Jorge jumped down from the monkey bars to land on the ground near Hunter and Nika. “Then we keep him holed up until the end of his days. Life in prison. There isn’t another option besides death, and a most of us don’t feel he deserves that.” Rocky and Kat nodded in agreement with him. I inwardly sighed. Death or life in prison, those were the choices we were left with, and neither sounded good. I didn’t want to force either of those fates upon Jake. I’d rather compel him to accept the truth about my kind. That was the best scenario, for everybody, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Dad ran a hand through his hair, then exchanged a long glance with Mom. I sat up a little straighter on the slide I was sitting on. They had an idea, that much I could tell. I glanced over at Hunter and Nika, but they were looking at each other, and didn’t seem to notice Mom and Dad were plotting something.
Dad cleared his throat, and all eyes swung his way. “There is…one…other option,” he slowly said.
I frowned, along with half the other hunters. Gabriel was the only one who still seemed impassive. He was merely observing the proceedings, and probably didn’t care too much about what happened to the hunter we were holding.
Dad glanced at Mom. “Emma and I have talked in length about this, and…” His gaze swept over the crowd, “…we ask that the panel release Jake into our custody.”
My jaw dropped nearly to the bottom of the slide. He what? Why would he offer to do that? The other panel members seemed equally confused by Dad’s statement. Karl crossed his arms over his chest. “And what is it that you plan on doing with him, Teren?”
Dad shrugged. “All we’ve been talking about since the attack was whether we kill the man or lock him up and throw away the key. But that’s not the point of this league. It’s to change the way the hunting world thinks about us. To stop the unjustified attacks, on both sides. Yes, compulsion is the easiest way to make that happen, but it’s not the only way.” Dad’s eyes shifted to Hunter. “Sometimes people can be shown a truth, and they’ll come to the realization on their own.” Hunter gave him a smile and a nod, and Dad returned his attention to the others. “What I propose is that Jake is taken under our wing, that he’s allowed to be involved in the process, that he sees with his own eyes that we’re not all bad, and that this group serves a purpose. We make it so he wants to join us, of his own free will, because he believes what we believe. He has to join us naturally, so, let’s make him a member of the league.”
The others seemed skeptical. “A league member? With his animosities? What if he never accepts that vampires are anything but soulless, bloodthirsty monsters?” Rocky asked.
Dad slowly shook his head. “If given enough time, it still seems his intentions won’t change, then…we’ll let him go…because we’re not monsters, and we won’t coerce someone into joining us by threatening them with death or life imprisonment if they refuse. But he’ll be watched, guarded. I won’t allow him to hurt anyone.”
The group thought on that a second, and I raised my hand and asked, “So…you want to make him a hostage?”
Dad cringed at my verbiage, but nodded. “For lack of a better word, yes, I suppose so, but he’d be as free of a hostage as we can make him. He’ll continue to stay at the ranch with us, but not locked up in a room. He’ll be a part of everything, and I believe, if he spends enough time with our family, he’ll see that he doesn’t need to be afraid of our species.”
I rubbed my lip as I thought about that. Was Dad’s suggestion really for us to watchdog a dangerous man for who the heck knows how long? Ben stepped forward, a scowl on his scarred face; he seemed to have the same fears as me. “Teren, your family—”
“Is strong enough to stop him from escaping, and quick enough to chase after him if he does,” Dad said, cutting him off. Shaking his head, he added, “We can’t risk him running off prematurely and warning people about what we’re doing here.” Dad locked eyes with Mom again, and she gave him a tight smile. They’d obviously talked about this, but it was still a hard decision for both of them. Above all else, they wanted to keep the family safe.
Turning back to the panel, Dad said, “We can hold him, and, by staying with us, he’ll see that we’re not as bad as he thinks we are. We’ll convert him the old-fashioned way with time, patience, and understanding.” He smirked at the end of that.
