Refuge(138)

He nodded and gave me a knowing smile. If anyone knew how much I liked my privacy, it was Nate.

Roland and Peter were reluctant to leave until Nate told them they could have me after dinner. I grumbled that they made me sound like a toy, and they all laughed. The boys left talking about what was on the menu for lunch, and they were stoked when Tristan told them they could request steak if they wanted. Was it really only a few months ago my werewolf friends couldn’t imagine associating with the Mohiri? And now they were visiting a Mohiri stronghold and eating meals with them every day.

Nikolas was the last to leave, and I suddenly felt shy being alone in the same room with him and Nate, like bringing home a boy for the first time. Only Nikolas was no boy and I didn’t know where to begin to describe our relationship to Nate.

“I’ll be close if you need anything.” He leaned over me, and my stomach did a little flip. But he only touched his lips to my forehead. “Later, you and I are going to talk about what will happen if you ever pull something like that again.” Straightening, he nodded to Nate and left.

Nate raised an eyebrow at me, and I let out a heavy sigh. We had a lot to catch up on.

“You might as well sit down. This could take a while.”





* * *


“So, you only found out a few months ago that your two best friends were werewolves?” Jordan looked at Roland and Peter who were sprawled out on my bed next to me. “And you two had no idea what Sara was?”

I laughed because I knew how odd it must sound to not know your two best friends were werewolves. “Werewolves are very good at hiding their secrets, and even I thought I was human until I met Nikolas.”

“Don’t they smell like dog or something when they get wet?”

“Jordan,” I scolded, and her mouth twitched. The three of them had been making little digs like that at each other all day, and I was getting tired of playing referee.

“And then you found out you are half undine, which is why you can do all the freaky shit you do, and how you were able to make your uncle human again?” I nodded, and she swore. “Half demon, half Fae. That is messed up. No wonder you didn’t tell anyone.”

“I wanted to tell you. I really did.” I found out yesterday that my secret was no longer a secret thanks to my miraculous feat with Nate. People who thought I was a little odd before openly stared at me now, and more than one conversation stopped when I walked into a room. Apparently, Tristan had called everyone together in the dining hall last night to dispel any rumors and given them an abbreviated version of the truth. I was glad I didn’t have to hide what I was anymore, but I could do without the instant celebrity status.

Jordan waved a hand. “No, I get it. I’d probably want to keep something like that to myself, too.”

“I guess now we know why the vampires want you so bad,” Roland said. “If you can make them human again, they must be shaking in their boots.”

“No kidding.” Peter sat up. “My dad says there is nothing that scares a vampire more than mortality.”

Those who hunt you will ultimately give you the power to become the thing they fear the most.

The Hale witch’s prediction had not been about my ability to kill vampires, but my ability to make them mortal. But the vampires didn’t give me that power; I was born this way. Wasn’t I?

I remembered what Aine had said to me the day we met by the lake. We were unsure of how your body would react to the vampire blood it absorbed. Aine thought the cold sensation in my chest was a side effect of the vampire blood in my system, but what if that wasn’t the only side effect? What if Eli’s blood had changed me somehow and made it possible not only for me to understand vamhir demons but to restore a vampire’s humanity? But the Master could not possibly have known this would happen to me.

“If the Master ever finds out Nate is human again, he’ll know what I can do and he’ll go after everyone I care about. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”

Roland plumped up the pillow under his head. “Don’t worry about us. Vamps would be nuts to mess with a pack as big as ours.”

“How big is your pack?” Jordan asked.

“There are forty-five of us in New Hastings, but we have family spread out across Maine,” Peter answered. “About a hundred and ninety of us in all.”

“Biggest pack in the US,” Roland added proudly.

Jordan leaned her arms on the counter in my kitchenette where she had been raiding my small refrigerator. “So, do you guys have to worry about fleas and ticks?”

“Jordan!”

“What? It’s a valid question. They do have fur half the time.”