by C. J. Pinard
She pulled the washcloth away and I opened my eyes. I had zero pain on that side.
“Better?” Mom asked, brushing some hair from my forehead like she had done so many times in my life.
I nodded. “That side, yes.”
Sanja gently used my jaw to push my head to the other side. “Filthy vampire,” she muttered as she looked at the puncture wounds in my neck. She then flipped the washcloth over and placed it on that wound, repeating the protocol as I closed my eyes.
I was healed in no time. I opened my eyes, and feeling emotional, I looked at them and said, “Thank you. All of you.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” Mom said. “I would die for you.” She looked at Aden. “I would die for all of my children.” Then a tear fell from her eyes. “I would have died for Austyn, too.”
I sat up slowly, then stood. The boys hovered, making sure I could stand, but all I wanted to do was put my arms around my mom. My real mom, the one who had raised me. The one who had healed my hurts and held me while I cried over skinned knees and boys. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and she hugged me back, sobbing against me.
“I love you, Mom. I’m sorry for being angry.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, sniffling, her anguish clearly displayed on her face. “I can’t lose another child. I just can’t.”
I pulled back and kissed her on the cheek. “You won’t. I’m stronger than that. No vampire is gonna take me out.”
“No, he’s not,” Aden chimed in. “I got his scent from your injuries, and I’m gonna fucking kill him when I find him.”
I turned from my embrace with Mom and looked him square in the eye. “Get in line.”
My life had turned into a sad, lonely routine. Every day I would go to work at that shitty homebuilder’s company, answering phones, and every night I would eat some sort of quick meal, and then I was off, prowling into the night to find the vampire who not only attacked my brother, but me, too.
Vengeance… it was a powerful thing, but no way was I letting go of my anger. I would find the closure I needed to avenge my brother, and then I would be able to sleep at night, knowing I had rid the world of some kind of evil.
I didn’t think tonight would be that night, though.
It had been a week since my attack, and I was fully healed. I didn’t even miss a day of work… unfortunately.
Prowling through yet another nightclub, the scent of vampires assaulting my nostrils, I made my way to the bar. I ordered something fruity and strong and sipped from my little straw as I surveyed the club. People danced and drank, and a lot of humans were being fed upon. My stomach roiled in disgust.
I looked around for the piece of shit who had bit me a few weeks prior, and of course, for the asshole who had killed Austyn. I did not see either, but I was patient. I didn’t care if it took years, I was going to find them both.
I knew Aden was actively looking for them both, too. He had told me a few days ago that he had begun to spend more time with our biological uncle in Denver, and he had promised Aden to help find this guy.
“Hi, blondie,” a silky voice said in my ear.
I turned to see a very handsome vampire standing in my space. I wanted to pull back, to be at least an arm’s length from him, as he was in my comfort zone, but I resisted the urge.
He wasn’t either of the vampires I was looking for, but from everything I had learned, the vampire community was pretty tight-knit. Sort of like the wolves. I was thankful for the perfume and pheromones I always sprayed on me to hide my scent, as this guy—this bloodsucker—was definitely into me.
“Hi,” I said, sipping the little black straw and batting eyelashes at him.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his gaze flicking down to my lips, then back to my eyes.
“Amy,” I said immediately, using my birthmother’s name. I didn’t want to give out my real one, and I had been using this one. It had kind of stuck, and was a great fake name.
“I’m Beckett,” he replied, smiling down at me.
I could see, if I were human, how his charms might win out on me. How I might be lured into a corner of this dark club, and fed upon. But tonight was Beckett’s unlucky night, as being bit once by a damn vampire would be the first and last time that was going to happen to me.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, still smiling.
“What are you drinking?” he asked, using his still very-full beer to indicate my glass.
“It’s a Long Island,” I said, smiling.
“Would you like another?” he asked, his shiny light-colored hair gleaming under the pulsing red lights.
“Nah, I’m good,” I replied, having to shout over the loud rock music blasting through the speakers.
“I can barely hear you,” he lied, as I knew they had as keen of hearing as we did. “Wanna go someplace quieter so we can get to know each other?”
I smiled inside at his tactic, but played along. I emptied my drink and said, “Sure.”
He grabbed my hand with his cold one and led me to the back of the bar where it was dark. Admittedly, my stress level went up. I wouldn’t be bitten again, but knew I would have to fight this vampire so he wouldn’t. I could handle him, but I was hoping it wouldn’t go that far. I just wanted to talk to him long enough to get some information out of him. I wasn’t giving up any blood for it, though.
To my surprise, in the back of the bar, through a door, was a set of stairs that led upward. With his hand still gripping mine, he led me up them, and I began to grow more anxious.
“Where we going, Beckett?” I asked.
With him leading, he looked down from the stair above me, and said, “You’ll see.”
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but for some reason, this vampire didn’t seem sleazy and evil. Maybe that was part of their charm?
We reached a black-painted door at the top of the stairs, and he pressed the push-bar, and soon, we were outside—on the roof. Up here, there were multiple lawn chairs set up on the gravelly rooftop. Cool night air immediately hit me, and it admittedly felt good on my clammy skin. That club had been pretty hot and stifling.
