Escaped the Night (48 page)

“Your parents tried to explain to Daray
that
it wasn’t good for him to b
e around you. They told him
he
was
on
ly causing
more pain and suffering by staying near you. But, he didn’t want to let you go. So they were left with no choice. As I told you
,
they did what they had to do
to
in order to keep you as you’
re meant to be
. Once you were
secure
with your family, they moved around from place to place trying to keep you safe. They called upon the proctors for assistance and that’s how
Garrison
and Kaleb entered your life. Anytime a nightwalker was present, the protectors would come
guard
you and help the family stow you away. Afte
r a while, it just got easier hiding
you.”

“
Poor Daray, I guess
it
’
s safe to say
he never
really saw it like that. It e
xplains a lot.”

Daray never had
the chance to say good
-
bye and
tried very
hard to hold onto our love
,
even though we’d both changed into completely differen
t people. I
felt a growing respect. I
was
pleased
he’d kept me
close to my
immortal
family and not just taken me away to become a nightwalker. I was thankful for my family
,
because they d
idn’t have to look after me the
way they did.
They
’d
chose
n
to help and
I was grateful for the
ir
support
. Their love and sacrifices
gave
me t
he strength to remain myself and I
couldn’t have made it this far without them.

I
’d never forget the faces
of my biological parents. They
’d
brought me into this world and
loved me during my eighteen human years
.
I would love them back for many more lifetimes.
But m
y immortal family,
well they
’d
stood
by
me through
out
my immortal
years. They’d given their lives in order to protect me and
for that
,
I’d be eternally grateful
. I owed them so much, for lovi
ng me when they didn’t have to and
for protect
ing me when they didn’t need to. They helped
me
live
my life
and did so
without asking for a single thing in return.
They were
a wonderful family and I felt honored
to be
considered a part of
it for all tho
se
years.
My e
motions took over
. I
felt so loved
and with all the
love
I
received, it
fueled my power. Love
gave me my strength to survive.

I now understood what had
made Daray search
all these years for me. He’d never
gotten a
proper chance to say good
-
bye. He’d held onto ou
r
love for all this time, but
t
he more time pass
ed
,
the more
his
resentment
grew
towards my family for hiding me. I was glad my family
took
the measures
they did; I just wish
ed
Daray could’
ve
had the
chance to deal wi
th this on his terms. Things might
have been different between us
if
only
he’d had that chance. Perhaps
he never would’
ve gr
own into this
monster
or
become
quite so hostile
, if all his
hurt
ing
had been dealt with sooner.

Undying ageless love
—
only to find out in the end,
it wasn’t the
love that was meant to last. Daray and I weren’t soul mates and
I knew this because I knew what love felt like with Jayce. Jayce w
as unquestionably my soul mate
,
just as
Lakylee
was Daray’s.

“We have to find Daray
. I think he’s in serious trouble
and it’s
because of me
. I owe this
to him
.
Donovan’s here for me and
won’t stop until he gets what he came for. All this mayhem started
t
he night Daray turned,
when
he accidently saved me
,
and
that was
when Donovan became the threat. When I lost my memory
, I’d forgotten all about him.
The fact is
, Daray
manage
d to save me and
tried
his best
to help me the
only way he
could remember.
Think about it... with all the changes going on,
for a new
born vampire
to
even bother
trying
, well that
means a lot.
The monster owns
him now, but
not
his soul, I know it’s still in there somewhere.”

The guys rolled their eyes at me. They were reluctant to help a nightwalker, especially Daray. He’d been respons
ible for so many of our
problems. We’d had it all wrong before, but the guys didn’t quite see it that way.

“You guys, please. We’ve got to find him
. He needs our
help
.”

“Al
l right,”
Jayce agreed.

Kaleb and Kael both nodded.

I shook my head
in
disbelief. Time sure was a funny beast. One minute you
could have everything
figured out
, another second later, find yourself
completely lost
.
I was
getting myself back on track.
Another track nonetheless
,
but
now it was
the
right one
. We were going vampire hunting. We were going to save Daray and destroy Donovan.

