Chapter 12 Pumpkin Fest
Pumpkin Fest
Rowen
Berating myself, I stacked boxes of pumpkin loaves into bins, ready to be loaded into my truck.
The image played on a loop: Amelie walking in and almost catching Sadie entirely exposed, at my mercy.
What was wrong with me? I should have placed a ward.
Thinking a locked door was good enough was idiotic.
Sadie looked so embarrassed meeting my friends. I had found that adorable. But if she wasn’t ready to be a couple in front of acquaintances around town, she certainly wasn’t ready to meet my sister.
And we hadn’t discussed our relationship. We’d hooked up twice. That wasn’t grounds to call her my girlfriend, even if that’s exactly what I thought of her as. Mine.
I’d have to make it up to her. Woo her. Convince her that I wanted her to be my girlfriend, my partner, my best friend. Already being away from her hurt.
My chest ached and my skin stung. Hissing, I rubbed the heel of my palm over my sternum. This felt like more than emotional pain. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and shook my head on the exhale.
Maybe I was coming down with something.
Gritting my teeth, I focused on my to-do list. Set up the booth. Sell pastries. See Sadie.
When she showed up, we would talk and everything would be okay. I’d be honest with her and somehow convince her to be with me.
I was a zombie setting up my stand. Other small businesses joined me until it started looking like a proper festival. Most of the activities were tomorrow or Sunday, but the streets would be filled with all of Pumpkin Hollow’s residents as the sun set.
An hour later, the first of my pumpkin loaves sold.
My friend Neil took two, his eyes on the witch who started working at the post office recently.
Her short blonde hair made me think of Sadie and my stomach churned.
Something might actually be wrong with me, but the festival was just getting started and she would be here soon.
Another thirty minutes passed, and Sadie didn’t appear. Anxiety buzzed under my skin, my intuition screaming at me. Something was wrong.
Swiping my phone open, I texted Amelie and Bastion, checking where they were, just in case.
Time crawled by, and I sold more pumpkin loaves, barely noticing my customers.
“Rowen, you okay?”
I blinked, my vision slowly focusing on Liz. Her black-and-white hair was tucked up in a bun.
“Sorry, yeah, I’m fine.”
“Where’s Sadie?” She cocked her head, one brow arched.
“She’ll be here soon.”
Liz took a bite of her pumpkin loaf, but stayed in front of my table. I folded my hands behind my back, trying to be patient.
“How often is she feeding from you?”
“What?” My mouth curved into a scowl. Liz was a good friend, but this wasn’t any of her business. “I don’t see—”
“I had a feeling you two would bond,” she said promptly.
“What are you talking about?” My hands moved to my hips.
“Rowen, you don’t know much about vampires, do you? If you share your blood with the same vampire regularly, it can bond your souls together.”
My mouth dropped open. “I don’t think so. Sadie didn’t say anything about that to me.”
Liz frowned. “Rowen, she might not know. She’s newly turned.”
“No. She’s all fifties. She’s an older vampire.”
Shaking her head, Liz stepped closer. “You couldn’t tell? She’s clearly only been a vampire for a few months. Her eyes still change color when she’s fed.”
The times her eyes looked purple or pink flashed through my mind.
I’d assumed she was an older vampire with plenty of resources. Suddenly the times she seemed confused, and the fact she drove an older, beat-up car made more sense.
And I’d treated her like a spoiled brat when she started the job. Guilt rose up, making me feel sicker.
“Well, if you guys have started to bond, you’ll be able to sense her emotions. And if she’s running late, she might feel stressed or something. Think about it.”
With a concerned look, Liz walked away, leaving me rubbing at my chest.
My skin itched, my stomach churned, and suddenly I was terrified the feelings weren’t coming from me. In a haze, I dialed Amelie and ordered her to get to the booth. Without waiting for her to arrive, I jogged back to the bakery to get my car keys.
She was staying outside of town, and I knew she didn’t have family nearby.
She must be staying at a nearby hotel. Everything blurred around me as I searched hotels on my phone and zoomed in.
There were a few options, but the nearest was a seedy motel.
I really hoped that wasn’t where she had been staying this whole time.
I should have asked. Should have known. A million shoulds.
My fingers drummed on the steering wheel, impatient as I drove through back streets to avoid Main Street and the Pumpkin Festival.
Once out on the open road, I fed more gas to the engine, pushing the speed limit. All of my focus was on finding Sadie. The city’s ward brushed over me like a soft breeze as I flew through the barrier.
Past the ward, the feeling of discomfort intensified. It had to be the bond forming between us.
Did Sadie really not know?
Increasing my speed, I raced down the darkened roads, cresting hills and hugging the curves. After ten minutes, it felt like something was tugging at my ribs, drawing me forward, like a magnetic pull.
A familiar car appeared around a bend, and I hit the brake, screeching to a slow crawl. Driving just past her, I flipped around and pulled my car behind hers, throwing it into Park and ripping the key out.
Sadie’s car looked empty, and my stomach swooped. Walking closer, I squinted, and saw a dark shape in the back seat. I’d never forgive myself if she was hurt…
Hesitantly, I opened the door. The shape was clearly humanoid, with a blanket draped over it, but it didn’t move. My pulse thrummed in my ears and throat.
Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead.
Gently, I tugged the blanket back over the head and shoulders, revealing a tangle of blonde curls and a very pale face. Her skin was blotchy and red, with peeling over her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose. She was sunburned, something that could be lethal to vampires.
Shit!
She left my bakery with plenty of time to get to the motel. What had happened?
Her chest rose and fell gently, as if she was sleeping.
Brushing her hair back, I murmured, “Sadie. Baby, are you okay?”
