Page 42 of Fanged Temptation

Tentatively, I spoke again, my voice stilted. “Leah… you do realize what I just said, right? About me being a vampire?”

She met my gaze, eyes clouded with worry and shook her head in a small, almost dismissive gesture. “Yeah, I heard you,” she said, like it was the most ordinary revelation in the world.

I blinked, struggling to process her calm. “You—so you’re not… freaking out?” The words came out in a disbelieving rush. “You’re not even batting an eyelash that I’m a vampire?”

She shrugged, chewing on her bottom lip. “Not really,” she admitted. “I mean, everything you’ve told me, it’s… a lot. But I already knew that part.”

My jaw nearly hit the floor. “What do you mean youalready knew?”

She sighed, steepling her fingers in her lap, and sucked in a breath. Then she met my gaze, tension and trepidation flickering behind her eyes.

“I have something to tell you too.”

20

Leah

I had never seen Maxine so vulnerable.

Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears, her posture timid and her shoulders slumped, like she might just curl up and vanish if I looked at her too long.

A heavy weight settled in my chest the moment I made up my mind to come clean. But I had to do it, I couldn’t hide things from her any longer–not when she’d finally told me the truth.

I perched on the edge of the bed, quiet dread curdling in my stomach. Maxine watched me with wary eyes and I found I couldn’t quite meet her gaze.I’m going to lose her forever.

“I–” I tried to speak, but my first attempt was nothing more than a crackling croak. Clearing my throat, I forced the words out in a stilted rush. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you either.”

Maxine tilted her head, damp curls clinging to her neck. “What do you mean?”

My lungs felt tight, and every beat of my heart pounded like a warning bell.Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Stop talking. Stop talking. Stop–

“Your family. They… they found me.” I admitted, trembling voice little more than a whisper.

“What?” Maxine straightened up, angling her body toward me and half-reaching across the gap between us. “What do you mean they found you?”

“I hadn’t heard from you in years. I thought you were long gone. But a few months back,theycame to my house in San Francisco—your mother and your brother. I don’t know how, but they knew who I was. They knew we were once… friends.” I sucked in a breath, swallowing hard. “They said—they said you were an ungrateful runaway. That your father was ill, and they needed you back. They…”

I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut, but the memory of those terrifying beings haunted me still. Their raking claws would live forever behind my eyes. “They sent me to find you. Threatened me, too, if I didn’t get you to come home.”

Maxine’s expression shifted from confusion to a slow-dawning horror. “They sent you to find me?” she echoed softly. Then her pupils blew out and her face went pale. “Oh God. They blackmailed you.”

I nodded, my nails digging into the bedspread as I clamped down on a surge of panic. “That's why I came to New York. They threatened to hurt me if I didn’t… do what they wanted,” I whispered. “They threatened my grandfather too. It was– I didn’t know what else to do. I just thought they wanted you back because… well, I didn’t know about Gregor or the arranged marriage or–”

Maxine stood abruptly, turning her back to me.

My words came in a flood then, desperation kicking in. “I swear, I had no clue about any of that. If I’d known–” My voice wavered. “I never would have helped them, Maxine.”

But she didn’t look at me. Her shoulders were tense, her arms rigid at her sides. A cold, awful sense of finality tightened around my throat.She hates me. She’ll never forgive me for this.

I pushed up from the bed, stumbling toward her, my breath catching on a sob.

“Maxine, please,” I pleaded, voice cracking. “I’m sorry. I had no idea they were forcing you into—into that. I wouldn’t have?—”

Slowly, she turned to face me, and her gaze was fierce, but… not furious. She set her hands on my shoulders, her touch surprisingly gentle.

“Leah,” she said, her tone steady though her eyes glistened, “it’s not your fault. You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your grandfather.” Her fingers tightened a fraction, nails digging into my skin. “I’m angry atthem. Not you.”

I stood there, stunned, tears slipping down my cheeks. “But… But I lied to you. I’vebeenlying to you. You have every right to be furious.”

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