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Chapter 47: Sarah
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2021-06-24 06:38:47“I just about blew my top when he started on about how much money the horses were worth.” Tim illustrates the extent of his reaction with an expansive gesture of his hands, and Katie has to duck. Tony's face is dark with anger, but he's holding his tongue while Timothy tells his story. The kids have all been put to bed, although it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve crept back downstairs and have their ears pressed to the kitchen door.
Given Aiden’s hearing, he’d probably know if they had.
“And then when their head guy starts puffing himself up about not paying, he-” Tim waves his mug in Aiden’s direction- “pulls a protection racket stunt. ‘Lovely territory you’ve got here, shame if something happened to it.’ So the head guy says that something already has happened to it, only I can explain that it hasn’t yet, and then the head guy throws out the name of the guy that’s behind the attack. Vampire, like we thought.”
“Cavendish?” I ask.
Ti
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The time at Blackmarsh has flown past. We have only three days here, and this is our second night. It is still night now. The light that edges my curtains is moonlight and not the sun. Checking the time on my phone, I wonder what it is that woke me so early. It will not be dawn for some time yet.I persuade myself out of the cosy nest of my bedclothes into the cool air of my room. Blackmarsh House is seldom warm, even with the modern central heating system. I brush the curtains aside just enough to reach the window, letting them fall back behind my shoulders, and press my hands to the chill glass as I look out over the moonlit grounds.The rooms that Aiden and I have been given are tucked up within the roof space. The ceilings slope sharply beneath the tiles, and the doorways were made for the inhabitants of four hundred years ago, which means that anyone above six feet or so needs to duck. Being in one of the highest rooms in the house means there is an excellent view
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I was half expecting to be woken by Timothy at some point during the night. I wasn’t expecting him to come tapping on my bedroom door. I roll out of the bed and into my jeans, pulling on my sweater as I head to the door. “’sup?” I say, trailing off in a yawn. “Problem?”He stands in the hallway outside, eyeing me with disfavour, arms folded. “Planning on going somewhere?” he comments in a whisper as he looks me up and down.I catch another yawn. “Figured if anything happened in the night, I’d be wanted.”I see his eyes flick over my shoulder towards the open window. “Uh-huh. Come with me.” His voice stays quiet enough not to wake the others.Being prepared to stop Timothy from heading off on a one-man mission of vengeance is one thing. Being led away by him to places unknown, in the middle of the night, without anyone else being aware of it, is another matter. I feel for Sarah&r
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I can’t think of anyone it could be with Aiden except Tim. I feel a rush of anger at his presumption. He’s stolen my role. It is my place to lead my Mate there. Did he think that I wouldn’t? That’s Tim, though. No patience, unless it’s for horses.I can’t just go back to my bed, not now. I find my slippers and a dressing-gown, and tiptoe down to the kitchen. There is a piece of paper with my name on it, lying on the kitchen table. I’m sure of what it will say before I even unfold it, but the last two words catch my breath. I don’t think either of us have said those words aloud yet, not to each other.I sink into a chair, the paper in my hands. My mind is no longer in the room. It is out at the valley where the other half of my whole is facing his future.It was dawn, the second time I stood in the mouth of the valley. I was clutching Toby’s hand, trying to lend him courage. We hadn’t t
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“Aiden!” Sarah’s scream knifes through the air, the caves throwing the sound back in a chorus of loss. “Aiden!” “Sarah, you can’t go in there. You mustn’t!” “Let go of me.” There’s the smack of flesh on flesh. “Let me go. Aiden!” “Sarah, stop!” “Aiden!” The lamps are dark and cold, but she throws herself blindly into the cave mouth, eyes too blinded with tears to see even as the flames flicker to life. Her scream is no word at all now, just a wail as she runs. I catch her. “It’s okay. It’s alright. I’m here.” The sense of her fills me, overwhelming grief abruptly replaced by an equally vast tide of relief and joy. “Aiden,” she says again, her hands seeking me out in the darkness. “I couldn’t feel you any more. You weren’t there. You’d gone. Oh, God, I’m a mess. I’m so glad you’re safe. Are you okay? Are you… you don’t feel hurt. What are you wearing?” “I’m not hurt. Come on. Let’s get back to where there’s more light. Y
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“Um… we thought… you could be our Alpha?” I know right away that Zac’s question is not one Aiden wants to hear, and so I speak up. “I’m sorry, I know this is a difficult situation for you, but we both of us have responsibilities in London at the moment.” Being the sympathetic one is not something that comes easily to me, although the wash of gratitude and pride I can feel from Aiden makes me feel twenty feet tall. Next time, if there is a next time, he can be the good cop. “The vampire problem is more than just Walther Sutcliffe,” Aiden adds. “I need to be hunting more than one of them down, not spending all my time here. Don’t worry, I’m not the best fighter Blackmarsh has. There won’t be any shortage of protection.” “Can’t we just tell people Aiden’s our Alpha, to stop Robert and the others coming back, ‘til we can find someone strong enough?” pipes up the talkative teenager, and the pleased reaction I’ve been sensing from Aiden a
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