Page 10 of The Hunger
“I really do like that girl,” Mom said. “I wish I would have been less confrontational at our first meeting. And our second.”
Mom’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and scowled.
“Are either of you going to tell me why Eliana looks like she’s been crying?” Dad asked. “Was it Adira again?”
With those questions, I realized Megan had somehow completely distracted me from what had prompted her spontaneous appearance in the first place.
Fenris.
The guilt returned, and I looked at Mom, meeting her sad gaze.
“I think I’ll leave you to explain it if that’s all right,” I said. “It’s late, and all I want to do is to go to bed.”
“Please don’t shut me out, Eliana.” Dad walked around the couch to sit next to Mom. “I promise I can listen, no matter what you have to say.”
My gaze darted between the two before I sighed and leaned back into the couch. Mom’s phone buzzed again, but she didn’t even look at the screen, letting me know she was focused entirely on me.
“I’m a succubus, a creature that survives by feeding on the sexual energy of others. I’m a virgin who’s been kissed twice. Once by Megan—she did it to prove that there’s nothing to be afraid of—and once by Fenris. Tonight. When he kissed me, I realized I’d been feeding on his energy in my sleep for weeks.
“I’d been starving myself, on purpose, so I wouldn’t ever do what Mom did to the people she fed on. I saw first-hand how that destroyed lives. The sleepless nights, the nightmares, the endless crying and begging for her to return.”
Dad swallowed hard and looked down at his hands.
“People waste away after a succubus feeding. Mrs. Quill was a temporary answer. Her complete devotion to Mr. Quill meant that I could feed from her without hurting her. She never pined for me. Still, I was afraid that if I ate too much, that would change. So, I went hungry and protected the people I cared about by staying away.
“At least, I thought I was protecting them. When Fenris asked me to be his girlfriend, I thought he saw me as a way to escape the pressure his pack has been putting on him to find a mate. I thought he was desperate for a reprieve, like me. I didn’t see his obsession for what it was until he kissed me, and I realized what I’d done. My tears were for his ruined life. Now, I just feel dead inside and want to go home.”
The quiet buzz of Mom’s phone didn’t distract Dad as he leaned forward.
“Forgive me for not being a better father. We’ve both been hiding from the truth for so long. But I’m done hiding from my responsibilities and from what you and your mother are. Please stop starving yourself because of the mistakes I’ve made since the moment your mother left us.”
I studied Dad, trying to understand what he was telling me. What responsibility was he hiding from? What mistake did he think he made when Mom left?
“You need to speak more plainly, Jason. Years of looking for double-meanings doesn’t go away overnight,” Mom said, reading me more accurately than I ever thought possible.
“I knew what your mother was from the beginning. She’s never lied about what she is. But it was easier to lie to myself than to face the truth that I would be spending the rest of my life without her unique and amazing presence. It was easier to embrace anger and guilt and pretend ignorance than it was to care for the beautiful daughter, the most precious piece of your mom, that she’d left in my care. When I say I’m done hiding from my responsibilities, I mean that I’m going to be a better father and husband. When I say stop starving yourself because of my mistakes, I’m telling you to eat like you’re meant to eat, Eliana. I don’t want you to die because I was a weak man, unable to cope with the truth of my existence.”
Mom held his hand and gave him a loving smile before looking at me.
“He’s right, Eliana. I know you’re hurting and feel like you’ve done something terrible, but are you sure you changed Fenris as you’ve said?”
“I met Fenris,” Dad said. “He didn’t strike me as a weak person, unable to deal with the truth.”
“I don’t know what to believe or think, anymore. I just wish I knew how this all started,” I said as I tried to remember back to what had happened first. My cake dreams or that night Mom found Fenris in my room? It seemed so long ago, but I felt certain that the dreams started before that night. That didn’t make any sense, though. How had I first accidentally fed on him? It was the first feeding that would have compelled him to return.
Mom’s phone buzzed yet again. I could feel her anger even though she didn’t look at the device. There was only one person who could get to Mom like that.
“Adira?” I asked.
I took it as a yes when Mom’s eyes flickered black, and she silenced her phone.
“Perhaps you should ask Fenris how the feedings started.”
“I really don’t want to talk to him.”
“Avoiding the truth doesn’t make it go away,” Dad said.
Mom studied him for a moment.
