Allegiance (13 page)

I was about to head back inside when hobbled steps crunching toward me announced someone’s approach. I half turned to see a dark-haired figure moving forward. Julian, picking his steps carefully, with a heavy black jacket thrown on haphazardly, a long, white coat slung over his arm.

“I thought you were smarter than to come out here without at least a coat, Evie,” he lectured.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Julian. It’s like summer,” I grumbled indignantly. For some reason, a renewed streak of stubbornness forced my back to him. I knew this Bishop decision had nothing to do with him, but I couldn’t help it.

I felt his presence behind me. After a few moments, when I didn’t acknowledge him, he silently spread the jacket over my shoulders. He didn’t leave, though. We remained like that until I silently acknowledged that I was, in fact, an idiot. I gave up my stubborn front and slid my arms into the coat, allowing the duck feather down fill to envelop my half-frozen body. I took a seat on one of the benches.

“You know I’ve heard sitting on cold concrete will give you hemorrhoids,” Julian joked softly.

I snorted, annoyed. I knew he was trying to skirt the subject. “It’s easy for you to joke, Julian,” I said. “He’s not your friend. You despised all vampires until two days ago, remember? Now you’re in love.” I sounded petty. I immediately hated myself for it.

“I agree. He’s not my friend and I don’t know him at all,” Julian answered, easing himself down beside me. “But he’s your friend, and he’s Amelie’s friend. I don’t want to see either of you suffer. That will happen if he’s not bound up because he’ll die. Everyone seems to agree on that point but you.”

“It’s not that I don’t agree,” I finally admitted, the words acrid on my tongue. “We do need to keep him safe. I get it. Of course I get it. I’m not stupid.”

“No one said you were, Eve,” Julian said, putting his arm around my shoulder and squeezing me to his body.

I stiffened. Back in the mountains, the gesture had been comforting and welcomed, as close as we were. Now, it made my body turn in on itself like a turtle struggling to hide in its shell. And yet, I had no idea why. Perhaps it was because of his insane new girlfriend.

“It’s just that everyone is so willing to do it. It’s like they don’t care!”

“Oh, they care, believe me. Well,” he added with a sneer, “except maybe Viggo.”

I scowled. “They didn’t even fight. They didn’t argue. They just went along with it.”

Julian was shaking his head before I’d even finished speaking. “You weren’t there earlier, Eve,” Julian said, his tone now scolding. “I thought Amelie and Caden were going to tear Sofie to pieces when she told them what she needed to do. Why put him through more pain when he’s already suffering so much?” Julian’s heavy dark brows furrowed deeply. “Man, does Amelie have a temper … Luckily, it only lasted for ten minutes before they came around but … damn, those ten minutes! I seriously thought they were going to kill each other. Bloody vampires …”

Vicious Amelie. I wouldn’t have believed it before. Even when dealing with Rachel and Jethro, she’d always been calm and collected, delivering biting blows with grace. But the incident I’d seen earlier with the innocent servant girl had shown me a new side of Amelie. An uncontrolled one I’d prefer never to see again and hoped not to be the target of. At the same time, hearing that they put up a fight on Bishop’s account made me feel a little better.

Julian continued. “Vampires are pragmatic. You know as well as I do. Amelie would rather see Bishop bound up and feeling a hundred razor blades than be dead. It’s the lesser of two evils, though it may not sound like it. It’s the right thing to do.” Julian zipped his jacket and hunched into himself, no doubt freezing by now. “Whatever is about to enter these gates—this Lilly—I don’t know about you, but I want Sofie’s full power to protect us. She sounds pretty scary if Viggo doesn’t want her around. Amelie and you need to be protected. You two mean everything to me.” His voice dropped to a low whisper as he leaned in, squeezing more tightly, his forehead resting against the side of my head. “You might hate me but you’re all I have left.

Hate. Such a wicked word. I sighed, shifting to look over at Julian, those chocolate-brown irises only inches away, pleading with me. I stared silently at my fellow captive, my fellow orphan, my fellow everything. My friend. Tattoo or not, he had saved my life and my sanity.

