WARNING: This chapter is not flirty and fun. There are few jokes, no cute couple encounters, and no lighthearted moments. Oh, and expect a cliffhanger ending.
Claire
Dad was out. Eliza was out. Quil was over. Normally, this would be the recipe for sexy make-out time on the couch and a strip session in my bedroom. But sadly, tonight the only thing happening on the couch was a stare-down between Mason and Quil. Well… more of a glare-off, but still. It was awkward as hell.
"So, are you two having fun because I sure am," I sighed. Naturally, I was seated right in the middle of them, watching that show Embry was so obsessed with. The Simpsons or whatever. It was even more stupid without him around to watch it with me. Well, I wasn't paying close attention anyways.
"They better fucking kill that leech. The sooner your life isn't endangered the sooner I can kick his ass out the door," he sneered at Mason.
"Have you two ever tried getting along?" I scowled.
"Nope, and we probably never will," Mason informed me.
"The two of you are so infuriating!" I huffed, getting up from the Couch Of All Awkwardness.
"Where are you going?" Quil asked, starting to get up.
"I'm thirsty. Don't worry Quil, I think I can get a glass of water without being abducted by vampires." It disgusted me that I was able to joke so lightheartedly about my own life, but it was better than curling up in a ball and hyperventilating, so I didn't let myself get too bogged down.
I got a class from the cabinet and filled it up with ice cold fridge water, taking my sweet time. I wasn't ready to back in that room yet. Instead, I took my glass to the kitchen table and slipped it slowly.
Quil and Mason had become permanent fixtures in every second of every day of my life. Quil had called in sick to work all week and Mason had taken to sleeping in the forest outside my bedroom window. I wasn't even entirely sure Quil did sleep. I was concerned for his health and well-being, but he kept shrugging it off and insisting that he was okay as long as I was.
From what we'd heard from the rest of the pack, it sounded like they were closing in on Lilah. It was only a matter of time now until they caught her. Then maybe things would finally go back to normal.
Well, as normal as my life ever is.
From my pocket, my cell phone began to vibrate. I pulled it out and checked the screen. Eliza. Weird… wasn't she supposed to be at the dance with Brady? When Quil and I got back from dinner and Eliza was gone we'd assumed that she agreed to go with Brady in Collin's absence. So why was she calling?
"Hello?" I answered uncertainly. I'd expected to hear the loud thrumming of the base and hundreds of voices trying to talk over each other on the other end, but instead I heard something else. The last thing I had expected to hear during a phone call from Eliza. Crying.
"Eliza? What's wrong?" I asked, kicking into Big Sister Mode.
"Brady—" a sob "And the dance and—" another sob "I don't want t—to t—talk about it!" She was crying so hard I could barely understand her words through the phone.
"Is it something Brady did?" I asked concernedly.
"N-no it's m—my f—fault. C—can you come g—get me?"
"Are you still at the school?" I questioned.
"No, J-Jasmine. I ran into Jasmine and she b—brought me to her house. 920 Robin-Hood Loop."
"Okay, Liza, hang tight. We're on our way."
"Please don't b—bring Quil and Ma—Mason. I d—don't want them to see me cry." Her voice broke as the tears kept coming. I was disturbed to hear my little sister's voice so raw—so vulnerable.
"They won't judge you, Eliza."
"But they'll tell him! They'll t—tell Brady. And—And—" Whatever she said after that I couldn't make out through all of the tears.
"Shh, calm down, Liza. Calm down. I'll come and get you, okay?"
"Okay. Th—thanks Claire." The line went dead.
"What's going on?" Quil asked, strolling easily into the kitchen and leaning against the counter.
"I have to go pick up Eliza from Jasmine's house. She didn't really say what happened, but she sounded pretty hysterical."
"Okay, are we taking the Mustang?" He asked simply.
"About that. I know you're not going to like this, neither of you will, but Eliza doesn't want you to come. I guess whatever is going on has to do with Brady and since you guys all share the same brain space…"
He didn't even consider. "No Claire. You're not going alone. No way."
"Lilah is in another country and Collin ran a patrol before he left. No vampire stink in the forest anywhere even close to here. I think I can make it to Jasmine's and back just fine."
Mason stormed into the kitchen. "Absolutely not. Why take stupid risks? Don't even leave with us. Either Quil or I can go get Eliza and the two of you can talk about it when she gets here."
