Creature of Habit (Creature of Habit #1) (27 page)

I shook my head nervously confused by this whole line of conversation but enthralled at the same time. "I don’t understand any of this."

Sasha's amusement turned to hysterical laughter. She tossed her head back, flinging her black hair out of her eyes. From behind me, I heard small giggles coming from the demonic girl holding me prisoner.

"Well that makes everything so much more interesting. See, Caleb is my mate. My partner, my other half. We've been companions for decades."

I knew my face betrayed my disbelief as I processed this information. Decades? Sasha couldn't be older than me. She moved closer, so close, I could see the thick rows of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her movements were unnaturally fast and disconcerting, and my eyes couldn't keep up with the level of speed. She smirked. "It's how our kind declares commitment to another immortal. Grant is completely, eternally, committed to you."

Images began to unfolded, almost like a series of photographs. The first picture was of Grant. I thought of his habits, the secrets, the lies. Why he was so young yet appeared so old. His cool touch and cryptic words. I considered the lack of food or drink in his home, his strength and beauty.

The look of hunger in his eyes. My heart lurched into my throat.

No.

“I’m not immortal.”

“Not yet,” Sasha declared. "Your boyfriend is exactly like me. And like Jenna. Well, not exactly like us. He has chosen an ‘alternative’ lifestyle." She rolled her eyes. "It doesn’t matter that you belong to him. Caleb wants you more, and whatever Caleb wants, I will give him. Because that is what a mate does for the other."

“Does Caleb want me as his mate, too?”

Sasha’s hand flew through the air faster than I could comprehend. I heard the hollow slap at the same time I felt the sting from where her palm met my cheek. Tears welled in my eyes. “Caleb is my mate, bitch. That’s not what he wants you for.”

“What then?”

“Revenge. He’ll train you to tear the Palmers apart. One by one, until there’s nothing left other than what he came for in the first place.”

She turned and walked into the woods with no other words. Jenna’s fingers dug into my arms harder as she pushed me along taking me with them, back to this man named Caleb. Also a vampire.

Grant was a vampire. Sasha and Jenna were vampires. The entire Palmer family? Holy shit.

Jenna released my arms when she realized I was no longer resisting, and pushed me ahead, into the forest. I stumbled and fell more than once, and her small hands yanked me up from the ground. I flinched, knowing the bruises would be worse than last time. I blinked. The harsh reality that bruises, cuts, and heartache no longer mattered. These two creatures were marching me to my death.

Chapter 41

Grant

Amelia.

Where did she go?

I closed my eyes in the middle of the crowd and tried to get my bearings. One minute she was standing in the line for the restroom and the next she was gone. Her scent mixed in with the thousands of other concert goers. Raking my hands into my hair, I dropped to my knee in frustration in the middle of the park. I knew I was overreacting, but ever since she told me she was coming here I had a sense of dread. There were too many people. It was too easy for them to get to her and for me to lose her.

I rocked back on my heels and listened.

“This band is great….hey, ass face….if he touches me one more time…I wonder how long the beer truck stays open after the band finishes…”

My gift of exquisite hearing was a blessing and a curse. In a crowd of two thousand people it was a curse straight from the devil himself. I heard so many people—so many different voices that it was impossible to shut them all out. Finding Amelia among this crowd was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even my vampire senses weren't that good.

I pulled out my phone, stabbing my finger at the button going to the only person who could maybe find her. "Where is she?" I spat.

"Amelia?" Olivia asked, knowing there was only one person I would be concerned about. "What's wrong?"

"You can't see her?" I asked, the unfounded panic rising again.

"Um…." Olivia went silent and I began pacing around the park, looking for any sign of Amelia. I couldn't catch her scent over the overpowering odors of food, drinks and sweat. Between that and the noise I was truly blind.

"Olivia?" I asked, tentatively this time.

"Grant, all I see is her in the woods at some point. She won't be alone and she isn’t going willingly. Other than that it's shifting and moving too quickly. The only thing I know for sure is you need to find her in the forest."

