Pierced [Pain & Love 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Ashlei D. Hawley

  Jade’s first mission had been to discover the location of a vampire. She hadn’t known there was a vampire in town, but apparently he’d been shacked up there for over twenty years. Usually even harder to kill than vampires, Jade and her sisters knew about moving around from town to town, keeping their identities secret, and keeping their powers under lock and key. It hadn’t been a problem for the past five years to blend in, however, because something had confined them to human form. The longer they’d been prevented from taking their Dragon forms, the weaker their human bodies had become.

  Lydia knew something about their impotency, Jade was willing to bet a body part on it. Until she’d met Jerry, Jade had been furious at her ignorance. Now, she was just furious that Lydia had been keeping such things from her. They were supposed to tell each other everything. The sisters were all they had left of what was once a great and plentiful Dragon race.

  Jade had told Daria about her involvement with the Hunters, as Lydia should have done from the first, and then she’d gone out hunting. She wasn’t bowing down like Lydia was. No, she sought the vampire for a different reason.

  The Hunters wouldn’t fuck with a vampire because they knew how hard they were to kill, how powerful they were in a fight. If Jade couldn’t return to her Dragon form to burn the Hunters to cinders, she could enlist the help of the next best thing.

  She wanted to find the vampire to ask him to help them. The Hunters had to go, because they were the ones keeping Jade and her sisters confined to mortal form. Not only that, but they were destroying magical creatures and unique humans left and right. Lydia had feared for the safety of their clutch, and that was understandable. But how long would she be useful to the Hunters? What if they had more powerful magic at their disposal, magic to destroy Dragons after they were done being helpful? That was Jade’s train of thought, and even though she understood Lydia’s thinking, she would not sit and wait for the Hunters to decide they were done keeping the three Dragons around.

  Pulling away from Leigh’s house, frustration at its peak, Jade wondered where the hell he was. She knew that she was in the right place. She’d gone to the wise woman for the knowledge, offering to add years to her already long life by giving her a piece of her heart in exchange for the information. A whole Dragon heart could give a human immortality. A piece of it could heal sickness or extend a lifetime by decades or more. The wise woman had smiled instead and said that she’d expected Jade to come to her.

  “I’ll tell you where he lives,” she’d said. “But you won’t find him there.”

  “It’s as good a start as any,” Jade had responded. “I’ll give you my heart piece as soon as I’m able to transform again. I don’t trust doing something that makes me so vulnerable until then.”

  “No need, dear,” the wise woman had objected as she’d written an address and direction without looking at the paper. It was her form of prophecy, free writing. Sometimes the information would not come, but her talent had not failed her that night.

  Jade looked at the name on the piece of paper in her hand as she drove. Leighton Garrett. The black ink succumbed to flames as her anger spilled out unexpectedly from her fingertips and consumed the paper. She had to find him.

  Jade knew she had to go back to the wise woman. She quelled the hungry licks of fire and headed toward the lake.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mallory entered her old bedroom and fought the urge to throw herself on the bed and sob like a teenager mourning the loss of a first love. She didn’t know what had happened at the compound. Her head had become separated from her body, it seemed, and all that was left was a feral drive to rip and tear.

  So much for Henry’s help to keep the Munetero at bay, she thought bitterly. How weak must she be, to succumb to the blood insanity less than three days after The Turn?

  Sitting on her bed, Mallory lifted the blue paperweight from the nightstand that sat nearby and stroked her thumbs over it, feeling the many miniscule ridges and secret facets she’d never noticed on what she thought was a smooth glass orb.

  A white flower resided within. When she was young, she’d wanted the flower out so she could give it to her mother. It was unique. She’d never seen another flower like it. There was a chip marring the surface from the hammer she’d used in an attempt to break the flower free from its clear prison. Now, she could squeeze and the glass would crumble like packed sand. But she no longer wanted to free the flower.

