“Lucien’s looking a lot better,” Simone said as if she could read Callie’s thoughts.
“Yes, he is,” she murmured.
Still, she didn’t think he was ready for this. However, she was probably overprotective. He’d come to mean so much to her over the past couple of weeks that it made her heart ache to see Declan deflect him again.
“They’re all stubborn,” Kadence said, “and infuriating; we worry about them all the time, especially when they go out to hunt.”
Callie tore her attention away from Lucien long enough to meet Kadence’s sky blue eyes. “You go out there to hunt with them sometimes.” It wasn’t a question; she’d seen Kadence leave the compound with some of the others.
Kadence laughed. “Far more often than Ronan would like me to, but he has no choice. I’ve trained hard to become an asset instead of a hindrance out there.” She waved her hand at Simone. “We both have.”
Callie wondered what that must be like. There was no way they would let her go out there as a human, and she didn’t blame them. If she didn’t get herself killed by doing that, she’d most likely get one of them killed.
She and Lucien had never discussed her ever being anything other than human as they continued to reside in their small bubble, but that bubble would soon pop. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life aimlessly rambling the grounds as she hid here. There was something infinitely sad about the idea of doing so.
Lucien made a move toward Declan again, and when he went to deflect it, Lucien darted to the right and enclosed his arms around one of Declan’s thighs. Declan grabbed Lucien’s arms, and the two of them went to the mat.
Callie gave a small fist pump and then blushed when she realized Simone and Kadence had seen her. She had no idea if it was acceptable to cheer for one over the other.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be,” Kadence replied. “We understand.”
Callie smiled at her and then followed as Kadence continued through the gym to the back wall. A stand full of mats lined the wall, and they slid theirs into two open spaces.
Callie spentthe next few days meeting Kadence and Simone in the morning for yoga before having lunch with Lucien. Afterward, she attended the hunter training. She felt more comfortable with the hunter women; they weren’t entirely human, but they weren’t as fluid or graceful as the vampires.
Kadence had explained to her that at one time, hunter women weren’t allowed to do anything like this. Some still refused to participate in the training, but many had taken an interest in learning at least basic self-defense.
Most of them would never go beyond the compound walls, but now it was their choice to remain here. Despite it being their choice, Callie found it a little sad they were content never to see the outside world.
However, she supposed there was something peaceful about always being securely hidden from the chaos outside their gates.
She’d only been working with them for a few days, but she was already getting stronger. She was better at yoga, and she’d discovered she had a talent for punching things.
She was becoming friendly with the women, and there were a couple she really liked. Vicky never failed to make her laugh, and she had a lot in common with Elyse, who was the only other one to have led a human life before coming here.
However, she missed her animals and her friends. She missed her job and having a purpose other than exercise every morning. She missed music and concerts and parties. Her feelings for Lucien grew stronger every day, but she still had no idea where any of this was going between them, or if it was going anywhere.
And though she was dying to learn the answer, she hadn’t mentioned it to him. She yearned for and dreaded the answer in equal measure.
She was acutely aware of the bite marks on the necks of her friends, but Lucien hadn’t tried to drink her blood again. Other than informing her about the existence of mates, he’d never said anything else about it.
She didn’t know what that meant for them. Why would he keep her here if he didn’t want something more from her? Did he feel sorry for her because she’d lost everything?
She really hoped that wasn’t the reason she was here, but then, she also didn’t want him to bite her again. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.
With the number of marks on the others, she couldn’t deny they had to find some pleasure in it. And she recalled the moan the motel clerk released when Lucien bit her. However, she also clearly recalled the pain of his bite.
She inwardly shuddered at the memory, but she couldn’t deny a growing part of her craved having it happen again. She was falling in love with him and ready to share more.
No, if she were honest with herself, she’d admit she’d already fallen for him. Which only made the fact she had no idea what he wanted from her worse.
Was she a convenience for him? When he was back to his full strength and could leave the compound again, would he toss her aside for someone new? And then what would happen to her? Would she live here, wandering around, doing yoga, training, and watching him come and go with other women until he found his mate?
She’d rather face a pit full of Savages again. At least then, she wouldknowwhat was to become of her. She would prefer to take her chances on the outside than live such a mundane, lonely life.
Callie entered the mansion with Kadence, Elyse, and Simone after their most recent training session. They said their goodbyes and went their different ways.
