Savannah Past Midnight (13 page)

Severin’s voice booms out from the adjoining room,
“Case! Where is she?”

“Kitchen,” he calls out over his shoulder.

I pick up on the unmistakable worry in his tone as
his footsteps close in.

“Cosette!”

He drops down on the other side of me. I flinch at
the distress that’s etched into his face. I hope he knows that I
would never show up like this unless it was a life or death
situation. As family, he was my only choice, regardless of our
personal differences. Behind him stands a petite woman with
waist-length golden hair. I’ve never known my uncle to have
anything other than casual physical relationships but I’m in too
much agony right now to speculate as to whether or not they’re
together.

His eyes leave mine and he asks Case, “Details?”

“Not much, man. I was heading to the wine cooler to
tag a bottle when I heard a strange gurgling sound. Almost blew it
off ’til the smacking started up. She was obviously trying to get
one of us to help her. Thank fuck I’m a suspicious bastard. No clue
what took out her throat. From what I can see, it doesn’t look like
the work of a vampire. Thoughts?”

“Got the towels!” Kiana races over and sets a stack
of gray towels down next to Case.

I can feel the repair already in process. The muscles
are knitting back together and my depleted energy is slowly
returning, bringing me back from the brink. I
so
owe
Case ….

“Difficult to tell without a closer look.”

Severin’s cool hand brushes across my forehead. His
tone is calm as he leans closer to ask, “Cosette, can you release
your neck so I can have a look? Don’t be frightened. His blood is
already healing you. The trauma is fading rapidly.”

My wet hand ever so slowly lets go of my most severe
injury of the night, and I see the shock in the faces of the two
women. It’s clear that they’re vampires, but both must be new or
they wouldn’t be so visibly affected by the carnage. The rest of
our family is far too familiar with violence to even flinch at
something like this.

Severin studiously examines the gore for over a
minute before asking me, “Cosette, this bite wasn’t done by another
vampire, was it?”

I release my mouth from Case’s wrist, feeling that my
body has had enough sustenance to fix the rest of the mess. Slowly
I shake my head back and forth. I can see the confusion in his
eyes, because a vampire can thwart or fight any animal on the
planet. Until I can speak again I can’t explain that the attack was
done by a gigantic wolf aided by vampires.

“Okay. When you’re healed you can explain what
happened to you. All that matters is that you did the right thing
by coming here to your family for help. We’ll find out who or what
is responsible for this. In the meanwhile, you need to rest. Case
will carry you to your room. It’s been untouched since you left
last year. Whatever attacked you can’t harm you while you are under
our protection.”

I’m hoisted up in the air and held firmly against
Case’s thick chest as he strides down the vast hallway. I’m placed
on my former bed, and before his arms slip out from beneath me I’m
out, exhausted from the fight of my life. I’m pulled under, lost in
a sea of unconsciousness.

I awaken to the sound of soft feminine voices coming
from the far corner of my room.

“She was really close to Katerina, and then, well,
you know the story. I think she took her death especially
hard.”

My eyes open and find those of Ambrose’s girlfriend
Alina, who is sitting in a chair next to the mystery blonde.

“Cosette, you’re awake. We were beginning to worry
because you’ve been out for so long.”

I try to speak and hope for the best as a quiet croak
emerges, “Hey, Alina.”

She smiles and walks over to stand next to my bed.
Her hand touches mine. “Hey there, lady. I’ve missed you, a
lot.”

“Me too. How long have I been out?”

Alina and I have been close friends ever since
Ambrose turned her over twenty years ago. She’s visited me in
Savannah a few times since I moved there to be with Tristan nearly
a year ago, but it’s not the same as living under the same roof.
The strain between Severin and me over my former relationship
hasn’t helped.

“Nearly a day and a half. It’s three in the
afternoon.”

I look over at the quiet woman. She stands and comes
close, her southern accent flowing through the room, “Hi Cosette.
I’m Calla. I’ve heard a lot about you from Severin.”

“Hi, Calla. Are you and Severin together?”

