3

elmiro’s Haven was by far the smallest as Evonne came to believe, with two levels underground and the hallways branching off like an eight point star. On the three times she walked down the halls, she never once saw another vampire. She wondered how many vampires actually called this place home.
Laying on the bed in their room, Evonne found herself brimming with energy. She was too wired to sleep. A thought entered her mind as she remembered her laptop. But Gabriel refused to bring any of their belongings inside. Even if he had let her, the outlets in the room looked ancient and the life of the battery was nearly depleted on the long drive from Virginia. She sighed. More boredom.
“I hate this place,” Evonne said, rolling onto her side. “It reminds me of home.”
Gabriel turned on a desk lamp. The low watt bulb shone like a one-hundred watt to Evonne. She squinted her eyes.
“I prefer to stay far away from these places as much as I can,” he replied, sitting at the writing desk.
“Then why are we here?”
“I was ordered to stay here with you for a month. Once that time is up, we can leave.”
She looked at the ceiling. “That doesn’t make much sense. If I need blood every night, then why stay at a place void of humans?”
Standing from the desk, Gabriel joined her on the bed, sitting on the edge. “We have to leave each night to hunt. The animals in the surrounding woods will be good practice for you.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Animals? Like rabbits?” The fragment of hunger within her soured at the thought. She wasn’t sure what to expect with animal blood.
“Deer,” he corrected. “Rabbits carry little blood worthy of a kill.”
“Why not stay in Pennsylvania? They were willing to give us their blood.”
“I don’t visit them for that reason alone, and you forget that you need to feed at least once a night. You will easily weaken them before the month is up.”
With that last statement, Evonne saw herself as a parasite. Her stomach turned. But he was right. Staying with them ran the risk of seriously harming someone, Derek most likely. She remembered the excitement within him as he lay underneath her. How far would he’d let her go if the girl didn’t stop him?
Evonne sat up, her mind shuffling over the facts. Throughout all of the recent events, something didn’t feel right. Of course she knew of Saros’ involvement by forcing Gabriel’s hand, but something else pulled at her. Why did Saros plan this? If she really wanted to harm her father, then why not do it directly? Why not take her the way she had David? She involved Gabriel for a reason. Another question emerged; what caused Saros to plan this in the first place?
Evonne found herself asking the question out loud. “Why did Saros order you to do this?”
Gabriel didn’t answer right away. His eyes dropped from her to the bed as he formed a reply. “She believed you would be stronger with me as your sire, than Keelan.”
“But I didn’t want this. Keelan knew I didn’t want this. Why even do this to me? What did she have to gain?”
Again, he paused before speaking. “She didn’t do this for herself. She did it for me.”
Shocked, Evonne wasn’t sure what he meant. “For you?” she asked.
He forced his eyes to look at her. “Forgive me.”
“Forgive you, for what?”
Gabriel found the words difficult to say. “Saros saw something and exploited it. She saw what I wanted.”
Evonne’s shock turned into confusion. “What you wanted? Wait a minute. This wasn’t meant as an attack on my father?”
“This had nothing to do with him.”
She shook her head, her anger threatening to take over. “But why? Why do this to me?”
He answered, his voice showing annoyance at the questions. “It was Saros’ twisted version of a gift.”
“So I was nothing more than a present?” She rolled her eyes, disgusted at the comparison. “Did you honestly want this for me? Simple answer.”
His jaw tightened at the question. Why dance around the truth? Why ignore it as long as he had? But this truth was something even he hid from himself, and yet Saros saw it clearly. Though he put up a fight against her orders, he now saw the same truth.
The simple answer left Gabriel. “Yes.”
“What?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “You wanted this?”
“As a human, you stood no chance against a vampire or werewolf. But now you can have the strength to take care of yourself. I had no plans to remain a bodyguard to a human.”
She heard the spitefulness in his words. She wanted to hit him. “So you made me an equal without the slightest regard to what I wanted.”
He looked away, remaining quiet.
Restraining herself, Evonne stared at him, her body filled with hatred. “How selfish.”
Gabriel refused to listen to this any longer. He left the bed, but stopped, turning back to face her. He made his words as sharp as he could. “If I wanted to be selfish, then you would have remained a human and my servant.”
Stunned, Evonne watched him leave the room. Her eyes drifted to the floor, her mind replaying the conversation, trying to pick out anything else she missed. He wanted this? She never imagined to hear those words from him. Her anger doubled. But what would his plan have been if Saros hadn’t forced him? Would he have waited, eventually winning her over with long talks? She wanted to go after him, to demand a better explanation.
Evonne fell back on the bed, her hands covering her face. How did it snowball like this? It was a mistake to leave her father. She could see that now. Gabriel wasn’t really the selfish one, she was. She wanted to leave Eden, she freely chose to follow him, and she drove herself to this point. But the end result was delivered by Gabriel, serving his own agenda. Trying to place the blame on someone sent her head spinning.
Holding onto a pillow, Evonne begged her mind to stop thinking about him. Somewhere within the haven, she knew that he silently cursed her name, as well.

As the night gave way to morning, Evonne could feel the weight of the sun overhead. The pressure quieted her body, singing her to sleep with its unheard song. Not even the new strength, so generously given to her by the humans, helped in fighting off the weakness.
She woke at sunset and found herself alone in the room. Her anger returned, triggered by Gabriel’s absence. Coward.
