Instant Enemies

by Emily Zimmerman

  He sat in silence for a little longer before a slight smile graced his lips. “So you’re basically apologizing for pushing me away?” he asked me, his tone holding a bit of curiosity mixed with confusion.

  “Yes. My entire body tells me to be with you…but my mind tells me that it’s too dangerous. I guess I should just shut my mind off and listen to my heart, huh?” I muttered, pulling my eyes from his and looking at my hands instead.

  His warm hand touched my cheek, making me look back up at him through my lashes. “I think that might be a good idea. Seeing as I’m going to go insane soon if I’m unable to have you in my arms any longer.” He told me with a light, teasing smile.

  I smiled shyly back. Looking down, I realized as my cheeks heated up that I had only a towel on. “So where is the pack? I’m surprised they’re not banging on the door asking me where the hell I’ve been for the past three days.” I said, getting up to get dressed.

  “I asked them to give you some time to cool off. They’re all out in two huge groups, one at the pizza parlor, and the other at the ice cream shop.

  I frowned as I realized I had no clean clothes, and I certainly wasn’t putting those damned clothes back on that I’d been in. “Here,” he handed me a full set of clothes and smiled. “I thought you might need something else to wear. Bethany has the same size clothing that you do.”

  I smiled in thanks and without another thought, dropped my towel to get dressed. He’d seen it all anyway. Most of the pack had.

  What I didn’t expect, was his reaction. His hungry growl ripped through the room and he was suddenly in front of me, I looked up into his eyes, freezing in place at the hungered, feral look his bright blue eyes portrayed. I instantly knew that this was what I looked like at the practice field the day he took his shirt off.

  I was pulled from my thoughts as the tips of his fingers ran up my thigh, to my hips, to the curve of my side all the way up to my bare shoulder. My skin blazed where his fingers touched, and tingled when they left. He trailed his fingers up my neck, and when he reached my cheek, he cupped it very gently with his hand, his blazing eyes never leaving mine. His other hand lifted slowly, as if thinking that if he moved too fast he’d scare me away, and slipped into my hair. I felt as if my entire body was being burned alive…but it felt good. His hand in my hair tightened into a fist and he pulled me into him, in one swift movement I was against him, my lips being hungrily devoured by his. Not caring how I was –or wasn’t – dressed anymore, I pressed myself closer to him and returned his kiss with a moan of pleasure. His hand that once held my cheek now trailed down my body, landing on the small of my bare back and pressing me closer to him. In the very, very few seconds he’d pulled away from me, I’d almost torn his short off in my effort to explore his glorious bronze chest. My hands trailed down his chest to his perfectly muscled stomach that I’d fantasized about so much.

  I felt his muscles tense at my touch and smiled under his lips as he let out a feral growl. He pulled away from me, gasping, and groaned my name, exciting me even more. Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was on the bed, Damian on top of me. We were both out of breath as we stared into each other’s eyes. His eyes were questioning, did I really want this?

  I nodded to show him that I was. I wanted him, more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life, I wanted this man. He didn’t need any more encouragement; he leaned down and pressed his lips to my neck, running the tip of his tongue along where my blood pounded. Only one snarl of a word left his mouth before his sharp teeth bit in, “mine.”

  My back arched and I felt my entire body explode in pleasure, my nails dug into his back and I cried out his name. I felt like my entire body was going to melt into the bed, I whimpered as I felt his teeth leave my skin, but moaned once more as he licked the wound to heal it.

  He then rolled us over so I was on top of him, straddling his waist with my arms on either side of his head. It was my turn. I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, I’d heard it was a lot more painful for the male then it was for the female. No one knew the reason for this. I pressed my lips to his neck and felt him shiver in anticipation. “I’m yours.” I whispered before sinking my teeth into his neck.

  His arms tightened around me and he growled in pain, but after a second he tightened his arms for a different reason and growled in pleasure as I sucked his blood. The mating ritual of the wolf. Take your mates’ blood and you are forever bonded together, your minds, bodies, and souls will think, and act as one being.

  “Shit, Cat.” He groaned softly in my ear.

  I pulled slightly away and licked his wound, healing it so only a few small marks took its place. Soon those marks would change into their own tattoo, so no matter what, you’d always know who your mate was. I pulled back up just in time for us to be flipped over once again, and Damian growled lowly in my ear, making me shiver.

  “Now I can feel exactly what you do as I make you mine in every way.” His hot breath hit my ear, and before I could ask what he meant, his lips enveloped mine once again.

  Part Fourteen: Explanations.

  I sat at the kitchen table; an awkward silence filled the kitchen as they all waited for me to explain. They didn’t know about the upcoming battle, and I was afraid to tell them. “They’ll have to prepare soon anyway.” Damian told me, taking my hand in his.

