Caught Between Shifters

by Juniper Hart

  You’ve been working yourself too hard, she thought, making up even more excuses as she reached down and took hold of the window to pull it up. When it clicked into place, she swept herself under the now open window and out onto the metal grate balcony. Sitting down on the windowsill, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the cold air of night washed over her.

  No matter how hard she tried, she could not push away the feeling of being watched, and eventually she found herself gazing around in the hopes of finding someone she could yell at to leave her alone. Nobody was there.

  Chapter Eight

  Erik

  After following her home many nights to silently watch over her, Erik knew where Lucy was headed. He just hoped he could get to her first. The sweet scent—a medley of lavender and vanilla—that hummed off her was a unique, and he knew his enemy would be able to find her with little effort. He reached the five-story building, and briefly felt relieved, but that feeling was short-lived.

  A flash out of the corner of his eye told him what he already knew. Somebody else had beaten him there. Following the black flash that streaked from the roof of the next building, Erik’s eyes landed on the one person he’d hoped to never see again.

  He had to get to her first. He couldn’t bear to think what would happen to her if he didn’t. Running at top speed, he began to zip up the fire escape before his nemesis saw her through a crack in the curtains, a hole in the blinds, or maybe even caught a fresh whiff of her scent.

  Finally, he reached the second window of the fifth floor and saw her. Her blonde hair billowing over the pillows as she tossed and turned. He could hear a soft whimpering escaping her lips, even though a thick double-gazed window stood between them. He fought the urge to wake her as he reached down and gently opened the window.

  Slipping inside, he carefully dropped the window back into place and turned to gaze down at the sleeping woman. Still, she wriggled as though she was having a bad dream, and Erik knew that he was to blame for that, too. There was only one reason humans had bad dreams, and that was the stress of something they’d experienced. His murderous rampage in the alleyway was enough to send most humans into hysterical fits of hyperventilation, yet this human reacted differently. She had thanked him. It made his feelings for her even stronger. It was as if she could see his good intentions and past his monstrous exterior.

  The clicking sound of another window opening alerted him that they were no longer alone in the apartment. He had to force down fury that raged from within as the woman abruptly awoke and sat upright. Her green eyes flashed with fear for a moment. Erik didn’t hang around. He rushed for the open bedroom door and was stopped in his tracks when he saw the shadow that had followed him for centuries.

  “Stephen,” he scowled, as he looked into the dark, twisted eyes of the man who stood before him.

  “Erik,” the man said in a voice filled with malice. Though they whispered, each could hear the other clearly.

  “I thought we were through with this?” Erik asked, his voice still low to avoid alerting the woman to their presence.

  “You thought wrong,” Stephen replied, and the angry burn of his eyes was enough to tell Erik what he already knew deep down, it would never be done. “We won’t be finished until you feel the pain you’ve inflicted on me.”

  “Stephen, it was three centuries ago,” Erik tried to keep himself calm. “You can’t keep killing innocents for something that happened so long ago. And, it wasn’t my fault.”

  “You’re wrong,” Stephen’s voice rose and octave. “I feel the pain again every evening. Every time I wake in the darkness alone, as the monster you made me!”

  “You begged me to do it!” Erik reasoned. “You wanted me to do it.”

  “And that makes it alright? I was so young! I didn’t know what I was asking for.”

  “Young? You were twenty-five years old. You had seen enough in the world to make your own decisions. I can’t change that. What can I do to make it up to you?” Erik asked, already knowing that nothing could be done to bring back what he had taken from the man who stood before him. Like himself, Stephen was dark-haired, and his skin gleamed with the paleness of avoiding the sun for centuries. Stephen’s eyes were much darker, almost the color of slate, and he stood several inches shorter than Erik.

  Stephen glared at Erik as though he wanted to rip his heart out. Yet Erik knew he would never do such a thing. That would end everything; Stephen’s revenge would be over. Erik half-wished it would happen that way. It would be simpler, at least for him, but that was selfish.

  “Get out of my way, but be sure to keep your eyes open when I drain her of every last drop of blood,” Stephen’s voice was a hiss as he spoke. Erik shuttered at the coldness in his tone. “You care about her, don’t you? I see it in your eyes. Her blood will taste even sweeter, knowing that draining her life will make you suffer.”

  “I can’t let you do that, Stephen, and you know it,” Erik shook his head; he was tired and fed up of the centuries of fighting. He straightened up to his full height to block the doorway behind him.

  “Are you challenging me? What fun,” Stephen said mockingly. “You know I won’t kill you, but I will get my hands on her. That I promise you.”

  “Not while I’m around,” Erik vowed.

  “Isn’t that what you said about Rachel?” Stephen smirked as Erik’s cold dead heart twisted in what would have been heartache, had he been a living, breathing human. The image of a beautiful raven-haired woman flashed in his mind’s eye, and his anger blazed. His fangs pricked his gums, and his age-old hunger tempted him once again. The scent of fresh blood wafted from the bedroom door behind him as he heard the woman’s footsteps crossing the room in the direction of the window Erik had used to climb in.

