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CHAPTER 38
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Marked CHAPTER 39
{KYLE’S POV}Kyle walked straight down the stone corridor, flanked by a small entourage of vampires. They headed quickly down the hall, their footsteps echoing, one of his aides holding a torch out in front.They were heading deep into the corridor of command, a subterranean chamber which no vampire ever entered unless given permission. Kyle had never been down this deep before. But on this day, he was summoned by the supreme leader himself. It must have been serious. In 4,000 years, Kyle had never been summoned. But he had heard of otthers who had. They had gone down there, and had not come back up.Kyle swallowed hard, and walked faster. He had always believed that it was best to greet bad news quickly, and get it over with.They came to a large, open door, guarded by several vampires, who stared coldly back. Finally, they stepped aside and opened the door. But after Kyle passed, they held out their staffs, preventing his entourage from following. Kyle felt the door slam behi
Marked CHAPTER 40
{JONAH’S POV}Jonah sat in the police station, very afraid. On one side of him sat his dad, looking more nervous than Jonah had ever seen him, and on the other, his newly-hired lawyer. Across from them, in the small, bright, interrogation, sat five police detectives. Behind them stood five more, all pacing and agitated.It was the biggest news story of the day. Not only had an internationally-acclaimed vocalist been murdered, right during his debut performance, right in Carnegie Hall—not only had he been murdered in a suspicious way, but things had managed to get even worse. When the police followed up on the only lead they had, when they had visited her apartment, four policemen were killed. To say that things had escalated was to put it mildly.Now, not only were they after the “Beethoven Butcher” (or “Carnegie Hall Killer,” as some papers were calling her) but they were also after a cop killer. A four-cop killer. Every cop in the city was on the case, and no one would rest unti
Marked CHAPTER 41
{JONAH’S POV}Jonah debated with himself over how much to tell them. Of course, there was more. There was his getting beat up by those bullies. There was her journal, lying mysteriously beside him. His suspicion that she had been there. That she had helped him. That she had even beat up those guys somehow. How, he had no idea.But what was he supposed to tell these cops? That he had gotten himself beat up? That he thinks he remembered seeing her there? That he thinks he remembered seeing her beat up four guys twice her size? None of it made any sense, not even to him. It certainly wouldn’t make sense to them. They would just think he was lying, making stuff up. They were out for her. And he wasn’t going to help.Despite everything, he felt protective of her. He couldn’t really understand what had happened. A part of him didn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it. Had she really killed that vocalist? Why? Were there really two holes in his neck, like the newspapers said? Had sh
Marked CHAPTER 42
I checked my phone again. It was one a.m., and I had just texted Jonah. No response. He was probably asleep. Or if awake, he probably wouldn’t even want to hear from me. But it was the only thing that I could think of doing.As I walked away from the Cloisters, in the fresh, night air, my head started to clear. The further I got from that place, the better I felt. Caleb’s presence, his energy, slowly lifted from me, and I began to feel like I could think clearly again.When I had been with him, for some reason I’d been unable to think clearly for myself. His presence had been all-consuming. I’d found it impossible to think of anything, or anyone, else.Now that I was on my own again, and away from him, thoughts of Jonah flooded back to me. I felt guilty for liking Caleb at all—felt like somehow I had betrayed Jonah. Jonah had been so kind to me in school, so good to me on our date. I wondered how he felt about me now, running out like that. He probably hated me.I walked through Fo
Marked CHAPTER 43
When I woke, it was morning. I could feel more than see the sunlight striking me, and I groggily raised my head to get my bearings. I felt cold stone touching the skin of my arms and forehead. Where was I?As I raised my head and looked around, I realized I was in Central Park. I remembered now that I had stopped along the way, sometime during the night, to take a rest. I had been so tired, so weary. I must have fallen asleep sitting up, leaning over and resting my arms and head on the marble railing.It was already mid-morning, and people streamed through the park. One lady, with her young daughter, walked by and gave me a strange look. She pulled her daughter close as they passed.I sat up straighter, and looked around. A few people stared at me, and I wondered what they must have thought. I looked down at my dirty clothes. They were covered in grime. At this point, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to get out this city, this place which I associated with everything going wrong.
Marked CHAPTER 44
I slowly lowered my arms, turned, and placed my arms behind my back. I could feel the cop grab me tightly around one wrist, then the other, jerking my arms behind me too roughly, too high, using unnecessary force. How petty. I felt the cold clasp of the handcuffs, and could feel the metal cut into my skin.The cop grabbed me by the back of head, squeezed my hair, way too tight, and leaned in close, putting his mouth beside my ear. He whispered, “You’re going to fry.”And then it happened.The agony returned.My body stretched and pulled, and before I knew it, the smell kicked in.And then came my primal roar.I was a wolf now.The cops stood there, and stared. All in horror.And then, just as quickly, I felt my body change back.To human.But a million times more powerful.Before I knew what was happening, there was a sickening noise of crunching bone, followed by the splatter of blood—and the feel and smell of warm blood all over my face.I heard shouting, and screaming, a
Marked CHAPTER 45
He’s gorgeous.I sat on the straw floor in the barn, feeling so relaxed, and was overwhelmed with feelings as I stared at the sleeping Caleb.He reclined across from me, about fifteen feet away, so perfectly still. He was sleeping, and I took the opportunity to study his face, his perfect features, his pale, translucent skin. I had never seen features so perfectly chiseled. It was surreal, like staring at a sculpture. I couldn’t fathom how he had been alive for 3,000 years.At 18, I already looked older than he did.But it was more than his features. There was an air about him, a subtle energy that he exuded. A great sense of peace. When I was around him, I knew that everything would be all right.For the first time in weeks, I felt relaxed. Sitting comfortably on the floor of the small barn in the Hudson Valley, I leaned back against a bale of hay, and exhaled. A small fire raged in the stone fireplace about ten feet away. Tonight had been especially cold. Outside, the snow fell.
Marked CHAPTER 46
Caleb rested a hand gently on my shoulder. He smiled down and looked at me.I braced myself for bad news.“I think you fell asleep,” he said.I sighed, so relieved. He wasn’t leaving after all.I looked around, saw my open journal on my lap and snapped it closed. I felt my cheeks flush, hoping he hadn’t read any of it. Especially the part about my feelings for him.I sat up and rubbed my eyes. It was still night, and the fire was still going, although it was down to embers. He must have just woken, too. I wondered how long I had been asleep. “Sorry,” I said. “It’s the first I’ve slept in days.”He stood there, staring down at the fire, and his smile slowly faded as he seemed to become lost in his thoughts. As he looked into the flames, his face was lit with a warm glow, making him look even more attractive, if that were possible. His large, light brown eyes opened wide, and as I watched him, they changed color to a light green.I sat up straighter, and saw that my glass of red
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