-Luka
I raised one eyebrow.He got me a gift and gave it to me onhiswedding night? I wasn’t sure what to make of that, or his message to wait for him. I opened the box and looked at what seemed to be a charm bracelet. I pulled it out and inspected it further, unable to help the smile that graced my lips. It had a baby yellow VW Beetle charm hanging from a thick silver chain. I glanced closer at the other charms and full-on laughed. A vampire stake. An Oreo cookie. A tall stiletto boot.
Wait for me. I know you.
Hedidknow me, through this bond, through our time together. My heart felt like it was being pinched in a vise with the immeasurable amount of grief I felt at knowing I’d fallen for a man I couldn’t have. At least not right now. I decided right then that if God wanted us to be together, he would find a way, and waiting for a little bit wouldn’t hurt. Slipping on the charm bracelet, I fell into bed and stared at the ceiling. As my consciousness was drifting into nothingness, I heard his deep voice pierce my awareness.
‘I wish it were you,’Luka said as I glided into a deep sleep.
Chapter Eight
I pushedthe food around my plate while I ate breakfast with the girls.
‘This might be a stupid question, but is there a church in Vampire City? I’d like to pray for you before your big fight.’I pressed the thought along to Luka through our bond. I was a nervous wreck thinking about this final fight with Morgana and all it would mean. We hadn’t spoken about the wedding and I’d rather we not, but I could use some spiritual uplifting.
‘Not a stupid question, but no church. The undead tend to avoid those places.’
I chuckled to myself. I figured as much.
“What if Luka loses? He’s fighting Morgana and she’s hardcore,” Sage said, breaking my thoughts away from praying for Luka. She dipped a piece of bacon into her syrup and popped it into her mouth. Gunner had slipped in early and worked hard to cook a five-course breakfast for us all. The dude had grown on me. He reminded me so much of my beloved Kenz.
“Lukais hardcore, he goes all psycho like an ex-con with daddy issues,” Liv told the table, which caused Demi to burst into laughter.
“I mean, that’s not far off.” The alpha took a bite of her eggs.
I remembered, seeing how he’d snapped on Nico and said it was for his sister.
“I think they did something to his family. He has a reason to be angry.” I wanted to defend him.
Demi nodded, face suddenly serious. “Sawyer told me it’s bad … whatever it is, whatever they did … it almost broke him.”
My heart squeezed. I wanted to know more but also didn’t want to pry.
“They’re all sick if you ask me. The entire Drake line. Other than Luka of course,” Sage said, drinking some orange juice.
Demi nodded in agreement. “They have a freaky breeding farm similar to the one we’re going to raid in a few days.”
Was Luka born out of love, or just to produce a certain set of genes? He’d indicated he’d been changed into a vampire against his will. I wondered who changed him and what did that do to a person? To be turned into a creature that feeds off of blood for the rest of their life without consent? It would make me dark too—I’d want revenge, which is what I was sure this was. Nico was revenge for something done to his sister, and hopefully Luka would trust me enough one day to tell me.
“If the fight looks like it’s going south, do we have a plan?” I raised one eyebrow. Luka was an amazing fighter, but if it looked like Morgana was winning, I wanted some assurance that Luka wouldn’t be killed.
Demi nodded. “Sawyer and I have agreed that if it looked like Luka is losing … I’ll step in and we all go on the run.”
Holy wow.
I hadn’t really seen Demi in action, but I’d heard stories, and if she was going to get involved it would be a bloodbath.
“There are hundreds of vampires in that room. We’d never make it out alive,” I told her honestly.
Demi clenched her jaw and nodded. “Then let’s hope he wins.”
Maybe with the four of us fighting we could escape. He’d have to live on the run, and my mom wouldn’t be freed as easily, but he’d be alive. I could live with that, especially now that I was sure that I’d stupidly fallen in love with him.
“Shall we?” Demi stood and wiped her mouth.
I’d barely eaten, I was too nervous for him. I simply nodded and stood as well. Demi adjusted her wrist cuffs, making sure they were firmly secured. Then we put away our plates and stepped outside to join the throngs of people. Hundreds of vampires walked in long, single-file lines to gain entry into the building where the final fight was being held. They were a people without a leader and this would set them on a path that they would follow for as long as that leader lived. Which could be forever. Or in Luka’s case, however long I would live.
I’d never been surrounded by so many bloodsuckers in my entire life. My body tensed with each one that passed by, and I noticed the same reaction in my female companions. Demi, Liv, and Sage were all clearly feeling the same sort of unease as I was.
