by Scott, Amber
*
Elijah clenched both fists. It was too soon to make a move on this guy. As long as he could still see Sadie, he had to wait. No matter how difficult. No matter how loudly his body screamed to attack. “Human scum.”
So much for waiting for the right moment to approach her.
In his decades as a seeker, he’d eluded the cleverest of creatures, as deep and far as the edge of the soul realm, yet this girl had detected him. She’d seen him standing, watching over her. Every last doubt he’d carried about her potential had vanished in that single moment. He’d cloaked himself, repelling human and non-human interest alike. With only two or three immortals among the throng, it had been easy. Sadie had laid eyes upon him anyway. Worse, he’d sensed her attention, the change in her hum, two seconds too late.
She recognized him and damn it if she didn’t look right at his wings.
Ahead, Sadie sagged more and more. The club bouncers had given Sadie no more than a cursory check, then let them pass. Swallowing the urge to hiss his rage outward, he stalked after the pair. Simultaneously, he phoned Holly. “She’s been drugged. How fast can you get here?”
“Faster if you transport me.”
Elijah debated leaving, even for a moment. Damn it. He had no choice. He teleported to the safe house, grabbed Holly by the waist and transported their bodies back to the club. Immediately, his gaze sought and located Sadie, still slumped at the bench, the scum caring for her.
“We need to find the girl she came with,” he said, showing her a photo on his phone.
With a curt nod, Holly set off to do so.
Elijah spotted Holly’s flicker near Sadie’s cousin, not in fair form either, leaning against a wall and a shoulder, on the other side of the room.
Drugged. No wonder he’d lost Sadie’s sound in the crowd. The drug, probably Rohypnol, must have dulled her vibration.
Watching the guy holding her half-limp form sent a shot of rage through him. Mortals like these disgusted him. Parasites. Not that immortals were immune to exploiting the weak. Just looking at any bloodthirsty vampire showed how depraved an immortal could get. They wore their black on their sleeve, though.
Sadie shouldn’t have been an easy target. Elijah should have recognized the danger long before she stepped in it. He’d grown overconfident, maybe, distracted with images of her sultry writhing on the dance floor. She didn’t look like herself tonight. The light and energy had bathed over her shimmering skin with every bend and sway.
Sensing Lyric had arrived, as well, calmed Elijah a degree. This human would be easy to handle, but with immortals present, plus that changeling sniffing around for Sadie, Lyric’s vicious skills were a boon.
“Where do you want me?” Lyric said, joining him near the entrance.
“Stay with Holly. I already had to transport Holly here. If I have to transport Sadie too, the shifter in the rear might be trouble.” He didn’t know if Sadie could be transported at all, as human as she still was.
“Nothing like a fight to start the night off right. Any take on his shifting preference?”
“Her preference. I’m getting feline tendencies.”
“Meow. Where will you take Sadie?” Lyric asked.
“Depends on how badly she’s been drugged. Most likely her home.”
“Astrid could heal her. Why not the safe house?”
Elijah shook his head. “I can’t just kidnap her even if she won’t remember a thing. And she can’t disappear.”
“Looks like the human is about to make his move,” Lyric said.
Bile burned in Elijah’s throat. His anger climbed. Then a dawning hit him. Lyric wasn’t feeding off the human scum’s predilection for victimization. Perhaps the feeder was back in control after all.
Elijah glanced back to verify Holly had the other girl safely in hand. She sent him a nod.
Nice and simple. He’d wait. Let the scum get Sadie into a cab, then snatch her out of it with only the driver to witness. A greedy buzz sounded in the guy’s energy. Elijah clenched and unclenched his jaw.
“Careful, Elijah. That rage is practically rippling off of you,” Lyric said. “If that shifter likes her cat sense best, we’ll earn an audience. We don’t need a good kitty Samaritan sending enforcers to derail this.”
Elijah’s wings shivered from his pulsing adrenaline. Lyric was right. Sadie would be safe, but enforcement could sniff out other trouble. Changeling trouble. He had to protect Sadie. His muscles bunched with tension. His fists curled tighter, craving the feel of bone, the pop of skin.
