A Shade of Vampire 14: A Dawn of Strength (3 page)

“What do you want?” I asked, beginning to rummage through the closet for something suitable.

Caleb ended up picking a plain navy shirt and black jeans. I also managed to find some fresh underwear and a bathrobe in one of the bottom drawers, which I stuffed into my bag along with my own clothes. I flung the bag over one shoulder and we headed back toward the front door. My parents were waiting there for us, an arm around each other’s waists as they watched us approach. They’d probably heard me crying, and even if they hadn’t noticed, my blotchy face gave it away. But I was glad they didn’t mention it.

I wrapped my arms around my father’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Good night, darling,” he said.

I moved on to my mother. She clung to me so tight it felt like she never wanted to let go. “Good night, sweetheart,” she said.

Then she looked at Caleb. “Good night, Caleb.”

Caleb bowed his head slightly. “Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Novak.”

I giggled at how formal he sounded.

“Good night,” I said, catching Caleb’s hand and pulling him through the front door. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

I was about to pull it shut when my father held the door open. His eyes fixed on Caleb. “Good night, Caleb,” he said. “Be careful with my girl.”

I rolled my eyes.
As if Caleb needs to be told that… Caring for me is all he’s done since we met.
My father knew this by now, but I guessed he couldn’t help but tell him anyway.

“You have my word,” Caleb said, eyeing my father steadily.

My father reached out and clutched Caleb’s shoulder before finally closing the door.

We descended in the elevator and Caleb scooped me up in his arms once we reached the ground. I directed him toward the mountain cabins and, running full speed, we arrived in just a few minutes.

We chose a cabin that was almost as high up as the top of the mountain itself. Caleb climbed the steps up to it and set me down on my feet on the verandah by the front door. Since it was unoccupied, it hadn’t been locked. As I pushed the door open and looked around the cozy living room, with its rugs and soft sofa and deep burgundy curtains, everything about the homely vibe of the place made me realize how much my muscles and limbs were aching. I walked with Caleb to the master bedroom, which looked out at a stunning view of the ocean, and laid the bag down on the bed. I unpacked the few possessions that we’d brought, then headed to the bathroom.

I stared at my exhausted face in the mirror. I placed the toothbrush and toothpaste on the shelf, then looked around the small bathroom. I walked over to the bathtub and began filling it with hot water. I wouldn’t be able to sleep without a wash first. Come to think of it, Caleb probably wanted to have a bath too.

As if he’d read my thoughts, he approached behind me. Sliding his hands down my arms, he pulled my back against him. Pressing his rough cheek against mine, he began to slowly undress me. As he finished his work, I turned around to see that he’d already stripped.

Pulling my eyes away from him, I stepped into the tub. He got in after me and we sat with our backs leaning against opposite sides of the tub. My eyes lowered from his face to his chest. I propped myself up on my knees and knelt against him. His hands rested on my waist as I slid closer to him and ran my fingers over his scarred torso. I could feel the bumps of the bullets still trapped beneath his skin.

“Tomorrow, the first thing we’ll do is find a witch who can treat you and finally get these bullets out of you.”

Reaching for a sponge, I began soaping him down. After I was satisfied I’d done a thorough job, I allowed him to take the sponge from me. Rinsing it out, he took his turn in cleaning me. Then I dipped beneath the water and wet my hair. Sitting up again, I reached for my shampoo to see that he was already holding it. He slid his legs either side of mine, making space for me to sit with my back against his chest. I closed my eyes as his strong fingers reached into my hair and began massaging my scalp. Once my hair was foaming with shampoo from root to tips, he arched my neck backward and caressed my throat with his lips.

Despite his cool body pressing against mine, heat coursed through me. I was on fire. When Caleb’s mouth found mine, I wasn’t sure how to contain myself any longer.

“Caleb,” I managed as he surfaced for breath. Twisting round to face him, I placed my palms flat against his chest and pushed him back against the wall of the tub. I bit my lip. I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable if he still wasn’t ready to accept my surrender, but he was driving me crazy. He raised a brow as my eyes blazed into his.

“Caleb… You’re a tease. Do you know that?”

