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SUDDENLY, THE SPRINT stopped, but everything was still spinning.
I stumbled, but my captor caught me.
“What are you doing, Taylor?” a familiar voice asked.
Moonlight gushed over the towering figure, and I gazed up into his eyes. I tried to steady my shaking hands. “J-Jonathon?” I stuttered.
“You probably think I’ve got the wrong girl,” he said. “Sure, I wanted Julie, but Drake refused. He specifically wants you this time, and I have to follow his orders.”
“And what orders are those?” I asked between gasps. “To kill me right here, right now?” I couldn’t believe the awful words had escaped my lips, and I hoped there was no truth to them.
A dangerous glint flickered in his eye. “You can ask him yourself.”
I swallowed past the knot in my throat. I didn’t want to see Drake. I knew he was furious with me, and I didn’t want to be the focus of his wrath. Cold dread washed over me like a tidal wave. I looked into Jonathon’s eyes, hoping to appeal to an empathic side that I was sure he did not have. He’d already tried to kill me once before, the night I’d first met him at that party. Still, I pleaded, “Jonathon, please let me go. You know Drake will kill me.”
His face hardened. “That’s his decision to make, not mine.”
My hands clenched into fists. I wondered if I should make a stand against Jonathon, but I knew he was stronger and far more powerful than me.
He cocked his head, as if he’d picked up on what I thinking about doing.
But I’m a mere human. How can I even begin to fight him or make a run for it? I reasoned. Besides that, my scent was well covered, because he hadn’t let on that he knew I was human and showed no signs that he suspected anything fishy.
“It would be foolish to try to fight me,” Jonathon said. “You’re no match for me, even if you are newly turned, and I don’t want to rough you up. If you force me, though, I will gladly defend myself...and you will regret it.”
“What a gentlemen you are,” I said, sarcasm filling my voice. Swallowing hard, I took a few steps back.
His blond hair blew around in the wind, and my thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the party where I’d first met him. He had swept Julie off her feet with his handsome looks and muscular physique, and neither of us knew that gorgeous face was a face of evil. We just thought he was the average hot frat boy, but boy, were we wrong.
“There is no need to fear me,” he said. “As long as you cooperate, you won’t be harmed.”
“You want something from me,” I whispered. “You’re keeping me alive until you get what you want, aren’t you?”
He inched closer. “You ask too many questions.”
“Wouldn’t you if it was your life on the line?”
“Just do as you’re told, and you’ll have nothing to fear.”
“Let me leave, Jonathon,” I begged. “Please let me go.”
“What are you doing, Taylor?”
“Leaning against a tree and begging you to let me go.”
He shook his head. “No, I mean, why are you leaving Big Bear Lake?”
“Because I don’t belong here. This place isn’t my real home anymore.”
“So you plan to run off with your unstable boyfriend? I don’t get it. How will he help you through the change if he hasn’t gotten through it himself? He’s a different breed of vampire. It will take months for him to transition properly. You’ll transition and be accustomed to the change far before him. You’d be a fool to run off with him right now, and I don’t think you’re a fool.”
“Then I’ll wait for him. You see, I’m a very patient person.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Silly girl. Do you even know what he’ll do while you’re patiently waiting for him?”
“What?”
“He’ll slip up, and you’ll be caught.”
“Jesse knows what he’s doing. If anyone can handle this, it’s him.”
Jonathon laughed. “Why? Because he’s been a vampire for so long?”
I glared at him. “I didn’t realize you were so worried about me, Jonathon. Should I be flattered or just sick to my stomach?”
“You, Jesse, and Julie will kill innocent people out of bloodlust. Is that what you want?”
I huffed. “Since when did you grow a conscience? If I remember correctly, you tried to kill me and Julie.”
“That was...different. You had to be killed then, as far as we knew, because you were petals. I had no choice in the matter. The vampires have to stop that ceremony at all costs, or it will mean the end for all of us. We’re just trying to stay alive, like you are.”
“Don’t you think the petals understand that? You should’ve invited the petals into your discussions in the first place. We would’ve supported you, because I assure you that none of us have a death wish.”
