Controlled

Two: The day after

When I woke up, my first thought was that everything had been a dream, simply because it had to have been. There was no way I’d been arrested yesterday and then brought to a court of vampires. It was just too insane.

And then I felt the pillow beneath me, the spacious sheets and bed, and I sat bolt upright. The truth hit me like a brick to the skull, and I momentarily deflated before pushing alertness onto myself.

Natural light had flooded into the room through the windows, illuminating the space in front of me. I could now see what I’d been too tired to take in last night—a single room, painted white, and larger than my entire current living space with Andy and the others, covered in lavish furniture. Not including my bed, there was a dresser, several lamps, one clock, a wardrobe, a chaise, and a vanity. To the far right, there was another door, which I assumed led to the bathroom.

Pulling myself out of bed, I made my way in that direction, glancing at the pretty rug and paintings as I walked. It was beautiful in here, and I felt, for the first time since I was six, like a princess—one with a throbbing, broken wrist.

The bathroom was just as spectacular. Though smaller than the room itself, it was still strangely big, housing a shower and a tub the size of a jacuzzi. There were cabinets under the sink, which I opened to find several towels within, and I pulled one out, placing it on the marble counter.

I shook off my awe and then my clothes, slowly, to mind my arm, finally making my way to the shower. Fairly quickly, I got inside and managed it on. Warm water shot out at me from above, soaking me, and the sensation was unbelievable. Hot.

It had been a while. The feel of it had me grinning, giddy. Andy and I had been bathing in springs and lakes for the past few years, and they’d always been cold with a capital C, but the sensation had long since become normal to me.

This was weird. Good. But weird.

After a few minutes, I got used to the temperature and began to clean myself with one hand, the other staying firmly to my side. There were unopened packages of soap and shampoo on the shower floor, which I picked up separately and worked with to fumble some dollops out.

During this, and in the spray, I observed my wrist, wincing at how much more purple it’d turned. I was grateful that the bone hadn’t come through, at least. I’d seen that kind of stuff before. Sick.

I shut the water off, sighing at the loss of warmth, and then got out. Picking up the towel I’d left out, I stepped up to the mirror to wipe away the steam, observing myself.

My face was gaunt. Had been for a while now. The sight of it reminded me of the rest of my body—bony, malnourished, so thin I could tap on all of my ribs. I used to make a bit of a game of it, playing my bones like xylophone, but Andy had called it creepy once and I stopped.

I turned away from the mirror, refocusing. What was I doing staring at myself? I needed to get dry and get out of here. Back to reality, safety, and Andy.

My good hand went through a workout as it rubbed the towel all over my body, wiping off the water. I did it too quickly for it to be thorough, but the job was done well enough, and I tossed the towel aside.

New task.

I quickly found that, as hard as it had been to get my clothes off, it was even more difficult to force them back on. In fact, I ended up even ripping my shirt a little to prevent any fabric from rubbing up against my wrist, and I might’ve gotten my pants on backwards, but I was clothed in the end. It was a victory.

Exiting the bathroom and returning into the previous area, all perfect and so entirely vampiric, was a shock to my system. The sleep and the shower had been nice, but I was in a lion’s den, and I needed to get out of here.

Setting out for the entrance, my heart began to pick up. I started to consider the fact that this might’ve all been a trick or trap and that I’d been fooled. What if they killed me now? What if they imprisoned me? What if they had changed their minds?

I opened the door and did a double-take at the site of a back. As soon as I looked up, the person turned around, and my eyes locked on his.

“Will.”

“Cassie.”

Swallowing, I stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind me. His green eyes trailed after me, body following until his back was to the door again. I was leaning against the parallel wall, our bodies directly facing one another.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’ve been here.”

My face contorted in puzzlement, the confusion briefly overwhelming my fear and revulsion. “What? All night?”

I paused, giving him enough time to deny it or prove me wrong, but Will didn’t. “Yes,” he told me instead, honestly. He then hesitated, having picked up on my fearful tone. “I wasn’t sure you’d be safe.”

“So you stood there for eight hours?” I was still waiting for him to tell me he was joking. “Sounds kind of boring.”

“It was,” he admitted. “A bit.”

I put my left hand to my chest and my right one, the good one, against the wall as I studied him. With my mind clear after sleep and the lights shining brighter in the hall, his looks had improved somehow, though it seemed impossible.

There were new things I noticed now, smaller things that had gone over my head. For instance, the way his eyes always seemed to be narrowed in concentration… or maybe it was preparation. To prepare for what, I didn’t know, but Will seemed constantly on edge. He was intent, hyper-focused, and unable to miss a single detail.

“Why wouldn’t I be safe?” I asked, briefly glancing away. The longer I stared at him, the more difficult it became to stop. “Did John change his mind? Is he going to—?”

“What? No.” He laughed at the idea, causing me to look to him again. Will was shaking his head. “No, it was… Well, it isn’t unsafe here, but I didn’t want there to be even the slightest of a chance of you getting hurt. Some of the guards are younger, newer, not used to the…” He fished for the right word.

My lips pursed. “Bloodlust?”

“Right.” Will seemed sheepish.

Still, it didn’t make sense to me. “So on the off chance of that happening, you stood outside the door of someone you don’t know for the entire night?” I knew I needed to be running away from him and from here, but this mystified me. For some reason, I needed to understand.

“That’s what happened,” he agreed.

“Why not just get an older guard?” I continued on, pressing. “Why’d you come?”

“To make sure it was done right.”

My eyes narrowed, in a way similar to his own. “Why do you care?”

Startled, he straightened, staring down at me. “I just wanted to help,” he explained. Something on my face made his go downcast. “I’m sorry if I offended or bothered you.”

