Altered by Shelly Crane

pancake into the syrup, taking a big bite and smiling at me, licking her lip and laughing when it dripped on her chin. She didn’t even car e that it was making a mess. It was adorable and cute, but most women I’d known were so self-conscious about it. She seemed to…relish in it.
    She sat in the middle instead of in her seat on the far side and when she was done she laid her head on my shoulder. I tried not to be too excited about that.
    “ Thank you for going back in there. I know you didn’t want to, and I appreciate that you did it.” Her hair smelled like that hotel shampoo. I would forever love that smell for the rest of my days. I gulped when I felt her fingers lightly touch my arm. “I can’t believe we’re almost there.”
    I coughed. “Yeah. Our trip is almost over. You’re almost rid of me.”
    “You’re not going to leave, are you?” She sat up and scooted a little closer, her leg propped up in the seat with her touching my arm. “He’s your brother, too. There’s no reason for you to just rush off and leave, is there?”
              “Clara hates me.”
    She scoffed. “That can’t really be true.”
    “I hate her.”
    She sighed and looked at me. “You have these moments where you’re so…amazing.” My heart actually hurt it jumped so violently. “And then you have these other moments where I question everything that’s ever happened between us.”
    I swallowed. “You should.”
    “Why?” she breathed.
    “I’m a devourer .”
    “You saved me,” she argued, as if that argument meant something to top all other arguments.
    I finally glanced over and wished I hadn’t. She was waiting for me to say something epic. “I’m not good for you.”
    She sighed like she was disappointed. “So you’re going to leave once we’re there. You’re just going to drop me off?”
    “I’ll stay for a bit, but not for long. It’s not for me. I’m a loner. That’s always been my life.”
    “Because you choose it.”
    “Yes,” I sighed. “Because I choose it.”
    “You could choose something else.”
    Was she really asking me to choose her? She barely knew m e and the little bit she did know wasn’t good. She couldn’t want me in that way from what she’d seen…could she?
    The rest of the trip was silent. She brooded and I wanted to be angry about it, but it was the cutest thing I’d ever laid eyes on. She was angry that I was leaving. I had never ha d someone care about my being there. I could have kissed her for that alone.
    The next part of the trip was tricky.
    I knew the general vicinity of where Clara and Eli were, but I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy to get in. They moved around so much, and I didn’t know if they were going to be hidden with some magic. If they were, I was going to have to find a witch to find them. I sighed. So close, but still so far away. And there was no way to reach them.
    And I was already beginning to feel the need to feed again. The twitchiness in my veins and blood. I shook my head, knowing that it wasn’t going to make anything easier. The next hour I beat a rhythm on the steering wheel and tried to think of what Eli would do if it was him making the decisions for the rebels. And then I tried to think of where Franz would take them. When we reached the last known place, it was empty, they were already gone, and I felt my anger rise even as Fay’s hope fell.
    “I was stupid to think it would be that easy, huh?” She sniffed a laugh. “I don’t deserve to find her. She probably doesn’t even want me to. If she knew I was looking for her, she’s probably run anyway.”
    “We’ll find them,” I insisted. “I figured they’d moved. They’re practically gypsies. It’s how they live.”
    She watched me, her green eyes following me as I looked around the campsites, looking for clues. She was getting madder by the second as she watched me pick up things and toss them away as is they didn’t matter. “Don’t tell me