Chapter 19
It happened so fast. Too fast. One minute, Beckett was in my face, trying to kiss me, the next I’m plummeting to my death.
On what seemed to be instinct, I flipped my body around in midair and lifted my head, craning my neck up toward the sky. Now, instead of the concrete sidewalk flying at warp speed toward my face, I was now gliding in the air. Confused as to what the hell was going on, I lost my concentration and began sinking like a stone toward the ground again. But this time, it was my feet that were going to catch the brunt of the blow. And land I did… on my feet, like a cat, crouching as I landed, letting my knees absorb the fall. It didn’t even hurt.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped out, my hands now on my bare knees. I was panting like I had just run a marathon.
“What the fuck!”
I turned to see Beckett landing on the sidewalk, his eyes wide, his expression incredulous. He’d apparently jumped—flown—down, too.
“What just happened?” I asked him, immediately realizing what a dumb question it was.
He walked slowly toward me, his face a mask of fear and wonder. I stood stock-still as he stood a couple feet from me.
He craned his head to the side. “Are you… are you… a moon child?”
Wow, rhetorical question much?
Unsure how to answer, I shook my head. “I don’t understand the question.”
He chewed on his bottom lip, which I now noticed was pierced with a small silver hoop, and looked at me with his light eyes. “You just flew. Like a bird. What are you?”
With my senses slowly returning to me, I looked up into his face and grinned. “Well, I’m not a vampire, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Beckett looked down the street both ways. I did the same, and was surprised to see nobody staring at us.
“You’re a witch, aren’t you?” he asked, a triumphant and confident look on his face.
I wrinkled my nose. “No, but I was raised by them.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You confuse me, Amy the flyer.”
Do I tell him I’m a wolf? This guy was confusing me, too. I decided to friend-zone his ass and be truthful. I pushed him playfully in the chest. “I’m a wolf, you dumbass.”
His eyes went as wide as saucers. Then he cautiously leaned in and sniffed me. “You don’t smell like a wolf.”
“I’m talented like that,” I replied with a smile.
“You’re a wolf?” he asked, seeming amazed by my confession. “Wolves can’t fly. I’ve seen them fall. I’ve seen them plummet to their deaths. They don’t fly.”
I debated on telling this guy at how freaked out I was right then that I had not broken my neck, falling from that roof. I quickly decided this was a question for Sanja or my mom, and then plastered on a fake smile. “Well, I’m special that way.”
He studied me for a minute, then said, “You are a mystery, Amy. I like that about you.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I said, smiling up at him.
“Tell me, what were you doing at a vampire bar?” he asked, seeming suspicious now.
“If you promise not to bite me, we can go someplace quieter, and I will tell you,” I quipped with my most charming smile.
Beckett shoved his hands into the pockets of his overly-zippered black jeans, looked around, and with a shrug said, “You‘re crazy if you think I’m going to bite a wolf. I don’t have a death wish, you know.”
I smiled and indicated for him to follow me.
* * *
“Excuse me while I fall over in shock,” I replied sarcastically, laughing as I set his drink down on my coffee table.
Yes, I had invited a vampire into my home.
By the way, they don’t need an invitation.
Learning every day.
Was I drunk? Maybe.
“I tried to kiss you, and you aren’t shocked that I’m gay?” he asked, picking up the martini glass.
“Dude, you talk way too much for a straight guy,” I said back, sipping my homemade martini.
Beckett plucked an olive from the stick inside his cocktail glass and popped it in his mouth. “You have a point.”
“I have more where that came from,” I said, pointing to his glass.
Why was I hitting it off so well with this vampire?
“You never told me why you were in a vampire bar.”
“I’m looking for two vampires,” I deadpanned.
He lifted a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me, and said with a smirk, “Well, you found one.”
“Two specific vampires,” I corrected.
“Why?” he asked, pausing the martini glass at his mouth.
“Because one attacked me last week, and the other murdered my brother.”
He pressed a hand to his mouth. “Oh, my God.”
“By the way,” I said, kind of getting pissed off at him for trying to lure me in that bar. “You play a very good straight dude.”
He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Well, until a gay vampire bar pops up in the city, I’m stuck at the straight ones. I’m a fabulous actor, so it’s not hard to get blood-laid in those places.”
My drink paused at my lips. “Blood-laid?”
He chuckled. “A little blood and no sex, but sometimes a few kisses and some heavy petting. It works if you know what you’re doing.”
“You’re disgusting.” I made a face.
“So I’ve been told,” he replied with a wry smile. “So tell me about these vampires you’ve been looking for.”
I described them both to Beckett. He looked off into space and then moved his gaze back to mine. “I may know the one who killed your wolf brother. That sounds like Linden, but I can’t be sure.”
“Linden? Who the hell is that?” I asked, a fit of excitement stirring in my belly at my very first clue.
“He’s a coven leader in Boulder.”
“Does… did he have a brother?” I asked.
Beckett nodded, “Yeah, I believe he does. The brother is recently turned. I think his name is Sirus. Linden made him vice-president.”
Anticipation was brewing like crazy within me at this very first clue. I leaned forward, leaning my arms on my knees. “What does the brother look like?”
“No idea, never met him,” Beckett replied with a shrug.
“What do you know about Linden?” I asked, unable to mask my excitement.
