by J. E. Cluney
He was peering through the open door at me, with a monstrous face and horns.
What was wrong with mom and dad? Why weren’t they answering? Who was this weird man?
I kept silent as those unseeing black eyes watched me, my heart pounding. I wanted to scream for mom, to beg her to wake up, but I couldn’t look away from his scary face.
A monster.
He ripped my father’s seatbelt off, a deep, unsettling growl emanating from his chest as he tugged my father from the car.
It would be the last time I ever saw him, and my mother.
“I saw it through her eyes. Everything. He caused the accident, took her parents. He was interested in her though. When another car showed up, he left, but not without saying goodbye to her,” I growled, hating the tightness in my chest.
Tears trickled down my cheeks as I sniffled, holding my seatbelt straps tightly. Where was mom? Where was dad? Where was the scary monster man?
My lip trembled, but I dare not cry. What if it heard me?
I jumped, my heart hammering as the horned creature appeared at the side window.
He cocked his head, staring in at me, those unseeing black eyes glowing faintly red. That strange skullish face, long and garish, cracked and creaked as his mouth opened.
Blood. There was blood all over his gruesome, white, boney snout. No nose, just a hollowed out section of his skull face.
I held my breath, not daring to breath as the monster looked in at me.
Lights flashed up on the street behind our car, and I whimpered.
I cried out as the creature slammed a hand against the window, splaying it out, his claws scraping the cracked glass.
A smear of blood was left in its wake as he slid it down.
And then he was gone.
“Not fucking creepy at all.”
I turned to where Skip and Ollie were now standing in the open doorway to the living room, both giving me horrified looks as I relayed the scene to Lucas.
“Wendigos feed off humans, sometimes supes too I guess,” Lucas murmured as he leaned against the counter. “I wonder if that was what got Wayne too then, since the bodies had the same mauling and bite marks.”
“I wouldn’t cross it off the list of possibilities,” I said.
Skip took the moment to toss him his boxers, and Lucas slid into them, making me more comfortable around him now.
“Why didn’t he take Ally though?” Ollie murmured.
“I don’t know,” I frowned.
“Maybe he was full from her parents,” Skip shrugged, cringing once he’d said it.
“No, it was something else. It was almost… like he was fascinated with her,” I murmured as I replayed the memory in my mind. There was something about how the wendigo had looked at her.
“Did she see the memory too?” Lucas asked softly. I realized now that I could no longer hear the shower running.
“No, I don’t think so, this bond, it’s so strange,” I shook my head.
“She’s seeing into our heads too y’know,” Lucas remarked.
“What?” Skip stepped forward at the comment.
“Yours and mine, apparently only sexual stuff,” Lucas sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “She hasn’t seen anything from Ollie. Possibly something to do with the magic burst the other night and our bracelets somehow linking us all,” he suggested.
“How do we find out why?” Ollie asked quietly. At least they’d both gotten fully dressed once they’d finished up.
“I’ll do some research, ask around,” Lucas said. “It’s all I can do. Maybe her aunt and uncle will have more answers.”
“What about this being hunted thing?” I asked, annoyed that we’d sidetracked.
“Keep an eye on her. Make sure one of us is always with her. When she’s in this house, she’s safe,” Lucas said. “I’ll research wendigos and ask around.”
“What about your dad, would he know anything? You said you’d ask him if you didn’t figure out what the magic bond was,” I shot back.
“I know,” he growled.
“I know you guys aren’t on good terms, but this is for Ally,” Ollie murmured. At least he understood this predicament.
“Fine, I’ll swing by tonight,” Lucas groaned.
“Might want to put some clothes on first,” Skip snickered, and Lucas just gave him an eye roll.
I flicked my eyes to the side where Ollie was now slinking off.
Guess he wanted to check on our little VB.
I’d let him go first then. They had a different bond to the one we had.
He might be able to calm her down, relax her.
11
Ollie.
So first Marcus had tasted her, and now Lucas had kissed her. For all I knew, Skip had gotten to her too. I thought we were meant to be leaving her alone? Not dragging her into our weird little… whatever.
I liked Ally a lot, and we got along so well, and yet, I still hadn’t even kissed her.
This sucked. Big time.
But I didn’t want to rush it either. Ally had been hurt before, and that was meant to be why we were taking it slow. This wasn’t the plan.
And now I found this out. Ally was being hunted by something, and her parents had been murdered.
And she knew this too.
But a wendigo? I’d heard old tales of the man-eating beasts, the supes that had been hunted to near extinction by the Supernatural Council. Deemed too much of a threat to our entire existence.
I had to check on her. I needed to know she was okay, and I wanted to let her know that I’d look out for her.
I left the group in the kitchen, hating myself for what I’d just done. Ally had needed us, and we were too busy having a threesome.
I growled at myself, feeling like a stupid, selfish prick.
She deserved better.
I padded up the stairs in my bare feet, pursing my lips as I stood before her door.
I knocked softly, only turning the knob when she answered.
“Hey, how you feeling?” I asked as I quietly made my way over to her bed.
She was sitting up against her pillows, frowning at her phone.
