Page 42 of High Stakes

I tried to remember what happened right before I passed out. “I was sitting there and I was fine, and suddenly, I just remember needing some air. But when I stood up, the world seemed to shift. Everything got loud and the lights looked strange, and then I felt like I was falling.”

“You did,” Titus admitted, nodding to Enoch. “He caught you before I could get to you. He’s faster.”

“I know,” I answered, sneaking a glance at Enoch.

“We have to figure out what’s happening with you,” Titus muttered, and then cursed under his breath.

Enoch tensed beside me. “Do not utter such words in the presence of this lady again,” he demanded.

I smiled. “I say worse than that, Enoch. Seriously. Lighten up.”

A wave of confusion crossed Enoch’s features. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

I knew he didn’t.

Enoch leaned back and smoothed his shirt. “Titus, may I speak with Eve alone for a few minutes?”

Titus smirked, crossing his arms. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t you be chaperoned or something? Isn’t it improper for you to be in here in the first place? We wouldn’t want to damage her reputation, you know.”

Enoch stood, his fangs bared and fists clenched, ready to fight.

“Go, Titus. Before he eats you,” I groaned. “Just... go.” I couldn’t help but laugh. He was messing with the bull. Eventually, he’d get the horns.

Titus crossed the room and let the door slam closed behind him. Enoch was flustered, staring at the closed door with an inscrutable expression on his face.

“Confounding, right?” I commented dryly.

“You make light of death,” he countered, shaking his head, clearly not understanding.

“Only my own.”

He raked a hand through his curled, dark hair. “Yes, well, yours is the last I would want to imagine.”

My heart skipped a beat, sure I was imagining his concern. “Why?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re the only woman who has ever ran a wooden stake through my hand,” he answered, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

“I was aiming for your heart.”

His eyes flicked to mine. “Stake or none, I’m afraid you’ve struck your target.”

My heart pounded. “That’s not possible, Enoch. You can’t say things like that. Not to me.”

“I believe all things are possible,” he answered, holding out his hands. “After all, I exist.”

I pinched my lips together and considered whether I should just come out and ask him. In the end, I decided I needed to know. “If you don’t call yourself a vampire, what do you call your kind?”

Enoch scooted closer on the bed and began rubbing the back of my hand again. He took a deep breath and began, “My siblings and I are the only of our kind remaining. Likely because of our parentage, and the fact that we were stronger than all the others.”

“All the others?” I asked, confused.

“The Nephilim.”

My mouth dropped open. I’d never heard this wrinkle in the story before.

Enoch saw my shocked expression and rushed to explain. “When angels were cast out of heaven, they fell to the earth. Many fell in love with or mated with human women. One of which was my mother.”

Could it really be true? Was he the spawn of Satan himself? “Do you know who your father is?”

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