Love Bites *Sequel to Insanity Bites*

Chapter 11: Trust

"Can I ask you something?" Everyone was strapped up and seated by the exit door waiting for the right moment to jump off. Kayla was sitting right across from me and despite the fact that Zayn and Harry had somehow ended up on either side of mine, I couldn't help but wonder about "Mikaela".

She leaned casually against the steel wall of the hangar, her steady eyes fixed on me after my question. She looked much too calm for someone who was about to jump off a plane more than fifty thousand feet in the air. She's definitely looked more calm than I felt.

"Are you asking me?" She raised her eye brows in surprise. 

"That day in the woods. When I was spying on..." I trailed off and looked at Zayn sheepishly, remembering how I'd snuck out after gym class and followed Amanda and him into the back woods behind our school. "Did you lie to me when you said you didn't see anything?"

The hangar was silent aside from the low thrumming of the turbines outside. Everyone's eyes had turned our way, even Niall and Arlo who sat beside Kayla. I didn't know why I decided to ask such a question in front of everyone but it just burst out of my chest as I thought I might never get to ask her if our operation went wrong. 

What if my parachute was broken? 

What if we landed in a deep lake and drowned?

Why was I panicking already?

"Rosalie, calm down," Zayn murmured and I instinctively stopped twisting my fingers.

"Yes, I did," Kayla finally answered after a few seconds. "I lied about numerous things."

A sense of false relief shot through me, I knew the story thanks to Zayn but her confirmation made me feel so much better. I leaned forward waiting for her to continue.

"I knew you weren't a cutter either and I invited you to the Stratford ball on purpose. I really don't want you to take this personally because this is so much more than just you or me. I lied in the beginning to protect Zayn and our kind from exposure. Our strength has always been our anonymity, people don't believe we exist and therefore we have been able to do anything."

I swallowed hard as a small smile formed on her lips. 

"But soon your case turned to that of self interest for me," She said and I heard Zayn sigh.

Kayla looked at Harry and then her smile widened. "Your progress was very different from most of our victims. You were able to figure out almost everything thanks to Harry and Zayn was too invested. He dragged it on too long and it became clear that he would not kill you so I decided to use this to my advantage."

"Advantage?" Harry asked.

"She's been pushing for reform agenda's within our community since I became a vampire," Zayn explained, making me wonder how old Kayla really was. 

"I've always wanted to be self reliant. To not have to depend on human or animal blood to survive. There are a group of us like minded people who have been experimenting for centuries to create artificial blood with sufficient nutrients for us to consume instead." Kayla sat up straight and frowned at Zayn suddenly. "But we have always been the minority and our research was always sabotaged hindering our progress. Lavender believes we need human blood to stay in power and the majority agree with her."

"But what does this have to do with me? With us?" I gesture at Harry and I. Every time I heard of this Lavender vampire, I felt goosebumps erupt on my skin. 

Kayla smiling like an evil villain right now didn't help either. 

She chuckled lightly before speaking again. "Zayn has always been a popular figure in the council. He was Lavender's favorite for the longest time and he introduced the feeding schedule that lead him to you. The fact that HE failed to kill you was like a stab to the council's gut. It shows that the feeding schedule isn't fool proof. Harry's father is proof of that as well. I've heard the rumors. Some vampire's are finally thinking of switching sides and supporting my cause instead."