I sigh heavily and go back to what I’m doing, folding clothes on my bed, wanting to have this done before lights out in a few minutes. There aren’t many house rules for the likes of us, but our guardians have a very strict lights out and locked doors rule as soon as the moon comes up. It goes back to the wars and the fact the vampires can only come out when the sun goes down. The only time we have an exception is the full moon, every cycle, for the ceremony on shadow rock. We don’t have packs to protect us here, so we don’t get any leeway in our freedoms living in the orphanage.
Vanka’s eyes bear down on me and reluctantly, I look up, and penetrate her with a questioning stare. She wants something, that’s obvious, but it won’t come as a polite request, it never does.
“I’m going out after the guardians go home…. if you snitch, I’ll mess you up.” The amber glow in her eyes add weight to the promise and I eyeroll, no longer intimidated since my power to heal and fight back improved greatly with my turning.
“Why would I snitch? I don’t care what you do.” I go back to staring at the endless pile of laundry, mostly PJ’s, and try hard to ignore her. No energy for this at all.
“Good. I have a hot date with one of the boys from the Ryleigh pack. Nothing serious, totally slumming it, and wants to try it on with a shameful reject. He’s a weird one with some serious kinks.” She laughs dirtily, looking for a reaction, igniting an instant unease down deep in my stomach.
Most she-wolves save themselves for the one-day mate, but I guess girls like us don’t have any reason to. Even when we get a chance, they reject us on the grounds of who we are.
“Use protection. An unwanted kid would end up right back here and you’d have no choice but to stay.” I warn, more for my benefit than hers. I’ve been counting down the days when she leaves me in peace, and I can fumigate her rank scent from this room. I’ve nothing else in life to look forward to anymore, so I may as well have that. Room to myself, space to call my own.
“Whatevs…. Maybe you should try it and fuck up that pretty little Santo head a little, for throwing you in the trash. It’s bound to sting.” She sneers and then laughs at her own devious plan, but I ignore it. As much as he’s broken me, I still love him, and wouldn’t want to inflict that kind of pain. Hell, I wouldn’t want to do it to myself, I’ve no desire to have sex with anyone that’s not him, as stupid as that sounds.
“Tell me… is it true you two were mid screw and ready to mark when daddy walked in and threw your ass out?” It’s the snide catty tone that riles my temper and I throw her a pointed snarl, pinning her eyes with mine as she hits a nerve. Erupting furiously, without restraint, as it comes out so fast, I can’t counteract.
“It’s got nothing to do with you, so shut the hell up.” The insane instant deep rumble and scathing tone I elicit scares even me, and as her eyes widen in shock. She drops her cigarette right out of her gawping mouth. I recoil, wondering what the hell that was. I didn’t sound like me at all and that hostility came from nowhere. My blood riling and heating up in a split second and forcing out what I assume was my wolf growl. I guess she really struck a bone.
“What the fu…. your eyes…. they’re red.” She stutters, visibly shaken and backs away from me a little before realizing her lap is burning and starts madly grabbing for her dropped fire stick like a mental person. Soon as she retrieves it, she backs up and slides by me, near the wall, before escaping out of our bedroom door with a backward glance of wariness, a look of unadulterated fear, and takes off at speed.
I’m left dumbfounded, at both my guttural aggressive response and this god damn red crap. I push off from where I am, stepping to the mirror in three strides across the room and stare at my own reflection before the rage in me calms back to numb. I have to see this. It’s a stirring memory of Colton’s words and I blanche when I see the evidence for myself and gasp in horror.
She’s right…
Colton was right.
There before me, seeing for the first time how I look when my eyes flash with warning that I am on the verge to turn, I’m faced with two glowing orbs of the darkest blood red, in place of where amber should be. Almost satanic in their fire and gleam and make me look insane or demonic.
The shock and instant fear that cascades through my veins icily mutes them back to natural green instantly, and I fall back, eliciting a yelp as I’m gripped with a sense that something is really wrong with that.
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