Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (22 page)

He pursed his lips like he was angry, but it fell away quickly, turning into a slight grin. “I know.”

I scrunched my eyebrows. Confused. “Huh? How?”

“Are you forgetting I was at Luna’s grandfather’s with you?” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me close, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“But, Aunt Bev said she sent you away.”

“She did, but I didn’t leave right away. She told me to go out the back door, and left the room. I started to go, but I stopped in the hallway when I heard Luna’s grandfather’s voice.”

“So … you …” I trailed off, unable to form the words I wanted to say.

“I heard everything.” He pulled his head back and slowly lifted my chin so he could see into my eyes. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He tenderly rubbed my chin. “Genevieve, I’ve never met anybody like you before.”

The last few days—weeks really—began to catch up and tears gathered in my eyes. I started wiping at them, but William moved my hand away and gently wiped them for me, before cupping my face in his hands, and gazing into my eyes. As he came nearer, my heart raced wildly from the anticipation of what was about to happen. His gaze slowly dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes, I did the same as his lips inched their way closer.

Pleasure rippled through me the instant I felt his lips press softly against mine. His kiss was warm and gentle at first, but we both grew hungry and the gentleness quickly gave way to passion. His mouth pressed forcefully against mine, and I kissed him deeply, parting his lips impatiently when I felt his hardness pressing against me. My hands gripped his tee-shirt pulling him over on me, his hand tangled itself in my hair.

The more he kissed me, the more I wanted him. His body grew extremely hot under my touch, and no matter how close I pulled him to me, it just wasn’t close enough. Desire burned inside me, so strong it was almost painful. He had stirred something deep within my soul, and I knew I wanted to be with him … forever.

We both panted feverishly, as he moved eagerly between my mouth and my neck. When his tongue touched the soft place behind my ear it filled me with such ecstasy, I bit my lip hard to keep from screaming out with pleasure.

William’s body suddenly tensed up, and he pushed himself away from me.

I sat up, following him with my eyes. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked earnestly, shocked and hurt that he’d just suddenly broke away from me in the midst of such passion.

He didn’t look at me when he stood up and walked to the bathroom. He threw open the door, and leaned inside. When he turned around, he handed me a tissue, but still averted my gaze. “Your lip is bleeding,” he said flatly, and then moved behind the bar and changed the music from Three Doors Down’s, “When I’m Gone” to Nickelback’s “Far Away”.

I suddenly felt a nervous pit in the bottom of my stomach, and when I looked up Joseph was glowering at me. His eyes were cold and emotionless, and I knew he had seen William and I kissing.

My heart ached severely. Mine and William’s first kiss had been magical, like seeing a shooting star or a fresh rainbow after a bad storm. And now, because of Joseph, I felt ashamed, like I had betrayed him. We were supposed to only be friends, but my feelings for him had grown while in New Mexico. The moment I saw William again it seemed to vanish. I never meant to hurt Joseph, but I had and nothing I could say would change it. Tears stung my eyes again, so I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door.

I sat down on the small seat in front of the vanity, and cried quietly. I was upset when I should be elated. William’s kiss had been the most wonderful thing I’d ever felt, yet I seemed more sad than I had ever been before, except for when Aunt Bev told me of my mom’s death.

I promptly thought about my mom and the fact that she might really be alive. No, I knew she was alive. I couldn’t exactly explain how I knew, I just did. So many aspects of my life had changed. I mean, like how many people do you actually meet in your lifetime that can say, “Oh, by the way, I’m a werewolf princess”. Yeah, right.

I turned around and faced the mirror, staring at my reflection. I was still in awe of the changes my body had gone through when I had picked up the Crest. I ran my hand through the long tangles and pulled it into a messy bun. It startled me when someone knocked on the door.

“Wow. This is way more than I expected for an airplane bathroom.” She halfway grinned, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile in return.

She was right. The room was spacious and elegantly decorated. She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face. “We’ll be landing soon,” she said her words muffled through the towel she was using to dry her face.

I took a deep breath and sighed. “Don’t remind me.”

“What are your plans, Gen?” Luna folded the towel neatly and placed it back on the counter while looking at me through the mirror. “I mean as soon as we land. You
are
still planning to help us take back the throne, right?” Luna paused for a moment, staring at me with pleading eyes. “If we don’t take it back, Zane won’t stop until all our people are dead, and the vampires, too. And he won’t stop with us.” Luna’s voice sounded desperate. “When he’s finished, he’ll take every Lycan along with any rebel vampires whose lives he spares and then travel to Europe to continue his reign of terror.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at her.“Don’t you get it? He won’t stop until we’re all dead or Lycan slaves.”

“How do you know what his plans are?” I asked incredulously. She was hesitant. Elusive. “Luna. How—do—you—know?” She still didn’t answer. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. “If you want my help, I need to know.”

“My … my grandfather,” Luna uttered, and lowered her eyes.

I furrowed my brow, puzzled. “How would your grandfather know?” When she didn’t answer right away, my expression changed to one of hurt. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because, I don’t want you to think the wrong thing about my grandfather.” Tears ran down her face, and she steadily wiped at her eyes.

“I promise I won’t, Luna. You’re my best friend.” I smiled softly, pulled her close, and hugged her for a minute, then she gently pulled away and began.

