A Pull of Moonlight: A Darkness Bites Paranormal Romance Novel

by Nicole Marie

  My skin burned.

  I moaned and recoiled from the sensation. My body still shook, but my legs... my legs were burning. I twitched my knees and pulled my legs towards me as I lay on the couch and managed to open my eyes through my weariness.

  I was surrounded by flame.

  As I processed what was happening, I managed enough strength to scream. The bed had caught fire somehow, and my legs burned.

  “Erik!” I screamed.

  The sound of my voice was barely audible through the screaming and yelling around me. Bodies moved and flew through the room, as vampires and shifters alike were fighting a murderous battle.

  I tried to pat the fire out around me, but my body was so weak I could barely move. I noticed one of the nearby torches had been knocked over and the satin sheets had caught fire. I looked frantically around the room, but nobody noticed me. The few vampires that remained in the room were busy fighting off the attack from the werewolves. Three more bodies littered the ground, as I was overwhelmed by the smell of sweat and blood.

  I tried to pull my body up to the head of the bed as best I could, and it took every ounce of energy to pull myself away from the flames.

  “I knew they would return, Master. I told you they would be back,” I heard someone yell from down the hall.

  “Please, somebody help me,” I called out, but it barely came out a whisper. The flames were growing stronger as I kicked at the sheets beneath me. I tried to kick the satin over the flame to extinguish the fire, but it just grew bigger.

  “Please, anybody.” I tried to crawl to the edge of the large bed, but, with every new movement, I could feel myself growing weaker. Blackness began taking over again as I knew I was going to fall unconscious.

  I lay flat against the bed and attempted to conserve energy, but the heat from the fire was too much to handle. My legs were burning, and I would be screaming had I the energy. My mind screamed, though, and by the flash of energy I knew that Erik has heard me.

  And then blackness overtook again.

  Laughter. So much beautiful laughter.

  I clapped my hands along with the music my mother was playing as I watched my father and older brother dance by the fire in the tavern. Everyone was happy, and the music filled my heart with joy.

  At the new moon, consistently every month, my family would get together with other locals and play music and celebrate. I looked forward to it every month, and enjoyed getting together with family and friends to eat and drink and dance.

  I wasn’t allowed to drink, as I was far too young, my mother said, but I reached towards a pint of something sour smelling and took a sip. I spewed the bitter liquid from my mouth, and everyone around me laughed. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and joined in the laughter, too.

  My father reached over and pulled me up to dance, and I joined he and my brother in front of the growing crowd. We danced in a line as our audience clapped along, and we all laughed joyfully along with the beat of the music.

  I screamed. I barely had the energy to keep my eyes open, but the pain had grown so strong that I couldn’t help but scream. But before the pain overtook me, Erik had run into the room and carried me off the bed. His cold hand moved down the burn on my leg as he ran back down the hall with me in his arms. He took me to the end of the hall and into a small room where he placed me on the floor in the corner.

  I shivered up against the cold stone of the walls, and looked up at him through weary eyes. Erik looked angry and frantic. I had never seen that expression on his face before.

  “I’m so sorry, Charlie,” he said to me as he ran back towards the door. “You must stay here, for your own safety. Please, just hang on and wait for me.”

  “Erik,” I whispered. “What the hell is going on? Who are those people?”

  He stood in the doorway with his hands clasped tightly around the edge of the door. “The same beasts that attacked us before. Just a bunch of savage wolves that don’t know what they’re up against. Don’t worry, Charlie. We’ll take care of them.”

  He closed the door and I heard a lock as screaming sounded from the other side. The room was empty apart from a small rug in the far corner. I crawled towards the rug and wrapped it around my body for warmth. My legs burned and sweat dripped down my forehead, but my body shivered. The fever wasn’t leaving me, and I wasn’t sure how long I had left. The pain in my leg from the fire burned and I felt myself growing weary.

  “Please, somebody, help me,” I tried to call out as I could feel my body failing me. I wasn’t going to last long in the cold alone, and I could feel myself slipping away.

  The sound of fighting and screams echoed through the door, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to think of anything else but the blood war that was going on around me.

  A loud crash and bang sounded against the doorway as it splintered from the impact. Someone had been thrown or ran into the door, and it nearly gave way. My muscles screamed as I pressed myself up against the cold wall.

  A louder screamed sounded as someone hit the door again. Once more, they hit and shattered the door into pieces. The body of a large bear went flying through, followed by a vampire pouncing on him, tearing flesh from his shoulder. The animal howled loudly in pain, and I watched in horror.

  The bear fought back by sinking its teeth into the vampire’s arm, and both creatures tossed and turned on the ground in a bloodied battled. I recognized the vampire as Victor’s associate, the angry-looking one that had brought me here in the first place. He was short, but fierce, and before long, he had the shifter pinned against the ground. With one final bite on the animal’s neck, the bear went limp as his life left him. He slowly turned back into human form and I gasped as I recognized him as Bobby from the shifter club.

