by Amy Richie
“We thought of that,” Gloria agreed, “but it’s just one night.” She led us a few feet away from the entrance as another vampire went in. “It has to be safer here than out there alone.”
“You need your rest.”
I looked sharply at Melody. Just as I suspected, they were only staying here because of me. “I’ll be fine. I’m not even that tired.”
“We’re staying. You might as well get as much sleep as you can.”
I recognized Gloria’s determination so I clamped my lips tight on anything else I might argue. “Seems pretty cozy in there,” Melody offered without much enthusiasm.
“It’s not that bad.”
Gloria’s scowl softened at my halfhearted attempt. “Just go back in there and find a corner to curl up in. We’ll leave at first light.”
I nodded. There was no need to point out that there were no corners in the round nest. I turned to go back and find a bed.
I jerked back abruptly as an unfamiliar arm shot out to block my path. “Wh…?”
“Just hold on,” a deep voice grumbled.
My eyes traveled the length of his arm first; noticing the way his muscles bulged out of his plain grey t-shirt. The veins in his neck were tight with anger or irritation; I wasn’t sure which or even where it was directed. His jawline was dusted with the hint of a beard and cut into sharp angular lines.
I was almost afraid to look into his face, because of the fury I would see there, but mostly because I didn’t want him to be as perfect as that jaw.
I didn’t have much experience with men—having been raised by my overprotective babysitters—but this man had to be more handsome than normal. There was a ruggedness about him that suggested he would be comfortable living in the woods, but also a civilness that proved he wasn’t raised there. The fury I had expected to see was there, but when he noticed me examining him, his dark brown eyes softened slightly.
“Are you Lexi?” he asked in a clear voice.
My stomach turned slightly queasy at the sound of my name on his lips and even if I wanted to answer him, I wouldn’t have been able to form any words. I could only stare like an idiot.
He moved his eyes to Gloria so he could address his words to her. His voice wasn’t nearly as smooth when he talked to her. “This is Lexi,” he barked. “Why have you been running from me?”
I saw Gloria’s eyes dart between me and the man, like she wasn’t sure what to say. There was no denying who I was, though. This man had already heard about the sisters and guessed who I was. It wasn’t exactly a shock that he had heard of them—everyone had in some capacity.
I was taken aback that he knew about me. I had traveled with the sisters almost my entire life, but in their elongated life spans, it wasn’t that long. We tried to lay low; to not interact with other vampires. How did he know about me?
I could hardly drag my eyes away from him to search out Gloria, but I finally managed it and took a few steps closer to her. I expected her to stand in front of me, but she didn’t move.
“Do you have anything to say?” the man demanded. Who was he that he thought he could talk to her like that? And why was she letting him?
“This is Lexi,” she conceded tightly. “And this,” she continued just as tight, “is Paris Letrell.”
Chapter 9
`His eyes widened with appreciation, then narrowed again. “You’re Alexis Tate.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’m Lexi,” I corrected smoothly.
I didn’t let my eyes narrow despite the confusion I felt. If I had learned anything from the sisters—it was to never wear your emotions on your sleeve. So what if he knew who I was? It was only because he knew the sisters and knew I ran with them.
His light hazel eyes traveled slowly down the length of me. Heat rushed up my neck when they paused where the shirt stretched tight across my chest. I was glad that I had been able to get clean clothes at least.
Paris Letrell.
He had to be related to Damien somehow. Was this who we had been running from? He didn’t look that dangerous. Able to do some damage, yes, but not like he actually wanted to. What were they afraid of?
A light jab in my back brought me back to reality and made me realize I was still staring at him. I dropped my eyes immediately and took another step towards Gloria. I considered hiding behind her, but was afraid that would be incredibly obvious.
“How did you even find us?” I heard Gloria’s voice behind me.
“I’ve been asking.”
It was a simple enough answer, but Liza hissed loudly. Paris could have asked a lot of people about the sisters. Just because they kept me away from others, doesn’t mean they kept hidden themselves. Their recent indiscretion at the village was proof enough. Liza was easy to anger, though, so I wasn’t surprised by her reaction to him.
“You’ve been following us?” Liza demanded in a low growl.
I recognized the tone at once and almost warned the mysterious Letrell to back up. I held my tongue, though, and he held his ground. “Not exactly,” he responded in clipped tones. “You haven’t been the easiest to find.”
“Good.” She crossed her arms firmly across her chest. “We don’t want to be found.”
“Damien sent me.”
The words made me shiver, but they seemed to have no effect on Liza—or her anger. “Aww,” she mocked, “he sent his baby brother to do his dirty work?”
“Not exactly,” he said again.
My eyed widened in alarm when a huge man ambled over to join our small gathering. “Is there a problem here?” he asked in a thick accent.
“Achilles,” Paris greeted.
“Another brother,” Gloria whispered to me. It was loud enough that everyone heard, though.
I swallowed thickly past the gasp that wanted to escape. Another brother? How many were there? That already made three of them. I raised my chin stubbornly after my near miss with confidence. I wasn’t afraid of these two.
