13. It Won’t Happen Again

CHAPTER 13

It Won't Happen Again

B rynleigh's brain pounded against the confines of her skull, making a valiant effort to escape. She groaned, and her eyes opened. That only made things worse. The pounding increased as she took in her surroundings. Her brows knit together.

Wooden rafters stretched high above her head, and the bed was decidedly less cloud-like than before. The scratchy mud-brown blanket covering her wasn't delightful either. She wiggled her toes, the material itchy on her bare feet. White cabinets stretched along one wall, and the air was frigid. Several shiny medical instruments were displayed, and a doctor's coat was on a rack nearby.

She was in an… infirmary. How did she get here? And perhaps more importantly, why was she here?

"Hello?" Her mouth struggled to form the words, her tongue heavy like she'd eaten sandpaper.

A woman in pale pink scrubs with raven hair appeared in Brynleigh's field of vision. Kind blue eyes, much like Brynleigh's had been before she was Made, peered at the vampire through a set of wide-rimmed glasses.

"Oh, good. You're awake." The woman unceremoniously grabbed Brynleigh's chin and shone a thin, bright light into each of her eyes before nodding to herself. "Your vitals are strong."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Brynleigh would usually be more polite, but between the headache and the strange surroundings, gathering information seemed more important than manners.

The woman didn't seem to mind as she smiled. "You can call me Carin, dear. I'm the doctor who's been looking after you."

Doctor Carin crossed the room to a desk Brynleigh hadn't noticed before. She picked up a black phone that looked like it belonged several decades in the past and quickly dialed.

Whoever was on the other line must have answered right away.

"She's awake," the doctor murmured. "What do you want me to do?"

Narrowing her eyes, Brynleigh tried to focus her hearing on the voice coming through the phone line. It was faint, but she picked up a few words.

"… keep… until it's passed… the Chancellor says…"

Carin dipped her head. "Understood. Do you want me to knock her out again?"

Brynleigh's heart seized. She would not allow that to happen, even if it meant going against the doctor. She needed to remain alert and figure out what was happening.

The doctor glanced at Brynleigh. "No, she looks normal. Pale, but they all are."

Brynleigh's fingers grappled at the sheet as she struggled to find her last coherent memory. The doctor's words insinuated they'd already knocked her out once.

She didn't remember any of that. She didn't even remember putting on the black sweater that currently covered her arms.

Her mind swirled as she sought her missing memories. Evidently, she wasn't in the Hall of Choice. This room was too small and quaint to be part of the massive building in the middle of Golden City.

Brynleigh had been on a date with her mark when?—

"Fuck," she groaned.

Everything came flooding back all at once. The rebels. The bunker. And then… th e blood.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Brynleigh fought the urge to scream. She'd been so close to falling into bloodlust and ruining everything. And then after…

The dream.

Heat rushed through her core.

Bad.

This was monumentally bad. Terrible, even. Brynleigh couldn't wrap her mind around how awful this was.

She'd sought the man she planned to murder for comfort in her distress. And she'd let him touch her and bring her to immense pleasure.

No, terrible was too simple a word for this. Catastrophic. That was more fitting. Had she thought the way she reacted to his voice was problematic? That was nothing compared to this.

Brynleigh recalled what she'd called him: her safe haven.

Gods damn it all.

She wanted to bang her head against the wall but decided the doctor probably wouldn't receive the action well. Instead, she rubbed her temples and attempted to talk some sense into herself.

The captain was not her safe place. He was the pinnacle of everything dark and dangerous in her life.

Brynleigh needed to get her head checked because mentally sane people did not find the man who killed their family attractive, let alone dream about him bringing them to orgasm.

The doctor hung up the phone and met Brynleigh's gaze. "You've had quite an eventful few days." Carin's voice was soft, and there was a trace of kindness in her eyes. "They tranquilized you in Golden City and transported you here."

Brynleigh's heart tightened, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. "Am I…" She licked her lips. "Am I still in the Choosing?"

"You are." A gentle, practiced smile likely meant to help her patients feel at ease danced on the doctor's lips. It didn't quite work, but Brynleigh appreciated the effort.

"Where are we?"

"We're in a safe place, dear. Your Matron will explain more when you're better. We're on a warded compound, and no one will get to us here. "

Brynleigh blinked, her mind whirling as it attempted to keep up with this new information.

