DAWSON’S BAR
MAGNOLIA PROMENADE
BELLA
It took Bella less than a minute to settle the patrons and run out after Penny, but by the time she got outside, her friend was gone.
“Friend” was probably the wrong word now. Bella pounded her fists against her head. “Think!” she shouted at herself, “Think!”
But she couldn’t. She felt sick with guilt and panic. She made a terrible guess. A gamble. Because she was shitty. A shitty mom, a shitty wife, and shitty at her job too. “Fuck!” she shouted, doubling over. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Screaming didn’t help. It just made her feel more afraid of everything that would be coming down.
I ruined my life.
Cars sped by as if in slow motion, and for one brief moment, Bella considered tossing herself in front of one. The clarity of that thought was enough to jolt her into motion. She dialed Caleb.
He picked up after the first ring, voice calm and grounding. Still, she fought to keep herself on the sidewalk.
“I’m at Dawson’s Bar. I…I need help.”
Caleb’s voice was curt. “Don’t move. I’ll be right there.”
Seconds later, he walked out from an alleyway, a muscle ticking in his jaw when he saw her.
“I fucked up.” She fell over as she sobbed and let him catch her.
VLAD’S HOUSE
HENFORD-ON-BAGLEY
VLAD
“Obviously, I’m not going to ask you to babysit a toddler,” Vlad snapped at his daughter as they landed in front of his house. “You dislike children. I merely need to give the babysitters extra money, and by that time, Latimer will have located a lawyer to whom I will also give money, and then Alice will be free.”
“That is bullshit!” Lilith pointed at him angrily, “You’re pretending to have a plan, but you don’t. Alice has been taken, and you’re out here paying pimply-faced teenagers and calling legal representation instead of storming that prison and dragging her out!”
Vlad closed his eyes and prayed for patience as a headache started. His daughter couldn’t possibly know that he was intimately familiar with storming prisons and having it work out badly. There were some traumas he tried not to revisit on his children. “Lilith, I have a plan. I’ve told you the plan. You can go if you do not wish to be a part of it. In fact, please go because you’re not a part of it.”
“I’m not going while your stupid girlfriend is in trouble.”
He clenched his jaw. “Then stop complaining.”
Lilith glared, but Vlad ignored her. He was hanging onto his own sanity by a thread, and he didn’t want to frighten her or Gwendolyn. The latter because she was just about to turn three, the former because she’d seen the result of him becoming completely unglued, and it broke her.
There’s a monster inside me too, and I promise we will learn to control it together.
He clenched his fists, stuffing his rage and anxiety down until they were a leaden weight in his stomach.
“I’m not going to wait outside,” she announced.
“Well, bully for you,” Vlad growled as he threw open the door.
He felt the wrongness of the creatures inside the house immediately, but Gwendolyn was happy with them, talking baby nonsense and singing songs.
“Monster!” she shouted when he entered the room, “My monster! These my monsters too.”
Calm. Be calm, he told himself. Gwendolyn was the priority. He could always kill these creatures later. Picking her up, Vlad kissed her forehead, “Yes, my little hellion. I do belong to you. Wave hello, this is my daughter.”
The tiny terror waved, and to his surprise, Lilith did too.
“Hello, Gwendolyn; I’m Lilith, and I’m going to stay with you.”
Vlad tried and failed to hide his shock. His daughter smirked at him and continued.
“It’ll be me and you and your monsters while my father picks your mother up from work.”
Gwendolyn was thrilled. “You monster too,” she gasped, “Pretty monster. Like me! Monster so pretty!”
“I am a pretty monster,” Lilith agreed. She kept her voice light as if speaking to the Tiny Terror, but her eyes were on the babysitters. “Sometimes when creatures see me, they say, ‘My, Pretty Monster, what big teeth you have.’ And sometimes, when I reach for them, they say, ‘Oh dear, Pretty Monster, your claws are so sharp.’ And sometimes they make a wrong move because they don’t think I’m watching them, and then they don’t say anything at all.”
