Creature of Habit (Creature of Habit #1)

by Angel Lawson

  Luckily, Jess and Thomas came back carrying plastic cups of beer and the music started. From there, the night flew by. Thomas was great, he seemed perfectly clear we were nothing more than friends, which made it more bearable to listen to his conversations about B movies and horror film costumes. By dark, we were having a great time dancing and spilling drinks all over ourselves. I inhaled the cool summer night air, realizing how nice it was to get out and enjoy life a little. I had definitely spent too much time cooped up indoors all summer.

  Before the final act began, I decided to make a bathroom run while the crowds were low. "Hey guys, I'm going to go run to the restrooms over there, the one by the beer truck," I said, pointing to the well-lit pavilion.

  "Do you want company?" Thomas asked.

  I laughed. "No, you know it will take you half the time in the men's room as it takes me in the women's. Plus you'll miss too much of the show. I'll be right back." I darted off though the crowd. The line snaked out the door and around the side, still crowded, even at this point in the show. I waited patiently until something caught my eye.

  Leaning against the wall was a small girl with long dark hair. Her back was to me but when she turned I saw the side of her face I immediately recognized her. Jenna.

  I hopped out of line and called out, "Hey!"

  She didn't respond and turned away.

  "Jenna!" I yelled over the music and crowds, picking up my pace. I searched for her in the mass of people. I should have gone for the police, or gotten help but I had this intense connection to the girl. I couldn’t let her out of my sight. Maybe, I thought, as I pushed past a couple making out, this was what my dreams were about. Maybe I was supposed to be the one to find her.

  She was several people ahead, swiftly ducking between people. The girl moved easily, just beyond my reach. I struggled against the crush of the crowd, stepping on one woman's foot and had a full beer cup spilled on my shoes as I searched the crowd.

  “Jenna!” I called again, panic swelling in my chest. I lost her.

  I spun in a circle. I spotted the shiny black of her hair as it broke through the swell of people. I followed, scooting past the First Aid tent and into a darker area of the field. Pushing my way through, I eventually freed myself from the throngs of people.

  "Jenna! Wait!" I shouted, louder this time. She had quite the distance on me. To my relief, she slowed her pace and looked around for who was calling her name.

  I started running a little. If it was her, I had to catch up. I had to help her. I'd been dreaming about her for weeks and I knew her parents must be worried sick. I couldn't believe she was here. Right in front of me.

  What I couldn't figure out was why she was back here all alone. If she wasn't being held against her wishes, why was she wandering around the festival? I stopped running as it dawned on me that maybe things weren't as they seemed with this girl. Maybe she was a runaway? What if she didn’t want to be found? It was too late for me to stop though. I had to know if she was okay. She'd haunted me, and there was no way I was letting her loose until I found out she was okay.

  We were close to the edge of the field but the lights from the concert were still illuminating the area, casting a shadowy glow over the grass. I was breathing heavily from running and was glad to see her finally stop and turn around.

  "Jenna? Is that you?" It was hard for me to see her face the way she was standing.

  "Who are you?" she said, in a small weird voice.

  I took a tentative step forward. "I'm Amelia. I saw your photo on a poster at my coffee shop. Your parents are looking for you. Are you okay?"

  Her upper lip curled slightly and I watched as she inhaled deeply. The gesture was oddly familiar and Grant's face flashed in my mind. She turned to face me and said, "I’ve been looking for you.”

  “For me?”

  “I was sent here to find you. Thank you for making it so easy." She took another breath through her nose. "You smell nice."

  Sent to find me? I peered at her in the darkness while my internal alarms began to sound. I found her eyes in the darkness.

  Black. Soulless.

  Jenna’s face was pale, her cheekbones hollow. Her eyes sunk into her skull and she had a maniacal expression on her face. This was not the little girl whose picture I obsessed over and dreamt about night after night. This girl was a monster, like…

  Oh no, oh no, oh no…..

  I heard a branch snap beside me and I looked over quickly. In the odd lighting I could see the spikes of short dark hair. No. This couldn't be happening.

  Not again.

