23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Sage
Last night was definitely one for the books in terms of weirdness. When the witches left, everyone, except for me, felt a sense of euphoria. Some were talking and others were dancing around the fire, while I quietly observed. Winnie almost killed Nellie and I secretly wished I’d been the one to choke her before the party finally ended with everyone returning to their cabins shortly before the sun came up.
Since we were leaving for the hotel in only a few hours, I’d awakened before the sun set, showered, and packed my bags. A shaky breath left me as I descended my cabin steps, not ready for what I was about to do next.
The minute I stepped off the porch, heading to Peach’s, Lyric yelled, “Sagelynn, wait for me.”
I whipped around and put my hands on my hips, squinting as the sun glared in my eyes. “Hurry up. I’m not standing here all day.”
“I have something important to tell you.” She bolted toward me with a huge smile, which dropped when her brows pinched. “Where’re you going this early?”
“Peach’s.”
She cocked her head and I noticed her hair was extremely messy.
Sex hair.
“Is she even awake? There’s still an hour before it gets dark.”
“She said she always gets up before the sun sets.” I nervously bit my lip and Lyric crossed her arms, eyeing me.
“Save yourself the trouble, Sage, and tell me the secret now because you and I both know you’ll cave later.”
A rush of warmth flushed my cheeks as I determined whether I should disclose the truth. But she was right—I would tell her, eventually.
“After Winnie dragged you off into the woods, I’d mentioned to Peach about how nice it would be to have one of those immune booster injections we used to get weekly from Venom. You know, the ones Ravage said had vampire blood in them.”
Her head tilted, eyeing me suspiciously. “And?”
“Peach mentioned consuming vampire blood would produce a similar outcome, possibly better, for one to two weeks.”
Lyric leaned in closer to me, her eyes narrowed. “What else?”
I huffed because we both knew I wasn’t saying the whole truth. “Then she offered to feed me, and I accepted, but she also said if I die with her blood in my system that the chances of me coming back as a vampire are very high.”
She uncrossed her arms, her back stiffening. “How high?”
“Like ninety-nine percent.”
“Oh.” Lyric got quiet for a second, her eyes trailing over my face as if she was reading my mind. “So, let me guess. You’re worried Luka will be mad at you for not saving him sooner, or because he gave himself up to save you. And then you’ll die, actually become a vampire and you’ll have to spend eternity pining over the only man you’ve ever really loved, and that’s too much shit to worry about at once.”
“I, uh . . . ” I looked toward the ground, kicking the dirt beneath my feet. “You really should charge people for psychic readings.”
Lyric laid her hand on my shoulder, bringing my gaze back to her. “Stop worrying about what might happen in the future and make the best decision for today.”
I snickered, rolling my eyes. “Do you really think it’s that simple?”
“I know you’re mocking me, but it genuinely is. Make the best decisions your brain will allow you to make today and deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.”
As I stared into Lyric’s beautiful hazel eyes, I couldn’t resist the urge to make her happy. Although it would take a lot of work on my part to get myself into that type of mindset, her advice somehow made sense.
“Then I choose to become a vampire if I die. At least, for today.”
Lyric squealed before pointing toward Winnie’s cabin and lowering her voice. “Good, because I drank his blood last night and he didn’t tell me about the ninety-nine percent thing. So if it happens, I don’t want to spend eternity without you.”
My mouth fell open and my eyes widened as my thoughts took a hard right, bringing up memories of a stress ball I once had. It looked like a dog’s head and when I squeezed it, the eyes bugged out. The thing gave me the creeps, so I avoided using it, but I was certain that’s exactly how I appeared at that moment—an overly compressed stress ball.
“Wh . . . wh . . . ” this new information made me fumble on my words, “when were you going to tell me?”
“Actually, that’s why I stopped you. I was going to talk you into drinking Winnie’s blood again, since you did it after you wrecked his bike, just in case. But the problem solved itself.” She clapped her hands excitedly, like we were now blood brothers or something. “I gotta go get these tangles out of my hair, shower, and still pack. I’ll see you when you wake up.”
Lyric strolled off, leaving me feeling dumbfounded.
After she’d left the party last night, I’d figured she and Winnie had made up, especially after seeing the sex hair she was sporting, but I hadn’t banked on them becoming partners for life. I mean, I know she wouldn’t have to stay with Winnie for eternity, but she’d have to deal with him for it because he’d be her origin.
That’s why I decided to take Peach up on her offer. She was a friend, someone I could trust, and not someone I was dating. Not that I assumed Luka and I would break up, but if there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s that everything had an expiration date.
It technically wasn’t my business if Lyric wanted Winnie to be her origin, but I was still worried about my friend getting her heart broken . . . or dying and becoming a vampire.
I let out a heavy sigh and made my way toward Peach’s cabin, praying that none of us were making harsh decisions out of fear.
An hour later, I’d drank Peach’s blood, taken a forty-five minute nap, and the sun had set. My phone beeped and it was a text from Winnie telling me it was time to go.
With a deep breath, I grabbed the one bag Winnie allowed me to bring, tossed it on my shoulder, and made my way outside. I shut the door behind me and when I turned around, Vivi was standing on my porch.
“Winnie’s still not budging. He insists I have to stay here to help Drag protect the camp.” She rolled her eyes. “I know he’s only leaving me behind because he’s afraid I’ll mess up the mission.”
“Even though I’d love for you to go with us, I do actually feel better with you staying here.” I lowered my voice. “Especially with the concerns of a certain spy.”
