“Whoa,” Beth said. “They must have a great sound system to be able to make the music so quiet over here.” She laughed. “We finally found a club we can both enjoy.”
I could see what she meant. On this side of the club, there was a scattering of small tables suited for one or two couples, and the music was quiet enough to be enjoyable but not intrusive.
This was definitely more to my taste, though Beth preferred the dance floor and loud music. As we sat down, a gorgeous man came up to us with two glasses.
“For you, my lady,” he said to Beth. “A sunset beach with extra lime.”
“That’s one of my favorite drinks,” she exclaimed. “How did you know?”
He chuckled. “It’s my job to make sure you’re happy here, Beth. How can I do that if I don’t know what you like?”
I looked at him suspiciously. “How did you know? I’m sure the man up front sent our names ahead, but he didn’t ask us what drinks we like.”
“It was a lucky guess.” He winked at Beth. “Your friend sure is suspicious, isn’t she?”
Before I could reply, he was handing me a drink. It was a deep red and lacked any garnish. I looked at him quizzically.
“It’s called blood moon, and we rarely make them for outsiders. It’s one of the highest honors to receive this drink, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” He started to turn away.
“If we’re outsiders, why am I being given this drink? And why are you calling us outsiders?”
He looked back at me with a wolfish smile. “Outsiders are people who have never been here before, and the drink was requested by the man you met at the door. He specifically asked me to bring it to you.” He walked away, and I was left to think over that last comment.
Why would that man send a drink for me? I sniffed it again. It smelled sweet but not overly powerful. I couldn’t even detect the alcohol in it.
“Are you ever going to try it, or just look at it all night?” Beth asked, laughing.
“I’m wondering why that man sent me a drink? He barely talked to us.”
“He sent it because he likes you, and who wouldn’t? You look great tonight. I told you every man was going to be buying you drinks.” She looked triumphant. “Now, try it already.”
I lifted the glass and took a small sip. Pleasure bubbled up in me with the first taste. As it slid down my throat, I could feel a warmth reaching through my entire body. “Wow. This is really good.” I looked at the drink again. I never tasted anything like that before. I was a little leery of having anymore. Nothing should taste that good.
“I know that look,” Beth started on me. “There is nothing wrong with that drink. You need to relax and stop thinking something bad will happen if you let loose a little bit. Now drink some more so we can go out and dance.”
I still hadn’t shaken the feeling that something was off about this place, but I promised Beth that we would have a good time. I owed her that, especially since I was going to leave town and not even tell her why. I took another small sip, savoring the taste, knowing I wouldn’t be back here again and would probably never taste anything this good, no matter where I ended up next.
The Monster is close
“Are you enjoying the drink?” Chills rushed through my body as I tried to turn around to see the man from the front door, but his hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
“I…”
I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. I looked at Beth for help, but our waiter had come over and was talking to her. He smirked at me as he kept her attention entirely focused on him. “What are you doing? Why did you send me a drink?” I asked, finally able to think of something coherent to say.
“Don’t you like it? I was certain you would.” His gravelly voice was right next to my ear. My breath caught as he slowly moved a strand of my hair out of the way. I felt him lean in closer to me. I could almost feel his chest against my back. Suddenly, he put his arm around me and pulled my body to his.
“You’re mine,” he whispered fiercely, his lips pressed to my neck. My heart fluttered excitedly, but my mind started to race.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I whispered back breathlessly, trying to sound in control.
“First, answer me. Did you enjoy the drink I gave you?”
“Yes.” I regained control of myself and tried to step out of his embrace, but he held me firmly against him. “Now, let me go and answer my questions.”
He struggled with his decision for a moment, but he finally released me. My balance was off, and I almost fell until he grabbed my elbow to help steady me. I wasn’t completely back in control of myself after all.
He let me go as soon as I stood up. I could still feel his body pressed against me, though, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something integral to my life without touching him. I almost reached out to grab him but stopped myself. I turned to face him and was struck speechless. Muscles rippled under his tight, black shirt as he crossed his arms. I heard him clear his throat.
Oops. I hadn’t even looked at his face yet. I tore my eyes off his chest and looked up at him. Even in my heels he was taller than me by a few inches, which was rare. Most guys were eye to eye with me or even a little shorter.
As I got my first look at his face, I gasped. Four long scars ran from one side of his face near his temple, diagonally across his eye and to the opposite side, ending under his jaw. He started to turn away. Something in his eyes made me reach forward, lightly tracing the scars with my own hand.
“How?” I asked him quietly, upset over the scars, even though I didn’t know anything about him.
He came forward and pulled me against him. “It was a long time ago, and it doesn’t matter how it happened anymore.”
I had never experienced the flood of emotions I was feeling. How could I feel so bad for this man, a complete stranger? “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so upset. I usually don’t act like this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
The drink. It had to be the drink. There must have been something in it. That’s the only reason I would be acting so unlike myself.
