Gypsy Freak

by Cunning, Kristy

“He’s okay. He made us clean you up. We thought they slit your throat, but it was just a red mark when we found you. One of the glass balls in your bra blew up a bunch of mirrors downstairs when we were playing with it. Can you tell Damien it was you? He won’t be mad at you,” Ingrid says in her very quiet, hushed tone.

  “Where is he?”

  “He left. Arion’s top vampire is here, and she’s—”

  “Shera?” I ask on a grimace, remembering what I did to her just recently.

  She nods. “All the others are hiding like I do right now. She’s terrifying.”

  “Yes,” I agree as I sit up, wincing when my throat burns, “she really is.”

  Considering my luck with wolf betas, I decide not to hang out with the vampire beta I’ve actually pissed off. I never did anything to the two betas who grabbed me, or the third who came out of nowhere and battered me over the head.

  I’m not even sure who slit my throat.

  Those betas were wolves. At least one of them was. And all the people in that barn were…wolves too…I think.

  It’s a bunch of incoherent snippets and flashes of memory after the latest throat-slitting incident.

  My hands comes up to my throat, feeling the skin completely sealed and the lacing absent. How much did Emit see? Thank fuck he stayed out of sight.

  “Where are you going?” she asks when I wobble to my feet, still exhausted from my panic attack—as I like to call it when I break out and turn into a lethal, crazed, unstoppable monster.

  “To find Emit,” I say when my shaky legs threaten to give out.

  “He’s dealing with the…mess he made,” Leiza says as she comes through the window, startling me. “Shera is downstairs!” she adds on a hiss, a little growl lingering in the back of her throat.

  The mess he made?

  I don’t say anything as I try to recall what happened after the mess I made.

  My hands shake a little as I go to look out the window at the long drop.

  “I can make a rope with sheets,” Ingrid suggests.

  The telltale whirring of threads finds the air as the drapes begin unraveling.

  “Or you could do it that way,” Leiza says with a shrug as the threads start wrapping around my waist and then tie off to the massive bed post.

  I turn and climb out the window, as Leiza leaps out over my head.

  I’m a little envious of how she simply lands in a crouch. But running and quick escapes are the only tricks in her wheelhouse.

  “I thought you were dead for sure,” Leiza adds, as I fumble my way down the side of the house.

  I lose my footing at one point, and I spin into the side of the house, groaning when my forehead slams into the wall. My life sucks so hard sometimes.

  Leiza hisses out a sympathetic sound, as though she’s cringing in pain with me.

  I try to drop the rest of the way, but two feet short, the threading runs out of length, and I’m jolted around as it cuts into me. I slam into the wall again, bouncing off it painfully hard this time. Before I can be swung back into it, I let the threading unravel, and I roll my ankle when I land, which sends me crashing to the ground with another long groan.

  “No wonder you survived. You probably test your survival skills with every move you make,” Leiza says so seriously, somehow making that very insulting sentence sound endearingly genuine.

  I don’t know whether to glare at her or thank her, so I opt to ignore her and circle back to it when I’m not suffering a possible concussion—or two.

  “Do you know where they’re meeting?” I ask her as I push to my feet and stagger my way toward the nearest vehicle that she’ll have to drive. “I really need to talk to Emit.”

  And offer him all I have in the world for the promise of keeping a secret before he tells the other three.

  “I know where they’re meeting,” comes a voice that startles both of us, and our gazes swing to our rights to see Shera perched against her car.

  “Is your nose broken or something?” I ask Leiza on an annoyed sigh as Shera smirks at us. “Aren’t vampires supposed to offend your senses or something?”

  “I’m omega,” she reminds me flatly. “My nose works better in closed spaces.”

  “You could have just told me you needed to go somewhere. I’m here to protect. Not to confine,” Shera says too helpfully, making me suspicious. “All I want to know is how a Portocale gypsy freak put me on my ass with an electrified hand.”

  Leiza steps in front of me, eyes on me like she wants the answer to that too.

