“I was found by some...miracle workers.”Vampires.“And they healed me.”Turned me.“It took a while for me to get better.”To semi-control myself and learn how to be a functional monster.“As soon as I was able, I came here.” I forced the lie out of my mouth.
Dean stood up and walked over, studying me closely. “You look totally different. Your eyes aren’t blue anymore...they’re silver. Your hair is...redder. You look like you’ve been working out for years. Just what kind of miracle workers were they?”
“The good kind, obviously.” I cleared my throat. “Are you going to scrutinize me like the great therapist you are, or will you hug your fucking sister?”
A chuckle broke out of Hunter behind me as Dean pulled me into a hug.
“I’m floored, but I’m thankful you’re all right,” he said as he let go of me.
Mom went in for another hug before excusing herself to retrieve the brownies out of the oven before they burned.
I wasn’t sure how I’d come up with a lie that explained me leaving later tonight, but I couldn’t let the guys know I’d come here. They’d never stop nagging me about the dangers of my blood-lust, but I was doing fine.
I just had to keep redirecting my focus—and fucking hell, it was hard not to notice their bodies full of blood circulating at a steady rhythm. My stomach clawed itself, and I winced.
“Lil?” Corbin climbed to his feet and took hesitant steps toward me. “I died inside when I thought you were gone.”
Displeasure slammed into me.
Breathe. Redirect.
As he stood in front of me, his clean human scent made my stomach churn. There was not one ounce of attraction there for him anymore. “I can’t believe you’re actually here. I thought you were…”
“Dead?” I finished, crossing my arms over my chest to put some distance between us.
“We didn’t know what had happened to you.”
“Your car was fucked,” Hunter said, plopping down on the sofa.
Jax meowed, running over my feet a few times as I went to sit next to Hunter. Persistent little paws went back and forth over my tennis shoes.
Corbin watched me as I practically brushed him off, but I was too enamored with the Draven clan to care.
“No wonder. I hit some deranged animal…a bear or something,” I mumbled as Jax hopped up into my lap and dug his sharp claws into my thighs.
He let out more insistent meows. “It’s okay, Jax. I’m here,” I cooed. His ears laid flat on his head and his back arched as he let out a hiss toward the window.
A rustle came from outside that didn’t seem consistent with any kind of animal, and my senses perked up.
“Do you hear that?” I tilted my head. The hairs on the back of my neck stood.
“Hear what?”
A strange crackle sounded close to the front door along with a slither, and my fangs descended in warning.
Something is coming.
Jax growled as if he were protecting us, staring toward the front door.
“Brownies are in the oven. Now, let’s talk about everything…” Mom paused in the middle of the room. “What’s wrong with Jax?”
“Something’s here,” I growled like a feral animal. “This is going to sound fucking insane, but something is about to break in, and I need you all to go to the back wall now.”
Jax continued his growls and hisses on the couch as I stood up and listened for the creature. It was directly outside the front door, but it wasn’t coming in yet.
Malicious intent radiated off it in powerful waves.
All the abandoned I’d come into contact with felt wrong, but whatever that was, was worse—and it wasn’t alone. Fresh blood drifted off it, and I could sense another vampire.
