Ungifted (11 page)

“Sorry, Gracie,” Cynthia whispered. She brushed my matted hair out of my face and tried to smile. “You don’t want to be a vampire. You hate vampires. And hey, if this works, we’ll be sisters.”

Caleb pulled me securely into his arms as if he expected me to resist him, but I was way too overwhelmed to do anything. My fight or flight senses were spent.

When Caleb grinned at me, I finally realized why all of the Layton kids had such terrifying smiles. His smile was feral. It was the smile of a predator. And his teeth, though I’d never noticed before, were unnaturally sharp.

Caleb brought my shaking hand to his lips and kissed it. “If this works, Gracie, I hope you’re ready for a fiancé,” he teased before biting my wrist. When I felt his teeth sink into my skin, that was it. I finally couldn’t take any more trauma.

Everything went black.

I woke up to the sound
of a soft knock on the door and Ethan’s hushed whisper. “How is she?”

“Sleeping peacefully. Finally. She had horrible nightmares all night.”

I didn’t remember having any bad dreams. Well, except for the one that I knew deep down had been real, even though I was still trying to deny it. The fact that Cynthia was here and Ethan was coming to check on me only affirmed the truth of the last night’s events.

I wasn’t ready to face either of them, and I really, really didn’t want to know yet whether I was now a werewolf or a vampire. At the moment I still felt like I always had, so I kept my eyes closed and willed myself to try and go back to sleep. The longer I stayed asleep, the longer I could hold onto whatever was left of myself and pretend that fantasy was still just fiction.

“Wait!” Ethan gasped in what could only be disbelief. “Is she still…?”

“Yeah.”

“How? She should have changed by now, right?”

“I’ve never heard of it taking this long before. For vampires or werewolves. The most I’ve heard of is a couple of hours. Caleb’s been texting me every fifteen minutes since he left last night.”

“I don’t understand. How is she still human?”

“I don’t know, Ethan. It should be impossible, but I’m not complaining. I can’t stand the thought of her being a vampire, and as much as I love being a wolf, Gracie’s just not cut out for it.”

“But she’s still human!” Ethan said again.

It wasn’t until that moment that I really understood what they were saying. I was still human. I hadn’t turned into any freaky, mythical monster of any kind. This was the best news I’d ever heard in my life. I was so relieved I sucked in a breath that nearly gave me away.

“Shh!” Cynthia hissed.

The room was silent for a minute, and then Ethan broke it by whispering, “She knows the truth about us now. After what she went through last night, if she doesn’t turn, it will drive her mad. She’ll go completely crazy.”

“She won’t!” Cynthia insisted. “Grace will handle it.”

Ethan actually laughed at that. “Oh come on, Cynthia. Grace? You think
Grace
will be the one-in-a-million human able to handle the truth?”

“It’s one in a thousand,” Cynthia corrected warily. “And yes. Grace will be the one. I know it.”

“If you say so. But I’ve never heard of a human accepting us. They aren’t like us, Cynthia. They’re too simpleminded. Especially sweet, little, innocent Gracie St. Claire.”

“Simpleminded?” Cynthia sounded offended on my behalf. She’s awesome like that. “You stupid nephilim are all the same—always think you’re so superior to everyone else.”

“I’m not like that,” Ethan argued. He sounded as if he was getting angry. “You know I’m not! I have never once thought of myself as better than you.”

“You think you’re better than Grace, though, because she’s human.”

I waited for Ethan to deny it and lose his temper. Well, get angry he did, but deny it? Not so much. “I am!” he hissed. “And so are you! All supernaturals are better than humans, Cynthia—it’s just fact. It’s disgusting that you—
especially
you—choose to hang out with her above your own kind. You’re a natural female werewolf and the daughter of an alpha. Your friendship with Grace is a slap in the face to your pack.”

I always knew that Ethan didn’t like me. His attitude hurt, but it wasn’t a surprise—at least not to me. It was news to Cynthia, though. She really had believed he was secretly in love with me. When she yelled at him, even though she yelled in a whisper, I could tell she was never going to give me a hard time about Ethan Dunn ever again.

“If you hate her so much, then why do you do it?” she asked. “Why do you constantly come to her rescue? If Grace is so beneath my friendship, then why isn’t she below your protection?”

“She should be!” Ethan spat. “She’s a filthy human, and the most pathetic one I’ve ever seen on top of it. She deserves her nickname. She
is
a disgrace!”

I felt as if I’d been punched in the gut. I was glad I’d been sleeping on my side with my back to them because I couldn’t stop the tears that began falling from my eyes.

When Ethan spoke again, he’d calmed down but he sounded so bitter that I knew exactly what his face would look like. “I protect Grace because I have no choice.”

There was silence for so long that I thought I would die. Snot was dripping from my nose, threatening to make me sneeze, but I didn’t dare sniffle. No way did I want him to know I was awake now.

Finally Cynthia broke the silence with a gasp. “You can’t be talking about a warrior’s bond? That’s impossible! Those are just a myth!”

I heard Ethan slunk to the floor. “I always thought they were just myths, too. Until the day Grace showed up at Atherton. The connection was instant from the very moment I first saw her. I didn’t know much about warrior bonds, but somehow I knew that’s what had happened to me. Over the last six years the bond has been fairly weak, but about a month ago something changed. It’s become so strong it practically controls me—and it’s only getting worse.”

There was a long silence until Ethan sighed the most heavy, tired, hopeless, frustrated sigh I’d ever heard. I almost pitied him.

