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She glances down to where I’m holding onto her and purses her lips before meeting my gaze. “That’s not… I just—”
“Trust us.” I lower my voice. “Please?”
Calla catches her bottom lip between her teeth, and the urge to lean in and tug it free so I can seal my mouth over hers pulls at me, but I shove it down—for now.
Closing her eyes, she whispers, “I’m trying.”
I glance over at Atlas and Kade, who both nod at me.
She’s trying. That’s really all we can ask for at this point.
12
Calla
My best friend’s family is full of vampire hunters.
I lean forward, my elbows digging into my knees, and rake my fingers through my hair. My throat is thick with tears—again—and my head is so light, I’m glad I’m sitting down, otherwise there’s a good chance I’d fall on my ass.
I’ve finally gotten the answers I’ve been asking for since day one, but I’m finding it all harder to swallow than I was expecting. At least they’re being truthful and letting me in on what’s going on. Honesty is what I need to help build my trust with the guys, and they are making a significant effort to give me that. It’s not lost on me.
“What happens now?” I ask, sitting upright. “I’ve missed school—people, including Brighton, are going to wonder where I am.”
“I dealt with Brighton,” Kade says.
Cringing outwardly, I hesitate before asking, “What does that mean exactly? What did you do?”
He rolls his eyes. “Relax. After you seemingly went AWOL, she freaked out and called us. When Gabriel and I went over there to talk to her, I glamoured her to delete and forget about your texts. I also told her you were sick and would be out of commission for a while.”
I let out a breath. I guess it could be worse. Except… “How am I supposed to act around her now?”
“Normal?” Lex offers from the kitchen. He’s stirring something in a pot on the stove but shoots me a wink over his shoulder.
I stare at him. “That’s helpful. Thank you.” A pit grows in my stomach. “I know what you said about her mom not wanting this life for Brighton, but do you think they could be planning to use her in the future?”
“It’s a possibility, of course, but they tend to start hunters much younger than she is so they can train for years before being used in the field.”
I shake my head, still struggling to grasp this revelation. “Vampire hunters,” I say in a low voice. “Don’t you think their existence is something you should have told me about, I don’t know, when I moved in?”
“We’re telling you now,” Kade chimes in, glancing at something on the phone in his hand.
I huff out a sigh. Maybe I should be more accepting of their newfound willingness to share things with me instead of dwelling on all of the time they kept me in the dark. “Okay,” I say, leaning against the back of the couch and crossing one leg over the other. “What’s the plan?” I need more to go on; it seems with every answer I’m given, it sparks a dozen more questions.
“We’re still gathering information,” Atlas says. “It’s important not to move too quickly in order to stay undetected within the ranks of the organization.”
“Right,” I say, dragging the word out, clearly not sure what the hell he means.
“Atlas has a responsibility to help ensure the protection of our kind. The York family is very important in the vampire world. They go back centuries and are one of the most powerful and respected clans to exist.”
“That explains a lot,” I mutter under my breath.
“Watch it,” Atlas says sternly.
“As you can see,” Kade says, “our boy here doesn’t love the attention being on him.”
My lips twitch. I can’t help it. I understand the situation is serious, but the small break in tension is appreciated. Despite that, my head still feels as if it’s going to explode from all of this new information. And with the looming threat from Selene, the weight on my chest seems to be getting heavier by the second.
Blowing out a slow breath, I get up from the couch and walk toward the kitchen, where the warm, savory aroma of mushrooms and spices infiltrates my senses. I need a break from all the dark and heavy conversation. I steal a look at Gabriel, who is watching me from the living room. “You still owe me a cooking lesson.”