  Since we mated fully, he could read my thoughts with perfect clarity when he wanted to, and vice versa. I sighed. “Paul wants revenge. We killed his last female. He contacted me before, recognizing me as the chosen one of the Wolven Goddess. I begged him not to attack, but he wouldn’t listen. And four days ago, as I was walking to my car in the parking lot of school, he knocked me out, kidnapped me, and took my wolf form from me. The Wolven Goddess tried to reason with him, but he only told me that he would spare Damian, because he was my mate, and if he died then I would die, and another chosen one would not exist for thousands of years.

  “For three days I sat tied up, only being fed a few pieces of bread and a cup of water. A young vampire named Ray came to my aid, saying that he did not fully understand his masters’ reasoning. They had females sent from other covens; therefore he had no more reason for revenge. He set me free, after returning my wolf back to my body. I owe him a great debt because of that.”

  I looked at everyone who stared back at me, my family. They could never be taken away, nor replaced. I’ve grown a bond between each and every one of them. “So…we’re to go to battle?” Ben, one of the many pack members, asked.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Well that’s a bitch.” Lily muttered, standing with her back to Riley, who had his arms wrapped around her middle protectively.

  This made me laugh. “We can take ‘em. I trust Damian has taught you everything he knows about Vampire combat?” I asked no one imparticular.

  They all nodded and a rumble of, “Yes.” And, “uh-huh.” went through the crowd.

  I nodded once. “Right. Now I need to make a call.” I turned on my heel, releasing my hand from Damien’s and running up stairs.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and found Gabriel’s number easily.

  It rang about four and a half times before he answered. “Hello.”

  “Hey…I need your help.” I sighed.

  “Cat! It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. What do you need?”

  “I know we haven’t talked since the beach, but I need you to do me a favor. Have you any outcasts that you are acquainted with?” I asked him.

  “About five that are good friends of mine. What’s this about, Cat?” he asked me.

  “Gather them and meet me at the…” I trailed off, sighing.

  Would he want to come back after what Damian did? “Where do you want to meet at?”

  “I need you to trust me on this, Gabriel. My pack is in danger, now I didn’t want to say this in front of them, but we’re outnumbered. I need you to meet me at the pack house.” His sigh was indication that he pro
bably wasn’t willing.

  “Cat…”

  “I’ll make sure that Damian is civil.” I added quickly. “Please, I’m asking you as a friend, please.” I begged.

  He sighed again, and I could just picture him running his hand through his hair in frustration. “Alright. I’ll gather the others and meet you, but only you.” he insisted.

  Now it was my turn to sigh. “You’ll have to work with him as well. In order to defeat them we need to do it together…he knows now that he was wrong, I promise you, he does.” I said, my voice desperate.

  “Okay, okay. When do you want me to meet you?” I felt relief wash through me.

  “Think you can gather your friends by tomorrow afternoon?”

  “Piece’a cake.” He said in a New York accent.

  I laughed in relief. “I owe you one.”

  “Sweetheart, you owe me two.” He said.

  Part Fifteen: Connected.

  I sat outside on the porch, waiting on the top step of the stairs as the sun rose higher in the sky. Damian hadn’t been happy with what I’d done, but I told him that we needed all the help we could get. While I was in that cave, a large number of vampires entered that cave, and didn’t leave.

  I sighed and dropped my head in my hands rubbing my temples tiredly. I’d been taking watch for five hours last night, and I was running on three hours of sleep. “A little tired today, Cat?” a deep voice chuckled.

  I looked up and smiled. “Hey Gabriel. Long time no see. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.”

  He was with five others, and all of them had no shirts on. “So am I ever going to see you with a shirt on? Seems like in any situation we’re in you’re always half naked.” I joked, standing up.

  He smiled. “Nah, I think I look better without one on.” He said.

  “Sure, sure.” I waved him off.

  “Cat, these are my good pals, Freddy, Logan, Bob, Kevin, and Tom.” He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “They owe me for saving their asses a couple’a times.”

  Freddy was a burley guy, who looked about eighteen or twenty, with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. His smile was charming, and he winked at me.

  Logan was muscular, but not as big as his friend, he was maybe nineteen. He had very dark brown hair, it was almost black, and dark green eyes. He was serious as he studied me.

  Bob was probably twenty one, with bright green eyes and a cocky smirk as his eyes roamed my body. He was half as big as Freddy, but just a little bit bigger than Logan.

  Kevin stood with his muscular arms crossed, studying me with apprehensive hazel eyes, his sun-bleached hair was disheveled and unkempt, and he looked like he was tensing for a fight to break out at any moment, despite the light air around him.

  Tom, with his light red hair, pale skin and bright green eyes, smiled at me in a friendly manner, but I could see in his eyes that he was apprehensive about this as well.

  I smiled at them as way of welcoming them. “So, Cat. Tell us about what we’re doing here.” Kevin said.

  This made my friendly smile fade. I sighed. “You might want to sit down; there is a lot to explain.”

  For an hour, I explained to them what happened, we sat on the porch, and they listened intently, all eyes on me as I told them about the Wolven Goddess and Paul, the leader of the coven nearest us.

