Chapter 77

As the paramedics sat us in the back of their vehicle to assess our condition, I tried to get Lucas's attention.

"Lucas," I called softly. When his eyes met mine, I gestured toward Kendrick with wide eyes, hoping that he'd see him.

Lucas's eyes followed my directions, and I knew the moment his eyes locked with Kendrick because his entire demeanor went stiff and rigid.

His eyes flashed back to mine, fear and panic taking over. I couldn't even blame him.

What was Kendrick doing here? And how did he know what had happened?

I looked back over at him standing around the police officers he was currently talking to. He kept gesturing toward Lucas with his fingers as if he was letting them know that Lucas was his son.

Surprisingly, his usually stern expression was replaced with... worry? I almost rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing things correctly. Maybe the lack of water and exhaustion had me hallucinating things.

But no, I wasn't seeing things. Genuine concern was on Kendrick's face, and it caught me totally off guard.

However, once Kendrick realized that Lucas had spotted him, his worry was replaced with his more familiar sternness.

The police finally let Kendrick through and the crowd seemed to part for him as he walked through. Another older couple I didn't recognize followed behind him.

"Son," Kendrick greeted Lucas with a terse nod. He hardly spared a glance in my direction, almost as if I was invisible.

"How did you know what happened?" Lucas asked, fighting the frown he wanted to show.

"Lucas! Where is Victoria?" The older woman screeched, running over and digging her long nails into Lucas's forearm.

Suddenly, it all made sense. This woman had a similar beauty to Victoria with her long, dark hair and tall, slender height. The man standing next to her in a fancy suit looked composed and cool amidst this nightmare.

Immediately, I knew these were Victoria's parents. And her mother looked absolutely terrified for her daughter's safety.

Her question made me realize that Victoria, James, and Emily were still somewhere on the mountain...

"We had a tracker on Victoria's phone, and when we lost the connection, we got an alert on our phones," Victoria's mother explained. She looked at her husband, blinking rapidly. "That was sometime yesterday evening, wasn't it?"

"Around the time the earthquake hit," Victoria's father's voice was deep and solemn as he spoke.

There was a beat of silence before Victoria's mother was reaching for Lucas again. "We rushed straight here, after calling your father of course. We tracked Victoria's phone to the woods, of all places! My Victoria doesn't go on hikes."

"We all decided to go on a hike," I said and instantly regretted it when everyone's eyes fell on me.

They regarded me with disdain as if I were some sort of outsider in their carefully protected universe.

"Who's this?" Victoria's mother sneered.

"That's Shana," Lucas explained plainly as if he was bored. "I've mentioned her to you before."

"You're Shana?" Victoria's mother asked, narrowing her eyes at me. She turned to look at her husband with a disapproving look.

I started to feel a bit uncomfortable by their quiet stares, and Lucas must've been annoyed by it because he cleared his throat, stealing their attention.

"Well, why are you with her and not Victoria?" Victoria's mother asked. "Shouldn't you be the one keeping her safe and not... your mistress?"

I almost burst into laughter as my eyes shot out of their sockets. Mistress? Never in my life did I ever think anyone would refer to me as that...

"Shana's not my mistress," Lucas said firmly, his tone suggesting he was disgusted by that assumption.

"Victoria's parents are right, though." Kendrick spoke up, finally letting his voice be heard. "You should be with Victoria. Her safety should be your number one priority since the two of you are engaged. Not... Shana."

"Victoria was with me," Lucas explained. "But we all got separated right before the earthquake hit."

Kendrick shook his head in displeasure like Lucas's reasoning wasn't good enough. "And yet, you managed to get out with her."

Lucas and I tried to explain the situation again, how we had gotten lost in the woods during the earthquake, but their expressions remained icy and accusatory.

"Victoria is out there... God knows where...probably terrified right now!" Victoria's mother said with rage. "Meanwhile, you're sitting here completely fine that your fiancee is just lost in the woods somewhere!"

"I never said I was fine!" Lucas raised his voice, starting to grow more and more irritated. "I'm worried sick for them, but I needed to get Shana to safety. After the earthquake, she fell and hurt her leg..."

"What if Victoria's injured?" Victoria's father asked. "Do you even care?"

"Of course I care!" Lucas exclaimed. "I care about Victoria, just as much as I care about James or Emily. I don't want any of them to be hurt, and I wish I could be the one to find them. But you have to understand, Shana needed my help, so I focused my attention on that."

"Enough," Kendrick spoke, silencing everyone. His eyes were glued to Lucas like a vice, but his stare was anything but loving.

"You're a complete disappointment," he continued. "You broke your vow to keep Victoria safe, and that makes you the biggest loser of all."

"But—"

"If your brother were still alive, he would never let this happen. He would've handled this situation completely differently. If he were still alive, I would never need a hybrid like you."

Right as the words slipped past Kendrick's mouth, I watched as Lucas's shoulders slumped.

I glared at Kendrick, wanting so badly to rip him a new one and tell him exactly what I thought about him, but I didn't want him to have another reason to hate Lucas. It would be better if I kept my mouth shut this time around.

Realizing that Lucas wasn't going to retaliate and fight back, Kendrick took a step back, excusing himself to go make a phone call.

Victoria's parents also stepped away, returning to go ask the police if they've seen any sign of Victoria in the woods.

Lucas was the picture of defeat and vulnerability as he let his head hang in front of him. It felt as though he had been stripped down to his most fragile self, and I felt angry that his father was the one who had done this to him.

"Lucas?" I asked, reaching out to grab his hand.

His fingers were cold against mine as I squeezed. He didn't let go, but he didn't move either.

"Don't listen to your father, Lucas." I said sternly, hoping that my words would be able to get through to him. "You did the best you could. How were we supposed to know that after splitting up, and earthquake would hit? That was completely unexpected. You couldn't have prepared for that."

I waited for him to respond, but he stayed quiet.

It felt like no matter what I'd say, Lucas would still be lost in his own thoughts.

I could barely communicate with him in the face of such harsh judgment. Kendrick had struck a cord, and it ran deeper than I thought possible.

My heart sank, and I was about to reach out to him when the scene in front of us shifted once more.

James emerged from the crowd with Emily, an unconscious Victoria in his arms.