“What was in the drink?” I asked, stepping away from him. “You put something in it. That’s why I’m acting so strange. What was it? What did you do to me?” I yelled in fear.
The man came forward slowly, making soothing noises as if he was talking to a caged animal. “It’s ok, Serena. There was nothing in your drink that shouldn’t be there. You’re feeling like this because you’re mine. I knew it the minute I opened the door for you, and deep down, you know I’m yours. Come here, and let me hold you. It will make you feel better and more in control of yourself.”
“Stop. I don’t want you to come near me. Something was in the drink. I’m not yours, or anyone’s for that matter. I’m my own person. You can’t come up to me and declare that I’m yours. That’s not how life works. And I shouldn’t feel so bad about your scars. It has nothing to do with me. I don’t even know your name.”
I felt a little better after yelling at him. I looked again at Beth for support, but she was still talking to the waiter. How could she not hear me yelling? She wasn’t more than ten feet from me, but it was like we were across the room from each other.
Again the waiter smirked at me. I could feel my anger beginning to boil. I wanted to smack him, or worse. He knew something was wrong, and he was purposely keeping Beth from me. I started to walk toward them, but my mystery man moved quicker and blocked my way.
“Don’t leave. Everything will be ok. These feelings are natural. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Listen here, mister. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m getting my friend and leaving. Now. Whatever you and your friend tried to do to me didn’t work,” I said angrily. My heart faltered as I tried to walk away from him. I didn’t make it far before his voice stopped me.
“I’m only going to tell you one more time, I didn’t put anything in your drink. And you aren’t leaving. You’re mine,
and you’re going to stay with me.”
He said it quietly, but that only made it sound more lethal. I realized he wasn’t going to let me leave without a fight. I took a deep breath, trying not to panic.
“Who is your pack? Didn’t they teach you what this moment means?” He growled the words at me.
“My pack? What the hell are you talking about? I’m not in a gang. I don’t have a pack.”
“Who’s your family, then? Where are they located?”
“It’s none of your business,” I told him. He stepped back quickly and started muttering under his breath.
He looked up, an expression of confusion on his face. “Where are your parents from?”
“It’s still none of your business.” Why the hell was he questioning me? What game was he playing?
“Everything about you is my business. This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought. You…”
His body stilled at the exact moment my senses started tingling. Goosebumps crawled over my skin, and pins and needles ran across my entire body. Something terrible was going to happen. I began to shake. Whatever was here was bad. Really, really bad.
“Stay here,” the man shouted at me. I shook my head. Fat chance that was going to happen. “I mean it. I’ll be right back,” he said, and then he was gone.
I looked around, searching for him, but I didn’t see him anywhere. As I continued to glance around the club, I saw something even more terrifying. Many of the employees had frozen and were scanning the area.
Every one of them looked like they were ready to fight. Most of the people at the club hadn’t noticed anything was wrong. The music was still pumping, people were dancing and drinking, even Beth was unfazed by what was going on. Her waiter had taken off, and she was headed over to me.
“Serena, isn’t this exciting? That man, Micah, must be the best looking man I’ve ever seen. He’s going to get me another drink and take me out on the dance floor. What about the man who was with you? You looked like you were having a good conversation with him. Where did he go?”
I looked at her in shock. Did she really think I was having a good time? Didn’t she realize something was wrong? “Beth, we’re leaving.”
I could tell she was about to protest, so I did the only thing I could think of. “That drink made me sick,” I lied, swaying a little. I put my hand to my mouth. “I’m not sure what was in it, but I really don’t feel well. We need to leave.”
“Oh,” Beth said, disappointed. I almost felt bad when I saw how upset she was.
“We’ll come back another night,” I lied again.
“I need to tell Micah first.”
“We can call when we get home. I really need to leave now.”
“Well,” she said, looking around, trying to spot Micah.
I grabbed her arm and headed back into the dancers, quickly pushing past them to reach the entrance before we were stopped. As we pushed our way through the crowd, the pins and needles down my back intensified.
I started moving faster, pushing people out of the way. Fear was beginning to take over. I still didn’t know what was going on, but I was sure we only had minutes to escape. My thoughts flew to the man who sent my drink. I couldn’t leave him if things were going to get bad.
He had no idea what he was up against. Neither did I, but at least I was used to running from strange things. I started to turn back to warn him, but as I looked around, I remembered how some of the staff stopped at the exact time I did. Somehow, they knew something was about to happen.
Maybe they were like me and could sense it. Maybe I should stay. I shook my head. No. I needed to leave. They must have security cameras that caught something, and their boss alerted them. I stumbled through the crowd, dragging Beth with me.
“Serena, stop. You’re hurting me. Why are you pulling so hard? I’m right behind you.”
“I’m sorry, Beth.” I looked at her arm. I was grabbing so tightly that I could already see bruises forming. “I didn’t realize I had such a tight hold on you. I need to get out of here.”
