though William was stronger than me at the moment, as my powers developed, I would probably be stronger, because I had been an Adlet first. William said he had seen it happen when he hunted a vampire that had been a werewolf first. William said turning into a vampire would probably just add to the strength I’d already developed.
Joseph threw his hands up. “Forget it. I’m out of here,” he growled before storming out of the kitchen.
William let go, and I raked my hair back and sighed, thinking about the awful way I had acted.
“Wait! Joseph,” I called out, and ran after him, glancing over my shoulder at William as I left the room.
I caught up with Joseph at the front door. I would have caught him before he reached the door except I stumbled in the hallway and fell on my face.
“Wait! Please, Joseph. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” I pleaded. “I don’t know what in the hell’s wrong with me.”
He stormed out and I followed him. “I would never do anything to hurt you. You have to believe me.” I unknowingly tou
ched his arm and he jerked it away. I saw only sadness when I looked in his eyes. He felt betrayed and I knew it. I had never told him we were anything but friends, but I felt sure my actions said we were. While in New Mexico we had developed feelings for each other. Neither one of us ever acted on them, but they were still real.
“How could you?” He looked at me like I was dirty, and it cut me to the core. “I cared about you, Gen.” He spun around and started down the driveway.
“Joseph, please don’t leave.” My voice was low and throaty.
He turned around but continued walking backwards down the driveway. “You don’t need me anymore. You’ve got him now,” he said without emotion.
He turned away from me and I watched him walk away and even when I couldn’t see him anymore, I knew he was still close. The air was thick with his scent, and I felt the aching he felt in his chest. I wasn’t sure why I felt it. I was bonded with William and I felt his heartbeat too. His was much slower, and very faint, but his scent filled the air just like Joseph’s, which meant he was close.
When I turned around, William was at the door. “I tried to explain, but he wouldn’t listen,” I said, shrugging my shoulders as if it didn’t bother me that Joseph had walked away.
William didn’t say anything, he simply looked past me. He was thinking about something and I felt his heartbeat grow faster.
“I told you, he’s gone,” I said nervously, but William’s heartbeat continued to quicken, and his expression promptly changed to alarm.
“Get Luna and her brothers, Joseph’s in trouble,” William shouted as he tore out running.
“What?” I shouted, thinking he might just be saying that so he could slip away and battle it out with Joseph once and for all.
“Lycan,” he screamed. “Go!” William disappeared from the end of the driveway.
I rushed into the house screaming for Luna. I found her hurrying out from the den with the twins close behind her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, anxiously.
“Joseph’s in trouble. Something about a Lycan. William’s already gone to help him,” I replied frantically.
I turned and ran out of the house as soon as I’d finished telling them. I didn’t have to check to see if they were following me, I heard their hearts beating wildly, right behind me. If Luna hadn’t already told the twins I had turned, they would know by my speed.
I was so scared for Joseph and William I didn’t think about anything but getting to them, and miraculously I didn’t stumble and fall. Luna and the twins did pretty well keeping up after they transformed. They still weren’t nearly as fast as me, but they were much faster on four legs than two.
I stopped and listened where the shortcut to Luna’s house turned off into the woods. I heard Joseph scream for William to watch out, and I bolted.
I ran straight into the middle of about twenty Lycans. Then I understood what William had meant when he said my mind would work faster than my body. Even though everything was moving fast, I had the ability to see it differently. Everything moved in slow motion around me.
I watched Joseph on top of a Lycan he had pinned to the ground. His razor-sharp fangs ripped the flesh on its throat, tearing it to shreds. William was slinging Lycans—two and three at a time—through the air, helping to keep them away from Joseph. I couldn’t believe he and Joseph were actually working as a team.
More Lycans appeared from deeper in the woods and surrounded us. I wasn’t sure how to react. As an Adlet I was just getting comfortable in my skin. Now, I wasn’t sure.
Luna and the twins arrived, leaping from the thick underbrush. Joshua and James tore through Lycans like two massive tornados, working like a tag team, biting, ripping, and tearing apart their prey.
I felt the cacophony of hearts beating in my head. The thick smell of flesh and fresh blood filled the air around me.
Luna’s screams quickly pulled me back to reality. I turned around and found two Lycans pinning her down. I went nuts, snatching both beasts into the air, biting into their flesh, then ripping their heads off. I threw their lifeless carcasses to the ground. I really don’t remember too much about what the others did after that moment. Once I tasted blood, I was no longer in control. Something inside me took over and I went through the Lycans like a Tasmanian devil, biting and ripping out their throats.
The battle ended quickly. William was shaking me, because my adrenaline still surged through my body. “Genevieve. It’s okay. You can stop now, they’re dead.”
