captors, and they weren't human, no matter the nice faces they tried to put on to fool me. Andre had fooled me once. I wouldn't allow myself to be fooled again.
***
The next afternoon, I was on the bed, curled in the blankets and dreaming about school when a sound awoke me from my nap. I blinked my eyes open to see Everett disappearing out the front of the cabin. My hackles went up, and I closed my eyes again and evened out my breathing, pretending to sleep.
Voices rose outside.
"You know I don't agree with this," came a harsh voice, and I could have sworn that it was Ellis's. That surprised me. He never raised his voice to me. He was always pleasant, kind, and downright chatty. Maybe it was the wrong twin? But I could tell the cadence of Ellis's voice from Everett's now. Ellis had more of a rasp, a deeper bass in his throat when he laughed. And he laughed a lot.
"It's not your choice," came another male voice, and I stilled in fear. Another man was here? The voice wasn't familiar at all, and I wanted to crane my head and look, but I didn't dare. If they saw I was awake, maybe they'd stop talking. As it was, their voices were muffled from the cabin walls.
"She's a person, Beau. She just a young woman, and she's scared to death. If you'd just talk to her, you'd see that."
"I am aware of it, Ellis."
"Then have you seen the bite marks all over her? Because I have." There was anger in Ellis's voice. "No wonder she's fucking scared. She's been mauled up and down by those fanged assholes, and now you're trying to broker a deal with them?"
"She killed one of their people, Ellis. As much as I'd like to take her side, she's human, and she killed a vampire."
"A vampire who was keeping her captive--"
"I know. But if she was a shifter, I could protect her like one of my own. She's not. She's human, and that's the problem we keep coming back to. All we can do for now is hide her for her own good."
An explosion of breath. "I fucking hate this."
"I know," said the other voice quietly. "Marie's not happy either. But in the end, I'm the leader, and I have to make the decision that's best for everyone."
Silence. Then, an angry, "Are we done here? I need to get these guys inside."
"We're done."
The quiet fell again, and I burrowed down under the blankets again, still pretending to sleep. The door to the cabin opened. Someone came in. I waited. A box was gently dropped on the table in the center of the room.
Two tiny mews sounded.
I blinked 'awake', startled, and sat up. That had sounded like...kittens? Looking over, I saw Ellis was seated at the dining room table, a cardboard box in front of him. There were lines on his face that made him look haggard and tired despite the fact he was probably about the same age as me - early twenties. He looked exhausted.
Which was kind of funny, considering he slept like a log. I knew; he slept right against me.
The mews came out of the box again. I stared at it, questioning, and Ellis gave me a faint smile. "Today," he said, getting out of the chair. "Has been a shit of a day." He picked up the box and came over to the bed and sat down next to me.
I edged away to the far side of the bed. It was pointless, of course. I shared the bed with Ellis every night so he could make sure I didn't run off. Edging away now was kind of stupid. It was also habit, though, and habit was hard to break. Ellis didn't notice my reluctance, either. He simply set the box between us and lifted the lid.
Nestled amongst an old floral towel were two orange peanut-shaped bundles of fluff. Kittens. Kittens so very young that their eyes were closed still, and their hair was no more than downy tufts. I gasped.
"I know," he said apologetically, gently fishing one out of the box and handing it to me. I had no choice but to take it from him; it was no bigger than my palm. Surprised, I cuddled it against my breast and watched as he pulled the other one out of the box and held it to his chest. "They're only a few
***
The next afternoon, I was on the bed, curled in the blankets and dreaming about school when a sound awoke me from my nap. I blinked my eyes open to see Everett disappearing out the front of the cabin. My hackles went up, and I closed my eyes again and evened out my breathing, pretending to sleep.
Voices rose outside.
"You know I don't agree with this," came a harsh voice, and I could have sworn that it was Ellis's. That surprised me. He never raised his voice to me. He was always pleasant, kind, and downright chatty. Maybe it was the wrong twin? But I could tell the cadence of Ellis's voice from Everett's now. Ellis had more of a rasp, a deeper bass in his throat when he laughed. And he laughed a lot.
"It's not your choice," came another male voice, and I stilled in fear. Another man was here? The voice wasn't familiar at all, and I wanted to crane my head and look, but I didn't dare. If they saw I was awake, maybe they'd stop talking. As it was, their voices were muffled from the cabin walls.
"She's a person, Beau. She just a young woman, and she's scared to death. If you'd just talk to her, you'd see that."
"I am aware of it, Ellis."
"Then have you seen the bite marks all over her? Because I have." There was anger in Ellis's voice. "No wonder she's fucking scared. She's been mauled up and down by those fanged assholes, and now you're trying to broker a deal with them?"
"She killed one of their people, Ellis. As much as I'd like to take her side, she's human, and she killed a vampire."
"A vampire who was keeping her captive--"
"I know. But if she was a shifter, I could protect her like one of my own. She's not. She's human, and that's the problem we keep coming back to. All we can do for now is hide her for her own good."
An explosion of breath. "I fucking hate this."
"I know," said the other voice quietly. "Marie's not happy either. But in the end, I'm the leader, and I have to make the decision that's best for everyone."
Silence. Then, an angry, "Are we done here? I need to get these guys inside."
"We're done."
The quiet fell again, and I burrowed down under the blankets again, still pretending to sleep. The door to the cabin opened. Someone came in. I waited. A box was gently dropped on the table in the center of the room.
Two tiny mews sounded.
I blinked 'awake', startled, and sat up. That had sounded like...kittens? Looking over, I saw Ellis was seated at the dining room table, a cardboard box in front of him. There were lines on his face that made him look haggard and tired despite the fact he was probably about the same age as me - early twenties. He looked exhausted.
Which was kind of funny, considering he slept like a log. I knew; he slept right against me.
The mews came out of the box again. I stared at it, questioning, and Ellis gave me a faint smile. "Today," he said, getting out of the chair. "Has been a shit of a day." He picked up the box and came over to the bed and sat down next to me.
I edged away to the far side of the bed. It was pointless, of course. I shared the bed with Ellis every night so he could make sure I didn't run off. Edging away now was kind of stupid. It was also habit, though, and habit was hard to break. Ellis didn't notice my reluctance, either. He simply set the box between us and lifted the lid.
Nestled amongst an old floral towel were two orange peanut-shaped bundles of fluff. Kittens. Kittens so very young that their eyes were closed still, and their hair was no more than downy tufts. I gasped.
"I know," he said apologetically, gently fishing one out of the box and handing it to me. I had no choice but to take it from him; it was no bigger than my palm. Surprised, I cuddled it against my breast and watched as he pulled the other one out of the box and held it to his chest. "They're only a few
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