Enlightened (Love and Light Series)

by Melissa Lummis

  “Huuff!” Something landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She screamed as razor sharp claws tore hot pain through her side, and she jabbed her elbow back, connecting with something warm and firm. “Humpf.” The weight fell off her back. She wasted no time scrambling along the pine needle path on all fours, ignoring the burning agony in her side. Not daring to look back, she staggered to her feet.

  Woomph! It knocked her to the ground again. She snorted and gagged on the pine needles up her nose and in her mouth. Fiery pain took her breath as claws raked her back and hot streams of blood ran down her sides. Her stomach lurched. Slick hands spun her around to shiny eyes and wet teeth. She thrashed under his weight as he sat on her stomach, crushing her throat with his hands. The colors blurred against the dark as she flailed her arms. An intense pressure filled her head, but then it eased, everything became muffled. It was easy to fade away into the quiet darkness.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  The man-shape straddled Loti’s slack form, and Wolf dove for him through the bare branches. They crashed into the ground, each creature grappling for a hold on the other. Wolf’s head jerked around, and his mouth stretched unnaturally wide, fangs extended, as he clamped down on the thing’s neck. Its scream devolved to a gurgle as Wolf tore open his throat, blood spraying. The thing fell to the ground, gargling his own blood as it bubbled from his mouth. Wolf jumped on his chest and seized its head with both hands. Their eyes met for a split second, just enough time for terror and recognition to register in its eyes, before Wolf wrenched its head from its body with a great, wet ripping sound. He threw it, roaring into the night. Spine and strands of tissue swung as the head sailed through the air. It hit the ground and rolled. Taking shuddery breaths, Wolf leapt to Loti’s side. He pressed his ear to her chest, feeling for a pulse in her neck.

  “Loti,” he yelled, probing her neck. It lolled at an odd angle.

  “NOO!” The inhuman bellow reverberated through the pine forest. He bit his wrist savagely, his blood spurting on Loti’s face, and he cradled her head as he forced his bleeding wrist between her lips. The blood pooled in her mouth and trickled out the corner.

  “Loti,” he growled. “Drink. Drink.” He rested her head on the ground and used his bloody hand to massage her throat. “Please, Loti. Swallow.” Threads of panic in his voice, he kept massaging, resisting the urge to shake her.

  “Please, Mother, spirits, please.” Blobs of bloody tears oozed down his dark face. “Don’t take her. This can’t be your will. I just found her.”

  Loti spluttered and spit blood, her eyelids flitting.

  Wolf pressed his lips to her ear. “Swallow, Loti. It will heal you.” She swallowed and Wolf bit his healing wrist open, wedging it between her lips again. She gulped.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Cool, thick liquid in her mouth and warm breath on her ear, Loti swallowed. It had no taste at first, and then gradually became metallic, salty, fleshy, and hinted at sweetness. To her surprise, she liked it. She wanted more. She tried to lift her arms, to press the wrist harder to her mouth, but it was like she was buried in sand and couldn’t move the rest of her body. Her lips parted.

  “Don’t talk.” That was Wolf’s voice.

  She tried to nod, but the only thing that moved were her lips. She sucked at the wound and the more she drank, the more she wanted. Hot needles prickled down her arms to her fingers until they tingled painfully. As the sensation returned, she fumbled for a grip on Wolf’s forearm and wrist with uncooperative fingers. She gulped against the healing wound until Wolf extracted himself. She whimpered, trying to hold him to her.

  “It’s enough, I think.” Wolf held her head up with one hand.

  “Wolf, why? What’s happened?”

  “Careful. Let me check you out before you move anymore.” He probed her neck with gentle, sticky fingers, and her body pulsed with the familiar energy of his cool touch. Loti yelped as his fingers found a tender spot.

  “Does that hurt?”

  “Just tender.” She cleared her throat. “What happened?” Her voice was grating and harsh. “I remember tripping and something tackled me.”

  He slid his arm under her neck and shoulders, nodding. “Something attacked you.” He worked his other arm under the small of her back. “Let’s see if you can sit up.”

