Taken (The Vampire Legends #2)

Kate: Truce?

Rachel: haha, yeah!

Rachel’s phone buzzed again. She flipped her phone and it was Emily. She couldn’t understand why everyone was contacting her all at once.

Emily: Hey there! Wanna come to the mall tomorrow? We’re all gonna go after school and then hit the movies after.

Rachel didn’t know how to respond. She knew she was grounded for the rest of her life, and that the answer would be no. She didn’t dare go downstairs to ask her parents, but she didn’t want to say no to her friends. She was stuck.

She took out her phone and began to type.

Rachel: Yeah, I’ll try to come!

Before she could even think about what she had written, she pressed the send button.

She would have to find a way to get out of the house.

Chapter Six

Benji loved taking road trips. He especially loved taking trips to upstate New York in the fall, when the leaves were changing and the weather turned cooler. He sat there with his right hand on the clutch, revving the engine of his motorcycle and speeding up Route 22 on his way to visit his twin brother, Hunter, at The Mount Pines Preparatory School in the Catskill Mountains.

Benji didn’t see Hunter often, but he knew he had to see him to tell him he broke the ancient code of their coven. Benji had been feeling guilty since he let his secret out on the bridge after the dance that night. He knew he shouldn’t have told Rachel, but he couldn’t have kept it inside any longer. She was his first true love, and he didn’t want to ruin things between them. Especially because he felt Rachel was giving him an ultimatum.

Now Benji felt like he really messed things up between them. Rachel was scared of him, he knew the police were trying to hunt him down, and he feared what Hunter would say when he told him what had happened.

As Benji was stopped at a red light, right outside of the Mount Pines campus, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He squeezed his hands into the tight pockets of his black skinny jeans, and pulled out his phone.

He was hoping it was Rachel. They hadn’t talked since he told her he was a vampire and it was eating him up inside. He so desperately wanted to call her, but he was scared at how she would react if he did. He didn’t want to create any more drama for her.

1 New Message:

Benji flipped open his phone hoping to see Rachel’s name.

Hunter: You’re late. I’ve been waiting here for 25 minutes. I’m at Campus Coffee.

Benji closed his phone and put it back into his pocket. He drove into the long entrance of the school. To the right, he saw the soccer field where the team, dressed in white and green uniforms, was practicing. To the left he saw the girls track team, and in the distance he could see the football team running up and down the field doing sprints.

Benji turned off his motorcycle, put his black helmet under the seat, took the key out of the ignition and slipped it into his pocket along with his cell phone. He was getting anxious as he approached Campus Coffee, but he knew he had to tell his brother the story. He needed advice, and didn’t know who else to turn to.

As Benji pushed open the door to the coffee shop, he heard the bells ring at the top of the door. He could smell the delicious aroma of coffee, which infused the air. He looked around but didn’t see Hunter. He wondered if this was the right place.

Benji walked up to the counter and looked through the glass at all the baked goods and sweets.

“Can I get a mocha latte and a Danish please?” Benji asked the woman behind the counter.

“Sure,” she replied. “Take a seat, we will bring it over to you.”

Benji paid the woman, and then turned to find a seat. At that moment the bathroom door swung open, almost hitting Benji in the face.

“Hey Bro!” Hunter said. “Way to be on time.”

“Oh, hey man,” Benji, said. “Sorry, got caught up.”

The two walked over to a small table that was located in the back corner of the coffee shop. Benji knew that table would give them privacy to talk about what happened.

“So, what’s the urgency?” Hunter asked, looking quizzically at Benji.

“Well, there’s this girl I like. Her name is Rachel,” Benji paused,

“and we’ve been out a few times. I really like her.”

“That’s why you came up to see me?” Hunter laughed, beginning to stand up.

Hunter took everything very seriously. He and Benji were complete opposites, and sometimes Benji couldn’t help but get frustrated by his meticulous and critical ways. Hunter spent his days in the art studio, where he painted miraculous pieces of art. He had been studying art for hundreds of years, although nobody knew that. Hunter was always dressed immaculately, he wore a suite and tie with a crisp white collared shirt— “Mount Pines Est. 1832” embroidered on the pocket. He was clean-shaven and well groomed, never a hair out of place. Hunter never seemed to have time for anything or anyone. He was a loner who enjoyed spending his days painting and sculpting things. He had been at various prep schools for as long as Benji can remember. He didn’t like living at home; he didn’t like having the rules of the coven constantly hanging over him. Not to mention, Hunter liked being in the mountains. He liked to hear the howling of the wolves at night, and seeing the dark night sky. He felt invigorated and inspired by them, and it sparked his creative juices to be in that environment.

