Neaera-Over the next few days, I managed to avoid Stryker as much as possible. I could feel his eyes on me every time we were around each other but to my relief, he didn’t bother me. It was obvious that he was suspicious of me, which I hoped would go away as long as I didn’t let myself slip up again.There had been a few times he attempted small talk with me, but I managed to make up an excuse that I had something else to do. It wasn’t a complete lie, considering I have been busy trying to find a connection with all the vampire attacks. I have been here for nearly a week and still, there hasn’t been another attack.As bad as it sounded, I kind of wished they would attack. The longer I was here, the more I felt that my secret was going to be revealed. Keeping up with false pretenses for extended periods of time was difficult.It wasn’t just about hiding that I was a Hybrid, it was about hiding that I was once his adopted sister. I no longer viewed him as my brother, yet we did have a
Neaera-With the grace that rivaled that of a vampire, I landed on the ground. Since I didn’t know what direction the vampires were coming from, nor how many, I didn’t have time to worry about revealing that I was a hybrid. Digging my toes in the wet soil beneath me, I pushed forward and started running as fast as I could.I knew Zach and the others could handle themselves, yet from the sound of things, I was going to need to use every ability that I possessed. Forcing all thoughts and feelings away, I allowed my bloodlust to take over. If I had any chance of finding the vampires before they found anyone in this pack, I needed to tap into my vampire side.Having come to terms that I was part vampire, regardless of whether I liked it or not, it was the only thing I had that gave me the upper hand. A burning desire to kill flowed through me. Dropping my mental block, I prepared myself to be bombarded with emotions.Concentrating solely on the emotions that I recognized from the bloodlus
Neaera- Looking into his eyes, I silently pleaded with him to not turn away from me just because I was a freak. I expected him to at least think about whether or not to save me, but to my astonishment, he pressed the inside of his wrist to my mouth. Fresh tears fell from my eyes as I widened my mouth and pierced his flesh with my fangs. The moment I tasted his blood in my mouth, my eyes widened in surprise. Unlike when I tasted Zach’s blood, I felt as if I was connecting with Stryker. It was like his blood was alive and sending light tingles through my body. With every tingle, I could feel myself becoming stronger as my body healed. With the extensiveness of my injuries, I was a little thrown off by how quickly it was working. There was something about his blood that was different. Drinking from Stryker felt more intimate as a feeling of pleasure took over me. It wasn’t sexual, but it did feel good as warmth spread across my body. I heard myself moan as more of his blood filled my
Neaera-His expression didn’t give anything away as he stared at me for a long moment. I didn’t fully understand why I was so anxious about his response, or if he would accept me. Hadn’t I been ready to be done with this mission so I could get as far away from here as possible?Now the idea of leaving again scared me more than anything. Coming face to face with the Vampire King had left me feeling uncertain about everything, including who I was. I would give anything to go back to who I was before meeting Dimitri.“How did this happen?” Stryker asked after a long silence.“I don’t know for sure. After I left here five years ago, I learned that I was a Hybrid. Zach found me while I was in the middle of transition and took me in to help and train me. I am a little different from other hybrids, but I don’t know why. All I do know is one of my parents was a werewolf, while the other a vampire.”“So, you are telling me that you were never a human?” He looked confused now, his eyes diverted
Stryker-Looking between Zach and Nea, I couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship was more than friends. My eyes fell on Zach’s hand, which was holding onto Nea. Seeing another male touch my mate didn’t sit well with me.I couldn’t react to it though, especially since my relationship with her was rocky at best. Not to mention she didn’t know she was my mate. Then there was the fact that I still had to make up for our past.It was going to have to wait until later though because this wasn’t a conversation that Zach needed to be a part of. When he first showed up, I had nearly lost my temper with him. Not because he barged in without gaining permission, but because for the first time since Nea arrived, she had trusted me enough to tell me what was going on.Our conversation had been gaining ground until Zach interrupted us. I still had many more questions to ask, and I thought that we could come to terms with what happened five years ago. Needless to say, we barely scratched the
Stryker-After walking Zach out, Nea turned to face me. “If you don’t mind, I would really like to just lie down. We can talk more later.”As much as I wanted to continue our conversation, the look on her face stopped me from asking her to sit with me a little longer. I just felt like I was so close to fixing the mistakes of our past and building a future with her, yet I was so far. Nodding my head, I agreed to talk with her later.Watching her walk up the stairs, I wanted to follow her and pull her into my arms and promise the world to her. Once she was no longer within my line of sight, I ran my fingers through my hair. Everything was a complete disaster right now and I still haven’t processed everything completely.I meant what I told both Nea and Zach, I didn’t care what she was. She could be a full-blooded vampire and I would still love her as I have always done. Gazing up the stairs, I let out a sigh before turning around to head out the door.Seeing my Beta heading this way, I
Neaera-“Absolutely not.” I looked between Stryker and Mathew in disbelief.They had just finished telling me about Stryker’s idea to relocate the pack until he felt the pack was ready to face the vampires again. He also voiced his thoughts about not doing it, but he wanted to hear my opinion on the matter. Mathew hadn’t said much, but he hadn’t tried talking Stryker out of it.“Even if we start training tonight, there is no telling when another attack will happen. I was just thinking it would buy us a little time to better prepare everyone.” Stryker explained.“Sure, if you want to get everyone killed then go ahead, move them.” I rolled my eyes at him, not bothering to hide my annoyance. “If you move them, they will be in more danger than if they remained here. At least here they know the territory and have the advantage here that they won’t have anywhere else.”Stryker, myself, and Mathew were currently sitting in the living room discussing what to do next. I asked Zach to come, but
Neaera-Having barged in and immediately started yelling, I hadn’t noticed Stryker lying on the ground, curled into himself as he clutched his stomach. Running to the top of the staircase, I called down for Mathew to come and help me. Returning to Stryker’s room, I lowered myself to the ground, next to his head.In just a short time since he came up here, he was covered in sweat. His shirt clung to his body, and his hair was dripping. Reaching out, I placed my hand against the side of his face and noticed he was burning up.“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” I complained as I attempted to lift him off the ground.Mathew appeared and assisted me by moving him to his bed. Leaving him alone with Mathew, I went to the bathroom to get a washcloth and damp it with cold water. Returning to his room, I sat on the head of the bed and laid his head on my lap.Patting his face with the cloth, I tried to cool him down. He still clutched his stomach, and his eyes were squeezed shut. His face wa