Created (Book 1 of the Created)

by Shaw, Shannon

  Undoubtedly, she knew something and was playing the role of protective friend. I was in no mood to deal with her bullshit. Instead I wanted to snap her neck. "Is that really any of your concern? A simple hello or how are you would have worked. Maybe next time you can work that into your intro. You know that is a life skill that you might want to work on before actually going out of your house in the morning. Right after you attempt to fix your hair. Never mind about your hair because that is already hopeless."

  The seed of doubt had worked as her expression had changed. I watched with amusement as she casually toyed with her hair. "That was mean. I was just being concerned for my friend. So what do you want then asshole?"

  I didn't apologize though I thought I probably should. "Have you heard from Sunnie? Or can you offer anything other than guessing about our relationship."

  "Guessing?" She questioned. "She told me herself that you two were possibly parting ways."

  The news was disheartening. "Did she say why?"

  "No, but do you want to explain?" Her smile had returned.

  "Lucy, I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to check on Sunnie since I hadn't talked to her in a couple of days," I said as I turned to leave.

  Lucy bounced around me to cut off my exit from the gym. Carefully, she bound her hair into a ponytail as she spoke, "She texted me to say that she is sick and might miss a couple of days this week. I didn't mean to pick a fight either. I just don't want any guy, no matter how much she cares for him, to screw her over."

  I said, "Thank you for your honesty. I want you to know that I am doing my best not to break her heart."

  She got serious for a second. "I would hate to have to kill you if you did."

  I suppressed a smile. "Your concern and your threat are noted."

  I picked her up from the ground and sat her out of my way to make my way back to class. "Thank you Lucy."

  "You are welcome Ethan," Lucy said.

  I could feel her eyes following me as I weaved through the last minute rushers who were trying to get to class on time. I was thankful that she wasn’t a vampire because lord help us all if she were.

  The rest of the morning scrapped by. Lunch was the same as always except for our missing member. We all sat quietly trying not look at each other which had become our normal everyday activity.

  Lucy and her other friends, which were few, sat nearby whispering and staring with the occasional wide eyed teenage girl look followed by a laugh or giggle which only elicited more or the same. I could have heard their every word, but opted to block out the world.

  Before the lunch bell rang, my group was out the door and to the next class. I hung back allowing the other students to filter into the hallway as I headed toward the rear exit.

  Clear of the building, I was about to sprint to Sunnie's house when I felt a hand upon my shoulder. It was Veronica.

  "How do you do that?" I asked emphatically.

  She wasn't in a playful mood. "That is not important. What is important is the fact that you are about to be stupid and skip school to see a girl that obviously doesn't want to be around you."

  I hung my head. "I need to make sure she is okay. I know the damage I have done to everybody, and I was trying to at least fix it with her."

  "Ethan this is not the answer. If you insist on going, then you and I will requisition a car tonight, and I will go with you to make sure things are satisfactory."

  Veronica was part of the issue. Knowing Sunnie's disdain for Veronica, there was no way to smooth over her appearing with me. I was trying to fix my relationship woes with Sunnie not make them worse. What if she snapped while we were there? There were too many negatives.

  "Veronica, I appreciate the sentiment, but this is something I need to do alone. I am sorry."

  I turned to sprint off but she grabbed my arm. She brought my face to hers "Listen, the only way that anybody is going to allow you to see that girl is if they do not know. She has been enough trouble for us. If you have to see her you will close your mouth and let me work my plan."

  I was getting angry. "No, I have to go alone. She is obviously threatened by you and you’re a little hard to explain. And no one will know I left so it won't matter."

  "The school reports skips and absences of all the base kids. It would be reported before you could get to her house. You wouldn't even make it there Ethan."

  Even in her foul mood, Veronica was the voice of reason. If I was caught before I made it to Sunnie's house, a lot of good it would do. If I had to go back to the base first, she could be my way off the Farm. She was right. She was always right. I commented, "Okay. I didn’t think it through. That is a better plan than mine because it has none of the risk. How did you get so smart?"

