thigh, I was slowly starting to get impatient and doubted he’d even bother to show up. He was such a moron, or otherwise known as the magnanimous Shadow. I still remembered the way he had spoken to me, looked at me, touched me. So calm. So superior. So eerie. There was a lot I didn’t yet understand about his race.
I sighed and stood from the cold ground to stretch my legs. A cold wind had begun to blow through the trees, whirling the leaves around my feet. I inhaled the aroma of oncoming rain and damp wood, and wondered when my life had become so complicated. It seemed such a long time ago, but until a few weeks previously, I had actually followed a routine: wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, hurry over to my after-school part-time job, then maybe even meet a few friends in the evening to chat over a hot beverage. I had taken all those things for granted—even complained about the lack of excitement in my life—and now I had lost that bit of normalcy that had meant I was still a living and breathing being. I missed being normal. Being a vampire wasn’t worth it, and certainly not when I sucked cute, little squirrels dry.
A twig snapped behind me, signaling someone’s presence. I turned slowly and peered through the metal rods at Devon’s imposing figure.
Dark hair that seemed a tad longer than the last time I saw him. Skin as smooth as alabaster stretched over high cheekbones. And then his eyes. I blinked several times as something stirred inside me: shock, fear. Had they always looked this scary?
His black gaze fell upon me, taking in my features. I brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face and rubbed my palm on my jeans to remove imaginary lint. But my own gaze remained glued to him, unwilling to show him how uncomfortable he made me feel.
“You look good given—” he started.
I cut him off, finishing for him. “That I’m a bloodsucker now. Yeah, I got that part. You look good, too, considering you’re a creepy shadow who can melt in the rain. Who does that?”
“No. I was about to say, given the circumstances.” He raised his brows. A glint of amusement appeared in his eyes. “And we don’t melt. No idea what gave you that impression.” His deep voice trailed off. I marveled at how calm and composed he seemed. It pissed me off big time because I wasn’t anything like it.
“You know nothing about my circumstances.” I narrowed my gaze, challenging him to disagree and be a show-off, which could only mean one thing: he knew exactly what was happening to me. But he didn’t take the bait.
“You’re right. I don’t. To what do I owe the pleasure? You said something’s wrong with you?”
“Yeah, I’m kinda jittery since I haven’t had a good cup of latte macchiato in ages. Thought you might bring me one.”
His lips twitched but he didn’t smile. “That’s a gesture of affection I reserve only for friends.”
Ouch. “I thought we were friends.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You ditched me the second your precious Romeo turned up whom, in case you forgot, we rescued. You didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye, which stung because I thought we really shared something special.” I opened my mouth to tell him the vampires stormed in like some kind of SWAT team and tricked me into following them when Devon cut me off, “We didn’t know each other well, but there was a spark there even you can’t deny. And yet you did. So, what exactly gave you the impression we were friends?”
I took a sharp breath, gathering my thoughts. “As far as I remember, you made me believe we were friends when you needed my powers. But the moment you had your precious book back, you deserted me. What sort of friend does that? Never mind answering that one ‘cause I’ll tell you. A shitty one. In that matter you’re probably right. We were never friends.”
“Amber—”
“I don’t want to hear it ‘cause I’m only getting started! You left me on a cold stone altar with a gash
I sighed and stood from the cold ground to stretch my legs. A cold wind had begun to blow through the trees, whirling the leaves around my feet. I inhaled the aroma of oncoming rain and damp wood, and wondered when my life had become so complicated. It seemed such a long time ago, but until a few weeks previously, I had actually followed a routine: wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, hurry over to my after-school part-time job, then maybe even meet a few friends in the evening to chat over a hot beverage. I had taken all those things for granted—even complained about the lack of excitement in my life—and now I had lost that bit of normalcy that had meant I was still a living and breathing being. I missed being normal. Being a vampire wasn’t worth it, and certainly not when I sucked cute, little squirrels dry.
A twig snapped behind me, signaling someone’s presence. I turned slowly and peered through the metal rods at Devon’s imposing figure.
Dark hair that seemed a tad longer than the last time I saw him. Skin as smooth as alabaster stretched over high cheekbones. And then his eyes. I blinked several times as something stirred inside me: shock, fear. Had they always looked this scary?
His black gaze fell upon me, taking in my features. I brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face and rubbed my palm on my jeans to remove imaginary lint. But my own gaze remained glued to him, unwilling to show him how uncomfortable he made me feel.
“You look good given—” he started.
I cut him off, finishing for him. “That I’m a bloodsucker now. Yeah, I got that part. You look good, too, considering you’re a creepy shadow who can melt in the rain. Who does that?”
“No. I was about to say, given the circumstances.” He raised his brows. A glint of amusement appeared in his eyes. “And we don’t melt. No idea what gave you that impression.” His deep voice trailed off. I marveled at how calm and composed he seemed. It pissed me off big time because I wasn’t anything like it.
“You know nothing about my circumstances.” I narrowed my gaze, challenging him to disagree and be a show-off, which could only mean one thing: he knew exactly what was happening to me. But he didn’t take the bait.
“You’re right. I don’t. To what do I owe the pleasure? You said something’s wrong with you?”
“Yeah, I’m kinda jittery since I haven’t had a good cup of latte macchiato in ages. Thought you might bring me one.”
His lips twitched but he didn’t smile. “That’s a gesture of affection I reserve only for friends.”
Ouch. “I thought we were friends.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You ditched me the second your precious Romeo turned up whom, in case you forgot, we rescued. You didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye, which stung because I thought we really shared something special.” I opened my mouth to tell him the vampires stormed in like some kind of SWAT team and tricked me into following them when Devon cut me off, “We didn’t know each other well, but there was a spark there even you can’t deny. And yet you did. So, what exactly gave you the impression we were friends?”
I took a sharp breath, gathering my thoughts. “As far as I remember, you made me believe we were friends when you needed my powers. But the moment you had your precious book back, you deserted me. What sort of friend does that? Never mind answering that one ‘cause I’ll tell you. A shitty one. In that matter you’re probably right. We were never friends.”
“Amber—”
“I don’t want to hear it ‘cause I’m only getting started! You left me on a cold stone altar with a gash
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