“I tried to tell Drake that at the party, and he almost agreed to it, but in the end, he ordered that all petals be killed. He said letting you live was too much of a risk to our race. If Jesse hadn’t gotten you out of there when he did, Drake would have killed you that night. Since he failed, he ordered me to hunt you and Julie down and kill you. I found you, but your protectors fought valiantly for your life.”
“My guardians tore you up pretty good, huh?” I asked, trying not to laugh at him.
“You could say that, yes.”
“Good. You deserved it. Too bad they didn’t finish the job.”
“So you like the werewolves?” he asked. “How can you, when they only want to see you die on a cold slab of concrete?”
“I have a love/hate relationship with them. They’ve saved my life a few times, and they attacked you, which was a big plus in my book. Still, I know they only protect me for selfish reasons.”
“Now that you’re a vampire, you’ll learn to despise them. That kindness they showed you once...well, you’ll never see that again. They’ll try to destroy you and everyone you care about.”
Then, just like that, I realized that Drake was not going to kill me after all. Jonathon had said I’d learn to despise the werewolves, and I wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn anything if I was dead. “Do you feed on people?” I asked out of the blue, as it was something I’d been dying to know.
“No, and I think that’s pretty obvious. If I did, there’d be nonstop missing persons reports.”
“There have been a lot lately,” I retorted.
“Maybe, but that’s not our fault.”
“So you drink animal blood?”
“From rats and rodents?” He shuddered. “How disgusting and vile!”
“Yeah, well, I imagine most don’t consider blood a delicacy.” I knew firsthand, because I had to fake that I loved it, just to fool those who wanted to control my fate.
“One gets...used to it,” he said. “I drink the kind of blood that Elizabeth gave you when you turned, the same kind your boyfriend drinks. We all drink from a supplied blood bank, so we don’t have to kill for it.”
“I thought you might enjoy killing,” I said sarcastically. “You seem like the type, to be honest.”
“I can see that I am quite misunderstood by you, Taylor.”
I rolled my eyes.
He continued, “I only kill when I have to. I was ordered to kill you—a drastic measure to ensure that we wouldn’t become extinct. I was fighting for a cause.”
“A cause?”
“Yes. To save my people, my race—to stay alive.”
“Julie’s mom isn’t a petal, and you almost killed her.”
“That was merely a bluff, to lure you out.”
“Liar! Drake would have killed her. I’ve seen his rage, up close and personal, remember? That monster killed a friend of mine in a very violent fashion, right before my eyes, then dumped her body in a dirt grave.”
“He had to.”
“Had to?”
“Yes, to keep you in check so you wouldn’t run away again. He had to show you that he means business, but I assure you that Drake doesn’t make a habit of killing people. We can’t risk piling up a body count and exposing ourselves. He only kills here and there, when he absolutely has to in the best interests of our race.”
“Just here and there, huh? Well, in that case, I guess murder’s perfectly fine,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.
“Drake can’t run a coven without—”
“Without what? Being a violent psychopath,” I interrupted.
In the middle of our heated argument, a twig snapped, and I sucked in a deep breath as fear coursed through my veins. I knew it was Drake, coming for me. I could barely hear the footsteps over the sound of my pounding heart and frantic breathing. I clenched my fists; even if he was a real vampire—and a powerful one at that—I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Blood pumped hard through my head, almost dizzying me. Terror gripped me and squeezed even tighter as I strained to see in the darkness. I wished, at that moment, that I had immortal eyesight.
Clapping erupted, and Drake burst through the brush. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a white t-shirt, with a cocky smirk on his face. “Is that what I am to you?” he asked with a sardonic smile. “A violent psychopath?”
I trembled at the sight of him. I was scared to death, and I knew he could see it on my face. “Drake,” I whispered. I didn’t know how to answer his question properly and feared that anything I said would earn me a slap, a choking, or a brutal beating. I had to handle the reunion delicately, to tread lightly. Keeping Drake from flying into his characteristic rage was my number one priority. I swallowed hard, wondering how in the world I was going to get myself out of that mess and hoping, with all of my heart, that my friends would come to help me.