by H. T. Night
“Even Atticai?”
“Especially him.”
“Really?”
“I was always unsure what he was doing. I thought I loved him, but in the end I think that was why I cared about him. The mystery.
“I get it. You spend all your time trying to figure a person out. Before you know it, you find yourself having intense feelings and never quite sure when it started happening.” In a way, I was referring to Lena. My uncertainly has led me to a place in my heart I never knew existed.
Lena adjusted her head so her face was at the same level as mine. My heart was beating very fast. This was the most intimacy we had ever shared. I looked deep into her eyes. My feelings for her were so intense. I didn’t know for sure what she truly felt about me and that was killing me inside.
“Josiah,” Lena paused.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Are you going to leave me?”
I took a deep breath. “Why would you ask that?”
“I need to know. When this is all over, do you plan on going away?”
“Lena, I will always be here for you.”
“Always?”
“Always,” I said.
“I believe you.”
“What are you afraid of?” I asked.
“You’re all I have, Josiah. I have no true friends, no more family.”
I nodded my head at her. “Lena,” I said, “we are forever bonded.”
“Is that all it is? A bond?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Are we only bonded by this experience?”
I calmly looked at her. “No, Lena. We’re not. I feel bonded with you by something way more powerful.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.”
“So do I,” she said.
We were quiet. We had an amazing way of opening up to one another and then shutting down when it reached a certain point. Fuck it! I wasn’t letting it shut down this time. “You are becoming my world.”
“What about Yari?”
“I needed Yari and she needed me.”
Lena paused. “Why did you need her?”
“I needed her because she led me to you.”
We just stared at one another with a new kind of energy. It built up slowly and just held in the air like a bubble waiting to pop.
Lena leaned in and put her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
“I might be falling for you, Josiah.” Lena looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I took my hand and gently wiped her eyes. I already knew I had fallen for her.
Chapter Eighteen
We had both fallen asleep and Lena’s head was still on my chest. As I slept, I could feel Lena gently touching me. She was touching my chest, my stomach, and my legs. It was like being brushed by an angel. This lasted for hours. I was going in and out of sleep each time feeling Lena’s touch. I’m not sure if she ever slept.
I looked on the dresser at the clock. It read 5:00 pm Tommy must have shown up. I didn’t want to leave the room. Lena was still gently rubbing my abdomen. I leaned up.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m great.” I said
“Josiah,” Lena said
“Yes.”
“Why haven’t you kissed me?”
I paused. I really didn’t have an answer.
“Do you want to kiss me?” Lena asked
“Very much so,” I whispered.
“Okay, then.” Lena smiled.
This was it. My heart was pounding. I turned my head, and leaned into her face. In the dark she looked like a pixie with her short black hair. I very gently slipped my head closer to her mouth and softly kissed her lips. As our lips touched, I was overwhelmed by my senses. Every touch, every smell, seemed magnified. I took my right hand and place it on the back of her head. She aggressively leaned forward pinning me to my back. She was taking control and I was letting her do it.
She lay on top of me kissing my face, my neck, and my lips. I could feel the fire burning from inside her. It was as if a tiger had been let out of her cage.
“Can I bite you?” she asked.
“Do whatever you want,” I whispered back.
Lena kissed the top of my forehead softly and made her way down kissing me inch by inch until reaching my neck. I was in complete ecstasy. She kissed my neck passionately. With each kiss, she tightened her lips more and more. Her kisses turned into nibbles and her nibbles turned into bites. She bit down and I let her. It was me giving myself back to her. She had trusted me and now I trusted her. The pain felt delightful. I wasn’t even sure what flowed through my veins now that I was a vampire. Whatever it was ignited her with passion. My entire body began to quiver. I was in complete submission to this woman. She had me; she had every inch of me. And I loved every second of it.
I had secretly longed for this moment for months. I never imagined that she’d be this daring, this adventurous. She stopped biting me and her mouth made its way back to my lips. My fluid was dripping from her mouth. I could feel whatever it was dripping on my chin. She then went back to kissing my mouth. I could taste my Mani blood inside her mouth. This was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced.
We continued kissing. I was very mindful to allow her to control the pace. Every now and then I would take a little bit of control and then release it back to her. Each time I had control I held her tighter. I loved her deeper. Finally, I pulled her tightly to me. I gently flipped her over so now I was on top of her.
I kissed her chin, her cheek, her forehead. As she lied on her back, I kissed her neck and the top of her collarbone.
Lena once again took control. She took my shirt from the bottom position. She tore off her own tank top. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Our upper bodies were bare pressing up against one another; our skin sticking to each other. She kissed my neck, my face, my chest, she licked my stomach. As she did I tightened up my six pack, and that seemed to excite her. She began kissing every inch of my upper body. I just laid back and allowed her to discover me—to discover every bit of me—on her terms.
Her hand dropped and she cupped my groin. I was at full attention, and just the slightest touch put my entire body into an exhilarating euphoria that I had never experienced before.
I whispered,” Only do what you want to do.”
“Oh Josiah. I’ve wanted to do this since high school.”
