***
Once I find the cubicle that passes for a hospital in this semi-civilized region, it isn’t hard to locate and then raid their blood bank. I steal a small cooler from the hospital lab and fill it up with as many blood pouches as I can fit along with the ice.
I learned a long time ago the importance of acting like you belong so that no one will wonder if you don’t. That old trick works perfectly and no one tries to stop me as I march out the front door, cooler in hand.
Really, it was too easy. It makes me feel like I cheated somehow.
I drive back to the diner and pull out front to find Damian and Madelyn waiting for me. Damian opens the door and they both slip inside, bringing with them the dirty smells of the diner. I try to hide my reaction and turn my attention back to driving as I steer the Lexus onto the road.
“Breakfast.” I jab one finger at the cooler resting in the passenger seat.
“Oh, good.” Damian sounds eager, but he doesn’t make a move toward the cooler. We’ll eat later at a rest stop. Somewhere we don’t have to worry about getting our meal all over the Lexus’ sleek interior.
My stomach growls. I haven’t really felt like eating since I found out Damian was in love with a human two months ago. But it seems that the needs of my body are finally overruling the feelings of my mind.
“So…” Madelyn awkwardly clears her throat as I guide the car past seemingly endless corn fields. “Haddie, Damian says you’re attending Stanford.”
I whip my head sideways toward the window. Is the girl trying to make small talk with me? Why can’t she just leave me alone? “I started last month, but considering my immediate schedule is booked with keeping your throat intact, I think I’ll have to drop out.”
Madelyn goes quiet. I’m aware of her pulse rate increasing ever so slightly. Damian senses it, too, and in a moment, his arms are around her as he presses his face to the top of her head. I know he’s glaring at me in the rearview mirror, but I pretend not to notice. The girl’s got to face the facts sooner or later. She made my brother fall in love with her and will pay for it with her life if our father ever catches her.
I imagine the only people our father would rather kill right now are those cursed Falkners or as some call them, the Huntsmen. Uncle Devin and I caught the scent of one once—it was a dusty, sweaty, and yet slightly spicy scent—but we lost his trail and I was pleased because it made Uncle Devin and Dad furious.
Power lines wave past us. Spotted cows grazing in wide open fields zoom by. A few small farmhouses, some bright and clean, some rotting and decrepit, whizz past.
What am I doing? I ask myself yet again. Am I actually doing all this to protect my brother’s girlfriend? Am I actually going to go through with it? But I already know the answer to that. I made up my mind when our father called me.
I may not get along with the girl, I may resent her for what she has with my brother, I may miss our big, clean, sweet-smelling house, but I made up my mind.
Damn the consequences, damn our chances of success.
My brother loves Madelyn with all his heart and I will do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t lose what I did.