Chapter 12
Kate fixed her eyes on her new phone for the third time in an hour, her thumb hovering over her parents’ contact information.
The device felt light and fragile in her hands, like she might crush it if she wasn’t careful.
Everything required such precise control now; her strength, her senses, even her emotions.
It had been weeks since she’d spoken to her family. The excuses were running thin.
“You’re going to wear a hole in that screen,” Luc observed from across Sophia’s sitting room. He was spread out on the couch with his ankles crossed, where he was reading what appeared to be a very old book on vampire politics.
“I don’t know what to say to them,” Kate admitted, setting the phone down on the coffee table like it might bite her. “We rehearsed the story, but my mom can read me like an open book. She will notice the strain in my voice.”
Devon quietly walked into the room, bringing a calming presence. He sat next to her, speaking in a low, soothing tone.
“The story is simple and close to the truth. I took you on a surprise tour of Europe because you had barely experienced it before.” I’ve been selfish in keeping you to myself. It’s my fault, not yours. Let them be angry with me.”
Kate felt a wave of gratitude. “It’s a good story.”
“Because it’s mostly true,” he said, taking her hand. “I have been selfish. And I would do it again. I’ll be right here with you.”
Kate felt a wave of gratitude. “Okay,” she said, taking his hand. “Stay with me.”
She took an unnecessary breath, a human habit she was still clinging to, and pressed the call button. The phone rang once, twice, then her mother’s voice, tight with worry, filled the room.
“Kate! Oh, thank God! We’ve been so worried!”
The sound of her mother’s voice hit Kate like a physical blow. It was so normal, so wonderfully human.
“Hi, Mom,” Kate said, trying to sound cheerful. “I’m really sorry for not calling sooner. Devon surprised me with a whirlwind tour of Europe. It’s been incredible so far.”
“That’s wonderful! Are you alright? You sound tired. We’ve all been very worried.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Really. I know I should have called sooner, and I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. You’re calling now. How is Devon treating you?”
Kate felt her shoulders relax slightly at her mother’s warm tone. “He’s wonderful. He’s been taking good care of me.”
“Good. That’s all I wanted to know. Jamie is here, actually. He’s been worried sick. Let me put him on.”
Before Kate could respond, her brother’s voice cut through the line, sharp and demanding. “Katie? Where the hell have you been?”
Kate’s heart seized. Jamie. She hadn’t expected him to be there. “Jamie? What are you doing at Mom and Dad’s?”
“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you’ve been MIA for weeks.
A ‘whirlwind tour of Europe’? Is that what we’re calling it?
Zoe’s been losing her mind. I’ve been losing my mind.
And now you’re calling from Paris with Devon?
The same guy who promised me he would never hurt you, that he was nothing like Jason? ”
Kate’s eyes met Devon’s, wide with shock and panic. She hadn’t prepared for this.
“It’s exactly like that, Jamie. I’m safe, I’m happy, and I’m in Europe with the man I love. I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch; it’s been a whirlwind experience.”
“You don’t sound happy. You sound like you’re reading from a script,” Jamie said, his voice cold with anger. “Is he there, listening to this? Did he tell you to say that?”
Kate looked at Devon, her composure crumbling under her brother’s relentless, accurate suspicion. She shook her head, unable to speak.
Devon gently squeezed her hand before taking the phone.
“Jamie, it’s Devon. I understand why you’re angry. I made you a promise, and I’ve let you down.”
Overwhelming silence came through the other end of the line.
“The truth is,” Devon went on, maintaining a calm tone, “this is completely my fault. I took Kate away without considering how it would impact her family. It was a selfish, romantic move, and I’m sorry for the worry it’s caused.”
“She is more than okay,” Devon said, his eyes finding Kate’s, and the look he gave her was so full of adoration that it was not a lie.
“She is happy. And she is safe. I will let nothing happen to her. You have my word on that.”
The silence on the other side of the line confirmed that their concerns had been soothed.
After a few more tense pleasantries, Devon ended the call and handed the phone back to Kate. She stared at it in her hands, her body trembling.
“He knew,” she whispered. “Jamie knew something was wrong.”
