Oh, perfect, now I feel guilty, he thought sarcastically.
Why was he so pissed off?
“Hi, Andy,” Yasmine said as they entered the living room. Pizza boxes already covered the coffee table.
“What happened?” Andy asked as Charity curled up into the recliner. “Are you okay?”
Her hair covered her downturned face and she picked at the fraying end of her sleeve. She didn’t answer, but then, she didn’t have to. It was clear that she was very much not okay. Tonight had thrown her for a loop in a way nothing else so far had. Given her recent past, that was really saying something.
Devon’s insides churned. He stalked out of the room and punched the wall on the way to the kitchen, desperate to mask his uncomfortable feelings. Reaching for anger to smother the fear and guilt.
The can of beer made a satisfying pop as he opened it. Willing himself to calm down and view the situation through a logical lens, like his position demanded, he returned to the living room at a slower pace.
“This is the vamps’ fault, Charity,” Andy was saying as Devon walked in. Yasmine lowered onto the couch. “The ones who turned him—this is all their fault.”
“I barely got there in time,” Devon told Andy as he leaned against the doorframe. He was much too keyed up to sit down. “It was about to bite her.” He clenched his teeth, not meaning those words to sound so accusatory.
Charity shuddered but remained silent.
“Okay, well, that’s not ideal,” Andy said, scooting to the far end of the couch to be closer to her. “But the important thing is that it didn’t bite her, right, Charity? No harm, no foul. I’m sure that thing”—she flinched—“gave you the ol’ sexy eyebrow waggle, right? Hell, I have a hard enough time saying no to human ladies, let alone an insanely gorgeous non-human lady who specializes in seduction. Then, bing-bang-boom, you’re scraping a vampire off your neck. It’s really not your fault.” Andy paused and trained his focus on Devon. “You…”
“Dispatched it, yes.”
Andy dropped his pizza into the box and leaned back to Charity. “I had a close one, once. Remember that, Devon? It was my first time out. This she-vamp snuck up on me. I was supposed to just be watching, right, so I was still in human form. Then she was breathing all over me, giving me the sex-kitten routine, touching… Yeah, I almost became a donor. Devon had to pull her off. I was a goner, man. So, Charity, it really isn’t that big of a deal. Learning curve, you know? It happens to all of us.”
“I saw it coming,” Charity said softly. “I should’ve known better.”
Andy opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Charity rose. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.”
“What time is your class tomorrow?” Devon asked.
“I’ll get there on my own.” She brushed by him.
“Wait.” He lightly grabbed her arm so he didn’t have to chase her. “What time—”
She yanked out of his grasp, and before he knew what was happening, a solid punch took his breath away. His beer splattered against the wall and the can went rolling.
“Oh shit,” Andy said, standing.
Devon barely blocked another punch. He grabbed her arms, trying to subdue and not hurt, but she threw her body to the side and broke the hold before kicking toward his thigh. He intercepted with his knee, blocking.
“Calm down,” he said fiercely.
Anger and desperation emanated from her, her brow lowered, her lip pushed out. She was trying to physically fight away the emotional pain. He knew how that felt. So when vulnerability started to shine through her hard mask, he shoved her.
It was the least he could do.
She jabbed at him, a spark flaring in her eyes. He jerked out of the way, surprised at her speed and strength.
Shifting his strategy, trying to exhaust rather than subdue her, he struck at her side. Her hard forearm crashed down on his. He jabbed, hitting her ribs. Her breath gushed out, but she was already moving. Her fist connected with his side and pain welled up. She struck again, but he caught it, then yanked her forward and turned it into a throw.
Charity hit the wall before crashing to the ground. She was up in a flash, charging him like a wild thing. Her shoulder hit his middle. The breath pushed out of his lungs as he staggered back. He rocketed two punches into her midsection, now treating her like a shifter, meeting her on her level so she could fight out her pain.
He hit her again, smiling at her grunt.
