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Atlas nods at Lex in agreement, wiping the blood from his lip with the edge of his thumb. He turns his silver gaze to me. “And when we do, you don’t need to worry. I will handle Selene.”
The knots in my stomach give an uncomfortable, almost painful tug. As badly as I want to shred her porcelain skin to ribbons of flesh and muscle, sink my teeth into her throat and drain every last drop of blood from her body before ripping out her heart and burning it to ash, Iphysicallycan’t. The born vampire that turns a human is protected against them should they ever turn on their sire. I can’t bring harm to Selene. And while I can’t be the one to bring an end to her miserable, murderous eternity, I will sure as hell be there to watch it come to fruition.
With her many years and powerful bloodline, Atlas is likely one of the only vampires we know that is strong enough to take her on, and he won’t be doing it alone. Lex and Kade will back him up. Regardless of the fact he only turned Lex and not Kade or me, the four of us are bonded in a way unlike any blood oath or sire bond—bychoice.
I nod, frowning at the pull of exhaustion in my muscles. I’m sure they’re feeling it too. The blood we’ve consumed tonight wasn’t fresh, and we’re all suffering for it. “I don’t want to make this about Selene. That’s exactly what she wants. Let’s just focus on finding our girl.”
Atlas claps me on the shoulder from where he’s sitting diagonally across from me at the head of the table. “We’re going to get her back.” His voice is deep and smooth, commanding. He says the words as if there’s no other option, and something like hope flickers in my chest.
Kade props his chin on his hand, closing his eyes. “While we’re all here, we should probably talk about our friends with the pointy murder devices.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, all right. When I talked to Marcel last, there hadn’t been any new developments from his end to report. I’m assuming that is still the case, otherwise we would have heard from him.”
“I spoke to my team in Vancouver about an hour ago. One of our guys intercepted some intel from Ellis Industries regarding a new site.”
“Fuck,” Lex grumbles, “they found more white ash?”
Atlas nods, his expression grim. “From what I can tell through company communications, they don’t plan to start development until the summer.”
“Let’s burn it down before then,” Kade suggests. “Problem solved.”
“One of the lesser problems, unfortunately,” Atlas says. “The number of hunters is steadily increasing across the map. Our only saving grace at this point is that they have to be more careful with how they’re getting rid of vampires. In the age of social media, it’s becoming rapidly more difficult to keep the existence of hunters—and vampires—secret from the general population. There’s always someone around with a camera.”
“Nothing stays secret forever,” Lex says in a low voice, his eyes trained on where he’s drumming his fingers against the top of the table.
I scratch the stubble at my chin; I still need to shave. “It’s going to take a lot for Calla to forgive us… to trust us after keeping Brighton’s family’s involvement in our world from her.” I’d never been particularly fond of keeping her in the dark, but it was necessary. We had no idea what she would do with the information—and she would’ve had no idea how dangerous that information was in the wrong hands.
I suppose it’s too late now. She knows part of the truth at least. And whatever Selene tells her for her own personal gain. I force my jaw to unclench and glance around the table. “Perhaps it’s time we show her a little trust?” I offer. “As much as we’ve asked of her anyway.”
Kade tilts his head, looking at me with uncertainty in his tired gaze for a brief moment before nodding. “When we get her back, and wewillget her back, I think it’s time we tell her everything. No more secrets. She’s a part of this now.”
“She’s a part of us,” Lex adds.
Another look around the table, and it’s clear we’re all in agreement. Atlas’s jaw is set tight and there’s a familiar darkness in his eyes, but he nods, even if he isn’t happy about it.
No more secrets.
8
Calla
The sound of tense conversation reaches me before I’m fully awake. Muffled, angry voices pull me out of bed, and I wince at the throbbing pain in my neck. I brush the sleep-tangled hair away and trace my fingers over the raised skin, biting my lip as I tiptoe toward the closed door. My movements are slow and hesitant as I wrap my fingers around the cool doorknob and turn it, tensing as I wait for the metal to creak and alert Selene to my presence. Letting out a breath when it doesn’t make a sound, I open the door a crack and turn my head so my ear is positioned to hear what’s being said from somewhere down the hall, likely the living room.
A gruff curse makes me jump, and my stomach clenches in the same moment my heart sinks as I recognize the male voice. It’s Scott Ellis—Brighton’s dad.
“You better watch yourself.” Selene’s voice slices through the silence, sharp and filled with venom. Hatred.
Scott offers a harsh laugh, as if he finds her threatening response to whatever he said to be pathetic. “We’ll be in touch.”
My brows knit in confusion, and a moment later, the front door slams shut, echoing through the place.
I close the door and lean against it, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for Scott meeting with Selene. What would a vampire hunter be doing at the home of a born vampirealoneand without trying to, you know, hunt them? It doesn’t make sense.
With a sigh, I push away from the door and walk across the bedroom, slipping into the bathroom to freshen up before changing into a pair of black jeans and a maroon sweatshirt from the closet.
I comb my hair and finally leave the room, walking down the hallway with an uneven pulse and swirling nerves in my stomach.
Rounding the corner into the dining room and living room area, I find Selene lounging on the couch in front of a blazing fire, sipping what smells like coffee from a massive white mug. The half-full french press on the table in front of the couch beckons me closer, but the vampire guarding it keeps me back.