The panel members immediately started debated which course of action would be best. A pair of hunters in matching denim jackets thought that throwing him in a cell to rot was the way to go. Gloria and Karl were still leaning toward death, while Jorge, Rocky and Kat were clearly moved by my father’s words. I was tired of debating. I wanted something to be done. I wanted action. Standing from the slide, I told the group, “I vote for my father’s suggestion of making Jake an unwilling member of the league, and I agree that he should remain in my family’s custody so he can see we’re not all evil.” I raised my hand for emphasis, then looked around at the others. “Who’s with me?”
A breeze rustled the leaves in the tops of the trees, a couple of dogs bayed in the distance, but nobody moved and nobody said anything. For several long heartbeats, I felt completely alone and vulnerable. Oddly enough, I felt strong too. I’d made a decision, a decision I felt good about, and I was acting on it. It was time for the rest of them to do the same. Then, one by one, the others started raising their hands and murmuring, “I vote for Teren’s idea,” and “Make him one of us,” and “Yes, he should be a hostage.” I didn’t care for the term, but a vote was a vote, and I was happy to see them make one.
Not everyone voted for Dad’s idea. Karl still voted for death, and Rocky voted for imprisonment. The majority vote was with Dad though, so Jake was staying with us. Indefinitely. Man, I hope we’d made the right decision.
I WATCHED MY brother leaving the park with heaviness in my heart. Even though we were the same age, he seemed so much older than me now. Depression was wearing him down. I couldn’t feel it, but I knew it. I could see it in the slump of his shoulders, the dimness of his eyes, and the weariness in his voice. He wasn’t ever going to get over Arianna, not truly. The memory of her would be in his heart until the end of his days.
But even depressed, he’d done well today. He’d heard all the options presented, and he’d made a choice based on what he felt was the right course of action. I’d voted the same way as Julian, although, it had been harder for me to go along with it. Jake had attacked me, caused me a great deal of pain. And he’d come really close to killing Hunter. A large part of me wanted him dead, but somehow I’d shoved that part aside and voted for him to remain at the ranch with our family.
I wasn’t thrilled about it though. Hunter would be around Jake every day now. Jake would be around us every day now. I wished there was another vampire family nearby to pawn him off on, but there wasn’t. Salt Lake had visitors off and on, but we were the only permanent nest in the area.
Mom left with Julian, Dad stayed behind, maybe to watch over me, maybe to work out details with the other panel members, I wasn’t sure. Ready to leave, I turned to Hunter. “Shall we go?” Hunter’s dark eyes turned introspective. I didn’t take that as a good sign. “What?” I sighed, already fearing I knew the answer.
Hunter’s eyes flashed to my father, then hesitantly came back to me. “It’s just…if we’re going to turn a hunter around, make him see vampires in another light, then, I don’t think anyone else is more qualified to do that than me.”
I stared at him blankly for a few seconds. “You want to go back to the ranch and get to work hanging out with Jake, right?” Hunter gave me a small smile and I knew I had it right. I shrugged. I didn’t really care what we did, so long as we were together. “Okay, let’s go.”
The sudden guilt on Hunter’s face spoke volumes. He opened his mouth to speak, but I knew what he was going to say long before the words came out. In fact, all he got out was my name. “Nika…”
“You don’t want me to go with you!” Some of the ex-hunters nearby turned to look.
I hadn’t said that quietly. They turned back around when they saw it was only Hunter and I having a spat. Whether vampire or human, fights were an inevitable part of a relationship.
“Nika,” he tried again, “I just don’t feel good about you being around him right now.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot. “I’m a pureblood vampire, not some fragile, human little girl that you need to protect. I can take care of myself.”
Maybe understanding how close he was to a major blowout, Hunter raised his hands. “I get that, and I know you can handle yourself, and I don’t need to worry about you, but…” he let out a weary exhale, “I still do. You’re everything to me, and I had to watch you die. Do you know what that did to me?”
I swallowed and looked down. “Yes…I watched you die first…”
His fingers stroked along my jaw, lifting my chin. “Then you know why I can’t lose you again. I can’t. I won’t get through it. You can call me old-fashioned, you can call me sexist, but really…I’m just selfish. I can’t cope with the thought of losing you, so until I know Jake has been safely declawed, I’m asking you to stay home with your brother and your parents.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him. There was no effective argument against “my world would end if anything happened to you.” It was irritating, frustrating, and sweet all at the same time. And I also couldn’t argue with the fact that Hunter was the best person for the job to turn Jake around, if turning him around was even possible. It all seemed so improbable.