She punched him in the face. His head banged off the wall. She stepped back, and then her other foot sped toward his nose, her form perfect. But not fast enough.
He caught her leg against his side before hammering his fist into her upper thigh. Her bruise would be enormous.
She leaned around him and brought an elbow down in the center of his back.
Agony flared. His bruise wouldn’t be half bad, either, for the short while it lingered.
“Don’t hit the alpha!” Yasmine’s voice cut through his fighting haze.
“Not your fight!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Devon barely caught sight of Andy sticking his arm out in a clothesline to intercept Yasmine. The bottoms of her feet flashed Devon right before she fell flat on her back.
Devon dropped Charity’s leg, blocked a punch, and threw a punch of his own. His fist hit Charity square in the chest. She staggered backward, bending over and sucking in agonized breaths.
Possibly that had been a bit too hard…
“I screwed up tonight, all right?” she said, straightening with a red face. “I know I did. I won’t ever forget it. But I don’t need you hovering over me, rubbing it in my face. I’ll take my chances getting to school.”
“There are no buses within miles of here. How will you get there?” Devon growled, his whole body poised and tense.
“I’ve never owned a car. I’ve always made it. Now is no different. Back off.”
Devon took a step toward her, daring her with his eyes to throw another punch. “It is my duty to make sure you stay out of harm’s way. I can’t have you traipsing around the city with no way to get help. Not with an elder vamp interested in you.”
Charity gave him a condescending look, so near breaking that she seemed like she could barely hold herself up. Devon’s resolve weakened.
“It’ll be daylight,” she seethed through clenched teeth. “And I’m not interested in what you feel you can or cannot do. I’m telling you what I will do. I don’t need—”
Her words cut off and she set her jaw defiantly.
“A babysitter? Is that what you were about to say?” Devon asked.
Charity pulled herself up, tall and proud, her back straight and her chin raised. The effect was ruined by her trembling lips. Without a word, she about-faced and strode away toward her room.
Devon swore under his breath as he watched her go.
“Should I go after her?” Andy asked, ignoring Yasmine’s scowl as she got up off the ground. “She probably needs a hug, right?”
Something foreign and uncomfortable squeezed Devon’s vitals. He barely stopped himself from issuing a threat to keep Andy at bay.
“Although,” Andy went on thoughtfully, “I’ve always done more harm than good when I try to comfort pretty girls. They heave when they cry, and their breasts are just…right there, you know? I don’t mean to, but I get turned on every time. I can’t help it! And they can always tell. I have no idea how—it’s not like I rub anything against them or whatever—but they always get pissed off. Charity might kick my ass. She’s fast. No wonder she was able to get out of that turning party with her skin intact. She’s no joke.”
“Leave it,” Devon finally managed. “She doesn’t need you rubbing up against her.”
“I said I don’t rub anything against them. Jesus, bro. You know I’m not that kind of guy. What happened, anyway?”
Devon rubbed his hand over his face as Andy grabbed something to wipe up the spilled beer. When Andy was done, Devon relayed the e
vents as he knew them. He shook his head. “I can’t understand why she went for that vamp. She was a rock star with that elder, but this one… It didn’t look like she put up any kind of fight. Just gave in to him.”
“Bro, she was crushing after him. She probably never thought she’d get him, but always wanted to, you know? And then here he is, all dreamy and stuff, and he’s sitting all close, and he’s doing that weird googly-eyed thing—she fell into the dream, bro. Sex can mess with the mind.”
“Yeah,” Devon said in a noncommittal tone. “I didn’t want it to go down like that. I didn’t want her to see me take him out. But I didn’t have much choice.”
Andy nodded. “Not much else you could’ve done.”
“Why do we even need her?” Yasmine asked. She lowered gracefully onto the love seat near the window.
“Roger thinks she’s valuable. He’s entrusted her to me,” Devon answered, leaning his head back in the seat and closing his eyes. “Plus, a couple vamps are after her. I have no idea why Roger won’t just let her stay nights in the castle.”
