Running From Forever

by K. Aten

  Annie shook her head. “Go ahead and show her, Keller.”

  Before Jesse could say another word, Keller cut into her forearm with the knife and blood immediately welled up from the wound. She caught the little bit that dripped from the small cut with the paper towel and held her arm out for Jesse to see. The wound quickly and cleanly healed within seconds. Stunned, the younger woman sat back on the couch with a thud. “Oh my God.” Annie wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her process the new information. Keller returned the knife and paper towels to the kitchen and when she came back Jesse peppered her with questions. “So what does this mean? Who else knows? What does this have to do with Sarah?”

  Keller took a deep, weary breath. “It doesn’t mean much other than I have to move every ten to twenty years so people don’t get suspicious. Only a select few know so I ask that what I’ve told you doesn’t leave these walls, okay?” Jesse gazed back her with wide eyes and nodded. “And Sarah has always had a problem with my disease in that she is terrified of the idea that I would infect her. She doesn’t want to watch Annie grow old and die without her. She made me promise that I’d never infect her and I said I wouldn’t turn her unless I was asked.”

  “So she finally asked you?”

  Annie joined in. “No, I did.” Jesse gaped at her in surprise so she explained. “Do you remember how the two guys in the pickup truck made the front page of the paper a few weeks ago?”

  “Yeah, they finally caught those guys that murdered that Diversity employee and nearly killed a bunch of other people.”

  Even now, two weeks after the incident, Annie had a hard time thinking about that night. Her eyes welled up with tears and she held Jesse’s hand tight within her grasp. “They were only caught because Keller called in an anonymous tip with the license plate number. They—they almost killed me two weeks ago when we were leaving the bar. But S—Sarah pushed me out of the way at the last second and they hit her instead.” She started to cry in earnest now, unable to finish the tale.

  Keller continued where Sarah off. “She was dying. She would have died if Annie hadn’t begged me for her life. I didn’t even know Sarah had told her about me. But we couldn’t let her die—I couldn’t.” She swallowed hard and looked down at her whiteknuckled fists. Then, without any warning, Keller covered her face with her hands and broke down. Wracking sobs shook her whole body and the younger women immediately moved to sit on either side of her. They held Keller tightly between them, understanding the amount of pain and uncertainty that was weighing her down. With their arms around her and soothing words, the tears began to slow. She turned bruised and hollowed blue eyes to Annie first, then to Jesse. Her voice was rough and cracked when she spoke. “Thank you. It’s just that she’s been gone since that night and I’m slowly going mad.”

  Jesse looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking. “Keller, are you sure you don’t know where she may have gone? Annie, are there any friends she would have stayed with?”

  Keller shook her head. “No, she won’t go stay with any of her old friends because she’s still too new. Sarah will be feeling too much temptation right now and she won’t know how to control all the emotions that are bombarding her. She’ll want to be alone. She needs help and needs someone who understands but we’re the only—oh.”

  Annie jerked her head when Keller abruptly stopped speaking. “What? Did you think of something?”

  The bar manager grimaced, hating the thought that popped into her head and hating that she was most likely right about it. “Temple du Loup.”

  Jesse brows wrinkled. “I don’t get it. Why would she go there?”

  Keller responded with barely restrained emotion. “Louve would help her. She is one of the few people who knows my secret.”

  Remembering the way the ringmaster seemed to be drawn to her sister as well as the story of how the three women had spent the night together, the sarcastic reply left Annie’s lips before she could stop it. “I’m sure she would do more than help her!” Keller shot her a pained look and Annie immediately regretted her words. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, Keller. I’m sure Louve wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.”

  The bar manager looked at her again then pulled out her cellphone and dialed. The two younger women heard a faint voice answer and Keller began speaking in rapid-fire French. Her face showed a mix of relief and concern when she finally hung up. Annie pressed closer. “Is she there?”

  Keller sat back on the couch and gripped her hair in both hands. “Yes, she’s been staying in the apartment below the club. Louve says she has no control yet and is starting to feel the hunger. Twice she’s had to stop her from doing something unfortunate with her or the troupe.”

