Once this was decided upon, Derek and I paid a visit to Kyle and Anna, who were doing their best to care for Caroline and Thomas’ children—a ten-year-old boy and a thirteen-year-old girl. Jack and Stephanie.
Our witches were still scouring the island. I hoped they’d find the bodies soon and we would be closer to discovering the cause of their deaths. Part of me was afraid to find out who would have done this. If it was a vampire, it would be devastating—likewise, if it was indeed a werewolf, the animosity would become greater and there would be no chance of getting the boundary removed any time soon.
But if it was not a vampire or a werewolf, the other explanation was far more chilling. I wondered if we could have another imposter living among us, just as we’d had Micah.
After the meeting was over, I called Mona to stay behind with Derek and me. From the look on her face, she seemed to guess what this was about.
“We need to screen everyone on this island. Just in case an imposter has managed to infiltrate us,” she said, before we could even express ourselves.
Derek and I nodded.
“As soon as possible,” Derek said.
“How will we do it?” I asked.
Mona took a seat next to us, placing a palm over her forehead.
“We’ll have to arrange for every single inhabitant of this island to see me. I’ll cast a spell on each that will force them to reveal their true forms.”
I breathed out, just thinking about what a colossal job this would be.
Derek stood up and began making his way to the exit of the Great Dome. “We have no time to lose,” he called back. “I’m going to start appointing managers to help with this.”
I realized with a shudder that we’d even have to screen the children. Of course, I wasn’t sure why a black witch would bother to kill Caroline and Thomas. But we ought to screen them anyway. In fact, we should have done this the moment we suspected Micah had been an imposter.
I exchanged a few more words with Mona before we parted ways. I needed to return to our penthouse to check on Ben.
As I neared our treehouse, I heard arguing booming down from the trees above. It was coming from Ashley and Landis’ penthouse.
Not wanting to eavesdrop, I placed my hands over my ears and hurried away, but the tone of their voices shook me. I’d never heard them shout like that at each other.
Everyone is just feeling this stress. Just as Eli had snapped so easily with my father at a simple misunderstanding. It was a surprise to all of us that Adelle would be cheating with another man, but I knew that man wouldn’t be my father. I fully believed my father when he said he would never do something like that.
I hurried up to our penthouse and pushed open the door. It was so hard leaving Ben at home while Derek and I attended to the affairs of the island. My stomach was in knots because, even after all this time since his turning, Ben still hadn’t come to. Jason and Ariana had recovered much faster.
I went straight to Ben’s bedroom and, unlocking the door, peered inside.
I gasped to see my son sitting bolt upright in the gloom. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the mirror. He didn’t even register my entrance. When I recovered from the shock, relief rushed through me. He had finally come to.
“Ben,” I said, hurrying over to him.
His eyes remained fixed on the mirror. It was the first time I’d seen them open fully. My breath hitched. Now, as a vampire, Ben looked so much like Derek it was uncanny. His green eyes were just as intense as Derek’s blue ones.
I touched his arm and shook him a little. “Ben?” Still he ignored me. “Ben, are you okay?”
He seemed to be in a daze, and yet his eyes were not glassy. They were quite focused, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
I stood in front of the mirror, blocking his view of it, and forced his head to face me.
“How are you feeling?”
He raised his eyes to me slowly, his jaw tensing. When he spoke finally, it was through harsh, uneven breathing. “I… need… blood.”
I caught his hand and pulled him up out of his bedroom, leading him to the kitchen. The coldness of his hand sent guilt running through me. I could only imagine the guilt Derek would feel on seeing him finally, recovered and fully transformed.
I pulled out a jug of blood from the fridge and poured him a glass. He stared at it on the table. He raised the glass and took a sip, then dropped it, doubling over and coughing. It was disgusting, and it would be torture for Ben having to drink this when all he craved was fresh, hot human blood. But he had to get used to it.
“I can’t drink this,” he gasped.
He staggered back, away from the kitchen, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Then he moved toward the front door. My heartbeat quickening, I rushed toward him. But it was too late. In barely the blink of an eye, he’d ripped open the door and leapt off the veranda.
Chapter 16: Ben
I landed in a tree opposite our own and leapt from branch to branch until I’d made it back down to the ground.
My brain was in a fog. I didn’t know what I was doing or why I was doing it. All I knew was that I needed to get away from the stench of the blood my mother had just passed to me. It made my stomach turn. I heard my mother’s shouts, and the sound of her running after me, but I ran forward with speed I’d thought impossible even for a vampire.
I caught the scent of hot blood in the air, coming from the Vale, and my stomach clenched. Although every fiber of my being was aching to run in that direction, I couldn’t allow myself to—at least I had that much presence of mind.