Shattered Skies: Beginning's End

by Heather Linn

  “What the hell is wrong with you, you crazy bitch? I am going to kill you!”

  I could tell by the murderous look in his eyes that he wasn’t making idle threats. I decided that I was done playing around with this monster. I was getting out of there and I was doing it now. Apparently my neck was hurt worse than I thought because when I tried to struggle into a sitting position, I was overcome with the dizziness and nausea that only blood loss can produce. I was trying so hard to regain focus and make the room stop spinning that I didn’t even notice Jax climbing back on top of me; it wasn’t until I felt the pressure of his hands around my throat that my head cleared enough to register what was going on. For a brief instant before I opened my eyes, I actually thought he had seen what he had done to my neck and that he was trying to apply pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding, but when I opened my eyes I was greeted with two flaming balls of rage staring down at me and I knew that my thought had been terribly wrong.

  “I am going to rape you and watch you die at the same time.” The one genetic flaw that the Dominus tried their damnedest to hide was what the fact that they needed their windpipe to be intact to be safe. Though they did not need much oxygen to survive, but it was the delicate windpipe that kept the connection going between their brain and the rest of their body. I had forgotten all about this defect. Dr. Walker had mentioned it to us in passing during one of our lessons. It was never important enough to spend any time on because there was no way that we would live through a situation if our only option was strangling one of these beasts to crush their windpipe. Since he thought I was a fellow monster I knew that he was going to strangle me to death.

  “Feel free to struggle. It will make it more exciting for me.”

  This guy was going to kill me. I believed that will with all my heart and I sure as hell wasn’t going to add more pleasure to his sick orgasm. Even when he started thrusting inside of me, I didn’t move. The more he got into the sex the harder he squeezed my throat. Everything started to go numb and I wasn’t there with him anymore. I was floating through the air without a care in the world until the boom of his voice brought me back to reality.

  “Not yet babe. You are not getting off that easily; breathe. I want you to go the same time I come. I am going to make this last for a while for both of us.” He released my neck just enough for my lungs to fill with air. I truly thought they were going to explode as I gulped up the oxygen.

  “Ok, enough for now.”

  There was the pressure again. He played this game about twenty more times. Each time I came closer than the last to passing out. I could tell his favorite part was watching me gasp for the air that he was taking away. His thrusts quickened as my lungs painfully burnt. I drifted away from him again and said my goodbyes. I knew that no one could hear me, but I said them anyway. I told them all that I was sorry and that I was gone now so they would all be safe from my antics. I told them all I loved them, and much to my surprise, my subconscious easily included Akia into the goodbyes I was saying, even the “I love you” ones.

  “OK, bitch look at me!” I ignored him and he punched me in the jaw. The pain made my eyes fly open. “This is for real this time. You are going to die and I want to watch your face as it happens. I am taking this by the way; it looks like it could be worth a pretty penny. Besides, you won’t need it where you are going.”

  With that my ring was gone. Oddly enough, I felt relief wash over me. I had already accepted that there was nothing that I could do to stop him. I had said my goodbyes and made peace and my family was safe. I was glad that this waiting game was almost over. Dimly, I felt him picking up the pace inside me and I knew the biggest orgasm of his life was about to hit him. I felt him fill up my insides and right before I blacked out I thought, huh, coming and going at the same time; now I get it. And then there was nothing.

  “Kitten what was that? Where are you?” Great, this man stalked me even in death. “Oh God, what happened? Open your eyes. Please open your eyes.”

  I could hear the panic in Akia’s voice and there was nothing that I could do about it. I couldn’t move, yet I was at peace. I realized that death wasn’t as scary as I thought; in fact, so far it was great. Nothing hurt and I was warm. For half a second I wondered if it was bad to be warm when you were dead. I mean, I am sure the flames of hell are warm at first. Then the thought vanished just as quickly as it had come.

  “Kitten, you have to wake up. You are bleeding.” Then he was shaking me; shaking me so hard that he was disturbing my easy state and that made me angry. I slowly opened my eyes and he was there looking me over, eyes glistening. “I thought you were dead. What happened? I felt you cry out to me. I felt it in my mind.”

  Wow, he was beautiful and he smelled of something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on; a mix of vanilla and lilac maybe. Whatever it was, it made me feel safe. I didn’t know where I was and I didn’t care, because as long as I could see him and smell him I was where I was supposed to be. The look in his eyes took my breath away. It was like he was looking at the most precious gemstone in the world. I knew that I would never understand that look but my heart already did. I was truly loved by two different men. Who could say that they were really that blessed in their lifetime? I was sure the list was extremely short.

  Sure the love was different. One love had the passion to burn me like the sun with his kisses, and the other could take away all my fears with just the brush of his skin, but no matter the feeling that they gave me, the look in their eyes was the same. I could die knowing that I may have been nothing to the world, but to these two men I was everything.

