The first thing I saw through my human eyes were body parts scattered all over the gravel. It had taken David less than a minute to completely decimate the man's corpse. I looked over at the offender. He kept his eerie eyes focused on the mess he had made. They were green now that he was in human form once again.
"I always wondered how it would feel to kill a man, or woman." He said unnervingly.
David slowly shook his head. He reached out toward a pool of blood that had taken form in front of him. Without touching it, he pulled his hand back.
"I've never felt so...so alive." He whispered.
The sick fuck grinned up at me and laughed in such a cold, malevolent way it sent chills up my spine. My gaze shifted to the scattered torso and then back to David. He had stood up and was walking away. When I was able to talk around the lump in my throat, I yelled after him.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?" I demanded.
He turned around. Blood soaked his body, and with a calm shrug he looked at me. "I have a change of clothes in the truck. Thought I'd clean myself up a bit."
"There's something really wrong with you." I said, keeping my cool. On the inside I was screaming and yelling; pretty much freaking out.
"You're the one who turned me into this beast.” He purred, “Before tonight, I was content with playing little cat and mouse games. But now, I'm the big bad wolf and the games can get a bit more interesting."
"Don't try to blame your sick shit on me. This," I said while waving at all the body parts, "is completely on you."
He shook his head and gave me a half smile, "If you say so."
This was insane. Why was I standing here wasting time by arguing with him?
"Go get yourself cleaned up." I ordered. I had a deep need to get him out of my sight. "When you’re finished, grab your truck and bring it here."
He nodded and without another word, took off to do as I demanded. David had been right about one thing. I was the one who made him into this monster. And because of this, it was my responsibility not to cower and hide from that fact. I had to take care of the situation instead. When he was out of sight I ran over to the nearest tree and emptied the entire contents of my stomach. I was off to a great start.
David pulled up behind me in his truck. The headlights shone out over the ground, spotlighting the gruesome scene that he had orchestrated. I waved at him to shut the lights off. He complied before jumping out of the vehicle.
"Why do you need my truck?" He inquired.
"Why do you think? You have a hell of a mess to clean up."
David looked at the bloody body parts and shook his head.
"What do you suppose I do with that shit? If I put it in the back of my truck I stand a chance of getting caught. Doesn't sound smart to me."
I thought about what David said. It was sound logic. He could get caught way too easily transporting a dead body in his truck. All it would take was a random stop by a police officer. I had no clue why I even cared if he was caught, but a little part of me wanted to protect the lunatic. That feeling sickened me.
"We can burn the evidence." He offered.
The way he talked about disposing the remains of a once living and breathing human being, like we were just discussing the weather, infuriated me. This man probably had a wife and children, people who cared about him. They would be up all night worrying about him when he didn't show up when he was supposed to.
"Boss?" David said shaking me out of my head.
"Don't call me that!" I hissed.
"What should I call you then? I seem to follow your every command like a slave. Should I call you Master instead? Would you like that better?" He asked with a cocky grin.
I could feel myself heat up. My fangs dropped at the same time my hand wrapped around David's neck. I lifted him into the air with ease. His first reaction was to grab at my arms. He held my wrists tightly. I growled a warning and he immediately loosened his grip.
"I can't force you to feel remorse for what you did," I said, between clenched teeth. "But I can try to keep you from doing it again."
He looked at me with bulging eyes and even though my grip around his neck had to be extremely painful, David smiled wide at me and croaked out. "There’s no way you can watch me every second."
I squeezed my fingers around the piece of shit’s throat hard, cutting off his final words, before dropping him to the ground. He stumbled back and coughed while rubbing at his neck.
"I know that." I said, grabbing a red gas can out of the back of David's truck. I tossed the half full can in front of him. "But I'll do my best to keep you from hurting anyone else. Even if that means keeping you close to me at all times."
"That's all I've ever wanted." David said picking up the can.
He started dousing an arm and a shredded leg with its contents. When he finished pouring gas over the rest of the mess, he reached in his pocket, pulled out a pack of matches, and with one strike against the black strip set the evidence of the gruesome attack ablaze.
***
My hand trembled as I pulled my cell phone from the side pocket of my purse. My nervous finger found the right button and I pushed '1' on my speed dial. Ember had given me this phone before I left the pack house. Along with it came explicit instructions to call her if I ran into any problems or if I just needed to talk. I had a feeling that this situation would definitely be classified as a problem, a pretty huge one. I secretly hoped that she wouldn't answer the phone. I was not looking forward to telling her what just happened. The thought of her being disappointed in me disturbed me, maybe a little too much. Our Sire bond was a strange one. It followed along the lines of a pure vampire blood connection. It made me want to follow her every command, to please her in all things. Just like David acted around me, but not as bad. It was one of the reasons why I had to get away from everything and everybody.
"Roxanne, is everything okay? I wasn't expecting a call from you so soon." Ember covered the phone and moved it away from her mouth. I could still hear her lowered voice as she reprimanded Collin.
