His appearance was so sudden it even startled Theo. “Whoa!”
“What is going on here?” Adriel demanded, his voice louder than usual. I’d never heard him raise it like that before.
I still couldn’t move or speak. I was frozen like a deer in headlights.
“Answer me!” Adriel snapped. I would have been even more afraid at his tone, but all his focus was on Theo.
“We were just playing a game!” Theo said. Even he looked startled at his brother’s furious aura.
Adriel examined me before interrogating Theo again. “Thenwhyis Caleb so frightened?”
Theo glanced back and forth between me and Adriel. He seemed genuinely apologetic. “Oh… probably because I bared my teeth at him. I didn’t mean to scare you, Caleb, honest. I was just teasing.”
Some of the fear holding my limbs hostage melted away. Knowing that Theo didn’t mean to freak me out, I tried to relax.
“I-it’s okay,” I said weakly.
“It most certainly is not okay,” Adriel proclaimed. “Theodore, you, for one, should know better. What is wrong with you?”
Theo hung his head, disappointed in himself. My initial panic faded and so, too, did most of the fear. Now I just felt bad that Adriel was chewing his brother out.
Adriel continued his rant. “Have you already forgotten what’s happened to Caleb since he arrived here days ago? Do you think he wants to faceanothervampire who appears to be out for blood?”
“No,” Theo admitted in a small voice.
“The last thing he needs is to be traumatized further by you for the sake of a joke,” Adriel admonished him. “Donotdo it again.”
“I won’t.” Theo turned to me, his head low. “I’m really sorry, Caleb. I was being stupid.”
“Hey, it’s okay, really,” I said. “I know you didn’t mean it, I just freaked out by instinct.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Adriel growled.
To my own surprise, I met Adriel’s gaze and said, “I’m not. He didn’t mean it.”
Tension hung thick in the air. I held my breath, briefly wondering if Adriel was going to snap at me.
Then, he slowly turned around and walked away.
I sighed once he disappeared. “Sorry.”
Theo’s eyes widened. “Why areyousorry? I’m the one who caused this mess.”
Feeling shy under all the attention, I scratched the back of my neck. “Still, I feel like it’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so scared of Margaret, I would’ve known you were joking in the first place.”
“Aw, man, don’t do that.” Theo put his hand on my shoulder. “Come on. It’s not your fault she attacked you, and it’s not your fault I scared you. You’re human, after all. We’re the ones who should be careful.”
I smiled weakly. “Thanks, Theo.”
“But man…” Theo shook his head. “I’ve only seen Adriel so pissed a handful of times. Usually he’s so calm and collected. I totally thought he was gonna rip my head off.”
“Me too,” I mumbled. “Why did he get so mad?”
Theo watched me curiously. “Huh? You don’t know?”
I didn’t know what Theo was talking about, so I shrugged.
“Dude, he totally wants to protect you,” Theo explained. “It’s so obvious!”
