“Knock it off, Zane,” Raven said. “If she was here for you, you’d already be dead.” Despite Raven’s warning to Zane, she looked worried herself and was keeping her distance from Kyleigh.
“I’m not Fae,” Kyleigh said in a weak voice. “Well, I’m not exactly Fae.”
Ian stepped away from Mitchell and took a protective stance in front of Kyleigh. Mitchell did the same, and before Ian could speak, Mitchell’s voice rang out with confidence. “I saw her caring for Ian when he was dying. I dreamt of this woman. She’s good and cares for Ian.”
“Fae tricks,” Zane said nervously.
“She can’t make people dream about her,” Ian said in disgust.
“No, but some Fae can,” she admitted. “Maybe he can sense the Fae blood in me.”
Ian snorted. “You have my blood too, but that doesn’t make you a vampire.”
There was stunned silence from the people surrounding him. That admission seemed to surprise them more than the fact that he was still alive. Kyleigh’s cheeks lost even more color, and she looked like she was ready to collapse. Ian knew he needed to get her away from the crowd quickly.
“I’m taking Kyleigh back to my house,” he said.
“We still need to talk about all of this,” Connor argued.
“I’ll meet you at your house after I get Kyleigh settled into mine. Give me thirty minutes,” Ian said.
Ian slipped an arm around Kyleigh’s waist, and Mitchell took his place at her other side. Without waiting for any further arguments, he urged Kyleigh to move forward. While it would take much longer to walk, he was pretty sure Kyleigh would prefer that to another ride in a jeep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ian was glad Mitchell had decided to stay with Kyleigh. She’d looked much more relaxed once they were in his house, away from the curious stares of the people in the settlement, but she’d still seemed overwrought. In all honesty, he’d wanted to stay with her. That wasn’t possible, of course. Connor was not going to wait long for answers.
Sitting in Connor’s front room felt strange. It’s not like it had been that long since he’d been here. While time passed differently in Kyleigh’s realm, from what everyone said, he’d been gone just over a month. Still, a lot had changed in that time. He supposed that was to be expected when you died. Ian hadn’t had a chance to talk to Kyleigh alone and figure out what all of this meant, but he was pretty sure they couldn’t stay here long.
Not all the leadership was there because some were out on patrol. Mark and Carla were still working with the human and her baby. Rand was there, looking just as scary as Ian remembered him. They’d never been close, but he’d always respected Rand. Simon and Layla were sitting across from him. Si looked like he wasn’t sure what to say. That made two of them. When Ian had walked in, he’d nodded and given Simon a quick wave before taking his seat. Connor was there, but Raven was not, which was surprising after her reaction to Kyleigh. Danny was also there, looking as unaffected as he always did at meetings. His head was dropped back, and his legs were crossed at the ankles, but Ian sensed the tension radiating from his friend.
Shelby walked into the room last and gave him a smile. “Glad you aren’t dead,” she said as she walked by.
“That was almost sweet,” Ian said with a smirk.
Shelby snorted. “Fuck sweet. I’m tired of Si and Danny moping.”
Ian laughed. “They just can’t go on without me.”
“Can we get started?” Connor asked impatiently.
“Before I tell you what happened to me, fill me in on what happened after I messaged you. You already told me Layla and some shifters rescued Simon, but I’d like more details,” he said after looking over at Simon and Layla sitting together on the loveseat. “The vampires that attacked us were definitely the new type of turned vamps, so I’m assuming it’s the assholes from the old island settlement.”
“Yeah, and they have a compound set up at the old vampire reservation,” Connor said with disgust.
“We’ve also confirmed what Kyleigh told us about them collecting more humans,” Danny added. “There have been at least fifty humans abducted recently from other settlements. The children were left behind in one settlement, but that was only because the parents hid them.”
