I had never been so scared in my entire life. Complete panic blacked out everything else. I was flailing and kicking and hitting and pulling on anything I could. I kept screaming, and I wanted to bite his hand, but the thought of tasting his skin or his blood was far too revolting. It was already everything I could to keep from vomiting on him.
He was going to do horrible things to be me, and that certainty was the most terrifying thing I had ever felt. Surprisingly, it was even worse than the awful dismal feeling I got when I thought about living the rest of my life without Jack. That was more of slow burning desolation. This was instant and desperate and rabid.
"Let her go!" a velvet voice boomed out in front of me, and I opened my eyes.
He was far enough away where the fog partially masked him, but his fierce emerald eyes were unmistakable. Magically, Peter was here, which was simultaneously rea.s.suring and frightening.
He would save me from whatever Lucian had planned for me, but then he most likely kill me and Jack. So it was a win/lose situation.
"What?" Lucian sounded bewildered, and my fight against him lessened. I would"ve gone completely slack, but he was still touching me with his wretched hands.
Once, I had fallen in the woods, and my hand had somehow ended up in the carca.s.s of an animal full of maggots. I wasn"t in any real danger, but that was most disgusting thing I had ever done and it totally freaked me out. That"s exactly how I felt when Lucian touched me. Like I was covered in maggots.
"Let her go!" Peter repeated and took a step closer towards us, his eyes burning with rage.
Even though Peter wasn"t very large, there was something incredibly intimidating about him. The way his jaw tightened and his fists clenched, it only hinted at the uncontrolled anger and power he had inside him. Lucian"s hands were strong on me, but I could sense a hesitation growing in him.
"What the h.e.l.l is with this girl?" Violet asked incredulously.
"She belongs to me," Peter growled, and he actually extended his hand out to me, as if he expected them to just me hand over after that statement. Like it was all some misunderstanding, and not an obvious kidnap/murder/rape situation.
166.
"What about the other vampire she was with?" Lucian retightened his grip. He must"ve thought he"d found a c.h.i.n.k in the armor, but he hadn"t really.
Peter already knew everything about Jack. He had to have. The dream I had the other night, that wasn"t a dream. Peter had found everything out, and he"d been laying in wait over the last few days. But for what? Suddenly, whatever Lucian had planned didn"t seem quite that bad.
"He is of no concern to you. Let her go." Peter glared intensely at Lucian. "Now."
"You have to be more careful with your things," Lucian tried to sound light and playful, but Peter had unnerved him.
Finally, he let me go, and I jumped away. I think everyone kind of expected me to run into Peter"s arms, and trust me, that was rather tempting, but I didn"t. My skin was still crawling too much, so I just stood off to the side of them, closer to Peter than Lucian, and shuddered. I fought the urge to wipe at my skin and try to brush off Lucian"s touch.
"You"re the one that has to be careful," Peter corrected him.
Before Lucian could say anything more, Peter pounced at him, reminding me very much of the way I lion pounces on his prey. Lucian made a surprised scream, and Violet yelped and jumped back from them. I stayed frozen in place, watching as the shadows blurred and disappeared in the fog. I heard Lucian yelling and Peter growling, and then there was an awful gargling sound and things that sounded suspiciously like tearing and breaking. Violet had chased after them into the darkness, and she was screaming at them to stop. Then there was a rather horrific ripping sound, followed by Violet sobbing, and I heard her lighter, high-heeled footfalls vanish into the night.
Trembling and trying even harder not to throw up, I couldn"t figure out what I was supposed to do.
Did I wait here for Peter? Did I thank him and try and convince him not to kill me? Or did I run off to my place?
Did I try to call Jack, knowing that he wouldn"t answer? There didn"t seem to be any clear answer, and on top of my rampant panic, there was that incessant longing inside me that was trying to pull me towards Peter.
When he finally emerged from the mist, I was still firmly planted where he had left me. His shirt was stained dark across the front, but his skin was completely clean, even though it looked there would"ve been some splatter. He must"ve cleaned himself up a bit, and I wondered if it was for my benefit.
My body tried to pull me over to Peter, but I refused. He ran a hand through his dark hair and didn"t look at me, but it was better that way. I tended to get lost in his eyes whenever I had the chance. A fading pink scratch ran across his face, amazing me at how quickly they healed. There were several tears in his shirt, but the skin it revealed underneath was perfect. Overly perfect, really, just like everything about him.
"What the h.e.l.l you are doing, Alice?" Peter asked quietly, looking down at the sidewalk.
"What are you doing?" I stammered out in reply. It sounded like I was being glib, but I really wanted to know. What was Peter doing? Was this just a warm up for his murder attempt on me?
"Alice, I"m being serious," Peter sighed, sounding frustrated.
167.
"So am I!" I managed to be more forceful this time, and he looked over at me, his green eyes mixed with irritation and affection. As of yet, he wasn"t showing any signs of murderous rage towards me. So that was good.