I should have known this would happen. The problem with Mason and Quil was that they both had tunnel vision. Anything that didn't directly concern my safety didn't matter to them. Eliza's inner turmoil didn't matter to them. But she was my little sister, and it was my duty to look out for her. Neither of them had younger siblings. They could never understand. "She's my sister. Not yours. Not Quil's. And anywhere we are with you two around you would be able to hear. Let me go get her. She needs me. I don't know what's wrong with her, but I've never heard her so upset. I know that my safety matters to you, but her happiness matters to me. Eliza has been through so much and she needs me, so I'm going to go get her. I know you probably think I'm too helpless and human to drive one town over to get her. But I'm not. Let me do this. Please."
Mason didn't budge. "No. I'm sorry."
I turned to Quil, letting my eyes reflect all of my emotions. "Please Quil. Please baby let me just go get my sister. I can do this for myself. Nothing is going to happen. Just please do this for me." I know I was being manipulative, and I kind of hated myself for it… but when you wielded that much power over someone it was hard not to take advantage of it sometimes. Sue me, I'm only human!
With a bat of my lashes and a hand on his cheek he caved. "If you're not back in forty five minutes we're going after you. I need the address of Jasmine's house and you better call me when you get there. Go there and come straight back, do you hear me, Claire?"
"What are you thinking?" Mason shouted at the same time I thanked Quil and kissed him happily on his lips.
"I'll be fine, Mason. You'll see."
Mason crossed his arms across his chest and looked sideways out the windows, like he was trying really hard to not care. "You'd better be."
I didn't respond, instead turning back to Quil to give him the address. Once that was taken care of I kissed him again and headed for the front door.
I didn't waste any time dilly-dallying while driving. My sister was broken, and I was on a mission to help her put all those little pieces back together, no matter what the problem was.
Mason
"I can't believe you let her go. Obviously, you're already a dumbass, but I thought you had some sense when it came to Claire's safety." I growled. It had been probably fifteen minutes since Claire left and it felt like I hadn't taken a breath the entire time. Was Claire asking for trouble? Did Quil lose whatever shreds of a mind he had?
"Claire and I have a relationship built on trust, Mason. You wouldn't understand, considering you've probably never trusted a person in your whole life."
I felt the rage boiling in my blood but forced it back. He wasn't even worth blowing up at. "That's rich, coming from you. And you can shut up. You really know nothing about me." We were sitting awkwardly on the living room sectional couch, as far apart as possible. Just as before, the TV was nothing more than meaningless background noise.
"Don't tell me to shut up, you started it. I did what I knew Claire wanted, if that makes me a pushover then so be it."
"You see Quil, that's the difference between you and I. You show your love by doing everything in your power to keep her happy. I show mine by doing everything I can to keep her alive. She may not always be happy with me, but at least she'll be alive. And of course she loves you… because you give her whatever she wants even when it isn't what is best. I'm surprised you haven't accidently indirectly killed her by now."
Quil stood abruptly from the couch and appeared in front of me within a second, grabbing me by the shirt and yanking me up to my feet. "Now you listen to me. Claire is my life. I make her happy and keep her safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to her. She's my imprint and I know what is best for her. And also, if you keep mentioning how you're in love with my girlfriend I'm going to rip off your legs and feed them to you. Got it?"
I rolled my eyes. "Got it. Now put me the fuck down."
He huffed and released my shirt, going back to his side of the couch and faking interest in the TV. The Simpsons were over and had been replaced by some stupid sitcom I'd never heard of.
Maybe five minutes later I felt a slight shift in the air just outside the front door. I stiffened, preparing myself to spring into action and attack the visitor, when I heard the rapid thrumming of a heartbeat. Too fast to be Claire's, but not a vampire either. The front door swung open and in raced none other than Brady, dressed in slacks and a dress shirt that he had only managed to get half-way through buttoning after phasing. He was panting heavily, as if he were tired and out of breath, but it would take a lot of running to make a wolf tired. Danny filed into the house behind him, similarly dressed.
"Not in Canada," Brady explained between heavy breaths, coming to a stop right in the middle of the living room. "Never in Canada."
A pit developed in my stomach. That didn't sound good… whatever he meant.
"What?" Quil and I asked in almost perfect synchronization, which may have bugged me in another circumstances.
He doesn't mean… He can't be referring to…
I couldn't think the words.
"I'll explain everything. Call Sam though, someone needs to watch Claire," it was then that I realized that his heavy breathing was panic, not exhaustion. "We don't have much time!
"Claire isn't here right now, what is going on?"
"She isn't here? What the fuck do you mean she isn't here? Where is she?" Brady demanded.
