Enemy Mate

by L. J. Red

  “That’s not… that’s not what I’m doing,” said Eden.

  “Why can’t I be the one who gets the hot vampire boyfriend? I want to live forever. I want to have the strength and the grace and the fame of being a vampire, but instead, you get it all and you don’t even want it!”

  Hope was jealous. Eden had never realized Hope saw it that way. She had never told her sister about the bad. She’d never told her how awful it felt to hunger for fresh blood, to have to bite into the donors that flocked Bloodchase, seeing the terrible glazed look in their eyes as they were passed from hand to hand. And she had never told Hope about Riker. She had kept the truth from her for so long in the name of protecting her that it had backfired. Instead, all she had done was keep her sister ignorant of real life.

  Hope grabbed her bag. “I’m leaving, and you can’t talk me out of it. If you want to stay here with your new vampire family, then fine. But I’m going.”

  “You’re my family, Hope. I don’t want you to leave.”

  “Well, you can’t stop me,” she said. “You can’t keep me here against my will like a prisoner. I won’t have it. Unless that’s the kind of person you are now.”

  “No, no,” Eden said. “Of course I’m not going to do that.”

  “Good.” Hope walked up to the door, then hesitated and turned back to her sister. “I know you have your new vampire family now and all”—Eden could see the hurt in Hope’s eyes—“but you could still leave. You could still come home with me, even just for a few days.”

  Eden looked at Hope with anguish. She wanted to go with her. She wanted to explain, to get the chance to talk it out, but the soulmate bond hummed in her chest. She couldn’t leave Talon.

  “I can’t… I can’t leave,” she said, and Hope’s expression shuttered. Eden hated to see it, and she quickly tried to think of a way to explain. She didn’t want to tell Hope she was choosing Talon over her sister. Hope was putting her in an impossible situation. She felt torn in two. “It’s…” She floundered. “It’s because…”

  “It’s because of that bond, isn’t it? Talon won’t let you leave.” Hope glared.

  “It’s not that he won’t let me,” Eden said angrily. “He’s not controlling me. He needs me,” she said finally. “I anchor him, the bond anchors him, and it’s so new, I don’t want to put distance between us.” She’s only just saved Talon from his recklessness, she couldn’t trust he would change habits of a lifetime just like that. They both needed time. “That’s why I want you to stay,” Eden said. “I don’t want to be here alone. I don’t want to go through all these changes alone. I didn’t tell you anything about becoming a vampire and that was wrong. But now that I’m a Shadow—”

  “Now that you’re a Shadow,” Hope said dully. “I just don’t get it. You had a home with the Ravagers, with me, and with Riker.”

  “With Riker?” Eden started, anger flushing her. “Riker wasn’t home, he wasn’t family. He isn’t family,” she said firmly.

  “He’s your boyfriend; you’ve been with him for years,”

  “I’ve been with him,” she said, “because I had no choice.”

  “What do you mean you had no choice?” Hope snapped, “You could’ve broken up with him any time you liked.”

  “No, I couldn’t,” Eden said. “He would have hurt me. He did hurt me.”

  Hope stared at her in shock. “Hurt you?” She scoffed after a second, her shocked face transforming into denial. “No, not Riker. Impossible.”

  She should have told Hope years ago. Bitter regret rose in her chest. She should have shown her. That was what she had to do, like with Talon. She lifted her shirt, feeling like she was breathing shards of glass.

  Hope’s face was expressionless. She stared at the scar across Eden’s belly. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why are you showing me this?”

  “Because Riker gave it to me. This is the kind of man he is. This is the kind of home he gave me.”

  “No,” Hope said, shaking her head, taking a step back. “No, you’re wrong. You… you’re lying.”

  “I’m not lying,” Eden said, dropping her shirt and stepping toward Hope. “This is the truth. The lie was letting you believe for so long that Riker was a good man, that our problems were just the normal problems that any boyfriend and girlfriend would have, but he wasn’t a good man. He hurt me. I protected you from it as long as I could but—”

  “No,” Hope shouted, tears in her eyes. “You’re lying. I don’t believe it. He wouldn’t do that.”

