Revamped (20 page)

“My mother and Viktor worked on their secret project under the cover of
Dixie Pharmaceuticals
. For a while, the new company was doing well and their partnership was strong. After a few experimental trials, Vampiricol was a success. However, since the drug was not yet approved by the FDA, they were not making any income. Viktor became impatient and took over control of all the product created by the company. He arranged for illegal sales of the drug, but since he needed my mother to keep making the substance, he allowed her to continue her endeavor to bring Vampiricol into the mass market. She was running into many obstacles, and Viktor’s goons were proving rather unreliable.”

The whole story sounded like a bad plot of a sci-fi film
, I thought glumly. Unfortunately, it had a lot more to do with reality than I liked to admit.

“Just as her latest proposal was turned down by the government, Viktor told my mom that he had learned about a Born vampire that was coming to a nearby town on a mission. He convinced my mother that the powerful blood of a Born would be a perfect catalyst for the mainstream success of Vampiricol. She asked me to go to Angel Creek to investigate this mysterious vampire. I used my previous experience as a bartender in Ashton to get a job at the Angel Creek Diner and waited for this special girl to show up. That vampire was, of course, you.”

The questions that I had posed while sitting at the diner on my first day in Angel Creek was finally answered.
Ethan had know that I was a vampire.

“Then I met you, and everything changed,” Ethan said, taking in a long breath. “Right away, I could tell that you were special. Not in the same way my mother considered you to be special, of course. She was only interested in your blood. I, on the other hand, wanted to get to know Dawn—the fascinating, funny, strong girl. Despite the fact that my mother had brainwashed me to dislike the vampire race, I couldn’t help but like you.”

“I wanted to get to know you, to learn all about you. My mother, unfortunately, had a similar goal. She was relentless. She called me every day, asking for news about you. I didn’t give her anything, of course. Not that I had much to go on. It drove me crazy when you disappeared for almost an entire week to train. I kept driving around, trying to find where you were staying.” He gazed down at the floor, his cheeks turning bright red.

“About a week after your arrival, my mother came to the diner at Angel Creek to try to look for you herself. Again, I kept quiet. Even if I had known where you were staying, I would never have betrayed the location. I felt the need to protect you from
BloodCorp
. I got it in my head that I would do so by always sticking by your side. But I knew that I wasn’t strong enough to save you from Viktor and his rogue vamps…” He trailed off, looking at me sheepishly.

“So you took that Vampiricol pill,” I guessed.

“Yes. I could never have predicted the extreme effect that the drug would have on my body. I felt so guilty for taking it; I couldn’t tell you why I had all that power and strength. Nevertheless, I’m glad that I did what I did that day, because I was able to save you from getting hurt,” he said, the corners of his lips forming into a small smile.

“Dawn, you have to believe when I tell you that, from the moment I met you, it was never about my mom’s mission,” Ethan’s insisted. “I was sincere when I asked to spend time with you and train with the team. My only motive was to get close to you and make sure that you were safe. I now know that I should’ve been more honest and upfront about everything. I thought that if I refused to cooperate with my mom, she would eventually forget about you and focus on other ways to improve Vampiricol. Unfortunately, I was wrong. She went back to the diner one day while I was here training with the team and got to Hannah. You know how chatty Hannah could be. She innocently told my mother all about you, the other vampires, the mission—even about her own sick mother and baby sister.”

My thoughts flashed back to the day Hannah had stabbed me with the poison.
They said they would hurt my mom and sister
, she had cried.

“I imagine that’s when Viktor got the idea to involve the werewolves and ambush us in the forest near the
BloodCorp
base,” Ethan explained. “He wanted you, of course, but when Sebastian interfered, the rogue vamps only managed to kidnap Hannah. That evening, I told you the story about getting Vampiricol from a friend and rushed over to
Dixie Pharmaceuticals
to beg my mom to stop the nonsense. By kidnapping Hannah, she had gone too far. But instead of listening to me, she snapped. She yelled me about betraying her for a vampire just like my father had—told me she wanted nothing to do with me. Despite it all, I tried to singlehandedly save Hannah, but was nearly beaten to death and kicked out of the building by Viktor and the rogues.”

