Blood: The Third Course

Chapter Forty-Six

Priya stared around her small apartment. She had laid a bag open on the bed, but so far it was still empty. This was necessary, she told herself again. She no longer had a choice. She had bound herself to Carson, and if he had to leave, it was only right that she did the same. It wasn't like she'd be able to return to the pack now, not that she wanted to. It was scary, that was all. She had lived here as long as she could remember, and today she would leave it all behind.

Carson had told her that she had an hour to pack up whatever she wanted to take with her. Pack light, he'd said, he had enough money saved that they'd be able to buy new things. The apartment was rented, so that wasn't an issue. The first thing she'd done was to slip a note under her landlord's door downstairs to tell him she had a family emergency and had to leave. He could sell whatever she left, and her security deposit would pay for the month notice in rent.

However, now that she stood in her apartment, bag ready to be filled, she had no idea what to take. Opening her closet, she took a deep breath and started. Clothes would be easier, she decided. Anything she'd not worn in over a year was a definite no. Within minutes, half of her closet was on the floor in a discarded pile. There was still too much to fit in the bag, but it was a start. The problem would be with the more personal items. Did she keep things that reminded her of Kaleb and Jemima, who now loathed her? Did she keep things from Matthew, though he now lay dead in a shallow grave alongside Vince? Priya shook the thoughts from her head and went back to sorting her clothes.

By the time Priya returned to the house, a heavy holdall hanging from her shoulder, it was almost noon. A small blue car with a mop and broom logo on the back door was parked on the street, and three men in dark red overalls and face masks had the back of the van open in the driveway. Pink-stained bleach was dripping out of the back doors onto the paving, but the men didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about what they were cleaning. Priya wondered exactly how much extra they'd been paid over the years not to ask questions.

She hurried up the steps, opening the door just enough to slip inside before she closed it behind her. She jumped in surprise, almost dropping her bag, when she turned from the door to find William standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Seriously, you need a bell," she told him, adjusting the strap over her shoulder.

"Like on a collar?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I would have thought that was more your gig."

Priya glared at him, but it was offset by the smile she couldn't quite displace.

He came up to her, taking the heavy bag from her shoulder as easily as a normal person would pick up a handbag. Placing the bag on the floor, William guided her through to the living room and in through the door into the small room she and Carson had transformed in that morning.

"What is it?" Priya asked.

William locked the door behind him.

"You're leaving with Carson," he said, still staring at the door handle.

Glancing behind her, Priya moved across the small room and pushed a keyboard aside before perching on the side of the desk.

"Yeah," she said. "When he gets back, I think. He wants a good distance before sunset."

When he turned away from the door, Priya couldn't quite put her finger on it, but for the first time since meeting him, William looked almost nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"And the girl? She'll go with you?"

Priya had tried to ask Carson the same question, but he'd been somewhat cagey, and she'd never actually received an answer. She couldn't imagine Carson leaving Edeline behind, but she didn't understand why he wouldn't come out and say it. For a moment, she wondered if he thought she would be offended.

"I think so, yes," she said finally. "Why? What's going on?"

William rubbed his hands together, wringing his fingers. He chewed on his bottom lip.

"I said I would go with August."

Smiling, Priya fiddled with a mouse by her side. She realised that it was unplugged. In fact, as she looked around, half of the technology in the room was either missing or unplugged.

"To be honest, I assumed you would."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I mean, you said he's your sire-brother, right? And Thomas... I figured you'd want to stay with them."

William looked at her. He stopped wringing his hands and instead tucked them into his pockets. She could see the knuckles flexing through the denim.

"You didn't think I'd want to go with you?"

She was suddenly very aware of her breath and the way it moved her body. Her lips felt unnaturally dry, but her mouth felt like it was filling with saliva by the second. She swallowed, and moment later, had to swallow again before she could find the words.

"With me?" she whispered.

William stepped towards her. He nodded.

"With you."

"I..."

Grabbing a rolling chair, William pulled it around with one hand and sat down, pulling himself so close that his knees pressed against her shins. Leaning forwards, he stroked his fingers down the outsides of her thighs to her knees. He watched his hands and the progression he made, down and back up, then down again.

"I think you're incredible," he murmured, looking up at her. "And I want you to come with us. With me."

Priya didn't exactly know how or when it happened, but she was nodding, taking a deep breath and still nodding.

"I'll have to talk to Carson," she said. "Convince him that it's what's best."

His smile was infectious, brighter than the sunlight William never saw. The rolling chair hit the door as he stood up far too fast, blurring in her vision. Priya jumped and blinked, and he was towering over her, making her feel small, but indescribably safe.

The smile flickered as he leaned closer, a little of that caution slipping back into his face. He stroked her hair back from her face, sliding his fingers around her neck and holding her hair against her skin.

"You're sure that this is what you want?" he asked.

A minute ago, and Priya wouldn't have been sure. She'd convinced herself that Carson was her choice, the best one she could make. She trusted him, she knew he would do right by her. But she wasn't sure she would have said it was what she wanted.

Looking up at William, she knew that this was what she wanted. This terrifying exhilaration of having him stand so close to her she could feel the air vibrating between them. She wanted someone who looked at her the way he did, like perhaps he wouldn't last another second, but had respected her enough to keep his distance while things were messy with Matthew.

Christ, Matthew. He'd never looked at her like that, and Priya wondered whether—on his part at least—it had been some level of convenience. He'd certainly been quick enough to dismiss her when things got rough. But William had rushed out into the sunlight to protect her. He'd pushed her away from the fight and kept her safe, even from her own kind. She got the feeling he would never stop protecting her.

"I am," she said. "I'm sure."

As he smiled and closed the gap between them, Priya half-expected the kiss to be cold. She expected vampires to be cold. It wasn't. His lips were cool, but it was the pleasant cool when autumn breaks after a long summer. It was possessive and desperate as he urged her up to him, leading her off the desk.

And when he turned them around, trapping her against the wall with his body pressed against hers: It was hot. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yey, William! :D That's pretty much all I have to say about this one. I'd been waiting for it for a long time.

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Chele