Fate: Updated Edition, page 22
There was a horrific ripping sound, followed by Violet sobbing, and I heard her lighter, high-heeled footfalls vanish into the night.
Trembling, I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do. Did I wait here for Peter? Did I thank him and try to convince him not to kill me? Or did I run off to my place?
Nothing sounded right, and on top of my rampant panic, there was that incessant longing inside me that pulled me towards Peter.
When he finally emerged from the mist, I was where he had left me. His shirt was stained dark across the front. His skin was completely clean, even though it looked like there would’ve been some splatter. He must’ve cleaned himself up, and I wondered if it was for my benefit.
He ran a hand through his dark hair and didn’t look at me, but it was better that way. I tended to get lost in his eyes whenever I had the chance. A fading pink scratch ran across his face, amazing me at how quickly they healed. Several tears in his shirt revealed perfect skin underneath.
“What the hell are you doing?” Peter asked quietly, looking down at the sidewalk.
“What are you doing?”
“Alice, I’m being serious.” He sighed, sounding frustrated.
“So am I!” I managed to be more forceful this time, and he looked over at me, his green eyes mixed with irritation and affection.
“You do realize that giving up and dying isn’t the same as being brave?”
“What other choice did I have?” I argued, and I tried not to let him haze up my mind. “If I ran, he would catch me! He’s too strong for me to fight off!”
“So?” Peter was incredulous. “You fight anyway! You run until he catches you! This is your life, Alice! Why are you always so eager to give it up?”
“I’m not!” I shook my head, realizing how pointless this argument was. “What’s it to you, anyway? Aren’t you gonna kill me in like ten minutes?”
“What?” He narrowed his eyes. “Why would I kill you?”
His genuine shock startled me. Even after he had tasted my bitter blood, it hadn’t occurred to him to kill me. He’d known about it for days, and as far as I knew, he hadn’t killed Jack yet either. In fact, the only thing he’d done was save my life. This wasn’t exactly the picture everyone had painted for me.
“You did already try once.” I crossed my arms on my chest, trying not to let on that I was just as bewildered as he was.
“I already told you that would never happen again,” he said.
There was something almost endearingly matter-of-fact about him. Sure, he had tried to kill me, but he said he wasn’t going to again, so what was I worried about?
“What about Jack?” I ventured, and my voice gave away how much that made me nervous.
Peter tensed up at the mention of his name and stared off into the night. There was an agonizingly long span where he didn’t even move.
“We need to go home and get things in order,” Peter sighed at length.
“What?”
“There’s no other way about it.” He reached out so I would take his hand, and I did, but hesitantly.
I got the same electric surge I always did, and I hated the warmth of pleasure that flooded over me. His hand, the one gripping mine, could very well be the death of Jack.
I let Peter lead me through the fog towards his Audi, parked down the street by my apartment. I tried really hard not to think about how wonderful it felt when he bit me. Maybe I could have Peter bite me again. That would at least give Jack some time to… I don’t know what. That wasn’t really a plan.
Once inside the car, I came up with the only idea I could think of. After Peter started the car, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I thought about trying to hide it from him, but he’d figure it out anyway. He didn’t say anything until after I’d hit send and we were already soaring down the road.
“Who did you text?” Peter asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Jack and Mae.”
“What did it say?”
“That I was with you and we were on the way to your house,” I said honestly.
He nodded once, and then noncommittally, he said, “That’s probably for the best.”
I almost asked him if he planned to kill Jack, but decided that I didn’t want to know. If he said yes, there wouldn’t be any hope for this turning out okay. At least this way, I could sink down in the seat and think that maybe this is all a misunderstanding.
Peter obviously didn’t have any intention of hurting me. In fact, he’d been kinder to me than he ever had been before.
Then again, maybe that was a ruse. As the old saying goes, he’d catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Chapter Twenty-seven
When the Audi pulled into the garage, I noticed with some relief that the Lamborghini was gone. Meaning Jack probably wasn’t here. I had no idea where he might be, but as long as he wasn’t here, that was fine by me.
