Malik's Reclamation (Hellfire Dogs MC)

by Crystal Miller

  When I stand up, a human is laying on the ground in her own pool of blood. I can hear her choking on her own blood as it pours out. “Malik,” an even sweeter voice comes from her. This one isn’t the same that I’ve been hearing. This one is one I know all too well.

  “Sierra,” I whisper in my head. I bend down, still in lycan form and gather her into my arms. I let out a whimper but inside I’m fighting the urge not to go hunt down the thing that tricked me. “Sierra, no no no. Please no.” I put my hand over her throat trying to stop the bleeding. But no matter how hard I press, the blood spills faster. “Please, baby. I’m so sorry. Don’t leave me. I need you. I love you.” At that moment, Sierra struggled to get her last breath out and went limp in my arms.

  A howl escapes me, a painful howl. One that tells everyone my heart has been ripped out. In the horizon, the creature that once stood before me.

  I shoot out of bed, ready to fight whatever my eyes saw. Only to find myself alone in my room. My thoughts drift back to the dream. Sierra. I killed Sierra.

  10

  Sierra

  A scream escapes me. I don’t even realize I’m sitting up in bed. Seeing my own death by someone who loves me is enough to scare the shit out of anyone. I grab my throat to make sure everything is still there and breathe out a sigh of relief when it is. I’m drenched in my own sweat. My brunette hair’s soaked as I brush it out of my face. My nightgown isn’t any dryer. I have been projecting myself into Malik’s dreams for years and not once have I seen or felt anything like that. The look on his face was sheer terror and confusion. This didn’t make sense. He’s never hurt me like that before. He’s never once gave an impression that he wanted to kill me.

  This though changes thing. What deep down inside his subconscious would make him want to do something so heinous? I thought the feelings we shared were ones to last a lifetime. Or was something more sinister at work? Who was the other Lycan in the dream? What does she want with Malik.

  As I sit there trying to wrap my brain around what just happened, I suddenly hear a knock on the heavy cypress door. It wasn’t a loud noise, but it was enough that it made me jump about six feet in the air. I rub my forehead and let out a small laugh. This isn’t like me.

  “Enter,” I say with a shaking voice that I don’t recognize.

  “Ma’am,” It’s Lucias. He opens the door quietly and pokes his head in. I didn’t even know he had returned back to the estate. The last thing I remember was morphing into my natural state, everything else had gone black on me. “You okay, ma’am? I heard you screaming.”

  “Yes. I’m okay. Just a bad dream.” I smile. Even in the dark, I know he can see it and probably knows that I’m faking it.

  “Shall I fetch Marie?” Concern rises in his voice.

  “No, Lucias. Do not bother Marie. Let her sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Lucias starts to shut the door when suddenly he stops. “Ma’am?”

  “Yes,” I reply as I adjust my pillows to lay back down.

  “Get some rest.” The concern is still in his voice. “Something big is brewing, I can feel it.”

  “I can too, sweet child. Now, off to bed with you.” What am I supposed to say to him? I cannot lie to my most trusted friend. He has been there with me since I was born. He protected me even when he didn’t have to. Now I lay here, listening to his fears. I know he feels it. Him and LeRoy have been on edge since Senqua arrived. There’s more to that man’s story that none of us are aware of. More that he is keeping buried in hopes that we don’t find out.

  Once I hear the door finally close, I try to close my eyes. Sleep sounds good right about now. But do I want to have the same dream that I just screamed out of? Would I be able to keep myself from projecting into Malik’s dreams? I reach over to the night stand and pick up my phone. I tap the screen to see what time it is. 2:45am. In a few hours, I’m going to be making my way to New Orleans. Screw it. There’s no way I’m going to be able to shut my brain off from what just happened. I quietly slip out of bed and start changing out of my night clothes to put my training gear on.

