held up my shopping bag. “Birthday shopping.”
He held up a bag he had in his hand. “I got Nick something, too.”
Mason stayed silent as he stood beside me, never taking his eyes off of Tom.
“I’d better get back before Nick flips out and thinks I was kidnapped,” I said with a lighthearted smile. “I’ll see you at school.”
He nodded his head. “Bye, Sarah. Bye, Mason.”
Mason nodded once and then turned us around, heading towards Nick’s truck.
“You okay?” I asked softly.
“I just don’t like Dhampirs. You never really know what side they’re on.”
“I thought you were friends with Tom?”
He shook his head. “Nick is friends with him. I just tolerate him. I don’t trust him completely. Just be careful around him, okay?”
I patted his arm. “You’ve always been a worrier, but it’s probably a good thing. And I’ll be careful. I promise.”
He opened my door and bowed. “Madam.”
I laughed and curtsied before climbing inside. “Thank you, sir.”
We drove in comfortable silence as we listened to the radio. Was Mason right not to trust Tom? I had a hard time believing that Tom would betray his friends, but being cautious was probably the smartest thing to do.
As we approached the house, I saw Nick pacing across the front yard. Mason shook his head and sighed. “He didn’t trust me to take care of you.”
I laid a hand on his forearm. “Don’t be mad at him. We’ve had a rough week.”
Mason stopped the truck, and Nick jogged over to my door, opening it. “Hey.”
I smiled and stepped out of the truck to hug him. “Hello.” I pulled away from him and walked towards the house. “I’ll be outside in a minute. I need to change to play.” I jogged up the stairs and hid the present in my underwear drawer, knowing it was the one place that no one would look. I changed into workout shorts and a tank top before jogging out to the edge of the woods where Nick and six kids, ranging from five to twelve, stood waiting for me. I stretched out my legs and smiled at them. “So, what are we playing today?”
“Tag,” Nick said with a mischievous smile.
“Great,” I muttered as I walked toward him. “Then I guess that means, you’re it!” I yelled as I smacked his arm and then darted into the forest. The kids ran after me and then past me. I ducked around a tree, barely dodging Nick’s outstretched hand. “Missed me!” I yelled back to him as I dodged as close to the trees as I could.
I caught up to Dylan and raced by him.
I heard Nick yell, “You’re it!” behind me.
Dylan growled and raced forward. He wasn’t slow, just lazy. When he wanted to be fast, he could be. I caught up to Casey and tripped the twelve-year-old boy as I ran by.
“Oops,” I said with a hand to my mouth to hide my smile.
“Sarah!” he yelled in exasperation just before Dylan tagged him.
I turned back around just in time to see Dad’s body in my way. I tried to stop but ended up slamming into him, knocking him over. He wrapped his arms around me to keep me from getting hurt and laughed. “You’re supposed to watch where you’re going when you run, Sarah.”
I stood and brushed off my pants. “Sorry, Dad.”
A hand touched me, and I groaned as Casey yelled, “You’re it!”
I spun away from Dad and chased after them. I stopped after five minutes of running and looked around the empty forest in annoyance. Where had they all gone? I spun to go towards the creek, but Alfred stood in my path now. “We need to talk.”
Nick jogged up out of nowhere and scooped me up in his arms just before Alfred lunged at me. He growled at Nick, but suddenly Dad came out of nowhere, grabbed Alfred by the throat, and slammed his body against a tree. “Do not touch my daughter.” His face shifted partially, his fangs growing longer and thicker.
Chapter Four
Alfred snarled. “I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
“You have no reason to touch her at all. Do you hear me, Alfred? If you so much as touch a single hair on her head, I will rip yours off of your body. Understand?”
Alfred nodded once, staring at me with a need that frightened me. Nick held me tightly against his upper chest and growled at Alfred softly. I wrapped my arms around Nick’s neck and he spun around and ran back towards the house. What had