36. Millie

36

MILLIE

I don't want to answer it. I've been avoiding the constant ringing of my house phone like the plague because, most of the time, it's the detective from the local police station on my case or family members who have never checked on me before, wanting to invade my space. I stare at it as it hits the fourth ring. I curse under my breath, and my anxiety slowly withers away.

"Hello?"

"Hey! My older sister Penelope told me you drove by?" Leah tells me sleepily.

I start coughing and choking on my spit.

I'm caught.

"Are you okay?" she asks with a giggle.

I suck in a breath and try to clear my tangled nerves. Shit.

She knows I was there…

"Yeah. I did, but I…"

"Sorry, I was so tired from work today that I napped hard. I just woke up. Why'd you leave? Come back. We haven't hung out, and I miss you!" she chirps happily.

Why is she lying ?

"You know Leah…you don't have to lie to me. Even if the truth hurts, I can take it. But lying to me about being with Cole tonight is just weird. If you guys are together, that's fine. I want you to be happy, and if it's with him?—"

"Millie? What are you talking about? I've been alone since I got home from work. I mean…yes, Cole and I talk, but we've never done anything romantic or past friendship. I would tell you if we were dating. I just got you back. I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Leah," I call her out, appalled. Why is she lying and doing it so confidently? "I saw you with him tonight through your window." I pause, shuffling the phone to my other ear. The front door to my father's house slams shut, and I don't think twice about it. I know Nash is back home from studying.

"I saw you…with Cole. I went up to your window and was going to try and tap on your window like I always used to do. But then I saw that you were quite occupied, and you were…" I shake my head, blinking rapidly, trying to keep my voice as casual as possible. I don't want those images in my head right now. "I left right away, and it's okay. I?—"

Leah interrupts me. "I swear on my mother, Cole wasn't here. I've been napping!"

I try to respond, but then I hear a dead tone. All the electricity flickers momentarily before it goes out, and the phone dies. Did she hang up on me? She wouldn't do that to me. She's not like that. She's the type of friend who addresses harsh topics until we find a solution. Never angry or close-minded.

"Leah?" I ask, ensuring we lost connection. She doesn't respond, and I get a horrible feeling. Trepidation crawls into my skin, and I grip the phone tighter than I should. Darkness floods the entire house, and rain starts to tap harshly on the roof and windows, joining my shallow, fast breaths. Thunder explodes and rattles the windows.

No.

No.

We're not doing this . Everything is fine. I'm okay. I'm safe. No vampires are here, and I am leaving tomorrow.

Optimism.

"What the hell?" I place the phone back on the wall. "Nash! What's going on? The electricity is out?"

I'm returned with silence, which fuels my negative thoughts more.

Why isn't he responding?

"Nash? Are you home?" I walk into the living room and expect to see him on the couch, but he's not there. I furrow my brows, confused, and continue to call out to him.

"Nash!" I bypass the dining room and the kitchen, opening the door to my father's room, and pause. I don't know why I hesitate, as if I'm about to see my father walk out of his bathroom to tell me to stop my shouting. Flashes of him in his work uniform, fatigued red eyes, and darkened under circle holding my dinner plate for me. But it's just that. A flash of a memory with nothing to support it. He's gone.

I will not cry …

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I close the door and turn around to face the dark hallway. I check the parking lot through the front window by the living room, but I don't see Nash's Jeep.

Huh ?

I must have left the front door open when I came back home. I must have forgotten to close it because I was so jumpy from seeing Cole with Leah that I wasn't careful.

I need to find a flashlight. I rummage through the kitchen drawers, pulling them out individually, but I don't find any. I only see utensils, random batteries, and postcards.

Cooper follows me everywhere I go, his nails clacking against the tile with each step. I give him a small smile as I push through my dad's things in the drawer. I lean forward a little to get a better look and bend my knees slightly for a better angle to reach things through the cupboard.

"Do you know where Dad kept the flashlight, baby boy? I swear it's always by the—" I always talk to Cooper like he'll be able to talk back to me magically. My question gets cut off and replaced by another one.

"The pantry?" A man asks me in a tone I don't recognize.

