by Sam Crescent
“Not this way.”
“I think this way would be the best.”
“Adam, don’t,” she begged. He didn’t listen and sunk his teeth into the whore’s neck. The bitter, acrid taste was vile on his tongue but the nourishment of the blood overrode his distaste. He imagined it was like a hungry meat-eater being forced to eat tofu. He rolled his eyes up to stare at Poppy. Her shoulders were slumped in dejection and tears spilled from her eyes.
As soon as he was full and his body pulsed with life he let the woman go. He paid her some money, sealed the wound and she was off hunting for another punter or drug fix.
“See? I’m fine now.” He stepped closer with cockiness in his step.
Poppy lowered her hood and looked at him.
“I would gladly feed you my blood every day and night but being a necromancer is a true curse. You’re the living dead. My blood would kill you—that’s why I didn’t let you feed. I didn’t reject you because of my own insecurities. I rejected you because my blood can and will kill you.”
You selfish, insensitive, scum-rotting jerk.
Her palm came up and slapped him round the face followed by a punch in the solar plexus. “And that’s for replacing my diseased blood with hers,” she screamed seconds before she stormed off in the direction of the motel.
Adam lay on his ass gazing at the sky, the bitterness making him want to vomit.
“I would gladly feed you my blood every day and night…”
“Baby, I’d rather feed from you.”
Slowly, he got to his feet and made his way back to the motel. Poppy lay on the bed. The curtains were drawn. Adam closed the door.
“I’ll wake you up before sunrise and we’ll transport out of here and go and find his grave.” She didn’t turn over. There would be no touching or feeling this night.
“Poppy, I—”
“Don’t say anything. Just don’t talk to me.”
Adam shed his clothes and joined her in the bed. She lay so far over on the other side he feared she’d fall off. He scented her tears and he felt like the worst kind of man. Staring at the ceiling, he knew she wasn’t asleep. Her small sobs made the bed shake. The bitter aftertaste of the whore’s blood did nothing to appease his pain. He’d needed the blood but in searching for a source, he’d caused Poppy heartache.
“I’m sorry,” he said, turning over and looking at her back.
“Please, don’t talk,” she begged.
Adam reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched from his touch and he felt like the worst kind of scum in the world.
“I never intended to hurt you,” he said, pleading with her, trying to fight the twist in his gut.
“You failed. Let’s just talk to the mate, find the alpha and go our separate ways. I want this to be done.”
“I don’t want this to be over,” he said, clear and firm. There was a tear in his eye.
“There is nothing going on, Adam. There never could be. You should have listened to your brother. He seems to understand how repulsive my kind is.”
“Don’t say that,” he said.
She shrugged away from him. Adam let her go. He felt a cramping in his gut. He loved Poppy. He knew it as clearly as he knew he would never walk in the sun. The love may never be returned but it didn’t stop how he felt. When had it happened? Adam guessed from the first moment she’d followed him to warn their family. Never had a woman been so striking to him.
No matter what happened, he had to win her back.
Chapter Eleven
Poppy waited for Adam while he prepared for the day in the bathroom. She’d woken up in his arms with his body wrapped around hers. He’d still been sleeping and she’d had the time to enjoy being surrounded by his warmth. She’d watched him as he slept. She could tell it was a fitful sleep. Poppy wondered if it was because of the blood he’d taken from the fallen woman the previous night? Hearing his words of an apology had almost had her reaching for him and begging him to forgive her for what she was and what she could do. Never had she used her power to control the undead. She didn’t believe in using it. So many other necromancers before her had abused their power and in her mind it was the sole cause for her kind being wiped out. They posed a threat and a danger and no one should be able to use it to their own advantage. Necromancers had forced vampires to walk into the sun and caused mass death and chaos. She wouldn’t dream of using her ability for such evil. Her lack of evil was probably what made her one of the worst necromancers ever to live.
“Are you ready?” she asked the moment he walked into the room.
“Yes.”
“We’d better go. Otherwise, we’re going to lose time.” He went and stood next to her.
“Take us to where her soul awaits.”
Poppy took his hand and together they travelled to the place where dead, forgotten souls lurked. She knew what she was looking for and, weaving around centuries-old people, never letting his hand go, she followed the energy and pain.
“Are we close?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“How can you walk around them and not find out what they’re waiting for? What they’re doing?”
She understood his questions. There had been a time when she had talked to everyone. Some of her scars had been created by interfering where her attention hadn’t been wanted.
“I’m not allowed to.” Men, women and teenagers crossed their paths, some stopping them to laugh, cry or simply sob. She hated him seeing her world, what she had to go through every time someone called for their time to be heard and understood.
“Their pain is unbearable.” He gasped passing a man holding a picture of his family. Poppy knew they didn’t have much time. Adam was starting to connect to the dead souls. He shouldn’t be able to. His time was coming to an end. She must stop their travels or he’d go insane.
