It wasn’t very often that he’d come across a person with that talent. The last time he met someone with that gift was back in his youth.
Gaia. He smiled fondly to himself at the memory of her. A true Goddess in every sense of the word.
“She also asked to meet with you,” Wallace said. “Asked for you by name.”
“What? Really?” That bit of information was surprising. How did she know him?
“Yep.”
“Hmm.” He made a mental note to ask her about that, but later because Andrej knew the moment she stepped into their home, and her eyes met those of her parents, all hell would break loose. Brailynn would need him to help get through the hurt.
“You should also know that she says she isn’t feeling well,” Wallace informed.
“What’s wrong?” Instantly, his need to see her morphed into worry for her well-being.
“I’m not sure,” Wallace replied. “I’m assuming she hasn’t slept much since leaving New York. So,” He shrugged. “… some rest might be in order.”
“Okay.” He nodded. He would do anything for his mate.
Mate. Claim. Ours.
The beast push at its barriers.
“Are you okay?” Wallace asked, looking concerned.
“Yeah,” Andrej answered. “Just anxious.”
“I understand that.” Wallace smiled. “You’ve waited a long time for this, my friend.”
Andrej thought he was going to be sick. His stomach rolled. His heart was pounding harder than ever before.
Wallace lifted his brows in question and blew out a long breath. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
Andrej looked back at Brailynn’s parents and for the first time, he witnessed the uneasiness on their faces. That, he understood. He felt the same way. This meeting could go so many ways. Brailynn could hate him. She could see the monster inside of him and find him disgusting.
Ours. Mate. Claim.
He couldn’t stress over those things right now. He shook his head to clear out the cobwebs. Looking at his friend, he smiled. “I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment,” Andrej replied.
“Exactly.” Wallace gave him a knowing look. “Think you can handle it?”
“Yes.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes,” he drew out the word, suddenly a bit annoyed by the question. He was almost six hundred years old; he didn’t need a babysitter.
“Alright.”
Andrej watched Wallace walk back over to the door. With his hand resting on the knob, he turned back to Andrej. “I’m happy for you, old friend.” But, based on the sad look in his eyes, Andrej didn’t know if that was true or not.
He tried to listen for the falsehood in Wallace’s voice, but he was too distracted by the emotions that were bombarding him.
He didn’t understand why Wallace looked so forlorn. He was going to ask but before he could, Wallace opened the door and step to the side.
Mate. Unwell. Fix.
Andrej sucked in a breath. He rushed past his friend and out the door. “Brailynn!”
Several of the others had gathered around her.
“What the hell happened?” Wallace asked, rushing to Andrej’s side.
“I don’t know,” Even replied. “She just collapsed.”
Andrej couldn’t believe it. Could the Fates be that cruel? They brought her into his life, only to take her away.
Claim her. Save her. The beast started to get desperate.
He almost doubled over in pain.
“Andrej!” Wallace grabbed him to hold him upright. “What’s wrong?”
Andrej fought to remain in control. The smell of her blood was calling to him. Demanding of him. Her scent was the most intoxicating thing he’d ever smelled. And the monster was demanding to taste her. To bring her into the darkness. Andrej could feel his incisors descending.
“Andrej?”
He froze. His eyes locked on hers as she blinked up at him. His name from her lips was like the most beautiful tone he’d ever heard.
But then, her eyes drifted to someplace over his shoulder. “Mom? Dad?” she asked, confused. He heard her utter bewildered.
He saw the fear and hurt flash across her face.
Before he could stop himself, Andrej reached down and pulled her against him. He wanted to offer comfort. To shield her from the hurt that was soon to come as she realized so much in her life had been a lie. But as her body met his, Andrej felt it hum with anticipation. His need for her filled every cell.
Claim. Mate.
His lips pressed against the soft skin of her throat. Her pulse pounding against his tongue as he slowly caressed it across her flesh. Her blood screaming at him to take his fill.
