I frowned. “I thought Tristan was taking me?”
Maverick nodded. “He’s coming, too.”
The front door opened and I swiveled around, frightened that the pack of monsters had returned to claim me already, and was relieved to see Echo stroll in, her detective clothing nowhere in sight. Tonight, she was wearing skintight black leather pants and a white crop top with high-heeled boots. Whoa. And when did they fix the door? I shook my head. I must have been out like the dead.
“What is she doing here?” I whispered to Maverick.
“Echo’s coming along as well.” He grinned. “We roll deep.”
I could see that, but the question was why? What were they expecting to happen at this ‘pack land’ rendezvous? I turned my attention to Maverick and noted he, too, looked like he was ready for a fight.
If only they knew they were protecting someone who didn’t need protecting. Someone who couldn’t die or get hurt.
“Good,” Tristan said as he entered from a doorway by the dining room. “Everyone is here. Now we can go.”
As they started moving toward the door, I stood unmoving by the couch. When they noticed I wasn’t following, Echo was the first to speak up.
“Is everything all right, Octavia?”
“Uh … no. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’d really like an explanation before I go anywhere with you.”
Echo turned wide eyes to Tristan. “You didn’t tell her?” she gritted through her teeth.
He sighed. “It’s best this way. Trust me.”
Her mouth fell slightly open as she stared at Tristan.
Maverick shrugged. “I say, rip off the proverbial band-aid.”
“No one asked you,” Tristan growled. “Now everyone stop questioning me and let’s go before we’re late.” He turned to me. “Octavia, we must go. You will learn everything soon enough.”
I should have stood my ground. Maybe argued and fought more, but my curiosity won out. Deep down, I knew I was flirting in dangerous territory, but I felt compelled to see this through to the end. What was this all about? And maybe, possibly, I felt just invincible enough that it gave me the added boost of courage to blindly follow them out the door.
We took the elevator down to the parking garage, but instead of heading to my car, we stopped by a glistening black SUV with pitch-black windows. You couldn’t see anything inside, even if you stuck your face close to the window. Which I did.
Tristan drove with Maverick riding shotgun, and Echo and I rode in the back seat. I had no idea where we were going, and the windows were so dark I could barely see the scenery outside to know where we were headed.
“Don’t worry,” Echo whispered, and I turned to look at her. “Everything will work itself out.” She gave me a soft smile, warm and welcoming. In a different situation, if I’d met her on my own, I could see us being friends.
“Do you know where we’re going?”
She nodded but didn’t comment further. Instinctively, I knew she wouldn’t answer any of my questions. Echo was loyal to Tristan. She and Maverick both were, and I was the odd girl out. I wouldn’t get answers from them.
We drove for about forty-five minutes before we entered a deeply forested area and I could no longer track where we were going. Tristan turned down a bumpy, unmarked trail and I had to grab the oh-shit handle by the door to hold myself steady. After a few minutes the path widened and I saw torches lighting the way. My stomach knotted and roiled. This looked like some human sacrifice-type shit, and I really wasn’t down for that.
“Relax,” Echo said as she reached for my free hand.
The SUV drove into an open space filled with torches lined in a circle, enclosing a crowd of people standing in the middle. Even in the crowd, I recognized Killian immediately. I gasped, but it wasn’t the torches or the crowd or the sight of Killian that caused it. There were dogs—like, really big dogs walking around freely. They almost looked like wolves, but wolves weren’t domesticated, were they?
“I’m not going out there,” I muttered as the SUV rolled to a stop and Tristan cut the engine.
“We’ll be with you every step of the way,” Echo said.
“But those dogs,” I choked out, “they’re huge!”
Echo peered over at Tristan and then turned to me. “Uh, they won’t bother you. Promise.”
As we exited the car, I was gripping the back of Echo’s crop top, which was just a scrap of fabric, really, in a death grip, almost like a miniscule security blanket. I looked up into a dense canopy of trees that obscured most of the night sky and heard the eerie sound of owls hooting in the distance, combined by the sharp crunching of my feet on dried twigs and pinecones. I could smell the loamy earth so clearly and feel the blistering heat from the torches as if I were standing right beside one.
We walked toward Killian, who stood stone-faced in the middle. I realized he must be the leader of the group. There were at least a dozen of them in the circle, both men and women. I didn’t know how Tristan thought the three of them could win against Killian’s crew if it came down to a fight.
“Well, we’re here, Killian,” Tristan said as he scanned the area. “Quite the show you’ve put on here. Was this really necessary?”
Killian snorted. “With you? I never know. I see you brought your two lackeys.”
Maverick snarled, and in the moonlight, I could have sworn I saw something sharp glinting in his teeth.
“You want the girl, is that correct?” Tristan asked, ignoring Maverick’s outburst.
Killian nodded. “She belongs to us now.”
What the hell? I don’t belong to anyone! What are they talking about? I looked at Echo, but she refused to look at me. It only frustrated me further.
“Let’s make a deal, then,” Tristan suggested.
“What?” I shouted, and Echo grasped my forearm, holding me back. She was strong—like, really strong. It was like being confined by concrete; her grip was so unyielding, I couldn’t move.
