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The sunlight serum is made from diluting blood from witches, and it allows vampires a limited time to move around during the daylight. Bryant, a rogue huntsman and my tormentor, had been running the Sunlight Project, which involved kidnapping witches not attached to covens and imprisoning them to use for their blood.
When he defected, he moved the witches to a bunker buried in the woods, and the huntsmen had lost their easy access to witches.
Ros’s father had hidden all of this from Ros, claiming that the serums came from the donations of witches within the huntsmen community. When Ros took over the huntsmen, he was dismayed to discover their reserves almost depleted.
Tris and I offered our blood, but we donated so much in the aftermath of the fight that Ros doesn’t want us opening our veins for large donations for a while. Owen and Haut backed that decision, and everyone agreed that the witches we rescued should be left alone.
Their blood has been stolen more than enough for a lifetime.
Ros strokes my pulse soothingly. “Don’t feel guilty about this. We’ll work it out.” He kisses me again. “I need to go. Don’t wait up for me.”
I nod glumly. Despite his reassurances, I do feel guilty.
The vampires are now part of Hartford Cove, and we need to put just as much effort into protecting them as we do our wolf shifters.
NOT HUNGRY
When I head down the stairs the next morning, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of sizzling bacon greet me.
A headache pounds at my temples, and my eyes feel gritty from lack of sleep. I don’t remember the nightmares that kept jolting me awake last night, my heart pounding and the need to flee coursing through me, but their after-effects linger into my waking hours.
The talk of the sunlight serum must have triggered bed dreams. Dr. Lopez has warned me that I could suffer from PTSD, both from when Bryant attempted to kill Tris before kidnapping and torturing me, as well as from what happened during the battle against the huntsmen.
Plus, the childhood trauma caused by witnessing my mother’s brutal murder, my best friend’s attack, and then growing up cloistered off from the rest of the world, thinking myself insane from the unused magic building in my body, certainly didn’t help.
I’ve only had three counseling sessions so far, and I already want to shove it all into a box and forget about it. These are demons I would gladly never face again.
I rub my eyes as I pad on sock-covered feet into the kitchen. “What’s going on? Aren’t we going to Nesse’s for breakfast?”
“You were awake half the night.” Tris crosses the kitchen, already dressed in his vet uniform, and presses a mug into my hands. “I didn’t think the diner would be good for you, so I told Haut you were dying for a home-cooked breakfast.”
I blink toward the stove where Haut stands in his boxers and an apron, flipping bacon with the skill of a pro. His broad back looks warm and inviting, so I shuffle over to lean against it.
“What had you up all night, bad puppy?” he rumbles, his deep voice soothing the tension from my body.
I mumble into his warm skin and rub my nose against his spine.
“Again with real words,” Owen encourages. “Not even super hearing could make sense of that.”
“Bad dreams,” I say louder. “Don’t remember.”
“Just come to my room when that happens,” Haut says. “I’ll wear you out so you can’t dream.”
“Hey, I was with her last night,” Tris protests.
“And clearly failing to do your job.” Careful of my full mug, Haut pulls me around to his side and places a plate of bacon into my free hand. “Your fuel for the day.”
I smack a sloppy kiss onto his bicep before shuffling back across the kitchen to slump into the chair Tris pulls out for me.
As Tris scoots me in, he leans down to breathe into my ear, “Drink your hot chocolate. It will help more than the bacon.”
I dutifully lift it to my lips, and my nose twitches when I catch a whiff of coffee rising from the rim.
Tris takes his usual seat at the table, catches my eye, and winks.
Owen frowns at us but doesn’t comment as I take a greedy sip, relishing the flavor of the forbidden treat hidden within my chocolate.
My gaze lands on Ros’s empty seat, and I frown. “Is Rosebud still sleeping?”