I kind of shook my head to clear it, and noticed a strange look on William’s face. He let it fall away quickly when Joseph walked over and shook his hand and gave him a one shoulder hug. For a brief moment I thought I was dreaming.
“Thanks, Gen,” Luna said, hugging me tightly, and smiling. “You saved my ass, girl.”
Chapter 51
It was nearing midnight and I noticed the night sky was the darkest I’d seen so far. Luna said the nights would continue to grow longer and darker until winter, when there wouldn’t be any more daylight until spring. She told me even though she’d lived in Alaska her whole life, months of nothing but darkness still took getting used to each year.
We walked a few steps ahead of the guys after exiting the woods. They wanted us up front in case the Lycans decided to attempt a sneak attack from behind. Something in the sky caught my attention, and when I glanced up I noticed the stunning green and red lights of the aurora borealis waving through the sky. It reminded me of the first night William and I were together at the bonfire, and busted out with a huge smile.
“This is really cool, you know,” Luna said, smiling.
“What is?” I asked earnestly. She couldn’t be talking about the northern lights because she wasn’t looking up.
“Up until an hour ago everybody was on edge, my brothers hated William’s guts, and I thought our friendship was over. Now, look at the guys,” she said, and we both looked over our shoulders.
All four guys talked about how, together, they had put a major hurt on the Lycans. I was surprised when I heard James give Luna and myself credit for helping.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to take on more,” Joseph said, then briefly threw his arm around William’s shoulder. “Me and William kicked Lycan ass!”
Of course, that started a major testosterone debate on which one had killed the most Lycans. It was actually quite comical to watch until suddenly a terrifying vision shot through my mind.
“Hey, you guys,” I uttered, after stopping in the middle of the road and grabbing both sides of my head. I fell to my knees when my vision blurred.
“Genevieve!” William rushed to my side and pulled me to my feet.
I was weak and unable to speak even though I could hear everything going on around me. “He’s hurting her … he’s hurting my mom,” screaming, I grabbed two fistfuls of William’s shirt.
“Talk to me, baby.” William wrapped his arms tightly around me, trying to comfort me. I heard someone’s heart speed up and beat much louder than the other’s and I knew it was Joseph. Unfortunately, if I could hear it, William could, too. So I quickly got William to focus his attention on me.
“I’ve got to get to Tok,” I said, pulling free. “I’ve got to save my mom.” I bolted toward the house before anybody had time to speak. The rise in multiple heartbeats told me everybody chased after me.
When I reached the house, I ripped open the locked garage door. All I wanted to do was jump in my aunt’s truck and go find my mom.
“Wait, Genevieve. You can’t just run off and go down there,” William said, slamming me up against the wall.
As everything faded to white, I heard an unfamiliar growl. It sounded more ferocious than anything I had ever heard. When I could see again, I thought I was in some kind of weird nightmare. Everything around me was moving in slow motion again, then my vision quickly faded to black.
I woke up in the garage floor with my head in William’s lap. Everyone stood in a
circle around me and William. And they had strange expressions on their faces as they stared down at us. “What happened?” I asked, trying to scramble to my feet. Luna gave me a hand up, and Joseph did the same for William.
“You screamed and then passed out,” William said, but I knew he wasn’t telling me everything.
“I need to go to Tok. My mom was screaming for me. Zane was hurting her,” I said frantically.
“You’re doing exactly what Zane wants you to do. It’s a trap,” William said, not unkindly. “James and Joshua are going to run down there and check it out. They know the town, they know where the cave is, and since they’re natives, they can move around freely when they get there without raising suspicion.
I knew he was right, but that realization didn’t make it hurt any less. I grabbed his upper arms, searching his eyes. “What if she dies and I didn’t try to save her?” I asked.
“She won’t,” Joseph said, not unkindly.
My head quickly snapped toward him. “How do you know that?” I asked, ominously.
“It wasn’t in my grandfather’s vision. If your mom was going to die before you reached her, he would have seen it.”
“What else did he see … and why didn’t he tell me this?” I bristled.
“That’s all he would tell me. I had to beg to get that much, but at least we know your mom won’t die by Zane’s hands. He knew I would tell you, that’s why he didn’t say more. He said no one can interfere with your destiny.”
I dropped my shoulders, feeling defeated. I had to trust him. I needed to believe what he was saying was true. I didn’t think Joseph would ever lie to me.
I quickly told the twins everything I’d learned about the cave in Tok, and made them swear to call as soon as they learned anything.
James and Joshua jumped in their truck and sped out of the driveway. William made sure he told me how he felt that it was a waste of time, because he just knew Zane wouldn’t be there.
Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition Page 24