I’M GOING CRAZY.
Laying here, I’m alone in this apartment, and yet I swear I hear the ghosts of them. The sounds of the front door opening, their soft footsteps as they enter. Hell, I swear the scent of my sister’s perfume lingers in the air. I know it’s all in my head. Some sort of PTSD or survivor’s guilt from the accident.
Staring up at the ceiling, I watch the rusted fan slowly spin. My eyes are sore and puffy. I thought I would have run out of tears by now but somehow, they keep on coming.
‘Raya,’ a voice murmurs.
Great. Now I’m hearing voices. I can’t help but smile. God, I miss them.
‘Raya,’ the voice says again.
Turning my head, my eyes land on my sister. As beautiful as always. More so, if that’s possible.
‘I really am going crazy,’ I whisper. ‘Now I’m even seeing you.’
Cora moves toward me, and sits down on the bed. She touches her hand to mine and I jerk away. That felt way too real.
‘You are suspicious of the car accident,’ she says, touching her fingertips to my cheek. Her usual emerald eyes are a fierce silver as she stares down at me, ensnaring me into this odd, calm-like state. ‘You will grieve, but our mother’s and my death will not destroy you. It will make you stronger. You are determined to find out what happened to me. It doesn’t make any sense to you.’
Slowly, I nod, completely agreeing with her. ‘No sense at all.’
‘You will go through my things. You will find my journals. You will read them, and you will do research about the things that you discover in the journals. You will be brave and strong, and you will not give up looking for me. No matter what happens.’
‘Yes.’ I nod. ‘I will not give up.’
‘You will wear this ring. You will never take it off unless I say so.’ Pulling a black band out of her pocket, she grabs my hand, sliding it down my finger with ease. ‘I love you.’ Leaning down, she kisses my forehead. ‘You won’t remember that I was here, and that we had this conversation, but you will do everything I have told you to do. Do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ I murmur. ‘I understand.’
It’s night-time now. Opening my eyes, I rub them as I peer around the room. I feel cool metal against my eyelid, and as I pull back my hands, I stare at the ring on my finger. I can’t remember where I got this. I know Cora gave it to me, but I don’t remember when.
Maybe I really am crazy.
I wake with a gasp and sit upright. Hunter rolls over, pushing himself up on his elbow. The pale moonlight slithers through the blind, showing a snippet of his handsome face as he looks at me with concern.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asks.
‘I just . . . had a dream.’ Glancing down at my hand, I realise that my ring is no longer there. I hadn’t even noticed. ‘Only . . . it felt more like a memory, only I don’t recall it happening.’
‘A memory?’
‘Cora came back to me after she was turned,’ I whisper, shock coursing through me as the memory plays on a loop inside my head.
‘Huh?’ Hunter’s brow crinkles in confusion.
I rehash my dream while Hunter listens carefully, his eyebrows inching higher. ‘I think she compelled me to forget it, but for some reason, I now remember it.’ I finish.
‘I didn’t know that was possible,’ Hunter says. ‘It must have something to do with you turning.’
I exhale loudly and lay back onto the mattress. ‘She wanted me to find her. Cora never wanted to leave me, not really.’
‘Yeah,’ Hunter says softly, tracing his hand down my arm. ‘She loves you. Very much.’
Swallowing, I nod.
Hunter drags me closer to him, resting his forehead into my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I try to relax, but I know I won’t be sleeping for the rest of the night.
Dropping soundlessly to the ground, I straighten, a wide smile on my face.
‘Pretty cool, huh?’ Hunter offers me a crooked grin as he lands beside me, enjoying just how much fun I’m having zooming through the woods and leaping off tree branches.
‘Totally awesome.’ I laugh, raking my fingers through my windblown hair.
We have been practising running and jumping for the past few hours. This feels like another perk of vampirism that I can’t seem to get enough of.
‘Your attitude on being a vampire makes no sense to me,’ I confess, turning to face him. ‘You seemed so miserable when we first met. You hated yourself, and what you were.’
Chewing his lip, he nods. ‘Yeah. I did. But it’s different now. I have you. I’m seeing things in a new light.’
Smiling, I lean up and kiss him. ‘I’m glad we have each other.’
