“Of course, I’ll see you in a bit then. Would you like me to grab you water or something?” Kedar responded.
“Yeah, thanks Kit,” Samantha responded, going to hang up.
“Wait, Sam?”
“Yeah?” Samantha’s voice was barely audible.
“I’ve missed you… And whatever it was that was going on between us…”
Samantha was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond, “I… I miss you too… Bye…”
Kedar hung up before saying anything else. Samantha sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand.
“You two had a spot?” Maia asked skeptically, “Sounds more like a lover than a friend.”
“As I said. It’s complicated.”
***
Samantha drove straight to Alex’s house, silence lingering in the car the rest of the way. She went right into the yard, Maia following close behind her, where the rest of the pack waited for Colin. Samantha looked around, taking a head count. Charlotte wasn’t there, again. Samantha grumbled, annoyed. She had this feeling that Charlotte was skipping out on her pack responsibilities in order to spend more time with Zachary and it really got under her skin.
Colin stepped out onto the porch, gathering everyone’s attention. “Darren called and said he saw vampires moving into our territory. We’re going to split up. Half of the pack will go into town, the other half will be going into the woods. All of you should have been sure to grab hunting knives or fastened a type of wooden stake before coming.”
Fuck. Samantha thought to herself. That’s what I forgot.
“If you don’t have one, I have extra hunting knives inside the house. If you do, but don’t know where you are needed, please find Bridgette and she will direct you to where you are going. Otherwise, be careful out there.”
Samantha went inside, following Alex and Riley who also needed to grab hunting knives from Colin. He had them arranged neatly on the marble countertops in the kitchen. Samantha grabbed the first one she saw and she ducked out of the house, strapping the knife’s holster to her leg.
She followed the trail into the forest and began walking towards the spot where she and Kedar used to meet. She walked briskly, excited to see him. As she turned onto the overgrown path that she needed to be on she smelled something horrible, which caused her throat to burn. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and a loud shriek pierced the air. She turned and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the smell, not thinking about what she was doing once. She dodged the underbrush and leapt over tree roots until she stumbled upon a private camp ground; the source of the scream.
There, right in front of Samantha, were three, dirty and unkempt vampires. One was knelt down beside the lifeless body of a woman. Samantha watched in horror as another, who was holding a man who was very much alive, bit down on his victim’s neck. The man screamed in agony, but it was cut off by the wailing of a child. Samantha didn’t think, the screaming child was enough to send her instincts into overdrive. She leapt forward and buried her knife into the back of the vampire feeding on the now lifeless man. The vampire, a woman who was turned not long after her twentieth birthday, screeched and threw Samantha off of her back. Samantha hit the ground with a loud thud. She quickly rolled over to get back on her feet and her eyes landed on the man who had died right in front of her. She scurried to her feet, as the child, who she had yet to see, continued to cry.
“Shut that thing up!” The third vampire, who seemed to be in charge, hollered. Samantha’s eyes shot up to her and she snarled.
The woman was tall with pale, pale skin. Her hair was a thick dark brown, and her eyes had a red tint to them and she didn’t dare step out of the shadows. Samantha quickly turned to look at the vampire obeying her order, the one who had been feeding on the woman. Samantha stood and ran at him, digging her knife into the side of his neck. He hissed and pulled away, stumbling into an open patch in the forest, exposing himself to the sunlight. In a matter of seconds his skin began to boil and blister, and eventually he caught on fire. Before Samantha could make another move, the brunette vampire grabbed her by her hair and dragged her into the shadows. She lifted her up, as Samantha cried out in pain, and pinned her against a tree, squeezing her around the neck. She stared Samantha down, hissing all the while. She was clearly gauging Samantha’s ability to fight her off, and Samantha continued to struggle.
“Shut that stupid child up!” She directed at the wounded female vampire.