“I would like to be here if anything goes down, so I agree with that, but I’m not going to guarantee I won’t drain her of every ounce of blood if she pisses me off. One less mouth to feed I guess.”
Vivi shrugged and I laughed.
“I’ll be jealous if you get to.”
“Are you ready?” Ravage asked as he and Drag walked past my porch, and I nodded.
“Shit, I gotta go.”
Vivi stood in silence for a few seconds, not knowing what to say before she sighed, opening her arms. “Give me a hug, in case you die.”
I attempted to keep the surprised look off my face as I stepped into her embrace—and even though I’m not big on hugs, I really hoped it wasn’t our last.
“I will do my best to find Strike,” I whispered, pulling away.
“I just know you guys are going to find them both and once the brothers reunite, they’ll be an unstoppable force.”
Back in October, Mannie had tortured me for only a few short hours, yet the impact it had on me would last my entire life. I feared it would happen to Luka and Strike, and I lacked the courage to tell Vivi there was a high possibility that both of their personalities might be different after being imprisoned. Especially Strike, who’d been captive for over a year and a half.
A small smile pulled at my cheeks, locking away my concerns. “I’ll see you when we get back.” My stomach twisted as I headed toward the parking lot. Winnie was standing in front of my Jeep, groping Lyric, and I hollered, “Get a room.”
Winnie broke the suction he had on my friend’s face and cocked his head toward me. “I hope you finally shaved. Luka won’t know what to do with that forest you’ve been growing.”
I halted myself so fast, my bag slid off my arm.
With a fanged grin, he showed an unmistakable aura of arrogance, and I wanted to punch him. “I’ll take that as a no.”
I slang my bag back onto my shoulder. “Shut up, Winnie.”
Lyric smacked his arm and I giggled, heading toward the back of my Jeep. After tossing my bag in the trunk, I hopped into the driver’s seat and gripped the steering wheel, my thoughts running rampant.
When’s the last time I shaved?
I’d gone so long without Luka, I’d completely stopped taking care of myself. After thinking about it, I deduced it to be a day or two before Venom took Luka, which was the end of November. It was now May and . . .
Oh my god! I haven’t groomed in six months!
When we find Luka, he may not recognize me through the leg hair I’m sporting. A deep sigh escaped me as I pondered something else.
Not once had I thought about sex since that night. I was a big advocate for self pleasure, and I hadn’t even masturbated, which was way less frequent than my normal once to twice a week.
The passenger door opened and Lyric gracefully slid in, her brows drawing together. “Why do you have that look on your face? Oh crap. You really didn’t shave.”
I shook my head. “If my life was equivalent to my leg hair, then it’s been a long, dark ride.”
Lyric giggled, then placed her hand on my arm. “It’s okay, Sage. Maybe you can do it at the hotel.”
“It’s not just that.” I turned in my seat so I could face this problem head on. “I haven’t thought about sex since Luka. Not once. I haven’t even touched myself. Is my vagina broken?”
Lyric’s facial expression became worried and I thought it was adorable she cared so much about my womanhood. “Oh, I don’t know. I really hope not.”
The rear passenger door opened, letting in a slight breeze as Winnie got in. “I hope not either. I don’t think they make a cream for that.”
I tightened my lips. “We already said you’re not riding with us.”
“I have to. I won’t be able to hear the girl gossip over the roar of the engine, plus that van smells like fish.”
A shiver rolled through me thinking about a fish market my grandmother used to take me to when I was little. I always hated the smell. “Eww, why?”
“Heston, Demi, and Lane caught a bunch of catfish and brought them back. Drag’s gonna clean ‘em, then Laren and Kimber are gonna fry them up. I’m only slightly jealous that I won’t be here to eat them, but at least I get to kill people. Hopefully.”
The other rear door opened and Lynx got in with a sigh. “Go ride with the boys, Winnie.”
“It’s Winston.”
“Get the hell out before I—”
“Geezus, Lynx. Fine.” Winnie opened the door with a scowl, slamming it on his departure. A grin replaced his angry face as Lyric rolled down her window and he leaned in, kissing her goodbye. “I’ll see you there, mama.”
Ravage pulled up next to us and honked the horn. “Damn it, boy, get your ass in this van!”
Winnie snickered, then squinted his eyes at me. “Drive like a normal person for once, Sage Stick. I’d like my woman to arrive safe and sound.” He tapped the side of my Jeep and backed away, pointing into the backseat. “You’re evil, Lynx. Pure evil!”
“Winston!” Ravage screamed and we laughed as Winnie bolted to the sliding door on the side of the van.
I started the car, meeting Lynx’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. Ravage had assigned her the preparations, and I really wanted to ensure we didn’t leave anything behind. “Did you get everything on the list?”
She held her hand up, ticking off her fingers as she spoke. “Kimber and I packed weapons, ammo, handcuffs, and a cooler filled with blood bags. Winnie said he has all the instructions Naomi had planned stored in his head. He also brought some stuff he said we needed. So, we’re good to go. With all that shit in the van, hopefully Ravage doesn’t get pulled over or someone will be eating a cop for dinner.”
I attempted to ignore that possibility and wiped my clammy hands onto my jeans before re-gripping the steering wheel. This was the moment I’d been waiting for and my twisting stomach was going to constantly remind me the entire drive.
Ravage pulled out of the parking area and I followed suit. In approximately five hours, we’d arrive at a hotel near White Sands Missile Range and sleep one day before we embarked on the riskiest mission any of us had ever done.