Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
I keep my mouth shut. Mostly because I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I know Blair’s mother better than she knows her, but I know more about the elites than she does. She’s been told lie after lie, and the fairy-tale façade she has in her head doesn’t even come close to the reality.
Does her mother know the truth? I honestly don’t fucking know.
When I don’t say anything, my silence triggers her even more. Her eyes widen, filling with something raw. “You think my mother would hand me to monsters,” she says, and it’s not a question.
“I didn’t say that.” I run a hand through my hair. “I think she believes she’s doing what’s best.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I’ve got.”
Her breathing turns ragged. “You won’t let me call them,” she says, more to herself than to me.
“I will, eventually, but not yet.”
“When?” she demands.
“When I know it won’t get you hurt.”
“You don’t get to decide that!” she shouts.
My connection to her sparks inside me. You’re mine. Not property. Not ownership. But mine in the way the ocean belongs to the moon. I can’t let anything happen to you. It would kill me.
I want to tell her the truth—tell her she’s my fated mate. Tell her she’s my destiny. Tell her the universe created us to be together—to be one. But she already has too much on her plate right now, and I fear that would simply push her over the edge.
“If you call them,” I say quietly, “you risk walking straight back into the same hands I pulled you from. Or worse, bringing them straight to our door. And I refuse to put my brothers and Kylie in that situation.”
“That won’t happen, Kane. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You can’t make sure of that, Blair. It will be out of your control.”
“You killed two men in my driveway!” she screams. “You dragged me into the woods! And now you’re telling me my parents can’t be trusted?”
Her pulse spikes, and I can see it thrumming at her neck. I can hear it rushing through her veins. And I see a million different emotions flit across her face and a million more intentions roll through her head. Her mind is so all over the place that I can’t even pinpoint what she intends to do.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asks, and tears stream down her cheeks.
Because I love you. Because it feels like you’re my whole fucking world. “Because I have to, Blair. Because I fucking have to.”
She takes a step backward.
Then another.
“Blair,” I warn, but I don’t command.
She shakes her head violently. “I just need a minute, Kane,” she says, voice breaking. “I just need a fucking minute.”
Her intent shifts, and it isn’t escape or betrayal. It’s resolve.
And then, she turns and walks straight into the trees.
I move instantly, but then I hesitate because she’s asking for a minute, and her intentions aren’t showing me anything that would give me the power to stop her. She’s merely trying to understand it all. And understanding it all, truly wrapping her head around the truth, comes with an emotional toll of grief and anger and rage and sadness. Deep, deep sadness.
So, I give her a few moments of space.
By the time I surge forward into the forest, she’s already deeper than she should be.
“Blair!” I call once.
She doesn’t answer, but my body can sense her heavy breaths and fast heartbeat.
She’s running now.
Fuck. I have to stop her before she does something reckless.
I have to stop her before they get to her first.
Blair
I don’t know how long I run.
But I know the forest doesn’t give a shit about me. It doesn’t part or soften; it just keeps existing in a thick and endless green that feels almost violent every time it smacks me in the face.
My lungs burn. My legs shake. But I don’t stop.
Because if I stop, he’ll track me down. I know Kane will. That’s the advantage of being a vampire. They’re faster and stronger than us humans. They can track your scent and hear you breathing from miles away.
But I’ve been prepared for this moment my entire life. Well, not the running in the stupid forest part, but the fact that I know the things that make it hard for vampires to track you. Being raised in a family that’s close with the elite, I’ve learned plenty while eavesdropping during parties my parents threw at our mansion.
I also was a voracious reader as a little girl—wanting to learn and understand everything I possibly could about what my future vampire husband would be like.
I hop across a muddy creek bed and make a point to remove the flannel shirt from my body and toss it on the ground. I’m only in sweatpants and one of Kane’s white T-shirts at this point, but I don’t care. I zigzag run in the opposite direction of the shirt and just keep moving as fast as my legs can take me.