Demi's at Stake

by N. L. Hoffmann

  Cathal was willing, and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, right? I couldn’t help but feel like this should have been a special moment. Sharing his blood felt intimate, more than just doing it to heal.

  When he walked into the bathroom and came back out with a plastic cup, I frowned. He was just going to pour some of his blood into that and let me drink it? I could tell he felt slightly awkward about it, too.

  I smiled. “Let’s go to your place. I want to make love first.”

  He looked at me in surprise. “Are you sure?”

  When I nodded, he grabbed the magic cup and wrapped his arms around me, appearing in his apartment.

  He started kissing me, dropping the cup to the floor with a thud, his fingers trailing down my arms. I shivered in response, touching my tongue to his. I had planned a more slow, sensual experience, but we both suddenly became eager.

  I pulled off my shirt and backed toward the bedroom, curling a finger for him to follow me. He grinned, tossing his shirt onto the couch and starting to unbutton his jeans. Stopping, I shimmied my shorts down to the floor, stepping out of them and standing there is just my panties and bra.

  “I want you so badly,” he groaned, walking toward me, a hand extended.

  “You have to catch me first,” I said to him before turning to walk into the bedroom, swaying my hips a little more than necessary.

  He strode up behind me and wrapped his arm around my middle, placing kisses along my neck and shoulder. He spun me around as he backed me toward the bed, kissing me, tongue brushing against mine. I moaned, jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist. He groaned into my mouth and squeezed me tighter when I brushed up against his length.

  We fell onto the bed. He positioned himself between my legs, grinding against me. I dragged my nails down his chest, fingers brushing against the fine hair by his belly button. He shifted his weight, pushing his pants down the rest of the way. I grabbed his length. He responded with a sigh, fangs lengthening when he opened his mouth slightly.

  Eager, he tugged on my panties, tearing them from my body. Surprised, I watched as he tossed them to the side, then reached for my bra and opened the front clasp, exposing my breasts.

  “Exquisite.” His mouth closed over one nipple, causing me to arch my back on a moan. I weaved my fingers into his hair, pulling slightly as his cock pressed against my opening.

  “Fuck me, Cathal.”

  I cried out when he slammed into me. Warmth bloomed through my body, pleasure filling me completely. I could feel my stomach tighten as the orgasm built.

  “Let me taste you,” I whispered.

  He slowed his pace, dragging his nail across his chest. Blood bloomed. I pulled him to me, closing my mouth over the wound. When he gasped, I thought I had hurt him, but his expression was pure euphoria. I ran my tongue over his wound, a surprisingly warm sensation filling my body.

  Cathal lowered his lips to mine as he slowly thrust in and out of me. Sharing such a moment had my orgasm building faster.

  My whole body felt like it was on fire as I crashed over the edge. I screamed, digging my nails into his back. He shouted at the same time, spilling into me.

  STARING AT MY FACE in the mirror, I touched my skin, grinning. I couldn’t believe all the bruising and swelling were gone. It was as if it had never happened.

  Ruby and Blair stared at me in awe. They both came up to look closer. “I think it healed your zits, too,” Blair commented.

  Punching her in the arm, I shook my head. “I look flawless.”

  “You were beautiful before, but now it’s like you don’t have a single blemish.” Ruby shook her head. “This is insane! Makes me want to try some now.”

  Glaring at her in warning, I growled, “Find your own vampire.”

  “There will be no more vampires!” Seth said, entering the room. He tossed my extra keycard onto the table, earning a scowl from me. “We still have to discuss how you lied about even being involved with him. What the fuck were you thinking? Were you thinking?”

  “What was I supposed to do? You would have flipped out. Kind of like you are right now.” I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, admiring how shiny it looked. It was like his blood improved everything about me. Was that supposed to happen?

  Seth glowered at me. “He killed those families, didn’t he? The ones at the warehouse.”

  I froze. “He was defending himself, Seth. And you can’t say it was wrong when we hunt supernaturals who haven’t even done anything.”

  He opened his mouth to object, then closed it. “You weren’t there. He tore them to pieces.”

  I sighed. “I’ve already been through this with myself. I believe he was in the right. We can’t expect him to run in the other direction every time someone tries to harm him. We are killers, too, Seth. Why is it we’re allowed to do it and nobody bats an eye?”

  “We’re protecting people!”

  “And that makes it better?”

  “They’re animals! They feed off humans.”

  I shrug. “Nothing you say is going to change my mind.”

  Seth glared, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mom is going to flip. She warned us about this vampire, yet here you are, sleeping with him.”

  “Funny you should mention that...”

  I strapped on my weapons as I explained how my mother was alive and I had met her. They stared at me in shock when I told them I was actually related to the Kings family. None of them spoke when I finished.

  Taking a look at myself in the mirror one last time, I placed my hands on my hips. “So, ready to visit the pack leader?”

  Blair held up a hand, shaking her head. “Hang on. You just dropped a huge bomb on us.”

  “We’ve been lied to this whole time?” Ruby chewed on her bottom lip.

  Nodding, I shoved my cell phone into my back pocket. “Let me tell you about how the spider bitch came into the picture.”