“Serves you right, jerk,” Cynthia hissed. I guess she didn’t feel any pity.

“You can’t blame me for resenting her,” Ethan grumbled. “It’s supposed to be such an honor to be bonded to someone as their protector. Only a handful of nephilim in the history of the world have ever formed a warrior’s bond, and they’ve been bonded to important, powerful people like the Creator and the Oracle. Never,
never
has a nephilim been bonded to a human.”

Cynthia gave him a cynical laugh. “I’m sure. What’d your clan have to say about it?”

“Are you kidding? They don’t know.”

“Not even your mom?”

“No one knows! I’ve never admitted it to anyone before now. I had to tell my uncle that I made you help me get this job because it would be good for the resistance to have an in if her dad wins the election.

“Cynthia, you can’t tell anyone. Please! Promise you won’t say anything.” Ethan sounded a little panicked now. “You’re right about the nephilim being stuck up, and my uncle is the worst. Do you know what he would do if he learned I was bonded to a human? He’d consider it an insult to the clan. I’d be exiled from my own people.”

“Come on, Ethan. You can’t be serious. If you’ve been chosen to be a warrior, you’re special.”

“I am, but
she
isn’t! She’s no one! Just a deep, dark secret that’s ruining my life! And now this! Not only was I bonded to a human, but I’ve failed to protect her. I’m as pathetic as she is.”

“You haven’t failed her,” Cynthia whispered, having chilled out a little. “She’s not dead. You can still protect her, and if she turns she’ll become one of us. You won’t have to be ashamed of your bond anymore.”

I can only imagine the look Ethan gave Cynthia then, because she sighed and said, “Look at the bright side. Now that she knows the truth, you can explain it to her and maybe she’ll cut you some slack about getting the job.”

“She would have turned by now,” Ethan said. He sounded resigned in his depression. “She’s still human. She’ll be in an institution by sunset.”

“She will handle it,” Cynthia said fiercely. “She may be human but there’s something about her, Ethan. She’s special. Probably more special than most supernaturals.”

Ethan scoffed bitterly.

“Think about it,” Cynthia insisted. “She
didn’t
turn. When my brother and I touch her, our powers don’t work. Tell me you don’t feel something when you touch her.”

Ethan didn’t respond.

“You formed a warrior’s bond with her for a reason, Ethan. Only people chosen by the Creator are worthy of such protection. She’s special. And when she wakes up, she’s really going to need our help. Both of our help.”

Cynthia took a deep breath. When she spoke again, she sounded menacing. “If she ever figures out how you really feel about her, I promise you I will rip your heart out of your chest. Breaking her heart would be like failing her too, you know.”

“I know,” Ethan admitted quietly. “I’ve always tried not to let my hate show. Fat lot of good it did me. She’s hated me all along anyway.”

He sounded so angry and so sad and so, I don’t know, broken, but I couldn’t find it in my heart to have any compassion. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and rolled over to face them.

“I can hear you guys, you know!” I said, wiping furiously at the tears on my cheeks. Both of their faces paled, and suddenly neither of them had anything more to say. That was fine with me. I had plenty to say for all of us.

“For the record?” I said, glaring at Ethan. “I didn’t like you before.
Now
I hate you. Get out of my house. You’re fired!”

“Grace…” Ethan looked as if he were going to be sick. “You can’t fire me. You already tried that once. You’re dad won’t do it.”

“I’ll talk to Randy. I’ll tell him you’re crazy. Obsessed. I’ll tell him you hurt me.” I held up my wrist where Caleb’s teeth had torn my flesh. “I’ll tell him you did this! He’ll believe me. He can make my dad listen.”

“Don’t do it, Grace,” Cynthia said. “You need him. You have vampires after you. Powerful ones who know there’s something different about you. Andrew will be back.”

I shuddered. “I’ll get a new bodyguard.”

“Not like Ethan. He’s an angel. He’s
your
angel.”

I didn’t need the reminder.

“Someone used magic to make that light fall,” Ethan said. “Someone tried to kill you, Grace. Someone supernatural. No human bodyguard your dad hires can help you the way I can.”

“I don’t care!” I screamed. “I don’t want your help!”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll protect you anyway. I don’t have a choice. At least this way it doesn’t raise any suspicions.”

“GET OUT!”

“Gracie.” Cynthia took a step toward me, and I backed away from her.

“You too, Cynthia! Get out! Now! Before I call the cops!”

Cynthia froze, her eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry, Grace.” She started to leave my room. When Ethan tried to stop her, she grabbed him by the shoulder. “Leave her alone.”

“I’m supposed to take her to school,” he argued.

“That’s not for another hour. Give her that much time, at least.”

Ethan gave up. “I’ll wait outside.”

. . . . .

I decided Ethan could wait outside forever. After everything I’d been through last night, school just didn’t seem like a priority anymore. My dad was going to be crazy angry that I skipped, but like I cared about my dad at this point.

I locked myself in the bathroom and soaked in a hot bath, cursing my stupid cast that had to dangle over the edge of the tub. Broken leg and all, the water was exactly what I needed to relax. I put on my headphones and let Mozart push away all of the nightmares clouding my thoughts.

After a while, the door to the bathroom burst open without warning. I screamed bloody murder thinking that Andrew had come back, but it was just Ethan. Somehow he managed to look panicked, angry, embarrassed, and relieved all at the same time.