“I don’t hate you, Julian,” I whispered.

He snorted. “Really? Because you haven’t exactly been friendly since—”

“Shhh!” I warned, checking the shadows.

“Since … you know.” Julian finished vaguely.

“Yeah … well … it caught me off guard. I trusted you and then … bam! Surprise! But that doesn’t bother me anymore. What I care about is what it will do to Amelie if she finds out. I’m afraid this will be more than she can deal with.”

“I know,” Julian groaned, dropping his forehead into his palms, reddened from the cold. “God, I know, Evangeline! Do you think I planned this? I don’t know what happened. I just remember waking up in the hut and there she was, like an angel, hovering over me and then …” He paused, searching for words, a crooked smile curving his mouth in a cute way. “I can’t get her out of my head! It’s like I crave her! I’ve never met anyone like her before, Eve. If I knew back then what I know now, I never would have let … you know what … happen. I never expected to fall in love with a vampire.”

In love … I smiled, despite everything. “I know what you mean.” I remembered that first moment, waking up in the cave after knocking my head to see Caden standing over me with an armload of wood for the fire. Of course, I didn’t know it then, but that was the second I fell in love with him. Everything after that was merely supporting evidence. He didn’t have to speak; he didn’t have to do anything. It was like some inner connection pulled us together, firmly lodging him into my soul so that he could never leave without me losing a part of myself. Was that what true love was like for everyone? Or just when your heart was tied to the devastating predicament of being in love with a vampire?

I looked back at Julian, watching me silently. Again, another level in which our fates were linked. How could I be angry with him for the very thing I was guilty of? I felt my shoulders sag, the chip I harbored against him dissolving.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. Or get dead! Or Amelie get hurt. Or Caden get hurt, for that matter.”
Hurt because I’m hiding such a huge secret from him.

Julian grimaced. “That guy already hates my guts.”

I frowned, recalling the strange reaction to Julian’s hand on my arm earlier. “I don’t know about hate but …”

Julian shrugged. “Oh, I do. I caught him staring at me a few times today like he wanted to take me out back and break every bone in my body.” His eyebrow quirked up. “Do you think he knows?”

I shook my head. If Caden knew, there’s no way Julian would still be alive. “He’s being overprotective of Amelie. That has to be it. He is her big brother, and you’re … well, you’re doing
whatever
with his sister.”

Julian shrugged, unconvinced.

“At least, let’s hope that’s what it is. He doesn’t need to know any of this because it doesn’t matter anymore, right?”

Julian nodded and then hesitated as if afraid to bring something up. “They told me what’s happening to you because of the Tribe magic. What could end up happening to me too …”

I didn’t say anything as a giant lump formed in my throat. The Bishop drama had helped temporarily push that issue out of my mind. Now, though, it was back with a vengeance.

“Sofie will figure it out,” Julian assured me, patting my knee. “She has to.”

“And what if she doesn’t, Julian?” I whispered, turning to take in his friendly face, begging for a solution.

Julian answered by reaching out to grab hold of my hand. “Then it’s you and me, babe,” he said. “We can go back and live in the mountains. Or to the motherland, with our people.” Then he winked. “But only if you wear that little outfit.”

“Julian!” I smacked his chest but burst into giggles. It felt good. I hadn’t laughed in a while.

I opened my mouth, a thank-you on my lips, when a deep, feral growl in the shadows stopped me cold. An inhuman sound. My body, already frozen from the cold, now solid with terror. Grasping at Julian’s arm, I slowly leaned forward and hazarded a peek around the edge of the gazebo wall, searching the source, preparing to scream like a banshee for Max.

Behind a thorny bush, I caught sight of a wolf at least twice the size that I expected a wolf to be. Its white fur sparkled with snowflakes, shining under the moonlight, while its peculiar humanlike eyes peered back at us.

“Is that … Yeti One?” Julian whispered, shocked.

“I think so, but … if it is why is he growling at us?” He wasn’t focused on us, I realized. Something behind us had his attention. Slowly, stiffly, unable to breathe, I turned to see what had this werewolf’s fur in a bunch.