“You didn’t.” It was a reflex, those words. They were true, too—even if I didn’t want them to be.

We looked at each other. I looked away.

“So I’ll just be leaving then,” I said quietly.

“Wait!” he cried out, taking a small step forward. Will was loud enough to bring my eyes back to his face in surprise. “Do you… I mean, don’t you want something to eat?

I remembered the image of my face from just minutes prior. Obviously I needed to eat, but…

“It won’t hurt to stay just a bit longer,” Will urged softly.

“I’m not really that hungry.” My stomach growled just then, betraying me entirely.

He smiled hugely, in a way that shocked me. Will looked like the kind of guy to never really smile—not like that, at least. “You sure?” he teased.

“Maybe I’m a little hungry,” I relented. “But…” While I hesitated, a small sigh passed through my lips. “No strings? I’ll be able to eat and then go?”

“No strings!” he promised, voice coming out like an exhale, relief coloring his tone. “Just some food, then you can—you can, yes, leave.”

I was torn, starving but worried that they might all soon change their minds and behead me. “I haven’t had a decent meal in a while,” I found myself saying, without meaning to.

“So stay,” he replied. “Just for a bit longer.”

“Well…” I let out a breath. “All right.”

At that, thoroughly set, I pushed off of the wall and went a few paces forward before glancing back, checking to see what his hold up was. Will seemed to understand my intent and set out then. We started walking together, bodies in line, one not ahead of the other.

“This place is like a maze,” I murmured as we turned left and out of the hall we’d been in. “How do you not get lost? Everything looks the same.”

“Time,” he replied, briefly glancing at the red walls. “It was hard for me to get around, too. At first.”

Our feet pattered on the ground, but, unlike last night, I didn’t watch his shoes, rather my eyes were up and about, taking in the details around me. It was a vast improvement.

“Why do you all have food here, anyway?” I asked as we walked.

“The kitchen was built a while back for Lucy.” Will felt the impending question and replied before I could inquire, saying, “She’s a human that lives here.”

“Why does she live here?” The very idea of it astounded me.

“She’s with Sam,” he told me, biting out the other male’s name a bit.

“Wait, what?” I said, my confusion slowing my pace. With Sam? “Like they’re together? How is that even possible?”

It was common knowledge that nonhumans had this thing where they mated with one another; it was all gooey and love-at-first-sight and something impossible to not have heard about at least once. But a human being part of it…? Never had that come up.

“What do you mean?” he asked, slowing to stay in line with me.

“I mean, she’s human. How did he,” my voice lowered, “match with her?”

“It happens sometimes,” Will admitted with a sigh, tone going a bit sullen. “Rare, but it happens. Lucy and Sam have been together for around two years now.”

“Wow.” I puffed up my cheeks with air and let out a big exhale. “That’s pretty weird.”

Will didn’t respond, and we kept walking. His silence made me think he was a little upset, which I figured was because we’d been talking about Sam; they didn’t seem to like each other. I changed the subject, casually asking, “So how has long has it been since your last meal?”

“Are you asking what I think you’re asking?” he replied.

“What do you think I’m asking?”

Will didn’t respond right away. I thought he just wasn’t going to answer me at all, until he said, “I don’t drink from people directly. Not anymore.”

But he had once. I filed the thought away, saying, “So what do you drink?”

“Blood bags. Some human, some animal,” he told me. “The taste isn’t great, but… heat it up, it’s not so bad. I don’t need that much, anyway.”

My mouth twisted, as though I’d eaten something sour. “If vampires don’t need much, then how come they’re always draining people?” I demanded.

Will didn’t comment on my fury, just answered the question. “I don’t need much, but, the younger you are, the harder control is,” he said honestly. “We don’t need a lot of blood to prevent a frenzy, but that’s something that can take a while to learn.”

I shook my head, my right hand curling into a fist. “That’s not right. It isn’t fair for humans.”

“It isn’t,” Will agreed, with a tone that clearly implied he was surprised I would think his interpretation of it to be different than my own. “That’s why we have the Midnight Pact.”

Right. The law that made it okay for vampires to kill any humans outdoors between midnight and four a.m. That really put a damper on murder sprees.

A scowl set onto my face as the memory of Will explaining why he’d guarded my door returned. It was wrong that their weak control could and often did result in so much suffering.

“Your heart rate has increased,” he commented.

It felt like an accusation, and I got a little defensive. “Maybe I’m nervous.”

“Why?” Will spoke.

“Are you really asking me that?” My feet pressed harder and faster onto the ground; it started to feel like I was stomping.

“You’re safe here,” he replied, baffled by my implications.

“Then why did you wait outside of my door all night?” I demanded, then smiled as he fell quiet. “Anyone could come and execute me at any time.”

“The charges were dropped,” he told me.

“There are other things to be scared of.” I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t stop speaking. “There are other things to be angry about!”

“What do you mean?” He actually seemed confused, which just pissed me off further.

“What do I—? Are you serious?” I stopped, dead in the middle of the hallway, and Will did, too, turning to face me. Any fear I should’ve felt was immediately gone, and there was only ire running through me. I didn’t care what he was or that I had to crane my neck a bit to even get a full view of him. All I cared about was telling him about how wrong he was.

“I’m in the lair of a bunch of vampires! That’s what I mean! And these aren’t just regular bloodsucking murderers. They’re worse! These are the ones that are responsible for all of this!”  His face was stony as I spoke, raising a hand to point at him. “These are the ones responsible for putting vampires in control, for making it legal to murder people at certain times, for taking away my rights and my life and the lives of people I loved.

“You expect me to feel safe? You expect me to be grateful?” My hand went down, and the anger left as sudden as it had arrived. Voice lowering, quieting, I said, “You’re talking to the wrong girl.”