There were other people on the roof. They looked like they were talking, and some appeared to be making out… but I knew better.
“What are we doing up here?” I asked innocently, still gripping this leech’s hand.
He found an empty space near the edge of the roof, and with a flourish, indicated for me to sit in one of the lawn chairs. I obeyed reluctantly, but only because he sat in the one next to it.
“So, how old are you, Amy?” he asked after we sat, his light-colored eyes that matched his hair drilling into mine. I looked at the skin on his face and hands and noticed that they glowed like plaster in the moonlight. He also had a very neat, pressed appearance about him.
“I’m twenty-one,” I lied, as I had a fake ID in my wallet. I was barely twenty, but being underage had been a problem for me when I had moved to Denver, so I had saved up my money and bought a fake one. “How old are you, Beckett?”
“I’m twenty-two,” he replied with a charming smile.
Bullshit. He’s probably one-hundred-and-twenty-two. Immortal asshole.
I smiled again. “Do you work or go to school?”
“A little of both,” he replied, reaching over and running a cold finger up my bare arm.
Resisting the urge to shudder, I smiled again at him. “I also do both.”
He asked me what I was going to school for, where I worked, and other mundane questions.
Then I asked him, “Are you from here, from Denver?”
He shrugged. “I move around a lot. I find a place I like, stick around, then leave when I get bored.”
“I see,” I said, not surprised by his answer. “Have many friends here?”
“Just a few,” he replied, now looking down at my lips, and then my neck.
Gross.
“Any good parties?” I asked, hoping he’d invite me to one.
We continued with some more very boring small talk, then he got up grabbed my hand and helped me stand. “I want to kiss you, Amy,” he said.
Oh shit.
With his arms now wrapped around me, he moved his face to the crook of my neck and I waited for him to press his lips there. I know he had to feel me stiffen. Hearing him inhale deeply as he smelled me, I hoped he did not sense what I was. I shivered as his tongue licked my carotid artery. I began to pull away. No way was this fucker biting me.
“What’s wrong, baby? Don’t like neck kisses?”
“I… I need to go.” I would find him later and follow him, see if I could catch him going to some secret vampire party.
I detangled myself from him and went to head toward the roof door, but he grabbed my arm. “Where are you going? We aren’t done here. I like you, Amy. Please come sit.”
His tone was not friendly, more commanding to the point of being scary.
My gaze drifted down to where his hand had hold of my wrist, and then I followed my arm up to his eyes and said, “Let go of me.”
Beckett lifted his chin. “No. Come sit down.”
This guy was pissing me off. “I’m leaving.”
He yanked my arm so hard that I was now very close to the edge of the roof as I skidded across the gravel. I craned my head behind me to look down the two stories below. Cars whizzed by on the street, and people walked around, looking for the nearest bar.
He came toward me and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“I really need to go,” I said, trying a softer approach, hoping he’d just let me leave. I didn’t want to have to get violent with him in front of all the humans up here—plus I knew all the damn leeches here would back him up.
He took a step toward me, and I backed up. “I really am sorry, Amy—“
I didn’t hear the rest of his apology, because I was now falling off the roof and plummeting toward the concrete sidewalk.
Chapter 19
It happened so fast. Too fast. One minute, Beckett was in my face, trying to kiss me, the next I’m plummeting to my death.
On what seemed to be instinct, I flipped my body around in midair and lifted my head, craning my neck up toward the sky. Now, instead of the concrete sidewalk flying at warp speed toward my face, I was now gliding in the air. Confused as to what the hell was going on, I lost my concentration and began sinking like a stone toward the ground again. But this time, it was my feet that were going to catch the brunt of the blow. And land I did… on my feet, like a cat, crouching as I landed, letting my knees absorb the fall. It didn’t even hurt.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped out, my hands now on my bare knees. I was panting like I had just run a marathon.
“What the fuck!”
I turned to see Beckett landing on the sidewalk, his eyes wide, his expression incredulous. He’d apparently jumped—flown—down, too.
“What just happened?” I asked him, immediately realizing what a dumb question it was.
He walked slowly toward me, his face a mask of fear and wonder. I stood stock-still as he stood a couple feet from me.
He craned his head to the side. “Are you… are you… a moon child?”
Wow, rhetorical question much?
Unsure how to answer, I shook my head. “I don’t understand the question.”
He chewed on his bottom lip, which I now noticed was pierced with a small silver hoop, and looked at me with his light eyes. “You just flew. Like a bird. What are you?”
With my senses slowly returning to me, I looked up into his face and grinned. “Well, I’m not a vampire, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Beckett looked down the street both ways. I did the same, and was surprised to see nobody staring at us.
“You’re a witch, aren’t you?” he asked, a triumphant and confident look on his face.
I wrinkled my nose. “No, but I was raised by them.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You confuse me, Amy the flyer.”
