Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) (32 page)

I gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks,
Piper.”

Her eyes filled with pride, and she
flung her arms around my neck. “I’m so glad everything worked out
with you and Gabe,” she said into my shoulder. “I’ve gained another
sister.”

I hugged her tighter. “Me
too.”

“Get a room, you two!” Aubrey teased.
We turned to see her sashaying through the door in a – surprise,
surprise – form-fitting floor-length ivory gown. With her pinned-up
auburn hair and massive stones in her earlobes, she looked
red-carpet ready. Movie Star Barbie. No way was I arriving at the
same time as her – I’d look like a plain little stick wrapped in
black.

Piper threw a comb at her. “Shut up.”
They laughed and hugged hello.

“Beautiful as always,” Aubrey said,
appraising my hair and make-up.

“Wait ‘til you see her dress,” Piper
said.

Anna emerged from the
bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel. She took one good look
at Aubrey and gaped. “Oh my
god
you’re gorgeous!”

“Thank you,” Aubrey
replied.

“Aubrey, this is Anna,” I
said.

Aubrey offered her hand for a shake.
“Nice to meet you.”

I beamed as I moved to the closet for
my dress. My two worlds were officially colliding tonight – mortal
friends and half-breeds. I loved new beginnings.

“You’re next, Anna!” Piper said,
patting the seat.

Anna pointed to Aubrey. “Can you make
me look like her?”

“Better,” she teased.

Aubrey chucked the comb back at
her.

* * *

Once we were all painted, curled,
bejeweled and zipped up into our dresses, we stopped by Sarah and
Ivy’s room so we could all walk together. The buzz in the air was
euphoric, thrilling. A night like tonight was long
overdue.

As we bustled down the hallways
holding our gowns so we didn’t trip, I realized more of both my
worlds were about to collide – the guys. How would Levi and Gabriel
act toward each other? An ex meeting a new beau for the first time…
not fun.

When we arrived at the gymnasium door,
my heart stopped. We screeched to a halt and watched. Gabriel and
Levi were already shaking hands with strained smiles. Colton and
Brad stood beside Gabriel, and Dawson and Ronnie beside Levi. Too
much testosterone in one place for my liking.

My dress suddenly felt too
tight.

Sarah grasped my arm. “It’s okay,” she
said, breathless, but the way she watched I’m not sure she fully
believed it yet.

“
Oh, please, ladies,”
Piper said, fighting her way in front of us, “they’re fine!” She
rushed to hug Colton, and the rest of the guys’ attention turned to
us. They greeted us with wide eyes and proud smiles. When my eyes
locked with Gabriel’s, everything else around us vanished – as it
usually did. He was freshly shaven and wore a black tuxedo, his
hair a coif of messy perfection – formal compared to the other
guys, but damn if he wasn’t yummy enough to eat. I melted into a
puddle.

He was mine.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said with a
heart-stopping, dazzling smile, and pulled me into a
hug.

“Hey,” I said and nestled into him, my
hair and make-up be damned.

“Here,” he said, pulling
away, and produced a corsage complete with white and purple
flowers.
The
white flowers.
Our
white flowers. Perfect. “Aubrey made
it.”

I teared up as he slid it on my wrist.
“It’s beautiful.”

“You look great, Kat,” Levi said
behind me.

I turned – a black, shimmering pastry
puff standing between two guys. I swallowed against the anxiety
rising inside me. “Thanks,” I tried to say casually, going in for a
friendly hug, “you too.” I tugged on the lapel of his suit. “Shined
up like a new penny.”

Everyone around us
pretended not to watch, but they
so
were.

He chuckled his usual lighthearted
chuckle, and the tension inside me eased. Hannah stood behind him,
her baby pink dress glowing against her tanned skin, her blonde
curls pulled into a low ponytail cascading over her shoulder. She
looked angelic. “You look beautiful,” I said.

“Thanks, Kat. You too.”