The ticking of the clock on the wall permeated the following silence. After a while, Andy said, “At least that’s another one gone. Two down, four to go.”
“Three down,” Yasmine said with a smug smile. “When the human had to be saved, the alpha sent Macy and me along to trail the vamp from his class. The vamp went for a trek through the woods, and we jumped her. I figured, why wait, you know? It was only one.”
“Why’d she go ambling through the woods?” Andy asked with a furrowed brow.
“I have no idea, but it doesn’t matter. We got her.”
“But what if it was heading to a meetup area?” Andy trained his gaze on Devon. “A newbie walking through the woods without food doesn’t make sense. Maybe we should go back there and check it out.”
“There was nothing there,” Yasmine said petulantly.
“How do you know?” Andy’s eyebrows rose. “Was there a gateway to the Realm around there? Maybe she was meeting her maker. Maybe… I mean, who knows. Taking her out without more info was shortsighted, bro. Er, Yasmine.”
Yasmine shrugged, her golden locks tumbling off her shoulder and to her back. “I don’t know—Macy suggested it, and I went along with it. It was just the one vamp.”
“I’ll check into it tomorrow,” Devon said as he rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t focus on any of this right now. His mind was buzzing.
“I’m going to go freshen up,” Yasmine said in a beautiful pout. She eased up from her seat, her breasts popping out and her body curving just right.
Devon looked away. “Tonight was a mess,” he admitted. Yasmine crossed the room and disappeared down the hall. “I had to take him out in the middle of the classroom. Had I been thinking, I would’ve gotten Charity out of there before I did it. I’m faster now. More experienced. Taking one of them out, even without shifting, is no problem.”
“Number one, that’s pretty sweet, bro! No one your age can do that. That’s why you made alpha so young, see? Number two, you can’t beat yourself up for what happened. Sometimes you gotta react. That vamp needed to be taken down, and I hate to say it, but Charity probably needed that lesson. Especially with an elder sniffing around.”
They sat in silence for a moment, reflecting.
“You don’t seem like you’re in the mood for…shenanigans,” Andy said quietly, picking up his slice of pizza.
Devon glanced in the direction Yasmine had gone. “I thought I’d give in to her so she’d stop affecting me. I made those plans before all the crap went down with the vamp.”
“Ah. Sex it away.” Andy shook his head. “I don’t think that works with girls as hot as Yasmine. She’s still going to be hot in the morning.”
Devon shrugged. “It never lasts. I always lose interest by the morning.”
“How is that possible?” Andy asked.
Devon shrugged again. “Don’t know. I think a girl is so hot I can barely keep my eyes off her, and then we bang and… I don’t know. The magic wears off, I guess. The question has been answered—I’ve seen behind the curtain and the thrill is gone. The messed-up thing is that it happens the same way even if I’ve spent weeks dating the girl. Even if I think I really like her. I’m probably going to end up like the Fonz from Happy Days.”
“You mean an old guy in a leather jacket hanging out with younger kids? That’s weird, yo. You need to stay off late night reruns.”
“I mean alone with nothing but constant one- or two-night stands.”
“Oh. Well, at least you can get laid, I guess. Silver lining.”
Devon snorted, closing his eyes. He stayed quiet as Andy finished his pizza.
“All right, bro,” Andy said. Was that disapproval in his voice, or was Devon imagining it? “I’m going to head.”
“All right, man. Good work.”
Devon watched Andy leave the room with a sense of foreboding. A moment later, he heard, “Ready?”
Yasmine turned the corner, her plump lips curved upward in a seductive smile. Once near, she bent to run a hand along his shoulder.
Not able to hide a sigh, he stood and motioned her toward the hall. The sway of her hips held no interest for him. Instead, his thoughts strayed to Charity.
She was probably curled up in her bed, terrified of the darkness caressing her windows. Reliving the night’s horror in vivid detail. What might’ve happened would be constantly jabbing at her. Agonizing her.
