For good measure, I cross my arms in front of my chest, then readjust so as to not disturb the IV still stuck in my hand. The gesture offers no additional protection, but it helps maintain a bold composure.

I have a feeling this conversation is going to be nothing like what I expect. Half of me wants Levi to admit to being a vampire, and the other doubts I can trust anything he says. Even so, I doubt he'd admit to being one even if my hunch is true, and that assumption only makes me trust him less.

Yet, as far as actions go...I eye the meticulous bandages on my arms. He's done nothing to harm me, rather the opposite. I have no idea where he knows me from, or what I owe him. My thoughts cycle through countless scenarios and by the time he returns, I'm at a complete loss.

When Levi returns from taking care of our plates, he sits again in his chair, wood creaking as he settles his weight. I frown and bite my cheek. Unease is already coiling in my chest and I fight the urge to look away.

His hands clasp gently over his lap and he leans back. "I probably won't give all the answers you're looking for, but I can say this—Lucien may be overbearing, but he can be avoided. There is a way to never see him again. That is what you want, isn't it?"

His brows furrow. When he bends one leg, I wonder if he's trying to be more nonchalant on purpose. From what I've seen, it doesn't fit his personality.

Unwarranted feelings of vulnerability flood through me, memories of how Lucien cornered me in the parking garage. I press my arms closer to my body. Does Levi know about that? If so, why didn't he step in sooner? I bite my cheek harder. "The only way I want to see him again is if I can snap his neck."

Did I purposely mention a common way to kill a vampire? Yes. Would I follow through on my words even if Lucien was human? I'm not sure, but something very close to hate simmers in the pit of my stomach. Not just for what he did to me, but whatever he's done to how many others I don't know about.

To my dismay, Levi doesn't react to my choice of words. "While I commend your fighting spirit, I think you know you'll be better off avoiding him. Or, did you really think making an attempt on your life would serve as a way to get back at him?" He raises his brows, and I find myself looking down in my lap.

"No," I mutter. I'm not about to discuss why I did what I did. Even though this man did save my life.

"Then as soon as you're well, you can leave and go wherever you want. I'll loan you cash for travel costs. The one restriction I'll give is that you can't go back to the city."

My shoulders stiffen and I stare at him, rolling what he's just said around in my thoughts. I can never go back. That's really my fate? Not only will I have to find a new job, but form a new identity. I was hardly managing my old one.

"Never?" I half whisper.

"Never." His eyes are clear—he means it. "There are ample opportunities to make a life for yourself elsewhere."

I can't keep a heavy frown from forming on my face. "Do you expect me to just up and leave the only place I know?"

While I'm not fond of it, this is the one home I've had. Elsewhere, I'll be even more of an outsider. Making my own life here, in the place my parents said I'd have no home except for theirs, is the one motivation that's kept me going.

"Like I said, I will loan you the resources to relocate. That is the only way to ensure your safety."

My finger picks at the end of the tape on my bandage, lifting the edge. I don't approve of him dictating my future, and I really dislike the thought of being forced to do anything out of fear from that perverted asshole.

"I understand it's upsetting, and it won't be easy. If there was another way, I'd suggest it. But there isn't."

Upsetting? That's putting it lightly. "For your information, there is another way," I snap, "but you prevented it." I glare at him the best I can muster. "I didn't ask to be saved, you know."

His features harden and crisp. "It is foolish and unreasonable to not value life. Despite the circumstance, your actions are not excusable."

My thoughts sputter. Instead of giving my emotions proper time to form, I head straight into the thick of it. "What gives you the right to determine my value—to have a say in my fate?"

Frustration at the whole situation seeps out, and once the leak begins, it pours in a torrent of words. "You said you were repaying me, but I never did anything. I never did anything to Lucien, nothing that should remotely lead to me being stuck in a strange place, without even my own shirt on my back. I'm not worth all this..." I struggle to find the right word, clutching the quilt. "All this effort."

He doesn't hesitate to reply. "Don't be foolish. Every day you have the chance to improve, to seek what you want in life and remove what you don't. I'm only giving you a chance to keep going. There's no reason to take that for granted." He stands. "I will not let you throw away something you'll wish you hadn't."

With that, he walks out.

—

He's really done it. Now I'm upset, and worse, hungry. I can't very well ask for more food after our little disagreement.

I can't believe that man. Does he think he's some sort of hero? Well news flash, I didn't ask for one. No distress signal came from my apartment last night, no invitation to fly in for the rescue. And I'm sure all I've ever done for him is take up space in his cabin.

I stew in disquieted thought, cursing my situation and these unreasonable red-eyed monsters that aren't supposed to be real. Levi's footsteps signal his approach, but I don't look up. In fact, I close my eyes and turn on my side, hoping he thinks I'm asleep.

Maybe I'm more like a child than I want to admit.

Without speaking, he holds a cotton ball to where the IV sticks out of my hand and slips it out. I wiggle my fingers a bit, relieved to have my body feeling more normal and free from needles.

"I'll be gone for an hour or so. The door is locked from the outside, so no one can enter. If you try to leave, though I highly advise against it in your state, I will find you and bring you back."

Ah-ha, his true colors! He is keeping me captive.

I open my eyes to say something—which I haven't fully decided on, but will most definitely come with attitude— and discover he's gone.

Emptiness fills the room. Even the sunlight has diminished, fading discreetly while I waited to confront him again. A dim blue glow filters through the curtains.

Whenever I've been faced with an empty apartment before, I went on a run or loaded up on extra shifts to keep busy. Sitting helpless in a bed alone, that's a new obstacle.

A single hour should be nothing, not compared to the twelve plus I've spent passed out since he brought me here, but the time stretches on and on. I want to test my legs, maybe find a bathroom or get my hands on some more of that salmon, but the thought of him finding me passed out again keeps me stuck in the bed.

That, and the fact I'm not wearing pants.

Maybe I died and went to hell after all.

Do you think Levi was right to save her?

❤️‍🩹 Siberia