I want to know. I want to understand. These curses. Nobody seems to have an answer as to how they are created or where they come from.
And what is going to happen, when my House finally faces off with the leader of this Bitten army? What if we are successful in killing the leader? Is that who the curse is meant for? If they die, will this feeling go away?
But what if the curse is for me?
Too many unknowns, and the more I think about it, the more panicked I feel. Like a rabid, hairless beast climbing up my throat, hissing and shaking the whole way it scales me.
A figure darts from the veranda below me, a blur of motion as they move to the edge of the property. I immediately grab for a stake, ready to yell for the House, when the figure stops, and I realize it’s Anna.
And she’s not alone.
Sheriff Luke McCoy stands at the edge of the river, waiting for her.
She places her hands on his hips, leaning in close when she talks to him. They speak for a few moments, before wandering down the rivers edge, hand in hand.
Interesting.
I actually jump when the door to my bedroom swings open. I whip around to see Ian looking startled himself at my reaction.
“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, looking back out the window. The two of them are nowhere to be seen now. “Just…a lot on my mind. How is Lula?”
Ian sets his backpack on the floor, and I hear an assortment of things clang together. I have little doubt they’re medical tools, so he could check his grandmother over himself. His paramedic side isn’t going away anytime soon. “She’s actually doing a little better,” he says as he walks over and sits opposite me in the window seat. “Her lungs sound a lot clearer. And she remembered who I was today.”
“That’s good,” I say hopefully.
He nods. “The guy who handles her will met with me today, though. Said we’d better get affairs in order, for when she does pass on.”
He’s quiet for a little while. He reaches out absentmindedly, tracing the tip of his finger along the tiny bones in my foot. It tickles slightly, but my new levels of control keep me from flinching away.
“The house will be split between Elle and I. We can either keep it or sell it,” he finally speaks again. “Same with all of her belongings. She doesn’t have much money, but what little there is, I told the guy to give to Elle.”
“And what about her?” I ask. “She’s still only sixteen.”
Ian nods. “I’ll become her legal guardian. Though, it seems a little unnecessary. She’s already living on her own.”
Which kills me to think of her living in that house, alone. Ian and I both tried to plead with her to move in with us, but she refused, and we both know that as a human, she will always be in some danger. Control is a relative thing, especially when you’re so thirsty you can’t see straight.
“Ian, are you sure you want to stay here?” I ask, leaning forward and taking his hand into both of mine. “I feel awful, like I’ve made you abandon your family. I-”
“Liv, with you is where I want to be,” he says, pulling me closer, making me look into his eyes and see how much he means what he’s saying. “I’ve spent the last decade taking care of Lula and Elle. And I’m not going to stop taking care of them. But, I have to keep living my life, too. I…I need to let myself have just a little bit of happiness, for the first time in maybe my whole life. So please, don’t go and feel guilty about me. Lula’s okay. Elle’s fine.”
I study his eyes, trying so hard to make myself feel the way he’s asking me to. But I do feel guilty. Very.
But he’s said it. This is where he wants to be. And this is where I want him to be.
“You make me happy,” I whisper, leaning in and touching my forehead to his.
“It’s kind of a miracle,” he says. I can hear the smile on his lips. “I didn’t think that was possible for me. Not anymore. But us? I am happy, Liv. With you.”
I lean forward, crawling as I do, and settle into his lap, one of my legs on either side of his waist. He reaches up, caressing a hand on the side of my face. He blinks, twice, three times, just studying me.
“I love you, Alivia Ryan Conrath.” The way the words are whispered, it’s as if they are the most true and reverent words he will ever speak. “I have from the moment I realized I didn’t have to kill you. Even when you were being a pain in the ass,” he chuckles and I laugh, too, my heart swelling with all of the history between us. “Even when I wanted to hate you and you definitely hated me. But I loved you through it all.”
He reaches down and takes my hands in his, and he raises them to his lips. He isn’t in a hurry to say what he has to say. His kiss lingers, thoughtful and with purpose. He breathes me in and out.
And my heart is racing a million miles a minute. My spirit soars. I’m not sure even my enhanced vampire body is capable of holding the contentment I’m feeling.
“I’m never going to stop loving you, Liv,” he says after a while. “Through all the bad and the bloodshed and the dramatics, it isn’t going to stop.” He shakes his head, holding my eyes strong and firm. He brings my hands to his chest, placing them flat against the muscles there. I can feel his heart beneath the surface, steady, but quick. He covers my hands with his, holding them firm there.
“Liv,” he whispers, his voice dropping lower, but keeping that sure calmness. My eyes rise to meet his, and I feel everything swell in the air around us. “Will you marry me?”
We are floating, existing somewhere that time and space and war cannot touch. Just Ian. Just Alivia.
“Yes,” I breathe, no hesitance in me. “Yes.”
We meet somewhere in the middle and his lips become mine and mine become his. His strong arms wrap around my waist, eliminating any space that might still exist between the two of us. My legs wrap around him, my arms locked behind his neck.
