"It's like you said before, Simon thinks we're dead, so… Well, you get it."
Glen's face lit up in a grin. "Yeah, I do. That's exactly why we have the advantage. That was a bad joke, by the way."
“Yeah, I know." He grinned as well, but it soon faded. This was serious. "There was something I was meaning to ask you,” Davis said as he pulled up a milk crate. He used it as a chair, squatting down on it as he chose a place next to Glen. The laughter had quieted and the room was again serious. Glen concentrated on finishing his food. “Back at the PRDI, when you were trying to calm him down… What was going on?”
Glen turned his attention away from his food carton and looked at Davis. “That was a rage shift.”
“Rage shift?” Davis had never heard the term before.
“Or an emotional shift. Okay, let me explain it to you. Have you ever been really angry at someone? Really upset about something that you couldn’t control what you did?”
In Davis’ mind, he saw the woman he had killed and Simon’s mocking face. He inwardly shuddered then nodded.
“Well, an emotional shift is when a were’s emotions consume him so much that he can’t control. The adrenaline rushes through him and triggers a shift. Most often it happens when the were is severely pissed, like Jason. They will harm anyone that gets in their way, as demonstrated earlier. They won’t care if you are a friend, a lover, or an innocent. They will hurt you if you interfere simply because you get in the way. That’s the closest to being a mindless beast as we get.”
“I had no idea,” Davis said. He studied Glen. “But you were able to calm him down…”
“Yeah. With some of us, if certain…situations are brought to our attention, we will stop the shift. We’ll become very tired and drained afterwards.”
Davis only nodded. The subject was dropped. Glen stared down at his food. The carton was empty, the noodles devoured and he tossed the carton into a heap of crumpled papers and trash on the floor. He licked and smacked his lips. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“If you do, you might want to adjust the heat. It’s hot in there,” Davis said. He wanted to know more, but didn’t want to push it.
Glen laughed. “Yeah. The damn thing’s broken. I’ll live though.” He stood from the rolling chair, the springs squeaking as he removed his weight.
As Glen stretched, Davis looked at the computer screen. There was an incomprehensible list of names that blurred together when he looked at them.
“What’s all this?” Davis asked. Glen turned in the doorway and shrugged.
“It was the research I was doing on Simon. I got nothing though.”
Davis suddenly remembered something. The knot in his stomach came back. “Did you find out anything about my parents?”
“Oh, shit. No, man, I didn’t get around to it. I was too busy. We can check into it tomorrow.”
The knot in Davis’ stomach eased a bit. He didn’t know why that made him so anxious. He had never known his parents.
“Yeah.”
“Keep an eye out. Wake me if Jason or some red-haired punk with earrings shows up. That’ll be Slater.”
“All right. Sure. Have a good rest.”
“I’ll try. The cot’s none too comfy.” Glen chuckled.
The knot tightened more. Davis cursed at himself. Why did that name sound so familiar? He never knew any kid named Slater. Maybe a face would help him to remember. He would have to wait.
He stood and followed Glen. Glen disappeared into the bedroom and shut the door and Davis continued on. The smell of chicken and spicy sauce greeted him as he entered the front of the store. The cartons sat on the table with the guns and ammo, but Davis didn’t have much of an appetite.
He stood at the front of the door and stared out into the empty parking lot. The only vehicle he saw was Glen’s van. The sky darkened quickly. Rain clouds were moving in. Sprinkles of water dotted the van’s windows. Davis let out a sigh.
He would just have to wait and see.
* * *
His grip crushed her wrist, but Rose would not let him know it hurt. She kept her face set to her scowl as he pulled her along after him. She stumbled over her own feet as she could not meet the stride of Simon’s longer legs. She hit her toe on one of the steps going down, but didn’t cry out.
The blonde woman, Claire, stood in the doorway of a room. Her mouth dropped open, then closed when Simon glared at her.
“You,” he said gruffly, pointing a finger of his free hand toward her, “wait for me in my office. I’ll deal with you later.”
