Chapter 26 #2
I head for the forest, looking to grab some of the things I had stashed away in my hiding places.
It's been a while since I’ve sprayed myself with vampire blood, but I suppose I’ll have to do that again in order to keep Thane from tracking my scent.
Actually, I’ll have to hide from the vampires and werewolves again too.
If he decides to come for me, which feels inevitable, it will only take him sending out an order for them to report back with my location.
After everything, it feels weird to go back to the way things were, but what choice do I have? If he finds me, there won’t be any contract restricting him—not that I think a piece of paper was ever going to do that.
I quickly grab what I need from two of my hiding places and make it back to the house to finish packing.
I’m in the middle of rolling up my clothes when a loud knock on my door sends my heart skittering.
My first instinct is that it’s Thane coming to collect me as his prisoner again, but that thought quickly dies when I realize he would never knock. Kole on the other hand…
“I know you’re in there! Let me in!” I rush for the door, and Sienna comes barreling in, giving me a painfully tight hug.
“What are you doing here?” I gasp, pulling away from her.
“Thane just told me where you’ve been this whole time! He wouldn’t tell me before. Otherwise, I would’ve been here the day I found out you were gone!”
My shoulders sag, and she pulls me in for another hug. All this time I thought maybe she didn’t care about me enough to visit, but it’s only because she didn’t know where to find me.
“I thought—”
“I know,” she says, raking her hands through my hair. “I begged both him and Kole, but they refused to tell me. They even made it seem like you were somewhere far away. If I had known you were out here, I would’ve searched the woods and beaches until I found you myself.”
“Well, you’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
“Right… so about that…” She flashes me a guilty smile, batting her dark lashes at me.
“They sent you, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but I’m not here for them. Really.
I’m here for you.” She takes my hand and drags me to the couch that’s illuminated by the fire I’ve still got going.
“They told me about the contract, and I totally understand why you didn’t agree to it.
They think I’m here to convince you to reconsider it, but I’m not. ”
“What are you here for then?” I ask, watching her pull out a pen and pad of paper from her bag.
“I’m here to help you write your own contract,” she answers with a devious grin that has my interest piquing.
“But first, let’s lay out all of the facts.
One, Thane and you are marked. Like it or not, you both can’t ignore that kind of bond, especially because it seems to be stronger between the two of you.
Second, if you go running, you’ll be in hiding again, having to live alone and scavenge.
” She looks at me, raising both her brows.
“Personally, I hate that for you. Three, something happened on Halloween to flip a switch in Thane. Pretty sure none of us, including Thane, understands why or how, but something changed. He’s agreed to not keep you as a pet or prisoner and to lay off doing anything that would hurt you, aside from the bite, which I’m not so sure even hurts anymore.
” She gives me a pointed look that tells me she’s referring to what happened after he bit me on Halloween.
“Fine, but how long will he agree to that? It’s not like some contract is going to keep him from tossing me in a dungeon if I piss him off one day.”
Sienna holds up her finger with a smile.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. With vampires and werewolves, contracts are unbreakable.
That’s why they’re so rare. It’s held to a higher standard.
All of the territory leaders have to sign one, which, if you remember, Thane killed two of them.
I’m pretty sure it’s because they broke the contract in some way. ”
I’m hesitant to believe that Thane would allow a simple signed piece of paper to restrict his behavior, but Sienna looks serious about it, and I have to admit that I don’t always understand how the vampires and werewolves operate.
“Is that what they used when they decided to come together and annihilate the human race?” Sienna flinches at the word annihilate, reminding me that she didn’t love the way things happened either.
“No, that was all agreed to based on aligned interests. Since it involved two entire species having to agree, a contract wouldn’t work, which is also why certain groups have started to push back now that the humans are gone. They don’t have the restriction of a contract keeping them in line.”
I nod, taking in everything she’s telling me.
“Okay, so if what you’re saying is true, then if I sign some kind of contract, Thane won’t be able to go back on it?”
“Right!” she says, jumping up to slip her leg beneath her. “Sooooo, entertain me for a moment, and let’s come up with some things you would want in the contract.”