“We’re here,” she said over her shoulder. Poppy sensed the woman. The power around her pulsed out and sent the other souls away. Such energy could only radiate from someone long dead. Poppy broke through her walls and was swamped by the fear and pain of being known. The mate was waiting for someone.
Poppy found the woman on a chair in the centre of a crater—a young woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing an old Victorian-style dress. She was knitting and humming a melody Poppy hadn’t heard in a while.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“Hi, I’m Poppy and this is Adam Valentine,” Poppy began. The woman scowled at Adam but gave her a smile. So Adam couldn’t charm every woman, it would seem.
“You’re the necromancer everyone is talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes. The necromancer who will soon have to make a choice. It will be interesting to see what you decide.”
Poppy didn’t want to get involved with that conversation.
“How can I help you?”
“When you were alive, do you remember it?”
“Yes.” The woman stopped knitting and gazed behind her at the edge of the crater.
“Can you tell me what happened to you when you died?” Poppy hated this part of the questions—forcing someone to relive the horrible circumstances of their death was simply awful.
“You know I was the mate of the alpha wolf of the Beyer West pack?” the woman asked with tears in her eyes.
“Yes, we do,” Adam said.
“Lewis was a good and kind alpha, strict when he had to be, but fair.”
“Lewis?”
“It is the name of my husband, my mate. We mated the moment I turned eighteen. I loved him for the longest time even though there was a huge age gap between us. I didn’t care. He did. Some nights he’d come to my bed racked with guilt over some of the women he’d been with, but I loved him. When he finally saw the power of my love, the women stopped and we were able to blossom. Together we worked with the Valentines to bring peace and prosperity to our lands.” She stopped to wipe a tear from her eye.
&
nbsp; Poppy wanted to look to her left where Adam stood. His hand had moved around her waist and was caressing her ever so tenderly. Poppy tried to keep her focus on the woman. “What happened?”
“Late one December night, a knock came to the door of our cabin. We lived in an old house built mainly with logs. Our very own place. Lewis was putting some clothes on and I opened the door. I let them in.”
“Who did you let in?”
“A man I’d never seen before. Lewis came down the stairs, and as I turned and smiled at the man I loved with my whole heart, it was ripped out of my chest and a silver bullet put through my head.”
Poppy started to cry. The pain this woman must have suffered.
“Where is your husband?”
“Not here. His soul must forever remain hidden, I heard. I used to try to find him but I’ve come to learn this is my place. Knitting.”
“What are you knitting?” Adam asked.
The woman gave him his first real smile.
“An overall for my baby.”
“Baby?”
“Yes, his screams are the last thing I remember before the world went blank. The only consolation I have is I haven’t seen or heard of a baby wandering around this realm.”
Poppy gazed at Adam and her heart pounded against her chest. They both stood and moved away from the woman.
“When you see Lewis, tell him I miss him.”
Poppy nodded and Adam accepted her hand and together they appeared in the motel they’d vacated a few hours before.
“What does this mean?”
“It means you’ve just got the answer to how James is controlling the pack. Lewis and his mate had a son. On the night they both died, James must have taken him and raised him as his own.” Poppy gazed out at the darkness.
“But wouldn’t we have seen him by now?”
“Not if James has another plan.”
“We’ve got to find Lewis.”
“I know where to find him.”
“What do you mean?” Adam walked towards her and offered her a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Poppy leaned against him, forgetting for a split second that she was still supposed to be mad at him.
“The place she sat, she was guarding it. The knitting…and the ground beneath her was disturbed. James killed Lewis and the wife and left them to rest in the crater. The crater was the place where their home lay.”
“James burnt it to the ground.”
“Yes, but I bet that around there somewhere are the two graves of the alpha pair. James tried to mask their graves and moved them all from the killing site.”
“So what do we do?”
“We go to the crater and find his body. Once we do, we get our answers regarding James.”
Adam nodded. He rested his head above hers. “This is going to take a lot of blood and sacrifice to raise him.”
“Alpha men aren’t known for being very accommodating.”
“Couldn’t we use your necromancy power to call a proper duel between Lewis and James?”
“It doesn’t work that way. Lewis needs to request it. If he wants his place back on earth then I can call it. If he doesn’t then I can’t.”
His hands held her and she gained comfort by him being near.
“We’ve got to talk about last night,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She tried to pull away from him.
He refused to let her go and held her until she ceased her struggles. “I need to talk about this, Poppy. Please. Give me the time to hear me out.” He sounded so earnest that Poppy relaxed into his hold.
The pain was killing her more than any of her scars.
“I thought you’d rejected me, Poppy.”
“How could I have rejected you?”
“Giving blood is something that is sacred. You know about the blood bond both William and Robert have been through,” he said.
“They did it to claim their mates—the women whom they love and intend to love for the rest of their lives. You wanted my blood for simple feeding. I’m not a piece of meat you can use.”
“I didn’t think of you like that.”
