finished her work over at the paper early and decided to come study
with Greg. And by study, I mean rub his leg under the table as we
finished our lab report. She appeared to lighten his mood, but I still
didn’t like her.
I left them right before dinner, grabbed a sandwich from the
cafeteria, and ate in my room. Amy sent me a text at eight thirty
telling me she was spending the night with Danni. She texted me
again to remind me to check in with Cleo at nine. I thanked her
because I had completely forgotten. I worked on my paper until
midnight when I finally climbed into bed. At one, I stopped waiting
to hear from Camila. If she could sense me, she could at least get my
phone number from Cleo.
• 120 •
Better Off red
Monday morning, things got worse. The late hours I’d spent
with Camila finally caught up with me. I hit the snooze button four
times and was almost late for class. That night Amy invited me to
join her over at the house, but I passed. I was determined to get some
sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned until two a.m., hoping to hear
from Camila. She didn’t call.
Tuesday was more of the same, except Greg was even more
pissy in lab. I was starting to think I should carry Samantha around
in my backpack just to get him to chill out. He did apologize after
class, explaining in hushed, coded tones, that Rodrick liked to feed
more than three times a week and even after receiving a thorough
apology from his father, Greg hadn’t come up with a plan about
getting out of OBA. I was too tired to care.
That night we had a real chapter meeting that was outrageously
dull. Omi was the only sister-queen to show up, and she didn’t say
anything. The entire time, all I could think about was Camila. She
didn’t poke her head in after the meeting or call me later that night,
but Rodrick did. He wanted a sample of blood.
Wednesday after class I met him and Natasha at the ABO
house, down in Natasha’s quarters. Camila wasn’t joking. Her whole
apartment was decorated in neons. It looked like she was set up for
the ultimate 80s themed party, but I was distracted from the décor
by the two vampires who greeted me. I realized how comfortable I’d
become with Camila. Vampires are pretty intimidating when they
weren’t the object of your own obsessive lust. Rodrick towered over
me as he led me to the couch.
“We are lucky to have found you,” Natasha said. She sat on the
arm of a nearby chair, watching with casual interest while Rodrick
had me roll up my sleeve.
“What makes you say that?” I winced as Rodrick slid the
needle into my arm.
“We prefer to take care of our own,” Rodrick answered with a
wink. I looked at the blood filling the vial and wondered how much
of that notion was true. From latchkey kid to orphan to Carmichael
to vampire foster undergrad? I wondered what exactly had happened
with my mother and if the events leading up to my birth could have
• 121 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
saved her from herself. The blood of these demons had somehow
kept me alive, not to mention the bang up job its magic had worked
on Benny’s acne. Having no clue when I’d hear from Camila again,
I took a chance.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Rodrick handed my sample off to Natasha then
swabbed my arm. She stuck the sample in a satchel on the chair.
Then they both moved to the couch beside me. I don’t know
what I expected from them, but it was sweet to see Natasha settle
comfortably in Rodrick’s arms, almost like they were a normal
couple and not part of some vampire underworld.
“Do you really live forever?” I asked, looking up as Natasha
rubbed Rodrick’s forearm.
She looked back at Rodrick, but he kept his eyes on me. “We
can be killed, but I think you’re asking if we die of old age,” he said.
Now that he brought up the distinction I realized I wanted to know
the answer to both questions.
“We don’t know. In our master’s time there have been recalls
of his children, twice.”
“What do you mean by a recall?”
“There are rules we must follow to stay in our God’s good
graces. Our identities must be kept a secret from humans from
whom we do not feed, and we are not to act in any way that will
alter the lives of humans on a large scale. Twice those rules were
broken and twice the earth was swept clear of all demons like us,”
Natasha said.
“But not your master?” I asked.
“Losing all of their vampire children was punishment for not
keeping them in order,” Natasha said. “It was many years ago and
we were both born into this life centuries later.”
“What did they do? The violators?” I wanted to know if we
were talking about jaywalking with your fangs out or staging a
major coup.
“There was a major uprising in Egypt one thousand years
ago, but it was not recorded in your history. Many humans were
sacrificed to a vampire who had become a slave to his own power.”
• 122 •
Better Off red
“And the other time?”
“I think your school books would call it the Black Death,”
Rodrick said.
I gasped, unable to hide my shock. Natasha touched my elbow
gently. “We didn’t cause the sickness, but vampires flocked to the
region and fed freely without permission then tossed their kill among
the plague victims. They didn’t bother to hide what they were.”
My stomach started to churn. “Could something like that
happen again?”
