NYC Vamps: Roman: Vampire Romance

by Sky Winters

  Mrs. Lewis looked into the distance and grew quiet. I could tell she was done talking, so I retreated politely from the porch and left her to her own thoughts.

  Chapter 13

  I clutched the amulet as I wandered down the dirt roads of the Bayou. I had a strong urge to hop on my bike and get the hell out of there. I wanted to face Jake and Walker once and for all. The longer I was away, the more angry I became. Every little thing Jake had ever done wrong was beginning to return to me, until my head was muddied with righteous fury.

  It was strange to be walking around without Alex or Paul with me, but in a way I liked it more. It had been a while since I had been on my own. Not long after my mother had died and I had moved out on my own, Jake had latched on to me and spent more and more time at my house. He was probably still living there now.

  The thought filled me with rage. He had never paid bills or done anything around the house. Jake had relied on me since we were teenagers, and used me until he found a way to keep the advantages I provided him without having to be with me anymore. Who knew how long he had been hoping to get rid of me?

  The settlement was modest, but surprisingly expansive. It was strange to think that everybody here had a story of some kind, uprooted from the home they loved and forced to relocate like I had been. It was nice that they all had somewhere to go, but I didn’t quite believe I would ever have anywhere that I felt like I belonged.

  I shoved the amulet in my pocket and sighed. What had I been thinking, coming here like this? I needed to go find my motorcycle and get the hell out of here. I would face Jake and Walker head-on and reclaim my place as the alpha in the pack.

  I reached the outskirts of town, trying to remember the direction of the area where I had left my motorcycle. I decided to follow my nose.

  To my fury, it was gone from where I left it, and a trail of malice was left in its wake. I could tell someone else had gotten their hands on my bike, and it wasn’t just anyone. It was a pair of shifters with a sour scent. That was all I needed.

  I bounded off into the forest without a second thought, anger prickling in my breast. Whoever thought they could get away with touching my motorcycle and live was going to have another thing coming.

  “Hey, new guy,” a voice suddenly growled. It was coming from my right, and just when I whipped around to face it, I was hit from both sides.

  I fell to the ground, furious. How many times was I going to feel helpless? Maybe I really wasn’t meant to be an alpha.

  “Bet this little beauty belongs to you,” a tall, burly man sneered. His eyes were unkind; they reminded me of Jake. The other man on the other side of me laughed as the one who spoke stroked my bike with a mocking smile.

  “Get your dirty hands off that,” I growled, lunging at him from the ground. I managed to strike a punch, and could feel my hackles raising. If I shifted, there would be no survivors.

  “Down, boy,” a third man said, emerging from out of nowhere. Why hadn’t I been able to sense them coming?

  A surge of pain brought me back to the ground. I scowled, sizing them up from the ground. They weren’t alphas, but they were strong and vicious. Mrs. Lewis had been right about the power in having nothing to lose. But not right enough that I had that power on my side.

  “Nice bike,” the third man said with a sickening grin. “What year is it?”

  “None of your fucking business what year it is.”

  All of us were surprised to hear Alex’s voice. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Alex bare his teeth. Thick, light brown fur began to sprout all over his body and he pounced on the man closest to him. Everybody was surprised enough that I was able to scramble to my feet and punch the man who had punched me first, right in the face.

  He fell backwards and blood covered his face. As he fell, I realized that he, and all of the other men for that matter, were wearing one of Miss Abby’s amulets.

  “Do you know these guys?” I shouted to Alex.

  But Alex wasn’t able to answer me anymore. He was completely finished with his shifting and was laying into his victim. I took the opportunity to fight off the second man, dodging his blow and grabbing his arm and cracking it over my shoulder. It was a nice self-defense move my mother had taught me when I was just a child. When applied with my power, a sickening crack echoed in the air and the man dropped to the ground screaming.

  “Let me help you with that,” I growled, kicking him in the face. He flew back to the ground and the shrieking stopped. He was unconscious.

  Alex stopped what he was doing and looked at me inquisitively, taking a break from mauling the man trapped between his paws.

  “You don’t feel pain if you’re unconscious,” I said with a shrug.

  Alex blinked and then looked back at the man he had pinned on the ground. The guy was sobbing, trying hard to shift, but he was already too weak to manage it.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said.

  Alex seemed reluctant to let go of his prey, but I looked him hard in the eye. “I said let’s go!”

  Chapter 14

  Alex let the man fall to the ground, and I grabbed the handlebars of my motorcycle. I rolled it away from the group of men writhing and passed out on the ground, humiliated and angry that I had allowed myself to be ambushed.

  I could hear the heavy footfalls of Alex in his powerful bear form. They gradually became lighter, and I realized he was shifting back into his human form.

  “Are you all right, Decker?” Alex asked. “I guess nobody told you how dangerous it can be out here.”

  I prickled. Maybe I had been hoping to run into a fight.

  “Just leave me alone, Alex,” I said. I was in no mood to talk to anybody. In fact, of all the people I could be talking to, Alex was the last man I wanted to see.

  “I get that it’s hard, you know. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but –“

  I whipped around, my fury reaching a new height.

