Slowly it faded.
I crouched on the ground, covered in the dank, musty peat and soil. Shards of wood covered me. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
I wanted to collapse. But I couldn’t. I had let my anger get the best of me and this was what had happened.
This was… not good.
I wasn’t far enough from civilization for this to be safe. Someone would see this. Or hear. They would come and I had to be gone when they did.
I had to run. Run home, like the little girl I was.
A little girl who could destroy things with a flick of her hands.
My thoughts were clearer now, still stunned by what I had done, but at least I felt human again. But I hadn’t solved the problem that had sent me into the woods on my own.
I still thirsted for blood.
The need scratched at my throat, digging into me. It hurt. I closed my eyes, nearly home. When I sensed danger, I’d headed straight here without thinking, guided through the darkness like a homing pigeon.
I stopped in the cover of darkness, hearing the roar of Maxim’s motorcycle as he drove away from the house. Caleb clasped Vlad’s hands and waved as the older Vampire drove off with the others, following the path the bike had taken.
I knew they were leaving to continue serving our cause. They were going to find more Vampires to join our fight. And equally importantly, they went to gather information.
That’s when I realized I hadn’t said goodbye. I looked down at myself and winced. Maybe that was for the best, ungracious as it might be.
I was filthy and disheveled. I looked like a wraith, not a Princess. Yeah, definitely for the best that I’d come back when I did.
The moment I was inside I ran for the kitchen, pawing through the fridge with dirty hands. I took the last pouch of blood and downed it. I turned, feeling Caleb behind me.
“Blood.”
He went to the basement without a word. In an instant, he came up with two more bags. I drained them both and paused. I was still thirsty, but I’d never had so much blood at once.
“Is that all we have?”
“No. Not quite.” He stared at me hard. “But I must get more.”
I nodded, suddenly craving my bed as much as the blood. My body was full of energy, but my spirit was weary. And I needed to wash off the filth of the woods.
“Don’t worry, Highness. He will be back.”
“What?”
“Maxim. He’s going to be bringing us messages from the others. In person. It is too risky to communicate any other way.”
I stared at Caleb in the unlit kitchen. I knew he thought I had feelings for the dark-haired Vampire. Maybe I would have, if I hadn’t met Dylan first.
Either way, I didn’t care right now. I was still angry and disillusioned by everything Caleb had told me. I wanted to forget the world, forget about this fight.
But I could not forget the man who had sired me. The handsome, impervious man who’d bounced me on his knee with delight. The man who languished in a dungeon while I ate pancakes and drank blood from plastic bags.
No, I could never forget him. My father. The King.
I climbed the stairs to bathe and try to sleep.
Chapter 19
I shook my pompoms with the rest of the squad. It was only the second game of the season. Our team was crushing the opposition. And my boyfriend was at the center of it all.
Yes, boyfriend.
I had a boyfriend.
A human boyfriend.
The world was a crazy place. A place where a runaway Vampire Princess Cheerleader could eat pancakes every Friday night with the quarterback of the football team.
Speaking of which… I jumped in the air with a high kick. Without missing a beat, the rest of the girls followed suit. After three weeks under my captainship, they were on point.
We were a lean, mean, cheering machine.
Even Janelle was toeing the line. Oh, she still hated me, but her moves were impressive. The girl had talent, even if she had a nasty attitude. I guess there was nothing like a little competition to make you try your best.
Of course, I had to cool my jets most of the time. If I pulled out all my moves people would think they were watching The Matrix.
And I was definitely not Keanu.
More like… a creepy but cute Dracula. His daughter maybe. Did Dracula have a daughter in the book? I made a mental note to read the original.
I had a not-so-secret affection for cheesy Vampire movies and TV shows. It made Caleb roll his eyes, but Bernard would whip me up a batch of popcorn and curl up with me on the couch, sipping a glass of blood. We’d laugh at all the wrong moments, like when the humans tried to get away.
Vampire humor, man.
The funny thing was all those stories were based in reality. There were a LOT of Vampires in Transylvania back in the day. All over Europe really, but mostly Eastern Europe and the Orient.
Supposedly the Orient Express was literally lousy with Vampires, even to this day. Vamps loved to travel in style. And the train was mostly full of well-to-do old people, who didn’t make much of a fuss when glamoured into giving up a half a pint or so.
A loud roar from the crowd brought me back to the game.
The guys had the ball and were making an impressive play towards the end zone. I didn’t know much about football, but I knew we were heading in the right direction.
I lifted my arms, signaling the squad to do another cheer.
“Be aggressive, B-E aggressive! B-E-A-GG-R-E-SS-I-V-E!”
We ended the cheer with roundoff back handsprings. In my case I did an extra back flip at the end. As I was coming down, I saw the glint of something on the ground. It wasn’t something small either.
A huge piece of sharp metal, sticking up where it shouldn’t be.
Right where I always did my tricks.