“You must know, Ginger. We were born human, but our master
and his lot were born in hell and what we have become is rooted in
genuine evil. Only a pure heart can overcome that part of our reborn
nature. Now, our master is very careful to select humans who can
handle the burden to join our flock,” Rodrick said.
“It could happen,” Natasha went on. “Anything is possible.
But we do our best now to prevent those types of incidents, and the
sorority helps. You girls help.” I tried to let her hopeful grin comfort
me. “With our bonds with our feeders in place, our master was able to
secure our eternal judgment on an individual basis. If there is another
global sweep of our kind, only those who are truly at fault will be
damned. Still, we take violations very seriously. Those who cross our
master are terminated immediately and banished right back to hell.”
“How do you terminate a vampire?” I asked. I braced myself
for a gruesome answer when Natasha pulled Rodrick’s hand closer
to her stomach.
“You have to remove the head or the heart and expose it to the
sun. The rest of the body will follow once the vitals are destroyed.”
“Oh.” Not a pleasant way to go. “Do the other girls know about
this?” Did Benny know?
Rodrick’s lip turned up in a slight grin. I could see the tip of his
fang. “We try not to tell humans how to kill us. It’s difficult for us to
be overpowered, but people like to find ways.”
I finally saw the need for the sorority then. Their master was
here to stay and if he’d come up with an arrangement that kept his
vampires happy and fed and the girls and the OBA boys safe, then
why rock the boat.
• 123 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“So why are you telling me? I’m still technically a human,
aren’t I?”
“We intend to find out,” Rodrick replied, nodding toward the
satchel. Somehow his answer didn’t help.
“I’d like to stay that way.” I didn’t want my feelings on changing
species to offend them, but I had to be clear.
“Then you will have it that way,” Natasha said sweetly.
We talked for a little longer, and the more time I spent with
them, I saw that vampires like Rodrick and Natasha were not the
kind I should fear. Rodrick’s size was still a bit intimidating, but
they were cute together. They answered more of my questions, the
whole time holding hands or exchanging gentle touches. They let
me know I was clear to go back to church with Mom and Dad come
Christmas time. I wouldn’t catch on fire if I set foot on hallowed
ground. Even if I was suddenly craving the taste of human blood,
garlic was still safe to eat, and if someone came at me with a wooden
stake, Natasha reminded me I had bigger problems than what made
up my blood. The decision to let the other girls know about my
mother and the mysteries of her pregnancy was completely up to
me. Rodrick advised that it would be best for me to wait until they
knew exactly how much vampire blood was in my system and how
it affected me. I thought it was a good idea.
I spent the rest of the day with the girls, still a little worried
about what my DNA would say, but it was nice to know I had
Natasha and Rodrick to talk to. I just wished I would have talked to
Camila instead of spending nearly every waking moment I had with
her naked.
By Friday I was a complete mess. I’d slept like crap all week.
The little sleep I got was riddled with frustrating dreams about a
certain vampire—horrible, mocking dreams where she always
seemed to be just out of reach. When I wasn’t dreaming of her
slipping through my fingers, there were nightmares about my birth
mother, the kind I hadn’t had in years. Chest-crushing images of
her smile melting, blood dripping from her hair. One night there
had even been a man, tall with no hair and no face, holding her
close to his chest as a gash across her neck oozed onto the floor.
• 124 •
Better Off red
The heel of his hand was pressed to her bulbous stomach. As a kid
I’d always tried to scream during nightmares of my mother, but the
sound never came. It was no different this time. I’d wake in my bed,
sweating and sobbing breathlessly, hurting even more that Camila
was nowhere around.
At least the anger and frustration, both physical and emotional,
drove me to ace my stats test.
After class all I wanted was a self-indulgent cry and a nap,
but that wasn’t going to happen. The head of the department had
arranged for the chair of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers
Organization to come speak to all the exercise science majors. There
had been a lot of grumbling about why the hell they’d have him give
a talk on a Friday night, but his Q and A was scheduled to end at
eight. Just enough time for me to go back to the room and grab my
stuff for movie night.
I trudged back to the dorm, contemplating paying Laura or Mel
for a massage. Or Anna-Jade. She had little hands. I was beat, and
my mind was a muddled mess. So muddled that I didn’t register the
moans coming from my room before I opened the door. For the first
time all week, I actually wished I had the pleasure of walking in on
Amy and Danni. And I wished I’d known that Friday was Amy’s
night to feed Camila.