Grumbling, she turned, groggily opening her eyes. A slight sense of dizziness washed over me, and I had to believe the feeling was ten times worse for Sadie. And I could no longer deny a bond was forming between us.
“Rowen?” she asked weakly.
Tears streaked her face. Gently, I pushed the blanket down further. She was still in that cherry dress, and peeling burns covered her arms and shoulders.
My first instinct was to call for a healer, but she was a vampire.
Fresh blood should do the trick. Thank the Fates she’d fed from me recently, because that blood likely kept her alive, leaving partially healed burns instead of—I couldn’t even think of what might have happened if she’d still been starving.
“Baby, I need you to feed,” I said, sliding into the seat and pulling her upper body into my lap.
She groaned, and my shoulders tensed. I felt like scum for causing her more pain, but she needed to feed. Holding her back against me, I placed my wrist at her lips.
“Bite, sweetheart,” I begged. “Go ahead. You need it.”
“Rowen,” she said again, the word breathy, sounding like it took all of her effort to form the syllables.
“Sadie, bite me,” I murmured, curling over her to kiss her temple.
Her lips brushed my skin, and her fangs pricked. They pressed into my wrist, the puncture slow and painful. I didn’t care how much it hurt. She could have ripped my wrist open, sliced me with a rusty knife, anything if it meant she would be okay.
She didn’t keep her fangs in, and I was grateful to stay clearheaded. As she slowly drank, a thread of my blood slipped from her lips, running down the side of my arm and dripping onto my pants. It was the first time she’d been a messy eater.
This was my fault. If I’d handled things better, maybe she would have stayed with me yesterday. She’d be safe and healthy.
Something must have happened at the motel.
Never again.
She was moving in with me.
Unless she wanted her own place, then I would install UV film on all the windows.
Either way, once this was over and she was well, I would be visiting that motel and finding out what the hell they did to my girl.
As Sadie slowly drank, I muttered healing spells over her skin to help speed up her body’s natural repair process. The angry red splotches faded, and color returned to the rest of her skin.
Her tongue ran over my wrist, healing the punctures.
Groaning, Sadie pushed off of me and sat up, rubbing at her head with one hand.
“How did you find me?”
“You didn’t show up, and I felt—Sadie, I didn’t know, but I think we are bonding. Soul-bonding. That’s what Liz said.”
“You’re not making any sense,” she said, a tired but sweet smile brightening her face. My heart stuttered, relief rushing through my veins. “Slow down and explain, please. What do you mean, ‘soul-bonding’?”
Taking a slow breath, I tried to sort out my tumbling thoughts. “Did you know that if you feed from me regularly enough, it will bond us together? I think that’s starting, because I could feel you.”
Reaching out, she cupped my cheek and smiled fondly. “And you came to rescue me.”
“A little too late, obviously. What happened?”
She shrugged. “The motel kicked me out. We had a verbal arrangement that I would pay them when I got my first check, but he changed his mind, apparently.”
My hands balled into fists. “You could have asked. I would have paid you sooner.”
“I don’t want you to do that. It’s their fault for being so awful.” She shuddered.
I didn’t want to manhandle her when peeling burns still covered her shoulders, but I needed to hold her. Reaching out, I pressed against her ribs, guiding her against me. Her cheek rested in the crook of my neck.
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said. “You’re coming home with me for as long as you need. Forever, if you’re willing.”
“Rowen, we need to discuss the whole bond thing.”
“No, we don’t. We just let it happen,” I answered without thinking.
Sadie stiffened in my arms. Pulling back, she scowled at me. “We’ve hooked up twice—or three times, whatever. You didn’t even want your sister seeing us together. I’m certainly not your girlfriend, but you want a soul bond?” She drew out the words, her pitch rising.
Cringing, I stroked my hand down her thigh, over her dress. “I should have said something sooner. I was worried about pressuring you and scaring you off.”
“Communication is always a better choice, Rowen,” she growled.
“I’m sorry.” Leaning forward, I tried to kiss her, but she jerked back.
“Nope. We aren’t going to get distracted. We need to talk this out. Like we should have done yesterday.”
“You’re right.” Raking my hair back, I tried to pull words into logical, helpful sentences.
“I want you as my girlfriend. I want you to meet my family. When my sister showed up, I thought you’d be upset getting caught like that.
I imagined that wasn’t how you wanted to meet your boyfriend’s sister. ”
“You’re not wrong about that. But you clearly didn’t want her knowing about us.”
“Yeah, because we hadn’t talked about us yet.” Gnawing my bottom lip, I searched her face.
Slowly, her pinched expression relaxed. “You want me to meet her?”
“Yeah. And I want you to move in with me.”
“So that makes me, what? Your employee-slash-roommate with benefits?”
Her light laugh filled the car, and a tightness in my chest uncoiled. She was okay, and she was mine.
“We can start with girlfriend, but I doubt that’ll be enough of a term for very long, especially as our soul bond strengthens.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. I could see thoughts spinning behind those beautiful eyes, currently a shade between pink and purple. Taking her hand in mine, I kissed her fingertips and then her palms. “You’re healing well, but you might need a bit more blood.”
“Why don’t you take me back to your apartment and I’ll feed again?” she whispered.
“Deal. I’ll send someone to get your car tomorrow, okay?”
She nodded, letting me guide her out of her car and into my passenger seat. A few minutes later, I had her luggage in the back of my truck and her car locked and secured. Sliding into the driver's seat, I smiled over at her.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Me too,” she said softly, leaning back into the seat and closing her eyes.
“We’re going home,” I said softly, settling a hand on her thigh.
“Sounds good,” she said, her voice trailing off.