Page 60 of Make Me Bleed

Once again, I think of Peter. Of how he stayed just outside of the borders, never finding his way in. And of Hank, too… Dyea welcomed him even though I ran, all because we both recognized each other instantly as each other’s mate. The sanctuary’s spell didn’t stop him because he belongs wherever I do.

Bridget sighs. “I mean, it sucks knowing that I have to keep looking over my shoulder for those damn hunters, but at least Penelope went right to Celeste so we know to expect it. And who knows?” Her grin becomes mischievous. “If your bear can rip off a vamp’s head, I’d love to see what he could do to a human witch hunter.”

I can’t quite keep back my prim smile of abject pride. Hank is normally so easygoing—unless he’s chasing the mate that bit him, then ran from him—but I have to admit: seeing the berserker side of my bear was very arousing.

Obviously.

My prim smile must’ve turned a little more lust-filled because Bridget’s eyes seem to twinkle in amusement—but it doesn’t last. Her pretty face turns hard as she tilts her head slightly, something behind me and to my left catching her attention.

And whatever it is? She’s not a fan.

She jerks her chin in the direction. “Heads up, Elise. Vampires at three o’clock.”

Oh. That would explain it.

Bridget has only known that supes exist for a handful of months. She was gracious enough to understand why I kept the secret of vampires and Fang Cities during the six months we shared an apartment in Clarity, but I don’t pretend to think thatshe only accepted my being a supe as easily as she did because she was still in shock over her own change in status. Even then, I had to show her my fangs to get her to believe that I really am a blooddrinker, and have spent many a night pointing out the inaccuracies of all of the vampire-themed media we watch together.

I mean, please don’t get me started on vampires thatsparkle…

Poor Bridge. Her only real experiences with vampires come from her interactions with me and powerful Cadre vamps like Thorn and Jasper. Keeping her head down after her arrival in Dyea so that she didn’t trigger her fire magic and catch the witch hunter’s attention, she purposely avoided any of the sanctuary vamps. That, of course, was easy since they were avoidingus.

Then Julian started showing up everywhere I turned before he tried to claim me in front of Hank as some deranged idea of taking over the hidden supe town. There was that time Matilda followed me into the library when I was talking to Karl. Oh, and when Stacey and Helen joined us for movie night for the first time…

Suffice to say, Bridget might not have noticed all of the vamps crawling out of their cabins to peek at me, but she was right there when Julian hit me, then dug his fangs into my throat. Ever since then, she’s been pissed at the other vampires in Dyea, assuming they were in on Julian’s plan.

Since coming back to Dyea, I’ve wondered if she was right. In Hank’s den, I was able to keep my distance from the other vamps. Now that Bridge and I were enjoying a summer afternoon, taking a leisurely stroll toward the canteen where Mo promised to make his version of shrimp fettuccine for Bridget, it seems as if they decided to findme.

I glance behind me. A brunette with a bob and a blonde who wears her hair in enticing curls down to the middle of her back. Stacey and Helen again.

Helen lifts her hand, fingers bending in a shy, hesitant wave.

I lay my hand on Bridget’s shoulder. “Go on. I’ll meet you at the canteen in a minute.”

Her eyebrows jump up. “You sure?”

Stacey follows Helen’s lead and smiles encouragingly at me.

Turning to Bridge, I nod. “Yeah.”

Bridget glances over at the two female vampires. Instead of waving back at them, she lifts her hand, moving it so it’s palm up. With barely any effort at all, she conjures a fireball about the size of an orange. She makes sure that Helen and Stacey see it, then vanishes it just as easily.

“Don’t be too long, Elise,” she calls out. “I’ll hold your seat for you. Oh, and one for your bear, too.”

I have to swallow my grin. Never change, Bridge. Never change.

Once she’s started for the canteen, I glide over to where the vampires are waiting for me. “Yes?”

Their eyes meet, and Stacey exhales before facing me again. “Elise. Congratulations on your mating.”

Not what I expected from the other female, but I’ll accept it. “Thank you. I’m very lucky to have found my beloved.”

And it wasn’t Julian, was it?

As if she knows exactly where my thoughts went, Helen flushes, burning plenty of blood from her donor. “I want to make it very clear. What Julian did… none of the rest of us had any idea he’d take the idea of forming our own Dyea Cadre and twist it the way he did. Going rogue… he hid that from all of us.”

It would’ve been fairly easy to do so. Vampires are like Alaskan bear shifters. Left to our own devices, we’re solitary beings, only relying on those to give us our blood to survive. Thebenefit to Cadres is forcing vampires to build a community with a leader at the top who uses their power to keep his people in line.

I notice she doesn’t deny that the local vampires were discussing building a Cadre of their own. Just that Julian twisted it, but I already knew that. He wanted to lead, and when he was told he ‘didn’t have the temperament’, he decided that I would be the perfect stepping stone to his path to the top of a new Cadre.

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