Mate. Claim.
“What are you doing?” she whispered breathlessly.
He’d scared her. She might not say it allowed, but he heard the tremor in her voice just the same. That wasn’t what he wanted. Nowhere even close. Andrej wanted her to want him.
Behind him, he felt Wallace’s hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get her inside,” his friend said.
He’s trying to take her from us. He must die.
Something in Andrej snapped. He shoved off Wallace’s hand. “Do not touch me!”
“What the…” He looked up to see the confusion on DeMarcus’ face.
Arms wrap around his waist and what small hold he had on himself, vanished. He shoved himself off the ground and turned, baring his teeth. “How dare you touch me?” Andrej was losing control. He could feel it slipping through his fingers.
“Andrej, please calm down.” Wallace held up both hands, showing he wasn’t a threat.
Andrej snarled.
“Come on, Andrej.”
“Mine,” he growled. Andrej felt a wave of overwhelming anger. His blood lust was riding him hard.
He hissed at Wallace, baring his fangs in a warning.
“You are scaring her,” Wallace warned, unfazed by Andrej's show of dominance.
He turned back toward Brailynn and it felt as if he’d taken a hit from a sledgehammer square in the center of his chest. Panic seized the air in his lungs.
She was gone.
Mate. Mine. Mate. Mine.
Frantically, Andrej fought against the monster. He had to gain control. If he didn’t, he knew he would not only lose his mate but himself, too.
The pain that seared through him as he forced the change was unlike anything else. It burned him to the bone. It sent firework explosions to his nerve endings. He gulped in one breath after another, each one slicing through him like shards of glass.
“Brailynn!” he shouted her name, but it came out as more of a growl.
“Holy shit!”
“Oh, my goodness!”
“That’s cool as shit!”
“Wow.”
“Whatever.” Harper rolled her eyes. “I can do that, too.”
Andrej’s frightened filled eyes met those of his mate’s, and he cursed himself. Shit, he thought to himself. This is bad.
“I’m so sorry.” He stepped toward her, but she stepped away.
“If you come near me, I will fry your pasty white ass,” she told him, breathing heavy.
Behind him, he heard an ear-piercing shriek and spun around to see a black raven fly up into the sky. The bird circled as if searching for prey. It squawked out a battle cry and dive-bombed Andrej.
This was not the time for this, he thought, swatting at the bird. “Stop, Wallace!” he said out loud.
But the bird just kept coming at him.
Kill him.
The beast within him fought to be unleashed once again. Andrej could feel the monster ripping at his flesh.
The bird dove for him again.
And Andrej’s control slipped. He slapped the bird out of the sky and watched as it tumbled to the ground.
“No!” Brailynn screamed.
Around him, Andrej watched as, one by one, everyone began to shift. One second humans w
ere surrounding him, and the next, he was staring into the eyes of several pissed off beasts as they moved into position.
Kill them all.
The beast wanted their blood.
No! Andrej couldn’t hurt them. “I’m…” He fought to get the words out. “I… I’m so sorry,” he said to Wallace, grimacing.
“Fight it,” Wallace said. “Slam the cage shut, Andrej. You can beat him.”
But he didn’t know if he could.
“I need her,” he called out, grunting as he doubled over in pain.
But it was met by a grizzly bear's roar of denial, which was followed closely by a cougar howl and an owl’s screech.
“I’m so sorry, Wallace,” Andrej said, fighting to gain some type of control.
“Fight it!” Wallace yelled, holding his arm against his side. “Come on! You’re stronger than this.”
But Andrej didn’t know if that was true anymore. He could feel his hold on reality slipping through his fingers.
He looked back at Brailynn, so beautiful and strong. “I’m so sorry,” he told her again.
A soft rain started to fall from the sky. It felt cold against his heated skin. Pain sliced through his gut, almost unbearably. He didn’t know how to make it stop. And it seemed with each passing second, it only got worse.