I disconnected and wove through the thick crowd. I had no choice but to ignore the blaring thoughts and obnoxious odors. I passed a couple engaged in a deep kiss and had a brief sense of relief smelling Amelia on the back of the man's shirt. She must have come this way and brushed against him.

I saw the First-Aid Tent ahead and peeked inside. She wasn't there but I found indentions in the grass beyond the tent. There were two sets of footprints, one possibly running behind the other, both leading to the shadowy darkness of the forest.

What would make Amelia come into the darkness like this? I wondered and was instantly hit by a flowery scent wafting in the breeze. I'd smelled it before, at Amelia's home and on the necklace left on the door.

Jenna.

Dammit. Only the little girl could lure Amelia away from safety and I berated myself for not telling her to stay away if she encountered her. But what could I do? Comments like that would only force her to ask more questions and force me to tell more lies.

I picked up my pace and opened my thoughts, trying to track their direction.  I pushed aside the faint murmurs from the distancing crowd and the fading music from behind me. I smelled Amelia, her scent becoming stronger as I approached the edge. Suddenly, I was struck by a different aroma, Sasha's. Amelia's odor was replaced by adrenaline and fear. Panic took hold.

I raced through the woods until a wave of images flooded my head.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, angry scratch marks on pale skin.
Caleb. Was he near here? I took a deep breath-searching for his sent. Nothing, yet he had to be close to hijack my mind. I was slammed with an image of Jenna’s tiny hands clutched tight around Amelia’s arms. Everything about her was unfocused, immature, and unpredictable. Her eyes lingered on Amelia's neck.
My neck.

The vision sent me into a rage and I pushed Caleb out of my head. I pummeled through the trees, trampling brush and foliage with a viciousness I'd never felt before. Up ahead I saw them. Three figures. Small and wild, dark and dangerous, and lastly, timid and scared. My eyes zeroed in on Amelia being manhandled by Jenna as I crashed through the brush. I cringed at the sight of her, filthy. At the way fingers were bruising her very human flesh. The thought of her pain caused my fury to rise even higher. Her body was mine and mine alone to worship. Their disrespect would cost them heavily.

Ahead, Sasha heard me coming. Her eyes flicked left and right, processing escape plans.  Beyond that, I could see the conflict on her face. What would be the cost with Caleb if she failed to bring his treasure back? Death? She wavered for a moment, glancing between me and Amelia. She made her decision quickly, flight being her best weapon of defense. Before I fully reached them, she fled into the darkness of the forest.

Jenna lurched at the sudden disappearance of Sasha and jerked Amelia to a stop. Amelia yelped and whimpered from the pain. I winced with her, quickly determining how to proceed. The fledgling was very powerful. Hungry. And absolutely zero self-control. Without Sasha to guide her I only had seconds to save Amelia.

I made my decision without hesitation.

"Jenna," I said, in a tone lower than Amelia could hear. “Release her.”

The fledgling turned to me, placing Amelia between me and her. Amelia's eyes widened with…hope? Fear? I wasn't sure. I was never sure. I tilted my head to the side, longing to reach out for her.

The sound of a hiss snapped my eyes back to Jenna.

"Take your hands off her and I’ll make your death quick and painless."

Her fingers fumbled but her teeth glinted sharp. One look at Amelia proved she was close to slipping into shock. Her eyes were unfocused and she had yet to utter a word of recognition.

Jenna spoke, her voice young and high pitched, "You can't save her. No one saved me, and look at you. You're no different. Your heart is as cold and dead as my own. Your soul? You can feel the hole from where it’s missing. The only actual difference is you’re pretending to be better than the rest of us. You’re a fake. The real enemy. The failure of our kind.”

"Jenna. Take your hands off of her. Or I will take them off for you. Like Caleb. You saw what happened to him. Next time I’ll kill him," I said. Her dirty fingers moved to release Amelia, but instead of dropping to the side, they latched onto Amelia's head and twisted, exposing her neck.