Will was quiet, silent. I wasn’t sure what I had expected, probably just that, but the reality I faced was affecting me differently. Under his gaze, my words felt moot, unimportant.

Did they upset him enough to make him lash out?

I waited, watching, but his expression didn’t change really. Will went from stoic to pursing his lips—stoically. “We should keep going,” he said eventually, voice gentle and noiseless.

That was it? I waited a moment longer for a rebuttal or for some sort of meltdown, but there was nothing. “Fine.” At least he knew what I thought of him.

We kept going, and he didn’t talk again until we reached the kitchen. I couldn’t tell if that was because I was quiet, too, and had put a pause on my questions or because he was upset. Not that he had a right to be or anything; I did.

When we arrived, Will let me know by coming to a stop and holding a door open for me. It was one of those doors without handles and could be opened by leaning against, reminding me of the doors I used to see in restaurants. It was cream and placed rather randomly in the middle of a hallway that had no other doors in it.

I moved past him, barely acknowledging his presence, stepping into the kitchen. The sight of which, however, momentarily caused me to lose my grasp on the resentment. This one kitchen, meant for one person, was equally both humongous and pristine.

The walls and tiled floor were both cream, matching the light quartz countertops that spanned the left side of the room. Cabinets, the same color, hung above each counter, and I walked towards one, pulling it open to see stacks of spices and flavorings. I opened another, finding measuring cups, and another, finding plates.

Stepping away from the cabinets, I turned, eyes first landing on an island in the middle of the room before carrying over to a refrigerator on the right. I went to it, swinging the doors open to reveal a stockpile of perishable food that one person couldn’t possibly finish before it all expired—eggs, chicken, cheese, butter. Huge quantities of everything.

I closed it, passing by a dishwasher, stove, and oven to find another fridge. This one was filled with drinks, things I hadn’t seen, much less tasted, since this whole nightmare began when I was eleven—soda, beer, juice, chocolate milk.

Shutting this, I walked back over to the left side of the room to find a door. I twisted the knob, opening it and stepping into a walk-in pantry that lit up upon sensing my presence. My eyes went wide at all of the food before me—chips, popcorn packets, doughnuts, bread, bagels.

I stepped out reluctantly, closing the door and taking another glance around the room, spotting a big dining table with around ten or so chairs. There were bowls of fruit on top of it, and I walked towards it, reaching out to pick up a pear.

“This is a lot,” I commented, tossing the fruit up and then catching it a moment later in my good hand.

“Sam tends to go overboard,” he informed me.

I glanced back to Will, seeing him seated on one of the chairs designated for the kitchen island. Behind him, I noticed a fire alarm on the wall and a trashcan resting by the entrance “You think?” I asked, taking a bite.

Will shrugged, eyes following me as I approached. He shuffled slightly as I took a seat by the island, leaving one chair between the two of us. It was extremely purposeful, and I knew that he was aware of it.

“I’m used to canned things,” I told him between bites. He raised a brow at that, and I figured it was because I was being chatty. Maybe he thought this meant I’d forgiven him or that I was less angry; I wasn’t—in fact, the size of my fury was absurd. But I liked talking.

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like beets. Anything cheap.” Or easy to steal.

Will watched me for a moment before his eyes went in front of him to the island. Idly he reached out to toy a little with the paper towel rack resting atop of it, twirling it.

My focus went back to the fruit I had, which I finished rather swiftly in the stifling silence. Done, I got up and made my way to the trash can, depositing the husk of the pear inside.

“You’re hungry,” he noted as I washed my hands.

“Yeah,” I agreed, coming back to the island and accepting the paper towel he handed out. Don’t I look like I’m starving? When I was finished with it, I placed it in front of me, then glanced forwards, seeing Will still messing with the rack.

In the bright kitchen light, I could see the details of him much better… such as his arms were white and long and covered in scars. They were hard to notice at first, due to how light they all were, nearly the color of his skin. But once I had noticed them…

They were all over… scars long and wide and short and thin, some bites, some cuts or gashes. It was scary to look at, imagining the circumstances one had to have undergone to receive such things.

“I thought vampire skin couldn’t be broken.” It was something we had been told for a while now, since the United States government was overthrown. Do not attempt to fight back; they cannot be wounded.

He followed my gaze for a second before looking up. “Certain things can break through,” he held up a hand to gaze at it, “leave a mark.”

“What happened to leave so many?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh.” He shrugged, hand falling. “I get into fights.”

There were dozens and dozens of scars there, just on his arms alone. There had to have been a lot of fights. “Why?” I wondered. “Why so often?” Why were there so many?

“It’s what I do,” he explained. “It’s my gift.”

So he did have one. My interest was piqued. “What’s your gift, then? Fighting?”

“Sort of. It’s more about…” He paused, eyes flickering across the room as he searched for the best words. “Not losing.”

My brows furrowed. “If you can’t lose, then why do you have all those scars?” I replied.

He smiled in a way that made me think he’d gotten this question a lot. “When you fight a lot of people at once, they can land marks. It doesn’t mean I won’t win… just that it isn’t a painless fight.”

“Huh.” I considered it all for a moment. “Well, do you want to do it?” I asked, and Will blinked, grin falling. “Do you even like fighting?”

“No one’s ever asked me that before,” he admitted.

“Really? Feels like a pretty standard question.”

“It is, isn’t it?” His green eyes fished for my own and then trapped them in a gaze. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

Before I could get too drawn in, I straightened my back and looked down at the counter. “You should,” I said. “Think about it, I mean.”

Will cleared his throat. “Right.”