The speakers buzzed to life,
mercifully rescuing us from the awkwardness, and the first song of
the night echoed through the gym – a fast-paced song with heavy
bass. “Oooh, I love this song!” Ivy cheered.

Sarah tugged Dawson onto the dance
floor. “This is my song!”

The others trickled behind them, and
Hannah tugged on Levi’s hand to join. “You kids have fun,” Levi
said to me and Gabriel as Hannah dragged him away, and I could tell
he truly meant it. Either that or he was hiding it well. “Nice to
meet you, man!”

“Same here!” Gabriel replied with a
nod.

I let out a relieved sigh; the
collision of my guy-worlds went better than I’d hoped – it went
flawlessly. One collision down, one to go – Gabriel still had to
meet my parents, but I decided not to worry about that tonight. All
I wanted to do now was relax and enjoy my half-angel
boyfriend.

“Want to join?” Gabriel asked as we
watched the others find their places amongst the pearlescent
balloons and streamers. Ronnie was already in the middle of a
circle and doing a dance that looked more like a
seizure.

I glanced out the doors and into the
night sky – the stars were fiery diamonds against black velvet. It
looked peaceful. “Outside?” he asked, reading my expression. “It’s
cold,” he cautioned.

“I’m okay with that.” It was
private.

He draped his jacket around my
shoulders on the way out, and just outside the door, he pulled me
tight, his lips close to my ear. We swayed as he hummed us a
private song, the thump of the bass and the squeals from inside
melting away. It was just the two of us again. I cherished these
moments – we didn’t get many of them anymore since they’d beefed up
security. Principal Hughes only allowed him to visit once on the
weekends and it was usually in a public place like the library or
courtyard. As much as I’d have loved to be in there with the rest
of my friends, I wanted unadulterated ‘Gabe time.’

He began putting words with the
melody, and I recognized it - the song from weeks ago beside the
campfire; the first time I’d ever heard him sing. This was the song
he said he’d written. “I love this one,” I cooed.

He kissed my temple and went back to
singing. I really listened this time. It was about a girl, her hair
black as pitch, her face a peaceful scene in sleep. She stole his
heart, his stay in pain would part, and he knew no more he’d
weep.

I paused, pulling back in
awe.

“You still like it?” he asked with a
knowing smile, tucking a stray ringlet behind my ear.

“Did you…”

“What?” he asked, playing dumb and
rubbing my shoulders to keep me warm. He wanted to hear me say
it.

“Is that about…”

“Is it about you?” he finished for me
with a smirk. “Why would you think that?”

“Black hair?”

He chuckled. “Yes, beautiful. I wrote
it about you. Before I’d even met you. Officially.”

My heart swelled with love to the
point of bursting. “You did?”

He pulled me close again, our lips
inches away. “I told you… the first time I saw you, you enchanted
me,” he whispered and kissed me long and slow. He then trailed
kisses along my cheek before moving us into a gentle sway again –
our private dance under a star-soaked sky.

I rested my head against
his chest, hearing the sweet, rhythmic thumping of his heart – the
most precious sound in the world – and thought,
and
you,
Gabriel
….
boy of my dreams
…
you’ve
captivated
me
.

END OF BOOK ONE

EPILOGUE

___________________

A Sister’s Wrath

Months earlier… the night
of the ‘incident.’

Waiting on Iris, I’d been
sitting here forever in this dark parking lot. Antsy. Nearly
jumping out of my skin. She’d said she would have all the hybrids
she needed - six for Kai, six for Rose. As soon as they’d performed
the immortality ritual for Kai, she’d let me know and I’d help them
transfer the six remaining hybrids into this van I’d rented and
haul-ass home for Rose. I nervously chewed my nails, the red polish
flaking away.
Come on. What’s the hold
up?

I glanced at the
clock.
10:36 PM.
I’d been here two hours. Something wasn’t right. When she’d
last contacted me, it was twilight the night before here in
Colorado. I would have arrived sooner, but it was a long drive from
Mississippi. She promised to have the ritual over with by this
evening. It shouldn’t have taken this long.