"Going to pick up your crazy sobbing girlfriend. Explain what is going on right now," I demanded, feeling panic mingle with blood and race wildly through my veins.
Brady's eyes widened to saucers. "Eliza? Did she talk to her? Is she alright?"
"Hell if I know, she was sobbing. Now I will seriously rip your head off if you don't start making sense."
"Eliza's been kidnapped. By Lilah. We're sure of it," Danny answered when it became clear that Brady wasn't going to be of any help. Just like that, Quil and I were on our feet.
"No," Quil growled. "No. It's impossible. We would have known if Lilah was in town!"
"That's what I thought. But apparently not," Brady mumbled.
Quil got up in his face, much like he had with me earlier. "Explain everything. Exactly what happened at the dance?"
"Well, Eliza and I were dancing, you know. Then she was upset by ah… something and ran out of the gym. I would have chased after her, but I figured since she wanted to get away from me, following her wouldn't be a good idea. So I waited. And waited. After like fifteen minutes she still hadn't returned and I got worried, so I started asking around if anyone had seen her. Then I grabbed Danny and made him help me find her. We followed her scent outside and it was there on the sidewalk that we smelled… her. The leech. Her smell was everywhere, burning my nose like a mother fucker. And Eliza was gone," Brady explained hurriedly, his voice losing any last shreds of composure.
My mouth went cotton dry. "But—but Claire just talked to Eliza. She was just on her way to go pick her up and…"
"It's a trap," Quil muttered ruefully. "We played right into her trap. Don't you see… it's not Eliza Lilah was after. She's just bait for—"
"Claire," I choked.
Eliza
"Shh, calm down, Liza. Calm down. I'll come and get you, okay?"
"Okay. Th—thanks Claire."
The line went dead.
"Wonderful performance, Eliza. Have you ever considered a career in acting?" Lilah asked, pulling my phone away from my ear. We were in a dark living room area, bare of all furniture save for the dining room chair I sat in, held in place by my captor's disturbing ability to control my body with her mind. It was as if invisible ropes tied me tightly to my seat. I couldn't even lift a hand to wipe the tears streaming down my face. Despite Lilah's comment, that certainly wasn't acting on the phone. That was tears of absolute terror.
I had never actually seen the leech before, but honestly, the blue hair was kind of a dead giveaway. When I'd seen the crimson-eyed blue haired girl in the shadows in front of the school, my first instinct was to run. I didn't even have the time to make a single step. In the split second it took me to identify her she had already covered my mouth with her ice cold hand, muffling my shrieks. That hadn't stopped me from screaming myself raw, though.
I felt sick. Absolutely sick. There were three things that I knew without a shadow of a doubt. I was going to die, plain and simple. Because of me, Claire was also going to die. If I tried to fight back, Lilah would hold true on her promise she'd made before I'd called Claire. "Do it or more people will die than necessary. Your best friend, your father, your pregnant aunt, your uncle, your little cousin, and of course your precious boyfriend."
People were going to die. Because of me. People I loved.
For what felt like a very long time, neither one of us spoke. She paced while I cried silently. In the poor illumination of the room, I studied the creature that had been terrorizing my sister for months. If one ignored the weird blue dye job and blood red eyes, she sure didn't look like a murderer. She was very small in stature, probably the same height as Annie—at just over five feet—and alarmingly frail looking. Even though she was probably around my age, her supernaturally pale skin made her look even younger than she was. Surely such a small girl couldn't be so evil.
I shook my head, shaking away any thoughts of her innocence. Lilah hadn't invited me here to make small talk and drink tea, she was a full-on nutcase. I examined her again. She wore a black jacket with severely torn black skinny jeans tucked into combat boots. Her hair, by the looks of it, probably had gone un-brushed for a month. Surely the wild and rebellious look was meant to make her appear more wild and threatening.
"You're awfully quiet Liza, how unusual for you. What's the matter, finally run out of smart comments?"
"How do you know my name?" I inquired, trying to make my voice sound steady and strong. It didn't. I didn't have the energy to be strong. Not under such dark circumstances.
Lilah laughed a tinkling airy kind of laugh that sounded much too childlike and sweet for such a demented monster. "Oh, I know more than just that. Eliza Young, born Eliza Nile to the late Robert and Juliana Nile in 2004 in Seattle. Adopted as an infant. You were orphaned again after the death of your adoptive mother when you were seven. You and Claire went to live with your Aunt and Uncle and younger cousin, Amelia, until your father returned to town this last August. Your best friend is Lilly Gray, resident of Forks, mate of werewolf Embry Call. Your sister is mate of werewolf Quil Ateara, who is also the best friend of Embry and his half-brother. You do not have a mate, but are loved by werewolf Bra—" That was when I snapped.