That was why Tristan had been keeping me by his side the whole time. He only wanted to use me to bargain with this Killian guy. I was an idiot. I was practically being sold like cattle.
“What do you want for the girl?” Killian asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
“Your people are to stay off my territory,” Tristan said. “No more attacks. You stay on your land and we don’t bother each other.”
Killian rubbed his bearded jaw, then looked me over as if debating if I was worth the deal. My eyes were wide with fear. I looked into his dark eyes, silently pleading with him to let me go.
“She belongs to us,” Killian mused. “You would try to keep her from us?”
“Yes,” Tristan answered without hesitation. “And you wouldn’t want her with me. Oh, what I would do with one of yours …” he mused darkly. “Ah, maybe I shouldn’t make this bargain.”
None of this made sense. I attempted to rip my arm from Echo’s grasp, but she was too strong. She lied to me. They all did. But I couldn’t worry about that now. I had to get the hell out of there.
“Wait!” Killian said. “You got yourself a deal.” He held out a hand to Tristan so they could shake on it.
I started to hyperventilate, my chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. I thought I would pass out from lack of oxygen as my vision began to darken around the edges and panic set in. “No … no, NO!” I shouted, my head swiveling all over the place as I took in the startled expressions of the others around me. They were excited, but I didn’t know for what. “AH!” I gave a guttural cry as a burning sensation exploded and raced down my spine. In a flash, it felt like my whole body had erupted in flames.
Echo released me immediately and stumbled back, clutching her hand.
Terrified, I screamed without taking a breath, my ears popping from the exertion. My hands fisted so tightly, I left crescent moons in my palms from my nails.
When I finally stopped screaming, I found myself on my knees, exhausted and utterly spent
, with tears streaming down my face. All eyes were on me, wearing matching looks of fear.
No one uttered a sound. The night was quiet except for the lonesome hoot of an owl in the far distance. Maverick held onto Echo, who was gripping her hand to her chest as if she was in pain.
Tristan was the first to speak. He turned to Killian and said, “The deal’s off.”
“You son of a bitch!” Killian exclaimed, and before I knew it, he morphed into something before my eyes that I didn’t have the imagination or experience to explain. One minute he was human, and the next he was … a lion.
His shredded clothes lay in tatters on the leaf-strewn ground. My eyes tried to make sense of the large animal I saw before me. Immense paws flexed as its razor-sharp claws dug into the loamy soil. His golden mane bristled in the night breeze. He let out a deafening roar loud enough to make the trees around us shake and blow my hair back. I was frozen in place, unable to move. Killian … or the lion, prowled toward Tristan as if he was its next meal. The wolves around us started to growl deep in their throats, which broke me out of my trance.
“Get her in the car!” Tristan yelled.
A split second later, Maverick was by my side. He tried to touch me, but winced when he made contact with my skin. “Damn, you’re still hot.”
“What?” I said, not understanding.
“Can you get up? We need to go; things are about to get ugly,” he said, and I heard the SUV’s engine rev up. Echo must have already gotten inside. I turned to look at Tristan, but he was going toe-to-toe with the lion. He landed a kick square in its chest, sending it flying back. How he had the strength to battle the immense beast was beyond me.
“I-I don’t understand …” I muttered, suddenly feeling incredibly tired.
Maverick grimaced. “I know, but we have to go.” He looked over my shoulder and I heard the growls edging closer.
I didn’t trust them. They just tried to sell me to those … animals. But instinctively, I knew I was better off with them than with Killian and his group. I nodded and attempted to stand, swaying on my feet woozily, until Maverick swooped in and helped me stand. I heard the sound of something sizzling, though I couldn’t imagine what it was. In a flash, we were running way too fast for a human to run, and then we were in the car.
Echo peeled out of the clearing, leaving Tristan behind.
“W-What about Trist—”
“He’ll be fine,” Maverick said as he sat beside me in the back seat. “He’ll catch up.”
My head lolled to the side and fell against the cool window as we sped out of the forest. My eyes couldn’t keep up with how fast we were going, and soon, I was too exhausted to stay awake.
7
“I’ve never seen one.”
“It’s because they’re practically extinct.”
“And you said you found her at the club?”
“She’s lying about something …”
I could hear their voices around me, but I just couldn’t muster the strength to peel my eyes open. After everything that had happened, I felt drained, like every ounce of energy had been sucked out of me and I had nothing left. I wondered if it could be the result of an iron deficiency. I hadn’t felt this sick in a very long time. Actually, I didn’t think I’d ever felt this sick before in my life.
I’d never wanted my mother more than I wanted her in this moment; to have her make me a homemade remedy to combat whatever ailments I had and just coddle me, no matter how old I was. I needed that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to get it.
I awakened with a groan and stretched in Tristan’s now familiar bed. I slowly sat up and found the three of them standing at the foot of the bed, watching me carefully.
“How long have I been out?” I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palms.
“Twenty-four hours,” Tristan supplied.
I tensed. “A whole day?” I tried to keep calm, but the situation made my pulse race.
He nodded. “Is there anything you would like to tell us?”
