Blood Stained Lives (The Blood Stained Saga Book 1)

by Ronald Griffin

  “So what are you doing here?” she asks. “I thought I was the babysitter?”

  “You are,” he says with a smart ass grin. “I'm just here to see if I can spot the boy. He should be around the age now that young men attend these things. If I spot him, then I will be able to get the amulet.”

  She rolls her eyes, tired of hearing about this damn amulet every single day.

  “I see. Well, any luck? I will be glad when all the searching is over. That way I can have some more quality time with Cyrus without Aluana,” she says.

  “I'm ready to bring the dragon as well,” he says.

  Is there something he is not telling Cyrus? She had better keep a close eye on him.

  “Well, let me know if you see him,” she says as they part ways.

  Aluana walks over to the bar and has a seat, waiting for the bartender to come take her order.

  “How can I help you, honey?” the lady behind the bar asks.

  “I'll have a White Russian, please.”

  The bartender smiles, and then walks over to the other end of the bar. When she returns, she hands Aluana a tall glass with a white liquid inside of it.

  “It's on the house, honey. You did great up there tonight,” the bartender says, and then turns her attention back to the other customers.

  Aluana winds down her night with her drink of choice. She is now much happier than she has been in a long time. Then she looks around at everyone there, men approaching women to dance. There are even couples there dancing to the beat of the music. She has been so focused on her music and enjoying Macon that even though she has so much making her happy these days, there is something missing. She is lonely still, and is starting day by day to feel like she is ready for someone to love. There is also the fact that she has so many unanswered questions.

  She stands to leave, and putting some money into the tip jar before leaving. I would really love to dance, but I am so tired from the performance. Maybe I will come back another night and find a dance partner. She smiles at the thought of dancing as she leaves the club.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Around noon, Namon still lies in his bed, sleeping. Sierra walks into his trailer, and tries to wake him, but he just groans, and rolls over.

  “Well, if you want to play it that way, that's fine with me.”

  She walks into the kitchen and grabs the tea pitcher from the refrigerator. It's only about half full, so she sets it on the counter, and dumps the ice bucket from the freezer into the pitcher. Once she places the bucket back, she gets the pitcher and walks back into the bedroom. When she gets in there she dumps the entire pitcher, ice, and all, on him. He jumps up, cursing.

  “Do you have any clue how cold that is? Ewww, now I'm all sticky, and look at my bed,” he complains.

  “Well, now you know to wake up when I try to get you up, don't you?” she says with a smile. “Now get a shower, and meet me over at my place. You're getting dancing lessons for your birthday.”

  “All right, and who is going to clean my bed?”

  “That's on you,” she says while leaving.

  Half an hour later, he shows up at her place, and a hip-hop beat is already playing from her boom box. She grabs him by the hand and leads him to the center of her living room. She's very good at dancing, and he can see that. He tries to mimic her moves until she stops him.

  “NO, NO, NO,” she says. “You don’t copy the woman. You have to come up with your own moves. Dance with the woman, not like the woman. Feel the music and move with it.”

  He closes his eyes, and steps on her feet as he tries to dance. She smacks him on the forehead.

  “Eyes open, dummy! I would like to keep my toes,” she says with sarcasm.

  “Sorry,” he childishly pouts at being scolded.

  Brice peeks in the window, laughing as he video tapes Namon trying to dance.

  The day goes by quickly for Namon as he practices dancing with Sierra, and before he knows it, it's time for them to get ready. Brice, Kieran, and Namon all get dressed at Brice's house. Brice is surprisingly dressed very well, considering his normal attire. He is wearing a black suit with a silver vest, and tie, with wolf cufflinks, and black dress shoes. Kieran wears a pair of dark blue jeans with a long sleeve black shirt with a silver tribal print going from his left shoulder, and across his chest in the shape of a wolf. He is also wearing black sneakers and a cord necklace with a silver bullet on it. Guess it's his idea of a sense of humor. Namon wears a pair of black jeans with a basic black belt, a black long sleeve, button-up shirt that's collarless with the top two, buttons unbuttoned. He wears a charcoal gray vest, and shoes to go with it. He puts on the amulet that Katrina made him take to protect. Every day he makes sure, he wears it and keeps it very well hidden.