Yes,” I said, remembering, “When I saw you the next day, you weren’t really acting like your usual self.”

 “I was so conflicted, Dawn. I knew that telling you about
BloodCorp
would not only be dangerous, but would most likely cause you to hate me,” Ethan groaned. “At the same time, since I knew where Hannah was being kept, it was my duty as a friend to do everything in my power to save her. Once again, this is where things went awry. I had hoped that we would be able to go in and out, undetected by my mother. I dreamed that you would never have to learn the whole truth. I now know that was stupid, but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing.”

The burden of retelling the story had caused Ethan to regress into a child-like state, mechanically rocking back-and-forth in his seat. Just as suddenly as the condition had overcome him, he snapped out of it and straightened up.

“When my mom confronted us and said all those awful things to you, for the first time in all these years, I saw just how misguided her mission was. She had completely lost all sense of morality, allowing her hatred for my father and his vampire mistresses—to corrupt her. There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to try to hurt you. Instead, when I told you to run, she shot at me. Hence this.” He raised his bandaged arm, wincing slightly at the pain the movement had caused.

“It was in the moment that I hit the ground, as she watched me nearly bleed to death, that she realized just how far gone she was,” he said, quietly adding, “She attempted to take her own life.”

“Oh, Ethan.” Even though I felt nothing but distaste for Amelia’s actions, Ethan’s story pained me. She was his mother, after all. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, it was clear that he cared for her deeply.

“It’s okay,” Ethan assured me. “I managed to stop her before she could hurt herself. But, needless to say, she had to atone for her actions.”

“What did you do?”

“I placed her in a facility. It’s a very good clinic that one of her old professors runs. She will be safe from harming herself there, but she will also be carefully monitored. She won’t be able to hurt anyone else,” Ethan said. “Especially not you.”

My chest tightened. I couldn’t imagine the vast amount of courage and strength it took for Ethan to commit his own mother. He looked at me, and, as if understanding my thoughts, said, “Don’t worry. She went willingly. After all these years of fighting to accomplish so much, and of constantly being disappointed, she was ready to get away from it all. She needed some peace and quiet. I’m not sure what the future holds for her, but I’m hopeful that she will eventually get better.”

I hoped so too, for Ethan’s sake. He had been abandoned by his father, and now, he had lost his mother too. He was completely alone.

Kind of like me
, my thoughts fluttered briefly to my own father. Suddenly, I remembered what he had told me about his past with Amelia. If she had been responsible for my creation, then Viktor seeking her out was not an accident, but rather a very deliberate act on his part.
All along, he had wanted to get to me.
I shuddered, remembering his wicked face, his evil laugh. What was even worse, he was still out there, most likely plotting his next step.

“Does your mom know where Viktor is?” I asked. I was silently hoping that he would say
yes
, but I already knew the answer.

Ethan shook his head. “No one knows. Not that any of us went after him in the first place. Your father’s only goal was to make sure you survived. His guards helped Brooke and Sophie deal with the rogue vamps outside the building, while Sebastian and Hunter had rushed to my aid when they heard the gunshot. By the time we all arrived to the basement, you were unconscious and Viktor had slipped out from under our noses,” he said, hitting his uninjured hand against the couch cushion. “Why did my mom ever agree to work with that creep?”

I resolved to hold off on telling Ethan about his mother’s role in my birth. He seemed to be completely oblivious to both Amelia’s cloning work and Viktor’s connection to me—the team probably hadn’t had a chance to speak with him since the incident—and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. I knew that he would find out eventually, but just the thought of, one day, having to bring up the topic made my stomach churn.

What would I even say? I wondered glumly. So, Ethan, Viktor is actually my crazy uncle that I never knew existed. Instead of a sappy family reunion, he wants to kill me just like he killed my father’s real daughter back in 1875. Oh, that’s the girl that I was cloned from. I never mentioned that I was cloned? Don’t worry, it was news to me too! And just in case you didn’t have enough drama to deal with…guess what? Your mother did the cloning. Surprise!