“What’s your plan to get rid of them?” Ian asked, wondering why they hadn’t attacked if they knew where the bastards were. “Surely, you aren’t planning to let them get away with this crap. No matter how much you want to keep the peace, you have to see that these assholes are a threat to everyone in this settlement."
Connor looked seriously pissed, but Ian was used to that. They’d been disagreeing for a long time. “While I’m glad you’re alive, don’t push your luck, Ian. We had to retreat the day we rescued Simon because we were outnumbered. The bastards outmaneuvered us before we could regroup and plan a new attack.”
“How?” Ian asked.
“They went to the vampire council and applied for protection,” Simon explained.
“And those stupid fuckers in Fangri La gave them protection? After all they’ve done to destroy us, the council is going to side with a bunch of humans?” Ian had a hard time believing it. First, it made no sense that any decision had been made that quickly. Second, the vampire council didn’t even allow humans to speak at meetings, so why would they grant them protection?
“Guess I should also mention that the leadership there is no longer human,” Simon added. “Apparently, they found a way to keep their hearts beating after becoming turned vampires.”
“We’ve been forbidden from attacking until after the council meets in a special session, which will take place at some unknown time in the future,” Connor continued. “At that time, I have to bring Simon and Layla with me. It seems that the bastards have claimed we attacked them without provocation and brought a shape shifting monster that killed one of their leadership.”
“Stupid fuckers are just going to let them continue to build an army of vampires to destroy us?” Ian had never had much respect for the vampire council in the past, but this brought them to a whole new low in his book.
“That about sums it up,” Connor said. “For now, we’re still killing any turned vampires we find causing problems in our territory, but we are staying away from the old reservation. We have extra guards at Treasure Island, and we’re trying to prevent them from kidnapping humans from other settlements, but there are too many to guard. Unfortunately, we’re also getting resistance from some of the human settlements about patrolling too close to them. Some don’t see the difference between us and the turned vampires.”
“Naturally,” Ian grumbled. “I’d say screw ‘em and let them worry about their own safety, but that gives the bastards more people to infect with their new virus.”
“Exactly,” Connor said. “So, what happened to you? We found your phone and assumed you were dead, based on the amount of blood in the area. Then again, we had no idea why all the bodies from the site were gone.”
Ian looked around the room. Some of these people he’d called friends. Others hadn’t been friends, but that was mainly due to his bad attitude. Even when he’d been trying to get Connor removed as leader, he would have laid down his life for the man. Now, he felt like he didn’t belong. It was Rand who noticed his discomfort.
“Give yourself time,” Rand said. “I still have days where I feel out of place here.”
Ian nodded. If anyone would understand, it was Rand. They’d all believed Rand had been dead for a year. Rand’s situation had been much different from Ian’s. Rand had been taken captive by humans who’d experimented on him.
“So where have you been?” Connor asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Ian said.
Danny snorted. “You sound like Kyleigh.”
“There’s a good reason we keep saying that,” Ian said in frustration. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell everyone what happened. It’s just that he was pretty sure people weren’t supposed to know abou
t Kyleigh or what she did.
Raven had come down the stairs and was looking at him with something akin to fear in her eyes; that was a look he hadn’t seen from her in quite some time.
“Stop asking him questions about it,” she said to Connor. “This is one of those things you aren’t meant to know about.”
“So, you know and aren’t going to tell me either?” Connor asked with narrowed eyes.
“I don’t know,” Raven said, “and I don’t want to know.”
“Fine,” Connor said in frustration before turning his attention back to Ian. “I’m sure you want to spend time with Mitchell, and I get the impression your woman is more than a little lost right now.”
“She’s not my woman,” Ian argued.
“A blood bond is pretty damn serious,” Simon said. “I’d also like to point out that she’s the first person you’ve taken blood from in a very long time.”
“No one said anything about a blood bond,” Ian grumbled, feeling like an idiot for denying it. They all knew what giving her his blood meant.
“Why else would she have taken your blood?” Connor asked. “You did say she has your blood in her.”
