Altered

  “I just didn’t think it through. I don’t want them to get hurt for us,” she yelled quickly. “But you…” Her gaze bounced back and forth. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

  “Lose me?” I bent down to find her line of sight. “How would you lose me?”

  “You can die, can’t you?” she asked angrily.

  “Hardly. It’s very hard to kill a devourer. Especially since I have the advantage and know that they’re here.”

  She sighed harshly and gripped her shirt over her heart. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.” I put the keys in her palm and gave her what I hoped was a stern look. “You leave that car and I’ll…” I gulped and said, “I’ll be very angry with you, Fay.”

  “I won’t,” she promised breathily and stared, hesitating, before she reached around my neck and gripped tightly.

  My hands went straight to her perfect hips. I groaned in my mind and was shocked that it hadn’t come out of my mouth, needing an outlet. “I need to go,” I said into her hair. “We need to get back on the road as soon as possible. They’ll try to stop us from reaching the camp, so we need to hurry.”

  “Okay,” she mumbled against my shoulder. She leaned back and looked up at me. “Be careful.” It wasn’t a request.

  I nodded and walked backward to watch her climb in the car and lock the door before I turned to sprint to the back door of the restaurant. I took out the one who was keeping watch out the back door, and doing an appalling job. I snapped his neck before he even knew I was there.

  When I opened the door slowly and peeked in, I saw they had herded most of the workers and diners into the back and were questioning them one by one. They didn’t seem to be hurting them. I tapped the one in the back on the shoulder and nodded my head at him. He got the attention of the others and they all filed out single file, quietly. I shook my head at how idiotically easy that had been.

  I inched forward toward the men asking the questions and listened in as they showed them pictures and asked if they’d seen us. I cursed under my breath when I realized the person left behind was our fragile old waitress. If it had been anyone else, I’d had left and been happy that we saved all those people, but I wouldn’t leave her. I waited until things quieted and I knew that she was only in the room with one or two men and then moved in. When I moved in, I grimaced at being wrong.

  There were still four men in with her and they were looking at a local map they’d gotten from the shop, trying to see the best route—figuring which route we would’ve taken out of there. They hadn’t even known we were there at all until that moment. I saw it all over their faces. We were free and clear outside, but I had let Fay give me a conscience about these people; I had let her make me feel bad about these people, otherwise, we would have been home free.

  “Well, well—”

  I blurred forward and throat punched him. “Let’s skip the introductions.” I reached over and grabbed a knife from the counter and slung it right to the next guy, spearing it through his hand, tacking him to the wall. I heard a scream that was definitely human. I looked at my waitress’ nametag and moved toward her. “Pamela. It’s all right. I came back to make sure everyone was okay.”

  “I’m not okay! You stabbed him!”

  “In all fairness, he was going to stab me first.”

  Her eyes moved to my right and her mouth opened. I turned just as she said, “Watch out!”

  I cracked his neck and she squealed like a stuck pig. “Pamela, please,” I said calmly and I stared down my last opponent.

  A rolling pin was tossed over my shoulder and I smiled at her. “Thanks, sweetheart, but that won’t really help on his kind.” The guy with the knife through his hand was now free also and they were both coming for us. “Or him.”

  “His kind?” she asked as she gripped the back of my shirt tightly. “What does that mean?”

  “It means run, Pamela.”

  “But…I saw you,” she whispered. Like whispering somehow made it less real. “I saw you move way too fast to be…normal. What’s going on?” She sobbed a quick, short breath. “Please. I just want to see my grandkids again.”

  I looked at her over my shoulder and felt her fear smack into me. I tried not to groan. “Pamela,” I said slowly, “I’ll take care of this.” I smiled as best I could. “I’m sorry that you came into work today thinking it was going to be a normal day. Look at me.” I waited for her eyes to meet mine. “You go—go and see your grandkids and don’t worry about what’s going on here. It’s not important. Be safe and be…happy.”

  She walked backward and watched me as she left. She stopped at the door and I didn’t understand. I persuaded her to go. She should want to leave and go—

  “Thank you. Thank you for what you did. I know you’re not…normal. I know something isn’t right here and you could’ve very well not come back for us. Thank you for doing that. My grandbabies thank you.” She sobbed as she turned to go and took off in a run.

  I turned my full attention to the devourers and they were completely stunned. “What in the hell…is wrong with you, Enoch Thames?”

  I charged. I knocked their heads together before grabbing a handful of hair from each and wrenching as hard as I could. I heard the sickening snap of both of their necks. It didn’t make me feel good or bad that I enjoyed it. It just was what it was. I was a devourer and no matter how much I changed, there were some things that wouldn’t. Like the fact that taking out my enemy—the people who had tried to hurt me, Fay, and an old woman that didn’t deserve it—would always bring satisfaction.

  I knew they’d be awake soon enough so I turned to go, but saw something on the counter that made me pause. I smiled.

  When I made it back to the car a couple minutes later, I could see that Fay was working herself into a tizzy. She unlocked the door when she saw me coming and smiled at what I was holding. “Ah, I think I just fell in love with you.”

