by D. C. Gambel
“No it’ll be this weekend,” Derek’s voice rang out. At the top of the stairs in front of the library, I paused tilting my head towards the doorway. “I know it’s been awhile,” he sighed, “but things have been crazy…I know mom…Yeah, love you too. I’ll text Brad my flight itinerary in the morning…Bye.”
Too occupied in analyzing what I was hearing, I hadn’t realized he hung up until Derek walked out of the room and almost right into me.
“Evie?” His brow furrowed curiously then it relaxed with the realization of why I was there. “How much did you hear?”
I considered claiming I heard nothing, but my curiosity won out. “Enough. You’re leaving?” I spat almost accusingly.
He exhaled heavily rubbing the back of his head nervously. “I haven’t been home in over a year. We’ve stopped the Apocalypse and I need a break.”
“What about the vampires and sirens? And—?”
“Evie,” he reached out placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. It was the first time he’d touch me that wasn’t out of necessity since I told him Cam and I were together. It was strange because he used to be freer with his touches knowing how much I craved human contact. I did my best to hold my surprise. Truth was, I missed how Derek and I use to be and wished we could get back there and in that brief moment it felt like the way things use to be. “We’re horsemen. There will always be some great threat looming over us. What’s the point if we forget to live?” He asked earnestly. I hadn’t been at the horsemen thing nearly as long as the others. It was still somewhat new to me. Derek’s words made sense. Cam had said something similar to me when he finally decided to stop fighting the feelings we both had for one another. “My youngest brother is getting married this weekend. I can’t miss that.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” It wasn’t my place to make him feel guilty for wanting to see his family or just to have a break in general.
He sighed releasing me. The grim look returned to his face. “No need to apologize. Being with Cam, you’ve been able to live your life and be a horseman too. It’s easy to forget that it’s not like that for all of us.”
I opened my mouth to rebuttal, but Derek turned walking away. I sighed hating the strain between us. Short of giving Cam up, which wasn’t an option, I didn’t know what to do. Derek possibly had feelings for me and had tried to deter Cam from pursuing me. I didn’t know how to fix that. I hoped that his trip home would put things in perspective for him.
Warmth swarmed engulfing me. I smiled when I felt Cam’s body wrapped around mine. He hadn’t made it home the previous night before I went to bed. With Derek gone Cam and Ty had taken on an extra patrol to make sure things remained calm until our fellow horseman returned.
Swiveling my hips, I rubbed gently against Cam’s morning erection. He groaned tightening his grip on me. Turning over I saw his eyes darken with lust. My body hummed with his nearness, filling with desire. Sealing my lips to his, he met me willingly.
“Evie,” he growled rolling me onto my back. His hand slid under my t-shirt palming my breast. Moaning, I arched off the bed hoping to quickly escalate things. His fingers rolled my nipple causing me to gasp. “Too bad it’s Monday,” he whispered before withdrawing completely and crawling out of bed.
“Seriously?” I plopped back onto the mattress with a huff. “That’s just mean.”
He chuckled sliding into his jeans that sat discarded on my floor. “You do this every training day. Ask for a morning ride any other day and I’d be more than happy to oblige. Now get dressed in something you’d wear to a demon club and meet me in the barn in thirty.”
Cam had taken over my training completely. He’d already snagged Derek’s session when it became obvious that Cam could help with my gifts in a way Famine couldn’t, but now he’d earned Tyler’s too. We were now working on merging all three variations into one. It had already improved my hunting technique exponentially.
He leaned in to kiss me but I withdrew before contact was made. I was cranky that he’d gotten me riled and hadn’t followed through. This wasn’t the first time. Pulling back he eyed me with a cocky smirk that told me I wasn’t winning this battle of wills. Rolling my eyes, I leaned in giving him a chaste kiss, but he grabbed the back of my neck deepening it to the point that I began crawling up on my knees to get closer to him.
