Хлоя Нейл: Twice Bitten

Ethan wet his lips, as if preparing to broach an uncomfortable subject. “There have been rumblings about the Pack’s returning home to Aurora.”

Aurora was the ancestral home Ethan had mentioned earlier, a remote town in the wilds of northern Alaska. From what I understood, it was where shifters congregated when they needed to get away from human machinations. It was also a place to hide out—to disappear to when things got rowdy . . . or when vampires got into trouble. It was their collective retreat when supernatural life got too sticky.

I’d been a vampire for less than three months. The drama was occasionally overwhelming, so I understood the urge to retreat. But I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of being left behind.

To his credit, Gabriel managed not to squirm under Ethan’s scrutinizing stare. But a low wash of magic filled the room, like a silent growl, unpleasantly acerbic.

I fought the urge to roll my shoulders against the uncomfortable tingle. I also opened the telepathic connection between Ethan and me to offer up a silent warning.

He’s getting angry, I told him. Tread carefully.

I’m willing to test the waters, Ethan answered back. That answer was surprising—Ethan was generally strategically conservative.

I also used to think only he could trigger the connection between us. Apparently, he’d just been ignoring me.

“My intent is to have the Packs convene; the ultimate decision on that will be made by the Pack leaders. But assuming that conversation goes well, we’ll convene, and we’ll decide whether to remain among humans, or return to the woods. And if the Pack decides that we go,” Gabriel weightily added, “then we go.”

“Why now?” Ethan asked.

“We know the sorcerers are beginning to see things, that prophecies are beginning to bubble up. Prophecies of war. Of coming battles.”

Ethan nodded. We’d heard Catcher offer up just such a prophecy.

“Have you heard talk about underground groups?”

Ethan leaned forward. “What underground groups?”

Gabriel donned the expression of a man about to impart bad news. “Anti-fang groups. Humans who think vampires showing themselves is the first sign of some coming apocalypse . . . or the second American Civil War.”

Ethan went quiet.

“We hadn’t heard,” Luc put in. “No rumbles, no chatter.”

“Like I said, the movement is still underground. We’ve heard about meetings in eastern Tennessee, but it sounds like they’re still rural, publicized by word of mouth, handwritten flyers, that kind of thing. But sooner or later, they’ll go electronic. We’d prefer not to be here when that happens.”

Ethan sat back in his chair, but not before sharing a meaningful glance with Luc. I assumed they were talking silently about some strategy for getting information on the anti-fang groups.

“You’ll understand my concern,” Ethan said, “about your leaving. If you take your numbers, your skills, your power, if you merge back into the wild, then you leave us here.”

“Alone” was the word Ethan didn’t say—alone against a tide of human opinion that was, if Gabriel was right about the underground rumblings, already beginning to shift against us.

Gabriel shook his head. “If we stay, what’s to become of us? I understand your fear—” Ethan held up a hand, stopping him. “With all due respect, Gabriel, you don’t understand our fear.”

That caused another spike of adrenaline, this time emanating from Ethan’s direction. Tensions were rising, the collective burden of years of animosity between these two men and the people they sought to protect.

Gabriel stood, then paced to one end of the room. He leaned back against the far wall, putting space between himself and the rest of us, then raised his gaze to us again.

“You’re lucky, in a sense, that humans think they understand vampires. They may have believed you were myth, but they also believed they understood your biology. Humans have alternately sought to join you, or to exterminate you. But us? We’d be seen as animals. Research subjects.”

Although Catcher had once told me that Jeff could handle himself, I had the suddenly ferocious urge to find and embrace him, to ensure that he was safe from anyone who’d try to do him harm.

“If we stay,” Gabriel said, his gaze on the floor, “then outing ourselves, or being outed, is inevitable. And nothing pleasant would follow.”

The weight of his words hung in the ensuing silence.

“Then perhaps,” Ethan said after a moment, “it’s time that we come to understand each other as we are, without unrealistic expectations between us.”

“I’m not sure we can clear the slate,” Gabriel said. “Too much history.”

I saw the quick flare of disappointment in Ethan’s eyes, and my heart clenched. I also saw my opportunity, so I took it. I stood up, then glanced between them, and used a little of that speechifying technique Ethan was so very good at.

“We have a window of opportunity,” I told them, then looked at Ethan. “The majority of humans, at least for today, think vampires are cool. The animosity may be building again, but for today, we’re safe.”

Then I turned to Gabriel. “If this convocation happens, it will be to talk, right? To decide what to do?” At his nod, I continued. “Then you have time to make a decision. You have the luxury to chart a course, instead of just reacting to a crisis, when stepping away to protect your people feels like the only real option.”

I paused for a moment, blinking as I figured out what to say next. When nothing flowery came to mind, I just told the truth. “I don’t envy either of you the decision of what to do next. And I haven’t been a vampire long enough to have the same sense of history that you do. But maybe it’s time to try something different?” I looked at Gabriel. “Convene. Talk to your people about Aurora. But think about asking something more of them. Something more than what they’ve given before.”

I looked at Ethan, whose head was tilted thoughtfully—appreciatively—as he gazed back at me. “Vampires are well connected,” I reminded him. “If shifters stay and they’re forced out of the closet, what can we do about it? How can we help? If they sacrifice for us, how can we make sure they aren’t going it alone?”

I opened my mouth to continue but, realizing I’d said everything that needed to be said, snapped it closed again. The next steps would have to be their own.

There was another long moment of silence, broken when Gabriel finally nodded. “Maybe I will grab something to eat,” he said, then walked toward the cart.

With that simple gesture, the tension evaporated.

I couldn’t help but share with Ethan the victorious grin that lifted one corner of my mouth. He rolled his eyes but rose from his chair and walked toward me.

“Impressive,” he whispered when he reached me.

“All in a night’s work.”

He bobbed his head toward the Apex currently perusing the spread of cheese and meats and crackers. “He’s a man after your own heart.”

“He’s not the only one who appreciates my love of food. I mean, you might consider how well I’ve trained you.”

He arched a dubious eyebrow, and his voice could hardly have been more sarcastic. “Excuse me?”

Luc chuckled from his chair, chin on his hand, as he watched us with obvious amusement. “Oh, I got this one, Sentinel. Liege, respectfully, you had this meeting catered.”

Ethan’s expression went a little wan.

I considered that a victory, too.

By the time we’d reconvened, Gabriel and I had eaten our fill of Cadogan snacks. We were gathered in the sitting area once again. I sat cross-legged on the floor; Ethan, Luc, and Gabriel sat on the chairs and couches.