Chapter 157
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With so many generals staying in this region at the moment, everyone thinks this is the safest place to be. The Kings are here in the castle, and Aurora is staying in the guest bedroom in our suite.
“I don’t think you can trust this girl,” Kennedy says. “The mob queen, I get. She’s us without the credentials.”
“I agree with some of the shit coming out of three wives Barbie here, and not trusting the little vampire girl is one of them,” Ana agrees.
“I think being friends with her is important,” I disagree. “Look, I’m not saying we’re going to be BFF’s forever, but we need to start fresh. Ragnar and I are thinking about giving everyone a clean slate, as long as they don’t start being assholes.
“It looks to me that we’re not the only ones fed up with the way things are. You guys should have seen her tonight. Her dad was ready to punish her in front of everyone, and she made him run away. I’m sure she got an earful when she got home, but it was beautiful. We start off as friends, and if we later decide to beef, it’s not going to be because of something I did.
“Wars aren’t my thing. The same goes for all of us. I know you’re mad at her, but Kaylee is also really good at this kind of thing. She used to help me during our huge pack meetings. A lot of the stuff I know I learned from her.”
“You should be mad at her as well,” Ana scoffs.
“She just lost her freedom, and he may not have been her mate, but she just lost her bond. It takes its toll on your body and your mind. It completely altered my life. Alphas don’t like to admit they were wrong,” I shrug. “I was upset, but I guess after everything that’s happened, I’m over it. I’m glad she’s alive.”
“You’re a fucking sap,” I can practically see Ana rolling her eyes.
“I’m with crazy on this one,” Kennedy agrees with her. “But you’re right. When we first met, I thought you were a weenie. You cried for everything, and you’re a twitchy sleeper, but I’ve never had more faith in someone the way I have faith in you. I’m going to complain the whole time. FYI.”
“I’m not a complainer, but I will not mask how I feel for anyone,” Ana adds. I’m assuming she’s talking about her very expressive facial expressions. “I have to let you guys go. My final transfer ride is here, and I want to go with them to make sure everything is where it needs to be. If anyone fucks up my timeline, I will lose it.”
“I have to go too. With Kaylee out of the way, Ivar is getting shit done. You probably won’t hear from me for a few days. Unless it’s important.”
“Okay, guys. Be careful. Let me know if you need anything from us.”
We all hang up. I sit back and turn to face the big empty room. Her timeline? Does she put her prisoners in order of the date she caught them? I look around at the empty walls, and for the first time in my life, I have ideas for something that might be just mine. I won’t be stepping into someone’s life or going out of my way to please someone who won’t appreciate it.
“Hey,” I spin around to see Aurora standing in my doorway. “Your mate let me in. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah, come in,” I wave her over.
I stand and push my gaming chair over to her. I take one of the stools that were already in here. I asked the movers to let me keep two. The iron welder who made these clearly loves his job.
“Did you just move in?” she asks.
“Yeah, and I don’t really have a lot. I lost most of my stuff when I fled Artume,” I shrug.
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“I’m sorry about that,” she says, looking around. “I know some people who could design you the coolest girls‘ room. You look like a textbook nerd. We can do minimalist white, and you spend the next few months filling the spaces with what you want.”
“Isn’t the point of minimalism to have the minimal?”
“Yes, but we live for fucking ever. You’re into basic shit right now because you have to start from scratch, but once you’re set, making it home is the next step,” she shrugs.
“You sound like you speak from experience,” I smile. She reaches over and disconnects my headset. My music blares from the speakers. I reach over to turn it down a little.
“I love this song,” she smiles. I glance over to see what’s playing. Numb, by Bleed Token. “And yeah, I just recently started living with my father, but I used to live with my mom. We moved around a lot because she didn’t want my dad to find me:”
“What?” I turn back to give her my full attention.
“You really don’t know anything about vampires,” she laughs.
“I know that you’re scary,” I admit.