Samantha struggled against the restricting grasp, managing to break free, falling to the ground. She had dropped her knife and she surveyed the ground, spotting it. The vampire grabbed her by her hair again, but Samantha pulled back and punched her in the jaw with all of her might, before diving for the knife.
The vampire stumbled back, “Little bitch!” She snapped. She grabbed Samantha by the leg and pulled her across the cold, partially frozen ground. The dead underbrush, dirt and rocks scrapped at her face and it stung. She dug her fingers into the dirt and pulled her leg free, kicking the vampire in the face. The vampire yelled and grabbed hold of her leg once more. She swung Samantha around and threw her into a tree.
Samantha hit the tree with a loud smack, and she tumbled to the ground in a broken heap. She slowly forced herself to get up, wincing in pain. Blood ran down her cut cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She scanned the area quickly with her eyes, searching for the now quiet child and the other vampire. She spotted them, hidden among the trees about twenty feet away.
“What do I do with it?” The younger vampire asked.
“Kill it…” The brunette responded.
Samantha mustered up what was left of her energy to charge at the vampire. The brunette, however, grabbed Samantha before she could make it to the child, which had begun to whimper again. She held her in a head lock, and swung around to pin her against a tree, twisting her arm around to her back and holding her like that. She snarled and licked up Samantha’s neck, taking in all of her scent.
“A dog, eh? I look forward to helping my mistress kill your pack…” The vampire crooned.
“Fuck you!” Samantha spat, struggling against her hold.
“Silly mutt… Dear, kill the child. I want this poor heroin-wannabe to watch…” She whipped Samantha around, holding her in a headlock once more.
Before the young vampire could make a move she hit the ground. Kedar stood over her, holding the child in his arms. He put his foot on her stomach and held her down as he drove a wooden stake through her heart. She screamed, and then she laid completely still. Kedar put the child safely on the ground and then pat his head. He turned towards Samantha and the only vampire left standing. He pulled his crossbow off of its holster on his back and aimed it at the vampires head.
“If you let her go, I’ll spare your life.” He bargained.
She chuckled, “You think I’m afraid of a pair of smelly dogs?” She mocked.
“You should be. Just let the girl go.” He pulled the string back on the cross bow and loaded a large wooden stake, made from birch wood, into it, “Now, leech.” He seethed.
She released Samantha and pushed her to the ground. She stepped over her, and walked up to Kedar.
“You killed my daughter in front of me. Why should I spare the life of your mate?”
Kedar glanced towards Samantha, who held her side as she struggled to get up off the ground, “She isn’t my mate. Just let her be, and I’ll let you be.”
“Why should I?” She hissed, taking another step towards him.
“Because I’m giving you a get out of jail free card… One step closer though, and the bargain is off the table.”
She smiled smugly, “I don’t think you’re going to do that. My mistress wouldn’t be happy if her best hunter went missing.” She took another step.
Kedar didn’t say a word. He simply pulled the trigger, sending the stake flying into the vampires head, piercing her right between the eyes. Blood splattered into his face, but he simply wiped it away
and stepped over the vampire’s corpse. He picked up the child, who had begun to wail once more. He shushed the child and walked over to Samantha, helping her up. She was about to give her thanks, but he grabbed her face roughly.
“You’re alone?” He snarled. Samantha nodded slowly and he snarled, but he helped her over to a fallen tree so that she could sit. He handed the child to her and pulled a matchbook out of his pocket, going over to the bodies of the vampires. He lit and dropped a match on each of them and he watched as the fired quickly burned the bodies away and put themselves out. He turned and went over to the vampire that had burned up in the sunlight, examining it to be sure it had been burned enough to prevent it from reanimating. Once he was satisfied he snarled and made his way back to Samantha.
“I’m sorry…” Samantha choked out, spitting up blood.
