جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 90

The first time I searched online for L. E Grayson.One thing about Lucien Grayson: whoever took care of erasing his digital footprint was nearly as good as I am.And I’m pretty fucking good.Once I found out from Father that Lucien was a Were, the secrecy finally made sense. Their firewalls have always been exceptional, their networks hack-proof.I’d love to meet the person who keeps it up so I can either fangirl or deck them. But wandering around Lucien's beautiful home, which is even larger than I thought, I know that it’s not going to be a problem anymore.Because while there might be several things I can’t do remotely, if I’m physically in front of a computer? It’s happening, baby. And once I’m in, I’m going to scour every single document and piece of communication the Weres have, and I’m going to find Anna, and then . . .Then.“What’s the plan?” Anna would ask if she were here, even though the little schemes she hatched never worked out. She liked the vibe of organizing more tha

It feels like respite, the door closing behind her, the blessed quiet. Until Lucien moves closer, and I suddenly mourn not having a third person in the room. The bad, as it turns out, is still better than the worse.“Seraphine,” he says. There is reproach in his voice, and a bit of a rough edge, and the tone of someone who has lots of problems keeping him busy, and is used to solving most of them with a look and maybe a tiny threat of violence.We regard each other, just me and him, and yes, I feel it loud in my blood: we’re alone. For the first time—though not of many to come. I doubt Lucien was planning to spend quality time with me ever again after yesterday.Aside from a layer of stubble, he looks like he did at the ceremony, his harsh face all structure. Clearly, as my makeup artist was painting the Sistine Chapel redux, his found nothing to improve on. I notice his eyes dip to my collarbone, where a faint shadow of the forest-green markings still lingers behind the riot of waves

All in all, it’s not the most auspicious of starts.In the week following my arrival, I spend an unhealthy amount of time mentally slapping myself over the way I handled the kerfuffle with Max. I don’t care whether the Weres think I’m a deranged monster, but I do mind that whatever crumb of freedom they might have been inclined to give me has been swiftly vacuumed up.I’m escorted everywhere: as I take a stroll by the lake; to grab a blood bag from the fridge; when I sit in the garden at dusk, just to experience something that’s not my en suite. I am but a cornucopia of regret. Because we’re all bad bitches—till a scowling Were stands outside the bathroom door while we’re washing our hair.Till we lose our chance to snoop around.So much time on my hands, and so little to spend it on. It’s the Collateral life I’m familiar with, just with significantly fewer Annas to keep me busy. I should be bored to death, but the truth is, this is not too different from my routine in the Human world

She shrugs. I shrug, too, and go back to my bed.It's not like I’m gonna tattle her out. “Which one is it?” she asks.“What?”“A spider monkey. Is it a spider that looks like a monkey, or a monkey that looks like a spider?”“Hmm, not sure. Let me google and—” I pull my computer onto my lap, then remember the Wi-Fi situation. “Fuck.”“That’s a bad word,” Daisy says, giggling in a delighted, tickled way that has me feeling like an improv genius. She’s flattering company. “What’s your name?”“Seraphine.”"Serapine.”“Seraphine.”“Yes. Serapine.”“That’s not . . . whatever.”“Can I play with you?” She eyes my laptop eagerly.“No.”Her pretty mouth curves into a pout. “Why?”“Because.” What are we even going to do? Long division?“Alex lets me play.”“Alex? The blond guy?” I haven’t seen him since the Max incident. I’m assuming it was filed as “under his watch,” and got him plucked out of jailer rotation.“Yes. We steal cars and talk with the beautiful ladies. But Alex says that Juno isn’t

The following day I sleep until late afternoon. I’m tired enough that I could go longer, but there’s something going on outside, on the usually calm lakeshore. It involves screaming laughter and charred smells, and I drag myself to the window to check it out, making sure to avoid the direct light still filtering in.It’s a barbecue, or a potluck, or a cookout—I never quite got the difference, despite Anna’s explanations on the nuances of Human social get-togethers.Vampyres don’t really build community this way, by assembling without an agenda. Our friendships are alliances. I didn’t encounter the concept of hanging out, of spending time with someone for the sake of it, until my Collateral years.But I can count over thirty Weres. Hanging around the lakefront, grilling, eating, swimming. Laughing.The loudest are the children: I spot several, Daisy among them, having a rollicking good time.I wonder whether I’m invited to partake. What the reaction would be if I made my way downstairs