  Ruby groaned, dragging herself toward the door of my room. “How much shit have you kept from us?”

  Blair followed her. “I feel like we don’t know our own sister anymore.”

  “You can say that again,” Seth chimed in.

  After I explained about the spider woman as we walked to the SUV, I felt better. There were no more secrets. Whether or not they would eventually forgive me, I wasn’t sure.

  They sat in silence as we drove to the event. None of them would look at me. I felt like I had disappointed my family, but what else could I do?

  You could have stayed away from Cathal.

  Chewing on my nail, I stared ahead as we came up to one of the local parks. There weren’t any parking spots, but we managed to find an area on the grass. As I climbed out, I looked around, taking in the scene. It was busier than I expected. There were dogs everywhere. And, much to my dislike, a lot of kids.

  It wasn’t that I hated them. The crying just got on my nerves. There were numerous situations where I showed up to see a kid crying, their mother lying on the floor, throat ripped out. The ear-piercing wails grated on my brain. I was going to make a terrible mom someday. Could Cathal even have children?

  Ruby stood next to me, slipping her sunglasses down over her eyes. “There are a shit ton of people here, Demi.”

  “We’ll manage,” Seth said, coming up behind us.

  Blair looked around. “Let’s hope the pack leader is willing to talk to us.”

  “Not much he can do in a public area,” Seth pointed out.

  “True,” all three of us girls said at the same time. “Jinx!” we shouted at each other, smiling.

  Seth grumbled, “This is going to be a long day.”

  We started walking, looking around for the main area of the event. More than likely, that was where the pack leader would be. Unfortunately, we knew news crews would be around, so we would try to avoid them as much as possible. All we wanted to do was talk to him.

  Blair nodded in the direction of a large tent. “Looks like that’s the main area.”

  Nod
ding, Seth sped up. “Let’s get this out of the way.”

  Splitting up, we started searching for the pack leader. Kids ran past, startling me. When one crashed into my leg, I stared down into his dirty face, glaring.

  “Excuse you,” I told him.

  He grinned before taking off after his friends. When I looked at my jeans, I found a chocolate stain on them. Annoyed, I started looking for the pack leader again. The sooner we found him, the sooner we could leave. The kids gave me hives. Absently, I started scratching at my skin.

  Noticing a bunch of camera crews, I spotted the pack leader speaking to a reporter. Seth and Blair already stood just outside the tent, arms crossed. If they were trying to appear non-threatening, they weren’t doing a good job.

  Shaking my head, I took a seat at a picnic table, intently watching the pack leader. Slowly, I crossed my legs, tossing my ponytail over my shoulder. As I ran a finger down my neck to the edge of my cleavage, I captured his gaze. He licked his lips nervously.

  “Can we pick this up in a few minutes? I feel parched from all the talking,” he said to the woman reporter.

  “Sure thing, Gary. Is an hour good? We can all get something to eat first.” When he nodded, she set her microphone down on a table and walked off in the opposite direction.

  Gary Carson had only been in his position as leader for about four months, which gave us an advantage. Most of the leaders were familiar with us, but he was new, so the chances were slim. He smiled, gesturing to the empty seat next to me.

  Returning the smile, I nodded and patted it. “Hi,” I said, purposely raking my gaze down his body, then returning it to his extremely bright blue eyes. He was more muscular than your average politician. His sandy hair was perfectly swept off to the side. I wasn’t sure if even the wind could disturb it. The man wasn’t my type, but that never stopped me before.

  From the corner of my eye, I could see Blair scowling, probably wondering why she hadn’t thought about flirting to get his attention. That was what happened when you hung out with Seth all the time. He was used to intimidating people, but I thought outside of the box. I knew exactly how most men’s minds worked. This guy was all animal. Until they found their chosen mate, werewolves had multiple partners. After they found “the one”, they became fiercely protective. It was hard for a hunter when they encountered a mated pair. It was like fighting an entire pack on your own.

  “Did you come to adopt a pet?” he asked, sitting and placing an arm on the picnic table, brushing the back of my arm with his fingers. The man was bold, I’d give him that.

  I shook my head, turning to him. “I actually came to speak with you.”

  “We all did.” Seth appeared behind me, Ruby and Blair to either side.

  Gary frowned. “What’s going on?”

  “We need to talk,” Seth suggested. “Pack business.”

  Nostrils flaring, Gary stood to look us over. “What do you need from me?”

  “We’re hunters,” Troy said, walking up to us.

  Where did he come from? I’d almost forgotten about him completely. He leaned back against the picnic table, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Eyes darting around, Gary backed away. “We’re in public. You can’t do anything in front of these people.”

  “We’re not here to hurt you. Just to talk about the recent murders of your pack members. We’re chasing down the one who did it,” I explained as I stood.

  “In that case, you should know two more were killed inside my home last night. It’s like they’re trying to get to me, but I can’t figure out why.” Gary shrugged helplessly. “My pack is worried someone is slowly taking us out, removing the strongest wolves first. The ones murdered last night were two of my best.”

  Seth frowned. “Seems strange she would go after your toughest people. Why not just select them at random?”