Kedar didn’t respond. He helped her to her feet and took the baby from her. They walked in silence all the way back to Samantha’s house, Kedar supporting most of her weight the whole way. When they reached her back porch she collapsed, unable to continue on. Kedar helped her sit on the stairs, touching her face with his free hand and giving her the child once again, prompting her to hold onto him tight. Samantha barely moved her head to nod, and he lifted them both up, carrying them into the house.
“Mel? Melody?” He called out, panicked.
Melody peered out of the kitchen and her face fell, “Kit! Oh my goodness!” She ran towards Samantha and Kedar, dropping the hand towel she had been using to dry dishes.
“She saved this child from a group of vampires. From what I saw, it was too late for his parents by the time she got there…” Kedar replied, his voice flat.
Melody took the child from Samantha and touched his face. He was dirty, with stains of his parent’s blood on his clothing. She frowned and turned to Samantha, “Sam…”
“I’m okay, Auntie…” She breathed, closing her eyes, “He’s a wolf, but his parents weren’t… I could smell it. He’s either adopted or he was kidnapped…” It took all of Samantha’s energy to speak, and she kept her eyes closed, on the brink of unconsciousness.
Melody looked at Kedar, “I’ll find out from Chantal if he’s in the system. Can you handle taking care of Samantha?”
Kedar nodded, “You deal with the kid and I’ll deal with Sam…”
Melody nodded and carried the child into the other room.
Kedar carried Samantha up the stairs and into her bedroom. He made her sit on the edge of the bed, holding her up as he brushed the hair out of her face. He wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, his hand shaking slightly. His eyes were full of fury, but his hands were gentle, his delicate movements betraying the emotion in his eyes. He held her face again, more gentle this time, making her look him in the eyes.
“Don’t you ever do that again. Do you hear me? Don’t you ever try fighting them alone again,” He snapped, his voice firm.
She stared at him for a moment, before speaking, summoning more energy from within herself, “What was I supposed to do?” She croaked, “Leave a baby at their disposal? I was not going to let them kill him… Not after I watched them kill his father…” She tried to stand, instantaneously angry.
Kedar sighed and made her sit down again, kneeling in front of her, “Please, just don’t do it again. They would have killed you had I not come along…”
“Since when did you care?” Samantha snapped weakly.
Hurt flashed across Kedar’s face and he pulled Samantha into a careful hug, “Don’t talk like that… I’ve always cared…”
Samantha sat there in shock for a few minutes, silent and not moving. Then she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. He held her tighter, almost hesitantly, burying in face in her hair and taking a deep breath.
“Can we please stop fighting now…? I missed you...” Samantha begged through tears.
“I don’t know. Do you promise not to get yourself killed?” He kissed the top of your head, “Or at least let me save you if you almost do?”
Samantha laughed, “You might want to stay away, I’m kind of taken, and I’m sure my boyfriend would like to do some saving sometime…”
Kedar tensed up a bit, but he just buried his face deeper into her hair, “I couldn’t stay away from you even if I wanted to…” He mumbled, rubbing her back slowly. He held her close for a moment longer before pulling away and cupping her chin, tilting her face up to his, “Are you going to be alright?”
Samantha nodded, “I’m going to be fine. I probably only have a few cracked ribs…” She laughed weakly, but Kedar was not amused. “We need to go talk to the pack now…”
“No, we don’t.” Kedar got onto her bed and laid down, pulling her close to him, “You just need to relax…”
“Kit, you don’t understand, they were less than a two hundred feet away from Alex’s backyard. What if they were Anastasia and her daughter?”
“They weren’t trust me. From what Kyle said, Anastasia is at least three-hundred years old. Those vampires were much younger. A fledgling, which is a newly turned vampire, is weaker than their sire, the vampire who turned them. As they get “older” they become stronger, and the longer they’re able to go without feeding. Until they reach their peak, which is around seven-hundred years old, and then they’re weaker, unless they’ve recently fed. Those vampires though, they were definitely not a three-hundred year old brood mistress and her daughter. Trust me.”