“We’re finished here,” she announced in her haughty way. “Lexi, you’ll wait in the nest until tomorrow when we come for you.” She marched to the fire without a backwards glance to see if the other two would follow or not.
Of course they did.
They left me alone with the two Letrells, but not for long if I had anything to say about it.
I looked past Paris, back to the small enclosure set aside for the other pets. From there, I noticed the partial rock walls that made only one way in—or out. Hopefully the vampires would be guarding the single entrance and I could get some sleep.
I turned my attention back to Paris, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. He was in a silent conversation with Achilles. The sisters were still glaring his way, but they had situated themselves around the large fire.
With nothing left to say, I ducked back inside the nest. The other pets were mostly still in the same places. It didn’t appear that anyone had heard what just happened. Or maybe they just didn’t care.
Two girls sat closest to me, their young faces lined with worry and tension. They clung to each other’s hands, but weren’t talking. Actually, I realized suddenly, no one was talking. All the pets wore similar looks of fear.
Owen had seemed fiercely protective of his pet. And the other vampires hasn’t left theirs either. So, why did they all look so terrified? I didn’t even hear any wolves here.
Were these pets so pampered and sheltered that just the thought of danger had them all tense? Or maybe that was just a human thing. I puffed out my cheeks and then let my breath out in a sigh.
I glanced around the small enclosure, searching out a place I could sleep. It wasn’t as good as the hotel, but at least it was better than sleeping on Gloria’s back. It looked like we might be here for at least a few hours, too.
I sighed lightly and made my way to a patch of grass that was empty. The ground was hard, but I was used to sleeping where I could and taking advantage of when I could get a few hours in. Especially lately.
&nb
sp; Melody had said we were only staying here for tonight, but where would we be heading after that? I couldn’t stop myself from hoping that Gloria would just run us straight through this place. How could so many wolves be in one place?
I had stayed as close as I could to the exit in case I needed to leave soon. The sisters wouldn’t want to stay here now that Paris had shown up.
Paris.
My thoughts drifted on their own accord to Damien’s handsome brother. I didn’t know why he was there yet, but I probably wouldn’t find out. If I saw him again at all, it would be a shock.
I was surprised at how disappointed I was by that. I barely knew him at all—why should I care if I see him again? Just because he had a cute face? That was an extremely foolish reason to put myself in danger.
I squinted though the darkness when I noticed someone coming inside the nest. Who was that? Another pet?
“Hey,” I heard his voice and knew exactly who it was. My stomach tightened.
Paris sank gracefully beside me on the ground. His movement rivaled any dancers, but there was a rawness about him. He was more like a lion. I rolled my eyes at my own foolish thoughts and looked away quickly.
Paris, misinterpreting my response, was quick to defend himself. “I know you don’t want me to be here, but I was sent here by my brother.”
“Your brother? You mean Damien.” Who else could he mean?
“You’ve met him?”
“When I was eleven.” Maybe he didn’t know that Damien had killed my parents. Why did he think I was with the sisters?
“But not since then?” His eyes widened slightly in a look I was coming to recognize.
“No.” I shook my head and tried to look at him without really seeing him. Impossible.
He chuckled at his own thoughts. “What has it been like?”
“What?”
“Running through the wild with them?”
I grew defensive almost immediately. Did he come here to check up on them, to make sure they were still taking care of me, and then go running back to Damien? Well, I wasn’t giving him any ammo. “Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “Perfect.”
He smiled wide, nearly making me forget that I didn’t like him. “You don’t like me much,” he said suddenly, “But really, you don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.” I meant to look fierce, but I felt my lips curling upward. I jerked back in shock when Liza was suddenly there.
Liza kicked my shoe lightly. “What are you doing here?”
“You told me to come here,” I scowled up at her.
“Wasn’t talking to you.” Her eyes swung over to glare at Paris.
“Me?” He brought his finger to his chest, one eyebrow cocked arrogantly.
“Yeah.” She cocked her chin upwards in his direction. “I mean you.”
I scooted away from him slightly. If these two started fighting, I didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it. I had learned my lesson quickly a long time ago.
“I didn’t realize this place was off limits.”
“You don’t have a pet.”
“Neither do you.” His voice had gone low to match hers. We didn’t encounter many people that stood up to Liza and I didn’t know if Paris was brave or just plain foolish.
“Stay away from her,” she hissed through her barely moving lips.
He stood up, his breath coming evenly despite the tension between the two. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
“He gave her to us,” she snapped.
His eye narrowed and he lunged forward slightly; putting their faces way too close for comfort. “Only to watch for a while.”
I had to give Liza credit—she didn’t flinch back at all. “Back off,” she warned again.
“Or what?” Their glares remained fixed for several tense seconds. I watched the showdown with wide eyes, wondering who would give in first.
Finally, Paris looked away to address me. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised despite Liza’s threats. Then, he turned and stalked away.
