Page 35 of To Love a Vampire
Whispers crawl through the room. Shifting eyes try to decide if I’m lying or not.
“I was raised by mortals, two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Asher says as he walks to my side. “My mother was human. I’m half human. My friends,” He hesitates, the word friend seeming odd in his tone. “they’re half human. They’re from a society that your government created. A nice little community where people live as they please without magic and without shifting. Kaino is a strong warrior but he hasn’t turned into his natural wolf form since he was a child. Because that was the condition of the agreement between the mortals and the mystics. They aren’t raging beasts. They can control it. Just like humans can control their temper.”
“Until they can’t and someone dies!” an unseen voice shouts. The man’s anger and hatred carries through the room and gains nods and glares from the others.
Asher shifts on his feet, his arms crossing for an instant. “I could say the same for you. Anyone can lose their temper, man or mystic. The government is breeding hostility among us all.”
“If you joined with us, if you let us help you,” I tell them, “your lives can only improve. You’re worried about death but your people are dying every day. They’re being imprisoned for petty, ruthless reasons. Your loved ones, your friends, are not safe here.”
I’m met with silence and blinking eyes as my heart begins quivering in my chest.
They don’t want our help…
Mrs. Hollis steps forward, the community watches the large and captivating woman’s every step. “When do we leave?” Her question hangs in the air like the stifling black sweater that hangs from her shoulders.
My lungs shake as I take in a breath, assurance bubbling within my chest as I speak, “Soon. Really soon.”
* * *
Our journey home feels different. I should be bursting with hope but instead, tension fills my body. Declan keeps catching my eye as we walk into the forest, just on the outskirts of the camp. His silver eyes reflect the moon as they shift through the dense shadows.
“Did you hear that?” he asks, stopping abruptly in his tracks, his head tilting as he listens to the silence.
Nothing is heard, not even the wildlife dares make a move with the mystics that surround me.
“I don’t hear anything,” Kaino says.
“Me either,” whispers Luca, her shoulders stiff as she scans the area.
In a flash of movement, Asher is at my side, his hand gripping the sword at his hip.
“We should check it out just in case,” Declan tells us.
Asher nods, his jaw strung tight as he follows the other hybrid into the clearing. Kaino and Luca move with hushed steps, their tawny eyes judging every angle of our surroundings.
“What do you think it could be?” Luca asks.
“We overheard a few men saying how the compound here closed down last year. The building is just used as a holding space for found mystics until they can be shipped elsewhere. Hundreds of pik—hybrids and a few veil were shipped to the Capitol for further detention and study.” Kaino pauses as he turns on the heel of his boot, surveying the quiet shadows more closely. “It’s possible that some escaped during the transfer. That’s when I would have made my move.”
A shiver claws over my skin as my memory flashes with images of the bloody talons of the veil. I shudder, my arms wrapping around myself. That’s not possible. None of those things have ever escaped. A hybrid had never escaped until Asher.
I try to find reassurance in the thought but it’s no use. My heart pounds louder with every second that passes without Asher and Declan’s return.
A growl echoes through the darkness, rustling up birds and fearful animals through the woods. A jostling rustling sound comes from where Asher and Declan disappeared.
“Something’s wrong,” Luca says.
I take a step toward the camp but Kaino’s thick arm wraps around me in an instant.
“Don’t move,” he whispers.
“You’re just going to let him get ripped to shreds?” I ask, my voice quivering on a scream.
“It’s not veil, Fallon,” Luca tells me, as she hunches down in the shadows of the forest. “It’s humans.”
The three of us are motionless as her words settle into my mind, a tightness clutching at my chest.
Declan runs toward us, stopping just a foot from me. “I tried to stop them, but they took him.” His brow creases. “I’m so sorry, Fallon.”