‘Me too,’ he says, hugging me to him for a moment before stepping back.
No matter how fast I run, or how high I climb, I never fatigue. Being a vampire is totally badass.
When we first ventured outside, it was overwhelming. I could now smell everything; scents that I never knew existed before. Somehow, I learnt to deal with the onslaught on my senses relatively quickly.
From all the zooming around, and other . . . activities between Hunter and myself . . . the thirst has returned stronger than ever. Shaking my head, I try to ignore the ache by launching myself up onto a branch overhead. Hunter follows closely as we climb, jump, and swing between the trees. My laughter echoes around me as we glide effortlessly through the air, startling birds and other wildlife.
The laughter falls away when I’m distracted by the sound of soft footfalls approaching. My head snaps around toward the direction of the sound – and then the smell comes.
Blood.
It’s pumping through her veins as she jogs.
Before I realise what I’m doing, I take off through the trees, tracking down the source below. As she crosses my path, I jump from the branch and land right in front of her. The girl screeches, rearing back in fright, before tripping over her own feet. Her air pods fall from her ears and she winces, gingerly touching the graze on her leg.
‘Where the fuck did you come from?’ the girl yelps, glaring up at me.
I barely hear her – I’m mesmerised by the pulsating vein in her neck. Without a second thought, I lunge at the girl, and push her back against the grass as I plunge my fangs into her neck. She screams, slapping her hands against my arms, but I feel nothing.
‘Easy.’ Hunter’s warm, soft voice is in my ear as he crouches down beside us. ‘Gentle, legata una, you’re hurting her.’
Touching my shoulder, I feel his calmness wash over me, and I soften my grip on her, pulling back so that my fangs aren’t so deep. Her blood is hot and delightful as I swallow it down, feeling a little high on the feeling of feeding straight from the source.
‘That’s it,’ Hunter encourages, rubbing circles across my back. ‘In a few seconds, I need you to stop.’
Savouring the last taste, it takes all the willpower I can muster to retract my fangs. It’s a test of self-control I’m determined to pass as I reel back. The feral craving inside of me urges me to continue, but now that I have pulled away, my mind is clearing and I feel more in control.
The girl’s heartbeat hammers inside her chest as she breathlessly stares up at the sky, looking stunned. Licking my lips, I lean back, gazing up to Hunter.
‘I want you to have a taste,’ I say.
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. ‘What?’
Swallowing, I glance at the girl, and back up to him. ‘I want you to see how good she tastes.’
Hunter’s eyes darken, his fangs snapping out. ‘You’re sure?’ he questions, drawing his brows together.
‘Yes.’ I nod, pushing her towards him.
Nodding, he reaches for her arm. Desire crashes through me as I watch him bite into her, his beautiful dark eyes locked on mine as he does. My own fangs snap back out, and I step toward the girl.
Moving in, I bite into her neck, as we feed at the same time.
Since I only just fed, it is much easier to pull back this time. Licking my lips, I step away from her, curiously watching her face as she gazes past me, looking blissfully unaware of what is happening to her right now.
‘You will need to give her some of your blood,’ Hunter says, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. ‘We took more than we should have since we both drank at the same time.’
Guilt churns within my stomach at the realisation. As though sensing my distress, Hunter places a hand on my shoulder.
‘She will be totally fine. Most vampires take too much. I like to only take as much as is necessary, and nothing more.’
Nicking my thumb on the pointy part of my fang, I hold my thumb over her parted lips. She drinks from me for a few seconds. Pulling my hand back, I stare down at the girl, then up to Hunter.
‘Now we make her forget?’ I ask.
‘Who the hell are you crazy people?’ she exclaims, the vampire blood running through her system, healing her and restoring her clarity. She turns on her heel to run, but I am in front of her before she can take a step.
My eyes stare hard into hers. ‘Forget this ever happened. You went for a long run. Go home now.’
The command in my voice comes naturally, as easy as breathing was when I was human. The girl’s expression slackens for a moment and I worry I’ve done it wrong. Suddenly, she smiles at me, nodding slowly, and starts jogging away from us.
‘Did that work?’ I ask in disbelief.
‘Yup,’ Hunter replies.
‘That was so easy!’
‘It’s not easy for everyone, legata una, you’re just a natural.’
