by Nicole Thorn
Claws shredded me for the second time. My arm and the top of my chest got the worst of it. Blood left me at a rate that would have me dead in a minute if I were human. But I was not human. I would start healing immediately and odds were that I would live.
The Fury started coming at me to end it when Zander threw a massive rock at her head. The thing busted into ten pieces, but it was like the Fury was hit with paper. She turned to Zander before she beat her wings out. The left one whipped me in the face, sending me backwards and right next to Jasper. The Fury took off after Zander.
I groaned after I landed. I felt my lip with my tongue. Split open right down the middle. There had to be more damage, but I couldn’t see it.
Jasper struggled to sit up. He checked me over and he looked at me like I was already dead. “Kezia.” His hand went to my throat, where the blood was leaving me.
I moved his hand and sat up, making a sound of agony. “I’m fine,” I wheezed. “Stay with Jasmine.”
She was bleeding on the ground. Her sister was vacant eyed and behind the tree I left her at. Good. If she was out of the way, the Fury wouldn’t kill her. Hopefully.
Zander was still running, but he looked back and saw Jasmine. I knew the look he had. I’d seen it plenty from him. Anger that only someone with the emotional capabilities he had could have. It was frightening.
Jasper was getting back to Jasmine and I felt my flesh wounds burning as they started healing. Good, that meant I wouldn’t die on my way to help my brother.
Zander had stopped at the merry-go-round. He kicked at the metal bars until they snapped with a groan. He pulled the bar off of the thing it was dangling from and he snapped it in half.
“Catch!” he yelled to me as he threw one long piece.
I caught it as the Fury was reaching him. He whipped the thing through the air, making contact with the Fury’s leg. She screeched so loud that I almost stopped moving.
I got behind her and sank the bar into her side. I meant to get the spine, but I lost a lot of blood. My vision wasn’t working as well as it could.
She turned as I was yanking the bar back out. She hovered with her hurt leg slightly up. Then she lowered herself down, throwing out her wings again.
Zander and I went in different directions. He slammed into the jungle gym, hitting his head against the metal. I hit the grass and rolled until I smacked into a tree. I felt like my ribs were powder inside of me. I panted against the grass for a few seconds, trying not to scream. My body was broken already. Still, I got up.
I had the bar in my hand and I looked out to see Zander. His ears were bleeding along with the four slashes on his arm. The Fury was on him, slashing while he hit back. He kicked her chest, but she only went back a few feet. I heard a snapping when she did so, so at least she was taking hits.
I started running and didn’t stop until I got to them. I brought my bar around the Fury, holding it against her throat and pulling her back. She tried getting at me with her wings, but I held onto her with everything left in me.
Zander smiled. “Batter up, bitch.” He started slamming his bar into her torso, over and over and over and over. She screamed out in pain as she thrashed against me, almost throwing me back.
The Fury’s chest was a bloody mess, but it only made her fight harder. She kicked her leg back, snapping mine when I wasn’t able to move first. It was pain like I’d never known. I lost the ability to stand or hold on and I dropped to the ground and onto my back.
I felt another slash as the Fury turned to me. She cut me diagonally from my face to my hip. My cheek was split open to my mouth and my chest was pouring again. I looked down and I could see bone and blood and parts that should only see in an autopsy. This one… this might kill me. But the Fury didn’t want to take any chances. Her bloody claw was raised in the air and I wanted to close my eyes. I don’t know why I didn’t.
I saw hands on her shoulders. They pulled her down, slamming her on her knees. There was another scream when her wounded leg hit the ground. Then I saw Zander’s head over her shoulder. His expression was blank as his hands found her head and twisted. Her neck broke and he shoved her body aside. When she hit the ground, she exploded into burning ashes.
Zander dropped down to me, careful not to touch me. “You’re going to be okay, honey.”
I couldn’t talk. My throat was bleeding and the pain was just too much for me.
He looked scared. Really scared. Even all broken, I could see that. He was bleeding all over too, but I don’t think he cared. It had to hurt. Gashes were soaking his shirt and pants, but all he could see was me.
For a moment, he looked up and around. His eyes landed on something I couldn’t see and he looked angry again.
I wanted to ask if she was okay, but I was so tired. I fell asleep hearing my name.
Ψ
I woke up and groaned before my eyes were even open. A hand squeezed mine and I could tell who it was, even by that. Jasper said my name, putting his other hand on my forehead.
“We simply must stop meeting like this,” I said, sitting up. “You’re gonna stop thinking I’m pretty if you see all my inside parts.”
He smiled. “I’m not worried about it. I’m just glad Zander could put you back together.”
“Huh?”
Jasper fixed the blanket on me when it fell a little. “Your leg bone was kind of… not in you all the way.”
I made a sound that was inhuman. “Ahhhh… okay then.” I looked down at myself to see why I was covered. It would seem that I was in my torn up clothes, covered in blood.
“I didn’t want to change you,” Jasper said. “I didn’t think you would want that and Zander took the girls to the hospital. Juniper is fine but Jasmine needs stitches.”
“How bad was she?”
He took a breath. “Not great. She’ll live.”
