Of Blood and Twisted Roots (Rise of the Morphlings Book 1)

by E. M. Moore

  I didn’t see Riah anywhere so I just grabbed an end booth, because I always felt more comfortable when nothing could sneak up on me. I knew for sure he had had plenty of time to get in here and was kinda curious as to what he was up to.

  “What can I get you ma’am?” the waitress asked. She was so cliche. She had on a short skirt and a tight shirt that would have been more flattering if it wasn’t so form-fitting. Popping her gum, she stood there waiting on me to order.

  “I am waiting on someone,” I responded, hoping she would leave me alone. There was only so much gum popping I could take.

  “Alright sugar. Let me know when you are ready.” She said as she sashayed away. It was slightly comical, because it was so exaggerated that I thought her hip might pop out of place.

  I was still chuckling when a thought hit me. If Riah wasn’t in here I could probably sneak out the back and get to the mountains before him.

  Looking around, I still didn’t see him anywhere. However, I did see the exit that was located in the back of the place.

  Getting out of the booth, I walked as inconspicuously as I could, making sure I kept an eye out for Riah. By the time I made it to the door, he was still nowhere to be seen.

  I opened it and headed outside looking at what seemed to be another parking lot. I took off in a run towards the road I knew I would need to follow to get where I was going. Luckily, I still had my mother's daggers hidden in my pockets.

  After running for what felt like forever, I felt like I had put at least enough distance between him and me that I could slow down and start trying to find someone stupid enough to let me ride with them.

  I was wearing a button up top and a pair of jeans. Perfect outfit to go for the seductive look. Concentrating on wavy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and big breasts, I could feel the tingle that always happened as I changed my features. I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my top to make my now huge tits pop out. One thing I had noticed was men were more willing to stop for attractive women.

  I wish that I was able to change my scent too. Then at least I would be harder to track, because I had no doubt in my mind that as soon as Riah found me missing he was going to be hauling ass to find me.

  I had been walking for about thirty minutes before I heard the tell-tale sounds of a vehicle heading my way. Standing as seductively as I could, I thrust out my breasts and held out my thumb to let the oncoming vehicle know that I needed a ride.

  “Fuck!” I yelled out loud as I took off running into the woods. The truck had finally popped the curve and it was none other than Riah hauling ass in Mille’s truck.

  I heard the sounds of the brakes squealing and a door slamming. Oh, this was not going to be fun. Putting everything I had in me, I sped up as fast as I could. Getting slapped in the face by branches as I went.

  I could hear what sounded like a freight train coming up behind me and I knew without a doubt that I was not going to be able to outrun him. Not that the thought stopped me from trying.

  It couldn’t have been but a few seconds later, I felt the grip on my shoulder and went down like a sack of potatoes. Landing on my back with Riah on top of me, I had to take a minute to catch my breath.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you? Here I am sticking my neck out, trying to throw the other wolves off our trail and you take off on me!” Riah screamed, his blue eyes flashing. If looks could kill, I would have been dead.

  “You tried to kill me! I do not, in any way shape or form, trust you! Why would I think that you were actually helping me? You have given me absolutely no reason other than the mate bond! Which, if you ask me, the fates fucked up! I don’t want you!” I screamed back all my rage blinding me. I was so angry right now and it wasn’t even all at him. I was mad at this situation in general.

  Before I knew what was going on his lips were on mine and my body was on fire. Instead of continuing to push him away, I clutched him to me closer. I moaned as I felt his erection through his pants and he took that moment as permission to take the kiss further. He tasted of mints and a hint of something wild I didn’t know how to explain. Our tongues mingled as I ran my hands down the front of his muscled chest.

  Breaking the kiss, he hopped up and backed away from me like I had burned him. I groaned at the loss of him before I caught myself and got my wits back in order. Oh shit, what was that?

  My face was on fire as I realized I was going to have to say something to break the awkward silence that had fallen.

  “So, um. What was that?” I asked, blushing even harder from my words. Riah shot me a glare that said he really didn't want to talk about it.

  “It was just the heat of the moment. It didn’t mean anything. Now we need to hurry so we can get some miles between us and the wolves before dark.” He replied as he turned around and made his way back to the truck.

  His words left me cold on the inside. I didn’t know why I expected it to mean something, but I did. I guess I just really wanted someone to love me, but fuck that and fuck him. I felt a tear slip down my cheek as I got up and started the walk back to the truck.

  I had always been alone and I would rather stay that way than feel the way I do now. I brushed myself off, put on a fake face and continued on. Sometimes you just have to paste on a fake smile and go on.

  Chapter Seven

  My lips still buzzed with the memory of Riah’s lips on mine. Even the truck roaring underneath us as we flew down the highway didn’t help take my mind off it. He kissed me. And I kissed him back.

  It was amazing. Amazingly fucked up.

  It was only because we were mates that he even did that. I knew he didn’t really want me. I saw it in his face earlier and I felt it when he ended the kiss. ‘It didn’t mean anything.’

  I swallowed and tightened my grip on the car door. My stomach growling reminded me that we never did get the chance to eat. I chanced a glance at Riah. His face was tense, the hard ridges of his chin and cheekbones standing out and framed by his long blond hair.

