Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

“Come on, let's go.”

  “Go where?”

  I grinned with caffeine induced craziness. “Somewhere dark.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Mostly people ignored us but there was something about William that made them look. It was mostly women of course and I figured they were struck by his good looks. He wasn't used to such crowds, I don't know how long he spent hunting but by his reluctance to walk towards a crowd I figured he hunted in suburbia rather than the city. But as I watched his gaze, I realised this wasn't about anxiety, this was about hunger. I pulled him to the side and waited for people to pass.

  “I will go and get the tickets, meet me in the lobby of the movie theatre. In the meantime, you go and find something to feed on.”

  “There are too many witnesses Mary, I dare not draw such attention to myself.”

  “Look over there.” I said quietly. “The cleaner is going into the toilets, go now. It will not arouse suspicion, you are merely using the amenities and he is cleaning them.”

  William chuckled as he kissed me softly. “You are a treat and a treasure. Be safe my love, I won't be long.”

  I watched him move through the crowd with determination, entering the male bathroom and no one took any notice of him. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed that he would be okay, that nothing bad would happen to him and that he would get the feeding that he needed. With a wry smile I wandered up the stairs to the movie theatre, thinking about how little I cared that William was off being a murderer. I had become accustomed to this life far too easily and it worried me. Did life mean so little to me?

  The girl behind the counter seemed rather disinterested, at this hour the place was empty and she was bored already. I purchased the two tickets and waited for William to return to me. Walking to the glass balustrade, I leaned on it to watch the people below going about their lives. They knew nothing about what truly lurked in the shadows, or even right beside them. In this building, I knew of three murderers that were hunting here, how many more were there that I did not know of? When I saw William exit the bathroom I smiled, he seemed happier already. His determined stride was graceful and as I watched him I couldn't help but think how lucky I was. He might be cold at times, he might be a bit of a jerk as well but he was sweet and caring. I had learned how to navigate my way through his moods, as he had done for me. With luck we would find a happy future together, provided that I can convince the lycans and the fae that they don't need to kill me.

  William grinned as he looked up at me from the bottom of the stairs, I sighed as I watched him walking up. With one sweet smile I was a mess of lust and love. There was no hope for me, I was done for. One love sick fool who was smitten.

  “Feeling better?”

  “Incredibly so.” He whispered into my ear. “You have an opportunistic eye, my love. I shall enjoy our nights out and what you may find for our meals.”

  I shook my head with a crazy grin, handing the tickets to him. He studied the two piece of paper like they were a treasure map, not bothering with looking at the path ahead as we walked towards the theatre doors. I wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up at him.

  “You are in a good mood, was it all that coffee?”

  “No, just enjoying the moment.”

  William grinned and said nothing, passing the tickets to the man who was waiting with a pitiful attempt at a greeting. He ripped the tickets and let us pass, returning to his stance that was leaning on the wood lectern.

  “One hundred and eighty-two minutes of sleep.” He chuckled. “And what happens when the movie ends?”

  I shrugged, tugging his hand to the theatre.

  “What if I want to watch this movie? I've never met a hobbit, is this a documentary?”

  His face was so plain as he waited for me to say something then chuckled, unable to hide his amusement. “I know it's not a documentary. Did you enjoy the book?”

  “What book?”

  William frowned at me, changing to shocked then to confusion. I giggled at him, wrapping my arms around his waist again, looking up at him.

  “You've read it, haven't you?”

  I nodded as I stifled the laugh and fluttered my eyes at him. He shook his head as he hugged me tighter. When we were out of the view of the guy behind the podium, William picked me up and put me over his shoulder, ignoring my shriek and complaints.

  “There's no one here.”

  “Well it is ten am, most people are at work.”

  He set me to my feet, the movement made me a little giddy. William pulled my hand up the stairs to the top row, sliding along to the end. There was a half wall that sat over the doorway below, it made for a perfect shield from the light. William flicked his foot under the seats, kicking out the bits of popcorn that the cleaners had clearly missed.

  “I do not like the thought of sleeping on the floor in a movie theatre.”

  “What about the seats? The arms can go up, like this.”

  His lips pressed a long thin line as he narrowed his eyes, darting them to me. Saying nothing he looked back to the arm rest, moving it up and down and marvelled at the little piece of furniture.

  “How long have they had these things?”

  “How long has it been since you were last in a movie theatre?”

  He stood upright and pushed the rest of them up, sitting onto the seat next to me.

  “When they first came out we all thought it was a novelty and decided to check out this newfangled place to go. Personally I didn't care for it much, it was rather boring. The seats seem to be better.”

  “So what then? When the films were silent?”

  William nodded and leaned forward, turning back with a grin. “Doors are shut, just you and me and no one else.”

  “You are supposed to be sleeping.”

  He was about to say something but the lights dimmed as the curtain pulled back for the ads and previews. The man that had lived in a house with no electricity and therefore no television sat wide eyed at the large screen in front of him. He was in complete awe of it, the light from it lit up his face as the awe turned into a slight smile.

  “You know, the book was split into three movies, this is part two. If you are planning on actually watching it you might want to keep that in mind.”

