Page 76 of Blood Day: Part Two

I swallowed, my heart skipping a beat.Will my seatmate act out now? Or wait until we’re off the bus?

I was next to the aisle, blocking her path.

But she didn’t ask me to move. She didn’t say or do anything at all other than observe out the window.

Several others fidgeted around us, everyone waiting.

But no one spoke. No one tried to run. We all simply waited like well-trained pets.

I see now why humans bore you,I thought at Cedric.Our sense of free will has been taken from us.

However, Cedric had returned mine to me. He’d shown me what life could be like by his side.

Only it’d all been a lie. A temporary fairy tale. A dream I should never have indulged in.

You were right,I continued.It would have been a mercy to kill me.

And yet, if provided with a choice, I would have chosen this path anyway.

A naïve thought perhaps, given that I hadn’t truly suffered my intended fate yet, but the pleasure of knowing Cedric was worth my future pain.

He wasn’t the monster he considered himself to be. He was merely old. An ancient vampire with a different concept of humanity, or lack thereof.

You gave me the gift of experience, I murmured.It may haunt me until my dying breath, but it’ll grant me peace, too.

It would also provide me with a purpose.

A fight.

Awillto survive.

He’s coming for me, I decided. I had to believe that, or hopelessness would destroy me.

The woman beside me tensed, drawing my focus to the rooftop of the building, where lycans prowled in wolf form. Their stunning white coats glittered beneath the moon, giving them an eerie appeal.

Appropriate, I thought, my heart skipping a beat.This place is the setting of nightmares.

My lips parted as one leapt off the building to land on top of our bus with a thud.

Two humans yelped.

I bit my lip to keep from making a sound, while the female beside me inhaled sharply.

The door flew open as another lycan entered the bus in just a pair of jeans, his irises flickering like a golden torch as he surveyed the crowd.

His lip curled, his disgust palpable.

Then he grabbed the human nearest him and demanded to see the male’s card.

“Moon chase,” the lycan slurred. “Better start running, then.” He pushed the other man off the bus, inspiring a riot of growls outside.

I lowered my gaze to my card, willing myself to be invisible as the sounds of howls echoed in the night.

Their beastly song was hungry and cruel.

And punctuated by the human shrieking.

Just breathe, I coached myself.Submit and survive.