To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (56 page)

The reviewer’s gaze met mine. “Plea or bargain, Ms. Sonora?”

“Guilty.” I was probably the only Caro to stand before the reviewer’s bench to say that. To plead guilty was to virtually sign away my life, to let the Brethren do as it will with me.

And yet the reviewer didn’t even bat an eyelash. She asked calmly, “Do you understand the consequences of your actions?”

I bowed my head. “Yes, Invisa.” That was a reviewer’s title in our language, and it was the only way to refer to them. We were prohibited from using their first names the moment they were appointed, a reminder that all their personal ties had to cease the moment they donned a reviewer’s robes.

“I apologize sincerely for it and I would gladly pay for whatever harm I had done our society.” I meant every word. My vendetta was exactly that—
mine.
If someone had been hurt other than
him
because of my actions, then so be it. It only meant I had to wait another lifetime to extract vengeance.

The reviewer murmured slowly, “There was no negative result of your actions that has been reported—but there could have been.” Her long nails, painted deep purple, tapped the desk. “I assume you know the standard corrective response for this would be rehabilitation under direct supervision of a Brethren official.”

“Yes, Invisa.” I tried not to hold my breath but couldn’t.
This
was what I had gambled my entire future for.

Her gaze went back to the documents she held in her hands. “But I have a feeling that if I do that then I would be playing right into your hands.”

Shit.

I hastily tried to school my expression back into blandness, but it was too late. I had already betrayed myself. I could see it in the way her gaze narrowed.

She leaned back against her seat. “I’m going to ask you three questions—and if you were to answer me untruthfully I would know and there will be no bargain, no hope, no anything to save you from being thrown into the dungeons for fifty years.”

“I will speak the truth, Invisa.” My voice thankfully didn’t shake even as my knees started to feel weak. The weight of her stare was oppressive, as if she was already carving the truth out of my soul. She made me feel small, the way I was so scantily dressed, the way I had led my life for the past six months—so terribly unfit to bear our race’s name.

“Will you die for the Brethren?”

I didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes.”

“Do you believe the Brethren’s decisions are always right?”

This time I paused before saying finally, “No.”

The reviewer smiled. It made her beautiful, but it also made her appear deadlier and I was starting to understand why someone so young had been chosen to hold one of the highest positions in our society.

“And if I were to let
you
choose who among the Brethren would be your rehabilitator—”

A gasp escaped. Never in my blackest dreams had I thought I would have a chance to
choose.

Her smile became a mixture of sweetness and poison. “Who would you choose, Caylie Sonora?”

My eyes turned black as I answered very softly, “Luka Georgiades.”

Our gazes met, and that was when I saw it again, the red rim shining so brightly it was turned the iris of her left eye into a blood moon set in a silvery lake.

“So be it,” the reviewer said just as softly. “I shall order Luka Georgiades to be your rehabilitator, with orders not to leave your side until you have been set back in the right path. He is also to be informed that you have argued strongly against his endorsement—”

My head shot up.

“—but this review has overrode your preferences.”

One blink and she was gone.

Another blink and she stood right in front of me, her speed and the power that was coiled inside her causing me to stumble back in stunned realization.
Dark. So, so dark.
How could this be?

“Yes.” Her voice was a vicious caress in itself. “I am half-vampire, the only one in this world and I see things that nobody else sees. Your life and his life are forever entwined, but the bonds are twisted and tainted by my kind.”

This close, the red rim was disturbingly mesmerizing, tempting me to stare into it forever. It took all of my power to wrench my gaze away from the reviewer’s. “I don’t understand—”

“You’re not meant to just yet, but soon you will.” Another blink and she was back behind the judge’s bench.

I tried not to gasp again but failed. Just being that close to a half-vampire was enough to have me stagger back dizzily, like I had been strangled without knowing it.

“You are dismissed.” She stood in the center of the hall, more vampire than Caro even in her dauntingly sober reviewer’s robes.

Questions raced in my mind, but I knew that they wouldn’t be answered. I curtsied again before turning away on unsteady legs. As I reached for the door, the reviewer’s candy-coated voice once again reached me.

Call me when there is no one to trust.

I froze, never expecting the reviewer to offer her help but when I looked back she was gone.

* * * *

Heads turned the moment I arrived school on Monday. News of my arrest the other night had leaked, adding to my infamy. The girls’ gazes were contemptuous, but it was more a reaction to the hunger in the boys’ stares. I had been a violator, making me forbidden fruit in their eyes. Their lust made my skin crawl, but I did my best to hide it. No bad girl worth her salt would find it distasteful.

