by K. Mawhood
I look down and just let it all flow out. “I’m sorry, it’s just y’all were all so mad at me and I was so hyped up and focused on the fight or flight magic episode that I forgot the beautiful asshole that tried to kidnap me was a vampire.”
Did I just say beautiful? Great. Something else for them to be mad at me about. I look up slowly, and see a mix of angry, sad, and hurt faces.
“I didn’t mean beautiful like y’all but like, just him, as a Vampire in general looked amazing. Like Edward but not sparkly. This isn’t going well. He was stoic and clean cut, with a shaved head and the most interesting gray eyes…” I trail off as I begin to picture him again.
Barrett’s phone begins to ring. He answers and begins to talk to his dad, telling him how far we are from arriving.
I go back to thinking about the Vampire. He was so conflicted but it doesn’t matter, because he scared the shit out of me. And he wasn’t working alone. Who the fuck was he talking to on the phone because it had to be someone above him, I’d assume. I believe he called him...
“Yes, sir. Talk soon,” he says as he hangs up.
All of a sudden, I’m right back in that parking lot, watching him talk on the phone, looking at me with a mix of disgust and lust. I go to turn and run away like before but I can’t. I’m stuck. I’m just standing there, watching him watch me. It’s like I’m looking in on my own past but I can’t control my body movements. This isn’t good. He’s just going to come right up and grab me. I’m starting to cry before I even knew it was coming. I begin to beg him like before but with more urgency.
I feel a hand on my arm and on my opposite side a hand on my back. Cayden begins rubbing my back awkwardly like he’s never comforted someone before.
I feel the tears on my cheeks, not even knowing I was really crying.
“What’s wrong, doll? Where were you?” Barrett says, while rubbing my arm. He has a worried look on his face.
I can hardly see them as my breathing continues to increase speed. I begin to look at each guy in front of me to try and ground myself to where I am. I turn to face Liam and I get a glimpse of a town car parked outside the window. It’s his car. I know it.
“His town car,” I scream to all the guys as I point in the direction of the car.
All of their heads turn instantly to where I’m pointing.
“Darlin’ that’s not his car. His was a Lincoln. That’s an Oldsmobile,” Cayden says calmly.
I’m not in danger, I’m just having a panic attack, I say to myself.
My vision becomes blurry and I begin to see things similar to tunnel vision. I start cold sweating almost instantly at the thought of not being able to see my peripherals. I have to get out of this place. Everyone’s eyes are on me, looking at me like I’m a freak, which just makes this whole shit show worse. I jerk away from the guys because their touch alone is making me feel claustrophobic. I need some air. I get up and stumble out, putting my arm over my face at the shock of the bright sun while heading to the truck.
I put my back against the passenger door and drop down in the fetal position and begin to rock myself, counting to ten slowly over and over again, watching my tears drip on the concrete. I start to hear footsteps coming closer.
I jolt my head up to make sure it’s only one of the guys. Thank the Lord. It’s Cayden.
“Are you okay?”
“No, please don’t come closer. I can’t…” I say, not being able to exactly explain what I mean.
He’s just staring at me, I can feel it. He’s going to think I’m a freak as well. I probably look like a mental patient, rocking my crazy ass back and forth all snotty and salty.
He finally turns around to give me privacy but doesn’t leave me alone. It’s just enough space to make me feel safe and protected. I begin to focus on that feeling and my breathing slows.
When I’m finally able to move again, I slowly get up and try and put myself together again. I smooth out my clothes and take my bun out and redo it. The tears have dried on my face, causing me to wipe away most of the evidence of crying like a crazy person. I’m still probably swollen and red.
I see Cayden still standing at the bed of the truck, waiting for me. I go over to him slowly, afraid of his reaction to what he just witnessed.
Once he sees I’m doing better, tension releases from his shoulders, making him an inch shorter.
“Darlin’, you scared the fuck outta me. What happened?” he says with more emotion than I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.
“I just had a really bad panic attack. I guess talking about the Vampire somehow took me back to that night.”
He looks at me with sympathy in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really know what to do to help you. I was hoping maybe just being out here with you would make you feel better. I hope I didn’t make it worse.”
“No, you did great. You were the one that actually helped me out of it. You made me feel safe and protected, which helped. I’m sorry if I was rude but sometimes it makes it worse if people try to comfort me. I know, I’m a freak,” I say with embarrassment.
“No, you are not. You just went through something traumatic and you’ve barely processed it. Give yourself some credit… Are you okay now? Like to be touched?” Cayden asks.
“Yeah, I’m all good,” I answer, smiling at him, waiting for him to make a move.
He takes his big arms and comes in for a hug. Like a big bear hug. It is exactly what I needed as I lay my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat increase the longer we stay in each other’s arms. He dips his head down and kisses my forehead, making me weak at the knees.
I could stay like this forever.
“Ahem...” Wyatt clears his throat. The second we both hear it, we instantly separate, blushing.
“Princess, are you okay?” Wyatt asks as he goes for a hug too. I know I look horrid.
“Yeah, are you okay? That looked like a pretty bad panic attack,” Barrett says.
