1 New Life
Bridget
The engine of the blue Chevrolet Camaro roars to life as I stare out the beachline of my new house in Georgia.
In the past two years, I developed my modeling career and now am attending college to earn a degree in liberal arts, as Iâd like to become an actress as well.
As much as others like to say that being kidnapped and almost killed four times is traumatic and life changing, I say that itâs become another ridge on my character.
Itâs taught me a lot about life and what I want to do with it, and who I want to pursue in life.
Iâve been gifted a new life thanks to my adoptive parents. When I told them that I wanted to move to Georgia, they supplied me with funds to buy a car and a beachfront house like Iâve always wanted. The best part is, itâs close to the University, so I donât waste too much gas driving there.
Brendan and Brandon pestered me so much about what happened to me, and for once in my life, I kept the secret from the boys. The guilt of lying to them still haunts me, but I know itâs for the best. Darrellâs pack doesnât have too good of relations with Lucienâs coven in the first place, and if Darrellâs Betas show up demanding vengeance on their older sister, itâll cause a hassle thatâs completely not necessary.
Halsey probably apologized three million times, believing it was her fault, but then Eliza felt that it was her fault since sheâs the one who told me to go home, and then the boys felt it was their fault because they didnât bring themselves a snack to school.
So I had four people blaming themselves, even though it wasnât their fault.
Lucien, surprisingly, left me a letter after seven months of me being gone.
Here is what it said:
Dear Bridget (Bri, little dove...whatever else I decided to call you),
Iâve had time to think over everything that youâve said to me and even though I donât want to agree with it, I have to. In compliance with some of your words, I have been seeking therapy through Arika, the mistress of whom nobodyâs ever slept with. Weâre bonding well, if youâre wondering, and I hope something comes out of it.
You are right, Bridget. We werenât meant to be mates, even though Fate seemed to have thought so. In all reality, I think that was done so that we would find people who were actually meant for us.
Thank you for making a difference in my life in a way that you wouldnât know, and I wish you well in the future.
Alec and Marilyn send their love.
Good luck in the future,
Lucien Rowe
P.S: Libby and Rosanna are vamps now.
I folded the letter and set it away in my jewelry box, just to remind myself sometimes that it wasnât a dream, that everything that happened to me during those five months actually happened.
My phone starts ringing, but I wait until Iâm at a red light to see who it is.
Sorelle, my college roommate.
Sheâs a werewolf, one of the Deltas in Darrellâs pack, and she was the one who rushed to get me to my brothers as soon as I escaped.
It was quite easy and I wish I would have known about myself a lot sooner.
To explain exactly what I am:
I am an Elemental dhampir shifter.
These used to exist years ago before the division of the covens, packs, and other things that I donât know the names of.
There was one in each of them, or a spinoff of one.
Now there are none at all, and Iâm the first to resurface.
My Element is air, and I donât know all of my abilities yet, just that I can shift into air and still be a being.
Sorelle calls again by the time I pull into the University parking lot.
âWhatâs up?â I say as I hit the button, looking in my rearview mirror to fix my hair. My heartbeat speeds up when I see a haircut similar to Lucienâs across the parking lot, a man exiting a Porsche. I stare, but then quickly blink and realize Sorelle asked me something.
âSorry, what did you say?â I ask, locking my car doors just in case itâs actually him. Just because he sent a nice letter and said that he was courting Arika doesnât mean I exactly believe he still isnât trying to chase after me for breaking the bond and escaping him. I mean, how can he be with Arika when Layla definitely still exists?
I hope that therapy is getting somewhere...
âI asked you if you were at the University yet, because orientation is supposed to start soon and I want your help picking out something to wear,â she says again, and I sigh.
âSorelle, arenât you going for fashion design?â I question, and she giggles in the phone.
âYeah, but that doesnât mean I canât get a model/future actressâ help on an outfit, does it? We are best friends anyways,â she says, always pulling that card. Itâs true though.
Both sophomoreâs at the University and care for my brothers like theyâre our children.
When I was kidnapped, Sorelle saw how lost the boys were. They didnât go home most of the time, not wanting to remember what it was like to have their sister/mother greet them at the door with sâmores.
So Sorelle stepped in and guided them gently back to normalcy, as she knew just as much as Darrell did that if any vampire was involved in my kidnapping, the boys would never see me again.
But none of them know Bridget Wayne too well, do they?
I grab my purse and phone, then unlock the vehicle.
Of course, as usual though, my purse is stuck between the console and the seat.
I tug on it multiple times, then sigh in relief when I get it out, only to turn around see a man standing at my window, with a smile on his face.