“It’s obvious you didn’t treat her the same as the last few people you fed from,” Simon added.
“Why is that?” Ian asked.
“She’s not completely terrified of you.” Ian wasn’t surprised Danny was the one to make that comment. The irritating human never did know when to keep his mouth shut.
“It’s really not what you think,” Ian insisted. “I had no choice.” That was a lie, but Ian still wasn’t ready to deal with the possessive feelings he had toward Kyleigh.
“A blood blond is serious. You of all people would not go through with it if you didn’t have feelings for her,” Connor insisted.
“At the time, I barely knew Kyleigh. Are you going to tell me you were in love with the nymph when you made her enter a blood bond with you?” While Connor and Raven were close now, that had not always been the case. In fact, Raven had been terrified when she’d first arrived at their settlement because she thought all vampires were vicious killers. Ian hadn’t helped change her perception at first. He’d been a real bastard and gone out of his way to prove her right.
Connor shrugged. “Obviously, my feelings were more involved than I wanted to admit or I wouldn’t have done it. There were other ways to deal with the situation we were in, and they would have been much less pleasant for her.”
“I need to get over to my house and see Mitchell,” Ian said, excited about spending time with his son, even if it was only for a little while.
“Mitchell’s been staying with us,” Simon said, “with me and Layla.”
“Thank you,” Ian said. “I’m glad you’ve been there for him.”
“Maybe it would be best if he continues to stay with us. You don’t really think you can stay, do you?” Leave it to Simon to pick up on what Ian wasn’t saying.
Ian sighed. “Honestly? I have no idea what’s going to happen. Kyleigh probably has a better idea than I do.”
They all watched, waiting for him to say more. Ian stood and walked across the room, keeping his back to them as he spoke. “I was supposed to die. Kyleigh broke a very big rule saving me, and I’m not sure she can make it possible for me to stay here. As much as I want Mitchell with me, you’re right. There’s no need to disrupt his life any more than we already have. Of course, I still plan to spend as much time with him as I can, and maybe I’m wrong about being able to stay.”
Ian turned and met Simon’s eyes. Simon nodded, looking like he wasn’t sure how to react. Ian knew exactly how he felt. Si was his best friend, but they didn’t do expressive crap. They weren’t the type to sit around talking about feelings, and Ian’s spiel was pretty damn emotional.
Danny stepped forward and engulfed Ian in a hug. “Damn, I missed you, you moody bloodsucker.”
Ian laughed. “Seriously, this is why I didn’t want to be friends with you. I always suspected you were a hugger.” He gave in and hugged Danny back. “I missed you too.”
“Kyleigh seems nice, even if she does freak me out more than a little,” Danny said.
“She seems kind of timid,” Connor added.
Ian let out a bark of laughter. “Timid is not a word I’d use to describe Kyleigh. This is all new for her. Most of the time, she’s been alone. It didn’t help that the shape-shifter freaked out when she got here.”
“That’s Zane,” Layla said. “He’s harmless but lacks impulse control.”
“What exactly is Kyleigh?” Connor asked. “Based on Zane’s reaction, and Danny’s accounts of his meetings with her, I think it’s safe to assume she’s not human.”
“Don’t answer that!” Raven said quickly. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Kyleigh is a very dangerous creature. Do not underestimate her.”
“You know nothing about her,” Ian said angrily. Somehow, being away from Kyleigh’s realm was stripping away his calm.
“Watch your tone,” Connor growled.
“Fuck you!” Ian spat out. “Layla is dangerous too. Come to think of it, every damn vampire in here could kill easily.”
Raven’s eyes widened. “You really care about her,” she said.
Ian shook his head. “Not the way you think. Yes, I’m grateful to her, and I’ve gotten to know her. Kyleigh is my friend, and I’m not about to stand here and listen to you insult her.”