Time slowed down as I twisted, adjusting my body in midair so I would land just shy of the lethal metal spike. I could hear a heavy heart beat as my eyes shifted towards the stands mid twist.
Janelle was watching me, an expectant look on her face. It was her heart I heard. It was her spike.
That bitch.
Time caught up with me as I landed, deliberately missing it by a couple of inches. I took a half a second to identify it. It was one of those thick steel rods they used to set concrete. The sort of thing easy to swipe from a construction site.
I shivered, staring at it. It was hard to trick a vamp with such an obvious ploy but it was possible I might not have seen it.
That would have hurt.
I yanked it out of the ground, walking back to the stands. I knew without a doubt who had put it there, even if I hadn’t seen the look in her eye. Her scent was all over it.
If I had been human, I wouldn’t have seen it. I would be impaled on a massive metal spike. I was shaking as the realization hit me.
Janelle had tried to murder me.
Even as indestructible as I was, that could have done some serious damage. Or at least ended my time in this town. It would have been difficult to explain how I yanked a rod out of my body and was back in school the next day.
But she could have actually done worse. If it had pierced my heart… it wasn’t wood, but it could have done the trick. She could have doomed my father and my kind to suffer for all eternity. They would have nothing to rally behind. No one to help them fight.
Because I would be gone.
I had no idea what the hard limits of my immortality were, and I didn’t want to find out. I had important things to do. Saving my father, and the rest of the world from power-hungry, human-hating Vampires for one.
Turning seventeen in a couple of weeks for two. And eighteen. And thirty.
I might be technically half un-dead, but I wanted to live, dammit.
Janelle was studiously staring at the field, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. I could feel the adrenaline pouring off her in waves. I stared at her, tossing the metal into a trashcan
nearby.
She flinched.
“Oh my god, are you okay?”
Jen and Olivia crowded around me, along with the rest of the squad. All but one murderous blonde teen who looked like she might throw up on her tennis shoes. I didn’t care if she hurled but it wasn’t puke I was after.
I wanted blood.
Her blood.
I fought down the urge to go full on Bella Lugosi on her.
That time would come. She’d just made it necessary to think about breaking my father’s golden rule. I had to seriously consider killing Janelle.
Before she killed me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Some idiot left that spike in the ground. It could have killed someone. I’m glad it wasn’t one of you.”
Janelle’s eyes jerked up and I met her startled stare. She swallowed. Clearly, she hadn’t thought this through. Maybe she’d just wanted to maim me. That was bad enough. I was starting to wonder if she was seriously unstable.
Either way, she was a bad egg. Or seed. Whatever.
I smiled at her coldly and she turned white.
Oh yeah, there was going to be hell to pay.
I cheered as we scored another touchdown, never taking my eyes from hers. She looked away, and grabbed her stuff. The game was almost over so I didn’t say anything as she ran for the parking lot.
The buzzer rang and we ran into the field, cheering and jumping. Dylan grabbed me and tossed me in the air. I pushed at him as he squeezed me.
“Ew, Dyl. You’re all gross!”
He laughed and kissed me. I let him, even though he smelled like dirt and teenage boy sweat. And… blood.
He must have gotten a cut or a scrape during the game. It smelled good. Too good.
Click.
Just like that, my fangs were out in an instant. I pinched my lips shut and ran away. I didn’t stop as people tried to high five and hug me.
I just ran.
“Soph!”
The girls were following me at a leisurely pace to the locker room. I was half hoping Janelle was already gone, half hoping she was still there. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself. Not just because I had a good reason to try and drain her.
Because the thirst was back with a vengeance.
Over the past few weeks, my hunger was growing apace with my powers.
Every time I was alone with Dylan, I was afraid I might bite him. All we’d done was kiss, but it was getting hotter and heavier each time. He’d touched me over my clothes once, and that had made me nearly lose control.
Yeah, it was getting kind of hard not to eat my boyfriend.
And right now, I wanted to tear Janelle’s head off. She could have hurt anyone with her nasty prank, not just me. One of the other girls. A player.
Dylan.
I sighed, washing my face and hands as my fangs receded. The locker room quickly filled with the other girls, but Janelle was long gone. It was too bad really.
I could have had a little fun with her, even if I didn’t literally rip her to shreds.
Not yet anyway.
“You coming out tonight?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Going with Dylan?”
“Maybe.”
“Okay, hope we see you at the quarry.”
I waved, grabbing my bag and heading out to the parking lot. Dylan stood up from where he was leaning against the wall and grinned. He’d showered and changed already.
The boy was fast.
“You ready?”
“Beer and then pancakes?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded, a serious look in his eyes. He took my hand and moved in close.
“Unless you want to go somewhere more private.”
I laughed and batted his arm playfully. I knew he wanted more out of our relationship. More time with me. More answers. And more intimacy.
He let me know every day. But he hadn’t pushed me. He was respectful, which I appreciated.
“Not tonight.”