Claire narrowed her eyes at him and Rose could see her temples throb as she clenched her teeth. She moved past them and up the stairs, catching Rose’s gaze briefly. Rose watched her until Simon pulled her away and her neck strained to the point she thought it would snap.
“Let go of me,” she said angrily. She glared up at him, but Simon was grinning. He lifted one dark eyebrow at her, but said nothing. Somewhere she heard female laughter. He pushed open a door and pulled her inside. The laughter stopped.
She balked in the doorway, digging her heels into the floor uselessly. Simon’s grip was strong and he gave a powerful tug that almost severed her arm from her torso. The room looked as if it may have been a lounge for employees once upon a time, and it wasn’t empty. A red-haired woman sat atop a counter. Acid green eyes watched her with contempt. The lithe body shifted slightly as she turned her head to watch Rose.
Rose avoided her eyes. Instead, she turned her head toward the direction Simon took her. She recognized the black man standing against the wall. His nose was bandaged and yellow bruises covered his dark skin. Rose smirked slightly to herself for her good work and the man scowled. There was another man seated at the table. Rose recognized him as one of the men that invaded the PRDI. She stared at him a long moment before Simon jerked her away and broke her gaze.
“Here.” He threw open a door and shoved her in. “Do what you need to do and be quick about it.”
Rose nearly tripped She caught herself before she fell headlong into the toilet. She spun around, but she wasn’t quick enough. The door slammed behind her. She banged her fist against it a few times and yelled. She only heard a male’s ringing laughter and she sank away from the door.
She turned to look behind her. The bathroom was small and cramped. There was a small sink with rust stains around the handles that ran down into the basin. The toilet was dirty, and a strong urine smell permeated the place. There was a small slit of a window above the toilet and cold air and sunlight crept in. The dirty mirror above the sink held a reflection of a girl she could no longer recognize.
Suddenly, she was aware of an uncomfortable pressure on her bladder and she realized she had to go. She did her business quickly in the disgusting toilet, flushed and worked on washing her hands. She leaned over the sink, the water running in a slow stream. She wet her hands. There was no soap, so she used only water, thoroughly cleansing her hands. She heard voices through the closed door.
“I don’t want her here, Simon. Do what you need to do with her, and get rid of her,” The woman said, shrilly. Rose immediately saw the green eyes and venomous scowl of the red-haired woman. She shut the water off and listened carefully.
“Shut up, Alana,” she heard Simon say. He sounded pissed. Rose’s hands gripped the sink as she listened to his grating tones. “It doesn’t concern you…”
“It doesn’t concern me?” Her voice rose.
Rose heard something crash and she winced slightly.
“Alana…” the dark-skinned man said. His voice was deeper than the others, and Rose recognized it quickly. She sneered at herself in the mirror. The woman was livid. She wasn’t going to listen to reason.
“Stay the fuck out of this, Eric,” Alana shouted. “I don’t understand why you had to bring one of…them here. We are all involved in this. Why do you need her? What questions? You didn’t interrogate the boy for long; why should it be any different with the bitch?”
“Shut the fuck up, Alana,” Simon bellowed. “Get the hell out of here. All of you!”
“I know you’re up to something,” the woman responded. “I know you.”
“You wish.” Simon laughed. “Now get out.”
“Fine.”
Rose heard the loud footfalls as the woman left. The door slammed behind her. Someone let out a breath.
“That woman is a royal pain in my ass,” Simon said. Eric chuckled deeply. “And you.” The chuckling stopped. “Get the fuck out of here. You too, Sean. I want to be alone.”
Eric left without a word and the door closed behind him. The man called Sean had been silent until now and he spoke so low Rose couldn’t hear him.
“Out!” Simon screamed. The door once again sounded as it shut. Simon was alone. Rose let out the breath she had been holding. Her heart pounded wildly in her ears. She was going to be alone with him, again. If there was ever a chance, now was the time.