  He shifted to look into the rearview mirror. He bit down on his lip and then looked two seconds later. I grew uneasy, wondering if he’d seen anything back there. Turning in my seat, I looked for myself.

  “No one’s there yet. At least, I don’t think so. I’m not as in tuned with them as I was before--” He broke off, his throat working. “Before…”

  “Before you realized I was your mate,” I supplied.

  He nodded. “We need to get off this road, and I think we should stop soon. I’ll feel better when we’re in a hotel somewhere where we can’t get ambushed.”

  The words teased on my tongue. I didn’t want to say thank you, but I also felt like I should at the same time. Damn, I was stubborn. “Did you see any of your kind?”

  “I didn’t see them, I sensed them. They probably caught your scent. Made even worse now since you went off on your own,” he stated punctuating the sentence.

  “I’m sorry. I freaked out, okay? You hunt my kind and here I am taking you right to them. It’s kind of fucked up, don’t you think? What will the other Morphlings think when you come with me?”

  “Hopefully they’ll understand the idea of mating.”

  “Oh, like your kind does?” I challenged. He’d told me we’d still have to run from his kind. That didn’t sound as if they understood the idea of mating. Here I was, finally with the opportunity to find people like me, and being mated to him might have screwed me over of what I’ve always wanted.

  He blew out a breath through his gritted teeth, reminding me of his wolf form. “You have a point.”

  My eyes widened. Wow. That was something.

  “I’ll guess we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “Or, we can go our separate ways like I tried.”

  An animal-like growl ripped through his mouth. He yanked on the steering wheel and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. Slamming on the brakes, he turned in his seat and grabbed my chin. “Let’s get one thing straight, Mor
phling. We’re. Mated,” he said slowly as if waiting for me to catch up. “We don’t break apart. We don’t go our separate ways. You can hate me for the rest of the days of your life, but you’re stuck with me. Do you understand? If you pull anything like that again, I’ll…”

  “What?” I asked, twisting out of his grip. “You’ll kill me? Kind of defeats the purpose of your heroic speech you just gave.”

  His gaze narrowed. “I’ll tie you up. You won’t be able to go anywhere if you’re restrained the entire time.”

  I shook my head. “Like you want to be with me either. Stop playing the martyr, Riah. Fate’s got it wrong and we don’t have to be stuck with one another.”

  He blinked at me. Then, slowly, sat back in his seat, took his foot off the brake, and pulled the truck back onto the road without another word.

  I sighed and held on for dear life again as he took off.

  We drove for another hour before Riah found a suitable bumbfuck hotel. When he pulled into the parking lot, I opened the door to get out of the car, but he grabbed my wrist. “I’m going to have to carry you.”

  “Um, excuse me?”

  “Your scent,” he snarled. “I need to help mask it, so I’ll be carrying you to the room.”

  Images of husbands carrying their wives over thresholds flashed into my mind, making me laugh.

  It didn’t help his mood, and his look told me I needed to comply with his demand. I was fine with it. The less we had to deal with his brethren tonight, the easier it would be to get into the mountains and ultimately where we needed to be.

  Riah requested a room on the second floor, higher ground he called it. He came back to the truck and opened my door. First, he took my backpack from me, which I tried to balk at, but he ripped it from my fingers and put it over his shoulder. Then, he reached his hand out. I stared at it before taking it. Don’t be so chicken, I scolded myself. It’s just one little trip...in his arms...against his amazing chest. No big deal.

  He heaved me up into his chest, one arm under my neck and the other sliding under the back of my knees. My stomach fluttered as he carried me. My eyes darted everywhere, not knowing where to look. If I looked at his chest, that would be bad. His chest made me think things when I was supposed to hate him. I certainly couldn’t look up into his eyes. That would be really bad. He was pretty much a walking, talking sex on a stick. I didn’t need those thoughts when we were going to be spending the night together in a hotel.

  Instead, I looked out, my body gently swaying in his arms with each step he took. Fortunately, we were in the room within five minutes and he quickly deposited me on my feet as soon as we entered. To take my mind off things, I immediately pulled out the hotel binder and started flipping through the menus of local eateries. There were several in there, so I guessed we weren’t in the middle of nowhere like I’d thought.

  “You’re not getting anything delivered here,” he said as he passed by me.

  “My stomach says otherwise. Our stop at the diner didn’t go all that well.”

  “Not my fault.”

  “Maybe if you would’ve told me what you were doing, I wouldn’t have tried to run away from you. You know,” I said, popping my hip out as I talked. “I’ve heard that honesty is really the best policy in a relationship. I hope we don’t need couples therapy already.”

  “Fine, get the fucking pizza. No anchovies or any of that weird shit. Lots of meat.”

  “Meat, huh?” I asked, snickering.

  His lips thinned. He definitely didn’t find me amusing. Oh well. I happened to prefer meat too. After picking the menu item with the most Italian-sounding name, I ordered the pizza and asked them to deliver it straight to our room. There was no way Riah would let me go to the front desk to pick it up myself, and it was also highly unlikely that he would leave me to go get it.

  I placed the phone back down on the receiver to find him looking at me. “What?”