“Yes. We met a few months after you moved away. I was
human. He turned me not long after that in order to save my
life.”

“That’s good. I’m happy he found someone. He deserves
that … to be happy, I mean. I’m surprised that nobody has told
me about you before now.”

“You know Severin, how private he is. He wanted us to
meet in person for the first time and asked that everyone keep our
relationship quiet until you returned. He’s relieved that you’re
healing well. He would never admit it, but he’s been worried sick
about you.”

I look away and stare at the wall, suddenly
uncomfortable. “Yeah, well, we’ve definitely had our differences.
Guess that’s what happens when you have two headstrong relatives
vying to be the one who’s right all the time.”

Silence hangs thick in the air until she says, “I’ll
let him know that you’re awake.”

I turn my head and look up at Alina. “Tell me the
truth … is my neck still a mess?”

She points to the bathroom. “Why don’t you have a
look for yourself?”

I can’t read her expression so I slip out of the high
bed, surprised to see that I’m no longer in my bloody clothes. The
long ice-blue silk robe flutters against my ankles as I cross
toward the bathroom. I hit the switch, take a step back, and gasp.
Aside from four faint reddish pink horizontal streaks across the
center of my neck, I’m all healed. My fingers shake as I brush
against the once unrecognizable section of delicate flesh.

“Safe to say that Case has some powerful blood. He’s
into MMA magazines and Blanton’s Bourbon if you want to send him a
gift basket.” We both look at each other and burst out laughing.
She hugs me tight, whispering against my hair, “It hasn’t been the
same without you around. Glad to hear you dumped Tristan’s
materialistic ass. Still, if you want to live on your own, know
that I understand it’s your business. Really, I do.”

I lean back, look up into Alina’s gorgeous face, and
see that she’s beaming at me. “Alina, you’re one of a kind, you
know that?”

She brushes a strand of hair over my shoulder and
grins devilishly. “Well, Ambrose certainly thinks so. I put his
patience to the test on a daily basis.”

“Am I interrupting anything?” Severin asks quietly as
he enters.

Alina chirps, “Not at all. I was just heading to the
living room to see if Ambrose is up for a game of pool. See ya in a
while, Cosette. Glad to have you back in one piece.”

“Thanks, Alina.”

“You bet, lady. Later.”

She sashays out of my room and I watch Severin, who
stands silently at the end of the bed.
Jesus, why does he have
to be so damned imposing?

His strong, elegant voice fills the room, “I see that
you’ve healed nicely.”

I sigh and walk over to him. He has at least a foot
on me in the height department so I tilt my chin and look up to
answer him, “I have.”

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t here when you arrived.”

“It’s fine. You had no way of knowing. I’m lucky Case
was around.”

I shudder involuntarily at the gory possibility of
what would have happened if he hadn’t been. There’s only one
scenario: I would have bled out on that kitchen floor, leaving my
family—my loved ones—to discover my corpse. We both know it.

“Exceptionally lucky, Cosette. Judging by the extent
of your injuries, I’m surprised you could even trace. Do you feel
like talking?”

“Sure, why not? Look, don’t get pissed at what I’m
about to say, but for the past six weeks I’ve been attacked several
times by wolves.” He looks completely perplexed but stays silent as
I continue, “They’re different, a mutant breed of wolves, like Dire
Wolves—massive as tigers and just as savage. That is what laid into
my neck the other night. And before you inquire, yes, I could have
killed it, but this time I was fighting against two unknown
vampires as well. They were trying to annihilate me under the guise
of the wolf as the lone assailant.”

Wise, sapphire-colored eyes assess what I’ve just
said. Finally he asks, “Do you think this has to do with Tristan?
Could someone be trying to send him a message by harming you? Or
could he be behind it?”

I shake my head. “No way. Not a chance. I ended it
with him about two weeks before the first attack happened. Anyone
close to him knows we’re no longer together. He reached out to me
with some info to share, intel that I thought might be about the
wolves, but things went south and I concluded it was a dead end,
just a selfish ploy to win me back. His enormous ego apparently
doesn’t take rejection well, and he never stops trying. Anyhow, the
wolf thing doesn’t have the feel of anything he would ever be
involved with. He puts all his energy into his dealings at the
nightclub.”