“That’s all you need,” she grins. “Yeah, my mom hates my dad. They were fated, but my dad was addicted to blood. He tried to keep her locked up, but once I was born, she gave him the slip while he was trying to get cleaned up. I’m kind of not allowed to see her.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I say and reach for the chocolates in my top drawer. Her face lights up. “Wait, I thought that blood addiction was part of being a vampire.”
“Younglings like me, yes. But a vampire’s bond is quite literally our source of life. Once we find our other halves, taking blood from an outsider is taboo.”
“Oh,” is all I can really say. I have never heard of that before, but honestly, it’s a very romantic notion. You know, a morbid one. “I know this is a stupid time to ask, but are you happy living with your dad?”
“Yes,” she smiles. “I love being around him. Maybe it’s because we’re so alike. I don’t feel like I have to be walking on eggshells around him. I understand why my mother is the way she is, but he’s my dad, and as a fledgling, I need someone to help me control my power. I hurt my classmates when I first began to manifest my affinities. You know what it’s like.”
“Yeah, I mean, I never hurt anyone. I think being on base when it happened was the best thing for me. I had a lot of support, and Ragnar has been very helpful with the transition.”
“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asks suddenly, I look her over and shake
my
head.
“Your brother, Oliver, was my friend. We went to summer camp in Hawaii together.”
“For strategy improvement. He was having trouble with it during school, so my dad sent him there.” I nod, not sure how I would know her.
“You caught me sneaking out of your house a couple of days before the incident.”
A squeak comes out of me when it hits me. I thought I was dreaming. My brothers had been watching that Hellboy movie with the weird twins all week, and that’s who I thought I imagined in my house. I had to use the downstairs bathroom after my brother accidentally dropped a smoke bomb in my toilet.
“I didn’t think that was real,” I laugh. “Yes, I remember. I was coming up the stairs, and you were sneaking out of the window at the far end of the hall. That was the window the two of them always snuck out of because it was the only blind spot in our security system.”
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“Yeah, I know that,” she laughs.
“I thought you were my age?”
“How old are you?” she asks.
“Twenty–one.”
“You are?” she glares at me and looks away, annoyed. “I’m twenty–six.”
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“I always say castle–raised kids are about five years younger than regular kids. Ragnar and Ivar rarely left their castle growing up. They were only allowed to stay over at our place if my grandmother and her team were on the premises. We’re definitely the same age. Wow, I didn’t know you guys were friends. That’s really cool. Oliver and I were close.”
“I know,” she smiles sadly. “He talked about you a lot. Said you put a lot of pressure on yourself wanting to prove you weren’t just the spare kid.”
“He called me that?” I growl at her playfully. She laughs, shaking her head. “Did you two date?”
“No, but I did feed on him while we were in camp,” her phone goes off. It’s definitely not the note I want to end this on. What the hell? Was my brother into vampire girls? He was a total jock. “I have to go. Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“You took a nap,” I say, because she got here maybe three hours ago.
“It’s all I need, really. I haven’t slept that much in a long time. It feels very safe here. Tell Ragnar he has my thanks as well. I’ll see you around.”
Before I can say another word, she’s gone. I reach out to catch the papers that swirled up in the air.
“You’re welcome,” I say out loud, hoping she heard it.
My phone pings as I pick up the papers that fell. When I set the stack down, there is a picture of an old Victorian house. I reach for my phone to see it’s a text from Ivar. It’s the census file for the shadow wolf.
“Soph, did Ivar send you that file yet?” Ragnar shouts from somewhere.
“Yeah, just got it,” I call back. I place the phone on my desk. I take the papers and go over to one of the boxes I still have to unpack.
“Where?” Ragnar asks.
“Right there on my desk,” I point back. I crouch down and knock a stack of fluffy blankets over. “Dammit,” I go to pick them and notice a box that’s never been here before. “Ragnar?”
“Oh, sorry. I put those in here, you have a bunch of fluffy blankets, and I didn’t-” he freezes when he sees the box with a timer on it. Before I can even think, he grabs me, and we’re out of the room.
The last thing I hear is a loud, ear–piercing scream followed by a force that knocks the wind out of me. I think that was a
bomb.