  “That’s right, Alex. You don’t know what I’ve been through. So just drop it!”

  Alex didn’t seem the least bit hurt by the outburst, and I could feel the heat creeping to my cheeks. Alex was completely naked after shifting back to his human form. It had been so long since I had seen another man shift that I had forgotten how surprising it could be to suddenly be encountered with someone after a shift. I had only been a teenager[CC1]

  The energy surrounding Alex was wild and pure as it concentrated itself back into his body. I was torn between being irritated and impressed with how Alex refused to hide his essence from me. It was daring, in a way, and I wasn’t sure how it made me feel. I was agitated overall, but the bold look in Alex’s eyes made me take a pause.

  He didn’t speak again, nor did he try to hide his nudity from me. He clearly wasn’t hurt by my outburst. The look in his eyes seemed to tell me the opposite, as if he was satisfied knowing that I was being true to myself and my feelings.

  “I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me,” I said. “I just got out of something serious. I mean…I thought it was serious.”

  “Do you feel like talking about it?” Alex asked, striding along beside me. I did everything I could not to let my eyes wander across his perfect body.

  “I don’t know,” I said with an exasperated sigh. If I didn’t talk about it, I would be thinking about it. Which was worse? They seemed equally bad.

  “All right,” Alex said, stretching his arms up in the air and casting his beautiful, clear eyes to the sky. He sighed leisurely and continued walking quietly beside me.

  “I was ambushed,” I finally said, looking down at my motorcycle. It was the only memento I had of my life in New Orleans with Jake. That and the change of clothes I had found folded neatly outside my bedroom the night before. “By the man I love…loved…more than anyone in the world.”

  Alex let out a low whistle.

  “People do fucked up things for power,” he said, looking down at the ground.

  “I don’
t see the appeal,” I grumbled.

  “That’s probably because you have it,” Alex said. I glanced up at him and he winked at me.

  I looked away quickly. “Well, you have no power. Not alpha power anyway. What’s to envy about it?”

  Alex laughed softly, more to himself than to me. “I never said I envied power. The only thing I respect is honesty. You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not, or to covet the power that somebody else has.”

  “Tell that to my ex,” I scoffed.

  “He’ll get what he deserves in the end,” Alex said.

  I looked up at him, shocked by the anger flashing in his storming eyes.

  “I really don’t think it will happen,” I sighed. “I got ambushed twice in three days. And I couldn’t get myself out of either one of them. What kind of alpha am I?”

  Alex grinned.

  “You’re an alpha who thinks with your heart and misses subtle cues. That’s what the omega is for.”

  “I’m not supposed to think with my heart. I have to lead with my instincts. And lately, they have been utter shit. Have you ever considered that I lost my place as alpha because I’m not meant to be the alpha?”

  “Not for a second,” Alex said. “I think you’re alpha through and through.”

  I resented his blind faith, but still, it was a brief comfort all the same.

  “Whatever,” I sighed. “I’m done talking about it.”

  “Do you want to know why I’m here?” Alex asked, a sly smile creeping across his face. Again, I was shocked by just how handsome this man was.

  “I guess,” I said, though I was burning with curiosity.

  “I’m here because I’m good at revenge.”

  “What?” I asked. Alex was many things, but the thought that he was vengeful and conniving had never crossed my mind.

  “My father was the rightful alpha, but his twin brother was power hungry. My father let him act as alpha just to keep the peace.”

  “What did you do?” I asked, but I was already forming a picture in my mind. Alex, young, strong, and scorned, with his passion for honesty, feeling the injustice as if it were stabbing him in his own heart.

  “Well, I was born sick, so I was raised as the omega. Nobody realized that there was a point when I started getting my strength back. And with strength came confidence. I fought my uncle. He almost died. Everybody, thinking he was the rightful alpha, thought I was a menace and banished me.”

  “Why didn’t your parents stand up for you?” I asked, puzzled. It seemed like such a silly misunderstanding.

  “They would have if they could have, but nobody wanted to believe that what they had believed so long was wrong and had caused my father to suffer. And my father’s closest relationship was to his twin, not to his sickly, violent son. They had other kids to raise. I’ve been on my own for a while now.”

  I was baffled. Why did such horrible things happen? What was the true appeal of this alpha power?

  “You don’t get it either, do you?” Alex asked, scoffing. “That’s because you’d never abuse that power to hurt others or to put yourself at an advantage. That’s what a real alpha is like. They care deeply about the greater good. They don’t seek power, it’s given to them because they have earned it. Because they would never take advantage of it. I know you have it in you, Decker. I haven’t known you that long, but there’s no doubt in my mind. Even if you have a few bumps in the road, you’re the true alpha.”

  For the first time in what felt like centuries, I looked at the handsome, naked man standing beside me and smiled. Whether I believed Alex or not, it was nice not to feel worthless.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  Alex smiled, his eyes suddenly flashing with a dark energy that made the air between us crackle.

  “Thank me later,” he said, letting his hand fall over the pronounced muscles of his abdomen. “There’s something else I’d like to do now.”

