Page 31 of Shifters' Fated Summer
I went rigid in my seat, but Cade continued. “We need extra hands going through the security footage and tracking data we have. We need to find where they’re hiding and finish this.”
His gaze landed on me again, daring me to argue. If he wanted me to, I’d oblige. He was talking about slaughtering people just because they were vampires. He didn’t even know them.
Images of bloody necks flashed in my mind, but they weren’t all like that. I couldn’t believe it.
Heart racing, I opened my mouth. “Why? Why not just live and let live?”
Luca’s eyes widened. He sat forward, his hand squeezing my leg. “Summer is having trouble processing what she experienced in the den. We need to be patient.”
Harper leaned over and hissed to her companion.
Cade’s jaw ticked. “No, she’s had time. I will not tolerate willful ignorance. Finn, pull up the pictures from the raid.”
I froze, gripping the arms of my chair with white knuckles. All eyes were on me.
Finn grimaced, his brows rising sympathetically before he ducked his head and focused on his laptop. A moment later, images appeared on the screen behind Cade.
The first picture was of three girls. They were vaguely familiar to me, but not from my dorm. One hung off the other two, her eyes glazed. Their gaunt faces were pale and gray, and dark dried blood crusted their collars.
Did I look like that when Luca carried me from the den?
The next photo was a human lying sprawled over one of the narrow beds in the dorms. Someone had shone a flashlight on the scene, illuminating the rusted bedframe and grimy floor. The boy’s matted hair was soaked with the same bright blood that coated his neck and face. A chunk of his throat was torn away.
My stomach rebelled, and I curled inward. I didn’t have a clue how a vampire could cause such carnage. Evrin was usually so careful with me. He had only hurt me a few times.
The image changed again, showing a female vampire pinned to the wall with a thin knife stuck through her shoulder. Her fangs were bared, and blood dripped down her chin.
Cade glanced over his shoulder. “We pulled her off a kid who was ten years old.”
Unable to look any longer, my head dropped to my hands. Water dripped across my palm, and I realized I was crying.
“That’s enough,” Luca said.
“She’s been brainwashed by the worst of these leeches,” Cade said, poison in every word. “We can’t help her if she refuses to listen.”
My throat was too thick to protest, and I didn’t know what was true anymore. I couldn’t go back to the vampires, couldn’t make Cade accept me. The only option was to run, but Luca wouldn’t make that easy. The room blurred with my tears as I stood up and walked out.
Luca’s voice murmured in the room behind me, and I ignored him. My feet carried me to the base of the stairs, but it seemed like so much work to climb back up, and I was sick of being in that room.
“Summer,” a soft voice called. I jerked around to see the petite woman, Elowen. She had one hand on her belly, while the other tucked a curtain of pale hair behind her ear.
“Sorry, I don’t…” I bit my lip, caught off guard by her soft expression and owlish green eyes.
“It’s okay. You seemed upset, so I thought we could talk.” She offered a small smile, which calmed my nerves.
“That’s okay,” I said, crossing my arms over my stomach and hugging myself.
“Look, I’m not going to make you feel worse. Ifigure you could use a break from the boys.”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I tried to give her a smile, though it might have come out as a grimace.
She turned to the kitchen. “Give me a moment. There’s one thing that always makes me feel better when I’m upset.”
A moment later, she returned with a tub of ice cream and two big spoons. “Let’s go outside,it’s really lovely today.”
Chapter 11
Ice Cream