Instead, I changed the subject to Hannah. There were still many things I was trying to understand in regard to her role in the incident.

“I think I finally have a clear picture of what happened that day at
Dixie Pharmaceuticals
. What I really want to know about is Hannah.” I said, my skin crawling at the memory of the poisonous syringe. “What happened to her?” I asked.

“Well, we rescued her from the basement and took her home. She was in shock, kept muttering that you getting hurt was all her fault.”

I was suddenly hit with the realization that I had been the only one who had witnessed Hannah’s treachery. Everyone else must have assumed that Viktor had both poisoned and shot me, and that Hannah was simply an innocent bystander—a victim.

“A day later, after I dropped my mom off at the clinic and ensured that you were well on your way to recovery, I visited Hannah’s place. It was deserted. I have no idea where she and her family went, or why they disappeared, but she left this behind.” Ethan handed me a white envelope with my name on it. The soft, small writing on it belonged to Hannah.

“I didn’t open it,” he assured me. “I wanted to respect your privacy. Although, I can’t say I wasn’t curious.”

I tore open the envelope, pulling out a sheet of paper from the inside. On it, in neat cursive writing was Hannah’s letter of apology.

Dear Dawn,

I just spoke to Sophie and she told me that you’re going to make a full recovery. I’m so relieved to hear the good news!

I can’t tell you how sorry I am about everything that happened. When I was being held hostage I was told that if I cooperated and injected you with the vampire blood, the doctor lady would cure my mom’s illness. Of course, I refused the offer. I never—in a million years—wanted to hurt you. I told them that I didn’t need their help, that my mom and I would get through her illness without harming my friend. The scary, burned vampire then stepped in and threatened me. He said that if I refused to do what he asked, he would not only make sure to destroy you and me, but also kill my mother and little sister.

I know that this explanation doesn’t excuse what I did, but please know that I live each and every day in regret of my horrible actions. When I made the choice to betray your trust, I felt as if I was doing the right thing. Now, I know that I was simply a coward who hurt one of my best friends. For that, I’m so very sorry.

I need to get away from Angel Creek for a while. I’m taking my mom, sister and Daisy out of the country for the next couple of months. I heard that a young vampire doctor in Canada is working on an experimental treatment for my mom’s illness. I’ve taken out all my savings and will head up there to try and get her into the program.

I will get in touch soon. I hope that you’ll be ready and willing to talk to me.

So very sorry,

Hannah

As I finished reading, Ethan looked at me expectantly. Too stunned to rehash the letter, I simply handed him the piece of paper. When he was done, he looked over at me pitifully. “It seems that we both have failed you,” he said quietly, his full lips tightening into a tight line.

He was right; they had
, I thought. I was hurt, but at least I could understand his and Hannah’s motives. I could forgive their mistakes. What I couldn’t comprehend—
what I couldn’t forgive—
was my father’s betrayal. Just thinking about it again brought fresh tears to my eyes.

“I need to be alone for a while,” I said abruptly. I was about to shatter, and I couldn’t bear to have Ethan witness my breakdown.

He mistook my tense words as being intended for him. “Oh, Dawn. I promise to spend the rest of my life making this up to you! Whatever it takes for you to forgive me, I’ll do it,” he said, rushing over to me. His voice was frantic; his eyes darted around in panic.

I gently wrapped one of my arms around his uninjured shoulder. “I’ve already forgiven you Ethan,” I said, giving him a sincere smile. “How could I not? You took an arrow for me, you healed me with your blood, and you got shot at by your own mother because of me. I think we’re even.”

He exhaled, relaxing a little.

“Plus, I understand that you and Hannah thought you were doing the right thing at the time,” I added.

“Still, I’m going to make sure this never happens again. From now on, just the truth.
Always
,” he promised, patting my arm with his large hand.

We stared at each other for a moment, drained and exhausted from the heavy subject matter, but contented by the outcome of the talk.