  She made a cumbersome effort to acquiesce, but her arms were too heavy to lift and her legs prickled so painfully she cried out.

  “Stop.” He scooped her up into his arms, scanning her torso. “The wounds are healing.” He clutched her to him as he stood.

  “Wounds?” But as she said the word, she remembered the searing pain.

  “He,” Wolf spat the word out, “almost killed you.” He stalked down the trail.

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know who he was.”

  Loti’s neck protested as she turned to look for the attacker. “Where is he?”

  “He’s there.” Wolf thrust his head at a crumpled heap at the foot of a tree. “And there,” he grumbled as he kicked the head with a booted toe, rolling the eyes away from her.

  Loti rested her cheek over his shoulder, at first preoccupied by the tree trunk made up of red and orange streamers of light flowing up to hazy blue and green auras around black branches. Then remembering what she was looking for, she dropped her eyes to the dark heap. Her attacker. When her brain registered what she saw, she cringed. A headless body with a shredded, gaping hole. A fine mist of white light coalesced within the still form.

  “Wolf, I can see his soul,” she breathed.

  Wolf didn’t look back as he gripped her tighter and kept walking away from the sight. She wanted him to stop so she could watch, but at the same time, she wanted to get as far away as she could. Shivering with disquieting memories, she watched the mist stream from his belly, struggling to form some shape. Sadness hit her like a sucker punch to the kidney. It wasn’t evil. Miserable, despairing, frightened, but not evil. The mist rose, thinning until its consciousness faded, and with it, thank god, the misery. It blended into the other light—the reds and oranges of the tree trunks. The blues and greens of the top branches. The red and yellow of the ground. Indistinguishable from the rest of the world.

  “Wolf?”

  “Hmm?” He picked up speed, running so fast all the colors blurred.

  Loti tucked her face into the nook of his neck, closing her eyes against the dizziness, but the colors didn’t go away. She squeezed her eyes tighter, starting to get a headache. Her stomach dipped, and when she opened her eyes, they were high above the trees, cold air whistling by. She reburied her face.

  “Where are we going?” She spoke into his neck, inhaling the smell of the forest and night air clinging to his skin.

  “I have a place not far from here. We’re almost there.”

  Loti’s stomach growled, and Wolf laughed as his feet hit the ground with a gentle thump. “And I stocked up on food.” He settled her at the foot of an oak. “Here, sit for a minute.” He bent over to examine her neck.

  “Ow.” Her hands fluttered at his. “Would you stop poking at me?”

  Wolf eased her hands into her lap. “You’re not completely healed. You need more blood.”

  Loti wasn’t sure what she needed, but she was too tired to argue. Wolf hunkered down and maneuvered her onto his lap, with her back against his chest. Strong arms pulled her tight against him, and it felt good—particularly good after the last four confusing, cold, and lonesome days. Wolf hooked an elbow under her chin, and there was a wet crunch. She could almost taste his blood and spit flooded her mouth. Yuck. Why am I drooling? Holding her close with the other arm, he held his wrist over her mouth.

  “Drink,” he ordered.

  She pulled back at first, revolted by her craving and bristling at his command, but she wanted it. Pressing her lips around the oozing punctures, she drew blood into her mouth, and when it hit her tongue, she pulled harder, swallowing fast. Her body tensed with want. The heaviness in her ar
ms receded, and she grabbed his forearm. With each pull, she felt more alert, her legs thrumming with energy that slid through her bones. It wormed its way through her belly and filled her head with a sapphire light.

  Wolf’s breath came shallow and ragged, and she thought at first she might be hurting him, drinking too much. But she knew that wasn’t it. An aching desire throbbed between them as the wounds on his wrist closed. She lowered trembling, uncertain hands. Wolf’s hands glided down her arms until his fingers weaved with hers. She wanted him to stay just like that until she could get a handle on what she was feeling. But she knew what she was feeling. Wolf cleared his throat.

  “You need to eat and get cleaned up.” He untangled their fingers. “I brought your backpack.”

