Darkest Claim: Vampire's Fate by Leigh Kelsey

Author:Leigh Kelsey [Kelsey, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

SIX

I had until sunset when? Tomorrow? Tonight? It was already dark outside, but the note could have been in the letter box for hours. I was so distracted by nerves over my suitors, I might not have noticed it. My breath went faint, but the adrenaline-fuelled shakiness in my bones only intensified.

Maybe the first thing I should have done was go to River and show him the note. He seemed genuine and caring, and he’d probably be horrified to find the threat. But maybe … maybe he’d put it there himself?

I hated the doubt, but I couldn’t be stupid enough to fully trust someone I’d met this afternoon.

So instead of telling him, I fled down the hall to the manor’s wide, airy training room and flicked on the lights. I pulled every curtain shut with trembling hands, and scanned the room to be sure I was truly alone before exhaling in relief.

Safe—I was safe. Nobody was getting inside the house, even if they’d put a threatening note through the letterbox. The door was secure.

But there were three strangers locked in this house with me, and chances were high that it was one of them who’d threatened me. Maybe River was trying to push me towards him. Maybe it was one of the others making sure I’d keep my distance from River, a reverse psychology thing. Probably Silas, that cold bastard.

I let out a scream of frustration through my teeth, folded the note up small, and shoved it into my pocket.

I didn’t know what to do about the threat, but I knew I needed to be calm and level headed. Which meant getting rid of this panic, and pummelling a punch bag until I was exhausted.

I unleashed myself upon the bag in the corner, not even bothering to wrap my hands. I hit and punched and kicked until the adrenaline burned out, until I was gasping and weak and scared. So fucking scared.

With bloody hands, I took my phone out of my pocket and did the only thing I could think of. I called Mum and Dad.

“You’re calling already?” Mum asked in a rush of excitement. “That’s either a very good thing or a very bad thing.”

“Mum, I—”

“So, what are they like? Have you met anyone you’re taken with? Are they giving you hassle? You know we’ll come home if any of them are being too forward.”

Claude brushing his tongue over my pulse flashed in my mind, but I pushed it away, too shaky over the letter's threat to hold onto the memory.

A muffled voice sounded across the phone, and then Mum laughed. “I’m putting you on speakerphone so we can both talk to you.”

“Well?” Dad pressed. “Have any of them made a move on you? Your mum’s right, we’ll come straight home.”

“I—they … haven’t made a move,” I said uselessly. How did I explain a threat? A death threat! I’d never had anyone threaten me in my life, and now six hours into a courtship, someone had sworn to kill me.

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