This voice unique—and invasive. But he could dismiss it.
Sylvain growled, the sound barely audible over the panicked screams as the students raced out of the room.
“Do we fight here?” Briar asked. She looked around uncertainly. The hall still had some students, but—
“Yes,” Marcus said. “We fight whoever is out there.”
“Marcus. Do as I ask. Bite. Tear.”
“Is it in your head?” Sylvain yelled as if the voice was so loud he couldn’t hear himself over it.
“Yes,” Marcus replied.
At some point, all of them had stood, spreading out to surround Briar.
Except Hudson—who’d been uncharacteristically quiet and now stood frozen.
“Shit.” Sylvain stepped between Hudson and Briar. “Marcus get her out.”
Briar
Hudson stared at her like he didn’t know who she was.
“Marcus, get her out!” Sylvain yelled, moving in front of Briar.
“That’s not Briar,” Hudson stated. He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “Sylvain, someone’s in our head. But that—” He pointed at her. “That is not Briar.”
Sylvain glanced at her, confused. What was she supposed to do? “Sylvain?” A laugh echoed through her mind and her vampire roared a challenge. Briar’s fangs descended and she hissed, looking for the threat.
It was the wrong thing to do. Hudson leapt over Sylvain, knocking him so hard he took out a row of desks. Marcus deflected him, and Briar crouched, ready to defend herself as well. Her vampire shouted at her, screaming for her to protect herself and to protect Hudson. But she didn’t know how to do that.
Everything was jumbled. The screams from the building, the growls, Sylvain and Marcus fighting Hudson. It all got mixed up in her head.
Focus! Briar studied Hudson, searching for the thing that would help her help him. But she couldn’t concentrate.
Hudson swiped at Marcus. “I don’t want to hurt you. Move. She knows where Briar is. Don’t protect her.”
“Hud—” Marcus spoke quickly, desperately. “Hud—that is Briar. The vampire is in your head. Fight her.”
Hudson canted his head, listening closely and studying Briar. For a second, she relaxed and his emotions nearly drowned her.
Impression after impression flooded her. No wonder Hudson couldn’t think—this was pure chaos. Images of her, but different, struck her. Terror. Hudson couldn’t see her, but he was desperately searching.
Whoever was doing this to him wasn’t giving him a moment to think clearly. He was panicked, determined to find her and to protect his brothers. The being he believed her to be was an imposter, a danger.
Kill. Protect. Kill. Protect. Those were the only things she could make out before she was pushed back by a tidal wave and found herself firmly seated in her body.
“Look out!” Sylvain’s warning came a second too late.
Hudson had ripped a desk from the floor and torn off the metal rod that connected one seat to the next. Briar caught a flash just as the metal hit her square in the chest. The jagged edge impaled her, and she flew backward. There was a dull thunk as the metal drove into the wall, pinning her in place.
“No!” Marcus’s voice seemed far away. All Briar could see was the rod in her chest and the blood slowly oozing around it.
Could she die? Was she going to die and leave them again? She couldn’t. Without giving herself a chance to think about it, Briar braced herself against the floor and yanked herself off the rod.
“No!” Hudson screamed.
On her hands and knees, Briar watched the blood pour from her body. Bite. The vampire was quiet and subdued. Hurt. Bite quickly.
“Bite,” Briar repeated.
“Here.” Hudson cradled her, and she cried out. She was a vampire now, she could heal from this if she acted fast, but it still hurt so bad. “Briar, you need to feed.”
Gently, he lifted her toward his neck. His scent was off, spiked with fear and guilt. Her fingers and hands prickled and tingled like they were buried in snow.
“Briar, focus.” Hudson’s skin touched her lips. Bite. Her fangs sunk into his skin, and his blood flooded her mouth. She swallowed and curled her fingers into his shirt to keep him close. His fingers clutched her, digging into her skin like his grip would keep her from slipping away.
Slowly, the pain subsided. Enough. Briar drew back, licking her lips self-consciously. “Oh, no.” She’d torn into him, raking huge gashes into his skin.