  “Kiss me please.” My voice barely worked. I couldn’t talk above a whisper, but he heard me. I felt him holding something against my neck then his lips brushed mine. I was on fire again but it didn’t hurt; it felt calming. It was like he kissed me with both of their lips. I was complete and I closed my eyes. I could die like this and be happy, loved and whole, I thought. Somewhere, I felt him break the kiss. I was so warm. I always thought you would be cold moments before death, but I was wrong. He had taken the cold away and managed to make it warm and inviting.

  “No kitten, open your eyes.” Akia sounded so heartbroken. I wanted nothing more than to tell him that I was OK, that I was happy.

  “Open them now, Catalina. Oh God, please wake up.”

  That wasn’t Akia! That was Darien! I was sure of it. They both came to help me die, and they were doing it together. They really must care I thought. Then the darkness went black.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The light that was shining through the room was blinding. Every time I tried to open my eyes, my head screamed at me. I had heard of the bright light at the end of the tunnel but this was freaking ridiculous.

  “Hey, she is awake!”

  I knew that voice, but from where? I had to force my eyes open once and for all to see where I was despite the harsh light. It took me several tries, but finally I succeeded. The pain was deafening for a few seconds, and then my vision was invaded with flashes of piercing bright colors, causing my head to throb even more. When I finally could open my eyes and make sense of the things around me, I realized I wasn’t dead. I was in bed in Dr. Walker’s office; there had never been a bed in there before, I thought. When I saw Darien walking toward me everything came back in a rush. I remembered Jax and being raped. Everything that happened that night came flying back to me. I was looking for Darien and this Jax guy was going to kill him, but instead he killed me. I was dead. He strangled me. I remembered dying. What was I doing here? Oh my God, were we all dead? Someone had followed me; we were all dead. I was not sure why we are still in the hideout but we were gone.

  “I am so sorry. What did I do? It is all my fault.”

  Dr. Walker reached me before anyone else. “Catalina, you have to calm down. You have had a very traumatic head injury. If you don’t calm down you are going to slip back into a coma. Breathe, Catalina.” Dr. Walker was shaking me. I hadn’t even reali
zed that I was holding my breath until I released it and felt that sickening pain in my lungs again.

  “I am not dead; you guys aren’t dead either.” I was still whispering and my throat hurt so badly.

  “No Cat, you are not dead. We are all fine now. Please lay back or I am going to have to give you something to relax you.”

  I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I had to get to the bottom of this. I let Dr. Walker help me lay back down. His hands were rough with work and age. I could see in his eyes that I had scared him, and I felt horrible for it. I question it sometimes, but the look on his face as he held me and lowered let me know that I mattered to him; he was in every sense of the word my father.

  “How did you know where to find me? Akia was there with me before I died. I remembered him begging me not to go but I couldn’t help it.” Surely he couldn’t have brought me here or there would have been no here to return to; everyone would be dead by now. No one would answer me; they were all looking at me like I was going to do something magical. “What am I doing here? I died! I remember dying. Where is Akia? He was there with me right before I died. He tried to wake me up. Someone better answer me or I am getting the hell out of here!”

  “Catalina calm down before you end up more hurt. If I have to tell you again, I am going to put you under. I mean it.”

  Doctor Walker was right beside me and I knew that, yet the sternness in his voice still made me jump. Once I settled back down he began to speak again. “You didn’t die; quite the opposite. And Akia had nothing to do with any of it. You must have been delusional due to lack of oxygen. Darien got to you first and revived you with mouth to mouth resuscitation. When I got to you, he already had you breathing again. Together we carried you back here. We had to go through the woods so that no one would see us. It took us forever and you were unconscious the whole time. I knew that you needed to be motionless to recover from your ordeal, but we couldn’t just leave you on the apartment floor. I brought you back here so that I could take care of you until you woke up again.”

  “You were so pale, Cat. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I did mouth to mouth until you started to breathe on your own. I wasn’t sure that you were ever going to wake back up.” Darien was standing over me looking at me with his emerald eyes, and I flashed back to Akia’s eyes. There was something about that look; my head was too fuzzy to make sense of why it meant something now.

  “What do you mean until I woke up? What are you two talking about? How did you know where to find me? You were knocked out cold on the floor Darien. I had to get the guy that you decided to fight away from you before he killed you. If I didn’t step in when I did, he was going to rip you to shreds right there on the floor where you had passed out. I remember, you were just laying there when I left. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that you were safe, but I knew that if that muscle bound baboon stayed there, you would be as good as dead. He took me back to his place. I was going to turn him to dust, but then something went wrong and he didn’t die. I don’t know what he was, but he wasn’t Dominus. It didn't ever even occur to me that he could be a full-fledged Vampire until it was too late. I had never come face to face with a real Vampire. I didn’t know what to do, but it didn’t matter because I knew that you were safe Darien.” I was rambling but I didn’t care, nothing was making any sense to me and I needed answers.

