Page 68 of Monsters Within (The Creatures We Crave 1)
“What the fuck,” I screeched before my hands flew to my mouth and I stared at her with shock. Dropping my hands, I asked in a hushed voice, “Aren’t Van Helsings supposed to kill vampires? Not be one?”
At my words, a hard glint entered her eyes, all of her easygoing attitude gone in the time it took me to take an inhale of breath. My power flickered in my chest, sensing how dangerous this woman actually was.
Shit.I’d once again spoken before thinking, and this time it was with a vampire who admitted she had issues controlling her bloodlust. My foot-in-mouth disease was officially going to get me killed.
“Yes, you are correct,” she gritted out, settling into the back of her seat. Her jaw tightened as her fist balled up, hard enough for her nails to cut her skin, apparently, for when she took a deep breath and opened her hands, blood dripped onto the table. “But…” she trailed off while closing her eyes and taking a deep shuddering breath.
Leaning as far away from her as I could in my desk while her eyes were closed so I didn’t offend her further, I waited for her to finish her thought.
“That was before Dracula orchestrated an ambush on my family in their sleep, killing every single Van Helsing beside me in one night.”
My heart broke, but I tried to swallow the emotion bubbling up in me. I had a feeling she didn’t want my pity.
When her eyes popped open, the most sadistic grin I’d ever seen filled her face, her red eyes now completely black. In a blink of an eye, her cold hand was wrapped around my throat and slamming me against a wall.
Her breathing came in rapid, uneven pants, and I was internally begging my power to not hurt her. For some reason I didn’t think she actually wanted to hurt me, which sounded stupid seeing the situation I was in—but I had always trusted my gut, and it hadn’t led me astray yet.
As she leaned in and ran her nose across the skin of my neck still available above her hand, she admitted, “Which is why I’m at this damn academy. To control myself in this transition and become more skilled than any fucking vampire has ever been. I owe Dracula a personal visit to figure out why I was left alive in this fucking misery, and once I get my answer, I’ll pierce his black heart with my blade, damning his soul to hell.”
With those words, I suddenly felt a kindred spirit in her. If there was one thing I understood, it was how heartbreaking it was to go through life with no family or friends. He had taken all of that from her, and she deserved closure so she could heal, in whatever way she could find it.
It was like she suddenly realized everything she had admitted to me, horror washing over her face. Blinking rapidly as the darkness in her eyes receded, she swallowed hard and dropped her hand from my neck, taking a few shaky steps back. “I’ve never admitted any of that out loud to anyone. It was like the darkest parts of my soul just poured out. How did you pull that out of me?”
Rearing my head back slightly and taking a few precious gulps of air, I held my hands up in defense. “Whoa, I’m not to blame for anything other than saying things I should have thought through before speaking out loud. I’ll own up to that and only that.”
This was the second time I’d been accused of this in such a short time, though, and a weird sense of dread crawled up my spine. Was I subconsciously bringing out the worst parts of people around me? But if that was the case, why did it only happen with certain people and not everyone?
She stumbled as she took another step back and hit a desk, all of her previous confidence gone. She looked lost and heartbroken. Falling to her ass, she pulled her knees up as her body trembled, and she glanced at me with sorrow. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know,” I soothed, not fighting the urge to walk to her and drop to my knees in front of her. Silently saying a prayer that she wasn’t going to bite my finger off, I reached out to rub her shoulder in comfort. “I’m not afraid of you, okay? Everything you just said is a lot to have kept inside and to carry alone.”
Her eyes scanned my face, searching for something I wasn’t sure of, but I let her take her time and continued to rub her shoulder since she wasn’t pushing me away. Sometimes it was the ones that appeared so damn strong to the rest of the world that were the most broken inside and needed to be shown that it was okay to fall apart.
“I don’t have anyone left to trust,” she admitted, so softly I barely heard it as she rested her chin on her knees.
Thinning my lips, I quickly made the decision that there was no way I was going to let this girl go through this alone. We may have only just met, and we may be in different sectors, but I’d find a way to help her.
“I know you don’t know me,” I said as I pulled my shoulders back to display the confidence she needed to see in me at that moment. Determination filled me, and I gave her the best take-no-shit look that I could muster. “But you aren’t alone anymore, okay? I was alone for my entire life until a few days ago, and I refuse to let you dwell in that darkness any longer.”
Lifting her head up, she reached to push her long bangs behind her ear as the first true smile I’d seen from her lifted her lips up, revealing the tips of her fangs, which was kind of adorable. I thought I was making progress, but as soon as the hope shone on her face, a mask of steel came back down.
With a heavy sigh, I pushed to my feet and offered a hand down to her. “I obviously can’t force you to accept the olive branch I’m offering—you need to make the decision to not willingly stay in the dark corner of your mind.”
Before she could give me an answer, an intercom in the room sounded and announced that we were free to go back to our dorms.
Knowing she would probably flee any moment now, I dropped my hand to my side and asked, “Are you coming to the party tonight in the demon sector? If so, come find me and I’ll introduce you to my friend Alora. We’d be happy to have you.”
Her guarded expression shifted to one of indifference, but not before I saw intrigue spark in her eyes and the subtle parting of her lips like she was shocked at my offer. She pushed to her feet and brushed her hands off before putting them on her hips. “I might make an appearance if I can ditch my guard dog of a professor who I’m pretty sure lives to see me miserable.”
Knowing I had said everything I could, and understanding she might feel too raw to speak on the topic anymore right now, I linked my arm through hers and dragged her towards the exit. “Let’s blow this naughty bin.”
Once more, I wondered if the fates had intervened, ensuring I made it to detention today so Alina and I could connect.