We were almost to the door when I heard my name. I looked around but didn’t see anyone. Nobody was even paying attention to Beth or me. I kept pushing toward the door. As I stepped through, my mystery man grabbed my arm.
“Serena,” he growled at me. “I told you to stay.”
“And I told you I was leaving,” I tried to growl back defiantly, but it came out more like an apology. What was wrong with me? How did this man make me feel like I was the one doing something wrong? Even though I could still feel the tingling all over my back, being near him made the sensation easier to bear.
“Please don’t leave,” he whispered, looking directly at me.
“I have to,” I told him sadly. “Something bad is coming. You should leave too.” I lowered my voice when I told him. I didn’t want him to get hurt for some reason.
“Go now if you have to leave me.” The hurt in his voice almost dropped me to my knees. Knowing I was the cause of his pain hurt me more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t understand why I felt this need to protect him. “I’ll find you again. Remember, you’re mine.”
His words brought me back to myself. “I told you, I’m my own person. Don’t try to find me. You won’t be able to.”
“Remember my name, Serena. It’s Ian. I’ll come for you when it’s safe. Then we’ll talk about what you are. Now run. Trouble has found us.”
He pushed me away from him and out the front door as screams erupted behind him. As soon as the door shut, the screams were cut off. Beth looked at me.
“What was that about? Did that guy give you his number? Are you going to meet up with him? I knew you would eventually find Mr. Right.”
Beth didn’t realize something terrible was going on. She kept chatting about my mystery man, Ian. How could she not have heard the screams?
“Well, are you going to answer my questions?” she asked as we neared her car. I got in the driver’s seat before she could. She looked over, confused.
“Beth, if you don’t hurry up and get in the car, I’m going to be sick in it,” I warned her. I could still feel the tingles and knew we weren’t out of danger yet.
“I should drive if you aren’t feeling well.”
“Give me the keys, Beth.” I glanced around the parking lot apprehensively.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if you get sick on the way back to your place?”
“That’s why I’m driving. If I’m going to get sick, I want to be able to pull over right away so I don’t ruin your car,” I said, urgently trying to get her in the car as the tingling along my spine increased.
“Fine,” Beth huffed. She gave me the keys and got in the passenger seat.
Frantically, I started the car and pulled onto the street. I knew we had to go. This was the worst feeling I had in a long time. I needed to get Beth out of danger quickly. We drove in silence for a few minutes until I felt the tingles start to lessen.
As soon as I slowed down, Beth started questioning me.
“What’s going on, Serena? I know you’re not sick. Something scared you. Was it that man who was talking to you? Did he say something or threaten you? I’ve had time to think about this for the last few minutes. The only other time I saw you this upset was the night you moved away from college without telling anyone. I want to know what’s going on. Are you in trouble?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say.
“Talk, Serena. I don’t know what the problem is, and I know you don’t like anyone knowing a lot about you, but I’m your friend, and I’m always here for you. I bet you’re thinking of running away again. Aren’t you?”
I still didn’t answer her. I didn’t want to have this conversation.
“Listen, if you don’t start talking, I’m going back to that club tonight to find out what’s going on. I’m going to get answers, and if it’s not from you, I’ll ask that man back there. You better decide what you want me to do.”
“Not safe? It seemed perfectly fine to me. Tell me why I shouldn’t go back. You’re my best friend, but you need to open up if you want me to listen to you. Why isn’t it safe?”
“I don’t know,” I told her honestly. “All I know is it’s not safe. I know you don’t believe me, but I always know when something bad is going to happen, and it was getting ready to happen at the club tonight.”
“Like intuition or something?”
I shook my head.
“So, how do you know?”
“I just do.”
“This isn’t helping me understand you.”
She glared at me as I maneuvered the car through traffic and pulled up to my place. I got out of the car and handed Beth’s keys back to her, feeling like I was saying goodbye to her for good.
“Please don’t go back to the club,” I practically begged her.
“I’m not. Yet. We’re going inside, and I don’t care if we have to stay up all night, I’m getting some answers out of you.”
I looked at her in shock. “You mean you aren’t going to leave?”
“Why would I leave? You’re my best friend, and you obviously have something going on. I’m going to try to help you. That’s what friends do.”
“But you won’t believe me.” My head sagged. I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to see the look in her eyes when she decided I was crazy.
“Don’t worry.” She put her arm around me gently. “It will be ok.”
Together we walked into my apartment, and Beth got us drinks while I changed into something comfortable. When I came out of my bedroom, Beth had kicked her shoes off and was relaxing on the couch.
“Ok, Serena. It’s time to talk.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Let’s start with how you know when something bad is going to happen.”
“It’s hard to explain. When something dangerous is about to happen, I get a tingling feeling all over my body. It’s like fire ants biting me. The closer the danger is, the more intense it feels.”
Demon Hunted Page 2