  Veronica was pissed, "I have had lots of practice over the years." The bell rang which caused her to shoot me a caustic glare. "We are going to be late for class so we need to go ahead and see Chloe to get a couple of passes."

  Chapter 44

  Veronica's Camaro slipped onto Sunnie's street with the subtleness of a landing commercial airliner. The Chevrolet muscle car was a demon in her hands as we dropped from one hundred thirty miles per hour to fifteen with a screech of the tires. She had slammed on the brakes eight houses away on the previous street, but we did not finish our descent until we roughly rounded through a stop sign and onto Sunnie's picture perfect street.

  Her foot no longer glued to the accelerator the eight cylinder engine bellowed its disapproval as we approached her house. The loud exhaust reverberated underneath the canopy of trees. I imagined the shaking of windows and snapping of glass as we approached, though at least the glass did not break. Several lights flickered to life, as well as blinds and curtains opened, to see the people for responsible for the commotion.

  I bit my tongue in an effort to hide my reaction to Veronica's screeching halt at such a late hour in front of Sunnie's house.

  We sat idling along the curb in front of her house until Veronica said, "Well now what Romeo? Are we going to sit here all night, or are you going to try to see if you can talk to her?"

  I launched myself from the car without answering taking full advantage of the open top on the convertible, landing in the damp grass of the middle of the lawn. Before I could walk a step, the front door opened revealing Sunnie standing behind the glass storm door. She was dressed for bed wearing gray sweat pants and a solid T-shirt.

  Hesitation filled my heart until she smiled; the gesture told me it was alright. I began walking toward her at a human pace so as not to scare her. Sunnie opened the door and stood upon the top of the steps waiting for me. Her arms crossed. It was obvious she was happy to see me, but there was an underlining sense of uncertainty. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, we shared a few wordless seconds then she leapt from the steps into my arms. Catching her in midair, I gently pulled her into me. Her lips greedily found mine as we shared a passion filled kiss.

  I spat out a flurry of explanation. "Sunnie, I am so sorry that you had to see me at my worst. I want you to know that I had to in order to survive in my world. Liam's death will haunt me forever, but he was the one that sent the Hunter to kill you. It was either him or me."

  She kissed me again, her tiny hands caressing my face then she responded behind a steady flow of tears. "I thought you were going to be mad at me that’s why I haven't been at school."

  We shared a brief kiss again. Her fingers played with my lips. "I never knew it could be that horrible. I was given a tour of the base. All of the things that they allowed me to see, including the other creatures that live there. Ethan you are not like that. I know that your heart is not that of a monster. You can't be."

  Sunnie paused when she noticed Veronica sitting in the car. "Why did he send that awful beast after us? Why would he want kill me?"

  I held her to me then brought her eyes back to me with a gentle touch. "Our kind lives a precarious life caught between both worlds. We work as servants of our government to which we owe our
debt to the second chance that we have been given. Many of my kind take this opportunity very seriously. In fact, they take it seriously enough to do anything to protect our secrets. There is a small group that viewed you as a threat to our way of life. Liam was the one who was chosen to prep the Hunter to attack you. The group thought your death would remind me of the protected status that we must maintain. It was not hatred or jealousy Sunnie. It was a matter of survival."

  She started blabbering as she cried, so I placed my lips to hers to calm her then continued. "How did you get to the base? Why were you brought there?" Sunnie blinked at me.

  "That's not as important as why you were brought there," I stated.

  "There was a man from the base. He came to the house with one of your kind. He was a young guy I didn't know and they convinced my parents that I was invited to the base as a guest of yours for a banquet. They returned two nights later to pick me up. I thought it was innocent. Both of them wore military uniforms. One was a general I think. The other I am not sure."

  I asked, "How did you know that the younger one was of my kind?"

  "He was able to mesmerize my family. There was a way that he transformed his eyes that made everyone do as he asked."

