5. Alena
FIVE
ALENA
Tainted.
The word pierces my weak, pitiful heart like a shard of ice.
Ripping open every old wound I had so carefully stitched closed over the years.
Tainted.
Even among the damned, I have been found lacking.
Unworthy and unwanted.
The man…
No.
The vampire that held me in his arms and reassured me I was safe, rips himself away with a look of horror on his beautiful face.
Staring into Raphael’s eyes, dark brown eyes filling with disgust and revulsion, pain floods through me.
A pain so great it feels as if my very heart is seizing.
I don’t know him, and he scares the living crap out of me, but to have him look at me in such a way somehow hurts more than every other pain I’ve ever experienced before combined.
It hurts more than every beating I’ve ever received from Sister Agatha and Jeffrey.
It hurts more than my mother never loving me.
More than my father abandoning me.
“Your blood is tainted,” he whispers again, twisting the shard of ice deeper.
And leaving no doubt he absolutely loathes me.
On his feet now, towering over me, he seems to swell up with fury.
And time slows down.
I watch his hands clench into fists, his dark eyes flash to red, and his fang-filled mouth open in a monstrous roar.
Shrinking back in terror, I slap my hands over my ears.
The other vampire, the one with the black medical bag, is suddenly standing between us. Moving faster than I can blink.
He seems to be trying to calm my furious rescuer down, lips moving fast and motioning toward me frantically.
But whatever he’s saying isn’t working.
Chin dropping, Raphael’s gaze meets mine again.
Red and burning with rage.
He glares at me like he wants to rip my head off.
It’s absolutely horrifying, but a dark part of me hopes he actually follows through.
A dark part of me wants him to end it all and put me out of my misery.
At this point, I have nothing to live for.
I’ve been rejected by everyone, even the monsters.
Pain suddenly flashes across his face, a pain that echoes all the pain I’m feeling, and he takes a step toward me.
But then the other vampire puts his hand on his chest to stop him.
What happens next happens so fast my eyes can’t process it.
The door explodes and the vampire that was between us is now sprawled beside me on the bed.
I search anxiously for any sign of Raphael, but he’s gone. Only destruction left in his wake.
The bed beneath me vibrates as another monstrous roar sounds out from somewhere deeper in the house.
Dropping my hands from my ears, I move away from the vampire that tried to protect me, sliding down until I’m on the floor.
Some ancient instinct warning me to put distance between us.
“What the fuck?!” someone shouts. “Someone subdue him!”
Out of thin air, another vampire appears in the doorway, the splinters of the shattered door crunching beneath his boots.
I recognize this vampire, with his honey-colored hair and striking features, as the one Raphael referred to as his sire.
Whatever that means.
Raphael’s sire looks at me then at the vampire still sprawled on the bed.
“Fuck,” he growls before disappearing as fast as he appeared.
Another male voice shouts, “I have him cornered in the—" only to suddenly cut off.
The foundation of the house shakes and it sounds like something massive slammed into the walls.
“Don’t try to stop him!” Raphael’s sire calls out in warning. “Let him go before he brings the whole house down on top of us!”
“Are you all right?” the vampire that was on the bed only a moment ago asks.
He’s kneeling down in front of me now, his keen eyes roaming over my body.
My heart jumps into my throat and my mind feels dangerously close to cracking.
This is just… too much.
Waking up in Raphael’s arms after who knows how long of being chained up and drugged… his rejection… and all these other vampires moving and acting faster than my brain can comprehend.
Shaking my head back and forth, I scoot back until I’m pressing into the wall.
The vampire kneeling in front of me scowls. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to help you.”
Hysterical laughter bubbles out of my mouth.
I don’t have to be afraid? How could I not be? Even if I wanted to trust this vampire after all the other shit that has happened to me, there are too many instincts ruling me.
Ancient, primal instincts telling me I’m in danger.
Being so close to him is the equivalent of being close to a lion or tiger.
My eyes may be fooled into believing he’s human, but my subconscious recoils at all the sheer perfection of his appearance .
Finding it disturbing and utterly alien.
The too smooth, unblemished skin. The hair without a single strand out of place.
So many small, imperfect details are missing. Like all the lines and creases that make a person human .
“Andrei,” a soft, feminine voice says from the doorway. “She’s soulmarked. She can’t help being terrified of you.”
The vampire in front of me, Andrei, casts an irritated look over his shoulder. “You shouldn’t be here, Mother, it isn’t safe.”