"You do realize that giving up and dying isn"t the same as being brave?" He looked at me severely.
"What other choice did I have?" I argued, and I tried not to let him haze up my mind. "If I ran, he would catch me! He"s too strong for me to fight off!"
"So?" Peter was incredulous. "You fight anyway! You run until he catches you! This is your life, Alice! Why are you always so eager to give it up?"
"I"m not!" I insisted, but I shook my head, realizing how pointless this argument was. "What"s it to you, anyway? Aren"t you gonna kill me in like ten minutes?"
"What?" He narrowed his eyes in surprise and confusion. "Why would I kill you?"
His genuine surprise startled me. Even after he had tasted my bitter blood, it hadn"t occurred to him to kill me. He"d known about it for days, and as far as I knew, he hadn"t killed Jack yet either.
In fact, the only thing he"d done was save my life. This wasn"t exactly the picture everyone had painted for me.
"You did already try once." I crossed my arms on my chest, trying not to let on that I was just as bewildered as he was.
"That was a mistake, and I already told you that would never happen again," he brushed me off.
There was something almost endearingly matter-of-fact about him. Sure, he had tried to kill me, but he said he wasn"t go to again, so what was I worried about? Once facts were in evidence, it should be accepted and moved on. When he encountered something he didn"t understand, I"d half-expect him to say, "That does not compute."
"What about Jack?" I ventured, and my voice gave away how much that made me nervous.
Peter tensed up at the mention of his name and stared off into the night. He bit his lip, thinking of something, but I had no idea what it could possibly be. There was an agonizingly long span where he didn"t even move. I was fidgeting and scared, but I was afraid that if I pressed him for an answer, it wouldn"t be one that I liked, so I waited as best as I could.
"We need to go home and get things in order," Peter sighed at length.
"What?" My voice went up an octave.
"There"s no other way about it." He reached out so I would take his hand, and I did, but hesitantly.
I got the same electric surge I always did, and I hated the warmth of pleasure that flooded over me. His hand, the one gripping mine, could very well cause the death of Jack, who I was certain was my one true love.
That sounds far cheesier than I meant it to, but I don"t know how else to describe him, especially considering all these other mucked up feelings I have thanks to my blood and Peter.
I let Peter lead me through the fog towards his Audi, parked across the street. I tried really, really hard not to think about how wonderful it had felt when he bit me and how I kind of really wanted him to do it again.
168.
Instead, I tried to think of a course action so that I could somehow save Jack. Maybe I could have Peter bite me again. That would at least give Jack some time to... I don"t know what. That wasn"t really a plan.
Once inside the car, I came up with the only plan I could think of. After Peter started the car, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I thought about trying to hide it from him, but he"d figure it out anyway. He didn"t say anything until after I"d hit send and we already soaring down the road.
"Who did you text?" Peter asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Jack and Mae."
"What did it say?" Peter looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I swallowed hard.
"That I was with you and we were on the way to your house," I admitted honestly.
He nodded once, and then noncommittally, he commented, "That"s probably for the best."
I almost asked him if he planned on killing Jack, but then I decided that I didn"t want to know. If he said yes, there wouldn"t be any hope for this turning out okay. At least this way, I could sink down in the seat and think that maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Peter obviously didn"t have any intention of hurting me. In fact, he"d been kinder to me than he ever had been before.
Then again, maybe that was a rouse. As the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Chapter 23.
When the Audi pulled into the garage, I noticed with some relief that the Lamborghini was gone.
Meaning Jack probably wasn"t here. Since I hadn"t talked to him in days, I had no idea where he might be, but as long as he wasn"t here, that was fine by me. Admittedly, I missed him terribly, but this wasn"t exactly the reunion I had in mind.
Peter rested his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me into the house, and I tried to pretend like I didn"t notice the tingles it sent through me. My heart was beating that funny way again, the one that drove everyone mad, and I hoped that Milo wasn"t home. While he had seemed to show immense self control, he"d only been a vampire for a month.
No one greeted us at the door, which surprised me a little since I had given Mae a heads up on our arrival. I thought she would be the best person to inform since everyone"s safety was her priority. Matilda was barking and scratching at the bas.e.m.e.nt door, which led me to believe that Mae had stepped in to provide provisions. If Jack and Peter were going to start battling it out, Matilda would probably get hurt, so Mae put her in the bas.e.m.e.nt to protect her. That did not bode well for my theory about Jack not being home, however.
"h.e.l.lo?" Peter announced cautiously, his silken voice resonating through the entryway. He sighed loudly when Mae didn"t rush into greet us, the way she would"ve any other time. "She did always like Jack better than me. She needs someone to coddle."
"That"s why she prefers me," I added dryly, and he smiled slightly at me.
"Mae?" Peter ventured out into the kitchen, keeping his hand on my back to keep me going along with him.