"You should rest," continued the doctor. "Now that you're awake and I've checked your vitals, there are a few things I need to take care of."

Carin went to leave, but Brynleigh reached out and grabbed her hand.

"My things." Desperation coated the vampire's words as she remembered her folded picture. She'd left it in the Hall of Choice. "Are they gone?"

She almost didn't want to hear the answer. If she lost the picture…

Grief cut off her airways and stole her breath.

No.

Tears stung the back of her eyes.

Panic rose and rose within her. This couldn't be happening.

She grabbed her necklace, but it didn't help. The picture… she needed it. It was too important.

Oh gods.

Her heart raced.

A warm hand covered Brynleigh's, grounding the vampire. "Not to worry." A squeeze. "Everything was packed and brought with you."

It was here. Not lost.

Slowly, so slowly, Brynleigh's heart slowed. Her eyes shuttered, and she exhaled. "Thank you."

"Of course." Carin strode to the fridge and withdrew a few bags of blood. "You know, I've been watching the Choosing. For what it's worth, I'm rooting for you and Captain Waterborn. The two of you make a handsome couple."

With a wink, the doctor handed Brynleigh the blood and pulled on a coat. "I'll be back soon. You should sleep. The tranquilizer they gave you is still in your system. Rest will help."

Brynleigh didn't move as the door slammed shut behind Carin. It closed too quickly for Brynleigh to see anything except for the dark outline of a man's body. A guard, she assumed.

Brynleigh frowned. Her gaze darted between the blood and the phone on the doctor's desk. Judging by the ache in her fangs and the hollowness in her stomach, she needed to feed, but she had no idea how long the doctor would be gone. This was the first phone she'd seen in weeks, and after the dream she'd had…

She had a call to make. Her lips pursed, and she quickly ran a dozen scenarios through her mind. In the end, her decision wasn't difficult. She didn't have long and needed to act now.

Her mind made up, she slipped her legs out from beneath the scratchy blanket. Her bare toes curled as they pressed against the frigid wooden floor, and she wondered where her shoes had gone. She banished the thought. There were bigger problems at hand.

Participants of the Choosing technically weren't allowed contact with the outside world, but this was one rule she was willing to break. If someone came in, she'd think of an excuse.

Brynleigh perched on the edge of the desk, keeping an eye on the front door as she lifted the phone from its cradle. It was nothing like the sleek, rectangular cellphone she usually used. This one was larger than her hand and had a long, coiled black cord that hung off the side of the desk. It reminded her of the one on the kitchen wall growing up.

At the memory of her familial home, a surge of acerbic anger went through Brynleigh. That kitchen, with its bright sunshine yellow wallpaper with daisies and light blue cupboards, was gone.

Destroyed.

By him .

The same man whom she'd invited to touch her in her dreams.

Bitterness burned at the back of Brynleigh's throat, and her grip tightened around the phone. She'd been an idiot but wouldn't make that same mistake again.

This time, she'd follow the rules to a T.

The only good thing about the dream was that it hadn't been real. She was the only witness to her extreme lapse in judgment. No one else had seen her break the rules.

Never again , Brynleigh vowed.

That was the first and last time Ryker would ever touch her, in dreams or reality. She would never let her guard down around him.

He was her enemy .

Dialing the number she'd memorized years ago, Brynleigh brought the phone to her ear and waited for it to connect.

It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Jelisette sounded angry.

Shit. Little was more dangerous than an angry vampire, especially one as powerful and old as Brynleigh's Maker.

Brynleigh shifted on the desk. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe her Maker didn't want her to check in.

It was too late now, though. She'd already called.

She kept her gaze locked on the door and whispered, "It's me."

Jelisette sucked in a breath. "Brynleigh?" Her voice was slightly less venomous, but the icy tone remained. "Where are you?"

"I don't know." Brynleigh shook her head before she realized her Maker couldn't see her. "There was an attack, and?—"

"I know about that. It's all over the news," the older vampire snapped. "Rebels attacked the Chancellor's residence, triggering riots throughout Golden City. They're still being contained. Zanri and I evacuated to the Western Region."

Brynleigh's eyes widened. This was worse than she'd imagined. "Did a lot of people die?"