The stunning, blonde-haired woman in the doorway takes a step into the room.
“Raphael won’t hurt me,” Chloe says, her stormy gray eyes clouding over and looking far away. “He doesn’t want to hurt any of us… he’s just in so much…. pain.”
That last word—pain— is exhaled as if she too aches and can barely breathe past it.
Do vampires even breathe? my cracking psyche demands.
Or have I gone insane and this is all another drug-filled dream?
Maybe I’m still in chains and this is my imagination going crazy.
“Can’t you feel it?” Chloe asks, her too-perfect features tightening into a tortured mask. “He’s burning alive… and the beast has broken his chains…”
Another roar sounds out followed by an explosion of force.
Chloe sways on her feet and her eyes grow even cloudier.
Andrei curses and then he’s standing in front of her.
Moving in a blur.
His voice is thick with worry as he says, “Mother…” and gently grabs her by the shoulders.
Chloe tips her head back and peers up at Andrei.
“The world will pay for what they’ve done to her,” she whispers in horror. “We will all pay.”
My blood chills at her declaration, and the annoying throb near my heart grows stronger.
Just as I reach up to rub at the spot on my chest another vampire appears.
“Raphael’s gone and Asher is chasing after him,” he says gravely, then frowns at Chloe. “What’s wrong with Mom?”
Chloe shakes her head a little, chasing away the clouds in her eyes. Then she straightens and gently extracts herself from Andrei’s hands.
“Nothing is wrong with me, Caden,” she says calmly. “I’m fine.”
“Bull—" Caden starts to say but stops when Chloe glares at him.
“I’m not the one you should be worried about,” she says curtly.
All eyes turn to me at once, and I freeze up, my lungs stilling behind my ribs.
Too petrified to breathe, I struggle to think of a way to escape this madness.
Especially when yet another vampire appears out of thin air and stands silently beside Caden.
How many are there?! my mind screams.
“She is in a great deal of distress, and I fear what will happen if we don’t calm her down,” Chloe says.
Caden narrows his eyes at me, and I feel a light tugging sensation behind my ribs as he says firmly, “Breathe .”
Shaking my head, I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs.
Chloe frowns at Caden. “She’s marked. Compelling her against her will won’t work.”
“Oh… right,” Caden drawls out and scowls.
“Unless…” Chloe says thoughtfully.
Separating from the group, she walks slowly over to me, as if she’s purposely concentrating on how she moves.
Somewhere under all my fear and anxiety, I appreciate the effort, but it’s not enough to put me at ease.
The instincts ruling over me cause my heart to race faster as she nears. I try to scoot back, but I’m already against the wall.
There’s nowhere to go.
“Alena,” Chloe says softly as she kneels down in front of me. “I know you’re afraid. Believe me, I know. But you have nothing to fear from us.”
Squeezing my legs harder, I just stare at her, my breath coming faster and faster.
“I also know you can’t help but be afraid of us. That you can’t control it. It’s natural. It’s instinct,” she says gently. “It’s meant to protect you but now it’s only hurting you. I don’t want you to hurt. If you let me, I can help you.”
It takes me several tries to ask, “How?”
Is she going to give me drugs, like the others did?
“I can compel you to not be afraid, but only if you give into it,” she says.
When I just stare at her, not understanding what she’s asking, she explains. “Caden just tried to compel you. Did you feel it?”
Was that the tugging sensation?
“I think so…” I pant, not entirely sure.
“This is why Raph should be here instead of fucking rampaging through the city,” Caden says angrily from the doorway. “She shouldn’t be going through this. He should be here to make her feel safe.”
Chloe shoots Caden a dirty look, and the vampire beside him, the silent one, nudges him hard in the ribs.
“Ow, Maddox! It’s the truth!” Caden says defensively. “If he was here, taking care of her, she wouldn’t be going through any of this!”
Chloe’s eyes turn back to me. “Ignore him. The men… they don’t like to see us upset. It greatly bothers them.”
“You’re damn right it bothers me,” Caden says, growing more irritated. “I can’t stand to see her like this… The way her heart is racing makes me want to break something.”
Andrei puts a hand on Caden’s shoulder. “I feel you, brother. Let’s step out for a moment and give the women some privacy.”
Caden glares at Andrei’s hand for a second, but ultimately nods his head in reluctant agreement. “Fine. But if Asher doesn’t punch Raphael in the face for all this shit, I will.”