  After I get dressed, I look at myself in the mirror. I notice that the days are starting to catch up with me. I look worn out. The dark circles under my blue eyes are more prominent than usual. My hair looks brittle, almost too thin to call it my own. I would blame this on old age. After all I’m over a hundred years old. But Lycans age differently than humans and even more so than dogs. While dogs age progressively every year, Lycans slow down considerably after nineteen. So here I stand, in the body of a hundred-year-old woman but look like I’m twenty-one. I manage to drag myself away from the mirror and silently make my way to the door.

  I check to make sure the coast is clear before I make my way down the stairs to the training room. I don’t want Lucias, LeRoy, or Marie to wake and start worrying why I can’t sleep. As I tiptoe down the hallway, I notice that something seems off. The aura of the house seems different. Darker. Is this what my men are sensing? Have I been blocked until now from seeing what needs to be seen? I can’t answer that question right away. But I will definitely let Marie know to do another cleansing of the house.

  I hit the last step, when I hear a squeak of the hardwood behind me. I place my hand on the knife attached to my belt and turn around with such quickness even the gods themselves would feel the breeze that I just gave off.

  Nothing. There’s no one on the stairs but me. Maybe it’s the house settling. It’s Louisiana for crying out loud. Nothing actually sits on the ground anymore. Very well could have been the support beams.

  But with all the convincing I try to do for myself, I still can’t shake the feeling that there’s a dark presence in the house. I turn back to foyer and take a deep breath. “Calm down, Sierra. There’s nothing here.” I keep repeating in my head.

  I walk down the hall, keeping my peripheral in check. Nothing’s going to sneak up on me today. I flip on the light to the kitchen as I head to the fridge. I grab a bottle of water then make my way to the training room.

  Once inside, I close the door as quietly as I can. I see the punching bag calling my name. Perfect. That’s just what I need to relieve the stress I’m under. I put my earbuds in and turn on my Spotify workout music. Before long, I’m drenched in sweat again. Out of breath, I head over to grab my bottle of water sitting on the weight bench. That’s when I see it. A dark shadow lingering in the corner of the room. I have no time to react when the thing rushes up on me as it pins me to the wall. It’s only then that I realize that this is someone I know.

  “Sierra,” the voice speaks to me. “You’re in grave danger. You must leave Morgan City at once.” The creature releases me as he takes a step back.

  “Sandja, you scare me,” I say still trying to catch my wits. He somehow managed to get past my guards and security system. Vampires are sneaky fast like that. But for him to be in my house, that’s not like him. He already has an open invitation because he’s a trusted ally. Would he really risk coming here to revoke his right to be here?

  “You should be scared. There are many things after the lycans. Many things that want you dead.” Sandja continues.

  “Who? Who wants me dead, Sandja?”

  “Every creature of the night, my dear. Your time as leader of the lycans is coming to a close.”

  “Sandja, my trusted friend, if it’s death they want, then death they shall receive.” I smile.

  “No, this is different. The lycan race is soon to be no more. They want the child.” Sandja explains with concern filling his eyes.

  “What child? Who’s child?” I ask fearing I already know the answer to my questions. It isn’t the first time someone has brought up a child, so now someone’s going to spill the beans or I’m going to start spilling blood until I get an answer.

  “Your child, Sierra.”

  “Impossible!” I exclaim. “I cannot bear children. I made that sacrifice long ago when I choose not to mate with one of the members o
f the royal pack.”

  “It’s not impossible any longer.” Sandja continues. “Malik. He’s the one who sired the child. He’s the one true protector of you.” He’s back up to me, nose to nose. I can smell the metallic scent of blood, meaning he’s been fed. “Get out of Morgan City. Get to New Orleans. And do not leave!” With that last warning, Sandja was gone. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath. I let out a long exhale and think about what the fuck just happened. I look at myself in the mirror, turn myself so I’m seeing my profile and just stare at my stomach.

  A child. Malik’s child. He grows inside me. But again, how did this happen? I wasn’t supposed to have a child. The Royal Pack made sure of that. But none of that matters now. I must protect this child at all costs. Even if it means giving my life so he can live.