  Eden laughed bitterly. “Oh, Hope, you have no idea what he would do.” She sighed. “I never wanted this for you. I never wanted you to know how awful people can be to each other. I tried to protect you.”

  “You don’t have to protect me,” Hope snapped, dragging her eyes up from where she had still been staring at Eden’s shirt where it covered the scar. “If I wanted you to protect me, I would have asked, but I never did. You just want to control everything,” she said. “This is just part of the control,” she said suddenly, her eyes lit and fiery. “You’re not telling the truth. Now you just want me to stay here and you’re just inventing reasons to make me stay.”

  “I’m not inventing anything,” Eden shouted. “I’m telling you the truth.”

  “How do I know that?” Hope shouted back. “I don’t know this is the truth now. How do I know it isn’t just another lie? I can’t trust you.”

  “I showed you my scar,” Eden said, in shock.

  “I don’t know how you got that,” Hope said angrily. “I don’t know who you are anymore.” She grabbed her bag and shoved open the door.

  Eden rocked back, paralyzed with shock and horror. She finally opened up to her sister, finally showed her the truth, and Hope had dismissed it as if it were nothing. All Eden could do was watch as Hope strode out the door and out of her life.

  Chapter 24

  Hope hurried through the hallways of the Sanctuary, gripping her bag tightly in her hand. Eden had to be lying. It had to be some kind of ploy, a trick to make her stay, another attempt to control her like she always did. Acting like Hope was too stupid, too young, to understand anything. She hated when Eden treated her like a child. Ever since their mom had died, Eden had been the one making the decisions. Sure, Hope was grateful for that for when she was a kid, but she wasn’t a kid anymore. She was practically an adult; she’d started college last year, for God’s sake. She could make her own decisions.

  As for what Eden had said about Riker, it had to be a lie, Hope thought desperately. She couldn’t believe he had been hurting her sister all those years and she hadn’t realized. He couldn’t have. Hope would have noticed. She would have done something. Eden couldn’t have kept that a secret, not from her own sister, not for so long.

  Talon turned the corner at the end of the hallway, and all her anger and frustration sharpened to a point. It was him. He’d got his claws into her sister. Somehow, he’d confused her into believing the soulmate bullshit. She stared at him angrily as he approached. He was smiling. She’d never seen him smile before; it made him look different, brought out the dark beauty of his face. She hated it. She knew that smile. It was satisfaction, smug satisfaction at keeping her sister here, separating them both. “I suppose you’re happy,” she snapped.

  Talon focused on her. “Happy?” he asked. “Yeah.” He grinned. “Your sister has made me—”

  “Yeah, my sister,” Hope interrupted. “It didn’t take you long to trap her here with you.”

  Talon frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Eden doesn’t want to be here,” Hope scoffed, thinking about how much she herself wanted to be back home. “Eden wants to be back home with her real family, not here with you, but of course you told her she had to, didn’t you?” Hope put her hands on her hips. “You gave her some sob story about your wildness and how the bond you have with her tamed you.” She refused to use the word soulmate. There wasn’t any such thing. She wasn’t a sucker like Eden
. Hope couldn’t believe something so perfect could really exist in this messed up world. It was a lie, it had to be. This bastard was taking advantage of her sister’s good nature and she’d make him pay.

  “That’s why Eden said yes, don’t you know?” she scoffed. “Eden’s never met a broken bird she couldn’t try to heal. She’s always been obsessed with caring for people. She’s a fucking bleeding heart, and you’ve taken advantage of her just like everyone else. So I’m glad you’re fucking happy.”

  Hope glared at him as the smug smile finally left his face. Now it was her chance to be the one protecting Eden, she thought with grim satisfaction.

  “What are you talking about?” Talon said. “Eden bonded with me because—”

  “She bonded with you,” Hope talked over him, “because you needed her to control your wildness, your violence, because, otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to control yourself. She did it for you, not for her, so you better be fucking grateful,” she snapped, “because you’ve tied her to you for the rest of your vampire life.” And with that, she strode past him, leaving him standing stock-still in the hallway. He didn’t have anything to say for himself. Of course he didn’t. He didn’t have an excuse for what he’d done to Eden. Hope hurried away from Talon. She needed to save her sister somehow. But she couldn’t do it on her own. Then she had a sudden burst of inspiration. Riker! He’d help her. He’d save Eden from Talon and these liars at the Sanctuary. And then it would give him the chance to prove that he truly loved Eden, that he wouldn’t really hurt her.