Cracking an eye open, I asked, “Does it have to be tonight? He’s been at the ranch for a couple weeks now, surely another night wouldn’t hurt anything. And besides, it’s past midnight, he’s probably sleeping.” I opened both eyes to plead with him. “Please? I don’t want to part ways yet. It’s torture.”
Hunter’s expression softened into a smile. “Nika,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss me. Like they always did, the softness of his lips stole my breath. As our mouths moved together, my hand came up to thread through his hair, pulling us together; I wished we were closer.
“Hunter,” I murmured between our lips, “I want…”
I felt a presence behind me that iced the molten desire rising in me. I pulled away from Hunter’s kiss to look at Dad over my shoulder. His eyes were narrowed in irritation like he knew exactly what I’d been going to say. When he saw that he had my attention, he spoke before I had a chance to. “I’m going to head back to the ranch with Gabriel to let Great-Gran know what the verdict was, and come up with a plan for…carrying it out.” He sighed, like he also realized this task he’d volunteered our family for wasn’t going to be an easy one.
Hunter stepped around me. “I’ll go with you.”
Feeling stubborn, I said, “So will I.”
Hunter and Dad both turned to me and said, “No,” at the exact same time. I glared at the pair of them. It was like I had two overprotective fathers now.
“If I was Halina, neither one of you would be able to—”
Dad cut off my pointless rant. “But you’re not and we can. Go home with Julian.” His stance softened and he leaned in to hug me. “Please, go home, sweetheart.”
Irritated, I didn’t return his hug. I knew I was being insolent, but I didn’t care. They were both being ridiculous.
Turning around, I stormed off after Julian. When the painful tug of the bond with Hunter kicked in, I embraced the discomfort. If I was feeling it, then he was feeling it too, and I wanted him to feel a little misery. He deserved it. Okay, maybe not, but I wanted him to feel it regardless.
HUNTER VISITED ME the following night like usual, but his visit wasn’t as long as it typically was. He was anxious to rush back to the ranch, uneasy about Jake being there “unrestrained”. But Rory and Cleo guarded him during the day and Halina or Imogen guarded him at night. Hunter felt obligated to be there though, and so, after far too short a time, he ran back to Jake while I stayed home.
I went to bed alone and woke up alone, but that was nothing new. Not being woken up by my Mom and Dad singing “The Birthday Song” was new though. Every year before this one, Julian and I had groaned and smashed pillows over our ears when our parents had loudly interrupted our slumber to sing to us before they headed to work. Today though, I woke up to silence. Mom and Dad were still at work, and Julian was a couple of miles away, probably hanging out with Trey. A bit of melancholy seeped into me as I sat up and looked around my empty bedroom. I actually missed the embarrassing musical wakeup. Kind of funny how something so annoying could become something I longed for once it was gone.
“Happy Birthday to me,” I muttered, slipping out of my lukewarm bed.
My boyfriend and my other relatives were away at the ranch; I was completely alone. I should have slept in today, so the odds of someone being here when I woke up were greater, but I’d tossed and turned all day long, waking and sleeping, waking and sleeping. I just hadn’t been able to get comfortable.
Hunter’s proclamation was still on my mind; I hoped he’d had trouble sleeping these last couple of nights too. He probably hadn’t though. He’d probably taken his new mission to heart, and had spent the entire time with Jake, getting started on operation Vampires Are Your Friends. I already had to share Hunter with the meetings and with Halina, and now I had to share him with this project too. I knew it was important, and I knew he was doing it in part for us. I just…missed him. Maybe if Dad would allow us to live together it wouldn’t be so bad, but I was pretty sure Dad would keep me holed up until my eighteenth birthday. Next year. Oh well, at least the countdown to my freedom had begun.
