Page 62 of Fated to Them

“Someone smells good enough to eat,” he murmurs before looking at me, his eyes turning crimson.

I look away, knowing full well what Cyrus has just tasted on his tongue.

“Forgot your keys,” he says, jingling Eli’s car keys in the air before he walks out.

I turn back to the computer, trying to ignore the ache between my legs, hoping it will go away.

The rest of the day goes by quickly. Eli makes me remain at his desk. Even when I have my lunch break, Eli comes with me, refusing to let me go anywhere by myself. Taylor is slowly adjusting to working but is a fast learner, so I know she will be fine after a week or two. Cyrus comes back in the afternoon before calling Eli out of the room, and I use that opportunity to message Sam. Only when I do, the message won’t go through.

“Did you block my messages?” I ask when Eli walks back in.

“Yep, to Sam, I did. And any message you send will notify my phone of the text,” he says, and I toss my phone in my bag, irritated.

“Why are you messaging Sam?” he asks.

“To make sure he is okay after last night. Why else?”

“Sam is fine. As much as I would love to kill the germ, I touch him, and I will have his entire organization after us.”

“My father was a hunter,” I tell him, still trying to wrap my head around that new information. “Did you know him?”

Eli growls low in the back of his throat. “Now, why would I know your father? I don’t go around trying to get hunters’ attention, Adeline.”

“I was only asking. No need to get snappy,” I tell him, reaching down, grabbing my handbag, and tossing it over my shoulder.

Cyrus walks in with a bottle of pills in a clear tube. I notice the pills are red in color.

“So what exactly is in those pills besides your blood?” I ask him as he slips them into his pocket.

“Just sugar pills,” he says, and I nod.

Cyrus grabs my hand, leading me downstairs, where Taylor is waiting with Bella.

“Can we grab Maya on the way home?” she asks.

“Your mother already has,” Eli tells her.

Taylor nods, looking confused. We walk out to the car, and I climb in the back with my sister. Bella waves as Eli pulls out of the parking space. Cyrus turns in his chair, facing us before looking at Taylor.

“Come here,” he tells her, and she immediately obeys, moving to the edge of her seat. Cyrus grips her face and holds up the bottle of pills.

“Take one of these daily until they are gone. If your mother asks what they are, tell her they are birth control pills,” he says, his eyes a dark-red color, and I shake my head, finding myself lost in them along with her.

He lets go of her face, and I notice my sister’s eyes are glazed over before she shakes her head. Cyrus places the pills in her hand, and she slips them into her bag. I stare at her, but it is like the conversation they’ve just had never happened as she talks away happily about work. I remain quiet, not knowing if I like this new version of my sister. I keep waiting for something to go wrong, only it doesn’t. I notice Eli looking at me a few times in the mirror as I try to listen to my sister. When we pull up, Maya is outside waiting on the porch with my mother.

Chapter Twenty-One

Adeline

Getting out of the car, my mother’s voice reaches my ears. “She is gone. She did another runner. I rang the police station, and they said she left when someone bailed her out.”

The other rear door of the car opens, and my mother looks taken aback when she sees Taylor hop out of the car.

“Debbie, I need to speak to you, please,” Cyrus says, and she looks at him.

“About what? Taylor, you look—” She doesn’t finish, shaking her head.

Taylor rushes over to her and hugs her before scooping up Maya. Maya hugs her mother excitedly at having her attention, and I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat. Everyone walks inside, and I am overwhelmed, knowing this will soon no longer be home.