Night Angel

Chapter Twelve (Sample)

One week. That's how long It had been since prom night. The night I'd woken up in Kiernan's house and discovered the horrible truth of my situation had been three full nights since Adam and I had been attacked. I had officially been listed as missing, according to the papers, and while I wasn't yet considered a suspect in Adam's murder I was wanted for questioning. This made things slightly difficult. Not only for me but for Kiernan and the others as well. There was no way that I could turn myself in or provide any proof that Pepper and her thugs had been responsible without putting the coven at risk. There weren't even any injuries left to prove I'd been a victim too.

The whole thing was just messed up but worst of all, it looked as though Adam's killers were going to get away with what they had done to us. I was beyond pissed. Not only at the situation but also at Kiernan. He wouldn't let me go to the funeral which I did understand. Once I showed up the police would have me in custody and there would be too many questions that I couldn't answer. But he also wouldn't let me leave the mansion without a babysitter. It was so frustrating. All I could do was sit around and let my anger fester and the only reprieve I got was at night when Kiernan and I would hunt together.

The mansion was on the outskirts of town in a very remote and very isolation stretch of wooded land that gave us plenty of privacy to hunt without fear of running into any humans. There were a few farms nearby but they weren't close enough to be of any concern. Samuel and Luca would sometimes shift and hunt with us but on full moons they preferred something more open, like the field by Mt. Pleasant, where they could run under the full moon and absorb the moonlight. It was a shame there weren't more places for them to run but we didn't exactly live in an area where it was common to have wolves running wild. Especially Samuel's wolf which was fucking huge and solid black. It was nice having them join us though, and sometimes Simon would come along, who, I discovered, was basically Kiernan's second in command.

The more time I spent at the coven house the more I began to learn about all the members who lived there. Everyone had their own story to share and I genuinely enjoyed listening to them. It was interesting. Some were a lot older than I would have ever guessed and some had only been turned within the last few years. Kiernan wasn't the only sire either. In fact, it was rare for him to turn anyone anymore. He didn't like doing it unless there were extenuating circumstances like with Beth, the young girl who was dying of cancer.

Her parents knew about Kiernan and what he was because Beth's grandfather, who was an attorney, had been hired by Kiernan years ago to oversee things such as finances and real estate and any other legal issues that came up. When Beth's grandfather passed away, her father took over the practice and as such inherited Kiernan's account.

Kiernan planned for he and I to visit Roger, Beth's father, to discuss my involvement with Adam's death and what course of action we should take to ensure the police didn't come looking for me. I was ready to go right away but Kiernan wanted to wait until I was stronger and had my hunger better under my control. That was easier said than done. While hunting and feeding off animals did satisfy my hunger for the first few nights, I began to crave something more. I didn't mention it to Kiernan, but my need to go out on my own and hunt something other than Bambi was growing stronger by the minute and I didn't know how much longer I could tolerate being shut away like this.

There was another more pressing matter though that was becoming more apparent as the week progressed. Apparently there was quite a stir among the other vampires in the house regarding me, and my relationship to Kiernan. The coven had very well-defined roles within its members. Everyone had their skill sets and jobs. There were older, more experienced members who oversaw the newest members. They handled their training and education and were responsible for making sure they didn't expose us or go out and get themselves killed. Kiernan of course had a hand in such matters as well but he rarely took on the sole responsibility of a newborn.