  “Cat, Jax was a Dominus and the reason that he didn’t die was because you have shared enough blood with Akia that you can no longer kill the monsters with sex.” Dr. Walker was being so calm that I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I was in shock. It had to be a mistake. “I am not sure if this change in you is permanent or not. We will run some tests when you are up to it. I will try to get my hands on a blood match for you and we will try to transfuse you. I have never come across anything like this. I don’t know if it is reversible, but that isn’t even the half of it. I don’t think you are mentally strong enough to hear the rest of it right now though, so why don’t you lay back and sleep for a little while.” With that he began to turn and walk away.

  “What do you mean that isn’t the half of it? And how did you know the guy’s name was Jax or where to find me for that matter?” Dr Walker still had his back turned so I looked in the other direction “Damn it, Darien. I went out looking for you because you were being an idiot. The least you can do is tell me what is going on. I saved your ass, so now talk.”

  He looked from me to Dr Walker who was frowning deeply but making no real objection. Darien was on his own with this one. “OK fine Cat; I will tell you, but you are not going to be the least bit pleased.”

  I wasn’t the least bit pleased already, and from the look on Darien’s face I could tell that the news was going to convey an even more devastating blow than the news Dr Walker had just delivered.

  “Just spill it, damn it. I am getting sick of all these mind games.” OK, so I was a little cranky but now and then, it is the only way to get the job done.

  “First of all, you didn’t save me.”

  My mouth fell open. Lucky for him, he was wise enough to give me a chance to retort. “What do you mean I didn’t save you? Don’t you go all barbaric on me again. He would have killed you if I hadn’t stepped in. He knocked you out cold for crying out loud.” I was about fed up with his new ‘women can’t do anything’ attitude. “Your sorry ass would be dead right now if I hadn’t covered your back, and instead of a thank you, you tell me that I didn’t do anything? What is wrong with you?”

  “I wasn’t knocked out, I was faking it. So was Jax, truth be told. I have known him for awhile. He hangs at the same clubs as me. I told him that if he wanted a good lay all he had to do was act like he was beating the shit out of me when you came along. At first he thought I was crazy, and then I told him that you were this chick that a friend of mine had been with and nothing got you hotter than watching two men fight. So Jax agreed. So when the time was right, I walked up to him and pushed him from behind and then our whole staged fight began.” He couldn’t even face me now.

  “My God Darien, if you wanted him dead all you had to do was ask and I would have taken care of it. You didn’t have to go through that whole charade.” It wasn’t that bad; a mistake or a lack of communication on my and Darien’s part; nothing that a nice long chat wouldn’t fix. Why did he think that I wouldn’t be that pleased? I mean, it was him that got his face kicked in because he couldn’t just ask me for help. Am I really that intimidating?

  “Cat, I am not finished. It wasn’t that simple. I knew from the stories some of the female Dominus’ have told me that Jax was really into pain and being in charge. He liked having it his way, even if he had to hurt the women.” Darien had tears in his eyes now. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this but I was sure I didn’t like the direction so far. I went from wanting to understand to feeling crushed in less than a blink of an eye.

  “You son of a bitch! You wanted him to hurt me? You wanted me to pay for hurting your feelings? He tried to kill me because your ego was damaged? I could have fucking died and it would have been on your hands! I hate you Darien, I really, really hate you.” I was screaming so loud that the others were starting to gather around. “You are supposed to be my best friend, me and you against the world Darien, what the hell were you thinking?”

  “Catalina, lower your voice right now.” The last time I had heard Dr. Walker talk to me in that tone of voice, I was twelve and throwing a tantrum about not wanting to learn to cook with the other girls. “None of this was Darien’s idea, it was mine.”

  I was shocked; that was the only way I can describe it. This man for all intents and purpose was my father. What the hell could I have done to him to make him put Darien up to this? Was he that enraged about the Akia thing, that he thought I would be better off dead?

  “Look Doc. I know you were a upset about Akia, but was this whole thing really necessary just to teach me a lesson?” I growled more than spoke the question to him

  “Catalina, let me e
xplain. No one was trying to teach you a lesson or punish you.” His matter of fact voice was really getting old. “I needed to test you. I knew that you had swapped enough blood with Akia that there was at least a 99 percent chance that you wouldn’t be able to kill a Dominus using sex, even if it was temporary.”

  “If you were so sure Doc, why did you need to test me?” I was trying to maintain a level of decorum. Dr. Walker lived life in a scientific world. Everything happened for a reason and if he couldn’t prove it, it wasn’t real. I couldn’t spite the man for thinking outside the norm. If it wouldn’t have been for his way of thinking, none of us would be sitting here having this conversation. Still, why not just ask me to go and do it with a Dominus that was less aggressive than Jax? Doctor Walker I could see myself eventually forgiving, but as for Darien, I was going to rip him apart limb from limb as soon as I could get out of bed.

  “Catalina whether or not you could kill a Dominus through sex was not what I was testing. I needed to know for sure if you were the human in the prophecy; the person that is going to reclaim the world for the human race.”