Finally getting around to this chapter! ~
‘“There’s a monster inside me,” she told him, tears flowing until he let loose the beast beneath his skin and replied, “There’s a monster inside me too, and I promise we will learn to control it together.” THIS HIT ME LIKE A FUCKING SHOVEL. A SHOVEL MADE OF GOLD. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. ‘ I love her bringing up Ethren again XD
Oof, the fight between Penny and Ana…and a lot of words that Penny might come to regret later on being thrown around as well as throwing hands. The complete lack of control over such a thing as well, where even trying to control your emotions won’t work because the moon’s influence is too powerful…There’s so much conflict going on between these two, they both have a lot to work out within themselves, but with not being able to resist werewolf fury, and vampirism and a long life of awful events for Ana dulling her emotions, it’s rough.
HOOOOO BOY Penny and Ana on the sofa X_X OuO I want to hug Gwendolyn ;-; Not sure how Lil will get on as babysitter, but we’ll see XD So Eliza killed herself by mistake? Still, even if Caleb thinks the case is solved, there’s still so much shit going on that they’ll both have to deal with. I really hope Alice can get out of this, but I don’t see it happening without Vlad doing a little sliver of murder.
WOAH the end shot on the video…though i can’t make out which of 2 characters the guy is… excited for tomorrow after work!
Thank you 😭 even though I hit you with a shovel!!! Haha I loved writing this scene and yes, the specter of Ethren is always hanging around 😈 I’m sure that won’t come back in anyway.
Yeah, Penny and Ana are not in a good place at the moment. I mean I would not throw hands against Ana but you know, I’m not a werewolf on the full moon.
Ummm I will not apologize for Ana and Penny on the sofa. This story is 98% thirst traps 😂
Umm I think Ben and Grim should be more worried about Lilith than Gwendolyn 😈
Lololol “a little sliver of murder” I am deadddddd
Vlad and Lilith’s relationship is a lot of things, but it’s not hatred. She seems to like ruffling his feathers and grows jealous every time she doesn’t immediately get the attention she’s hoping for, but she wouldn’t do either of those things if she actually hated him. You’re just fine, Vl- aaaaand Alice is in jail. Hoo boy. This will not be pretty.
Lots of people feeling like monsters in this chapter. Penny is trying so hard to keep a grip on her “normal” and the only way she knows how to do that is to push people away and fix other people’s problems. I feel for Ana here – she’s trying so hard, and it’s all falling on deaf ears because Penny is stonewalling herself. Everything she does, Penny interprets in the worst way. Of course she’s not taking her to the accolades, it’s a full moon and Penny can’t control her werewolf side yet. But all Penny feels is rejection. And everything she accuses Ana of are things that she’s feeling about herself. X.x
Whoa. Hol’ on. That “I’ll put a fire inside you” is what Miko said when she carved up Akira, isn’t it? Why does Vlad have that in his head? Did she do the same to him?
Alice is amazing. It’s survival mode and she’s hanging on by a thread but it’s incredible that she’s even able to reassure her cell mate a little. The burglar getup from TS2 made me laugh 😆 Oof, yup, the sight of Vlad coming to her rescue was enough to make her crack. They’ve both gone through hell just now, for different reasons. I’m glad that they have each other.
YES to so many things in this comment! I think you really nailed the theme: Lots of people feeling like monsters, and not because they are literal monsters.
The Penny section was so hard because man, is she being awful right now. LOL thank you for also seeing how insane it was for Penny to complain that Ana wasn’t taking her to the Starlight Accolades…on the full moon…when she is a new wolf…and said she didn’t want to go.
SIGH.
“I’ll put a fire inside you.” – Ooh you have sharp eyes. Yes, it is exactly what she said to Vlad! Vlad and Akira have both been under Miko’s thrall—though in Akira’s case there was a torrid love affair before she carved him open. Now as for “what” she put into them? Well, we know Vlad is a monster far beyond a vampire. And Akira? Well, I could tell you but spoilers 😈
Alice in survival mode needed the TS2 burglar to give our hearts a break LOLOLOL.
Seriously though, her and Vlad are 😍😍😍😍😍