  Annie covered her mouth, shocked at the news of her sister. “What does she mean, that Sarah’s losing control? Is—is she turning into an animal like the movies? What can we do?”

  The bar manager closed her eyes. “She’s feeling her power and she’s feeling the hunger and the call of all those voices and emotions in her head. I have to think for a minute. If I go over there and she’s not ready to see me—she could disappear for good.”

  Jesse was silent but her face was a study of concentration. She was excellent with details and something was bothering her with Keller’s explanation. She cleared her throat, and got the other two women’s attention. “Keller—if Sarah has what you have, how was Louve able to stop her from doing anything? Isn’t she super strong now or something?”

  The question caught Keller off guard and she looked from one to the other with wide eyes. “Uh…it’s complicated.”

  Annie narrowed her eyes at the reticent woman. “The truth, Keller. We’ve come this far now, a little more honesty can’t hurt.”

  “Louve—her and her troupe are more than they seem.”

  Jesse gasped, her eyes got bright excitement. “Temple du Loup—loup, as in werewolves!” She turned to Annie. “Jesus, that is so cool!”

  Annie looked at her girlfriend in surprise then back at Keller. The bar manager nodded in confirmation. “So what do we do now?”

  Keller abruptly stood. “We are doing nothing. I am going over there and you two will stay here.”

  Protests immediately followed her words. “No!”

  “It’s my sister!”

  But Keller was not going to change her mind. “No, I go alone. Because I don’t want you two at risk if she gets violent again or starts an incident with Louve and her people. Stay here and I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

  Keller’s mind was in turmoil on the drive to Louve’s club. It had been two weeks and all she’d felt through their connection was anger and pain. What she didn’t tell Annie was that she wasn’t sure how she could get Sarah back, that if Sarah went dangerously out of control and wild, harming others, it would be up to Keller to put her down for good. Just like she did with Catherine. Louve wasn’t strong enough by herself. Even her whole troupe would be hard pressed to hold a crazed vampire against their will. She’d seen it before hundreds of years ago. No, she would do whatever she could to prevent Sarah from going over the edge of that abyss. She had two weapons against the singer. The first was that she was hundreds of years older therefore significantly stronger than the other woman. The second was her love. She only hoped that would be enough to bring Sarah back because she wasn’t sure if she was emotionally strong enough to take her lover’s life. And the only way to outlive your soul mate was to find a way to break that precious bond. The single time Keller had seen it done left the remaining person an emotional cripple, never to love again. You either died with them or you wanted to die, there seemed to be no in between. No, the price of failure was too great.

  She parked in the staff parking lot behind the old church. The club wouldn’t open for hours still. It was also a night the circus didn’t perform, just a standard evening of dancing and debauchery for the club-goers. She knocked on the heavy back door and within seconds it opened. Louve st
ood there looking distraught. “Come.” She turned and led her down a familiar hallway until they stood in front of the door to the apartment. Before Keller could reach for the doorknob, Louve stopped her with a hand to her chest. “Attendez une minute, mon ami. Just one minute please.”

  Keller looked at her with added worry. “What is it?”

  “She is strong, very strong. And she has done much damage inside. Diffuse her anger if you can. I think that is fueling the hunger which we can ill afford to turn loose, no?” The she-wolf removed her hand and added one last thing. “I will have my people listen for you. Should you be in need of help, just call out to us.” She gave Keller a wry smirk and tried for a small joke. “Just cry wolf.” That was the true nature of the woman she had known for so long. Louve had always been the one to lighten a crowd. But Keller was an audience of one and her heart much too heavy to be moved. She merely nodded in response and turned the handle.