  “What you said earlier, about being honest?”

  My mouth went dry. “Yeah?”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I should’ve told you I was going out to check the perimeter.”

  I nodded slowly, waiting for the but. There was always a but when someone was telling me I had a good idea.

  Instead, he picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned on the TV. He flipped through channels seemingly without another thought about our conversation.

  I stood and walked toward the bathroom. Once inside, I jumped when I finally looked up and saw myself in the mirror. I’d forgotten I’d changed myself into a busty blonde. I’d been wearing the other skin for a long time that the change in appearance surprised me. Wait. How did he know I was the blonde on the side of the road?

  I yanked the door open and stuck my head out. “How did you know it was me anyway?”

  He slid a glance toward me. “What?”

  “How did you know I was the one on the side of the road? I look nothing like the girl you first saw me as.”

  He turned away, his throat working. “I just knew.”

  I stared at him for a few more seconds, but after realizing he wasn’t going to add any other explanation, I went back into the bathroom, shutting the door quietly. I rested my back against it and then slid down until my ass hit the tile. My new boobs were practically in my face. I quickly buttoned the buttons I’d purposefully undone and then rested my head against the door.

  No wonder why he’d kissed me. I’d pretty much made myself into a supermodel to try to get a ride.

  The hard thing about being able to change your appearance at will was wondering why people did what they did around you. I knew from first-hand experience that prettier skins got more attention. People were nicer to them, more helpful. Try being an overweight person with zits. The world could be cruel. And not knowing where you stood in that world was even more messed up.

  A knock came on the door and for some reason, I could almost hear Riah’s heart rate pick up. I froze where I was. I was sure it was the pizza guy, but Riah’s reaction set me on edge.

  I pulled myself to my feet and placed my ear to the door.

  A crash sounded in the other room. My heart leapt into my throat. I pulled the door open and walked into chaos. Riah was on top of another guy. They were both snarling at one another.

  “Give her to us!”

  “Not a fucking chance,” Riah seethed.

  “What is wrong with you?” the guy asked. “Have you lost your damn mind? She’s a fucking Morphling. We kill them.”

  Riah growled, sending a chill straight through me. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing the mark of the infinity sign on his upper arm.

  The guy on the ground’s eyes widened. He started to shift, and Riah held his hand over his throat. Still in semi-human form, the guy lashed out, clawing at Riah and splitting his shirt open. “Traitor!” he screamed.

  Glowing eyes appeared right behind Riah. My body stiffened as I watched the wolf approach from behind. Riah, still struggling with the other guy in the room hadn’t even noticed him.

  The wolf rocked back on his heels, preparing to strike.

  “Watch out!”

  I pulled out my mother’s silver daggers, feeling the weight of it in my hand. The wolf was flying through the air now, heading straight for Riah’s neck. I flicked my wrist, sending the blade spiraling through the air.

  The wolf whined as soon as the blade hit home. He crumpled into a heap in the middle of the hotel room floor, his breaths labored.

  The guy on the floor looked back at me. He shifted completely, his lips pulling back over sharp, yellow-stained teeth.

  His hind legs came up and bucked Riah off him. He jumped to all-fours, prowling close to me.

  “No!” Riah yelled.

  The eyes got closer, and closer. This was it. This was what I’d feared for all those years. The eyes were going to get me.

  Chapter Eight

  All I could do was hold the dagger and try to prepare myself for his at
tack. This is what I had trained for. I was not some damsel in distress. I would save myself because I had no choice.

  I knew the moment the wolf decided to pounce. I could see the intent in his cold yellow eyes.

  Running at him, I fell to my knees and slid underneath his bulky wolf form, stabbing him in the throat with my dagger. What I hadn’t expected was the sharp blade to continue going cutting through his underbelly like butter.

  Thick, warm blood and other things I didn’t want to give a name to splattered on my face as I continued to slide until I slammed into the table. Stunned, I shook my head while the table shattered around me.

  A hand touched my shoulder. On instinct, I lashed out with the dagger. A hand caught my wrist. I opened my eyes to find Riah standing over me, and immediately, I was thankful he’d stopped my hand before I’d hurt him.

  The copper smell of blood soured the air. I didn’t think any of it was coming from me though, only from where I’d gutted the wolf. Don’t think about it Anika, I thought as my stomach churned.

  Looking over Riah, his shirt had been shredded and he had a gash across his well defined abs. A few scratches also marred his pecs and arms, but nothing I saw on him looked life threatening.

  “Are you okay?” Riah asked while his eyes roved over my body checking for wounds. I noticed his eyes stayed on my chest and his cheeks turned bright red before he shifted his gaze back to my head.

  “Yeah. I just hit my head. I think most of the blood on me came from the wolf I disemboweled,” I replied back, feeling a touch green at the thought, but pulled myself together quickly. That bastard would have killed me and not had a second thought.

  Getting up, I headed back over to the downed man I’d thrown one of my daggers at. He whimpered as we neared. From the looks of him, I guessed when a wolf was hurt with silver they reverted back to their human form.

  He had to be in serious pain, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it, nor should I care all that much. I had to be ruthless if I wanted to survive.