She was becoming immortal. She would survive the transport. She had to. A cab pulled up to the curb.
Elijah glanced back. Roommate still in place, looking greener but standing. Holly ready nearby. “Distract the shifter. I doubt the other three will be fazed by any activity.”
Lyric left without question.
The scum shut his phone and got Sadie to her feet. He was making his move. Elijah stepped out of the club. A warm wind fingered through his wings and hair. Staying cloaked, just in case, he flexed wide. He let the rage pull through him. He’d have to trust Holly to find the roommate home on her own. Sadie slumped into the cab’s backseat, the jerk pushing and maneuvering in beside her. His smug thump vibrated from the car.
“Caution, Elijah,” he reminded himself. “Take your time.”
The cab pulled away. He slowed his breathing, watched the car. He strode to the nearest dark alley. On a deep breath, he crowded his fury into himself and pushed it outward, propelling his body. He couldn’t see Sadie but he knew her sound now. Muted or not, he heard her.
Elijah transported into the back seat as the cab pulled to a red light. The scum yelped in shock. Elijah enclosed his arms around Sadie, cradling her then punched the jerkoff’s nose squarely. Blood sprayed. He screeched and Elijah’s anger quieted to a deep satisfaction.
With a silent prayer, Elijah wrapped his wings around her. Sadie’s body shook as he forced her cells through the metal and vinyl’s coarse energy. Free of the contraption, he shot high into the night sky. He opened his wings and flew high. She trembled in the cold wind.
He flew fast toward her home.
Thankfully, her weight remained heavy and slack in his arms. What would he do if she woke? Struggled against him? His limbs tensed at the image of her pressed full length against him, wriggling, writhing. Other parts tensed as well, ones that had no business doing so. She was still a human. Besides, if she woke now, she wouldn’t be in rapture. She’d be screaming.
The wind molded her scent to his senses. Clean and sweet. A good smell. Had that scum done what he planned, she would never be the same again.
He’d interfered in human life.
Knowing he had been about to anyway didn’t lessen the guilt. It went beyond the fact that he was violating every code in existence. Laws aside, he now had to ask for her help. To ask her to risk her mind and life for a cause that would never possibly matter to her. Not in this lifetime, anyhow.
How could any human understand the tangle his brother was in?
Her getting drugged complicated matters further. What would the drug do to her evolving mind? How was he supposed to make his offer and explain the new world she was emerging into now?
He landed lightly on his feet at her back door. Wings encasing her, he gave another small push, which brought them inside. He vowed, no more walking through metal and wood for her after this. He took her to her room.
He laid Sadie down, touched her throat. Her pulse thrummed evenly alongside her subdued vibration. He phoned Holly.
“I’m bringing the roommate there now,” Holly said above the high rev of her car’s engine. “I think she’s drugged, too. And Lyric set the shifter on the guy with her.”
“Thanks, Holly.”
“Is she alright?”
“Too soon to tell.”
“Well, try not to worry. I’ll see you soon.”
A voice inside of Elijah whispered of the chance to steal away, f
ind the human scum and make him pay again. But he’d crossed enough lines for one night. He had to trust the sick fuck would meet his fate one day. Squatting in the far corner of Sadie’s room, tuned in to her hum, Elijah settled down. And waited.
*
A nagging sense of apprehension wakened Sadie. She laid still, her head pounding. Something was wrong and she felt like she should know what. Her eyes hurt when she opened them, though the blinds on her window remained shut. She was home, in her own bed. Her limbs felt dull and heavy. Outside somewhere, a lawn mower snored the silence away. A sheen of waxy grease met her fingertips when she wiped her face. Gingerly, she sat up.
She was home, safe. But she wasn’t alone.
“Jesus,” she said, seeing a dark form. She scooted against her headboard, heart slamming. Then she recognized the form standing near her door. Elijah! Was she dreaming? No. Her senses detected too much for this to be a dream. Last night flashed through her mind. How did she get home? Where was Jen?