“I don’t know how to feel. Tonight has been a weird freakin’ night,” she sighed as she locked her phone and set it down beside her.
“Yeah, sounds like it has been,” I murmured as I sat down on the end of the bed.
“To think I’m being hunted, and by what? Why?” she frowned, shaking her head in frustration and confusion.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I didn’t know why, but I did know what.
Not that it really mattered right now. The why was more the issue.
“My parents’ death wasn’t an accident,” she said softly. “I’ve spent this whole time thinking it was.”
I didn’t say anything as she rested her chin on her knees and played with her bracelet.
“At least seeing you guys added some… I don’t know, fresh air? Something to take the scariness of it all away. For a moment, I was able to push away the fear I was feeling,” she gave a sharp laugh, followed by a sigh.
“Sorry, we had no idea,” I mumbled, rubbing my arm uneasily.
“Don’t apologize,” she managed a soft smile.
“That’s not exactly something I would’ve wanted you to see,” I muttered. I certainly hadn’t wanted Ally to see that. I liked her, and I didn’t want this to ruin anything between us.
“It’s fine, we’re all adults with needs,” she chuckled, but her smile dropped as her mind wandered off. “Teresa said death was my past, present, and future. That it becomes me, it’s all that I am. Does she mean those I love will die?” she whispered, her eyes watering as she bit her lip.
I couldn’t help but move to squeeze in beside her, holding her against my side and rubbing her arm.
“Truthfully, I have no idea what it means, but we’ll figure it out, all of us. You’re not alone, you’ve got us,” I assured her.
Sh
e fought against the fear and tears, but I could see her lower lip trembling despite her biting it hard.
“Heard from your aunt yet? This morning in the car you said you were waiting for a reply from her about your powers?” I asked, wanting to focus her mind on something else.
“Not yet, she did message to say she tried getting in contact with her mother, but the time zones are working against her. She should get in touch with her soon,” Ally sighed as she leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder.
“It’ll be good to figure that out. The bond with Marcus must be interesting,” I noted, and she giggled as she nuzzled my shoulder.
“It is, he knew when I was afraid, I didn’t realize it worked over long distances like that,” she murmured.
“Guess that’s handy.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re protected here, y’know? This house is warded, anyone with ill intentions can’t enter. You’re safe,” I reminded her as her eyes flicked to the window briefly.
“Right,” she sighed.
I could sense the shift as her tension eased a little.
“So, can we talk about something else? Thinking about all this is making me a bit… unnerved,” she breathed.
“Sure, what do you want to talk about?” I said as I wrapped one arm around her shoulder to allow her to nestle against my chest. My heart pounded at her closeness, at her warmth seeping into me. Her sweet aroma of honey and flowers filled my nostrils, relaxing me as I drew in the sweet fragrance.
“You guys do that often?”
I tensed up at the question as I stuttered.
“No,” I finally managed to say hoarsely, the heat rushing to my face.
“Really? I don’t believe you,” she said as she looked up at me, her face so close as she arched a brow at me. “You can tell me, I don’t mind.”
“Sometimes,” I mumbled. “Lucas is very…” I bit my lip as I searched for the right word.
“Sexual? Horny? Down to fuck twenty-four seven?” she mused, grinning gleefully as I stammered, no words coming out.
“Y-yeah,” I sighed in defeat.
“I got the impression earlier today. Sex is on everyone’s mind a lot,” she shrugged. “Safe to assume it was on yours too. Was it always like this? Since you moved in?” she asked.
My eyes flicked down to those perfect lips, so soft and full. She was so tempting right now, so close, her body nestled against mine as she looked up at me. All I’d have to do was lean in, catch those beautiful lips and finally taste her.
“No, I learned about his fetish for turning into a chick later on, when Skip was visiting once. Skip was asking about threesomes since a girl he was seeing was trying to talk him into it. Lucas told him it was fun. He’s had the most experience, he’s kept it low-key since you moved in, but sometimes he throws small parties, people come over, girls and guys. It’s a big sex thing, he loves it, loves sharing and trying out new things. But only we really know about the chick thing. Sometimes he’ll use his Lucy tinder profile for odd hookups, where he can fully embrace being a girl, and they don’t know any better,” I rambled, feeling nervous now that this topic had been opened.
“So Skip was all for it?” Ally asked softly.
“Not at first, he’s strange, homophobic a bit, despite Lucas. More that he doesn’t want anyone to think he is, old stigma from his family mostly. But they’ve always been close, and Lucas loved to flirt lightly with him, see how much he could get away with. I secretly think he liked it, the extra attention,” I smirked. “But it started not long after that, Lucas would change a few times whenever Skip visited, and they’d do stuff. I won’t lie, she got all of us. He was good like that, would strut around the house naked. It was hard not to… be interested. He looks good as a chick,” I cringed, struggling with my words. “And it’s not like it’s wrong or anything. No one knows outside of this place really. Most people know he’s bisexual, loves to do threesomes and more, but not about his extra stuff.”
“I think Emma may have known,” she said thoughtfully, and my heart skipped a beat at the suggestion.
“She told you?” I asked, my eyes wide. Had she shared it with anyone else?