  "Aw… you're not happy to see me?" Sasha purred. "I’ve really missed you. So much that I've come to visit you more than once. We even left you a gift. But I was a little disappointed that you didn't send a thank you card. You know, one of those pieces is an antique and very special to Caleb.”

  What? I never understood this woman’s crazy mind-fuckery. I did know from the dark glint in her eye she wanted to hurt me and this time I wouldn’t be so lucky. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

  Under Sasha's booming laughter, Jenna hissed. Glad they thought this was so hilarious. "Your boyfriend didn't tell you about your gift? How selfish of him."

  The police always said to keep an attacker talking and never let them take you to a second location. Great Amelia, that seemed really helpful against a psychopathic stalker, who bragged about breaking into my house. I tried anyway. "My boyfriend?"

  Unnaturally fast, Sasha appeared in front of me and reached out. Her ragged fingernail scraped across the contours of my cheek and she brushed my chin with her disturbingly smooth and cool hand.

  Smooth and cool.

  I shook her off, but for the second time, the image of Grant appeared in my mind and this time it made me stop. "You think Grant's my boyfriend," I stated more than asked, finally making the connection. I hastily took a step backwards, trying to get some space between us.

  She gave me an odd smirk and said, "Of course he is. More than that even. He's your mate. Or he wants you to be." She laughed and stole a glance at Jenna who looked like she was coming down from a high. Sasha made a cooing sound in her direction. "I know you're hungry, young one, but you know the rules. Only Caleb tastes the blood of this treasure."

  Her words slid around me like pieces of a puzzle, sometimes they didn't fit but others were interlocking and everything looked clearer. Before I could stop myself I whispered, "You’re a vampire."

  Sasha cackled and clapped her hands. "Welcome to the game, Amelia! Everyone has been playing, now you can join in, too. Although it is too bad you don't get to pick which team you want to play for."

  I saw the evil glint in her eye. My feet moved instinctively, fight or flight kicking in. I raced toward the crowds but it was futile. Before I moved five feet Jenna was behind me, hands clasped around my upper arms. I could feel her cool breath on my neck as she panted like an animal. She smelled fresh, like flowers, but when I looked down her hands were filthy, covered in a thick coat of grime.

  I felt pathetic, but there was no way I could fight her off. She and Sasha were vampires and had been stalking me for weeks.

  Vampires.

  My whole body shook with the realization she would take me to Caleb and I didn't have any way to stop her.

  Sasha settled her hard eyes on Jenna. "Young one, you can touch, but do not taste." She laid a hand on top of Jenna’s head and said in a vicious tone, "Do not damage her or we will all pay."

  She spoke so freely of my death, as though it was inevitable. Desperate, I tried the last thing I could think of, hoping someone would stumble upon us and save me from this impossible nightmare.

  "What do you mean Grant wants me for his mate?" I asked shakily.

  Jenna never loosened her grip but Sasha did pause for a moment before giving me an amused eye. "You really don't know?"

  I shook my head nervously confused by this whole line of conversation but enthralled at the same time. "I don’t unde
rstand any of this."

  Sasha's amusement turned to hysterical laughter. She tossed her head back, flinging her black hair out of her eyes. From behind me, I heard small giggles coming from the demonic girl holding me prisoner.

  "Well that makes everything so much more interesting. See, Caleb is my mate. My partner, my other half. We've been companions for decades."

  I knew my face betrayed my disbelief as I processed this information. Decades? Sasha couldn't be older than me. She moved closer, so close, I could see the thick rows of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her movements were unnaturally fast and disconcerting, and my eyes couldn't keep up with the level of speed. She smirked. "It's how our kind declares commitment to another immortal. Grant is completely, eternally, committed to you."

  Images began to unfolded, almost like a series of photographs. The first picture was of Grant. I thought of his habits, the secrets, the lies. Why he was so young yet appeared so old. His cool touch and cryptic words. I considered the lack of food or drink in his home, his strength and beauty.

  The look of hunger in his eyes. My heart lurched into my throat.

  No.

  “I’m not immortal.”

