Page 24 of Awakening the Dhampir

I squinted at the two men. I couldn’t see their expressions, even though I could feel the tension gathering between them.

“Okay, fine,” Elliott relented. “Nathan needs to be on a plane in forty-five minutes, or he won’t make it back before dawn.”

Kenrid had mentioned that vampires couldn’t be out in the sun during our first road trip, not because it would melt their skin like humans thought. But the sun did drain their energy at a very rapid rate, which is why they slept all day.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, rushing back to the truck. “I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself, which is really selfish considering what you all just did for me.” I climbed into the back seat and scooted to the middle. “Sorry. I’m ready to go.”

The four men stood at their open doors, just looking at me with similar expressions.

“What?” I asked.

“Get in,” Nathan said, shaking his head. I assumed he was talking to the guys who were still staring at me.

“We’re just a little … shocked … by how coherent you are,” Kenrid said, retaking his spot next to me.

He left a couple inches of space between us this time. Elliott didn’t. His right arm draped over the seat behind me and pulled me into his side. I didn’t fight him.

When we got back onto the road, I responded to the questions they hadn’t asked but obviously wanted to.

“My dhampir and I have a plan,” I announced. “She’s actually really smart and not what I expected.” I bit my lower lip again and frowned. I’d need to look at my other persona at some point. But not now. “I thought I’d become a deranged creature with no mind at all. So, discovering an intelligent person in my head was pretty amazing and a huge relief.”

Can I tell them what you said? I asked her. About being part of my family?

Yes. Only because they’re your family.

I almost argued with her, but remembered I was supposed to be having a conversation with the guys.

“Like she said earlier, she wants to live,” I continued. “She sees my memories. My childhood. My job. All of it. She wants to be part of my life.” I glanced at the front seat. Damon was turned sideways, giving me his full attention. Nathan’s eyes kept drifting to me in the rearview mirror. “We realize we can’t have any of that unless we can convince everyone that we aren’t dangerous.” I swallowed hard and met Damon’s dark gaze. “If we can’t control her hunger, we know we’re dead.”

Elliott’s fingers tightened on my shoulder, and Kenrid’s hand landed on my knee, but I didn’t take my eyes from Damon. He would be the one keeping my dhampir’s hunger under control. She wanted Nathan, but we couldn’t go there. Maybe sometime in the future when we had a good grip on all the chaos, we could think about it, but not now.

Even though my dhampir was hiding most of that awful time from me, I could still feel the lingering vampire magic still pulsing in my veins. It gave me so much strength. I honestly believed I could’ve tossed Damon’s demon across the room with ease at the height of my bloodlust.

Though I’d thought Conrad was taking my blood when I first arrived, there was no way that was true … unless it had only lasted a short time. I never felt a surge of magic from him. It seemed only Jared had swapped blood with me. Actually, now that I thought about it, the way Jared’s power was fading, I knew it only lasted a limited time.

A small shiver ran down my spine. My dhampir easily smelled the difference between the master vampire and Jared. She’d wanted Conrad’s strength, but we hadn’t gotten it.

I wonder how much power Nathan would give us.

Her thought had me looking at the vampire in the driver’s seat. I caught several whiffs of his blood but never had anything to compare it to, until now. I was tempted to lean forward and draw in his scent, but that would sabotage my claim of wanting to be in control.

You’ll have to wait to find out, I said.

“I’ll drive back with Kenrid,” Damon said, interrupting my thoughts.

“No, you won’t,” Elliott argued, his fingers digging into my shoulder.

“Nathan needs to be at the fortress before word of Conrad’s death starts spreading,” Damon said, his dark eyes moving from me to Elliott. “We need to find Lorna’s limits before she gets there. We don’t know how often she needs to feed. We won’t have time to figure it out once she reaches the fortress. She and her dhampir are right. She needs to convince our clan that she’s not a danger to them.”

“Kenrid can go with Nathan,” Elliott growled. “I’m not leaving her.”

Elliott’s possessiveness startled me. I would’ve expected it from Damon after his mate thing, but not Elliott. I wiggled out of his grasp and slid over to Kenrid’s side so I could see the shifter. The fae didn’t touch me, which elevated my concern. I’d expected him to pull me away from Elliott, but he didn’t.

Elliott didn’t take his eyes from Damon. I’d already seen that look right before they started fighting in Kenrid’s house. There was no way a wolf and a demon would fit inside the cab… right?

“Elliott!” I smacked his chest with my palm.

His eyes slid shut with obvious effort. “Lorna.” He breathed my name like it hurt him to say it.

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