“So that’s where you get it from,” he interjects.
I smile at his words. “If you’re comparing me to my mom, that’s a compliment that I’ll take any day. Anyway, it was the two of us against the world. I never met my father; he died in an accident before I was born.”
“What did she do?”
I smile. “She was a nurse.”
He reaches up and runs a thumb down my cheek. “And you’re a healer.”
“Must have been something in our blood.”
He watches me carefully. “What happened? Only if you want to tell me. If not, I understand.”
The urge to tell him fills me; I haven't talked about her in over seven years. And so I do. I tell him about growing up with her, about our life together. It was hard for her, being a single mom, but she always loved me. I finally tell him about that fateful day. “Everything happened so fast. One minute we were singing songs at the top of our lungs, the next the bus was flipping. It was so loud. There was glass everywhere. And blood.” I shake my head, remembering. “There was so much blood.”
“And that’s when you healed your friend?” he asks softly. “I heard you tell Sage.”
I nod. “Yes. I had no idea I had healing power. It sort of just happened. The bus accident made national headlines, and so didthe girl who was covered in blood but didn’t have a single wound on her.” I fall silent.
“That’s what drew the vampires.” It’s not a question.
I nod. “Yeah. Two days later, I walked into a crime scene in our home.”
He pulls me close against his chest. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too. I don’t know if they couldn’t find me, and they went after my mom to find answers. I really have no idea what all went down that day. I just know that was the day my mom died, and that night, the vampires took me. I was supposed to be placed in child services. Before I ever made it to the car, they nabbed me. And you know the rest.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “They grabbed you because they knew you could heal.”
“That’s why they took me, but I never healed again. They made me try over and over and over again. I kept telling them it wasn’t me that healed the girl—self-preservation and all that. They tried so many tactics for the first year, but Rizo finally accepted it. That’s when he turned me. I was with them for seven years, and you know the rest of the story.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to keep you safe.”
“Hunter, you would have been like what, fifteen? Sixteen? There’s nothing you could have done.”
He doesn’t respond, and I tuck my head against his chest. Not gonna lie; I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite safe place. “Can you tell me about your mom?”
He rubs his hand down my spine. “She sounds similar to yours; I bet they would have been good friends.” I smile at that. “She was a wolf, so she was tough. But she was depressed a lot. I know it had to do with my dad’s death. Eventually, I guess her body just couldn’t hold onto the grief anymore. But I’m grateful for the years we had together.” We lay in silence, content to justbe near each other. “One of the things we need to figure out pretty quickly is what you need to eat.”
I pull back and look into his eyes. “You think I’ll be able to eat regular food again?”
“I don’t know. But either way, we’ll figure it out.”
I take stock of my body. “I don’t feel like I need blood, but I don’t know about food.”
“We’ll take it easy. Even if you can do food, we still don’t want to overdo your system too fast since it’s not used to processing food.”
I take all this in. “I’m surprised you’re still here.” He frowns. “I just mean I figured everybody would be eager to talk to you and figure out what all went down. I mean, I’m eager as well. Are Rizo and Ajax really dead?”
“They are.”
I shake my head. I’m not sad either of them is dead; they had it coming. It’s surreal, though, and I think it will take me some time to get used to it. “That’s really good. Without the two of them, things will really be a mess for a while. I have no idea who would step up and lead. And maybe they won’t be able to. Maybe this is the crushing blow they need.”
“That would be good,” he agrees.
I study his face. “But you don’t think so.”
He blows out a breath. “No. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them. We still don’t know where Alica is, and that concerns me.”
