"See me after class," the Professor said to her before turning around and stalking back to the front of the class. Kerry watched his retreating back in shock; she still couldn't believe that she had found her dad. She knew he was in Hawaii, but she didn't think finding him would be so damn easy. He was a college professor, something she had never imagined he would be interested in. But then again, Kerry didn't know much about the man—he left her when she was a little girl. All she had were fragments of memories she had to constantly piece together. If it weren't for the resemblance between them, she might have mistaken him for someone else."Do you know Professor Shane?" Ruby asked curiously. She wasn't the only one who had grown interested in the short conversation between the usually cold yet handsome professor and her new friend.Usually, Mr. Shane didn't even address students directly unless they had questions. Due to his youthful and incredibly good-looking appearance, many girls
Kerry woke up with a headache. It wouldn't be the first time, and she was already starting to get used to it at this point. She expected to wake up in a strange room, tied to a chair or something. Or maybe Asher might decide to mess with her head, make her forget things. It all sounded like the kind of thing the messed-up bastard would do. But no, she woke up in the familiar bedroom of her Hawaiian house."How do you feel?" Silas was beside her. He hadn't left her side since he brought her back home. He had even thought about taking her to the hospital, but he had been assured she would be alright. Just stress—it was normal for someone in her condition. "Kerry? Talk to me.""I feel fine," she said with a sigh. "Apart from the headache, that is.""Do you need me to bring you something for that?"She thought about it for a second, then shook her head. She already felt like she was going to be sick; she didn't need anything bitter right now. Maybe if the headache didn't go away in half a
I didn't have the guts to attend my dad's class again. If I could, I would have skipped school completely, because I no longer found joy in studying when I knew that something much bigger and dangerous was hiding around the corner—something I couldn't uncover no matter how hard I tried. I thought that the biggest mystery in my life would be figuring out why my dad had left me or what he was. But then came Asher, and now even Silas—whom I was sure I could trust—was keeping something from me. I had no idea what to do.My dad tried reaching out to me, but he must have noticed the amount of effort I was putting into avoiding him. He stopped seeking me out a week later, and I didn't know whether that made me feel better or worse. It hurt how easy it had been for him to give up on me again, but I guess he thought he was only doing it to protect me or make me happy. I felt neither safe nor joyful. But at least Asher hadn't appeared to me in a while. That could only mean he was off planning h
I felt like crying, but I think I had already shed all my tears earlier that day. I lay curled up on the bed, feeling worse than I ever had in my entire life. To me, no situation could ever be worse than the one I found myself in. I had been hurting so badly for the past week, and to think Silas knew about my pain and chose to keep the reason behind it to himself. Did he hope I would never find out I was pregnant until I was pushing a baby out of me? I thought he loved me and had promised to always protect me no matter what, but now he had decided that he would rather protect his unborn child than me. That was a betrayal on a whole different level.I was mad at him, and honestly, I wish I could hate him enough to just fuck off entirely, maybe move away somewhere I could get my thoughts together. But the thought of how hurt Silas would be at my actions made me discard the idea immediately. I'm such an idiot; I always thought of him first despite everything that had happened. Despite ev
Bill and my mom arrived later that evening. The moment I opened the door, Mom rushed in and wrapped her arm around me tightly. "Oh, sweetheart, thank God you are alright." She must have assumed the very worst when I called her on the phone. I kind of felt bad for making her worry so much."I'm alright, Mom," I told her. I helped her with her things. Bill didn't say anything to me; he was saving the conversation for when we were all comfortable. Silas came to greet his dad and stepmom, and he and Bill seemed to be very tense around each other. Silas avoided eye contact with his dad even as he showed him around the house. I was worried that what I had said might have somehow messed up the relationship between those two. The last thing I wanted was to make things complicated. Being pregnant was a hard pill to swallow; being pregnant with a hybrid baby that might possibly kill me was even worse. But once I got over the fear of the danger my pregnancy would bring, I found myself excited at
I could hardly sleep that night. It didn't help one bit that Silas had insisted on us spending the night together. I was afraid that my wild thoughts would somehow reach him. Even though he had promised me never to read my mind, I was afraid he might go back on his word, especially in a situation like this. The weight of my decision kept me awake and tense. On more than one occasion, my hand had curled around my stomach. I had imagined how my baby would look, but now I was never going to get the chance to hold him or her in my hands. I had selfishly chosen myself over the innocent child."Kerry?""Hm?" My eyes pried open. I had given up on pretending to be asleep after the first two hours. Silas had simply stated, in an unimpressed voice, how he could hear my heart beating faster; he knew when I was awake or not. Even if he didn't have his enhanced hearing, I'm sure he would be able to tell I wasn't asleep by how tense I was. The room was dark enough that I couldn't make out anything.
