False Blood

by Tamara White

  I decided to not go straight to the church, hesitant about how I’d be received. What if my bio-parents think it’s all lies and try to kill me because of who my grandparents were? I don’t really want to die today.

  Pulling into the Sallen Inn, I take in the bright yellow paint and cringe internally. It’s not the best-looking motel out there but it will do. It offers privacy between each room with a wraparound balcony and iron gating. A large glass window decorates the front of each room, leaving enough view to see the city.

  I pay for my room, grab my shit from the car and collapse on the bed. I just want to go to sleep, but I reek, so I move my tired ass to the shower, hoping I’ll feel better once I’m clean.

  As I shower, I think about my next move. Do I just randomly show up on my parent’s doorstep with a ‘Hey, you know how you thought your daughter was dead? Well surprise, I’m not!’ There’s no real way to approach a situation like this. I have no idea what to do next.

  ***

  After my shower last night, I collapsed in a fog filled haze, not even eating before bed, which is how I came to be pigging out at the ‘all you can eat’ buffet at the diner across the street from the motel. The last few days of fast food have not exactly helped my metabolism. I’m just glad I didn’t lose too much weight. I’d look too much like the rest of the skinny ass wolves in my pack. I like not being generic, especially now that I know there’s a reason for it.

  Having cleaned out the buffet, I decide to go for a walk and burn off my excess energy. I leave my bags in the hotel room, just grabbing my phone and some cash. It’s more out of habit than anything. No one’s going to call me because they don’t know my number, but, hey, it comforts me.

  I walk for hours around Kansas City, marvelling at the history of the city, visiting every museum I come across. I should have already gone to the church but my nerves get the better of me every time I get within a few feet of the door. My heart starts to pick up speed regardless of the fact that it seems empty. All I can think is my parents will tell me to leave and never come back. Then I’ll be on my own, nowhere to go for fear of being killed.

  The sun’s setting, so I decide to head back to the hotel, taking another quick walk past the church to gather the courage to knock. I bang on the heavy door three times, waiting with bated breath. No one answers and I hear no noise from inside leading me to believe maybe it’s abandoned. Why would Dad give me the address to a vacant church, though? There must be something I’m missing.

  Disappointed, I head back to the hotel to call him hoping he’ll be able to give me more of a clue. I can’t stay in a hotel every day and just hope my parents find me by sheer luck. A strong wind picks up, blowing my hair into my face when a new scent makes me halt in my tracks.

  I’m being followed. Four wolves at least, judging by their scents though I can’t be sure. I circle around the hotel to buy myself time and think about what to do next before finally going in, doing my best not to panic. I lock the door to my room and pull my phone out. I hope to God Dad was right about this guy because if not, I’m dead, or worse.

  The phone rings in my ear as I hear the wolves rushing to my room. “Talon,” a deep voice answers.

  “Sorry to be abrupt but my father Brent gave me this number to call if I’m in trouble. Well, I’m in trouble. I’m at the Sallen Inn and I have at least four wolves coming to my room. Room 206. If you don’t make it in time, please tell my father, I’m sorry and that I love him,” I rush out, then hang up quickly hoping that he shows up. If not, hopefully he’ll pass on the message to my father.

  The door bursts open, they barge in trying to trap me. I was right, there’s four of them. The first one is a menacing looking wolf who clearly hasn’t bathed for days judging by the smell. In fact, all of them have that dirty look about them. Unshaven hair and faces makes them look like people from the streets, yet their eyes are clearly wolf. It’s like they’re rabid.

  The leader steps forward, his amber eyes filled with malice, “Where are you from little wolf?” he growls, trying to intimidate me. He stands tall at almost 6’4, his body obviously being deprived the essential nutrients but that doesn’t take away from the menace in his stance.

  “Here and there. I travel,” I respond, hoping to buy myself some time. I don’t show any submission wanting him to see I’m not an easy mark.

  The guy to the left of the one in charge takes a step forward, “Who are you?!” he demands, assessing me slowly. He’s just as unkempt as the others with a large bushy beard to round out the homeless look.

