Sucked In

Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When we reached the curb, I was surprised to see Nik wave the bouncer off. He turned down the sidewalk, forcing me to jog for a second to catch up. His face showed signs of serious thought. Maybe that's why he dismissed the car. I glanced around us as we walked toward my street. Though the two blood bags had helped, I was still thirsty. Thankfully, the streets were surprisingly deserted for a Saturday night, or maybe everyone had already reached their intended destination. Granted, I'm sure the rain helped.

  He led me down to Columbia Street, which was technically a block further than I would have gone. I assumed he had a reason for it. Maybe he wanted to approach my apartment from the back to make sure no one could ambush us. How was I supposed to know what went on in the mind of a homicidal, ego-maniacal vampire? Part of me knew that wasn't an entirely fair assessment of Nik, but at the moment I didn't care.

  Nik opened his mouth to speak and clamped it shut again. Before he could try again, five wolves and one human burst from the small patch of woods lining the left side of the street. It seemed obvious they were werewolves, with one left in their human form to serve as spokesperson. Next to the edge of the sidewalk was a three-foot incline covered in vines and other green stuff. At the top began the trees. Two wolves took up positions on the incline while the other four blocked our path on the sidewalk.

  I was standing nearest the incline, away from the street, and the speeding cars. Nik insisted on walking between me and the cars, much as my father had done when I was a child. I knew it was more due to the era he came from than a worry that I might be hit, but the result was that I was closer to the wolves.

  If my memory served me, this was the same number of wolves that had attacked us at Nik's mansion. And now we didn't have ten humans to help us fight. My wish for Josh's company increased exponentially. Nik grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.

  “Give her to us and we won't kill you,” the werewolf in human form said.

  “You know I can't do that.”

  “We could beat you up a bit, so your Primus thinks you tried to save her,” offered the man helpfully.

  “Even if I thought it was possible to lie to my Primus, I would never give her up. She's mine,” added Nik in a possessive tone. If I hadn't been frozen in fear, I would have smacked him. I didn't belong to anyone, especially him.

  “Nik… maybe you… ”

  “Shut up,” Nik snapped before I could finish the thought.

  The other man sighed as if he were genuinely saddened by Nik's response before flicking a finger in our direction. The other wolves burst into action. One of those positioned on the incline came at me while a few of the others charged Nik. I had no idea how to fight a wolf, much less a sentient one that spent most of its time as a human. Nik hadn't covered that in our quick lesson on self-defense. Then again he hadn't covered anything really.

  I dodged out of its first attack. The movement made me lose sight of our other attackers. Before I could reposition myself, I felt teeth sink into my wrist and yank. The pain was nauseating. It felt as though I had a spiked vice grip anchored to my wrist, and my shoulder joint began to throb. I stumbled to my right, but I used the momentum to land on the wolf. Okay, by “use my momentum” I mean, I happened to fall on it. I heard the faint sound of cracking ribs as I landed on its chest. Evidently, I'd gained a few pounds since becoming a vampire, despite the liquid diet—least of my worries really.

  The wolf still had a partial hold on my wrist, so I used my free hand to grab the scruff of its neck, like one might do to a puppy or kitten. I awkwardly struggled to my feet while keeping a grip on the wolf's neck.

  I remember crying once after I'd burned my wrist with a curling iron. I would have laughed at that pain now. Werewolf teeth, now those hurt. Ignoring the pain, I wrenched the wolf free, and despite the beast's bulk, flung it away with ease. The dog-shaped projectile hit Nik in the back, knocking two of his three attackers off. The short break gave him a chance to kill the third wolf.

  While I took stock of my companion's condition, the first wolf to lunge at me skittered around to my back and sunk his teeth into my thigh. It hurt exponentially more than the first bite. I staggered when the wolf's teeth tore a chunk of my flesh away from my leg. I might have screamed, too, but I hadn't been a vampire for almost a week for nothing!

  I slammed my fist down into the wolf's neck, and the piece of my flesh dropped from its mouth. The animal lost its footing long enough to give me an opening. I grabbed it by the head and twisted with all my might. Though the head didn't come off, thank goodness, I did feel the neck bones snap. I didn't take time to celebrate my kill. I rushed to Nik's side, trying to ignore the burning in my thigh.

  Nik wasn't faring well, but neither was he as hurt as I expected. He was trying to block the attacks of two wolves while he bled all over them. I grabbed the nearest wolf by the tail and flipped it over my head, sorta like they do in the cartoons. The animal landed on the pavement in a hard thud. The beast whimpered and struggled to its feet. I lost my grip on the wolf's tail and stumbled. While I tried to regain my footing, it lunged forward on three legs. Before I could dodge or deflect, the animal had me pinned to the ground, his teeth sunk into the flesh leading from my shoulder up into my neck. I did scream this time, as fire flared up in my shoulder and spread down into my fingers—making that hand useless.

  I hit the wolf with my other hand. It shook the animal but did not dislodge it from my shoulder. I tried kicking this time and managed to drive my knee into the animal's privates. Evidently, that was just as sensitive on a wolf as it was on a man. Good to know.

  The wolf whimpered, released my shoulder and skipped away, its tail tucked protectively between its legs. I climbed to my feet as quickly as I could and kicked the wolf again. Before I could do anything more, it bolted for the nearby trees, still only using three legs.

  By this time, Nik had killed the last wolf and charged the werewolf still in human form. Though the man ran as fast as he could, Nik quickly caught him, tearing his head from his shoulders before he could turn to defend himself. Unlike the vampires, the werewolf didn't turn to dust. Instead, the body bled and twitched. The blood did not smell human. A faint hint of fur and forest dulled my growing desire. I still wanted to drink it, don't get me wrong, but it was Wal-Mart ice cream next to a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Nik slowly turned to look at me. I took stock of his wounds. He had a long gash down his cheek while an arm and a leg looked to be missing small bits. “Let's get out of here,” he panted, taking my arm and pulling me toward the nearest intersection.

  I hobbled after him, my shoulder, wrist, and thigh burning and throbbing with each jostling step. I tried to remind myself that the deep wounds would heal quickly. That was one very handy feature of being a vampire.

  By the time we reached my apartment, the worst of Nik's bite marks were healed. Though blood still stained his white skin and clothing, nothing was flowing down his body. My wounds weren't healing nearly as quickly. When I asked why he said I was young and stubborn.