  “I attached a cable I had hidden in my boot,” I lie easily.

  Shera doesn’t look convinced, and I decide to risk driving with a concussion as I bypass her.

  “You don’t know where you’re going,” she reminds me to my back.

  “I’ll call Damien or something,” I grumble, lifting my hand to my aching head.

  She’s in front of me in the next instant, and she rolls her eyes. “Get in my car. Don’t make me carry you. We’ll both look ridiculous and we won’t feel pretty for the rest of the day.”

  That’s not the first time she’s told me that. I give her an incredulous look, and she huffs as she bends quickly.

  In the next instant, I’m bridal style in her arms, awkwardly throwing my arms around her shoulders so, as she carries me to the car door that swings open on its own.

  She drops me to the seat, and the door slams and locks, sealing me in as she shudders in the seat next to me, all of it happening so fast I somehow missed her getting in.

  “Told you,” she says with another shudder. “I always feel less feminine when I have to be that strong.”

  I have no idea what to say, so I just buckle up and look over at Leiza’s wide eyes, since she’s too scared to join us. She gives me a timid little farewell wave.

  “Excellent wolves they make,” Shera says with sharp sarcasm as she cranks the car and slings us around without ever touching the steering wheel.

  Both of my hands clutch whatever I can as the car zips down the driveway and fishtails out onto the road, cutting off another car that blares its horn.

  Shera is putting on lip gloss as the steering wheel guides itself.

  “Can you at least watch the road while doing…that?!” I shout, really regretting that shock therapy treatment toward her now.

  “What is it about you that just keeps bringing about unusual attacks? No one has touched anyone under House protection in ages. Then you’re here and boom. Ian must want to start a war. It may happen if Emit defends him the way he usually does.”

  The car takes a sharp turn, and I suck in a painful breath as she moves on to pushing up her bra like that’s more important than driving the car with two hands instead of whatever it is she’s doing.

  “You look like death, by the way,” she says while looking directly at me, as the car takes yet another sharp curve.

  My eyes screw shut, and I silently pray for this car ride to be over.

  It takes a while before my prayers get answered, but an eternity later, the car skids to a halt, and my door creaks like it’s opening, seconds before cool air wafts in.

  I crack an eye open and peer around with it, seeing us at the edge of the woods.

  “Is this where you try to kill me?”

  She snorts. “Arion would waste me without a thought. I consider us even for the shock. Next time, fight me like a girl.”

  “You’re a vampire.”

  She narrows her eyes. “I’m still a girl.”

  “Get some fabric around us, and I’ll fight you like a girl.”

  Her lips twitch. “Careful. Wolves galore are down there right now. We may have just beaten Damien and Vance here. You should start walking before they get here.”

  I give her a dubious look.

  “No questions?”

  She shakes her head. “I live long and prosper because I’m not a very curious girl. And sometimes I just don’t give a shit. Arion will smell you once you step out of this car, s
o step away so I can drive fast and be sure to tell him you were coming with or without me,” she chirps as I step out, feeling the biting-cold slice of wind as it tosses my hair around.

  I hop to the side when the door slams, and Shera speeds off to go do whatever it is Shera does after leaving me—

  A wiggling bush sends me darting off into the woods, unsure which direction I’m even supposed to be going.

  Two growls startle me, and I whirl around, spotting a pair of glowing amber eyes.

  I take a wary step back. “Are you really going to try to kill me right now?” I ask on a shaky breath.

  The growl quickly ends, and a man shifts in front of me. It’s a slow shift, and he’s thinner than most male wolves.

  “You really shouldn’t be here right now,” he says quietly as he stands up, really naked. “Go. Wolves are meet—”

  Seeing as he’s not a murderous fella just yet, I interrupt with, “I have to find Emit. He’s—”

  “Emit Morrigan?” he asks me incredulously.

  At my nod, he shakes his head.

  “They’ll never let someone who smells like vampire near the alpha.”

