Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) Read Free Page A

Aiden’s neck and push him away. He jumps
back, startled, and then stumbles ungracefully over his feet a
little, clutching onto my hand for support. His eyelids lift open
and confusion masks his expression. “What’s wrong Juniper?”
    “Why did you just do that?” I ask, slipping
my hand from his hold.
    “What? Try to kiss you?” he asks, gaping at
me like I’ve lost my mind. “Because I wanted to.”
    “Well, don’t do that,” I tell him,
swallowing hard.
    “Why not?”
    “Because I don’t want you to. And stay out
of my head.”
    Shaking his head, he turns his back to me.
“It would have been a great kiss if you wouldn’t have lost your
damn mind and shoved me away.” He starts to stalk away, but I jump
in front of him.
    “Lost my mind? You were in my mind… you were
manipulating my thoughts.” I push him, but this time he doesn’t
stumble. “I could feel you inside my head. You were making me feel
those things… like I wanted to kiss you— wanted to be
with you.”
    I shove him again, this time much harder,
and the force launches him in the air much harder than I intended.
I fold my arms across my chest and cringe as he crashes into a
vehicle just behind us. Metal bends and concaves under his weight
then ashes scatter and float in the air.
    Aiden lands on the ground hard, asphalt
debris shattering under his weight. He quickly gets to his feet,
and with three long strides, he closes the distance between us. He
leans into my face, anger burning in his eyes as he balls his
fists. For a second, I think he is going to attack me, but I just
stare at him, refusing to back away. Although, when he raises his
fist, making me think he’s going to hit me, I turn to leave, not
wanting to fight. Not right now. Not here. Not when there are other
things I need to take care of.
    He captures me by the elbow as I start to
storm away, stopping me in my tracks. I turn my head and try to
shrug him off. “Let go of me.”
    Aiden’s eyes widen in shock. “Juniper, I’m
not going to hurt you.”
    I shake my head in disbelief as I glance at
his hand on my arm, his fingertips digging into my skin. “You’re
not?” I question with doubt.
    He releases my arm and then rakes his
fingers through his hair. “I would never hurt you. You have to
believe me that I wouldn’t.”
    I sigh because I can actually feel that he’s
telling the truth. “I believe…” I trail off, my eyes wandering to
my left at something heading towards us… something large.
    Aiden follows my gaze and his eyes snap wide
as the creature weaves in a fast pattern between the cars in the
road. We take off at the same time, sprinting in the opposite
direction as fast as our legs will carry us. Yet, I can hear the
panting of the creature getting closer at the same time the ground
cracks beneath its feet as it runs on all fours.
    When I glance over my shoulder, I realize
just how big of a problem we have. There’s not just one, there are
many creatures chasing after us in a herd. Their fleshless bodies
are a repulsive sight to behold, their fangs out, nipping as saliva
drips from their mouths. It makes my guilt arise again because
they’re the same creatures that bit Sylas. Or as Dominic called
them, vampire abominations. It reminds me that Sylas could very
easily be one of them.

Chapter 3

    I speed up, my arms pumping, my feet moving
so fast that they’re nearly gliding across the ground. Aiden stays
right behind me, whether on purpose or not, I’m not sure.
    The mutilated monsters howl and nip at our
heels; the sound forces my legs to move quicker than I ever thought
was possible. I nearly fly as I race towards a wide trench in the
distance. Approaching it, I glance over my shoulder as I leap into
the air, relieved to see Aiden is right behind me, flying over the
trench as if it’s the easiest thing to do in the world. I’m glad he
can keep up. Although I hate to admit it, it drove me a little bit
crazy when he was human and slowed me