  Placing the paperweight back on her nightstand, Mallory let the familiarity of her old room soothe her. She’d painted the walls herself—a beautiful golden cream color. She and her mother had made a mother-daughter weekend out of it. They’d nailed rose-colored trim to divide the room and had papered only the ceiling with large, pale roses that looked so lively and realistic they should have come with a scent. Mallory had often burned floral candles and incense, granting the room the sweet, fragrant aroma the wallpaper seemed able to deliver.

  The remnants of those candles were cloying to her even though they’d not been burned within the room for years. The smell was imbued in the wood and disturbed her heightened senses.

  Mallory moved to the closet, where the result of her shopping obsession rested in part. She had so many clothes that she often pushed enough to fill a closet at her mother after another binge. There were dozens of airtight containers in the crawlspace that held her favorite pieces from the past five years. Boxes and boxes had been donated by her mother. Mallory couldn’t be brought to do it herself. She hated parting with things.

  She took a soft cotton summer dress off its hanger. It was blue to match her eyes. She pulled a pair of strappy white sandals from the shelf on the closet floor and turned to the tiny, three-drawer dresser in which she kept spare socks, undergarments, leggings, and other miscellaneous items. She removed a white bra and a pair of blue boy shorts decorated with white flowers.

  Grabbing a white hair band, she moved to the bed and deposited her outfit atop the pale golden comforter.

  Mallory dressed slowly, feeling as though she was moving through a dream. Her childhood space had calmed her and she was grateful for it. How long, she wondered, until the Munetero destroyed that calm again?

  “What’s taking her?” Mallory heard her father’s voice and quickened her movements. The nuances of frustration, anger, and disgust that she heard in his words made her feel terrible. She’d done stupid things, things she’d feared would make her father stop loving her in her youth. Out of stubbornness or stupidity, she’d shamed and disappointed him. But she’d never heard his voice hold such negative emotions for her.

  How was it the one thing she’d done selflessly, to save them, had been the push to tear her father’s love from her?

  Mallory checked her reflection in the full-length mirror mounted on the back of the bedroom door and quelled her tears. There was still a lot to do to keep her family safe and she needed to be strong in order to do it. Soon, she’d be human and her dad would love her again. He’d understand why she’d done what she had to do. She really hoped he would.

  Leigh watched Mallory return to the dining room and wanted to kick himself for his reaction to her. His mouth went dry and the moisture migrated to his palms. She was his world, and it killed him to know as soon as he removed himself from hers, she would be safe. He recognized a new determination in her, however, and dreaded the thought that Mallory was not about to follow his plan anymore. She had one of her own.

  “Everyone, sit,” Mallory said as four bodies moved as one to rise. They were all nervous in her presence for different reasons. She needed to work through their discomfort and get them to safety, regardless of feelings and personal issues.

  “You can’t stay here,” Mallory began as she joined them at the table.

  “We’re not going anywhere with him,” Luke declared with a meaningful look at Leigh. Mallory shrugged, disinterested.

  “Don’t, then. But you can’t stay here. The Hunters won’t come while there are vampires he
re because they can’t fight us. But they will come once we leave and you can’t fight them without us.”

  Luke was taken aback by Mallory’s new demeanor. She’d gone from shell-shocked to shut down in the five minutes she was in her bedroom. Fatherly concern didn’t evaporate overnight, so he wondered about this new, steely visage and what it meant for Mallory’s mental well-being.

  Annette took Mallory’s hand and squeezed. It was a gesture she’d engaged in thousands of times over her lifetime. Nothing changed Annette’s devotion to her children and she identified the uncomfortable change in her daughter, same as Luke did. The difference was, she’d do something to help if she could.

  “You come with us, Peach,” she said, using a nickname she’d had for Mallory since childhood. “We’ll figure this out together.”

  “It isn’t safe,” Mallory responded. She tried to keep her tone gentle, but she didn’t offer her mother’s hand a squeeze back. She didn’t trust her strength still, especially with her family members.

