Page 29 of B Negative

Eleven

For the second time today,I wandered the streets of Laurel Cove without a clue about where I was headed. At least I had my own clothes and phone this time.

Hunger pangs had me stopping at a taco truck, which was when I realized that I hadn’t consumed anything but blood for well over two days. I hadn’t been offered a single bit of food while in Titus Tower.

Did the vampires in Cypress City not eat?

Was that why were they so much faster than I was?

I shook the idle thoughts away. I had more important shit to worry about than what was or wasn’t on the dinner table in Titus Tower.

I ate one of three of the tacos on the street corner and tried to get my thoughts in order. But the more I thought about Julian and all the things leading to where we were now, the angrier I got. So, I kept walking. But the more I walked, and the more of Laurel Cove I saw, the more it reminded me of Julian. This was his kingdom, after all.

Not mine. Not ours.

His.

And that pissed me the fuck off.

He made me hate the city I’d grown up in. What a dick.

“Eden?”

I turned toward the familiar voice. “Hey, Carisa,” I said, mouth full of seasoned birria and cilantro and jalapeños.

My former nest mate smiled at me. “I heard about the incursion. How weird was that?”

I gave her a sidelong glance, still chewing my taco. Weird was hardly the word to describe what happened that night.

Hold on a sec. Did she say she heard about it? Carisa was there. She’d seen everything with her own eyes. I almost said as much, but something about her expression urged me not to. I hedged my answer instead. “Yeah, super strange, right?”

Carisa smiled again, a strange vagueness in her gaze. “What do you think is going to happen with everything?”

I jammed half a soft taco in my mouth, trying to buy myself time to find something plausible but noncommittal to say. Eventually, I landed on, “Hard to say. You never can tell with such things.”

She nodded. I guess my answer was totally reasonable. “Well, I hope to catch up with you soon. I know the nest stuff was awkward, but now that you’re the king’s mate, I don’t see why that should be an issue anymore.”

I kept my face neutral while my brain tried to process why the fuck Carisa thought I was still mated when I’d rejected Julian in front of most of the vampires in good standing in two cities. “Yeah, I’d really like to catch up. Do you still have my number?”

“Sure do,” she said brightly. “I’ll be in touch soon,” she said and headed off in the opposite direction. “It was great seeing you,” she called over her shoulder.

“Yeah, you too,” I mumbled.

What the fuck was that?

I had no idea why Carisa was so misinformed, but I knew I had to get out of there. I needed some perspective. And that’s when I had the best idea by a mile. I shot off toward the edge of the city, running at an athletic human pace so I wouldn’t draw too much attention. I couldn’t very well blur from a dead stop in broad daylight.

Entirely unsure of where I needed to be, I trusted my nose to guide me. As soon as I’d cleared the more populated areas, I kicked it into a sprint. Still believable for a human but not if someone happened to see how long I could keep that pace.

When the tree line came into view, I slowed, not wanting to spook anyone who might be taking cover there.

I put my palms in the air, slowing further as I scented the air. He was definitely here. And so were a lot of others not too far away. All their scents mingled in my nose, combining into a new, strangely enticing aroma. Earthy and wild and musky. And…

Something else. I couldn’t quite place it. Familiar, yet not.

A rustle in the brush to my left drew my attention. “I come in peace, wolf.”

Amber eyes peeked out through dense brush, fixed on me and far too intelligent to belong to a regular wolf.

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