The Vampire Christopher (4 page)

I really did want to hang out with
him, but I had t
rack practice, r
evenant training, and the
n homework. “Hey, you made the t
rack team. You’re going to practice, right?”

“Yep, and you have to run today. I want to see if you can manage once around the track without tripping.” He laughed.

“
Harsh
,” I murmured. But I wanted to see if
it
were possible too. “I have…” I paused. Professor Pops
wanted me
to go over to his house after
practice. I’d be learning how to
kill different supernatura
l creatures, including vampire Hunters
like him.
Did I
want to tell
Chace
? He worked for the Vampire Queen.

Holy
apple butter
on toast, h
e
worked
for the Vampire Queen
!
Why hadn’t
that
hit me before
now
?
I hadn’t asked Professor Pops what would happen if I drank the blood of a Hunter.

Chace glanced over, his gaze unreadable
. “You’re training with Adam Henry after practice.”

“Yes,” I nodded, unable to say any more.
How did he know?
So many questions.

“Did
n’t
you want to see me again to
night?” His words sounded hollow, sad
.

“Of course,” I said,
touching
his arm, and
regrett
ing
the maneuver immediately
. Professor Pops
mentioned Chace
possessed
the ability to
put me under a spell. Did he have me
under
one? If he did, did I care? I really wa
nted to see him
alone again—kiss
him
, and taste him
.

Gabe wanted us to be just
friends
. No reason to feel
guilty.

From deep with
in
, a
female
voice whispered,
“Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love’s blood, become the Vampire, Snow White.”

I shuddered.
My true love?
That wasn’t Chace. At least… I hadn’t
sincerely
thought about
my feelings for
him. Certainly not love. Lust. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Want to c
ome over to my
house after training
, around nine-thirty?
” My heart beat faster, in anticipation
.
“
In this realm,” I added in a
soft
voice.
We could talk. Watch a movie. Hang out. It’d be fun.

He smiled, and the movement reached his eyes, filling
my stomach
with a giddy joy.

“
Great
idea,” he said.

“Charmi
ng is
a name that suits you. Did the q
ueen give you the
name?
”

He chuckled. “No, it’s the one I was born with.”

I searched his face, checking to see if he were joking. It didn’t look like it.

“
Hmmmm
,” I said, dropping iodine in another beaker.

Chapter 4

L
unchtime finally rolled around, and I briefly
considered
evasive maneuvers—like hiding in the bathroom
. I
hadn’t decided what
to say
to Cindy about Chace and me.

Deny. Deny. Deny, my
inner voice
shrieked.

I searched the Commons area for
her, but
she hadn’t arrived
. Shrugging, I grabbed a greyish
lunch tray
,
placed
a salad
on it, along with a juice, paid the cashier, and headed over to our
usual
table near the windows. The sun shone through them, bright and cheery, and I hesitated.

Chace was protected from the sun by
the Queen’s magic. Supposedly, as a revenant, I shouldn’t need to worry
either
.

“Y
ou’ll be fine in the sun, Frosty.”

I jumped, and spun around. The gorgeous, blond haired
Hunter
towered over me, a playful grin lighting his features.

“Rude,” I
squealed
very girlishly.

Sever
al heads swung in our direction
. They were probab
ly stunned that klutzy, boyish
Sno
w White could act
girly
, or that the handsome Chace Charming
chose
to
grace me with his presence
. At those thoughts,
my whole body blushed.
They had no idea what I’d done with the incredibly hot Hunter.

Chace’s eyes glowered. “Let’s sit,” he said, walking over to my table.

I obeyed, letting my hair fall into my face.
Once we were sitting I scanned the Commons for Cindy. A part of me hoped she didn’t show. Another part of me wor
ried. If Cindy was one thing, she
w
as a creature of habit. If she
had
a change of plans, she would’ve
told me.

Salvatore and Sebastian walked in, both sporting sour
expressions
. I waved
enthusiastically
. They returned
my welcome, but it wasn’t with an
y excitement.

“They’re upset that I’m sitting
here,” Chace said,
his voice filled with humor.

“Oh, well
,
they shouldn’t care.” I signaled them to come over
, c
asually tightening my scarf
.

They nodded.

A thought struck me, and I started to panic. “They
don’t know who you are, do they,
” I hissed, keeping my eyes glued on the guys’ movements.

“No. At least I don’t think so.” He shrugged. “
But then they are Adam Henry’s sons, so anything’s possible.”
I heard what sounded like a note of awe in his words, and wondered why.

The
guys
picked up their food, and headed over. I searched their faces, trying to discern whether they knew
. I didn’t think so. If they had
, they probably would’ve been a lot more hostile.