“No, that’s not the only reason I came up here,” Benji snapped back. “Geez, why do you have to be so short with me?”

“I’m sorry, go on. I just have to get to class in fifteen minutes. We are studying the realm of darkness today, and I don’t want to be late,” Hunter said.

“I, um, she’s incredible. She has beautiful eyes, soft skin, warm hands.”

“Did you taste her?” Hunter interrupted.

“NO! Never. Don’t ever say that again,” Benji yelled.

“I didn’t realize you were so sensitive, Benji. What has come over you? I don’t even recognize you.”

“Listen, Hunter,” Benji said as he leaned into the center of the table. “I did something.”

Hunter leaned in, “What did you do? Did you sleep with her?”

“No. I did something else,” Benji whispered.

“What are you talking about?” Hunter asked.

“If I tell you, Hunter, you have to promise to stay calm. And you can’t tell anyone.”

“This is bad,” Hunter said, now looking at Benji with a serious look. “What did you do?”

Benji swallowed and cleared his throat. He could feel his body getting colder and colder. “I told.”

“Told her what?” Hunter asked.

“I told our secret,” Benji said remorsefully. “I had to.”

“What do you mean you had to?”

“I mean what I say. I had to tell her.”

Hunter stared back in total disbelief. Benji had never seen him so shocked.

“How could you do this to us? Do you know what could happen to us, to our family?”

“I know, I do. But I trust her. You have to believe me. She is just like us.”

“What do you mean she is just like us? She is a human.”

“I know, but there is something so radiant about her, you will see.”

“I will not see anything. I don’t ever want to meet her. Especially now,” Hunter snapped. “This could cost us our lives, Benji. I can’t believe that because of some stupid high school romance you would betray our coven like this.”

“I didn’t mean to betray the coven. I think when everyone gets to know her; they will feel the same way I do. I know she won’t tell.”

“You don’t know anything. You don’t know how the human mind thinks.”

“Listen Hunter, she is special, OK? Stop reprimanding me.”

“If our parents were here now, what they would do to you…” Hunter said, shaking his head.

“Oh would you stop,” Benji said. “You have no idea what I’ve been going through in Westchester. It gets lonely, really lonely. You wouldn’t know what that’s like. You’re still alive, living here with friends and other vampires.”

“Stop belittling me, Benji. Every time I see you, you put me down, I don’t need to take this from you anymore.”

Hunter stopped and looked at Benji. Benji could tell that Hunter had taken this too far. There was nothing either of them could do at this point. The damage was done, and now they had to work together to recover from this.

“Benji, we need to figure out a way to fix this. You can’t do it on your own -- you are not thinking clearly.”

“Yeah, spoken from a guy who does nothing but paint,” Benji said with a smirk.

“Fine, if you don’t want my help, then deal with this one on your own. I am the only person who can help you get out of this. If you tell anyone else, they will have you terminated.”

“I’m sorry, Hunter,” Benji said, regretfully, “Let’s figure something out.”

The bells rang and Benji jumped. He turned and saw a pale-skinned girl with dark black hair enter the coffee shop. Benji could smell her. She reeked of the after-scent of blood and immediately he knew she was one of them.

“Stop speaking,” Hunter said to Benji as he looked at the girl and squinted his eyes.

“Why?” Benji asked.

“Change the subject, anything, say anything.”

“I got a new bike, you wanna see it?”

“Yes,” Hunter said, as he jumped up from his chair and out the front door.

Benji didn’t know what was going on but he got up out of his chair and followed Hunter out of the coffee shop.

As Benji left he could have sworn he saw the girl make a gesture at him. He didn’t know what she meant by it, though, and figured he better get out fast. He’d never seen Hunter act like this and he figured it was for a good reason.

When Benji got outside, he felt the weather changing. The sky grew dark and the trees were howling in the wind. Benji couldn’t understand what was going on.