“See you in thirty,” he whispered against my lips just before I wrapped myself around him. I shoved him away but not before noticing his grin over leaving me hot and bothered. A pillow sailed across the room as he made his way to the door just missing his head as he ducked out of the way. The moment the door shut, I threw myself back on the bed with a huff. The man was infuriating.
My foot connected with Cam’s face. I winced as he staggered back for a moment clutching his jaw. Had this been a real fight I’d have seized the moment, but it wasn’t. Yeah, I was frustrated, but that didn’t mean I wanted to truly hurt Cam.
“You can’t relent just because we’re practicing. I can take it Evie. Now again,” he demanded seeing my hesitation. I rolled my wrist feeling the weight of the sword in my hand. It sliced through the air at my side with a whistle. Charging Cam always felt a little wrong. It was why I knew he took it easier on me as well. Metal clashed as his sword met mine. Spinning I tried catching his side, but he blocked. We continued the dance until my sword flew from my hand. Seeing his blade come at me, I turned letting it wiz past my face. Grabbing his arm, I slammed my hand into the back of his elbow watching it buckle. I tried twisting his wrist to release the blade, but he took the advantage swiping my foot out from under me. He dropped his sword to catch me before I hit the floor.
“Who’s relenting now,” I whispered staring up at him. Smirking, he righted me spinning me away like it was a dance. Before I could recover his fist charged at me. My body ran on instinct blocking the blow. A few months ago, I’d have ended up bloody, but all the training the guys had imbedded into my head now took over as second nature. We went on battling like this for another thirty minutes before I found myself straddling him with a knife to his throat. Cam being the cocky bastard he was could do nothing but smirk.
“Yield?” I demanded. I was panting from the exertion when his fingers slid up the material of the skirt I wore. He had wanted me to dress as I would for a demon club. Demons dressed provocatively, which wasn’t me. The guys let me pass with less revealing clothing but drew the line at skirts and dresses. No way would I blend in, in pants and a tee. Now the position I was in had my skirt bunched up around my upper thighs and Cam’s fingers were pushing it higher.
“Cam,” I groaned trying to shake off the desirous sensation shooting through me.
“Still training, Evie. Stay focused.”
His fingers slid between my thighs causing me to hiss. My nipples instantly hardened begging for his attention, and in this thin of material, I was sure he noticed. I found myself grinding against his hand trying to find some relief. The blade against his neck shook as I struggled to not give in.
“I don’t think this is the kind of thing that will happen in the field.”
“Probably not, but distraction definitely will. Your hand is shaking. Am I bothering you?”
“Nope,” I swallowed hard.
“You sure?” he asked knitting his brow rubbing his thumb over the outside of my panties. “You can always tap out.”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. My breathing grew labored as Cam’s skilled fingers slipped under my panties. Biting my lip, I waited for the moment when he’d pull back just as he had done earlier. Gliding his fingers against my slick flesh, breathy sounds escaped my lips.
“Evie,” he groaned crushing my resolve.
Dropping the knife with a clank, I shoved my fingers into his hair sealing my lips against his. His hands fumbled between us. I heard the telltale sign of his belt undoing.
“I swear to god if you do me like you did earlier…” I trailed off needing to taste him, nipping at his neck.
<
br /> “Oh, I’m going to do you alright,” he growled rolling me onto my back.
“So this was all for training purposes?” I laughed between kisses.
“Of course,” Cam replied cracking a grin as he undid his pants.
“Well aren’t you the diligent teacher,” I teased running my hands over his chest.
“Oh, I can be very diligent.” Kissing me with a passion that let me know where we were headed had me moaning. He was grinding his hips against me when we heard the sound of the door creaking open.
Looking at the entrance, Cam hissed, “Shit,” then was standing grabbing my hands and pulling me to my feet. I shifted uncomfortably when I felt the ache that hadn’t been quenched. This wasn’t going to be a good day. A moment later, Tyler appeared in the doorway. Cam had his back to him as he adjusted his clothing back in place. Tyler took in our disheveled state along with my inflamed face and rolled his eyes.
“You’re lucky it’s me and not Derek.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Cam stated, but the smug look on his face said he was anything but.
