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100 | TRUTH

Author: Hazel Lowell
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

There was a timid knock on the half-open bedroom door. My eyes were open, and fixed on the window, but before I could turn fully Harper had stuck his head through the gap.

“Oh – sorry.” He bit his lip, and averted his gaze. “I didn’t think you’d still be in bed.”

And why would he? Until now, I had been an early riser – up before him even on my days off, heading out and citing some nonsense excuse to hide my hunting. The view before him today was very different indeed.

The sheets were sweaty, pooled around my knees and kicked away to free my boiling torso. My body was fixed, my joints locked, like a dog with its hackles raised. I couldn’t see my face, but I could picture it, undoubtedly the same as it had looked every morning since I’d returned here: drawn and exhausted, pale beneath the brown of my complexion, dull eyes, dull hair, dull skin. White bandage taped

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   102 | ADRIFT

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   106 | ARCARIUS AND MERYTHIA

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   113 | SANDBAR

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   112 | RIFT

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   111 | BLOOD MOON

    My back stiffened. Any attempts at lounging went out the window the second my Dad entered the room. I curled my hands into fists, digging my nails into the soft, broken skin of my palms.His face was shadowed. I ached to go to him, to bridge the gap between us. He’d placed a blanket on me as I’d slept mere weeks ago, and now he was staring at me as if I was a stranger. My breath latched in my throat as I tried to speak.“What is your decision?” I asked. My voice did not sound like my own.“This has not been easy for me, Callie. For us. You have made it incredibly difficult.”I stood on shaking legs. There was a softness to him beneath the hard shell that forced his mouth into a downward tilt. It spilled out rarely, but it was there.“I am sorry for what I have done,” I said. “But I do not regret it, nor do I wish to t

  • The Hunter and the Vampire   110 | FAMILY

    The world collapsed in on itself as I waited for the door to open. My right hand remained curled in a loose fist, raised against the wood, knuckles bared. I flexed my fingers and, slowly, lowered my hand.I focused on my breathing, caught in that everlasting moment. With every rise and fall of my chest, I could feel the passage of time. It had to be moving. I was not trapped here.I turned halfway back towards Cyrus, needing to see him, to reassure myself that he was still here with me, when the door finally opened. I caught a flash of hair so dark it shone blue even in the dim light, and then hard arms were pulling me inside.“Callie,” Paps breathed, his body warm and unyielding as he held me close. “Oh, thank God.”I stilled against him, my arms at stiff angles by my sides. My heart leapt – he seemed glad to see me – even as it twisted and tangled, knotting itsel

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  • The Hunter and the Vampire   108 | HARPER

    “Harp?” I called out. It was the first time I’d spoken to him since our argument. I’d heeded his wishes; as such, I had no idea if he’d even still be at home. I hoped he was. Whether for me or for him, I longed to offer him this chance to move past this. I had ruined myself. I didn’t want to destroy Harper, too.“Callie?” Harper thundered into the hall, eyes wide, chest heaving. “I – I went to find you, and you were gone.” He pulled me into a crushing hug, pressing me tightly against his chest. “Fuck. I was so worried, Cals.”My heart ached. “I’m sorry.” My voice sounded tiny.“I – I thought–“ he spoke wildly, the words spilling out between panted breaths. “I thought you were – oh, shit,” he swore, and then pushed me away, holding me at arm’s length to appraise me. &ldqu

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