by Luna James
“I beat you.”
“Yeah, you did. I wasn’t trying though.” I laughed and sat down across from him.
“Bullshit!” He tipped his beer back and chugged it. Then sat it down on the table. “So, we need to do something about the bracelet on Victoria. Got any ideas?”
“I have a few…” I said as I noticed a sound coming from upstairs. I put my pointer finger to my lips to shush Sebastian. “Someone is upstairs with Tori.” I whispered.
Sebastian and I listened closely. We heard her moaning. I looked over at Sebastian and a growl escaped my lips. My blood felt like it was boiling. Sebastian could see the anger in my eyes. He appeared to be just as mad.
“What the fuck?” Sebastian’s eyes turned red.
I jumped up. “She’s up there with fucking Lucien!” I threw the glass of blood in my hand across the kitchen and into the cabinets. “Fuck this shit! I’m out!” I turned and ran out the door.
I ran through the mountains till I got to our little cabin. Storming through the door, I went straight to the couch and sat. I placed my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. My emotions were all over the place. Tori and Lucien being intimate together burnt me up. I was falling in love with her and wanted to be her first sexual experience. All I could do was let my emotions out and cry. My heart felt torn in half.
****
Tori
My thirst eventually took over me, so I eased out of bed. I got dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and went downstairs. I was feeling so intoxicated from being with Lucien that I was practically skipping. It was dark throughout the house. I went into the kitchen and turned the light on.
Sebastian cleared his throat. “Good evening, Victoria.”
I jumped. “Shit!”
Sebastian was sitting at the kitchen table. He had a look of despair. “Sorry love.” He stood and took a glass over to the sink.
I got a glass out of the cabinet and then got some blood out of the refrigerator. As I waited for the blood to warm in the microwave, Sebastian just stood next to the counter staring at me. When I couldn’t take his prying eyes any longer, I asked, “What’s up with you?”
He sauntered over to me and got close. “Did you have fun?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Fun?”
“With Lucien…”
Shit! He heard us! “Yes, I did.”
A low growl came from within him. “It definitely sounded like it.” I watched as his eyes turned red and the veins under his eyes began to show.
“Why were you listening?” I asked, getting my glass of blood out of the microwave. I walked over to the table and sat down. Sebastian followed me, but he didn’t sit. He hovered beside me.
“It was hard not to,” he groaned.
His attitude about Lucien and I was starting to piss me off. I looked up at Sebastian and cut my eyes at him. “How about you mind your own damn business and leave mine alone!” I demanded.
“Fine,” he said, as he left my side and sat across from me.
“Where’s Damien?”
Sebastian sat back in the chair, placed his hands behind his head, and smirked. “Damien heard you and lover boy. It didn’t take him long to get the hell out of here. As for the hunter…we took care of him.”
Raising my glass to my lips, I inquired, “How did you take care of him?”
Sebastian smirked wickedly, “I slit his throat and drank every drop of blood from his body.”
The hunter being dead relieved me but upset me. Travis seemed to be a good guy. He wanted us dead, and that made me glad he was gone. Kill or be killed was my life now. I couldn’t let my emotions get in the way of that fact.
I took a drink of the blood. “I’m glad he is gone.” I thought about Damien running off. “Fuck! I’m sure Damien is pissed at me now.”
“Victoria, we both think highly of you and care deeply about you. The mere thought of you upstairs having sex with an enemy of ours upsets us,” he said, with a sincere look.
“I didn’t have sex with him.”
Sebastian leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “I know that, but Damien does not.”
“Where did he go?”
“I have no idea. He’ll be back later. You should probably talk with him when he returns,” he said, getting up from the table. He walked over to the fridge and got two beers out. “Would you like a beer Love?” he asked handing a beer to me.
“Sure…thanks.”
After I took the beer, he sat back down across from me. “We found some interesting things in the house where the hunter was.”
I opened the beer and took a long drink. “What kind of things?” I wondered.
“There were many wooden weapons; stakes, throwing stars, arrows. We also found objects that were spelled with magic.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
The mention of magical objects reminded me of my restricted abilities. “What are we going to do about this?” I twisted the bracelet around my wrist.
Sebastian stretched an arm across the table and took my hand into his. He ran his thumb across the stone. “I don’t know what to do, but we will get this off.”
I pulled my hand free from him. “I sure hope so,” I muttered.
“I found his phone on his body. There wasn’t a lock on it, so I read through his text messages and looked at his pictures. He had numerous pictures of Damien, you, and me.”
“That’s creepy. What did the messages say?” I asked.
“He’s been talking with other hunters and with someone who I think is a witch.” Sebastian leaned forward in his chair and looked me in the eyes. “They know you have telekinetic abilities and targeted you. That’s why he was here. And Victoria, more are coming!”
That was not news I wanted to hear. “Fuck!” I hissed. I did not want to fight with any more hunters, and I definitely didn’t want to go up against any witches. I’ve never personally met a witch, but I’ve read enough books and watched enough shows to know that you shouldn’t fuck with them.
“It’s not going to be good.” Sebastian got up and walked towards the patio doors. “It’s a beautiful night out. Would you like to join me at the bar to have a few shots and smoke a joint?”
