Scarlet Night (Limited Edition) (15 page)

“Did Keith do it
? Was he the one who killed my father?” Her voice was shaking, but he couldn’t tell if it was from grief or rage.

“He
…” he growled and closed his eyes again, not wanting to risk seeing her expression upon hearing the truth,“He was. It seems he’s assigned himself with a mission to take this clan apart from the inside. It’s all part of some fucking vendetta against your father, and he
knew
!”—he felt his hands tighten into sharp fists—“Your father saw it coming and I…” Zane forced himself to settle down. Obviously the drugs were beginning to wear off. “It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that it
was
Keith’s doing.”

Serena pursed her lips and looked away, trying—but failing—to conceal the shimmering wetness in her eyes. After several deep breaths, she opened her mouth and stretched her jaw before deciding she
was in control of her emotions.

Zane knew that look a
ll too well.

She sighed,
“My brother and I never got along; to be honest with you, I don’t think
anybody
got along with the bastard. He was always up to something—always plotting some terrible new prank or some sadistic new way to torture… well, anybody!—and using our father’s role as leader as a means of getting away with it all.” She shook her head, her face starting to melt into a mask of rage, “He
always
used power and influence as an excuse to do
anything
he wanted. He’s never
not
been a manipulative, fucking dick, and I never did anything to stop it. I was too fucking scared of him!”

Zane frowned and looked at her, “Serena?”

She was still shaking her head; still staring off with growing fury, “I think this fight has always been mine. He hated that Daddy saw me as his princess—as the only one fit to take over the Clan of Vail—and now he’s usin
g
the fear I had of him when we were childre
n
to try and scare me away from this. All so he can prove that our father’s judgment was wrong. I just was too selfish to fight back…” she confessed, “… until now.”

Zane’s eyes widened and he stared, dumbfounded and awed, “Then… you’re
accepting
the clan? You’ll help us?”

“
Bitch, please! I am
done
being under that arrogant turd’s boot. Besides, you wouldn’t make it that far without me, anyway!” She gave him a coy smirk before shaking her head, “I can’t help but wonder how he’s gotten control of The Council’s approval for all of this, though…”

“He hasn
’t. Well, not completely, at least. Not
yet
. He still needs…” Zane sighed, shaking his head as he paused. Realizing for the first time that they were the only two in the room and what that meant. He frowned, “Where’s Zoey?”

Z
oey was exhausted.

The end result of the previous night’s chaos had all-but driven her six feet under, and seeing Zane l
aid out on in the infirmary was just too much for her. While she wanted nothing more than to drop into her bed and allow sleep to consume her, she was unable to get settled enough to sleep. For nearly four hours she tossed and turned—her fleeting moments of sleep haunted by visions of the strange therion from the forest—and, upon each awakening, she was forced to admit more and more the impact he had had on her.

When it was finally dark enough for her to sneak out without notice
, she quickly took advantage of the situation and snuck out; using her aura to scan for potential witnesses and seeing to it that they would recall witnessing
nothing
. Though there was a twinge of guilt at using her abilities against her own clan-mates—and for such selfish and, moreover, childish pursuits—she couldn’t shake her hopes to finally have some time to herself in the forest.

Though she
was secretly pining that she wouldn’t be alone.

Sighing and allowing her mind to wander, she
let her surroundings become a distant thought until she was finally in the depths of the forest. Not knowing how to seek out the source of her restlessness, she momentarily abandoned her hopes and went to her regular spot in the center of a clearing where the canopy of trees opened up just enough to allow her to see the moon. Settling in the rim of this clearing, she leaned against one of the thicker tree trunks that served as the dividing line and closed her eyes as her thoughts shifted once again to the therion from the previous night. She bit her lip and lifted her hand to her chest; she
knew
it was wrong to obsess over somebody that was, for all intents and purposes, the enemy, but she was unable to think about the therion as anything evil or malicious. Again and again she pushed the thoughts below the surface of her bubbling mind, yet, each time, they would burst back to the surface—that much stronger and more compelling—and she felt her heartbeat quicken and lodge itself in her throat.

What was going on with her?

Closing her eyes, she began to hum softly as she accepted the inevitability of her own mind’s desires and allowed her thoughts to caress the forbidden territory.