A smile curved his lips. “And what do you think you are?”

When I didn’t answer, he slid me back down against the base of the tub and rinsed the shampoo from my hair. Then he reached for a towel and, standing up in the tub with me, wrapped it round me tightly. He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. He laid me on the bed and, grabbing another towel, dried me off.

I pulled on my nightdress as he dried himself and slipped into his underwear. I gazed at him from across the room before heaving a sigh and sliding into bed beneath the sheets. I nestled against a pillow and closed my eyes.

His arm wrapped around my waist and he spooned himself around me. I shivered as he kissed the back of my neck.

“I’ll make love to you, Rose,” he whispered. “But we have time. I’m not going anywhere.”

A
s I watched
Rose fall asleep in my arms, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was trapped in some strange, wondrous dream. A dream I had no business being in.

And yet the nightmare that was my former life had given way to this.

Rose Novak. Princess of The Shade.

Careful not to wake her, I slid down the pillows until my face was level with hers and gathered her closer to me. I brushed aside a lock of her long dark hair that had fallen across her face so I could fully take her in while listening to her soft breathing. Gently, I leaned in and traced the outline of her beautiful mouth with my lips.

I remembered only a short while ago, I’d been afraid to kiss her. Hell, I’d been afraid to even look at her. I remembered watching her sleeping from behind a window pane. I never could have imagined that I’d one day be holding her as she slept.

I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve this. But Rose calling me her boyfriend was something I didn’t take lightly. Her parents—particularly her father—seemed to have accepted me after the explanation Rose had given of our exploits. She was convinced that everyone else in The Shade would accept me here with open arms, too.

But I was still having trouble accepting myself.

I’d saved her life several times over while putting mine at risk. I’d kept her safe when I could have so easily taken advantage of her. I’d finally gathered the courage to confess that I loved her.

Yet, even after everything, I still winced internally each time Rose called me hers. It almost felt like she was sentencing herself to disappointment. And I wasn’t sure why.

Perhaps the darkness that had shrouded me for so many decades while living with Annora still remained with me. I wondered if I would ever fully shake it.

Whatever the case, I had to face the reality I found myself in, however strange it was.

Rose was calling me her boyfriend. Her man. Her lover.

And, by God, I was going to do the best I could to live up to that role.

“
O
ne twin down
, one more to go,” Kailyn said as we made our way up one of The Shade’s highest mountains.

“Yeah,” I replied. “And let’s hope Ben returns sooner rather than later.”

Kailyn and I were taking a walk to let off some steam. Things had been so tense on the island with all the drama brought about by the ghoul, Mona’s absence, Ben’s departure and the shock of finding a dragon at our port. Now that at least some things had been resolved, it felt like everyone needed a little downtime.

As we reached the top, we walked to the edge of the cliff and stared out at the dark sky and the brightening horizon beyond The Shade’s boundary in the distance. A sharp wind prickled my skin. I slipped my hands into my pockets, avoiding the temptation to steal a glance at Kailyn’s face while she wasn’t looking.

“I wonder what’s to become of this place,” she said quietly.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. None of us knew what was going to happen now. We all suspected the black witches would strike at some point and attempt to break through Mona’s barrier. We didn’t know if they would be successful, and what would become of us all if they were. But it felt like I’d lived most of my life on edge. Save the seventeen-odd years when we’d all had a break from the craziness of our world, living on edge was what I was used to. There was no other way to live as a hunter. It was all or nothing. I guessed I’d learned to become numb.

When I didn’t answer, Kailyn took a step closer to me, and to my surprise, slipped a hand into my right pocket and wrapped it around my hand. I turned my head to look down into her eyes. Dimples formed in her cheeks as she flashed me a small smile, giving me the confidence to squeeze her hand a little.

“I guess none of us know what’s going to happen,” she whispered after a pause. “But I do know one thing.” She stepped in front of me, slipping her other hand into my left pocket so she now held both of my hands. “I really like you, Aiden Claremont.”

