“Stay close, Liam,” he says through our mind link. “We need to be cautious.”
My heart is pounding in my chest as we move forward. The scent of blood grows stronger with each step. We quickly come upon a clearing, and what we see stops us dead in our tracks. There, lying on the ground, is a body—a human, torn and bloody, with deep gashes covering its flesh.
My stomach churns at the sight, and I have to fight back the urge to retch. “What happened here?” I say.
My father approaches the body, sniffing cautiously. “It looks like an attack. But by whom, I’m not sure. There is no scent other than the blood.”
I swallow hard. “Do you think it’s related to Lennox?”
“It’s possible. We need to find out who’s behind this, find Lennox, and put a stop to all of this before anyone else gets hurt.”
Chapter 46
Selene
I’m sitting in Liam’s apartment, anxiously waiting for him to return. My mind is racing with worry, wondering what could be keeping him so long. Suddenly, I hear a commotion outside the door, and my heart skips a beat.
Emmett comes bounding down the steps in his pajamas, looking surprised to see me here. “What are you doing here?” he asks in a guarded tone.
I swallow nervously, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. “I’m here because Liam asked me to wait here for him.”
Emmett rolls his eyes, muttering something under his breath. “Whatever,” he says dismissively, starting to walk away.
I scramble to my feet, reaching out to stop him. “Emmett, wait.”
He glances back at me, his expression cold and unfriendly. “What?” he snaps.
Unable to keep the question inside any longer, I blurt out, “Why do you hate me?”
Emmett’s eyes narrow, his jaw clenching. “Because you’re a vampire,” he says bluntly.
I flinch at his words, feeling a pang of hurt deep in my chest. “But that’s not fair,” I protest, feeling tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. “I didn’t choose to be a vampire.”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. You’re still one of them.”
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions in check. “Please, Emmett. Can’t we at least try to talk? Maybe if you got to know me, you’d realize I’m not so different from you.”
He hesitates for a moment, his eyes softening slightly. But then, just as quickly, the walls go back up, and he shakes his head. “I don’t care,” he says, turning to leave once again.
I watch him go, feeling hurt. He hates me simply because of what I am.
But I rally, hoping that one day, he’ll come around and see that vampires aren’t all bad.
Until then, I’ll just have to keep trying to prove him wrong.
I pick up my phone to check for any new message from Liam. Not knowing if he is safe is making me feel slightly insane.
Still, there are no new messages.
It is now close to four a.m.
Maybe I should take Liam up on his offer and head up to his room. I probably won’t be able to sleep, but being in his bed might help a little bit.
I haven’t taken two steps when I hear the car horns in the parking lot all go off.
“What the—”
Then I hear a scream and a loud bang just outside the door.