I shook my head. “That makes no sense. We broke up, and then he went back to you. When those people came in with the guns, when they shot us all, he chose you to save. He took the curse for you. Not me.”
Aleida’s brow furrowed, and she cocked her head. “I wasn’t shot. Knocked out, sure, but I wasn’t ever dying. You and him he got hit with the bullets. Scout, I think you need to talk to him. I’ve already been to his room to talk. He didn’t pick me by name. He picked hissoulmate. That’s you.”
I took in her words for a long moment and then got back up. I reached for my sweater. “I’ve gotta go,” I told her and stormed out of the room. I went right next door. I started to knock but then saw that the door had been broken. It was hanging open. I went inside and found a disaster. What had happened?
“Desi?” I called cautiously.
“He’s not here,” Aleida said from behind me. I whipped around to see her standing at the door, arms crossed and face smug. “He was taken back to Charles Matheson’s place. He’s not happy about what you guys did there.”
They had taken him? By the looks of it, he hadn’t gone without a fight.
“How do you know about that?” I demanded. She shrugged.
“The Matheson’s are a very affluent Bloodborn family. I recognized the people that came to get him.”
“And you didn’t stop them?” I spat, storming over to her.
She laughed. “You don’t scare me. And no, I didn’t stop them because maybe he deserves a little dose of what he’s done these last thirty years. Or maybe I’m just a little bitter that he didn’t love me after all. Tell me, how long were you two fucking behind my back?”
“I didn’t know about you. He didn’t mention you even once,” I shot back.
Her eye twitched, but she said nothing else. She started out the door, but I followed behind her.
“Do you know anything about Charles? I can’t just sit back and let them kill Desi.”
“I do, but I have no obligation to share it with you. You’re his soulmate. Figure it out.” She continued down to the lobby and then out of the building. I followed her to her car.
“Please, Aleida. You hate him now, but you loved him once. Help me. Or at least take me back there. I don’t have a car.”
She glared at me for a long time before huffing and pointing to a white Mustang. “Get in.”
I did, and in a blink, we were on the road back to the mansion in which Desi was being held captive.
“I’m sorry,” I said in the quiet of the car. It was tense and awkward. “We broke up right after he told me.”
“You’re Bloodborn,” she said as a response. I nodded, unsure of where she was going with it. She glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “What is your family name?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know I was a vampire. I grew up in the foster system and aged out. When I keeled over on the bridge that night, I had no idea what was happening.”
“Were you alone?” Her brow was furrowed, and she kept staring at me with large eyes as if I were an alien. I cringed.
“No, he was there. Desi,” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Did he know? That you were a Bloodborn?”
“I don’t think so. He looked just as scared as I did.”
Suddenly, Aleida slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. She put her hazards on and turned to me. I flinched back toward my door. Her eyes were mean, and her lips curled into almost a snarl.
“Did he feed you his blood?”
I frowned but then tried to think. The moment of turning from human to vampire was slightly fuzzy. But then, there he was. He had slit his wrist horizontally and shoved it against my mouth. I had drank from him, but only for a brief moment. He pulled away quickly and then left me there. I looked back up at Aleida and nodded. “Why? Was that bad?”
She rolled her eyes and fell back into her seat. She pushed her hair out of her face. “And I’m presuming he’s drank from you at some point. It’s really good, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “I’m confused. Why is it such a big deal?”
She pulled the car back into drive and continued on the highway. “The first time you taste blood, you’re connected to that person forever. That’s why most Bloodborns undergo the process with family so that it’s not an intimate thing. He gave you his blood, knowing full well what he was doing. He never had any intention of loving me. He really did love you.”