  “No.” Loti turned around. His irises were gone, just wide black holes against stark whites. Reds and oranges pulsed through and around him, ebbed and flowed.

  “It’s prana, isn’t it?” Her hand hovered over his chest.

  “I don’t know what you’re seeing, Loti,” he murmured.

  “I can see your chakras. Like at the shrine. I could see Guided’s when he put his hand in the orb.” She tried to stand, but stumbled back into his lap. Wolf steadied her with hands on her upper arms.

  “I think you need to drink—”

  “It’s almost like we were taught, Wolf, during my yoga training.” Excitement tweaked her voice. “And at college. All the books I’ve read, the healers I’ve worked with. This is what we talked about.” Her fingers traced the air above his chest and down to his stomach.

  He indulged her with a patient smile. “Did you doubt it?”

  “No.” She glanced away and then back. “But, I mean, well . . . maybe.” She traced a finger over the varying swirl of orange in Wolf’s lower abdomen, his eyes following her movements. “I thought it was a great way to describe something no one had seen or observed.” She stopped, looking up at his face. “But some people have claimed to see it.” Struck dumb by the naked, open need on his face, she held onto his arms, relishing the way he looked at her.

  “Loti, you’ve got to drink.” Wolf shifted her to the ground, then stood up, holding out his hands. “Come on.”

  “No more blood, Wolf.” She clasped his hands.

  “I mean water. You’re dehydrated; your eyes are sunken.”

  She winced at the brief stab of pain between her eyes as he pulled her to her feet. He pinched the skin on the back of her hand, and it stood in a peak for too long.

  “Oh,” she mumbled. “Okay, I get the point.”

  Wolf wrapped an arm around her waist to guide her a few feet to the left of the tree and leaned down, padding around for something. Finding it, he pulled hard, and a door opened in the ground.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Hey, slow down. You haven’t eaten in four days,” Wolf chided, nudging the cup away from Loti’s mouth.

  “Knock it off,” she snapped, hugging the plastic mug to her chest. “Have you forgotten what it’s like to be starving?” She pushed her bottom lip out.

  “Not at all.” Wolf winked. “Of course, I crave something different these days.”

  “Ha ha.” Loti took a small sip, looking away, wondering which kind of craving he was talking about. “I guess I never thought about, you know, vampires feeling hungry.” She took another judicious sip of the coconut water. “Thirsty, yeah. Hungry, starved, no.”

  “Oh, believe me, we get hungry,” he said with bright eyes.

  “Knock it off.” She hung her head, letting her hair fall between them, uncomfortable with the something he stirred up in her. And it wasn’t just her, desire came off him in waves. Wolf turned away, startling her enough to stop mid sip. She peeked at him through the curtain of hair as he moved cups around in a cabinet. He handed her a blue enameled mug and leaned on his forearms on the counter that separated the sitting area from the kitchen. The pot of water on the propane stove boiled, and he stood up, dumped an envelope of yellow powder into the pot, fiddling with the flames. He kept his eyes off of her, but he raised an eyebrow as she painstakingly climbed onto the high stool on the sitting room side. Averting her eyes, she put the mug down on the counter and leaned forward, peering into the pot.

  Wonder what’s for dinner? The hot steam forced her back, but she closed her eyes and inhaled.

  “Just chicken broth.” Wolf watched her closely.

  Loti’s fingers trembled as she turned the flame down on the stove until it simmered just right.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me?” Wolf leaned a hip on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

  She looked straight into his brown eyes. “No.” She could play this game too.

  Wolf laughed a whole-hearted laugh. “Feeling better, I see.” He shook his head and stepped over to the small fridge.

  She bit her lip as he bent over to get something out of the refrigerator. It had been a long time since she felt anything close to this. The small stirrings she’d agonized over with Jeremy didn’t hold a candle to this. Maybe it’s fair-maiden rescue syndrome, she thought, then snorted out loud. The corner of Wolf’s mouth twitched as he closed the door. He couldn’t possibly . . . what does the fridge run on?

