Just as I had suspected, as soon as we were far enough away he scuttled out of his hiding spot. He snatched up his meal and made his way back to the corner with it pressed tight against his chest. Before he even settled himself in, he bit into the bag and tore at it like a starving animal. Thick, red liquid dripped off his chin while he made loud sucking noises. It only took him seconds to drain it. His first drink as a vampire went a long way in clearing his frazzled mind. He no longer acted like a savage. I could see the clarity of what was going on hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Are you going to kill me now?" He asked, standing up. He took a good look at his ripped clothes and muddied arms, and grimaced. "You might as well. Life for me is over. I never wanted this. All the others did," he said with a sigh, "but not me."
The utter defeat in him pulled at me. I knew how it felt to be restrained by others; knew the helplessness of having to follow a not-so-moral superior’s orders. Worse for him because he was just a puppet on some vampire’s string. He couldn't have rebelled and fought against his orders, like I have done so many times, even if he tried. And now, he gets to live the rest of his existence as one of them. It just wasn't right.
"No one here will hurt you," I reassured him. "Unless you try to attack us like the others did."
He shook his head violently and said, "I don't mean you or your friends any harm. I just want to go home to my family...it's been years since I've seen them." He looked at us all imploringly. I didn't have the heart to tell him that now that he was a vampire it was forbidden for him to have a human family. Harper didn't have my same problem.
"That can’t happen," she said. "We have to turn you over to the Adelphi. It's the law."
"No, you can't. You don't understand," he said terrified. "He will kill me." The vampire began looking around the room. I could tell by the change in posture and the way he shifted his feet that he was getting ready to make a break for it.
"Calm down…umm…uh," I cleared my throat, "what was your name again?" He looked at me nervously and I focused solely on his eyes. I moved slowly and talked in a low soothing voice.
"I haven't told you my name yet," he said.
"Well, let's fix that right now." I said, trying to shift him out of panic mode. I could thank Harper and her tactlessness for this predicament I had now found myself in. "I’m Ember...and the ‘tude with boobs over there is Harper," I said, rolling my eyes at the same time, still working the “no big deal” angle.
"Charmed, I'm sure," Harper said, waving both of us off with a bored look on her face. "I'm heading back into the house for a bite to eat. You can all join me when the drama is over." Then she twirled around, her short blonde hair fanning out in the process, and slammed the door behind her.
"Well, okay then," Nathan said, walking up to the vampire. "I'm Nathan. If you can find it in you to trust me, I will do everything in my power to keep you from harm." Nathan held out his hand, and waited for the reluctant man to take it, but he hesitated. "Look, don't worry about Harper. She's had some bad experiences with her brethren so her bitchiness has nothing to do with you. She has a problem with all vampires."
"I can hear you, Mongrel!" Harper yelled through the wall that separated the kitchen from the garage.
"Good, ‘cause you are being a jerk," Nathan yelled back.
The vampire grabbed Nathan's hand and gave it one good shake before releasing it. He looked over at me with big, sad, chocolate eyes, and I could tell what little fight he had left in him was now gone. His shoulders fell forward and he practically dropped onto the bench behind him. I had an overwhelming urge to give him a comforting hug, but quickly squashed the idea. No matter how non-threatening he looked at the moment, I knew without a doubt how dangerous someone who felt cornered and hopeless could really be.
He opened his mouth to talk and his fangs popped out. He rushed to cover them up and looked down in embarrassment. "I'm Brady, Brady Garcia.” His name whistled out around his fangs and through his fingers. He gave up trying to cover his teeth and said, "My friends, when I use to have some, called me Cherry."
"Let me guess," I said, "after the ice cream?"
"Yeah, my best friend said I was the sweetest person she had ever met. Add that to the fact that her favorite dessert is Cherry Garcia ice cream and boom! The worst nickname in the world was born." Brady let out a weak chuckle. "Tyson will hunt me down and kill me if he thinks, for even a second, I'm talking to the Adelphi. So you see, if I'm taken into custody, I'm as good as dead."
"Do you mean Tyson Ford?" Nathan asked. The way he said the name immediately grabbed my attention.
"One and the same," Brady answered. "I was the human servant of the leader of the Gatherers. And he won't be too happy to hear that I've turned and that I'm no longer under his control."
I looked over at Nathan. We both wore an “oh shit” look on our face. We had in our possession what was pretty much equivalent to a ticking time bomb.
Chapter 8
Collin and Milo entered the house with Collin in the lead. They both looked in much better spirits than they had a couple hours ago, before they left to dispose of the dead vampire and to deliver Tegan safely into the arms of her family.
My delectable man threw his jacket on the leather recliner that sat by the entrance of the front door, before making his way over to me. I stood up to greet him and couldn't help but notice how his eyes watched my every move. I felt like a juicy steak that was kept just out of reach of a hungry wild animal.
"I missed you," he said as he reached out with his long, muscled arms to snag me up by my waist. He pressed us so close together I had to tip my head back to look into his hypnotic eyes.
"I missed you too," I said, and meant it.
Milo walked by us and headed towards the open entryway to the kitchen. "Don't mind me,” he said without even a side glance. "I'll just be in the kitchen feeding Mojo."
