Page 49 of Twisted
“It hurts, but I’m honestly really impressed and intrigued.Obviously, I’ve always known about vampires,” he starts.“And I’ve been told about witches, shifters, and demons.We, uh, just never interacted with them before.What else can you do?”
I just look at him and blink.Once.Twice.“Seriously?”
“Sorry.Right.You’re in the middle of an existential crisis right now.”
“Yeah.”I motion to the computer screen and we both laugh, not because this is funny, but because this is more fucked up than either of us could have imagined.“Let’s see what else is on here.”
I scroll through a few more pages of medical documents that are similar to the rest.The Order was running tests on my blood, seeing if it reacted to different things.There are very minimal notes about the “test subjects” they injected with my blood.One had an allergic reaction because she wasn’t the same blood type.
“I don’t understand any of this,” I say when we get to a new folder.
“I don’t either,” Devon says.“It’s some sort of genetic testing.Maybe isolating parts of your DNA?”
“This is the plot for a sci-fi movie.Genetically-altered hunters…nope.Not a good idea.”I scan through the rest of this document, not understanding it at all.My head is spinning and I close the laptop and flop back on the bed.
With a sigh, Devon lays next to me and carefully laces his fingers through mine.“I’ve already said it, but I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet.”I give his hand a squeeze.“The crazy thing is if I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have known.”
“Silver lining?”
“I don’t know?”My entire body feels cold, like ice water is running through my veins.Noticing that I’m covered in goosebumps, Devon not so gracefully untucks the comforter and pulls it over me.
“I found out my mother was alive when I was a teenager,” he tells me.“But she had been held spellbound and had no idea who I was.For a long time, I thought a mother’s love would be enough to break through whatever Xavier or Theo told her, but it wasn’t.Not for her at least.There is a fifty-fifty chance she never wanted me in the first place.”He lies down next to me, on the top of the covers.“That’s the closest I can relate to this.I kinda wished I never knew she was alive.It was easier thinking she was dead than knowing she just didn’t want me.”
“Your situation is fucked up too.”
“We can have a competition later.”He smooths back my hair.“I should go.”
“Yeah.You should.Thanks, Devon,” I say, rolling onto my side to look into his pretty eyes.He’s full of life and has so much potential.“You can leave this messed up family.You told me so yourself.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” he whispers, voice so low I almost don’t hear it.“I want to stay human.”
* * *
Blinking,I look away from the computer screen and rub my eyes.I’ve read over the medical files three times now and have no better understanding than I did the first time.I don’t know the WiFi password to connect to the internet so I can look up half this stuff, but there’s almost no need.
Vivian or Marco signed off on every single one of these tests.They knew what was going on and they obviously had no issue with it.Putting the computer on my nightstand, I lay down and close my eyes.The sun is going to rise soon, and my sleep schedule is all out of whack.I’m tired, but I know there’s no way I’m going to easily just drift to sleep now.
Letting out a breath, I get up and pull a bay leaf from my secret stash.I write Antonio’s name on it, hold it between my palms, and bring my hands to my forehead, imagining the park where Xavier and I took those photos last night.
My mind flashes to his large hands on my waist.Nope.That is not the message I want my brother to receive.It takes a lot of forced concentration, but I finally get myself to send a message to Antonio.Time will only tell if he receives it.
I put the leaf under my pillow and get back into bed, closing my eyes and making myself repeat a meditation over and over again.Finally, I fall asleep and get a few hours of shut eye before I get up.I dress in workout clothes and pull my hair into a ponytail.What I said last night is true; I am a good hunter.And part of being a good hunter means keeping up with training.
A house this size no doubt has a workout room, but it’s not like the vampires need to do cardio to stay in shape or lift weights to be strong.
“Morning, or, uh, evening?”I say to Zeke as I go down the stairs.He’s in the parlor off the foyer, sitting with Mabel.She’s having another tea party.
“Wren!”she coos, looking up from her teacup.It’s not empty today and I know that the red liquid inside isn’t cranberry juice.“Are you going running?”
“I would like to,” I say.“I’m used to being pretty active.”
“And it pays off.Look at that figure!”She wiggles her eyebrows at me.“Can I smell the sunshine on your hair when you get back?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I miss it.”Mabel closes her eyes and looks up, as if she’s remembering being outside in the sun.“My favorite was when the air was a little chilly but the sun was hot in the fall.Right when you’d start missing the summer heat but then it was much more bearable to be outside.”