Do I tell him I’m a wolf? This guy was confusing me, too. I decided to friend-zone his ass and be truthful. I pushed him playfully in the chest. “I’m a wolf, you dumbass.”
His eyes went as wide as saucers. Then he cautiously leaned in and sniffed me. “You don’t smell like a wolf.”
“I’m talented like that,” I replied with a smile.
“You’re a wolf?” he asked, seeming amazed by my confession. “Wolves can’t fly. I’ve seen them fall. I’ve seen them plummet to their deaths. They don’t fly.”
I debated on telling this guy at how freaked out I was right then that I had not broken my neck, falling from that roof. I quickly decided this was a question for Sanja or my mom, and then plastered on a fake smile. “Well, I’m special that way.”
He studied me for a minute, then said, “You are a mystery, Amy. I like that about you.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I said, smiling up at him.
“Tell me, what were you doing at a vampire bar?” he asked, seeming suspicious now.
“If you promise not to bite me, we can go someplace quieter, and I will tell you,” I quipped with my most charming smile.
Beckett shoved his hands into the pockets of his overly-zippered black jeans, looked around, and with a shrug said, “You‘re crazy if you think I’m going to bite a wolf. I don’t have a death wish, you know.”
I smiled and indicated for him to follow me.
“Excuse me while I fall over in shock,” I replied sarcastically, laughing as I set his drink down on my coffee table.
Yes, I had invited a vampire into my home.
By the way, they don’t need an invitation.
Learning every day.
Was I drunk? Maybe.
“I tried to kiss you, and you aren’t shocked that I’m gay?” he asked, picking up the martini glass.
“Dude, you talk way too much for a straight guy,” I said back, sipping my homemade martini.
Beckett plucked an olive from the stick inside his cocktail glass and popped it in his mouth. “You have a point.”
“I have more where that came from,” I said, pointing to his glass.
Why was I hitting it off so well with this vampire?
“You never told me why you were in a vampire bar.”
“I’m looking for two vampires,” I deadpanned.
He lifted a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me, and said with a smirk, “Well, you found one.”
“Two specific vampires,” I corrected.
“Why?” he asked, pausing the martini glass at his mouth.
“Because one attacked me last week, and the other murdered my brother.”
He pressed a hand to his mouth. “Oh, my God.”
“By the way,” I said, kind of getting pissed off at him for trying to lure me in that bar. “You play a very good straight dude.”
He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Well, until a gay vampire bar pops up in the city, I’m stuck at the straight ones. I’m a fabulous actor, so it’s not hard to get blood-laid in those places.”
My drink paused at my lips. “Blood-laid?”
He chuckled. “A little blood and no sex, but sometimes a few kisses and some heavy petting. It works if you know what you’re doing.”
“You’re disgusting.” I made a face.
“So I’ve been told,” he replied with a wry smile. “So tell me about these vampires you’ve been looking for.”
I described them both to Beckett. He looked off into space and then moved his gaze back to mine. “I may know the one who killed your wolf brother. That sounds like Linden, but I can’t be sure.”
“Linden? Who the hell is that?” I asked, a fit of excitement stirring in my belly at my very first clue.
“He’s a coven leader in Boulder.”
“Does… did he have a brother?” I asked.
Beckett nodded, “Yeah, I be
lieve he does. The brother is recently turned. I think his name is Sirus. Linden made him vice-president.”
Anticipation was brewing like crazy within me at this very first clue. I leaned forward, leaning my arms on my knees. “What does the brother look like?”
“No idea, never met him,” Beckett replied with a shrug.
“What do you know about Linden?” I asked, unable to mask my excitement.
“I do know you won’t be able to defeat him,” he replied, concerned.
I wasn’t going to let that stop me. “Then you don’t know me very well.”
Just then, my front door opened and Ryder came strolling in. His face fell when he saw how I was dressed.
I jumped up from the couch. “Hi, babe.”
Ryder looked around the room and saw Beckett sitting there. He subtly sniffed the air, and his eyes flashed yellow. “Why do you have a vampire in your house, Ayla?”
“He’s a friend,” I came back quickly, hoping my boyfriend didn’t blow up on my new friend.
“Ayla?” Beckett asked, confused.
“Yeah, it’s her fuckin’ name. I thought you were her ‘friend’,” Ryder replied, his jaw ticking.
I smiled, a little chagrinned at Beckett. “My name is Ayla, not Amy, by the way.”
Beckett waved his hand. “I don’t care. But for the record, Ayla is way cooler than Amy.”
“Shut up, leech,” Ryder said, his face now turning red.
Beckett’s expression looked angry and defensive. “Please don’t call me that. I really am not a leech.”
“So you don’t steal blood from humans? They give it up voluntarily?” Ryder asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Of course they do,” Beckett said, as if this was something to be proud of.
“Okay now,” I said, getting angry at Ryder. “Let’s not be rude. We were just talking.”
Ryder’s jaw ticked again in annoyance as he glanced at Beckett, then back at me. “Ayla, you have a vampire in your goddamn apartment. You don’t see this as a problem, after all we’ve been through?”