  William turned with a look of confusion. “Can we see the other two?”

  “Well no, the first one isn't showing and the third isn't released yet. Maybe you should get electricity installed in your house, then you can watch the first one on the television. It was great, you would probably love it.”

  His head lifted back slightly as his eyes narrowed at me, looking at me as if he was trying to figure me out.

  “I thought you were broke.”

  “I am.”

  The gaze continued to try to break into my hardened exterior but I knew I couldn't escape this. I had inadvertently let slip and I don't know how he would take it. There was little else I could do, I had to tell him and hope that he wouldn't care. Though this was William, it was likely that he would do something utterly ridiculous or snap and start ranting about it.

  “When I first started at the shop I uh… well I went on a date I suppose. We went and saw the first movie.”

  “Just a movie, nothing else?”

  I nodded, knowing exactly why he wanted to know. It was the whole giving and taking thing again.

  “You said you didn't have time to entertain a man.”

  “I don't, didn't.” I sighed. “It was a bad idea right from the start. I had to skip my sleep because we came here for the first session of the morning and by the time I had my shift in the afternoon I was tired. By nightfall I was a wreck. He sent me home to sleep it off.”

  William frowned at me, the start of the movie did nothing to distract him. “Did you come here with Cameron?”

  I nodded knowing I could not escape the questions. He was relentless in his hounding me for information, more so if I tried to avoid it. I didn't regret the one
and only date that we had, he was a nice guy when he wasn't a snarling beast in an alley.

  “Look, nothing happened. It was a movie that led to nothing. He was the perfect gentleman and was well behaved. When I came to work the next day we agreed that it would be disastrous to continue considering that I didn't cope well with the lack of sleep. That was it, he was fine after that. No bothering me with requests, no nastiness. Just a boss and an employee and everything prior was forgotten and seriously no clue about his other life. He's like a frickin' Jekyll and Hyde.”

  I looked at William, his face was plain as he stared at me.

  “What?” I asked warily. “He didn't kiss me.”

  The face hadn't changed, it was like he his face had frozen, permanently pinned to me.

  “Oh for God's sake, he didn't even hold my hand. Okay so he opened a door but that's what gentlemen do, isn't it?”

  I gulped hard, wondering why I was so freaked out. It wasn't as if I had done anything wrong. William said nothing, the light from the movie shone over his face as he continued to stare at me.

  “Are you going to say something at all?”

  Nothing. Not a damned word. I was beginning to wonder if I should check for a pulse. Maybe he had a heart attack and I didn't notice. Except that he blinked. Okay so not dead then, just being an arsehole.

  “I'm going to the bathroom.” I stood from the seat, his gaze following me. “No I don't need a chaperone, it's a few steps out the door, I'll be fine.”

  I thumped my way down the stairs, muttering under my breath, calling him a weirdo.

  “I heard that.”

  Looking up to the ledge, William was leaning on the half wall looking down at me. He still had the plain and unimpressed face but there was a little amusement in his eyes.

  “Don't take too long.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Five cups of coffee was wreaking havoc inside of me, I was down from my caffeine high and settling into a nice lull. The bathroom was sterile and white, the smell of bleach hit me as I walked into the room. I liked the bathroom here, there was no external doors, just a series of walls to provide privacy. I didn't have a phobia to germs but public bathrooms weren't my favourite place to be. All of the stalls were empty, leaving me with a multitude of choices. When I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror as I washed my hands, looking at the faded view. She was once a girl that had a pale tan to her skin, bright eyes and the hope for a better tomorrow. But not any longer. She is pale now, a deathly pallor had slipped across her gaunt face.

  It was a shocking reminder of the life she was leading now, living with vampires. Her eyes were tired from a long and stressful night, the remnants of the coffee explosion were fading, reminding her of how tired she really was. And the hope for a better tomorrow? Sure, she had hope. Hope that she could survive the fae army that were always around, haunting her every step. The lycans had fallen back into a retreat but she worried that it was a lie. Her better tomorrow was in the hands of a vampire, the visions of her future hadn't stopped. They always showed her what her future was, the man that adored her and the child that grew large, swelling her tiny belly. But there would be no future if she couldn't get rid of the fae army or their mercenaries. The words from the master of the afterlife rung through her head, the fae are easily placated. How? How could she placate the people that want her dead?

  I wiped the tear from under my eye and thought that maybe I could ask William about it. Maybe he might know what makes the fae tick, what I could offer them so that they would leave me alone. It was all that I wanted, I didn't want their acceptance, I didn't want to become a part of their world. I just wanted my life here.

  “But what are the chances that they will agree?” I asked the woman in the mirror.

  She didn't answer, she just stared at me. My attention was dragged down to the dragons, suddenly mine had become active. They hadn't moved since I had died, it was odd to see them so inactive. But not any more. William's was laying on the shield looking a little sleepy but mine was going crazy. I had never seen this kind of movement before. He went behind the shield, flicking his tail against the edge. Then he came around it, crawling over the front of it, digging his talons into it.

  “What?” I whispered to him.

