Page 22 of The Coven’s Sacrifice

My laptop had been on that table.

“But,” Harland began to protest.

My body was truly shaking now. I’d been through heartbreak, then kissed by Harland, then watched the two of them fight. My room was ruined, as was my laptop. I had pictures of my family and friends on that laptop. The realization made tears gather once again. Voice firmer, but now laced with sadness, I said, “I want you both to leave.”

“You are crying,” Jacob said, approaching me. It was pure instinct to take a few steps back, but the vampire’s eyes widened, the hurt evident on his face. “You are afraid of me.”

Taking a deep breath, I repeated, “I want you both to leave.”

To my surprise, Harland laced his fingers with Jacob and they both left my room, leaving me in the ruins of their making. Perhaps Alexander had been right to blame me for all of this.

I ignored the living room and searched for the question book Sienna had given me. I’d hid it in my nightstand, which meant it was safely tucked away. My eyes stung with tears and I felt utterly drained. It had to be after midnight now, and I’d missed dinner because of Alexander.

After skimming through the book, I had to admit defeat. I’d hoped to find something that would explain their weird obsession with me, but I was simply too tired to look properly through it.

Placing the book back in the nightstand, I decide to shower. My clothes were still dirty from my cry outside, then the kissing… I touched my lips, remembering how different it had felt to kiss Harland. I was more than just interested in the red-haired vampire with the cutest freckles. What that said about me, I didn’t want to know.

My shower was quick, just enough to feel refreshed before sliding into bed. I kept feeling eyes on me, a sure sign I needed sleep. The covers were soft against my skin, lulling me into a dreamless sleep.

Sienna was not pleased.

“You have ruined my hard work,” she stated, pointing to the ripped couch. I hadn’t even noticed it yesterday, but the fabric had been clawed at. I suppressed a shiver.

“Technically,” I began, not even caring that I was tattling. “It was Jacob and Harland.”

She blinked. “The masters did this?”

I nodded. Then I had a brilliant idea, “You told me I could ask you anything, right?”

“Yes?” she didn’t seem too happy about it, though.

“Is there something in my blood that makes them… I don’t know, possessive? Is that a thing with former sacrifices?”

“Possessive?” she asked with a deadpan look.

“Yes,” I nodded. I had no qualms telling her everything if that meant I would finally get some answers. “They both want me as theirs so they fought.”

“They fought over your affections?” she confirmed. I nodded, making her sigh. “So dramatic,” she mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear, then she said in her normal bored tone, “I do not know anything about possessiveness. Perhaps you should ask the masters about that.”

Yeah, no. I had decided to stay the fuck away from them for as long as I could. Whatever their issues were, they were their issues. I had enough to deal with already. That reminded me, “Did any packages get delivered this morning?”

“Oh yes, and a very big one. I do not know what it is you bought, but it is now waiting for you in the garden.”

“Perfect,” I grinned. It seemed I had plenty of work ahead of me. It didn’t even matter that I’d gotten very little sleep. I kept waking up, feeling eyes on me. Whatever had happened with Jacob and Harland, it had clearly messed me up.

“Your breakfast is ready for you outside,” she said, grimacing at the broken dining table. “I have to stay here and bring things back to rights.”

“Are you able to fix my laptop too?” I asked, tone hopeful.

She just nodded and waved me away. Because of my late-night shower, I simply dressed and hurried outside. As Sienna had said, my coop had been delivered in multiple boxes as had my tools kit.

I grinned, my mood improving as I walked to the pavilion. I needed all the energy I could get. Things with Harland and Jacob were confusing and draining, but at least I had something to do with my time as I worked through my emotions on it. I felt drawn to both vampires, and they felt the same, if their words could be trusted. I still barely knew Harland, but the urge to be with him was there, just like with Jacob. I just doubted that this would work, their possessiveness seemed too strong to fix. I also couldn’t help but wonder how long they would be okay with this. In the end, they would pick each other and I would be alone. They’d only need me to feed from, and that was a depressing thought.

Shaking the vampires out of my mind, I dug into my breakfast. My coop was waiting and I was too excited to waste time worrying about things I had no control over.

The coop took longer than planned to install, mostly because I had to ensure no predators could get in and hurt my chickens. I was glad that I’d waited with ordering the wood shavings for the bedding, same with their food. It was easier to see how much I would need once the coop was built. The wood was a reddish tint, the wire fence was painted black, something that would make it easier to see inside.

I stood with my hands resting on my hips, admiring the finished coop with pride. The whole area was still a dirty mess, the ground pure dirt. I would add a little grass around the coop, hoping for some insects to show up for the chickens. They liked snacking on insects.