"That's enough!" I screamed, wishing I could cover my ears. "Shut up! Just shut up!"
"Was it something I said?" Lilah smirked.
"Why are you doing this? What can you possibly want from us?" I demanded, wishing the hatred in my eyes could actually burn a hole through her. Or better yet, fifty.
"I already got what I wanted from you, Eliza. Thank you. Without you none of this would have been possible. I don't know if you've ever noticed but it is impossibly hard to get to your sister when she has an entourage of mutts surrounding her at all times."
"Leave Claire alone. She's just human. What can she possibly have that you need so badly? Why go through all this trouble?"
"You really are impatient, Liza. Stick around, you'll find out."
Cause I really have a choice. I shivered. Lilah checked my cell phone, tapping her foot on the floor.
"How long does it take a girl to drive from La Push to Forks? Seriously, it's been almost twenty minutes."
"And I'm the impatient one?" I mused tiredly. There was a flash of white and blue and suddenly those menacing red eyes were just inches away. I jumped but did not scream. I was so done with screaming.
"Do not mock me, girl. I don't need to keep you alive anymore. I can kill you right now and it will make no difference to me. I have all the power."
"Look, if you're about to do the whole super villain monologue thing then feel free to kill me. Hearing you talk is a fate worse than death," I wasn't intentionally trying to mouth off, but I guess people said crazy things when they knew they were about to die. I didn't even care at this point, wouldn't it be easier if I just died now? Lilah's eyes glowed with rage and my heart stopped for a moment as I understood that she really was about to kill me. As I realized that I really didn't want to die. This didn't happen, though. Instead, she grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to my feet, letting her eyes bore into mine from just inches away. I hissed with pain. my hair felt like it was on the verge to rip from my scalp.
"Learn your place, Eliza." She let me fall back to my chair.
"No," I protested. "No. No! No! I will not be quiet and you will not kill anyone I love and I will not bend to your will anymore. You bloodsucking bitch! Brady will come for me. Quil will come for Claire. You'll never win."
She looked like she was prepared to snap my neck, and I flinched. She just laughed, though. "Oh, Eliza. You are so naïve it's really pathetic. You already have bent to my will, and you would do it again if I told you to. Brady will of course know I took you the second he goes outside, but that's no matter. He'll be too late to save you and I'll enjoy killing him. As for Quil, well, how will he save Claire when he doesn't even know she's in danger? He won't even realize anything is wrong until his girlfriend's dead body is delivered to his doorstep. I. Can't. Lose."
A sick shiver ran down my spine as the image of that Nora girl hanging outside Claire's window returned to the front of my mind. Now I didn't see her face though, it was Claire's. Lilah was right, maybe the guys would somehow figure out where we were and what was going on. But not in time. Lilah was going to win. I was going to die. Claire was going to die, probably in the most gruesome way. And considering Lilah's crazy body controlling powers, Brady probably would too.
I wanted to cry, but there were no tears left.
Then I heard the worst possible noise. The one thing I never wanted to hear. A car engine, tires on pavement, the sound of a car door. A minute of silence. Then, the ringing of the doorbell.
I wanted to warn her, to scream "Run!" at the top of my lungs, but my voice was nowhere to be found.
Lilah smiled, "I'll get it," she announced softly, disappearing around the corner.
Claire
I'd never been to Jasmine's house before, or really thought about what it would look like. I knew that her mother didn't work, but her father was a cop, and cops made decent money around here. Enough money to take care of their house, at least. Placed in the middle of a quiet, very ordinary street, Jasmine's house stuck out. The grass was overgrown and full of weeds, the door was in need of a paint job, and the roof could use a re-tiling. All of the blinds were pulled shut, blocking intruders from peeking in, which was typical for cops, but the boards over the upstairs windows were a little much. What kind of home did Mrs. Albert keep?
I mentally shrugged away my stupid curiosities and rang the doorbell, unsure of what state I'd find Eliza in inside. Would she still be crying? Had she found enough time to glue her emotionless mask back together? Would she pretend she had no idea what I was talking about and that she had never cried at all?
After a moment of silent contemplation, I heard footsteps reach the door, but it didn't open right away. "Hi," I greeted hesitantly when it appeared no one was going to open the door. "I'm here to pick up my sister, Eliza."
