Sterling Silver (Sterling Hunter Series Book 1)

Chapter 35

Tabitha had the best weekend since her dad died. That was until Sunday morning rolled around and she ended up sitting at the kitchen table with her mom and Derrick.

She slumped in her seat and tapped out a steady beat on the table.

"So, I just wanted you two to know that last night the Carters are organizing a bunch of hunters all over the place to track down Alistair and get their files back. They have everyone on high alert and are going to be moving people since Alistair stole the addresses of all the hunters in town..." her mom was saying.

Derrick nodded, his face going serious but Tabitha didn't buy it. She knew of course that the Carters were doing all they could to stop Alistair but Tabitha also knew for a fact that feeble hunters couldn't stop Alistair. They couldn't track him either. Not even Sebastian could find whatever rock he had crawled under after their little encounter. "Do they have any of their vampires looking for him?"

Both her mom and Derrick turned to look at her, eyes widened in surprise. Tabitha rolled her eyes, tapping a finger against the table surface. "Yes, I know all about the Moirai. Sebastian told me what he knew and so did Alistair. And... I actually believe what Alistair said because he hates them. Er... you guys I mean."

"But why? What did we ever do to him?" Derrick asked, throwing his hand up.

Tabitha's expression darkened and she frowned. "Our grandfather took Emmeline and Alistair and subjected them to experimentation. He turned them into vampires who crave vampire blood. When they escaped, Alistair vowed he would kill us all and restore the natural balance of things."

Derrick's eyes widened and her mom covered her mouth. They had no idea... Tabitha had thought they'd known. The Carters had to know. Emmeline and Alistair were in their database after all.

Tabitha took it as her cue to continue. She got up, a palm pressed on the table. "I don't agree with what the Moirai are doing. It's inhumane whether they're torturing vampires or not. So... I get where Alistair's coming from. It doesn't mean I agree with him or anything he's done but I do get it. And it also means that he's one hundred percent invested in this whole plan he has. He is going to try and take us down and he is going to try and kill every one of us he can find. He promised me that," her voice dropped to a whisper and she blinked. His words filled her mind. His promise to kill her mother in front of her and then go after her siblings and make her watch as he kills everyone she loved.

Then he promised he would turn her. Tabitha shivered at the thought. The Carters should be taking him seriously. More seriously than they were. That's the thing with some hunters, especially the Carters. They may have certain vampires in their pocket, but they still saw them as monsters. Creatures, not humans. But vampires weren't mindless beasts. They felt and they lived and they could die. They think and plan and can get very creative when it came to revenge. Alistair would do what he said, keep his promises to her and he would make sure that every hunter in Rosewood was dead. Every hunter in the city too, and who knew? Maybe he wouldn't stop there. Maybe he'd just keep going and leave a trail of hunter bodies in his wake.

A hand touched hers and Tabitha blinked, shocked from her dark thoughts. Derrick stared up at her, worry in his eyes. "You shouldn't have to think about this stuff. Not the way you are. You're terrified Tabitha but you don't have to be anymore. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything bad happen."

Tabitha didn't say anything. She was relieved Derrick had decided to stay and help but... he gave himself a bit too much credit. If he couldn't even take down Sebastian, how was he supposed to stop Alistair? He couldn't protect anyone. He might be able to turn the tide and protect Tabitha from some things but... Tabitha was stronger than him. Which made it her responsibility. Whether she wanted it or not. Sebastian had told her that maybe she had been born as a too powerful hunter for a reason. So she could stop Alistair before he destroyed everything. Ruined the hunter world. Tabitha just nodded and slipped her hand free from his, giving them both a tight smile to try and dispel their worried looks.