I also saw a spark of fierce determination. The shifter in front of me gave off the aura of a ferocious beast that’d stop at nothing to protect his family, and the look in his eyes told me that he had before. I sure was glad he was on my side.
“You’ve been bitten,” Mr. Buchanan said instead of answering Mike’s question. He locked eyes with Kimberly. I saw her shiver and instantly sympathized with her. He had that effect on me, too.
“H-how d-did you know, Mr. Buchanan?” Kimberly stuttered out.
“Call me Everett,” he stated in a voice that left no room for argument. “And I can see the scar.”
All three of us turned to stare at Kimberly’s neck. Maybe the old man was seeing things, because there was nothing there.
“You’re not going to be able to see it. It’s not visible to humans and your shifter vision hasn’t adapted yet. You two are too young,” Everett explained.
“Shifter vision?” Nick asked warily, as if he didn’t quite believe Mike’s grandfather just yet.
“Well, you’re wolves, right? Animals adapt to being able to see at night. Your senses get hypersensitive. You’ll have stronger hearing. Sharper taste buds. Be able to see things at night as if it were almost daylight. And you’ll be able to sniff out something miles away. They just haven’t evolved yet.”
“How did you know we’re part of that group?” Mike asked.
Everett let out a chuckle. “Exi. I sensed you were in danger the other night when you were attacked.” He held up his hands to quiet us down the minute we opened our mouths at his pronouncement. “A shifter knows when their family is in danger. Had something happened to Mike, something grave, I would have felt it. But since I could feel his energy getting stronger, I knew he was close.”
“You can feel other shifters that are close by?” I asked.
“Since he is my grandson, absolutely. But not you,” Everett answered and pointed at Nick. “Your scent isn’t as strong, which means we are distantly related. As much as I’d love to have a family reunion, we don’t have time to discuss our tree. That’ll have to happen later. As for you,” he said and pointed at Kimberly this time. “I could smell you instantly.”
“I had a shower this morning,” Kimberly gulped and looked as if he’d insulted her.
Everett let out a smile and I will admit, I checked for fangs. I was disappointed there weren’t any. He said, “No, that’s not what I’m referring to, my dear. Since you are a healer, your blood has its own distinct scent. Someone with advanced abilities such as other shifters, or vampires, can pick up on it.”
“Why didn’t those freaks say anything about her when they were holding us hostage?” Nick asked. He was obviously unnerved at the fact that our friend was so vulnerable.
“I don’t know. Maybe they would have, but then again, they were interrupted, weren’t they?” he asked perceptively as he stared at Nick.
“I shifted for the first time,” Nick answered as he locked his eyes with Everett’s.
Everett nodded and then turned his intense stare back to me. “And you’ve had visions, yes?”
“A few,” I hedged.
Mike snorted at my answer. “A few, my ass! You could see what the vamps were plotting, as well as when Kimberly was a human juice box a few years ago. Not to mention you could describe this place perfectly and knew what the cover of the book looked like. So don’t say a few.”
“So one who sees what others cannot see,” he said and pointed to me. “One who heals what cannot be healed,” he continued as he pointed a finger at Kimberly. “And two who will protect the seer and healer,” he said and gestured toward Nick and Mike.
“Holy shit,” Mike whispered. “How do you know all of this?”
“My dear grandson, you do not get to be my age without having to go through a few things first. But we are not talking about my ghosts and burdens. We are talking about what will soon be yours. And I believe that you will be needing this,” he said evasively as he walked over to a bookshelf.
We stood there in stunned silence as he pulled a book off the shelf. I watched as he stared down at the dark cover and sighed deeply. It was almost a painful sigh. A sigh that told us he was full of dread.
He walked over to us and wordlessly reached out and handed the book to Mike with a solemn look in his eyes. I looked down and saw the book that had invaded my dreams.
“This book is extremely important. Not only will it answer the questions that I cannot, but it will also help you with this war that has now begun. Do not let it out of your sight or allow it to fall into the wrong hands. As much as it pains me, this is your fight and not mine. I will help you as much as I can because you are my grandson, but as the prophecy states, it must be you four plus your two guides who defeat our enemy.”
Well, fuck, that sounded ominous. And the look in his unsettling eyes us told us he was not kidding.
“The more you four stick together, the faster your abilities will grow. Use them wisely and only when needed. The more you use them, the easier it’ll be for the vampires to pick up your scent. But you guys have stayed here long enough. You need to keep moving.”
“How will we find the other two?” Michael asked.
“You will be as drawn to them as they will be to you,” Everett answered him.
“What about you guys? Won’t you and Grandma be in danger since we were here? What about our families?” Mike asked desperately.
“They will be fine. It’s your own lives you must be concerned about. Here, take this,” he said, then walked over to the desk and opened a drawer. We all watched with our jaws unhinged as he handed Mike a thick wad of money. “Do not argue with me about it. You will need it. And trust in her instincts,” Everett said as he pointed at me. I gulped. “She will guide you where you need to go and to the people who will help you.”
