Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

  All I could do was frown, wondering if the vampire from the old world would stomp all over my ascension to the throne in some misogynistic temper tantrum. He had allowed Marty to alter her clothes with the change of fashion rather than keeping with the old world fashions of little flesh showing. Would he care if his loved one was queen and he was nothing more than her partner? How his followers dressed was a lot different to his girlfriend being queen, now I was curious as to what William would say if I were to become queen of the elves.

  “Do you really not wish to see this world? What of your home world, don't you want to see it either?”

  “I don't care.” I whispered sadly.

  “I find that really hard to believe Eliria. I think your feelings for him are controlling your heart's true desire.”

  I could have been cruel. I could have said that after a few weeks she couldn't possibly know what I wanted. But I didn't. I loved her far too much to be so horrid to her.

  “I have lived a life that has been bleak, I have never wished to travel. All I wanted was a family and I've got that. I wanted a quiet life in suburbia, raising kids and living a normal life. His life might not be completely normal but it's pretty close. He will remember me, I will force him into the memory pool at gun point if I have to. I will get my life back to the way that I want it and the longer he makes me wait, the more I will make him suffer.”

  Her eyes lit up briefly, like I had hit some twisted need to find vengeance. I sighed lightly, trying to ignore the menacing smirk that was hidden behind the subtle twitch of her lips.

  “If the time came where I had to be queen then I would do it but I can assure you it would be under great sufferance. It is not something that I could ever aspire to, please understand that. I think that you two need to create a contingency plan.”

  She smiled at me wryly, one that made me wonder if that was already under way.

  “Alright Eliria, as you wish.” She stood from the lounge. “We will continue with life as normal. You will still have to continue your education in case of premature ascension to the throne but the rest is for you to decide. That is of course, once the threat of from the lycans has been dealt with. When William has returned from his masters meeting, may I suggest that you confirm he has returned to the memory pool and has his memory of you?”

  I nodded quietly, turning to watch her as she rounded the lounge.

  “And when he has done that, you should have a discussion about your future. A path is required Eliria, a determined and focused path. If neither of you can provide your father and I with a plan and goal for your future then we will act accordingly. Agreed?”

  “Yes mother.” I whispered regretfully.

  I knew what it meant. If I couldn't get him to agree to my life plan then they would remove me from his life, whether I wanted it or not.

  “Remember darling…” She paused at the door. “Complete memory returned. Suburbia, kids, normal life. This is what you said that you want and your father and I will hold you to that.”

  She closed the door quietly, leaving me with my morose thoughts and wondering if I had just screwed myself over.

  Chapter Seventy-six

  The time had passed with a sulk, the more I tried to escape my thoughts the worse they got. My sleep pattern had altered considerably. It had started that morning after William left, I fell asleep on the lounge and didn't wake until late afternoon. Then I wasn't able to sleep until ten am the next morning. William's presence had altered my body yet again and it was turning me into a zombie. I didn't want food, Willa had brought food in for me but I couldn't stand the sight of it. She called me wampiria and then refused to come into the room again. It was my mother who came in after that, confirming that I was in fact returning to William's nature. She was concerned because it wasn't natural for a nornaya to flip so quickly between different species. It should take weeks for it to happen and I would have to be around them constantly. Yesterday when I woke from a solid thirteen hour sleep, she checked me over. Poking, prodding and huffing, muttering about vampires. She said nothing more, leaving me to watch the night pass me by as I sat at the window, wondering what William was doing. I looked to the dragon and it revealed nothing. He was sitting on the shield and no amount of tapping on the shield would shift him from it. I wondered what it meant, maybe he was travelling through limbo.

  It was now my birthday, before I fell asleep I had sent James a text. I had been putting it off but I now knew I couldn't do it any more. If he turned up at the celebration tonight when William was here, things would not be pretty. Though, I didn't know what William was going to do. I had sent a text to Marty asking her what time they were getting here but I hadn't heard back from her. Sleep found me quickly and it was another deep sleep that left me groggy when I finally woke. I wearily smiled when I saw the light flashing on my phone, picking it up the smile dropped away when I realised there wasn't a text from Marty. Just James.

  I understand completely, don't stress Eliria, you did warn me. Problem is, I bought you a gift. I would still like to give it to you, I can drop it off after work if you like.

  Wouldn't you rather give it to one of your sisters? I don't feel right about it.

  I stared at the text that he sent me, no matter what it was, if William found out who it came from I could imagine what he would say.

  Nah, they wouldn't like it. I can be there at five, I won't come up though. I can guess someone won't be too inviting towards me. Just come to the doors downstairs and we can say goodbye.

  Sure, text me when you're here

  I wiped the tears away as my mother entered the room with a small white paper bag.

  “I have something for you.”

  She closed the door and gestured for me to follow her as she walked to the bathroom. I stood beside her completely gobsmacked as she handed me a long box.

  “I'm sure you can figure out how to use it.”

