Page 20 of Those That Don’t Exist (Hidden Vampires #1)

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Can we meet tomorrow? I have an office on campus where we can talk openly.

I ’d debated the message for an hour before finally hitting send. I was going to tell Red the truth. She needs to know, I can’t put it off any longer. I don’t think she’d felt the blood lust again but I couldn’t risk it happening when I wasn’t around.

I keep staring at our chat screen after sending the message.

I’m lounging on my bed, holding the phone above my face.

She didn’t have those little read receipts on so I had no idea if she was on her phone, and therefore had seen the message.

My heart leaps when only seconds later those little bubbles tell me she’s typing back.

Red: Ok.

That was the entire message. What did it mean? I wasn’t expecting much but ‘ok’ seemed like we were arranging a casual drink, meeting for a study date. I was going to alter her life.

Red: Lunch-time ok?

A second message pops up. It was still so short and stilted, I wanted some indication on how she felt about this. I typed a response to rile her a little.

I know what time you’re free. Stalker remember?

I don't get any response for several minutes. Shit. Maybe I’ve freaked her out. Reminding her I’ve been stalking her for months probably wasn’t the best way to convince her to meet me in a private place, alone.

Sorry if that was over the line. I promise I only want to talk.

I send another message. Gods, I’m likely making it worse.

Red, I was just joking with the stalker comment. I didn’t do it to scare you.

I hit send and then drop the phone onto my chest before I can type more. Wow , talk about digging my own grave. I groan and press my palms to my eyes, wishing the ground would swallow me up. My phone pings.

Red: Hey, sorry I got distracted by the novel I’m reading. I’m not freaking out, although it sounds like you are! Stalking tendencies aside I do want to meet up tomorrow. Should I confess now that I’ve been watching you too? Would that calm you down?

I read her message a couple of times and it does calm my racing heart. I think my little Red is actually flirting with me. I can’t deny the warm fluttering in my stomach. I think for a minute before typing my reply.

It's cute you think you have anything on my stalking skills Red. I’m curious as to which book could be so distracting that I’m only get such short replies.

Red: Maybe you can give me lessons, if you think I’m not on your level… and it's a fantasy novel. I've read it multiple times as the author is taking forever to release the sequel.

Must be riveting if you’ve already read it and still get so lost in it.

Red: It's my favourite book, Watchers by L C Blackwood. Have you heard of it?

I bark a laugh at the coincidence. L C Blackwood, who is actually Henry Brucherman, also known as H J Fitzroy for his academia stuff, was the friend I had outside of this pack. We’d met in training during the war. He would love to know I’d met a fan.

Yeah, I know it. The cliffhanger is brutal.

He’d sent me a copy before he released it, as he did with a lot of his work.

He begged me to be honest, clearly nervous over his first fiction publication.

I’d found it gripping, an epic story of star crossed lovers torn apart by war.

He’d been careful with his world building but I’d seen his experiences shining through.

I was glad to see how successful it had become.

I wondered how he was getting on with the second instalment.

My phone pings again, thoughts of Henry flying from my mind. My attention back to the very distracting female I was currently messaging.

Red: Isn’t it? I cry every time but end up reading it every few months.

I go to type back but the door to my room opens. I quickly lock my phone. Mitch enters, throwing his stuff next to his bed. From the look and smell of him he has been working at the docks today.

“Evening.” He offers me a tired smile.

“Hey, helping fishermen today?” Seriously, it's like the ocean threw up on him. He reeks so strongly of fish and salt I have to pull my shirt collar up over my nose.

“Yep, and they want me back tomorrow.” He starts stripping and dumps his clothes in a chest at the bottom of his bed before heading into our ensuite in his boxers. He doesn't bother closing the door before I hear the shower start.

I can’t see him but we’ve shared a room for long enough we’ve seen each other naked plenty. It doesn’t bother me and the open door makes it easier for us to chat about our days as he cleans himself up. I do take the opportunity to quickly type a final message to Red.

Sorry, I’ve been interrupted and can't talk anymore tonight, see you tomorrow.

I close the text chat and relock the phone.

Mitch emerges from the bathroom, already dry, and grabs some clean jeans and a t-shirt.

“Shall we head to the lounge? I could use a drink,” he says, shoving the t-shirt over his wet blonde hair, leaving wet marks as he pulls it onto his muscled frame.