The cute little ball of fur stuck her head out from behind Milo's leather jacket at the mention of her name. He pulled her out of his pocket and carefully set her down. Mojo wagged her tail, letting out a "yip", the sound of tiny nails tapped against the hardwood floor as she dutifully followed her master into the other room.
"How did it go with Tegan?" I asked, while running my fingers through his silken locks. God, I loved the feel of his hair.
"It went as well as expected," he said, pulling my hand down to his lips. He then kissed my knuckles one by one. The feathery slide of his lips across my skin made my knees weaken. I took a breath to steady myself. Would I ever get used to this?
"Linda fawned all over her daughter until she was sure she was okay. But after that…well, let's just say they were still arguing with each other as Milo and I left."
Talking about Tegan and her mother made me think about the dynamics between my own mother and me. I could just imagine the shit storm I'd have to deal with if she knew about the dangerous situations I found myself in on a pretty regular basis, especially recently.
I can't wait for you to meet my mother, I absently sent to Collin via our special path.
I'm actually not looking forward to it, he sent back.
I released my hold on his belt loop and pulled back far enough to where we were standing a few feet in front of each other.
"Why is that?" I asked.
My hand went straight to my hip and I gave my first ever girlfriend death glare. Collin threw up his hands and waved them in front of his body. His eyes got big and round and he stumbled for words.
"I didn't mean it like that...at all," he said. The tone of his voice was soft and very convincing.
"You've been in my thoughts, my mind, and memories. So I know for a fact that you know exactly what my mother means to me," I said, jabbing my index finger into his chest. Not hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to get my point across.
I watch as a myriad of expressions ran across his face. His dark eyebrows creased in on themselves and he said, "I have a feeling that no matter what I say right
now I'm still going to be in the dog house."
"Just tell me why you would say something like that. Why wouldn't you want to meet my family?"
He took the two steps that were between us and guided me over to the couch. He sat me down and took a seat on the coffee table in front of me. "I never said I didn't want to meet her Love, I'm just a little nervous that's all."
He got up and paced across the small living room. His legs were so long it only took him four or five long strides to make it to the other side.
"You're right. I do know how important she is to you. So tell me this. How am I going to explain to her that, in the little time you've been with me, in my care, you've been shot at and attacked more than once?" He continued to pace faster now and he kept running his hand through his hair. "For Christ’s sake Ember, you were laid out on the damn pool table half dead just a few hours ago."
And there it was. He had been slowly falling apart inside and I didn't even know it. What a lousy girlfriend I was shaping up to be. Of course, all the danger we had faced tonight would get to him. I had just assumed he was handling everything extraordinarily well...too well, now that I actually thought about it.
"I'm trying my hardest to sit back and take everything in stride," he said, "and truthfully, I can to a point. The thought of explaining all that to your mother? It just scares the crap out of me."
I got up and walked over to Collin. I opened my arms to him and he collapsed into me. We were both just exhausted from all the crazy shit that had been happening to us and it was beginning to show in spades. He gave me a squeeze and buried his face in my hair.
"Can I just steal you away?" he whispered softly into my ear. "I have a ranch in Montana that I would love to whisk you off to, away from all this madness. We could make love all day and night and just forget about rogue werewolves and vampires."
"I'll tell you what. As soon as we find the assholes that are causing all this crap we will run to your ranch and spend some time just me and you. How does that sound?"
"Like a dream come true," he said while capturing my mouth with his. With a long, hard kiss, he showed me just how much he really liked that idea.
***
One would think that after dealing with finding my best friend half dead in a pool of blood on my apartment floor, or being attacked by minion assassins with the end result being that my body was riddled with silver bullets, I'd be warranted some sort of down time. A little nap maybe? Well, in my case, you'd be dead wrong.
Now, to add icing to my shit cupcake, I had to find a decent dress and make myself presentable enough to attend a party. A party, mind you, that was planned in the first place to celebrate the joining of two packs, with yours truly being the peace offering they had in mind.
"I wonder if it would be considered in poor taste to bring a date to my own engagement party," I said aloud, more to myself than to anyone in particular.
I guess I would find out. Just as soon as I squashed my size C boobs into a dress made for a smaller size B.
I took a rather hard look in the mirror at myself. Harper had blow dried and then straightened my hair to almost an inch of its life. It now hung over my shoulders and flowed down my back in long, dark, silken strands. She paid just as close of attention to the application of my makeup. She said I looked marvelous. I thought I looked a bit clown-like. But what would I know? I’ve never been a big fan of makeup. I blew a stray strand of hair out of my face and resigned myself to actually looking like a proper lady for the night.
"Stand up straight and suck that tummy in. I'm going to get you in this dress, even if it kills you," Harper said.
I did as ordered and stood up so straight that I was almost on my tippy toes. Harper worked the dress' zipper for what seemed like forever, and then finally a long "zip" sound indicated that it slid home. I let out my breath and settled flat on my feet. The fabric encasing my breast was really tight, but the rest of the little black dress fit me perfectly. I turned around to get a better view of the lace backing. The translucent material traveled from my shoulders and teasingly stopped at the dimple in my lower back, right before revealing my derriere. I couldn't remember ever wearing something so risqué.
