Forsaking God to kiss someone you hate might not be a smart decision, but damn does it hurt good.
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Judith was never supposed to fall in love- but she was never supposed to become a vampire either. It's her duty as a nu...
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The village was alive with people.
The sun had already begun to set by the time we made it into the heart of the settlement, but lanterns and the largest bonfire I had ever seen lit up the clearing in the middle of the village almost as brightly as the daytime. I was surprised at just how friendly and welcoming they were towards us. They gave us food to eat, and a place to stay. Katarina, the pack leader herself, even gave me warmer clothes to wear, a parka and pants made of hide and fur. It protected me from the chill of the wind better than anything I had ever worn before.
There weren't just wolves and humans here, but mermaids as well. I hadn't seen Quen's sister, but I did see him sitting around a group of boys that looked about his age. He showed them the tattoo on his arm and told something to them with a smile, his green eyes sparkling with excitement.
Ayla stayed beside Greta and myself, apparently trying to use us as a buffer between herself and the pack leader. Greta was not happy about it, probably mostly because she was sitting between us at the moment, already working on her second bottle of liquor.
"Don't you have anyone else here you could bother?" Greta groaned.
"Why? Are you trying to do something?" Ayla asked.
"Yes. I brought a deck of cards and I was going to teach Judith how to play solo tonight." Greta sarcastically replied.
Ayla pretended not to notice.
"I know how to play cards."
"I'm also hungry." Greta grumbled.
"We can find something to eat together maybe? There are a lot of people here. I know a few people who like to be bitten."
"Ayla, I swear to every God that if you don't-"
"I am getting a little bit tired." I spoke up. "Maybe we should turn in for the night?"
Unfortunately, it wasn't a lie. I was tired. Much more tired than I knew I should be. With everything frozen here, it was hard to tell if winter was beginning to fade into spring. The painful aching in my chest told me that it was.
It told me that my time was growing short. I didn't want to say anything to Greta. Not right now, anyway. I just wanted to enjoy the night as best I could, even with the cloud of possible death hanging over me.
At least I was with friends.
"A great idea!" Ayla said. "Greta, why don't you have something to eat, and I'll take Judith back to her quarters."
"What?!" Greta hissed. "Fuck you, I'm-"
Before she could finish spitting out whatever obscenities she had prepared, Ayla grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me away from her.
"Ayla!" I heard her yelling as Ayla tugged me through the crowd.
Once we were away from most of the commotion, I looked up at the tall woman.
