Resisting Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  He lie down beside her and whispered, “I love you, Kaia.”

  To his surprise, she opened her eyes and looked at him. “I love you, too.” Her voice was hoarse and he wished she’d eat or drink something. “Thank you for taking care of me, baby.”

  He smiled and stroked her cheek. “I’ll always take care of you, my sweet. I’m yours and you’re mine.”

  Her eyes seemed to search his face for something, then. He wondered if he’d said too much, if making it sound like he wanted to be with her forever would scare her off.

  Finally she put her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you baby. I don’t deserve someone as good as you are to me.”

  He kissed her overly warm forehead. “You deserve the world, my sweet. You deserve every good thing you desire.”

  Kaia wearily smiled, then closed her eyes and fell quickly back to sleep. Anthony watched her for a time, his eyes lingering on the partially healed remnants of one of his bites on her neck. For his entire life as a vampire he’d only fed on shifters, who healed almost instantly, so he had no experience with biting humans. He’d only recently learned that vampires could heal bites to humans, but he’d also learned that only weaker vampires could do it successfully. A powerful vampire like himself ran the risk of turning a human insane with just a few drops of his blood.

  He didn’t want to take any chances with Kaia’s sanity, or her humanity, so he couldn’t attempt to heal her, though he desperately wanted to. And he both loved and hated seeing his bites on her. His marks showed that she was his, but they also marred her beautiful skin. If she were ever to be vampire with him, he didn’t want her skin deformed like his own face was with his hideous scar. If he or his father had known his own scar could’ve been healed before he turned vampire, he would’ve asked him to do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, his father had little knowledge about how to be a vampire beyond what his shifter friend Jonathan had taught him. And with no other vampires around, he’d had to learn everything about his new life on his own, or rely on the wolf’s sparse second hand knowledge.

  The family was different now, though, and Anthony had options. He texted Dag, the vampire that had been hiding the fact that he’d been feeding off humans, something Anthony expressly forbid. He punished Dag for breaking the rule, but not nearly as severely as he might have if he hadn’t also been planning on getting his help.

  Dag could safely heal human bites and Anthony had been putting off having him heal Kaia. Seeing her sick like this unnerved him, though. He was done waiting. He just wanted her better.

  **

  Ethan watched Anthony carry a sick looking Kaia down the vampire hall a few hours ago, leave the club without her, then come back and disappear down the hall again. He knew Kaia hadn’t been feeling well lately, and also knew Anthony would take good care of her, probably doting on her right now.

  And that meant that if Isaiah returned tonight, Anthony would be occupied downstairs with her, which wasn’t the setting he imagined for a final showdown between them all. With a sigh of frustration, but also relief, he realized tonight wouldn’t be the night where he could finally lay his ghosts to rest, even if Isaiah decided to grace them all with his sudden presence.

  Feeling like he was on borrowed time, he more soberly spent the rest of the night getting to know Harmony better.

  **

  Anthony uncomfortably watched Dag smear his own blood on Kaia’s bites. She was so sick she never even woke. Anthony frowned hard at the giant man after deciding he wanted all her bites healed, which meant they needed to strip her. To Dag’s credit, he looked just as nervous as Anthony was mad that another man had his hands on her. If Dag could make her skin perfect again, though, he’d allow it. Just this once.

  They’d been quiet so long, Dag’s deep voice, even as a whisper, made Anthony flinch.

  “She’s too hot, Master. She has a fever. Do you want me to make her better?”

  Anthony jerked his gaze to him in irritation. What else didn’t Anthony know that vampires could do for humans? “No. I don’t want any possible mistakes. She cannot turn vampire over this.”

  Dag nodded and kept healing the bites he could see. “Where else, Master?” He wisely always waited for Anthony to point out the next spot before touching her.

  Kaia suddenly gasped and opened her eyes, then frantically took Dag’s giant hands in her own. Anthony’s jaw dropped when another woman’s voice flowed out of her mouth and spoke in a language he’d never heard before. Dag appeared to know it, though, and seemed to know the person who was speaking it, too.

  Dag and the… entity… spoke for a couple of minutes before the strange energy dwindled away and Kaia was herself again. Dag hung his head and put a meaty hand over his eyes, his shoulders shaking while he silently wept. Kaia was so sick she just closed her eyes again and went limp on the bed, still completely naked, with her small hands engulfed in one of Dag’s.

  Anthony wasn’t sure if he should force Dag away from Kaia or let him be. If Dag suddenly became angry, that would be bad for Kaia, but it felt cold to tell him to move away right now. He kept a sharp eye on the big man while he waited for him to calm down.

  When Dag finally stopped shaking so badly and released her, Anthony quietly said, “I apologize for her. She’s been saying some strange things tonight because of her fever.”

  Dag looked at Anthony in anguish. “That was my wife. Reisa. Because your woman is so sick, Reisa was able to come to me. It was Reisa. It… was… Reisa.”

  He blinked in shock. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  Dag took a deep breath. “Don’t say anything, little brother. She was a strong woman in life, and it appears she’s a strong woman in death. She was mine.” He blinked dazedly for a few moments, then seemed to pull himself together again. He wiped at his face and looked at the bloody tears on his hands and shirt before slowly turning his attention back to Anthony.

