Blacken by Alandra Rankin (i love reading books txt) 📕

gosh, thank you so much,” she gasped, relief flooding her voice. “I’m so sorry, I know this was sprung on you so suddenly and I never wanted to have this situation come out like that. Just… Thank you for trusting me.”

Her words were muffled at the end of her sentence, Owen imagined she was hugging him, she was affectionate in that way but the worst also filled his mind… What if it wasn’t the case?

“You sounded so distressed; I feared you were in trouble. I am partly to blame for the unwelcome introduction… Do you really trust him as well?”

“Yes, I do, I know it was a bad meeting, but I think he will come around. We were both trying to solve the mystery that seems to interlock with you after all.”

Owen heard her speak again, which was great to hear, however that did confirm her being affectionate with the monster. He felt slightly nauseous.

The thing hummed in agreeance, “He will not always come with you, after this, will he?”

Like hell he wouldn’t!

“No, there can still be times where it’s just you and me.”

The librarian almost spoke out, she shouldn’t be alone with the monster, who knew when it would use Avie as a meal instead? He knew deep down it was only a matter of time… Couldn’t she see he only wanted to protect her from it?

“I would like that, Avie.”

Silence passed. He was almost worried they would be walking out and bump right into him.

“I should get going now, Owen will be coming back to see what the holdup is.”

“Yes, go and rest, and come back to me whenever you would like.”

“Goodnight, Rhulle,” she sighed.

Rhulle… So that’s the thing’s name?

“And goodnight to you, Avie.”

She started walking, Owen hurriedly moving towards the open dining area where he was supposed to be. Her rounding the corner just in time for him to pretend being busy browsing various items collected amongst the book piles.

He turned, thinking she may have known and was about to call him out, yet she smiled.

“Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER 13

“So, what exactly brought the both of you here the other night? It could not have been to just see me,” Rhulle asked with a charming smile, expressing his ease to see Avie without company.

“Shouldn’t this be a discussion that all of us should be present for?”

He sighed, leaning back, “I suppose we could, but you are already here.”

Thinking with a smile, she pulled her legs down from where she sat, “You’re right, I should go get him, he wouldn’t want to miss out.”

She watched amused as he straightened in his seat, hasty to decline, “Oh no, not necessary. I had figured; it would be easier to talk with you about it. That man does not want to be around me, let alone communicate.”

“Owen is… Owen is pretty eccentric. He’s a man who gets answers and plays to his strengths to find them. He wasn’t expecting you, and he certainly wasn’t expecting me to know you.”

“What was he expecting when he came here?”

She laughed, about to explain the blood that they had followed and the absurdity of it, when she paused. The blood brought them. The blood that leapt out of her body and raced against the night air to the manor… to Rhulle… The blood that drummed in her veins seemingly whenever Rhulle fed, or was it only when he needed to?

Her eyebrows creased, observing her hands and falling silent as she started putting pieces together. The people who went out into the forest…

“It is not in my best interest to kill for the sake of killing.”

“I have never had two show up at the same time before.”

“Some humans tasted wrong.”

“You may have some sort of mutant blood there, Aves!”

She stood up, Rhulle immediately following while holding her arms in concern.

“Avie? What is it? What is wrong?”

“The blood types… Why didn’t I think of it before…? It makes so much sense!”

“What do you mean, types of blood?”

She looked up at him, “When you need to feed, I think, that’s when my body starts to vibrate, I’ve always thought it had to do with the blood because that’s what it felt like. Other people affected must have the same type. That night, Owen looked at my blood and it flew—right out of the house! He used that to find this place, to find you. My blood wanted to find you; I know that sounds so crazy, but I don’t know how else to describe it.”

His grip tightened slightly around where it held, “You were supposed to come to me.”

“Yes! I think all this time, you’ve been inadvertently calling people to you. First to the town, then to you… All this time… I’ve only been lucky someone was here first.”

“But this is just speculation, Avie. You do not know that for sure.”

“I took a blood test, that should come back soon; I can test the theory out. It just makes so much sense, Rhulle.”

“I would like to see it happen, your blood in motion, I mean.” Her eyes widened, worried at the implication. “We are friends now; I would not do anything to harm you. I may be able to help your hypothesis.”

That was true, he possibly saw everyone with the same blood type, he would know how it looks, and if hers did the same while he… fed. There was just one worry in her mind. The look he gave when he had torn open the throat of that woman… In the brief fleeting moment before he realized she interrupted… it almost looked like desperation.

Avie shook off the thought, “Okay, okay, Rhulle, I trust you,” she really did, he hasn’t given a reason not to, “uhhm, do you ever… know? I mean when you need to?”

“Yes, sometimes I get the feeling a day or so prior. Worry not, I do not lose control to hunger, I will be as calm as ever and will simply observe.”

“Do you think we could fix it? If it really was about the