Struck (A Vampire Novel) ✔

Thirty-Nine

The jet which would take me back to New Jersey wasn’t the same one in which I had arrived to Missouri in. Rather than being alone or in any way separated from anyone, this ride consisted of Xander, Wyatt, Aveline, and myself. I couldn’t help but notice how we had arrived in Missouri with a considerably larger crowd and now were leaving with only four. Not only that, but that we had achieved officially nothing in our trip here. In fact, if our success was rated on a numbered scale, we’d probably be in the negatives. I knew it was mostly my fault and though I felt guilty, I didn’t regret releasing Clio from her prison.

I sat in a comfortable armchair staring at nothing, absently tugging on my bottom lip as I thought about the fact that Jacobi was alone in Missouri searching for Corentine on Noland’s territory. Would he even find her, if he survived being on his own? And if he did, would he be able to convince her to come back with him? And if she did, would she try to kill me now that she wasn’t bound by any coterie law? Did I want her back? Of course, I didn’t exactly want her to become rogue, but she hadn’t ever been particularly kind to me…

“Well, this is depressing,” Wyatt spoke up from his seat. When no one responded, he continued, “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt our deep conversation. Carry on.”

“What do you want to talk about, Callum?” Aveline responded sarcastically, “The fact that this trip was just one large fiasco? Or that Corentine is throwing a tantrum at the worse time possible? Or, oh, that our Master is out running around by himself on someone else’s territory like some suicidal moron?”

“It must be hereditary,” Wyatt responded and Aveline threw what appeared to be an empty wine glass at him. He ducked and laughed, “You throw like a little bitch. Definitely hereditary.”

“She’s going to murder you,” Xander chuckled as Aveline crossed her arms, throwing a solid glare in Wyatt’s direction.

“I’ve got it,” Wyatt slapped his hands over his knees as though he had come up with a brilliant idea. He moved his attention from the vampire couple to me abruptly. “Seeing as the whole failure of this trip is Elysia’s fault, let’s talk about Jacobi and Elysia. I think that would be a very interesting topic. What do you guys think?”

I paled in guilt before a startling blush burned over my flesh. “What? No.”

“I honestly didn’t think he’d go that far with her,” Aveline told Wyatt as if I weren’t there, even though she was looking at me. I knew by the smirk on her face that she meant to embarrass me. “I mean, I thought he might try a little something here and there, based on what I’d seen so far. But to actually claim her...” She frowned then, as though a disturbing thought crossed her mind.

“How do you think our claim was removed from her? Without us knowing, as well,” Xander asked Aveline slowly, no doubt guessing what she had been thinking of. She shrugged in response and when he looked at me, I felt confused by the issue as well.

“I don’t remember feeling it go… I thought it was weird when Aveline said she didn’t feel anything while I had been on the plane with Jacobi,” I answered simply. Aveline straightened then, looking at me.

“He really did feed off you?!”

“No,” I gave a small laugh, “But he was pretty… scary. I thought you’d feel my fear, but you didn’t. So it must have happened earlier.” I tried to think back to the coterie meeting, trying to remember if I had felt Aveline or Xander’s presence then. The claim had been too new; I hadn’t really figured out what it involved. I couldn’t be sure when it left or why.

“Does it make you two jealous, knowing Jacobi basically stole your human?” Wyatt asked curiously, though to me it seemed he was more interested in stirring something up in order to entertain himself. Xander and Aveline looked at each other for a moment and then they both laughed.