Shadow Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 1) by Becky Moynihan (great reads TXT) 📕

against the counter. “Well, first of all, it depends on who you touch. Not all of us are the same. But, simply put, bad things will happen. You’re not, shall we say, compatible with our kind.”

Our kind.

“So you’re a . . . You’re one of them too?” Vampire, I wanted to say but couldn’t. It was still too unreal.

Kade merely winked and pressed a finger to his lips.

Surprisingly, knowing Kade was a vampire didn’t freak me out like knowing that Lochlan was. Maybe because he hadn’t done anything vampirish yet. “How come you’re not doing that eye thing on me? You know, to make me forget.”

He choked on laughter, pounding his chest. “Unbelievable. Loch is so in for it with you.” He shook his head, seemingly unconcerned that I knew about a trade secret of theirs. “The eye thing, as you so eloquently put it, is called thrall. As for making you forget, I believe you can be trusted with our secret. It’s Loch who needs convincing.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Is he like your boss or something?” He sure acted like one.

“Oh, he’s much more than that.” Straightening, he glanced at the door, then offered me a hand down. “We should probably head out before he gets suspicious. Remember, our little conversation doesn’t leave this room.”

I accepted his gloved hand and slid off the counter, pausing a beat to steady my legs. Before Kade could leave, I said, “I just have one more question.” He side-eyed me warily, but I asked anyway. “Shad—I mean, Lochlan told me I wasn’t human. So . . . what am I?”

He slowly expelled a breath, removing a glove to push his caramel hair back. “You might be our ruin,” he replied after a thoughtful pause. “Or”—his lips suddenly curled into a devilish smile—“you might save us all. And I’m personally betting on the latter, McKenna Belmont.”

13

Yeah, this wasn’t going to work.

I glowered at the half-finished drawing of Shadow Man, not liking how the addition of fangs looked. Snapping the sketchpad shut, I slid off the window seat to pace my room.

Four days had passed since the bathroom incident. Four days of keeping my distance from Lochlan and Kade. Four days of internally fighting with myself, of certainty one minute that vampires existed and utter denial the next.

I mean, neither of them had fangs, for starters. I’d carefully checked. But there was that realistic dream I’d had of Shadow Man with fangs. They both consumed regular food at school though, not blood. Then again, August had been attacked and nearly drained of his blood.

So equally torn between reality and fiction, I’d failed to tell Isla about my most recent brush with the unexplainable. Besides, after dropping the V bomb during our lunch conversation earlier this week, she’d seemed a bit shaken. Maybe she’d feel better if I had more facts—especially about the blood-sucking part.

Proof was my jam these days anyway. What could I say, I was a skeptic. A pessimist. A see-it-to-believe-it sort of gal. Probably a byproduct of living nearly fifteen years with a paranoid, secretive aunt.

I paused in my pacing when I remembered Lochlan’s eyes in the bathroom, how they had glowed red when he’d seen my blood. Wasn’t that proof enough? No, my doubting brain insisted. Argh, but hadn’t Kade all but confessed to being one? He hadn’t actually said the word though. Vampire. I needed to hear it out loud.

No, I needed to hear Lochlan say it.

After that, I’d demand he tell me what I was, including what Kade had meant by me being their ruin or savior, or whatever. He was probably just pulling my leg as usual, but these cryptic answers were leaving me wide awake at night, stewing for hours.

Diving for my bed, I snatched up my phone and scrolled to his number. Then stared at the digits until the screen went dark. Fates, why was it so hard to confront him about stuff? I checked the time. Ten o’clock. It was late, but not too late. What were the chances of him being at home on a Saturday night? Facing him in person wouldn’t be any easier than calling him, but at least I could see his reaction to my questions.

Who was I kidding? I could hardly ever read his expressions.

Still, my mind was made up. I swiped a jacket from the armoire and carefully peered into the hall. Aunt Tess had always been an early riser, so she should either be in bed right now or getting ready to. A faint yellow glow shone on the hardwood beneath her bedroom door, but I went forward with my plan anyway, softly closing my door behind me. Knowing she’d never be okay with me going anywhere this late, sneaking out was my only option.

Besides the bonfire party, I’d never left without her knowledge. Now that she’d told me we weren’t moving though, I wasn’t so afraid to bend the rules a bit. Not that I was looking for trouble, but this was important.

The stairs creaked a few times on my way downstairs, and I winced each time, expecting her door to burst open. When I made it outside undetected, I sighed with relief, then cringed when I remembered the car. What if she heard the engine start up?

It was a risk I’d have to take. Now that I’d torn off the proverbial glue that had kept my mouth sealed shut, I wanted nothing more than to make Lochlan tell me point blank that he was a vampire. Quietly shutting my car door, I turned the key in the ignition. The Honda rumbled awake and I nervously bit my lip.

No turning back now.

I reversed with the headlights off until I reached the main road. I wouldn’t be gone long. Maybe an hour tops. Still, a familiar sense of guilt pricked at my conscience for making my aunt’s life more difficult. Ever since my disappearing act earlier this week, she’d been uncharacteristically subdued. The usual invasive questions and probing