Almost instantly, the door opened. A figure stood just inside the door, in the shadows of the house. It was clearly a female, but I couldn't make quite out her features. Before I could say anything else, the girl stepped into the light, a horrible grin spreading across her sickly white face. Lilah.
"Surprise," she cooed. At that moment, my world stopped. My mouth went drier than cotton balls, my stomach lurched, every one of my muscles tensed to run. But we both knew escape was impossible.
This was a trap.
And I played right into it…
I opened my mouth, prepared to scream at the top of my lungs and only hope someone would come to my rescue. (I didn't want to let myself wonder if there was anyone around who actually could.) Before I could make so much as a whimper, she was behind me, one of her ice cold arms pinning down both of mine and her other covering my mouth.
"Now, now, Claire. Don't be afraid. Be brave, like your little sister."
Just like that, the world started spinning again, a million times faster. And backwards. No. No. Not Eliza. No.
Not only did Lilah have me, she'd gotten her hands on my family. She'd used a member of my family as bate to lure me out alone. And now we were both going to die.
Lilah shoved me—not too gently—through the door and down a small hallway into the living room. In the center of the room was Eliza, seated stiffly in a chair that probably came from the kitchen.
"Liza," I mouthed, my throat too tight with terror to produce any sound. She was still in her dress from the dance, not a smudge of dirt on the elegant fabric. Her hair had fallen, but the curls hung nicely on her shoulders. From a distance, someone would maybe see nothing at all out of place. Just a young, pretty girl in a fancy dress. But her face told another story. Mascara made black trails down her cheeks, which were obviously tear-stained. Her eyes were red and wet. Most of her makeup had been smeared of washed away all together. One thing on the phone hadn't been fake, Eliza certainly had been crying.
"Claire, I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice! She threatened to hurt Amelia and Lilly and Brady!" Her voice cracked and more tears filled the corners of her eyes.
"I know," I wanted to say. I wanted to tell her that I understood—that she had had no other choice. I wanted to tell her she was brave. I was not, however. There was no strength in me. I was teeming with pure, real, fear. The most intense fear I had ever experienced. I was scared into utter silence, all too aware of Lilah's presence behind me.
Wanting to stay between the leech and Eliza, I raced over to her and wrapped her in my shaky embrace. She didn't move. Lilah is using her power, I realized suddenly. Not on me, but on Eliza. All my nightmares were quickly becoming a reality. I only hoped that Quil didn't try to come save me. I was already indirectly killing my little sister, I couldn't let him suffer the same fate.
"How sweet," Lilah mocked making her way over to us slowly, casually. She was in no hurry, there was no urgency. Lilah would savor my death. She inhaled deeply through her nose and her eyes nearly rolled back into her head. Then, another step towards me. I coiled away from her reflexively, knowing very well that I really couldn't defend myself against her. She leaned terrifyingly closer, fingering a lock of my hair and lifting it to her nose, then giving a pleasurable sigh.
"You smell so much better without the wolf dominating my nose," she noted.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I choked out, finally recovering my voice from the depths of my terror. I stared down at my shoes, too afraid to meet her eyes, but also too nervous to shut my own. "What did Quil ever do to you?"
"Who says this has anything to do with Quil?"
"That's why you're going to—to kill me, isn't it? To hurt Quil."
Lilah—who had been circling Eliza and I menacingly—stopped abruptly and fell into a fit of laughter.
"God no, I don't give a damn about your little werewolf boyfriend. In fact, it would be so much simpler if he didn't exist at all."
"Then what?" I muttered, releasing Eliza from my arms and standing up to face my executioner. She was shorter than I was, and probably younger too, but she could also kill me between one blink and the next.
"I'll have you know, Claire, that if you're trying to stall me it's no use," Lilah chided lightly, staring me straight in the eyes. "I've been waiting a long time for this moment, I can promise you I left no loose ends. You won't be victorious tonight."
I shivered, averting my eyes to the unlit fireplace. "Don't I deserve to know why you went through all this trouble?" I replied, swallowing the painful lump of tears in my throat.
"Well…" The vampire chewed her lip, "I suppose I do deserve to brag about myself just a little. It's not an easy feat to dupe the Volturi and hide under their radar."
"I thought you worked for them. What happened, they fire you when you didn't bring in their favorite flavor of human?" Eliza spat.