Peter rested his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me into the house, and I tried to pretend like I didn’t notice the tingles it sent through me. My heart beat that funny way again, the one that drove everyone mad, and I hoped that Milo wasn’t home.
No one greeted us at the door, which surprised me since I had given Mae a heads up. Matilda barked and scratched at the basement door, which led me to believe that Mae had stepped in. If Jack and Peter were going to start battling it out, Matilda would probably get hurt, so Mae put her in the basement to protect her.
“Hello?” Peter announced, his silken voice resonating through the entryway. He sighed when Mae didn’t rush in to greet us, the way she would’ve any other time. “She did always like Jack better than me. She needs someone to coddle.”
“That’s why she prefers me,” I added dryly, and he smiled slightly.
“Mae?” Peter ventured out into the kitchen.
He kept his hand on my back to keep me going along with him. Not that I would’ve turned away. Wherever Peter was going, I wanted to be, and not just because my body insisted it. If he was going to stumble across Jack, I had to be there.
“Mae?” Peter repeated, his tone growing irritated.
A scuffling sound came from the living room, and Peter moved his arm so it was in front of me, shielding me from whatever was going on in the other room. His stance had changed, though, like he was ready for an attack.
“Mae!” I shouted. I doubted Peter would hurt her, and I needed someone else to break the tension.
“Alice?” Milo tried to hide the nervousness in his voice.
He burst into the kitchen with Mae right behind him, tugging on his arm, and I understood the scuffling sound. Mae tried to keep him in the other room, away from Peter, but Milo had been trying to get to me.
Peter, meanwhile, only deepened his defensive posture, and moved so his body completely blocked mine.
“Is that her blood?” Milo asked, referring to the splatter on Peter’s shirt. He sounded horrified and his eyes widened a split second before he bared his teeth and charged at Peter.
Fortunately, Mae’s arms locked onto him and slowed him down just enough where I could dodge underneath Peter’s arm so Milo could see that I was safe and sound. Peter looped an arm around my waist and pulled me back to him. He was trying to protect me from Milo, who was trying to protect me from Peter.
“Milo, I’m fine,” I said, and I let Peter hold me to him.
“What’s going on?” Milo growled. He stopped clawing his way towards us, but Mae kept her arm around his chest to be safe.
“Peter fought another vampire. That’s his blood, not mine. I’m fine.” I held up my arms and turned my neck, trying to show him that nothing had happened.
“Is that… is that your brother?” Peter’s grip relaxed as he narrowed his eyes at Milo, trying to understand the situation. “Your brother’s a vampire?”
“Yeah.” I moved away from his arm, standing a little bit away from him.
Being so close to Peter had done that thing to me again. My mind got hazy and filled with him, the way a room is filled with a scent. I could smell him, too, hot and tangy, and my mouth began to water. Unnecessary goosebumps broke out on my skin, and I’m sure I was trembling.
Wrapping my arms tightly around myself, I tried to concentrate on the scene around me, like Milo’s wild eyes and the heavy sounds of his breath. Mae hadn’t spoken since we’d come in, but that was because she seemed to have her hands full keeping Milo contained.
“When did he turn?” Peter looked to me, but I wished that he would ask somebody else. I wanted a chance to clear my head of him.
“About a month ago.”
“Why did he turn?” Peter’s furrow deepened and his tone got even more confused. “Why haven’t you?”
“There was an accident, and Milo was going to die, so Jack turned him,” I said. “And I had been waiting to turn until Milo was a bit older.”
“Jack’s always so eager to turn everything,” Peter said more to himself than anyone else. Then he shook his head and looked past Milo at Mae. “You haven’t said hello.”
“I haven’t really had the chance.” Mae forced a smile and finally released Milo, but she made no movement towards Peter, no attempt to hug him the way she hugged everyone else. “Peter, maybe you should just go.”
