Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 16

Anna woke and felt a weight on her stomach. She opened her eyes to see that she was curled on her side and Rhys's arm was around her waist. He had her tight against his chest. She curled her fingers around his wrist and lifted his arm up off of her at a slow pace. She sat and set his arm down on the mattress between the two of them. Rhys's eyes were closed, and he did not stir as she moved him.

She sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the large window, which had a view of the backyard. There was a large yard of grass that ended into a thick forest. A group of men was standing in a circle and talking to each other. Anna stood and walked over to the window to get a better look.

The men talked for a few minutes. One of them started pulling his shirt up over his head, and the others followed. They kicked off their shoes and pulled their pants down. Anna was entranced as she watched one turn into a wolf. His bones shifted and his muscles grew as fur sprouted from his skin. Within seconds he was a beast. The others transformed into wolves, and they took off running into the forest.

Anna was standing at the window with her jaw hanging open. She had never seen anything like it before.

"You know it's rude to spy, right?" Rhys asked.

Anna turned to look behind her. Rhys was sitting up on the bed. He was digging the heel of his palm into his eyes as he tried to wake up.

"I'm learning," Anna said. "There's so much about this world that I apparently don't know."

Rhys chuckled to himself. He tossed the blankets off of him as he stood. He stretched his arms up over his head.

"What do you have questions about?" he asked.

"Aren't vampires and werewolves supposed to hate each other?" she asked.

"Read that in your fantasy novels?" he asked. "We don't hate each other, but we aren't the best of friends. We co-exist."

"So there's never been some great war between you two?"

"No."

"Never?"

"I've been a vampire since 1759. If there was a war I would know about it."

Anna's eyes grew wide. Rhys was that old? She did not think much about his past. She knew that Drew was a Loyalist, but she realized that she knew nothing about this group of men she was traveling with.

"Who were you?" she asked. "Who were you before you became a vampire?"

"We'll talk about that another day," he said.

He turned and walked to his bag on the other side of the room. Anna followed him. Her curiosity was always one of her most challenging traits.

"How did you die?" she asked.

"On a battlefield," he said.

"Which one?"

Rhys turned around and scowled. The heat rushed up to Anna's cheeks. She was prying into his life.

"We'll talk about this on another day," he said. "Understand?"

Anna nodded. Rhys grabbed some clothes and walked out of the room. Anna quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a thick sweater. She was sitting on the foot of the bed putting on her socks when Rhys walked back in.

There was a knock and Anna looked over at the open door. Huxley was poking his head into the room. Accalia was on his back. Her legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. She had a big smile on her face and was giggling.

"Cassie is making pancakes downstairs," Huxley said.

"Mom says we can't have any until everyone is up," Accalia said.