“Why?” I repeated, my mouth inches from hers.

She flinched and closed her eyes, shaking her head.

Ignoring her discomfort, I continued to press.

“Who do I need to see about this? Who turned you into a Channeler?”

“But Caleb—”

“Just answer my question.”

“H-her name is Lilith.”

“Lilith. Who is this Lilith? Where do I find her?”

“I-I can’t tell you.”

I tightened my grip on her jaw. “What do you mean you can’t tell me?”

Tears spilled from her eyes. She fought free from my grip and hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I stared after her, stunned, listening to the sounds of her footsteps disappearing down the corridor outside.

I’d never seen Annora crumble like that. And the way she’d just left… as though she’d completely forgotten what she’d come for.

I left the apartment and considered following her, but decided against it. At least for this evening. Instead, I went downstairs to the kitchen, intending to pour myself a glass of blood. I exhaled in frustration on finding all the jugs empty in the cellar. Topping up the jugs had been Frieda’s job. I guessed it was my fault I hadn’t yet appointed another vampire to do the job. I’d have to do it myself tonight.

I left the jug on the kitchen counter and entered the dungeon in the corner of the room. Gasps and cries echoed around me as I descended into the dark prison.

I looked around the cells, trying to decide which human looked most likely to quench my thirst that evening. I settled on the plumpest, a young boy. Opening his cell, I pulled him out and handcuffed him. I was about to exit the dungeon with him when I noticed a strange scent. Not human. Not vampire. Not witch. It was quite unlike anything I’d smelt before. Chaining the boy to the wall so he wouldn’t cause trouble, I walked toward the scent.

I stopped outside a cell containing a wolf. A giant wolf. Slumped in the corner, it raised its head as I approached the bars.

“Werewolf?”

It looked up at me with brown eyes.

“What does it look like?” it said hoarsely.

Since when are we keeping werewolves in our dungeons? New blood rituals, perhaps.

“Who brought you here?”

Leaning against the wall, the wolf struggled to stand up. I could see now that he was male. His two hind legs were severely disjointed and soaked with blood.

“And what’s it to you?” he growled. “You going to help me escape?”

“Just answer my question.”

He scowled, his eyes darkening. “Some black-eyed warlock caught me while I was out fishing. He didn’t tell me his name.”

“What’s your name?”

“Micah Kaelin.”

Chapter 29: Rose

I’d been expecting Micah to keep his distance from me after that kiss. But he showed up the very next day as I swam with Griff and my girl friends on Sun Beach. He walked up to the edge of the water, fully dressed, and beckoned me over. I glanced apologetically at Griff before walking over to him. Micah’s blond hair was tied in a bun. The sides of his face were rough and unshaven.

“I was hoping you might take a walk with me,” he said softly.

“Um, okay.”

I pulled my clothes on over my bikini and followed him into the woods. Back into the woods with the big bad wolf.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” he said, as we lost sight of the beach. “I hope it didn’t offend you.”

I felt my cheeks growing red. “It didn’t offend me.”

“I’m glad. Because I was worried. I wasn’t sure if I’d overstepped my mark. I know we haven’t known each other long.”

“It was just a peck on the cheek,” I said. Understatement of the year. “It’s no big deal.”

“Good… I fixed the fishing boat, by the way. It’s strong enough for two now. Can I show you?”

“Show me the fishing—?”

He caught my waist and threw me over his shoulder. He began racing through the forest.

“Micah? What are you doing?”

“Just hold on,” he said.

He stopped running once we reached the Port. He ran up to the jetty and put me down. He pointed to a small fishing boat bobbing next to the submarines. He stepped in and held out his hand.

“Allow me?”

I eyed the small boat, the slimy nets bunched in one corner.

“Where to?”

“We’ll stay within the boundaries,” he said. “I promise. I just want to show you how I fish.”

“Because my parents don’t like me straying beyond them.”

“I promise we’ll stay within them.”

Hesitating a few moments longer, I took his hand and stepped into the boat.

He clutched the oars and began moving us away.

I wasn’t sure why he was so bent on showing me how to fish. I’d never shown much interest in it. But since he kept going on about it, I decided to just humor him. I dipped my hand into the water, feeling its warmth gradually fade as we got deeper and deeper.

“You can start unraveling those nets if you want.”

Grateful for the distraction, I untangled the slimy nets and, under Micah’s direction, spread the largest one out so that it hung over the end of the boat.

I bent over the side of the boat and washed my hands in the water. Only once I’d finished the task and looked up did I realize how close we were drawing to the boundary. Micah was showing no signs of slowing down.