Caught in the Middle

The Right, the Catch, the Letter, and the Crush

I didn’t miss the glares thrown my way by a handful of girls, but I ignored them, sitting at a table in the back with Sam. Marley, Tyson, and Tyler joined us.

“Thank you, Aria.” Marley said with a small smile. I returned it.

“No problem.”

“You sound upset.”

“She didn’t read the full version.” Tyler explained, “She didn’t know she had to make a deal with Cayton.”

“Wait, did she invoke the Right?” Tyson asked. Tyler nodded.

“Yup, and Cayton’s terms were that she stay and become a vampire.”

“Oh, Aria!” Marley gasped, her eyes wide. “Are you sure you want to do this? Take the right back!”

“She can’t.” Tyson told her softly. “Once it’s been accepted by the other party-which it has - it can’t be undone.”

I looked at them closely as they kept talking. I’d noticed the way Tyson was always near her. The way he spoke softly to her.

I gasped loudly, and they all looked at me. I pointed between them. “You two are dating!!”

“Sh, Aria, not so loud!” Tyson snapped. I smiled, practically giggling.

“That’s cute!” I said, “When did that happen?”

“Only a few days ago.” Marley said quietly, “He was helping me out with training a lot and-and it just kinda…happened. Please don’t say anything! Cayton would kill him!”

“Why would Cayton kill him?” Sam asked, whispering as we all leaned in.

“It’s against the rules for us to date his candidates.” Tyler explained in a low voice, glancing around. We probably looked incredibly suspicious, leaned in close together in the back of the room, but I didn’t really care. “So, what was in that letter?”

“Nothing.” I said hastily.

“Really? A letter from a boy and you’re going to say its nothing?” Tyler smirked. Marley leaned in, grinning. Tyson followed suit.

“You’ve got a boy?”

“No.” I shook my head. “It was just a letter from my brother telling me how he’s doing.” it wasn’t a complete lie. Just a slight omission of the truth.

“Maybe you’ll be able to visit him.” Tyson said, “I mean, Cayton isn’t heartless, and I bet you could get anything you wanted from him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, giving him a look.

“It means that I think, secretly, Cayton is thrilled that you’ve invoked the right, because that means he can have you without this hassle.” Tyson smirked. Marley looked at him, looking as confused as I felt.

“You mean Cayton just wants Aria? Why didn’t he just pick her, then?”

“Because originally, it wasn’t like that. He didn’t expect her to be out that night. It was luck. He seems to always be able to identify your scent, though, which is odd. I don’t think he’s had any of your blood.” Tyler said.

I internally groaned. “Does it matter if he has?”

“Yes. A taste could lead him to be more interested, more inclined to want your attention. Believe it or not, we don’t drink directly from the vein. Its considered intimate, mostly because the fresh blood causes a spike in whatever part of our brains that controls interest and cravings.” Tyson went on. Tyler looked at me.

“Why?”

“He…may have had some of my blood.” I said sheepishly. Tyler’s eyebrows shot up and he and his brother exchanged a glance.

“Cant’ say we’re surprised,” Tyson said.

“It explains the way he watches you.”

“And the way he paces.”

“And how he’s always asking how we think your training is coming along, even though its only been two weeks.” Tyler finished, giving me a hard look, like he was studying me. “When did he get a taste of your blood, anyways?”

“That night he snatched her.” Sam piped in. “They fought. She has that gash on her leg from where she tried to kick him.”

I nodded. “Its scabbed over now, but it was kind of deep. There was some on his mouth when he tossed me into the limo like a rag doll.”

“That doesn’t mean he had some.” Tyson murmured, thinking. He looked back up at me. “Did anything else happen in the limo? Did he act…aggressive? A small amount of blood is enough to peak a vampire’s hunger without sating it, and it would make him cranky.”

I shrugged, “You could call it that. I mean, he freaked out when it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Told me he was hungry and would, quote, ‘mark up my pretty skin’, and he pinned me down, like he was gonna bite me.”

“Did he? Bite you, I mean.” Tyler questioned. I shook my head.

“No. just hovered over me, shaking for a minute before sitting back and taking a deep breath.” I said, shaking me head. “Why?”

“Well, we aren’t sure, but he may have accidentally began the marking process. It wont work with just a taste of your blood, but it certainly starts it for him.”

“The marking process?”

Tyler nodded, “Yes. While we don’t have mates like Weres do, we can mark our loved ones as ours. It gives us a mental connection to them, and a stronger bond. it’s a survival thing, really. Its so that if we get separated from the one who bears our children, or who will bear them, we can find them. It helped continue our line. it’s a recent development in Vampirism, and isn’t fully understood. Its only been around for the last two thousand years or so, compared to the millions of years vampires have been around.”

“We suspect it came about when humans started killing us off.” Tyson said. “We’re not sure Cayton even knows its happened.”

“So basically you’re saying Cayton has a crush on Aria?” Marley asked. The twins shrugged.

“Essentially and basically, yeah.”

Sam gave me a look. “Adrian is not going to be happy.”

“Is that the boy?”

“My brother.” I said sternly. “Anyways, I couldn’t go see him even if Cayton let me go.”

“Why not?” Marley asked. I gave Sam a look.

“Might as well tell them.”

“Fine.” I huffed, “That night I got snatched, I was only out because I was trying to find him. He ran off to be a hunter after being dumped by Hannah over there.”

“Hol-y shit, Aria,” Tyler hissed. “A hunter? And he knows where you are?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Its not a big deal. I’ll tell him I’m fine, right? He wont worry. He trusts me.”

“If you’re sure.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll write him tonight and we can send the letter off in the morning.”