Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) (17 page)

Iris slid him a reluctant look as if
to say, “Should we tell her yet?” Kai nodded his assent. “Might as
well,” he mouthed, stroking her hair. “I didn’t want to start off
with this, Kat,” she sighed. “But I suppose it’s best you know
upfront. Whether you join us or not.”

My mouth went dry, my skin prickling
with fear.

“
And it goes hand in hand
with why we work so hard to keep our existence a secret.” As if to
find the courage to continue, she paused and looked down at her
hands. This was the first time I’d ever seen her poise
waver.

Awaiting her next words, my teeth were
all but carving a hunk out of my lip as I chewed it. Gabe moved to
wrap his arm around me. I involuntarily nestled into his side. It
felt comfortable there, not just physically. It felt like home –
comforting and safe. Like we were carved from the same
mold.

Iris swallowed and met my eyes again.
“As you know, we live forever. And most Angel hybrids stop aging
around eighteen or so.”

I noticed how she said ‘most.’ She and
Kai definitely looked older than eighteen.

“That’s one reason why it’s best to
cut ties with friends and those who aren’t aware of our
immortality. After about ten years or so, they become suspicious.”
She paused, swallowing again. “Breaking ties with them now is
best.”

My chest tightened. No… I couldn’t. I
wouldn’t. I would want as much time with them as I could get. I
would go on to live an impossibly long life while they aged,
withered away and eventually turned to dust. Tears formed in my
eyes. Sure, I’d only known them for a few weeks, but they were my
friends. Friends I’d thought I would have for many years to come.
Not just a decade.

Aubrey looked to her lap, a pained
expression tainting her perfect face. Piper nodded in agreement
with Iris.

Gabriel interjected. “We’ll let her
decide what’s best. That’s her decision to make.”

Surprised, I looked him in his baby
blues. I couldn’t believe he’d spoken out like that against her
advice. His expression softened as we held each other’s gaze, and
it was in that exact moment I realized that I didn’t just have a
possible love interest in him, I had a true friend. He had my
back.

“Of course,” Iris conceded. “She can
decide that for herself. But the more immediate issue, Kat, is not
telling them what you are.”

Everyone nodded their
agreement.

Iris shifted in her seat and smoothed
the velvet skirt of her dress. “This is what I didn’t want to tell
you just yet. Yes, we are immortal. But that’s not to say that we
can’t be killed and don’t have natural enemies.”

I balked.
Enemies?

“Yes,” Kai said, his voice soft.
“There are those that wish us harm. We call them conjurers of the
dark.”

The term was lost on me.

“Witches,” Iris clarified. “Their
gifts aren’t like ours – given to us through a divine entity.
Theirs are given to them by a darker force.” She paused to gauge my
reaction and said, “Satan.”

I… I had no idea what to say. So I
listened, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s our understanding that they seek
our blood for a spell they use to be immortal themselves. We don’t
know how it’s used, but they covet our blood above anything else in
the world and will stop at nothing to get it.”

“But not only that,” Kai continued.
“It’s our understanding that their spell also calls for our hearts.
So pardon me for this next bit of information; it’s a bit
disturbing.”

My mouth went dry again.

“They have to cut them out – one of
the only two ways to kill us. The other is severing our
heads.”

I blanched at the thought, and all of
the facts tumbled together now to make a clearer, but disturbing,
picture – the secrecy, hiding behind veils in the forest, Iris’
rules and advice. All of this was to protect us from harm. From
witches.

A cuss word tumbled out of my mouth
without my consent, but nobody seemed to care. Even me. What I’d
learned warranted a cussword… or two or ten. Never in my wildest
dreams had I imagined we’d have an enemy so brutal, so heartless.
But it made sense – of course our natural enemy would be Satan and
whatever army he possessed. We were descendants of Angels - God’s
army. I suddenly felt ridiculous for never considering the
possibility.

Why, though? What could they possibly
gain from this? Before I asked the question, the answer smacked me
across the face – man, or in this case, witches, didn’t need a
reason for greed other than greed itself. We had something they
wanted – an ability they didn’t possess. They didn’t need any more
reason than that.

A lone tear streaked down my face, and
I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or sadness. A flurry of emotions
whirled inside, threatening to suffocate me.

Iris leaned toward me, the flames of
the fire reflecting in her eyes, and if she had been near me, I
knew she would be holding and stroking my hands in comfort. “I know
this is hard, darlin’. I’m so sorry,” she said as if she felt my
pain, which I’m sure she did. To the core. “I wanted to start with
the lighter stuff first.”

I swiped the tear. “It’s okay,” I
managed.

Gabriel hugged me tighter.

“So I’ve been in danger awhile, I just
didn’t know it?” I asked this as more of a rhetorical
question.

They didn’t answer.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this
last night?”

“You looked as though you were already
at your capacity. I didn’t want to give you more than you could
handle. But don’t worry, when we said we’re ever watchful, that
also went for watching out for your wellbeing until you make your
decision. We take turns each night watching the school.”

I sank further into Gabriel. Him
sneaking into my room at night made a lot more sense. He wasn’t
only watching me sleep – he must have been watching over me on his
nights to make sure the witches didn’t… I couldn’t finish the
thought.

“
So those are the two ways
we can die?” I asked. “Beheading or our hearts cut out? What if we
get sick or injured?”

“You’ve been sick and injured before,
right?” Kai asked.

“Well… sure.”

