Vampire War (Vampire Bite #3)

Chapter One

Annika

The morning was perfect, almost too perfect.

I was sitting curled up on the worn armchair, with a book resting open in my lap. Lucas was stretched out on the sofa, one arm draped lazily over the back. His other hand was holding a glass of whiskey. It was a rare indulgence of his.

“I could get used to this,” Lucas said.

I smiled, feeling that familiar shiver down my spine every time we were alone, every time I heard that low rumble in his voice.

“Don’t jinx it,” I warned him playfully.

He smirked, his dark eyes gleaming. “What’s life without a little risk?”

Before I could retort, the door burst open with a loud bang. My heart leapt, and the book slid from my lap.

“Mama! Papa!”

Aiden burst into the room like a tornado, his dark curls bouncing as he bounded toward us. He was barefoot and his shorts were slightly muddy as if he’d raced through the garden without a care in the world. That wouldn’t be a surprise.

“Can I go to Peter’s house?” he asked, his words tumbling over one another in excitement. “Please, please, please! He just got a new puppy, and I have to see it!”

I sat up straighter, my heart already sinking. “Aiden, it’s getting late—”

“It’s not dark yet,” he interrupted, his dark, hazel eyes wide and pleading. “And Peter’s house is so close. I’ll be careful, I promise!”

I hesitated, glancing out the window. The sun hung low in the sky, painting everything in soft gold. It was safe.

Of course, it was safe. We’d made sure of that, but the idea of letting him wander, even for something so innocent, twisted my stomach in knots.

“I don’t know...” I began, my voice trailing off.

“Oh, let him go,” Lucas said, his tone light. “He’s just a kid, Annika. Let him be one.”

I turned to him, frowning. “And what if something happens? You know—”

“Nothing will happen,” he said, his calm, steady gaze meeting mine. “He knows the rules, and it’s not far. Peter’s parents are probably watching the path as we speak.”

“He’s eight,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended.

“Exactly,” Lucas countered, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “Not a baby anymore. We can’t keep him under lock and key forever.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. The argument bubbled up inside of me but iteventually faltered under his easy confidence. He always had a way of pulling the tension from me, but that didn’t mean I liked giving in.

“Mama,” Aiden said, his voice soft now and his hands clasped in front of him in a show of exaggerated innocence. “Please?”

I sighed, defeated. “Fine, but only for an hour, and you come straight home. No detours, no wandering, and if Peter’s parents say it’s time to leave, you don’t argue.”

“I won’t! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Before I could say anything else, he darted forward, pressing a quick, sticky kiss to my cheek. He turned to Lucas, offering him just a smile.

“Love you both!” he called, already halfway to the door.

“Aiden!” I said sharply. He froze, glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes.

“What?”

“Shoes,” I said.

He groaned dramatically, stomping over to grab them, shoving his dirty feet into the worn leather without bothering to undo the laces. Then he was gone, slamming the door behind him with a force that made the windows rattle.

The silence left in his wake was almost deafening.

Lucas chuckled, leaning back into the couch and pulling me with him. “He’s like a storm,” he said, his voice tinged with pride.

“He’s too much like you,” I muttered, shaking my head but unable to stop the small smile tugging at my lips.

“And yet, somehow, you manage to love us both,” he teased, his hand finding mine and lacing our fingers together. “Now, come here.”

I sat next to him, allowing his arms to embrace me. I always loved when he did that. I felt cherished and safe here, in his arms. But now, my heart was not with me. It left with Aiden as always, and I couldn’t stop worrying, although I knew he was safe. In fact, there was no safer place on earth than our little town.

I had no idea when we fell asleep embraced like that, but when I opened my eyes, the warmth of the fire had faded into a faint glow.

I sat up so quickly that my head spun. “He’s not back,” I elbowed Lucas awake.

He stirred, stretching lazily. It took him a moment to acknowledge what I said. “He’s probably still at Peter’s. You know how kids lose track of time.”

“But it’s late,” I snapped, already on my feet. The darkness outside the window pressed against the glass, almost taunting me. “He promised he’d be back. I told him to come back.”

Lucas rose, his movements far too slow for the urgency pounding in my chest. “Annika, it’s fine,” he said, brushing a hand over my arm. “He’s with Peter but we’ll go get him if it’ll make you feel better.”

I didn’t reply. Instead, I grabbed my coat and yanked it over my shoulders. Lucas followed me out the door, much calmer than I was. He said nothing as we walked the narrow path to Peter’s cottage.

I had no idea why I was so worried. True, it was not like Aiden to be late. I’d drilled punctuality into him ever since he could walk, reminding him how important it was to do what we promised we would. But Lucas was right. He was just a child and children had a tendency to forget themselves.

Every inch of ground beneath our feet set my nerves further on edge.

“He’s going to get an earful,” I muttered, more to myself than to Lucas. “Wandering off, making us worry. What was he thinking?”

