Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (23 page)

“How do you know him?” I asked, but William ignored my question, acting like he hadn’t heard me.

Before I could ask him again, the pilot came over the intercom and announced we were on our final approach, and for some reason he wanted to see William.

“We’ll talk later … I promise,” he said, appearing almost relieved the pilot had called him.

“Wait a minute,” I said and his expression turned serious. He gazed at me, but I didn’t look him in the eyes. “Tell me the truth. Can you read my mind?” I asked, suddenly thinking how embarrassed I would be if he could. All my feelings for him and the intimate things I pictured us doing someday.

He kissed my hand, and I watched as the corners of his mouth curved upward. He waggled his eyebrows up and down, and laughed loudly. Then without answering my question he sprang from his seat letting my hand fall as he hurried up the aisle and disappeared through the cockpit door.

Chapter 36

Joseph wouldn’t even look at me after we got off the plane. To make matters worse, he was actually nice to William, and thanked him for the ride. Luna hugged me for the like, the forty-seventh time, and then disappeared inside her grandfather’s truck.

William’s dad had a car waiting for us. The window tint was so dark, it appeared to be night time outside even though it was actually daytime. It wouldn’t grow completely dark for a few more months.

The ride home was eerily quiet. I saw William in a whole new light and wondered why he would want to be with someone who was a natural enemy to “his kind.”

“Well? What are you waiting for?” I smiled nervously, and he scooted a little closer. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be any worse than the bomb I had dropped on him. “I’m listening.”

“Uh ... I’m sort of like you.” After he said that, he glanced at me with that sideways grin that always made my heart flutter.

“My father brought me to Haven for a reason. You see, you’re not the only one with an agenda. I was sent here by the Amalric to stop Zane.”

“What are you talking about, William?”

“The Amalric is like the president of all the vampires. Just like humans, we have laws we have to abide by, and Zane has broken all of them.”

“But … I’ve seen Zane transform. He’s a werewolf, right?” I asked with trepidation. At first, I thought William must have been confused, but what he said next told me there was so much more about this new part of my life that I had yet to learn.

“He is and he isn’t.” William paused for a brief moment. “Actually … he’s both,” he said gravely, and grew quiet, like maybe he thought by telling me it would somehow put me in more danger.

I swallowed hard. “Is that even possible?” There was definitely something in his tone that frightened the hell out of me.

“Yeah. It’s rare, but it does happen. They’re known as hybrids. There are only a few in existence, and Zane is one of them. The others aren’t like him though. They stay hidden, because if they were to reveal their identity to the wrong person it would only be a matter of time before something happened. They would be blamed and the Amalric would be forced to send out a hunter to destroy them. I’ve seen it happen before.”

“So …” I trailed off, my mind raced in a million different directions and was unable to form the questions I so desperately wanted to ask.

William must have felt my hand shaking when he took it in his. “I shouldn’t have said anything yet. It’s all still too much for you—”

“No,” I cut him off. “I want to know everything. Please. Keep going.”

William smiled warmly, and pushed a piece of loose hair behind my ear, before continuing. “Zane has been hiding out here for several years, building an army of Lycans.
If
he takes the throne, he’ll rule over all werewolf breeds, even Adlet warriors will have to obey him. Together with his army, he’ll order every werewolf, Adlet, and rebel vampire he’s convinced to take his side, to overthrow the Amalric. Genevieve, if Zane does that it will bring chaos to the world. Humans will become slaves, and the world will turn into a dark place full of torture and death.”Does this work now?

“No,” he snapped, but clearly didn’t mean to. “No one can know. Someone here is a traitor, and until I can find out who, you can’t tell a soul. If Zane finds out, he’ll kill your mom.”

I folded my arms tightly across my chest. “Why not? I won’t let you take him alive, William. He has to be stopped. It’s the only way we can all be free.” I don’t know of any other time I had ever been so full of hate.

My heart felt like it flip-flopped when he leaned in close and placed a tender kiss on my lips. I think he knew it, too, because he smiled warmly.

***

Aunt Bev freaked when she saw me. “Gen, oh my goodness, look at you.” She had me by the hands, taking a long look at the new and improved me before she pulled me close, and wrapped me in a warm hug. “Are you hungry?” she asked afterwards.

“I really just want to take a shower before I do anything.” I bolted up the staircase. “We’ll talk as soon as I’m done,” I called out over my shoulder, not slowing down.

“I’ll go fix you something to eat.” I heard her say through the bathroom door.

Standing under the hot spray of the shower felt awesome. The more relaxed I became, the more tired I grew. I could have simply stayed there for hours if I hadn’t been so drained. Suddenly it felt like I hadn’t slept in a week.

Washing my hair felt odd. It was as if I was washing someone else’s super long silky hair, because mine had never felt so soft before. It was also the first time since my transformation that I had seen myself naked. I was a little embarrassed examining my body. I couldn’t believe the tautness of my skin. There wasn’t an ounce of loose skin anywhere. I had bulging muscles on my stomach, arms, and thighs, that felt completely surreal. I had to admit my bellybutton ring looked a lot better on my new stomach then it had on my old one.

When the hot water started to run out, I reluctantly turned off the shower and stepped out. The steam that covered the mirror slowly faded as I dried off. I dropped the towel and stared in awe at my reflection. A huge smile stretched across my face. I couldn’t believe I was the beautiful girl in the mirror.

