by C. J. Pinard
I watched the pedophile piece of shit saunter out of the building and head down the sidewalk. He attempted to hail a cab several times, but none stopped for him.
Using vampire speed, I caught up with him.
He definitely hadn’t seen me coming as I yanked him into a nearby alley and pinned him against the wall. I made no attempt to disguise my features as I hissed into his face, “You like fucking little boys? Taking away their innocence?”
The man’s eyes went wide, and his face lost all its color. Dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, I was sure he was headed out to meet another victim, and tonight was the night I was going to stop him once and for all.
“What… what are you talking about?” he asked, fear and panic in his voice and eyes.
I smirked into his face. “You know what the fuck I’m talking about, Derek.”
“But I really don’t,” he replied, fearful, but still feigning innocence.
I knew he wasn’t innocent. Gunnar, our resident club computer hack, had used his skills to dig up background arrests on this dirtbag by hacking into police archives. After getting fired as an elementary school teacher, Derek had the nerve to go serve in a local Catholic church teaching Sunday School on the weekends. Where he took advantage of young boys. My stomach roiled at the sight of him.
The scent of stress pheromones leaking out of him was enough for me to know he was the biggest dirtbag in Michigan. I snapped his arm with an easy flick of my wrist, and he screamed out in pain. I covered his mouth with my hand as I used supernatural strength to knee him in the thigh and crack his femur bone. He wailed and tears leaked down his face as I kept my hand at his mouth. Then, very slowly, as I held him up against the wall, I let my fangs descend before my eyes went black and I slammed my teeth into his carotid. He barely put up a fight and squealed as I drained his life force. Once he was almost out, I snapped his neck and then spat his blood back onto his face and head. I left him on the ground of that filthy alley for the cops to find the next day. My vow never to kill another human was broken that night. But something feral and dark had taken over me at the sight of this dirtbag.
Once I returned to my club members, they’d patted me on the back, and that was when their leader, Cobra, had given me my club name. “Your quiet and snakelike approach and ruthless tactics have earned you the name Viper,” he’d said. “You’ll be patched next week.”
Beaming with pride, I thanked him and met his fist-bump.
Then, he handed me a pearl-handled revolver with a snake emblazoned on the bottom of the handle, along with a matching pure silver knife. “You earned them.”
I smiled at the memory and got on my bike to search for a rogue vamp that was terrorizing the west side of the city, on orders from Cobra.
Chapter 24
Wrong Side Of Heaven
MyAnna
I was going to have to thank Jewel later for the outfit that had Viper’s eyes almost popping out of his head. I bit back a smile when I saw Viper toss murderous looks at his buddies, and when they suddenly tried to look anywhere but at me.
I couldn’t believe I’d gone from wanting to get the hell out of here, to not wanting to leave in the span of a month. These monsters were nothing like the wolves. They were lethal and frightening, but there was good in them. I could tell. The wolves took what they wanted from others and killed without thought or remorse. These guys and gals made me feel safe and protected.
“Look what I got you,” James said, placing a new state ID card in my hand. It read MyAnna Lawson, and I almost puked.
I threw it back at him. “I don’t want that. It’s not my name. I hate you and your whole family.”
He ignored my dig and pulled me into a forced hug. He ran his hands down my back and to my ass and squeezed. Then he tried to kiss me, and I turned my head. Just his very touch was making me want to vomit. I stiffened against him and closed my eyes in revulsion when he reached up and squeezed forcefully on my right breast.
“Come on, baby, don’t make me take it. We gotta consummate this thing tonight. It’s the last night of the full moon or else we’ll have to wait another month.”
“You’ll be waiting forever. I’m not going to sleep with you. Ever. This marriage is a sham, you kidnapped me, you won’t let me leave…” Tears welled up in my eyes. “Please just let me go. Find a girl who will love you instead of forcing it.”