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered. I reached out to his corpse, but it was too late. Blood was pooling all over the ground, and I knew he was dead.

  My body began to shake and convulse uncontrollably as tears streamed down my face. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” I kept repeating the words to myself as I rocked back and forth, fighting for consciousness. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

  The vampire looked up at me and then ran through the door, leaving me alone with the dead body. Louder screams erupted from down the hall as I squeezed my eyes shut. I tried to make sense of what was happening. I couldn’t imagine why Bobby and a bunch of shifters would be attacking the vampires. I knew in theory that both groups were enemies, but from what I understood they lived in relative peace these days.

  The sounds grew louder as I could hear the fighting coming closer towards me down the hall. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my hands to my ears to try and block out the sounds of the fighting and death. I hummed to myself as a distraction, but I could feel myself grow weaker. I couldn’t stop shaking, and the pain from the fever was getting so strong it nearly made me call out in agony.

  I willed myself to fall unconscious so I didn’t have to witness the destruction going on around me. So I wouldn’t have to feel the pain coursing through my body. So I wouldn’t have to deal with any of it.

  “Just let me die,” I whispered out loud. I rocked back and forth as I willed my heart to stop beating. The pain was too much for me to bear, and I just waited for myself to fall unconscious again. I waited, but I remained awake. I bent my head softly against the stone wall behind me and stars began to spin in front of my eyes. I took deep breaths, slowly inhaling and exhaling, hoping beyond hope that I would either pass out or die.

  “Where is she?” I heard a familiar voice all out from down the hall.

  I paused and flung my eyes open again. Who the fuck was that? I recognized the voice, and a thousand scenarios coursed through my mind as I tried to figure out who it was.

  “Oh, my God.”

  Just then, another body came flying into the room, pinned down by Erik. It was James. Both of them slammed into the far wall as a howl of agony adapt
ed from James’s mouth.

  “Stop!” I managed to shout. Both men froze in place and turned to look at me.

  The fever then took over as I fell back into the wall and blackness overtook me once more.

  14

  My body shook violently. More violently than it had before. Actually, far more violently than is humanly possible. I opened my eyes to see that I was being shaken by Victor.

  “Miss Rose, can you hear me?”

  I stared up into Victor’s eyes for a long moment and then shut them again, blocking out everything I could. “I don’t want to look.”

  Victor shook me again and I opened my eyes reluctantly. I continued to shiver and I noticed I was back lying on the soft bed near the fire. Panic coursed to my body as I looked around, but they were no more bodies. Had it all been a dream?

  My eyes focused a little more and I saw all blood in the middle of the room, and a deep sinking feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach.

  “James?” I took a deep shuddering breath. “Erik?”

  My body shook from the cold as I pulled the satin sheets around me, but they did nothing to warm my skin. I edged my body closer towards the fire, but still the flames were no help. I was cold deep in my bones, and I knew I would never be warm again.

  “Master Erik is fine.” Victor’s voice was sharp and quick. I turned towards the fire, and my back to the vampire. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And James?”

  There was a long pause and I dreaded the worst. “Your wolf is fine.”

  My heart stopped in my chest as his words echoed in my mind. James was fine. Erik was fine. Then what the hell happened?

  I turned back towards Victor. I could feel my body grow weak again. The smallest movement caused excruciating pain, and I still haven’t figured out what the hell was happening to me. I was about to ask Victor if I can go see either of them, but my vision swam and darkness consumed my mind again. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, and felt the tug to Erik’s mind.

  “Can you please explain what the fuck happened in here?” I thought in my mind and to Erik. I waited for his answer, but none came. I could feel his strain, his energy blocking my mind with as much strength as he could muster. There was a numbness in the back of my mind because of it, and I knew he was trying keep me out.

  “Knock, knock,” I thought to Erik. I was weak, but my mind was still strong enough to push. I pushed it all my effort to his barriers, but only a small amount of me got through. “Erik, I know you’re there.”

  Do not concern yourself with this, Charlie. His voice was soft and delicate, and soothing. Just focus on rest, and I’ll be there shortly.

  My body shook and I could feel my breathing grow weaker. I didn’t know how much longer I had before the coldness took me.

  “I don’t know how long I have, Erik.” I laid there, still, thinking about those words I just thought to him. Was I really dying?

  By the pain coursing through my body and the coldness that consumed me, I knew in my heart that I was. Whatever we had done to bring Erik back had taken something from me that was essential for my body. I didn’t understand it, but I could certainly feel it.

  I lay there, growing weaker, waiting for Erik or James to come. I needed them to explain what the hell was going on before I disappeared into blackness, never to return again. I waited for what felt like an eternity, before finally falling into a deep, cold, and uncomfortable sleep.

  The waves crashed against the sandy shore.

  I waded through the shallow water with bare feet as my mother’s soft voice laughed from behind me.

  “Slow down, Charlie,” her voice sang. “Don’t go too far, now.”

  Her voice brought me so much joy, and it was our favorite time of year when I got to spend time at the beach with her.