We both sat in mute for a couple of seconds, long enough for me to get a little bored and bring my bum arm out to study once again. It looked just as it had in the shower, but the lighting was better in here, thoroughly showing the deepness of every bruise.

“That thing is ugly,” I remarked.

“I could go get you something to put it in,” Will spoke. “You need to stabilize broken bones, or they’ll only get worse.”

“Sure,” I said, surprised by the offer. I didn’t trust him at all, but I wasn’t going to turn down anything free. “I could just wait here.”

Will stood, nodding, “I’ll be right back.” And then, almost as if by magic, he disappeared, the only sign he hadn’t turned invisible being the swing of the kitchen door.

I sat there for a second before my mind caught up to the present, and I realized that this would be a very good time to escape. By the time he came back, I could be long gone, preferably with some of this food under my arms. Although… the word “escape” implied that I was trapped, and I didn’t feel that way.

They had all made it very clear that I could leave whenever I wanted. There was a chance they could be lying, but what would be the point? I was already at their mercy.

My stomach rumbled again, and I sighed, realizing that, either way, I should probably eat.

I set out for the first fridge I’d opened, pulling out a carton of eggs. Mom always cooked them on Sundays, scrambled. She’d taught me how to do it when I was older, and, to this day, it was all I really knew how to cook.

Though it took a little bit, I eventually found a pan and spatula and set out for the stove. I was still setting everything up when the door swung open again, and I turned around, expecting to see Will.

Instead, walking in were Sam and a female, the latter zeroing in on me instantly. “Oh… hi!” she called out chirpily. “Who are you?”

I gazed at Sam, then at the human girl. This had to be Lucy. “Cassie.”

“I’m Lucy,” she greeted, smiling. She glanced over at my in-progress eggs, stepping forward. “Uh… not to be rude, but what are you doing here?” She quickly went on, “It’s just… you’re the only other human I’ve seen here.”

“She’s a friend of Will’s,” Sam said knowingly. He was hanging back, leaning against the wall on the right side of the room.

“I didn’t know Will had friends,” she admitted, sounding rightfully astonished.

“We aren’t friends.” Bothered by the very implication, I turned back to my task bitterly, beginning to put the whisked eggs into the pan. They sizzled instantly, and I kept my spatula raised and ready for the food to be turned.

“I’m confused,” Lucy admitted. “Why are you here then?”

Why are you? I immediately thought to myself. Why do you stay with them?

I glanced back at her briefly, taking the girl in. She was tall, Sam’s height exactly, maybe even an inch taller, curvy and well-fed. Her hair was glossy and long, black and braided off her right shoulder. Lucy’s eyes were brown, skin olive; if I had to guess, I’d assume her family was Italian.

She looked around my age, twenty or so, and had several small moles splattered around her face, all in spots that somehow made her look more flattering. It was annoying how pretty she was; it even looked like she was wearing a little makeup, eyelashes long and dark.

“I’m here because I’m hungry,” I told her, looking away.

“I didn’t mean the kitchen,” she said.

“I know what you meant.” I worked my jaw. “It doesn’t matter why I’m here. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Oh.” I heard her retreat a bit, followed by the opening of a cabinet. “Well, do you need a plate?”

“Sure.” I moved the egg around a little, unwilling to let them burn; the flame on the gas stove was high.

Lucy moved back over to me, setting the plate on top of the counter the dishwasher was installed within, then retreating back to get her own food. I muttered a thanks, torn between manners and the knowledge that she had chosen to betray mankind by participating in a relationship with a vampire.

The swishing of the door alerted me to a new arrival, causing me to turn, seeing Will in the doorway with a frown and a brace in his hand. “Sam,” he greeted dryly, coming over to me. He then added, in a gentler, less adversarial tone, “Hi, Lucy.”

I saw Sam smiling sarcastically. “Hey, Will,” he replied.

Their dynamic confused me, but I didn’t care enough to ask about why they seemed to hold such an intense dislike for one another. “Got the brace?” I asked as Will got closer.

“Yes.” Will noticed what I was up to. “Eggs?”

I nodded. “I’m almost done.”

He moved away, and, glancing over my shoulder, I found that he’d taken a place at the dining table. “I’ll fit it for you when you’re done,” he said.

“She hurt her arm?” Lucy wondered.

“Wrist. It’s broken,” Sam informed. “A cast would be better, you know.”

“I don’t want a cast,” I said as I shut off the flame and scooped the eggs onto my plate, which was difficult one-handed. I left the pan there to soak later, taking my food to the table, taking a seat across from Will. My chair was against the wall, giving me a good view of the rest of the room, and, right then, Sam’s smirk.

“It might hurt putting it on,” Will warned me as he undid the straps for the brace.

“A lot?” I asked.

“No,” said Will.

“Sam, go help him!” Lucy cut in. “Make it painless.”

I saw Sam sigh at that, and he walked over, hand reaching to take the brace from Will’s hand. Will pulled it away at first, glaring at the other male, making Sam’s smirk return, and he said, “You know I’m the best medic. You’re better at destroying things.”

The bait was obvious, but Will didn’t respond with anger, just hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then handed the brace over. His face was rather stoic, and I had to wonder if Sam had touched upon a nerve.

“Great,” Sam said, touching the material. “Could’ve been made better, but it will do.” He approached me then, attentive. “Keep still, and it won’t hurt.”

I held my breath as Sam got close, body stiffening and freezing. I wouldn’t have been able to move then, even if I wanted to. Something about him set me on edge—more than Will, more than John, more than any other vampire. There was just… something about him.

He picked my wrist up gently, icy fingers actually feeling good, and he worked delicately to strap the contraption around my bone. When Sam finished, he moved back to lean against the wall again, saying, “All done.”