  Chapter 15

  I was irritated by my arousal; it wasn’t as if I was good company. I had no intention of falling in love with Alex. He was nice and everything, but I only got involved with people if I was serious about them. At least, that had always been my rule.

  But look where that got me. I was entangled with a manipulative jerk who had only cared about my status and what I could do for him. I had lost everything to him. The worst part is that I had done it willingly. There was no way I was going to make the same mistake again. I wouldn’t let my guard down to anybody. Not even Alex.

  But Alex didn’t seem to care whether I had my guard down or not. His eyes were boring into mine, as serious as I had ever seen anybody before. It was strange to see it; during work he had been mild, laid back, and goofy. He had an attractive personality, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel what I thought I should feel about someone before I had sex with them.

  What was it I wanted to feel? Some kind of life-long commitment?

  My anguished thoughts were cut short by the feeling of Alex’s hands pressed against my shoulders.

  “You’re holding back,” he said, frowning deeply at me. “I can feel it.”

  I pulled away from him growling and continued on my way.

  “You’re better than this, Decker!” Alex exclaimed. He had to sprint to catch up to me. “You’re strong because of the way you feel and nothing else. Don’t hide from who you are!”

  He put his hand on my shoulder and tugged, as if to stop me from walking. My anger got the better of me then and I whipped around to face him, snarling. He flinched away, but he didn’t let go.

  “That’s more like it,” he said. “If you’re angry, just be angry! If there’s something else you feel, just be it. It’s over faster that way.”

  “I already told you that I want you to just leave me alone, Alex,” I growled. He was walking a thin line, and I was growing impatient.

  “You’re not making this easy,” he said. “All I want you to do is fuck me. You don’t have to love me. You don’t have to replace your ex with your me or something. I get that you’re hurting and I don’t mind waiting until you’re ready. What I do mind is this shit you’re putting yourself through. You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You’re denying yourself. And why?”

  I glowered, but didn’t answer.

  “You’re just down on yourself! You have no idea how impressive you are. You don’t think you’ve earned your place as an alpha. Am I right? Am I close?”

  All I wanted was for Alex to shut the hell up. So what if I didn’t feel like an alpha? I wasn’t anymore. There was nothing that would convince me that I had earned that title. It had just been a mistake, that’s all. A mistake that was rectified by Jake and Walker. If I couldn’t hold my own against my own pack, what right did I have to call myself an alpha?

  “Just stop talking!” I growled, whipping around to face Alex. He stared me down, and an infuriating satisfaction lit his eyes. Did he like pushing me to the point where I lost my temper? Didn’t he know it was dangerous to pick on somebody bigger than you were?

  “Why should I, Decker? You’re going to lose yourself if you just hide from all of this. You were wronged, man! You were wronged and you didn’t deserve that. It doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be an alpha!”

  “Just STOP!”

  I lunged at Alex and he grunted as his back hit the ground. I barely had enough time to feel bad about it before his lips were against my own. I don’t know if I was the one who had kissed him or if he had kissed me, but once it started, nothing could have kept us apart.

  I gripped Alex by his thick blonde hair and growled into his ear as I allowed my hands to finally roam his body. I could feel him shiver pleasantly under my touch. His muscles were hard, and tense from the fight we had just had, and his clear eyes had lost the infuriating quality that had made me want to rip him apart. Now, they were almost gentle, if I could ignore that compelling steely quality in them.

  In truth, I was used to people being afraid of me. Although Jake had
betrayed me and tried to assert himself with me, there was no denying that he was afraid of me. Any time I would get annoyed about anything and express it, his eyes would grow wide and he would avoid me. I had more power than I realized back then, but that was all gone now. How could I have been so stupid?

  “You’re beating yourself up again!” Alex exclaimed, pulling away from my lips. “You get so dark.”

  “So what?” I murmured. “Did I ask you to keep tabs on my feelings? Fuck off.”

  “Seriously,” Alex said, sitting me up and pushing me back so that he could look me in the eye. “I think you’re great. You should too.”

  “You don’t know anything about me,” I said, standing up. Alex stood too.

  “I know enough. Your energy says it all. No wonder people took advantage of you. If you feel worthless you become worthless!”

  “That’s enough!” I roared, shoving Alex as hard as I could. He flew back and hit a tree hard. I hated what I was doing to him. Why couldn’t I stop?

  “You’re angry because the truth hurts,” Alex panted, struggling to regain his balance. “You’re mad at me for telling you things you don’t want to hear. Things you don’t believe. But you should, Decker. You’re the alpha.”

  “Stop saying that!”

  I leaped forward, pinning Alex to the tree. He didn’t fight me off or struggle. He just looked calmly into my eyes. The stability I saw in him immediately extinguished the rage I felt. I don’t know how he did it, but it was impressive.

  “I say what I believe,” Alex said again. “I do what I think is right. No matter what happens to me. I’m already the omega. I have nothing to lose from being myself. And neither do you. You know why?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Because you’re on top.”

  I wanted to apologize to him, repent for being so hurtful and cruel. For using his body and clothes and generosity the way Jake had used me. But the words wouldn’t come.