He nodded, and I could tell he was disappointed. I felt a wave of his desire wash over me. I could feel emotions so profoundly these days. That power had been growing too, though it was a lot less welcome than my elemental abilities.
I hated making Dylan sad.
“Alright.” He brushed his knuckles over my cheek and smiled. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 20
“Hey, did something happen tonight?”
Dylan handed me a beer and I wrinkled my nose. If I was going to get drunk, I really would prefer a fine wine. Too bad these kids didn’t have a wine cellar out here…
I took a sip, deciding to smuggle out a bottle of red the next time we hung out.
“What do you mean?”
“The girls are saying you nearly landed on some scrap metal on the sidelines. Could have really messed you up.”
“Oh, yeah. I saw it and adjusted my landing.”
He took my beer and set both our cups on an overturned barrel. Then he pulled me into his arms.
“That’s really scary.” He squeezed me. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
I rested my cheek against his broad chest. I loved the smell of him. His warmth. And he felt surprisingly solid, though not quite as solid as me.
Or Bernard. But no one was as solid as Bernard.
“You sure you’re okay?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Whoever left scrap metal on the field should be shot.”
I smiled up at him.
“My thoughts exactly. Maybe torn apart by wolves?”
He laughed, holding me firmly against him. “You’re so bloodthirsty.” I blinked, trying not to react to his words. He was way too close to the mark.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
I bit my lip. I knew what he wanted. But I didn’t want to rush the sex stuff. Even though, part of me definitely did.
A surprisingly big part of me.
“I’m sorry. I just—”
An engine roared in the distance. I rolled my eyes. Someone was showing off. I was about to say something when I realized I was the only one that heard it.
Someone was coming. On a motorcycle. A familiar sounding motorcycle.
“Crap.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmmm?” I realized I’d spoken aloud and couldn’t explain what I heard. And that the rider was going to be even harder to explain when he got here. “Oh, I thought I kicked over my beer.”
He smiled and kissed me softly. I sighed. He still gave me butterflies. Every single time.
“I’ll get you another one.”
“Thanks.”
I exhaled and crossed my arms, waiting for the inevitable. It didn’t take long for Maxim to pull in, scattering gravel everywhere. Everyone stopped and stared at him.
Maxim wasn’t wearing a helmet, though he had one on the back of the bike. It was obviously for someone more fragile than him. I wondered how often he had sexy female humans on the back of the bike.
Probably every night.
Tonight, the helmet was for me, I realized.
He flashed me a smile, stepping off the bike and walking directly towards me. Everyone was gawking at him. He was bigger, and a little older than everyone.
Not to mention Maxim was jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
Dylan looked like a teen model, maybe one in a Ralph Lauren ad, or Abercrombie. I could almost see him tossing a football at the beach. But Maxim was 100% high fashion. Rugged and simple as his clothes tonight were, he was fancy.
He looked like a foreign spy from an action movie. The sexy bad guy who could tempt the woman away from the hero while planning the destruction of Earth.
I sighed, shaking my head. It was nice to see him actually, but he shouldn’t be looking at me possessively. Whatever ideas Caleb had put in his head about the future were going to cause problems.
Maxim took my hand and started to kiss it before I snatched it away. He grinned at me, his eyes
sparkling. He looked supremely well dressed in his worn-in designer jeans, soft black tee, and form fitting supple leather jacket.
Even I had to admit he knew how to make an entrance.
“You look beautiful in…” He looked me up and down. “Whatever this is supposed to be.”
“It’s a cheerleader uniform.”
He grinned wider.
“I know.”
I was about to remind him what the phrase ‘low profile’ actually meant when I noticed Dylan standing a few feet away. He was looking at Maxim, then back at me.
“Who’s this?”
He handed me a beer casually, but I could tell he was upset. Then he slung his arm around me and pulled me against his side.
Not just upset, I realized as his emotions crashed over me like a wave.
Dylan was jealous.
“I’m Maxim. Nice to meet you.”
“You know this guy, Sophie?”
I nodded curtly. I knew this was about to get worse. It was like watching someone drop a birthday cake in slow motion.
Once it hit the floor, there was nothing you could do.
“I’m here to take her home.” His smile was definitely suggestive. “It’s past her curfew. She’s only sixteen you know.”
“I’m seventeen in a few weeks, Max.”
“Max?”
Dylan bristled and I put my hand on his arm. This time, I did use my strength to hold him back. He glanced at me as Maxim grabbed the helmet off his bike and held it out to me.
“Get on.”
Dylan was giving off waves of anger and something else. I picked up possessiveness… and fear. I got the distinct and unwelcome impression that he felt more for me that I’d previously understood.
I gasped as the feelings poured into me.
Dylan was in love with me.
“Who is this guy, Sophie?”
“My cousin.”
The lie sprang to my lips unbidden and I exhaled in relief. I had been frantically trying to think of a way to explain the presence of a mysteriously gorgeous guy showing up since I heard the sound of his motorcycle.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Listen, he’s just visiting. It’s nothing to worry about.”
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