  SARAH WAS TRYING to think and not feel anything. For two weeks, the crowded feeling in her head remained. Emotions, some thoughts, and white noise in general—they were all pushing their way inside and she didn’t know how to stop it. And she was hungry, so very hungry. Nothing Louve kept stocked in the kitchen of the apartment would fill her. Her stomach clenched and more often than not she found sharp fangs cutting into her lower lip. Nighttime though—that was the worst part of it all. When the club was open and full of all those people—she could feel them above her. She could feel all of Louve’s people tempting her, promising something that would fill that ache inside. She was drawn to them in a way that only Keller had ever surpassed but Louve would let no one near.

  Sarah’s brows drew down in anger. “That bitch—” She laughed, feeling crazed and out of control. “Fucking she-wolf, she really is a bitch!” It didn’t help that she was locked in this apartment, this torture chamber. Sarah couldn’t leave to escape the emotions pressing down on her. She couldn’t run away like she always had before. At first she was happy but the past few days had been too much. When one of the wolf people came in to bring supplies, she cornered her. The woman was tall, well built, and athletic, and she gave off so much energy it was like a high. Sarah tried to get as close as possible, wanted to bathe in the other woman’s aura. She wasn’t going to hurt her—she just needed to be close. She was so hungry. She also reveled in the fact that she was stronger than the werewolf. The bitch yelled in panic when the singer had done no more than run a tongue along the she-wolf’s neck. The Louve arrived with others and forbade everyone from coming in alone. Sarah couldn’t help the blind rage that overtook her then and she lunged for Keller’s longtime friend, her ex-lover. She’d been locked in the apartment ever since. She was going crazy.

  Keller opened the door, wary at what she would find. At first glance, she could see that the living room looked like a tornado had gone through. Furniture was overturned, and there were holes in some of the walls showing the steel-reinforced beams behind. She raised an eyebrow, impressed. Louve clearly had this apartment remodeled with her own people in mind. Occasionally new werewolves needed a safe place for their first change. The apartment was their safe house of sorts. She didn’t immediately see Sarah so she slowly made her way farther inside.

  Sarah heard the door open and knew someone had come in. She could smell her, and feel her through the connection they shared. She was torn between that familiar and comforting burn of anger and that soothing balm of peace that the other woman represented in her life. When Keller cautiously made her way into the bedroom, Sarah left the bathroom and silently followed. Unseen, she reached out a shaking hand to the woman she had grown to love, the same woman who had betrayed her. Then the hunger washed over Sarah once again, cramping her stomach and blinding her mind from anything but need. With an inarticulate cry, she rushed the smaller woman.

  Keller was able to turn at the last second and flip Sarah over her shoulder onto the bed. Then, before the singer could re-orient herself, Keller had her pinned down. She wrapped her legs around the thrashing woman’s thighs and held her wrists in an iron grip. Keller looked in dismay at the woman under her. Sarah’s hair was wild, as were her eyes. “Sarah, stop!”

  The brunette continued to buck beneath her. “Let me go!” Keller just held on, riding out the storm. In a shorter than expected amount of time, Keller felt the other woman’s motions begin to slow. Eventually Sarah just lay there broken. She sobbed disjointed words and phrases and the sound ripped a hole in Keller’s heart. “Please—please—I’m so hungry. Voices—everyone pushing down on me. Hungry, I can’t take it anymore. Please…”

  She could feel Sarah’s anger taper out through the bond they shared but she kept her grip firm. “Sarah, love. I’m here. I’m right here and I can help you. Let me help you—” She kept reassuring the other woman with words at the same time she pushed all the love she held down that line of connection. Eventually, those green eyes looked at her with some level of sanity.

  “Ke—Keller?”

  “Yes, love, I’m here. I’m going to help you. Will you let me help you?”

  Those sad eyes looked up at Keller. “I’m so hungry, please—I feel so empty right now. Nothing fills me up anymore.”

  Keller leaned in slowly, letting the other woman get used to the smell and feel of her so near. “I’m going to kiss you now, okay? I promise it will help.” Sarah nodded with tear-filled eyes. When their lips touched, Keller let down the last barrier. She sent great waves of energy and emotion in an attempt to fill the other woman. It took Sarah by surprise when Keller ran a knowing tongue along her overly-sensitive canines. She gasped at the instant flash of arousal that the small action had caused. Keller continued on, making love to Sarah’s mouth in a way that only centuries of practice could match. Eventually, the singer was writhing beneath her but not in fury. It was another kind of heat that set the woman on fire.