“And you? I threw you pretty hard.”
He smiled. “It would take a lot more than that to kill me.”
Damn good thing.
I stood and it wasn’t painful, but it was still a struggle. I crossed my arms over my chest, covering skin Jasper had already seen. “Ugh, I need to clean up. How long was I out?”
“Couple hours. Do you need help walking to the shower?”
No way was I up for standing that long. I needed a bath. A bath… I did not do baths. Not that I had a choice in this moment.
“Um, I need a favor,” I said. “And it’s going to sound weird.”
“Try me.”
I felt nothing but nervous asking. “I have to take a bath since my legs are still wobbly. Can you… can you sit in there with me and talk to me? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I just… well I think it would be better if I had someone to talk to. And I can pull the curtain up so you can’t see anything but my face. Wow, it sounded stupider out loud.”
Jasper picked me up and held me against his chest. It looked like he was straining and I assumed I hurt him more than he told me when I threw him. “It’s not stupid. I’ll do anything you need me to do.”
He brought me into the bathroom and set me on the counter, telling me to stay put. Then I watched him run around. He turned the bath water on, letting it warm up. He added bubbles that he had to have stolen from his sister. Then he left, suggesting he was going to get me fresh clothes.
He had a pile in his hands when he came back. “I got your sleep shorts and a shirt of mine to wear. Not because of some kind of sexist macho thing where I need to see you in my clothes, or I like seeing you in them because you’re mine or whatever. I just thought it would be comfortable. That’s all. I promise.”
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him over for a kiss. My lips were healed, so it worked out nicely. Just in case he didn’t understand what this was, I slipped my tongue into his mouth. I made a little happy noise at the feeling, then I let him go.
He blinked. “So you’re not mad?”
I shook my head. “Tongue means happy.”
“
Okay. I can work with that.”
“Great. Can you give me a minute to get undressed?”
He left and closed the door most of the way. That was probably a good thing. I would feel less trapped.
I threw my clothes in the trash and stared at the full tub. I was safe. Jasper was here and he would always keep me safe from my own head. I just needed to remember.
Be better. I had to be better. Do things that might be a little scary. I just needed to go slow. This was slow. It was just a bath.
I got in and pulled the curtain almost closed. I actively decided not to think of what happened last time I was in a bath. That part of my life was over and I wouldn’t ever move past it if I let it keep hurting me.
“Jasper,” I called, letting him know he could come in.
He moved slowly into the room, closing the door behind him. He sat facing me but a few feet away.
“You can’t see anything?” I asked.
“Just your face and bubbles. I promise.”
I believed him.
I started getting the blood off of me. It was mostly on my clothes, so at least I wasn’t in for an hour of scrubbing. I let shampoo soak in the places it got in my hair.
“How is it?” Jasper asked. “Are you okay being in there?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “Not as scary as I thought. I credit that to you, sweetheart.”
He smiled right back at me. “Really?”
“Of course. You are very good company and I’ve never felt unsafe around you. Even when you first walked into the room dripping pure sex appeal.”
He laughed at me. “I think I was covered in clay the first time we met.”
“You were.”
“The clay did it for you?”
I shrugged and I heard the water as it moved around. “I wasn’t aware of it, but yeah. I like when you have clay on you because it means you were just doing something that made you content. And I also liked when you were trying to wash it off and you took your shirt off. I got all kinds of good tingles from that. You’re very nice to look at.”
I didn’t think he believed me. “No, you’re very nice to look at. I’m nothing special.”
Untrue. “I don’t know why you’d think that. Your last girlfriend, Satan, had to find you attractive. Still, since she’s trying to get you back. Oh, then there’s me, who actively has to stop herself from jumping you. You are the sole reason that I’m getting all twitchy. If I wasn’t attracted to you, I’d still be what I was before. I want to do all the things that couples do, but just because it would be with you.”
He didn’t seem happy. “So, I’m making you uncomfortable.”
“No, that’s not it. You’re making me feel the stuff I didn’t before. The stuff I thought I wasn’t supposed to want. You’re one of the reasons I want to get better. I want it for me too, but I want to be someone who can be with you. I think it’s a good thing that I want to jump you.” I grinned. “I might not be able to yet, but wanting it is half the battle.”
Jasper was a little more relaxed at that. “Don’t feel like you need to hurry to get to that stuff. I’m okay with what we have now. I could be happy just sitting next to you.”
I reached out and patted his hand. “You are very sweet, but I have every intention of screwing your brains out,” I said in a sugary sweet voice. “Just not today.”
His eyes glazed over for a few seconds and mush came out of his mouth. “Hmmm, mmm, hmm.”
I laughed at him. “Sorry.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t be. Ever. Not ever. Please, tell me as often as you want that you’d like to do things to me. I will always like to hear it.”
“That’s good. And by the way, I think for now when we’re kissing, it would be okay if I was on top of you. I think I freaked out last time because I didn’t know it was going to happen and I was right under you. We might be able to do that again, as long as I know it’s gonna happen.” There was one other factor. Precisely, the little bit of friction he was giving me felt just a little too nice in a certain place. That might be better too, so long as we were careful.