There was nothing left to say as we hugged Everett goodbye and thanked him for his help. Kimberly and I fought back tears as Mike and his grandfather embraced for a long period of time. But considering the journey we were about to embark on, who knew if that’d be the last time they saw each other. As they were hugging, a woman who obviously was Mike’s grandmother joined them and threw her arms around him, too.
Everett broke away from the other two and walked over to where Nick stood. He stared down at my friend and held Nick’s gaze. “You have the ability to be a great alpha. My grandson will trust your guidance. Do not let him down.”
“I won’t, sir. I will do everything in my power to keep them safe.”
“I’m counting on it,” Everett said before he turned and walked away.
Nick let out the breath I didn’t realize he’d been holding. Mike finished up the goodbyes with his family, and then we all made our way back to our car.
“Well, Seer, where to?”
I honestly had no idea. All I did know was that no matter which direction I chose, I felt like I was leading my friends and myself to our own slaughter.
Chapter 11
“I think we need to find a hotel for the night,” I finally answered.
Nick snapped his head in my direction, briefly taking his eyes off the road. “We still have loads of daylight left. We can still drive for at least three or four more hours.”
I shrugged. “Okay,” I said. I wasn’t in any mood to argue with him.
“Why do you want to go to a hotel?” Mike asked from the back seat.
I shrugged again. “I just think we should.”
“Did you have another vision?” Kimmie asked tentatively.
I stared out the window. Any other time I would have eaten up the imagery that passed by the windows in a blur. I’d never been to Maine before and knew it’d be a long time before I ever made it there again—or even at all. But I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t tell you one single detail about what flashed by my car window. Instead, my vision was clouded with doubt. I was blinded with resentment. And I was sightless with fear.
Why us? I felt the dark cloud of d
epression settle over me like a weighted blanket as that question echoed through my mind. Why us? Why did we have to bear such an enormous burden? What did we do that made us the “chosen ones”? Why were we the ones who got picked, out of billions of people in the world, to be part of some group who were supposed to save the world from bloodsucking vampires? Why the fuck was it us?
Why did my friends have to bear the weight of being protectors? Why did they have to turn into ferocious beasts that maimed anyone who dared to threaten us? Why did they have to walk the earth with the birthright to protect a person with the special ability to heal? What made them so special that they were forced to carry that weight?
Why did Kimberly have to be a healer? Why was she the one who had the special blood that ran through her veins and attracted vampires? Why did her scent have to intoxicate the bloodsuckers to the point that it put her life in danger? Why did she have the burden of being able to shoot light out of her hand and heal those who balanced on the line of life and death?
And what about me? How come I had to see things I didn’t want to see? Why was I forced to get damn near debilitating headaches and be privy to images that no one else saw? Why was I forced with the task of relaying the dreadful news to my friends so we could continue on this paranormal war? Why did I have to be the one who had to lead my friends and myself to our possible deaths?
Why? Why us? Why now? So many fucking questions ran through my mind and I had zero answers for them. It was so frustrating and depressing all at the same time. Those gifts—or curses, really—were not some honor that was bestowed upon us like we were some true warriors. No, they were sprung upon us like a bad case of food poisoning. No, thanks. I didn’t want a fucking thing to do with it. I wanted a fucking refund in the bloodline department.
“Court?” Nick asked as he jolted me out of my depressing thoughts. “Did you have another vision?”
I shook my head. “Nope, no visions. I just felt we needed to stay in town for the night.”
“Any particular reason why?” Kimmie asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Is this how it’s going to be from now on? For fuck’s sake, guys. Just because I say something, it doesn’t mean it’s because I had a feeling or a vision. So please, for the love of all that’s holy, don’t assume that every word that comes out of my mouth has to do with some psychic bullshit,” I snapped.
“Well, how in the hell are we supposed to know when you have a vision or not? You’ve kept them from us already. Excuse us for questioning things when my grandpa said you’re the one we’re supposed to listen to!” Mike snarled from the back seat.
“What did I keep from you, exactly?” I hissed as I turned in my seat to face him.
“How about the fact that you’ve seen my grandparents’ house? Or the book? Or, fuck, I don’t know, when Kimberly was bitten!” Mike yelled back.
“How in the fuck was I supposed to know they were visions?” I bellowed. “I thought they were just some crazy-ass dreams!”
“Sure you did.” Mike’s voice dripped in sarcasm.
“Believe what you want, Michael. I didn’t fucking ask for this crazy-ass shit. I would much rather be at home, doing my boring-ass mundane job, and watching stupid shit on television.” I turned back in my seat to resume staring out the window.
“And you think I did? Or that any of us did? Whether you like it or not, this is our lives now. So you need to suck it up and deal with it. This isn’t some game we are playing. Our fucking lives are at stake,” Mike said vehemently.
“Don’t you fucking think I know that? And speaking of keeping things from people, it’s pretty shady how you kept your shifting from us—your supposed best friends!” I reminded him as I whipped back around in my seat to glower at Michael.
“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Nick boomed from the seat beside me.
Mike and I both stopped talking and turned our heated glares to Nick. Never had I heard such anger from Nick directed toward us. Had I not known it was strictly due to our arguing, I would have been absolutely terrified.
