Shadows Rising (Darkness Falls Book 2)

Chapter Four

"You won't go out tonight, will you?" I asked.

Leon was probably still prowling the streets, looking for whoever had killed that man. We'd have to confront him sooner or later, but I didn't want it to be tonight. When Leon had mistaken me for a vampire bending over the body, he'd attacked without warning, and though Samuel could probably take Leon down as easily as I had, I didn't want to tempt fate. The last time Samuel had gone out alone to investigate something, he'd fallen into the clutches of Noah and Caleb. That wasn't going to happen again.

Samuel smiled at me, guessing my concerns. "Not tonight, no. I think we've all had quite enough excitement for one evening."

Some of us more than others. My confrontation with Noah had left me emotionally drained, and as tired as if I'd engaged him in a proper fight rather than just throwing one punch. I needed sleep. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

With our meeting adjourned, I headed upstairs to the room that was now mine. As usual, I felt a tiny pang of guilt when I pushed open the door. Despite the fact that I'd been living here for weeks, I still couldn't think of this as my room. It was Alice and Anna's room, and the only reason they weren't here now was because I was.

Both their beds were still here; the one that I slept in, and the empty one on the other side of the room that seemed to stare at me like a ghost, reminding me of the mother and daughter that used to live here.

I tried not to blame myself, but I couldn't quite shake away the gnawing sense of guilt. It wasn't just Alice and Anna's leaving that I felt guilty about. Samuel and Elena had gone from living with several other adults to sharing the house with a bunch of teenagers. They'd lost their friends.

I flopped face-down on the bed. I wasn't sure who had previously occupied it - Anna or Alice - and I preferred it that way. As long as I didn't know, I couldn't feel even worse about commandeering their bedroom.

The bed was a single, and a small single at that, but it suddenly felt very big to me, a vast desert of sheets and covers. I wished Luke was here and not in his own room. Samuel and Elena were incredibly lenient about a lot of things, but they drew the line at me and Luke sharing a bedroom. Much to my disappointment.

Burying my face in the pillow, I huffed out a sigh. I should have known that the shadows of my old life wouldn't leave me alone. I should have known that the happiness I'd found with the clan wouldn't last. I should have known that the ghosts of the past would come back to haunt me.

The door opened behind me. I recognised Luke's light tread padding across the carpet, then the bed creaked as he climbed onto it, sitting astride my hips. His hands settled on my shoulders, gently massaging away the knots of worry. I couldn't help a murmur of pleasure. Luke always knew exactly how much pressure my tense muscles needed to loosen up. As his strong, clever hands kneaded the stiffness from my shoulders, he bent low over me until his hair tickled my ear.

"Are you sure about this Leon thing?" he whispered.

"No," I admitted. If anyone else had asked, I might not have been as willing to admit my uncertainty, but Luke was the one person I couldn't - wouldn't - lie to. I respected him too much for that, and he knew me too well to not know when I was lying. "But I want to put an end to this pointless hatred that hunters have for vampires." Luke circled his palm over a point just under my shoulder-blade and I arched my back against him. "Don't you ever dream of a world where humans and vampires can live completely in harmony?"

His hands briefly stilled on my back as he pondered my words. "I guess I've dreamed of it, but I've never thought it could actually happen."

That wasn't surprising. Hunters had murdered Luke's parents when he was just a kid, and burned down their house while Luke was still inside. Luke had spent a long time hating hunters - all hunters. Samuel had helped him get over his anger, but no one could blame him for not believing that vampires and hunters could reconcile their differences and live side by side.

Yet that was exactly what Luke and I were doing. The love that we had discovered was far stronger than whatever prejudices we'd used to entertain. If we could do it, so could others.

"But what if it could happen?" I said.

Luke swept my hair to one side and kissed the nape of my neck. A tingle shot through me. "If you believe it, then I believe it too," he murmured.

I managed to roll over without dislodging him. The first time I saw Luke, catching a glimpse of him through a bonfire, I thought he was the most gorgeous boy I'd ever seen. I still thought that. His storm-grey stare burned into me, flaring hotter as it travelled down the length of my body. This was the other problem with not being allowed to share a room. I loved Luke and he loved me, but there was never a chance for us to take our relationship to the next level. No matter how much we both wanted to.

I reached up and ran my hands along the line of his shoulders, feeling muscle bunch and flex beneath my fingertips. Luke dipped his head and kissed me, his tongue teasing open my lips, and I locked my hands around his neck, pulling him down until his body lay on mine. His gaze never left mine, the heat in his stormy eyes searing me.

"Kiara," he murmured, and a thrill shot me at the sound of my name on his lips. I didn't think I'd ever tire of hearing it.

A knock sounded at the bedroom door, and Elena's voice filtered through the wood. "Kiara?" She sounded unusually hesitant. "Your mother's here. She wants to see you."