  11

  Malik

  I never went back to sleep after the nightmare. I don’t understand why I would kill someone I truly love. All I want is to have her in my arms; protecting her, loving her. When I check my clock radio on the dresser, it reads 2:40am. Twenty minutes before I usually wake up from one of my fucked-up dreams. I decide that maybe a ride is a good way to clear my head. I swing my legs over the bed and feel the warmth of the floor underneath my bare feet. I stand up, get dressed, and grab the cut off the back of the chair. I open the door to my room and walk down the hallway to Nico’s IT room. I swear this guy never sleeps. Note to self: Find Nico another tech guy to help with the load.

  “Hey brother, I’m going for a ride.” I say as I poke my head into the room.

  “No, you’re not. At least not now.” Nico says as he turns in his office chair. “Too much shit going on tonight. You ain’t ridin’ alone.” Nico points at one of the computer monitors. He’s watching a live stream of one of the local news stations.

  “For now, things seem to have quieted down.” The pretty little blonde says into the camera. “However, the police are still trying to figure out who may have killed sixteen people since this afternoon. The only clue? It looks as if the people were attacked by a wild animal. More information to come as we get it. This is Sarah Godfrey reporting. Back to you guys in the studio.” Nico turns back to look at me. Determination and guilt fills his eyes.

  “Why are we just hearing of this?” I demand.

  “No clue, brother.” Nico answers. “My guess is the cops aren’t releasing too much info. Someone’s gone rogue, it looks like. You really expect them to trust us now. I mean, fuck man, it looks like this thing made human hamburger out of these people.” Then a nauseating look comes across his face. “I think I just turned vegetarian.” He gulps.

  “Shut the fuck up. Listen, I don’t care what strings you have to pull. You get that info and you get it now.” I’m practically yelling at this point, that I start to feel the change happening. When was the last time I shifted? When was the last time I had been on a freedom run?

  “Calm the fuck down, man.” Nico stands from his chair as he starts to feel the same tension I do. “I’m doing everything I can here.” I’m about to lose it on Nico. I storm out from the situation before it escalates and one of us ends up in the hospital or dead.

  “Where are you going?” Nico yells as he stands outside his room.

  “I told you, for a ride.” With that, I push open the door with such force that I swear the hinges about fell off.

  The humid air hits me like a punch in the face. But my senses are on high alert. Not because of the humidity. No. Because it’s too fucking quiet in this city right now. But I should still be able to hear the street music playing or the overbearing voices of drunken people. I don’t hear anything. It’s one of those types of quiet that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

  As I approach my bike, the sense of something watching me hits like a damn wrecking ball. I can’t shake it but I know someone’s there. The heat of eyes bare deep into my soul. I straddle my bike and slide my helmet on. I rev into gear and make my way out of the compound.

  Riding motorcycles has always been my escape. When my father was Pres, he made sure that I knew the fundamentals of the club. No whores, respect for women, and above all else, you protect your brother with your life. He wanted to make sure that was drilled into my head up until the day he died when I was fifteen. It killed my momma to be alone. That’s when the drinking started, and soon thereafter the drugs. My father was the one that her grounded. The moment he was ripped from her, her life spun into a dangerous spiral.

  Don’t get me wrong, I loved my momma. But I couldn’t be around the lifestyle she was walking down. That’s when Trig’s momma took me in. She finished raising me, gave me clothes and food. But nothing comes without a price. I went into the Army thinking I was easing the burden on her of having to bail me out of trouble all the time. Little did I know, it was killing her slowly. The day the barracks exploded, I received a letter from Bridget saying that her momma had a stroke and they didn’t know if she would make it through the week.

