Unrequited (12 page)

Bending to pick them up, Ashton placed the papers back inside the journal without looking at them. She didn’t need to see them to know what they were; they were the letters Will had sent her while she was away. She had read those letters until they were permanently written across her mind. Unsure of what to do in return, partially out of her desire for space and partially out of a shyness she felt about her own growing feelings, she hadn’t reply to his letters.

“Is that for your little brother?” Ashton's roommate asked as she picked out a kid's Halloween card from the drugstore.

“No, just a friend. It's sort of an inside joke.” Ashton smiled at the silly vampire on the card, and knew she had to send it to Will. Memories of his crazy yard decorations flooded her mind as she snapped up an envelope to go with the card.

Sending those cards became a tradition, and caused her roommate to often question Ashton about the mysterious recipient. She would only smile in reply. Somehow, she knew the cards would say more than any letters ever could. The connection between her and Will was unspoken. Their fate had seemed to be determined from almost the moment they met. That wasn't something she could explain to a mortal.

Ashton closed the journal and placed it in the drawer of her nightstand. She lay on her bed and stared into the ceiling fan. She was home now, school was over, and very soon she knew she would see Will. The thought of their inevitable encounter brought on a multitude of feelings.

On her last Christmas break, Ashton had almost sought out Will. She was ready to take back her request for space. She even drove past his house several times and willed him to come outside and catch her in the act. He never did, even though she could almost sense that he was watching her from within. She supposed she couldn’t blame him after the way she had behaved. At that point, her time at school had almost been over and her self-imposed isolation would soon be over as well. She had decided to focus on finishing her last semester and hurrying back to Belle Ridge and, hopefully, back to Will.

When she had gone back to school that January, Ashton felt like everything would fall into place, and a happy future with Will was looming on the horizon. It didn’t occur to her that anything would upset those plans, because it had never occurred to her that she would meet Griffin.

Chapter Fifteen

Griffin Devereux had been to a lot of towns, but he'd never been to one quite like Belle Ridge.

“Wholesome,” Griffin sneered out loud as he drove by picket fence after picket fence.

Wholesome had never been Griffin's thing. He'd always been drawn to the fringes of society and the people who lived there. He had learned long ago that the best way to avoid expectation from others was to mingle with people who were consumed by their own selfish plans. When people were focused on themselves, they didn’t really focus on those around them.

Griffin wasn't a person who could afford the spotlight.

For so long it had been easy. In the early days he mixed with the young nobility, where the parties would last for days and nights. The only goal was fun and personal satisfaction, and as long as a guest was on board, their origins were largely ignored. As time went on, he joined military brigades. As a soldier on the move, he could forge whatever identity he chose and if problems arose, he could just leave and find another outfit to join.

In more recent years he had begun to frequent college campuses. College students were focused on school and parties, and rarely questioned those around them. They took people at face value and didn’t worry about much else. He'd been to more colleges than he could remember. Griffin didn’t enroll as a student, but would sign up to audit a few classes in his favorite subjects. Art and literature were true passions in his life, and he never tired of studying them. After hours he would cavort with the students at parties and bars. Yes, college was the perfect place for a guy like himself.

Everything had been going along as it always had until January. That was when he saw Ashton Wallace. She wasn't doing anything of note, just simply walking across campus. A slight breeze blew her hair and something in her thoughts made her smile. In that instant, everything changed. A life of frivolous behavior was no longer an option for Griffin, for now he had a goal. He had to have Ashton…forever.

His desire for Ashton was the driving force behind his journey to Belle Ridge. He'd tried with less-than-marginal success to pursue her over the past months and decided that perhaps he would have better luck on her turf, where she might be more comfortable. Griffin would lay low, assess the situation, and when the time was right, he would make his presence known.

***

Will sat on his porch. He was thinking of Ashton and wondering when he would finally see her again. Knowing she was in town was a mixture of joy and torture. Still, he knew he had to wait. This had to be her choice.

For a moment, Will felt she might be nearing, but quickly realized it was someone else. This other person was close, very close, and it gave Will a menacing feeling that another vampire had come to Belle Ridge. A vampire that couldn’t be trusted.

***

In the five years since her change, Ashton had slowly been able to control and understand some of her new sensibilities. Just as Will had been able to, she could now sense the emotions in others. She discovered she could also persuade people to go along with what she wanted them to do by focusing her thoughts and words in a specific way. This skill was still sort of shaky, and she didn’t feel totally comfortable with the idea of controlling another person, but she still planned to master it.

Perhaps the biggest thing she had discovered was her ability to sense another vampire. When she first met Will, she had a vague feeling of recognition. By the time she met Griffin, the feeling had become powerful. It was so powerful that she could feel him, almost hear him in her mind, before she even laid eyes on him.

When she did finally see him, she was awestruck. He was tall with dark, shining hair and eyes more black than brown. His face was strong. Everything about him was strong. Though he appeared only a few years older than her, he stood out from all the other young men. Griffin was a man, in every sense of the word. He had authority and strength and a weary sort of wisdom etched in his eyes.

They first met on the steps of the library.

“Excuse me, you dropped this,” a deep voice called to Ashton.

Before she even turned, she knew this was the presence she had been feeling the past few days. Finally, she faced the man. Dressed from head to toe in black, he should have seemed like a stereotype of the dark and mysterious, but there was nothing cliché about him. He was both intriguing and frightening but solitarily handsome.

“Thank you, I didn’t realize I had dropped anything.” She reached for the proffered book and stared at his hand before slowly lifting her head to look into the stranger's eyes.

