“I second that,” Chris agreed.
Cassie shrugged, her gaze falling on Devon. He was back in her life now, so no matter how awful the day was it could never be as awful as the past couple of weeks. Her fingers darted up to her neck, joy suffused her as she pressed against the small wounds there. Though she was a fast healer, the marks were still barely visible upon her skin. Touching them now, she was once more swept away by the rush of love that had encompassed her when he had been feeding upon her.
He glanced at her, his eyebrows drawing sharply together as he studied her worriedly. She smiled reassuringly up at him, dropping her hand from her neck. Pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek, he lightly stroked her face. Cassie didn’t realize she had stopped breathing until he sat back. The effect he had on her was startling and intense. It didn’t ease either, but grew everyday that she was around him.
“Eat,” he whispered.
She managed a small nod, picking her pizza up numbly as she began to slowly pick at her food. “When is Luther coming back?” Chris inquired.
Melissa shrugged, eyeing her sandwich with distaste. “I don’t know, I haven’t heard from him in a couple of days.” Devon shifted beside her, his hand idly stroking the back of her neck. Though he appeared nonchalant she could sense a sudden tension humming through him. “Probably be back soon.”
Cassie continued to pick at her lunch, forcing herself to swallow the soggy pizza. “You know we should probably go out hunting tonight.”
Devon stiffened beside her, his hand momentarily tightened on the back of her neck. “Cassie…”
“We have to go back out,” she insisted. “They’re still out there. They are going to start killing people again. I just wish I knew where they’ve been.”
That was the worst of it, she knew they were out there, but they had been hiding low for so long that she was becoming truly petrified about what they were planning. It had to be something awful. Devon began to caress her again when she shuddered with dread. She turned toward him, her eyes questioning.
“Do you know where they are?”
Devon shook his head, his dark hair falling across his forehead. “No Cassie.”
“But they are planning something big.”
His forehead furrowed. “I don’t know what they’re planning Cass, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back out there right now.”
Her eyes narrowed sharply. “I am much better now.”
“But you’re still angry and…”
“Of course I’m angry,” she interrupted hotly, her hands clenching tightly. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to remain calm. Being flustered and fierce would get her nowhere. “But something has to be done before they destroy more families.”
Devon sighed softly, his head bowed slightly. “I know how you feel Cassie, but why don’t you wait until Luther comes back.”
“Why? We’ve gone out since he left.”
“I know that, but I think it would be best if you waited. Give yourself a little more time to regroup, and Luther is your Guardian.”
She bristled slightly, hating his logic, hating the confines placed against her. She glanced around the cafeteria, taking in all the people that had turned against her. Though they hated her now, the last thing she wanted was for one of them to get hurt, for one of them to experience the heart wrenching loss that clung to her. They may hate her, but she was the only protection they had against the monsters haunting their town, and she was going to do everything she could to keep them safe.
Her gaze darted to the large cafeteria windows, squinting past the slowly swirling flakes of snow. “Why have they been so quite?” she whispered thoughtfully. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the fleeting glances they all exchanged. Something bristled inside her, causing her to shift uncomfortably in her chair. “What’s with the look?”
Melissa bowed her head, placing her tomato sandwich down as she leaned back in her chair. Her onyx eyes gleamed in the harsh light of the cafeteria. “They haven’t,” she answered softly, glancing nervously at the others.
“Excuse me?” Cassie asked sharply.
“They haven’t been quiet,” Chris said more forcefully. “They are out there.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying; no murders have been reported…”
“Cassie, when was the last time you read the paper or watched the news?”
Her hands fisted, her eyes darted briefly to Devon who was watching her intently, concern radiated from him. Swallowing heavily, she turned her attention back to Chris who looked extremely uncomfortable. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted reluctantly.
“They have been out there Cass. There have been murders, or animal attacks, or whatever the police are coming up with to help them sleep at night. There have been more missing people reported.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
They all shifted uncomfortably. Chris leaned across the table, his hands resting lightly upon hers. Devon stiffened slightly beside her, but he didn’t protest. “Because you couldn’t handle it.”
“Yes I could have!” she retorted, shock and outrage rolling through her.
“Cassie, you could hardly handle crawling out of bed in the morning.”
Tears burned the backs of her eyes; guilt filled her as she shook her head. She tried to deny his words, but she knew that they were right. She was an idiot, she realized with a silent groan. She should have known that Julian and Isla would not go into hiding, especially not after the blow that they had dealt to her. They would be relishing in their victory over her, and reveling in her inability to stop them. Her inability to handle her grief and anger had caused even more people to be killed. Guilt and self hatred swamped her, nearly choking her with its intensity. She had been created for one purpose, to hunt, to destroy, and to keep innocent people safe.
She had failed miserably on all accounts.
“It’s my fault then.”
“Of course not,” Devon said sharply, shooting Chris an angry look. “You’re human Cassie, you lost a loved one and you needed to grieve for that loss. It is Julian and Isla’s fault, not yours.”
Cassie turned away from them, fighting back waves of grief and anger. It didn’t matter what they said, she was going to blame herself. “But I’m not human,” she lamented. “So that’s even more of a reason to get out there in force now.”