He’d been there once. So had Andy. Many shifters had.
Guilt ate away at him. He hadn’t been fair to her. She would have no idea that his anger had stemmed from fear rather than judgment or contempt.
Slowing, allowing Yasmine to slip by him, he stood outside of Charity’s room, his gaze rooted to the light under her door.
He really should go in to her. He should give her the comfort she needed. New pack members got a year or two to get used to this life. To train and hone their body and mind. Charity had been at it for less than a week. She’d been chased, seduced, propositioned, and attacked. And the things she’d seen… It wasn’t fair to make her go through this alone.
“Coming?”
Yasmine was already sprawled out on his bed, completely nude and perfect in every way. She trailed a hand down between her breasts, over her stomach, and then over a parted thigh.
Guilt burned through him.
He felt like his life was coming apart. A week ago, he’d been the master of his own universe, in total control. Only a matter of days, really, yet things had gotten completely messed up. He barely knew what end was up anymore. He certainly had no idea why.
He dropped his head. He felt lost.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Charity hiccupped out a sob from under her covers. She hadn’t cried this hard since her mother had left. And if she were honest with herself, she wasn’t crying for Donnie. Not for Sam, either, whom she could no longer fool herself about. She was crying because she was afraid. She was crying because, for the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel like she had any control. She’d completely lost it in that lecture hall. Her brain had completely shut off. If Devon hadn’t rushed to her aid, she would’ve let that creature take her. Let it claim her body and then her life.
The thought scared the ever-loving shit out of her.
When you cared about someone, or needed someone, and they walked away, they left an unfillable void in their wake. She’d experienced that with her mother and John; she couldn’t bear for it to happen again. But right now, in this screwed-up new life she didn’t understand, she needed Devon. She needed his experience and his know-how. Hell, she needed his support. That thought alone terrified her to the core.
A motor revved and then pulled away from the house. Probably Andy. A moment later, a feminine voice drifted through her door.
She peeked out from under her covers. Two shadows interrupted the light from under her door. Someone was in the hallway. Yasmine?
An uncomforta
ble feeling churned in Charity’s gut. Yasmine would get to cuddle up with the solid warmth of Devon, basking in his protection and strength. Charity didn’t begrudge the two their rendezvous—she had no interest in that side of things—but she would miss the innocent intimacy of his presence. He was a moody bastard, but when it really counted, he was a rock. He’d been there for her since the beginning, even when he would’ve rather been anywhere else.
Miserable, Charity sank deeper into her covers, wishing she had earplugs. She didn’t want to hear them and be reminded of how desperate she had been for that creature to touch her. Nor be reminded of who that creature had been.
Before she knew it, Charity was curled into a ball, crying so hard that it felt like her spleen was being ripped out. She didn’t hear the car approaching the house, nor the argument that trailed down the hallway. She didn’t even hear her door opening and the footsteps to her bed.
Her covers ripped away. A scream died in her throat as Devon bent down in a rush, scooping her up in his strong arms and hugging her tightly to his chest. He flicked off the light as he carried her from the room, crossed the hall, and closed his door behind them.
“But what about—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Devon answered quietly, depositing her gently onto his bed. He pulled off his shirt and stepped out of his pants, leaving on his boxer briefs, and slipped in beside her. He put out an arm and gathered her up against his warm chest. “Go to sleep. I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
The next morning, Charity moved through her fighting postures, kicking and punching the air with everything she had, trying to forget. Trying to wipe out Donnie’s howling face. Trying to scrub away the feeling of being chased through the nightmare house. If she was going to live in a world with those creatures, she needed to push herself harder. She had to get faster, stronger.
Strangely, she wasn’t embarrassed about the vulnerability she’d shown the night before. Maybe it was because Devon hadn’t shown any pity or asked for anything in return. He’d just…been there. The man was a good guy. Extremely loyal. It almost gave him a pass for being a dick half the time.
Warrior Fae Trapped: A DDVN Book Page 18