“You’ll never die from it. You might
get sick, might even get a broken bone, but your body will always
heal itself no matter how bad the injury. A hybrid’s body is
resilient. It has to be to live forever.”

Wiping another tear, I
nodded in understanding.
Ugh
. Why was I still crying? Iris
was right; this was all so much to take in.

“Is there anything else you want to
know as far as the witches are concerned?” Iris asked.

“Have they found you guys since you’ve
been in hiding?”

Kai stoked Iris’ back proudly. “With
what angelic enchantments we have, and Iris’ keen instincts to keep
us all safe, we’ve never had an encounter.”

Iris looked humbled. “Never say never,
though,” she breathed, heavyhearted. “I do what I can, but that
doesn’t mean they aren’t always on the hunt.”

“That’s why it’s best your friends
don’t know,” Kai said. “It’s not that we’re suggesting they’re
untrustworthy. Since witches are always on the hunt for our blood,
the less your friends know about you and your living arrangements,
the better. It’s for their own protection. Like I said, these
witches stop at nothing and would have no qualms about harming your
friends to get information out of them. And they will be the last
ones to have seen you.”

I cringed at the thought. “But what
about my family?”

“Well they already know you’re a
hybrid, and you haven’t seen them for a few weeks. If you’ve talked
to them recently and they’re fine, I’d say they were
safe.”

“I have. But would the
witches try to harm them if they thought they knew where I
was?”
And Sam,
I
thought,
my heart clenching. What if he
needed protection?

“It’s a possibility,” Kai replied.
“But if they were already on your scent, they’d have gotten to you
before we did. Unfortunately, there are more witches on the hunt
than those like us trying to save our own kind.”

Well, at least that was
one bit of good news
, I thought.
Me being here tonight with them means I’m already
safe. And my family.
I was then infinitely
thankful my dad and I both had the gift of prophecy – another good
thing. We would see harm coming if it decided to find either of us.
In theory. Dad had always said select humans were blessed with
gifts in the first place to help protect our very existence. I
never really understood what that meant; tonight helped
clarify.

“But telling your parents exactly
where we are at all times can’t be allowed. Just to be on the safe
side. For obvious reasons,” Kai continued.

Understandable. But my parents weren’t
going to like it. At all.

“I would also advise against telling
them about the witches. It would only make them worry. But you can
write and make calls whenever you like to keep in
touch.”

Again, I was thankful for my dad’s
gift of prophecy. “So you guys move around a lot?” I asked,
immediately feeling stupid. Of course they did.

“Yes,” Iris replied. “We never stay in
any one place more than two weeks.”

“Is it always in the
woods?”

“No, we’ll set up at the beach, on a
mountain, in a cave. Wherever our journey takes us. I figure it’s
best to be on the move. Besides, we’ve seen some beautiful places.
This isn’t only about self-preservation. We’re a family,” she said,
clasping on to both Kai and Piper’s hands.

“The family that travels together,
stays together,” Kai said with a warm smile.

I couldn’t help but smile back, and
this time, a tear of joy streaked down my cheek. Hope –through the
darkness of fear and sadness, there was hope of a happy life. Yes,
there would be loss of mortal family members and friends who’d pass
away. Yes, there would always be fear of greedy witches needling us
in the back of minds. But there was hope. Hope of
happiness.

I then looked at the illuminated faces
around the campfire, their own kaleidoscope of emotions apparent in
their expressions, and I knew. I knew I had my answer for them. I
wanted to be a part of their lovely, quirky little
family.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

___________________

Home

Even though my heart had already made
its decision, I still had a few technical questions, and then I
would give them their highly anticipated answer. The thought of
making it official caused elation to spiral through me, reaching
the furthest corners of my soul. This felt as right as being by
Gabriel’s side.

After Iris’ invitation to continue
with my questioning, I fired away. “School is important to me,” I
began. “It always has been. I’m an artist and had planned on making
that my way of income, but I’d at least like to have a high school
diploma.” This question was just as much for me as it was my
parents.

“No problem,” Iris replied. “We can
enroll you in a program to finish your courses through
mail.”

“I can do that?”

“That’s how Colton
finished.”

Colton gave a nod of
agreement.
Do the guys ever speak?
I wondered. What a change from the guys at
Midland. I would miss them. Deeply. This departure wouldn’t be
without heartache, for sure. Oh, but how much I was
gaining.

“He was the last one to join our
family two years ago.”

“We have a mailing address?” I
persisted.

Iris caught on to the fact that I’d
said “we,” and her lips twitched with a smile. “PO Boxes. Don’t
worry. We have it handled.”

“One more,” I said, eager to get the
questions over with so we could all hang for a while before I had
to get back. And hopefully, Gabriel and I would have time together
in private.

“Sure, dear.”

“Any tips for telling my parents I’ll
be dropping out of school and living with a group of people they’ve
never met?”

I didn’t mean the question to be
funny, but the others chuckled all the same. Even the bird cooed a
sound like laughter. But not Gabriel; he remained faithfully stoic,
although I wondered if he was laughing on the inside. I guess it
was kind of funny… until I actually had to tell my parents. Lord
knows how my dad would react; witches might be the least of our
problems.

Piper took the lead on this one. “Once
you tell them you’re immortal, everything else won’t seem as
shocking.”

Colton piped up for the first time,
his voice dark and raspy – exactly how I’d expected it to sound.
“Living with a group of immortals will seem the natural thing to
do. It won’t be as hard on them as you think.”

In
theory
, I lamented, and I noticed Brad,
Aubrey and Raymond seemed indifferent to the subject.