Page 11 of Those That Are Lost (Hidden Vampires #2)

TY

H er giggle cuts through my thoughts as I hear Red and Henry enter the apartment. I swiftly rinse and turn off the shower, yanking a towel off the rail to scrub my body dry as quickly as possible.

Henry is making her laugh?

I know he went to the tavern this afternoon to work whilst I took myself out for a walk.

I needed time to think. After the heated whatever that was with Red, I couldn’t stay in her room, surrounded by her scent.

I also couldn’t face seeing her in the bar again yet.

I didn’t know how to deal with the facade I knew I’d see.

The surrounding mountains are stunning, so I took a trail and allowed myself to take off for a few hours.

I needed to breathe. The shock of having my heart shredded by the female I loved with every cell in my body has morphed into a resolute determination to break through her walls.

I’m going to prove that we belong together. End of.

But what if she has moved on? The thought seeps into my head as I hear her and Henry converse with ease in the main room .

Tough , I chide myself. I made her fall for me once, I’ll do it again.

Yanking on a pair of joggers and deciding against donning the t-shirt as my chest is still damp, I hurry out of the bathroom.

“What’s got you two cracking up?” I ask instead of a greeting. Red looks at me and bursts into hysterics, clutching her stomach. What the hell?

“I may have told her about the time we got stuck in that sheep shed, before we turned.”

Oh gods. I must outwardly cringe because Red laughs even more.

“Did you really sneak out wearing the shorn wool?” She gasps whilst trying to regain her composure. She’s still wearing her glamour but she’s stunning. Her whole face is lit up in honest happiness. She’s still in there, beneath the darkness.

“We thought it was a dangerous situation." I emphasise the we, throwing daggers at Henry.

“Was pretty funny though, when you look back on it.” Henry smiles at me, shrugging out his coat.

“They made us climb half way up that damn mountain on our hands and knees!” I protest.

“Stop, please.” Red laughs once more. “I can’t believe you fell for that, it's like the dumb college hazing stuff we had to deal with as freshmen.”

“We had just been transferred into the unit. It was our first training mission with them.”

“Yeah, Henry told me that part. Still doesn’t make it any less funny.

You got tricked into pretending to be a sheep for an entire night.

I can just see you both baaing and bleating as you skip around covered in wool.

” She’s removed her warm outdoor layers now too.

A soft fresh wave of her scent hits me, making me momentarily struck dumb .

Red continues chuckling as she moves about the room, gathering a few of her things. She drops her glamour and I take a second to drink in her natural appearance and her blazing red curls.

“We did stop short of bleating,” Henry informs her, plonking himself down on her bean bag sofa. He hoists his trouser leg to remove the fake limb beneath.

“I’m just going to grab a—” Her words die as her eyes land on Henry. He looks up, probably feeling her wide eyes on him.

“It's rude to stare,” he chastises, but there’s teasing in his voice.

“Sorry,” Red blurts, “I had no idea.”

“I’m well practiced, and it's a high-tech model,” Henry replies, slipping the sleeve down his leg and removing the prosthetic. “I can’t have any of my enemies knowing my weakness, can I?”

“When did it happen? If you don’t mind me asking.”

I sit down on the edge of her bed, watching the interaction between the two of them.

“During the war, it’s what took me out. I was born a human, but sided with the vampires when the fighting broke out.

Got my foot blown off by an unexploded shell.

I’d have died right there on the battlefield if a vampire hadn’t been willing to turn me.

Thankfully they did a fairly decent job of smoothing off my stump before the magic kicked in.

It's not easy to alter it once you’ve turned, and apparently limbs don’t grow back if you lose them before you get your fangs. ”

Henry speaks so casually, like his death doesn’t haunt him. I wish I had reached that level of peace already.

“Was it you?” She aims the question at me this time, breaking me out of my thoughts before the dark ones can take hold .

“Did I turn Henry?”

Red nods.

“No, I was at home at this point, transitioning myself after I’d blown out my knee.”

“Indeed, it was quite the surprise when Ty returned and we both had fangs. Although we didn’t get time to catch up as I was being sent to a safe zone to learn to walk again.”

Red nods again, letting that new information sink in, before ducking into the bathroom. After a minute, we hear the shower turn on.

“I like her,” Henry speaks softly as he massages his stump.