  He shook his head in a forced movement, like he was trying to flick something from his face. A mewl of a roar emanated from him as he rounded the shield again. My heart was racing, I didn't know what it meant but I feared the worst. I looked around the bathroom, nothing had changed, I was still alone. Taking a deep breath, I stepped to the opening that led to the lobby. In the small corridor there was nothing. The tiles glinted from the overhead light, the bin was stuffed with used paper towels and a few people passed the opening between the lobby and the bathroom. My hand gripped my stomach, feeling it turning over with the fear. I stood at the threshold of the bathroom, looking out across the lobby. People were passing into the various theatres, taking no notice of the girl that was freaking out. Turning to leave, I hoped William was okay, maybe I was wrong about there being someone out here. Maybe they were in the theatre. Panic gripped me as I stepped onto the plush carpet, a shiver crept up my spine. I stopped, feeling a dread I hadn't felt in several weeks. I knew why the dragon was freaking out, it had sensed danger. The dread that was crawling up my back was like thousands of spiders, the white hot rush went straight to my brain as he drew closer.

  “Mary, what a surprise.”

  His tone hadn't changed. It was the same as that day when I had seen him, the day when he turned my life upside down.

  “Here I was thinking that you had skipped town without giving me a response.”

  The blistering heat of his hand gripped my shoulder firmly, holding me still as the other trailed up the other side of my neck. His cigarette laced breath was warm against my skin, a smell that I wished I could forget assaulted me as he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

  “How about we negotiate that settlement in the bathroom?”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  The patter of William's heart was reassuring as we laid in the dark. Well, the almost dark. It was hard to find sleep with the flickering of the light from the movie and the sounds booming through the empty room. But still, we tried. I was laying on his body with my head on his chest feeling extremely sated. There was no physicality to our time within the theatre, just us trying to find rest. This was heaven.

  “What took you so long?” He whispered.

  My body tightened as I remembered the past few minutes, remembering him.

  “Your dragon was acting up, are you going to tell me and stop the worry that I have? I was about to come and find you when you came back in. You had me worried.”

  “You said that already.” I sleepily murmured. “Would you like the short version or the long version?”

  He grinned as I sat up and looked down at him, toying with the buttons of his shirt.

  “I guess the long one would be more involved and I am far too tired for something that is long, so I'll go with the short one.”

  I took a deep breath, waiting for him to freak out.

  “That empowerment you were talking about? Well, I got it. Adrian found me.”

  He stopped me from laying back down, sitting up with a really worried look on his face. “He was out there?”

  I nodded with a grin.

  “You are far too happy about it my love, tell me about your empowerment.”

  “Changed your mind now, huh?”

  William chuckled. “Absolutely, now I wish that I had chaperoned you. I would have loved to have seen it.”

  “Well I had just come out of the bathroom. I was worried that there was something wrong with you because I saw the dragon too and there wasn't anything abnormal in the lobby. I should have known better, even though I know little about this guy, I know that he is tied to me.”

  William nodded silently, pursing his lips with a sweet smile.

  “He came up behind me and suggested th
at we negotiate the settlement in the bathroom. I said no.”

  I couldn't help but grin, the one little word meant so much to me. It made me feel alive.

  “I told him that he could sue me for all that he liked, I was never going to change what I said about him, I was never going to lie about what happened.”

  “How did he react?”

  “Shocked at first. It was the first time I had ever stood up to him like that. Before I had always been too frightened of him. It wasn't beyond him to raise his hand to me if I tried to rebel.”

  William's eyes narrowed with anger, the light shone over his twitching lips as he seethed.

  “He beat you?”

  “I was a smart mouthed insolent runaway William, of course he did.”

  “You were a teenager trying to escape an abusive rapist, don't condone his actions Mary.”

  I shrugged, unable to agree with him. After four years of being told I was a bad child and deserved everything I got, I had begun to believe him. I misbehaved, I was punished. William shook his head with disbelief.

  “I don't agree with your attitude however I am going to ignore it momentarily so as not to dampen your moment. We will however be discussing this at a later date. Continue.”

  “Sure.” I grinned. “Well, like I said he was shocked and then it turned to anger. He wasn't impressed that I had said no and tried to dominate me with his usual words, mocking me and generally being nasty. The whole dominating male thing is so last year.” I grinned again.

  William squinted an eye at me with a cheeky grin. “I guess it is.”

  “I've gone up against a lycan, a vampire, I've died at the hands of a fae mercenary and I'm not human. What's one little man going to do to me?”

  “Absolutely nothing.”

  I nodded supremely, feeling the happiest I had ever felt.

  “So I told him to sue me, I didn't care. Considering that he doesn't know where I live now, I figured he would have a hard time finding me anyway. But still he tried, he tried so damned hard. As I stood there and was listening to him rant about how pathetic I was, something struck me. I wasn't all of the things that he called me. I always thought that it was convenience that he picked on me, that it was because I was there and of course he had whittled away any self-esteem I had to make me more compliant but I realised it wasn't a matter of convenience. I realised he was attracted to me or rather the fae in me. He couldn't admit that he truly wanted me and hoped that if he were to try and mould me back into the compliant child that I was, he could have me again.”