She stared at the mirror in front of her. The girl in the reflection stared back at her, white-faced. Determination burned in her eyes. A moment later, the reflection was broken and hundreds of particles of glittering glass littered around her. She stared down at her balled fist, now red with blood from her broken knuckles. If there was any pain, she didn’t feel it.
The crash was loud and she only had seconds to react before Simon opened the door. Rose scooped up the largest of the mirror shards and closed her fist around it. More blood dripped as it sliced her palm.
Just as she had predicted, the door opened wide and Simon entered. She lunged at him, the broken mirror poised in her hand to stab. But Simon was quicker than she had anticipated. He grabbed her wrist and twirled her. Rose was thrown against the wall, where she let out a startled cry. She turned to face him, primed to attack again when he was on her. Her cries were muffled by a strong hand over her mouth.
Golden eyes glared into hers. Simon’s breath was hot and rank on her face. She tried to move, but he kept her pinned there.
“You stupid bitch,” he whispered.
He tightened his grip around her wrist until she involuntarily let out a cry of pain and the mirror shard fell from her fingers. Simon leered. His lips curled over his teeth.
“I should’ve realized you’d try something like this.”
Rose renewed her struggle against him, but he kept her there. She could hardly move. The hand Simon didn't have hold of was pinned painfully between them. She glared at him.
His gaze momentarily left hers and turned to stare at the bloody hand he held pinned to the wall. He eased the pressure from her wrist and moved his hand to grip hers. The pain of her fresh cuts was suddenly excruciating and she cried out against his smothering palm. He clenched his fingers around her hand tightly and her blood spilled onto his hand. Simon looked back to her face.
“This blood,” he said as he squeezed her hand, “is what matters. Full-blood.”
Rose was confused. She tried to kick at him, grab him with her other hand, but he pressed himself against her. She couldn’t speak. She could hardly breathe. Simon must’ve realized this for he eased his hand off her mouth. She panted for breath.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” she demanded once she could speak.
Simon stared at her. His fingers flexed against her and she jerked her hand a few inches. Blood oozed down her wrist.
“Blood, Rose. I’m talking about blood. Full-bloods, half-bloods, changed-bloods—you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t,” Rose said between clenched teeth. Simon laughed and moved his face closer to hers.
“You will, though, in time.” He tilted his head, his face close to her throat. His breath was hot. He inhaled deeply. Rose felt the heat rise in her face. She felt disgusted.
“Mmm… The full-blood scent, the strongest of all.”
“Get away from me, asshole.”
He ignored her insult and continued inhaling her scent. Her heart raced. After a moment, he withdrew and stared into her eyes.
“You know what I want,” he stated.
Rose let out a bitter laugh. “And you’re not going to get it.”
“Is that right?” He snarled. His free hand suddenly went to the back of her neck. He forcibly pulled her close and his lips pressed against hers in a violent kiss. Rose balked, forcing her lips shut as his tongue snaked wet and hot against her mouth. His kiss bruised her mouth. She made a sound of protest and tried to pull back, but he held there.
Just as soon as it had started, it was over. He pulled back and leered at her. Her lips felt wet and she longed to spit the taste of his kiss away from them. He grinned, his canine teeth more prominent against his bottom lip.
“You cringe now, but you’ll want me in the end, when I’m the only male of your kind left.” His fingers bit into the back of her neck, hurting her. She stared at him with angry eyes.
“I wouldn’t fuck you even then.”
“You would have to, Rose. You wouldn’t have a choice. Would you really doom the last of our race? We would repopulate the world with full-bloods. Thin out the weak and bring in the strong. Your blood and my blood together. Can you imagine what our pups would be like? They would be strong.” A proud, determined look glossed over his eyes.
Rose stared at him, aghast.
“That’s why you are killing us? You want to get rid of all of them, so it will be only your bloodline remaining?” she asked, her voice soft. She couldn’t believe it. It was a radical concept. She gaped blankly at him.
“She finally figures it out.” He refocused his eyes and stared at her. “It took you long enough. Yes. I want to get rid of all the damn werewolves. They’re weak, all of them. Even most full-bloods these days. The bloodlines are too weak. Mine is strong. Yours is strong. Together… Well, you get the idea.”