  “We can’t risk it, anyway.” The stiffness and hostility in Luke’s tone was undeniable and Mallory continued to steel herself against it. Pain would make her stupid. Intense emotion could trigger the Munetero again. She willed herself to be blank, as empty as the canvas of an artist. White, bare, safe.

  “Dad’s right. It’s not safe for us to be together. The Hunters will come for all of us, but they can’t hurt me as easily as they can hurt you. If you all stay hidden, it’ll be me they’ll have to pursue.”

  Mallory knew it wasn’t the Hunters her father didn’t trust and she was silently grateful he hadn’t pointed out she was the one he didn’t want to risk being in the company of.

  “We’ll go to the cabin up north.” Luke stood as he made his final call. “Come on.”

  Leigh stood and offered a piece of paper that he’d been writing on. Luke obviously didn’t want to take it, but he did after great hesitation.

  “The address of my spare home. If your location becomes compromised, please make use of it.”

  Annette took it and said, “We will. Thank you.”

  “You’ve been unusually quiet,” Mallory pointed out to her brother as he stood. “Where’s loud-mouth Junior today?”

  He drew her in for a tight hug. Squeezing her gingerly, as though he still expected she was his bitty, easily bruised, older but smaller sister, he held his silence a bit longer. Mallory didn’t hug him back for fear of breaking him.

  “Trying to figure out a way to keep us safe and together. We’ll get there, Mal. Don’t worry about it.”

  Mallory let Annette hug her and exchanged a look with Luke. There was no embrace initiated and no warm words wasted between them.

  Later it will be better, Mallory mentally assured herself. She had to hope for that.

  Luke, Annette, and Junior waited until Mallory and Leigh were out of the house with the door locked before they drove away in the truck.

  “They’ll be safe.” Leigh tried to offer the silent Mallory comfort. He couldn’t stand to see her as she was and felt he needed to find a way to make it better for her at any cost.

  “The Hunters need to go.” Leigh agreed with Mallory’s statement, but he didn’t think she was the one to end them. She needed to return to her human life. She could not last as a vampire.

  “We need to make plans. We’ll return to my home for now.”

  Mallory cringed internally at the thought. She didn’t want to be back at Leigh’s house. For some reason, the thought of being confined in the basement again was sickening to her.

  “Can we do something else?” Her plea sounded desperate, but she hoped it would make Leigh more accommodating to what she wanted.

  “What else?” Leigh was hesitant to bend to what Mallory desired of him. The longer he was alone with her, the more he interacted with her, the more he wanted to be available for her always, to do for her whatever he could. But the stigma of vampirism stained her soul and stole her mind. It was his responsibility to care for her and the longer he kept her as she was, the greater the damage he was doing. Still, he waited silently for her suggestion.

  “Let’s go swimming.” Mallory’s sudden stroke of inspiration was borne of longing for the comfort she’d always found and was now lacking from her family.

  Gran had a house on the lake. She had a small boat tied to the dock and a wooden raft anchored a few yards off shore where the water got deep. Mallory wanted to be there more than anything in the world.

  “Where will we stay when the sun rises?” Leigh knew he should have just told her no, but it became harder to deny her anything as time went on.

  “I have a place.” Mallory’s assurance worried Leigh with the detail it lacked, but her mental exhaustion tugged on him. The night had dirtied them, sullied some intimate assumption they’d both held for their situation. Control and mental stability had been poisoned. Mallory was reeling from the violence she was capable of. Leigh hated that he’d been the one responsible for unleashing it.

  “Please,” Mallory said softly. “I still don’t feel clean. I can’t think of anything else that would help.”

  “What lake?”

  Mallory’s heart leapt at Leigh’s willingness to accommodate her desire. For the time being, he was all she had. She couldn’t handle it if he was cold to her.

  “Follow me.” She ran and at first, Leigh just watched her. She’d taken to vampirism beautifully in body. Why was her mind rejecting it yet again? She seemed so strong to him, strong enough by far to handle the complexities of The Turn. Why did her inner fortitude continue to fail her?