  I giggled as I splashed in the water, chasing the waves in and out and in again.

  The water brought me so much joy, and I ran deeper into the salty depths.

  But then, I was drowning.

  The water was cold, and I was choking. My lungs burned as I splashed about, unable to catch a breath.

  My head spun as panic engulfed me. Everything went black and I sunk deep into the depths of the ocean. Drowning. Freezing. Dying.

  I gasped loudly and sat up straight.

  My breath was wheezing deeply, and my heart raced. I looked frantically around the room at what was going on around me. I was in panic mode. My mind and body vibrated from the energy that flooded my veins. My fingers clung into the satin sheets as sweat poured down my face.

  “What the fuck was that?” I demanded through gasping breaths.

  The doctor sat beside me, accompanied by Erik.

  “Adrenaline, Miss Rose.”

  I shook my head back and forth at him as I wiped the sweat from eyebrow. “Don’t ever do that again.” It was one thing to die peacefully in my sleep, but to be woken up only to have a heart attack, that was a little too much for me to take right now.

  I heard a slight growl, as my attention was pulled to the back of the room. James was pinned against the back wall by Victor and his angry looking friend. I couldn’t help but feel hatred for the vampire, but I wasn’t sure who to blame. Who had attacked whom?

  My breathing slowed in my chest, but my heart continued to beat fast. “James, what the hell’s going on?”

  “Everything’s fine, Charlie. Don’t exhaust yourself by speaking.” The vampire pinned him as he spoke, and his breath came in short gasps as it escaped his lips.

  “Don’t hurt him,” I pleaded.

  The adrenaline was wearing off, and I fell back into the bed, weary and confused. My body began to shake again, as it felt the cold take over. My heart grew weak again, and blackness slowly filled my vision.

  “I don’t think I’m going to make it,” I whispered. My vision had gone black, but I was still faintly aware. The only thing I could focus on was the cold that penetrated so deep into my body. My bones felt frozen, as if I would never be warm again.

  “If she doesn’t get warm, she will surely die.” The doctor sounded so matter of fact, not an ounce of concern in his voice.

  “I can warm her.” James’s growl came from the back of the room.

  I focused on the sweet smooth sound of his voice. I longed for the touch of his skin, the warmth of his body. I then felt the mental tug to Erik, and craved the cool sensation of his hands on my feverish skin. Both men had their own strange place my heart, from two very different reasons. It would never be much of an issue after I’d died, though. It’s not like I can date neither of them when I’m dead.

  A soft laugh escaped my lips, a small sound that shocked even me. My breathing grew weaker, and I could feel my heart slow. The coldness was overwhelming, and I slowly drifted off.

  “Let me fucking warm her up. I don’t give a fuck if you have a problem with me, but I’m the only one in this room can help her right now.”

  I could hear shuffling around the room and growls that I wasn’t even sure came from James. I wanted so desperately for him to be okay, but I couldn’t even open my eyes enough to look pleadingly at Erik. My mind was so exhausted that I couldn’t even speak to him mentally.

  I began to fade, and I was relieved. I was relieved that I would no longer have to feel the pain. I was relieved I would no longer have to feel the cold. Just when I knew I was going to die, a strange warmth began flowing over my skin. It began on my arms and moved down my body to my legs. I suddenly felt like I was burning.

  The warmth swallowed the cold, and my heart grew stronger.

  I could feel my strength returning to me as the coldness subsided, only to be replaced by a hot, familiar heat. My body began to sway. Not the normal shivering from the cold, but the rhythmic movements of being carried.

  I slowly opened my eyes as I realized what was happening. I looked up at James who looked down at me as he held me in his arms. A mix of anger, relief, and joy spread across his face, a complex array of emotions. He hel
d me tight and the heat from his body saved my life.

  He carried me out of the room and up the stairs, and I looked back as we left together. I looked back into Erik’s light blue eyes as he’s watched me in mourning as I left.

  Erik, after everything that happened that night, had allowed James to live. After what I understood to be an attack by James’s people on the vampires, Erik let him live because of me. He let us go because he knew James was my only hope.

  After everything that we had been through, and they had been through, Erik willingly let me go knowing this was my only chance at life. The compassion I recognized in his eyes burned through my heart as I felt the pain of his loss mixed with his love. A tear fell down my eyes as we walked up the stairs, farther away from him. Farther away from the vampire who claimed my mind and my heart in such a strange and unfamiliar way.

  The most powerful and lethal being in the country stood in the room behind me, watching his prize being taken away by the enemy. It wasn’t until then that I recognized his true strength.

  Live, he said into my mind. Promise me this much.

  The ice blue passion in Erik’s eyes and the familiar link at the back of my mind were the last things I felt before blackness took me and I fell into a deep, warm sleep as James carried me away.

  End.

  Continue with book 3 here.

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  Also by Nicole Marie

  Darkness Bites:

  A Bitten Curse

  A Pull of Moonlight

  A Promise of Protection

  A Taste of Pleasure

  A Trick of Temptation