“I’m better. Just ready to get out of here. I don’t want to be around anyone else right now. I think everything sorta just hit me.”
“Yeah, I think you were mostly in shock the whole car ride. Let’s get you in the front seat with some blankets and you can get some rest,” Liam says all adultish. I must really look bad because this is not normal for Liam.
I plop myself in the seat and begin to go over everything in my head. I need to think about everything that happened and tell them word for word. They all get in, Barrett in the driver’s seat and the others in the back. Barrett starts the car and gets on the highway for our straight drive to Pennsylvania.
Right when we get on the highway, I tell the guys everything that happened that morning. About the man’s phone call, the rush I got touching him, and again, how I blew the windows and doors out. They said they had felt a rush of feelings or energy as well and that is what initially woke them up.
“Maybe because we all have this connection, we felt that you were in danger?” Barrett questions me.
I shrug my shoulders because I legit have no idea.
“What if your body just did that on it’s own, telling you to stay away from the asshole?” Cayden suggests.
“It could be. I was hearing all of these things in my head. Makes me sound crazy but it was like I had a good angel on my shoulder,” I say with complete mental stability.
Barrett looks into the rearview at the guys and now I know they just figured something out.
“Spill it,” I demand.
Turning, I look at the guys and all of them look afraid. I think it’s my face but either way, I like it. I turn again to face Barrett because I know he will tell me.
“Why are y’all looking at each other like that?” I ask him.
“Well, what you just described sounds like something all of us know very well. It’s somewhat hard to explain. The voice you are talking about… what does it say?”
“I don’t know. It woke me up from a nightmare but it also told me when to run from t
he Vampire. That doesn’t make sense, does it?”
“No, it does, sweetheart. We get that all the time… it’s our wolf,” Liam blurts.
“Nice way to ease her into it,” Cayden growls.
I start to think about it and now I’m about to puke again. What the hell is wrong with me? This is pathetic. If it is my wolf that really means they were right. I can’t believe I’m about to do this but I unbuckle my seatbelt and put my head between my legs.
I’ve seen it in all sorts of movies, usually where the bride is about to pass out before walking down the aisle but this works too.
After taking deep breaths and not thinking about one damn thing, I slowly sit up and begin slowly bringing thoughts back in.
“So… does it sound like someone is talking to you? Someone else but also sorta yourself?” I ask.
All heads nod in unison. “Are they always right? Have your wolves ever been wrong in telling you what to do? Because when I was outside, I felt like I had eyes on me so I began to walk back to the room but my wolf told me to stay. Ironic, I know.” I joke.
“Sometimes they can be wrong, I guess. They aren’t all knowing. But that is really weird that it would tell you to stay when something as dangerous as a Vampire was around,” Barrett says with confidence.
He seems like he knows a lot about their heritage. It’s attractive, I say to myself as I stare at him and blush. He must’ve felt the eyes on him because he turns to me just as I realize I’ve lingered too long. I turn and face the front.
“Well, maybe my wolf’s just defective because she doesn’t have a mate yet,” I say like she’s some old school Disney Princess. My wolf needs to get with the program. We are Moana, not fucking Snow White needing her prince and seven dwarfs to survive.
“Maybe,” they say together. That seems to be the end of our conversation so I take them up on their offer and begin to get comfy in the front seat. I tilt my seat back as far as I can go before I hear a grunt from Cayden. Poor guy decided to sit behind me.
Just as I’m about to doze off, the Vampire’s face flashes under my closed lids and I scream out. A hand touches my shoulder and I relax instantly, settling into a deep sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brayleigh
“We’re here,” Barrett whispers.
I open my eyes and look out the window to see the most beautiful trees ever. There are no fall trees in Texas because there is no fall in Texas. Orange, yellow, and red leaves are everywhere, some even falling to the ground. The trees have light tree bark which make the colors pop even more. I see a small cabin to the right with a screened-in, wrap-around patio. It looks so cozy and homey, I’m already unbuckling my seat belt to go explore.
I exit the car and decide I should take advantage of this rare moment. I start hopping on all the leaves on the ground around me and I hear a crunch sound. This is going to be so awesome. I begin to hopscotch to every pile around me and as the crunching sound gets louder my smile grows from ear to ear. I look like a crazy person but I don’t care. I’m zig-zagging my way to the house, crunching as I go when I hear chuckling behind me.
“What are y’all laughing at?” I ask over my shoulder, continuing my annihilation of the leaves.
“Whatcha doin there, darlin’?” Cayden asks.
I jump onto another nice, little pile of leaves. Ah, I love that sound. “What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m murdering leaf piles… obviously,” I answer rolling my eyes.
Liam snorts at that. “You went from adult to toddler real quick.”
I stop my stomping as I reach the steps that lead to the front porch and turn towards them. Placing my hands on my hips, I narrow my eyes at them. “Texas doesn’t get awesome leaves like this so just let me enjoy it. Where are we anyways?” I ask them.
Barrett is the first to respond. “We’re in Foxburg. It’s a little town not too far away from Pittsburgh.”
“Oh, cool. I’ve never heard of it before. I’m excited to check it out,” I say while turning to make my way up the steps. The guys grab the bags to follow me and Barrett lets us in the house.