“Caylie, over here,” I heard my friends call out.

I hurried to them, relieved to have my girls surround me. With them, I felt like I had gained a respite from the waves of lust emanating from most of the boys I passed by. It was
suffocating
, the way they didn’t hide how they wanted to possess me for the sake of possession itself.

“It worked then?” Ever Ridgeway asked in a low voice. She was
a petite brunette, with a penchant for beaded accessories. She was an
It girl
herself, being one of Internet’s most popular fashion bloggers—for Caros, that was. You’d be amazed with the cool tricks she has for hiding unbecoming blood stains on silk blouses. Also, her post last week—
How to Hide Your Fangs When You Pose for Photos with Humans: Let Me Count the Ways—
was still trending in Twitter.

I nodded.

“Are you sure he won’t see through your plan?” Sabina Xelios tugged her chandelier earrings as she spoke.
If she tugged any harder, I was afraid she’d be tugging a piece of her ear off. Among the three of us, Sabina was the most practical, especially with middle-class Caros. They considered Thelma as their Financial Guru on YouTube, and tickets to her Get Bloody Rich seminars sold at hundreds of dollars each.

In Caro society, it was the norm for every family to had at least one semi-famous personality. Unlike other races, we preferred to
hide in plain sight,
which was why humans believed that Caros were an exclusive organization, something like
The Illuminati
of sorts, an open secret that was mysterious enough to make waves once in a while but not mysterious enough for people to want to dig deeper.

Humans thought they already knew all there was to Caros, and that was exactly what we wanted them to think, something we reinforced by having one member constantly in the spotlight. With all eyes on the better known member to humans, everyone else would easily fade into the background. It was like a sacrificial lamb led to the media’s slaughter, and in my family
I
was the lamb.

Since my dad had an important position in Caro economy and my mom was active in social welfare, it had been up to me to hog the limelight. At thirteen, I had already been gracing fashion magazines, rubbing elbows with celebrities, and dating actors and models once in a while.

We Caros were innately selfish, but we were also deadly serious about dying for our race. History books were our Bible and our race’s anthem was always #1 on our iPods. We were
that
loyal.

Once upon a time, the thought of our almost fanatical devotion to The Brethren had terrified me.

I had been afraid that if there ever came a day Luka would be made to choose between The Brethren and me, I would not have a chance of winning.

Of course now I knew the truth. Now, there was no longer a reason to be afraid.

Sabina snapped her fingers. “Helloooo? Caylie?”

I shook my head, not wanting to dwell on pointless thoughts. Luka might have been an angel when we were growing up, but it had been a mask. “Sorry—I was thinking of something else. What were you saying?”

“I’ve been hearing rumors about Luka,” she murmured as we made our way to class.

“About what?”

“It hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

Knowing Sabina, it meant she wouldn’t say another word until she was absolutely sure. So I let it slide, even though the way she avoided my gaze was disquieting.

Ever was frowning darkly. “I just hope he doesn’t leave you again.”

“If he does,” Sabina said, “I’ll tell everyone he has a small weenie.”

All three of us laughed.

“You’re crazy,” I told her even as I smirked at the thought. I might have never seen Luka completely naked, and I might hate him enough to kill him, but even I knew that couldn’t be true. Luka just wasn’t the type to have a small dick.

“I mean it,” Sabina insisted.

This light-hearted banter was one of the few rare things in my life that had remained unchanged since Luka left. The thought of losing their friendship unexpectedly struck, making me swallow hard. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have survived the past three years without you two.” Luka leaving me broke my heart, but these two—albeit never quite filling it—were able to paper over the cracks.

They had done their best to make me move on with countless slumber nights, clubbing parties, and endless phone conversations. Sometimes, they succeeded. Most times—I just
hated.

Ever squeezed my hand. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

I choked.

Sabina laughed. “Hunger Games,
really
?”

“Do you want me to quote Twilight,
really
?” Ever shot back.

We were still laughing by the time we reached the vending machine, which sold blood-laced caffeine drinks. It was a morning ritual of ours, and as I started pushing coins into the slot, Thelma asked, “When will you two meet?”

I didn’t answer right away, waiting until the Styrofoam cup was filled to the brim. I took a sip, using its heat to calm my blood. “Tonight.”