“How?” I ask, confused.
Claire stops and glances at the table, “Someone spelled it,” she says before running out.
I have to jog to keep up with them as they run towards the car. As soon as I shut the door Caroline takes off again, making me fall back into the seat and nearly drop the books. I quickly place them in the footwell and chuck my seat belt on.
“How long?” Caroline asks Claire.
“We have enough time,” she answers.
Claire is absent-mindedly playing with her necklace. After a few minutes, she reaches back inside her black bag and pulls two silver bangles. “Put this on,” she says, handing one to Caroline and one to me.
I grab the bracelet, not knowing what it is for, but I feel like I can trust Claire. “What’s it for?” I ask, curious why we are all getting blinged up.
“To stop your mates from being able to track you through your bond. They won’t be able to feel you. You can still feel them, but to Tobias, Theo, and Josiah, they won’t feel the pull towards you and be able to find you.”
I look at Caroline. I didn’t know Vampires have mates; I’m a little tripped out that Josiah and Caroline are mates when they were both human to begin with. Caroline chuckles slightly, noticing my gaze through the revision mirror.
“Vampires have bonds too, not like werewolf bonds, not like what you have with Tobias and Theo. They aren’t as strong but once we pick a life partner and spend a long time with them, we pick up on each other, influence each other until eventually a bond is formed.” She explains. I nod, still a little confused.
“What you have with Tobias and Theo is a little different. You are all pieces of whole if that makes sense, like puzzle pieces. Without the other ones, the pieces in the picture can’t be made; together and joined you become a whole. Does that make sense?” Claire says, trying to explain.
“Yes, but where are we going?”
“I have a cabin out in the woods a few days’ drive from here,” Claire answers.
“We are going to Claire’s until we come up with a plan. At least now, we may be able to find out something about your family, and what you are. The blood tests came back yesterday, and all we found is that your father is a vampire.”
“My father is a vampire?” I ask, stunned.
“Yes, we found trace amounts of vampire DNA in your system. It is very weak,” Caroline explains.
“Well, we know one other thing, the mother’s side were witches,” Claire chimes in.
I don’t know how to feel about that. If they were witches, how did they hide it from me and why am I not a witch? As if reading my thoughts, Claire answers. “You don’t believe me?” She asks before looking at my bracelet around my wrist. “That talisman holds your power or magic, as we like to call it. When we get to my place and are safe, we can try to unlock that talisman and let the magic find its way home.”
“But if I’m a witch, why do we have to run?” I ask, confused.
“Because you may not be forced to change from the council, but you are still technically human. Tobias won’t allow you to die just to have a child, Imogen. They will still change you, regardless.” Caroline explains.
Her words remind me of what Theo said last night. “Theo said my blood changed, that it reminded him of Tobias’s.” I tell her.
Caroline glances at me in the mirror. “That means you’re having a were-baby,” Caroline says, confirming my assumptions.
Theo
The moment she stepped into our building looking for a job, I could smell her innocence. Not in the sense of her virginity, no that was gone long before we got to her. She is experienced in that area and very open-minded. But a purity that is near impossible to explain. It isn’t just the way she looks; it’s more a sense. Everything about her is pure, her thoughts are pure and no malice, despite her pain, her intentions, the way she carries herself.
She has this aura around her, following her, leaving pieces of herself everywhere she goes. Her heart truly has no limits for ever giving, not asking for anything in return. Imogen is the sort of person who will give until she has nothing left, give herself over completely if she thinks it is in another’s best interest. She trusts blindly, yet when betrayed, fights wildly, almost irrationally in her anger, only to continue to forgive and let others take from her even when it is killing her slowly piece by piece.
But I doubt the girl has ever held a grudge in her life longer than five seconds. It isn’t in her nature, she can forgive and forget like it is a flick of a switch, always choosing to give another chance, no matter how much we wrong her. I do fear that will be what gets her killed, though.
I know we have taken from her, taken her choice, taken that innocence from her. But what we found after taking everything from her is everything she is capable of. The girl has flair and fire deep within her that she keeps hidden away, never trusting of her own emotions, never letting them show, even when we know she is breaking. She has the ultimate control within herself and what she feels, yet in her thoughts she feels out of control. Sure, we have seen her anger, but with it comes her forgiveness. It is like she isn’t satisfied unless she has nothing left. Like she is more comfortable, having nothing; like she thinks she is undeserving.
When I leave that morning, leaving Imogen, something pulls at me. This overwhelming sense of longing, even though she is right in front of me. Walking out of the house, I feel like I’m losing everything I love about her, yet I know by the look in her eyes that she has found an additional reason for life. Her eyes hold hope, even in impending doom.
She no longer fears her death, and I wonder why she suddenly has the light back in her eyes. I almost wonder who else she has to fight for. Same as last night when she woke, I had this immense feeling she was saying goodbye, the way she touched me, the way she said my name was almost like she was afraid it would be the last time she would speak it.