Page 38 of Vampire Bite

Her pain hit me harder than I expected, the ache in her voice tugging at something deep inside me. I wanted to tell her it was okay to stay, that it wasn’t selfish to let herself be part of something bigger, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t be the one to ask her to stay… not when I knew what it would cost her.

“You’re doing what you can,” I said instead. “And when this is over, you’ll go back and do what you need to do.”

She gave a small, rueful laugh, shaking her head. “You make it sound so simple.”

“Nothing about this is simple.” The words came out sharper than I intended, but it was the truth. None of it was easy. Not the fight, not her place in it, not the way I felt every time I looked at her.

She fell silent for a moment, staring at the map again as though it held the answers she was searching for. “Do you believe in soulmates?” she asked suddenly, her voice quieter now, almost hesitant.

The question took me off guard. I studied her, trying to gauge where it had come from. “I… I think so,” I admitted. “Why?”

She shrugged, but her fingers fidgeted with the edge of the table, betraying her nervousness. “I guess I’m just wondering... if there’s someone out there you’re supposed to find, someone who... fits you in a way no one else can. Do you think that’s real?”

I could hear the vulnerability in her voice, the way she was trying not to say too much. I thought about how to answer, my chest tightening at the unspoken weight of her words.

“I think,” I said slowly, “if two people find each other, and it feels like the world shifts around them, like everything before and after them doesn’t make sense without that moment, then maybe that’s what a soulmate is.”

Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and there was something unguarded in her gaze, something that made it hard to breathe. I wanted to reach for her, to close the space between us, but I didn’t. Instead, I let the silence stretch, waiting for her to say something, anything.

“I don’t know what I believe,” she murmured, looking away. “But... sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to belong in two places at once. To feel pulled in two directions and not know which one is right.”

I swallowed hard, my hands clenching at my sides. “Maybe it’s not about which one is right,” I said. “Maybe it’s about which one feels like home.”

Her breath caught, and for a fleeting second, I thought she might say something, that she might admit what I couldn’t bring myself to ask. But she didn’t. Instead, she turned her head, her face half-hidden by the fall of her hair.

I could feel it in the air between us, everything we weren’t saying. Everything I wanted to say but couldn’t. Because as much as I wanted her to stay, to fight beside me, to choose this life over the one she left behind, I wouldn’t ask her to. That choice had to be hers.

The silence between us felt fragile, like the slightest sound could shatter it. Annika's gaze was fixed on the map again, but her thoughts were miles away. I could see it in the way her fingers absently traced patterns on the table. I was about to say something, to pull her back to the moment, when the door swung open with a sharp creak.

Callum stepped in, his boots heavy against the floor. “Lucas—” he started, but then he froze, his gaze flickering between us. He wasn’t exactly subtle, his eyebrows shooting up as if he’d walked in on something scandalous.

Annika straightened immediately, stepping back from the table as if she’d been caught doing something wrong. I clenched my jaw, glaring at Callum for his timing.

“What is it, Callum?” I asked, my tone sharp enough to make him flinch slightly.

He opened his mouth, then hesitated, his eyes darting between us again.

“Uh... I can come back in a minute,” he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. His smirk was barely hidden, though, and I could feel the weight of his assumptions hanging in the air.

“No, you’re already here,” I said, biting back my irritation. “Spit it out.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Just thought I’d give you two another moment. Didn’t mean to interrupt... whatever this is.” He grinned, and I resisted the urge to throw something at him.

“Callum,” I warned, my voice low.

“Fine, fine,” he said quickly, backing toward the door. “I’ll be right outside. Take your time.” He gave us a mock salute and slipped out, leaving the door ajar behind him.

Annika let out a shaky laugh, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “He’s got the subtlety of a wrecking ball.”

Her smile was faint but genuine, and it eased some of the tension in my chest. For a moment, we just stood there, the silence settling around us again. Whatever fragile connection we’d been teetering on before was still there.

“Should we—?” she started, gesturing toward the door.

I nodded, my lips pressing into a thin line. “Yeah. Let’s see what the interruption was about.”

As Annika stepped past me toward the door, I hesitated, my hand brushing against the edge of the table. She didn’t look back, but the way her shoulders tensed told me she felt the weight of my gaze.

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