“He knows you love him,” Devon corrected, sitting beside her and pulling her into his arms. “And his fear for you is making him suspicious. You did beautifully, Kate. You quelled their concerns, and you were brave enough to make the call. That’s all that matters.”
She leaned against him, the emotional weight of the call leaving her feeling raw and exposed. Devon’s hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing across her lower lip.
“Kate…”
She was leaning toward him, her eyes fluttering closed, when Aleksander’s voice sliced through her mind like a blade.
Tsk, tsk, little Pet. Still trying to play house with your captor? How deliciously pathetic.
Kate jerked away from Devon with a sharp gasp, her hands flying to her temples as Aleksander’s laughter echoed in her skull.
Did you really think a phone call to your family would make you feel normal again? You’re mine, Kate. You’ll always be mine. And every time you try to pretend otherwise, I’ll be there to remind you.
“Kate!” Devon’s voice was sharp with alarm. “What is it? What’s happening?”
“He’s here,” Kate said through gritted teeth, her body trembling with rage and violation. “He’s in my head again, watching us, mocking us—”
Devon’s face went white with fury. “Aleksander.”
Kate wrapped her arms around herself, feeling suddenly cold and exposed.
“I can’t. We can’t. Not while he can invade my mind whenever he wants. It feels like he’s always watching, ready to ruin anything good between us.”
Devon clenched his fists, reacting to the danger facing his mate. “We’re going to end this. Soon.”
“How soon?” Kate asked, her voice quiet but firm.
“Sophia’s intelligence network has almost pinpointed his exact location,” Luc said, his earlier lightness replaced by serious determination. “A few more days, maybe a week.”
Kate nodded, then took a shaky breath. The violation of Aleksander’s intrusion was still fresh, but beneath the fear and anger, she felt something else growing, resolve.
“I need to call Zoe too,” she said, her voice shaky as she tried to regain her composure.
“Tomorrow night,” Devon suggested. “Give yourself time to process this call first.”
Kate nodded, then looked at Luc. “How do you do it? Keep sustainable relationships with humans when you’re… this?”
Luc closed his book, giving her his full attention.
“Very carefully. And with the understanding that some relationships don’t survive the transition.
I lost friends who couldn’t accept the changes they sensed but couldn’t understand.
But the ones who truly love you, who see past the surface to who you really are, those relationships can actually deepen. ”
“Because they’re based on something deeper than circumstance,” Devon added. “Your family loves Kate Morgan the person, not Kate Morgan the human. That love doesn’t disappear because your nature has changed.”
Kate considered this, thinking about her mother’s voice, her immediate concern, but her eventual acceptance of Kate’s vague explanations.
“Mom knew something was different, but she didn’t push.”
“Because she trusts you,” Luc said gently. “And trust is the foundation of any relationship that’s going to survive this kind of transformation.”
“It’s going to be a balancing act,” she said. “Staying connected to people from my human life without putting them in danger. Being honest without telling them the truth.”
“Welcome to immortal life,” Luc said with a wry smile. “Population: everyone who’s ever been turned.”
Kate laughed despite herself. “Is there a support group?”
“You’re looking at it,” Devon said, gesturing around the room. “Sophia’s compound has become a sanctuary for vampires.”
“I need to do something,” she said, standing abruptly. “I can’t just sit here waiting for him to invade my thoughts again. I need to… to reclaim something.”
“What do you mean?” Devon asked, rising with her.
Kate looked around the elegant sitting room, then toward the art studio where she’d been slowly rebuilding her relationship with painting. “I need to paint them,” she said, her voice gaining strength. “My parents. Zoe. Everyone I love.”
Devon’s expression softened with understanding. “And the other painting? The one about what he did to you?”
“I want to finish that too. Paint the violation, every moment of fear I experienced. Then I want to paint what he couldn’t destroy. My strength, my love, my choice to fight back.”
Kate felt purpose settle in her chest. She was a vampire now, still Kate Morgan, but someone who could create beauty and also seek justice.
The balance between what she’d become and her human connections would even out. When they finally faced Aleksander, she would do so not just as a woman seeking revenge but as a one protecting everything that defined her.