  Eden had to be wrong about that scar. Her mind skated away at the thought of it, that big horrible scar on her sister’s skin. It had to be something else. Riker would prove to Eden that he was the one for her, and then Eden would be happy. She would see that Hope wasn’t just a little kid anymore, but that she was an adult, not someone in need of protecting, but someone who could protect Eden in turn. Resolute, she walked quickly out of the Sanctuary and jogged toward the nearest street corner where she could call a taxi. She was going to save her sister.

  The taxi driver couldn’t go fast enough, and Hope jiggled her knee impatiently, wishing the city was smaller, wishing she could get back to Bloodchase faster. It took an age, but finally, she reached the club and she rushed inside. The nightly partying was in full swing, the dance floor clustered with dancers, vampires gathered in the corners. Hope paused for a moment on the edge of the dance floor, expecting to drink in the glitter and excitement of it all. The rush of being so close to the Ravagers. Weirdly, it felt different now. She had something else to compare it to, and the power the Shadows held wasn’t the same as the Ravager crew. It wasn’t all glitz and glamour. It was dark, silent and deadly, and so much stronger. For the first time, she saw the emptiness in the heart of the club, the emptiness in people’s faces, the shallow masks of power, and it scared her because she had never noticed it before. If she could be wrong about that, she could be wrong about more, about everything. Then she caught sight of Riker on the other side of the club and her worries were wiped away with a rush of focus. No, there wasn’t an emptiness, a brittleness, or fakeness to the smiles as people recognized her and waved as she crossed the dance floor. She was imagining it. It was her fear talking. Riker would put things right. She knew him.

  She pushed her way through the crowd and waved to Riker. She was elbowed in the stomach by a tall blonde who stepped in front of her, clearly trying to attract Riker and the other Ravagers’ attention. Hope glared at her, ready to slap the other woman out of the way.

  One of the bouncers started to muscle toward them and Hope worried that she wasn’t going to reach Riker in time. “Riker,” she shouted, waving her hand in the air. He stared over the dance floor, seeming not to see her, but then his expression shifted, pulling at the tattoo across his face. His eyes sharpened with recognition, and he gestured for his men to bring her forward. Glaring at the blonde woman with a pulse of mean satisfaction, Hope approached Riker.

  “This is unexpected,” Riker said, his expression intense and focused on her.

  Hope raised her face, smiling in relief. “Riker,” she said, “I’m so glad to see you.”

  “Glad?” Riker asked, a flicker of confusion crossing his face before it relaxed into a smug grin. “Oh, Hope,” he said smoothly, “not as glad as I am to see you. Why don’t you come and sit near me, darlin’?”

  There was something about his smile that seemed wrong, almost predatory. Hope shivered. She had come this far. She couldn’t go back now, and she settled beside him, feeling an unexpected wave of revulsion as his arm came around her waist and tucked her into his side.

  “Um, Riker? Why are you—”

  He talked over her. “So where is Eden?” he said, his grip tight on her waist, his cold eyes focused on her. He did care about Eden, Hope thought with relief. Of course he did. Eden was wrong. Eden had to be wrong. She tried to ignore the hard pressure of his hand on her waist and the coldness of his gaze. She stared up at him.

  “She’s…” She trailed off. The expression in Riker’s gaze was all wrong. She couldn’t see any love in his eyes, and with a shudder of shock, she realized he was wearing the expression she had expected Talon to wear. The smug, cruel, satisfied smile of a predator. Thinking back to that moment in the hallway, Hope compared the two. The smile that Talon had worn had been open, honest… love?

  “Oh God,” she whispered. “I’ve made a terrible mistake.” She looked up at Riker, trembling with fear. “You hurt her, didn’t you?” she whispered. “You hurt my sister.”