  Concerned, I sought more answers. "Did he try to use his gift on you?"

  She shook her head. “No, he never tried to use his eyes to convince me to go with them, but I knew that I didn't have a choice. I knew, and I think they knew too, they didn't have to convince me. I wanted to see and be with you. Later he asked me to focus, but that was after they returned me home. He told me if I ever told anyone except those of your kind what I had seen, I would be compelled to kill myself. I would never tell anyway because it might bring harm to you."

  She hugged me deeply and looked into my eyes.

  I brushed away Sunnie's tears. It was ever present in my mind that whatever I said was being monitored by Veronica. I was convinced that her helping me was as much a reason to find out what was happening with Sunnie as a genuine desire to help me. I had to find out if she needed to know for herself or someone else.

  Peeking at Veronica and seeing her agitated state, I decided it was time to leave. "Listen, I hate to run, but we need to get back to the base before they begin to look for us. Will you be at school tomorrow?"

  "I understand," Sunnie said. "I wasn't at school because I didn't know how to face you since I ran out of that awful place. I admit it all scared me and I needed time to sort it out. That is a lot of stuff to process. Really, it came down to I thought you would hate me."

  "No matter what you did, I could never hate you," I offered up a small kiss which she warmly accepted.

  Breaking away from her as the kiss finished, I hurried to the car. Leaping into the seat, we sped away in a cloud of burnt rubber before I was settled. Veronica drove the car harder than I thought the car could handle for ten miles then slowed when I placed my hand on her shoulder.

  "Are you alright?" I asked.

  "Does it matter if I am or not?" She replied, as she jerked the car to the grassy shoulder along a deserted county back road then faced me before the car had stopped rolling.

  Sounding concerned yet firm, I calmly tried to overlook her actions. "It does matter. What is wrong with you?"

  "Are you that blind? How many times do I have to throw myself at you?"

  I swallowed hard as my mouth went dry. Speaking became hard though I pushed out a few words. "Veronica, I understand how you must feel, but you have to understand how much you mean to me. It is different that’s all."

  She flung the door open on her side then proceeded to get out. I knew better than to follow as she paced around in the night air. I waited as she stomped and cried. There were even two screams into the night that made me want to sink deeper into my seat and disappear. I nervously watched her not for fear that she might attack me, but what she might do to herself.

  Her pacing along the roadside grass became frantic as she eyed me. Veronica's hair faded to red then shot to black. Obviously dictating her mood shifts. When she turned to me, her eyes were alive with color. She raced around the car to reenter the car. Veronica sat with her hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel for several minutes. The steering wheel moaned and bent slightly under the power of her angry grip.

  I attempted to say something, "Veronica."

  She interrupted, "Hush!"

  I sat staring straight ahead hoping this awkward moment would end soon. Thankfully, very little time passed before she restarted the car and pulled back onto the highway at a reasonable pace. Almost to the base, she brought the car to a quick, sideways, screeching stop in the middle of the road. Veronica turned the car off and proceeded to climb into my lap.

  "What are you doing?" I tersely asked.

  I reached to get her off of me when she pinned my arms to the seat then brought her lips to mine. Instantly, my mouth accepted her tongue as I opened enough to allow the two to gently intertwine. My mind ached with thoughts of my betrayal of Sunnie. I broke the kiss.

  Veronica and I looked into each other’s eyes both wandering what was next when a known scent reached my nostrils. The scent was familiarly intoxicating. It was similar to one I had experienced earlier in the evening, but my mind was becoming too foggy to relate where. The odor became stronger as Veronica began to lightly lick and kiss my neck. The smell was taking over my being as I wanted to get lost in the aroma the more she kissed my neck. In my haze, I realized the intoxicating smell was of honeysuckle.

  Driven on by the smell, I finally gave myself to Veronica as she playfully bit my neck then forcefully as her fangs sank into me. She drank tenderly from me then brought her blood covered lips to mine.