“Sure,” I sigh as I heave myself up off my bed. I really don’t fancy mingling but I should probably show my face. “Let’s go.”

At least half the pack are lounging in the common room as we walk in. Adicious is thankfully missing. I’m not entirely lucky though, as Ronan sits up the bar with his two biggest fans. Honestly, how they’re allowed to be so close is a mystery, close friendships are not tolerated here.

I follow Mitch across the room, he slides behind the bar and grabs us a couple of blood packets from the mini-fridge, along with some glasses.

“Hey, look who it is, it's been so long I thought those shadows of yours had swallowed you up.” I steel myself with a slow breath before turning to reply to Ronan.

“Evening.” I tip my head in greeting as Ronan leans towards us.

“What have we done to gain the honour of your presence?” he says it like a joke but I hear the undertone.

He’s always resented the fact Adicious sends me on the higher stake missions and practically gives me a free rein to come and go as I please - well, more of a free rein than anyone else in the pack. At least in the last few months.

“Just want to have a drink and chill out,” I reply, keeping the annoyance out of my voice. I nod my head to Mitch and he follows me as we head over to the tables on the other side of the space.

“Gods, he’s a prick,” Mitch whispers quietly so only I can hear.

“The best of them,” I say with a smirk.

“So how have you been?” he asks. “You’re either asleep or absent lately.

” I fill Mitch in on the last couple of weeks, leaving certain details out of course.

He starts telling me about this new club he’s started working at when he’s not at the docks but my attention gets snagged by the idiots across the room.

“I’m telling you it's a matter of time. Aurora will be joining us soon, I can feel it,” Ronan tells his disciples, before taking a swig of his beer.

“So it did work? Adicious has made himself a mate?” one of them asks.

“One hundred percent, they’ll be no stopping us as soon as they’re mated, we’ll finally be the most powerful pack on the continent.”

I keep nodding in the right places, responding to Mitch but my attention remains on the others at the bar.

From my reports Adicious believes Red has progressed but I’ve given no indication that I think she will fully turn.

Ever. As far as I know Ronan has only been sent to watch her a couple of times, has he seen something I haven’t?

Their conversation momentarily moves onto discussing the other packs we know of in the region.

We are the only one in Froan City but across the narrow sea there are a couple of large packs covering the west side of the mainland of the continent.

One particularly vicious one resides in West Scotia which I’ve been to spy on a few times.

“It’ll be nice to have a hot piece of ass around here to look at, rather than your ugly faces all the time,” Ronan says, laughing, and swinging the conversation back to Red. The glass in my hand cracks. Thankfully it’s already empty.

“Don’t react.” Mitch cuts across my blind rage, placing a hand on my arm across the table. My eyes meet his and I know he can see how pissed off I am at that comment.

I blink it away.

“You know he’s talking shit. If Adicious were here he wouldn’t have half as much bravado. If he takes one look at her once they’re mated he’ll be out on his ass, probably in pieces.” Mitch has misinterpreted my anger, which is for the best.

“I’d buy front row tickets to see that.” I smirk trying to break the tension in me with a joke but my fangs are extended, to which Mitch gives me a warning look.

Raucous laughter breaks across the room. Ronan cracking up at his own joke. The others are chuckling too. Then he makes a fatal mistake.

“Hopefully, once the bond is in place Adicious won’t mind sharing, I could use a female with our strength to fuck. It's getting boring holding back with the humans.”

I launch. I’m across the room and have Ronan by the throat before anyone can react. I throw my other arm into a punch, landing a hard blow to his eye.

And that’s just the first. I reign blow after blow on him as we topple, my momentum of ploughing into him sending his chair rocking back and tipping over.

We hit the floor as he rallies, landing a punch to my side. I barely feel it. I struggle but manage to straddle him so I can get some impact behind my strikes but he rolls us. Oh no motherfucker, you’re not going to pin me.

We keep rolling and end up apart. We’re both up and on our feet in a blink and I’m charging him once more.

Rage consumes me. He hisses, fangs on show, before launching at me as well.

I’m ready and block his punch but it's a decoy move.

He grabs my wrist and manages to sink his fangs into my arm and drags, splitting the skin down the length of my forearm. It's a power move, using fangs.