  Riker’s grin widened, and for once, the fangs peeking out from his lips didn’t seem cool and powerful; they seemed like the terrifying teeth of a monster.

  “So, she finally told you.” Riker grinned and laughed cruelly. Hope tried to get up to escape, but he snapped his hand out and dragged her back beside him, his vampire strength far too much to fight against. “Poor little Hope,” he sneered, singsong. “Come on, I thought you liked hanging out with us.” He tugged her so that she sprawled over him. She cried out and tried to push away, staring around, but no one came to help her. The Ravagers around Riker just laughed cruelly. She’d thought this was her family? She’d thought this was home? Eden had been right. About everything. Hope was a fucking idiot. And now she was trapped here.

  “Tell me where Eden is,” Riker said, gripping her chin and turning her face up to his.

  “I won’t,” Hope spat, trying to ignore the painful grip he had on her jaw. His grip grew tighter and tears appeared in the corner of Hope’s eyes, escaping and trailing down her cheeks. She wouldn’t tell him, she swore. She wouldn’t tell him where Eden was. She wouldn’t help him at all.

  “Well, no matter.” Riker grinned. “It’s not like it’s any secret that she’s been spending her time with those fucking Shadows, but we’re almost ready to launch our attack, so you just sit tight with me, little Hope.” He dragged her back beside him and gestured to one of the Ravagers to grab her bag from where she’d dropped it. “Get me her cell. I’m gonna have a little chat with her dear sister,” he said, smiling evilly down at her. “We’ll see if Eden and I can’t come to some kind of agreement.”

  Hope stared up into his face, seeing only the promise of pain in his eyes. Eden had been telling the truth, Riker was evil, and Hope had just placed herself completely in his power.

  Chapter 25

  Eden stared out the window of the train at the darkened subway walls around her. They pulled into the station with a squeal of brakes and Eden followed the rush of people out onto the platform and up into the city. She hadn’t been able to think after Hope had left. She’d looked around the room, unable to bear the sight of the space she had shared with Hope over the past few weeks. Everything was a reminder of the mistakes she’d made, the choices that had led to her losing her sister. She’d needed to get out of the Sanctuary just for a little while. She’d found herself moving on autopilot, taking the L back to her old neighborhood, and now she sto
od looking around at the familiar space with tired eyes. The alleyway where Talon had been attacked was only a few blocks over, but Eden turned away from it, and instead drifted through familiar streets, past her old school, all the places she had lived with Hope, the places she had grown up as a human with her sister. This was what she had lost. Hope wasn’t just her sister; she was her last tie to her human life. Without Hope, her history, her past, it was all meaningless.

  She’d felt Talon reach out to her shortly after Hope had left the Sanctuary, but she had turned away, pushing the bond deep down inside her chest. She didn’t want to think about the bond; it was too close to the reason she’d lost Hope. She just needed to be alone. She would return to the Sanctuary soon, but she needed a moment to herself first. She guessed she had made the impossible choice after all. She had chosen the Sanctuary and Talon over her sister. She wanted to reach out to Talon to let her emotions—her anguish and confusion—flood down the bond to him, but she couldn’t put this on him. It wasn’t his choice, it was hers. Hers to live with, her pain to bear.

  She found a bench overlooking the park and sank down onto it, staring hopelessly forward, remembering countless sunny weekends spent here with Hope when they were younger, when their mother was still alive, when things had been simple, and they had been happy.

  How had they strayed so far from that point, she wondered, tears tracking down her face. How had she lost her sister? If only she could go back and tell her past self to trust Hope with the truth. If only she could change that one thing.

  But there was no point in wasting time worrying over the past. She angrily scrubbed the tears from her face. Better to focus on the future. She would give Hope a little time to cool off, a few days, then she’d reach out to her and tell her she didn’t want to lose her, that it wasn’t a choice, one or the other. That they could find a way to make it work. Hope was probably at their apartment now, or else meeting her college friends. She must have work to catch up on. Eden hadn’t been thinking clearly. Of course Hope had to go back to her life. Yeah, she would give her sister the time she needed and then she would reach out—