  I cut my eyes at her as I climbed in and she rolled hers. “You know what I mean.” She took one of the to-go plates and opened it up. “Oh, my gosh. Pancakes.”

  “And I got eggs and bacon. All they had cooked and ready to go was breakfast stuff.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m starving,” she said and dipped her pancake into the syrup, taking a big bite and smiling at me, licking her lip and laughing when it dripped on her chin. She didn’t even care that it was making a mess. It was adorable and cute, but most women I’d known were so self-conscious about it. She seemed to…relish in it.

  She sat in the middle instead of in her seat on the far side and when she was done she laid her head on my shoulder. I tried not to be too excited about that.

  “Thank you for going back in there. I know you didn’t want to, and I appreciate that you did it.” Her hair smelled like that hotel shampoo. I would forever love that smell for the rest of my days. I gulped when I felt her fingers lightly touch my arm. “I can’t believe we’re almost there.”

  I coughed. “Yeah. Our trip is almost over. You’re almost rid of me.”

  “You’re not going to leave, are you?” She sat up and scooted a little closer, her leg propped up in the seat with her touching my arm. “He’s your brother, too. There’s no reason for you to just rush off and leave, is there?”

  “Clara hates me.”

  She scoffed. “That can’t really be true.”

  “I hate her.”

  She sighed and looked at me. “You have these moments where you’re so…amazing.” My heart actually hurt it jumped so violently. “And then you have these other moments where I question everything that’s ever happened between us.”

  I swallowed. “You should.”

  “Why?” she breathed.

  “I’m a devourer.”

  “You saved me,” she argued, as if that argument meant something to top all other arguments.

  I finally glanced over and wished I hadn’t. She was waiting for me to say something epic. “I’m not good for you.”

&nbs
p; She sighed like she was disappointed. “So you’re going to leave once we’re there. You’re just going to drop me off?”

  “I’ll stay for a bit, but not for long. It’s not for me. I’m a loner. That’s always been my life.”

  “Because you choose it.”

  “Yes,” I sighed. “Because I choose it.”

  “You could choose something else.”

  Was she really asking me to choose her? She barely knew me and the little bit she did know wasn’t good. She couldn’t want me in that way from what she’d seen…could she?

  The rest of the trip was silent. She brooded and I wanted to be angry about it, but it was the cutest thing I’d ever laid eyes on. She was angry that I was leaving. I had never had someone care about my being there. I could have kissed her for that alone.

  The next part of the trip was tricky.

  I knew the general vicinity of where Clara and Eli were, but I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy to get in. They moved around so much, and I didn’t know if they were going to be hidden with some magic. If they were, I was going to have to find a witch to find them. I sighed. So close, but still so far away. And there was no way to reach them.

  And I was already beginning to feel the need to feed again. The twitchiness in my veins and blood. I shook my head, knowing that it wasn’t going to make anything easier. The next hour I beat a rhythm on the steering wheel and tried to think of what Eli would do if it was him making the decisions for the rebels. And then I tried to think of where Franz would take them. When we reached the last known place, it was empty, they were already gone, and I felt my anger rise even as Fay’s hope fell.

  “I was stupid to think it would be that easy, huh?” She sniffed a laugh. “I don’t deserve to find her. She probably doesn’t even want me to. If she knew I was looking for her, she’s probably run anyway.”

  “We’ll find them,” I insisted. “I figured they’d moved. They’re practically gypsies. It’s how they live.”

  She watched me, her green eyes following me as I looked around the campsites, looking for clues. She was getting madder by the second as she watched me pick up things and toss them away as is they didn’t matter. “Don’t tell me things just to make me feel better,” she sneered.

  I laughed and gave her a look. “I am the last person who would sugarcoat it for you, sweetheart.”

  She looked at the ground, letting her breath that she was holding go, knowing I was right. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. That was just stupid.” I passed behind her when I moved to search near the river and heard her mutter, “And will you stop calling me sweetheart?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Sweetheart is offensive? Since when?”

  She steeled herself, lifting her chin and straightening her back. She reminded me of Clara so much right then. “You’re not going to do anything about it. Since you decided you’re leaving, dumping me as soon as you find them, you don’t get to sweetheart me.” She crossed her arms, turned away from me, and walked toward one of the only small cabins that was there and I stared, stunned.

  Any other time and I would have been so turned on by that little speech and the fact that this female was coming on to me, but this was Clara’s sister. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists. Why? Why, why, why?

  My life was practically in shambles and I certainly didn’t need a female added to the mix to keep things interesting right now. So why was I going so crazy over this one?

  “They’re gone. I can’t find anything left behind to lead us to them.” I looked back to find her wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath as she tried to compose herself by the river bank. “I’m sorry, Fay. We need to go.”

  “It’s so beautiful here,” she mused and sighed long and hard. She leaned her head back and rolled her neck to the side, her eyes closed. She was so trusting. I realized how completely she trusted me on every level. No matter what happened, I had to get this girl to Clara. I rubbed her arm with my thumb and she didn’t flinch like I thought she would. She smiled and grabbed my arm, linking hers with mine. “Just come here for a minute.”

