Page 25 of Awakening the Dhampir

“I’m putting all my trust in you four to keep me safe,” I said. “But you also have a clan to protect and responsibilities that can’t wait for me to get my shit together.”

“Kenrid needs to stay with Lorna,” Nathan said. “Unless you plan to knock her out the hard way if she loses it on Damon.”

Elliott sighed and reached for me. I gave him my hand, which he cradled in his large palm.

“This shit sucks,” he muttered, watching his thumb trace my knuckles.

I almost asked which shit he was talking about. We’d waded through quite a few unpleasant things in the last several hours. The last several weeks, really. But I kept my mouth shut and let him process. I didn’t like people pressuring me to share my thoughts. I wouldn’t do it to him.

“You’ll keep her safe?” Elliott asked, still not looking up from our joined hands.

“You already know the answer,” Damon said.

Chapter 10

Lorna

After another half hour of driving, Nathan pulled into the parking lot of a small airport. My dhampir continued to give a running dialog of all the guys’ attributes the entire time. No matter what I told her, she refused to shut up. I didn’t have the heart to lock her up, though. Even if her thoughts were inappropriate, she was funny, and I really needed a distraction from the darkness of the last three weeks.

As soon as Nathan put the truck in park, I scrambled over Kenrid and pushed the door open. The cool night air once again calmed my raging hormones. I didn’t get more than a few feet from the vehicle before Kenrid’s cool summer rain wrapped around me. Now that it wasn’t mingling with the others, I realized how much I missed his magic calling to mine.

I drew in a deep breath and turned to face him. He stood a couple steps away with his hands shoved in his pockets. The tall lights in the parking lot cast shadows across his face, but I could see him watching me. I just wasn’t sure what his expression meant.

I opened my mouth several times to give a dozen different reassurances and excuses, but they all sounded weak, even in my mind. I wasn’t sure I could control anything anymore. Yes, my dhampir and I were determined, but determination didn’t mean success.

Nathan and Elliott strolled around the back of the truck a moment later, both with a bag slung over their shoulders. Nathan stopped at Kenrid’s side, but Elliott marched right into my space and pulled me into a tight hug. I didn’t fight it. My arms wrapped around his waist, and I settled my cheek against his chest. His heart thumped against my ear, sounding just a little too fast.

“I’ll see you in two days,” Elliott whispered.

His chest rumbled, and a whole-body shiver quickly followed. Elliott’s magic wrapped around me. The green haze that preceded a shift to his wolf circled us both. It sank through my skin and brushed against my own magic. It felt so right. Different than Kenrid’s but just as right. Where Kenrid’s magic felt like a soft summer rain, Elliott’s was like snuggling with a loved one in a warm blanket by the fire.

The mingling of our magic faded, and Elliott released me. His shoulders were slightly hunched, and his hands curled into fists just before he turned and walked away.

Nathan took a step closer to me with Kenrid glued to his side. My dhampir rose to the surface, but she didn’t try to take over. She just watched as his scent surrounded me. I didn’t need her to tell me that his blood would be stronger than Conrad’s. I could smell the intensity of his magic.

We cannot give in, I told my other half.

No, we cannot, she agreed.

“When you arrive at our home, you’ll need to be half-fae and half-human,” Nathan said. “I’m still trying to decide whether we should continue to use your true identity or make up a new one. Hopefully whatever we find in the boxes we stole from Conrad will help with that choice.”

“You want to take them with you?” Kenrid asked. “We won’t be able to do anything with them while we’re on the road.”

Nathan pulled his shadowed gaze from me and looked at the fae. “Good idea.”

“I’ll get a cart,” Damon offered, jogging toward the small airport terminal without waiting for a response.

Nathan turned back to me, and I shivered under the intensity of his gaze. Even though the lights shadowed his face, I could feel the magic in his blood calling me.

“I’m trusting you with two of my most valuable men and best friends,” Nathan whispered. “Kenrid has the ability to put you in a magically induced sleep if he has to. Don’t force him to make that decision.”

All my desire for the vampire shriveled up into a ball of resentment. His words stung, no matter how justified they were. I was a stranger to him—to all of them—and he was sacrificing so much to keep my secret. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and stared at the cracked concrete under my feet.

Asshole! my dhampir hissed.

No, he’s right, I said.

“I promise not to hurt them or put them in a compromising position,” I said. “Thank you for the sacrifices all of you are making and have already made just to keep me safe. I won’t be a burden to you.”

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