He hasn’t complained once but it's the first time he’s taken it off since we left his place a few weeks ago now.

It must get uncomfortable even if his fast healing can avoid him getting any blisters or open sore from it rubbing.

He must feel safe enough to do so now; even with our strength and speed, only one leg would be a hindrance in an attack.

I hum a non-committal response to his comment. The beast in me wants to growl that she’s mine, even though she’s not currently.

“Not like that.” He rolls his eyes. “I can see why you like her like that though. She’s good for you.”

“Henry, she can probably hear every word you're saying.”

“I know, it’s nothing I wouldn’t say to her face.” He shifts, grabbing his bag and pulling out some sweats to change into.

It reminds me I’m still not wearing a shirt, not that Red seemed to notice.

She emerges from the ensuite a few minutes later, skin pink from the hot water and only wearing a baggy shirt and some sleep shorts.

I whimper internally.

“Some of the patrons this evening were talking about bad weather coming in. Large amounts of snow are due in the next couple of weeks,” she says, climbing onto the bed and sitting cross legged.

I hear the unasked question. Are we staying?

“Will the routes out of here be cut off?” Henry questions.

“I think so,” Red answers.

“Were you planning on staying here through the winter?” I enquire.

“I don’t know. It had crossed my mind. If I couldn’t get out, then no one should be able to get in, not easily anyway.”

“But?”

She hesitates. “If you’re staying, will we be able to feed enough? It’s a small town. I was considering moving on to find somewhere larger. I don’t know how often I can repeatedly drink from people before they become weak, or suspicious.”

It’s a valid concern.

“We’re staying. I’m not splitting from you now that I’ve found you.” The visible relaxation in her shoulders washes me with relief. There’s hope.

“Do you have a plan for the long term?” Henry asks, which one of us I’m not sure.

Neither of us answer. Our eyes catching and then darting away again.

I clear my throat. “Not long term but we could head to a more populated island for a while and see how it goes.” I don’t think we’re far from one particular island I’ve been avoiding because of who lives there but they might just offer us protection should we need it. So I hope, anyway.

We talk a little more, throwing around different ideas. Having Henry in the room keeps the tension between me and Red at ease and I am grateful for his presence. It allows for us to talk without it getting too heavy, or for other things to take over. More physical things.

Red relaxes more as the evening gets late. I see more of the female I know emerging. The one with a quick wit and quiet confidence that’s at the root of her immense strength and resilience.

It's a few hours later and we’d all fallen asleep. The room is dark, the night still pitch black. It could be morning though with how much later the sun is starting to rise.

I hear the whimpering noise again, the one that had woken me. It's coming from the bed. Sitting up on my elbows, I look over to Red’s sleeping form from my position on the floor. She’s tossing and turning, the bed covers thrashing as she whips from side to side.

I’m beside her in an instant, perched on the mattress.

I gently place my hands on her upper arms, trying to still her.

She lets out a pained noise, her face scrunching as she tries desperately to pull away from me.

“No… Don’t… You can’t die.” I barely make out the garbled words but my chest cinches.

“Red, sweetheart. You’re okay,” I soothe, trying to stroke her arm instead of pinning her down. Hot acid pools in my stomach at seeing her tortured. I don’t know if she’s being tormented by the car accident that killed her father or by the time we spent chained in Adicious’s basement.

After several minutes, her breathing calms and she stops moving, settling down into the covers once more. Her eyelids flutter. Expecting her to wake, I go to move back to my own makeshift bed.

As I stand, her hand clasps mine. Looking down, the scar that turned her weaving around her wrist, stands pale against her already fair skin.

“Please, stay.” Her words make me freeze. Is she lucid enough to know what she’s asking? Does she really want me in this bed with her?

I remain like a statue until she gently tugs me. The pull is like a switch flicking and I immediately lift the covers so I can pull her into me as I lay down on the soft mattress. She comes willingly, placing her head into the crook of my shoulder and wrapping one of her legs over my thigh.

It's natural, instinctual, more right than the sun rising in the east every day. I hug her to my body and she clings on, not leaving an inch of space between us.

I have a nagging voice saying that this isn’t real, that this is because she was clearly having a nightmare and needs comfort. It won’t last beyond tonight. I push it away, however, enjoying the moment for what it is. Me and her.

Right where we should be.