Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
Kyren
Something woke me from a dead sleep. I lifted my head, shifting around to find Tate snuggled up behind me. I stroked my hand down his arm, sinking further into his embrace, then I realized someone was missing.
I sat up, smacking Tate on the chest. He snuffed and let out a snarl. His arms flailing before realizing it was me.
“Kyren, what is it?”
The space beside me was cold, the sheets empty. Jack had been gone for a while. Sniffing the air, I could still smell her scent, so it hadn’t been too long ago.
Why hadn’t she woken us before she left?
The longer she wasn’t in the room with us, the more worried I became. It wasn’t like her to sneak out. More often than not, we were awake before she was, and I had to drag her out of bed for class.
“Where’s Jack?” Tate placed his chin on my shoulder, asking the question I didn’t say out loud.
I shook my head.
Crawling out of the bed, I found my clothes and pulled them on. A quick glance at my phone told me it was after three p.m., still too bright outside for me to go searching for her without some cover.
“Come on.” I threw Tate’s clothing at him.
With both of us dressed, I tried calling her first. Her phone went straight to voice mail. I frowned at the stupid device. I’d only got it because of Tate, not seeing the need for someone to be in constant communication until Jack came along.
“Call her,” I told Tate as I stepped out of the bedroom.
Tate followed after me, his phone pressed to his ear. “Voicemail. Where do you think she went?” He pulled his lip ring between his teeth, worrying it.
Not answering him, I quickly sent my shadows out. They checked the bathroom ahead of us and didn’t find her there. Then Tate’s room.
Not there either.
“Her helmet is gone,” I told Tate, moving toward the front door of the dorms.
“Wait.” Tate grabbed my shoulder. “You can’t go out there right now. As much as I want to find Jack, I don’t want to lose you, too.”
I glared at his hand, hating that he was right. “You go.”
“I’ll find her.” Tate cupped my face and kissed me. “Just go relax.”
I made a face which resulted in him laughing.
“I know, I know, that’s as likely to happen as I am to turn into a sweet little kitten.” Tate’s words were lighthearted, meant to make me worry less. Except he always forgot I could feel what he was feeling.
Right now, waves of anxiety and worry poured down our bond.
Nodding to appease him, I let Tate leave me behind.
I went back to my room and stalked the length of it.
My shadows wafted around me, filling the room with darkness.
They had searched the entire vampire crypt by now and had turned up with nothing.
I hated myself for not putting shadows on her, even when she was sleeping.
If I had, then I’d know where she was right now.
Terrified at finding her the same way we found her a few nights ago, my shadows twitched in agitation. I tried calling her again.
This time, it rang. And rang. And rang. Each ring was like a stab on my heart until finally it went to voicemail again.
My fingers curled around the phone as I sank down onto the bed. The time seemed to go on forever. Every time I looked at my phone, time had barely passed, so I stopped looking.
When the door opened, I jumped off the bed, crowding Tate as soon as he stepped into my room. “Did you find her?”
Tate shook his head. “No sign of her and her bike is gone. Did you try calling her again?”
“Yes,” I hissed as I turned back to the room. “No answer.”
The anxiety in Tate had risen even more, adding to mine. “You don’t think she… got attacked again, do you?”
For the first time in over a hundred years, I cursed my existence as a vampire. If I wasn’t one, then I could go out there and search for her in the daylight. I wouldn’t feel so helpless, waiting around for her to call me or to show back up.
Waves of calm pushed into me.
“Kyren,” Tate’s hand sat on my shoulders, “it’ll be okay.”
My eyes finally focused back on him. Noticing the shadows had gotten out of control again, I drew them back into me, allowing Tate’s calm to soothe me, even knowing it was a false calm.
“What about Xinyi?” Tate brushed my hair from my face. “Do you think she might know where Jack went?”
Instead of answering, I pushed past him. Stalking down the hall, I found Iris’s room. I pounded on the door with my first and, when no one answered, I threw it open.
Iris sat up in bed, her dark hair wild around her face, her naked top half on display. Xinyi laid naked in the bed next to her, barely covered by the sheet. She bared her fangs at me and threw a pillow.
“Ever heard of knocking?”
Dodging the pillow, I moved further into the room, stopping at Xinyi’s side of the bed. “Wake her up.”
Iris gaped at me, her eyes darting to Tate who had followed me in and then to me. “What? No.”
“Jack is missing,” Tate explained, sounding far calmer than either of us felt. “We just want to know if Xinyi has heard from her.”
Frowning, Iris shook Xinyi shoulder. The tiny female grumbled in her sleep and swatted at Iris’s prompting. Then, when that didn’t work, she smacked Xinyi on the ass.