I studied the all-black material that now covered my hand, asking, “How long should I keep it on for?”

“Six weeks,” said Sam.

My eyes went to Will, as if to confirm this, but he seemed in a daze. His eyes were distant, unfocused, and I said, “Fine.” Glad to be done with speaking to Sam, I quickly looked down to my food, beginning to eat.

The table had already been set with tableware—a fork, spoon, and knife neatly lying beside a napkin. I found it strange that every place at the table was set, as though there was a dinner to be held that involved more than one person, but I didn’t comment on it.

No one spoke much as I ate; the main noises were from Lucy shuffling around as she pulled out ingredients. She would call things out sometimes, ask idle questions, like, “So what’s your name, Wrist Girl?” And as soon as I answered, she was back to her business and all was quiet once more.

When I finished, however, plopping the final piece in my mouth, Sam started to speak, as if he had been waiting.

“What’s your story?” he asked. “I can tell from your clothes that you’re poor. Do you live off of the streets?”

“Sam,” Will sighed.

“Oh, come on. You want to know, too,” Sam replied.

I pushed my plate aside, scowling, and Lucy piped up, “Don’t mind him. He’s a know-it-all. Pisses off everyone.” Some dishes clattered in the back. “He probably already knows the answers to everything he asks, too.”

“How could he?” I replied, staring at Sam. His eyes met mine dead-on.

“His gift is intellect,” Will informed me. “He’s one of the smartest individuals alive.”

I stored the information away, briefly coming to understand some of what had transpired last night a little better; John and Grace had called for his advice due to his gift, and that was why he always seemed so smug. “Then why ask anything at all?” I wondered.

Lucy approached the table, taking the seat next to Will. She placed her food down—something green, a salad, and then took a seat. “He likes playing,” she informed me as she picked up a fork. “Like a cat.”

“Must get irritating,” I remarked, studying her for a second before glancing back at Sam, still at the island. “How do you stand it?”

She swallowed her bite, saying, “You know, true love and all of that.”

“True love. Right.” I opened my mouth to ask her how the two of them had even met in the first place, but Sam beat me to speech.

“You never answered my question,” he pointed out. “What is your story? There are things about you that I can guess, but I’m curious. How old are you? Where are you from?”

I sat back in my chair. “I’m twenty-one, I was born in Ohio, and I may not be as smart as you, but I can tell when someone is digging. What do you actually want to know?”

He smiled, slightly, walking forward. Lucy glanced back as he approached, offering him a pat on the shoulder when he took the open seat by her. “Why did you kill that woman?” he asked me. “You called it an accident. What happened?”

“You killed someone?” Lucy voiced in shock.

My lips pressed together, and, for some reason, I glanced at Will. He was staring straight at me, curiosity in his own gaze, and I sighed. “Look, she was trying to kill my…” What was Andy to me, again? Was there a word to explain how we relied on one another and felt such blind and honest trust? “My friend.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed, obviously having caught on my hesitation, but it was Will that then spoke. “Why? She was highly respectable, here for a simple economic meeting. Why would she attack your friend?”

By his tone, I could tell that he didn’t doubt me; he wasn’t calling me a liar, just pointing out that things didn’t quite add up. And he was right about that, but these weren’t my secrets to tell.

“Beats me,” I lied. I’d gotten pretty good at doing so—Lucy bought it—but the two vampires, who could hear my heartbeat, just raised their eyebrows.

I could sense a barrage of questions coming on off of that, but, oddly, they never arrived. Sam and Will just exchanged a glance before Sam said, “Well, you’re about to meet more of us.”

My mouth opened to ask what he meant, but the door slid open just then. The new person coming in not only had to duck but also position their shoulders in an odd diagonal to enter.

“Thomas!” Lucy called, throwing her hand up for an air high-five.

The newcomer met it across the room with a big smile on their vampirically pale face. “Hey, Luce.”

He approached the table, and, as he did so, I looked him over, unable to comprehend how truly massive he was. Measuring his distance in comparison to the ceiling and Will’s height, I had to say he was around seven foot, the rest of his body just as large; his shoulders and arms were packed with muscle, visible through the shirt he was wearing. In width, he seemed to be made of two Wills and probably three of me.

He had short, blonde hair, and the rest of his features, especially his facial ones, were extremely sharp and pronounced. Thomas was gorgeous, of course, but there was a small mar to him, simply being that the sheer mass of his body made his head look a bit small. As well, there was an air around him that felt dangerous—something that couldn’t be off-set even with a good-natured smile.

Will had that around him, too, but the uneasiness had never really hit me the way it did with Thomas. Sam and Thomas seemed to affect me the same way.

“How are my two whipped boys doing?” Thomas asked, grinning widely as he came to lean on the back of Sam’s seat.

“I’m fine, and you’re aggravating,” Sam informed him.

He smiled, his dark eyes flitting over to me. “You must be Cassie. I’m Thomas.”

“You’ve heard about me?” I asked, startled that he knew my name.

“Sure, made quite an uproar around here!”

“Thomas is the ‘muscle,’” Lucy said, offering up air quotes and speaking before I had a chance to ask what Thomas had meant.

“The muscle? I thought all vampires were strong,” I said, glancing at Thomas briefly before meeting Lucy’s eyes.

“They are, but his gift is strength,” Lucy told me, taking a bite.

“So…” Thomas raised his hands, curling one into a fist that he rammed into the flat of his other palm, smiling wickedly the whole time. “Don’t mess with me.”

The entire image reminded me of an old mob film, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Right.” I would be gone soon, anyway.

Lucy pushed back from the table, plate empty, and she picked up my own as she brought it to the dishwasher. “You’re welcome!” she called before I could tell her thank you.

