Free Broken Heart 03 Because Your Vampire Said So by Michele Bardsley Page B

sang.”
    “Loop de what?”
    “Loup de sang. Blood wolf.”
    “Oh.” God, she was making me nervous with her pacing and constant checking of the windows. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a while now. I don’t need a babysitter.”
    “It is my honor to serve you, my queen.”
    “I’m not a queen.”
    “You will rule the vampires and the werewolves. “ Her gaze pinned mine. “The Vederes are never wrong.”
    “Who the hell are the Vederes?”
    “A family of prophets. Astria Vedere predicted that one of the Broken Heart Turn-bloods would rule the two nations.”
    Choo-choo. Train to Loonyville departing the station.
    “You have the wrong Turn-blood, honey.” I walked to the couch and sat down. Terran refused my offer of a chair. She went to the window and peered out.
    “What are you guys doing in Broken Heart? And why are you hiding from the Consortium?”
    Terran’s gaze flicked to me. “These are questions Gabriel should answer.”
    “Well, he’s not here and you are.”
    She moved back from the window. “We’re hunted by everyone. Lycans, vampires, the Roma. We are not welcome anywhere.” She stood near the couch, arms crossed. “Except maybe here. We heard about the vampire-lycans who roam free. It is said that anyone who seeks safety and a new life can find it in Broken Heart.”
    I was fuzzy on the Consortium’s plans for the town. Something about being one of the first communities where parakind could settle down and live openly. It hadn’t occurred to me how many non-humans were looking for a place to hang their hats.
    Terran cocked her head. “You have visitors. I’ll sneak out the window in your bedroom.” She plucked a knife and the gun from her waistband arsenal and put them on the coffee table. “In case you need them, Queen Patricia.”
    I rolled my eyes. I didn’t understand anything that had happened today. I must’ve somehow entered an alternate reality. Queens and new kinds of vampires and crazy lycans—jeez! The world had gone mad.
    Terran strode through the kitchen and into my bedroom. She closed the door softly behind her. I put on my boots and tucked the little knife inside one. Then I grabbed the gun, hurried into the kitchen, and threw it into the freezer.
    I opened the door after the first knock.
    Patrick and Jessica greeted me. I saw how they were looking at me. With pity. With certainty. Foreboding slid into my stomach and sat there like a hot brick. I knew it could be only one thing.
    They couldn’t be here to tell me … oh, God. The word escaped on a sob. “Wilson?”

Chapter 9
    “Calm yourself,” said Patrick. His smooth Irish voice slid over me and my panic receded. I vaguely realized he’d used glamour on me, but I didn’t care. “Let’s sit down, Patsy.”
    Zombielike, I moved backward, turning and walking to my couch. I sat woodenly, feeling as though my whole world were falling apart. Patrick and Jessica joined me on the couch, but I couldn’t look at them. I couldn’t bear all their sympathy.
    “We found Wilson’s backpack,” said Patrick.
    “Backpack?” I didn’t understand. Had he decided to go to school?
    “It had some clothes, his iPod, and money,” said Jessica.
    It took me only a second to figure out the significance of those contents. My useless, dead heart dropped like a stone.
    “You mean he was running away?” Horror filled me like acid, burning my insides to a crisp. Anguish forced me to cover my face, to suck in unnecessary breaths. I balled up the pain, tucking it into a corner of my mind so I could take it out later and deal with it.
    “So, he’s missing, right?” I asked. “You’re not saying he’s—he’s dead.”
    “He’s not dead,” said Patrick. “Darrius was attacked by Andhaka. Darrius is okay, but by the time he escaped, Wil was gone. Damian tracked down the backpack. He lost Wil’s scent in the woods.”
    How the hell did a werewolf lose a scent? My son was out there with demons and Wraiths and