Was he real? Impossible.
If he was real, he wouldn’t be here, in her room. She’d definitely remember him and every detail of how he’d gotten here, if so.
She searched her memory of last night. She’d gotten dizzy. Jake had taken her outside. He’d found Jen. Jen and she came home? Sadie must have passed out in her bed, possibly after throwing up. Though her mouth tasted fine, could that be trusted?
And now, in the haze of a slight hangover, her favorite hallucination had shown up?
Oh no. Please, no. She didn’t want to lose her mind. But the real Elijah didn’t have wings. Dream Elijah did. Two wings definitely showed behind him. The real Elijah wouldn’t be here, flesh and blood, staring at her.
Sadie stared back, agog, her mind whirring. She could almost reach out and touch him, he looked so substantial. He looked like he’d waited up all night for her, too. Her hammering headache and the vague wooziness permeating her vision reinforced, this was no dream. No dream, yet here he was. Different than at the club or the library. Looking heartbreakingly real.
“Crap,” she said. She shouldn’t have stopped the pills yet. “I’ve lost it then, haven’t I?”
Her hallucination narrowed his eyes on her.
Funny, but she’d always imagined a fall from sanity would hurt. Physically and mentally. It’s sort of why she knew she hadn’t really been sick before. Nothing hurt, though. In fact, her headache receded with every slow intake of air. Sadie inhaled again. Exhaled. Within seconds, she felt singularly normal. Exhilarated.
How odd.
Elijah eyed her intently. He didn’t make a sound. But his chest rose and fell. If she touched him, would he disappear?
She didn’t want him to. Him existing outside of her dreams should terrify her. She should be in hysterics, prepping for the nice, tight white jacket. Instead, as her body awoke and relaxed, fascination bloomed inside of her.
And she remembered something. This Elijah liked her.
This Elijah seduced her.
His wings shifted behind him. Sadie jerked. “Hello?”
He frowned.
She carefully removed her bedcovers. Maybe hallucinations didn’t speak? If he wasn’t real, he wouldn’t dislike her. If her mind had conjured him, wasn’t it up to her what he thought of her? Sadie gave in and stared at his wings with shameless abandon. Their color and texture was suddenly far more substantial and vivid here in the dim sunlight of her bedroom.
She got to her feet. The wisps of gossamer blue were now a deep cobalt and black-blue. They were more substantial, but nothing like bird or bat wings. Not like a dragonfly’s either.
She stepped closer. His features were sharper. Stubble ran the course of his jaw. Dark shadows under his unwavering eyes—deep, dark cerulean eyes. He looked deliciously haggard.
How in the world…?
This dive into insanity was vivifying her favorite dream? She wondered if painting him would be the same experience, too.
Wait a minute. That was it! Her senses were more acute all of a sudden. From the aftermath of alcohol and sleep, from no more pills for a week, or was it from the leap across the crazy divide? Whatever was to blame, heightened was the exact right word. Everything had amplified. Her heartbeat, her breathing, the walls, the bed, the light. Him.
He’d come out of her dreams like a waking dream come true? In losing her mind, had she won her heart’s desire? Maybe her mom was right. Perhaps in life there was gain in loss, loss in gain, an exchange for everything, as she’d always insisted.
Sadie covered her mouth, but her gasp escaped anyway and interrupted the silence. What other explanation could there be? “You’ve changed.”
Elijah’s eyes narrowed. His mouth thinned as his lips pressed together.
She almost laughed. Her hallucination didn’t approve? Well, that was unexpected. She didn’t realize she’d said the words out loud.
Until he cocked his head and answered. “I’ve changed?”
~ ~ ~
Chapter Nine
Elijah didn’t know what to say. Except the obvious. “I’ve changed?” he repeated.
Sadie’s eyes widened with wonder. He’d give her this much; she didn’t seem fragile. If anything, she seemed sturdier. Not just considering what she’d gone through these last days. Overall.
Sadie nodded. Her burnished blonde hair fell in tangles over one shoulder when she leaned closer. “I can see whiskers,” she said.