  I take a step back, gagging on the stench off his breath. “Whoa, dude, did you eat raw onion?!” I ask, waving my hand in front of my face to ward off the smell.

  “Oh, this bitch has some balls. Maybe we should have some fun and teach her what happens when little wolves disrespect their elders?” The guy to the leader’s left says, leering at me. I watch him disgusted. His teeth are rotten, his hair is grown well past his shoulders and is tied in a hastily put up ponytail. His eyes are a murky brown that scream evil.

  “Touch me, and I’ll kill you,” I growl, waiting for their attack. I’m not just going to roll over and let them do vile things to me.

  “Why you little bitch!” The one on my right lunges at me suddenly. I let my beast rise to the surface, she is thirsty for blood, and swing an uppercut straight at him, sending him flying through the window of the room. Shit, I’m going to have to pay for that.

  The leader shifts and his wolf grips onto my arm, ripping into the skin, making my beast go wild. I throw him out the door hearing grunts from his wolf, followed by a yelp. Someone lands on my back, ripping at my throat with a clawed hand. I feel the blood run down my throat and know I don’t want to die like this, weak and afraid. I pull him off my back, crying out when he tears at the skin. I punch him in the face and he finally let’s go. I don’t hesitate, snapping his neck quickly and throwing him to the side.

  Dropping to the ground, I hold my hand over my neck, trying to stem the flow of blood long enough that my beast can heal me but it’s no use. My heartbeat is slowing, my hearts dying, without enough blood to keep my body alive. My vision starts to go black at the edges and all feeling in my body starts to fade. I hear movement and can barely muster the hope that they leave me be, just let me die in peace, don’t play with my failing body.

  Growls sound and I hear the distinctive sound of a neck snapping close by. I assume it’s the fourth wolf shifting but then I see his body drop to the floor in front of me. His eyes are misted over in the early stages of death. Who killed him?

  “Fuck man, look at her, she’s almost dead,” a voice exclaims, muffled as though it’s far away.

  “Fuck, no! She called me to repay my debt, if she fucking dies, I’ll owe more than protection. Quick, help me get her up,” another voice chimes in.

  Hands grab me and I whimper, the pain is unbearable.

  “Shhh, just trust me ok. You need strength, I can give that to you,” he murmurs, stroking my hair. I’m in an awkward position, while someone is holding something against my mouth. I hear a ripping sound fill the room before a divine scent reaches my nose. Unconsciously, I rise up seeking the source.

  “Drink,” his voice caresses me, forcing me to obey his commands. I suck at what I realize is his wrist, loving the taste of such an amazing liquid. Who knew blood could taste like chocolate?

  I moan, sucking harder. I want to fight my response, but I can’t help it. The beast inside me is growing in power. The more we drink, the stronger we get.

  “My turn,” another deep voice says from the side, as another wrist is thrust in front of me. I don’t hesitate, ripping myself from my current source, to the new one. The smell coming from him is just as enticing.

  My fangs rip into his wrist with ease making me moan in ecstasy the moment his blood hits my tongue. My mind is having trouble comprehending I have fangs, yet I don’t care. I need more blood. My beast is growing frenzied by the taste of the second person
. It’s slightly metallic with an essence of coffee mixed in. The taste is so much more than I expected, my beast and I both become aroused.

  The current donor removes his wrist and I growl, trying to search for more when another wrist is offered to me. “Shhh, sweetness, take as much as you need,” he says, leading me from the second person’s arms.

  I growl in appreciation when I smell him. Liquorice. Not that gross black liquorice, but that sweet-as-ever, raspberry liquorice. Stopping, I jerk up looking for the source of the smell, but my vision is still a haze. I only see vague shapes. Following my instincts, I crawl along the floor, climbing into the liquorice man’s lap, straddling his waist. Running my hands over him looking for his wrist, he leads my head to his neck, offering and the beast latches on. She would never hurt what’s hers, but they make it so hard to stop drinking. They taste like heaven. One taste isn’t enough.

