by Amy Richie
Owen swept past me to rejoin his sister and Miranda. Paris and Achilles stood apart from the rest of us, their faces grim despite the defeat. I was surprised when Melody touched my arm. Liza and Gloria were with her.
“That was… intense,” I said thickly.
“These wolves.” Melody shook her head. “Never seen anything like them.”
“Will they leave us alone now?”
“Not until we’re out of their territory.”
“Then let’s go.” If we left right now, we’d be able to get past the wolves. They would be recuperating from the fight, too.
“They killed one of the pets,” Melody whispered.
“Owen’s pet,” Gloria confirmed.
“We thought they wanted mates.”
“They do,” I said a little too loud, “Vanessa was weak. She probably died of fright.”
“You shouldn’t take this so lightly,” Melody warned.
“I still think we should go now.”
We all turned to Gloria, but she looked as unsure as I felt. Liza caught my eye, but didn’t say anything. Melody wasn’t even smiling. It was a weird day.
“We’ll wait until it’s completely light.” We all glanced up at the pink sky. “Then we go.”
Liza nodded and Melody looked at the ground. “Until then, you stay close to us,” she added on.
“Paris saved me,” I blurted out, immediately wishing I could take it back. I looked out to where he still stood.
Paris stood apart from everyone else, close to Achilles, but not looking at him. Instead, he was watching me. He looked grim, but not exactly afraid. This was more serious than he had first thought, though.
I caught my bottom lip with my teeth, unsure of my own feelings. It was foolish to not be afraid, especially now that the wolves had killed one of us. It was also foolish to be so afraid that I couldn’t function.
I sighed deeply and turned back to the sisters. I would definitely be staying close to them until we were out of this mess. If I had been with them now, we would have been far away by now. It wasn’t their usual style to stay and fight.
Looking back at the broken up camp, I wished yet again that we would just go. What did Gloria think would be better if we waited for daylight? It wasn’t like the wolves were nocturnal.
“They were up all night, though,” Melody whispered. “They have to sleep at some point.”
I scowled at her hasty explanations, even if they did kind of make sense. Somehow, I didn’t think it was going to be that easy, though.
Chapter 15
We all made our way slowly back to the fire. It was still blazing, but not as high as before. It hadn’t worked to keep the wolves out, though, and no one bothered to build it back up. The nest was ruined because of the wolves, so the other pets huddled around the fire with the vamps.
I kept close to Miranda, relief coursing through me when Owen and Addison chose a place close to the sisters. She smiled wide when I sat next to her.
“I lost track of you,” she explained in a rush.
“You did the right thing.” Waiting for me would have been foolish of her.
“We said we were sticking together.” Her eyes were too bright. Was she going to cry?
I shook my head, though. “You were right to find Addison.”
“You didn’t find the sisters?”
“I did after the wolves were gone.”
“They must have been so worried about you.”
Not likely. “They know I can take care of myself.”
Her expression sobered and turned pensive as she watched me. “You aren’t like most humans,” she concluded.
“Neither are you.” Melody’s twinkling laughter floated to us, out of place in the morose camp.
“So, what does Paris want with you?”
How was it possible that this one girl knew so much about me? Did everyone else know everything, too? “Um… he came to deliver a message.”
“He seems pretty fond of you.”
I wanted to immediately shoot her knowing look down, but I smiled instead. Where was he now, anyways? It didn’t take long to spot him.
His head was entirely too close to Addison’s gorgeous one. What could they be talking about that made his scowl so severe? I thought they were friends, but maybe not. Miranda had said he was friends with Owen, maybe Addison wasn’t included.
I leaned closer, trying to hear, but I couldn’t make out any words they said. It seemed obvious that they were discussing the wolves. Probably trying to decide how we were going to get out of this mess.
The wolves had quieted down since the three guys had chased away three of their members, but I knew they were still out there—just waiting for one of us to make a mistake.
I looked over at the sisters, wondering what kind of plan they had. Gloria was smiling wide, her full mouth opened enough to show off her teeth. Liza was shaking her head at Melody—who was almost bent completely over with laughter.
They probably didn’t have a plan, I realized. We would just go and hope we didn’t get caught along the way. We had been lucky so far with outrunning them, no reason not to now.
Paris was still in deep conversation with Addison when I returned my gaze to him. His face turned suddenly to meet my stare straight on. I gasped entirely too loud.
It was hard to look away from him once he had my eyes locked. It felt like I was frozen to the spot while everything else rushed by. What was wrong with me? I jerked my head back.
“You alright?” Miranda whispered.
“Yes,” I gasped.
Her eyes traveled knowingly to Paris, but thankfully, she didn’t say anything. “We’ll be out of here soon,” she repeated the same mantra I had been telling myself since we had arrived in the camp.
“Yeah, we will.” I squeezed her arm in an effort to provide comfort. It didn’t come natural to me though, so I wasn’t sure if it came across like I wanted it to.
She didn’t flinch away, though. “Will you stay with the sisters?”