The kiss is not gentle. It’s possessive and demanding. Tongue to tongue. Teeth biting and aggressive. It’s a promise and a curse. Ian and Alivia will never be able to exist without the other ever again. For if one goes, the other will extinguish forever.
On it carries, heedless of time. Existing only for one another.
After all the hurt. After all of the lies and the secrets. After all the blood and all the physical transformations. We’ve made it to here. To this space where we have finally arrived at our destiny.
“I love you,” I breathe into his mouth, my hands knotted into his hair. “Forever and ever, Ian.”
He pulls away, studying my lips, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. “I told you once, it’s never going to be easy. It’s always going to be hard and there’s always going to be some problems. But for me? This, us, it’s all worth it.”
I nod. “Yeah. It’s worth it.”
Ian bites his lip, looking suddenly sheepish. “I don’t even have a ring,” he chuckles. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about asking that question for months and months, but it kind of just came out.”
I laugh with him, resting my forehead against his, holding his face between my hands. “There is plenty of time. For tonight, this is enough.” I press my lips, very gently to his.
Ian nods in agreement, backing away, once more taking my hands in his. “And I promise, if we find Henry, I will ask for permission.”
I chuckle. “How old fashioned of you.”
“Hey,” he says with a shrug. “I am a Southern gentleman.”
I laugh with him, leaning forward once again for another kiss.
“If we’re going to have to deal with newlyweds, I think I might move back to the Institute.” I suddenly hear Lexington’s voice, coming from the direction of the library. It isn’t spoken loudly, but I hear it with no problem whatsoever.
“Congratulations,” Markov’s voice comes from his bedroom.
“Party time!” Cameron says in excitement.
I just laugh, watching the mixed emotions roll over Ian’s face. Emb
arrassment, horror, annoyance, entertainment.
“About time,” Christian says.
“Thanks, I guess, everyone,” I chuckle. “And yeah, it is about time.”
“ALIVIA, I THINK YOU SHOULD see this,” Rath comes to get me from the library where I’m talking to Christian, three days later. The look on his face is angry, and ready to kill.
My heart immediately jumps into my throat and the both of us follow Rath up the stairs into my father’s office. He has a laptop open on the desk and when I round into view to see what is going on, I see so many numbers on the screen.
“Someone hacked into the House bank account this morning,” Rath says as he sits at the desk. “They’ve been trying to transfer money out all day. So far, the bank has been able to block it, but they’re trying very hard to take everything.”
“They’re finally striking,” I say, watching as another notification flashes on the screen, asking Rath to authorize the transfer of four million dollars to another account. He hits decline.
“If you’re trying to dismantle a House, taking their finances is a damn good way to start,” Christian says, his eyes scrolling over everything.
Rath nods his head. “I’ve already called a new bank and they’re working on setting up a new, more secure account for us. This won’t happen, but they said it’s going to take another hour.”
“And you’ve been able to block all the transfers so far?” I ask, standing up straight and crossing my arms over my chest.
Rath nods in confirmation as he declines another transfer request. “Everything is still there, for now.”
“Where the hell is Henry?” I yell in frustration as I turn away from the computer. “I need to know why this is so personal against the Conrath family. Why they have such a huge grudge against this House, and why they’re trying to take us apart.”
“Patrols still haven’t found anything,” Christian echoes what I already know.
Damn sneaky vampires. Born or Bitten.
But I whip around. “Can we figure out where they’re trying to hack us from? Trace IP addresses or something?”
“Yes, you can,” a voice suddenly says from the doorway. We all look up to see Lexington walking in with a laptop in hand. “Give me some access, and I’ll get this little annoyance flushed out for you.”
“You can do this?” I ask in shock as he sets his computer down on the desk, waiting for Rath to move out of the way. Rath looks up at me for confirmation that I’m okay with this.
“Every House needs their IT guy,” Lexington says with a shrug. “The Allaways had just acquired someone new a few weeks before the whole swap-a-roo happened. Guess that’s why Charles let me go.” He says this with quite the grudge. “But yeah, I can do this.”
I look down at Rath and give him a nod. He moves aside to let Lexington take his spot, rolling his head side to side dramatically, stretching his arms as if he’s getting ready to lift weights or arm wrestle.
“Just give me some space, this could take a few hours,” he says as his fingers begin flying over the keyboard.
“This is great,” I say, giving him some room. “This might be the first real clue we’ve gotten in where to find any part of the army.”
“Hopefully, they’re stupid and didn’t think to re-route their signal,” Lexington says as he continues working. “Smart hackers know how to hide their location. Stupid hackers don’t.”
“So, we hope this army, who’s eluded us for ten months, is stupid,” Christian pipes up doubtfully. “Good luck.”
“Positive attitude is everything, my friend!” Lexington responds dramatically as his fingers tap keys on both laptops.
“Anna!” I yell because I know she’s outside on property patrol. I hear a door fly open and just a moment later, she suddenly appears in the office. Her eyes glow red and she stands protectively in front of me, sweeping the area for threats.
“No, I’m okay,” I say with a shake of my head. Between the four of us, we explain what’s going on. “So I want the patrols doubled. We finally have a lead. They obviously know I’m back, and they’re ready to kick this war into gear. I’d rather we make the first physical move than them.”