" Lay here, please.""This won't take long, will it?""It depends, sweetheart, but I assure you, you will be fine once this is over," the man says. I look over at Bill, who is standing in the corner of the room."He's an old friend of mine. Nothing will go wrong."I nod my head and push down my anxiety. I get on the hospital bed, the sickly smell of drugs and chemicals making me slightly nauseous. However, I tell myself that this is a one-time thing. Once this is over, I will never have to go through it again.I relax against the bed as the sedatives I had been given earlier take over. Soon, the room starts spinning, but I could swear I see a figure appear in the corner of the room before everything goes dark.When I wake up, I find that I am in an entirely different room than the one Bill had brought me to. I push down my panic, not wanting to overreact over nothing. Perhaps I had been taken to a different room after my... abortion. It’s strange, though... I don’t feel any different
"What the fuck!?" Silas is pissed—scratch that, he feels like fucking murdering someone right now. The only thing that feels worse than his anger is the fear that makes his skin crawl. "I've only been gone for a few hours!!"Bill doesn't say anything. The man hasn't even looked at him throughout the argument, and this only makes Silas more pissed. "I begged you not to do this! I was against this fucking abortion, and yet you went behind my back to do it! Now you have no fucking idea where she is?!""I am sorry, I should have protected her better," Bill says. The regret and shame are evident in his voice. He hadn't meant to let his guard down. One moment, he was by Kerry's side, and they were about to begin the procedure. The next moment, his vision went blurry, and he had no idea what the fuck happened. When everything cleared up, Kerry was gone. It happened so fast that Bill found it hard to believe.He had searched for her, of course. He had hoped that perhaps she had left on her ow
There was something off-putting about the young man. He looked young anyway, but knowing vampires, he might just be decades older than he appeared. Via wasn’t usually attentive toward other people. Unlike Jess, she preferred her own company. But the stranger was leaning against her car, so she couldn’t just ignore him."Hello, Octavia," he greeted her, extending a hand toward her. Via eyed the hand briefly before reaching out to take it. Her palm tingled as it made contact with the vampire’s cold, stiff skin."Um, I don’t think we’ve met.""We haven’t.""Then, you are...""I’m in love with you.""Huh?" The confession had come out of nowhere and startled her. The incredibly handsome vampire had blurted out the words as though he were simply commenting on the weather. There was no anxiousness, no look of expectation in his eyes. He merely watched her with unblinking focus, as if he were trying to engrave her very features into his memory. Octavia pulled her hand back, feeling relief whe
18 Years Later...The lights in the living room were dim, and if Octavia hadn’t been studying all night—leaving her so tired she felt she might actually pass out—seeing the two figures huddled on the sofa wouldn’t have been an issue. She was almost at the kitchen doorway when the sound of something shattering spooked her. There was a muffled groan and a curse. Octavia blinked into the darkness, willing her vision to pick out the cause of the noise. Nope, she was way too tired for this. If she forced it, she might end up with a migraine.She walked over to where she knew the light switch was and flicked it on. The room brightened, and a yelp echoed as a woman ducked her head to hide.“Mom! What are you even doing?” Octavia asked, mortified as she noticed her mother’s nakedness. Unsurprisingly, a head poked out from beneath the sofa cushions and flashed her an apologetic smile.“Sorry, baby girl. We were hoping you wouldn’t notice.”“You have a bedroom for a reason!” she whined, dreadin
Kerry's POVSilas had me hoisted against the tree, my legs wrapped firmly around him as he thrust into me. He hadn’t even fully removed his pants; they dangled around his ankles, and his belt made a faint clicking sound with every movement.He settled into a steady rhythm, his hands gripping my hips as he drove into me. “God, you feel so good around me, baby—fuck—” he groaned, his forehead resting against mine, his sweat-dampened curls brushing my skin.We’d had sex countless times before, but there was something about this setting that made it feel so much better—more passionate. Or maybe it was because we’d spent the last few days ignoring each other, the craving for touch growing unbearable in the silence.“Silas,” I moaned his name as a particular thrust hit a sensitive spot inside me, sending a tremor through my body. His grip on my hips tightened, and his thrusts came faster, harder. “It feels like you’re in my fucking stomach—God!”“Gotta fuck my baby good if I wanna knock her
Deric had an arm wrapped around my waist as he guided me toward the bar. With a simple gesture of his hand, the bartender mixed a drink and slid it over to me. I took a sip and frowned. "This is orange juice," I complained.Deric grinned in amusement. "There’s a hint of alcohol in there. I’m not about to let you get wasted in my bar, Kerry.""Why not?" I said with a pout. "I want something stronger.""Is this because of your brother? Are you jealous that he’s down there having fun with his fuck buddy?""Are you trying to make me feel worse?""Obviously not. I’m just saying, Silas is a dumbass. You can’t let him get what he wants by acting like this. If he’s trying to make you jealous, why don’t you do the same to him?"Deric took the glass from my hand and placed it aside. Seated on the barstool with his legs parted, he reached for my hand and pulled me off my seat, guiding me to stand between his legs. I leaned back slightly, aware of how intimate this position might appear to others
