“See?” Miles asked. “Like I said. A monster.”
My fangs rescinded as I strangled my growls, staring at the ground through a veil of tears. This wasn’t how I wanted my sister or mom to find out what I was. Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted them to find out at all.
Miles ripped the duct tape off Jenna’s mouth.
“Aileen.”
I resisted the quavering note in her voice, not wanting my sister’s hatred and disgust to be the last thing I saw on this Earth.
“Aileen, look at me.”
I lifted my head to meet her sad eyes and the understanding in them that absolutely gutted me.
“This is what you meant when you said you were sick,” she said.
I was silent, letting her guess the truth from my face. There was no point lying anymore.
“Enough of this,” Kurt snarled, moving behind me and grabbing my hair to force my head back.
“Love you,” I whispered as he placed a knife against my neck.
Jenna shook her head frantically. “No, please.”
Tears trembled on her eyelashes as her voice broke. I tried to smile to let her know it was going to be okay.
Miles licked his lips, forgetting himself and drifting toward me and Kurt as the excitement in the room reached a frenzy. No one saw Mom creep around the coffee table. Or notice when she rose, holding her serving tray like a bat.
She brought it down hard over Kurt’s head. “No one fucking touches my daughter.”
He crumpled to the ground, his knife nicking the side of my throat in a trail of fire.
“You crazy, bitch,” Miles snarled, lifting his gun.
I threw myself at him, burying my fangs in his leg. I missed the first time, getting a mouthful of jeans before I adjusted my aim. I bit down hard, blood filling my mouth.
He hammered the butt of his gun against the back of my head. Pain splintered my focus. I slipped before I adjusted my grip. Only for him to hit me again.
This time he knocked me loose, kicking me away the second he could.
I fell back with a pained grunt.
“Fuck this shit!” he screamed, pointing his gun at my head. “You can all fucking die.”
Mom stepped in front of me, not even flinching at the loud bang. A scream ripped from me, an agonized sound that came from my soul.
Miles gurgled. We all froze. The surprise in his eyes no less than ours as red spread from the tiny hole over his heart. He folded to the ground.
“Whew, I thought I was going to be late, but it seems I’m just in time,” Drake drawled from the hallway.
No one moved as he entered the room, still trying to recover from Miles’s death—and our survival. Jenna and Mom looked like they were in shock. Truthfully, I didn’t think I was faring much better.
“Nice job improvising, Mrs. Travers,” Drake said, crossing the room to slit Kurt’s throat. “I see where your daughter gets her skills.”
Jenna moaned at the sight of blood.
The sound catapulted me out of my stupor. I thrashed in my chains. “Get away from us.”
Drake winked at my sister, not listening as he lifted the hand that held the still bloody knife and waved at her. “Hey ya, cuz. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time.”
