MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION 2

62. LUCAS: CAUGHT

"I fucking told you to wait!" he hissed through the phone.

"They were in trouble. If I waited any longer everybody here would have been fucking dead!"

"What do you mean?"

I ran a hand through my hair as I started pacing. "Oliver wasn't dead. He tricked us into believing that I killed him. I don't know all the details yet but I'm working on it, but he's really dead this time.

There was a short pause. "How so?"

I hesitated.

My Mother hadn't been telling me everything like I believed she had. She only told me what she thought was necessary to keep me on-board with her plans. It had never even occurred to me that she would lie, but I suspected it and pushed it away, believing that she didn't know about the things I had learned.

I was set on going through with everything, there was no fucking doubts. . .until I kissed Ariana.

But now, my perspective had changed.

There was no telling for sure if Silas was truly responsible for our hellish lives until I talked to him. He might not have the answers but there was a possibility that he might know something that would be able to help me find the answers.

Up until a few weeks ago I had believed that Mother was right and everybody else was wrong.

"Lucas."

"I killed him," I muttered.

Curses filled my ear. He was pissed at me, not that it bothered me much.

"You—"

"He was going to kill Ari," I interrupted him. "I wasn't going to take the risk of him disappearing again. Oliver is dead and that's all that matters."

"Oliver could have had some answers!" he growled.

I rolled my eyes. "I know." My lips curled into a smiled. "Do you know that some people's blood actually tastes bitter?"

My smiled widened when he started curing again. It was so much fun to rile him up. Who would have known that the man who always seemed so calm had trouble keeping his temper in check?

But if it wasn't for him, I might still have been on the war path. He basically saved me from destruction even though I knew that when he first kidnapped me he had been set on killing me. Things had changed though when he saw Eva's locket.

My hand drifted up to finger the thin chain that hung around my neck.

"I told you—"

"I'm sure that you will be here before my next. . .feeding."

"How long?" he questioned softly.

I didn't answer him immediately. Swallowing, I paused and carefully evaluated myself. Things had changed and it might have been changing for a few years while I had been completely unaware of it. While locked up, I had taken the time to learn a bit about it but some things remained unfamiliar.

"About a week," I finally answered him. "Maybe longer because I've had a lot more blood than usual."

A twig snapped somewhere behind me, making me tense. I sucked in a breath and sighed. I was hoping for more time before he found me. I licked my lips and slowly turned round.

At first all I saw was trees and bushes but a second later he stepped into view. His low growl made the hair at the nape of my neck raise. My body reacted to the threat even though my mind knew that he wasn't going to win the fight.