“What do you mean?”
His gaze narrows. “What doyoumean?”
I sit up taller. “There is no what now.”
“What?” The interjection comes from Kael, but I ignore him as I focus on Ocean beside me.
“I just have to settle in and accept this is my new norm,” I admit.
“You were supposed to be doing that already,” Kael bites from across the room, and I roll my eyes.
Yeah, he’s right, I need some distance from him.
Tossing the covers off, I swing my legs over the side of the bed. Ocean stands, giving me space, but I pause as I look down at myself.
“Whose t-shirt is this?” I blurt, peering at the navy tee that falls to my mid-thighs.
“Mine,” Kael mutters, wiping a hand down his face as I nod.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask why I was changed, but the flashes of blood bring it all back to my mind and I opt against it. Instead, I run my fingers over the material.
“It’s soft.”
“You can keep it,” he offers, a glimpse ofkindness from the asshole vampire before me, and I don’t refuse; it really is soft.
Nodding, I stand.
“You should rest,” he mutters, and I hum in agreement.
“I will, in my own bed,” I insist, and his jaw ticks with barely contained irritation again.
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to sleep alone,” he states, and I spy Rion nodding in agreement to my left, but I keep my gaze fixed on the vampire filling the doorway.
“I’m not alone, I have Ocean.”
“She’s not enough,” he snaps back, the ability to contain his emotions slipping as he folds his arms over his chest.
My spine stiffens, but I manage to keep my tone even. “I say what is and isn’t enough.”
“You’re going to get us both killed,” he warns as I link my arm through Ocean’s, who stands tall beside me in solidarity.
“Then unassign yourself as my guardian. That way, the consequences for my actions only impact me.” It’s as simple as that and we both know it. Yet, he shakes his head in disbelief.
“You shouldn’t be considering consequences, Elodie.”
With my friend in tow, I cut the distance to him,shaking my head with every step I take until I’m standing toe to toe with him.
“No, what I shouldn’t be considering is falling under their command. I may not have much, but my freedom is worth more than anything else in this world, and the real one.”
NINE
ELODIE
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I slam the truck door shut in a flurry, my father’s cursing no longer audible as Walker peels down the gravel road without a backward glance. With my hand plastered against my chest, I attempt to catch my breath as a soft chuckle parts my lips.
I’m playing with fire. I shouldn’t rile my father up. I know what comes of it, but it feels embedded in my veins to keep fighting, no matter the cost. One of these days, I’m going to wind up dead, likely at his hands, but I survived today, and that’s all that matters.
“Your dad looked pissed,” Walker states as he tears off the gravel lane and onto the main road, my spine finally easing at the distance I feel from my father.
