Page 103 of Blood Moon
I pushed away, turned my back, became the salt. “But youarea monster,” I reminded, hissing the words past my shoulder so he’d know I meant them.
Because I did. I did. I do.
CHAPTER51
When we survived, we didn’t come back the same.
Article VI, Lost Letters from Aadan the First
I ran from Julian, folds of my dress breaking in the wind, only halting at the sight of Hester Hall. I paused to breathe, staring at my scarred hands, remembering the heat and sparks that had emanated from them.What had been awakened inside me?
“Mira!” someone shouted, and the voice was distinct, but it wasn’t Julian, nor was it any of those who’d been after me.
When I turned, Seven was running in a line toward me. Sweat coated his brown skin, and he still wore the suit he’d had on for homecoming. Loose threads frayed at the seams, buttons hung from threads. He was aghast at the sight of me, and I could only imagine how I appeared. My hair was a mess, blood crusted in the corners of my lips, dress sprinkled with crimson. My bare feet, dirty and swollen.
“Your eyes,” he said when he reached me, and I blinked. “There’s a red ring around them.”
It was from the blood I drank. A reminder that I was a dhampir, and a realization that the blood I’d ingested had erupted a monster that had been locked inside. My limbs felt heavier, harder to move. The world, through the eyes I’d always had, seemed clearer, a greater level of detail encasing everything, and the smell of this place was overwhelming.
“It’s true?” Seven whispered, and when he did, I remembered how Julian had warned me to stay away from him.
I stumbled back.
“Wait!” he pleaded, taking steps to catch up, but I kept going. The wolves were after me, and he was a wolf, wasn’t he? Seven dropped to his knees, hands held up in surrender. “I swear on my life, I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Are you a werewolf?” I questioned.
He dropped his head, ashamed. “You know about that?” he said weakly, and I watched him pull at grass. “I didn’t know they were after you. My dad, he keeps me in the dark. I was genuinely going to take you home,” he said, and when he regarded me, his eyes seemed weary. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. And I haven’t stopped.”
Seven really was a werewolf. I recalled all the signs I neglected as I watched him, knees pressed to wet grass, curls dripping with rain.Look at him, so earnest.Only, it was hard to trust my gut when I’d been severely wrong. Last time, it almost cost me my life.
“Your friends were looking for you,” he started. “They were scared, and they wanted to leave to find you. We kept calling your phone, but it went to voicemail.”
Stevie, Abi, Naomi, Em. It’d been hours since I’d seen them. They were probably in a fluster of panic. “Where are they?” I questioned. “What happened to them?”
“I brought them back here, and we called the police.”
“Did anyone come?” I rushed to say, knowing that if they called the police, someone would have notified Bobby. “My dad,” I clarified. “Did someone call him?”
And before the attack happened, he’d called me—something he only did in emergencies. My heart raced. What if the Blood Lycans had gotten to him while trying to get to me? Or what if it were the vampires, or the Fullbloods?
Seven stood to his feet, sensing my urgency. “Stevie called, but we couldn’t reach him. She told the police that he worked for the sheriff’s department, but that was the last of it.” I pressed my hands to my face. If something had happened to him …please no.
“I can drive you,” Seven said, a bob in his throat. He knew I didn’t have a car. “If you’re worried, or you just want to get to him, I can take you home.” He held his hands up again. “I swear I’m not going to hurt you. And you,” he said, looking me up and down again. “You look like you need help.”
I didn’t know what to do, or whom I should believe. Everyone had been lying to me, but Bobby, he was defenseless against these creatures. Wouldn’t have a chance. Though, if Seven was a wolf … it was some sort of protection. It was better than just me.
And what I knew was that Seven had always been a bright spot in all of this. If anything happened, I could find a way to escape again, and the way he observed me told me he meant no harm. Iwasscared. Iwasconfused, and I didn’twantto be alone. What were my other options? How else would I get home?
I could return to Hester, wait for someone to let me in, wake Stevie, and try to fiddle around with the fact that I survived a blood sacrifice, and that there was a myriad of paranormal creatures after me. She’d call me delusional. Perhaps. And that wasifthe person who let me in wasn’t frightened away.
Seven grabbed his cell from his pocket, placed it on the ground between us. “I’ll let you hold the phone the entire ride. You can have the police dialed the moment you feel unsafe.” He took a step forward. “And I’ll leave the doors unlocked. I’m not here to hurt you.” I picked up his phone, held it in my hands.
“070701,” he said. “That’s the code.”
I entered the digits, and when his home screen appeared, I exhaled, looked at him, hands still raised in peace.
“Okay,” I agreed, and Seven sighed in relief. “But if you dare do anything I’m not okay with, I—”