I wasn’t sure what I was thinking in the moments that followed—if I even had a thought process. All I was aware of was the pounding of my heart as Kailyn’s arms draped around my neck and pulled me downward until her pillowy lips were pressed against mine. My hands found the sides of her face as I returned her kiss, slowly at first, then with hunger.

Her cheeks were flushed when we broke apart, as I was sure mine were. She bit her lower lip and laughed nervously.

“How was that for a first kiss?” she asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

I responded by sliding my arms around her slowly until my hands rested on the small of her back. Gathering her to me again, I caught her lips in mine once again, kissing them gently.

“I really like you too, Kailyn,” I whispered.

Inhaling deeply, she gripped my shirt and parted my lips with her tongue, allowing me to taste her fully.

A gruff bark broke through the world Kailyn and I had lost ourselves in. We turned to see Shadow bounding toward us. I looked past him, expecting to see Eli, or perhaps Abby, who usually went for walks with him. Instead I saw… Adelle.

She had a mortified expression on her face. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, taking a step back. “I had no idea you were up here… I-I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Hey,” I said. “It’s okay. These things, uh… happen.”

Kailyn and I slipped an arm around each other as we walked toward the redheaded witch.

“How’s Eli?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice casual.

“He’s fine,” Adelle replied, her eyes fixed on the dog.

It was a pointless question—I already knew he’d recovered some time ago from the snapped neck I’d given him as well as from the ghoul’s influence. All the couples on the island who’d been affected by the ghoul had forgiven each other and moved on from that dark time.

“Good,” I said.

An awkward silence followed, but Adelle didn’t let it last long. Still avoiding my gaze, she said, “I’d better get going. I have a lot of homework to mark today.”

“Sure. Have a good day.”

“You too.” Adelle’s eyes travelled from my face to Kailyn’s for but a moment before she hurried away with Shadow. It was long enough for me to detect something odd in them. As Kailyn and I made our way back down the mountain, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was I’d seen. Embarrassment, certainly. But there was something else, too.

Something that looked surprisingly like… jealousy.

I
t was
a strange feeling to have my daughter back on the island with us, yet staying under a different roof. Since her return, I’d wanted nothing more than to keep her at home with us in our treehouse. But I had to remind myself that she was no longer my little girl. It was clear that during her time away, she’d matured in ways I hadn’t been prepared for, ways that would likely take me a while to get used to. While a part of me was happy to see her standing on her own two feet, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy too.

After she left the apartment with Caleb, our home suddenly felt too big for Sofia and me. Tears welled in Sofia’s eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and drew her in for a hug.

“Our baby’s all grown up,” she murmured.

“That she is.” I sighed, looking wistfully out of the window.

Sofia raised her head and gave me a watery grin. “We sound so… old.”

I raised my brows in mock offense. “Speak for yourself.”

She giggled as I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to our bedroom. I placed her in the center of the bed. Her long auburn hair strewn over the pillows, she was just as beautiful to me as the day I’d first laid eyes on her. She was, and had always been, my fire during the longest winter. My moon during the darkest night.

“I guess I do still feel like a seventeen-year-old,” she said softly. “Especially when you look at me like that.”

I leant down over her, lowering my head until my mouth was inches from hers. “Like what?” I whispered.

“Like that,” she breathed.

I closed my lips around hers. She gripped my hair and arched her back, allowing me room to slide my hands beneath her. Careful not to break our kiss, I pulled her upright so that she was kneeling on the mattress before me. I was about to unzip her dress when there was a loud banging at our front door.

Breaking apart, Sofia and I exchanged anxious glances.
Who would disturb us at this time of night?

As I hurried through the apartment, I could only guess that it might be Rose back for something she’d forgotten. But as I reached the front door, it was Eli standing outside. The expression on his face made my stomach flip.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s something in the news that you need to see.”

“What?” Sofia asked, appearing at my side.

“Just come,” Eli said grimly.

Eli was one of the few people on the island who monitored the news of the world outside. Everything about his demeanor made me recall the last time he’d come to report news to us—when Rose and Ben had first been reported missing in Hawaii. I prayed that it wouldn’t be as serious this time, but Eli’s expression gave me little reason to believe that it wasn’t.

We raced with Eli toward his apartment. He led us straight to his study and grabbed the remote of his TV.

