bChapter /bb193 /b

    Sienna’s POV:

    “Howe it’s always you?”

    The words left his mouth, a question that was meant for no one but me. I watched his reaction, the way his eyes were wide with a mix of shock and dawning realization, and I couldn’t help but frown.

    Always?

    He remembered me?

    He ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, a nervous habit, and looked out at the sea of faces in the crowd. “Yeah? In the morning and yesterday… at night.”

    Thest two words were a quiet, almost imperceptible whisper, but they hit me like a physical blow. My eyes widened, a cold, sharp dread coiling in my gut. He didn’t just remember me from a few hours ago? He remembered me from the alleyway? The night before. The bite.

    How was that possible? This was an anomaly. A variable I had never ounted for. It was impossible.

    Without a second thought, I moved forward and grabbed his wrist, my fingers closing around his arm, and I pulled him back, away from the prying eyes and the murmurs of the crowd.

    “What did you just say?” I questioned, my voice a low, dangerous growl. My nails, without my conscious thought, bit into

    his skin.

    He looked down at where my fingers were digging into his wrist, a flicker of something in his eyes I couldn’t ce. I loosened my hold, but my mind was still in a frenzy.

    “You remember?” I asked again, my voice barely a whisper. Myposure was crumbling around me. How was that possible? Every human who ever gets bitten, their memories are wiped clean by the chemical released in a vampire’s venom. It was a failsafe, a biologicalw that had never, ever been broken.

    As though sensing my turmoil, he quirked a brow, and his lips curved up in a cocky, infuriating smirk. “Was I not supposed to? It’s not exactly easy to forget having your blood sucked out by-”

    I shoved my hand up against his mouth, my palm t and firm against his lips, and shushed him. As I did that, I could feel their eyes on us. I nced away, taking in the sea of expectant faces. I had to end this now. I nced back at him, my eyes narrowed in a silent threat.

    I took a deep breath.

    “We will talk about thister. Don’t go spouting off this nonsense to anyone else.” I said calmly..

    hand

    His brows reached his forehead, a silent question in his eyes, but he nodded. He didn’t resist my hand, didn’t protest mymand. The ease with which heplied was more unsettling than if he had fought back. I pulled away, my falling to my side, a strange, lingering warmth on my palm.

    Turning, I walked back toward the entrance. My phone had been buzzing for a while now, a persistent vibration against bmy /bthigh, and I pulled it out. It was Aunt Seraphina. I knew talking to her would be a hassle, but I needed answers. I would be better off talking to her until he imed his prize or whatever and the crowd dispersed a little. Although i was sure our little interaction had already caught the attention of the crowd.

    1 frowned, realizing how fast my heart was beating. Thump–thump. Thump–thump. The sound was deafening, a drum against my ribs. This… was new. I hadn’t even fed from anyone. Why was it beating so fast? Was it because I had been so surprised? Yeah, that could be it. I usually never reacted this much. Not in surprise at least. But today… today felt different. My body, my mind, everything was reacting in ways I didn’t understand.

    I picked up the call, holding the phone to my ear as I walked. The familiar, worried tone of her voice filled my head. “Are you done? I told you it’s dangerous to be out at night-”

    “You’re the one who rmended this to me, Aunt. Now that I am actually finding it well–suited, you want me toe back?” I questioned with a frown. My voice was calm, but there was an edge of annoyance to it. Her constant worrying was

    so… human.

    She sighed, the sound a soft hiss through the phone’s speaker. “I’m sorry. It was just a spur–of–the–moment thing. I didn’t think you’d go again… I still can’t believe you actually enjoyed it. You rarely like such things… and an old woman like me. can’t evene watch over you to make sure you’re okay.”

    I rolled my eyes. She always did this. Telling me to go out and be more like a teenager, more like a human, only to turn around and feel all worried and call me multiple times a night. It was a tiresome cycle, a constant back–and–forth between her desire for me to live and her fear of me getting hurt. Which was why I always thought it was a hassle to go out. And preferred just staying home, where the variables were controlled and the oues were predictable.

    I took a deep breath then, my mind settling on the one thing that mattered right now. “Actually, I wanted to ask you a question.” My voice was low, and I could feel the tension in my body, the way my shoulders had be rigid.

    She paused her tirade, “Yes?”

    “Is it possible for a human to remember… when a vampire feeds from them?” I asked. The question was a simple one, but the implication was anything but. The silence on the other end was heavy.

    “Did something happen? Do you want me-” she began, her voice filled with a sudden, panicked urgency.

    I cut her off before she decided to take her car here the next minute, “No, Anna. It’s just a question. I was curious.” I lied. It was better not to worry her just yet.

    “No, Sienna. A human can’t remember. A chemical is released every time a vampire drinks from them through which they be unconscious and anything that urred five minutes before they became unconscious is erased from their memories…” She said, her voice slow and measured, as if she were reciting a lesson. She paused, a long, drawn–out moment of silence that made my heart beat faster. “Unless….”

    My breath caught in my throat. “Unless what?”

    “Unless there was a recording of it..but that could just be deemed as Al edited. After all… those aren’t umon nowadays… but there is also one situation in which they can remember. Which is rare and almost impossible in today’s day and age. The human… might have Alpha genes.”

    b13:17 /bWed, 17 Sept

    That made me freeze. The words were a jolt to my system. “Alpha… like a wolf?” I questioned, my voice a quieti, /iconfused whisper. “But if they were an Alpha, they’d be caught by the database and brought back to the pack, wouldn’t they?i” /i

    She hummed, a sound of contemtion. “If they were an Alpha. Not if they have diluted Alpha Genes. As in they were descendants of an Alpha. Grandchildren, maybe?” she questioned, her voice thoughtful.

    I thought about it for a long while, the words reying in my mind. Descendants. Gics. It was a logical exnation for an illogical event. It was a theory that I could work with. “Alright. Thanks. I’ll be homete, please don’t call me again. You already have a tracker on me, I’ll let you know if I am in danger.”

    She sighed, a sound of defeat. “Alright… Alright. But be back before three final note of warning in her voice.

    You have university. You promised.” She said, a

    I hummed. “I will.” With that, I cut the call and nced back to the guy who I now suspected to have Alpha genes.

    Wouldn’t that mean that his grandparent was an Alpha and a rogue at that if they mated with a human? How fascinating you are, Haider Kovalyova.

    Maybe… that would also exin why I could see the true color of his eyes? Unlike the ck and gray of the general poption.

    や

    色

    AD