“Hmm,” Jasper said, very articulately. “Okay, we can keep that in mind.”
I worked on getting the rest of the blood off of me and my body started feeling less worn out. I managed to get my hair all clean and I was very happy about that.
“I need a couple more minutes, sweetie,” I said when I was all done.
He stood up and left me again.
I drained the tub and stood, showering off all extra bits of blood. Then I stepped out and wrapped up in a towel.
“You still there?” I called out through the cracked door.
“Yup,” Jasper said, closer than I thought. “Do you need anything?”
“Just checking to make sure you were there. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I got dressed and dried my hair to a fluffy point. I put it up in a ponytail to keep it out of my way. Jasper was right about the shirt. It was very comfy and I liked wearing it for the reasons he said were not why he picked it. It made me smell like him and yes, I liked being in his clothes because of the claim. But it wasn’t him claiming me. It was me saying that he was mine. He might go for that one.
I stepped out of the bathroom and Jasper drank me in. He had a look on his face that suggested he wanted to kiss me, but he was tentative to just go for it. It was exactly what I was afraid of. Him wanting to do something that he should be able to do and just being stuck. I really, really didn’t like that.
I pushed him against the wall and pressed my lips to his, hard. His hands came around me and we were squished together pleasantly. Just to make sure he knew that I was fine, I went ahead and put my hands on his butt. It was a very nice butt too.
Jasper picked me up and my legs went around him, arms around his neck. This was one of those moments that could get me in trouble if I wasn’t careful. I wanted to do more than I was ready for. So I kissed him for another minute before I told him we had to stop.
He set me down and he didn’t look upset that we had to stop. “You’re okay?”
I smiled and nodded before I kissed his cheek. “I’m great. Come on.” I took him by the hand and led him down to the kitchen.
I couldn’t heal Jasmine, but I could make an ointment that could ease the pain and kick up healing just a little. She was only human, so it would take time. We couldn’t fix that one.
First, I had to grow all the plants I needed. It took no time at all and now I had lots of pots to work with. I left the plants when I took what I needed, just in case I had to make more later. Then I went inside with Jasper.
I started on the ointment while Jasper told me that I could be a millionaire if I bottled it and sold it. Tempting, but this was a mix my mother told me about. Something made me think that it wouldn’t be a good idea if I took advantage.
When I was finished, I had enough for at least a few days. I put it in a little jar and Jasper helped me clean up the kitchen so that Juniper wouldn’t have to worry about it when she got back.
“Was Zander okay when he was healing?” I asked. “He was hurt really badly.”
“By the time we got to him, he was mostly okay. He was more worried about you and Jasmine than himself.”
At least he was fine now. Those talons hurt more than anything I’d ever felt.
Once everything was mostly put up, I turned to Jasper. “You wanna wait for me in the studio? I’ll fix this up and I can watch you work and get all turned on at the same time.”
He had a look on his face I liked. “I’d be dumb to say no to that.”
I kissed him and he walked off.
I just had to set the jar somewhere Zander would see it. He would know what it was, I just didn’t know if I’d be out in time for me to tell him I had it. I hoped that Juniper wouldn’t mind it being on the table when she got home.
I got about three steps in before there was a knock on the door. I sighed, because it was never anyone good. Never
a kid to offer us cookies. So I had to force myself to open the door.
What I chose to notice first was an old couple running out of the for sale house. A man ran after them. He looked very tall and he was in a black suit with a bright pink tie. I couldn’t see his face very well but I heard him yell, “I promise it only smells like decay because there was a raccoon suicide situation! It’s under control now!”
They did not come back.
“Hey, Kizzy,” Celeste said with a grin. Her fucking hat was crooked and I just wanted to slap it off of her. “How are you?”
“Great,” I lied. “What brings you by?”
She peered in. “Well, I wanted to see Jasper. He hasn’t called me since our little moment and I just wanted to make sure he was all right.”
I smiled. “He’s just fine. Or he was, after he washed the taste of you out of his mouth.”
She laughed. “You’re so funny. But really, where is he?”
“Waiting for me to come back to him.”
She finally noticed the shirt that was very much not mine. I couldn’t read her, but I couldn’t imagine she was happy about it. “Why are you wearing that?”
Oh, this would be fun. “I just got out of the bath with Jasper. He gave it to me to wear.”
“Hmm. Really?”
“Really. I’m his girlfriend, after all. Wearing his clothes kind of comes with the territory.”
She smiled. “Did he say you were his girlfriend?”
I nodded and spoke very slowly. “Yeah, it’s come up a few times. So that and the kissing kinda cinched it.”
I would have given anything to know what she thought of that, but she was giving me nothing at all. That had to be a carefully constructed thing for her. I was just hoping it would make her shove off and never come back. Jasper was officially mine and he would be for the rest of his life. If he would have me that long.
Celeste looked me up and down one more time and I saw Zander driving up to the house. “Well, good for you, Kiz. I really hope you can keep him satisfied. I still don’t think you understand what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Oh, I’m just fine.” I smiled.