  “I’m supposed to have his protection. I’m Violet Car—”

  A whisper of wind is all the warning I get before I feel the familiar presence at my back. A possessive, firm hand comes around my waist in the next instant.

  The man in front of me drops to the ground with a whimper that is so sad it hurts my chest.

  “Arion, I really need to see Emit,” I say on a quiet, hopeful breath, shutting my eyes as he leans over to sniff my skin.

  “Why does it smell like you’ve lost a lot of blood if there was barely a scratch on you?” he asks instead of answering.

  Barely a scratch on me? That means Emit hasn’t said anything yet.

  “Why are you so cold?” he goes on, bringing my hands up to his mouth as he steps in front of me.

  The guy on the ground remains in fetal position, but I can only see a portion of him now.

  “Are you doing something to him?” I ask instead.

  “I’m too close. He’s too young to be in such close proximity to an alpha vampire. It’s terrifying his crippling instincts,” Arion says with a casual shrug. “Now answer me. Why are—”

  I tug at his hand, but he lifts me, walking in the wrong direction…or maybe it’s the right direction.

  “Sorry,” I say to the guy over Arion’s shoulder, even as he continues to tremble.

  “You were attacked by wolves tonight,” Arion grinds out.

  “Not that wolf,” I say distractedly when I see a candle light somewhere ahead.

  “Let me see your neck,” he tells me just before he puts me down.

  My head is tilted back before I can argue, and his finger runs over the mark as his brow furrows. “I thought there was a scratch here.”

  “Healing potions,” I state without missing a beat.

  “Works that well on mortal skin?” he asks.

  “I have to find Emit,” I say again. “I need to see that he’s alright and tell him something important.”

  “I’m afraid this is as close as we get, love,” he says, easily holding me to him as I struggle in vain.

  “The hell is she doing here?” I hear Damien snap. “She was in bed when I left.”

  Arion releases me when Damien glares at him, but before I can even attempt to go find Emit, Damien becomes the new man holding me still.

  Several bursts of fire all explode in unison, and Vance narrows his eyes on us as he approaches.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he tells Arion, and then gestures to me. “And she really shouldn’t be here.”

  “I didn’t bring her here,” Arion tells him, eyes cold and assessing. “And I’m sticking around to see what happens to Ian. Try to stop me, Van Helsing. Let’s see how it goes this time around.”

  The trees out here are so thick, despite the cold, that the slight canopy they provide the forest has blocked a large portion of the snowfall. Still, the few inches of it are burning against my bare feet.

  It’s now that I realize I’m just wearing one of Damien’s shirts that hits me mid-thigh, and nothing else at all. That means the blood flow has finally restarted and I’m feeling more and more.

  Awesome timing.

  I just need to get to Emit, convince him not to tell anyone else about me, and then prove to him I’m not a real threat. Maybe he’ll be understanding, and then it’ll all be worth it.

  A sinking sensation fills in my chest as the impossible task becomes all the more impossible when I hear it play out in my mind.

  Movement to the right draws my attention and brings me out of my tragic reverie. Three men are dragging a gagged Ian toward a very familiar barn that becomes visible when more fires light all around the clearing just below.

  Arion moves closer, putting his jacket over me, and Damien’s grip tightens on me as I move to stand on top of his shoes, hissing out a breath of pain when the cold starts to finally sting my feet.

  “Do not do anything stupid,” Vance says threateningly to Arion, as he moves his body to cut off his view from Ian.

  Arion’s dark grin spreads. “Careful, Van Helsing. Tonight’s not the night to push me more than I’ve already been pushed.”

  Damien removes his longer coat that looks refined and elegant, but feels like a small oven when he puts it on me and takes Arion’s jacket for himself.

  I don’t argue. The trade is much better, since my legs get a lot of wind blockage.

  Vance glares at Arion, and I get worried they’re about to fight, but that’s when the wolves start pacing restlessly, both in fur and in flesh.

  “Calm your fucking selves. You’re stirring them,” Damien says quietly.