“I think we all want to punch Raphael in the face right now,” Andrei murmurs before the three male vampires disappear from the doorway.
“We can take turns,” Caden says from farther away. “I call first.”
Chloe shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “Boys.”
I wish the other vampires leaving would relieve some of the anxiety squeezing my chest, but with Chloe still so close I can’t relax.
Leveling me with her gaze, Chloe says, “I want to compel you to feel better, but I can’t unless you allow it.”
“Why? Why do you want me to feel better?” I breathlessly demand. “Why don’t you just drug me like the others did?”
My vision is becoming hazy now, everything starting to blur together. Probably from breathing too fast and all the crap still in my system.
I can feel the remnants of all the stuff the other vampires injected me with clogging up my veins like thick sludge.
But I stare hard at her, forcing my eyes to focus so I can catch any hint of deception in her expression.
If she lies to me, I’ll know it…
Her face tightens with anger. “We will not drug you or abuse you. The ones who did that to you are dead.”
“And if they weren’t, we’d kill them again!” Caden calls out in fury.
There’s a loud thump, like someone hit something hard.
“There are enough holes in the walls thanks to Raphael. We don’t need you adding to them,” Andrei grumbles.
“Well, he’s not here to let me put a hole in his face, is he?” Caden grumbles back. “Besides, the place could use some redecorating.”
Chloe takes a breath, calming herself, and again I wonder why she’s doing it. Does she really need to breathe?
“Alena,” she says and grabs my hands, causing me to nearly jump out of my flesh. “You are family. We only want to protect you and take care of you.”
She doesn’t know it but calling me family is probably the worst thing she could say to me.
I try to jerk my hands back, but she doesn’t let me. Her strength much greater than mine.
“Your suffering is our suffering, and you are suffering needlessly,” she says softer. “Let me help you.”
I open my mouth, ready to tell her no . I don’t trust her, despite what she says.
But then she begs, “Please,” like I actually have a choice.
I see no deception in her eyes, only her pleading with me. If she really wanted to, she could easily overpower me.
Every vampire in this house could overpower me, but so far none of them have tried to hurt me. They’ve done nothing but show me concern and courtesy.
When was the last time anyone did that for me? Not since Father McCall rescued me…
My heart has been racing so hard for so long, I fear I might vomit when I say, “Fine. How do I allow it?”
Chloe gives my hands a little squeeze and looks relieved. “When you feel the urge to resist, don’t. It’s that easy. I know it sounds weird, but I’ve done it myself.”
It sounds completely ridiculous to me, but I dip my chin in acknowledgement.
“Okay,” she says, as if she’s nervous. “I’m going to command you to be calm and not to fear us. If you give in, it should help you relax. Are you ready?”
I doubt whatever she wants to do is going to work, given how amped up I am, but I dip my chin again, regardless.
“ Calm , Alena,” Chloe says somehow both firmly and gently. “ Be at ease with us. You have no reason to fear us.”
I feel the hard tug behind my ribs and something inside me wants to resist. But I focus on my need for relief. I want to be calm. I want to be in control of my own emotions and body.
I don’t want to be pushed up against the wall like a scared crybaby without a fighting chance.
Giving into that want, a wave of warmth flows over me, almost like I was drugged again, but not quite…
Only the intense anxiety and fear vanishes. My muscles relax and my heartbeat slows.
Chloe grins at me, showing me her fangs. “It worked.”
I stare at her fangs, at the glistening white enamel and razor-sharp points, and oddly don’t feel even the slightest twinge of fear that she might bite me.
“It did,” I agree, enormously grateful to finally have some relief.
I can breathe. I can see clearly now. And most importantly, I can think .
“Good.” Chloe giggles. “I wasn’t sure it would.”
That giggle of hers has me looking at her more closely.
How old is she?
It’s hard to tell, given how smooth and perfect her skin is, but I believe she might be around my age. She might even be a little younger.
Noticing my attention on her mouth, Chloe quickly presses her lips together.
“Sorry, I’ve only been a vampire for a few days,” she says shyly with only a hint of a fang.
Her apology makes a connection in my brain I didn’t realize I was missing.
Chloe… who has only been a vampire for a few days... Is she the same woman Father McCall wanted to rescue?
Wait… When did Father McCall tell me he wanted to rescue her?
“What’s wrong? Is the compulsion wearing off?” Chloe asks as my heart rate picks up again.
Racking my brain, I try to remember what happened to Father McCall and how I ended up here.
