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“Give her time,” Gabriel says from the chair he pushed next to the couch and has been sitting in for over an hour.
My gaze is locked on her face, watching and waiting for a muscle twitch. I haven’t turned a vampire since Lex; I know I did it right, but my pulse is still pounding as if I could’ve done something wrong.
I can’t—wecan’t lose her.
Lex drops his arm around Kade’s shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go find someone for our girl to eat when she wakes.”
He stares at Calla several seconds longer before Lex physically drags him away.
“We’ll be back,” he tosses over his shoulder as they leave the hotel suite.
I rake my fingers through my hair, walking around the couch to sit in the other chair, and let out a heavy sigh.
“Talk to me,” Gabriel says, keeping his eyes on Calla, though I know his words are meant for me.
“She didn’t want this, Gabe,” I say in a low voice, shaking my head.
“Maybe not at the start,” he agrees, “but she wouldn’t have gone through with it had that still been the case. She’s too damn stubborn to back down from a fight—even one as potentially fatal as going up against your parents.”
I exhale a laugh, though there’s nothing funny about that. Gabriel is right. Calla is far too strong-willed to give up even in the face of fear. She chose this—she choseus. And I will do everything in my power to ensure not a day goes by where she regrets her decision.
Oh, hell. I fucking love her.
It’s not something I’ve experienced for a very long time outside the three other vampires I’ve spent decades with, but this… annoyingly breathless feeling in my chest is unmistakable.
Gabriel turns to look at me and chuckles softly. Evidently, I’m not doing a very good job at masking my emotions.
I groan, letting my head fall against the back of the chair.
“We all do, Atlas, and I suspect it’s very much reciprocated.”
I nod, because I’m not sure what else there is to say.
“Are you going to tell Simon and Lenora she’s in transition?”
My hackles raise just thinking about it. They’ll want to see it for themselves, and Calla is going to be in no position to deal with them as soon as she wakes.
I opt for sending a brief message to their secretary, letting them know what’s going on and that we’ll be in touch. Not ten minutes later, I receive a curt response, surprisingly right from my father.
Your mother and I look forward to welcoming Miss Montgomery to the family personally in due course.
I’m not sure if I was looking for validation, and if even a small part of me was, I should know better. I’ll never do anything good enough in their eyes, and I’m finally reaching a point where I’m beyond trying.
I grip the phone tighter in my hand. If I have anything to say about it, Calla will never have to endure their presence again.
After seeing Calla with her parents, it’s painfully clear what I’ve missed with my own. The only relationship I have with Simon and Lenora feels businesslike. Transactional. I can’t recall a time I felt differently, when Lenora and Simon cared for me as their child as opposed to a powerful vampire that makes them look good or bad depending on my actions.
That’s not family.
And despite my relationship with my parents, Idohave a family—Gabriel, Kade, Lex, and Calla.
Thump… thump… thump.
I’m off the chair and leaning over the couch in less than a second. “Calla,” I say softly, brushing my knuckles along her cheek.
Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump.
The door to the suite opens, and Kade and Lex walk through with a girl who can’t be much older than Calla. Her expression is blank, and she’s entirely too calm for the situation she’s been brought into; they’ve glamoured her.
