A Shade of Vampire 30: A Game of Risk Read Free Page A

something goes wrong?” my father asked, dubious.
    “Then…” I couldn’t think of a rational counter to that. This was a concoction by the black witches. And Mona was the only ex-black witch on the island. If something really did go wrong, she would be the only one with the slightest clue of how to handle it. “You’re right,” I muttered. “We should wait.”

    F ortunately , Mona arrived sooner than expected. Brock and I had returned to his apartment to wait for her when she walked through the door. Her eyes widened in surprise when she found me sitting on the living room sofa with her son… clasping the vial on my lap.
    “Victoria?” she asked, her eyebrows rising to her bangs. “What are you doing?”
    “Sorry for the surprise,” I said. “But I’ve talked to my parents and now they would like to talk to you… if you don’t mind.”
    “Have they agreed?” she asked.
    Meh . “Well, yes and no,” I said. “I don’t think they’ll come to any decision before speaking to you.”
    She took a few minutes to use the bathroom before she, Brock and I headed back to the hospital. What followed was a long conversation, filled with questions back and forth, discussing all the things that could go wrong and any possible way around this course of action, like simply smashing the vial. Mona explained the risks that would come with that.
    The questions they asked were the same ones that I had already mulled over for hours and hours and was sick of by now. But my parents needed to go through the process themselves before they could even think about giving me their blessing. Once they’d run out of things to ask Mona, they arrived at the same conclusion I expected them to. But at least now they were educated as to the risks.
    “Well, Victoria,” my father said, even as he eyed me wearily, “as much as I’d love to just lock that vial up in a box right now, or wipe that werewolf from your brain, you know the risks involved. It’s clear you’re not going to forget about or get over him. If Mona agrees to carry out the procedure and accompany you to The Woodlands… there’s not a lot more I can say.”
    Even as my mother looked pained, she took my hands in hers and said softly, “This is your love story, Vicky.”

Victoria
    M y hands were trembling slightly at their agreement. Nervousness began to overwhelm any sense of triumph I felt.
    This is it. It’s happening.
    I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.
    My father had wanted to accompany me to The Woodlands, after they were allowed out of the hospital. But both Mona and I reminded him that a vampire being present would hardly help the situation. Especially around the Mortclaws—they weren’t as liberal as some of the other werewolves had become over the years. They were an old family, steeped in tradition. They would find it incredibly hard to break the mold… hence the crazy measures I’m about to go to . If Bastien’s mom had been a normal mom, Bastien and I could have just sat down with her and told her we were in love.
    Oh, how I wished sometimes that my world was populated with normal people, and not these crazy supernaturals. And why, oh, why, of all people, did I have to go and fall in love with a werewolf? And a Mortclaw at that. Thinking about it, there probably wasn’t a more unattainable match for me in the entire universe.
    But the deed was done. I couldn’t extricate Bastien from my heart no matter how much I tried. I knew that well enough by now.
    So I returned with Mona and Brock to their penthouse. Mona took me to the bathroom.
    Mona decided to carry out the procedure here, in case I felt the urge to puke—which, apparently, was quite likely. Mona fetched a spoon from the kitchen. We stood around the sink, me in the middle.
    I couldn’t miss the way the witch’s hands were shaking slightly as she reached for the bottle. That hardly did much to help my own nerves. I was relieved we were doing this without my parents