mind-melding vampire on hand, no one would need medication.
Alcuin shook his head, still looking somewhat dismayed by what had just transpired. “Chloe, doll, please, I beg you, don’t do that again.”
I wished I could make the promise he wanted, but considering our current predicament, I didn’t dare. “I’ll do my best. Though laughter, even somewhat crazy laughter, can be healing. For us humans anyway.”
“I’ll have to take more time to research human emotions,” he said to himself. “When you’re seven hundred years old, it’s difficult to recall past emotions.”
We drove in blessed silence to the park. I’d never enjoyed the quiet so much. Being around a vampire like Alcuin was downright soothing. He didn’t require conversation, or music, or anything, as far as I could tell. Unlike Valamir, he didn’t seem the least bit interested in my blood. That was a relief. The last thing I needed right now was my vampire friend going berserk for my blood.
Luke was in the gatehouse when we arrived. I’d never seen him so frazzled. He raced to the car.
Alcuin had vanished, keeping Luke unaware of his presence.
I rolled down the window. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I’m sorry. Are you okay?” I knew he wasn’t.
“I was worried. It’s not like you to be late for anything. You’ve never been impulsive. Now you’re married. You’re late. I don’t know what to think.” Luke ran his hand through his hair.
“With the murders and everything, I think I’m kinda losing it.”
He relaxed. “Yeah, we all are. It’s just if anything happened …”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. I just need some time away. Zane is overprotective. That’s why I need you to cover for me. If anyone asks, we had a meeting, and I headed home. No matter what happens, please, stick to that story.”
“I’m not sure why I’m agreeing to this. We sure need you here. The animals need you. I can tell they’re acting differently. Mack and Michael are great and all, but you, Chloe, are one of a kind.” He gave me the warm smile I’d come to love over the past two years. Why couldn’t I have fallen for him?
With that question still harassing me, I pulled out of the lot. I hadn’t bothered confirming with Alcuin the place where I planned to park my car. I’d have to trust in his vampire honing skills to locate me.
Just to park’s south side, there was a little dirt road, hidden behind a wall of brush and connected to the wildlife park’s property. No one used it anymore. It led to a tiny cabin that had been boarded up ever since I’d started working for Luke, who’d stayed there when he’d first inherited the land from his grandfather. No one would notice my car tucked conveniently behind the cabin.
I found the entrance without a lot of trouble, because I knew what I was looking for. An old tree trunk, a white cross propped at its base, marked the place I needed to turn.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I confirmed no one was following me, and made a quick right turn and drove through the undergrowth, trusting I’d find the road on the other side. Sure enough, my tires crunched along as they rolled across the gravel. I slowed to a crawl and flicked on my brights. I saw the old cabin looking as forlorn as I’d ever seen it. It sat off to the left of the road about a hundred feet ahead
A few minutes later, I’d parked behind the now-slanting structure. I was amazed Luke hadn’t either remodeled the place, or torn it down. I was partial to the second option. It looked ready to collapse on its own.
Maybe my emotional outburst had made me stupid, but it hit me like bullet between the eyes just how dumb it was for me to be sitting in a pitch black forest with Jazmine, mutants, and God knows what else seeking my destruction.
I tried again to reach out for Zane. As before, the mental brick wall kept me from entering his thoughts. So much for his promise to protect me despite our breakup, it appeared he was off duty tonight.
Ignoring the insane urge to leave the car like the idiots in every known horror movie, I turned my attention to the landscape. The cabin was boarded up and looked like it hadn’t been used in years. I couldn’t see beyond the edge of trees and foliage that surrounded the structure. Eerie shadows