I heard, rather than saw Jenna’s teeth scrape against Amelia’s flesh. I cried and lunged forward, thrusting my body between them, shoving Amelia aside as gently as possible. She stumbled to the ground, but Jenna was my priority. She growled and hissed like a wild animal. Barely two months old, hunger and the desire to fight were the primal urges that coursed through her infected veins, and now that Sasha abandoned her she had no reason not to follow her instincts.

I dove at the fledgling and tore into her with my teeth and nails. She fought back, slashing at my arms. I drew a blade from my pocket and she stilled, pressing her back to the trees.

“Your time is up,” I said, slicing the blade across her throat in one final arc.  Jenna howled like an animal in pain as thick blood spilled from her wound. “It never should have been this way. You’re too young—too innocent.” With both hands I ripped off her head and dropped it to the ground.

She may have been stronger, but I was smarter and more disciplined. I was a killer. The dead body and dripping blood from my hands proved that. Amelia moved behind me and I spun, finding her on her hands and knees. She crawled away from me and retched in the dark, dank forest. A feeling of absolute dread settled in my bones.

I knew all along she wasn't mine to have. At the very best I was placed here to protect her. The worst? To kill her. My need for her was irreversible but now that she knew, really understood, that I was the very real monster that haunted her dreams, there was no way she would want me in return.

"Amelia?" I called, now on my hands and knees.

She was sat on the ground, shorts smeared with dirt from kneeling on the forest floor to vomit. Her pale arms were covered in purple bruises and she rubbed her hands absently over the painful welts. She looked at me with confusion and apprehension in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I promised you and I failed."

My knees pressed into the soft dirt and we sat in the quiet of the forest together. The energy between us had shifted, no longer filled with hope and possibility. Instead we were enveloped in the stench of death and fear.

"I won't hurt you.  Let me take you back," I said in an even tone, unsure of what she was thinking. “I’ll carry you.”

“No.”

The word came out loud and forceful. She was in there, thank God.

I attempted to help her to her feet, but she flinched violently at my touch, so I distanced myself from her once she was stable. Her eyes clouded and she fell mute. The only sound came from our feet on the dirt and her erratically beating heart.

She stumbled through the forest, arms wrapped around her body. She couldn't see clearly, as it had grown too dark. I was forced to speak, point out a tree or branch. Once I caught her when she stumbled on a root. She recoiled on contact.

It was so far removed from our gentle touches last night. The excitement and flare were gone. I repulsed her.

I'd lost her.

I had her and I lost her.

We made it to the edge of the forest and we could see the lights on the field. The music had stopped and people were gathering their things to leave. I had to address the situation. I had no choice. It was for her safety and my own.

"Amelia," I said softly. “Speak to me.”

Her head tilted upwards and her eyes slid over mine but never fully focused.

I forced myself to be honest. I owed her that much. "I know what you saw back there was disturbing. But I really need you to keep what you saw to yourself. Caleb and Sasha are both still out there. I’m going to catch them. Then I’ll destroy them."

She swallowed deeply and finally spoke, her voice was shaky and low. "Who would I tell Grant? What would I say? That I'm being hunted by a pack of deranged monsters? That deep in these woods you left the ravaged remains of a missing little girl? Mutilated by…” she swallowed. “Do I tell them I finally thought I found the man of my dreams and he's…" She gasped for air as the words and tears rolled down her face. “Not human?”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. The man of her dreams? Me?

Amelia steeled herself for a moment. She wiped her eyes with the back of a dirty hand and I watched as her chin jutted out in determination. "I'm not telling anyone anything, Grant. Your secret is safe with me, but promise me one thing."

“Anything.”

“Don’t come looking for me again. I quit. I’m done. You’ll have to find someone else.”

She pushed forward, limping and holding her neck. From my spot in the dark I watched her go, barely holding on by a thread. Like the feral nature controlling Jenna something deep down and instinctive told me she belongs with me—
to me
. I held back, fulfilling my promise to keep her safe. She stepped into the crowd, the overhead lights reflecting off her hair like a halo. Without even the smallest glance back she disappeared and I knew, no matter how painful, this was right. She was right about everything—but one.

I’d never find someone else.