I watched him go with a mixture of feelings. He wasn’t really that bad to talk to, in fact he wasn’t bad at all. One look at Liza told me that was a bad train of thoughts.
“We’re leaving at first light,” she reminded me harshly.
“So let me get some sleep.”
Her eyes narrowed severely, but for once, she didn’t argue with me. She followed Paris’s earlier path, walking even more stiffly than he did. Picturing them two sitting around the fire together almost made me laugh out loud. Probably wasn’t going to be any campfire songs.
My eyes swept casually over the other faces. A few were watching me, but most didn’t seem to notice my two visitors.
My eyes unexpectedly locked with those of a young woman. Her short dark hair was a mess— like it hadn’t been brushed in a while. Which was likely exactly how it was. If they had been running form the wolves, too, I wasn’t surprised. No matter what Liza said, I was glad I kept my hair long enough to put it in braids.
The girl’s face was different than the others. She didn’t look that scared—more just curious. She didn’t smile, but somehow she still appeared inviting.
Not that I was going to go over and try talking to her. I looked away quickly and finished my half-hearted scan. We wouldn’t be here for long and I was wasting precious sleeping time having a stare down with a pet. I couldn’t help peeking at the girl again, but she had laid down on her own patch of grass.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm myself, but not succeeding. It was a mistake for us to stay here. We should have just taken our chances and made a run for it. Now, Paris Letrell had found us and we were stuck.
Thoughts of Paris made my neck grow hot. Why was he here? What did he want with the sisters? They had known he was coming, but did they know what he wanted? They probably didn’t care, it was enough that he was seeking us out.
I still couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was spying for Damien. If that was true, he would likely leave soon. Still, how would we go anywhere with those two Letrells following us?
I tried not to let my next thoughts form, but to no avail. What if the sisters left me behind? They wouldn’t travel with them, but they might leave me.
I laid down slowly, my aching eyes suddenly not so eager to close. It didn’t matter, of course, if they wanted to leave me they would. Nothing I said would change their minds.
More out of physical exhaustion than anything else, I let my eyes drift closed.
Chapter 10
I was jerked back to consciousness by someone jabbing me in the side. I was instantly alert, but my mind woke up before my body could function all the way.
“What’s wrong?” I mumbled, trying to sit up, but someone was almost sitting on top of me.
“Th… they’re here,” I heard a girl stammering.
“Who’s here?” I pushed hard at the soft body above me.
“Th…Th…Th…”
I rolled my eyes and sat up the rest of the way. I couldn’t see anyone in our nest that shouldn’t have been, so I knew right away that she didn’t need to be that scared.
Looking around me, though, I saw that almost everyone was scared. Most of the others that were lingering on the edges had joined the middle group. My eyes narrowed at the sight. I didn’t move from my place.
They had already looked weary when I first came in; now they just looked scared. What had happened? The girl had said someone was here. Who was she talking about?
I crawled forward to peer out the doorway, but all I saw was the edge of the fire and a few bodies still sitting around it. I couldn’t see anyone I knew, but I also didn’t see any wolves.
“No one is here,” I told the girl when I pulled my head back in.
“You can hear them,” she hissed.
My features exaggerated in my attempt to hear anyone. The girl with short dark hair that I had noticed earlier had come closer to the center, but she still seemed the
calmest out of the nest.
That’s when I heard it. A low growl outside of the nest. I tensed, but didn’t cry out.
Someone from the group screamed and tried to huddle too close to me. I pushed her away though. She looked quickly at me but decided her fear outweighed her annoyance with me. She joined the group that was huddled together in the middle of the nest.
Safety in numbers?
Probably not.
I tried to scoot further away, but my back hit the thorny vines of the brambles. I exhaled loudly and brought my knees up to my chest. Only one night, I repeated to myself.
“The wolves are here again.” I couldn’t tell if they were talking to me or each other so I didn’t respond. Why couldn’t I have stayed out there with the sisters?
“They aren’t going to give up until they have us all,” someone else added.
“The vamps won’t let that happen.” They all turned to me for confirmation, but I refused to say anything. How was I supposed to know what the vamps would do? I only knew that the sisters would do what they could to keep me safe, but only because Damien had told them to.
“Why do they want us anyways?”
“To eat.”
I knew she was wrong, that they didn’t want us for food—they wanted us for mates. I turned my head, though, so I could lay my face against my knees.
I could still hear the snarls behind me, but it sounded like they were pacing and not digging their way in.
“You don’t think…” The red-haired girl sucked in a sharp breath. “…you don’t think they can kill the vamps?”
“No. No, that can’t happen.” She was probably right, but only because vamps were faster.
“They come here a lot,” a hiss-like voice informed me.
I turned my head slowly, careful not to show any of the shock or unease I felt. I wasn’t afraid of the wolves, but these other pets did make me uncomfortable. They just ran around here like ants under a microscope. It wasn’t surprising that their vamps had created a tasty little nest for the wolves.
How could they expect them not to come? Maybe they wanted them to. It was possible that this was a trap for the wolves. Pets were expendable and why else would they just put them all together?