My smile disappeared instantly. “Of course. Where else would I go?”
“With Paris.”
“Why…” My hand fell away, back to my lap. “Why would you think that?”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It seemed only natural that you would stay with him now.”
“Natural?” My mouth fell open. There was nothing natural about being a pet. Whatever horrible thing had happened to Miranda, it still couldn’t be worse than becoming a vampet.
Paris was still watching me, his face lined with worry as he listened to our conversation. We were talking too low for another human to hear, but I knew it wouldn’t be hard for any of the vampires to hear us.
I swallowed past the thick lump in my throat. It didn’t matter what any of them thought. I wouldn’t be seeing any of them soon. We wouldn’t be getting into another situation like this.
“What are you looking at?” Liza asked way too loudly.
I jumped at the sound of her voice. “Nothing,” I responded automatically.
“You sure?” She raised one eyebrow almost comically high.
I wasn’t laughing, though. I glared at her, but it only made her laugh more. “I’m just sitting here, listening to what you guys are saying.”
“What were we talking about then?”
“Wh… I… Umm… Nothing important.” I let out a loud breath, but that only made them laugh more.
Melody grabbed her side in an effort to stop shaking. “You were caught,” she laughed.
“There’s nothing…to catch. I was just…sitting here.” My mouth became too dry all of a sudden. “Waiting for enough light.” I held my breath and waited for her to go back to talking to the others. Please don’t say his name; please, please, please!
“I think you were staring at Paris Letrell,” she shouted.
My eyes went wide with her declaration. I wasn’t going to look at Paris, th
ough, no matter what—I wasn’t going to look at him. “That’s stupid. No I wasn’t.”
“You were. Practically drooling.” Liza made a motion with her hand towards my lip.
I knocked her away. “I was just… Umm…” I shrugged, embarrassed more than I had ever been before. Of course, once Liza knew I was embarrassed, she kept going.
“You think he’s cute, Lexi,” she taunted. “I don’t know though, I think old whitey already had his eye on you. What do you say, Paris—you willing to fight for her?”
I pursed my lips, then pulled them back into my mouth. Why couldn’t Liza just shut up? Who cared if I was staring at Paris? He was strong, good looking… Not to mention there to take me back to Blakesly House with him.
I tried to glare at Liza, but that only made her smile grow. I shook my head slightly, but I didn’t want to look too irritated, then she would never shut up.
“I would absolutely fight for her,” Paris yelled back. I closed my eyes, but let them flutter back open quickly. Why did he have to say anything?
“Oh really?” Liza laughed. “You would fight a werewolf for Lexi?”
“Oh yes. I would fight anything for Lexi.”
His double meaning wasn’t lost on me, or Liza either. Her smile momentarily dried up. “I guess it’s a good thing her line of suitors isn’t very long then.”
He shrugged, unconcerned with Liza’s attitude. “Wouldn’t matter.”
Miranda ducked her head, unsuccessfully trying to hide her laughter.
“Glad everyone thinks this is so funny,” I muttered.
Gloria was shaking her head, but even she was smiling at my embarrassment. “Don’t blush, Lexi. Paris is a good looking man. Nothing wrong with staring at him.”
“I…” I bit back my denial.
Liza came to kneel close to me. I stiffened, not sure what she was going to do. “You know,” she whispered loudly, “I don’t think he minds that you’re over here drooling over him.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed lightly—it was all I could manage. “What does it matter to you what I was looking at?” I hoped my face wasn’t still red, but my ears felt hot, so it might have been.
“You can stare at me, Lexi.” Paris winked. “I don’t mind.”
If my face was a normal color before, his words made if flame red again. “Thank you for your permission,” I replied tightly.
His laughter was deep and almost made me smile in return. Almost. “Not a problem.”
“You know,” I mocked Liza’s earlier tone, “I think there are more important things to worry about.”
“The wolves?” She nodded solemnly, but mocking me still.
“Yeah. They just got done killing a human girl.”
She raised her chin, defiant despite the sobering affect I had hoped to achieve. “A weak human girl.”
Not me.
“She was mine,” Owen spoke up for the first time.
“Human pets,” Liza shook her head, “not the best idea our species has ever had.”
“A way to survive.”
“The only way,” Addison came to the defense of her brother.
“We’re fine.” Even I knew what their response to that would be.
“You have Lexi.”
Liza wasn’t surprised either, but she didn’t say anything else to them about her disgust for pets. “Yes, we still have Lexi. Lucky us.” She returned to her place beside Gloria.
“And we still have Miranda,” Addison smiled warmly in our direction.
“For how long?” Owen’s eyes were dark with worry. “What if the wolves get her, too?”
“You don’t have to worry about her,” Paris spoke up.
“I think I do,” Owen argued.
“Whatever happens, we’ll get out of here.”
“How can you make such a promise, Paris?” Addison scolded. “The wolves aren’t going to just give up.”
“They can’t get us all.”
“But they will get some of us.”
“Only the slow ones,” Liza added with a tight grin.
