Betrayal (Blood Haze: Book Three) A Paranormal Romance

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This is a work of fiction. All characters,
places, names, and situations are purely fictional. Any resemblance
to any real persons, events, or locations is not intended.

This work is (c) Copyright 2011, Tara Shuler.
All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced or
distributed without written consent from the author.

Smashwords Edition

It had been a rough few months. I’d gone from
being an awkward seventeen-year-old trying desperately to fit into
human society, to a powerful vampire with a
very
large
target on her back in no time flat.

My boyfriend, Kai, as well as my friends Max,
Alexi, and Liam, and I had barely made it through our last
encounter alive. If not for my use of a latent ability I hadn’t
even known I had, the wraiths chasing us probably would have either
captured or killed us all.

To tell the truth, I was growing tired of
being pursued. In the last few months, everyone I loved had been
put in danger multiple times because of me.

Max, a vampire hunter, had given up his
entire life to protect me. He left his father, who later went
missing, to come rescue me from captivity. Then the hunters turned
on him, and nearly killed him. I had promised him we’d find his
father, if he was still alive, and bring him home safely. Of
course, I hadn’t expected life to become so crazy so fast.

Alexi had hit me like a ton of bricks. When I
first met him, I thought he was the biggest adversary I would ever
face. Little did I know, he would soon become one of my closest
allies. My father had betrothed me to him when I was born, and
Alexi’s father had seen visions of me as I was growing up. Through
his father’s descriptions of those visions, Alexi had fallen in
love with me long before we ever met.

By then, I had already fallen in love with
Kai… and Max. Alexi’s heart was caught in the crossfire, and it was
tearing him apart. Still, he was committed to making me happy,
whatever the cost. He stood on the sidelines and watched, waiting
and hoping for the day when I might feel the same way for him as he
did for me.

Alexi turned away from his father, Barnabas,
and brother, Liam, when he was only fifteen, because Barnabas
wanted to bring me into the Council. Barnabas had seen my powerful
abilities in his visions, and he knew they would be invaluable. But
Alexi didn’t want that for me. He knew the things the Council would
force me to do, and he knew it would destroy me.

Liam, had also become a trusted ally. Though
he’d been loyal to his father, Liam and I developed a friendship.
He had kidnapped me on behalf of his father and the Council, and I
had saved his life. Since that day, Liam had tried to make up for
what he perceived to be a serious mistake. He’d helped me train my
abilities, and he protected me when no one else could.

My mother, my brother, Will, and my human
friend, Jamie, were all hidden in another compound. I hadn’t talked
to them in weeks, and I missed them terribly. But I couldn’t put
them at risk. They were safer in seclusion – away from me.

We had barely escaped the encounter with the
wraiths unscathed, taking a helicopter to a nearby Council
compound. I was exhausted. We really needed to be refueling the
helicopter and getting as far away as possible, but Alexi insisted
I get some rest. I was hardly in a position to argue.

I woke up early the next morning, and for
just a moment, I forgot we were in such peril. The moment was
fleeting, and soon I was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread. I went
downstairs and located the dining room, hoping to find something to
eat. I noticed Liam sitting at the head of the table, reading a
newspaper and drinking coffee.

“Morning, Liam,” I said, attempting to sit
down in the chair to his left.

The chair I was trying to lower myself into
slid a few inches to the side, and I almost landed on my butt. I
scowled at Liam. His mouth was twisted into a wry grin. Liam had
telekinesis – he could move things with his mind.

“Funny,” I grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” he said, obviously suppressing
laughter.

I moved the chair back and once again
attempted to sit down. Again, the chair slid away. This time, Liam
released an audible snicker.

“Damn it, Liam!” I growled, smacking him
lightly on the shoulder. “Quit it!”

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized, still fighting
to keep from laughing at me. “Won’t happen again.”

“It better not…” I mumbled.

This time, I pulled the chair over and held
onto it while I attempted to sit down. The chair squeaked across
the wooden floor, pulling my hand with it. I lurched backward, but
with my hand on the back of the chair, I just fell into the
seat.

This time, Liam howled with laughter.

“Well, you made it into the chair this time!”
he screeched, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I hate you,” I mumbled, pulling the chair
toward the table.

Liam scrunched his mouth up, trying
desperately to choke back the laughter. I sighed loudly and crossed
my arms, pouting and slumping back in my chair.

“Aww, come on,” he said, suddenly contrite.
“I was just playing.”

“I know,” I acknowledged. “I guess I’m just
not in the mood.”

Liam folded his newspaper and placed it on
the table. He laced his fingers together and placed his arms on the
table, leaning toward me seriously.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” he
asked.

“About what?”

“About taking the fight to Dmitri,” he
clarified.

“Oh, that. Yes, I meant it. I’m tired of
running. I can’t take it anymore, Liam. This needs to end.”

“I agree,” Liam said. “But Alexi
doesn’t.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I sighed.

“He’s just worried about you,” Liam told
me.

