For a minute, it felt like the world had stilled.
The wind had stopped blowing, the insects had fled, and the hair on our skins stood tall as the entire atmosphere chilled at his presence.
I opened my mouth to call for him, but nothing came out. On the other hand, Veronica looked as if she had seen a ghost as she started backing away from me and ultimately Drew.
I could see how her body shook in fear, and I knew for a fact that she had never seen Drew this angry. Hell, not even I have seen him this angry.
His fists were clenched, his teeth were bared, showing his fangs, and his eyes were red as blood – an absolute difference from his usual stormy grey eyes.
He took a step forward, and Veronica simultaneously took a step back, looking as if she was ready to flee. But she decided against it when she realized that Drew could catch her easily. I knew I was crazy, or maybe it was the lack of blood flow to my brain, but I sort of felt scared for her.
Drew looked like he was about to tear her into pieces, which is exactly what I feared. Sure, she kidnapped me and was going to offer me up to a blood-crazed psychopath, but one day when he isn't angry, he'll remember how he killed his best friend. And as much as she deserved it, I didn't want him to kill her himself.
"Drew," I called for him, but he barely flinched as he took another step towards her. She stepped back again but was met with the edge of the cliff. One more move and she'd be a goner. I don't even think being a vampire could save her from that fall.
"Drew," Veronica said in a small voice. "Please. Please don't do this."
"Do what?" he growled, almost shaking the earth with it. "I didn't say what I was going to do with you yet."
Veronica's lips trembled as her eyes sprung water. I don't know what she thought he would do, but she knew it wasn't anything good. Then, suddenly, her eyes widened as if she just realized something, and then she eagerly pointed at me.
"Don't you wanna save your mate? Go untie her." But this only seemed to enrage him even more.
"Don't you fucking talk about her!" And in a split second, he was in front of her, gripping her neck as he held her over the cliff. "You were the one who took her!"
"Drew!" I screamed. "Drew, don't do this. Come untie me, please."
He stepped back a bit, but he couldn't meet my eyes. Maybe he thought that looking at me would cool his anger, and perhaps he wanted to be angry. Maybe he wanted his anger to drive him to do this. But I fear he'll never recover from it.
"Drew, please. If you kill her, you will have to live with that for the rest of your life," I added, and that's when he finally looked at me.
His eyes softened immediately, but he seemed pained by the way I was bound to the seat. Still, he only gripped her neck tighter.
"She was going to give you away to be killed, Amber. She deserves to die."
"Just please, untie me. Hold me in your arms and know that I am right here."
He stared at me for about two more seconds before finally dropping her to the ground so close to the edge that she had to shuffle away, so she didn't fall over. He was in front of me in the blink of an eye and effortlessly broke the knots as if they were nothing.
I launched myself in his arms and wrapped my legs around him as my tears finally came. I felt his tense muscles relax tremendously as he hugged me back and buried his nose in my neck.
He hushed me as he held me still, and I realized I didn't know how scared I was until then. But in Drew's arms, I am always safe. And I loved it.
"I'm right here, baby. It's okay."
"I'm here too," I mumbled as I slid to my feet again. "We're okay."
He held me for a while longer, and when he pulled away, his eyes were back to normal, just as how I loved them. He reached out his hand to caress my cheek as I slowly felt our bond coming back. Whatever that Veronica injected me with was wearing off. I was immediately met with all his fear, sorrow and worry. I couldn't imagine what he was going through all those hours looking for me.
The betrayal he must've felt knowing his best and only friend could do this had to be hard too. He trusted her with me, and she betrayed his trust. I couldn't imagine how it could've felt to wonder if I was alive or not. It must've driven him crazy. No wonder he was so pissed when he found us. I don't know how he did, but I was happy.
"I'm so sorry," he finally said, breaking the silence. "I should've protected you better."
"Drew…" I hated that he blamed himself for this. But he couldn't have known. If I was fooled by her, imagine him who knew her for decades? "It's not your fault. Let's just go home."
