The Dark Ones (The Dark Ones Saga 1)

We reached the house.

He pulled the car up to the massive gate; it opened.

Still nothing.

He turned off the car and reached for the door when I blurted, "Do you hate me?"

His hand froze on the car door; in fact, his entire body froze. My heart picked up speed. I knew he could hear it, but there was nothing I could do about the effect he had on me.

"No…" His voice was low, almost a growl. "I could never hate you."

"I'm sorry…" Tears stung the back of my eyes. "…for whatever I did. I'm sorry you were forced to protect me when you didn't want to."

"You're apologizing?" His voice rose. "To me?"

My throat got tighter. "Yes."

He looked over his shoulder at me, his green eyes glowing in the darkness of the car. "You're tired."

"Yeah, but—

"We can talk tomorrow. I'll show you to your room."

So that was it.

My fingers clenched the silk dress tighter. I didn't trust myself to speak. The warmth I'd felt in his presence was long gone, replaced with nothingness.

He didn't even place his hand on my back as he led me into the dark house.

I walked mindlessly through the kitchen and up the stairs, not sure if I was even going in the right direction. A slight tap on my back to the left had me turning the corner at the end of the massive hallway.

Double doors.

Huge double doors.

They were at least twelve feet tall; two metal dragons twisted around the large doorknobs.

Ethan reached around me and opened them.

A roaring fireplace was the first thing I saw. It was see-through, and on the other side of the wall, I noted what looked like the bathroom. Extravagance dripped from every corner of the room — from the crystal chandelier suspended overhead to the sitting area with leather couches and fur throw pillows.

A matching fur rug lay in front of the fireplace.

The king-sized bed could fit at least five people. The down comforter was black and looked so plush that I was afraid I was going to get lost in it if I sunk too deep.

"Bathroom," Ethan whispered over my shoulder, "is to your right. I'll have Stephanie take you shopping later this week after you've grown accustomed to your new environment."

I nodded and turned to thank him, but he was already gone; the door shut in finality behind him.

Tears filled my eyes.

I wasn't sure why I was acting so emotional… other than being rejected. I'd been built for tougher situations, right? Hadn't I been prepared for the worst when I'd awakened — was it only twenty-four hours ago?

At least I wasn't dead.

There was that.

But I wasn't accepted, and I think a small part of me had hoped that maybe I would fit in this world better than my own.