  His thoughts go back to that night; the night that has put a shadow over his heart. He is constantly thinking about Cyrus. He so desperately wants to confront him and seek his revenge, but he knows that it's not time yet. He feels the time is getting close, though, and that there are harder trials ahead of him. No matter how much he enjoys time with the pack, he has an unsettled feeling building up inside.

  Sierra knocks on the door, and enters with Oz following right behind her.

  “Well don't you fellas look handsome,” she says.

  She looks at Brice, blinking then rubbing her eyes.

  “Brice? Is that you in there? You look,” she sputters, “normal. I don't think I've seen you look normal.”

  “If you want, I can show you normal for me,” he says with a grin.

  “No thanks.”

  She overlooks Kieran, notices Namon, and gets a hazy feeling as if she is becoming intoxicated. Kieran notices this and just rolls his eyes, thinking, Here we go again.

  “You look good. Umm, anyway, I just came over to give you the keys to the car. Eric trusts you Brice. Imagine the vehicle is your keg. Those were his exact words.”

  Brice snatches the keys.

  “I call shot-gun!” he says while running out the door.

  Kieran follows behind, yelling, “You're driving, you idiot!”

  Brice stops, snaps his fingers in a Z formation, and then places his hands on his hips fabulously.

  “My personality is big enough for both seats.”

  He opens the driver's side door of the burgundy colored Jeep Cherokee and gets in. Kieran hops in front, so that leaves Namon for the back. Sierra watches as the car leaves, thinking to herself that she really wished that she could go with them.

  A little over half an hour later, they pull up into the Whiskey River parking lot. Business is booming already, and they wind up having to park closer to the road. The three of them get out of the car, walk to the long line, and wait. They can already hear, and feel the music booming from the outside.

  “So how many numbers do you think you will get?” Brice asks Namon.

  “I bet he doesn't even get one,” Kieran says smugly.

  Namon tries to ignore that comment.

  “You're on. I say five bucks he does get a number,” Brice says.

  “Wow, so you guys are betting on whether, or not I get a social life.”

  “Dude, we bet on how many times Brice changes personalities within a year's time.”

  “Yeah, and I won the last bet,” Brice says smugly

  “I don't even want to know,” Namon says.

  The line has finally moved far enough that they give the guy up front their money to get in. The bouncer searches them before they go in to make sure they don't have any concealed weapons, and they are allowed to enter. The music is much louder once they enter, and the song “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard plays. Namon is hit with several different scents. He can smell cigarette smoke, perfume, alcohol, and he can even smell the marijuana that a group of guys is smoking on the other side of the building. He can see a bunch of tables and chairs surrounding two bars, and a dance floor in the center of the room. Not far from the dance floor is the stage, where you can tell that th
ey have live bands on occasion, but not tonight. Brice taps Namon on his shoulder to get his attention and points to the stairs to the right that lead up to the upper balcony level. Namon hadn't even seen those, yet because his attention was on everything else: The lights, the sounds, the smells, and the women all around. He follows Brice and Kieran up the stairs to the upper level where there is a long bar, and a DJ booth. There are also several pool tables around.

  He looks around, taking in everything, and is just in awe of it all. Brice comes back with a tray holding several shots. Kieran takes one, as does Brice, then Namon, and they all toss them back. Namon starts to cough as the fiery liquid passes down his throat. Kieran and Brice laugh at the rookie drink, and they all take another shot. The song “Party up” by DMX starts to play as they reach for the last line of shots from the tray.

  “The birthday boy, wooooooo!” Brice yells out. “So what do you want to do first, man? There are shots, then pool, then shots, then darts, then shots, then find a woman. Oh wait, did I mention shots?”

