39. Evalee

EVALEE

O kay, I know what you’re probably thinking at this point. Is Eva really going to turn into a vampire just so she can save her fake, dead sister? If that were the case, if that was the only way I could save her, the answer would be yes. Ryleigh may have pretended to be my fake sister, but the emotional connection I felt toward her still resides inside my body.

I can’t let the society kill her. I can’t let her become a killer. I need to help her somehow.

Fortunately, going all vamp isn’t what Peyton meant.

See, here’s the deal with vampire blood that not a lot of people know. If someone simply takes a little taste, they get unlimited vampire power for a temporary amount of time, which means super strength, freakishly good hearing, lightning quick speed, and badass ninja moves. There’s only one tiny problem with this awesome plan. And by problem, I mean a very broody, stubborn, controlling, albeit sexy wizard.

“No way,” Hunter says, shaking his head. “If she dies while the blood’s in her system, then she’ll be one of you.”

“Dude, what is with all the ‘no ways’ today?” I ask, gaping at him. “And when did you get so controlling? You sure as hell weren’t like this a week ago when things were normal.”

“Exactly.” He steps closer to me, and I have to tip my chin up to meet his eyes. “A week ago, things were normal. A week ago, a town full of demons wasn’t after your power. A week ago, you didn’t have some damn perverted demon trying to screw you.”

“Screw me?” I shake my head. “You mean, screw with me.”

“No, I mean screw you.” He rolls his eyes at my expression, which I’m sure can only be described as idiotically stupid. Then he leans in and lowers his voice. “Whether you believe it or not, there’s been a ton of guys who have wanted you and still do. And that’s been fine in the past—it’s not like you ever paid attention to any of them. But when it’s a demon—a cocky, douchebag demon, for that matter—it makes me worry.”

“Is there really any other sort of demon besides cocky, douches?” I joke, totally missing the mark.

He frowns. “You’re not. But other than that, no.”

“Maybe I would be if I knew how to use my demon power,” I suggest, crossing my arms.

The room grows silent for a beat before both Peyton and Hunter bust up laughing,

“Can you imagine a cocky Eva?” Peyton says through her tears of laughter.

Hunter continues to laugh. “That’d be like Troy suddenly becoming humble.”

They give each other a high-five.

Well, at least they’re bonding. Granted, it’s over making fun of me, but whatever.

“Fine. Laugh all you want. I’ve got some vampire blood to drink and a freak show to get to.” I turn to leave, when Hunter folds his fingers around my arm. “Let me go. I’m going to do this whether you like it or not. I’ll put a sleepy spell on you if I have to.” If that isn’t an empty threat, I don’t know what is.

A sleepy spell? Really, Eva? Hunter knows you can’t do those.

His grip loosens a smidgeon. “Look, I get that you want to do this, but I can’t let you go alone. And while I’m confident in my magic skills, if we get ambushed by a group of demons, I won’t be able to protect you.”

“You could always drink the vampire blood, too.” Peyton smirks when Hunter targets her with a fuck-you look. “That is, unless you’re too scared your perfect wizard blood will get tainted by my nasty, toxic, more powerful blood.”

“That’s not what I’m afraid of,” Hunter all but growls.

Peyton raises her brows, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “Then what’s the problem?”

He grits his teeth. “I guess there isn’t one.”

“Really?” I say then throw my arms around Hunter. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

He hugs me back tightly. “But you have to promise me one thing.”

“Name it, and it’s yours,” I say, letting my arms fall from him.

“If at any time, things look too dangerous, we bail out.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “And, under no circumstances are you to go anywhere with Max. You’ll stay near me at all times and make no deals with that devil of an asshole.”

I nod, though it feels like a lie.

Because, deep down, I know I’ll go with Max if it means saving Ryleigh.