"They aren't reporting casualty numbers yet. What happened to you? The feeds to the Choosing went black when the first bomb went off, and they haven't come back online."

Brynleigh made a split-second decision not to tell Jelisette about almost falling into bloodlust. She'd never lied to her Maker before, but she didn't want a lecture about being more careful. Besides, guilt was already a blade jabbing her conscience. She didn't need Jelisette to tell her it was wrong, too.

"They moved us," Brynleigh whispered, cognizant of the guard outside. "I'm in a cabin, and the air is colder. If I had to guess, I'd say we're in the Northern Region."

"Find out," Jelisette ordered, her tone one Brynleigh had heard many times before.

"Hold on."

Holding the phone to her ear, Brynleigh hopped off the desk. The nearest window was behind her. The phone cord stretched as Brynleigh reached for the thick, black curtain. She inched back the fabric. If it was daytime, the tiniest touch of sunlight on her skin would be like burning alive.

Luckily, the moon glowed in the night sky.

Brynleigh exhaled and peeked out the window. Snow-covered pines were all around, and fresh snow fell from the starry sky.

"Yes, it seems we're in the north," she confirmed.

The Northern Region, previously known as the Kingdom of Eleyta, was the ancestral home of the vampires in the Republic of Balance. It struck Brynleigh as odd. How could a stunningly beautiful land be home to beings as deadly and cold as vampires?

The faint outlines of more buildings through the trees were cast in silver moonlight. Brynleigh described them as best she could until her Maker was satisfied.

"How is your relationship?" the older vampire asked next.

Brynleigh's stomach twisted, and despite her earlier vow, a pulse of pure want ran through her. She couldn't help it. The memory of Ryker's skilled fingers was so fresh.

"It's progressing well." She forced the words out of a dry mouth.

"Good girl," her Maker said. "You remember the rules?"

The ones that Brynleigh had obliterated? Yes. She remembered them far too well. If anything, she wished she could forget them. Anything so she could feel better about the dream she'd had.

How could something that felt so good be so bad?

"Brynleigh, answer me!" Cold steel edged Jelisette's voice. "Do you remember the rules, daughter of my blood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Brynleigh replied automatically. "I won't get attached, and I'll kill him on our wedding night the moment we're alone."

It didn't matter that the captain seemed like a good fae, or that he was kind to Brynleigh, or that he made her feel safe.

None of that mattered because he'd murdered her entire family in cold blood.

Brynleigh would do well to remember that. The captain had a nice exterior, but inside, he was still a bad man. She just… hadn't met that side of him yet. She was certain it was there, though. It had to be there. What other explanation could there be ?

A branch snapped outside, and Brynleigh jolted.

"I have to go," she hissed.

Brynleigh hung up without waiting for a response. Drawing on her shadows, she sped across the room and climbed in bed. Ripping open the first bag of blood, she downed the crimson liquid. She was almost at the bottom of the bag when the door opened.

This time, the door remained ajar long enough to give Brynleigh a good look around.

A pair of guards dressed in black stood in front of the cabin. Their stances were wide, and guns hung off their belts. They meant business as they stared straight ahead into the wintery forest. Wherever they were, it must have been far in the north. Snow wouldn't hit Golden City until right before Winter Solstice, which was still several months away.

Doctor Carin strode inside, kicking the snow off her boots before shutting the door. She spoke quietly into a cell phone, barely glancing at Brynleigh as she grabbed a sheet of paper off the desk. The doctor dropped into the office chair with an audible sigh and spun it around so her back was to Brynleigh.

The doctor's murmurs filled the cabin as exhaustion slammed into Brynleigh. It was sudden and all-consuming. Keeping her eyes open was a struggle. She fought to remain alert long enough to finish the bag of blood before letting her head fall back on the lumpy pillow.

Sleep. That's what she needed. Quiet, peaceful, rule-following sleep. There would be no dreams of troublesome, dangerous captains this time. Brynleigh wouldn't allow it.

One day, she would be old enough for sleep to be part of her past. Some vampires were so ancient that they felt no aches and pains and no longer required rest like mortals. A few vampires who had lived several thousand years no longer needed blood.

Right now, Brynleigh felt so mortal that she couldn't imagine living for that long. She would take this one day at a time.

This time, nightmares of deadly storms and watery screams plagued her all night long.