  “That’s my girl,” he says, and groans as he grips my hair, holding me against his neck. He’s stroking the skin at the top of my ass and I can’t help but grind myself against him.

  “That’s it. Take whatever you want, baby. I’ll give you anything.”

  Shock takes over and I launch myself away from him, backing into the wall, growling. My beast and I are both stronger than ever now. The man I left on the floor is looking at me slightly shocked, though I still see his arousal very clearly through his pants.

  My beast responds, purring while I try to shut her up. I don’t want them knowing I’m attracted to them. Though in all honesty, who wouldn’t be?

  The guy on the floor slowly gets up, so as to not scare me, I think, and stands beside his friends. He’s studying me, equal parts confused and surprised. His hazel eyes watch me with a mix of lust and confusion.

  “Who the fuck bit her?” the one on the left demands. I sniff the air catching his scent and know he’s the one who tastes like chocolate. It radiates off him in waves, drawing me in. He’s tall, with russet brown hair and tattoos covering his arms making him look like one scary mother fucker. Piercing green eyes similar to my own, are watching me but what has me mesmerized, is their depth. His eyes are so old. Don’t ask me how I know, I just have a feeling he’s faced so much more in his life than his perceived age of twenty-nine. His body says one thing while his soul, says another.

  “None of us bit her. Look,” the second one points in my direction.

  I straighten from my crouch, the hostility in the room only coming from me, and I wonder what the hell is going on? How did these guys know to feed me blood? “Excuse me for interrupting your little chat, but who the hell are you?”

  The green-eyed god turns his gaze on me, “I’m Talon, you called me for help, remember?” I know I called for help. I’m just a little hazy on the details after.

  “We got here and you were dying. I offered you my blood to hasten your healing. Now your turn, what the fuck are you?” he spits out.

  What a rude asshole! “What do you mean?” I ask innocently.

  “Well, sweet thing, when you woke up your eyes were red. I thought you were Brent’s daughter. Though the last time I checked, he’s a werewolf. So, unless something’s changed in the supernatural world and a shifter can be turned, then you have some explaining to do,” Talon replies, staring me down trying to intimidate me with his size. The intensity in his eyes frightens me but I’m not one to back down easily.

  “I wish I could, really I do, but I can’t. Not until I talk to my parents.”

  “Well, hurry up and call Brent. Better yet, why don’t I?” he pulls out his phone. The other two are watching our exchange, clearly amused.

  I can’t let him call Dad. He’ll freak if he knows I almost died after being attacked by wolves within days of leaving the pack. He’d up and leave the pack to come and save me from whatever threat I’m facing. I can’t let that happen. Not when I’m so close to meeting my parents.

  I make a snap decision and dive for the phone. Talon isn’t expecting it and I manage to grab it from him before he presses send.

  “You can’t call him, you’ll be putting him in danger. Besides, he wasn’t who I was referring to. I’ve recently discovered I’m kind of adopted and my real parents are hiding with the vampires. Do you know where the local vampire coven is? I went by the church earlier but it looks like it’s been abandoned,” I tell them, not quite revealing the full truth. I can’t keep too much from them though or they may not help me.

  “No. I only owed a life debt, and, as far as I’m concerned, I paid in full.” What a stubborn prick.

  “Sure, fine. Go then,” I tell him, walking around the room, picking up my shit, throwing it into my bags. I can’t stay here now. If he won’t help me, then I’ll find them myself.

  “That’s it? You’re not going to argue with him? Well, that’s no fun,” the second guy says, pouting. I study him, wondering why he wants an argument so much when I see the sparkle in his eyes. He’s a troublemaker, maybe that’s why I find him so attractive.

  He’s easily six foot four, with an athletic physique. His strong, defined jaw, high cheek bones, and sparkly blue eyes, make him attractive, but the mischief in his eyes spells all kinds of trouble.

  “Nik, don’t encourage her. Let her run back home to Daddy, where she’s safe,” the third guy says with a laugh.

