Blood Draw: Book Two of the Blood Type Series (complete)

Denial

"What are we going to do about Olivia?" I asked as we were sitting around John's living room later that night, after the other vampires had long since left. We'd pumped her full of O negative and sent her back to bed. Even though she insisted she wasn't tired, she'd quickly fallen asleep. June was currently sleeping in John's room, and the rest of us were talking strategy. Even Bridget had returned after taking time to cool off.

"Leave Olivia to me," Thomas replied. "I'll see to it that she is adequately provided for."

"You think you'll be able to handle her?" I said with a laugh, though I was only half-joking.

The side of Thomas's mouth pulled up. "Give me a little credit. I've dealt with worse, or have you forgotten who my sister is?"

I returned the smile. "Touché."

"We need to get started on compulsion-resistance training as soon as we can," John said, changing the subject.

"Do you think it's worth it?" Ian asked.

"I do," I said. "I mean, it's best to remain inconspicuous and quietly fight this battle, but Margaret crippled me in no time flat. Once she took away my ability to speak or move, I was powerless to resist. She could easily make mind slaves of us all, and that's what we're trying to prevent. We have to give the vampires of this jurisdiction some chance of defending themselves, no matter how small that chance might be."

"Then we've got to convince Hannah to join us," John said. "I can't teach this many vampires on my own, and our numbers are growing. Besides, I'm not sure how effective I will be. I'm used to compelling unresisting humans. There are a lot of vampires older and stronger than I am, so they'll naturally need more of a challenge when learning to resist. The reason Margaret is such a powerful Compeller is because she's been around for a long time, but Hannah is nearly as old. She would be an asset to our team."

"You don't have to convince me," I said.

"Hannah would be a match even for Margaret," Thomas said. "We just have to persuade her to help us."

"I will go with you," Bridget announced. "Hannah might listen to me, if no one else."

"Yes, I think that would be wise," Thomas agreed, giving Bridget a look I couldn't interpret.

"What should I do in the meantime?" I asked. "Twiddle my thumbs?"

"You should go to school," Andrew answered. "Act like a normal human girl. Remain inconspicuous, as you said."

"But I'm not a normal human, remember?"

"Then I suggest you pretend," Andrew replied with a tight smile.

"The main threats to our safety are my father, Margaret, and Josiah," Thomas said, cutting in before I could make a sarcastic reply to Andrew. "We must give them no reason to doubt our loyalty to the family."

"And what will your father do once he discovers I've gone missing?" Ian asked. "Will he send Josiah to fetch me?"

"We will speak to him together and assure him of your allegiance," Thomas said. "But we will tell him you cannot bear to be away from John. After all, my father understands the importance of family ties."

Ian looked uncertain but nodded. "Aye."

Thomas leaned forward in his chair then and put a hand on Ian's shoulder. "If not for you, we would be at a serious disadvantage. It took courage to disclose the rumors you heard and to report that my father has commissioned you to speak to other Head Watchers on his behalf. You could have kept quiet to ensure your safety under the protection of our family name, but you spoke up."