  Brice pounds his chest as they all hit the last of the shots from the tray. Brice returns to the bar, and comes back with three beers.

  “Cheers!” they all say as they tap their beers together.

  Brice downs his first, then Kieran, then Namon.

  “I bet you I can kick your ass in pool, Kieran,” Brice says.

  “Another five bucks on that?” he encourages.

  “Done.”

  Brice and Kieran walk over to the available pool table, but Namon walks over to the bar and gets another beer. He has started feeling a buzz thanks to the strong alcohol in the shots, but he is still keeping his fortitude. He takes his beer, walks over to the railing, and props his arms on it while sipping his beer. Then the song “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj begins to play, and he just puts his head down on the rail, gently pounding it.

  “Of all the songs, why this one?” he says.

  Then he looks down below, and he sees her, a very beautiful woman with a tan complexion, and long black hair sporting red highlights. She is wearing large feather earrings and a tight fitting white dress that shows off all her curves and her cleavage.

  Seeing her makes his heart pound like a bass drum; the thing that surprises him the most is that she is dancing alone. The curves on her body make his mouth water, and he feels the need to go dance with her. He chugs the beer and throws it away in the trashcan. On the way to the stairs, he orders another shot for extra confidence and tosses it back, stomping the floor from the kick that it packs. He gives the alcohol a few moments to metabolize so he won't stumble around, but still have just enough in his system so that he can approach her. Namon walks down the stairs and sees a drunken fool trying to dance with her in a vulgar way, trying to feel her up. She appears very disgusted, and he feels it's appropriate that he should come to her rescue.

  Aluana tries to push the drunken man away, but he persists. Namon approaches, getting between the two of them.

  “There you are baby, I thought I lost you,” he says to her with a wink.

  She looks at him and smiles a little uncertainly, but quickly catches on.

  “Um, yeah, there you are. I've been looking for you,” she says.

  The drunken man taps Namon on his shoulder.

  “Heyyy, I wuz danzin wit er bit,” he slurs out.

  “Sorry, man. I tell you what, though. Why don't you go sober up, pop a tic-tac and try somewhere else, okay?” Namon says.

  He flashes his eyes at the man. They start to glow, and scares the man who is already drunk. The man turns around to run away, winds up tripping on his own feet, and falls to the ground face first. Namon turns his attention back to the beautiful woman while the song “Beautiful” by Akon starts to play.

  “May I have this dance, since your song is on?” he asks bashfully as a blush creeps up his face.

  Aluana smiles at the pick-up line, but then she makes eye contact with him and her body starts to quake. Not only is this attractive man respectfully asking to dance with her, but he also came to her rescue when she needed it. She doesn't answer his question. She just moves her body closer to his and starts dancing with him. She keeps as little distance between them as possible.

  Brice and Kieran watch from the balcony, apparently done with their game of pool, and they hoot and holler at him.

  “Go Namon, it's your birthday,” Brice says.

  Kieran shakes his head at Brice, embarrassed at his attempt at being hip.

  “So looks like you owe me five dollars, K-man,” Brice says.

  “He is just dancing with her he doesn't have her number, yet, and the night is still young.”

  After the song ends, a slower song starts playing “Secrets” by One Republic, Namon wraps his arms around her waist as she wraps her arms around his neck, her chest pressed against him as she gazes into his eyes, getting lost in them.

  “My name is Namon,” he says.

  “I'm Aluana,” she says with a smile, showing a dimple.

  She rests her head on his chest, and can hear his heart beating. At that moment, nothing else exists to her, and for the first time she feels happy completely happy. Namon takes in every sensation at this moment, from her touch to her scent, which is an intoxicating combination of mint and roses.

  “So I know we just met, but I would love to see you again soon,” he says.

  “Well, I will be performing here next Friday. I am the singer of the new house band, so I’ll be here every Friday night.”