“I understand that,” I lamented. “But we
can’t keep running forever.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, sister,” Liam
agreed. “I support you one hundred percent. But I don’t know how
we’re going to convince Alexi.”

“What about Kai and Max?” I asked. “What do
they think?”

“They usually go along with whatever Alexi
wants these days,” he answered with a shrug.

“So it’s basically two against three right
now, huh?” I queried.

“Looks that way,” he said.

“Well, considering you, Alexi and me are the
Elders, and Kai and Max aren’t, we could argue that their votes
don’t count,” I suggested. “Then it would be two against one.”

Liam raised one eyebrow at me.

“That’s not like you,” he stated. “To leave
Kai and Max out like that.”

“I don’t even know me, anymore,” I said
honestly. “All I know is this. I want to go back to having a normal
life, again. The sooner, the better.”

Liam frowned sadly.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Alice,” he
said somberly. “You’re an Elder, now. We don’t lead normal lives.
We can’t. We have the weight of protecting our entire species on
our shoulders.”

“I don’t understand,” I moaned. “Why is this
even happening to me? Why couldn’t I be born normal? If I didn’t
have all these abilities, no one would care anything about me and I
could just live my life oblivious to all this.”

“Is that what you really want?” he asked
seriously.

I hung my head.

“No,” I admitted. “In a way, I do. But I also
know that I can do a lot of good for a lot of people.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you’re in
this position,” Liam said.

“What position?” Alexi said, breezing into
the room and sliding into a chair across the table from me.

“We were discussing her new position as
Elder,” Liam responded.

“I see,” Alexi returned. “And how do you feel
about it, Alice?”

“I was telling Liam that while I miss having
a normal life, I know I can do a lot of good as an Elder,” I told
him.

“Hmm,” Alexi muttered. “Are you sure about
that?”

“I can’t explain it,” I admitted. “I just
feel like maybe it won’t be so bad being an Elder. It’s just a
feeling I have.”

“There is something I have to tell you about
that,” Alexi said.

“About what?” I asked.

“Alexi, are you sure now is the right time?”
Liam interjected.

“Now is as good a time as any,” Alexi
argued.

“Just tell me,” I groaned.

“Father made one thing very clear over the
last few years,” Alexi explained. “He said if anything happened to
him, you were to take his place.”

“Me?” I gasped. “Why me? Shouldn’t it be one
of his sons? You or Liam?”

“You are stronger than either one of us,”
Liam reminded me.

“Not yet, I’m not,” I shot back. “You two
have a lot more control over your abilities than I do. And I don’t
even know anything about being an Elder.”

“That may be true,” Alexi said. “But Liam and
I can teach you everything you need to know.”

“Why should you have to teach me anything?” I
demanded. “If you already know it all, it should be one of
you.”

“You do not understand,” Alexi told me.
“Father knew all along that you were meant to lead us. He saw it.
You are the only one who can.”

“This can’t be happening,” I said. “I’m just
a normal girl. I’m not meant to lead. Until recently, I didn’t even
know I had any abilities or anything. I’m a mess!”

“Alice,” Liam said firmly. “You are anything
but normal. You
can
do this. Father had absolute faith in
you. And… Alexi and I do, too.”

“Why hasn’t anyone thought to mention any of
this before?” I grumbled.

“There are a lot of things you do not know,
because it is not the right time,” Alexi said.

“So everyone keeps telling me,” I
mumbled.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Alexi
said. “But you know Liam and I are here to help you. We are behind
you all the way.”

I sighed. This was all too much to deal with.
I gritted my teeth and prepared to ask the question I knew I needed
to ask, but I wanted more than anything to just hide from.

“So what do I need to do?” I finally
asked.

“Do not worry about it for now,” Alexi said.
“Right now we need to get moving. Dmitri will probably look here,
first. It is just a matter of time.”

“I’m tired of running, Alexi,” I pointed
out.

“But we cannot take him on here,” Alexi said
quickly. “We need time to prepare. I suggest going to a remote
location and training, first.”

“How about Grandfather’s compound?” Liam
suggested.

“Do you think he would let us go there?”
Alexi asked.

“Wouldn’t hurt to ask,” Liam responded. “His
compound would, by far, be the best choice because of the
Force.”

“The Force?” I questioned. “Like from Star
Wars?”

Alexi and Liam both laughed.

“Our grandfather built a compound in a secret
location,” Alexi explained. “The only way to get there is to
teleport. There is a force field around it that keeps anything and
everything from getting in or out.”

“Can you get Hillary to come help?” Liam
said.

“Of course,” Alexi replied, as though the
answer was obvious.

“Oh, that’s right,” Liam remembered.

“What’s right?” I asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Alexi said quickly. “It is not
important.”

“Alexi, why don’t you contact Grandfather and
inform him of Father’s passing? Ask him if we can go there to
train,” Liam suggested.

“I will do so at once,” Alexi agreed, and he
left the room.