But only end up drawing a blank.
The last thing I can remember is him thanking me.
Everything after that is… gone.
I can’t even remember how I ended up in the hands of the vampires who kept drugging me into submission.
Only bits and pieces of what those vampires did to me whenever I woke up.
“I hate to interrupt, but if Alena is calmer now, I need to have a look at that cut on her hip,” Andrei says as he suddenly appears by Chloe.
I blink at him in surprise but otherwise feel no fear over his supernatural speed.
His size, on the other hand, is quite intimidating. I was too freaked out to notice it before, but he’s very tall and bulky.
He may be wearing a suit, but with his size and beard, I can easily picture him chopping logs in a forest somewhere.
Chloe nods her head at Andrei and scoots over, giving him more room but remaining close. “Please do.”
Andrei sets his black medical bag down on the floor and asks, “Is it all right if I touch you to examine your wound, Alena?”
I blink at him in surprise again. He’s actually asking me my permission…
Andrei frowns at me. “If you’d rather I not, I can walk Chloe through it.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. You can examine me.”
Chloe gives my hands a reassuring squeeze, and I realize she’s been holding onto me this whole time.
“I’ll do my best not to hurt you,” Andrei says as he moves even closer and bends down, peering at my hip.
I can’t see anything due to his massive head being in the way.
I have no idea how big or small the cut is, but, “It doesn’t hurt at all. I didn’t even realize I had it until…”
Unable to speak Raphael’s name out loud, my throat closes up.
“Are you sure?” Andrei asks skeptically. “It looks pretty deep.”
He straightens with an expression of distaste on his face and gives Chloe a look I can’t decipher.
Chloe peers intently back at him, and I get the feeling they might be communicating privately in some way.
I look down at my hip and see a shard of wood sticking through my pants.
“I should feel that…” I murmur and look back up. “Shouldn’t I?”
“Feel what?” Caden asks, then he’s crowding into the space.
He glances down at my hip and his face seems to pale. Which, I must say, is a very strange look on a vampire’s face. “What the fuck, Andrei?”
Andrei’s face blanks, as if he’s hiding his emotions. “It could be shock. Do you feel anything, Alena?”
I feel Chloe squeezing my hands tighter and everyone’s eyes boring into me like laser beams.
Squirming, I wish Chloe would let go of my hands so I could rub at my chest. “Yes, there’s a throbbing sensation near my heart. Perhaps I’m hurt there, too.”
Andrei and Caden frown deeper at my answer, but Chloe’s eyes widen.
“A throbbing sensation?” she asks. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I answer, figuring there’s no reason to hide it from them if they’re willing to give me medical attention.
I tug on my hands again and she finally gets the hint. Once she releases me, I yank on the collar of my shirt and peer down.
Fortunately, there are no shards of wood in my chest. There’s no cut or other injury. Not even a scratch.
My skin is completely intact.
But there is a red stain between my breasts that wasn’t ever there before. A stain in the shape of a figure eight.
“What is it?” Caden asks, as I stare at the mark in horror.
“It’s the mark,” Chloe answers for me.
It shouldn’t be a surprise. It shouldn’t scare the crap out of me. I mean, given everything that just happened, it makes sense.
But seeing it with my own eyes for the first time, the thing I’ve always feared and dreaded would happen, makes me feel sick.
There is truly no going back now…
I am forever damned.
“Is it throbbing right now?” Chloe asks.
Looking back up at her, unable to speak, I slowly nod my head.
Chloe looks at Andrei and Caden. “Is Raphael still close by?”
“Father and Raphael are dancing through the streets, having a merry time,” a new voice sing-songs from the doorway. “I think they got confused, Mother. We are not in France, nor are we experiencing a revolution.”
Everyone turns, but I can’t see who is speaking with Chloe in front of me.
Chloe visibly stiffens. “What streets, Ambrose?”
Craning around her, I see a vampire with long white hair dancing into the room.
He’s dressed in an outfit straight out of the 1700s, and I’m pretty sure if Chloe didn’t compel me to not be afraid of them, just seeing his face would give me a heart attack.
His eyes are bright red and his skin is so white it’s practically translucent, showing all the veins in his flesh. Holding his arms as if he’s holding an invisible dance partner, he spins and twirls his way over to us.
Stopping near Chloe, he bends forward as if he’s dipping his invisible partner. “They’ll reach the church soon and pay their tithes with heads…”
“Fuck,” Andrei and Caden growl at the same time.