"No," he whispered in such a calm voice that I had to wonder if he wanted to say 'yes' instead. But what he did next told me that he said exactly what he meant.
He gently rested me on the seat before turning to Veronica, still lying beside the cliff. I guess she didn't expect to see him coming after her again because her eyes widened, and she started shuffling away again.
"Drew?" I called after him, but he kept moving, taking slow, long strides towards her. His shoulders were so broad and squared that I could barely see her, but I could surely hear her muffled cries.
"Drew, please," she begged. "I'm sorry."
"You were going to kill my mate? Why?" I could tell that he just wanted to understand why his oldest friend would do something like this. It must've also been so confusing for him.
I didn't look at it that way until now.
"Drew… I-I love you. She wouldn't have been able to love you the way I –" No more words left her mouth because yet again, Drew held her throat in his hand, this time digging down as if he was going to burst through her jugular.
"Don't you fucking dare say it. You could never, and I repeat, never even come close to comparing with Amber. Do you understand?" Instead of answering, she broke out in loud, vulgar sobs.
"What's gonna happen when she finds out what you did, huh? She will leave you, Drew. If you know Amber, you know she will."
"Shut up," he spat as I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. "Shut the fuck up."
"You think you could hide it forever—"
"He said shut the fuck up!" I interjected as I went to stand beside Drew. "What do you think you're doing?"
Both of them looked at me in surprise. I assumed Drew's surprise was from the fact that he was shocked that I wasn't demanding to know what she was talking about. But I didn't. I trust Drew to tell me what he needs to. So, if he doesn't want to, then I trust his judgement.
Drew let go of her throat, but he still held her down. She glared at me as if I was the worst person in the world, and I kindly returned the gesture.
"I should've killed you when I had the chance," she spat, and I could feel Drew's anger rising again, but little did they both know that my anger never left.
I grabbed her by her thin blouse and hauled her close to my face. I was still pissed that she tricked me all these weeks, thinking that she sort of had my best interest at heart. It's my fault for trusting her despite my initial intuition.
Then she had the gall to be telling me that she should've killed me when she got the chance? Well, I had the chance, so I gladly took the advantage myself.
"See you in hell," I growled in her face before using my foot to shove her over the edge.
At first, it felt like it was going in slow motion. I watched as her eyes went wide at first as if she didn't believe that I just kicked her over the edge. Then it was fear, and her body just kept falling and falling, until I couldn't see her anymore.
Then, she was gone.
My eyes closed on instinct as I took a deep breath to calm myself. I promised myself that I wouldn't kill another vampire unless it was Dageian or if they deserved it. And it was fair to say that she deserved it.
I felt Drew drawing closer to me, and immediate remorse swamped my nerves at this. I didn't want him to kill her himself because one day, he'll look back and realize the he killed her. But I didn't think about how her death would affect him, whether by his hands or mine.
Slowly, I turned to face him, and to my utmost surprise, he didn't look the least bit affected. Still, I felt obliged to apologize.
"Drew, I'm sorry," I mumbled as I wrapped my arms around him. My heart broke when I felt him pushing me back, but he didn't look resentful or angry when I met his eyes. He seemed like he was in disbelief.
"Amber, she tried to kill you. I would've killed her myself for what she did. Don't ever feel like what you did was wrong in my eyes. I told you once before, I'd end anyone who even tries to hurt you. I don't care who they are."
"I just thought that since you guys have been friends so long…."
"If our friendship had any value, she wouldn't have done that," he said stiffly, and I realized that he had a point.
I closed my eyes, feeling content and safe as he pressed his lips to my cheek. "I love you, Amber. I almost lost my mind today when I thought I lost you."
"I'm right here." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him.
Even though it was only a few hours, it felt like ages since I tasted him. And as I kissed him, I didn't feel like ripping his clothes off this time. I only appreciated having him like this, because just like today, the future is entirely unknown.
"Let's go home," I mumbled as I pulled away, and I caught a glimpse of his smile. But it was only a glimpse because he was gone in the split of a second as if he wasn't there at all.