  Just as I finished explaining, I felt pain hit my stomach and gasped. I lurched into a standing position and took a step toward the door, only to cry out and fall on one knee. Lily came running out, leaning down beside me. “Cat! What’s wrong?”

  “D-Damian! Where is he?” I gasped.

  “He’s making his rounds…Cat?” Without thinking, I changed to a wolf and took off towards the forest.

  As I ran, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, making me yelp and breaking my stride, causing me to stumble before regaining my speed. It felt as if I was being ripped apart, but I was just feeling pain, no injuries occurred. I ran until I hit a clearing, skidding to a stop as I took in the scene in front of me.

  Five vampires, all rolling around in a snarling heap of black fur. Damian was holding his own, but he couldn’t keep it up much longer.

  I let out a feral snarl that made everyone but Damian freeze so drastically they stopped breathing.

  Damian used this opportunity to kick them off of him and limped his way over to me, where I stood in a defensive stance. The vampires scrambled to their feet, seeing that it was me, they immediately dropped to their knees. “Forgive us, dear mother!” one of them begged.

  “We are not worthy of your presence!” another said in a pleading voice.

  I moved in front of Damian protectively, baring my teeth and growling harshly at the vampires. Every fiber in my being wanted to attack.

  ‘Wait, dear one. It is not their time yet. Let them be.’ I heard the Goddesses voice in my head.

  I let out a huff and sat on my haunches, relaxing my body, a sign that they were free to go.

  “Thank you, Goddess! We are forever in your debt!” another of the vampires said as they ran from the clearing. I turned to Damian, who lie helpless on the ground. His stomach was sliced, but not too deep, his shoulder was bitten multiple times, and he had a slice across his right eye.

  ‘Come on, Damian, let’s get you home.’ I sighed through the bond, leaning my head down to nudge it under his leg, pulling him up so he stood. Pain shot through both of us, and we yelped simultaneously. ‘sorry’ I said, grimacing.

  ‘It’s not your fault, I think my leg is broken.’ He grunted.

  I let out a groan and started forward, both of us were limping because of his pain.

  The clearing wasn’t that far away from the pack house, but with how slow we were going, it took about ten minutes to reach the edge of the forest. With Damian having to be half on top of me to walk,and feeling his pain at every step, it was like I was injured as well.

  As soon as we entered the clearing where the house sat, the pack ran out to where Damian and I collapsed to the ground, unable to go on any longer. “Cat! What happened?” Riley asked me, lifting my head with both his hands.

  ‘Damian was attacked...I felt his pain.’ I explained through the bond.

  Riley’s eyes darkened and he growled angrily. He leaned down along with Trevor and helped Damian up, making us both yelp. “Sorry.” Riley and Trevor said in unison.

  They lifted Damian off the ground and carried him into the house, me walking after them.

  I sat by Damian while he groaned in agony, tears rolling down my cheeks as I suffered his pain in silence. “He’s healing, but of course that’s causing more pain. He’ll pass out soon, which will relieve you both of your suffering.” dad explained to me with a sigh.

  I nodded, never taking my eyes off of Damian. His hand was wrapped around my own, his groans the only thing breaking the silence in his room. Dad pat my shoulder and left the room quietly. “Cat...I-I’m sorry...I...I should have...” I shushed him softly, reaching up to push his hair from his face.

  “This isn’t your fault. I-” I paused, wincing as more pain shot through my abdomen.”-Just rest, okay? Close your eyes, don’t think about the pain, alright?”

  He coughed and I felt pain shoot through me yet again, but I ignored it, focusing on the small smile that graced Damian’s lips as he stared into my eyes. “If I was a vampire, and I saw you that fierce, I’d kneel down too.”

  It surprised me enough to make me laugh that he would think of that to distract himself. “You told me not to think about the pain, so...” he moved his shoulders up ever so slightly in a shrug.

  My smile faded as more pain hit and he cried out in pain, his back arching. He slowly relaxed, his breathing turning even, and his eyes closing. The pain faded from my body, and I sighed in relief for Damian. “You’ll be okay.” I whispered.

  Part Sixteen: Star Gazing.

  Standing outside, I leaned against a tree, letting the wind flow through my hair. The sky was clear and the night was quiet, i
t seemed that the vampires weren’t going to attack tonight. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It was three days since the attack. Damian’s leg was almost healed, and his stomach wound was only a scar now, but he was still weak.

  “It’s a little late for star gazing, don’t you think?” Kevin approached me, smiling slightly.

  “This has nothing to do with stargazing. More to do with the fact that my pack is in danger.” I shrugged.

  “You’ve been out here every night since we came, and you stay out here for at least five hours. Are you even sleeping anymore?” he asked me.

  I sighed. “They won’t attack me, it’s practically forbidden. I can’t endanger my pack anymore than I already have, I owe it to them, they have done so much more for me.” I murmured.