Chapter 16

He walked beside her with his hands in his pockets and she didn't seem to be as bothered by it as she had anticipated. They walked under the dark, starless night sky.

"You seem a lot different too," he said, observing her.

"Well, if you must know, I quit my job."

"Why?” He seemed surprised. “I thought it was okay as long as you were on that road," he said, quoting her from one of their previous conversations.

She may have thought that pushing herself to the limit might make her better at dealing with difficult situations, but in the end, compromising her peace didn’t make it seem worth it.

"I was at a dead end. You made me realize it, actually, even though I had known it for a long time."

"That must mean you owe me."

She laughed mockingly.

"What do you want? A pinch of my blood? Would that be your dinner? Is that what you want from me? Because you can't get any other human to donate to your cause?"

Wes snickered.

"Funny. But no."

Willow suddenly felt an ache in her right foot. She gas