Calum wasn’t sure if what the nightwalker said was true, but he really wanted it not to be. The idea of the vampire touching his mate was more than he could handle, and he started to lose it. His change was not one of choice, but sheer anger and he lunged towards the older vampire.
Ali watched the two connect and heard snarling and yells that got to her. She didn’t know what was going on because they were both a blur, but she knew that they were fighting. She could hear yells coming from them both, and she shouted out, but it wasn’t words, just sounds of distress.
Another bear came in, and Ali didn’t know who it was, but there was a look about him. She wanted to say that his eyes caught hers and she knew that the bear didn’t want her around. He looked at her with hate before jumping on the vampire to get him off Calum.
“Ah, Abott, dear friend.”
The second bear came down and pulled the vampires throat out. Ali looked away, unable to look at such violence. It made her sick to her stomach, and there was nothing that she could do about it. The cell had bars all the way around it. She could turn her back, but Ali knew that it would be a bad idea to do that. She somehow just knew that she had to watch the gore in front of her.
The two bears shifted into human form, and Ali saw that it was the brother that Cal called Abott. He didn’t like her, and she was worried now. They thought that she had betrayed them, and she hadn’t, not because she meant to anyways. Trenton could compel her to do things, and she hadn’t been able to refuse his command.
Now they were both looking at her. “How did he know who you were?”
Abott shrugged. “I’m the oldest in the clan; why wouldn’t they keep up with who we are?”
“He just called you friend.”
Calum was disturbed by the way the vampire had looked. He’d looked like he was being saved and that wasn’t something he could lie about. It was the relief that had washed over him and the uttered words, reminding him that they were friends. This was the proof that Calum needed to convict Abott of his crime and there were no more words to be said.
He lashed out at him in seconds and pulled his throat out just like Abott had done to his friend. It wasn’t the right way, and he was wrong for doing it without the proper ceremonies, but today was not a day for the old ways. It was a new day now, and Calum was ready to move on.
The vampire that had messed with his family for centuries was gone, and Calum hoped that it meant that there would finally be peace. He didn’t know for how long and he wasn’t unrealistic enough to think that it would be forever, but he would take even a few days without having to worry about that threat and be happy with it. It was hard to imagine not waking up and thinking about the nightwalkers. For now, the city was finally rid of most of them. There would be a few stragglers, but they planned on going to their manor and taking care of the rest. Ali had told him…
Calum suddenly remembered the girl that he’d trusted with everything and the betrayal that he’d witnessed. After the night they had before, he couldn’t believe it. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t interested in talking.
Ali sat in the cell, her back to the cement wall and their eyes met for a time. Her look was unfathomable, and he remembered that she was most likely the last one of the coven.
“Calum…”
“I can’t talk to you right now, Ali. I need to go check on your friends burning up out there.”
Ali watched him go, and tears rolled down her face. She couldn’t win, and she knew it. Ali had no idea what awaited her, and she knew that sleep was never going to come now.
How long was Cal going to leave her like this? She wondered out loud with no one to answer her.