Lena slowly unbuttoned my 501 jeans and slid them off. She buried her face up against my boxers. Her hand slowly reached inside the peep hole, and she got a hold of me. She proceeded to pleasure me with her hand. She was gentle and attentive. I didn’t know if this was her first time experiencing a man. So I let her find her way. It was as if my body was her very own private amusement park. I was thrilled to be the main attraction.
She stopped before I could climax, and I didn’t care. I reached down and lifted her up so she was lying completely on top of my body. We kissed and kissed—we held each other tight. We were here, we were in the moment—and we were alive.
* * *
We laid there in each other’s arms. Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours. I didn’t want to leave and nobody was going to force me.. I wanted to lie there forever, and so did she. If there was a way to do it, we would have.
I had so much to say to her, but I had no idea how to tell her. All I could do is show her how much I cared for her until I was ready to share it out loud. She would know by my actions how I felt about her.
“You think we should get up?” Lena whispered. It was weird hearing her voice. Neither one of us had spoken in hours.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost six in the morning.”
“Wow, we have been lying here for a long time.”
“I know.” Lena got up and put on her black tank top. I put on my white t-shirt.” She turned on the light and it felt like someone flashed a spotlight on our faces.
“Come here,” I said softly to Lena. Lena walke
d over to me and I stood up and hugged her. She pulled back and looked at my neck.
“Sorry about your neck. You have some hickey.”
I felt my neck and it was a tad tender. I smiled at Lena and said, “Next time I’ll have another taste.”
“Oh, you will”
I grinned. “I’m going to see what Tommy is doing.”
“Okay.”
“Josiah?” Lena murmured.
“Yeah.”
“Can we keep this between us?”
“Sure. No problem. But the hickey is a big giveaway.”
Lena nodded and a part of me felt like maybe she was marking her territory as far as Yari was concerned. I opened the door and headed to the living room. Yari was duct taping the curtains and the doorways.
“Where’s Tommy?” I asked
“Your guess is as good as mine. He’s not answering his phone, and he should have been here a long time ago.”
“He never came over?”
“Nope.”
“Why didn’t you get me up?”
“The two of you seemed like you needed your rest.” Yari raised her eyebrows at my neck. “Apparently, there wasn’t much resting.”
I ignored her and continued about Tommy. “This isn’t good,” I said.
“Do you think he did something stupid?” Yari now appeared to be worried.
Hell, I was worried. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“This sucks! It’s almost daylight and someone needs to go find him.”
“You can’t go,” Yari said. “You need to limit how many times you transition up here. This is a highly populated area. It isn’t like the inland empire. There are people everywhere up here. You’re not exactly discreet when you transition.”
“What should we do then?”
“I should go,” Yari was indignant about it. But Tommy was my best friend and if something had happened I wanted to be the one to be there.
“He might have just gotten lost.”
“Or, he decided to take matters in his own hands with his old Carni counterparts.” Which was very much like Tommy.
“Lena should go with me.” Yari said.
“Why?”
“Because another pair of eyes would be good.”
I thought about it. “Okay,” I answered. “You guys should go quickly. Take Wyatt and Hector, ravens are little more common.
“Hey, Wyatt!” I yelled. Wyatt was asleep on the couch. “Where’s Hector?”
“Stop yelling. Hector’s asleep in the bathtub!”
“Wake him up. You all need to go look for Tommy.”
Lena came out of the bedroom and we told her about Tommy and she volunteered to go look for him. I told her to be safe and the four of them left to find Tommy.
I was still very tired. My body was telling me it needed to sleep. I went back into the guest room and lied down. I did not feel good about the situation
My eyes grew heavy. I closed them.
Suddenly, I heard, “why haven’t you left?”
I opened my eyes and once again I was outside the great white castle.
“Why haven’t you left?” It was the little blue gnome. He was standing over me as I was on my back.
“Should I have left?” I asked.
“You know the location. It’s now a matter of coming to see me.”
“Am I done with the wolf?”
“Have you tamed him?”
“I’m not sure. We connected, but...”
“But what?”
“I’m not sure if that was all there was.”
“What else could there be?” The gnome said looking down at me.
“I thought if we were able to tame him, he might be able to control when he actually turns into a werewolf.”
“You don’t believe that anymore?” The gnome asked.
“Should I believe that?”
“Always trust your intuition.”
“I have been.”
“Then don’t stop now,” the gnome said. And with that I woke up instantly.
I had been asleep a long time and it was dark outside. These vampire sleeps are eerie. Time goes by a little too fast for my taste.
It was 8:30 pm and there was no sign of anyone. What the hell? They had been gone almost 15 hours. This was not good. What the hell was going on? I checked my phone and it was dead. Fuck, I forgot to charge it.
I got up and went outside Yari’s front door. I stepped onto the front porch and looked up to the sky. I knew shit was about to go down. I could feel it in my… well, veins. This was the calm before the storm. Tommy had done something stupid, now I knew it for sure. He had gone back to visit his old clan. I felt it deep in my soul. I closed my eyes and for the first time I began to see picture frames.