  “You can’t catch her every second of the day,” Stephen said loudly, and Erik hoped the woman didn’t hear him. “I’ll get to her eventually. You might as well just sit back and relax to make this easier. Don’t worry, I will make it quick.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Erik asked. “You like the chase; you like the suspense.”

  “And I will like seeing the guilt and pain on your face even more when you realize another innocent woman is dead because of you!”

  The sound of the window opening made Erik look around. He turned just in time to see the woman push open the window and climb out. Erik panicked. She was completely exposed to Stephen.

  Erik turned to face Stephen, but he was already gone.

  Chapter Nine

  Lucy

  The sensation grew until she could take it no longer. Her heart thundered as she pushed herself up onto her bare feet and moved to the railing. The metal was cold as she held on to it and leaned over to look down into the alleyway below.

  “Hello?” she yelled loudly, in the hopes that whomever was watching her wouldn’t hear the fear in her voice. “Is somebody there?” she hoped she’d be able to handle whatever answer she received.

  Nothing happened. Nobody answered. She felt as though she was going crazy, staring down into the alleyway in the middle of the night like a lunatic.

  Then it happened. Nothing had ever scared Lucy more than when those ice-cold fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist. The jerking motion that brought her backwards through the window was enough to send pain shooting through her arm.

  She screamed out until she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. An oddly familiar scent washed over her as she dropped down onto the carpet. Her back was held firmly against the muscular chest of whomever grabbed her.

  “Don’t scream,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear. “I won’t hurt you.” It reminded her again of the alleyway, and she found herself wishing that she’d never gotten out of bed that morning.

  As soon as the hand was removed from her mouth, she whipped around, pushing herself off the stranger before he could grab hold of her again. She quickly rose to her feet, and he followed suit.

  “Who the hell are you, and what do
you want from me?” she demanded as she backed up towards the window.

  “Come away from there,” he told her firmly. “Please,” he added a little softer when he saw the terror-stricken look in her eyes. He held out his hand to her, and Lucy looked down at the pale skin wondering why he would command her to do such a thing.

  “I’m trying to protect you,” he told her. “Come away from the window.”

  “Protect me?” she demanded. “If it wasn’t for you, those men probably wouldn’t have cornered me in the alleyway. They’d probably all still be alive.”

  “Alive to rape the next woman they could overpower?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes, as though he was not pleased by her stubbornness. Again, Lucy was stricken by his handsomeness and the fluidity of how he moved as he moved closer to her.

  “Stay away from me!” she yelled, holding up both of her hands to ward him off. “I don’t know anything about you. Why are you stalking me?”

  He stopped short and furrowed his brow, his eyes darkening. “Stalking you?” he asked. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be alive.”

  Lucy felt her heart skip another beat. When had her life taken such a dangerous turn? She worked in a bakery and as a bartender. She wanted to go back to her mundane life. She didn’t sign up for any of this. “If you leave now, I won’t call the cops.”

  “Please, Lucy, step away from the window.” His voice was soft, and Lucy began to feel as though he was begging her.

  “Why?” was all she could bring herself to say.

  He held out his hand to her again, and she bit her lip against the urge to reach out and take it.

  “Just come away from the window, and I will explain everything,” he promised her. “Please.” There was a pleading in his crystal blue eyes that made Lucy suddenly reach forward.

  “No!” the stranger suddenly screeched, and Lucy screamed as she felt hands clamp down on both of her arms. Suddenly, she was pulled back through the window. Her head connected with the windowpane as she went, and pain lanced down her spine.

  A rush of air whipped her face and the exposed bare skin that her robe didn’t cover. Her head spun, and the back of her skull throbbed as she was suddenly thrown against rock-hard concrete. Shock began to take over as she was slumped in a heap with nothing but the open sky above her. Where was she?

  She struggled to breathe as gravity came back to her, and when she looked up, she found herself staring into the dark eyes of a true predator. Pale lips were pulled back to reveal long, sharp fangs that glinted in the light of the full moon.

  “What’s the matter, beautiful?” The creature’s voice was filled with menacing laughter as he took a step towards her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Chapter Ten

  Erik

  A familiar dark pit of guilt churned in his consciousness, which bubbled up every time Stephen confronted him. Worse was the knowledge that the monster had Lucy, the woman he’d tried to help. The woman that he couldn’t get off of his mind since the first time he’d seen her more than a year earlier.

  Erik slipped through the window and raced up the steps of the fire exit. The scent of Stephen and the girl told him exactly where they were. The roof was only one level up, and it took him only a second to ascend the staircase.

  As soon as he skidded to a halt, Erik saw her. She was just as beautiful, but she looked broken and defeated. Her long hair cascaded over the top of her shoulders, blowing in the wind that whipped over the building. Her eyes were filled with fear, but she exhibited a strength that he admired.

  She stared at the huge figure that loomed over her. His back was turned to Erik, but there wasn’t a single thing Erik could do that Stephen wouldn’t sense.

  “So, Erik, what happens next?” Stephen asked without moving an inch. Erik straightened up and took a deep breath. Erik saw the tension in the Stephen’s shoulders as he stood over Lucy, who was shivering in the cold air.

  “She means nothing to me,” were the only words he could think to say, yet even as he said them he knew they weren’t true.