“You may want to take a seat,” he said.

Sofia and I did nothing of the sort. We stood as close to the screen as we could without getting in Eli’s way. But when the TV flickered on and he finished flicking through the channels, I wished I’d taken Eli’s advice. Replaying over and over again in slow-motion was the footage of a dark-haired vampire rushing through a park square, knocking a young woman off her feet and tearing through her throat as he sped away again. The clip was being repeated over and over on almost every news channel Eli flicked through.

“A witness managed to film the attack with a phone camera. The footage was submitted to the local police and uploaded to the internet.”

The shock of a vampire being caught on camera during an attack and broadcast to the world for the first time in history, combined with who this vampire resembled so closely, left Sofia and me speechless. I just kept watching the loop, willing my eyes to be mistaken.

Eli flipped open a laptop and placed it in front of us. He pointed to a video player with the same footage. “You can watch it more slowly here, pause and rewind it as you will…”

As Sofia worked the player with shaking hands, there was no more denying who this was. His features were unmistakeable even in this fuzzy footage.

It was our son, Benjamin Novak.

I had been too stunned until now to even take in the details of the reports. Now that I listened more closely, I caught the location.
Chile
.

Her chest heaving, Sofia slammed the laptop lid shut. She shot to her feet, her eyes blazing into me. “We’ve delayed this far too long, Derek. We have to find our son and bring him back.”

“The incident took place some days ago,” Eli said. “Apparently the witness who recorded this ended up being seriously injured—hence the footage was only just discovered and released. There’s no guarantee Ben will still be in Chile.”

Although a part of me was screaming to agree with Sofia, the greater part of me simply couldn’t. I shook my head.

“We can’t abandon our people at a time like this,” I said. “Nor will we spare more people to go after him. Not when he expressly stated he didn’t want anyone following him.”

Sofia’s cheeks flushed, her lips parting to argue back. I gripped her shoulders. “Our son is no longer a boy. He’s a young man. We need to let him live by his choices.”

“But we turned him, damn it. This is our fault!”

“We turned him with his full agreement.”

“Then, if he can’t consume animal blood, we should turn him back into a human,” she said.

“That’s not what he asked for. If he wanted to turn back into a human, he could have told us. He chose to remain a vampire by leaving. We can’t force our son to turn back.”

“Then let’s just bring him back and—”

“Sofia, don’t you understand? He’s got to get over this himself—because if he doesn’t, even if we brought him back here, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t start murdering our own people. His strength rivals my own, and it’s simply not possible to restrain a vampire like him twenty-four hours a day… unless sedating our son is what you want to do.”

She bit her lower lip so hard I was sure she was about to draw blood. “We could sedate him temporarily, until—”

“Until when?” I shook her. “Until when, Sofia? You don’t understand, because you never went through what I went through. Novak blood doesn’t run through your veins as it does mine and Ben’s. Sedate him for a week, and he’ll wake up the same man. Hell, I sedated myself for four hundred years and I woke up the same bloodsucker.”

“But Derek—”

“You witnessed the state I descended into as soon as you left the island with Ben Hudson.” I raised my voice, determined to cut through her emotions and make her see sense. “The darkness doesn’t just vanish from one’s heart, Sofia. Your light temporarily broke through mine, but when you left, it closed in around me again. There is no magic button. The only way to get rid of it is from within. Ben has to battle it from within himself, the same way I had to. He’ll have to be relentless in his fight, but if he really wants to pull through this and find himself, he’ll find a way.”

Finally seeing the truth in my words, Sofia broke down, falling to her knees. I knelt with her, clutching her hands. “Darling, as much as we want to, this is a battle that we simply can’t fight for him.”

As Sofia shook in my arms, I cast my eyes back up to the TV screen. That vision of my son ripping into the throat of an innocent young woman would forever be etched in my memory.

I couldn’t get over the fact that this was the first time a vampire had been broadcast to the world like this. Even the black witches’ vampires had managed to keep themselves concealed when stealing away humans.

If someone had told me that my own son would be the first vampire to break this code of secrecy, I would have thought them mad.