I stop moving, paralyzed by the sudden intrusion. I slowly turn around, dazed and suspicious, because I didn't hear my close friend come into the house, never mind walk up to me. I whip around to find Cole in the kitchen with us, pointing my father's flashlight at me, waving it in circles like a game.

"Cole? What are you doing here?" I ask, stepping back until my behind collides with the kitchen counter.

Wasn't he just with Leah? Why is he inside my house? I mean, I don't mind.

It's Cole .

Cooper starts to growl beside me like he's warning Cole to stay away from me. He turns off the flashlight, and the lights in my father's house come back on. The light from the hallway gives the kitchen dim lighting, barely enough to see that Cole's dressed in a white jacket, black pants, and Converse. He's not wearing his glasses. He's looking at me like never before with devious, cruel intentions.

Is he mad I saw Leah and him together?

"I'm here because..." He looks me up and down like he's trying to undress me with his eyes, and I cross my arms over my chest. "Because it's time you tell me the truth, and I want to hear it from your Northern Vampire fucker mouth."

I gasp, and my mouth drops wide open. He takes a step closer to me, and I grip the counter tightly, looking for something to protect myself. Cooper starts to bark at him furiously.

Is Cole here to hurt me? How does he know about vampires?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Cole. Why are you here?" I ask, keeping my gaze on him. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

He never takes his eyes off of me. His silence is deafening, and the only thing I can hear is the blood rushing to my ears, thunder shaking the walls of my house, and my heart thumping in my chest.

"I loved you, Millie. I fell in love with you slowly over time. I could relate to you with having shitty parents that didn't want you—being the second-born son with hard-to-impress parents. Well, I have my fair share of trauma. But don't we all? They always overlooked me because I wasn't born first. But now, I've been called for a deeper purpose, and I had to give you up once The Depraved Prince murdered my older brother!" Cole crushes my father's flashlight in his hand when he squeezes it, and I watch all the bits and pieces fall to the floor. Cooper barks louder and starts to walk in front of me like he wants to pounce on Cole.

"What are you talking about?!" I ask, dumbfounded.

"So you want to act clueless?" Cole grins wickedly. He laughs slowly, and then his teeth become large fangs, slowly popping over his lips. Teeth I've come to know too well, and his eyes transform into a glimmering vibrant blue contrast to his original brown ones.

Is Cole a Southern vampire? Since when?!

"Oh my god. You…you're a vampire?" I breathe out while my shoulders sink, and I rub my eyes with my palms.

I swallow my nerves, almost choking on brewed anxiety. I start looking for a knife, desperately seeking protection. Even though I know it's not enough to protect myself, maybe it'll help.

"I didn't want to turn, but your boyfriend changed everything for me and my family. Or maybe he's an ex-boyfriend because you're back home now, and I don't see Prince Drago anywhere near you."

"Get out!" I yell, grabbing my father's pocket knife from the drawer, and holding it in front of me. Cooper senses the tension and the danger we're both in and lunges for Cole's throat. He flies forward, barking, snarling, and biting, and my heart sinks into my stomach.

"Cooper! NO!" I try to pull him back, but it's too late. Cooper bites his forearm and tries to dig his teeth in, but Cole is inhumanely fast. He grabs Cooper aggressively, forcing him to cry out and yelp, and Cooper goes limp with low whimpers on the floor.

"You evil monster!" I shout, gripping the knife harder, desperate to put it inside him. "Did you just kill Cooper?!" I'm seeing red.

"Come here, get on your knees, and find out." He dares me with an evil smile, pointing to Cooper. I dart my eyes to the floor, and thankfully, I can see he's still breathing but too weak to move.

Asshole . And there's nothing I can do to kill him but wait until the sun rises, and even then, it's still hours away.

"Does Leah know about you?" I bite out while my eyes well with tears.

"Didn't your boyfriend tell you? When we drink from humans, it erases their memory. They can't remember anything after. Leah doesn't remember the reason why her throat is so bruised from my dick tonight because I bit her right after. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on you because of how special you are." He throws air quotes around the word ‘special.' He scoffs and glares. "Leah was so eager to get a taste of me…an easy whore for me to use, and she doesn't even remember it the next day. Pathetic." He chuckles as he throws his head back, satisfied as the memories play back into both of our heads of their sexual encounter.