  Once again, Sarah found herself begging, but with a different kind of hunger. What she had no way of knowing was that both hungers were one and the same. She rolled her hips, trying to alleviate the throbbing between her legs. “Please…. Please just touch me!” Unfortunately her efforts were met with no satisfaction because of the way Keller held Sarah’s thighs clamped together. When the brunette started to whimper, Keller took pity on her. She unlocked her legs, and used her knees to push the other woman’s thighs apart. Sarah moaned softly when she felt Keller’s crotch rest lightly against her own. She rolled her hips again, but the contact wasn’t enough, and Keller continued to hold Sarah’s wrists in place. Both women were still fully clothed, so Keller shifted her position on the bed and straddled Sarah’s long thigh. In doing so, she firmly pushed her own thigh right where the singer most needed it and the woman beneath her hissed her pleasure. “Oh! Yes!”

  Sensing her lover wasn’t all the way returned from the brink yet, she moved up slightly, kissing her way up Sarah’s neck and along her jawline to lips that were parted slightly and more than a little swollen. She whispered through the entire journey. “Come back to me love, come all the way back so I can fill your emptiness. Do you want me to fill you?” Sarah’s affirmative reply was swallowed when their lips met again. Slowly, very slowly, Keller released her wrists. Sarah’s response was immediate. She reached her arms around and grabbed Keller’s ass in an attempt to increase the delicious pressure against her clit. Keller was matched in arousal by that point and began rubbing herself on Sarah’s long thigh. With hands wrapped tight in dark locks, Keller pulled Sarah’s head back and stilled her thrusting. The taller woman struggled for a second then relaxed and stared up at her with those bottomless green eyes. “Let’s get undressed.” Her suggestion was met with a smile.

  With a speed born of intense need, their clothing was removed and forgotten. The tables were turned however when Keller found herself on her back with Sarah pinning her down. She felt a split second of concern until she saw the smirk on her lover’s face. The brunette taunted her. “What are you going to do, hmm? We s
hare the same power now.”

  She was surprised when Keller started laughing. “Oh my love, we do share the same blood but you’re forgetting something important.

  “What’s that?”

  With a burst of inhuman strength, Keller reared up and quickly spun them around. Tables turned, she looked down at the surprised face of her soul mate. “I will always be hundreds of years older.” With a smirk of her own, she added, “Which means, I will always be stronger.” With those words spoken, she clouded the other woman’s mind with the pleasure she was feeling and fiercely bit into her neck. Sarah cried out at the abruptness and intensity of the lust while Keller drank deep. When her mind was buzzing with arousal and their touch felt electric, she pulled away. The wound sealed in an instant. What the singer didn’t realize was that Keller was teaching her, hoping she would pick up the skills necessary to survive with their condition.

  Sarah licked her lips and smiled, more turned on than she had ever been before. “My turn.” Just as abruptly, she copied Keller’s push of power and flooded the smaller woman with arousal. Then she pulled Keller’s neck down to her waiting mouth. The first taste of blood on her tongue was sweet and tangy. It tasted of iron and all the complexities of life. Sarah swallowed and moaned at the feeling of spreading warmth through her body. Keller was very much alive and filling her in a way she’d never done before. Before she had taken more than the smallest of swallows, the bar manager shifted slightly and entered Sarah with two fingers. The singer stiffened with instant pleasure and moaned while still drinking her fill. She finally released Keller’s neck when those same fingers began thrusting deeply and curling just inside. Keller leaned up and kissed away the spot of blood at the corner of Sarah’s mouth while the woman below her murmured soft words. “Oh God, oh God, fuck me—” The blood was her own and Keller found it was a curious experience. She was also pleased to note that Sarah was indeed a quick study.