Thomas quickly took her seat, which he barely fit into, staring at me all the while, gleaming. “It’ll be good to have a new face around here.”

I shot a glance in Will’s direction. Did Thomas think I was staying? What had given that impression?

“Especially one as wild as you!” Thomas went on. “I heard about how you got in here. Crazy stuff.”

“Did John end up smoothing things over with Asia yet?” Sam asked. “Will, you should go check.”

If he was surprised by the subject change, Will didn’t show it. Although he did appear a little concerned, glancing at me. “I don’t know if I should just—”

“Oh, leave her,” Sam said, rolling his eyes. “She’ll be fine for a few minutes.”

“I’ll be fine,” I confirmed. Though I was uneasy around Sam and Thomas, having another human here set me at ease a bit. Besides, Will had spent the past hour or so telling me that I was safe here. I’d sort of started to believe it.

Will’s lips pressed together for a moment as he thought. “Well, okay, but I’ll be right back,” Will said, shooting me a quick smile before leaving the kitchen once again.

Thomas stared after him for a second before turning around, looking at me. “He’s always on the go,” he informed.

Lucy chuckled at that. “I’ll say.” She looked me over. “Hey, are you sure you got enough to eat? You’re rail thin.”

“Yeah, I’m full,” I said.

“We’ll just have to fatten her up!” Thomas proclaimed. “That’s the only way to assure the wind won’t blow you over!”

“Ha-ha,” I said, rolling my eyes. I was well aware how skinny I was, though I blamed some of that on my height. If I was shorter, it wouldn’t look so bad—not that five foot seven was huge by any means, especially around Thomas.

“You didn’t get much to eat out there, huh?” Lucy spoke, drawing my eyes. She was leaning forward in her chair with her hands folded, face portraying interest.

Out there? What a weird way to phrase it. “Not really,” I said.

“Well we’ve got lots of food here!” Thomas told me with a big grin.

“Sam always keeps it fully stocked,” Lucy told me.

“Doesn’t a lot go to waste then? That doesn’t sound very smart,” I said, and Sam smiled thinly at me, but he didn’t respond.

“We donate,” Lucy offered.

“What about the perishables?” I asked, and she didn’t answer.

“Well, you’ll be getting fed, too,” Thomas piped up, “so less will be thrown out.”

I blinked, unsure as to why Thomas was under the impression that I was staying. I was unsure if I should correct him, and so I just didn’t respond.

There was an awkward silence that lasted for a few seconds before anyone could figure out how to move past it. It was Thomas, finally, that broke it with first a clap and then words that rocked my world.

“So how are you dealing with the bond?” Thomas asked.

I thought he was speaking to Lucy at first, but he was looking right at me, and I just shook my head. “Huh?”

“Are you thinking of moving in soon?” he inquired then.

My head shook. “No, what did you say before? The…” I blinked. “The what?”

“The mate bond,” Thomas said.

“Wait, she’s his what?” Lucy asked, gaping.

Thomas blinked, the change in atmosphere startling him. “Hold on… wait, did she not know?”

“No,” I said, eerily still. “I didn’t.”

“Oh.” His mouth shut. “Oops.”

“Did Grace tell you?” Sam asked, not sounding surprised at all about the news.

“Yeah. John, too…” Thomas’ lips pressed together tightly, and he brought his hands to run down his face. “Oh, man… Look, Cassie, it’s really not something I was supposed to have—I mean, I just thought that, by now, Will would have—”

“It’s…” I started, then drifted off, and the room filled into a brief silence, broken only by Will’s return.

He took in the sight with confusion, asking, “What’s going on?” He glanced at me anxiously. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, boy,” Lucy murmured.

“Uh… I’m just going to go then…” Thomas said, sliding past and moving with agility unnatural for his size.

I stood, slowly making my way around the table and to Will. He watched every step with an extreme focus, clearly aware that something was wrong. “What’s going on?” he asked again.

Sam clucked his tongue and shook his head, saying, “Thomas let you-know-what slip.”

The realization came to him quickly, taking only half of a second. First there was surprise on his face, then horror, then resentment, and then a fury so hot it seemed to be made of fire and hate alone.

“I’m going to kill him,” Will snarled. He went to leave at that, body all tense, fingers and lips curled, but I jumped to attention.

“Wait!” I called, and he immediately froze, back to me. “Just tell me. What he said…”

Slowly, Will turned, until he faced me entirely, our eyes meeting. Green.

“Tell me,” I said. “Tell me if it’s…”

Was this why I found him so hypnotic, intoxicating? Was this why I thought of him? Was this the reason for everything, so simple and just one word?

“It’s true,” Will muttered.

I kept staring, feeling a strange disconnect in my body, which seemed to inexplicably, suddenly, and currently not be my own. The words were above me, something beyond comprehension. It was true…?

Reality was hard-hitting, something painful, unavoidable. I felt the need to scream. It was true.

He went on, “You’re my—”

No.

“Don’t say it! That’s not possible,” I immediately said, erupting with energy. Spinning around, I jabbed my finger at him. “We’re not even the same species!”

His mouth opened and then shut and opened again all in under the span of three seconds as he processed my words. “I could… make you a vampire.”

“Okay, that is not what I meant by that.”

Will’s lips pressed together tightly as his eyes flickered around in a sort of panic. “Cassie, look, I was human once—”

“Well you aren’t anymore, are you?” I demanded, glaring and daring him to offer a different answer.

There were around ten seconds of absolute silence, where it was just Will and me and me seeing him. I knew I was devastating him; I could see how his face was changing for the worse after every word I threw, but I wasn’t stopping myself. I didn’t want to stop myself. I wanted to hurt him.