They looked like little short 3 second films. I could see Tommy. He was at the ranch where I had fought Goliath. He was surrounded by many Carni men. Dammit, I lost the vision. Shit!
I concentrated harder. I could now see a row of trucks. They were filled with Carni; they were riding out to the ranch.
My visions seemed to be skipping time. I wasn’t sure if my second vision happened before or after the previous one. I closed my eyes again. I could now see Yari and Lena. They are trying to talk to Tommy and he isn’t listening. Shit! Tommy! Listen to them! You fucker! I lost the vision again. Once again I closed my eyes and concentrated with all I had. I could now see Lena. The Carni’s have Lena!
Chapter Nineteen
I immediately transitioned into the white eagle and flew up into the sky. My large wings flapped rapidly and headed south to Orange County. I wasn’t sure how fast I was flying, but looking down at the cars below on the freeway I could tell I was going about five times faster.
I got to Anaheim Hills in mere minutes and wasn’t sure what time frame my visions were in. As I got closer to the ranch, I feared my last vision was the present. I looked down and could see an all out war going on down at the ranch. What had Tommy done? He had put everyone in danger. Where was Lena? I circled the ranch. All my friends were isolated, the same we did the werewolves the other night. I couldn’t see Lena!
Wyatt and Hector were fighting about six Carni each at the north end of the ranch. Yari had her hands full with a number of Carni women and from the looks of it she seemed to be doing okay.
Where was Tommy? Where the fuck was Lena? I circled and scoped the ground.
I could see Tommy by the large trees fighting three of the bastards. Where the hell was Lena? I could see everyone except for Lena.
Then I spotted Goliath, he was between two trucks. He appeared to be wrestling someone much smaller than him—extremely smaller than him. IT HAD TO BE LENA!
She was fighting the ogre off. I didn’t think and just reacted. I lunged forward with a force so ferocious I felt like a heap sinking a missile crashing into a military target. As I bolted to the earth, I extended my wings for more acceleration. I was going to kill that overgrown piece of shit! I was about a hundred feet from piling into Goliath’s back with my sharpened beak when I head Lena yelled out, “No Josiah, it’s a set up!”
It was too late. Goliath turned around and was holding a ten foot led pipe in his hand. I tried to hold up, but couldn’t. My momentum carried me forward like an out of control freight train. I was going too fast and was too out of control. There was no way to stop!
I tried to move out of the way of Goliath, but there was no chance. As I came up on him, Goliath swung the lead pipe like Albert Pujols during batting practice and whacked me directly in my stomach. I ricocheted backwards off the pipe.
I fell to the ground about fifteen feet away. I couldn’t move. He had hit my stomach with the full force of the pipe. My stomach felt like it exploded. The pipe had torn up my insides and I could feel my bones breaking inside of my body. I was on my back and automatically transitioned from eagle to Mani. I laid on the ground spitting out blood.
I couldn’t see anything. I could hear bodies surrounding me. I took my hand a
nd felt my rib cage. All my ribs were broken. My Mani blood poured out of my mouth. There was nothing I could do and I was fucking helpless. What the hell! This wasn’t the way this was supposed to end.
I didn’t know what to do; I was dying and knew it. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t just lay there and have Goliath kill me. I did the only thing I could do—broken ribs and split inwards and all—I stood up.
I opened my eyes and could now see. All my friends were being held by mobs of Carni. Ten to one was the only way they could handle any of us. Well except for me. All it took was Goliath and a lead pipe.
Lena broke free from her mob and ran towards me and another Carni grabbed her before she was able to reach me. “Josiah!” Lena cried out.
What the fuck, Tommy. You led all of us to a fucking slaughter. I couldn’t stand any longer I was too weak. I was in too much pain and I fell to my knees.
I looked to my right and saw Goliath slowly walking towards me savoring each moment with each step he took towards me. His back apparently was still hurting as he winced when he walked. I looked to my left and saw Tommy doing all he could to try to break free from his own Carni mob holding him back. There were too many of them. There must have been over a hundred Carni out here. They loaded up and we were all going to pay for it. Goliath walked up to me. “What happened, Eagle man? You don’t have any more magic?”
I was too weak to even concentrate. I couldn’t do anything. I was in too much pain. I looked up to the sky and called out into the night. I yelled out to whatever force—whatever had been giving me these visions to spare me. “Please,” I yelled out. “Not like this!”
Then I heard Tommy’s voice. “Josiah! I’m sorry!”
He can’t give up, I thought. Was Tommy giving up?
Goliath reached down with his giant hands and picked me up. He raised me over his head like a prized kill. With a giant warrior yell, he chucked my dismembered body thirty yards in the air. I landed on the ground in a heap of misery. Every bit of me hurt. Every inch of me ached.
Wyatt and Hector had transitioned into ravens, but they weren’t able to get away. They were being held down like wild animals. They were put in steel birdcages that seemed to specially design to catch Mani birds. There was nothing any of us could do and the Carni knew it. So they let Lena go and she ran over to where Goliath had tossed me. They let her go for sick sport.