James’s face turned murderous. He grabbed me by the hair and threw me down on the bed. “You don’t think I’ve tried that, bitch?” He began to tear his clothes off, and I tried to scramble off the bed, but he pushed me down. After lifting the ugly green dress they constantly made me wear, he tore my panties off and pried my legs apart before shoving himself inside me with a grunt.
I screamed and cried, but he put his hand over my mouth and continued rutting a few more times before he came inside me with a groan. He pulled out, got off the bed, threw his clothes back on, and tossed a rag at me. “Clean yourself up, you ugly slut.” Then he left, locking the bolt on the outside of my room’s door.
I immediately pulled myself up against the wall at the head of the bed and wrapped my legs around my arms and began rocking. After crying for a few minutes, I went into the adjoining bathroom, threw off the dress, and turned on the shower while I sobbed. I made it as hot as possible and sat on the shower floor while it rained down on me, crying until it turned cold.
Once I was red and raw from the water, I stripped the bedsheets off and took the blanket from the top and wrapped myself in it. Then, I heard voices and howls outside the house. I went to the window and watched in abject horror as James, his uncle, his cousin, Mama April, and three of the other females stripped their clothes off and began to transform into giant beasts before my eyes. I had to blink several times while covering my hand with my mouth to keep from screaming. The monsters, who looked like wolves or coyotes, bounded off into the night, headed for the copse of trees behind the house.
With the blanket wrapped around me, I slid under the bed and closed my eyes, praying to God that he would send someone to rescue me from this nightmare. I curled up in a ball and fell asleep, hoping I would wake and find it was all just a dream.
Shaking myself from the memories of my months of captivity with the Lawsons, I put on a sexy grin for Viper and sauntered over to him, trying not to trip or fall in these high-heeled boots that would probably be the death of me.
Once I reached Viper, he pulled me flush against his hard body and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You better change those clothes or I’m going to handcuff you to my bed, shortstop.”
I giggled and replied, “No. I like these clothes.”
What sounded like a growl came from him and he licked my earlobe before pulling back. “You stay by my side all night. You understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, I understand. Just don’t make me change. I feel sexy in this stuff.”
“That’s the fuckin’ problem,” he muttered.
I reached up on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, “Honestly, you make me feel sexy. I don’t want any other guy but you.” It was the truth. Not Braden or any other man made me feel so empowered and racy as he did. It was like night and day from any other man I’d ever been with. The fact that I’d been assaulted and shamed by James and his family seemed like such a long time ago now. I had found a man who made me feel safe and sexy, not used and ashamed.
I could appreciate Viper trying to get me my own place—after all, that was all I’d wanted for months while being the Lawsons’ prisoner. But now, I wanted nothing more than to stay here with Viper and sleep in his bed for the rest of my life. The attraction was unreal and baffled me daily, but I didn’t question it. If soulmates were really a thing, I’d found mine. He was my lover, my protector. My person.
As if it were possible, he pulled me even tighter against him and I felt his rock-hard cock smashed against my stomach. “Good, because I’ll kill any motherfucker in here who so much as looks at you.”
Tryi
ng to catch my breath, I could only nod. I had never had a man be so possessive over me before. Was this a red flag? Would he turn into a controlling, abusive jerk later on? That was concerning.
“May I have a drink, daddy?” I asked, blinking up at him as innocently as I could, biting back a smile.
“Don’t sass me. And don’t call me that,” he snapped. “Yes, you can have a drink. One drink. I get the feeling you can’t handle your liquor very well.”
I stomped a heeled boot to the wooden floor of the club. “Excuse me? I can handle my liquor just fine, thank you very much.”
He chuckled and led me by the hand to the bar. He looked at Dash and said, “One specialty margarita, and one only.”
I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t like margaritas. They’re too sour, and—”
Viper put his fingers to my lips. “Shush. You’ll like this one.”
