Hunted (48 page)

The girl tightened her slender hands on Lanie, preventing her from bolting up off those sheets.  “It’s alright, Lanie,” she said in that delicate voice.  “No one is going to hurt you.  You’re safe now.”

Safe!  How was she safe when Frederik was standing right there!  Didn’t this girl know what was happening!  Didn’t she know what Frederik was!

“Don’t be scared.  I promise you’re going to be just fine,” the beautiful girl assured her.

Lanie’s mind was screaming at her to shove the girl’s hands off her and at least try to run, try to save herself instead of sitting there just waiting for Frederik to sink his teeth into her, but her body refused to obey.   Hearing the girl’s voice, looking into her sparkling green eyes, did something strange to her insides.  She could feel a ribbon of calm snaking through her belly and wrapping around her limbs.  This beautiful girl wasn’t afraid.  Maybe she didn’t have to be either.  Maybe the girl knew how to help her.

“Everything’s alright,” the girl said to her, her beautiful face holding not a single hint of fear or worry.  “You’re just a bit confused right now, but you’ll understand things soon.”

Yes.  She would understand things soon.  Maybe she could understand them now if the sound of that rapid heartbeat still filling her ears would just stop long enough for her to think.  Where on earth was it coming from!

“Frederik, bring her here,” the girl said to Frederik, who instantly strode across the room.

Her?  Bring
her
here?  Fear again gripped Lanie.  What if Frederik had Johnna!  What if he had…done something horrid to her!

But, it wasn’t Johnna who came into Lanie’s line of vision.  It was Chase Wylie.  And he was dragging a young girl along with him.  Through the surge of fear and confusion, Lanie recognized the girl as Hayley Strong, a freshman from school.  The girl was as white as a sheet and the look on her face made Lanie’s stomach turn. 

Hayley Strong was scared to death.  She was so scared, her heartbeat was going a mile a minute. 

And then it dawned on her that she was
hearing
Hayley’s heartbeat.

Immediately, she forced her mind to block it out.  She didn’t want to hear it anymore!  She wouldn’t
let
herself hear it anymore!

In a sort of numb state, Lanie watched as Frederik and Chase Wylie drug the girl, who was sobbing quietly, over to stand by the bed.  Lanie couldn’t take her eyes off Chase.  He was ashen and gaunt, with his ruby red eyes pinned on the girl he was holding, his lips curling back over his teeth as he stared at her. 

“Thank you, boy,” the beautiful girl said to Chase, waving him away.  “You can leave now.”

Chase hesitated for a brief second, keeping his gaze glued to Hayley, which seemed to annoy Frederik.  He made an aggravated noise in his throat and shot out a hand, giving Chase a hard shove away from Hayley.  In a blink, Chase was out of the room and the door was slamming behind him.

“Frederik, go ahead,” the girl said sweetly, giving Lanie’s shoulders a little squeeze.

Lanie went cold as she watched Frederik snatch up Hayley’s arm, bring it up to his mouth, and sink his sharp teeth into it.  Hayley’s large brown eyes filled with something that was horrendous to see, but she didn’t even flinch.  She just stood stock still, an occasional sob escaping her, not even trying to get away.

Frederik pulled the arm away from his mouth and Lanie watched as a curtain of crimson blood fell from the wound he’d created, hitting the floor with a patter that mimicked soft raindrops. 

Something struck Lanie in the face as that ruby liquid spilled down to the floor.  Some scent…was it a scent…yes, it was a scent…or was it a taste…that she couldn’t put a name to, but one that brought water to her mouth.  She could not place that scent, but it was thick and velvety and had her trying to remember the last time she’d…eaten anything?

Confused, she glanced around the room, looking for whatever it was creating that smell that seemed to hit every single one of her taste buds all at the same time.  But, there was no food anywhere in the bedroom.  How strange.  If there was no food, then what smelled so…wonderful?

“It’s her that you want, Lanie,” the girl said in her ear and Lanie turned her attention back to Hayley Strong.

Her gaze fell on the little river of crimson still sliding from the wound on her wrist.  It looked like a satin ribbon winding down.

“That’s what you want, Lanie,” the girl whispered in her ear again.  “Go on.  Go and take a taste.”

Those words sent something through Lanie that stiffened her spine and sent fear shooting along her nerve endings.  Go and take a taste? 

Go and…take
a taste
?

Lanie looked back at the girl holding her, not wanting…not willing…to believe it.  She wouldn’t believe it.  She wouldn’t believe it…

“Don’t be afraid, Lanie.  You’re with me now.  You’re my sister.  I’m going to teach you everything you need to know,” she said softly.

“She needs to feed, Allison,” Frederik said in a voice that was far kinder than Lanie would have ever thought possible.

Lanie glanced over to Frederik and Hayley, her eyes fixing on that crimson ribbon still spilling down, feeling her mouth begin to water again.  And her soul seemed to shrivel inside her. 

Frederik had done it. 

Frederik had taken her and…made her like him. 

Frederik had made her…a vampire.

So many thoughts began swirling through her mind that she couldn’t keep up with them.  Thoughts of her dad, her friends, her life…but another, more prevalent thought, kept all the others in the background.  It was the thought of what that crimson liquid might taste like if she dipped her tongue into it.

“It’s alright, Lanie.  This is what you need to do right now.  Don’t feel bad about it.  She won’t feel a thing,” Allison told her.

Lanie wanted to believe Allison.  Allison wouldn’t lie to her. 

“Go on.  If you don’t feed you’ll die, Lanie.  You don’t want to die, do you?” Allison asked her.