"Aww, are you jealous of Leah? Want me to fuck you too?" he continues.

"Screw you. I would never let you touch me!"

" Let me ? Poor little Millie. You naive bitch. I'm going to rape you over and over again, suck you dry, and dismember your body, then send it to your boyfriend."

"Cole… I cared about you! Why? What have I done to you?" I narrow my eyes and grip the knife handle harder, ready to use it.

"Well, one. You should have given me your cherry when I had the chance. But you gave it up to my enemy. Two, you're back here, and I know you're planning to leave for Alaska. Once you cross territories, I can't touch you. I wanted to kill you in front of him, but it looks like I'm going to get to have torturous fun with you for a bit longer. Let me take you home to my mother and show her I got the New Northern King's little pet under my leash. A Valkyrie."

I try to run for it, but then he's in front of me, blocking me, and I halt before I bump into him. I raise my knife, ready to fight for my life, but he grabs my wrist, the same one I broke earlier this year, and twists it until I feel pain.

"Ah!" I scream. "No!" I don't think it's broken, but it hurts enough for me to let go of it.

I struggle in his hold, but he doesn't let up. He pulls my hair to the side while I punch him everywhere I can. His gaze locks onto my neck with a wide smirk, but then it falls when he sees Hayden's mark.

"He marked you?" he murmurs, his tone full of shock. He loosens his grip, just like he's trying to process the information. "The Depraved Prince actually fell in love with you?" he scoffs, disgusted. His face turns red like he's about to rip me apart from envy.

Is that what it means when the teeth marks don't disappear? Is that a vampire thing?

Still, he holds me tight, and I swear if he could kill me with his murderous gaze, I would be dead. Still, if I can't kill him with my mortal body, I can wound him with my words.

"Wow, Cole. You're going to use me to get points with your mother? I think you're the pathetic one ," I spit out venomously with a forced smile. But my words cut too deep, and my eyes bulge from my skull when I realize how far those words struck his evil spirit. He picks me up faster than I can register or defend myself and throws me to the wall in my living room. I'm mid-air for a second or two before my back hits the fireplace, and I shut my eyelids tight, trying to catch the breath that was forced out of me with his heavy blow. I palm my ribs as I try to regain my strength. Everything burns. I hear his footsteps thud closer to me over the ominous ringing, and with each second, I dread it.

He picks me up by my hair, pulling it so hard I think he's going to scalp me. He drags me on the floor as I kick, hit Cole's body, and scream for help, hoping the neighbors can hear me, but the sounds of nature swallow my pleas for survival. He throws me to the couch, climbs on top of me, and pushes his entire body weight on me, crushing me.

He pulls my neck to the side, exposing my unscarred skin, and does what he promised. He sinks his teeth into my flesh and immediately starts to suck my blood out. He tightens his grip on the back of my head like he's punishing me.

"No!" I try to push against him, but it only makes my situation worse. Cole growls and slaps my face until I see stars. It gives me a whiplash to the point where I swear I can feel my brain convulse and collide within my skull.

"Millie, before you go unconscious, I need you to know something," he snarls hungrily.

Blackness starts to cloud my vision from how hard he pummeled the side of my head with his hand. I try to breathe, but my lungs have betrayed me and won't work. All I can do is try to keep fighting when my mind can't signal my body to move. There's a disconnect, and I'm going to suffer for it.

His lips brush against my ear, and I feel my blood drip out of my neck.

"I was the one who killed your father," Cole tells me proudly, and a sinister smile paints his darkened face.

My body runs cold at his confession. My eyes open weakly, and my chin starts to shake as the sobs are caught in my throat.

Cole killed my father.

Cole is my father's murderer .

Not Hayden.

He reaches for my skirt and pulls on it with his fingers hooked into my panties until the fabric tears.

"I bet I can fuck you better than he can," he murmurs into my ear chillingly.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" A deep voice snarls, full of pure lividity and vengeance. That voice. It drowns me in a chemistry I'm addicted to like a drug. But I can't move, can't speak or breathe. I can't run to Hayden or fight Cole off me as he continues to drain me, and I pass out.