I wasn’t sure I liked him sitting here and telling me what I would and would not like. When Dash laid down a cocktail napkin and placed the drink in front of me, I smiled my thanks at him and then picked up the cold glass. Taking a cautious sip while not breaking eye contact with Viper, I was pleasantly surprised to taste sweet and not sour.
I set the glass down. “It’s not bad.” It was damn delicious, but I wasn’t ready to admit defeat yet.
“Well, enjoy it, it’s your last one of the night.”
“You’re too bossy,” I said, picking up the glass again.
He leaned down and whispered, “I need you awake later, not passed out drunk. I’m gonna fuck you so hard you will only be passing out from orgasms.”
I violently shuddered at his words, unable to control it or the wet heat flooding my panties. “Oh, my God,” I muttered.
Smiling in triumph, Viper gripped my hand and led me around the bar, talking to various people. If they didn’t look familiar to me from my time here, I had no idea if they were one of the monsters or not. I just stayed by Viper’s side.
“Boss, we got a problem.”
I looked up to see the vampire they called Face approaching us with a concerned look on his pretty face. The guy looked like a model, it was kind of eerie.
“What is it?” Viper asked.
Face glanced at me, concerned, then back to my man. “Uh, we should probably talk alone.”
I lifted my chin. “If this involves me, then I have a right to know.”
“It doesn’t,” Face deadpanned at me.
Geez.
“Just spit it out,” Viper said, seeming to lose his patience.
Face thrusted an iPad into Viper’s hands and said, “Look at that.”
I peered at the screen to see a news article about a group of tourists who’d been attacked near the French Quarter, their bodies found lying in an alley. Throats torn to shreds. They’d bled out and died.
Putting my hand over my mouth, I gasped, tears springing to my eyes. “That’s horrible. Those poor people.”
Both vampires glanced at me, Face looking more annoyed than Viper, and Face said, “Somebody or something needs to be put down before this gets out of control.”
“Agreed,” Viper replied and then glanced at his watch. “You and Phoenix go check out the crime scene. Oh, and take Venom, see if he can catch a scent.”
“I’m not a bloodhound.”
I turned around to see the big, bearded wolf standing behind me. I didn’t have much interaction with him because I knew he was a wolf, and the werewolves had left a bad taste in my mouth. Venom had tried being nice to me, but it was hard for me to trust, so he mostly just politely ignored me now.
“I know, for the hundredth time, but that nose of yours is pretty fuckin’ useful,” Viper said, tapping his own nose.
Venom looked like he was trying not to smile when he replied, “Yeah, yeah, we’re on it, boss.”
I watched the two vampires and one wolf walk out the front door of the Cobalt Room.
Viper looked down at me. “Wipe that scared look off your face. This shit happens a lot. We’ll take care of it. You wanna live in my world, this is the crap you have to deal with.”
Unaware I looked scared, I quickly changed my countenance to a scowl. “Screw you. I’m not scared. Not of you, or any monster.” I turned to walk away because he’d pissed me off and embarrassed me.
His cool, thick hand gripping my slim upper arm had me stopped in my tracks. He pulled me into a hug with his chin resting on top of my head as he blew out a dramatic breath. “I’m sorry, shortstop. I just get so angry when I see you frightened. I want nothing more in this world than to protect you. It takes every ounce of self-control to not lock you in my bedroom so you’re safe.”
I could appreciate the sentiment and over-protectiveness, but I also needed some space, too. “I can take care of myself,” I replied.
He stroked his fingers up and down my bare back, since this top was completely open and only tied at the neck and lower back. “It doesn’t matter how tough you think you are, you’re living in my world now, honey. A world full of violence, blood, and death.” He pulled back and stared down at me with those beautiful hazel eyes. “Can you handle my world?”
When his fangs pierced my neck, I screamed at the temporary sting and then sank into the deep sexual pleasure his bite brought me. I’d already had two orgasms, and the bed was soaked with fluids and blood, but I couldn’t get enough. It was like an addiction. Not of drugs like heroin, but of whatever he did to me when he bit me.