  “Really? That is very cool. I will definitely be here. I can't wait to hear you sing.”

  The music starts picking up as a much faster paced song starts playing. It's “Dance the Night Away” by David Banner.

  “Oh, I love this song!” she says while spinning around.

  She presses her backside against him, and reaches her arms up around his neck, slowly moving them to touch his face while grinding her hips back and forth. He places his hands on her hips, and he dances with her, matching her every move. Please don't step on her toes. Please don't step on her toes. She then steps away from him and turns, motioning for him to come to her. He notices her unnatural gracefulness, and it beckons to his white wolf's nature.

  What Namon hasn't realized is that the amulet was jostled out from under his shirt from all the dancing and is now swinging freely in view. He starts walking into her direction until a black haired woman with pale skin gets between them. She starts dancing in front of Namon.

  “I'm sorry, but I'm with her,” he says to her.

  She ignores him and continues to dance, moving closer to him. The closer she gets to him he notices that her skin has started splitting from her forehead down to her mouth. Aluana approaches the woman, angry at this point and grabs the woman by the shoulder, spinning her around. When she turns, her face folds back to reveal rows of very large sharp teeth. The creature leaps onto Aluana as its body changes. The skin under its arms splits to let wings unfold. It pins Aluana to the floor, but Namon comes up behind her and puts it in a headlock right as it attempts to bite her. He twists its neck, snapping it completely around. This doesn't kill the creature, though it just puts its head in a convenient position to bite Namon. It sinks its teeth into Namon's shoulder, and he screams. Steam comes from the creature’s mouth as Namon’s blood dissolves its teeth. Brice and Kieran leap over the railing, land on the floor, and intercept the two creatures, blocking their paths, which are moving in on Namon. The crowd around them starts taking notice and starts screaming and fleeing.

  Namon gets up, and moves around, trying to get the creature to lose its grip. Suddenly Brice grabs the creature's neck and hits it over the head one good time. This makes it lose its grip, and Brice slams it down across the bar. He grabs one of the stronger bottles of liquor, and starts pouring it on the creature. Kieran is now beside him, pulls his lighter from his pocket, and sets it on fire.

  “Have a drink on us, bitch!” Brice says.

  They turn around and there are t
hree more of these creatures approaching them.

  “Well, it looks like the party is just beginning, fellas. Guess there is one for each of us,” Brice says before rushing toward them.

  Namon looks back and sees Aluana on the floor. He rushes over to her, and helps her up.

  “Stay behind me. I'll protect you.”

  As soon as he finishes saying that, one of the creatures grabs him with its feet and lifts him into the air, flying in circles, and then slamming him into the DJ booth, causing the song to skip to “Hero” by Skillet. The creature hisses at him and bares its teeth, about to bite, but Namon grabs it by the neck and pushes it back. It flaps its wings, allowing itself to hover where Namon cannot reach it. Then suddenly it is hit with a chair, and falls to the ground. Namon gets up, walks over to the balcony, and sees Aluana standing there. She gives him thumbs up, but the victory is short lived. The creature gets back up and starts heading in her direction. Brice is busy with his creature, and so is Kieran. Namon reacts without thinking, runs alongside the balcony, and leaps off, phasing as he falls down, landing on the creature. He bites into its shoulder just as the other one did him. It falls to the ground, and flames start coming from the wound. Aluana stands there in shock at seeing him turn into a wolf. He doesn't have time to explain anything, and just turns to see the others still fighting. He returns to his place in front of Aluana, standing, and watching for any danger, as well as to see if the others need help.

  Brice manages to grab his creature by the leg and slams it down on the ground. Then he brings it up and slams it down on the ground continuously, until all that was left was a piece of meat that oozed black liquid. He then grabs a bottle of liquor from the bar, opens it, takes a swig, and then pours the rest on the remains. He looks around for a lighter and finds a book of matches. He tries to take one out, but his fingers are so big he cannot grip it.