“Cosette, I don’t want to bring up the past but you
are well aware that I wanted you to have nothing to do with him.
He’s had a hand in several known vampire deaths over the centuries.
He is power hungry and dangerous.”

“He’s a wannabe, Severin, trust me. He’s content to
reign supreme from his throne at Sub-Zero, dealing out whatever
shady deals he does there. I doubt he’d have the brain cells to
plot against rival vampires, not without getting caught in the
act.”

“I’ll do some investigating and call in favors from
other vampires in the region. In the meanwhile, I would suggest
that you remain here, where you are safe. It will be easier on me
if I’m not worrying about you constantly while trying to find out
who’s behind these acts of war.”

I appreciate his help, I do, but I’m not going to
let whoever or whatever is after me bring my life to a grinding
halt
.

He lays a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my
thoughts. “Cosette, is there something you’ve left out?”

Reluctantly I say what I’ve been dreading to confess,
“Yes. There is, actually. I’m involved with someone. A human.”

Without missing a beat he says gravely, “Then he’s as
good as dead. Whatever is after you already knows of his existence,
and rest assured he or she will use your feelings for this male
against you, most likely to trap you.”

Dread hits me like a full body blow.
Not Colton.
Not him. He’s rare and good. I can and will protect both of
us
.

There must be a way, and I’ll stop at nothing to
uncover it
.

I
hold my right shoulder with
my left palm and swing the aching arm around in a wide circle
several times to loosen it up. It’s still sore as shit from the
fight this past weekend and I know that the plaster work I’m about
to tackle tonight is only gonna make it worse. No matter, it’s
better than lying in bed staring at the fuckin’ ceiling, wondering
why Cosette blew me off two nights ago. I tense up with fury just
thinking about it.

Nah, I’ll do what I’ve done for the past two nights,
work myself into exhaustion until I can hardly see straight, then,
thankfully, stagger to the couch and pass the fuck out. Yep, that’s
the plan. Again.

A floorboard creaks in the hallway right outside the
bedroom I’m working in. I call out in a menacing voice, “Who’s
there?”

If some crackhead just broke into my place looking
for something to pawn, they’re gonna need a trip to the dentist for
some serious work when I’m through with them.

I stalk out to where the sound came from and see
her
standing there, watching me silently. Those gorgeous
eyes glitter up at me.

She steps forward, saying softly, “Colton—”

I cut her off harshly, “If you don’t have a
bulletproof explanation for what the hell happened to you the other
night, then get the fuck out of my house. Right now!”

I’m furious and it seems to catch her off guard for a
moment. I’m about to turn away when she says, “I was attacked on my
way to meet you.”

I eye her suspiciously, wondering if she’s playing
games with me, simply because she can. My eyes drop, scanning her
from head to toe. She looks uninjured … not even a
scratch.

“It was two vampires and a wolf. I lost a lot of
blood and had to trace to my uncle’s home. I … I’m sorry if
you were angry.”

“Why didn’t you at least text me or better yet, come
to
me
for help? I was fuckin’ worried way before I was angry
with you. By the way, how the fuck did you get in here?”

“I traced here, and believe me, I wanted to contact
you, but my cell went flying when I got hit from behind. I would
have come to you but only vampire blood is strong enough to heal
the damage from such a vicious attack. Please believe me.” She
steps in closer. “I was really looking forward to us spending time
together the other night, Colton. I’m sorry things turned out the
way they did.”

My hands are on my hips as I blow out a deep breath
and stare down at my boots before looking back up into her angelic
face. “Get your ass over here, woman. I missed you something
fierce.”

She takes the final few steps and wraps her body
around mine. Smelling her hair, I murmur against it, “Damn, you
feel so fine. Thought you blew me off for someone else, maybe one
of your kind or some bullshit like that.”

She tips her face up to mine, and while running her
index finger along the edge of the cut near my eye, she whispers,
“Never. That would never happen. Oh!”