Unforgiven (Wanderers #3)

Unforgiven

Jessica Miller

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
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without written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to
historical events, real people, or real places are used
fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are
products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual
events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

Unforgiven (wanderers #3)

Copyright © 2014 Jessica Miller

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my fans. Thank you for your
undying devotion.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’m going to give myself a pat on
the back and thank myself for all my hard work. I have gone over
and over this book to death trying to make sure I got the story
perfect and where I wanted it to be. I’d also like to thank all the
readers and bloggers who dedicated their time to read my books and
share them with other readers. Your time is never taken for
granted.

I woke up startled. Forgetting where I was. “Hey, you
okay?” Josie asked.

“Yeah, weird dream is all,” I said, pulling off the
itchy wool blanket the stewardess brought me earlier.

“You want to talk about it?” Josie turned, giving me
her full attention.

“No I’m okay. Thanks,” I said, squeezing Josie’s hand
and smiling at her reassuringly.

“How are you feeling? Hungry? Thirsty?” she asked
with a quick intensity making me feel a little overwhelmed.

“Josie I’m fine,” I insisted for the millionth time.
“Just tired,” and feeling run down I wanted to say, but kept it to
myself. No point in making her worry. She was already hovering over
me enough and I needed room to breathe. I appreciated her concern,
but she was smothering me just a little too much.

Josie reached in to her bag and pulled out a water
bottle and handed it to me. “I had Billy sneak this on the plane
for you,” she said, shoving the bottle in my hand.

I looked at the bottle. There was a red gooey
substance inside that looked like cranberry juice. “What is it?” I
asked wearily.

“Two parts blood one part water.” I made a face.
Josie rolled her eyes at me. “Gee whiz Ella, for a vampire you
think you wouldn’t be so squeamish about drinking blood.”

“Yes, but I’m a new vampire and only half at that.
This whole drinking blood thing is still new to me,” I said, eyeing
the bottle.

“Just drink it. Billy said you’ll need it to help
recuperate and get your strength back and this is the quickest way
to do that. You’re still weak and frankly looking kind of pale.” It
was my turn to roll my eyes now. “And not to mention you insisted
we leave right away –”

“Okay, okay. I’ll drink it…see,” I said, unscrewing
the cap and holding up the bottle. As soon as I got a whiff of it I
felt my pulse race. I took a long, deep breath. The second it hit
my lips it took everything I had not to down the bottle. I
swallowed a few small gulps and placed the cap back on the bottle.
I gave Josie an exaggerated smile and she sat back content. It was
a small victory she had won, just enough to satisfy her and leave
me alone for a little while.

I tucked the bottle in my bag for later and sat back
in my chair. I let the healing effects of the blood course through
me as I tried to rest comfortably. I could feel it working almost
instantly and was happy for the pick me up. The whole idea of
drinking blood still freaked me out despite it’s rewards. I only
recently had the desire for it and that was usually in the heat of
the moment. Roman was the only person I have ever bitten, but at
the time it just felt right, natural. I felt the desire of it and
the call of it, but drinking it voluntarily from a bottle and
biting someone were two different things. Sitting here thinking
about it made biting someone surprisingly more appealing than
drinking it like it was wine.

I had a hard time trying to fall back asleep. My mind
was racing with everything that happened and I couldn’t seem to
shut it off. I got up to go to the bathroom to splash some cold
water on my face. Josie was right. I was looking pretty pale. I
also had dark circles under my eyes and my skin looked shallow and
sunken in. On top of all that, the latest addition of blue in my
hair was beaming brightly. Unfortunately this streak I couldn’t
hide unlike the others. This one was in plain view on the top right
side.

I sighed, readjusted my ponytail, and then headed
back to my seat. When I returned, I noticed Josie and Cameron had
switched seats and Josie was now cuddled up next to Billy. I was
actually surprised she hadn’t sat next to him in the first
place.

“Hey,” Cameron said as I squeezed in to the seat next
to her. “Care to fill me in on what the plan is? Not that I don’t
enjoy a random trip to Ireland, but I would like to know what to
expect.”

I knew Josie wasn’t too forthcoming about what we
were doing and I wasn’t so sure myself on what I should tell her.
It was clear she was on team Roman. I was afraid once I told her
the truth she would hop on the next flight back to school, although
that might not be such a bad thing. She shouldn’t be here. This was
not her problem. I watched her expectant face as she sat there and
waited for my answer. Should I tell her the truth? Would she freak
out so bad they’ll have to contain her for the rest of the flight?
I guess there was only one way to find out.

I decided to start small and work my way up. I
thought breaking it to her gently would be the safer approach. “Why
don’t you tell me what you do know?” I said, hoping I could get an
idea of where I should start.

She narrowed her eyes at me slightly. I had a feeling
she knew I was attempting to hide certain information and I was
sure she was about to let me know she wasn’t happy about it. She
adjusted herself so she was facing me. I braced myself for her
attitude, but she surprised me by speaking calmly. “I know there
was someone before Roman and he was
‘the one’
,” she air
quoted. “I also know Jack supposedly killed him, but you believe
he’s still alive.” I nodded my head, unsure if she was looking for
conformation or not. “My guess is you got tipped off that he is
somewhere in Ireland.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked, wondering how
she came about this information.