It’s a wood cabin style home with an open style floor plan. The kitchen is the essence of country living with an aluminum stove vent, brick style backsplash, and mason jars full of homegrown herbs. To the left is the living room which has big, fluffy leather sofas all around a wood burning fireplace. He takes me past the kitchen and living room to a hallway that leads to three bedrooms. One is his, which is plain and clean and then the other two are simple guest rooms with floral quilts. They look like they’ve been passed down for generations. All in all, the house is so homey and welcoming. I love it.
I put my stuff down in the last room and follow him to the back of the house. The back wall of the house is all glass windows that meet at the center point, like every cabin movie. We walk outside to see multiple chairs around a stone fire pit. Barrett walks up to it and lights it as I go down the steps to see where the sound of running water is coming from.
As I make my way to the trees, Cayden practically materializes next to me, causing me to almost jump out of my skin. “Jesus, you scared the shit outta me!” I exclaim.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want you to come down here alone,” he says as we walk through the woods. It melts my heart that he cares enough to want to keep me safe.
Clearing the trees, I see a beautiful river ahead of us. It’s so clear you can see the rocky bottom, and a few fish swimming around. The water is flowing, but not so fast that you couldn’t sit in it and enjoy it on a hot day.
I slap Cayden’s arm with the back of my hand excitedly. “Wow, you don’t get to see rivers like this in southeast Texas.”
He doesn’t respond and there’s a moment of silence before he says, “I’m sorry I woke you up the other night.”
“It’s okay. I was having a horrible dream so I should be thanking you,” I reply.
“What were you dreaming about?”
“You first.” I smirk at him. I don’t want to mention my dream. From what his mom told me it sounds like it would probably be pretty close to home, and I don’t want to upset him like that.
“Just something that happened a long time ago. I don’t want to bring the mood down,” he says staring out at the water.
“I don’t mind. It might help to talk about it.” I’m hoping he will tell me. We haven’t really connected as much as I have with the other guys. Like he’s holding me at arms length.
“It was from a hurricane we had a while back. It was awful. Everyone had to evacuate,” he begins slowly, still not looking at me.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I say with a sad smile.
“No, you’re right. It might help. I had gathered my two brothers and got them packed and in the car. We were about to leave when… when this piece of shit confronted me. I guess he needed a way to get out of the storm and decided to take my car. He knocked me out, hopped in the driver’s seat, and sped off.”
“With your brothers inside?”
“Yes. I finally came to and by the time I did…” I can tell he’s about to cry. I don’t know what it is but when men cry, so do I. I start to wipe the tears from my cheeks after he gathers himself.
“I found the car. I guess lightning had struck a tree and caused it to come down on the car. My brothers had died instantly but the fucker was still alive, of course.”
“Did he go to jail?” I question.
“No,” he says in a hard voice.
“What happened?” I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say, and honestly I wouldn’t hold it against him.
“I was in wolf form at this point and he was trying to leave the scene. I dragged him from the car and I was just blinded by rage. I tore his head off with my teeth,” he says with so much emotion as he looks at me for the first time during the whole conversation.
“Does anyone else know what actually happened?” I ask.
He shakes his head. �
�My parents know, but they believe it was a vampire that took my brothers. It’s against our laws to kill a human so as far as they know it was a vampire that I killed.”
Wow, I can’t believe he’s trusting me with this huge secret. I can’t imagine the weight of carrying that burden alone must have caused.
“Thank you for trusting me with this. I won’t tell a soul. I swear it,” I tell him honestly.
“I understand if it changes your perception of me now.”
I place my hand on his arm and look him in the eyes. “I’ve seen some truly messed up shit in my life. This isn’t going to change how I see you. I know that you did what you felt was needed.”
I move my hand to his chest right over his heart. “I know you have a good heart. I’ve only known you a week, and I realized that almost immediately.”
He places his hand over mine on his chest. “Was your dream about the fucked up shit you mentioned?”
Pulling my arm back, I shake my head. “No, I don’t have dreams about that anymore. I came to terms with what happened and was finally able to move past it.”
“What happened that gave you nightmares?” he asks.
“My foster dad, Jeff, was a drunken, abusive prick. He would lose his shit over the smallest things.”
I run my hand through my hair before continuing. “We hardly ever had any food in the house. Most of the money they received from the state went to drugs and alcohol and whatever was left was used to purchase food for themselves. We would get what scraps were left or the expired food.”
“There were seven of us total, ranging from two to seventeen. One night the babies were inconsolable from hunger. We didn’t know what to do and the foster parents were on another binge.”
“Zack, the oldest foster kid, couldn’t take it anymore and decided he was going to take some money from Jeff’s wallet and go buy food for us, but he never made it out the door.”
I start pacing along the river bank as I continue. “Jeff caught him before he could even get the money out of the wallet. He threw him to the floor while cursing him and telling him he was an ungrateful piece of shit. Jeff was sitting on his stomach beating him and Zack was trying to fight back but couldn’t get an upper hand. He was yelling for help but I couldn’t go to him. I was trying to keep the other kids out of the room.”