“I’m fine.”
There was no more screaming. The building was silent, and Briar wondered how long she’d drank from him. Glancing down at her chest, Briar could make out a rapidly healing wound beneath her torn shirt. “Thank you,” she said to Hudson.
He scoffed, shifting, and handed her to Marcus. Without another word, he stood and ran out of the building.
It happened so fast, Briar was sure she imagined it. Maybe she was in some sort of dream state, because there was no way Hudson had just left her, right?
“Sylvain.” Briar hardly recognized Marcus’s voice. She’d never heard him so serious. He dug a phone out of his pocket and flipped it to Sylvain.
“I’m on it.”
“Where’s Hudson going?” Briar asked. She’d missed something.
“I don’t know, but Sylvain’s calling Valen. He’ll track him down and stay with him until we can talk to him.”
“It wasn’t his fault,” she said. “I felt his confusion. He didn’t know who I was.”
“I know,” Marcus answered, holding her carefully. “Do you need to feed again?” He reached toward her shirt, peeling it back from her skin so he could see through the gap to her injury. It was open and oozing, but beneath her skin the muscle had healed. Easing her forward, Marcus touched the skin at her back. “It’s not closed up yet.”
“It went all the way through?”
“The rod is fucking in the fucking wall, Briar. Yeah.” Sylvain growled. “It went all the way through.” He released a breath. “I’m sorry, blossom.” Kneeling next to her, he peered into her face. “I’m sorry. I’m freaked.”
“I can get up,” Briar said. If Sylvain was struggling with what happened, then Hudson would definitely be losing his mind. “We have to find him. I have to talk to him.”
With Marcus behind her to support her, Briar got to her feet. She stood in a puddle of blood, grimacing as she took in the state of her clothes. “I can’t go out like this.”
“Here.” Sylvain shrugged off his buttoned shirt and placed it over her shoulders. “This should work for now.”
“Want me to carry you?” Marcus asked.
Outside the classroom, a group of people ran down the hall. Their footsteps echoed and Briar quickly buttoned Sylvain’s shirt. The door suddenly banged open and a team of police officers in riot gear streamed inside. “Everyone all right?”
“Yes,” Marcus said.
“Survivors to the courtyard. We’ve got buses coming to take you to safety.”
Survivors. Was this what the world was like when vampires went unchecked? How could the demise of one single vampire result in so much death?
“Hurry,” the officer said. Marcus put his arm around Briar. Together, they followed the officers and Sylvain out of the building and back toward the parking lot.
It was swarming with people. Survivors.
Sitting ducks, her vampire countered. This looked like the perfect place for a massacre. The people who’d been here were shell shocked and stood around, waiting to be told what to do.
“Let’s go,” Sylvain said, but with so many emergency vehicles, Briar wasn’t sure they could get their car out.
Her legs shook, knees knocking together. “I can’t run,” she admitted.
“That’s fine.” Marcus said. “I can get us out.” He held his hand out for the keys, which Sylvain tossed to him.
The car was ten yards away, but it took all Briar’s focus and determination to make it there. Marcus
got the door open with one hand and lifted her inside. The little strength she had left her completely, and she flopped boneless across the backseat.
“You need to feed again.” Sylvain slid inside and picked her up. Briar tried to help, but she just sort of fell in whatever direction he moved her. It was pathetic.
Her nose touched his neck, and she drew back. “I wasn’t careful before.” In the sunlight, she could make out the scars from his turning.
“It’s okay,” Sylvain assured her, and with a hand on the back of her head, eased her toward his throat.
This time she was much gentler. When her lips touched his skin, she struck quickly and stayed in place, sipping from his veins. Beneath her, Sylvain hardened, and she fought to keep herself still.
She was sated much faster this time, but so tired. “Sleep,” Sylvain whispered. He moved her so she rested in his lap, her feet across the seat. Wearily, she noticed her sneakers were covered in blood, the white rubber splattered with shades of red.
“I’m making a mess. This car is going to stink like death,” she said, not really knowing what she was saying.
