Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,78

me?

“Hey,” he said, stopping in front of me. “What are you doing right now?”

“I was supposed to meet with Dean Purty—” I started, but Levi cut me off with a shake of his head.

“He got delayed in town, so he’s not back yet. Walk with me?”

“Sure,” I said, reveling in the swift patter of my heart.

It had been several days since the incident—as True and I called it—at the cabin. I hadn’t seen much of Levi since then, a few passing words here and there, asking after my mental and physical health. He’d been busy, working with The Society to clean up the mess we’d made.

So, did I want to take a walk with him? To be alone with him? Yes. Yes, I did.

“Chloe is going before several key members, including Warren Thornberry, to be tried for her crimes tonight.”

My feet grew roots, stopping me in my tracks as I stared at him with my mouth open. “I thought Chloe was dead,” I whispered, my voice quiet more from shock than the fear of being overheard.

“She survived,” Levi replied, shaking his head. “Vampire healing at its finest.”

His words were filled with bitterness and anger. He was obviously disappointed that Chloe was still among us, maybe wishing he’d finished the job and fully decapitated her. His angry expression quickly turned to one of anguish, and I slipped my hand into his and pulled him toward the forest.

Once in the dark shade of the towering trees, I stopped and used my free hand to tug his sunglasses off his face. I needed to see his mossy eyes to make sure he believed what I was about to say.

“I’m okay, Levi,” I said. “You saved me. I’m right here.”

“You saved yourself,” he muttered, that shadow of what might have happened lifting from his face as he smiled.

I squared my shoulders and grinned. “I did, didn’t I?”

That mask I’d been wearing slipped on with ease, bringing Bubbly Piper front and center.

“Don’t,” Levi said, lifting a hand to my cheek. “You don’t ever have to pretend with me, Piper.”

My grin fell, fading into a small, sad smile. “I know.”

“You can tell me everything you’re feeling and know you won’t be judged or pitied. You were a fierce warrior in that cabin, and had it not been for your bravery, we’d all be dead—you, your mom, True, and probably me, too. Your instincts saved us all. Never doubt them.”

I swallowed thickly against the knot of emotion swelling in my throat. Keeping my gaze locked on Levi’s face, I muttered, “I killed her.”

He didn’t flinch, didn’t even blink. He just propped his hands on my shoulders and stared deeply into my eyes.

“It was self-defense. Completely justified.”

“That might be true, but it doesn’t fully erase the blood on my hands.”

“I know,” he whispered.

He pulled me against his chest, caging me in as my arms looped around his waist. His lips brushed feather-light kisses across my forehead and hair while his fingers stroked up and down my back, giving me comfort.

We stayed like that for a long while, Levi not rushing me as I worked through my negative emotions. I knew he was right. Sarah was literally trying to suck me dry when I killed her. I would never forget the feeling of her fangs tearing at my flesh, the sensation of the blood being siphoned out of me. If Mom hadn’t freed herself and jumped on her back…

I shook my head. It was time to stop dwelling in the past and live in the present. That sounded like something Dr. Whitley would say, but I didn’t care. In this instance, she was right.

I leaned back so I could look at Levi’s face. His eyes were filled with questions, but also something else. Something that turned their gray-green depths to a deeper olive color. Something that looked like affection, only stronger.

Ignoring the butterflies that look gave me, I cocked my head and gave him an impish smile. “What did Warren mean when he said you’d claimed me?”

His eyes fell closed, and a small groan vibrated from his chest. “I should’ve compelled you to forget that,” he mumbled.

“What?” I yipped as I tried to extricate myself from his embrace.

He held me tightly, saying, “I was joking, I swear.”

I stopped struggling and stared at him pointedly. “There’s a grain of truth in every joke.”

“I know,” he said, nodding. “Claiming a human is an archaic vampire tradition that most new vampires don't exercise. It means you’re under my protection as my…”

“Your… what?”