THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS - BWS

seventeen

"You're not coming, and that's final."

The words didn't leave any room for negotiation. I exhaled loudly. William and I had been fighting for the past thirty minutes over letting me out of the house to help track the creature that I let escape the other day. William's cop 'friend', Kolbyn, had arrived earlier in the morning when I was eating breakfast while chatting with William about his eating habits - turned out human food wasn't toxic to vampires, it simply didn't taste like anything and didn't provide the necessary nutrition they needed - and told us that there was another victim. That made a total of three, and I knew there would be more if we didn't stop it. I was a skilled Hunter, I could help but William was adamant that I was to stay inside until we figured out how to fix the Gates. I understood the risks– if a creature got my blood, it could open the Gates. But according to him, a LOT of it was necessary to be able to open them, and so unless I was captured and sacrificed, it wouldn't happen. And well, I didn't intend on getting captured. Plus, I now had an army to protect me, even though I doubted that William's friends from yesterday were very happy about being assigned to babysitting duty.

"I am not your pawn!" I shouted, my nails digging into my palms as Dee continued to snarl and bark at the group of strangers. She was protectively standing between me and the group, although her attention wasn't on the person I was arguing with at the moment. "You can't do what you please with me. I'm coming, and that's final."

The challenge in my voice didn't go unnoticed. The room was suddenly very quiet, everyone looking at William anxiously. What did he think? That I'd agree to be locked here until we found out how to fix the Gates? Hell no. I might have been open to the idea that everything he said yesterday was true, and that being here was for my protection, but that didn't mean that I'd accept to be literally locked up. Especially not when there was a deadly creature roaming the streets.

A deep growl escaped William's throat, rising hairs all over my skin. I focused on my breathing, hopelessly trying to hide the effect he had on me, whether that was fear, or— lust. At that moment, it definitely was fear. I swallowed. His hooded eyes were narrowed on me, his angular jaw clenched, and I noticed how his chest had stopped rising up and down. I knew vampires didn't breathe nearly as often as humans, but William was an expert in the art of blending in, his chest usually heaving at a regular pace. Right now, his chest was as still as a statue's.

He was looking at me with an intensity that made my body feel on fire, and my instincts screamed at me to look away, but I didn't. I stayed composed, and as determined as he was. He couldn't control me. I wouldn't let him— vampire or not.

William was struggling to stay in control. I could see in his eyes and body language, he was fighting his instincts, and it seemed to take all of him. Contrary to him, my chest was heaving worryingly fast for a human locked in a room with six vampires.

"Go, I'll meet you there," he suddenly said to the group standing in the kitchen. My eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't going to let me leave. A new kind of rage erupted from the pit of my stomach. I wasn't in control of my life anymore. I trusted him when he made me believe I was a guest, not a prisoner. But that was a lie, wasn't it? He was controlling my life now and wasn't going to let me go before I fixed the Gates. What if I couldn't? What if I wasn't the one the prophecy foresaw? I wasn't powerful— not like that. Would he keep me here forever?

I was trapped and powerless— again. The anxiety from the attack creeped back, rising fear and anger to new levels. But I wasn't weak anymore. I wasn't an inexperienced teenager anymore. I could fight back, and I would.

The house was now empty for the exception of William, Caelan, Dee and myself. Caelan was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and looking at William and I as if we were the most entertaining thing he had ever witnessed. An amused smile sat on his face, and if William wasn't standing so close to him, I would have gone and erased the smirk off his face. My nails dug deeper without my control.