As his cock moved in and out of me, I dug my short nails into his back and scratched down its length. My legs ached from being spread open so wide to accommodate his size, but I didn’t care. I met his hips thrust for thrust, arching my back so my hard nipples rubbed against his chest as he leaned down to kiss me. I tasted my blood on his lips as he kissed me both hard and sensual, his tongue mingling with mine. He pulled out of my sore but soaked core and then flipped me over on my stomach. Then he thrust back in, slamming himself home. Picking up speed while gripping my hips, he continued at a punishing pace until the furling heat building in my lower belly exploded lower, the climax making me shudder violently and scream out his name.
“Fuck yes, baby. Come hard all over my cock.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear, making my otherworldly orgasm last even longer. I wanted to faint when I felt his dick stiffen hard inside me, right before he stilled and moaned.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmured in my ear when he collapsed on the bed and rolled over.
“God, I love you,” I whispered, looking up at him, our mouths centimeters apart.
Holy shit, what did I just say?
I felt his mouth turn up in a grin against mine. He leaned up on his elbow and gripped my face in his hands. He stared into my eyes before leaning down to pepper kisses all over my face. When he reached my lips, he indulged himself in a strong, slow kiss, our tongues lazily writhing together. When he rolled over on top of me and put himself inside me once more, and I felt his hips start moving, I realized he was getting hard once again, and I groaned into his mouth.
His hip thrusts started slow and lazy, and once he broke the kiss, his hands still on my face, he looked into my eyes and said, “I love you, too, shortstop. It’s crazy and insane, but you got me. It’s you. Forever.”
I didn’t think I could take any more, but it turned out I could. Two more orgasms rocketed through my body before Viper came a second time. I passed out wrapped in his strong arms, hoping nights like this were forever in my future.
Chapter 25
Murderous Intent
Muskegon, Michigan – 2003
After two years with the Serpents, I was feeling right at home. I’d quit the bartending gig and worked solely for the club.
“Order, order,” Cobra said, pounding the gavel. “The Great Lakes Killer is on the loose, and we’re gonna bring the asshole down. Fuck the cops and their efforts. We’re gonna get to him first and let nature take its course.”
Whoops and hollers from around the clu
bhouse sounded around me. I gave a weak clap to show my support, even though I wasn’t in favor of leaving the cops with open, unsolved cases. In the back of my mind, I told myself I’d be the one to give them closure.
“From our surveillance, we’ve determined his real name is Erik Morris. We know where he lives and what kind of routine he keeps. He works at the Ford plant during the day, naps after work, then stays up all night to fucking rape and kill women. Since he’s also a filthy werewolf and there’s a full moon, that ends tonight. We’re gonna catch him off guard when we know he will be too busy for rapin’ and killin’.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said. “Put me in, coach.” I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest with a smirk.
“Definitely,” Cobra said. He jutted his chin at Craig. “You and Shadow will be responsible for bringing him down. Take his fuckin’ head off.”
I grinned at my friend and he smirked back. What a fun night this was going to be.
What kind of sadistic motherfucker had I become?
“Adjourned,” Cobra said.
I watched the guy try to be discreet, and it was comical, really. Cops stuck out like a sore thumb.
He was watching the Great Lakes Killer as well. Just wasn’t sure if he was keeping eyes on a local wolf to be sure he didn’t go on a homicidal murdering spree during the full moon, or if he knew he was the GLK. It took everything I had to not walk over to his very obvious government sedan and tell him that we had it under control.
But, of course, I didn’t. I just ignored him and watched the burly bearded guy leave the biker bar and head toward his motorcycle.
“There he is,” Shadow said from beside me.
Straddling our bikes with the engines off, we hid in the shadows of a nearby building. I was fairly sure we’d reach the guy before that government cop did once the biker reached his home.