"Where am I supposed to hide my weapons?" I asked Harper. She was rummaging through her closet looking for what she called the "piece de resistance." She looked like a mad woman throwing everything around. I had to duck out of the way of a black combat boot. I feared for my life.
"Here they are!" she exclaimed. Harper held up a pair of black leather boots triumphantly. They had a killer heel that were at least five inches long. I forgot about my weapon dilemma and now focused on a more important problem, a life-threatening one to be more precise. How in the hell did she expect me to walk in those?
"You have got to be kidding me," I said, backing away from the offending death traps. "I will fall and break my neck!"
She walked over to me, and with a firm shove to my chest, pushed me onto the bed. Before I had a chance to say anything, she knelt down in front of me and proceeded to shove the boots onto my feet. This time, the zippers slid into place easily, all the way up to the top of my knees. We apparently wore the exact same shoe size, so the shiny stiletto boots fit perfectly.
"Stand up," she said, patting my leg and moving herself up and then to the side, out of my way.
"Nope!" was my clipped reply.
"You get your scrawny ass up and work those boots like a diva. I didn't just spend two hours turning you into a masterpiece of epic proportions for nothing."
Shit, she was right. A lot of time and effort went into getting me ready for tonight. It was pretty much all her doing. I owed it to her to suck it up and take it like a woman.
"Okay, then. But if something happens to me, tell my mom and Collin that I love them, and that it was entirely your fault."
"Deal. Now, up on your feet," she said with a small laugh.
I slowly settled my body into the boots but as I stood up, my limbs began to shake from the unfamiliar shift of balance, or more correctly, lack thereof. I couldn't help but silently yearn for my comfortable, worn in low-heeled shoes that sat just a few feet away from me; they mocked me with their known comfort. After several minutes and a bruised up and twisted ankle (thank God for werewolf healing), I was moderately good at keeping myself upright and moving.
"Do you think Collin will be on his best behavior like he promised?" I asked. She had just finished putting on her own makeup and was now in the process of picking out a clutch to match her silver dress. I wobbled back over to the bed and rewarded myself with a few minutes off my feet.
"Oh, I don't know. How do you really expect him to act, considering?" she said.
I had to give it to her, she did make a shit ton of sense. How much did I really expect him to take? He was going to be walking into a pretty fucked up situation with me. His position in the Adelphi would probably temper him some, would most likely keep him from killing anyone…I hoped.
I looked down at my dress and then at my freshly polished nails. They shined a brilliant red that matched the shade of lipstick I was wearing. I dabbed my bottom lip and smeared a little bit of the makeup between my fingers nervously. How had I ever let Harper talk me into getting all dolled up like this? Who was I trying to fool? I knew exactly why I agreed to do this and all signs pointed to a certain green-eyed Alpha male.
"So how are you adapting to being someone’s old lady? We never thought the day would come," she asked, shooting me a quizzical look.
I wiped the lipstick off my fingers with a tissue and smiled. I kept my gaze toward the floor, not exactly sure how to respond.
"It's all so surreal, these feelings."
My eyes closed as I conjured up an image of Collin holding me close. Shivers overtook my body from the delicious thought.
"He makes me feel whole, like a missing piece of me has been restored, made right again."
Harper wagged her eyebrows and grinned. "He must be putting it down pretty hard
in the bedroom to have you talking like that."
"Yup," I said laughing off the subject. "That has to be it." I got up and headed for the door. "Let's get this over with. I want to show up, give Tommy my reasons for declining the proposal, and leave without bloodshed."
Harper looked at me and shook her head. "Oh, honey. Possible blood shed is the only reason why I'm going." A sly smile blossomed on her face. "And if Tommy happens to run into the sharp end of my fangs, well...shit happens."
***
I stood just out of sight behind the entryway to the living room where Collin and the guys were waiting for me and Harper. I had no clue why I was so nervous to let him see me all dolled up, but I was. I smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles from my dress and took a deep breath. My first heavily heeled step into the room was flawless, not a wobble in sight. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for not tripping and making a complete fool out of myself, and then entered the room. When I finally brought myself to look at Collin, I suddenly knew that all the poking and prodding Harper did to me with her torture devices was well worth it.
"Wow, you look...just, wow!" he said uncrossing his legs. He tried to set the video game controller down, but didn't watch what he was doing. It skipped off the corner of the table and bounced to the floor. The stumble didn't faze him at all; he just kept his rapt gaze on me. It made me feel beautiful in a way I'd never felt before.
"I see you boys had no problem making yourselves at home with my PlayStation," Harper said, walking into the room behind me. Her long nylon covered legs carried her over to the couch. She bent over, snatched up the fallen controller, and proceeded to kick Nathan's ass in Tiger Woods golf. I had plenty of hours of experience in the same humiliation he was about to be exposed to. The knowledge made me chuckle.
I very carefully walked towards the kitchen; I had made it into the living room just fine without twisting my ankle or breaking my neck in these boots, but still, why take a chance?