Unholy

f o u r

i r i s eleanor f r e n ch

My nerves, at this point, were absolutely shot. It hadn't even been a full day since I was staring at the clock turning to midnight, signaling my birthday. I was officially labeling today as the worst day of my life. 

 I walked silently next to Georgia and Brennan, with Alek trailing slightly behind us. We were all somber, no one was excited to literally meet our possible doom-bringers. I didn't want to be sad or depressed about my situation, but it genuinely came with the territory of being ripped from your home, your family, and then being thrust into training to become a Vampire's maid. 

I let out a deep sigh as we neared the entrance of the cafeteria again. "Honestly," I muttered quietly. "You'd think the budget would allow for a separate auditorium. Holding this in the cafeteria seems a lot like bible camp." 

Georgia let out a soft laugh as Brennan and Alek chuckled. 

"Vampire Summer Camp, remember?" Brennan spoke lowly, a grin on his face. 

I nodded, a grin on my face as my roommates and I walked into the cafeteria. It was brimming with adrenaline, voices of Vampires talking and humans attempting not to be noticed. I straightened my spine, steeling it so I wouldn't absolutely run out and get as far away from this particular place as I could.

Or find a way to burn it to the ground. 

I gave Georgia's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, sending a silent prayer for her and Brennan to meet a nice, mid-tier Vampire to choose them and take care of them. 

I noticed Harley in the corner of the room, her back against the wall as she searched the room, eyes landing on mine a minute later. I watched her tilt her head to the side, surveying me. I gave her a simple nod, starting in her direction. 

As I got halfway to her, my path was blocked by a solid wall of muscle. I fumbled over my feet, falling forward before catching myself on said wall of muscle. 

"Falling for me already, little strawberry?" A melodic, deep voice spoke from above me. 

I looked up to see the face of either Elias or Wilder, my eyes narrowing into a glare. "Excuse me," I said with a hint of annoyance, attempting to side-swipe by him. 

"Sorry, Strawberry, but we don't excuse you," he said again, his long arm wrapping around the front of my body, effectively stopping me from getting to where Harley still stood, her eyes still on me. 

He pulled me closer into his body, enveloping me between him and the other man who stood directly behind me. I was caged in between them, the blonde man's arms keeping me stuck in the spot I was currently in. 

"You really are just a tiny thing, aren't you?" At the sound of the man behind me's voice, my spine went ramrod straight. It sank into my ears, sending shivers through my body, lighting my blood on fire. 

"That's not very nice, Elias," a feminine voice spoke, shocking me out of the perpetual stone state I was trapped in. I looked over, my breath catching in my throat as I became face-to-face with Harley. Her blonde hair that was usually a mess when we were kids framed her face, falling in silky waves to below her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes were coated in light mascara, only making them pop more. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"Aw, come on Harls. You know Elias doesn't have a filter." The blonde man, who I deduced to be Wilder, spoke, his voice dripping with amusement. 

My brain was overloaded. I was surrounded by the offspring of the three most important Vampires in the country, in the arms of the son of the President and the Vice President, as my old best friend and daughter of the President's second in commanding officer stood to the side of me, conversing with the other two Vampires as if they had known each other their whole lives.