Kerry's POVSilas and I didn’t speak for two days. Well, more like he didn’t speak to me. I tried. I really tried. I’d corner him in the kitchen or on the stairs, but every time, he’d breeze past me like I didn’t exist. One second he was there, and the next, I was staring at an empty hallway. He acted so human most days that I forgot he wasn’t—until moments like this, when his supernatural ability to avoid me came into full display.It was infuriating. Especially because I hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, Carter and I had a history, but that was ancient history. I wasn’t a cheat—I would never stoop that low. Silas knew that. He had to know that. So, what was his problem?To make things worse, we were living with our parents. Bill and Sarah had to have noticed the tension by now. Sarah had given me a look earlier, the kind that promised she’d corner me for a motherly chat about "understanding men." God, the last thing I needed was advice from her about "winning my man back." My man—wh
Third POVSilas was a lot of things, and most of them weren’t positive character traits either. Possessive, a bit obsessive, stalkerish—he could be a bit of a rogue sometimes. His dad had spent a fortune paying therapists he thought might help Silas “get better.” But how could Silas get better when he didn’t think he had a problem to begin with? He knew what he was, and he wasn’t really bothered by it. After all, he only acted this way toward the people that mattered most to him. The moment he’d seen Kerina Jones, he knew she was his. She would be his entire world. And he would be hers.It should have been easy, really. Silas was a catch—not to toot his own horn or anything. Girls went crazy for him, and he’d had his pick of them since high school. He hadn’t even cared when his father had gone ahead and married Serah. Their relationship status didn’t mean a damn thing to him.But Silas had underestimated Kerry. She wasn’t like the other girls he’d been with in the past. She didn’t sw
Kerry's POV"What the fuck?!"At this point, I was certain Molly was trying to provoke me for some reason. I didn't even know her, so I saw no reason for her to act this way toward me. Hinting that Octavia might not be Silas's child? The fucking audacity! She had no idea what we'd been through—what right did she have to speak to me this way?!"What?" The woman had the audacity to look offended by my outburst."I'm not saying you're one of those girls, I just meant—""I know what the fuck you meant! And honestly, it's none of your damn business. You don't know me, and I don't know you. You have no right to poke your nose in other people's business!""Silas is my friend. We've known each other since before your parents got together. I'm only looking out for him." Molly placed a hand over her lips to hide her taunting smile. At the moment, I couldn't even find it in myself to wonder how she knew about Bill and my mom's marriage. What bugged me more was how she kept emphasizing her relati
I hadn't been in school for a total of three weeks, and honestly, it was the last thing on my mind. Silas had a job now; he was planning to build a real estate firm from scratch without his father's support. It would take a while before he saw his dream through, which meant Octavia was mostly my responsibility during the day.When I got the call from my father, I didn’t think it would be about me missing classes. I couldn’t help but think, after all that has happened, is that all my dad cares about? He hadn’t come to see me even once since I was brought home. I had a feeling he was avoiding me, and when he finally called me, it was to scold me about missing classes."Are you kidding me?" I asked, anger and genuine shock evident in my voice."I'm serious, Kerina. I know you're dealing with a lot, but school is important. If you want to study something else, we can figure it out.""Dad, school is the last thing on my mind right now.""I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you need to put your life
Kerry's POVIt’s odd. Being a mother was odd—not in a bad way, though. I suppose I just wish I’d had enough time to prepare myself for it, and I wish there wasn’t always a threat looming over my daughter’s head, one I couldn’t do anything about. I could tell Silas, of course, but I had a feeling Asher wouldn’t like that. The last thing I needed was to anger him; he might actually take Via away from me this time.Anyway, aside from the negatives, it was refreshing to look at the world from a different angle. I’d always thought of myself as just human—nothing special. But now I was learning that my lifespan far surpassed that of a human. I had enhanced strength, better vision, and, with enough training, I could grow a killer pair of wings like my dad. It was strange at first, but once the idea stuck, I found that being supernatural wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. Still, I was thankful I didn’t have to stick to just one diet like Silas.“Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think,” Silas had s