The muscle twitched even more, she could hear his teeth grinding. “We cannot change what we are, or what has been,” she couldn’t help but add, her eyes narrowing pointedly as she reiterated his words. She had to accept him for what he was, and he had to do the same with her. “You just have to accept it, as we have.”
Muscle twitching violently, he turned slowly away from her. His shoulders were set stiffly, his hands fisted at his sides so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. She had aggravated him immensely, she knew that, but she felt no remorse for it. They would not run from this, or any other problems that arose. They had to stay; it was their duty, hell it was in their blood. It was who they were, who they were born to be.
Luther shook his head, resting his arm on the mantle as he pulled his glasses off, cleaning them once more. It was his habit to clean them whenever he was irritated, or needed time to think. It was probably a little of both at the moment. “Tell him what the two of you can do.” Luther stared at Chris and Melissa as he slid his glasses back on. They exchanged weary glances once more, still hesitant to reveal their secrets.
CHAPTER 4
“If the three of you insist upon staying then Devon will need to know of your abilities in order to utilize them in the best ways possible.” Luther’s voice was tinged with aggravation as he stared hard at them.
Devon knew very well the annoyance the man was feeling. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had not to grab hold of Cassie and forcefully remove her from this house, and this town. If it weren’t for the fact that she would hate him, and possibly never forgive him for it, he would. His hands clenched tighter at the thought of anything bad happening to her. When he saw Julian again, he was going to rip him limb from limb for what he had done to her earlier.
He glanced down at her, fighting his baser, more animalistic urges. Not only was he battling with himself not to remove her from this town, but he was also fighting the fierce urge to taste her once more, possess her. Her blood had been the sweetest nectar he had ever experienced. He had never even dreamed of anything tasting so delicious or possessing so much power. The memory of it was enticing, luring, and delectable. It was everything that the beautiful woman sitting stiffly beside him was.
At the moment he didn’t know if he wanted to force her to leave, or taste her more. No, he did not simply want to taste her he wanted to change her, possess her. He wanted to make her immortal, he wanted to keep her safe, keep her with him, and alive, for eternity. As a Hunter she was far too vulnerable to the dangers and hurts of the world. She was far too susceptible to death. A shudder ran up his spine, his eyes closed briefly as a surge of bloodlust rippled through him.
Being around her was a constant battle with his darker, more twisted side. But it also brought out the best of him, drawing him into a light he had never expected to find, completing him in a way that he had never thought possible. Her love and unwavering faith in him, even after the events of the night, were far more than he deserved from his life, and something that he had never expected to find. Now that he had her though, he was not letting her go. When it came down to it, he would do anything to keep her with him, and safe. Even if it meant that he had to drag her from this town and risk earning her wrath.
Eventually his feelings would cause problems between them. Somewhere along the way their relationship would come to a dangerous head, and he would have to make a decision she may end up hating him for. But now was not that time, and he was not willing to dwell on such unpleasantness. Now was a time for strategizing, and learning as much as he could about the people around him. If they had abilities that would aid him in his hunt for Julian, then he would use them in every way he could.
He would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
Melissa licked her lips nervously, Chris still looked doubtful. “I have premonitions,” Melissa said softly. “Some are inconsequential, foolish, and vague. Others, well, others are awful, detailed, and almost consuming. They don’t always come true though, like tonight.” Her glance slid pointedly to Cassie, her onyx eyes were hurt and wounded. Though he had exceptional sight, even he could barely tell the difference between the black of Melissa’s pupil and the near black of her iris. The effect was startling, especially against her smooth olive complexion and raven hair. “Devon’s intervention tonight stopped my premonition from coming true, but I didn’t see him in it. I only saw Cassie, wounded, bleeding, dead.”
Cassie gasped loudly, the color drained from her face, as her astonishing violet blue eyes widened in surprise. The light of the room flickered off of the bright violet flecks in her questioning, fearful eyes. “You saw my death?” she choked out.
Devon stiffened, anger and fear coiling through him. Melissa nodded slowly, her gaze darting to the wall behind Cassie. “Yes, it was awful. Awful.” Melissa shuddered as she wrapped her slender arms around herself; she took a deep breath to steady herself. Chris draped an arm around Melissa’s shoulders, pulling her gently against his side. “I never want to see anything like that again, but unfortunately, I don’t have a choice.”
“I have no control over my premonitions, when they come, or what they are.” Though horror still filled her gaze, there was a steel rod of strength running through her. “I had a premonition a couple years ago of your arrival Devon. I knew that you would come for Cassie, and that you would change things. Make her whole again, so to speak.”
Cassie’s face flooded with color as she turned away from the eyes that swung toward her. “I’ve seen nothing else of you though. I had no idea what you were, or when you would come, I didn’t even know what you would look like, but I have been waiting.” Melissa sighed, her dark head bowed slightly. “Somehow, maybe because of what you are, you keep us blocked out. I don’t know why that one premonition of you slipped through, but I have a feeling that no more will come.”
Devon frowned as he puzzled over Melissa’s statement. He knew why she didn’t receive visions about him, but he didn’t understand why she had even gotten that one. Melissa’s gaze was questioning, her dark eyes eager. She wanted to know why she saw nothing about him, but he wasn’t ready to spill yet. At least not until he knew more about them first.
Though premonitions were a handy thing to have for a lot of things, they would not help him. Not now. She would have no visions about Julian either, maybe some of his actions, but not Julian. “And you?” he asked Chris quietly, ignoring the crestfallen look on Melissa’s face. He liked the girl, he didn’t want to keep her in the dark, but he wanted to hear everything they had to say before he laid all of his cards on the table.