Chapter 26

By the beginning of the new week, the newcomers to Salem had decorated for Halloween and were already arranging plans for parties and other celebrations. Grace had told me that Halloween had never been very openly celebrated, since it was one of the times of year people feared our kind the most. But no one had told the vampires, apparently. By Monday it was like nothing had happened, with the word spreading fast of Bram and Gory's huge party and it's surprisingly open invitation.

The sun was filtering through the falling leaves. For the first time, I wore something more in line with Romulus's color scheme; a slightly sparkly gold sweater and dark jeans. Shiver seemed to approve of the choice herself; she left quite a few curly white hairs on my pants. I ruffled my hair to dry it out as I ran out of the house, muffin in hand and juice jammed in the holster of my bag. I tried the door to make sure it was locked before dashing over to Romulus's side of the street and climbing in his open truck. The back was coated in wet, multicolored leaves. He came jogging out a minute later, grinning as he hopped in. "Sorry, sorry. My dad has no idea where the cover to the back is. We're gonna give her one last wash over the weekend and close her up for the winter."

I nodded, pretending I knew what he was talking about. He locked the door and stole a kiss before starting up the car and backing out, "We're not gonna be late, are we?"

"Should not be," I replied, glancing to him. I ripped the top off my muffin and offered him the bottom. He smirked, glancing from it to the road, "Give a guy a hand, babe."

I laughed, peeling off the wrapper and scooting closer to feed him. Our relationship had grown defined by Indie music, long nights on video chat and sharing food. It was like a flower blooming in the middle of winter; we had a relationship that happened in stories.

Romulus and I pulled in beside a hearse decorated with bat wings attached to the roof. He shook his head, "Maybe we'll have to go to this party after all." Whether it was for fun or to keep the guys out of trouble he didn't let on, but it seemed like a good enough idea. There was just a little over a week left until Halloween anyway. I glanced back to him with the realization that everything life changing had occurred within the past month, and somehow we still intended to continue on as if nothing had happened. Walking up the steps to the school, I was greeted with an unusual and welcome sight that immediately drew my skepticism. Bram and Gory were seated on the steps with Rocco on the step below them, her fingers ruffling his hair and scratching him as if he were a pet and not a person. He didn't seem to mind any, though; his head rested on her knee with his eyelids drooping. Bram had the kind of smirk on his face that spoke of the knowledge that if his girlfriend showed up on film, he'd have been recording the sight. Kate immediately walked over to me and grabbed ahold of my covered elbow, staring directly at them, "I don't know how to feel about this."

I glanced at her, letting my eyes tell her that I didn't either. Her eyes flicked to me before going back to her brother, "What if she tries to snap his neck?"

My shoulders relaxed, "She would've done it already."

Rocco rolled over on his back against her leg, his foot beginning to twitch against another step two below. The vampiress smiled demurely; he probably was just a dog to her. On the bright side, she was treating him like a dog and not like a beast. I wasn't sure if it was progress or still degrading. I glanced to Romulus, his eyes revealing that he'd settled on degrading. Kate lingered by his flank, as if she were ready to back him in a fight. I shook my head and walked up, "Rocco, did you do homework?"

He opened his eyes to look at me, still enjoying his scratch. He reminded me of a human on drugs. "Most of it."

"Hello, Abbey," Gory said, her casual tone drawing my attention. I raised a brow in return. Kate had to physically grab Romulus to stop him from charging up to flank me the way Bram was backing her. Her red lips formed a wicked upturn too devious to be considered an actual smile. "I was hoping you and your friends might come to our party."

I shifted my book across my chest, "Is there theme?"

"Masquerade," she said, revealing the tips of her pearly fangs. Rocco squirmed and popped up, practically ready to lick her face. I saw the amusement flicker across her face as she petted his cheek lightly, "Feeling better?"

He nodded and proceeded to do just as I feared, but licking her hand instead of her face. Kate slapped her forehead, staring at her brother in disbelief. Instead of being disgusted as the vampires might've been, Gory ruffled his hair once again and withdrew her hand, "I wouldn't want to make you late to class, sweetheart."

He stood up, stretching and grinning back down at her, "Thanks Gory."

Bram shifted closer to her as they both smiled with the same closed-lipped politeness that almost made me think they didn't enjoy his presence. Her attention focused on Romulus then, eyes glinting defensively, "Of course, you're invited as well. I couldn't open my home to your pack without allowing the alpha."

Coldness ran up my spine. The lack of malice in her voice was frightening. Kate went after her brother, as if to make sure Rocco was still himself. I glanced to Romulus. He was on his defense, not betraying a singular emotion, "We'll be there."

Gory's smile sent chills down my spine, "Fangtastic."

...

"Am telling you," I explained to Frankie as we sat down at our study table with the ghouls, "Her smile was very strange. Was not obviously evil, but have dark feelings from it."

"Getting paranoid, Abbey?" Cleo asked, polishing her nails against the table.

"Well, she's really not that bad," Frankie said, cracking open a book, "I kinda like Gory. She doesn't let anybody push her around. And she and Bram are adorable together."