“Ah… maybe we should go,” Lucy said, a faint reminder of her presence, but her voice was distant and not enough to fully grab my attention.

“No thanks. I am thoroughly enjoying this,” Sam replied.

I looked away from Will, his agony finally getting to me a bit, and shut my eyes, willing myself to wake up. “You know what? This is—this is actually crazy.”

“Cassie,” he pleaded.

“No, it’s insane!” My eyes shot open. “We aren’t going to be together! That’s not going to happen.”

“We don’t have to be together. It isn’t like that,” Will murmured.

“So what’s it like?” I asked.

He seemed taken aback by my sudden willingness to listen, though he recovered in under a second, quickly saying, “It’s just a bond. We can do what we want with it! All the thing is—is something alerting supernaturals to our soulmate, binding us to them.”

“Binding you?” I shouted, horrified. Soulmate?

“Oh boy,” Sam said.

“So you own me?”

“No, no, no, it’s—” Will brought his arms out, as though some limbs could help him explain. “It’s not like that! It just brings us together!”

“What, so… so you’re in love with me or something?” I demanded, cutting him off entirely. “You don’t even know me.”

“No, it’s not love,” Will protested. “It’s—it’s different.”

“It’s bigger,” offered Sam from behind.

“You aren’t helping!” Will snarled, his face momentarily changing from heartbroken to bleak, and his eyes went dark and angry.

“Look,” I said desperately, drawing his attention back to me, “whatever it is, whatever you did, just undo it.”

His brows pushed together, eyes opening big, and there was no mistaking that I’d just wounded him badly. “I can’t,” Will told me.

“You have to,” I insisted. “You made a mistake with me, so just go do whatever it was that you did with someone else!”

“It doesn’t work like that. There aren’t redoes for this,” Will explained, voice gentle and sad, and his face was twisting, as though he was in actual, physical pain. “It’s a one and done.”

“Well you’re wasting it on me.” It was hard to be harsh with the look on his face—eyebrows furrowed together, lips downturned, eyes full of lament. Hard, until I remembered what he’d done. “I could never be with you!”

His face twitched as he tried, fairly obviously, to attempt to repress some of his sorrow. “Why not?” Will choked out.

“Are you serious?” I asked. He couldn’t be… and yet his face held not even a sliver of manipulation or humor in it. “You all destroyed the world!”

“Destroyed?” Sam suddenly cut in, laughing.

“Stay out of it,” Will hissed, looking behind me to glare at him. He looked ferocious. I would’ve been scared, if I wasn’t so furious.

“But it bothers you, too,” he continued on, and I glanced back, too, distracted by the smugness in Sam’s tone. He was shooting Will a knowing look. “Because it’s so unbelievably wrong, and you just won’t tell her so.”

“How am I wrong?” I demanded.

“You all did a terrible job of being in charge; you committed g******e, slaughtered children, contaminated the earth, ruined our atmosphere. We didn’t destroy the world; you all already did that.” Sam paused to give me a genuinely interested look. “Don’t you think it’s time to give someone else a shot?”

I knew what he was trying to do, and I wasn’t having it. “You’re not in the right here. You all slaughtered children, too, during your sick conquering. And g******e? How many humans have you killed? There are more of you now.”

Sam studied me. “Oh, so you lost someone,” he noted. “Who?”

My heart hurt. “Everyone!” I yelled. And everything.

“Oh… it was your parents, wasn’t it?” His head tilted to the side. “You would’ve been a child when it happened… the loss of them putting you on the streets. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Cut it out,” Lucy said, frowning, and Sam quieted with a sigh.

“How can you be on their side here?” I hissed, suddenly turning my fury onto her.

She gazed back at me with wide eyes, obviously not having expected to be drawn into this. “It’s not—” Lucy inhaled sharply. “It’s not that easy to—”

“Have you not lost enough people to hate them?” I demanded loudly.

Something about the question made Sam lose his cool, and he went from sitting back, smirking, and being a half passive observer half annoying commentator to something else entirely. “Leave her,” he snarled, eyes narrowed and vicious and cruel, leaning forward with hands clenched into tight fists, “alone.”

The threat of his posture alone had me take a few steps back, and my fear made Will step in front of me. “Don’t,” he warned.

“No! Stop trying to protect me!” I hissed, causing Will to glance back at me in surprise, and the hurt shone in his eyes once again.

“Cassie, I just—” Will started, but I cut him off with a scoff.

“I don’t need you,” I told him. In my periphery, I saw Sam relax, unclenching, somehow finding comfort in what I’d said.

There were a couple of moments where no one spoke at all, and then Will finally—tightly and coldly, turned back to the others and said, “Could the two of you leave?”

For once, Sam had no smart comment or smirk. He just stood, Lucy following, and they quickly left the room, door swishing behind them.

Will and I stood in silence for a moment, staring one another down. There was still so much left to say, so much I didn’t understand. All I knew about “mates” were excerpts from magazines I’d skimmed over while waiting for the perfect time to snatch a watch and gossip spread through the streets, but I knew enough. Enough to know that I didn’t want to be his.

“You said this kind of thing was rare,” I said.

“I also said it happens sometimes.”

Again, a pregnant silence. I couldn’t speak through the flurry of emotions roaring inside of me, all ever changing, ever shifting, never just one. I was angry, of course, and scared, worried… sad.

“Cassie…” Will pleaded, voice grounding me a little.

A breath escaped, slowing my heart a little, and, wrestling with the bottom of my lip, I managed out, “How are you even sure it’s me?”

“I told you,” he said, tone becoming ragged and fairly desperate, “this isn’t something that can be messed up.”

“Yeah, but how do you know?” I pressed.

