Neither (The Noctalis Chronicles 3)

“What did you do?”

Tex nods at Viktor, giving him permission. I think I know what's coming, but this can't be happening.

“I Claimed her,” he says.

“Shut the front door!” I stare at Peter. Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket while I’d been sleeping.

Peter

Ava is as shocked by Viktor Claiming Texas as I thought she would be. We all go to the living room where just the day before I told them my deep secret about how I killed Josie and how Cal saved me. Now we are sharing more secrets.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Ava yells at both Texas and Viktor, nearly leaping off the couch. I have to hold her hand so she won't. Her face is red and pinched, and her anger flows into me like fire.

“Why are you yelling, you hypocrite! I guess it's fine for you, but not fine for anyone else? Why are you so damn special, Ava?” Texas yells back. They are both waving their arms and glaring at each other.

We all hear the footsteps at the top of the stairs. Texas' brother is here, trying to eavesdrop. Little does he know that all of us can hear him doing it.

Texas turns her head and yells up the stairs. “Coby, we are having adult time. Now get back in your room and put your headphones on before I break them and then cut your hair while you're sleeping.”

Coby mutters a curse at Texas under his breath, but goes back to his room and shuts the door. Seconds later, loud music blares out of his headphones and into his ears.

“I don't understand what the big deal is,” Texas says.

Ava is about to scream again, but suppresses it. I give her hand a squeeze. She is not alone. She takes a breath and thinks before she speaks again.

“You don't know what you're getting yourself into. It's like...” She struggles to find the words. “It's like letting someone else live inside of you. Get inside your head and share the most intimate parts of you. Sometimes Peter can read my mind. Sometimes I get sick when he doesn't have enough blood. We can't even be one room away for very long. You saw the pain that it caused last night and you still did it. What were you thinking?”

Texas hesitates for a moment, looking at Viktor.

“We thought that it was the best decision for the moment. She is involved in our world now and needs to be protected,” he says. Ava starts to say something else, but he cuts her off. “I will not hurt her, just as Peter has not hurt you. I did not take this lightly, but I knew that she would be a target after Cal and Di found out about her. I had to protect her.”

“Thank you,” Texas says, looking at her hands in her lap. They are sitting close, but not touching. The energy between them crackles like lightning. Viktor does not know what he is in for with her. Or perhaps he does and chooses it anyway.

Adele was like that. Fiery, passionate and impulsive. That is probably what attracted him in the first place. That fire in her eyes. They also look very alike.

Those eyes go back to his face. I look at Ava, and she gazes at me. She's still thinking angry thoughts, and I get snippets of them from her, mostly with curse words. A tiny part of her, probably a part she doesn't even know exists, is relieved that she has someone to share this with. She is not alone.

“It was so weird at first,” Texas says. “It was like I couldn't control what I was thinking. I just felt things I didn't think were my feelings. That doesn't make any sense.” She blushes, fiddling with her hands.

“No, it does. How's your vision and hearing?” Ava asks.

“Um, amazing? You didn't tell me about that part.” Texas smiles.

Ava relaxes a little, but her anger is still simmering, pushed aside for now so she can share her experiences with her friend. Their bond is strong. Much like my bond with Viktor.

Ava snaps her attention from Texas to Viktor. “What are you getting out of this, Viktor? Why did you do it?” Her tone is sharp again.

“Because it needed to be done.”

Ava nods, taking his words for their value.

“You're a good person, you know?” Viktor says.

“Thank you,” Ava says.

“So, what now?” Texas says, shifting so she's closer to Viktor.

“God, I don't know,” Ava says, rubbing her eyes. Even with all the sleep she got, she's still exhausted. I wish she didn't have to go to school the next day. I cannot keep her from her human life, as long as she is human. “We have got to find a way to break these binds. If we can do that, then we'll be set. Except we'll still have to get rid of Di. She's never going to stop trying to find a way to get me. And now we have to worry about Cal.” I want to brush the dark circles under her eyes away.

“It's too bad we couldn't just stake you guys like real vampires. That would have solved a lot of our problems,” Texas says.

“Right?” Ava says.

Texas snaps her fingers. “I would have been on that Di like white on rice. But then, I probably would have staked you that first night Ava brought you to that party, Peter. I'm sorry I was so weird, but you weren't exactly what I expected. You weren't, either.” She directs the last part at Viktor.

“I did not expect you, either,” he says. They share a private moment, and I wonder if that is what I look like with Ava or what I could look like, if not for the bind. Viktor is free to feel however he wants about her. I am not.

“I should be totally pissed at you right now. You Claimed my best friend and you promised to take my life,” Ava says.

“Hey, it's not his fault. He was just trying to help,” Texas snaps.

Ava holds up her hand to make her stop. “But I'm your friend, and you're my boyfriend's brother. So I'm going to let it go for now.” Ava's speech is met with silence. She glances at me and shrugs.

“Sooo, someone needs to give me the full story of what went down. I was a little out of it,” Ava says, laughing a little.

I put my arm around her back and she leans into me.

Texas glances at Viktor before she tells her version of the story, which is mostly accurate. I interject a few times to explain something further. Texas is still ignorant of the power of the binds.

“So if you promise something, you'll die if you don't do it? Why did you promise to avenge that guy's death in a year, you idiot?” Texas smacks him on the shoulder, but flinches back when her hand meets it. “Ouch. I can't even hit you,” she whines.

“It was the only way. The only thing she would accept at the time. We will find a way in less than a year. A year is a long time,” Viktor says. It isn't, but he tells a small lie to assuage her.