“What church, Ambrose?” Chloe asks, her voice rising with alarm.
Ambrose straightens then makes a shoving motion, as if he’s pushing his invisible partner away.
Turning toward Chloe, his movements perfect fluid grace, he gives her a bow and a fang-filled grin. “Your old church, Mother.”
“So that’s why he’s shutting me out,” Chloe mutters. “How rude.”
A blur of motion happens in front of me, my eyes unable to follow.
But when it settles down, I see Ambrose holding Chloe in his arms like he was holding his invisible dance partner.
“I agree, Mother,” Ambrose says sympathetically. “It was very rude of them to not invite us. I do enjoy a good party. Especially when there are nuns involved. But we must respect Father’s wishes.”
Chloe gives Ambrose a tight, annoyed smile and does a quick side-step, as if she means to escape his hold. “I think we should both join them, anyway. After all, it is… was … my place of worship. I would like to pay my own tithe, and perhaps a bit of penitence.”
Ambrose uses Chloe’s little side-step to push her out farther with one arm. Then he begins to twirl her around. “I want to agree, Mother. Your every wish and desire is my command, but our dear sister needs you more.”
Bright red eyes landing on me, he stares at me as he continues to spin her around. “Mirror, mirror on the wall… the evil king has poisoned the fairest apple of them all… and sickened our poor, unsuspecting Raphael…”
“Poisoned?” Andrei looks at me with wide, concerned eyes. “Poisoned with what, Ambrose?”
Why does he think Ambrose is talking about me? I’m not an apple…
Unless all vampires refer to humans as food?
Chloe tries to yank herself out of Ambrose’s grasp, but he tugs her back in, close to his chest. “Can you not smell it? She smells like… Mother . If Mother was left to rot.”
Andrei and Caden go completely still, frozen like they’ve suddenly turned into statues.
“What are you saying, Ambrose?” Chloe demands. “Explain it so it makes sense.”
“She smells like that one you still hold dear. She smells like Isaac before Father turned him.” Shoving Chloe away, Ambrose gives her another spin. “Cyanide and ambrosia souring in the sun.”
“No fucking way.” Caden shakes his head in disbelief. “No fucking way they’re feeding the Marked blood. That would be…”
“Too fucked up,” Andrei finishes for him.
Caden moves into Chloe’s abandoned space and peers hard into my eyes. “Tell me they didn’t feed you blood.”
The way everyone, save for Ambrose, is looking at me with varying degrees of disgust, almost makes me give into the tug behind my ribs.
Are they all going to flip out like Raphael did if I tell them the truth? Are they going to call me tainted and shame me for something I had no control over?
Did drinking Jeffrey’s blood somehow forever ruin me in some way?
A white streak blurs in front of my eyes, then Ambrose is snarling and snapping in Caden’s face. “Stop it, you’re scaring our little sister!”
The look on Ambrose’s face is so savage and animalistic, Caden takes a step back.
“I’m not trying to scare her, dammit!” Caden says defensively. “But we need to know what was done to her!”
“Boys,” Chloe scolds like she’s scolding children. “None of this helping!”
“I agree,” Andrei says, watching Ambrose and Caden warily. “Alena is still injured and needs attention. I can’t focus on her if I have to worry about you two ripping off each other’s heads.”
Once again, it seems I’ve caused strife within this… family. Putting them at odds with each other and creating a mess.
Maybe it would be best if I left.
Ambrose twists his neck around to look at me. “Are you in pain, little sister?”
The movement is so snakelike, so creepy, I want to freak out but can’t.
Caden gives Ambrose a little shove, saving me the need to answer him. “It doesn’t matter if she hurts. She’s injured and needs to be fixed.”
Ambrose’s attention zeroes in on Andrei. “Fix her,” he hisses.
Andrei flashes his fangs at Ambrose, then turns to his black bag and snaps it open. Grabbing out a few things, he turns back to me.
“I’m going to pull the shard of wood out. I’m sorry if it hurts,” he says, setting all the stuff he pulled out in his lap.
I nod, ready to get this over with.
Andrei bends over my hip and it seems like only a split-second passes before he straightens with the shard of wood pinched between his fingers.
Caden gags. “Fuck, that smells terrible.”
Ambrose snarls at Caden.
Chloe lifts her hand and presses it over her face.
Mortification fills me and my eyes burn with tears. I can’t smell what they smell, but their reactions alone fill me with shame.