“Sure.” I got up from the table, finished off my glass of blood, and went out to the bar.
Sebastian and I sat on the patio lounge chair with a bottle of tequila and a fat joint. He told me about the magical objects that they found. Some objects made loud screeching sounds, some were grenades that would explode with tiny pieces of wood, and the other ones he wasn’t sure what they did. It relieved me to find out they buried them deep in the ground out in the woods.
“Sebastian, I am powerful, but I can’t fight a witch now,” I said, as I passed him the joint.
“You can’t,” he replied with a certainty. “Even with your ability, you couldn’t. No one can.”
“What are we going to do?”
Sebastian took a hit off the joint and then passed it back to me. “I have no idea. I might have to call in a favor to a witch I know.”
“I’m already one step ahead of you brother,” Damien said from the door to the patio. “I called Jasmine. She’s on her way here.”
“Excellent!” Sebastian smiled.
Damien walked over to the bar and grabbed a beer out of the mini fridge. Then he walked over to where we sat making sure to not make eye contact with me on the way. Damien sat on the lounge chair beside Sebastian. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t know if now was the time.
“It’s not!” Damien responded to my thoughts.
“Why not?” I asked, looking over at him. “We need to get this over with so it doesn’t feel like there is a big elephant in the room.”
“You really want to do this right now? You’re not going to like what I have to say!”
“Yes, I want to do this now. Please.” I pleaded. I needed to patch things up with him. I cared for Damien, and it bothered me that he was mad at me.
&nb
sp; Damien turned on the lounge chair so that he was sitting facing me. The look in his eyes was pure disgust. “How do you think it makes me feel to know that you were upstairs in bed with that damn mutt?” he snarled.
“Simmer down, damn it! First of all, Lucien is not a mutt! Secondly, what I do with my body is none of your business!” I stood and walked over to Damien. “I am sorry if I upset you. I really am. Lucien found me in my room crying, and he comforted me. One thing led to another, and we ended up…well, you know. I’m sure you’ve done read my mind.”
Damien stood and got close to me. “I have read your mind. I don’t fuckin like what I’ve found out!”
I took a deep breath to control my emotions. “Why? What’s wrong with me being with Lucien?” I questioned angrily.
Damien inched closer to me. “He’s a damn werewolf, Tori! One bite…that’s all it takes to kill you,” he growled.
“Are you sure this ain’t about something more than that? Like jealousy?”
Damien leaned his head down to where breath touched my skin when he talked. “Think what the fuck you want, Tori! Just know that I care deeply for you, and I do not wish to see you get hurt.”
“He won’t hurt me,” I whispered. Damien being this close to me was having an effect on me. I cared for Damien as well; I cared more than I wanted to admit.
“Well hello boys,” a woman said from behind me.
I turned to find a beautiful woman standing by the pool behind us. She had long, straight black hair and piercing green eyes. She stood with her hands on her hips. She was a curvy woman with long legs.
“Well, hello Rayne. Long time, no see.” Sebastian got up and walked over to the woman, hugged her, and placed a kiss on her cheek.
“It sure has been a long time. How have you been?” Rayne asked, looking at Sebastian lovingly.
Sebastian smiled. “I’ve been doing good. Come…I’d like you to meet someone dear to Damien and me,” he said, gesturing towards me.
As I watched her saunter over to me, my gut was telling me she was dangerous. I turned to look at Damien who was standing behind me, but he had moved back to his lounge chair and sat down. He was kicked back smoking a joint. How can he be so relaxed after what we were just talking about?
“Rayne, I’d like you to meet Victoria,” Sebastian introduced.
Rayne held her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Victoria. I’m Rayne.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” I said, as I took her hand and shook it. I got a feeling of pure evil when our hands touched.
She released my hand and sat down on the end of Damien’s lounge chair. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Damien told me you are telekinetic,” she said.
I looked at Damien and then back to Rayne. “Yes, I am.”
“Can you show me?” Rayne asked smiling.
I glanced down at my wrist. “I can’t right now. The hunter put this on me,” I replied, as I held my arm out for her to see the bracelet.
Rayne examined the bracelet. She cleared her throat. “I think Jasmine could help you. We can ask her when she arrives,” she informed me.
“When did Jasmine say she’d be here?” Sebastian inquired from behind me. He had settled back down on the lounge chair.
“Tomorrow,” Damien replied. “She is traveling here from California,” he added.
Lucien cleared his throat. I turned to see him standing in the doorway of the house wearing only his blue jeans. Damn! He rubbed his eyes and walked toward us.
Rayne sprang up in a flash and hissed. “What’s a werewolf doing here?”
Chapter 19
Tori
Damien rushed over to stand in front of Rayne. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “He’s a friend of Tori. It’s okay, Rayne, he won’t do anything.” Damien assured her.
Lucien was growling at Rayne. I went to him and stood in front of him. “Shhh, …she’s just surprised to see you.” Lucien glanced down at me and sighed.
Laughing, Sebastian stretched. “Well this is entertaining,” he smirked.
“Oh, shut the hell up!” I insisted over my shoulder.