“No,” I groaned. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me? Like, I’m sorry, possibly?”
He ignored me. “I saw your abdomen. The scratches are gone.”
I looked down at myself and saw I was no longer in the clothes I was wearing when we went to meet up with Killian. I was once again in a t-shirt and underwear. Someone must have changed me. I assumed it was him, if he saw my stomach.
“Uh … I heal rather quickly. Genetics.” I laughed awkwardly.
“Right,” Tristan drawled. “And what about last night? Care to explain that?”
My brows furrowed. “I-I don’t know what you mean. All I know is that you were trying to sell me to that—oh my gosh … that guy turned into a lion!” I shrieked. I scrambled back, bringing the sheets with me. “What were those people? What are you?”
Maverick, Tristan, and Echo shared a meaningful look and then Tristan nodded. Maverick and Echo exited the room, leaving me alone with him. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
He walked over to the side of the bed and sat down with a heavy sigh. “The people we went to see last night are called shifters, a type of supernatural creature that can shift from human to animal. They are part of the local pack. You were scratched by one of them, which means you should have been in transition.”
“In transition?”
“To become a shifter,” he said. “But you’re not. You’re something else. What are you not telling me, Octavia?”
If my head could explode, it would. I didn’t believe in the supernatural. None of that stuff was real; it was just books and movies. But shifters? Like werewolves and stuff? No, that couldn’t be possible.
But it was. I saw it with my own eyes last night, and the other night at the club, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
“Are you a-a shifter, too?” I whispered, almost scared to be near him.
Tristan chuckled. “Hell, no. I’m something much worse.” His face darkened.
I gulped. “What are you?”
His emerald eyes narrowed on me. “I don’t know if you’re ready to hear about all the things that go bump in the night just yet. You look like you’re about to soil yourself.”
“Well, excuse me for being a little freaked out, okay?” My heart was galloping like a horde of wild horses.
Tristan leaned closer to me, his face so close I could taste his breath, and licked his lips. His green eyes were focused intently on mine as he whispered, “I’m a vampire.”
My eyes widened and my hands automatically wrapped themselves around my neck.
He leaned back and laughed. “Relax, Octavia. I’m not going to sink my fangs into your arteries … unless you offer, of course.” When he grinned, I thought I was going to shit myself. “Now tell me what secrets you’re keeping from me. I’ve already told you mine.”
“I-I-I don’t have any secrets,” I stuttered. I had many secrets. But I couldn’t trust this … thing. If I spilled my guts, he might eat my guts. Either way, I couldn’t see how this would end well for me.
He tilted his head. “Don’t you remember what happened last night? What you did?”
I shook my head. I honestly couldn’t speak, I was shaking so much. I was afraid if I did, my voice would crack and announce my fear to the world.
“You set yourself on fire … amongst other things.” Tristan cleared his throat.
I coughed to stop myself from choking on my own saliva. “What? That’s impossible!”
“You burned Echo,” he said. “You almost killed her.”
My hand slapped over my mouth and I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Now that he mentioned it, I remembered Maverick saying I was too hot. Was that what happened? Did this have anything to do with the fact I couldn’t die? How was this all connected?
“I can tell you what you are, but I need you to tell me everything that’s happened to you so I know for sure,” Tristan invaded my thoughts.
I bit my lower lip and contemplated whether to t
ell him the dirty truth. Tristan was … something else. He might know something I didn’t, something that could explain what had happened to me. It was worth a shot. I would be taking a major risk, and if it blew up in my face, I didn’t know what I’d do.
“If I tell you, I need you to give me your word that you won’t turn me in and you’ll continue to help me—or start to help me, since you never planned to do that to begin with.” I gave him a wry look.
“I give you my word, Octavia, that I will help you in any way I can,” he promised calmly, his eyes soft as they stared intently into mine.
His word meant nothing until he lived up to it, but we had to start somewhere.
“My name isn’t Octavia Cruz. It’s really Camila Cortez … and I died six months ago.” I waited to see the shock in his expression, but his face remained impassively neutral so I continued. “I was walking to my car one night from a late dinner with friends when a man came up behind me and shot me in the head. He didn’t rob me or anything—it was an execution. When I awoke, I realized what had happened. I was lying in the parking garage in a pool of my own blood, and I was scared that whomever had tried to kill me would come for me again. So I ran. I’ve been running ever since.”
Tristan nodded, calmly taking it all in as if he heard this kind of story every day. “So the family you were spying on is actually your family?”
“Yes.”
“And the killer you had Echo searching for is actually your killer?”
“Yes.”
He stood from the bed and started to pace as he worked to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Meanwhile, I sat there ready to burst at the seams, waiting to hear his verdict. He said he could tell me what I was, which sounded like I was something other than human. I must be, if I was resistant to death and injury.
“Tristan?” I whispered, not wanting to anger the vampire. He hadn’t shown me anything to prove he was one, but after all I’d seen last night, I didn’t need proof. I was scared shitless as it was. But I had to be strong. I couldn’t let him see how afraid I was. “You said you could tell me what I am.”
Phoenix Burn (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 1) Page 6