My blood began to chill
. “
We’ve got company,
” I announced and the guys readied themselves
in my aunt and uncle’s bedroom
.

A few moments passed
but there was
no sign
of anyone
. I knew
a nightwalker
was
close
because of the chill in my blood. My anticipation grew until the
point I almost erupted. I pushed Kael out of the way
trying to see who was near
.
I pressed my face up against the glass and a
str
eak of glowing blue-green eyes flash
ed
by.
I jumped back, but
the eyes came closer.

From the light in the bed
room we now saw
Lakylee
standing
outside the window. Her pale skin glistened from the moonlight
, casting
a sense o
f innocence across her face.
She nodded her head in the direction of the front door and
then disappeared
.

“Stay here and be ready,
” I said to the guys. “You’ll need to protect Auntie Steph and Uncle Dane. Please don’t let anything happen to them. I’ll be fine.
Lakylee
and I have an understanding.”

I didn’t have much time and Kaleb was beginning to protest. Uncle Dane and
Auntie Steph were speechless
. Jayce managed to help
calm down the
group by
explaining to
everyone
that
he’d stay connected to me. If he sensed any da
nger, we’d know right away and they could
take
out
Lakylee
and any other nightwalkers
before they even
knew what hit them.

I walked out of the b
edroom, closing
the door behind me. I heard their low
chatter
as I made my way down the hall.
I felt nervous.
Lakylee
and I did have an
understanding, but that was before I betrayed her. What was she going
to be like now? Was this a trap or a
truce? There was only one
way to tell
,
and before Jayce or anyone else could intervene, I cautiously opened the front door.

Lakylee
stood alone in the doorway, h
er
pale
skin
looking
perfect as h
er long wild hair blew sligh
tly with
the
night
breeze.
Two sets of red ey
es caught my attention as they moved
quick
ly behind her. She’d brought the
werewolves
along
. I watched as the giant beasts raced back and forth around the neighborhood with their noses stuck up
in the air. I stood frozen in te
rror as they ra
n
towards an unsuspecting neighbor. I fought the urge to yell out and warn
him
.
Before the neighbor saw them, they took off in another direction.

The wolves weren’t here to hurt anyone
. They were actually helping the
ne
ighborhood
by pacing
arou
nd the premises scouting for
unwanted guests.
I let out my breath slowly so my voice didn’t
reveal
how scared I
’d
really been
for
a moment. “
Lakylee
, what brings you guys here?”

She eyed me up and down before
taking a
step forward. “You
know what happens. I know
y
ou’ve seen Daray’s death in you dreams
and
I can’t live wi
thout him. I’m here to help you.
A
ctually
,
we’re here to help
.” She nudged her head
gesturing to the r
oaming werewolves. “Donovan mustn’t get anywhere near you and we
both know h
e was too close tonight. You
need our help and he
needs to be st
opped. If he reaches you, then
I’ll
surely
lose Daray because h
e
will try to avenge you
r death
. I know he will just as much as you do. I
can’t and won’t let that happen. H
e’s
just
not strong enough to take Donovan on alone.” She swayed anxiously
back and forth in front of me.
Her movements were hypnotic. I stared at her, wanting to respond
,
but all I could think abo
ut was all the ways she could’
ve taken me out, then and there.
She stopped
swaying
,
which enabled me to gather my
thought
s. Once
my head was somewhat clear,
I moved out of the way and invited her in.

This was an
event I never thought would
ever
happen.
Lakylee
invited
in
to
my house
, as a friend
—
an ally
. S
he was fierce and strong,
a def
inite asset to have on our side and I
had a feeling
she’d be a huge help.
I’d never imagined the day when
the daywalkers and nightwalkers would join alliances. The two immortal worlds
had been
separ
ated by battles for so long, yet here we were
now, coming together
as one
.