  My whole body was shaking as I closed the door, it felt heavy and cumbersome as I felt the dread slipping through me. If my mother suspected it, it was likely to be true. I fumbled with the packet and read the instructions, removing the stick from the inner foil packet. I didn't know whether to be overjoyed or sad but I was certainly crying. Two little lines that showed me a dream. That damned little stick was sitting on the vanity laughing at me, the fool that I was. No wonder I have been puking my guts up for days, I'm pregnant. The door slowly opened and the second my mother saw my teary eyes, she knew. She wrapped her arms around me and said nothing as I cried.

  We had moved to the lounge, I had lost all energy and just wanted to do nothing. My phone buzzed with a text. Reluctantly I picked it up, knowing who it was.

  Downstairs.

  “That's James, he has a present for me.”

  “Oh, that's nice.”

  I nodded wearily and got up from the lounge, my mother frowned at me.

  “Where are you going?”

  “He's not coming up, thinks it wouldn't be wise so I'm going down there.”

  Her frown deepened as she looked out the windows and as she rose from her seat she turned to me.

  “It's still daylight Eliria, William won't be here for some time. I really think you should stay put in your condition. You look so tired darling.”

  “I am, that's why I won't be long.”

  “Alright.” She sighed. “Take Lonna with you.”

  I found Lonna in the security room cleaning a gun.

  “Hey I just have to go downstairs for a couple of minutes.”

  “As you wish my lady.” He said as he stood from the table. He picked up a taser and clipped it into its holster.

  “You don't need one of those, I'm just going to the front doors to see James. It's no big deal.”

  Lonna frowned at me and said nothing, strapping a taser to my body and another one to his own body.

  “It's a bit much don't you think? I'm going to get a present from a friend. One step out the front door, that's it.”

  H
e frowned at me again, I huffed and flapped my hands against my legs.

  “Fine, I don't have the energy to argue. Let's go, I want to go back to bed.”

  I ignored the chuckle, I figured that word had spread quickly through the house and that everyone would know that I was knocked up to a blood sucker. My life in the past few days now made sense, I craved blood because I was pregnant with a vampire child. My sleep pattern had altered for the child and I was lethargic because my body was changing and getting used to being pregnant. As the lift lowered to the ground I smiled softly, now that I had calmed down I realised that this was everything that I wanted. I should have been prepared for this, after all, I did have visions of it. We stepped out of the lift, I could see James on the other side of the glass doors. He was more casual than usual, today it was jeans and a leather jacket. His hands were stuffed into his pockets to shield them from the cold wind that was blowing. He turned with a smile and a slight nod. I smiled back as he opened the door, waiting for me and Lonna to pass.

  “Hey. Happy birthday.”

  “Thanks.”

  He wrapped his arms around me, something he did before I could step back or tell him not to. No doubt William will have a complete melt down about it but it was too late now. A cool wind whipped around my legs, I hadn't thought of the weather, too tired to worry about it. At least I had a jacket to keep me warm. James tightened his grip as the sounds of brakes squealing got closer. He whispered in my ear that he was sorry and that he had no choice. My body stiffened at his words, hearing the rollers of a sliding door as it opened. I looked to the side of us, a white van had stopped at the kerb, double parked but I figured they probably didn't care. I tried to struggle from his arms but he held strong, pulling me to the van.

  “Please James.” I begged. “Don't do this.”

  I looked to Lonna who was struggling with both Kietan and Eminilo. Both of them were holding him back, fighting with him, keeping him from protecting me. They had this all planned out, knowing that I didn't go anywhere without him they knew they had to keep him occupied. He was giving them a run for their money, landing several punches in the few seconds that I had watched him. But it was of no use, with both of them going at him, he was unable to help me. My parents didn't know I was in trouble, William wouldn't be here for several hours and Lonna was doing his damnedest to get to me but couldn't. I was on my own. James was still trying to drag me to the kerb, pretending that he was protecting me from the brawl that was happening on the side walk. Because now a crowd was slowly starting to form. Their little plan was starting to unravel, I had to drag the time out, I had to draw attention to me in the hope that they would cut their losses and leave without me. Digging my heels into the pavement, I looked up at him to plead with him again. I hated this, the feeling that I had been duped by him, that I had let my guard down and let him into my life and my heart.

  “Please.” I begged again. “Whatever they are offering you, it's not worth this.”

  “I have to, please understand… they have my sister. They said that if I delivered you, I would get her back.”

  Tears welled in his eyes and I knew it was the truth. There was nothing that I could offer him to let me go. Nothing that he wanted except the safe return of his sister. Money wouldn't sway him, materialistic goods could never alter his plan. Not when his sisters life was on the line. As my feet dragged over the pavement, I felt sorry for him. He probably never thought that his life would pan out this way. I however knew that my life would always be different, trouble and I were best friends so it was almost expected that things would go wrong.