“Go to sleep, Briar,” Sylvain replied. “We’re almost home.”
Hudson
Hudson never realized how easy it was to run away. In the old days, when every bit of wealth was tangible and material, running away required planning.
And a wagon.
Now, all it took were a few phone calls, a couple of shifts of money in accounts and he was set. Wealth distributed, Hudson squeezed his phone until it cracked. The glass from the screen shattered, slicing his hand. He stared at the blood as it dripped down his skin. The wound knitted closed and the bleeding stopped. Easy. He healed so easily.
“Hudson!”
No way. No fucking way. He’d been careful when he ran. He hadn’t returned to Boston; instead he’d run west and north through unfamiliar territory. And still, he’d been tracked.
“Hudson. What are you doing?”
He slowed; it was pointless to try to outrun Valen. The man wouldn’t give up, and they’d end up in a vampire version of tag. “Go home, Valen.”
Jogging toward him, Valen stared at him angrily. “Answer me.”
“What does it look like?” he asked, tiredly. “I’m putting as much distance between myself and Briar as possible.”
“Why?” his friend asked.
Was he serious? Valen couldn’t possibly be confused about this. “Because I fucking almost killed her, Valen! Again. The vampire got in my head and controlled me. Even when Asher—” He couldn’t talk about it. Overcome with guilt and shame, Hudson stalked toward Valen. “You have to kill me.”
“What?” Valen’s eyes went wide.
“Briar trusts me. She’ll always trust me, no matter what I do.” He spoke about some event in the future, but that wasn’t honest. He’d already attacked her, already shown what he was capable of. “She’ll let me close and all it will take is one push. One vision of her being someone she isn’t and I’ll kill her.”
“You wouldn’t.” Valen’s certainty was undeserved and illogical.
“I did! Valen. Fuck! I did.” What happened today would join a worryingly thick mental album of Briar injuries. “You didn’t see. The blood. Her face.” Hudson scraped his hands down his face and wished he could tear the images out of his head. “The sound of metal entering her body. I threw it so hard, Val.” His beautiful girl. She’d had no idea what he was going to do to her.
His friend’s face morphed from concerned to tightly controlled rage. “I know what you did.”
Hudson needed to go. He was still too close to Boston and that vampire was powerful. The risk in staying so close to Briar was that the vampire could force him back. It could force him to finish what he’d started at BC.
“Then you know she was dying. You weren’t there, Valen. You wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye.”
In a flash, Valen was on him. Which was just what Hudson wanted—Val out of control. He pushed Hudson against a tree then drew him back and slammed him back in place. “Don’t you do this,” Valen said through clenched teeth. “Don’t fucking do this, Hudson.”
“She was bleeding out. Remember how it felt when she was gone?” Hudson asked. He was poking a wound, painful and festering, but he didn’t stop. “Now imagine if you hadn’t see her eyes close.”
Valen roared at the blow Hudson struck. As his brother threw him into a copse of trees, Hudson wondered at his miscalculation. Valen’s wound hadn’t been painful—it had been agonizing.
And that agony was written across his face as he landed next to Hudson, drew back his fist, and pounded it into Hudson’s face, over and over.
There. This was what he needed. What he deserved. He made no move to fight Valen, instead, he absorbed the hurt and reveled in it.
“Damn you, Hudson.” Through swollen eyes, Hudson saw his blood splattered across Valen’s face. The hits faltered and stopped.
“I’m not going back,” he managed to say.
Valen sat, propping his bleeding hands on his knees. “You can’t leave us. We’re a family.”
“I can’t go back if I’m a danger to her.” Hudson’s injuries healed, and Valen’s blurry image came into focus. “You know that.”
“So figure out how to keep the vampire out of your head,” Valen retorted. “You’re a fucking genius. You did it with Briar, why not do it with yourself?”
“You’d rather I run the risk of hurting her, than stay away?” Hudson shook his head and winced. He was lying on the hard ground, small stones cutting into his scalp. Groaning, he rolled onto his side and then got to his knees.