  I felt myself becoming aroused and so did she. She teasingly traced my erection with her fingertips then toyed through the fabric as I strained to feel her touch through the denim. Removing her hand from my crotch, she shifted so she could grind her pelvis along the length of my shaft. The sensation of knowing that this beautiful woman wanted me badly enough to abandon our friendship along with the lure of the delicate odor, it was unadulterated ecstasy.

  As the intimate nature of the longing for each other heightened, we drove ourselves mad with frenzy as hands teased and lips pleaded for another taste or touch. We were diligently working toward driving the other closer to climax. Furiously, we fought to be restrained, but at the same time pushed each other to succumb.

  Veronica gave a gasp as she issued a final long hard, deep thrust of her hips down the entire length. A spiteful pinch of the head of my manhood had me close to the edge of orgasm. She stopped briefly looking into my eyes deeply as slowly unlaced her corset. Seductively, she undid the yellow silken binding enough to loosen her black top while at the same time ensuring that her breasts were still firmly in place for me to explore at my discretion. She sucked and nibbled on the end of my finger opening a small trickle of blood. Taking my finger to her lips, she squeezed from me a line of blood that coated her lips. A few dark drops fell to her chest and ran downward between her breasts. Her eyes searched mine as she stroked me through my pants with one hand.

  "Just let go. Let what you are take control."

  Veronica traced a tantalizingly slow blood covered line from her mouth to her bosom where she spread the blood across her upper chest. Satisfied that I was completely entranced, she placed her hand behind my head, pulling me to her bosom. Gentle kisses became passionate as I inhaled her fragrance deeper. Incensed with desire, I lapped at the spilt blood upon her breasts. Fueled by the need to have her completely, I began to ease off her top. She pushed me hard from her magnificent body. I reached for her to find a violent slap to my face.

  She laughed then ripped away my T-shirt. "I want to feel your skin against mine," Veronica moaned before she clawed at my chest opening four long cuts that bled profusely. The flowing blood was licked and sucked into her mouth row by row before she would start over after each wound closed. I sensed her phasing then noticed her eyes go
black moments before our mouths met.

  Following her example, I sliced at her chest opening a single horizontal line six inches across the middle of her chest that made her shudder as I brushed the wound with my tongue. Thirsting for more, I phased releasing my fangs. Sinking my fangs into her skin, I drank plentifully. I was attempting to free her breasts from the corset that was now only lightly draped upon her body when she pulled my mouth back to hers as she ground her body against mine.

  She unbuttoned the top button and unzipped my pants sliding her hand into the opening. Veronica teased me by running her finger tips along the top of my boxer briefs as she looked at me. She wanted to make me beg for her touch. I refused to be her toy. So I relaxed and made her come to me. She would have to be the first to cave.

  Adjusting herself upon my crotch, she slid back to allow herself better access. Veronica eased her hand into my underwear. Her hand crept into my shorts tentatively. She paused, then ran a single finger back and forth along the length. An eternity later, her hand engulfed my shaft. Slowly she worked it up and down roughly as she bit at my lower lip. The act became more rhythmic as our kissing became softer and less aggressive.

  In my delirium of lust, I became hers. Rubbing at her crotch, I detected the wetness that had formed. With each pass of my hand along her crotch, she paused and gasped then moaned into my mouth. This only spurred me to want to feel myself inside of her. Painfully, but with a greater reward in mind, I removed her hand from my dick and lifted her into the air.

  "What are you doing?" She giggled as I placed her in the diminutive backseat.

  Climbing in behind her I tried the button of her pants, but when my first attempt failed I ripped them apart, popping loose the button and tearing free the zipper. I began to tug the pants down when our phones rang simultaneously.

  "Shit!" We both uttered. Rising from her, I reached into the seat to fetch our phones which had fallen.

  Handing one to her I stared in bewilderment at her sexy half-dressed body. Between the corset and her black panties, I was losing my mind. I had never seen a woman as alluring; I wanted to devour her. Instead, I allowed her to fidget with the phone.