  “That’s not because of us,” Vance says, eyebrows furrowing as the salt around the barn starts flitting away in the wind, and all three of them sniff the air.

  No one says anything as those barn doors push open, two wolves using their heads to do so.

  “He’s going to say he killed enough and spared Ian if he’s bringing us here to see that,” Arion states with a very chilling tone.

  But I lose interest in their words when I have to lock my knees in place to stay upright, my eyes glued to the gory scene ahead of me.

  “Would you kill Shera or Isiah?” Damien asks.

  “For this level of betrayal? Yes, I would. And I wouldn’t hesitate,” Arion grinds out somewhere over my head as I continue to gape at all the blood and death caused by me.

  The wolves below all whimper and whine, and my stomach twists as tears fill up in my eyes.

  Emit’s going to tell them. He’s going to tell them all I’m a monster. They’ll all hunt me after that.

  “Fucking hell, he really did rip them to shreds,” Damien says under his breath when more light is shed, illuminating the barn in full.

  The front row take a big step back from the entrance up ahead.

  I turn quickly, burying my face in Damien’s chest, but he makes no move to hug me or shield me in any way.

  “It isn’t enough. Ian orchestrated this. You know it, and I know it. He’s likely been itching to pull the trigger since before I even rose,” Arion snaps.

  “If he says it’s enough, you’ll have no choice but to walk away. Just as they had to do when he said it was enough punishment for you,” Vance is arguing, even as he pulls me out of Damien’s arms, and drags me against his chest in an unusual show of affection.

  Not allowing myself to fall into that trap again—the one where I think we’re friends—I turn back just as everything below us grows into a hushed silence.

  My eyes dart over as naked Emit steps out of the barn, and behind him he drags two bodies too intact for me to have killed. He drops them as everyone remains silent.

  “Things are about to change,” Emit says coldly.

  “Those are the wolves I found for him. He found Ian before I could,” Vance says very quietly.

  “I
t’s still not eno—”

  Arion’s words cut off when Emit looks over at Ian. “Shift,” he bites out.

  He gestures to two men just as Ian starts shaking, like he’s been somehow forced to comply with the order. They quickly cut away the bindings on his hands and feet, as his clothes begin shredding with the change.

  The gag on his mouth snaps when his snout grows. Emit drops to the ground, fur bursting forth as he shifts like it’s as easy as pulling off a shirt. Normally, I’d be a little more awed. Right now, I feel like an angsty teenager.

  It takes Ian longer, and it sounds more painful as he cries out in an animalistic tone.

  The peanut gallery around me has stopped giving any commentary, so I have no idea what is going on.

  “It’s been a while since there was a demonstration for these overly aggressive pups,” another man says from the ground far below, naked and casually lounging next to several other men, none of whom look old, but I’m not sure who’s what age around here.

  “This looks like a good un’,” another says around a yawn. “That’s what they get for trying to put him under. Ian won’t make that mistake again now. Still, this is the maddest I’ve seen Alpha since the dark days.”

  “An ass kicking to put the pups in line isn’t enough either,” Arion says before disappearing, talking over whatever the other man says in return.

  I was already straining to hear, since they’re so far below.

  Vance curses, looking around as he runs a frustrated hand through his hair and holds me tighter to him.

  I sink against his chest as a tear rolls down my cheek, the suspense killing me.

  What if Ian saw me?

  My eyes thoroughly assess as much as I can see of the scene ahead. Emit’s wolf is huge in comparison to Ian’s, and Ian’s wolf is much bigger than the fox-size wolves most of the omegas I know turn into.

  “You okay?” Vance asks me as he cups the back of my head.

  “No, she’s not okay, and she really shouldn’t be here,” Damien says in an annoyed tone.

  “Why? Because you’re siding with Arion on this and you want to kill every wolf in attendance?” Vance asks in such a muted tone that I barely hear it.

  My eyes swing toward Damien, who just glares at Vance before looking away without answering.