“Griffin Devereux,” he said, his hand touching hers.

“Ashton,” she replied and quickly pulled the book and her hand away.

Griffin cocked his head and gave her a smile. “Just Ashton?”

“I'm not in the habit of giving my life story to people I don't know.” She tried to sound haughty. It seemed like the best way to control herself and the situation. Foolishly, she had assumed Will was the only other vampire in the world, at least the only other one that would be in her world. She wasn't prepared to deal with others, especially others who made her feel completely unsettled.

“Well, I’m in the habit of introducing myself to pretty girls, and you are the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” He was leaning against the building now, at complete ease.

Ashton could feel the blush rising on her face. This man was staring at her with an intensity she had never experienced.

“Thank you, but I should be going. I really have a lot to do and, um, thank you for picking my book up. Maybe I'll see you around.” She turned away from him and prayed he would leave her alone. She didn’t feel equipped to deal with him.

“You're welcome, Ashton,” he said as she walked away.

“Oh, and, Ashton.” His voice made her stop. She looked back at him.

“As the only other vampire here, you'll definitely see me around.”

Ashton turned away and walked to her dorm without looking back again.

They had seen each other again, many times. At first Griffin would appear where she was around campus. They would exchange a few awkward words before Ashton would excuse herself. Finally, after a lot of prodding on Griffin's part, she had agreed to go on a date of sorts. They had gone for a walk by the river, and during that walk, Ashton was finally able to let her guard down and get to know the man she was with.

What she discovered was a man who had lived for far longer than she thought possible. He had been changed in the sixteenth century in England and had lived a life she could barely imagine. Griffin was as different from Will as a person could be. While Will was content and easygoing, Griffin had something slightly dark stirring behind his eyes. Ashton felt he had never been able to really accept or acclimate to his situation the way Will had. Griffin was also more guarded than Will. While he definitely shared stories of his past, he kept his present thoughts and emotions to himself. Will was always an open book.

Still, there was one trait the men shared: they had both experienced intense loneliness, and Ashton knew both men looked to her to relieve it.

Chapter Sixteen

Will had felt uneasy for several weeks. He was sure another vampire had come to town, but whoever it was, they were keeping a low profile. Will had wondered if Ashton could feel it too. He had tried to wait for her to come to him, but this new presence gave him a sense of urgency, and he knew it was finally time to go to Ashton.

The drive to the Wallace house was so familiar, but this time Will felt a nervous anticipation. Ashton had been home for weeks and hadn't made any attempts to contact him. Now, he was going to make the first move. Not only did he want to see Ashton, but this new cold-blooded presence made him want to keep her close and ensure her protection.

Before he could even knock, Calvin Wallace pulled the door open.

“Will, hey man, I'm glad you're here.” Calvin gave Will a quick hug before heading toward his car. It was still hard to believe the kid was now old enough to drive. Walking through the open door, Will called out to whoever was inside the house. He knew there was only one person within, the person he had been waiting four years to see.

“Hello, Will,” a voice quietly called out.

Will turned to see Ashton emerge from the hallway. She was surely more beautiful than she had been years before. There was a new maturity to her demeanor and her features had become even more flawlessly defined. She possessed a confidence and an air of independence she'd only hinted at in her earlier years. Gone were all signs of the girl he had known, replaced by a woman he now realized was a bit of a stranger.

Without a single word, he knew Ashton hadn't come back to Belle Ridge for him. Her eyes, her beautiful green eyes, didn’t hold the same look for him they once had. He couldn’t move. He could scarcely breathe. In less than an instant he felt like everything he had planned and wanted had evaporated into the air. All that remained was his bruised and broken heart and the memory of a stolen moment in time.

Finally, he tried to muster some appearance of decorum and walked toward her. “Ashton, it's good to have you back.”

For a several seconds they stood before each other. Then, unexpectedly, Ashton pulled Will into a tight hug.

“It's good to be back, Will,” she said against his ear, a slight tremble in her voice.

When they pulled apart, she motioned him toward the living room. They sat on opposite ends of the couch, and Will finally broke the silence by broaching the subject he had come there for.

“There's a lot I want to talk about and hear about, but something has happened that we have to discuss.” Will took a breath, preparing for the inevitable panic this news would bring. “I believe, with complete certainty, that another vampire has come to Belle Ridge.”

Even now, Will was unsettled by Ashton's lack of reaction. At first, he thought she didn’t understand the ramifications of his news. A new vampire could mean trouble. It could upset the carefully crafted world they resided in. Then it had hit him: the reason Ashton didn’t seem shocked was that she had figured it out as well. Even more, he suspected this new entity wasn't necessarily a stranger to Ashton.

***

The week leading up to Independence Day had come to Belle Ridge, and with it, the summer festival. There were rides, animal shows, craft booths and every form of deep-fried food imaginable. The Wallace’s had invited Will to join them at the fair for a little fun, some dinner, and the evening fireworks show.

Will agreed and hoped he and Ashton might finally get to talk again. She seemed more tolerant of his company since her return, and he wanted to take advantage of that. Ever since their first meeting, she had been too busy with old friends to see him again. Tonight, that would change, for Elaine ensured Will that Ashton would be joining them for the festivities.

The whole town had turned out for the fair. Will had arrived alone, and he made his way through the crowd to find the Wallace’s. Every step seemed to bring him into the path of someone he knew. Current and former students ran up to offer smiles and handshakes. Members of his church wished him well. A few young ladies asked him to join the charity bachelor auction, and several of the older women insisted he buy their crafts and baked goods.