Beaming at his praise, I snuggle up to his side. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to him.
I reach for his pants. He stops, looking back at me.
‘Raya . . .’ he says. ‘I think you might be experiencing a high right now.’
‘I don’t care.’
‘Raya . . .’ he warns again, but makes no effort to stop me from pushing him up against a tree, while unbuckling his pants. I slide them down his legs with a flick of my wrist. His lips part, and he looks so damn sexy with his dark hair pushed back, his eyes a sparkling silver-black, his fangs on display.
‘I want you so bad,’ I whisper. ‘It’s all I can think about.’
Reaching up, I grab him by the back of the neck and pull him towards me, pressing a hard kiss to his mouth before I spin him around, and push him onto his back. He grins mischievously at me as I yank his briefs down, releasing his erection. Circling my fingers around him, I start moving my hand.
I move my mouth to his tip, running my tongue over him. He groans, hips bucking. I move my mouth down his length, taking him as far down my throat as I can. Electricity crackles down my spine as I bob my head up and down, feeling him grow stronger and harder beneath me.
When his hips jerk, I move faster, my tongue sliding and slipping across him with vampire speed. In only a few moments, he spills hot across my tongue and I lap it up greedily, swallowing every bit.
Hunter’s eyes are wild, his breaths coming out in short, sharp bursts. ‘Holy shit,’ he breathes. ‘That was . . . incredible.’
Smiling, I move up his body and steal a kiss from him, sucking on his lower lip, tasting the last remaining droplets of the girl’s blood. He groans into the kiss, his hand curling around the back of my head, holding me in place.
I should feel awful for what I just did. What we are doing now immediately after feeding on her. Yet, I don’t.
‘This has been one hell of a day,’ I tell him. ‘I love doing life with you.’
‘Me too.’ He smiles, the one reserved only for me, making me feel giddy with happiness.
‘I don’t want to go back,’ I whisper, looking in the direction of the town where our Airbnb is. ‘I don’t want to face reality.’
Threading his finger through my hair, he kisses me softly on the temple. ‘I know, love. But we have to.’ He hesitates for a moment, as if worried about my reaction to what he is about to say. He curls an arm around me. ‘We need to make a plan for Alex’s funeral.’
Coldness prickles through me at the thought of laying my best friend to rest. My eyes sting with tears and I bury my face into Hunter’s chest, wishing that all of this had gone differently.
Hunter has placed Alex’s body in a safe place. I haven’t asked much about it because I can’t think of him cold and dead somewhere. Lifeless, and alone.
The tears come on stronger and a sob wracks my body as I think about him. How young he was, how much more of life he was yet to experience. All of it stolen from him. And it’s all my fault.
‘It won’t always hurt this much,’ Hunter whispers. ‘I know that doesn’t make it any easier. But I promise you, it will eventually hurt a little less, and you will realise that everything is going to be okay.’
Nodding, I wipe my face, unable to form a sentence yet.
‘Also . . .’ Hunter says, and I lift my gaze to him.
‘What else?’ I whisper, dreading what else might be coming.
‘I want to find Cas,’ he says. ‘I want answers.’ Swallowing, he leans back against the tree behind us, pulling me close. ‘I need to know why he did this to me. To us.’ He exhales heavily, looking tired. ‘I need to find him.’
‘Okay.’ I nod, understanding completely. I feel much the same, and I didn’t even really know the guy.
‘Also, my truck is there,’ he points out.
‘Oh yeah,’ I reply, nodding. ‘Let’s go to his house. Now.’
‘Now?’ Hunter questions, frowning.
‘I can’t go back to the Airbnb,’ I admit, covering my face as I rub my eyes roughly. ‘I need space between me and that place right now. From Cora. From Alex’s . . .’ I swallow the lump in my throat, unable to finish that sentence. It hurts to say his name. ‘I need to get out of here and focus on something else. It won’t take us long to get to his house. Then I will organise the funeral, when my head is a little less . . .’ I wave my hand to my face. ‘Overwhelmed.’
Hunter nods, giving me a small, sad smile. ‘Sure, legata una. Whatever you want.’
‘Okay,’ I nod, stepping back and clearing my throat. ‘Let’s go.’