  “Not yet,” Sasha declared. "Your boyfriend is exactly like me. And like Jenna. Well, not exactly like us. He has chosen an ‘alternative’ lifestyle." She rolled her eyes. "It doesn’t matter that you belong to him. Caleb wants you more, and whatever Caleb wants, I will give him. Because that is what a mate does for the other."

  “Does Caleb want me as his mate, too?”

  Sasha’s hand flew through the air faster than I could comprehend. I heard the hollow slap at the same time I felt the sting from where her palm met my cheek. Tears welled in my eyes. “Caleb is my mate, bitch. That’s not what he wants you for.”

  “What then?”

  “Revenge. He’ll train you to tear the Palmers apart. One by one, until there’s nothing left other than what he came for in the first place.”

  She turned and walked into the woods with no other words. Jenna’s fingers dug into my arms harder as she pushed me along taking me with them, back to this man named Caleb. Also a vampire.

  Grant was a vampire. Sasha and Jenna were vampires. The entire Palmer family? Holy shit.

  Jenna released my arms when she realized I was no longer resisting, and pushed me ahead, into the forest. I stumbled and fell more than once, and her small hands yanked me up from the ground. I flinched, knowing the bruises would be worse than last time. I blinked. The harsh reality that bruises, cuts, and heartache no longer mattered. These two creatures were marching me to my death.

  Chapter 41

  Grant

  Amelia.

  Where did she go?

  I closed my eyes in the middle of the crowd and tried to get my bearings. One minute she was standing in the line for the restroom and the next she was gone. Her scent mixed in with the thousands of other concert goers. Raking my hands into my hair, I dropped to my knee in frustration in the middle of the park. I knew I was overreacting, but ever since she told me she was coming here I had a sense of dread. There were too many people. It was too easy for them to get to her and for me to lose her.

  I rocked back on my heels and listened.

  “This band is great….hey, ass face….if he touches me one more time…I wonder how long the beer truck stays open after the band finishes…”

  My gift of exquisite hearing was a blessing and a curse. In a crowd of two thousand people it was a curse straight from the devil himself. I heard so many people—so many different voices that it was impossible to shut them all out. Finding Amelia among this crowd was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even my vampire senses weren't that good.

  I pulled out my phone, stabbing my finger at the button going to the only person who could maybe find her. "Where is she?" I spat.

  "Amelia?" Olivia asked, knowing there was only one person I would be concerned about. "What's wrong?"

  "You can't see her?" I asked, the unfounded panic rising again.

  "Um…." Olivia went silent and I began pacing around the park, looking for any sign of Amelia. I couldn't catch her scent over the overpowering odors of food, drinks and sweat. Between that and the noise I was truly blind.

  "Olivia?" I asked, tentatively this time.

  "Grant, all I see is her in the woods at some point. She won't be alone and she isn’t going willingly. Other than that it's shifting and moving too quickly. The only thing I know for sure is you need to find her in the forest."

  I disconnected and wove through the thick crowd. I had no choice but to ignore the blaring thoughts and obnoxious odors. I passed a couple engaged in a deep kiss and had a brief sense of relief smelling Amelia on the back of the man's shirt. She must have come this way and brushed against him.

  I saw the First-Aid Tent ahead and peeked inside. She wasn't there but I found indentions in the grass beyond the tent. There were two sets of footprints, one possibly running behind the other, both leading to the shadowy darkness of the forest.

  What would make Amelia come into the darkness like this? I wondered and was instantly hit by a flowery scent wafting in the breeze. I'd smelled it before, at Amelia's home and on the necklace left on the door.

  Jenna.

  Dammit. Only the little girl could lure Amelia away from safety and I berated myself for not telling her to stay away if she encountered her. But what could I do? Comments like that would only force her to ask more questions and force me to tell more lies.

  I picked up my pace and opened my thoughts, trying to track their direction. I pushed aside the faint murmurs from the distancing crowd and the fading music from behind me. I smelled Amelia, her scent becoming stronger as I approached the edge. Suddenly, I was struck by a different aroma, Sasha's. Amelia's odor was replaced by adrenaline and fear. Panic took hold.

