Page 32 of Vampire Bite

Lena turned, already heading out the door. “Let’s move,” she called, her voice echoing down the hallway.

I followed her, and Lucas was right behind me. The noise of our footsteps seemed deafening in the quiet hallway as we made our way to the meeting room, my mind still reeling from the last few moments. But there was no time for thinking about that now.

Thinking about it only made things more difficult, more uncertain. It only made me realize the uncomfortable truth, and that was the undeniable fact that I was starting to fall for him.

Chapter Eighteen

Lucas

The moment the meeting ended, and people began to scatter, I scanned the room for Annika. At first, I thought she might have just slipped out quietly, but as the minutes stretched on and she didn’t reappear, unease settled over me like a suffocating fog.

Where was she? She knew how dangerous it was out there.

My heart started to pound as a wave of panic swept through me. What if something had already happened?

I didn’t want to alert the others—not yet, at least. It would only cause more chaos. So I slipped out the door quietly, hoping that she hadn’t gone far. The night outside was damp and cold, with a thick mist crawling low to the ground. Every shadow seemed alive, every sound amplified in the silence.

“Annika,” I called out, keeping my voice low but firm. Nothing answered me, but the rustling of leaves in the wind.

I pushed further into the darkness, my eyes searching for any sign of her. The tension in my chest tightened with every step, and I couldn’t stop the thoughts racing through my head. Had she been taken? Was she hurt?

And why had she left without saying anything?

Then, just ahead, a small disturbance in the dirt caught my attention—a faint impression, almost like a footprint, leading toward the trees. I crouched down, inspecting it closely, and my stomach sank.

She’d gone this way.

I followed the trail, my senses sharpening as I moved through the fog. The air was thick, heavy with the scent ofdamp earth and something else—something faintly metallic. The further I went, the darker it became, the towering trees swallowing the moonlight.

“Annika,” I tried again, this time louder, my voice edged with worry. Still nothing.

Every step felt like an eternity, every moment a battle against the gnawing fear clawing at me. If anything had happened to her… I couldn’t even finish the thought.

I clenched my fists, trying to keep my composure. She had to be all right. She had to.

I kept moving, each step deliberate and soundless as I pushed deeper into the woods. The fog wrapped around me, clinging to my skin like a damp second layer, but I ignored it. All I could think about was finding her, making sure she was safe.

And then, I saw her.

In the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the canopy, Annika was crouched in a small clearing ahead. Relief rushed over me, but it was quickly overshadowed by confusion. She wasn’t alone.

I froze, half-hidden behind a tree. My instincts screamed to run to her, but something made me stop. She was whispering softly, her body hunched low, her hands outstretched. And then I saw it… a small figure across from her.

A child. A hurt child, with deep, bleeding cuts.

The tension in my chest doubled. The child’s frame was slight, their movements cautious. They were barefoot, their clothes torn and dirty. My first thought was that it was a trap, one set by the shifters. But the way the child looked at her… it didn’t seem like they were a threat.

I was trembling, every nerve in my body on edge. What if I was wrong? What if the child wasn’t what they seemed? The shifters were cunning. They could use anything… anyone… to get what they wanted.

But Annika didn’t seem afraid. She leaned in closer, her voice gentle, soothing. I strained to hear her, but her words were lost in the distance between us.

My mind raced. Should I intervene? Pull her away before it was too late? Or would that only make things worse?

I gripped the tree beside me, my fingers digging into the rough bark. Every instinct I had told me to protect her, but something about the scene before me made me hesitate.

The child reached out, their tiny hand brushing hers, and I tensed, ready to spring into action. But nothing happened. No sudden shift, no violence… just two figures in the stillness of the night.

I stared, frozen in place, as Annika reached out to the child again. My mind screamed at me to stop her, to pull her away before something happened, but my feet refused to move.

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