“Stop your fucking fighting right now! I swear to God, if I hear one more word in anger from any of you for the duration of the night, I will bite your fucking head off!”
Nobody said a word as Nick took a few deep breaths to control his brewing anger. His nostrils flared in rage and I saw his knuckles turn a stark white as he held on tightly to the steering wheel.
“Nobody asked for this to happen to us! Do you hear me? NOBODY! So don’t act as if you are the only person who is being affected by this!” Nick snapped as he turned his anger-filled eyes toward me.
My only response was a gulp and a nod in agreement. Fuck, he was scary.
“And you two! Lay the fuck off!” Nick snapped as he turned to glare at Kimberly and Michael. Belatedly, I realized he’d pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road. “Not everything she says is because of a vision.”
Kimberly and Michael mimicked my gulp and head nod. I was glad to know I wasn’t the only one who was momentarily scared of him.
“Whether we like it or not, we are stuck in this crazy shit, and we are stuck in it together. So suck it the fuck up and get over it! We have a huge fight ahead of us, and I’d rather we do it together as friends instead of fighting like fucking babies!” Nick said to all of us.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Mike,” I said as I turned to him.
“I’m sorry, too,” Mike said and reached out to squeeze my hand.
“Good. Now that you two are finished acting like juveniles, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Nick put the car back in gear and continued to drive. It wasn’t too long before I noticed we had gotten off on an exit and pulled up to a gas station. Wordlessly, he got out, pumped some gas and went inside to pay for it. I followed his movements as he walked back to the car, got inside and started up the ignition. Without uttering a sound to any of us, he drove out of the parking lot. Nobody said a word as he took a few turns, and then I noticed him pull up to a small building.
“What are we doing here?” I asked softly.
“Well, I don’t know about you three, but I could use a drink or six,” Nick answered before he got out of the car.
The three of us looked at each other with wide eyes before we exited the car and followed him into the small, rundown building.
It actually looked more like a shack. The roof was sagging. The door looked like it could pop off the hinges without any use of excessive force, and the entire place was encased with a cloud of cigarette smoke. It was the kind of place where alcohol was sold cheap and the women were eager. I instantly felt uncomfortable.
Before long, the four of us were squeezed at the bar, taking a few shots of whiskey. I paid little attention to my dingy surroundings and could barely make out the music that was fighting to be heard over the din of rowdy bikers at the pool table.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Kimberly yelled in my ear.
“Me either!” I yelled back as I tried to flag the bartender down. If I was going to be there, I figured I might as well indulge a little.
“Maybe we’ll find the two people who are supposed to help us,” Kimberly said hopefully.
“I sincerely doubt it with this group of people!” I grimaced and took a quick glance around the bar. My eyes were burning from the smoke that practically hung in the air.
Suddenly my eyes landed on a couple of people standing in the corner. Normally I wouldn’t have paid them any attention, but my eyes widened in astonishment as I took in one of the people. Surely I was seeing things. I blinked my eyes a few times to make sure they weren’t deceiving me, and when I looked at the couple again, I realized what I saw wasn’t a trick. Nope, Michael was leaning against the wall with his hands full of someone’s ass. It was hard to tell at first if it really was Michael since his body was nearly covered by the tall, blond male that was pressed against him. From my viewpoint, I could barely make out their faces since they were fused together, pretty much tongue-
fucking each other’s mouths. If Michael had a vagina, I was pretty sure he’d be pregnant by that point, considering their bodies were pressed so close together.
“What in the actual fuck?” I yelled to my friends.
Nick and Kimberly followed my gaze to our friend and I laughed when their reactions were similar to mine. Their eyes expanded to the size of saucers and their jaws dropped so low that they were nearly resting on the bar. Clearly, Michael gave zero shits about the fact that he was dry-fucking a complete stranger in plain sight. Or maybe he did, but considering the possibility that we might die soon, he’d decided to throw caution to the wind and have some fun.
“He told me that he was going to go take a piss!” Nick shouted in amusement.
“He’s going to take something, all right,” Kimberly mused, and we all burst out with laughter and turned back in our seats to face the bar.
I started to feel a little better about going to that bar. Maybe a night out with a few drinks was what we needed to calm our nerves and help us chill the hell out. We had been jumbles of nerves since we left Baltimore, and our friendship—and lives—were dependent on us banding together.
I took another sip of my drink and cast a glance over to Michael. Only, the corner was completely empty. I looked around the bar for him, but Michael and his fuck buddy were nowhere in sight.
“Where did he go?” I asked my friends, pointing toward the empty corner.
“I don’t know. He was just there a second ago,” Nick answered. “Maybe he went to go have a quickie.”
“At least one of us is getting some action,” Kimberly laughed as she turned back to the bar.
I tried to laugh at her comment, but couldn’t shake the bad feeling I was getting. Something was horribly wrong, and I just knew that our friend needed our help.
“Maybe we should—” I started to say before I felt a sharp pain in my forehead. Suddenly visions of Michael and sharp fangs flashed before my eyes. “Fuck! Michael needs us,” I cried out as I hopped off the bar stool and started to run for the exit.
Fated Heroes Page 6