Something had changed in her. The transformation was taking place.
Still, he had to tread with extreme care. No sudden movements, no rush to explain.
He rubbed his face. Fatigue wasn’t a luxury he could afford right now. No matter how many scenarios he’d played out, though, he was uncertain how to proceed. “It’s been a long week,” he replied, keeping his voice near a whisper. Long didn’t quite encompass the totality of the last three days and nights. Day and night. Night and day. When had he last slept? The snatches of sleep he fell into here and there didn’t count.
“You kept vigil on me?” she said and stepped closer. Only a foot separated them.
Elijah didn’t retreat, though he wanted to. Instead, he nodded. “Yes.”
“How odd.”
“Odd?”
“You’re so different,” she said. She touched her lips thoughtfully. “Not just the whiskers. Not just the wings. Why would I make you wait for me?”
He had no idea what to say to that. Still, Elijah couldn’t help feeling a bit lifted over her calmness. Maybe this wouldn’t kill him after all. “You didn’t make me wait.”
Sadie smiled and inched a bit closer. The wide neck of her shirt slipped down, baring a shoulder. Elijah kept his focus on her face. Her scrutinizing gaze darted over every part of him.
“Different?” he asked, even though she’d already explained, feeling like he should keep her talking. “How?”
Though he liked it, he knew she shouldn’t be this calm. She should be rattled by his presence. She’d mentioned his wings. She should be at least a little freaked out by seeing wings. Granted, his magnetism had inspired worse. But simple acceptance? Too easy.
Though, if he could make her curiosity hold out, perhaps her suspension of disbelief would allow time to explain things. Immortal beings, prophecies and changelings would be hard for her still-human mind to accept. Even if she really could see his wings.
“You’re not as blue,” she murmured seemingly talking to herself more than to him.
Her eyes shone so bright, his chest tightened. “As blue?”
Sadie nodded. “And you look more like your real self now. Interesting. Taller, I think.” She paused long enough that Elijah began to worry. She reached her hand out and poked him. She inhaled sharply. “Whoa. You even feel real!”
“I am real.” Did she realize she was awake? He braced himself. “The drug may have affected your senses. You aren’t dreaming, Sadie.”
“No. I’m not dreaming. It feels a little odd explaining it all to you, but I sup
pose I’m really explaining it to myself.” She pressed her palm to his chest then let her fingers traced downward.
He caught her hand in his, ignoring the warm trace it left behind on his chest. “Sadie, you don’t understand,” he said. “You were drugged. At the club. Your drink was laced.”
“Mmm hmmm.” Her gaze roved over his body.
Had to be his magnetism. He stepped back, trying to gently repel her. She followed, her intentions plain. She wanted him.
“Damn it. At the club, your cousin, you and she were both drugged. She recovered the next morning. You’ve been recovering ever since.” Some sign of alarm should register on her face. But she simply nodded again. “You’ve slept in and out for three days.”
“Three days? Really?” Her eyes widened. “Wow.” But she seemed unperturbed. “Why aren’t you naked?”
“Why would I be naked?” Why did he ask? Worse, why did the words sound so delectable on her tongue?
He had no business wanting a mortal, even a changeling one, for reasons that went well beyond laws and incompatibility. He backed up again, coming up against the wall.
She stepped close to him. Her eyes closed as she reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Pleasure shocked through Elijah, stunning him. Her fingers laced into his hair. And damn it if his body didn’t clamor for more. Her soft, full lips caressed his, her tongue begging entry.
Heat gathered in a rush in his groin. Her breasts grazed his chest, sending quivering sensations through his muscles. Were her nipples hard? They were. Rock hard and pressing against his chest. His palms itched to cup each breast, bare under that shirt.
He hated that he knew that. That he wanted that.
What was she doing to him? It was all he could do to not react. Sadie sucked his lower lip into her mouth, making a tiny mewl that sent his attraction reeling. His blood rushed, his senses drank her in, and he began to get hard.
It was all too much on his fatigued senses.