"Can you keep your hands to yourself for just a few minutes? It’s Roxanne on the phone. Go take a cold shower or something."
She got back on after some masculine grumbling from her heartmate. "Sorry about that, that man's hunger is unquenchable." She explained.
"I think I messed up pretty bad." I whispered into the phone.
"Tell me what happened. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think." She prompted.
My throat was tight and it took a couple tries before I could speak. "I sired a new wolf." I finally blurted out.
There, I'd said it. I held my breath and waited for her response. But there wasn't one. Not for a very long time anyways.
"Well shit." She finally said. "This isn't good."
"It gets worst." I admitted before I chickened out and hung up the phone.
"I can't imagine how a newborn, creating a newborn of her own;,can get any worse. This should be good. I'm all ears."
I couldn't stop the small knot that formed in the pit of my stomach as I told Ember, down to the smallest detail, what had transpired throughout the night. When finished, I cast my eyes to the floorboard, and again waited for her to say something.
"I have no choice but to tell Collin about all of this." She admitted.
I nodded my head against the phone. "I figured as much."
"And you're sure he’s full wolf? There are no signs of vampirism?" Ember asked.
"Yeah, I am pretty positive. He shifted before he attacked his victim. He took him down and ate him like he was a wild deer. There were no vampiric signs, just pure wolf tendencies."
Thunder cracked in the distance and small drops of rain pelted the windshield of my car. My passenger side door swung open and David jumped in and stared straight ahead. I ignored him and kept listening to Ember.
"Your trip home will have to wait. I need you and your new wolf to meet me and Collin at the Adelphi compound."
My vo
ice came out strained as I said. "Sure, I can do that."
"Oh. And one more thing. Nathan left here early this morning. He’s heading in your direction. I wouldn’t be too surprised if you ran into him on the way back."
I threw my head back up against the headrest and groaned. Nathan wasn't going to like the fact that for one, I didn't tell him that I had a stalker, and two, I was now stuck taking care of said stalker.
"Is there any way I can say no?"
"Not a chance." Ember said without a moment’s hesitation.
"You're getting pretty good at this bossy business." I said, almost pouting.
"What can I say? I was born to be a bitch." She chuckled when she said that and then her voice calmed. "He cares about you, Roxanne. Try and take it easy on him."
And with that final statement, Ember hung up.
I sighed and threw the phone back into my purse. More thunder exploded, letting out a loud 'boom', and David jumped. He looked at me and his face reddened. The fierceness that usually slashed his features was gone and he looked vulnerable.
"Well I'll be damned." I said, starting the car. “The big bad wolf is scared of a little storm."
***
Having to turn around and travel all those miles back to Astoria made me laugh at myself and my pathetic attempt to run away from my problems. I also realized that by trying to escape them instead of just sucking it up and dealing with my new life, I ended up creating more problems for myself. Case in point. I had psychotic werewolf-stalker lounging in the seat next to me.
"How far did you drive before dumping the truck?" I asked David. He had been abnormally quiet for the last hundred miles or so. "Did you flatten the tire like I asked?"
He kept looking straight ahead and with some reluctance, answered my question.
"I drove it about ten miles before I punctured the tire, shifted, and ran back." He crossed his arms and huffed. "My father left me that truck. I'd better get it back."
Watching David sulk over his precious truck was laughable. He was lucky to be alive after what he did.
"I don't really care about you or your truck. Just do as I say and keep your bullshit to yourself." I snapped.
Five more hours inched by. I began to feel a warm, tiny tingle in my chest. I knew its source immediately. It was Nathan. I had to pull over to the side of the road for a moment to compose myself. My palms were sweaty. I rubbed them against my jeans. My heart pounded loudly, echoing in shallow beats in my ear. He was close.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are we just sitting here?" David leaned forward and looked all around him. With a shake of his head he leaned back against his seat. "Fuck it. I have nowhere to be anyways."
I waved my hand, dismissing him, and pulled the car back onto the interstate.
A large, red building on the side of the road grabbed my attention. The glinting sign read, "Chug and Grub". I found myself turning into the drive and parking right in front of their statue of a life-sized cowboy-hat wearing bull.
"Are you coming?" I asked David as I got out of the car.
He piled out and began stretching his body. "Yeah. I gotta take a piss." He said, walking toward the door to the restaurant.
I just shook my head and followed the creep inside.
It was a seat yourself kind of establishment, so I chose a table in the back as far away from the other customers as I could get. I was on my third glass of soda before the waitress finally brought out the rare steak and potatoes I had ordered over a half hour ago. The meat appeared brown instead of pink through the haze of cigarette smoke and the restaurant’s low lighting. I decided to take my chances with the iffy looking meat and eat it anyway. I was starving. David still hadn’t returned from his trip to the bathroom. So I was beginning to worry that he might be on a mass murder spree somewhere.
"May I join you?" asked a voice that ignited lust in me at the sound of the first syllable.