About ten feet away, half hidden by a wide bush, a tall, tawny-haired form stood in the shadows. Caden, his hands in his pant pockets and watching in silence, his expression set in a way that didn’t hint at an ounce of fear, but he certainly wasn’t comfortable, either. I wasn’t sure if Yeti One had issue with Caden because he was a vampire or because he stood in the shadows, spying on us. How long had he been there? What had he heard? Cold fear crawled through my insides with icy slowness, taking its time until every inch of me was filled with guilty dread. I replayed the conversation in my head. We had been careful, guarded with our words, right? But what exactly did we say?

His cover now compromised, Caden stepped forward. Yeti One took this as his leave to disappear into nothingness, pleased that he had exposed the intruder. Caden offered me a small crooked smile.

“Cooled off yet?” I felt the heat creep up in my cheeks, embarrassment quickly replacing anger. “You need to come inside. You’re frozen,” he scolded.

Another wave of stubbornness hit me. “No, I’m not,” I said, as my body hunched inward to ward off the cold, now deeply rooted in my bones.
Not convincing
. Judging by his sigh of exasperation, Caden didn’t buy it, either.

Caden’s gaze shifted to Julian and with it, the already frigid temperatures plummeted to an arctic chill. His smile disappeared, replaced with what I could only describe as a look of restraint—like he was envisioning launching Julian into the hedge.
Now I see what Julian’s talking about.

“Can I talk to my girlfriend alone?” Caden asked, his voice low. My heart skipped a beat. Yes, he had already professed his love for me, so him referring to me as his girlfriend should be nothing. And yet, in all the turmoil and doom tainting our daily lives, that identity reminded me that my one shining ray of light hadn’t abandoned me.

“Go ahead,” Julian answered, his own voice taking on that cocky harshness he’d used with me upon our first meeting. “Are we okay?” he asked softly, grabbing my hands and squeezing.

I answered with a small smile. “Yeah, we’re okay. Or we will be.”

He struggled to stand, using my shoulder as leverage, and then walked past Caden without even a glimpse in his direction, disappearing inside. Caden, on the other hand, glared after him the entire way. Only when Julian was gone did Caden step into the gazebo. “I know we seem cold and heartless sometimes, but …,” he began, his voice drifting off as he took the seat Julian had just vacated.

I gazed at his profile, at this beautiful but tortured creature. I was bursting to touch him. To lean up against him, to feel the contours of his shoulders beneath my fingers, to nuzzle my nose into his neck. Yet that little voice inside my head warned me against it for so many reasons.
You’re no good for him!
It whispered.
You’re morphing! Soon, your touch will kill him!
It reminded me.
You may as well let him go now!
Gritting my teeth, incapable of controlling myself, my hand cautiously reached forward, halting inches away from his, unable to close the distance. My throat clenched as jade eyes shifted to lock on my face, revealing nothing about the thoughts behind them. They slid down to study my hand hovering dangerously close to his but still, silence.
Say something, Caden. Anything.

Suddenly, his fingers closed over my hand. He squeezed tightly, the contact waking up my entire body. I released the breath I’d been holding for far too long. My touch wouldn’t harm him yet. I leaned in against him.

“You guys are right. I know that. I just overreacted.” I admitted, pressing my forehead to his cheek, inhaling his scent. Caden’s body shifted as he wrapped his arm around my back. He didn’t speak.

“Girlfriend, huh?” I smiled, peering up shyly into his beautiful face. He returned the smile but I couldn’t help notice the twinkle missing from his eye, in its place, disquiet. Something was bothering him. I felt my own smile fading in reaction. He scooped me up and pulled me onto his lap, his strong arms wrapped around my waist.

“Do you know what drew me to you?” he asked quietly, his eyes rolling over my entire face, pausing on my mouth.

“My humanlike qualities,” I said, grinning.

“Well, I guess so.” He paused. “You
are
so human … so innocent.”

“You mean naïve?”

One side of his mouth raised into a half-smile. But then the smile melted away, replaced with a stony mask. “I mean honest. It’s like you couldn’t lie. I loved that about you.”