“You heard him,” Simon said to everyone in the room. “Kyleigh is Ian’s friend. That makes her off limits. Ian doesn’t give that honor to many of us.”
“Fine,” Raven said reluctantly. “I’ll give her a chance, but you need to realize that she doesn’t belong here. She is capable of horrific things, and she’s not telling you everything.”
“What are you talking about?” Ian asked.
Raven shook her head. “You should ask her that question. I meant what I said about the others in this room being better off if they don’t know what she is.”
Ian snorted. “I thought you learned your lesson about judging others, but I guess you’re still just as judgmental as you were the day Connor captured you.”
“Enough!” Connor shouted.
Raven put a hand on Connor’s arm. “No, he’s right,” Raven said. “I don’t know Kyleigh and have only met a handful of her kind in my life. It’s not fair for me to judge her. Still, I am pretty sure she hasn’t told you everything,” Raven insisted.
“I need to go,” Ian said and walked out without another word. As much as he hated to admit it, Raven’s words were bothering him. What if Kyleigh was hiding something from him? Then he felt guilty for having those thoughts. She wasn’t obligated to tell him everything, except that this sounded important.
Ian’s frustration and anger escalated as he made his way toward his home. When Kyleigh had told him her realm was designed to be soothing, he hadn’t realized how true that was. After only a few hours away from it, all the negative energy was resurfacing. Taking several deep breaths, he stopped and tried to get his temper under control. Sure, some of this was stress from his talk with his friends and his confrontation with Raven, but that wasn’t all of it. No, there was much more going on, but he needed to get it all under control before he walked in the front door of his house. Kyleigh was already scared, and he didn’t want to add to that. Mostly, he didn’t want Mitchell to think he wasn’t happy to be home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kyleigh really liked Mitchell. From what Ian had told her, Mitchell had suffered greatly in the last year. As far as Kyleigh was concerned, it was a miracle Mitchell had survived being turned. By all accounts, his soul should have been released from his body, but it appeared that it was very resistant to leaving. He’d been held captive and treated like nothing more than an experiment. Then a mistake by his captors had resulted in him being sent out to kill born vampires a little too early. Apparently, his heart was still beating long after it should have stopped. Despite al
l of that, Mitchell was pretty upbeat and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. Kyleigh could certainly see why Ian loved Mitchell so much. While she hadn’t planned to open up about her life, talking to Mitchell felt natural.
“What you do must be hard,” Mitchell said.
“Yes,” she admitted, “but it’s very important.”
She frowned, realizing how often she gave that answer. Was that how she really felt, or was it just her way of avoiding talking about how much she’d grown to resent what she did?
Mitchell gave her a shy smile. “That sounds like a very practiced answer. I’m not judging,” he added quickly. “I have more than a few practiced answers of my own. When you’re different from everyone else, it’s kind of hard to explain what you feel sometimes, and you get tired of people not understanding.”
“Not a lot of people have asked me about my feelings,” she admitted. “Most of the time, I’m alone, so there’s no one around to ask me how I feel.”
“That can’t be easy,” Mitchell said. “What about friends?”
She shrugged. “Friends aren’t something people like me have, but I survive just fine alone.” There was no need to lament her fate. She’d made her own choices and given up her chance to move on twice.
The front door opened and then slammed shut. Ian stalked into the room, stopping suddenly when he saw her sitting with Mitchell on the sofa.
“I take it the meeting didn’t go well,” she said softly and felt bad about letting Ian deal with all of this alone.
Ian looked at Mitchell and seemed to work hard to rein in his temper. When he’d calmed down a little, he forced a smile. “Nothing to worry about.”
“They aren’t comfortable with me being here,” she said. There was a time when that might have hurt her feelings, but she’d long since moved past those insecurities. Her place wasn’t among the living, and it was natural that those who understood what she was would be uncomfortable. Those like the shifter and the wood nymph would understand better than most that it was wrong for her to be in this settlement.
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