bite.

Chapter 10

The atmosphere in the room was unbearable. The heat I'd felt a few moments ago had died and we were back to being strangers.

Behind Michael's cool veneer was hunger that burned outwards every time we touched. But it was like a volcano, coming out it fits and spurts, the subsiding into quietness.

I hated the quietness the most. I wanted to know what he was thinking. I wanted to crawl inside him and live there. The need was slowly driving me mad.

Was this normal? Or was this a vampire thing? I couldn't tell.

When we were apart, I'd spend hours trying to rationalize my feelings for him. I'd watch the clock, counting the seconds until I would see him again. But, I had never paused to think what he actually did when he was away from me.

Waiting for his answer, my stomach began to twist and turn. I thought he would have dismissed the claim or laughed it off... But with each passing second of silence, it dawned on me that he thinking about how to word his confession rather than his denial.

He saw the look of fear in my eyes and asked, "Is this what you truly want to know?"

"Yes, " I replied.

I was smart enough to know that lies didn't work. I'd experienced with Micah and I wasn't going to waste my time, or myself, on a man who couldn't tell me the truth.

I waited for Michael to speak.

He rubbed his jaw and leaning back in his chair said, "I'm given missions. I don't choose to kill people, but, sometimes there are situations where my job demands it."

"What kind of jobs."

"I can't disclose the nature of my work to you, it's classified."

"So, did you kill anyone tonight, before coming home to me? Or is that classified too?"

Michael thought about his answer for a second and coolly replied, "No, I did not kill anyone."

There was no deception in his voice, but there wasn't any emotion either. It was like talking to a machine.

"So, you kill people for the government. Would you kill me, if the government ordered you to?" I asked.

"No, I could never hurt you, Lorna."

"Is that because of the bond between us?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's pretend the government has issued an order to kill Magda or Keira - would you do it?"

"Maybe."

"What do you mean 'maybe'?"

"Look, anyone who ends up on a government hit list, must have done something really bad to get on get on that list."

"How do you know?"

"I read their files, Lorna. I don't hurt innocent people. Me and my brothers are sent to hurt really bad people."

An unsettling thought crossed my head.

"If you are set to hurt bad people, why were you inside the hotel on the night I woke up a vampire?"

My question caught him off-guard and he hesitated.

"I was sent there to keep you safe," he explained.

"But I got shot."

"I tried to save you. I tried to get to you before you ran out those doors, I knew the other slayers would be outside waiting for you but you were so fast Lorna. When I caught up with you it was too late."