“He’s eight, Annika,” Lucas said in a tone he knew I needed. “He was playing with his friend. Don’t turn this into something it’s not.”

“Something it’s not?” I whirled on him. “It’s dark, Lucas. He’s not back. And it’s not like him to just—” My voice broke, and I swallowed the rest of my words.

I had a million scenarios in my mind, and I didn’t want to give voice to a single one of them.

Lucas sighed, his hand brushing mine as if to steady me. “We’ll find him. He’s probably still laughing about that puppy.”

I nodded, but his words didn’t ease the cold knot in my stomach.

When Peter’s cottage came into view, I almost ran to the door. I rapped hard against the wood, my pulse even louder in my ears.

Reeba, Peter’s mother, answered, her smile bright and welcoming. That is, until she saw my face.

“Annika! Lucas!” she greeted, but then her brow furrowed. “Is everything all right?”

I forced a thin smile. “Is Aiden still here?”

Her expression flickered with surprise. “Oh, no, he left over an hour ago. I thought he’d be home by now. It’s only a ten-minute walk, isn’t it?”

The world tilted beneath me. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“An hour?” Lucas asked, his voice calm but with an edge of steel.

Reeba nodded, concern creeping into her voice. “He and Peter were playing for a while, but he said he didn’t want to be late. I assumed he’d go straight home.”

I felt like someone grabbed me by the throat and was squeezing tighter and tighter every time I exhaled. My knees threatened to give out.

“He hasn’t,” I said in a trembling voice. “He didn’t come home.”

Reeba’s face paled. “That’s… strange. I don’t know where he could have wandered off to. That doesn’t sound like him.”

“I’ll check the path,” Lucas said, already stepping back from the door. His voice was steady, but his movements were sharp and precise.

“I’m coming with you,” I said, the panic bubbling just beneath the surface.

“Annika—”

“I said I’m coming.”

Lucas didn’t argue. I barely heard Peter’s mother offering to help as we turned back toward the path. My mind raced, and every terrible possibility clawed at me, each one worse than the last.

He knows the way. He’s careful. He promised.

Several of the townspeople joined the search when they heard what happened. I barely acknowledged them but the truth was, without them, we wouldn’t be able to cover the grounds. The forest was endless. The path we’d walked countless times by daylight had turned into a nightmare of twisting shadows and suffocating silence. Every rustle of leaves, every crack of a branch, sent my heart racing with hope and dread.

“Aiden!” I called again, my voice raw, the name tearing from my throat. The only answer was the whisper of the wind through the trees.

Lanterns bobbed in the black night, Aiden’s name echoing.

“He’s out there,” I kept saying, more to myself than anyone else. “He has to be.”

The words felt hollow. With every passing moment, the certainty I clung to slipped further and further from my grasp.

The search stretched on, hours blending into what felt like days. My legs ached, my throat burned, and the chill of the night seeped into my bones. But I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. Not until—

“Annika.”

Lucas’s voice was low, but it cut through the noise around me. I turned to see him standing still.

“What?” I demanded, my voice sharp and desperate. “Why are you stopping?”

His eyes locking onto mine. “We’ve searched everywhere. We need to go back.”

“No,” I said immediately, shaking my head. “No, we haven’t. There are places we haven’t looked yet. He’s out here, Lucas. We just need to—”

“Annika.” His voice softened, and it shattered something inside me.

The world seemed to tilt, the ground beneath me unsteady. I shook my head again, tears spilling freely now.

“No. He’s here. He’s close. I can feel it.”

Lucas stepped closer, his hands resting on my arms, grounding me. “We’ll keep looking,” he said quietly, but I could see the pain in his eyes. “But not like this. Not tonight. You need rest. You can’t help him like this.”

I pulled away from him angrily, the fire in my chest flaring against the cold grip of reality. But deep down, I knew he was right. I was exhausted, just like the rest of them, but worse yet, I was going mad.

Lucas and I walked back to the cottage in silence. The quiet was suffocating, each step heavier than the last. When the small house came into view, its warm glow felt wrong, as if it were mocking us.

Inside, the air was still. His little jacket hung neatly on the hook where he’d left it. The toy he’d forgotten that morning still sat on the table. Everything was as it had been, as if nothing had happened.

Except he wasn’t here.

I sank onto the sofa, the weight of it all crashing down on me. I couldn’t stop crying. Lucas stood in the doorway, his face a mask of barely contained grief. For a long moment, he didn’t move. Then he crossed the room and knelt in front of me, his hands covering mine.

“We’ll find him,” he said.

I shook my head, unable to meet his gaze. “He’s gone, Lucas. He’s gone.”

He pulled me into his arms, his strength the only thing keeping me from collapsing entirely. His silence said what he couldn’t bring himself to say aloud.

Aiden was gone.