  A darkening entered my soul that I’ve never felt before. A dark place I never wanted to go into again. Did I cause the explosion in the barracks? I have no idea. Everything went black afterwards. The doc said that was normal for my mind to block out certain traumatic events that happened in one’s life. But I blame myself for leaving her. For getting my men killed, while I survived. Survivor’s guilt, maybe. But that will never go away no matter how much therapy I get.

  I have no idea how much time has passed while lost in my thoughts. I don’t even remember getting on the interstate. Somehow, I ended up at the camp. I park my bike under the camp and lock her up. I may be near a levee but that doesn’t stop people from trying to steal. I walk up the stairs and unlock the door.

  The camp is huge. My father made sure that when he passed that I get it rather than my mother. It was like he knew what was going to happen to her when he died. Instead of letting it go to hell because of her, he made sure that someone was going to take care of it. He knew my heart belonged on the water. He knew my brothers would need an escape from all the shit we deal with. He knew that he was going to make certain that we were taken care of even in death.

  I enter in the living room area from the front door. The camp is rustic, pretty much made out of all wood. With 3 bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, a game room with pullout couches and a huge dining area, it was perfect for me and the guys. On the fireplace mantel, sat a picture. I never took it down but the sight of my momma and daddy always put my mind at ease. They looked so happy when they were together. Had I known the demons my momma battled beforehand, maybe I could have saved her. So much pain, so much despair in my thirty-seven years.

  Now I have Sierra. I don’t want her to be with anyone else. I want to be hers for the rest of my life. That nightmare, though. Fuck, man. How do I deal with a nightmare like that? How do I tell myself that’s not who I really am? Death has always followed me, on and off the battlefield. Is it coincidence or is it my subconscious telling me something?

  I walk over to the sliding glass doors and go out to the patio. The humid air hits my face and for a moment I lose my breath. Unfortunately, in July that’s normal. I look out into the Gulf of Mexico. The water is calm, almost too calm, even with low tide coming. The sky hasn’t even hit daybreak yet. The sky is as dark as it can be. Now would be a perfect time to shift.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket, breaking me from my thoughts. I try to ignore it but it continues. I pull the phone out and take a look at what the hell’s going on. Eighteen text messages and a countless amount of missed calls throws my senses into overdrive.

  Sierra.

  She rarely ever texts me this early in the morning. What the fuck could she want? I scroll up to see what she wanted but she never says anything more than ‘pick up your damn phone.’ I quickly text her back asking her what’s up. Almost immediately, I get a message back.

  Sierra: Where have you been?

  Me: Clearing my head

  Sierra: what the fuck, Malik. Sta
rt answering your phone.

  Me: What the fuck’s your problem? Don’t start with your shit, Sierra.

  I’m getting irritated with her. I love her, but there are times she can be overbearing. It’s making this secret harder to keep.

  Sierra: We need to talk when I get there.

  Those words have more impact on a man than anyone would think. My blood runs cold. Is she leaving me? Has she found her true mate? So many things running through my mind right now, I don’t know which way is up.

  Me: We can talk now.

  Sierra: No, my love. This is something that needs to be said in person. Be at the clubhouse before I get there.

  Me: Ok, I will.

  The last text message ended the conversation abruptly. Well it’s now or never for shifting. Might as well get it done before she gets here, I think to myself.

  I walk back into the house and set my wallet and phone on the counter. I start to channel the inner lycan. I slowly start to feel my body shift. The crunching of bones breaking and reattaching themselves used to be nauseating but now, I’m used to the sound. I see the hair on my body start to change from almost blonde fuzz to gray then black. My vision begins to adjust itself to the lycan eyes. While it’s believed that normal dogs can’t see color, lycans can. It’s just looks more like you’re underwater.

  Once completely shifted, I take off out the sliding glass door and down the porch stairs. From there, my road is endless. From there, I’m free, if only for a while.

  12

  Sierra

  I don’t know why it took Malik so long to answer me. But if he had the same dream I did, then I can see it. He said he had to clear his head and while we both handle stress differently, this is going to take the both of us to handle for the sake of our child.