Xinyi yelped and jerked awake. “What? What? I’m awake. Owwww. What was that for?” She twisted around in the bed, and Iris, not bothered by displaying her own body, quickly covered Xinyi with the sheet. “Uh… hey guys, Tate. Kyren. What are you doing here?”
Iris moved in closer to her companion. “They’re looking for Jack. Have you heard from her?”
Brows furrowed, Xinyi tilted her head to the side. “Not since she went out with you two yesterday. Hold on.” She reached over the side of the bed and grabbed her purse, pulling her phone from her purse.
“Ah hah!” she cried out and then frowned. “Oh. It seems like she went home for the weekend. Something about a family emergency.”
The tension in Tate’s shoulders eased, and some of my panic receded. Someone had heard from her. We knew where she was… sort of. From what I knew, Jack had human parents, ones that weren’t involved in the supernatural world.
“Do you know where her parents live?” Tate asked for us, already knowing where my mind was going.
Xinyi shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t. You might ask the office. Though they may not tell you since you’re not family. Maybe you could—”
Iris grabbed Xinyi shoulder. “Xinyi.”
“Thank you.” I nodded at them, determined to do exactly that.
Tate chased after me, his emotions just as heightened, a mix of excitement and anxiety fueling each step as we made our way to the main building. The sun had thankfully set, so I was no longer confined inside and could help with the search.
When we reached the main office, Tate grabbed my arm. “Maybe you should let me do the talking?”
I growled.
“Baby, you have to admit you’re not exactly a people person on a good day, and right now, you’re barely holding your shadows in check.” Tate arched a brow. “Or am I wrong?”
Grunting, I let Tate go first and focused on keeping my powers in check.
Tate spoke to the person behind the desk for a few minutes, pouring on the charm and sugar until he got an answer. Unfortunately, the answer wasn’t what we wanted.
“It looks like the only address they have is for Alora in Italy.” Tate sighed and tugged on his braids. “It’s doubtful that’s where Jack went.”
“Agreed.” I glared off to the side, frustration filling every inch of me. We were at a dead end again.
On the way back to the dorms, I caught sight of Professor Fawley. The hunter.
“Him,” I growled, stalking after him.
“Kyren?” Tate called out as he rushed after me. “What are you doing?”
I grabbed the professor’s shoulder and pinned him against the wall with my shadows before Tate could stop me. “Where is she?”
Students shuffled back from us, Tate telling them everything was fine and some other bullshit that would keep them back. I didn’t care what Tate told them. All that mattered was getting answers from the man in front of me.
“Who?” he had the audacity to ask, his lips lifting even as he said it.
“Do not play with me.” I tightened my grip on his neck, not choking not yet. “I will kill you.”
He laughed.
Tate grabbed my shoulder. “Kyren, you can’t. He’s not only a teacher but a hunter. You’ll get executed.”
“I don’t care,” I shot back, shrugging Tate’s hand off. “He’s going to talk.”
“Not if you choke him, he won’t,” Tate tried again, jerking at my shoulder. “You’re drawing a crowd, Kyren. We can’t help her if we’re dead.”
Baring my fangs at him, I released the professor.
He rubbed his throat with a laugh, causing to wince. “Wow, you really do care about her, don’t you?”
“Don’t test us,” Tate growled.
“Where is she?” I bit out again, my shadows undulating around me.
“Home.” He pushed his glasses up his nose.
“And where’s that?” Tate pressed, moving in closer to the professor. His own patience running short, adding to my own restlessness.
Shaking his head, he held his hands up before him. “If she didn’t tell you, I’m not going to.” I moved toward him, but he cut me off with his words. “You can torture me all you want, but it won’t get what you want. You should respect her wishes. She’ll come back… maybe.”
The last word made me want to punch him in his smug face. He was trying to provoke us now. That meant he knew she was alright or he would have been doing the same thing we were — trying to find her.
With one final glare, Tate and I left the professor there, standing in the hallway, the students all watching as if it were a mid-day drama show.
“What now?” Tate asked, a sinking despair dragging me down with him. “We can call in some favors, see if we can reach Alora?”
“No. As much as it pains me to admit, he’s right. If she wanted us there, she’d answer the phone.”
“So… we just wait?” Tate groaned, his shoulders sagging. “I hate waiting. Just put a silver bullet through my heart already.”
I understood the sentiment. Waiting for the woman I loved to contact me — to tell me she was okay — to explain why she left like that. It was like the worst kind of torture.
Not even the hunters could hurt me the way Jack Billings was right now.