  “Well, I’d hate to disappoint you all, but that’s not happening. If I go back there, my death will be much worse than what happened here. If you guys can’t help me, then I’ll find my parents by myself.” I turn back around to face them, lowering my voice and allowing my beast to rumble in my chest, “And if you ever mock my father again, I’ll snap your fucking neck.” I let an evil grin spread across my face whilst keeping my eyes dead to let them know how serious I am.

  The third guy, with beautiful, hazel eyes and an addictive liquorice taste, is watching me as if I grew a second head. We stare at each other for a minute before he gives in. “Fuck! Fine, we’ll take you to our coven. You will have to be questioned by our King and Queen before they will let you go looking for your parents.”

  I don’t know who these guys are or why my beast is reacting so strongly to them, but I need their help to find my parents. If the church is abandoned, then I need someone who knows the area, to show me where the coven is.

  “Ok, thank you. Once you bring me to them, consider your debt paid. If you ever need me or my father, he will be happy to help after what you’ve done for me. You never know, I may even owe you one,” I wink their way. They all watch me, confused with my change of mood, obviously not understanding what’s going on.

  Deciding to have a little fun, I rip my shirt off, changing into a new one before throwing the bloodstained one in the trash. “Don’t worry boys, I’m this fun all the time.”

  Nik is gawking at my car like a child who has been given the best new toy in the world. “Whoa! Is this beauty yours?!”

  “Yes, it is, so if you scratch her, I’ll kill you,” I tell him with a smirk, so he knows I’m only half serious.

  “Nik, Dev, just get in the fucking car!” Talon growls in frustration.

  Talon watches me place my bags in the trunk, waiting for me on the driver side. It makes me wonder what on earth he wants until he reaches for my keys.

  “Oh, hell no! You aren’t driving my baby. Get in the passenger side,” I order, gripping my keys tighter.

  “You have no idea where we’re going. It makes sense for me to drive,” he says irritated.

  “Why don’t you just direct me? Or do you have no navigation skills?” I challenge back.

  “Yo, guys, if you two could stop flirting, we might get there a bit quicker,” Dev calls out watching us both blush.

  Talon storms over to the passenger side, climbing in and slamming the door. “I wasn’t flirting,” he mumbles under his breath. We all pretend not to hear it. He can deny it if he wants, but he was definitely flirting.

  “Hey! What’s she ever done to you?” I demand, appalled someone could treat my baby li
ke that.

  “It’s not her, it’s you. Are you always this stubborn?!” he grinds out through gritted teeth.

  I grin, enjoying the fact I’m irritating him. “Unfortunately, I can be. Dad says my greatest weakness is how irrefutably stubborn I am. That or my smart mouth. Now, where are we going?”

  “The church on Night Street,” Nik says from the back seat, grinning so widely that I want to punch him. Why does that grin have to be sexy?

  “Seriously?! I said I went by and it was abandoned. You couldn’t have said something?” I ask annoyed as hell. How the hell did I not hear anything at the church then? My hearing is exceptional, so is my smell. I should have sensed something.

  Dev leans forward from the back seat, folding his arms on the back of my chair. “We can’t just up and tell you where our queen lives. Especially not when we’re her personal guards,” he says, his breath brushing against my ear.

  I glance back and he throws a wink my way, causing me to blush slightly. There’s something in his eyes that makes me want to be near him. A kind of vulnerability that makes me feel protective. Odd considering how easy they got rid of the wolves attacking me. What would they need protecting from?

  What the hell are these guys? They don’t smell like vampires at all. Not that I’ve been around many in my life. These guys have no distinguishing aroma, though I can smell the underlying scent of their blood. It’s quite addictive.

  “If you guys guard the queen, then how come you’re not vampires? Surely only vampires would guard the queen of a coven?” I ask, genuinely curious to figure out what they are.

  “We are vamps. We just have special talents. For instance, I can block our scent from others, making us seem supernatural but not giving off a particular signature.”