4

Present Day

icholas ended the call on his cell phone and leaned against the porch’s railing. He looked onto the field before the house. The early morning sun continued to burn away the glistening frost. Though it was the first full month of spring, the cold air held strong. This area of the country was notorious for spring snowstorms, and the recent cold snap was the perfect breeding ground for a surprise storm.
Inhaling the cool air, Nicholas headed back inside. He wanted more than anything to have a morning run, just some time for himself. But their unexpected guest needed constant supervision. There was a good chance she would seize any opportunity to try an escape, and Arden wasn’t much help during the daytime hours. A morning run had to wait.
Nicholas entered the downstairs hallway. His eyes avoided the wall at the end, the one he built to seal off the horror that took place ten years prior. Though he wasn’t well versed in the natural abilities some humans carried, the strange incident with Jayda gave him a glimpse into this unknown world. After he helped her to her room, he picked up on her constant wariness around him, now magnified by what she “saw.” And how strong was this ability of hers? If she could see his past this vividly, how well could she see other things if she tried?
Nicholas walked into the study and found the petite form of Jayda asleep on the sofa. He nudged her shoulder, waking her. Jayda’s eyes snapped opened. She seemed disoriented, as though she forgot where she was. Looking at Nicholas, the tension in her body melted.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was trying to find you, so I decided to wait here.”
Nicholas walked around the desk and sat down. He began to write down the address given to him over the phone. “Well?” he finally said.
Jayda sat up, her hands between her knees. “I can’t sleep in that room,” she began, her voice quiet. “It’s been a long time since I’ve slept by myself.”
“You seemed to be sleeping fine in here by yourself.”
“I knew you’d come back.”
He looked up from his desk, picking up on something else within her words. “Go back to your room. You’ll get use to sleeping alone.”
Jayda drew in her shoulders as her eyes left him. “Don’t you want me?”
This was why she was waiting for him. Nicholas was too naive and turned a blind eye to her uneasiness. He answered her as he switched on the computer’s monitor. “I want nothing from you.”
“Then why am I here? I’ve been here a week and you refuse to let me leave the house.”
“Those aren’t my orders.”
“Does that mean… am I his?” Her brown eyes returned to him, a deepening fear resurfacing.
Nicholas continued to show his lack of interest with a sigh. “You don’t belong to anyone. Go back to your room and try to sleep.”
Jayda sucked in her lower lip to keep herself from replying. She didn’t want to upset him. She had to keep reminding herself that she was his guest and perhaps he was different from the other beasts roaming the world, or so he wanted her to believe. Pulling herself from the comfort of the leather sofa, Jayda headed for the door, half hoping he would give in and let her sleep in the study. As she left the room, her hope diminished.
Jayda turned for her room and stopped. Standing at the end of the hall was the dark silhouette of the vampire, Arden. This was the first time she had seen him since arriving. She waited for him to speak or move, but he did neither. He only stood there, watching her. Gathering up her courage, Jayda forced herself to move, struggling hard not to run for her room.
Arden eyed the frightened girl as she disappeared into the bedroom. He then heard the quiet scraping of metal as the door locked. Any other vampire would find amusement in the fear one look could place within a human. But the intimidation Arden focused on was the fear he placed within those of his kind. Humans were too easy to frighten.
Entering the study, Arden stood in the middle of the room and waited to be addressed. Nicholas, with his complete attention focused on the monitor, typed in the location he jotted down. The satellite image zoomed in on an industrial area, displaying street names and other information.
“What do you want?” Nicholas asked without looking away.
“Your anger should be aimed at yourself, not me,” replied Arden. As always, the vampire kept any emotion from his voice, a trait that annoyed Nicholas at times.
He sighed. “What’s on your mind?”
“If she tempts you this much, then you should share yourself with her and end your frustration.”
“Nothing about her ‘frustrates’ me.”
Raising his hand, Arden tapped on the side of his head, the small gesture hinting at the blood bond between them. The werewolf’s inability to completely block the vampire from his mind was the downside to their bond. But the benefits, especially in a fight, outweighed any unwanted side effects.
“She’s weak,” answered Nicholas, “and damaged and too much trouble to involve myself with her.”
“Your instincts to mate and to have a mate are two different urges.”
“Stop treating me like some animal on the Discovery Channel. Why did you come in here anyway?”
The vampire read the werewolf’s struggling attempt to mask his emotions. “Your phone rang,” he said.
“Yeah, new job. Apparently our last contractor wants us to do another cleansing.” Nicholas gestured to the monitor. “This is the place.”
Arden walked around the desk and looked at the satellite image. “It’s in a city. Tell them no.”
“I already told them that we’d do it.”
“It’s too risky.”
“It’s in the warehouse district. The one we’re going to has been vacant for a year.”
Arden crossed his arms over his chest. “There will be security camera’s.”
“They told us not to worry about that.”
“It’s a trap.”
Nicholas shook his head at the stubborn vampire. “They may be sizing us up, sure, but I doubt it’s a trap.”
“Then why do it?”
“The pay is good and I need the money.”
Arden stared at him. The edges of the werewolf’s inner strength was beginning to fray. No amount preaching could stop the process now, so he kept is reply simple. “You sound like a human.”

The coarse touch of the bed sheets rubbed against Jayda’s skin. This, added with the soft mattress, kept her restless mind awake. Every attempt to quiet her thoughts left her wanting to scream. The old visions refused to leave her. And in sleeping on the bed, in a room without windows, she felt as vulnerable as though she were sleeping within a field. The locked door offered her as much protection as a gossamer canopy.
In a burst of anger, Jayda pulled herself out of bed and ripped the covers from the mattress, then laid them in the corner. Next, she grabbed the mattress and slid it off the box spring. Taking hold of the sturdy box spring, she leaned it against the wall, overtop of sheets, creating a makeshift cave. She crawled inside and settled underneath one of the sheets. The once coarse fabric felt like silk against her this time. This was what she needed.
But the images returned, though quieter than before. She read the most powerful one as her death. Nothing she could do would change the end of her maddening life. And in the deepest part of her being, she was ready for it all to end.