  I raced through the woods until a wave of images flooded my head. Blonde hair, blue eyes, angry scratch marks on pale skin. Caleb. Was he near here? I took a deep breath-searching for his sent. Nothing, yet he had to be close to hijack my mind. I was slammed with an image of Jenna’s tiny hands clutched tight around Amelia’s arms. Everything about her was unfocused, immature, and unpredictable. Her eyes lingered on Amelia's neck. My neck.

  The vision sent me into a rage and I pushed Caleb out of my head. I pummeled through the trees, trampling brush and foliage with a viciousness I'd never felt before. Up ahead I saw them. Three figures. Small and wild, dark and dangerous, and lastly, timid and scared. My eyes zeroed in on Amelia being manhandled by Jenna as I crashed through the brush. I cringed at the sight of her, filthy. At the way fingers were bruising her very human flesh. The thought of her pain caused my fury to rise even higher. Her body was mine and mine alone to worship. Their disrespect would cost them heavily.

  Ahead, Sasha heard me coming. Her eyes flicked left and right, processing escape plans. Beyond that, I could see the conflict on her face. What would be the cost with Caleb if she failed to bring his treasure back? Death? She wavered for a moment, glancing between me and Amelia. She made her decision quickly, flight being her best weapon of defense. Before I fully reached them, she fled into the darkness of the forest.

  Jenna lurched at the sudden disappearance of Sasha and jerked Amelia to a stop. Amelia yelped and whimpered from the pain. I winced with her, quickly determining how to proceed. The fledgling was very powerful. Hungry. And absolutely zero self-control. Without Sasha to guide her I only had seconds to save Amelia.

  I made my decision without hesitation.

  "Jenna," I said, in a tone lower than Amelia could hear. “Release her.”

  The fledgling turned to me, placing Amelia between me and her. Amelia's eyes widened with…hope? Fear? I wasn't sure. I was never sure. I tilted my head to the side, longing to reach out for her.

  The sound of a hiss snapped my eyes back to Jenna.

  "Take your hands off her and I’ll make your death quick and painless."

 
; Her fingers fumbled but her teeth glinted sharp. One look at Amelia proved she was close to slipping into shock. Her eyes were unfocused and she had yet to utter a word of recognition.

  Jenna spoke, her voice young and high pitched, "You can't save her. No one saved me, and look at you. You're no different. Your heart is as cold and dead as my own. Your soul? You can feel the hole from where it’s missing. The only actual difference is you’re pretending to be better than the rest of us. You’re a fake. The real enemy. The failure of our kind.”

  "Jenna. Take your hands off of her. Or I will take them off for you. Like Caleb. You saw what happened to him. Next time I’ll kill him," I said. Her dirty fingers moved to release Amelia, but instead of dropping to the side, they latched onto Amelia's head and twisted, exposing her neck.

  I heard, rather than saw Jenna’s teeth scrape against Amelia’s flesh. I cried and lunged forward, thrusting my body between them, shoving Amelia aside as gently as possible. She stumbled to the ground, but Jenna was my priority. She growled and hissed like a wild animal. Barely two months old, hunger and the desire to fight were the primal urges that coursed through her infected veins, and now that Sasha abandoned her she had no reason not to follow her instincts.

  I dove at the fledgling and tore into her with my teeth and nails. She fought back, slashing at my arms. I drew a blade from my pocket and she stilled, pressing her back to the trees.

  “Your time is up,” I said, slicing the blade across her throat in one final arc. Jenna howled like an animal in pain as thick blood spilled from her wound. “It never should have been this way. You’re too young—too innocent.” With both hands I ripped off her head and dropped it to the ground.

  She may have been stronger, but I was smarter and more disciplined. I was a killer. The dead body and dripping blood from my hands proved that. Amelia moved behind me and I spun, finding her on her hands and knees. She crawled away from me and retched in the dark, dank forest. A feeling of absolute dread settled in my bones.

  I knew all along she wasn't mine to have. At the very best I was placed here to protect her. The worst? To kill her. My need for her was irreversible but now that she knew, really understood, that I was the very real monster that haunted her dreams, there was no way she would want me in return.