“No, not exactly. Just hinted that there was more to it all,” she chuckled.
“I guess she’s got extra ways of knowing,” I grumbled. Had I thought about it in her presence and she’d overheard or overseen it in my head? Possibly.
“I thought cat barbs were meant to be painful? I saw a documentary once where they said they hurt the female, but yours don’t?” Ally strayed again from the main topic.
Now it was getting personal.
“No, they’re different, because I’m a shifter,” I murmured.
“I saw them that first time, remember? When you were naked on my bed,” she chuckled.
I groaned at the memory. I’d been stuck as a cat and fell asleep on her bed, shifting back sometime during the night. And she’d woken up to me with morning wood.
I was never going to forget that. Great way to introduce myself.
“How could I forget,” I snorted.
“Does it hurt to ride?” she asked.
“What?” I just frowned at her. Did she mean Lucy? Why would she think it hurt?
“Horse riding, with your balls and everything, I always wondered that,” she chuckled.
I laughed at this, rolling my eyes. “Yes, but rarely. When I first learned to ride, trotting would hurt, but I learned the rising trot pretty quickly, some people sit the trot, but that looks so uncomfortable.”
“Why do you think I’m being hunted?” her face turned serious, and my heart squeezed at the uncertainty in those chocolate eyes.
“I don’t know, could be anything, could be nothing. Maybe she got it wrong,” I shrugged, wanting to alleviate her concern.
“Both Emma and her mom mentioned I was being watched, her mom said I was being hunted,” she murmured.
“It might not even be in a bad way, maybe a relative is searching for you,” I suggested. But I had a feeling it had something to do with that wendigo. Lucas thought it also got Wayne, which would mean it had been watching her for years. Not a creepy thought at all.
Although the prick deserved it for the abuse he’d handed out to Ally.
I knew Marcus was wanting Lucas to find out what became of Brett, her first physical abuser. The one who’d caused the burns. We all wanted to know really.
Was he the one maybe hunting her? Was that possible?
“Did you have dinner?” I asked, my stomach twisting. I hadn’t had dinner yet, I’d been too caught up in… other stuff.
“I’m not hungry,” she said softly.
“You sure?” I can bring you something?” I offered, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.
“Honestly? Maybe just a freddo,” she smiled.
“Got it, one freddo coming up. I’ll be right back,” I grinned as I slid off the bed.
Being so close to her was driving me mad, I needed to get away from her before my body started reacting in a way I felt was inappropriate right now.
I headed straight out the hall and downstairs, passing Marcus on my way.
I knew he was heading in to check on her. I didn’t blame him. She was pretty shaken up, but she was doing her best to hide it with questions and light conversation, but it was there.
The fact that he had a special bond with her made my chest tighten, but I ignored it. She couldn’t help this bond that had formed.
Besides, apparently she wanted all of us. That still gave me a chance.
But right now, I just wanted her feeling safe and back to her cheery, happy self.
12
“Lucas is going to see his dad, see if he can shed any light on all this,” Marcus said as he pushed past my door and headed straight over to the bed.
“You think he’ll know something?” I asked hopefully. I was doing my best to keep from freaking out, but this was all a little too much.
Teresa’s words kept
playing on my mind. My parents’ death, being hunted, how death was my life. I wanted proper answers, not vague readings.
“Maybe, he's knowledgeable,” Marcus shrugged as he sunk down on the bed beside me, taking my hand in his.
My chest fluttered at the instant connection to his touch, and I relaxed. He’d take care of me, no matter what. They all would. I could sense that from him. They all wanted to keep me safe.
“Done any more drawings?” I asked, wanting to try to focus on something else. I hated this uneasiness that kept washing over me, this fear unfurling in my gut.
“Not really, I’ve been working on an assignment for my studies. I’m also helping build a supernatural game with someone. Joint project, it’s gone into beta testing, but it’s gotten good feedback so far,” he said, those icy eyes warming as he smiled at me. His raven black hair was spiked up at the front, his trademark look, and he was wearing his usual black tee and jeans. He always pulled the look off perfectly, like it was effortless.
“What’s the game about?”
“Quests, depending on the characters you pick,” he said. “You can customize your own if you purchase the upgrade, collect items, level up, battle other players.”
“Aren’t you only in your second year of study?” I frowned. Where had he gotten all this time to create a game?
“Yes, but I don’t sleep much. I don’t get tired eyes or sore hands from computer work,” he chuckled. “And I work as part of a team. A few other vampires.”
“There are more vampires who create games?” I said in disbelief. I’d known them more as strong, powerful creatures with mysterious backgrounds, and mostly did work that required a lot of strength. They were one of the strongest supes in existence, and one of the fastest.
“Yeah, I’m working with some guys I met in my classes, we do most of our work online, sharing ideas and assisting with character design and scripts. The aim is to try to create the next World of Warcraft,” he said, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.
“I’ve heard of that,” I mused. Some magical online roleplaying game.
“Yeah, well, this one is targeted at actual supes. All the abilities are real abilities that supes have, but you can learn new things and level up, create a team of characters to work through the world with. We’re trying to work it in a way so that we can turn it into a virtual reality gameplay too.”