I turned on a nearby lamp, then pulled out some fresh clothes. Just as I slipped my T-shirt into place, I heard a sound that froze my unbeating heart. A noise from the kitchen—somebody opening and shutting a cabinet. I wasn’t alone, but I couldn’t go upstairs to investigate. I couldn’t leave my room until the sun set. An intense surge of vulnerability washed through me, and I suddenly understood Hunter’s desire to keep me out of harm’s way. I might be a vampire, but I wasn’t invincible. All the person rummaging through my home would need to do was set a fire, and I’d be gone. I’d have no way to escape it. Unlike the log cabin where Hunter had almost been burned alive, my bedroom was more of a basement than a crawlspace now—the floor was made of thick cement, I wouldn’t be able to claw through it. Not in time anyway.
I used every enhanced gift I’d been given to track the person above me. They were moving into the living room now. Stopping my breath, I held completely still. Whoever was here wasn’t a pureblood vampire since they were traipsing around in the daylight, but they could be a mixed vampire, like my parents and Julian. I eyed my cell phone, charging on the other side of the room. I could call for help, but that would alert whoever was above me that I was hiding out down here, and there was a chance they didn’t know I was in the house.
The footsteps were light, but I could easily follow them. They were headed toward the closet that led to my secret entrance. That couldn’t be coincidence. They knew I was here. Maybe it was Starla then, or Jacen? But whoever was here was being quiet. Starla was rarely quiet. She’d have yelled out that she was here, turned on the TV, started making out with Jacen, or something equally noisy. This person was twisting the knob to my door like they were sneaking out of the house and didn’t want to wake their parents. Or sneaking into a lion’s den and didn’t want to wake the lion. Well, too late. This lion was already awake.
I considered blurring to my phone and calling someone, but that person wouldn’t get here in time. Best if I just dealt with this myself. I quietly turned off the lights then crept toward the hall leading to the closet. It was pitch-black, and my eyes gave off a ring of phosphorescent light. When I came upon the door leading to the room directly below the closet, I closed my eyes; I didn’t want my attacker to see me when they opened the door. And I hoped and prayed that no stray sunlight followed them down. If they left the closet door open and
the trap door in the closet open, some faint light might hit me. It wouldn’t be enough to give kill me, but I’d seen vampires exposed to the sun before, and I knew it hurt. A lot. I couldn’t worry about that though.
I heard someone drop down into the room. It was so strange having my heartbeat absent, so strange that my chest ached. If I were alive right now, my heart would have been pounding against my ribcage. It would have given me away. Its absence was actually a blessing.
The person right next door to me was making weird shuffling noises. I swear they were pulling the chair into position and grabbing something from the closet above. The intruder was breathing heavy, and letting out small grunts like they were in pain. Then the trap door in the closet closed. I couldn’t smell my attacker, the door was sealed too tightly for that, but I could hear a faint crackling sound, like a fourth of July sparkler. I almost opened my eyes. Fire? Were they coming down here to set me ablaze? Well they might get me, but it would be the last thing they ever did.
I heard the knob of the door in front of me twisting, heard the seal swishing against the hard floor. Then I felt the scant bit of heat from an open flame, and smelled something that tugged at a memory, and something else that made me a little nauseous. Mainly, all I felt was fear though, and the need to protect my home and myself.
I knew I had the advantage. The person intruding on my space obviously knew I was down here, but they were in a lit room while I was in a dark hallway. They wouldn’t see me until it was too late. When the door was opened to capacity, the figure stepped into the hallway with me. I had seconds to get the drop on them. In my mind, I said a silent goodbye to my family, then I opened my eyes and dropped my fangs.
The person in the hallway let out a high-pitched scream when my glowing orbs appeared out of nowhere. She dropped whatever inconsequential thing she’d been holding, and backed up a step. She wasn’t fast enough though. I lunged for her neck and clamped my teeth onto her skin. I was just about to bite down on her jugular, ending her life in a matter of moments, when the last few seconds replayed in my mind and my brain screamed at me to stop. I put the brakes on my adrenaline and pulled back to look into the scarred face of a woman I loved very much. “Aunt Ashley? What are you…?”