Lilah's responding smile was dark and threatening, "I went rogue," she explained. "Disappeared the day of the battle and never returned to them. Jonathan, Haley, Connor, Harry, Xavier, your werewolves killed them all. But not me. I'm too smart for my old friends, for my previous employer, and way too clever for your little pack of boy toys. I knew how our little showdown on the field was going to end. We were outnumbered and lacked experience. When Jonathan said someone needed to kill the girlfriends, of course I volunteered. I didn't want to be around when the fighting started! The others assumed I was going off to kill you all, but that was never my intention. I had a friend, someone who also worked with the Volturi, but had their own personal agenda. There was a girl he wanted, a wolf-mate girl who was half mortal and half vampire, just like him."
"Nahuel," I realized. Lilah smiled wider.
"I was going to meet him and his beloved at the rendezvous point just 5 miles or so from your little safe house. He never came. Ran off in shame I guess, he doesn't handle rejection well. I don't either. You see, I am very fond of Nahuel. He doesn't have eyes for anyone but that hybrid brat. I had half a mind to suck her dry out of spite."
"You stay away from Renesmee," I warned her in the firmest voice I could muster.
"Relax, I said half a mind."
"Half a mind is all you've got, crazy bitch," Eliza muttered under her breath. Rage flashed in Lilah's eyes.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you, very much. For now I will settle for this." She backhanded my little sister across the face. Eliza let out an agonized cry and despite my fear, I flung myself at the vampire.
"Leave her alone!" I screamed. Lilah pushed me to the ground—hard—and directed her stone cold glare at me. I struggled to breathe as the impact of my back hitting the hardwood knocked the wind out of me."
"Anyway, as I was saying. I had half a mind to kill the bitch, so I headed in the direction of the house. But on the way I smelled two trails. One headed toward the house, a werewolf. One leading away. Renesmee. But there was another scent mixed in with hers. A human smell more appealing than any single human I had ever come in contact with. It was you, Claire. Your blood calls to me, like a drug calls to a recovering addict. It is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Do you know what it means to be a blood singer, Claire?"
I shook my head no, her words sending an icy chill from the tips of my fingers and toes all the way to my heart. "It means," Lilah said airily, kneeling on the floor and looking down at me hungrily, "that I'm going to kill you Claire. I'm going to suck you dry." It didn't seem possible. All this trouble she went through, all the possibilities we considered, and all this time all that Lilah wanted was my blood. My blood.
"Why haven't you done it already?" I demanded, swallowing my terror. "Why not kill me that day? Why not that week? We didn't see you for months! Why this game of cat and mouse, just to kill me?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Claire, you have quite the little entourage of werewolves who are with you every waking moment of the day. I couldn't very well barge in and grab you. So I laid low for a while, hoping to be forgotten. I was. I found a new companion, Cyril. You've met him, though I guess you wouldn't remember… seeing as you were asleep. I came up with a plan, a truly foolproof plan. And now I'm going to collect my reward."
"How were you able to hide out in the middle of the town without any of the pack picking up on your scent?"
"I have my ways, Claire. There are bigger things going on here, things that you can't imagine, things that the Volturi can hardly imagine. Every day the world becomes more and more of a mystery, doesn't it? Now stop stalling, Claire. I would like to kill you know."
She leaned closer, so her red eyes were just inches above my own. Tears gathered in my eyes. "No," I choked. "Please don't. I'm begging you, Lilah. You don't want to kill me. Quil will find you. The pack will kill you. Leave now and I'll make them call off the hunt. You can go free. Just don't hurt my sister or I. Let us go, please. You were human not too long ago, weren't you? Is there no humanity left in your soul?"
"None," Lilah sounded almost proud. "Any last words?"
"Quil," I breathed, defeated and crying. My entire body shook under her in fear. Lilah made a face, as if the name displeased her. Then, faster than I could make sense of, an ice cold hand clutched my shoulder and the other forced my head back, making my neck a broad expanse that may as well have been a sign reading "drink me."
"Don't worry, this will only hurt a lot," She mumbled, inhaling the perfume of my skin one last time.
"Claire, no!" Eliza screamed. I heard the sound of struggling, like she was trying hard to free herself from Lilah's power.
Lilah's teeth glided across my neck and my entire body stiffened as I prepared myself for the pain.
Her teeth sank into my neck.
A/N: In this case and this case only, flame reviews are accepted. I know, I'm a horrible monster and this is the worst cliffhanger I've ever left you guys with. Hopefully this time I won't leave you dangling so long waiting for the next chapter. Ch. 55 is underway and hopefully will be coming to you soon.