  Leigh gave himself over to speed and scent, following the feel and aroma that was so uniquely Mallory. The night blurred around him, a velvet cocoon of muted light and stars that seemed to stream across the sky.

  Before long, Leigh began to smell the distinctive mélange of lake water. The perfume of sand, trees, fish, flowers, and water plants became infinitely more attractive when Mallory’s own scent began to mingle in.

  There was a campground nearby, but everyone was asleep for the night. No campfires burned, no children wandered the dirt paths. Fifth wheels were dark and voices were silent within them. Leigh felt they walked through a sleeping world lost to dreams, unable to ever awaken.

  Instead of the camp beach, Mallory led Leigh to a house nestled up against the lake. It was a very private-looking home, complete with a tall, thick, white fence that enclosed the entire property and went all the way down to the lake.

  The land sloped down toward the lake and a gate in the fence opened onto a hand-placed stone path. Flowers and herbs lined the path on both sides and trees took up the duty of flanking the private beach. Fragrant sentries boasted healthy leaves and pretty white flowers kept the path hidden from the view of anyone on the water. It was in this shadowed, secluded area that Mallory began stripping off all of her clothes.

  Not a new vampire by any means, Leigh’s heart wasn’t capable of pounding. After centuries of life, it rarely even beat. If anything could make it race again, however, Mallory peeling off that pretty little dress and standing only in her sexy bra and underwear had the best chance.

  “Wait.” Leigh was surprised to hear how strangled his own voice sounded. Mallory rolled her eyes. Anger and irritation flooded her as she paused with her hands on the hook of her bra.

  “For the love of Peter and Paul, Leigh, you’ve seen me naked. I know I’m not offending your delicate sensibilities and I’m not that hard on the eyes. Man up, buttercup.”

  It was better that she thought he didn’t want to see her naked, because the reason he’d stopped her was she was just so damn gorgeous in that moment. Her skin was creamy like pale gold and with the white cloth hugging her most intimate areas, she was a faintly luminescent treasure glowing in the moonlight. He wanted to drink the image in and take it to his grave as the pinnacle sight to define the concept of beauty.

  Mallory kicked off her sandals, shrugged out of her bra, and wiggled her underwea
r down. Naked, she bundled up her clothes and placed them on a lawn chair to prevent them from getting wet or dirty.

  “You plan to go swimming fully dressed?” Mallory asked as she stepped onto the dock. It was built far enough into the lake that from the far end, she could dive in. From there, it was a few short yards to the wooden raft.

  Leigh knew that if he got naked in the water with Mallory, there was a good chance he wouldn’t deny any rising urges he would undoubtedly encounter. Though he knew the intense emotions involved in a physical joining wouldn’t trigger the Munetero like anger or fear were capable of, he knew being with her again would cause damage in its own way. Leigh would fall deeper in love and Mallory would become even more confused. Somehow, this knowledge didn’t stop him from stripping out of his somber attire. He was tired of the black, anyway.

  Mallory stood on the edge of the dock and watched Leigh disrobe. He was so powerful, so dangerous. Beautiful like a thunderstorm, he looked as though he should singe everything he touched, including her. If she was going to destroy that beauty, she decided, she wanted to enjoy it one more time. On her terms.

  Convinced Leigh would follow her, Mallory jogged down the deck at a human speed and positioned her body for a dive. She plunged into the cool water and felt it envelop her in a familiar, cleansing cocoon. Her soul was transformed from a rage of confusion, guilt, fear, and anger to a swell of peace.

  Without her lungs protesting the submergence, Mallory remained beneath the water long after she would have had to surface in her human body. She swam languidly, eyes open, enjoying the embrace of the water.

  She heard the faint splash that indicated Leigh had entered the water. He hadn’t jumped in but had just eased down from the dock. She called him a weenie in her head, and then popped out of the water so she could teasingly insult him out loud.