Chapter 21
737 Words
Mia didn’t say anything.
She kept walking.
But the world around her felt… thinner now. Like something unseen had slipped just beneath the surface of everything—waiting for her to notice.
She noticed.
She just didn’t understand.
Yet.
The path back to the packhouse was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lilly had finally run out of things to say—or at least paused long enough to catch her breath—which, in itself, felt unnatural.
Victor still walked beside them.
Silent.
Present.
Watching.
Mia could feel him without looking.
That same awareness.
That same pull.
Not overwhelming.
Just… constant.
“You’re doing it again,” Lilly said suddenly.
Mia blinked. “Doing what?”
“That thing where you disappear into your own head and leave me alone with the mysterious vampire who barely talks.”
Victor glanced at Lilly. “I talk.”
“Not enough,” she shot back.
Mia exhaled softly. “I’m fine.”
“You keep saying that,” Lilly muttered.
“I am fine.”
That wasn’t entirely true.
But it was easier than explaining.
Because how do you explain something you don’t understand yourself?
They reached the packhouse just as the sun dipped lower in the sky, painting everything in warm gold and shadow.
The front doors stood open.
Inside, movement.
Voices.
The house was awake.
Watching.
Waiting.
“Good,” Lilly said, clapping once. “Food. I need food. Emotional trauma burns calories.”
“You weren’t the one collapsing,” Mia said dryly.
“I was emotionally involved.”
Victor huffed a quiet breath—almost a laugh.
Mia noticed.
She didn’t comment on it.
The moment they stepped inside—
The energy shifted again.
Stronger than before.
The hum inside Mia’s chest deepened, spreading outward like something stretching after a long sleep.
Her shoulders tensed slightly.
No one else seemed to notice.
Or if they did—
They didn’t say anything.
“Hey,” Lilly said, already scanning the room. “Where’s your mom? I need to tell her you survived so she doesn’t blame me.”
“She wouldn’t blame you,” Mia said.
“She absolutely would.”
“She would not.”
“She likes me, but she also likes you more.”
Mia rolled her eyes.
But her attention—
It drifted.
Again.
Toward the center of the room.
Toward the staircase.
Toward—
Something she couldn’t see.
But could feel.
Calling.
Victor noticed it.
Of course he did.
He slowed.
Just slightly.
His gaze flicking upward, tracking the invisible shift in the air.
There.
Again.
That same presence.
But this time—
It wasn’t coming from Mia.
It was coming from inside the packhouse.
Something here was reacting to her.
Not just her power—
Her existence.
Victor’s expression darkened slightly.
Interesting.
“Mia.”
Her name cut through the noise.
She turned.
Her father stood at the far end of the room.
Still.
Focused.
Watching her in a way that made something in her chest tighten.
Beside him—
Her mother.
Beautiful.
Calm.
But her eyes—
Sharp.
Too sharp.
They had felt it too.
Of course they had.
“Uh oh,” Lilly whispered. “That’s the ‘we need to talk’ face.”
Mia swallowed.
“…Yeah.”
Victor stepped back slightly.
Creating space.
But not leaving.
Not yet.
Mia walked toward her parents slowly, every step feeling heavier than the last.
The hum inside her grew louder.
Stronger.
Like something inside her was reacting to them—
Or something they carried.
Or something they knew.
“We heard what happened,” her father said.
His voice was steady.
Controlled.
But beneath it—
Concern.
And something else.
Something closer to fear.
“I’m fine,” Mia said automatically.
Her mother stepped forward slightly.
Studying her.
Not just looking—
Seeing.
“You don’t feel different?” she asked quietly.
Mia hesitated.
Just for a second.
“…No.”
A lie.
A small one.
But enough.
Her mother’s gaze didn’t soften.
If anything—
It sharpened.
“We’ll talk upstairs,” she said.
Not a suggestion.
A decision.
Lilly shifted awkwardly behind Mia. “Should I—uh—disappear?”
“Yes,” Mia’s father said immediately.
“Wow,” Lilly muttered. “Rude but fair.”
She leaned toward Mia quickly. “Text me if you survive.”
Mia huffed a quiet breath.
“I will.”
- Writer