“I know that you’re not happy to see me, but that’s not fair.” Peter was genuinely hurt by her reaction, and Mae’s eyes filled with tears. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Peter, you know that’s not exactly true,” Mae said quietly. She kept her gaze on him, but nodded her head slightly to me.
“I’m not trying to justify it, but if…” He bit his lip and shook his head. “Jack overstepped his bounds on every measure of this, yet you’re all continually on his side. She was meant for me, not him. And it shouldn’t have mattered to any of you if she had died.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, and I felt his eyes land apologetically on me.
“Alice, that’s not what I meant.” He made a move towards me, then dropped his hand.
“We’re not on anyone’s side,” Mae insisted, and she rested a hand on Milo’s arm, trying to keep him steady. Hearing Peter so casually talk about my death had him fuming. “Things are far more complicated than sides, and you know that.”
“But Jack is wrong!” Peter slammed his hand on the counter, and we all jumped. “What gives him the right?”
“He loves me, Peter,” I told him timidly.
He turned, his eyes burning on me, and I felt myself try to shrink away. Milo hissed and Mae stepped forward, blocking Milo from Peter.
“And you think I don’t?” he asked.
Peter moved so quickly, I almost didn’t see it happen. His face was directly in front of mine, and I was backed up against the wall, but he wasn’t touching me at all. Milo freaked out because of his sudden movement, and Mae pushed him into the other room so he could get a reign on his emotions.
“They’re fine! He’s just talking to her!” Mae kept insisting.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her finally wrangle Milo into another room, but all I could really see were Peter’s green eyes. He always looked at me is if he was trying to see straight through me and solve a great mystery.
Irrational tears welled in my eyes, and I fought to remember to breathe. He placed a hand on either side of me and lowered his face so it was directly in front of mine. All I could smell and see and feel was him. It was suffocating, and I didn’t know how to fight it.
The horrible truth was that I didn’t even really want to fight it. My body kept screaming that this was exactly what it needed, that this was how I was meant to feel. Always.
“How am I supposed to know how you feel about me?” I whispered hoarsely. “You were always pushing me or running away. You’ve spent hardly a minute with me. All I know about you is that you’re repulsed and enraptured by me.”
“I’m sorry.” For the first time, Peter’s voice registered a strong emotion and not just restraint to mask something. He was deeply pained, but he went on, unabashed. “I have not been honest with you. There are a million excuses for the way that I’ve treated you, but none of them absolve me.”
He exhaled deeply, his breath warming my neck. He was hungry in a familiar way, one that I welcomed. Peter wanted me in the only way he could, the way flowers craved sunlight. Our bodies claimed that I was the means to his survival, in more ways than one, and Peter was giving in to it.
“Does it really matter anymore?” Peter continued huskily, and when he lowered his gaze to my throat, his eyelashes fell darkly on his cheeks. “It doesn’t really matter how much I love you, does it?” He moved in closer to me, breathing me in, and he sighed reproachfully. “You smell like him.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
Maybe a little bit of me was sorry, but the rest of me felt oddly proud that I smelled like Jack. As if he had marked me as his, and maybe even my blood belonged to him.
“He’s inside you now.” Peter brushed my hair back and ran his fingers through it, letting his fingertips graze my cheek and send surges of pleasure over me. His eyes had returned to mine, but they were dull and sad. “I’ve already lost, haven’t I?”
Before I could answer, his lips pressed softly against mine. Emotions swirled through me, and I found myself kissing him back. When he had kissed me before, it had been harsh and rough, but this time, it was gentle and a little sad. He realized this was going to be the last time that we kissed, and he didn’t want to waste a moment of it.
When I heard the low snarl coming from across the room, I awoke in the moment, with my arms wrapped around Peter’s neck and my fingers buried in his hair. His strong arms had me pressed against the hard contours of his body with little room for breathing.
