Chapter 4

After showers, we ran into a problem: beds.

There were two bedrooms on the floor. That should have been enough for three people. Lila disagreed.

"Mama, don't sleep with that ugly bat," she said, tugging on my skirt. "Sleep with me."

I crouched down to her level. "Hey. Be nice to your papa. He's not ugly at all."

"But everyone says we're ugly. They call me a little monster."

"Well, they're wrong. And if anybody says that in front of me, they're going to meet my claws." I pinched her cheek. "I don't care what anyone else sees. To me, you're the prettiest girl in the world. So no more of that, okay?"

She nodded and wrapped herself around my leg.

"Then you'll sleep with me?"

The Count plucked her off my leg like a kitten and set her down.

"You're too old to need company at night."

She lunged at him.

Within seconds, there were limbs on the floor and a vampire's head bouncing across the room. I'd only just cleaned up.

"Enough!"

They both froze like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Fine. If nobody wants to sleep alone, we'll all sleep together. And the next one who throws a punch is sleeping in the bathtub."

Somehow, we ended up in the little bed instead of the big one. Lila fell asleep almost immediately, her belly full, while I lay awake beside her.

"Still awake?" the Count asked after a while.

I shook my head. "Too excited to sleep."

He waited.

"I've always been the odd one out," I said. "Stuff that scares everybody else looks beautiful to me. My pack decided I was cursed. They called me a freak and kicked me out."

I looked at Lila, asleep between us, then back at him.

"But here, with you two... this is the first time I've ever felt like I fit."

It was strange saying it out loud. Stranger still that I meant it.

"So, thanks," I said, smiling at him. "I don't think I've ever been this happy."

He watched me for a moment.

"If you..."

He stopped. I waited, hoping he might ask me to stay, but he didn't finish.

"Wait, I never asked your name."

"I don't have one." His voice dropped. "You could give me one. If you wanted to."

I gave it some real thought.

"That's a big job. I need to come up with a really good one."

In the dark, I caught a small smile and the tips of his fangs.

Live Chat:

hexqueen: Did Count Bloodmoon just SMILE?

NightOwl77: Nobody's ever lived long enough next to him to have a whole conversation. This wolf might be onto something.

The system voice woke me the next morning.

[Players entered: 30. Players alive: 15.]

Five more players dead overnight. According to the log, three of them had been scared to death, their meters maxed out at a hundred.

A message from Selene was waiting on my phone.

[Tessa, are you okay? I should have told you this sooner. For the first three days, you need to get close to your "family" as fast as you can. That's everything I know. Think of it as my apology for letting them stick you on thirty.]

Selene and Dorian had been nothing but helpful to us newbies. Everybody trusted them.

[Got it. Thank you!] I texted back.

The Count was already awake. He glanced over at my screen, and his face changed.

"Tessa, don't trust—"

He doubled over, clutching his chest, and dropped. I caught him just before he hit the floor.

The game had a rule: monsters weren't allowed to give players hints. He'd tried to warn me, and the game had punished him before he could finish.

Green smoke crept into the room, and the cold sharpened. I shivered. The Count recovered enough to take off his cloak and wrap it around my shoulders.

"Don't be afraid."

I wasn't. Cold, yes. Curious, very much so.

Lila bounced to the door. "Grandma and Granddad are home!"

Two shriveled figures came through the door. Their pupils glowed green through the smoke.

Live Chat:

DeadEyeDan: The wraiths. Nobody gets past these two.

RIPinPeace: And she's wearing their son's cloak. She's done.

The old man's glowing eyes landed on the cloak around my shoulders.

"You flea-bitten stray! Who said you could wear my boy's cloak? I'll teach you some respect!"