Demonic Vampires (Supernatural Shifter Academy #3) - G. Bailey Page 0,36

avoiding our eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says quietly. “I was just… stunned, I guess. Jennifer and Caleb were always my friends. They were supposed to be on the shifters’ side, not the humans.” She shakes her head disbelievingly. “The Academy must have gotten to them. It’s the only explanation.”

Silas scrutinises her from his place by the mantelpiece. “You’re saying you had no idea they’d switched sides?” he asks, his eyes narrowing.

“Of course I didn’t,” Edith snaps. “D o you think I would’ve brought you guys there otherwise?”

“I don’t know,” Silas admits, his broad shoulders hunching.

“Something about this doesn’t feel right,” Shade says, still walking back and forth restlessly. “If the humans got to them, how many more shifters around London have also been converted?”

“We can’t think like that,” Edith insists, glancing at Mollie for backup. The human woman nods.

“She’s right,” Hazel agrees. “We can’t give up just because of one near-miss.”

“Easy for you to say,” Hunter mutters. I turn to him. He’s studiously avoiding my gaze, the pain sharp in his blue eyes.

“What do you mean?” I ask him gently.

He throws his hands up. “What do you think?” he demands sharply. “Caleb had you on that ledge, Boots. You almost died, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it.”

“Hey,” I tell him, “you were busy with Jennifer. No one knew he was the siren.”

Hunter just shakes his head. “It should’ve been me.”

“Don’t say that,” I tell him, my voice wavering a little. “Don’t you dare say that.”

The vampire shifter remains silent for a moment, then gets up and walks out of the room.

“I say we stay the course,” says Xander, giving Hazel’s hand a squeeze. “Tomorrow we can try another group. With more of us as backup.”

“What about the humans?” asks Silas. “We’re not exactly inconspicuous.”

“What choice do we have?” Ruby counters. “The whole city could be out to get us, for all we know.”

The conviction behind her words weighs heavy on me, makes me balk. Part of me wants to scream, and the other part wants to bury my head in my hands, because I know she’s right.

We’ve been backed into a corner without even realising it.

Chapter 15

The business with Edith’s so-called allies has left all of us on edge; that much is obvious. The others don’t even have to say anything -- we can all feel it, that awful certainty that things are coming to a head, and we’re helpless to stop it. The question remains unspoken amongst us, but I know without even needing to ask that we’re all thinking the same thing.

If we can no longer trust the other shifters in London, who can we trust?

I disentangle myself from between Shade and Silas the next morning, responding to the insistent growling of my stomach. Ruby, Xander and Hazel are gone when I enter the kitchen, but I notice a hastily scrawled note from the latter on the counter: Out to track down some more leads. Should be back later -- if not, send help. Right. Not exactly easy when I don’t know where they’ve gone, but I’m too mentally drained at this point to let the anxiety take hold of me. I’ll just have to hope they’re okay.

Mollie isn’t around either, but I’m actually less worried about her, in all honesty; she’s a tough cookie -- I’ve known that since the day I first met her -- but more importantly, she’s human. As long as she takes care not to draw undue attention, she doesn’t have to worry about walking around with a target on her back the way the rest of us do. As much of a gift as our shapeshifting abilities are, they’ve become just as much a curse.

I pile my hair on top of my head in a messy bun before padding over to the refrigerator and grabbing an apple. I would have preferred junk food, but Mollie, for all her culinary ineptitude, is hell bent on keeping us healthy -- chalk it up to her maternal instincts, or something. Either way, beggars can’t be choosers, so I dig in with a vengeance as I drop into a chair beside the kitchen table. I can see Landon over on the couch, his arm draped over his eyes -- he appears to be dozing, but it’s hard to tell with the siren shifter. I still feel like I owe him for yesterday; he saved my life, the only person who possibly could have in those circumstances.

The sound of voices catches my attention