“You got it,” she says. She pulls out her cell phone as she turns to leave. “Trinity, I need you on duty, now. Smith will be meeting up with you in a few minutes.” Her voice trails off as she heads back outside.
Let the war begin.
THE SOUNDS OUTSIDE, WHEN IT’S this dark, when we’re this far into the backcountry, are intense. Insects, creaking trees, an owl hooting; it’s overwhelming. We’re doing our best to remain silent, but they’re making such a racket.
For the first time, I crossed the river into Louisiana. Not far, through the main town, down a dirt road about three miles, and here we are, in swampland. Standing water crops up everywhere, and these creepy trees grow out of it, Spanish moss hanging from the limbs, long and swaying in the breeze.
It’s nearly pitch black, but our vampire eyes don’t have any problem seeing through the dark.
Ian, Danny, Samuel, Trinity, Smith, Anna, and I all soundlessly stalk through the back roads, closing in on the small trailer house where Lexington traced the location of the computer. Each of us is armed, heavily, with stakes, guns, crossbows. We’re an army unto ourselves.
The rest of the House waits in town, poised to leap to our aid with the tap of a phone call.
But considering the size of the trailer and what we scouted of the location beforehand, none of us think there is more than a small hive waiting for us.
Ian creeps up to the side of the trailer, a blur of motion and Danny darts around the back side. The rest of us silently wait from behind trees, guns and crossbows at the ready.
Slowly, Ian rises to standing, stretching to his toes in order to see through the windows. He peers inside for a moment, before ducking down out of sight again. He creeps along to look into another room, doing this for every window in the entire trailer.
Just as he’s finishing, Danny creeps back around the edge of the trailer, and the both of them dart back to our position in a blur. Together, as a group, we retreat one hundred yards, to keep ears from overhearing our conversations.
“There’s two of them in the livin’ area,” Danny says, rearranging weapons, getting ready for action.
“One in the bedroom, sleeping,” Ian continues. “He’s got an automatic assault rifle next to him on the bed, so we’re probably going to have to take him out as quickly as possible, grab the other two at the same time.”
“Anna, you and Trinity and Smith come with me, we’ll take out the two working their magic on the computer,” Danny says, eying them, and they nod in response.
“Samuel, you’re with me,” Ian says as he checks Samuel’s gun. “I’m going to tie him up; your job is just to get that gun as far away from his reach as you can. You take possession of it, and guard it like it’s your dick on a foosball table, you got it?”
Samuel nods, looking scared. This isn’t his element. He’s been the son of a Broken House leader for so long, and then not utilized for fifteen years under Jasmine’s leadership. But the time to rise up is now, and he’s here.
“Remember,” Anna pipes up. “Do not kill them unless you absolutely have to. We need information out of these guys. We can’t screw this up. It’s the first lead we’ve had this entire time.”
I want to fight them, to argue that I should be going inside, helping take them down. But every single one of them has made it abundantly clear that I am only to wait outside and not get involved until they’re disabled and ready for questioning.
“Liv, you wait twenty yards away until this is all over,” Ian says. And the pleading look in his eyes tells me he knows there’s a risk that I won’t do as told. He’s learned me well over the last ten months.
“I’ll do my best,” I say in annoyance.
“No best,” Danny says, giving me a sharp look. “Somethin’ happens to you, everythin’ falls apart. Yo
u stay out of the way until it’s time.”
He’s never once been sharp with me, but his tone tells me how firmly he believes what he’s just said.
“Okay,” I say with a little more humility.
“Everybody ready?” Ian asks. They each nod, and then they’re gone, darting through the dark.
My enhanced eyes watch them as they slip between trees silently. Ian and Samuel position themselves toward the back of the trailer, each of them picking up a huge rock, which I assume they’ll use to smash the window. The other four gather around the front door.
Anna holds up five fingers, and one by one, starts curling them into her fist, counting down.
Three…two…one.
The glass shatters and Danny kicks down the door with one swift motion, and every one of them floods into the trailer. Shouts and yells shoot out into the night and the trailer actually rocks back and forth on its cinderblock foundation. Ian is bellowing for someone to stay down; Anna is barking orders for someone to stay on their knees.
And within about sixty seconds, the night grows quieter. The trailer stops bouncing around. I watch it with baited breath, poised on my toes, ready to spring into action at the drop of a pin, my crossbow ready.
A moment later, Ian pokes his head out the broken front door and waves me forward.
I step through the splintered doorway and survey the damage.
The front door exploded into a million shards at Danny’s impact. Walls are buckled, papers and dishes and pans are strewn around the floor. The entire space smells heavily like mold.
But on their knees, in the middle of the floor, each of them with a gun pressed to their head and a stake held firmly at their backs, are two men and a woman. Their hands are tied behind their backs, they’re not moving anywhere without immediately being put down, but each of them stares at me with glowing yellow eyes and lengthened fangs.
“That was fast,” I observe as I stare at them, taking in the bloody lip one of the men has, the bruises that are already forming across the woman’s forehead.