I hurried and dressed when Aunt Bev called me. “Are you all right up there?”

“Yeah. I’ll be right down.” I bounded down the stairs two at a time, and slid across the cool tile of the kitchen floor in my socked feet. “You rang?” I smiled and sang out, sliding to a stop.

Aunt Bev smiled, too, but I noticed her trying to hide a worried look underneath. “Well? Sit down and tell me everything.” She set a plate with a big juicy steak and quartered potatoes on the table between us before taking a seat across from me.

“I’m not sure where to start. I guess you can tell I found the Crest.” I smiled briefly, but let it fall away. I had this sudden surge of adrenaline rush through me, and began talking a mile a minute about the flight to New Mexico and how we had to land on our own, but somehow I got the feeling that she already knew.

Aunt Bev looked at me long and hard. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”

I just looked at her while slowly chewing a piece of my steak. “Tell me … how much of this whole thing did you already know about?”

She tried to appear innocent, but I saw right through her. “You already knew I was an Adlet … didn’t you?”

Aunt Bev looked a little defeated, but I knew she wasn’t going to just blurt everything out until she found out what I already knew. “I knew the chances were good.”

I saw her swallow hard. That’s when I started to get pissed. “That’s crap and you know it. You
knew
I was the princess, and you
knew
you were putting me in danger by letting me go down there.” I tossed my fork onto my plate and took some deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

“All right,” she uttered, dropping her shoulders. “I knew. But there are circumstances you don’t understand.” She looked up toward the ceiling, batting her eyes quickly, like she was trying to fight back tears. “Everything I’ve done has been out of my love for Camilla and you. I would die for you, Gen.”

Maybe she was telling the truth, but how could I know for sure? Either way I really felt bad for being so hard on her. It just wasn’t in my nature to be mean or cruel. “What really happened to my mother?”

“You know what happened,” she stated evenly, avoiding eye contact.

I felt sure the tone of my voice let her know I was getting tired of her innocent act, but regardless she was still trying to avoid saying anything that I might not already know.

“Stop lying,” I shouted, and sprang up quickly, knocking over my chair.

Aunt Bev jerked. “Okay. She called me and said Zane had found out where you were, and she needed to get you away from the house as quickly as possible. I told her to come here, but she was afraid of being followed. So, I caught the next flight to L.A. That’s why she told you I wanted you to come and spend spring break with me. She had planned to join us, but Zane got to her first. My guess is he killed her and burned down the house to cover it up.”

I watched a few tears run down her face, but I still didn’t think she was telling me everything. I felt bad so I walked around the table and wrapped her in a hug. After she calmed down, I pushed myself away. “You better sit down. I have something to tell you.”

Chapter 37

Aunt Bev appeared to be in shock. If I hadn’t caught her, she would have hit her head when she collapsed onto the floor.

She looked up at me for the longest time without even blinking. Finally, she spoke.

“I must be losing it,” she laughed hollowly. “For a minute I actually thought I heard you say Camilla is alive,” she smiled briefly, still mildly shaking as she pushed herself up and into the chair. Her mascara left black smears on her face.

I leaned back against the island with my feet crossed and waited until she finished her drink of water before I repeated myself. “My mom
is
alive, Aunt Bev.” I paused for a minute to allow it to sink in this time. “Zane has her.”

Her eyes got huge and her complexion paled. She tilted her head to one side like she was really thinking hard about the possibility of her sister being alive, but she didn’t say anything.

“Oh, honey,” she uttered, and turned away. “This doesn’t mean she’s alive. I want to believe she is just as much as you do, but he could have taken it before he …” Her voice trailed off, probably because she couldn’t or didn’t want to say the words “killed her”.

I pushed myself away from the island. “You don’t understand. When Zane tossed me her locket and I closed it in my hand I saw her, but it wasn’t like a picture of her. My mom was in a room, leaning against a dirt wall. I think she was trying to show me how to find her, but then the vision quickly vanished. And before that a voice lead me to a room in the Ice Cave. I saw my mom on this table thingy. I touched her, Bev. She was real,” I cried, and tears gathered in my eyes. “The voice that lead me to the cave said I can save her and everyone, but I have to be willing to do things I would have never imagined.”

“Calm down, Gen.” Aunt Bev rubbed her hand on her forehead while she paced the floor. “Tell me exactly what you saw,” she said, stopping to face me.

“Does that mean you believe me?” I asked, nervously biting the inside of my lip.

“I want to believe you, but Zane is so powerful. You don’t realize the terrible things he’s capable of.” She paused, and started biting on her thumb nail. “Okay … think. What did she show you? If it was really her, then she would have shown you something that he couldn’t have knowledge of.”

I raked my fingers through my wet tangles. “Um … let’s see … a snow covered mountain, a frozen lake with a big wooden thing sticking up through the ice, a cave opening behind a waterfall, and a path leading out beside the old fisheries.”

“That’s it?” Bev looked up from where she’d been writing down the descriptions.

“Yeah, I’m afraid so,” I sighed and dropped my shoulders. “I told you they were just quick flashes. It stopped when I was startled by a loud noise.”

We both grew quiet as I thought about my mom and how my heart ached for what that monster must have been putting her through, and how when I saw her in my vision she appeared frail and hopeless; her long slender fingers twirling a tiny white clover between her fingers.
Hang on, mom. I’m coming for you … soon.