“You again?
” the familiar voice snarled from overhead and Zoey’s eyes flew open and shifted upward towards the dark mask of night-bathed leaves, “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay away!” his voice echoed down, though she could not see where he was.

“I-I’m sorry!
”—she lied—“I was just trying to relax.”—another lie—“I didn’t mean to! I swear! I didn’t even think you’d
be
here again!” Zoey bit her lip, mentally counting how many lies she’d just fed him and wondering how many he’d believe. Still looking up in the direction of the voice, she moved to pull away from the tree.

Though she couldn’t convince herself he was an enemy, she couldn’t be sure that he shared her sentiments and
worried that he was going to attack.

A growl echoed from the canopy and Zoey froze as the sound of branches shifting picked up and the object of her desires dropped down gracefully to his feet, “Don’t worry,
I’m not interested in killing you. I don’t need any more issues than I already have,” he sighed, shifting his eyes to the ground.

“Really?” She felt herself smile and her face went red from the reaction.
She could see from the calmness in his earthy aura that he was being honest, and this realization motivated her to take a step towards him. Realizing what she was doing, she paused and looked into his mind, positive that he’d be furious if he knew of the invasion but unable to refrain from finding out more about him. Though the depths of his mind were clouded and hazy—feeling like a dense fog and containing more images and memories than calculated thoughts—she “saw” that he was wondering her name but was unsure of how to ask. Smiling uncontrollably again, she withdrew her prying aura and took another step, “I’m Zoey.”

“Zoey…” he recited the name under his breath
, sounding confused and looked over at the small lake nearby that was shimmered under the moonlight and reflected the flashes from the dancing fireflies before shifting his predatory gaze back to her and nodding once. “You can call me ‘Isaac’.”

He sighed
and played with the idea of running off, knowing that he should leave before this became something more severe than what it already was. It wasn’t right to get close to a vampire, no matter what. Not after his experience with their kind. He knew he was supposed to kill vampires on sight. After all, it was his job to do so…

…
no matter how much he hated it.

“Isaac? I like that name.” She smiled and gestured for him to sit with her near the tree
he’d been perching in, “Do you want to sit with me?”

He turned toward
s her and frowned, she looked fragile—
too
fragile, like the slightest contact would break her—as she held out her tiny arm. He inhaled slowly, looking back towards the direction of his pack and weighing his options for a moment before looking back at her and letting his eyes trace her body.

Though she was a vampire, there was no denying that s
he
was
beautiful. The intense blue of her shimmering eyes and dyed hair adorning a soft and innocent face reminded him of a sunny day and he felt a warm flush overcome him as this thought came.

Just like the previous night, he found himself reaching for her and quickly pulled away and looked
down, feeling the warmth replaced by a flood of embarrassment. Her gaze was completely on him, taking in everything they saw—and more, he suspected—and her piercing eyes filled him with a sense of comfort and stability he had never felt before. He averted his eyes again, afraid that the calmness would make him weak and vulnerable to an attack. Could she be creating a distraction; setting him up while another leech attacked from the darkness? But he couldn’t convince himself that the suspicions were justified. Something in the way she looked at him made him feel…

… s
omething he shouldn’t.

“So, what were you doing out here before you fou
nd me?” She smiled and sat back against the neighboring tree and looked out at the pond.

“
I was trying to clear my mind,” he answered before frowning. He wasn’t usually this open—this honest—with anybody.

“Oh? I was too!” she smiled again, “I always come here when I need to think.
It’s so relaxing here!” She smiled; her voice was soft and filled with so much passion and excitement, “I’ve always loved it here.”

He
blushed and, without moving his head, shifted his eyes towards her, finding himself getting lost in everything about this enticing, albeit unusual, vampire.

He forced himself to look away again.

To become involved with their kind was the
last
thing he wanted. He had a mission to follow—a job that he’d dedicated himself to seeing through—and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for the thoughts and feelings in his mind.

He didn’t need to see her to know she was smiling. Something about her had a sincerity behind it, and he couldn’t help but feel that it
was
real; that it wasn’t just a setup. Though he barely knew her, he felt like he could talk to her about anything. He growled and shook his head.

This was not supposed to happen!