Page 51 of Love Lives

"What do you think you’re doing?" someone demanded. A female voice.

"Saving the man I love," Aldrich replied. In spite of the poor visual quality of this premonition, his voice was clear.

The vision cut off there. I couldn't say if that was its natural conclusion or if I'd shocked myself awake, though.All I knew was I was panting and cold sweat clung to my back and... and Aldrich was there, alive. He had his arm draped across my chest and his head resting on my shoulder. The bed really wasn't large enough to allow for distance. Suddenly, I was glad for that. Glad to be able to feel his chest rise and fall as he breathed.

My own breathing slowed.

It had only been a dream.

But was it about to come true? Aldrich's words, the words from my vision, repeated itself in my mind.Saving the man I love…Quietly, I studied the vampire lying half on top of me. He didn'tloveme, did he? He might in the future if we kept going down this road. And if we did, it would end in disaster. Worse disaster than even my mom had experienced.

That couldn’t be worth it. That could never be worth it.

Trying to calm the storm raging in my mind, I made to climb out from under the vampire, but he curled his arm around my side and held on. His eyes remained closed, but I got the sense that he was awake, anyway.

"Move," I demanded.

His eyes fluttered open at that. There wasn't much light in the room, but I could tell he was grinning. "I'm comfortable."

"I gotta use the bathroom." I nudged him maybe a little too harshly, but he was a vampire. He could cope.

Finally, he loosened his grip. "Bodily functions are so annoying."

"I still gotta deal with them." I climbed out of bed and flicked the lamp on so I could find my clothes. The sudden light blinded me, but it must have been worse for Aldrich, who made a dismayed sound and shielded his eyes with his hand.

"Light sensitivity must be so annoying too," I said.

He grunted. So eloquent.

I shook my head at him before stepping out into the hall. Instead of heading for the bathroom, I went down the stairs. Ideally, I wanted to be alone so I could think, but in a house this small, that was easier said than done. Elle sat on the foot of the stairs, her head in her hands. Immediately, my big brother instincts kicked in—which was a good thing, actually, because I was much more comfortable in this role than I was in the role of maybe-lover.

I touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She startled, whipping around to face me. "You're still up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Tell me what’s going on?" Had Caspar hurt her? If he had, I swore I would--

"They went out tonight."

"Who?"

"Caspar. Some other witches. They're trying to catch the vampires who've been..." She licked her lips, then straightened. "The vampires who've been killing dhampirs."

"You're worried about him."

"Of course I'm worried."

I lowered myself down to sit next to my sister. This was just another reason love was difficult. All the worry that came with it.No, don’t think of your visions now. I needed to focus on my sister. "He'll be okay."

"Did you foresee that?"

"No," I said truthfully. "I just know."

She shook her head. "I just want it all to stop. There's been twenty kills just this month. Did you know? Twenty! Children too! Even..." She paused as her breath hitched. I wrapped one arm around her and drew her close to me. Who cared if she was technically older than me? Moments like these, she was definitely my little sister.

"I know it's horrible." I'd had no idea of the exact body count, but it didn't surprise me either. "We're going to put an end to this."

"How?"