4. Atlas
4
ATLAS
T his human is already more trouble than she’s worth. I have half a mind to let her go and forget the damned oath Lex brought into our lives, but something foreign unfurls in my gut, putting me behind the wheel. If we let Calla out of the deal and word spreads, which it inevitably will, our reputation will be destroyed. Other vampires will believe they can act against us without consequence; it will invite far more conflict to our lives and make us look weak. And so, I’ll drag her back to our house under heavy glamour if necessary.
Marcel tracks her phone and sends me the address—she’s at the Four Seasons. Calla’s finances are enough to get by as a student, but she couldn’t afford that on her own. I suspect the best friend is involved. Brighton Ellis has been on our radar for years—more specifically, her proximity to Calla. The girl may not know about vampires, but her family certainly does. Which is, in part, why we chose now to enact the oath, because Brighton’s father will only keep the existence of vampires—and hunters—from his daughter for so long.
I pull into the valet spot at the front of the hotel, cutting the engine, and get out as an employee rushes over.
“Sir, you can’t park?—”
“Stop talking,” I cut him off, and his eyes glaze over as my glamour silences his vocal cords. I walk past him into the lobby, approaching the front desk to find a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a polite smile.
“Good evening, sir. Checking in?”
I meet his gaze. “What room is Brighton Ellis checked into?” I give Calla the benefit of believing she isn’t stupid enough to check in under her own name. Not that using her friend’s is effective in staying hidden from us, either…
His brows draw together for a moment as he starts typing on his computer, as if he doesn’t understand why he’s entertaining my demand. Without a word, he jots down a room number and slides a keycard across the counter. I swipe it up and cross the lobby to the bank of elevators.
My patience is close to non-existent at this point, and when I get to the top floor and find the room, I tap the card against the reader. It beeps and flashes green, but when I turn the knob and push the door, it stops an inch open. Rolling my eyes, I exhale an irritated breath and shove it open, breaking the manual lock and pushing the table Calla used to attempt barricading the door out of the way.
Inside the room, I close the door and return the table to the seating area, picking up the sound of Calla in the bathroom. The faucet continues running as I lower myself into the wingback chair in the corner of the bedroom, waiting for her. I’m in no rush.
Calla walks out of the bathroom, and her sleep-deprived gaze finds me almost instantly. She lets out a pitchy scream before bolting through the suite toward the door. I sigh under my breath and get up, moving faster than her eyes can register. She’s opening the door when I reach her and slam it shut again. In seconds, I grip her shoulders, turning her to face me and effortlessly pinning her against the door. The girl flips into fight mode, using what appears to be every ounce of strength she can muster to try shoving me away. Her efforts are in vain, of course, but her determination is as admirable as it is amusing. Perhaps if it wasn’t so late and the day not so long already, I could find entertainment in it—Lex and Kade certainly would.
“You want to do this again?” I ask her, cocking my head to the side.
“Fuck you,” she snaps, though she stops pushing at my chest so she can catch her breath.
I survey her face—the pinch of her brows, the tired but fierce gaze, the tightness in her jaw. My eyes drop to find her robe open, her chest heaving up and down between us with each shallow breath.
“Kade wanted to come get you,” I tell her in a low voice.
There’s a beat of silence before she asks, “So why are you here then?”
Good fucking question . I have about a thousand and one other things I could be doing right now, most of which would be far less irritating.
I flick my eyes back to hers. “Be glad it’s me, Calla.” I reach in and close her robe. “He was keen on punishing you for running away.”
She licks her lips and tips her head back to look into my eyes, her pulse still racing. “And you?”
I shake my head, ignoring the subtle throb in my gums, the voice in my head urging me to show her exactly— “What’d I’d like to do to you…”
Her voice is flat, detached from emotion when she says, “You’re going to kill me.”
Blinking at her, I school my features into a neutral expression despite not expecting that response. I’m being honest when I tell her, “I’m not here to kill you.”
“Doesn’t mean it won’t happen. You may not even mean to do it—any of you—but it will happen.”
I stare at her, wondering where her fear has gone as she speaks so blatantly about the end of her life. “You’re so convinced we’re monsters.”
“Aren’t you?” she whispers.
I consider that for a moment, pursing my lips. She’s undoubtedly correct, and yet I find myself answering, “Perhaps to some.” I have no idea what makes me lean in and brush my fingers along her soft cheek, or why I say, “But not you.”
Her jaw clenches against my palm, and her gaze turns pleading as she says, “Then let me go. Tell the others you couldn’t find me. I’ll get on a plane and?—”
I drop my hand back to my side. “We will find you wherever you run. When are you going to realize that?”
Calla fists the front of my shirt. “Why? What could you possibly want from me? You’ve essentially ruined my life, stolen my future, and for what?”
I peer down at her white-knuckle grip before returning my gaze to hers. “We’ve waited a long time for you, Calla.”
She shakes her head, her brows knitting. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It’s not a simple one.” Now is not the time to get into the reasoning behind our choice to retrieve her. And frankly, I’m confident she’s not in the headspace for that conversation.
Her throat bobs when she swallows, her eyes locked on my mouth, where my fangs have descended. “You’re going to feed on me.”
My eyes flick between hers. “Yes.” Leaning in, I put my lips next to her ear and murmur, “What’s more, you’ll enjoy every second of it.” I press my mouth to the delicate skin of her neck, flicking my tongue against her pulse as she sucks in a sharp breath and grips my shirt tighter. Her heart pounds in her chest, her blood singing with an intoxicating mix of uncertainty and desire, taunting the monster within me.
I force myself to step back. Her cheeks are flushed, and she immediately looks away and walks to the sitting area. I follow and sit across from her. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed about your response to me. Or feel shy about what your body desires, for that matter.” Vampiric pheromones are virtually impossible for humans to fight. Deeper than that, her blood knows mine, connected by the magic in the other her ancestor took all those years ago.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says defensively. “I’m sleep-deprived, that’s all.”
“With how tightly wound you are, I’d say you’re more than sleep -deprived.”
She chokes on a laugh, though it doesn’t hold much humor. “You don’t know anything about me.”
I can’t help but taunt her with, “Care to make a bet on that?”
“Not a chance,” she says around yawn.
“Because you know you’re wrong,” I push, finding that I’m rather enjoying the verbal sparring.
“Oh yeah?” She folds her arms over her chest and leans back in the chair, as if to portray an air of indifference to my proximity all of a sudden. “What do you know about me, Atlas?”
I move in a blur, looming over her as I grip the armrests, and lean in until we’re nearly nose-to-nose. “You think we haven’t spent years getting to know you? That we haven’t memorized everything about your life while we waited for the right moment to?—”
“Ruin in?” she cuts in bitterly.
I lower my voice. “You think I don’t know how to set your body off like a fucking firecracker with a single touch?”
Her pulse races in response, feeding the part of me that is enjoying challenging her. “Then why haven’t you?”
I hold her gaze, letting the silence linger between us before I murmur, “Because Kade called first dibs on your pussy.”
She scowls, shoving me away. “Asshole.”
I straighten and head for the door. She knows running isn’t going to get her out of this, and I’ve tormented her enough for tonight. So I’ll give her one free pass before she’s at ours for good. “Get some sleep. You’ll be returning to our place tomorrow. And Calla,” I add, looking at her over my shoulder, “don’t run again. It won’t be me coming to get you next time, and Kade isn’t nearly as patient as I am.”
She won’t meet my gaze now. I look at her a moment longer, then walk out of the suite, letting the door click shut behind me.