No.  She didn’t want to die.  She’d tried her very best to keep herself from dying…but, it had happened anyway. 

Lanie wanted to tell Allison that she’d rather be dead than have to live like Frederik.  She didn’t want to be a monster that killed innocent girls and drained the life out of them.  But, the scent of that velvety, crimson liquid pattering to the floor seemed to take the will to speak right out of her.  And then Allison let go of her shoulders…and the room went black.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Lanie opened her eyes and sat bolt upright, terror slicing through her like a sharp knife.  With a start, she glanced around her, her gaze instantly falling on the man standing by the window, his arms folded, his piercing blue eyes locked on her.

Frederik.

“You needn’t fear me now, girl,” he said in an easy tone, dropping his arms and walking across the room to sit next to her on the bed.

Of course she needn’t fear him.  She was
like
him!  She was…a sudden thought hit her and she gasped again, wildly glancing around the room for Hayley Strong, but the girl was nowhere in sight.

“Allison and the boy are disposing of the leftovers,” Frederik told her.

Lanie stared at Frederik, feeling sick and cold.  Leftovers?  “I-I…I didn’t…I-I killed her?” she croaked out, scooting away from him.

She didn’t believe it.  She wouldn’t believe it!  She wasn’t a monster!

“You fed.  It’s what you’re supposed to do,” he told her with a patient tone.  “And you don’t have to be scared of me now.  The worst is done.  Everything after this is easy.”

Easy?  She’d been turned into a monster.  She’d just killed someone.  She’d just…the thought of what she’d done hit her like a fist and she thought she was going to throw up, but nothing happened.    Her stomach stayed still inside her, refusing to empty itself.

“That’s your conscience working on you,” Frederik pointed out.  “But, your body isn’t like it was before.  You can no longer wash your sins away by purging yourself.”

She’d killed Hayley Strong. 

She’d…fed…from Hayley Strong.  She was a murderer!  A cold blooded killer! 

Just like Frederik.

“Your remorse will soon fade, girl,” Frederik told her.  “Especially with Allison guiding your way.  She’ll see that you take to this life without any trouble.”

“I-I don’t want this life!” she hissed at Frederik, realizing that she was sobbing as she said the words.

“Well, there’s no going back.  You’ve fed, so unless you can drive a stake through your own heart, you’ve no choice,” was Frederik’s resounding reply.

“Why did you do this to me?  I-I didn’t want this!” she spat, rage suddenly building within her chest.

Only something didn’t feel quite right.  Her anger didn’t make her feel…like it should have.  An abrupt thought occurred to her and she lifted her hand to her heart.  She felt nothing.  She focused on her breathing, waiting to take a breath, waiting for
the need
to take a breath.  But, she felt nothing.  Nothing at all.

“It wasn’t myself who wanted you.  Allison chose you to be her companion as soon as she saw you sitting in the cemetery,” Frederik stated amicably.  “There was no choice after that.  And don’t look so panic stricken.  You actually do have a heartbeat and breath.  But, your heart beats only a few times a day and you are free to draw breath at your leisure.”

Was that supposed to make her feel better?  Because it didn’t!  She would never be okay with not feeling her heart thumping in her chest!

“I wasn’t much for Allison siring anyone, but I thought it might help her if she had someone to take care of,” Frederik went on.  “She’s…a handful at times.  Barely in her right mind, actually.  I agreed with getting you for her because you seem like a level headed sort.  I was hoping you could try and help her.”

Lanie couldn’t believe this conversation was happening.  Frederik, the vampire who had turned her into a monster, was asking her…for help? 

“What do you mean?” she asked on a choked sob, swiping at her cheeks only to find they weren’t damp.

“Allison loves you.  You’re part of her now.  She might listen to you,” he said.

“I-I don’t understand,” she stated, not really sure that she wanted to.

“My mate is slightly more bloodthirsty than I would like,” Frederik admitted, looking slightly sheepish.  “She has no sense of boundaries.  If she takes it into her head, she does it.  I’ve been keeping her safe all these years, trying to chase after her when she runs off to whatever town she takes a fancy to, trying to keep the body count to a minimum.  But, she doesn’t like listening to me.  Maybe you can help to make a rational creature out of her.  Maybe she’ll allow you to be a good influence on her.”

Something in Lanie’s mind began to click into place, but she couldn’t quite grasp onto it.

“Kyle…Kyle…he never mentioned…he only mentions you,” she said in a raspy voice.

“Yes.  The boy.  I lament what happened to him.  It wasn’t my intention to turn him, but trust my word, he has dogged my steps ever since, making me repent that mistake,” Frederik said, shaking his head.  “The boy has never learned of Allison.  I’ve kept her shielded from everyone.  She’s my burden, and as my mate I cannot allow her to be harmed.”

Lanie felt an odd stab of sympathy for Frederik.  He seemed…weighed down.  Evidently, he’d been carrying Allison around like Kyle had been carrying around all the people that Frederik had killed.  Or that he thought Frederik had killed.

“I see you’re sharp for a newly turned.  You understand things without my having to explain them to death,” Frederik said, suddenly holding his hand out to her. 

Lanie shrank away from that large, pale hand, fear spiking through her.

Frederik chuckled, a deep and silky sound that Lanie just couldn’t seem to believe was coming from someone like him.  “Don’t worry, young one.  I have no desire to cause you pain.  We’re family now.” 

Frederik reached over and took her hand in his, pulling her across the bed so that she was next to him.  He kept hold of her hand, which Lanie realized didn’t feel as shockingly cool as it should have.