  He held Dag’s gaze for a moment. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to heal Kaia any more tonight.”

  The big man blinked at him in a stupor. “No. It was because of your woman that my Reisa found me. I’ll heal her.”

  Anthony felt pain for Dag as he continued his work. He healed Kaia everywhere, biting himself over and over again as he silently wept, and Anthony was ecstatic to see her skin become so perfect again.

  When Dag was finally done, they covered Kaia back up and Anthony walked him to the front door.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your help tonight.” He extended his hand to him.

  Looking like he was on the verge of breaking down again, Dag shook his hand, then rushed out the door.

  Anthony stared at the empty space where Dag had just been, then calmly rejoined Kaia. She was still laying right where they’d left her, sick with fever and newly perfect skin. He shook his head and almost laughed at how odd this night turned out to be before climbing into bed with her.

  **

  At around two in the morning, Ethan said with surprising awkwardness, “Should we go home?”

  Harmony paused before carefully saying, “You still want me to join you?”

  He knew he shouldn’t ask her to. He knew it was wrong in all kinds of ways. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

  Her expression was a quickly covered look of disappointment and knowing. “I understand. This is too soon−”

  “But I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  She went still and just stared at him for a time.

  He more quietly said, “We’ll start with one day. Pack a bag, and if you hate me when the sun goes down tomorrow night, no harm no foul.” He tried his best to give her a casual smile even though that was far from what he felt for her.

  He relaxed when she slid out of her chair and wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him on the forehead and quietly said, “Ok, handsome. One day.” He closed his eyes and just held her, her body still foreign to him, but quickly becoming exactly what he craved.

  He f
elt silly when she moved away and he had no idea how long he’d been holding onto her. It was as if she were his life preserver.

  She cocked her head and gave him a small smile. “I’m going to get some things. Be back in a few minutes?”

  He nodded and watched her saunter away in all her curvaceous womanliness, his confusion growing with every step further she was from him.

  An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, and it didn’t go away until she was back by his side a few minutes later with her bag of things. He smiled when he realized she had a small dagger sized bump on her thigh. Good girl, taking her safety seriously. He supposed he should feel insulted that she thought he might hurt her, but he was too proud of her to be upset.

  Before they made it all the way to the parking garage, she asked, “Can I grab something out of my car before we go?”

  “Of course. Where are you parked?”

  “I’m a level up.”

  They took the small stairway up the side of the parking ramp and Harmony tensed. Her grip tightened on Ethan’s arm when they saw Sebastian, Torin and Cory all admiring a deep red, vintage looking Porsche. They all looked up in unison as he and Harmony approached.

  Sebastian curiously asked, “Is this yours?”

  Ethan looked at the sports car, then back at Harmony. She warily said, “Yeah. What of it?”

  Sebastian, who wasn’t usually the talkative one, smiled appreciatively. “Nice. A widowmaker, huh?” He stepped further back from both her and the car, obviously aware he was making her nervous.

  Ethan said, “A widowmaker? What does that mean?”

  She smoothly replied, “Porsche 911 Turbo S’s are notoriously difficult to drive fast, and since it’s usually men that lose control in them, the car is known as the widowmaker.”

  He broke into a hearty grin and stepped back to really look at her. “Tell me more. Do you take it racing or do you just like to drive this classic around for amusement?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him but looked like she was fighting a smile. “I take it to the race track occasionally.”

  Torin excitedly asked, “How fast can you get her up to?”

  She stared at him for a heartbeat before saying with just a hint of snideness in her voice, “Porsche’s aren’t about speed, they’re about using energy efficiently.” She paused, then said with a smirk, “But I’ve had her up to one fifty.”

  They all chuckled, then spent the next twenty minutes talking about her car and finding out she was a gear head. She’d obviously won over the hearts of all three of the shifters by the time Ethan wrangled her away with the jacket she’d come to get.

  **

  Ethan drove them to Wild Woods in his less than classic Mercedes S-Class Coupe with a smile on his face. “I want a ride in your car sometime.”

  She smiled coyly at him. “Ok. I was looking at a map the other night and found a few different roads going north towards the National Forest that might be good to open her up on.”

  He grinned heartily, then flicked a look at her knee high boots, the tip of a dagger handle sticking out of the top. He chuckled and realized he felt more and more calm the further they got from the club. He picked up Harmony’s hand and kissed it.

  “If I haven’t told you, you look beautiful tonight.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Now you ante up with the sweet talk, after you’ve already talked me into going home with you.”

  He relaxed into her easygoing manner. He had no idea why she put up with him, but he was glad that she did. “Sonya, I−” He froze in horror. He’d never called anyone by Sonya’s name. It’d never even been on the tip of his tongue. Why was it now? He pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park, taking a moment to stare frantically at the dash before he finally felt like he could look at Harmony.

  She was calmly watching him.

  “I’m so sorry…” He ran a shaky hand over his face, horrified with himself that this unnerved him so much.