Draculaura's eyes flicked up from her book and back down to turn a page. Cleo rolled her eyes and exhaled in a huff against her nails to dry them, "I do admit, she has nerve. She doesn't take orders well, but sometimes her modifications are...adequate."

"Cleo likes her," Lagoona said across the table, as if I didn't understand the catty way of admitting affection. Draculaura was the only one that remained silent besides Ghoulia, but Ghoulia hardly ever participated in gossip. Clawdeen raised a brow and nudged her, "Hey, Lala. What about you?"

"She's nice," Draculaura said absently.

"Must be a really good book to distract you from gossip," Cleo replied, voicing my thought.

Draculaura looked up and shrugged, "What do you want me to say? I don't want to offend either of you."

Cleo's brows rose, "Offend me?"

Lala gingerly pushed her bookmark in between the pages and held her book in her lap. She tucked a pink lock behind her ear, "Well for starters...she doesn't push us in practice. And she wants us to take breaks. She's actually really democratic and if a routine is too hard, she modifies it for us."

"I'm sorry, did she win Nationals last year?" Cleo replied.

"Belfry Prep didn't bother entering last year," Draculaura replied, "They took their debate team nationally, which she's also on and really good at."

"Someone's got a new best friend," Clawdeen teased.

"She just talks to me, ghoul to ghoul," Draculaura commented, opening her book again, "She doesn't have a lot of smart people to talk to. You should hear some of the stories she tells me."

Immediately, they prompted her for them and she gave them up more than willingly. I lowered my head and attempted to study, but my mind kept wandering back to the cryptic smile that the vampire had given us. She'd like to kill us, no doubt. Maybe...maybe they would destroy the pack for what we'd done. Maybe we'd go to the party and none of us would leave. I glanced over at Frankie, catching the end of a story about a chicken and a bat and I realized just how little I cared when she started laughing.

"Sharing my stories?" Gory asked, leaning over the back of Draculaura's chair. Frankie jumped, but Draculaura didn't. She turned, beaming at the other vampiress, "Of course. Storytelling is a tradition."

A bemused smirk crossed her face, "Mind helping a ghoul find something decent to skim?"

"It's a lot bigger than Belfry Prep, isn't it?" she asked, rising.

"I wouldn't say that, I'd just say more diverse." They wandered off toward the stacks together, chatting as casually as if they'd known each other forever. I glanced to Frankie and picked up the book I had in hand, following. I slipped into a nearby stack and went silent, skimming books in case they were listening.

"I'm not bringing Clawd," I heard Draculaura say, quiet and almost shyly, "We're not coming. I told him I had something else planned for us."

"And you're trying to come up with something," Gory murmured, "You're a smart girl."

There was a moment of near silence as I heard someone rifling through a purse. I slipped into a stack and put my back to them, stealing a glance in time to see between the books as Gory placed a key in Draculaura's palm, "We have a cabin on the coast. Have Clawdeen pack him a bag of stuff, surprise him. Drive him up there for the weekend, do something out there."

Draculaura's voice was almost desperate, "What if he figures out something's up?"

"Then I'll trust you to cover your own behind. It'll be okay, 'Laura. Worst comes to worst, you tell him about this. You sit him down and have a cute little heart to heart, maybe go for a midnight swim, come back with absolutely nothing out of order."

"I don't like this," she said quietly, "You'll get hurt. They'll get hurt."

"Trust me. You did once." I glanced back to watch Gory pluck a book off the shelf and smirk to my friend, "We take care of our own, Draculaura. You're not a traitor, you're a princess. Maybe one day, you'll even be a queen."

I put my book in place as the red-clad vampiress walked out of the stacks and down the isle, giving Draculaura the space to slump against the books behind me. She raised the fist wrapped around the key and held it to her chest before removing her necklace, situating it behind the charms, clasping it around her neck again and exiting from the opposite direction.

I joined the others before Lala did, glancing over my shoulder to the corner of the room where the vampires had taken up residence. Gory leaned on her boyfriend's chair until he pulled her onto his lap with a laugh. The way they smiled at each other made me remember that they were human, no matter what was going on. They had their reasons, they had their motives...the only thing I could do was let Romulus know about them. Lala joined us, seating herself comfortably. She looked down at her book and pushed it away, folding her arms on the table and laying her head on top of them. Clawdeen's brows knitted, "La?"

A sob bubbled up from the little vampire's shaking shoulders. Her eyes widened and she, Frankie and the others got up to crowd around her. I rose in silence and looked at the couple again. People like them were careless enough to make anyone who came in contact with them expendable, and something told me that Draculaura was going to be one of those people. I tucked my book in my bag and adjusted it over my shoulder. Gory's eyes lifted, meeting mine. I rose my chin in silent knowledge and defiance, making her eyes glint with a silent rebuttal. They shifted back to her mate, confirming the thought. They didn't care for anyone but each other.
If that was their only redeemable quality, than so be it. Even they deserved to make sure it didn't end badly. I turned back to Draculaura and rested my hand over hers, leaning in among them and whispering in her ear, "Follow the pack. We take care of it."

Her head snapped up just as I pulled back. Silent, mascara darkened tears ran down her face. I broke her gaze to turn and leave in search of Romulus.