“Let’s go in the house,” Damien said to Rayne.
She nodded. They walked by us and Lucien growled at Rayne as she walked by. “Fuck off dog!”
“Fuck you bloodsucker,” Lucien retorted.
Damien and Rayne disappeared into the house. I let out a deep sigh. I thought for sure that Rayne and Lucien were going to fight.
“I’m going to go, Tori. There are too many vampyres here,” Lucien informed me.
I completely understood. To Lucien, vampyres are his enemies. His first instinct is to attack. “Okay, Hun.” I hugged Lucien. “Please holler at me soon.”
“Oh…I will Beautiful.” Lucien kissed my forehead and then he left.
I joined Sebastian on the lounge chair after Lucien left. He handed me the tequila bottle when I was settled into the chair. I took it and turned it up chugging what was left in the bottle.
“Damn!” Sebastian laughed.
“We need more…lots more.” I stood and walked over to the bar to retrieve another bottle of tequila. I found a full bottle of Patron on the shelf under the bar. When I returned to my chair next to Sebastian, I handed him the bottle.
“So…who is this Rayne chick anyways?” I asked annoyed.
Sebastian took a drink straight out of the bottle and then handed it to me. Then he put his hands behind his head and smirked. “She’s a blast from Damien’s past. They met back in the late 1800s at a bed and breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina. She worked as a maid there.”
“What else do you know about her?”
“Damien turned her,” he said simply.
Finding out Damien turned Rayne bothered me. I had no right to be jealous of her, but I was. She has part of Damien flowing through her. Why couldn’t Damien have been the one who turned me?
“Wow!” I took a drink of tequila. “Is that all you know about her?”
“That’s it. If you want to know more, you should ask Damien.”
“Should I be afraid of her? I got a bad vibe from her when I shook her hand.” I inquired.
Sebastian looked over at me with a serious look on his face. “Honestly, yes. You should be afraid. She is vicious.”
“I thought you didn’t know anything else about her?”
“I just know stories Damien has told me.”
“Well shit!”
Damien came out of the house. He strolled over to us and stood at the end of my lounge chair. “Can we talk for a minute?” he asked me.
“Sure,” I answered.
Damien reached out for my hand. I took his hand and got up. He guided me over to the firepit. I sat beside him. Damien had a pained look on his face. I knew it had to be because of Rayne.
“So…what do you want to talk about?” I asked looking over at him.
“I heard you and Sebastian talking, so I figured I would come out here and tell you about her.”
I looked toward the patio doors. “Where is she?”
“She’s in the shower.”
I rolled my eyes. The thought of Rayne naked in Damien’s shower pissed me off. “Okay…talk then.”
Damien sat back. His fists were clenched. “As you heard, I met Rayne in the late 1800s in Charleston. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on. She was smart, compassionate, and fun to be around. We started seeing each other not long after I started staying at the B&B. It didn’t take her long to figure out that I was different. Questions started being asked by her that I couldn’t answer. If I had answered them honestly, she would’ve known what I am. However, she ended up finding out all on her own.” Damien ran his hands through his hair.
“How did she find out?”
“She walked in on me feeding on someone,” he muttered. “I had forgotten that she was coming by to see me. After she caught me, I told her everything. Surprisingly, she was okay with me being a vampyre. I couldn’t have been happi
er because I didn’t have to hide what I was around her.”
“Why do I have a feeling this story is about to change?”
“Because it is,” he smirked. “Rayne wanted me to turn her so that we could be together forever. So, I did. After she was a vampyre, she was different. Rayne was no longer the compassionate, sweet woman I fell in love with. She became cruel, and let the bloodlust get the best of her.”
“What happened then?”
“I continued to date her for a few months. I even tried giving into the bloodlust and going wild with her. That wasn’t me though, so I ended it. She wasn’t happy; however, we ended things on good terms.”
“So, why is she here?” I asked.
Damien looked toward the house and then back at me. “Not long after I left earlier she called me and told me she was in Black Rock. I don’t know why she is here, but she could be useful. With everything going on with the hunters, she could help us fight them.”
I touched the bracelet on my wrist. “We wouldn’t need any damn body if Travis hadn’t put this on me! I am powerful enough to take on anyone.”
Damien nodded. “I agree Tori, but until we get that off, we need all the help we can get.”
“Sebastian said I should be afraid of her. Is that true?” I didn’t like the thought of having to fight someone without my powers. I have fought plenty of girls back in high school, but that was when I was human.
“I won’t let her bother you, Tori.”
I rolled my eyes. “That didn’t answer my question Damien.”
“Yes…you should be afraid. She’s older than you and very jealous. We may have broken up, but she still cares deeply for me. If she suspects that I care for you, no telling what she might do,” he informed me with a pained look on his face.
I stood and faced Damien. “That’s just fuckin great! What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“I told you…I won’t let her hurt you,” Damien said, as he stood. “As far as she knows, we are just friends. She knows Sebastian turned you and you are interested in Lucien. That’s all she needs to know.”
“Is she going to be staying here?” I asked. There was no way in hell I was going to stay here with them if she was.