I felt better, though. Paris had said he would get Miranda out of here, now I didn’t have to worry about her so much. Addison didn’t look strong enough to fight off a wolf and Owen wasn’t smart enough to run away; but Paris would be able to keep her safe. I was sure of it.
I shot him a grateful smile, one that I hoped Liza wouldn’t see. He smiled back, more lingering than mine had been. It wasn’t like I was drooling over him, though. I was just grateful that he would be taking care of Miranda.
He turned back to Addison then; Achilles had joined them. I hadn’t even realized that Achilles had left until I saw him return. Where had he been?
He spoke in a low voice to Paris and Addison. Her eyes widened with his words, but he only nodded. What was he telling them? Was it about the wolves? That must have been where he went—to check on the situation. Judging by his tight mouth and narrowed eyes, it must not have been good.
Paris winked at me, as if he knew I was watching them talk. I looked down at my hands.
“Are you still blushing, little Lexi?” Lexi taunted.
I didn’t bother with an answer this time. Besides, everyone except Miranda could already hear it in the sudden acceleration of my heart. I almost groaned out loud, but I managed to hold it in.
I rose steadily to my feet. I wasn’t going to just sit there and keep listening to Liza. Gloria wouldn’t leave me when they finally decided to leave the camp. If I never saw another vampire in my entire life, I would be fine with that.
I stalked away from the small group, Liza’s laughter making my steps even harder. I sat with my back to all of them, mostly so I wouldn’t get caught staring at Paris anymore.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me. It wasn’t like I even liked Paris. After I left with the sisters, I would never see him again. I didn’t want to see him again.
I crossed my arms tight over my chest, irritated that even my heart was against me.
Chapter 16
I was having a rare moment of childish pouting, not liking the way my heart was racing. I took a deep breath and let my arms fall loosely to my sides. I didn’t know if Liza was watching me or not, but if so, anything I gave her would come back to haunt me.
My lips snarled up. Why did we ever have to come here and meet Paris Letrell? We should have just stayed at that little town of rejects. I could have been sleeping in a huge comfortable bed right now. Maybe not huge, but better than pouting by the fire.
All around me, vampires and pets alike wore similar looks of defeat. I think the vamps were coming to the realization that they would have to surrender their pets if they wanted to get out of this alive. The pets were just giving up.
They weren’t running around wearing looks of terror anymore. For me, the wolves had become more worrisome. Why were they suddenly calm? Was it because they were next to their vamps now? Or maybe they really had just given up.
Tiny pieces of hair had escaped my braids to tickle my forehead. I pushed them away impatiently, once again glad that my hair was long enough to keep back. It had to drive Melody crazy to have her hair in her face all the time.
I almost turned back to look at her, but before I could, Paris and Achilles came close to me. At first, I thought they were coming to talk to me, but they went past and stopped just a few feet away. I could easily hear what they were saying. I leaned forward.
“We need more help,” Achilles hissed.
“With a few wolves?” Paris looked genially confused. “I never thought I would hear you say that.”
“There are more than a few wolves out there.” He ran his hand roughly down his face. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
My breath caught. Did he mean me?
“Lexi?” Achilles asked my silent question.
Paris nodded. He must have known I was listening, but he didn’t turn my way. “She won’t be safe here much longer.”
“Why would the sisters bring her here?”
“You heard Liza—because they thought we wouldn’t come after them to the valley.”
Achilles shook his head back and forth. “Ludicrous to think we would care what Neleh ordered or didn’t order.”
Neleh? It wasn’t the first time I had heard the name. The sisters had spoken of her before, about how powerful she was. And that she disliked the Letrells almost as much as they did.
What was it in the valley that she was trying to protect form them? I could hardly imagine it was the wolves, but stranger things had happened. Maybe she liked one of them.
I didn’t know much about the wolves—except the ferocious beasts they were now—but I knew they turned into men at some point. Were they like regular people? Probably. Only much stronger. Not as strong as Paris, an errant thought formed.
He turned his head then, liquid brown eyes boring into me. It was as if he could see right into my mind, could hear every thought I had ever had. In that one look, he might have known all my hidden fears and secret worries.
It was possible, I realized with a start. I had heard stories of some vampires that could read your mind. I had thought at the time that Liza was just trying to scare me, but looking at Paris, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
He was older than the sisters, from a group of vampires known as warriors. They were almost the first and their strength was nothing short of amazing. I often thought the sisters were beautiful in their fury, but I realized after watching Paris in action, that they paled in comparison.
I looked away for a second, but was pulled right back into his severe stare. There was a fierceness about him, a possessiveness that called out to me over the small distance between us. My breathing hitched up.
In that moment of clarity, I understood why the pets followed their vamps around, why they weren’t afraid anymore. There wasn’t any doubt whatsoever that Paris would keep the wolves from me, even if he had to fight them all off himself.
A slow warmth spread through me until I was completely relaxed. Before I knew what had happened, I was smiling up at him. If he would have asked me then to go to Blakesly House with him, I would have considered it.