“We’re leaving our family in danger, Hudson.”
“I didn’t ask you to come here, Valen. Go home. If I’m better, I’ll return. But if the only way I can protect her is by never seeing her again, then that’s what I’ll do.” He shifted into a seated position and wiped the blood from his face.
Across from him, Valen stared at him like he’d never see him before. “And all this time, I thought Sylvain was fucking dramatic.”
The only reason Hudson didn’t start a fight again was because he’d lost too much blood and couldn’t move. Otherwise, he’d have made Valen eat those words.
“Go. Home.”
Valen stood, and for a second, Hudson thought he’d won. He waited for the gust of wind that signaled his brother had left, but it didn’t come. Instead, Valen reached down, gripped Hudson under his arms, and lifted him to his feet. “Sorry, brother. For as long as it takes to figure this out, you’re stuck with me.”
Hudson’s legs didn’t want to support him. That was the reason why he leaned against his brother. “Suit yourself.”
Valen’s arm went around his waist as he dragged Hudson deeper into the forest. “I smell deer.”
Briar
Briar woke with her face buried against Marcus’s neck. His scent teased her, coaxing her from sleep. Behind her, Sylvain grumbled in her ear, kissed her, and rolled away.
For a blissful moment, she yawned and stretched, blinking up at the ceiling. Her brain supplied a to-do list: homework, class, call Mom, before an older, more instinctive part of her mind screamed its own information.
Pain. Injury. War.
Reality came crashing down. There was no school. No studying. There’d be a call to Mom, but the conversation would be filled with falsities and deflection.
Briar breathed in deeply and grimaced. She smelled horrible. Apparently, Marcus and Sylvain had put her right to bed without cleaning her up. Pushing the covers down, Briar saw she was in the same clothes as yesterday. The blood had flaked off and left smears of rust on the sheets.
“It looks much better,” Marcus said from by her side. Two fingers opened the rip in her shirt to display a pink, puckered scar. “By tomorrow, it’ll be completely gone.”
She nodded. “I need to talk to Hudson. I know he’s beating himself up.” Sylvain stood by the bed and took her hands when she held
them out. She straightened and caught another whiff of herself. “I should probably shower first,” she said and took a step toward the bathroom.
Briar never thought there was a sound quieter than silence, but there was, and it descended on the room. She stopped walking to study Sylvain and Marcus. “What?”
They stared at each other and then Marcus cleared his throat. “Hudson is gone.”
He’d run away yesterday, but certainly he hadn’t kept going. He wouldn’t leave her when the world was on fire.
Would he?
“Do you know where he is?” she asked.
“He’s with Valen.”
Valen was gone, too. Of course, he was. If one of them ran, Valen would find them. Briar caught Sylvain swallowing hard. “He’ll be back,” she said, trying to comfort him and make it sound believable.
He will. Her vampire tried to comfort her. He’s ours. She wished she had the confidence her vampire did.
“I’m going to shower,” she said. Her stomach was churning, and she couldn’t tolerate the smell a minute longer. Also, she really wanted to cry and didn’t want to do it in front of Sylvain and Marcus. Valen and Hudson’s absence would affect them as much as it did her.
“Okay,” Marcus answered. “We’ll wait for you downstairs.”
She didn’t watch them leave. Instead, she hurried in the bathroom and turned on the water. Then she turned on the faucet. And then the bathroom fan.
The first sob caught in her throat. Maybe she could do it. Maybe she could cry and no one would hear her so when she was done, she could go downstairs and put on a brave face.
She didn’t bother to unbutton the shirt, she just ripped it off and the t-shirt beneath it. Her bra was ruined. In fact, every piece of clothing she wore she never wanted to see again. Blindly, she tore them off and dropped them in a pile before hurrying beneath the spray.
Shoulders heaving, she stood under the scalding hot water. Hudson was gone. Valen was gone.
It felt like a huge piece of her had been torn out of her. She snorted. Yesterday, a huge chunk of her had been torn out of her, literally.
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