She sat for a moment longer, debating what to do next: wait or leave. Or maybe he already left? Fastening her coat, she peered out the door, glancing up and down the dimly lit hall. She took in a deep breath of unneeded air to calm her nerves. It’s just a short walk. No one will see you.
Evonne entered the hallway and kept her pace slow and eyes to the floor. As she turned the corner she saw an old vampire approach. The strength from him bounded forth, frightening her. Evonne forced herself to ignore him. She walked on, struggling to keep her eyes away from him.
Don’t look back. Do not look back.
The spiral staircase greeted her like an old friend. Oh, how relieved she felt to see that thing. Climbing it to the surface, she hesitated before opening the door. What if the sun wasn’t fully absent from the sky? Cracking the door, she squinted her eyes, preparing for the worse. It was night.
She stepped through and took in another deep breath, picking up on the million scents surrounding her. Like the first night out, she saw the wolf waiting nearby, this time joined by another. They watched Evonne as she headed away from the haven and further into the woods. She made her way toward the Jeep, trying her best to recall where he had parked.
The Jeep hadn’t moved. So he didn’t leave.
She glanced through the windows and saw their bags still there. But where was Gabriel?
Still feeling the anger from earlier, Evonne began walking, not really sure where she planned to go. She remember the single-lane road nearby. The lack of cars also made it the perfect choice. How far could she get before he realized she left?
Evonne imagined him entering the room to find her gone. She wasn’t sure on how he would react, but the initial discovery sent a smile to her lips. Why did she have to wait in his shadow anyway? She was fully capable of taking care of herself. And of course, she wasn’t this fragile human any longer. That right there gave her a little more comfort in walking alone.
She stepped onto the road. There was no plan in her actions. She just wanted to get far away from that haven. The place sat in her mind like rotten fruit. Gabriel would have to drag her back there kicking and screaming.
Walking for several minutes, Evonne saw her shadow cast before her as a vehicle neared, its headlights set on high. She kept her head forward. This was it. What would he say to her? What would she say to him? Evonne hadn’t even thought that far ahead. What would she say?
The vehicle passed her; a small sports car. It wasn’t him. She was actually relieved, yet disappointed at the same time. Perhaps she would actually make it into town before he realized she was gone. Evonne had no watch or other way to tell how long she walked. Her best guess was forty minutes—forty long minutes to keep dredging through the same thoughts.
Another set of headlights glowed behind her. Again, she didn’t look. As this vehicle passed, it stopped yards away. It was the Jeep. Holding onto her anger, she approached the passenger’s side. The window was down. She looked in to see Gabriel staring straight ahead.
“Get in,” he said. There was nothing in his voice to determine his anger or lack thereof.
Evonne kept to her script. “I feel like walking. Or do I have no say in that either?”
He didn’t reply. The Jeep continued forward as it sped down the road, the red tail lights disappearing around the bend. Evonne scoffed at his reaction. So he’s still pissed. Great, she thought sarcastically.
Evonne began walking once more. The minutes crept by this time. She wasn’t sure what his next move would be. He could come back for her or wait until the last moments before dawn. Dawn. She almost forgot about that. Where would she stay if he didn’t come back for her? She had no money for a motel, or any other option to wait out the day. He’ll come back. He’s too predictable when it comes to things like this.
The Jeep returned to her sight, this time sitting in the middle of the road, its engine off. Evonne walked to the driver’s side and found it empty. She tightened her lips at the scene. Refusing to play any of his games, she continued on.
With a grip unmatched, a hand grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her back and swinging her around. Evonne slammed into the side of the Jeep. Her body wanted to fall forward but the hand was at her throat, pushing her against the vehicle. Evonne’s eyes found Gabriel before her. He looked frightening.
Gabriel held her tight, sealing off her airway to keep her from speaking. She struggled under his grip and found his hold like iron. Out of all the times she witnessed his strength and speed, never had she seen him like this. And this wasn’t even his true strength, of that she was certain.
He leaned in close, making sure she heard his words clearly. “You are no equal to me,” he said, his grip tightening. “Not yet, at least.”
Evonne pushed against him. He didn’t move. Her anger exploded as she began to thrash about, hitting him wherever she could, her hands first as fists, then opening to claw at his neck and face. Releasing her for a moment, Gabriel’s hands returned as he grabbed hold of her wrists. He pinned her once more.
Turning her head, Evonne refused to look at him. As he held her, she could smell his blood. She finally looked at him and saw the deep scratches along his cheek and neck. If he wasn’t angry before…
“Are you finished?” he asked, his eyes locking on hers.
She kept her words to herself, answering him by relaxing her body.
Gabriel let her go and ordered, “Get in.”
Evonne wanted to attack him again, to tear further at his skin. But the fear of seeing his true strength silenced that wish. She slowly walked to the passenger side and got in. She held her tongue. What else did she have to say? Just keep quiet.
Gabriel drove the Jeep down the road and away from the haven. Evonne still refused to look at him. Though she wanted to ask where they were going, she found the question unworthy of the effort to even ask. Anymore speaking at this point was useless. The argument from before had spiraled into a physical fight. In any other situation, one may call her stupid for staying, but this was no normal situation. Aside from their sire and fledgling bond, they had no other relationship.
Two hours into the drive, Gabriel pulled onto a dirt road, well away from any civilization. The road snaked around a wooded area and ended. Gabriel turned off the Jeep and left the keys in the ignition. From outside, Evonne could hear the faint rushing of a river nearby. She wasn’t sure what he was planning.
He spoke, all anger absent from his voice. “Tonight you will make your first kill.”