Page 25 of Fated to Her

I go to stop him, but Cyrus steps in my way.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask, stepping back from him.

“Come, we will go home,” Eli says, grabbing my arms, but I shake him off, stepping away from him, too. They’re hiding something, and I’m not leaving this room till they tell me what it is.

“No, not until you tell me.”

“It’s fine. They will find him. Until then, you don’t leave our side. I promise he won’t get near you if you’re with us,” Cyrus says, reaching for me.

I slap his hand away. “If you are going to keep shit from me, I’ll go home. So, answer me.”

Eli sighs, rubbing his face with his hand. “Cyrus killed Sam.”

“That makes no sense, Eli, so spit it out. A dead man can’t escape.”

“He can if he has vampire blood in his system,” Cyrus says.

My gaze snaps to his. “What?” My hands tremble.

“If I had known, I never would have killed him. I would have waited.”

“Are you saying he is like you? A vampire?” Fear threatens to choke me.

My vision is blurring, and I clutch the desk as fear grips me, sinking its filthy claws into me and restricting my airway. I try to breathe, my breaths raspy. This can’t be happening.

Eli touches my arm, gripping it as the room spins violently, tilting on its axis.

“Is he no longer human?” I gasp out, needing to know if the monster who tormented me has turned into a literal one.

“Yes, Addie, Sam is a vampire now,” Eli says.

I shake my head, trying to make sense of what this means. “I just need… I need air,” I choke out, my breaths coming faster and faster as I hyperventilate.

He is a monster, an even bigger one than before.

“Breathe, Addie. Breathe for me, please,” Cyrus says, grabbing my face. His compulsion slips over me, and my body relaxes in his grip.

“Just breathe. You’re safe with us. We won’t let him near you, okay?” Cyrus says, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs. I take a deep breath.

“Good girl, just breathe,” he says, his eyes dazzling me. He pulls me against him, crushing me to his chest.

“You’re okay, I promise. We will keep you safe from him,” Cyrus whispers against my hair.

• • •

Eli and Cyrus take me home. We pull up at their house, and I’m in full-blown panic, knowing Sam could be anywhere and watching us, and we wouldn’t know. Knowing he is no longer human only adds to my anxiety.

“We will head back to Soya. That house is safer there than this one,” Cyrus tells Eli.

This one is out in the open; he could be watching from anywhere. That thought alone makes goosebumps rise on my arms.

“Addie, I need to give you a sedative. Your temperature is rising the more you panic,” I hear one of them say, yet I can’t process it. I can’t process anything; my thoughts are plagued with the horrors of Sam.

Soya also scares me. Sam is familiar with their home there, with our life there. Eli and Cyrus rush around the house. The nightmare I thought was over is coming back to haunt me. I can’t think straight, can’t believe our luck. Would he come back for me? Would they really be able to stop him if he tried?

Time slips by, then I feel a pinch where I sit on the bed. Cyrus is packing stuff in a suitcase beside me, and I don’t even remember coming into the house, let alone into the bedroom. Staring down at my arm, I see Eli pull a needle from my shoulder. I look up at him, wondering what it is, when he grabs my face.

“Mild sedative. We need to get on the plane. It will also slow your heat,” he says, cupping my face in his hands.