“Yes,” Andrei says very slowly. “But she doesn’t smell exactly like Isaac. There’s something different to her scent.”
Wrapping the shard of wood up in a tissue, he sets it to the side.
Then he does the unthinkable. He bends over my hip again and takes a deep, audible breath in.
“There’s something else to it…” he says thoughtfully after a few seconds. “Something I can’t quite place yet.”
Sitting back up, he grabs a long, white swab out of his lap. “Do you mind if I take a sample?”
I wave my hand at him and choke out, “By all means.”
Andrei pauses and tilts his head slightly to the side. “Did I hurt you when I removed the shard?”
I shake my head. I didn’t feel a thing.
He frowns. “Is it the smell that’s bothering you?”
“No.” I frown right back at him.
His thick brows furrow together. “Then why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“Because you’re saying she stinks, you clueless jerks!” Chloe cries out in my defense.
“Oh,” Andrei says, and at least has the decency to look ashamed.
“Don’t worry, little sister,” Ambrose sing-songs. “Your fragrance doesn’t bother me at all.”
Before Caden can add his piece, I plead, “Can you please clean me up so I can leave?”
Everyone does that thing where they seem to freeze in time, becoming utterly motionless.
Again, I feel like I should be freaked out, and not being freaked out is starting to piss me off.
Chloe is the first to move, walking slowly back over to us. “You can’t leave, Alena.”
Tipping my head back to look up at her, I ask, “Why not?”
“Because you’re Raphael’s soulmarked,” Caden answers.
My irritation over this whole situation increasing, I shoot Caden a glare. “I didn’t ask you.”
“He’s right,” Chloe says with a touch of sadness.
I turn my glare on her just as Ambrose decides to add his own opinion.
“The precious jewels are locked up tight in our chest and must be protected at all costs.”
“Is he calling me a jewel?” I direct at Chloe.
“With him?” Caden says with a shrug. “Who knows?”
I grind my teeth together, becoming even more frustrated.
I don’t want to be here. There’s no reason for me to remain here. Especially with all these crazy vampires.
I need to get moving… I need to find somewhere safe, preferably far away, and figure out what happened after Father McCall and I escaped the church.
He could be out there right now waiting for me or suffering some horrible fate he needs rescued from. What if those vampires that had me also have him?
The longer I sit here, the more I feel like I shouldn’t be here. There’s a need in me to move , to go back to the city we were in, that’s becoming stronger and stronger every second that passes.
Andrei suddenly decides to lower the swab in his hand down to my hip, and I jerk back.
“I’ve changed my mind about the sample,” I say and push my hand against the floor to stand.
“You can’t leave, Alena,” Chloe says.
“Why? Raphael doesn’t even want me,” I snap as I get to my feet.
And even if he did, I still wouldn’t want to stay.
Not only because I can’t abandon Father McCall.
I don’t want to be turned into a vampire.
“He wants you, Alena,” Chloe says. “Believe me, he wants you more than anything.”
“Really?” I sneer at her. “You could have fooled me.”
“I know what he did looks bad,” she rushes out. “But I felt his emotions. I felt—"
“We need to leave right now,” a new vampire says as he steps into the room. “Asher’s orders.”
“Matthias?” Caden says, spinning around to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s no longer safe here,” Matthias says. “Maddox is pulling the cars up.”
Chloe frowns. “Should I start packing?”
Matthias shakes his head. “There’s no time. We need to leave immediately.”
“But the sun has fully risen. Won’t it hurt us?” Chloe asks.
“No,” Matthias answers. “The cars will protect us.”
Chloe stares at him for over a minute, as if she’s doing that silent communicating thing, then she nods her head in acceptance.
Walking over to me, she reaches for my hand.
I yank my hand back. “I’m not going with you.”
“Alena, please don’t be like this,” Chloe says. “We can discuss this more later.”
Shaking my head, I take a step back.
Matthias growls, “Just grab her, we don’t have time for this. We need to leave before we’re attacked.”
Chloe hesitates, clearly not comfortable with the idea.
But Caden has no problem with it.
Moving faster than I can blink, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
It takes me a few seconds to reorient myself and figure out what happened.
But once I do, I start pounding on his back and tell him to, “Let me go!”
Ignoring me, Caden asks Matthias, “Where are we moving to?”
“The house in Boston,” Matthias answers.
“No,” I moan in terror, my body turning so cold it burns .
I can’t go back there. I won’t.