Samantha didn’t say a word. She simply curled up against Kedar’s side. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed her head gently, starting to rub her side.
“We still have to tell the pack…”
Kedar continued to rub her side, sliding his hand up under her shirt, “Later… I just want to hold you… Plus, I know you need the rest. You won’t heal otherwise…”
Samantha smiled and drifted off to sleep in his arms.
CHAPTER 13
After calling Chantal Melody decided that she would keep the child overnight. She had provided Chantal with a description of the little boy, and she had determined that the child was a young boy named Daniel, who had been in the system since birth. The two people who he had been with were his new parents, who had recently adopted him. Chantal was going to pick Danny up in the morning, instead of sending another social worker out to do it that night.
Melody carried Danny upstairs, rubbing the child’s back slowly. She went into her room, frowning. She didn’t have a place for him to sleep. She put him down on her bed and put her pillows along the edges of her bed so he wouldn’t roll off. She walked over to her window, looking outside. The sun had already begun to set even though it was only quarter passed five. She closed the blinds and went to her dresser. As she was sorting through her clothes there was a knock on her door.
“Come in,” She replied quietly.
Samantha stepped into the room, limping slightly, “How is he?”
“He’s fine. I spoke to Chantal, he was indeed in the system. She has to fill out paper work, and she’s going to put that he was abandoned. There might be a police investigation. You’ll probably have to give a statement, since you were the one that found him.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I feel responsible for him, anyway, since I did find him. Can I watch him tonight?” Samantha’s voice was soft and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, which she immediately regretted.
Melody was shocked, but she nodded, “Of course. Is Kit still here?”
Samantha nodded, “Yeah, he hasn’t left.”
“There may be a collapsible playpen in the basement that Danny can sleep in. I was going to get it after I changed.”
“I’ll have Kedar get it,” Samantha responded. She picked Danny up off the bed and carried him to her room.
Kedar was laying on the bed and he sat up, running his fingers through his hair, “No more alone time?”
“We’ve been alone since we got back. We don’t need any more alone time.” Samantha si
ghed, “My aunt says there may be a collapsible playpen in the basement. It’d be hidden in the storage room to the left of my studio if there was one. Can you go and look?”
Kedar nodded and got up off the bed slowly, “Okay, I guess…” He mumbled as he left the room.
Samantha smiled at him softly, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
She carefully dressed Danny in some toddler sized clothing she had in the back of her closet. She laid him down on her bed, using her pillows as bumpers the same way that her aunt did and she changed into sweatpants and a tank-top in her bathroom. When she came out Kedar was setting up the old play-pen in the corner of her room with Danny sitting on the floor beside him. When it was all set up Samantha placed some blankets and a small pillow inside the playpen and she put Danny down for the night. Kedar sat on the edge of Samantha’s bed and he looked at her.
“Why don’t we go grab something to eat?” Samantha suggested, crossing her arms across her chest. Kedar simply nodded in response and followed Samantha down the stairs and into the kitchen. She started getting the ingredients to make macaroni and cheese, putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. She got two sodas from the fridge and handed one to Kedar. He nodded his head once in thanks as he took it from her and opened it.
“So, what have you been up to?” Samantha asked as she leaned against the counter and took a sip of her soda.
“Work. Lots and lots of work,” Kedar replied in short.
Samantha hesitated. She had spent weeks smelling another woman’s perfume on him, she wasn’t so sure if he had really been spending lots of time “working”. But she wasn’t going to say anything about that. “I see,” She responded.
The silence that followed was awkward. It hung in their air, but finally Kedar cleared his throat and spoke, “How are you and Riley?” His voice was tight when he spoke and Samantha could swear she saw his jaw clench out of the corner of her eye.
“Oh. We’re okay I guess. He’s still my boyfriend. But don’t you have a girlfriend now? Why do you care?” Samantha didn’t mean for her voice to be so sharp, but it was and she felt the blood rush to her face as she turned bright red.
Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Page 11