“No? What were you thinking? From where I stood it was pretty fucking obvious,” she said.
“I wanted to claim you, all right.”
Silence met his outburst.
“What?” she asked, not sure if she’d heard him right.
“I can’t get you out of my head. I care about you and the more I’m with you, the more that feeling is growing.”
Her heart pounded in her chest.
“What are you saying?”
“When Gertrude took your hand and cut open your wrist, I didn’t think of feeding. I thought of the pain you were in. You held my hand for comfort and I wanted nothing more than to slit my own wrist open. Every time we face death, like when the werewolf attacked you, it tears me up. I can’t bear to see you hurt.” He turned her around to face him.
Tears were already spilling from her eyes.
“No. Please, don’t cry.” Adam went to his knees before her. “I’ll do anything, just please, don’t cry.” He pressed his head into her stomach as he begged and pleaded for her to stop.
“I can’t do this,” she said with a whisper to her voice.
“Please. I’m so sorry.”
Poppy couldn’t pull away. This was so much more than she had expected.
“Adam…”
He got back up and stared into her eyes. “I love you.”
“How can you know?”
Adam cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the lips. “I know. My heart may not beat, but I love you and I want you for myself.”
“My scars. You deserve someone better than me.”
“Hey. Look at me. I love you, not your scars. I love the woman you are. You’re a strong person and I wouldn’t change you for the world.”
“What about my necromancy?” she asked.
“So you can control me. I like a woman being in charge.”
Poppy closed her eyes. “I can’t have sex.”
“Not now.”
“Not ever,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Part of the deal of being a necromancer is I have to remain pure.” At least that was what she believed to be true. But if that was the case, wouldn’t she be considered impure by letting him touch her body?
“That can’t be true.”
“Why can’t it?”
“As a necromancer you deal with the dead. Surely all dead people or souls must radiate all kinds of emotions. Love. Pain. Sadness. Desire. Lust.”
Poppy frowned at him. “What are you getting at?”
“In order to answer every call, you must understand what is causing them immense grief.”
His argument sounded right. Why was she to remain pure? Her mother and father had found each other. Other people of her kind had found love. Why would she be forever cursed to walk the world alone never knowing the kinds of emotions Adam talked about?
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. Was it possible the words she’d been told were lies?
“We’ll find out together,” he promised, caressing her cheek. It amazed her how he never flinched from her scars.
“How?”
“We’ve got five vampires, a medium in your world, a witch and an angel working with us. I’m sure between us all we can find the answers we seek.” Adam kissed her.
“What about the blood bond?” she asked.
“Overrated. I’d rather be with a woman who can keep me guessing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Through the blood bond the vampire can sense and feel the pain and all emotion their partner is feeling. I’d rather never know what you’re thinking or feeling just in case you want my head.” He chuckled.
Poppy laughed and pressed up to kiss him.
Minutes later, she pulled away. “We can’t keep doing this.”
“I know. We’ve got an alpha
to find.”
“I wish we could.”
Adam smiled and brushed her lips with one last kiss.
“I take it we’re going back to Beyer West?”
“I’m afraid so.”
He nodded and together they travelled back to Beyer West.
Chapter Twelve
As soon as they appeared in Beyer West, Poppy knew they were in the right spot. The crater was exactly like the one the woman had been knitting at. Poppy couldn’t breathe as a terrible ache settled round her heart. The pain, the battle had been brutal and Lewis the alpha hadn’t stood a chance. She collapsed to her knees, Adam going with her.
Poppy sensed the body. The crater was covered over with layers of thick moss, bark and decay.
“He’s here,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“I can sense the death. It was brutal. This wasn’t a fair fight. They murdered him and laughed while they did. One man entered the house initially, but James had a whole pack waiting with him outside. This was disgusting.” She choked on the pain and called her protection to shield her from the unfairness of what she felt. Getting to her feet, Poppy walked over the earth, careful not to make too much disruption in her wake. A banging went off inside her head. So much magic and power had been cast over the land to stop anyone from finding out the truth.
Refusing to back off or settle for anything less, Poppy located the body.
“I suggest you back off, Adam. This is going to get ugly.”
Gazing up at the full moon, Poppy allowed her power to connect with herself among the dead souls. She felt the anger from her necromancer counterpart, but she brushed it aside and forced herself to become one with the dead bitch. Poppy always sensed the evil in her other half and spent so much time trying to fight her that they’d never been able to connect. She had never wanted to take this calling. Her father forced her to be this person.
That small battle was fought and won. Her vision washed in red.
With the power of her necromancy she saw the body lying beneath the layers of decay. The burial was cruel for one so powerful.
“This shouldn’t have been covered so easily.” She spoke aloud to no one.
She reached down to the knife she kept in the inside of her cloak. She whispered the sacrificial words. Staring up at the moon, she offered her blood for the power to bring forth Lewis, the true alpha of the Beyer West pack.