  She touched his arm. “Honey, it’s ok. I understand.”

  He snapped, “Well I don’t. I don’t understand any of this.”

  She tensed and he tried to calm down. He was scaring her, and frankly, he was scaring himself. He looked out into the early morning traffic, then back at her.

  He more quietly said, “It’s been three hundred years since I wanted a serious relationship with a woman, and within days of you arriving here, I can’t stop thinking about you.” He sighed in frustration and looked away from her again. “I feel at ease with you, like I did… with her. You don’t remind me of her except for that.” He turned tensely back, waiting for whatever she was going to say to that.

  She didn’t exactly smile at him, but she didn’t look mad, either. “Was that the last time you let your guard down with someone? When you were with Sonya?”

  He took his time thinking about that. “I suppose it is.” Could it be that simple? He felt relaxed with her, like he did with Sonya, and that’s why she was on his mind so much?

  Harmony gave his hand a squeeze.

  He asked, “Can I still talk you into going home with me for the day?”

  An instant look of mischief flashed across her face and distracted him from any thoughts of his lost love. He put the car in gear and got them safely home and into his bedroom before Harmony could get the chance to change her mind.

  Chapter 12

  Harmony woke to Ethan trailing his finger down her jawline. She quietly moaned. Their fooling around before bed had been rudely interrupted by the rising sun, so nothing major happened yet besides intensely passionate kissing and hands touching sexy places. She had higher hopes for tonight.

  “Good evening, kitten.” He coyly smiled as she stretched her arms above her head and yawned. His attention flitted over her body, and anticipation made her feel warm all over. He reached for her, his hand hovering tantalizingly close as he studied her contours, but he never quite touched her. She trembled in anxiousness until she noticed the faraway look in his eyes.

  Her mood fell. Ethan’s mind was obviously on his long dead wife again.

  **

  Ethan was beside himself with grief and confusion. He hadn’t raced out of the room tonight in panic when he woke, but that was only because his sleepy mind quickly realized Harmony was right by his side… where he could protect her.

  But he was petrified to touch her, and yet if he didn’t, he’d go out of his mind. It felt like his beautiful butterfly, his one and only was right in front of him, but he knew she wasn’t. Harmony was in his bed, not Sonya, and that thought horrified him. How could he betray the love of his life like this? He shouldn’t be falling for another woman. He should be at the club waiting for Isaiah. After all, didn’t he love Sonya enough to avenge her?

  **

  Harmony wasn’t sure what to do when Ethan rolled away and started dressing.

  “Ethan?”

  He didn’t acknowledge her in any way whatsoever while he pulled his pants on, then found a clean shirt and started buttoning it up.

  She slid into her own pants and pulled herself back together, still mostly dressed from when they fell asleep for the day. “Ethan? Are you ok?”

  He mumbled, “This is for you, my beautiful butterfly.”

  “What? Ethan, talk to me. Please.” She got more and more worried as he studiously ignored her and continued to dress.

  When he was all put together, he finally turned his attention on her. His gaze was so intense she felt pierced by it. “Stay here. You’re safer here.”

  She grabbed his hands and raised her voice, hoping for some kind of reaction. “Ethan, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”

  He pulled effortlessly out of her grasp and headed for the door.

  “Ethan. Ethan.”

  She followed him into the living room, but he flew out the front door in a blur. Cory and another shifter sat on the sofa watching them both in confusion.

  “Dammit!”

  Cory pulled hi
s phone out and made a call. “Hey, don’t you need to feed tonight?”

  She clearly heard Ethan groan on the other end. “Will you meet me at the club?”

  “Sure. Should I bring someone else for you to feed from, too?”

  There was a short silence before they all heard, “Yes.”

  Harmony frowned in confusion, wondering why he’d need two shifters to feed from, but she didn’t ask.

  “Patrick, will you stay for Harmony?”

  The other shifter looked at her and nodded. “Sure.”

  Cory gave her a look, then made another call on his way out of the apartment. “Hey Christopher. Where are you? Are you still home?”

  She didn’t hear the rest as he walked out the door, which left Harmony staring at a wolf she didn’t know. She snapped in irritation, “Don’t get any funny ideas, buddy.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “In case you didn’t notice, this is Ethan’s place. It’d be suicide to get funny ideas here.”

  She reluctantly sighed. “Sorry. This is just weird.”

  Patrick nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s with him lately.”

  That wasn’t what she meant, but she didn’t correct him.

  He looked casually at her. “How do you prefer to feed? Sitting? Standing? Neck? Wrist?”

  She gave up worrying about him attacking her and said, “Sitting is fine. I prefer the neck.”

  **

  Harmony showered, then took a little time getting ready, but didn’t exactly dawdle. She packed all her things back in her bag from last night. Her hopes for her and Ethan creating a deeper relationship now seemed slim to none, so no need to pretend she was going to stay.

  Yet it didn’t feel right to think they were over. Things felt so natural with him even though she’d only known him less than week. But how could she have such strong feelings for him in that short a period of time? And worse, why did she feel like he was the one she’d been searching for all these years?