The lump of meat I was swallowing almost lodged in my throat. "Hi Nathan." I choked out.
Nathan pulled out a chair and sat down across from me. Deep dimples popped out as he smiled and rubbed his stubbly chin. God he was handsome.
"I missed you." He purred between two perfectly formed lips.
His hypnotic brown eyes bore into me. I took a moment to fall into the warm depths of them. Light frolicked off the green specks that streaked through the dark brown coloring. His eyes weren't the only feature that boasted brilliant highlights. His medium brown hair was shaded with tiny blonde streaks as well. Despite myself, I grinned. He inclined his head and at the same time narrowed his eyes.
“You missed me too, didn’t you?”
Truthfully, I did. And with Nathan sitting so close to me, looking at me the way he was... I wouldn't make any attempts to deny it.
“I did…very much actually.”
I had never been in love before. The way I felt about him made all my past relationships seem so trivial, like school yard crushes. This was all consuming. I was having a hard time remembering why I ran away from this man in the first place.
“Are you ready to come back home with me?” He asked.
The air stilled between us as I glanced away from his hopeful expression. Now I remembered why I’d left. Everything had been moving too quickly between us. I was a woman who liked her space and who also liked to take her time, weigh options. Hell, maybe breathe before making any decisions. Considering how delicate this one was, I really craved that time. I had felt like my carefully erected life was falling down around me, several bricks at a time; starting with my abrupt entry into the supernatural world.
Pushing my thoughts away, I focused my attention back on the present, back on Nathan.
My shoulders lifted as I sighed. “Ember has called me home, to the pack house. I will be staying there, Nathan, when I return. I will be happy to sit and discuss what’s going on between us.” I said with complete sincerity. “It was wrong of me to just up and run out on you. On everyone.”
Nathan leaned back in his chair. As he crossed his arms, a little smile twitched at the side of his mouth. He was amused.
“You have to know that when I look at you, all I can see is forever. These intense feelings have me pushing you and I am sorry about that. I really am. And I understand why you left; I already accepted that, Rox. I just want what’s best for you.”
He sat back up and leaned his hands on the table next to mine. The red mark that vined around my arm throbbed as soon as his identical one brushed up against it.
“But I know without a doubt that you feel the same way about me that I do for you. Do you want to know how I can tell?” He asked with a slight purr.
The intensity of his words and the hunger in his stare made my mouth go dry and all I could do was nod my head. Nathan had a crazy kind of effect on me. There was no denying that.
“Whenever you begin to speak to me, you’re bottom lip trembles. It’s all I can do not cut your words off with a kiss.” He wrapped one of his fingers gently around mine. “Even now, while we sit this close, your body sways in towards mine. That’s because your beautiful form knows it belongs with me.”
He reached over and tipped my chin up, and our eyes connected, locking on to each other.
“Like I said before, take all the time you need. I am not going anywhere.”
“Who in the fuck is this asshole?” David growled as he stomped over to the table.
Nathan slowly rose from his chair, the once sensual lover turning into a dangerous predator. My face went white and I began to frantically shake my head.
“Wait, both of you.” My words rushed out.
Nathan faced off with David and said, “Who the fuck are you?”
Our waitress picked the wrong time to come over and check on us. I hadn’t seen her at all in the last fifteen minutes but she had chosen this moment to come over; figured. When she looked up from the book she was carrying around, she knew in an instant that there was trouble brewing. I had to hand it to her. She s
ure sucked at being a waitress, but she was pretty damn good at self-preservation. She immediately turned around and scuttled off.
I watched as Nathan’s jaw muscles flexed and his hands balled into fists at his sides. Holy dung beetles, shit was about to hit the fan. David reached over and grabbed a beer bottle off a neighboring table. He smashed it on the edge and held it out in front of him.
“That chick you’re talking to belongs to me.” David spat out.
“Oh, really?” Nathan chuckled, “You think so, do ya?”
Before David could see what was coming at him, Nathan smashed his fist into the other man’s face. He had placed so much muscle behind the punch; David ended up spinning once and falling hard to the floor. Even though it was akin to bludgeoning myself against the head, I jumped up and got in between Nathan and David. Nathan’s face washed white as he lifted a brow.
“I hope you’re interfering for my sake and not to protect that slime ball.” He looked down at the fallen wolf and shook his head. “Stay down prick or I’ll rip you a new one.”
Sitting up and shaking his head, David ignored Nathan’s threat and slowly stood.
“You just signed your own death warrant, motherfucker!” David growled.
I was very conscious of both the combating werewolves’ growing rage. My mind was frantic trying to figure out how to put a stop to this fight. Nathan was my first priority and had my allegiance one hundred percent. I wanted nothing more than to step aside and let him wipe the floor with David’s face. Unfortunately, that sire bond between David and I kept me from doing so. Regardless, if I waited any longer, like it or not, these two beasts were going to try and use each other’s heads as battering rams.