Screw it.

I collected the red velvet sack from
my purse and lifted a marble from inside – one of Iris’ creations
to help us communicate from any distance. Once broken, red smoke
curls out, creating a rippling, translucent screen and lets us talk
face-to-face in real time. It only lasts around ten minutes, but
that’s all I needed to confirm all was well. She’d directed me to
never use it with her unless there was an emergency – she had a
cover to protect with the hybrids– but I couldn’t help but feel
this was a perfect time to reach out. What if something went wrong?
What if they needed my help? Deep down in my bones, I felt it – an
undeniable dread that something had happened to a loved one. I knew
Rose was still alive; I’d just used a marble to speak with her. It
had to be Iris.

Shrouded by the invisibility spell
surrounding both me and the van, I stepped into the cool night air
and smashed the glass marble on the pavement. The smoke
materialized and spread to the size of a door within seconds.
“Iris,” I said into the red haze, directing the smoke as to which
sister I was wanting. Nothing.

“Iris!”

Nothing.

Shit.

I scanned the woods surrounding the
school. I knew their camp was out there somewhere. Good thing I was
wearing my tennis shoes. I’d be doing a lot of walking.

As I started for the wood
line, a figure emerged and headed for the school. Then two.
Police officers.
They
both carried flashlights, and the radios on their shoulders filled
the quiet air with static and broken voices; nothing I could
decipher from this far away. The dread inside me swelled. “What the
hell happened out here?” I whispered and broke off into a sprint
for the woods.

* * *

It didn’t take me long to find the
clearing. The tents and yellow police tape stood out like
apparitions against the consuming blackness. I chanted a spell for
light, and my index finger glowed, washing the area in radiant
white. I noticed the star on the ground and blood soaking the base
of one of the trees. They’d only just begun the ritual. Another
pool of blood saturated the pine straw near another tree, but it
wasn’t a tree that should have had a hybrid tied to it – it wasn’t
at one of the star’s points.

“Iris?” I said, hoping for a reply,
although something told me I’d never hear her musical voice again.
My skin bristled at the thought, and I swallowed over the lump in
my throat.

My other hand reached for my ear to
pluck the earring from my lobe. I stuck it into my wrist and let
the blood dribble into the center of the star. “Show me what
happened here,” I directed, closing my eyes and bowing my head to
the earth.

Visions raced through my mind – Iris
and Kai tying the hybrids to the trees; the star being drawn with
white chalk; them cleaning the dagger and blessing it with Satan’s
prayer; my sister’s gentle directions guiding Kai along. They
started on the blond boy first, draining his blood and his heart
coming out relatively easily. A girl with raven hair awoke as they
started on the next hybrid’s arm, a tall boy with a handsome face.
Something about the way the girl looked at my sister and Kai made
my blood simmer. The rest happened in a blur – Iris and the girl
exchanged words; the girl knocked the dagger into the woods; Kai
went to look for it; more heated words were exchanged.

I saw a red-headed girl beyond the
clearing. Behind her was a small army of other teenagers and two
officers. They each found logs and trees around the clearing to
hide behind. The determined looks on all their frightened faces
made me shudder. “Iris,” I said to get her attention, but I knew
she couldn’t hear me.

Once Kai had returned with
the dagger, another girl awoke screaming. Iris knocked her out, and
they continued with the ritual. As Kai poised the knife over the
handsome boy’s chest, a hawk swooped down and snatched it. Iris
knocked the bird from the air, its feathered body tumbling to the
ground and transforming into a boy. I gasped.
A shape-shifter.
My sister was in
over her head. When she had told me two weeks ago they’d found the
“jack-pot” at a remote school for the gifted, I couldn’t help but
worry. Normally, witches could handle their own against ordinaries,
as we call humans who don’t practice magic, but Gifteds could be a
challenge – the very reason we had drugged the hybrids at the
compound twenty years ago; we didn’t know which ones might be
gifted with what. We didn’t want a struggle.