“I do know you won’t be able to defeat him,” he replied, concerned.
I wasn’t going to let that stop me. “Then you don’t know me very well.”
Just then, my front door opened and Ryder came strolling in. His face fell when he saw how I was dressed.
I jumped up from the couch. “Hi, babe.”
Ryder looked around the room and saw Beckett sitting there. He subtly sniffed the air, and his eyes flashed yellow. “Why do you have a vampire in your house, Ayla?”
“He’s a friend,” I came back quickly, hoping my boyfriend didn’t blow up on my new friend.
“Ayla?” Beckett asked, confused.
“Yeah, it’s her fuckin’ name. I thought you were her ‘friend’,” Ryder replied, his jaw ticking.
I smiled, a little chagrinned at Beckett. “My name is Ayla, not Amy, by the way.”
Beckett waved his hand. “I don’t care. But for the record, Ayla is way cooler than Amy.”
“Shut up, leech,” Ryder said, his face now turning red.
Beckett’s expression looked angry and defensive. “Please don’t call me that. I really am not a leech.”
“So you don’t steal blood from humans? They give it up voluntarily?” Ryder asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Of course they do,” Beckett said, as if this was something to be proud of.
“Okay now,” I said, getting angry at Ryder. “Let’s not be rude. We were just talking.”
Ryder’s jaw ticked again in annoyance as he glanced at Beckett, then back at me. “Ayla, you have a vampire in your goddamn apartment. You don’t see this as a problem, after all we’ve been through?”
“I’m harmless,” Beckett said, flashing him a megawatt smile.
“Liar,” Ryder hissed, narrowing his eyes at the vampire.
Beckett put his hands up in surrender. Then he looked at me and asked, “Have I tried to bite you or been a threat to you whatsoever?”
Trying to keep the peace, and ignoring what had happened at Moon Chasers, I told my boyfriend, “He has been a total gentleman.”
Ryder still looked enraged and said, “Yeah, because he wants to get in your pants. Then once he has you in bed, he’ll drain you.”
Both Beckett and I began to laugh.
Beckett said, “Silly wolf, she is not my type. You, however, are quite handsome.” He threw Ryder a wink.
Ryder’s eyes went big and he immediately shifted uncomfortably on his feet, from which I gained great satisfaction. Clearing his throat, he said, “Well, regardless, you’re a bloodsucker, and should not be consorting with wolves.”
“In my defense,” Beckett said, finishing the rest of his martini and then setting the glass on the coffee table, “I didn’t know she was a wolf when we met.”
Ryder raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you?”
He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Not sure, usually I’m good at picking up y’all’s repulsive scent.”
Ignoring Beckett’s rude comment, I mimicked, “In his defense, I sprayed about a gallon of pheromone perfume on before I went into the vampire bar to mask my scent—” I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth, realizing I’d said something I shouldn’t have.
“You went where?” Ryder roared, his face turning beet-red.
“Aaaand, that’s my cue to exit stage left,” Beckett said, giving us a weak salute before flying out my front door at vampire speed, even closing it behind him.
“Sit down,” Ryder said, pointing to the couch.
I reluctantly obeyed, glaring at him from my position. “What?”
“Have you lost your mind? Inviting a vampire into your house? He could have killed you!”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “First off, Dad, he was not trying to charm me into coming into my house. I let him come in. Vampires don’t need to be invited in, by the way.”
“I know,” Ryder gritted out, standing with his arms folded across his muscular chest, his handsome face a storm of anger and concern.
“Secondly, I am a badass, and no vampire is going to kill me, you jerk!” I was really pissed off now. I loved Ryder, but I wasn’t the type to let a guy tell me what to do, and who I could and could not invite into my home.
His features softened. “I’m sorry. I’m not bossing you around. I’m just worried about you.” He raked his fingers through his dark hair and blew out a breath as he looked around my apartment, then back to me. “Look, Ayla”—he began to pace—“you quit school, moved here, and are now living alone. How am I not supposed to be worried about you? Fuck, everyone is worried. Even your witch ex-roommate.”
Guilt pounded my insides, and I struggled to reel in my strength. “I can see why everyone is worried, but I can take care of myself. I got this.”
“No, you don’t,” Ryder said, looking me square in the eye. “I think your passion for vengeance is fueling your life. You aren’t the same person you were when we met.”
This ridiculous conversation was going nowhere. “Ryder, I’m about to turn twenty-one, of course I’m not. I was just a kid in high school. I’m older now. More mature. I know what I want, and that is to live my life. To find out who attacked me and…” I sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight the tears that wanted to flow. “I need to find the vampire who killed Austyn and get closure.”
Ryder came to sit next to me. “I understand that, and I want to find him, too. But something tells me that it won’t help. I do know that it won’t bring him back.”
A twinge of anger hit me, and I knew if I didn’t quell it—if I didn’t refrain from twisting off on my boyfriend about this—that I would lose it altogether. “I know it won’t bring Austyn back. I just need to know that I’ve rid the world of the evil who took my brother from me. I won’t sleep until then.”
“I understand,” Ryder said, putting his arm around me and pulling me to him. I laid my head on his shoulder, enjoying his warmth, the two of us sitting in silence. My mind did not stop spinning, though. I was happy I had made a vampire friend. I would use Beckett to help me find the ones who had ruined my life.