“I’m afraid I do,” Rose choked out. She felt sick. Simon’s hand stuck to hers, wet with her blood. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to relish it. He stared at her bloody palm, then back to her.
“It took me years to find you, find the perfect female. I started hunting when I was still a teenager, Rose. You know what it’s like growing up, being different from all the other kids around you.”
Rose wanted to say that she didn’t know. She had been raised in the PRDI. All the kids she had befriended were vampires, werewolves, psychics. She kept her mouth shut and stared at his blazing eyes as he continued.
“Well, I hated being the outcast. I was a freak. They hated me, belittled me. Then, I found out why. I realized I was better than they were. I was better than everyone around me. I was stronger, faster, smarter.” He let out a laugh and lowered his voice until it was a hoarse growl. “My parents had known all about how much better our race was to theirs, and yet they made me to be like them, like weak humans. My parents were weak, like them. I found other werewolves to be weak…”
“And you started killing them, because you are an egotistical jerk?” Rose suddenly asked, sarcasm dripping in her voice. Simon smiled sardonically.
“No, because I was right. The bloodlines were weak, but I was strong. I killed them in the beginning without any sort of plan, without any sort of goal other than to rid the world of them. Later though…”
“You got lonely and wanted to fuck someone,” Rose said. She set her jaw and stared up at him.
“Stop interrupting me.” His eyes flared and he gripped the back of her neck hard enough to make her to gasp. He composed himself and smiled sarcastically. “As I was saying, later a brilliant idea came to me. I could make the bloodlines strong again, if I could find a female with the strength and blood to bear my young. And not long after, I stumbled upon you. You, who had been born of full-blood parents, who were descended from full-bloods several generations gone. Your blood was as strong as mine, perhaps stronger. Oh, Rose…”
Simon leaned in. His face touched her neck as he nuzzled along her throat and shoulder. The roughness of his beard stubble scratched at her skin. She turn
ed her head away and closed her eyes. This could not be real.
“Imagine it. My children would grow to be the strongest werewolves in this day and age, like they were before the interbreeding and half-bloods took over.” His tone was hopeful at first, then gradually grew bitter. His voice was hot against her ear. She trembled.
Rose couldn’t believe what he was saying. She felt tears burn in her eyes and she could no longer keep her rage inside.
“And how will you do this, with your cohorts following you every step of the way? Do they know what you are?”
Simon laughed. “They won’t be for long. They know nothing about what I am and they never will.” His laughter died and he was suddenly serious. He stared hard into her eyes.
“I will tell them,” Rose said. “I will tell them everything. I’ll scream and scream it.”
“You won’t,” Simon warned her. “You open your mouth, and it will be the last thing you ever say. You don’t need a voice to have a child. I’ll rip your fucking throat out.”
Rose glared at him. “Sooner or later, they will find out, even if I say nothing.”
Simon laughed again. “That will never happen. I’m too careful…”
“You are nothing more than a fucking dog. I will never fuck you. I will never have your children. I would rather be dead.”
Furiously, Simon threw her head back against the wall. It bounced off the hard surface and her head swam. Pain flashed before her eyes and she clenched her teeth together. She muffled her groan.
“Don’t call me that,” he said. “Don’t you ever call me that again, you ungrateful bitch!”
“Ungrateful?” Rose shouted at him, once she could see him and the pain had become a dull throb. “You call me ungrateful? What have I to be grateful for?” Her voice rose shrilly. “You killed the only family I ever knew. You killed my friends. You killed my mate.”
“You should be grateful that I have spared your life,” he spat at her. His eyes gleamed dangerously. He trembled with anger as he held her there. “I have done so much to find you, to have you here. I have sacrificed my time, have killed hundreds just to have you here, now. That bitch and her boyfriend… They weren’t the first, and they weren’t the last. I killed them to get you. Be grateful you’re not among them.”
Blood Moon Page 15