  I glanced around, freezing. Ming-Na walked in our direction. Gary followed my gaze and smiled. “I would like to introduce you to Ming-Na. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple days now.” He wrapped an arm around her slender waist.

  She smiled at me, holding a hand out. I looked down at it and frowned. “You do realize–” She wrapped an arm over his shoulders, her hand changing to a spider’s leg just out of his view, then quickly changing back. I looked around to see if anyone else saw that, but no one reacted.

  Coming up beside me, Troy grabbed my arm. “Maybe this is a bad time to talk about your situation. We can meet later.” Troy handed him a card containing only a phone number. “Call me as soon as you can.” Seth and my sisters looked confused at this change.

  Brows furrowed, Gary accepted the card. My anger rose, boiling beneath the surface. I wanted to take care of the bitch right now, but she would kill Gary, and probably several other people here, if I tried.

  Leaving the park, I glanced at Troy. “She’s lovers with the pack leader? Does her fascination with werewolves run that deep? I mean, what does she plan to gain with this?”

  Troy shook his head, stopping next to his truck. He placed a hand on my shoulder, looking back in the direction we just came. “I’m not sure. It’s hard to say at this point. I just know that if she’s willing to kill in front of humans, things might be worse than we realize.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sitting in my room, a slice of pizza in front of me, I stared at the TV, not really paying attention. I picked up my phone, sending Cathal a text.

  What are you up to?

  Maybe calling him would be a better idea, but about a minute later, he replied.

  I’m working.

  Confused, I texted back, growling out my irritation with his lack of detail.

  What are you working on? Get a job?

  It took ten minutes before he replied, which only seemed to fuel my irritation. What was with men? I began to debate calling him again, but the text alert went off on my phone.

  Visiting old contacts. Will update you later.

  Pushing my pizza to the side, I fell back onto the bed. We were supposed to go see my aunt soon. I was still disappointed that she lied to me all these years. I wondered how she would react when I confronted her. If she was lucid long enough.

  “You seem to be deep in thought.”

  I yelped and sat up, glaring at Cathal standing next to my bed. “You should probably use the door. Appearing out of nowhere scares the shit out of me.”

  He chuckled, running his knuckles down the side of my jaw. “I hope to catch you nude one day.”

  Laughing, I slapped at his hand. “I bet. So, where have you been?” I asked, standing so I could wrap my arms around him. Laying my head on his chest, I sighed happily. Who knew that I would end up in a relationship with a vampire? I’d lived almost my whole life killing them. Yet here I was, falling for one.

  Cathal looked down at me and smiled. “I remembered a few people that may know more about Ming-Na, but unfortunately, most of them were either in hiding or dead.” He sighed heavily as if the recent news he heard was depressing. Forcing a smile again, he looked at me. “Ready to visit your aunt? I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

  I pulled away, shaking my head. “If she can even have a conversation, I’m sure she’ll be shocked.” Hopefully she would be in the right frame of mind to talk. I’d be disappointed if I couldn’t ask her questions.

  Pulling me into his body, Cathal sighed heavily. “Ready?”

  Nodding, I closed my eyes, waiting.

  “We’re here.”

  I looked around, happy the sun was shining. Unfortunately, I was about to ruin my aunt’s day. But I needed an explanation.

  “Let’s do this.”

  Spotting my aunt sitting on the same bench as before, we headed in that direction, Cathal veering off toward the pond at the last second to give us privacy. As if sensing me coming, she turned to look over her shoulder. When she smiled, I knew we had caught her at a good time. I started to say hi, but then stopped myself. What did I call her?

  �
�There you are.” She patted the empty spot next to her. “I knew you would come to see me. Once your mother showed up, I knew the time had finally come.”

  Raising my eyebrows in surprise when she mentioned my mother, I sat down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She reached for my hand. “That was the way your mother wanted it. She was against me adopting you, afraid people would come after you. But when I found you playing with Seth, Blair, and Ruby, the four of you getting along like siblings, I knew it was the right choice. You all belonged to me.”

  That was when it hit me. She would always be my mom. The vampire I met in Miami may be my mother, but this woman sitting next to me was my mom. The one who raised me, helped me through the hard times.

  Looking over at Cathal, who walked along the edge of the pond, I smiled. “You did what you could, and for that, I will always be grateful. You’ll always be my mom.” I leaned over to give her a hug, and she responded, a large smile on her face.

  She pulled back, nodding at Cathal. “Who is that man you’re with? He doesn’t seem to be human.”

  “Why would you say that?” I asked, surprised.

  “He’s old. Very old. I can tell by the way he carries himself.” She turned her head sharply, eyes widening. “No, Demi. Please don’t tell me you have fallen for that vampire.”

  “He’s not the same. He’s changed,” I whispered in a small voice.

  Giving me an incredulous look, she glanced back at him. “A vampire is always a vampire. You must be careful.” She patted my hand, shaking her head. “You’re the last one I would have expected. Maybe Blair, but not you. What makes it worse is he’s the vampire you’re supposed to return to the cave.”

  Looking away, I stared out at the water, watching the ducks float around. “He’s not the same man. He cares about me.”