“Hi guys,” I said, feeling suddenly
nervous
.

“Hey Snow,” Salvatore said.

“
Heyah
,” Sebastian added, taking a huge bite of pizza. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

I glanced at the unappetizing salad sitting in front of me. “Not hungry,” I responded, keeping my eyes fixed on a
wilted
carrot. I was, in fact, hung
ry, but it wasn’t for the tasteless salad. I wanted Chace’s blood
. I gave
him
a sideways glance, and he smiled,
meaningful
.

“
You should eat. You need your strength for—” Salvatore paused, and glanced over at Chace. “Later,” he finished.

I opened the juice and took a drink to appease him.

“
H
ow do you two kno
w each other?” Salvatore asked
between bites of food
, indicating Chace and I with a pointer finger
.

“Oh,” I said, and blushed—again.

Chace saved me. “We’re in
chemistry together. Plus the track team.
”

Salvatore and Sebastian
swapped
comical looks.

“Have you seen Snow run?” Salvatore asked.

“Not yet. Maybe today.” Chace
grinned slightly, a secret smile I knew was meant for me
.

The guys
busted out laughing.

Dorian
and Bart joined us at the table.

“What’s so funny?” Bart asked.

Dorian
wore
an angry fr
own
. I watched his eyes linger on my lips, move to my neck, and then glance at Chace. Did he know?

“Charming,” he nodded. “What brings you to our table today? I believe there are ten or fifteen girls hot after your hide. No sense hanging with us guys.”

Chace smiled. “There’s one girl at this table. The only girl I’m interested in.” He glanced at
me, and I was sure my face
turned the color of ripened cherries.

Salvatore sputtered out his milk.

“You’re in dangerous territory here,” Dorian growled.

I watched the way each guy
tensed with animosity, and decided an intervention was necessary. “Has anyone seen Cindy?”

“I haven’t seen her since math class,” Dori
an sai
d, shifting his gaze from Chace
to me
.

“Not since c
hemistry,” Chace added.

The other brothers agreed
they hadn’t seen her since
morning.

“Great. Why don’t I have a cell phone,” I grumbled, picking up my juice and taking a sip.

Almost as one, all the guys whipped out their phones. I took Dorian’s as a way to appease him, giving him a petulant look.

“Fine,” he hissed, and I smiled.

Unlocking his phone, I dialed Cindy’s number. It went straight to voice mail. After the beep, I said, “Hey
Cin
. Just wondering if you’re okay. Call me. Oh, I’m on Dorian’s phone because, as you know, my dad and step
mother
won’t give me one
. So call him. K?” After I hung up, I texted a similar message to her number, and handed Dorian back his phone.

“Thanks, Dorian.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Probably just got hung up talking to some guy.”

I nodded,
trying to
act convinced
.

The guys finished their lunch, and took off, leaving Chace and I alone once again.

“You don’t need to worry about your neck.” He’d sounded nonchalant and a little smug.

“R
eally?” I touched my scarf
.

He
pulled on it, tugging it away. “Yep, the bruises are gone,” he said, giving me a half-smile.

I yanked the scarf from his fingers. “Do I even want to know how you knew they’d be gone?”

“Doubtful,” he chided, and tossed a couple of fries in his mouth.

I’d
noticed he’d eaten several bites of cheeseburger
along with more fries
. “How can you stand to ea
t that?” I asked, scrunching
my nose in disgust.

He laughed. “You get used to it. I need to pretend to be a normal, human boy.” He smirked, and bit into another fry.

I looked around and
said, “I think it tastes like ash. I haven’t been able to enjoy food since
right after
you bit me.” I tried to look frustrated
, angry, but thoughts about how it’d felt the firs
t time… his lips on my neck…
and each
time since, only filled me with
longing.

His eyebrows pinch
ed
together, but
just as quickly
relaxed
.
“You really are exquisite, Snow. I knew you were extraor
dinary from the moment I first saw you
, but
I never realized how much
until these past few days.”

I would’ve blushed, but
he had me curious
. “You could tell just from biting me the other day?”

“
No, I’m talking about the very
first time. When you were young.”

Whoa. Who
a. Whoa. Had he been the one
? “
You
-you marked me?
”

He dipped his head
and took a large bite of burger. I watched him chew, biting the inside of my cheek, nervous. But there wasn’t any reason to be.
Professor Pops said
drone vampires mark
ed
the young.
I knew the answer. It was
him
. That meant several things.
He was older than seventeen or eighteen. He’d
watched
me for a long time. And, “Do you know how my mother died?” I blurted. If he’d been around that long, surely he must’ve seen
her
.