  I sighed. “Fay.”

  “Just a second. Everybody needs to recharge every once in a while. And you, sir, need to recharge more than most people.”

  “I take offense to that,” I spouted back.

  She giggled and that giggle almost did me in, with her eyes closed and her still so completely trusting me. “Just close your eyes and lean your head back. Soak up the sun for a second and listen to the water.”

  “Devourers don’t like sun. Or the sound of the river.”

  “That’s a lie and you know it.” She smiled.

  “How do you know that?” I groaned.

  “Because. That would just be crazy,” she said softly. She leaned her head on my shoulder and we probably sat there for a full ten minutes without moving, just listening. She lifted her head and looked at me. She bit her lip on the side and I wanted to be the one biting that lip. “So, do you feel better?”

  “Truth?” She nodded. “I do actually. I mean. I don’t feel physically better, and I still need to feed, but…just sitting here with you somehow…”

  “It’s scientific,” she corrected. I squinted. “Vitamin D absorbs in your skin and releases endorphins in your body that do all sorts of good things for you. Improves your mood, for one.”

  “Endorphins?” I questioned and smirked. “I thought endorphins made you sexually charged—”

  She slapped my chest, rolled her eyes, turned toward the car. “Way to ruin my good mood, Enoch.”

  I laughed my words, “What? You stated some facts, so I stated some facts.”

  “Facts, my behind!” I could hear the smile in her voice. I walked after her, her lovely rear right in my line of sight. She set me up so nicely for that one, now hadn’t she?

  “And what a gorgeous behind it is.”

  She turned, her mouth open to blast me one, but bumped into my chest instead because I had been so close. She put her hand on my chest and tried to retreat, but I had the advantage on this and wasn’t in a giving mood if this was what it entailed. I came for her harder, but she kept her hand there even as she protested. “I thought we talked about this and you weren’t going to…to…”

  “To what…sweetheart?”

  “That!” she shrieked and looked up at me like I was a villain. A villain with something she wanted. “The sweethearts and the gorgeous behinds and that stuff you’re pulling on me. Stop it.”

  “But you don’t like me. So why does it matter? I’m just trying to kill some time.”

  “I…” She licked her lips. “I never said I didn’t like you.”

  I moved until she was pressed against me, her hand stuck between us. She was breathing hard and she made this little noise, a cross between a beg and a groan.

  “Enoch,” she tacked on with it and I was about to lose it.

  I growled. “You are the most—”

  We heard a loud, thunderous screech that sounded like a car accident from the road. We both jerked our gazes to the road and then back to each other. She opened her mouth and paused for only a second before asking, “I am the most what?”

  I chuckled. “Looks like I was saved by the bell. Come on, princess. Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

  She huffed and hung on to my hand as I tugged her up the steep hill back to the car. The pine needles made the climb slippery and hazardous.

  When we reached the top of the hill, the car we’d stolen was gone. I blurred across the street, startling her with my quickness. I groaned. “A car doesn’t just disappear,” I bellowed. “We heard that noise. What the hell happened?”

  “You should know better than to leave your getaway car in broad daylight, Thames.”

  I sighed and turned toward the further south side of the woods. “Franz.”

  He smiled. “Enoch.” He turned to Fay and nodded his head once. “Miss.”

  “Fay,” she said softly.

  “Well, F
ay. Any friend of Enoch’s is a friend of the rebels’.”

  “You’re here?” I questioned and blurred to Fay’s side. She hadn’t moved an inch and as soon as I got a taste of her fear, I moved without even thinking. I took her hand in mine and looked at her before tugging her to follow me, silently telling her it was okay. Franz watched the exchange and, even though he kept his expression the same, I could tell he was shocked. He didn’t move or say a word for far too long as he studied me.

  “Is something wrong?” Fay finally asked.

  “Yes,” Franz said and stared me down. “But we’ll talk about that later.” He smiled at her. “I’m sure you must be starving.”

  “Not really, actually. We ate not too long ago. But thank you,” she rushed to say. “I really appreciate it, but Enoch has been doing a really good job of taking care of me.”

  Franz’s eyes bulged. I sighed. “Has he now. Well.” He left it at that and turned, we assumed for us to follow him.

  She gripped my hand tighter and leaned in. “I think he was just expecting you to come. I don’t think he’s very happy about my just showing up out of nowhere.”

  “No,” I assured. “No, it’s not that.”

  “He didn’t seem to like me being here very much.”

  I rubbed her fingers with mine and she shivered, causing a delicious ache to settle in my chest. I groaned. “You’re killing me, little human.”

  “What?” she whispered.

  I ignored that. “He’s trying to figure me out. That’s all. It’s me, not you. I told you that I used to be different. The last time I saw them was months ago and I used to be…” I chuckled with the irony of it, “a lot different. I was an ass, Fay. I wasn’t a good guy. I’m still not.” I sighed, unable to hold it in. I lifted the hand that wasn’t attached to her. “He knows me. He’s known me for a very long time. They’re all going to wonder what happened to me.”

  “So just tell them you changed. People change,” she reasoned.