There's an extra bonus attached to this chapter. Entries from the Travors bloodline journal. These entries will play a part in the prequel!!!
CharlieThe early morning sunrise wakes me up sooner than I’d like. Entry after entry from that journal kept me awake after arriving home last night. No matter how awful that book makes him sound, I still can’t help thinking about him. No matter how much I want to force him away, part of me doesn’t want him to go.Jesus Charlie, get a hold of yourself.I get dressed as fast as possible, throwing the book in my purse. Hell-bent on a confrontation on my terms, I decide to head over to the hotel Maxwell is staying at. The cockiness that radiates off my body disappears once I enter the building. Since I kept that extra room key, I don’t have to enter through the front door and humiliate myself again.I hover outside room 218. He claims he’s not some movie vampire, but I only see him at night. Stereotypes are all I’m left with and the best-case scenario is that he’s here asleep, cowering from the sun. I insert the key card and wait for the blinking green light allowing me to enter. I find
MaxwellI ponder on what just went down. Did I ruin things even further than they already were with her? Or did I help her understand me, where I came from? How far I came and how far I’m willing to go. That journal, though. Do I wish that she didn’t come across it? Yes. But only because I should have been there to explain things. Now she has this image in her head that contradicts what I’m trying so hard to prove.That book has traveled many miles and several cities, but I don’t exactly know why I keep it. It doesn’t tell a version I’m particularly fond of. An old friend of mine repeatedly told me to burn it and never look back. The day I refused will come back to haunt me. Today is that day.A knock on the door breaks my concentration. The constant knock forces me to move even though I don’t want to. There’s only one person I want to speak with right now, but let’s face it, she wouldn’t knock.I slip a pair of pants on since I’m still in my undergarments. Looking at the ground with
CharlieNo matter how much I don’t want another work week to start, it does. There are plenty of things to occupy my mind, but one thing keeps blocking my judgment…Maxwell. The screaming children at the birthday party I had this past Saturday kept me on my toes, though. The cries from the children made my head hurt and made it completely impossible to think about anything. However, the birthday party might have kept my mind in check, but Juliet kept my emotions in check.She refused to call me about her talk with Wilson. She just sent an email that consisted of three words: you owe me. A few days later, I received phone calls from eager parents wishing to enlist their child for the party. She’s still angry with me for refusing to tell her anything about Maxwell, not as if I have a choice. I can’t flaunt a vampire in her face.After almost two weeks of surprising him in his hotel room, I haven’t seen him since. All I can do to keep myself from going insane is count down the remaining h
Maxwell“Maxwell, relax. She’ll be here. I’m paying her, so you better be grateful. I know why she resents you, though, bringing her into a trap. Think about your actions, there has to be another way.”“There’s no other way, Grace. The presentation is next week, six days from now, to be exact. I have no more time to waste. If she wishes to remain a human until she’s ready, then this has to happen and it has to happen tonight.” I thought many times about what I have to do and how exactly I should go about doing it. No matter how many different ways I think of, I know Charlie and she won’t take it lightly.Grace leaves me to my thoughts as she speaks with the other guests. When I see her walk inside with a tight nod of her head in my direction, I know that my bride has finally arrived. As a way to blend into the crowd, I mingle with others by holding useless conversations with various individuals I don’t even know. All my attention is on the back porch where I hear Grace compliment Char
CharlieI shut down. My brain freezes, unable to register what I just saw while my emotions paralyze my body. No matter how much my feet refuse to move, Maxwell’s brute strength pushes me along. Silence fills the room he leads me to. But silence is soon replaced with the click of the door locking.“What’s going on, Maxwell? Why did you bring me here?”“She’ll be fine.” His calm voice puts my nerves even more on edge. I can picture his statue-like body guarding the door.“Stop with the bullshit, Maxwell. I’m not blind. I saw what was happening in the room, but this isn’t about some other vampire’s carelessness; this is about that empty look in your own eyes. I thought you were trying to be better. I thought you were trying to be more humane.” I still have my back to him, refusing to look at those mischievous dark eyes.“There’s something you need to know. Need to do, if you like it or not.”“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I swing around, finally looking at him. The sight of
MaxwellAs if some imaginary switch is pulled, Charlie’s feisty behavior disappears and all I’m left with is a woman that will do whatever I say. Part of me is relieved, but at the same time part of me is sickened. It shouldn’t have to be like this. And as I stare at her while she presses her warm cheek into my palm, I debate on going through with what needs to be done.She won’t remember exactly what happened, but it’s better than her looking at me with tear filled eyes as she glimpses the monster that lurks just beneath the surface. Her hand remains tightly clenched in mine as I lead her to the bed. “Charlie, sit down.” My hand slips out of her as she places herself at the edge of the bed. I kneel in front of her, taking her hands back into mine. “Do you remember what I told you about The High Council?”She nods anxiously at me.“They need to see a connection between us. They need to see that you...that you love me.” It kills me to say those words. It kills me even more as she squee
CharlieA moan escapes my dry, chapped lips as the stabbing pain of a migraine throbs from inside my skull. Almost zombie like, I whip the blankets off me, intent on getting some pills to ease the throbbing, but stop short. The room spins in a slow circle, causing my body to sway along with the imaginary movement. In order to ease the nausea that attacks my senses, I anxiously rub my palms over my thighs.The once smooth fabric of the dress that I wore last night is now damp from sweat and layered with wrinkles. “I’m going to kill that man,” I mumble as my feet shuffle across the floor.I reach the corner of the room where my bathroom should be. The backs of my hands rub aggressively at my eyes. Where the hell am I? I’m nothing but a bunch of nerves as I look around the room in search of the door. Or any clue as to where I am. The sudden movement of my head causes a twinge of pain to run down the length of my neck. Thinking I pulled a muscle, my hand automatically goes to rub it out.
Maxwell“Let me see your hand.” More than anything I want to lecture her on her carelessness, but my voice comes out slow and calm in efforts to ease the situation.“No. What the hell are you doing here? Did you not see my note or do you just not care. Haven’t you done enough damage?” The disgust in her voice feels as though a knife is shredding my insides.“I did read your hate letter and I was going to go, but then I heard a crash. Note or not I had to see if you were okay. I might have pushed you too far, but you’re the one who’s making yourself bleed all over the floor. Now let me see your hand.”“No!” she yells as she squares her shoulders all while blocking as much of her hand from view as she can manage.I force breaths to tame my anger because my patience is wearing thin. “Charlie, right now, you might need stitches. Let me see your hand.”“Stitches, sure act as if you care that I might need stitches. Let’s be honest with each other, I can see your blood thirsty stare that see