“We should go.” My appetite was long gone.

We picked up our trays and carried them to the nearest trash can. I pointed at the restroom. “I’ll meet you over by the entrance.”

“Okay,” Peter said. Roland only nodded.

The restroom was empty and I washed my hands then leaned against the counter with my back to the mirror. I’d never hurt my friends before, had never seen them look at me with doubt. I swallowed the lump that started to form in my throat. What did you think would happen when they found out you lied to them?

I had to find a way to fix this. Maybe it was time to come clean to them about all my secrets. Now that I knew they weren’t human, there was no reason to hide anything from them anymore. Remy had warned me in the beginning that the wrong people would try to use my power for their own needs so I had to keep it hidden. But my friends would never hurt me that way. I knew their secret, they should know mine. In fact, I wanted them to know. I needed to think of the best way to tell them, to show them. Not today but very soon.

I felt lighter when I emerged from the restroom. I saw Roland and Peter waiting for me by the large glass doors and a smile crept across my face as I imagined their expressions when I revealed my power to them. What would they say when they heard about Remy or when I told them about the visit from Aine? After I told them everything, my friends would never doubt my trust in them again.

My happy thoughts were cut short by the shock of icy liquid splashing across my shoulder and down my left arm. I gasped at the orange stain spreading over my light blue jacket before I looked up at Faith’s smug face and the empty smoothie cup in her hand.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Faith exclaimed without a hint of sincerity. “You ran right into me. You really should watch where you’re going, you know.”

The monster in my head came roaring to life, crying out for swift retaliation. I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt and it was only extreme willpower that kept me from slugging that smirk right off her face. Images of Scott’s bloody face still haunted me and I would not let the demon use me like that again. As much as I detested Faith, she was human and I had to be careful not to hurt her.

Faith glanced at the mall cop near the entrance watching us and her lips twitched in glee, assuming he was the reason for my lack of action. Behind her, the other girls twittered and enjoyed the show.

I brushed past her to get some napkins from the closest concession. The blond boy behind the counter gave me a sympathetic smile and shoved a stack of paper napkins toward me. I grabbed a handful and started mopping up the slushy liquid running down my arm.

“What? No witty comeback this time?” Faith’s voice dripped acid behind me.

I took some more napkins to wipe smoothie off my jeans. “I have nothing to say to you, Faith.”

“Figures. You are such a loser.” She held up the empty smoothie cup. “Think I’ll get another. That first one went down so good.”

I let my eyes fall to her waist. “You might want to lay off those for a while. That stuff is full of empty calories.”

Faith’s mouth fell open like a fish gasping for air. The boy behind the counter made a snorting sound and she shot him a scorching look. She whirled angrily, her long blond hair whipping my face as she stalked off.

“What the heck is her problem?” The boy asked.

“Don’t mind her. She’s still pissed about her boyfriend.”

He leaned on the counter, his eyes sparkling. “You went out with her boyfriend?”

“Yeah, not likely.” I crumpled the pile of wet napkins and handed them to him to throw away. “I broke his nose.”

I looked down at my stained, wet clothes and grimaced. There wasn’t much I could do about it until I got home. I joined Roland and Peter who had witnessed everything and were holding back grins. “Not a word,” I warned them as we walked through the automatic doors.

It came as no surprise to find Nikolas leaning against his motorcycle across from the mall entrance. At least this time he had stayed outside. We walked right by him on the way to the car and his eyebrows rose when he saw the orange stain down one side of me. I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch and I knew right then and there that I was going to haul off and deck him if he started laughing.

“What? You think vampires are messy?” I scoffed as I passed him. “Try tangling with the homecoming queen.”

Chapter 13

Nate left for his conference on Tuesday morning and Malloy contacted me later that day to let me know his guy had come through with the Ptellon blood. The timing sucked but I figured Nate should be safe in Boston and if anything bad came, it would come here. Not a comforting thought but better than the alternative. I could slip the blood to him when he got back.

My immediate problem was how to meet up with Malloy to make the exchange without one of the Mohiri tailing me and interrupting us. I didn’t think Malloy would appreciate Nikolas or Chris crashing his business and I could only imagine what Nikolas would say about my extracurricular activities.

The Mohiri were not my only obstacle. Since I’d confessed about trying to meet NightWatcher, Roland and Peter had been watching me more closely too. They sat with me at lunch, followed me to the school library – the last place Roland liked to hang out – and offered to give me rides home from school. If they were still upset over my admission, they did not show it. I appreciated their concern but right now they were seriously cramping my style. How the hell was I going to outsmart two werewolves and two Mohiri warriors at the same time?