He heard Brailynn scream out in pain. Frantic, he moved toward her again. “What is wrong?”
“I...” She grabbed her middle and fell to her knees. “Stop. Stop it!”
Andrej’s eyes widened in fear.
Brailynn was kneeling in the mud, doubled over, holding her stomach. Her face scrunched up in pain as tears streaming from her beautiful eyes to mix with the moisture that covered her skin from the rain.
His crew moved to stand between him and her.
Kill them all.
They were protecting her… From him. And that single thought nearly stopped his lungs.
He wanted nothing more than to comfort her. To explain. But he knew that no words would ever come close to explaining what kind of monster he really was. No words would ever be enough in explaining how unfit he was as a mate.
“You will not harm her,” Wallace said, moving to the forefront, still holding his right arm. “Control yourself. Fight it. Or get fucked.”
“Wallace!” His friend had never spoken to him that way.
Both bears roared, their long teeth glistening in the moonlight.
“You would never forgive yourself if you harmed her,” Wallace explained. “And you would never forgive me if I allowed you to do it.”
The squirrel sitting atop the grizzly shook its tiny fist in the air as it chirped at him angrily. Nearby, a cougar let out a loud warning cry and a wolf howled. And farther back, standing like a sentinel was the most regal looking vampire he’d even known. Harper wouldn’t think twice about going toe to toe with him, and while she was nowhere near as powerful as him, she was still a force.
Ours. Mate. Claim. Kill them.
Andrej stretched his neck from side to side.
“Don’t do it, Andrej,” Wallace warned as if he’d read his mind. “Fight the lust. Fight the demon back. Don’t let it into your head. Don’t let it control you, my friend. Please!”
But it already was. Andrej wasn’t strong enough to stop it from taking over.
Mine. Mate. Claim. Kill them all.
The chant just continued. Over and over again.
The beast inside of him wanted out. It hungered for blood. It yearned for it. Its excitement flourished at the thought of a fight. Inside, it was almost as if the demon rubbed its hands in delight.
“Move,” Brailynn yelled in clear warning.
He moved. Before anyone could blink, Andrej rushed forward and bypasses the others. He headed toward Harper, the only person who could possibly get in his way.
Kill her.
Andrej hit her with everything he had and sent her body flying toward the tree line. He didn’t even bother to see where she landed. He didn’t care.
Die.
He raced across the field and plowed into the others as if he were a bowling ball and they were the pins. Bodies rolled this way and that. People shouted out in pain. Cursed him. But he didn’t care.
The rain started to fall even harder.
He flew over the area, dealing out pain and suffering to all that stood in his way. Nobody truly knew what he was or what he was capable of. Nobody, but the gods knew of the power he held.
Kill them.
Somewhere off in the distance, thunder rolled. It vibrated across the mountain peaks, shaking the ground beneath their feet. Bolts of lightning zapped across the sky in a show unlike any other, like gnarled fingers reaching out to grab ahold of its victims. The clouds rolled in, darkening the land even more than it always was, blacking out all light.
Andrej stood there, heaving breaths as he stared down his enemies. He knew what he looked like. Half man, half-demon. Nails nearly the same length as his fingers. Fangs as sharp as needles.
A bolt of lightning struck the ground, almost blinding him. He jumped back. The heat from the blast burnt his skin. “Ahhh!” He screamed out in pain.
His eyes grew wide as he looked around. Shit, he thought to himself.
The eyes of his friends were filled with fear and pain. Pain that he had caused. Fear, that probably also fell on his shoulders.
Andrej took a deep breath and with one last-ditch effort, he used what little strength he had left, to push the monster back into its cage. To gain control of his body and mind.
You will not take them for me!
Mate. Claim. Ours.
And just like that, the blood lust was forgotten.
Andrej fell to the ground.
Silence fell across the field. Nobody moved. It was as if time stood still. They all waited to see what he would do, but Andrej didn’t have anything left in him. He didn’t want to fight. All he wanted was his mate and her forgiveness.