• 125 •
• 126 •
Better Off red
Chapter seven
Even with Amy draped all over her, it was impossible to
miss how gorgeous Camila looked. She wore a red hooded
sweater under her motorcycle jacket and skintight jeans under her
knee-high riding boots. I would have complimented her, but I was
too busy fighting the intense wave of rage and arousal that swept
through my body. Amy was fully dressed, which didn’t matter. She
was grinding her crotch against Camila’s stomach. The layers of
clothes between them probably added to the friction quite nicely.
Camila and I stared at each other. She didn’t release Amy’s
neck. Her fingers were tangled in her blond waves to keep Amy
in place. I could tell from the way Camila’s brow contorted that
she was frowning at me. I realized then that I was standing in the
hallway with the door wide open while a vampire was making love
to my roommate’s jugular. I quickly stepped inside and closed the
door.Camila didn’t look like she had any intention of letting my
presence interrupt her feeding, so I didn’t let their erotic exchange
stop me from getting ready for movie night. Amy’s chorus of moans
and grunts grew more urgent as I grabbed my pajamas. I’d crash
with Cleo and Benny. The pair of boxers I liberated from Todd and
my Reading Memorial High T-shirt were as sexy as it was going to
get. A couple pairs of fresh undies, some clean jeans, my favorite
green V-neck, and a black ABO hoodie to wear to pancakes the next
morning would be enough to cover me until I came back to the dorm.
• 127 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
As I was shoving everything in my bag, Amy came with a
loud “Oh God!” and then after a few moments of nothing but harsh
breathing, I heard her shuffle off Camila’s lap. Amy cleared her
throat and excused herself to the bathroom. A clean up in aisle two
was definitely in order after busting that loud of a nut.
I froze at the edge of my bed, my knees pressed into the crappy
mattress, my throat and chest clenching in frustration. I squeezed
my eyes shut and tried to clear my head. It didn’t work, but my
hands and feet decided to cooperate. I snatched the last few things
I needed—my phone charger and my brush—then I sat on my bed
to text Mom.
“Amy let me know about your seminar. I dropped by to give
you two a ride to the house,” Camila said hesitantly. The sound of
her voice tore at my stomach. So sweet and warm, nothing like the
person it belonged to. It annoyed me that she had the balls to actually
say anything to me, but I refused to be a brat about it. I wouldn’t
give her the satisfaction of knowing all the hateful things that were
running through my head. “Yeah. Whatever. Fuck you, bitch,” was
not the reply to go with.
I looked up from my phone and ignored the pained way she
was looking at me.
“Thank you. I’m pretty tired. A ride would be gr
eat.”
I glanced over when Amy came back in the door, looking
flushed and refreshed.
“I’m ready,” she said as she glanced nervously between Camila
and me.
I locked up after Camila and Amy stepped into the hallway,
then followed them down to the car. When we reached the curb it
was obvious how out of it I had been when I’d come back from the
Q and A. I hadn’t noticed the matte black Range Rover parked in
the fire lane.
I was tempted to join Amy in the backseat, but I could tell by
the way she closed the car door behind her that she was giving me a
chance to ride up front with Camila. I hopped in and forced myself
not to show just how impressed I was with her car. The cream-colored
leather smelled just like her and the fancy dashboard settings were
• 128 •
Better Off red
lit up like a very expensive Christmas tree. It was easily the nicest
car I’d ever seen or sat in.
Camila started the SUV, and a low R&B tune came through
the speakers. I knew the song, instantly remembered singing along
to it with Todd and Mom, but those happy memories only made
the trip to the ABO house worse. I wanted to be at home with my
family instead of riding in the dark with a vampire I had been stupid
enough to fall for. There was no way to be slick about wiping the
few tears from my eyes, so I did it quickly with the sleeve of my
fleece.We rode in silence for a few minutes, time I took to calculate
just how many days of the silent treatment Camila deserved. A
month sounded fair. Starting tonight. Totally appropriate for the
week of silence she’d given me.
And then Amy’s cell rang. From the way she giggled like a
fool, it had to be Danni.
“Hi…Yeah, we’re on our way right now. Okay. I’ll see you
soon…I love you, too.” It took everything I had not to jump from
the moving vehicle.
We pulled up in front of the house and Camila put the car in
park. I reached to grab my bag, and I almost escaped before Camila
gently put her hand on my thigh. I froze. The feeling of her palm
burned through my jeans. She moved her hand before I had a chance
to slap it away.
“Ginger will be up in a minute,” she told Amy.
The song changed to one I loved even more.
“Okay,” Amy said slowly. I looked over my shoulder. Amy
strolled out with her hand on the door. Instantly, my anger with her
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