Will stared at me for a moment, nearly causing me to get lost in his eyes again, and then he said, “I feel it. I know it. More than anything else in my life, I am sure of this.”

It wasn’t exactly the statement but how he said it that rattled me. In his voice was devotion, absolute truth, and a firmness stronger than any material. And it made me realize that it was true.

“God,” I just said, eyes becoming a bit unfocused. Why, why, why me? What had I ever done?

What did this mean? That I had to stay here? That I had to become a vampire? That I had to be by his side?

“Cassie, please,” Will murmured, and really he was begging.

I looked to him, not even knowing what to say in that moment. A million different thoughts were running through my head, until I found one that I found I needed to voice. “This is why John pardoned me, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

As I stared at Will, my heart pounded. “But how did he know who I was?”

“That has to do with Grace and her gift,” Will started, but I held up a hand.

“I’ve heard enough about gifts,” I grumbled. “I’ve heard enough in general.”

“What… does that mean?”

“It means that I’d like to go now please.”

“Cassie—”

“I’d like to go now.” My voice was cold and unwavering, but, when he didn’t immediately respond, I grew nervous. “You can’t—you can’t keep me here.”

“I wasn’t going to,” he replied, voice a murmur. “It’s just… are you sure?”

“I’m very sure.” Without another word, I turned and went for the door.

As soon as I stepped through, I looked back, seeing Will right on my heels. There was a sort of panic on his face, as though the idea of not having me in his sights was something he couldn’t handle.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Will told me weakly.

I nodded, and we began to head on, a wall between the two of us. It was thick and brick, hard to tear down; I didn’t even want to. In fact, I would have liked to tip the builder.

As we rounded a corner, we came upon Sam leaning against the wall, and I huffed, halting in my steps. “Oh, what the hell?” I muttered.

“I was going to leave it be, but Lucy feels bad about the situation,” Sam spoke, walking towards us. “She wants me to try to help, so I figured I should let you know what you’ll be doing, if you do go.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded, tired of his game and him in general. Tired of all of this.

“Look, I can’t hope to explain this type of bond to you in under a few minutes, so I won’t even try.” Sam held up a hand, sensing Will was about to tell him to stop. “I just wanted to say that you’ll only be hurting the both of you by leaving.”

“Sam, don’t,” Will tried, sounding only tired.

“She deserves to know. Don’t you think?” He turned to me, mouth twisted, face unpleasant. “Will is going to experience extreme emotional pain, such so difficult it will feel physical. He won’t want to move or do anything, as it’ll hurt too greatly.

“It’s different for humans, since you don’t feel it how we do. It won’t be as strong, at first, maybe just sleepless nights. Physical problems will come next—inexplicable fevers and nausea, all of which will worsen for the extent you are away.”

I stared at him. His words registered of course, but all I could think of was what he’d said earlier… talking about the death of the diplomat and phoning Asia to get Will out of the room. Sam’s gift was intelligence; he had to have known that Thomas would bring up and accidentally reveal the bond in Will’s absence, and he had to have known how I would’ve reacted.

Why do it on purpose? He’d mentioned before that he thought it was best to just get this all over with—was that why? Had Sam decided to take this matter into his hands?

“Lucy doesn’t need to feel bad. You do,” I said, feeling a genuine urge to spit on him.

I knew that he knew I’d figured it out, but Sam just raised a brow. “Hmm?” he said.

“Just because you’re smarter than me, doesn’t mean you can talk down to me. I don’t need to hear this crap.” I scoffed, going to move around Sam to continue down the hallway. Will quickly came to my side.

“It’s pointless, leaving!” Sam called after us. “You’ll come back. You can’t run away from this!”

My pace increased, hands squeezing into fists, and I had an urge to hit something. The walls, however, were stone, and it would hurt my hand just as badly if I were to punch Sam or even the next vampire I saw. And so I had to breathe the anger out.

Will kept up with me easily, right at my side, leading me down halls with pictures that looked slightly familiar. We must have been close to the entrance—a realization that only made me go faster. If I had known exactly where to go, I would’ve been sprinting.

As we rounded the next hall and came out from the corner, I spotted the front door just a few meters ahead. We approached it together, Will twitching anxiously at my side.

“There’s a driver outside on standby,” he told me. “Just give him an address—he’ll take you anywhere.”

“Okay.” I reached, twisting the knob, pulling the door open, and seeing outdoors. It was a clear day but a bit cold; a jacket would’ve been nice.

The guards at the doors, staring, were giving me very strange looks. They soon glanced behind me to see Will and then, as if realizing something, walked inside and down the hall we’d come from, giving us some privacy.

A pause.

“John said he called Asia… so don’t worry about that,” Will went on. “It’s all sorted.”

“Right.” I swallowed, feeling something closing in on me. I had to get away. I had to leave. “Uh… well, bye, then.”

“Wait, Cassie.”

My body jolted, stiffened, and betrayed me by turning around. I looked up to meet his eyes as I stood there, and he glanced at me intently, eyes sad. “Yeah?” I said quietly.

“Just be safe, okay?” It was like he was begging.

“Yeah, I will. I’ll be fine.” I took a heavy breath, turning away, keeping my back firmly to him. “Don’t look for me.”

“I won’t.” It was a promise.

There was a silence, and I knew that I should just walk away, but I couldn’t help but say, “Sam was right. I did lose my parents.”

Because of you hung in the air.

“Cassie,” he tried, but I shook my head. Nothing he could say would bring them back or take back what he had willingly been part of.

“I just thought you should know,” I said and released a big breath before stepping outside and allowing the doors to shut behind me.

For a few moments I paused there, if only just to say, “Good-bye, Will.”