“Before the killing stopped, my grandfather called a secret meeting with Zane and another man. My grandfather made him a deal to allow the Adlet and the docile vampires to live in peace. I don’t know for sure what the conditions were because I got there late, but Joshua said my grandfather must have agreed to allow Zane to take the throne. Right after their meeting, Zane did disappear, but the killing didn’t stop—not completely, anyway. I mean, until you came he hadn’t bothered our kind, but humans and vampires kept disappearing.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why would your grandfather agree to something like that? Does he think it’s okay to sacrifice some to save others?”

“Hey in there,” William called out through the door and we both jumped. “We’re getting ready to land. You girls might want to buckle up. It could get rough. We’re about to hit a storm.”

I shot Luna a severe look. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Chapter 35

Thunderous booms vibrated the plane and lightning strikes hit all around us as we began our descent through the clouds. Luna’s brothers tried to act all cool, but I saw right through them. They were just as frightened as us girls. I had come back up to the front at Luna’s insistence, but I really wanted to be with William.

He seemed to be the only one completely untouched by the storm. He leaned back in one of the back seats with his eyes closed, and hands clasped together, resting them across his waist. I kept looking at him out of the corner of my eye, but he never moved. We had just shared the most wonderful moment and now he was acting as if the whole thing never happened.

My mind switched to what Luna had told me. Why would her grandfather make a deal with a monster like Zane? Maybe he never intended for us to find the Crest. But why would he risk the safety of his grandchildren?

“Hey,” I whispered to Luna, who was frantically chewing on her thumbnail, and squeezing the hell out of my hand. She closed her eyes tightly each time she saw a bolt of lightning. “We’re not going to die.” I patted the top of her hand and she cracked open her eyes just in time for the plane to jump around from the wind pockets.

I glanced back at William, again, and something struck me as odd. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn he was dead.
There is something totally not right about him, and I’m going to find out just what it is.

When the turbulence subsided enough that I could walk in the plane without being thrown around, I told Luna I’d be right back, and hurried away from my seat before she could think of a reason for me to stay.

William still hadn’t moved when I got close. I was about to tap his shoulder when more turbulence caught me off balance. William moved with lightning speed, reaching up and grabbing my arm. Just as I started to fall in the opposite direction he pulled me down into the seat next to him.

I sat quietly, nervously fidgeting with my long fingernails while trying to figure out the best way to approach William with my questions. I kept taking sidelong glances until the last time I peeked at him, he was staring straight at me, smiling. I took that as my cue. “I need to ask you something, and I would like a straight answer.”

He didn’t say a word. Instead he propped his elbow on the arm of the seat closest to me and rested his chin on his hand, staring into my eyes.

“I’m just going to be straight.” I paused and took in a deep breath, then sighed. “From the first time I saw you in the school cafeteria I have felt something. I tried to chalk it up to teenage hormones gone wild, but it was something way more deep than that. Right from the start the attraction was too strong, almost intoxicating. That’s not normal.”

He continued to gaze into my eyes, almost like he already knew what was coming.

“I’m not stupid. I’ve noticed things about you, but I guess I was just so content to be with you, I let it all go by. And who gets introduced to the idea that they’re dating a werewolf, and doesn’t bat an eye? What are you, William?”

His smile faded, he pursed his lips and a crease slowly formed on his forehead. “Before I answer that question, are you absolutely sure you want to know the answer? Remember that old saying … be careful what you wish for—”

I quickly cut him off. “William,” I whispered severely. “Just please tell me.” I struggled unsuccessfully to hold back my emotions.

“All right.” He let out a deep sigh and took my hand. He turned his body in his seat, resting the side of his knee on the arm rest, so he was facing me directly.

I wasn’t sure why he did that either, unless he was afraid I might try to run when he told me. If it was that bad, maybe I didn’t need to know after all. My whole body shook violently, and my throat was so dry, I felt like I had swallowed a giant ball of cotton.

His expression turned completely serious, almost grave. “Genevieve, I don’t want you to freak out or anything, and you can ask me anything you want … just don’t hate me.” There was an overwhelming sadness in his voice.

“Okay, now I really am freaking out.” I tried to smile, but he suddenly got this look like a sad little boy, and it broke my heart. Seeing him like that caused my whole body to shake worse than I’d ever thought possible.

He leaned in really close to my face and whispered. “I’m a vampire.”

It was over so quickly, I thought I’d heard him wrong. I stared out the window trying to absorb what he had just said. “You’re a—” I trailed off. For some reason I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what he’d said. I guess deep down I wasn’t ready to comprehend his confession.

The thought of coming from a normal family where werewolves, and vampires, and God only knew what else didn’t exist was no longer a reality for me. Everything I had been raised to believe suddenly turned into a complete lie. It even made me wonder about my mom and dad.

William nodded. “Afraid so. It’s not that I was trying to keep it from you, I just didn’t think you were ready to hear it yet. I was going to tell you when we got back to Alaska.”

I quickly shot him a look, but didn’t say anything. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just couldn’t. I guess him telling me he was a vampire solidified the fact even more that in my world there really were things that went bump in the night.

“Please don’t hate me.” He stared at me, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.

“I don’t hate you, William. Actually, I’m sort of relieved.” I forced a tiny smile. I’m glad you’re not ‘normal.’” I did air quotes around normal.

His mouth curved up into his sexy sideways smile. My heart rose and fell all at the same time when he took my hand and wiggled his fingers to interlace them with mine.

“It explains the animosity between you and them.” I motioned toward Luna and her brothers.

“Yeah, we’re not the best of friends, but we do have a common enemy … Zane and his Lycan slaves. Vampires and the Adlet made a pact to work together. It was our only chance to defeat him. We kept his kind under control for a while until someone learned of your existence and told him. He wants the throne, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.”