Out of nowhere, another blast hit the ground. His eyes shot up and he searched. He located everyone; except the one person, he was looking for.
He struggled to climb to his feet. “Where is she?” he yelled.
“I don’t know,” DeMarcus answered as he shifted from his brown bear form.
“Wallace?” Andrej searched for his friend.
“I’m here.” Wallace came rushing toward him.
The rain was pouring down even harder now, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. And for a vampire like him, that was saying a lot. Normally, Andrej could see for miles.
“If this doesn’t stop,” Evan, the grizzly said as he approached, “it will flood us out of the valley.”
“I didn’t even see rain in our forecast,” Paulie said, huddling against Evan. Even in human form, she was seldom away from him.
“That’s because this isn’t normal rain,” Harriet shouted, pointing toward the sky as she and Oscar rushed out to help calm the situation.
They all turned to see.
“Holy shit,” Evan mumbled.
“Fuckkkk!” DeMarcus said right along with him.
There floating about a hundred feet off the ground, was Brailynn. And she was surrounded by crackling electricity. Her arms were stretched out to either side of her body and bolts of lightning were flowing from her fingertips. Her legs were hanging straight down with her toes pointed toward the ground. Her eyes were a bright white and looked as if they were burning. Her long brown hair whipped around her head with the force of the winds.
“It's her,” Wallace said. “She is the one controlling the weather.”
“What?” Andrej looked at him like he was crazy. How did someone control the weather? The thought was ridiculous. He knew she had special gifts but to literally control the weather, was a bit much.
He turned to look at Harriet. “She controls the weather?” he asked, shocked by the latest development.
“Yes and no,” Oscar answered. “Her emotions have the ability to control it.
Water… Rain… Same difference.”
“Think about it,” Wallace replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Another bolt of lightning hit the ground, and they all jumped.
“We have to stop her,” Harper, the other vamp shouted. “Before she fries us all.”
“How?” DeMarcus asked.
“You,” Elisha answered.
“What?” Andrej asked the cougar shifter. “What do you mean, me?”
“She’s your mate,” Elisha replied. “You are the only one who can stop her and keep her safe at the same time.”
“I mean…” Harper shrugged. “I could do it, but frankly, I’d just snap her in half.”
Andrej released a deep growl.
“Elisha is right,” Wallace agreed.
Andrej looked up at Brailynn. He had his doubts that their pal would work. Every time he tried to get near her, she countered it. But Andrej knew he needed to try.
The ground was already saturated, and water was starting to puddle around their feet. He was fairly sure that Evan was right. If this continued, the entire area would flood, and they’d lose their homes.
Slowly, he crept toward her. He didn’t know what to say. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. What if he said the wrong thing? What if she shot him with electricity and fried him to a crisp? Andrej had a feeling this wouldn’t end well for him.
“Um. Hello!” he called out to her.
The ground beneath his feet shook causing him to stop and regain his balance before he fell on his ass. “Oh, let’s not do that please,” he mumbled, nervously. He looked up. “Um. I know we got off to kinda a rocky start...”
The ground rumbled again. This time with a bit more force.
“Okay. Okay,” he corrected. “A really rocky start.”
The ground settled at his feet. He looked back toward his friends and the fear he saw on their faces didn’t help to settle his nerves.
“Keep talking.” Wallace shooed him.
“You can do it,” Demarcus called, shaking his fist. His remark was quickly followed by Harper smacking him on the arm.
Andrej shook his head. This was no time for joking, but rarely was Demarcus ever serious for long.
He turned back to his mate and took a deep breath. His nerves were working overtime. Andrej swallowed hard. “I wasn’t trying to eat you,” he told her. “It’s just… having you near is…” He didn’t know how to explain it. “Your blood. It calls out to me. And I really want to taste you…”
Brailynn (A Rogue Enforcers Novel) Page 6