“Right,” Ty said leaning against the frame. “You guys really need to work on doing it in your own rooms.” He narrowed his eyes enunciating his point. “Anyways get cleaned up. Vampires just attacked the Hair of the Dog in retaliation for Asher.”
Dressed in my leather pants and jacket with a pink camisole underneath I strolled into Hair of the Dog flanked by Cam who was wearing dark wash jeans, a black fitted tee and leather jacket, and Ty who was dressed similar to me in leather but instead of a cami he wore a black tee.
Hair of the Dog normally appeared as a dive bar where its patrons were big beefy men, your stereotypical scene. But as my boots smacked against the dirty concrete I had to step over one of the many dead bodies that littered the floor; vampire and werewolf alike. Blood was sprayed across the walls showing signs of the battle that had raged not too long ago. It dripped down one of the windows appearing like a crimson rain. Gone was the wolves’ hangout, replaced by a scene straight out of a horror movie.
I did my best not to show my unease in front of the werewolves. It was hard enough being the only woman among the horsemen. I didn’t need the wolves thinking I was any less competent simply because I hadn’t been hardened by the supernatural world. Dead bodies weren’t normal and I prayed the day would never come that they were.
My fellow horsemen and I made a beeline to Axel. The alpha of the Summery pack looked worse for wear. His brown hair was tousled. Blood tinged his shredded plaid shirt and I doubted it was all his.
“This is your fault,” the werewolf hissed when his eyes landed on us. He stood among several other wolves who seemed to be flanking the alpha in a show of support and loyalty.
Our last several interactions with the wolves hadn’t gone over…well. What with them attacking us, trying to kidnap me, then attempting to die at my hand. To this day I still hadn’t learned the reason why. I knew they chose to work for Asmodeus for the promise of magic that would no longer allow the moon to rule them, but the rest was unknown. Why kidnap me? Why die at my hand? Only Nyx could answer that and we’d ended her.
Cam crossed his arms over his chest narrowing his eyes at the alpha. “If you’re going to be hostile towards us we can leave and you can feel free to handle this situation yourselves.”
“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Axel spat flicking his hostile gaze to me. “What with sharing your beds with vampires, you’ll probably side with them anyways.”
Cam tensed, struggling to tame his rage at the alpha’s jab at me. Reaching over I placed a hand on his arm giving him a gentle squeeze. My touch caused him to immediately relax.
“Awe, I see now,” Axel grinned snidely narrowing his eyes on my hand that remained settled on Cameron. “The mighty War has been tamed by a vampire fucker.”
In a flash, Cameron was out of my grasp, his hand securely around the alpha’s neck slamming him against the wall. I heard Tyler sigh unsurprised that Cam would react that way. Pestilence slowly withdrew a silver knife in an attempt to sway the other wolves from aiding their alpha. “You will watch your mouth, wolf,” War hissed.
Axel’s grin was feral. “You really think I would be taken by surprise by you again.” Cam’s eyes dropped to the blade Axel had pointed at his ribs. I stepped forward, but Cam shook his head. I’d end the wolf before he attempted to even scratch Cam with his knife.
Dropping the wolf, Cam stepped back away from the blade. Ty advanced forward so we were flanking War.
“We’re here for a reason and even if you don’t believe it, it’s to help. The vampires were in the wrong here,” the Horseman of Pestilence offered trying to ease the growing tension.
“Right,” Axel said rubbing his throat. “They said they received the head of their leader. Claimed it held claw marks.”
“I’m assuming they didn’t show you?” Ty asked sheathing his knife. He’d already questioned the vampires for permission to examine the head, but he’d been denied. We weren’t even sure if they truly had the head or were simply BSing us. Cam’s informant had no news either. Even in the video where we saw the demon deposit the claimed head, the contents of the package were never seen. It could have been a cheesecake for all we knew and the vampires might simply be lying.
I scanned the room and saw a lone female huddled in the corner. She seemed scared and was shaking rather fiercely. Strands of her mahogany hair covered her face almost like a curtain from onlookers. Catching Ty’s eye, I gestured to the woman. He nodded continuing to speak with the alpha.