  Stephen moved in the blink of an eye. Lucy was suddenly facing Erik, held up by a hand that gripped her throat. Their eyes connected, and Erik felt something stir inside of him. He wanted to help this woman, but it was more than that; he felt as if her life mattered more than his own.

  “You won’t mind if I rip out her throat then?” Stephen asked in an eerily monotoned voice. Erik knew all of Stephen’s goodness was gone; not even the smallest light flickered in the depths of his soul.

  Erik acted quickly, trying to outsmart Stephen.

  “Go ahead.” Erik forced a smile as he took a step forward. “I’ll even help you, if you’d like.”

  Stephen’s eyebrow rose, and Erik saw his fingers loosen around her throat. The momentary lapse of surprise was all Erik needed. He rushed forward, slamming his body hard against Lucy’s, forcing her backwards. A strangled scream erupted from her throat as they were both thrown over the edge of the roof.

  Erik gripped Lucy in his arms, forcing his body around hers to shield her from the fall. Her hands tightened on the front of his t-shirt as they dropped. Again, their eyes met, and for a split second, time stood still as he saw warmth and gratitude in her gaze.

  Then his back hit the sidewalk, and he was blinded by pain. Every bone in his body seemed to shatter as the taste of blood filled the back of his throat. He was unable to move, unable to see, hear, or smell.

  It didn’t take long for the world to swim back around him. Lucy was screaming, yet one sniff told Erik that she was unharmed. He groaned, and her scream was cut off. Her face turned towards him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Run,” he grunted, putting all his force into the command. To his relief, the glamour worked. Lucy pushed herself up onto her feet and began to run. Even as she did, he felt his body healing. The bones melted back together as the bruising dissolved and broken skin adhered itself back together.

  As soon as his strength returned, he pushed himself up off the sidewalk and ran. Lucy had only managed to get to the end of the street before he grabbed hold of her around the waist and pulled her up over his shoulder. She squealed in surprise as he continued forward.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lucy

  The world whizzed past her at a maddening speed. She clutched the back of his jacket, but the material kept slipping from her fingers, and before long, she found herself flailing.

  The sudden stop made all her vital organs jerk. She gasped for breath, feeling as though she hadn’t sucked in air for minutes. She was ejected from the stranger’s shoulder and onto a plush armchair in what seemed to be a luxurious hotel room. Her entire body shook as she struggled for breath. The dizziness in her head was doubled by the throbbing in the back of her skull.

  Movement out of the corner of her eye made her look up. Standing at the floor-to-ceiling window was the stranger who saved her life for the second time that day. He had his back to her, but she could sense the familiarity in his tense form.

  He reached forward and pressed his finger against a small white button beside the window. A mechanical buzzing sound began as thick metal shutters descended over the windows.

  “Are we in a fortress? Why the metal shutters?”

  “This hotel has special rooms for people like me. We’re safe for now. The sun is coming up,” he explained as he turned to look at her. Just as the shutters were about to click into place, she saw the first orange light come through the window. It was instantly cut off as the mechanical sound eased off.

  “Wha…what the hell is going on?” she demanded, her heart still beating so rapidly that she felt as though it was going to escape.

  The stranger didn’t answer her as he crossed the room to an old wooden drink cart. Lucy frowned as he picked up a crystal decanter, opened it, and poured some of the contents into a glass. When he crossed the room and passed it to her, she stared at the clear liquid inside.

  “It’s vodka,�
�� he told her with a sigh. “You are going to need it for the shock.” She looked at him with a suspicious expression, and he sighed again, “I wouldn’t rescue you just to poison you in my apartment.”

  She didn’t need any more pushing. Pressing the glass to her lips, she emptied the contents into her mouth and swallowed hard. The strong liquid burned the back of her throat as it went down. She choked hard until she struggled to breathe.

  “That’s vodka?” she gasped as she tried to catch her breath again, “I feel like my insides are being stripped away.”

  The stranger ran his fingers through his dark hair and shook his head. “Sorry, love,” he looked embarrassed. “I forgot; it’s a little stronger than the stuff you drink. We vampires have a higher tolerance than humans.”

  Lucy gawked at him as her suspicions were finally deemed true. “You’re a v…vampire?” She gaped at him, unable to really believe what she was saying. The question was so far out of reality that she couldn’t believe she was even voicing it.

  “You look shocked,” the man frowned back at her. “Have you forgotten what you saw in the alleyway earlier?”

  “I… I need to leave,” Lucy gasped, suddenly feeling like the room was closing in on her. Standing up hastily, she rushed for the doorway across the room.

  In an instant, the man was between her and the door, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to leave.”

  “Get out of my way!” Lucy protested, suddenly aware of the fact that she was only wearing a robe. Her legs were cold and prickled with goose bumps, yet she felt a heat between them that she hadn’t felt in such a long time.

  “You are a brave one, considering you’re making demands of a monster.” He smirked down at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

  “You don’t seem too terrifying,” Lucy did her best to speak strongly, though she was all too aware of how close he was to her—so close that their chests brushed gently. “You could have killed me in the alleyway, just like you did those scumbags, but you didn’t.”