"No. I need some air. Kane, please be gone when I get back," I shakily release, my legs wobbling beneath me as I head outside.
"Fuck," he says in an angered, exasperated tone as I slink through the hallway of the hotel.
I see a taxi without a fare, and I decide now's as good a time as any for a road trip. I have to get away from Kane, and I know he's not going to leave. I can't keep letting him break me like the sadistic bastard he is.
Besides, there's someone I never thanked.
Chapter 11
Dirty Little Secrets
"Are you sure this is the right place?" the taxi driver asks as he stares out at the dark woods we're stopping in front of.
"Yeah. This is it."
He nods warily, and I hand him my cash while climbing out of the car. Luckily, I was able to whip up a scent masker concoction on the way here with a few resources. I feel bad for using my power to steal money tonight, but I couldn't go back up to the room with Kane and Zee.
My phone rings as I take the first step, feeling the magical barrier open for me, recognizing I'm not my father. With a sigh, I answer the ringing nuisance.
"I'm only going to ask this one more fucking time, where the hell are you?" Kane blares through the phone.
"I came to see my dad. I can't handle being around you, and it was obvious you weren't going to leave."
He grows quiet for a second, probably thinking long and hard about what he's going to say. I've already hung up on him fifteen times on the drive over.
"I didn't think you were on good terms with your father."
His tone is calmer, more cautious, as he chooses his words carefully.
"I'm not, but I needed to get away and to be honest, it feels like he's the only one who might give a damn about me right now. Believe me when I say that's screwed-up. But my mother's dealing with her own stuff and she's shutting me out. Frankie is trying to be there for her; and my dad... he's... I'm about to find out what he's doing."
"Alyssa, I didn't mean to-"
"Just stop. It's not like it's your fault. I didn't even tell you I was a virgin until you... well, you know. You were there after all."
A laugh actually escapes from his mouth, and I idly imagine icicles falling off his lips.
"Will you at least call me later? Let us know you're okay? You scared the hell out of Zee."
Rolling my eyes, I mumble, "Yeah."
With that, I simply hang up. I can see the house in the distance, and my stomach tenses up, dread filling me with each step.
In an effort to keep from chickening out, I decide to distract myself by listening to what Kane is doing now. I wave my hand over the phone to ignite the sounds from the other side.
"Your shakes are getting worse. Sierra said it could put your vamp side in overdrive if you don't do something about it soon. Have you talked to Alyssa?" Zee asks, and I stop walking, suddenly finding this conversation to be much more intriguing than my estranged father.
"And tell her what? That her blood has left me craving more? I wouldn't give her the fucking satisfaction. She hates me enough as it is."
My heart sinks as a tear stings my eye. He's the one driving me to hate him, but I love him too much to actually be capable of such an emotion. I knew he'd have a hard time getting off the high my too-powerful blood offers, but I hadn't expected it to cause his night stalker half to run awry.
"There's more at stake than pride, Kane. If you don't ask for her help, you could end up losing it. You're too strong for us to hold back. The damage you could do... I don't even want to think about it."
Kane's breath comes out in a drawn out, frustrated huff. "I'm not going to ask her to help me wean myself off her blood."
"If you don't come down gradually, the option is losing it. Sierra swears using the blood in her concoction will help dismiss the urges. You shouldn't have used poison's kiss on her. It just ignites the addiction that much more when you use that shit on a witch. What were you thinking? You could have just slit her wrist and let it drain into your mouth."
"She would have bled too much, and I wouldn't have been able to heal it. The venom sealed the wound. Not to mention, she was hurting... because of me. I wish I had known she was a virgin. I would have never done something so fucking stupid."