  “LP.” Wolf handed her the blue and white carton he’d fished out of the fridge, his face almost neutral. “I use LP for the hot water too. It should be ready, if you want to clean up.” The hardness she was used to in his face was nowhere to be found. It hadn’t been there since under the tree by the secret door. Neither had the buzzing when they didn’t touch. Interesting. She held the carton, reading the label. Why coconut water?

  “Potassium. It’s got more than bananas.”

  She poured the cloudy liquid into her mug with an unsteady hand. “Clean up?” Her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat.

  “There’s a bathroom through that door.” He pointed over her shoulder, and she looked back at the closed door. Putting the carton down on the counter, she struggled to get off the stool to his amusement and to her chagrin. Giving up, she sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “Could you help me?” Her pride, and other things, throbbed. “Please.”

  He hooked a hand under her armpit, but her legs still wobbled. If she leaned on Wolf, she could stay upright. Glancing over her shoulder at the simmering pot of soup, she stumbled.

  “Easy,” Wolf soothed. “Get cleaned up and changed, and it’ll be ready when you’re done.”

  She told herself he responded to the hungry look in her eyes.

  When they stepped through the doorway, she caught a glimpse of herself in the large mirror over the sink and paused, touching her matted hair in disbelief. It was in various stages of dredding. She touched the corner of her sunken eye and rubbed at the splatters and smears of blood and dirt on her pale face. Was it her blood or Wolf’s? Or, ew, the shape-shifters? She dropped her hands to her side and forced her attention to a table with a brush, comb and a spray bottle of something standing to the right of the sink.

  “It’s a detangler.” Wolf said.

  Loti grabbed for the sink as her legs buckled, Wolf catching her. “I thought vampire blood was supposed to heal you and give you super strength,” she tittered.

  “Myth.” Wolf turned her in his arms to face him; their noses almost touched. “Yes, it’ll heal, but unless we turn you, you’ll stay human strong—or weak. You had a really bad day, and it’ll take time or . . . ”

  His face was a blur as she breathed. “What about that, um, sexual thing?”

  He brushed his cheek against hers. “You mean, if you drink my blood, you’ll want me?” His breath on her neck made her eyes flutter, among other things.

  “Yeah.”

  He pressed his lips to the jumping pulse in her neck, and her body lit up like the fourth of July. Lifting his head, he kissed her breathless until she broke away.

  “I’m filthy,” she whispered.

  Wolf’s lips curled into a lush smile, his eyes tracing the curves of her face from her forehea
d to her mouth.

  “I don’t think I can handle a shower.” She put her hands on his chest, gently pushing until he let go.

  “Don’t fall.” He hesitated before turning toward the white, claw-foot tub. “You can take a bath.” He narrowed his eyes.

  Lightheaded, she lowered herself to the tile floor, and when she was all the way down, Wolf turned back to the tub, adjusting knobs until water splashed against the enamel. How in the hell did he get a claw-foot tub way up here in the mountains?

  “I had help,” Wolf called over his shoulder.

  Loti smacked the tile floor with an open hand. “You’re not reading my mind.” Her jaw flexed. “I can’t hear you, so I don’t think you can hear my thoughts.”

  He dumped powder out of a jar into the rushing water and bubbles sudsed up. “No. Not exactly. But I get the focus.” He screwed the lid back on the jar and dropped it into a silver, metal basket hanging on the side of the tub. “I can tell what you’re thinking about without the words.”

  “Is that an effect of your blood?”

  He turned around with a serious frown. “No. I’ve never heard of that. I should be able to detect your emotions, but not your thoughts. Not yet, anyway.” Turning back to the tub, he stirred the water with his hands, then stood up, towering over her, hands on his hips and a wicked smile on his face.

  “Do you need help getting undressed?”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Loti’s muscles unwound as she soaked in the warm bath. Too weak to do more than lay there, she closed her eyes and raised a tired arm to run her fingers through her matted hair. Disgusting. Her arm fell back into the water with a weighty sploosh. Damn. She’d have to give her hair a good scrubbing tomorrow. Heading lolling to one side against the back of the tub, she stretched her legs way out, flexing her ankles and pointing her toes.