  Gerard was at the door with a young girl that looked so much like James it wasn't funny. I had to get out of this and save his sister. I had to get the taser gun out and from the brief run down that Lonna had given me, it wasn't as easy as point and fire. There was a cartridge that I had to take from the handle and load into the front of it. But before I could even think about the taser, I had to get rid of James. Formulating a plan quickly, I slammed my knee into him, freeing myself and incapacitating him. He fell to the ground and I whipped out the taser, fumbling with the stupid cartridge. Gerard realised what I was doing and pushed the girl out of the way, preparing to either shut the door or step out to stop me. I backed away as I clicked the cartridge into place, his eyes widened as he realised he was done for. With a devilish smirk that I hoped wouldn't backfire on me, I pressed the trigger and zapped Gerard. The zapping noise was odd, he groaned out as his body writhed and fell to the hard metal floor with a great thud. James' sister gasped as she moved away quickly.

  “Get in the building and tell the doorman to call Alvarie in the penthouse. Tell her it's an emergency.”

  The girl nodded completely frightened and ran into the lobby. I looked down at Gerard's twitching body, he was done for the time being. Problem was, I now had the attention of the other two who had stopped fighting with Lonna. Neither of them cared that there was now more than a few people watching. And surprisingly, none of them bothered to intervene. I had to say, it was a great city that I lived in. They were only in it for the show, never bothering to help the damsel in distress, not wanting to get involved. Jerks. Utter jerks.

  “Hello pretty princess.” Kietan grinned as his eyes flashed red. “Wanna go for a ride?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Aww.” He pouted as he turned to Eminilo then back to me. “Ain't it cute that she thinks she gets a choice? It was a rhetorical question darlin'.”

  Just as they stepped towards me, their bodies jolted and they fell to the ground. Stunned I looked up at a willowy man in glasses who had a crazy grin on his face, his companion was a little shocked. Both of them had just zapped Kietan and Eminilo. I guess there was someone that cared. I grinned back at Tim.

  “I swear I don't think I have ever been this happy to see a cop.”

  “Just doing my duty.” He chuckled.

  My mother nearly broke the glass doors as she pushed them open in a panic. Taking a quick assessment of the scene before her, she gathered her emotions up and smiled.

  “Detective Porter, again I am indebted to you for saving my daughter.” She looked down at Lonna who was passed out, a needle of something was sticking out of his neck. “And her security.” She said dryly as she checked him over.

  “He did a mighty fine job in keeping them at bay, ma'am. If he wasn't here, she would have been bundled into that van no thanks to junior over there.”

  His head nodded at James who was still rolling on the ground in pain.

  “Don't be too harsh on him Tim, they had his sister.”

  He nodded and gestured for his men to collect Gerard and his little team of followers. Tim wandered over to James and lifted him to his feet.

  “It's not for me to decide Eliria, he's broken so many of our rules it now goes over my head and to the man upstairs. He'd better hope that he's in a good mood.”

  Tim was about to move James away when I stopped him, curious of something.

  “Hey wait, how did you know?”

  “He didn't come to work which was highly unusual. We don't get paid if we don't work and it was only yesterday that James had said that he needed every cent that he could get his hands on so I knew something was wrong. I stopped by his house to make sure he was okay. It looked abandoned and I wondered where he was, where his sister was. So we tracked his phone. Of course he didn't know that all of our phones have trackers in them for security reasons. We found the lycan hangout and raided it, tracked him and watched as the van stopped a few blocks up and he walked the rest. Ran the plates and found them to be stolen so we assumed the worst and called for backup.”

  I turned to James who couldn't even look me in the eye.

  “Did I ever mean anything to you or was it always about your sister?”

  “Of course you did.” He snapped. “What else could I do? They said that you would be fine, all they wanted was to get into the other world and then they would release you.”

/>   I nodded a little sad for James, he was doing what he thought was the right thing. He cared for his sister and wanted to save her. If I was in his position I might have done the same thing, though I don't really know.

  “Goodbye James.”

  He nodded and let Tim push him to the car, his sister meekly following behind them. My father had appeared and helped Lonna to his feet, guiding him into the building. I wrapped my arms around my mother's waist, slowly walking back into the building.

  “What an eventful afternoon.” My mother sighed happily as we waited for the elevator. “What do you think Hemoi? Should we rename our baby Eliria Trouble Trimaine?”

  He nodded with a chuckle much to my feigned disgust. We were back in the apartment within a few minutes, I was in dire need of a rest. Hopefully when I woke again, there would be three vampires waiting for a birthday celebration to begin.

  Chapter Seventy-seven

  I woke to the smell of bacon and eggs, hearing the toaster pop followed by the glorious scent of toast. Sitting up way too fast I made a dash to the bathroom to upend my stomach contents. As I cleaned my teeth and rinsed my mouth, I looked through the bathroom door to the windows. It was morning, the sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a vampire in my bed. I rinsed my mouth out again and checked the walk in robe for him, nothing. Casually I walked out to the bed and looked under it in case he was hiding there, nothing. I ventured out into the living area where Willa was humming as she crossed the room to the dining room, she carried a platter full of food.

  “Good morning darling.” My mother purred as she got up from the lounge. “You fell into a deep sleep last night and we didn't get to do your birthday, did you want to do it now?”

  “S'pose. Did William turn up?”

  She shook her head with a sympathetic smile.