But as soon as I heard the snarl, my heart froze, and I pulled my mouth away from Peter. He almost tossed me to the side, but that was merely for my own protection.
Jack came flying across the room in a blur. He slammed into Peter, and together, they landed on top of the dining room table and crushed it beneath them.
They were gnashing teeth and hitting each other, and Jack went soaring through the glass windows of the French doors. Peter was on his feet, preparing to follow after him, but Jack was already up, brushing away broken glass.
They stood a few feet from each other, glaring at one another and seething with unbridled rage. I scrambled to my feet, thinking that I had to do something, but Ezra swooped in between them. He stood on the rubble of the table, closer to Peter, but held out his palms to both of them.
“Stop!” Ezra boomed. “This isn’t going to settle anything!”
From somewhere down the hall, I heard Milo struggling to get free. Apparently, Mae had locked them both in a room, which was probably the safest bet.
“There’s only one way to settle this,” Peter replied calmly, his eyes fixed on Jack.
Jack’s face had contorted with so much anger, it was almost unrecognizable. His whole body was tensed so tightly, all his veins stuck out against his muscles. His chest heaved, and his lips were pulled back in a snarl.
“Peter.” Ezra turned his attention on him, which didn’t seem like the wisest decision to me, considering the expression on Jack’s face. Ezra took a step closer to Peter and rested his open palm on his chest. “You know what this kind of thing leads to. You don’t want this.”
“Tell that to him.” Peter nodded at Jack, who growled in response.
“Jack!” I said, plaintively.
Peter winced, but Ezra tried to keep Peter’s focus on him, and it seemed to work. Jack, on the other hand, immediately softened at the sound of my voice, and when his eyes flitted over to me, he looked guilty.
“Come on.” Ezra moved his hand onto Peter’s back and gestured outside. Jack stepped away from the broken doors so that Ezra and Peter would be able to get by if they wanted to. “Let’s take a minute to clear our heads.”
Jack allowed his fists to unclench, and that seemed to convince Peter that he was safe enough to take a break. Ezra led Peter through the rubble, out into the thick fog and mist that had settled onto the night.
Jack watched them until they disappeared outside, but we could still hear the soft, careful tones of Ezra’s voice as he tried to reason with Peter.
Once they were gone, Jack hurried silently over to me. I opened my mouth to speak, but he shushed me. Grabbing my hand, he dragged me into Ezra’s den at the far end of the hall, and I could hear the bewildered calls from Milo coming from Mae and Ezra’s bedroom. Inside the den, Jack closed the door quietly behind him.
Again, I tried to ask him what was going on, but he pulled me into his arms and kissed me so ferociously, it erased everything. I remembered the way it felt when he bit me, his heart pounding with mine, and I could feel all the warmth and love radiating from him and surging through me.
Underneath his kiss, there was a desperation that terrified me, but I tried to concentrate on how amazing it felt to be in his arms again. I wanted to make this moment last forever.
“Alice…” Jack breathed. He placed his hands on my cheeks, his skin smoldering hot against mine, and his blue eyes pleaded with me. “I’m so sorry about all of this. Please don’t cry. Okay? We don’t have much time. Once Peter realizes we’re gone together…”
“We can just run!” I said and tried to keep the tears from spilling down my cheeks.
“No, he’ll never let you go. And neither can I.” His face filled with agonized apologies. “But I know that I might not come back from this.”
A pain so deep grew inside me, I thought it might kill me. It felt as if the ground had been ripped out from underneath me, and I was free falling into nothingness.
“Alice, you’re worth fighting for.” Jack smiled sadly. “You’re even worth dying for.”
“No!” I tried to fight him, so I could break away from him and stop this suicide mission he had himself set on.
I hit him as hard as I could, desperate to escape from the strength of his arms, but they were unrelenting. He let me struggle until I collapsed against him. I could feel the slow, heavy thud of his heartbeat, and it made me sob.
