“I’m not going to kill you,” Lucian assured me.

He had something worse planned for me, and he wasn’t about to let me go. He placed his hand on my arm, and his touch set something off inside me. It made it real somehow, and I freaked out.

“Get off me!” I screamed and struggled to pull my arm out of his grip. I knew it was futile, but I had to fight it. My skin crawled, and I wanted to throw up. “Don’t touch me! Let go! Let go!”

“Alice!” Lucian hissed, and his other hand pressed firmly on my mouth to quiet my screams.

I had never been so scared in my entire life. I was flailing and kicking and hitting and pulling on anything I could. I kept screaming, and I wanted to bite his hand, but the thought of tasting his skin or blood was far too revolting.

He was going to do horrible things to be me, and that certainty was the most terrifying thing I had ever felt. It was even worse than the dismal feeling I had about living without Jack. That was more of slow burning desolation. This was instant and desperate and rabid.

“Let her go!” a velvet voice boomed out in front of me, and I opened my eyes.

He was far enough away where the fog partially masked him, but his fierce emerald eyes were unmistakable. Peter was here, which was simultaneously reassuring and frightening. He would save me from whatever Lucian had planned for me, but then most likely kill me and Jack. It was a win/lose situation.

“What?” Lucian sounded bewildered, and my fight against him lessened. I would’ve gone completely slack, but he was still touching me with his wretched hands.

Once, I had fallen in the woods, and my hand had somehow ended up in the carcass of an animal full of maggots. I wasn’t in any real danger, but that was the most disgusting thing I had ever done and it totally freaked me out. That’s exactly how I felt when Lucian touched me. Like I was covered in maggots.

“Let her go!” Peter took a step closer towards us, his eyes burning with rage.

Even though Peter wasn’t very large, there was something incredibly intimidating about him. The way his jaw tightened and his fists clenched only hinted at the uncontrolled anger and power he had inside him. Lucian’s hands were strong on me, but I could sense his hesitation growing.

“What the hell is with this girl?” Violet asked incredulously.

“She belongs to me,” Peter growled. He extended his hand out to me, as if he expected them to hand me over after that statement. Like it was all some misunderstanding, and not an obvious kidnap/murder/rape situation.

“What about the other vampire she was with?” Lucian retightened his grip. He thought he’d found a chink in the armor, but he hadn’t.

Peter already knew everything about Jack. He had to have. The dream I had the other night, that wasn’t a dream. Peter had found everything out, and he’d been laying in wait over the last few days. But for what?

“He is of no concern to you. Let her go.” Peter glared intensely at Lucian. “Now.”

“You have to be more careful with your things,” Lucian tried to sound light and playful, but Peter had unnerved him.

He let me go, and I bolted a few steps away. I think everyone kinda expected me to run into Peter’s arms, and trust me, that was rather tempting, but I didn’t. I stood off to the side of them, closer to Peter than Lucian, and shuddered.

Before Lucian could say anything more, Peter pounced at him, reminding me of the way a lion pounces on his prey. Lucian made a surprised scream, and Violet yelped and jumped back from them. I stayed frozen in place, watching as the shadows blurred and disappeared in the fog.

I heard Lucian yelling and Peter growling, and then there was an awful gargling sound and things that sounded like tearing and breaking. Violet chased after them into the darkness, and she screamed at them to stop.

There was a horrific ripping sound, followed by Violet sobbing, and I heard her lighter, high-heeled footfalls vanish into the night.

Trembling, I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do. Did I wait here for Peter? Did I thank him and try to convince him not to kill me? Or did I run off to my place?

Nothing sounded right, and on top of my rampant panic, there was that incessant longing inside me that pulled me towards Peter.

When he finally emerged from the mist, I was where he had left me. His shirt was stained dark across the front. His skin was completely clean, even though it looked like there would’ve been some splatter. He must’ve cleaned himself up, and I wondered if it was for my benefit.

He ran a hand through his dark hair and didn’t look at me, but it was better that way. I tended to get lost in his eyes whenever I had the chance. A fading pink scratch ran across his face, amazing me at how quickly they healed. Several tears in his shirt revealed perfect skin underneath.

“What the hell are you doing?” Peter asked quietly, looking down at the sidewalk.

“What are you doing?”

“Alice, I’m being serious,” Peter sighed, sounding frustrated.

“So am I!” I managed to be more forceful this time, and he looked over at me, his green eyes mixed with irritation and affection.

“You do realize that giving up and dying isn’t the same as being brave?” He looked at me severely.

“What other choice did I have?” I argued, and I tried not to let him haze up my mind. “If I ran, he would catch me! He’s too strong for me to fight off!”

“So?” Peter was incredulous. “You fight anyway! You run until he catches you! This is your life, Alice! Why are you always so eager to give it up?”