Hunted Predators✔️

Chapter Twenty-six

Jam enters the club, and his eyes go wide. Katherine and Jam stare at each other from across the dance floor. "Time to go," Katherine says, grabbing Ethan's hand and towing him to the back exit.

"What? We just got here."

"I'm not feeling well."

"What about our drinks?"

"I was thinking we'd leave here and... sneak into my house."

A smile replaces his frown. "Lead the way, miss."
...

"You're shaking."

Katherine and Ethan lie on the top of the apartment's rooftop, facing the city and stars.

"I'm cold."

"Here." Katherine grabs the bottom of her hoodie, lifting it up over her dress.

"I was going to refuse, but then I realized I'd rather see you in that dress."

Katherine smiles. "I guess chivalry is dead, afterall." When she hands him the hoodie, the smile wipes right off Ethan's face. He's staring at her hand. At the scar there. "You were shot?"

"No."

"Then what happened?"

Katherine looks away, biting her lip.

"Cassidy. What were you doing on that rooftop?"

"I liked the view."

Ethan looks away, scowling. "We've been together for weeks now, and you've never talked about your friends or your family or your past. I feel like I don't even know you."

"I'm leaving in a month. There's no point."

"Then what am I doing here?"

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I'm serious. What are we doing here?"

When Katherine doesn't answer, he stands up. Katherine watches him go, her fists clenching by her sides. "Ethan!"

He shakes kid head, continuing to walk.

"My best friend was Valerie De Janeiro!"

Ethan pauses.

"My parents are Luis and Emma. They worked four jobs between them so I could have a future, but I screwed it up so badly that I had to run away to live with my aunt."

Katherine stares at the ground, her eyes burning. "And I was on that rooftop because I liked the rush. That moment when I know I've leaned too far, when my stomach lurches and my heart pounds, that was the only moment I ever felt like I was still alive. That's why I can't let you go. Because the only other time I feel like that is when I'm with..."

Katherine looks up at him, helpless, just in time to see Ethan close the distance between them. They kiss on the rooftop, under the stars and gloomy city lights.
...

"The vampire I beheaded on the field trip, he's back." Darko is talking on the phone. "I saw him on the subway, not far from Mabry's campus."

There's nothing but static on the other end of the line.

"Father?"

"Get some rest."

"That's your solution? Sit tight and wait to be murdered."

"You're not going to be murdered. Recovering from a beheading takes longer than a few months."

"What if he drank blood?"

"Stay at Mabry and stay out of trouble. In a month this will all be over."

"Unless I'm-"

The general's voice becomes muffled, like he put his hand over the phone. "Goddamnit, Cheryl, stop letting him call me. I have enough on my plate as it- is this thing still on?" The line goes dead.
...