I blinked a few times to adjust, and the only thing that made me know that I wasn't losing my mind was the fact that my lips still tingled from our kiss earlier. As I glanced around, I realized that I was alone. Drew was no longer there, and there was no sign of him.
"Drew!" I shouted, scared for one particular reason. The last time I saw Lorenzo, he was whisked from in front of me in the exact same way.
The thought evoked my tears again as I searched frantically for him, hoping to find him with his heart still in his body.
"Drew, please!" I cried even harder, looking behind bushes and trees, but never strayed too far.
From the minute I killed Veronica, I should've left with Drew. I knew that Dageian was to meet her here, yet I stayed.
I tried to catch my breath as I ran back to the car. There was no way I was leaving without him, but I didn't know how to find him.
I slid down the side of the car as I sat on the ground, pulling my knees to my chest as I sobbed.
"Drew…" I barely heard my own voice as my entire being broke. I just had him, and in a second, he was gone.
Just like that.
A very annoying ringtone sounded from the car, and I searched Veronica's compartment to find the wretched device.
The number was barred, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose as I tapped the green button. I squeezed my eyes shut as my heart raced. I already knew who it was, but I wasn't prepared for what he had to say.
"What?" I bit out, my anger now overpowering my sorrow.
"Is that any way to answer a friendly phone call?" His voice was teasing, and all I wanted to do was rip out his throat.
"Where is he?" I demanded. I had no time for his games.
However, he simply avoided me. "A little birdy—that you just killed, by the way—told me that you have a weapon that could kill me," he said, sounding suggestive. "And I don't like that very much, Amber. So if you know how to kill me, then I can no longer play with you."
"What do you want, Dageian?"
He sighed deeply as if he was in pain before answering. "It was fun watching you believe you could beat me, Amber, and I didn't intend for this to be done so fast, but I am going to have to kill you since you know what your blood can do."
I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth as I listened to him taunt me. He was really enjoying this.
"I could just kill you right now, and you wouldn't even notice," he said as I instinctively glanced around. "But, where's the fun in that? So, here's the deal. You will bring me that little dagger of yours, and I will let you say goodbye to your mate. If not, I'll catch you, kill him in front of you and then kill you."
"You're a sick son of a—"
"And don't even think you can outsmart me. You have twenty-four hours. I will send you the address."
"You could've killed me the night when you killed my friend. If killing me was your ultimate plan, why didn't you kill me that night?" I asked as my body shook violently. I have never hated someone so much in my entire life.
"Where's the fun in that?" He repeated his earlier phrase before he laughed. "Twenty-four hours, Amber. Don't be late, or else your mate dies."
"Amber, don't do it!" My mate's familiar voice echoed through the phone, just before he groaned at the sound of what sounded like a punch to his stomach.
"Tick tock, Amber. He is already getting on my nerves." And then, the line went dead.
I couldn't begin to comprehend what I was feeling. In fact, I didn't feel anything at all.
I was numb. The space around me seemed still as my ears rang with the tone of the phone. My entire nervous system felt dead, and my mind was blank.
All I heard was 'your mate dies'. I knew he threatened to kill me, and maybe he will, but I couldn't think clearly. I couldn't think of my life or if I'd lose it.
I wasn't dumb either. I knew that maybe Drew and I would die either way. But I took that motherfucker's word for it when he said he'd capture me with ease and kill my mate in front of me. So, all I could do was do what he said.
Who knows, maybe the universe is on our side, and we'll somehow survive this.
But there was no way I was going to stand by and watch that bastard kill the love of my life. And so, I sped through the forest blindly, knowing that I had to get back to Drew's house to get that dagger.
I made up my mind. I will see my mate again. And one way or the other, I will hurt Dageian before he kills me. I will take him off his high horse and smile in his face as he takes my last breath. I don't care how, but I sure as hell know I will.
That is a promise.
.
.
.
Let me hear your thoughts. Do you believe that killing Veronica is justified?
Did you see that attack from Dageian coming? Just as they thought they were safe! Ah!