Slipping on my gloves, I approached her. She scurried further back into the corner when she saw me.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” I held up my gloves showing my hands were covered. “Are you injured?”
Observing her more closely, I could see wetness dampening her dark clothing. She didn’t reply but lifted her hand up off her stomach. Blood immediately bloomed out of a gash across her abdomen. With blood all around, it was no wonder she was going unnoticed by the wolves. Her dark clothing hid the visible evidence and no one could pinpoint the fresh blood was hers.
“Shit,” I gasped. “I need a hand over here,” I yelled pressing her hand back over her injury to slow the bleeding.
Cam was by my side in an instant. His gaze quickly assessed the woman’s injuries only lifting her hand briefly to see the extent of the damage.
“Axel!” he hollered unable to hide his anger. The alpha broke away from Ty and was behind us a moment later. “You have a human here.”
The wolf blanched taking in the girl’s injuries. My mouth fell open. I hadn’t realized that she was human, although I suppose I should have. Even though the wolves were covered in blood and torn clothing, none held any open wounds. They’d all healed by now.
“Vicky,” Axel knelt down to the girl’s level eyeing her bloodstained clothing. Now that he was close, I’m sure he could smell the blood was coming from her. “She’s one of my pack member’s companion. That is not against the rules.”
“It is if she dies on the premises,” Cam hissed placing his hand over hers to hold pressure. “She needs a hospital, and soon, or she’ll bleed out.”
“Please,” she reached out grabbing my arm making me thankful I was in my leather jacket and gloves. “I have kids. I’m all they have.”
I tilted my head catching Cam out of my peripheral. His jaw clenched hearing the woman’s words. Judging by the pool forming, there was a good chance she’d already lost too much blood.
“Stan, Vern,” Axel called out. Two burly, yet unfamiliar, men stepped beside the alpha. “Get Vicky to the closest hospital. Stay with her until I can get there.”
“No,” the woman gripped my arm tighter causing me to grit my teeth from her strength. I glanced around at the others seeing their response to the woman’s alarm. “Please stay with me.”
“Sweetie, I’m not the best person to have in this kind of situation,” I explained. I didn’t want to frighten
her if she was unaware that I could kill her faster than her injury.
“Vicky,” Axel started. “This is Death.” I winced as the alpha did the very thing I was trying to avoid.
“I know who she is Axel, but she’s the only one who noticed me.” Her words came out tight as she struggled for each syllable. “What if your men get distracted? I feel much safer in Death’s presence than theirs.”
“You’re sure?” I asked her, staring the woman in her blue eyes. Her complexion was paling from the blood loss, but her mahogany hair seemed unusually tamed.
“Evie?” I heard the warning tone in Cameron’s voice, but the girl nodded. Ty had remained quiet during the exchange, but now he stepped forward barking orders at the wolves to load Vicky into the car and to give me a moment. Cam pulled me off to the side giving us the semblance of privacy. “You can’t go with them, Evie. Don’t you remember not so long ago they attempted to kidnap you?”
I wanted to roll my eyes but I refrained. “Of course I do,” I said crossing my arms over my chest preparing to stand my ground. I wouldn’t argue with him, but I would do my best to persuade him that this was the right thing to do. “But that woman is scared and alone. If I was in her position I’d want someone by my side too.”
“Evie,” he groaned pulling me close by my waist resting his forehead against mine. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I breathed him in. I could feel eyes on us from around the bar. I knew Cam had a reputation. The wolves’ seeing him with me was throwing them for a loop.
“If anything happens I know you can find me. You’ve done it before.” I spoke trying to hint at him without letting the wolves hear. If this was a ploy, I didn’t want to give anything away. Cam had tracked me through my phone before. As long as they didn’t take it from me, he’d be able to do it again.
“I would track you to the ends of the earth.”
Smiling, I cupped his cheek. Stepping up onto my toes, I gave him a chaste kiss that was followed by murmurs from the pack.