“I’m just that good,” she said with a smirk. I raised
my brow at her. “And Josie told me.” I sat back, crossing my arms.
Was nothing sacred anymore? What happened to sharing secrets with
friends because you knew you could trust that person to keep that
secret? I can’t believe she would open her mouth like that. “Look,
she only told me what I needed to know so don’t get mad at
Josie.”

I pulled on the end of my ponytail, biting my lip. I
still wasn’t sure how much information I should divulge. “Why are
you here?” I asked instead. She looked at me confused and at the
same time a little offended. “What I’m saying is…” I paused for a
moment. I didn’t even think I knew what I was trying to say. “I
would have expected you to beg me to stay considering you know the
real reason I’m going,” I said softly, as if I was committing a sin
for saying it out loud.

“I’m not going to lie. At first I thought you just
needed to get away for a while, which is cool, considering, but
then you started talking in your sleep and that’s when I started
asking questions.” I blushed, a little embarrassed. I had no idea I
talked in my sleep. I wondered how much I actually said. “Don’t
worry. You didn’t give up anything good,” she winked. “You just
kept saying Tristan over and over again.”

I tugged at the picky wool blanket. Why was Cameron
so calm about all this? I wondered if she had ulterior motives. “I
don’t get how you are okay with all of this?” She looked at me
funny. “Not too long ago you swore to do physical damage if I ever
hurt Roman and here you are on your way to help me find my so
called dead lover.”

“Maybe I’m secretly hoping you don’t find him,” she
said with a teasing smile. I tried to smile back but the hurt I was
feeling from the possibility of breaking Roman’s heart was too much
to bear at the moment. “Ella, I know you love Roman. You can’t deny
it anymore,” she said, giving me a look that said nice try but I
figured it out. “I know he loves you too.”

“Are you deliberately trying to dig the knife
deeper?” I asked, clenching onto the little sanity I had left.

“No. I get why you are doing this. I know you don’t
want to hurt Roman and if it was me, I would do the same thing. I
would want to know too. As your friend I support your decision
whatever the outcome. I’m here for you and I will do whatever you
need me to do no questions asked.”

I just couldn’t let it go. I was perplexed by her
generosity and understanding. “But why?” I pushed, needing to know
more.

“Because you are my friend and that’s what friends
do,” she said with a genuinely sweet smile. She placed her hand
gently on mine. “I will follow you through this to the end.”

I relaxed a little. I should have never doubted
Cameron’s intentions. She was always straight with me, from the
first day I met her. “Thank you Cameron. You have no idea how much
this means to me. I have no idea how I could ever repay you.”

“Don’t worry. I think of something,” she said,
patting my hand. “We can start with you calling Roman,” she smiled,
reaching out to grab the phone off the back of the chair.

I knew it was too good to be true. She held the phone
out to me. I took it and hung it back up. “Cameron I can’t call
Roman.”

“Why not?”

“Because. What the hell would I say? I mean really.
Hey sorry I left but I had to see if my ex-lover was still alive.
Yeah, cause that would go over great.”

“Ella, I think you are under estimating Roman. You
don’t know how he’s going to react.”

“Exactly,” I said, scared I already lost him.

“I think he would be more pissed by you not saying
anything than telling him the truth. I know Roman pretty well and
trust me when I say it is better that you call him. He’ll
understand,” she said, grabbing the phone again.

I knew she was right. Although I didn’t believe he
would be as understanding as she claimed he would be. Hell I
wouldn’t, but I just couldn’t right now. I needed some time to
think of what to say and at the moment too many things were
plaguing my mind to think straight. “I will call him, but not now.
I just…rather wait until we land.” She conceded and placed the
phone back in it’s rightful place.

“Fine, but I’m warning you now I will keep you
reminding you to.”

“I have no doubt you will.”

“Alright get some rest. You’re going to need it.”

I sighed and rested my head back against the seat. It
made me feel a little better knowing Cameron understood, but still
worried with what we were stepping into. We were walking in blind.
No idea where to start. We were going off a tip from a psychotic
killer who could have possibly lied just to send on us on a wild
goose chase. I wouldn’t believe that though. I knew deep down
Tristan was alive. I saw it. I had to believe and I wasn’t going to
give up until I found him.

I flipped the switch for the stewardess and asked her
for a cup of water so I could take some of the sleeping pills I had
left over from the many visits I had taken to the nurse’s office. I
knew that would be the only way I could sleep and not worry about
everything. Besides thinking about Tristan, I couldn’t stop
thinking about Roman. I cared for him deeply and I meant it when I
told him I loved him, but I loved Tristan too and if there was a
possibility he was out there somewhere… I had to know.

The temporary peace and quiet was welcomed, leaving
me time to my own thoughts, but all that time in my own head would
make anyone crazy. I decided to take out my journal and write until
the meds kicked in.

March 27

My life has never really been simple. In the past
two years I had almost died, three times. I lost my best friend
Josie, who then came back from the dead, and now is an angel along
with my high school sweetheart Kyle. I’m a half-vampire half-human
who has more powers than anyone has heard of and with each new
power I get it seems to follow with turning pieces of my hair blue.
I started a new school where I fell in love with a boy named Roman,
met some great friends, only to have it end with a horrible attack
on the school because of me. And let’s not forget my evil
ex-roommate, who for whatever reason, hates me and had made it her
duty to make my life miserable.