169.
Not that I would"ve turned away. Wherever Peter was going, I wanted to be, and not just because my body insisted that it be so. If he was going to stumble across Jack, I had to be there. Maybe I could someone how reason with them and stop them from killing each other, no matter how unlikely that would be.
"Mae?" Peter repeated, his tone growing irritated.
There was a scuffling sound coming from the living room, and Peter moved his arm from my back so it was in front of me, shielding me from whatever was going on in the other room. His body had tensed, and I knew there were several things he could perceive as threat to himself, but none to me. His stance had changed, though, like he was ready for an attack, and I tried to think of away that to relax him.
"Mae!" I shouted. I doubted Peter would hurt her, and I needed someone else to that could break up the tension.
"Alice?" Milo tried to hide the nervousness in his voice, but it was unmistakable to me.
He suddenly burst into the kitchen, with Mae right behind him, tugging on his arm, and then I understood the scuffling sound. Mae had been trying to keep him in the other room, away from Peter where things were safer, but he had been trying to get me. Peter, meanwhile, only deepened his defensive posture, and moved so his body was completely blocking mine.
"Is that her blood?" Milo sounded horrified and his eyes widened, a split second before he bared his teeth and tried to charge at Peter.
Fortunately, Mae"s arms locked onto him and slowed him down just enough where I could dodge underneath Peter"s arm so Milo could see that I was safe and sound. Peter looped an arm around my waist and pulled me back to him, but not because he was trying to hold me hostage. He was trying to protect me from Milo, who was trying to protect me from Peter, but they both perceived the others" attempts at protection as threats.
"Milo, I"m fine!" I insisted, and I let Peter hold me to him. Part of me wanted to wriggle from him, but I thought that trying to escape from him would only freak Milo out more. Besides, his touch electrified me a lot more than I"d like to admit.
"What"s going on?" Milo growled. He had stopped trying to claw his way towards us, but Mae kept her arm around his chest just to be safe.
"Peter fought another vampire! That"s his blood, not mine! I"m fine!" I held up my arms and turned my neck, trying to show him that nothing had happened.
"Is that... is that your brother?" Peter"s grip started to lax as he narrowed his eyes at Milo, trying to understand that situation. "Your brother"s a vampire?"
"Yeah." Almost reluctantly, I moved away from his arm, standing a little bit away from him.
Being so close to Peter had done that thing to me again. My mind got hazy and filled with him, the way a room is filled with a scent. I could smell him, too, hot and tangy, and my mouth began to water. Unnecessary goose b.u.mps broke out on my skin, and I"m sure was trembling. Wrapping my arms tightly around myself, I tried to concentrate on the scene around me, like Milo"s wild eyes and the heavy sounds of his breath. Mae hadn"t spoken since we"d come on, but that was probably because she seemed to have her hands full just trying to keep Milo contained.
"When did he turn?" Peter turned to me, but I wished that he would ask somebody else so I would have a chance to clear my head of him.
170.
"About a month ago." I tried to rub away the b.u.mps on my arms and shifted uneasily.
"Why did he turn?" Peter"s furrowed deepened and his tone got even more confused. "Why haven"t you?"
"There was an accident, and Milo was going to die, so Jack turned him," I explained hurriedly.
"And I had been waiting to turn until Milo was a bit older."
"Jack"s always so eager to turn everything," Peter said more to himself than anyone else. Then he shook his head and looked past Milo at Mae. "You haven"t said h.e.l.lo."
"I haven"t really had the chance." Mae forced a smile and finally released Milo, but she made no movement towards Peter, no attempt to hug him the way she hugged everyone else.
As if on cue, the phone in my pocket started to playing "Time Warp," and Peter shot me a knowing glare. Only one person had that ringtone, and it was apparent to everyone in the room who it was. They all waited with bated breath to see if I would answer it or not, but I didn"t see that I really had a choice. If I didn"t answer it, Jack would come here with guns blazing, and I"d much rather try to keep this a civil affair.
"h.e.l.lo?" I answered quietly, and Peter scoffed and shook his head.
"Are you alright? Is everything okay?" Jack spat hurriedly, and there was this instant swelling of relief. It had been so long since I"d heard his voice, and I had to fight not to weep at the sound of it. Peter saw my reaction and made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.
"Yeah, I"m fine." I pressed the phone close to my ear and turned my back on everyone, as if that would somehow make the conversation more private.
I was standing in the middle of the kitchen with three vampires with superior hearing, and they were all waiting in silence to hear what Jack had to say. His reaction would be pivotal in how this whole thing turned out, and even Peter seemed aware of that.
"Is he there?" Jack"s tone had a bite to it now, and I heard Ezra say something to calm him in the background.
"Yeah, he is, but I"m okay." Then I rather stupidly lowered my voice and added, "He knows."
"Well, of course, I know!" Peter rolled his eyes dramatically.