by Tate Jackson
“Richard’s home.” Damon said.
Sure enough, when they got back to the creek, Richard was waiting on the other side. Potter picked her up and tossed her across the break. She laughed all the way over to where Richard caught her on the other side. He kissed her before he set her down.
“You taste like french fries,” she laughed.
Potter and Damon landed beside them.
“What the hell?” Damon said in a miffed tone of voice “I hold you and jump across, and you scream bloody murder. Lugh throws you across like a Frisbee, and you laugh, and he didn’t warn you either.”
“I’m used to them throwing me.” Damon was surprised. “They’ve thrown you before?”
“Yes, like this,” Potter said, and grabbed her and shot her into the air. She flew up to thirty feet and was falling when Richard caught her. They were both laughing when they touched the ground.
“That doesn’t bother you?!” Damon said, incredulous. “No, not at all. I know they’re not going to drop me.”
“I wasn’t going to drop you either,” Damon mumbled.
Potter changed the subject, “You do smell like French fries. Where’s the food?”
“Back at the house,” Richard laughed.
“Let’s go,” Potter said, already walking toward the house. Damon laughed, and told Potter, “At least he’s not chewing up those damn Fruit Loops.”
“Hey! I think it’s cute that he does that,” Beck teased.
“That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t been stepping over chewed up piles of them for the last sixty years,” Potter grumbled.
Richard laughed. “I think I can give up the habit now,” looking down at Beck.
“Thank God,” Potter exclaimed. Richard feigned hurt, “I don’t complain when you eat.”
“I don’t complain when you eat, either. I complain when you taste things all day long,” Potter said and looked at Beck. “I wish you never would’ve shown him he could do that. I bet he spits out enough food in a week to fill up a thirty gallon trash bag.”
“I do not,” Richard denied.
They bickered all the way back to the house, with Damon following quietly behind.
“What did you get for lunch?” Beck asked as they went into the house. She stepped into the kitchen before he could answer, and gasped. “I didn’t know what you would be in the mood for.”
The kitchen table was heaped with bags. She saw Arby’s bags, Taco Bell bags, McDonald’s bags, Wendy’s bags, Whitt’s BBQ bags, and Dairy Queen bags.
“Excellent!” Potter exclaimed, and sat down at the table.
Damon sat down across from him.
“Is there a cheeseburger in one of those bags?” she asked.
Potter picked through the bags, sniffing boxes, until he found the box he was looking for and tossed it to her.
She leaned up against the counter, ate her burger, and watched the two hunters eat. She’d thought Potter could eat, but he had nothing on Damon.
In twenty minutes, he ate three Whoppers, three Big Mac’s, eight large orders of fries, nine tacos, two BBQ sandwiches, three roast beef sandwiches, and drank seven of the large cokes that came with the various meals.
“Oh my God!” she stated from pure shock when he had finally pushed back from the table. “Do you eat like that all the time?!”
“Yes,” was all Damon said. “That’s nothing. You should see him at a buffet. We went to Ryan’s Steakhouse once, and an old lady passed by the table where we were sitting. She patted him on the head and said, “Well, honey, ain’t you just born, bred, and cornbread fed” and walked off. I don’t know what that means, but it sounded funny,” Potter laughed.
Beck laughed too, “She thought you were from here. She was just saying you’re a big ol’ boy.”
“You say the strangest things here. I was in Kroger’s once, and a woman called me gianormous. I looked it up. It’s not even a word,” Damon chuckled.
Beck explained that as well. “Sure it is. It’s what you say when giant and enormous just won’t cover it.”
“Cover what?” Damon asked. “Never mind, I give up. How have you lived here for twenty-six years and not figured out how we talk in the south yet?” she asked, bewildered. “We don’t exactly socialize. We don’t go out in public that often. We send two people at a time to get supplies, always different people, to different stores, so people don’t get used to seeing us. All of the houses are run on generators and solar panels. The water is pumped from wells and the sewage goes into septic tanks.
“All of our televisions are hooked up to satellite dishes that we installed ourselves. We don’t have landline phones. Even our internet is wireless from cell phone companies and billed to fictitious names. We’re pretty much off the grid here. We go out to eat every now and then, but even that’s a rarity,” Potter explained.
“That must be horrible for you.”
Beck felt so guilty. They’d all been stuck here because of her.
“Not really. =We have our own community here. What would we talk about with humans anyway?” Potter asked.
“But you protect humans.” Damon jumped in, “Yes, but the only way that works is that the humans do not know about it.
If they knew of our existence, they would want us dead. Or worse, they would want to study us to see if they could become like us. Humans have become obsessed with looking young and living forever.”
She felt another flash of guilt. What was Potter going to say when she held him to his promise?
“I’m human, and you talk to me all the time,” she said to Potter. Potter rolled his eyes. “You are human, but you’re one of us. It’s not the same thing.”
She felt some relief. Maybe he wouldn’t be too mad when she asked for his blood.
“You really are unique. Most humans would freak out if they knew we existed. You accepted us without fear. Most humans aren’t capable of that,” Richard smiled at her.
“Bev isn’t scared of you.”
“Only because she trusts you. If it wasn’t for the letter you wrote to her, she would have jumped out of the car window when I told her I was a vampyre.”
“Maybe, but once she met Leso, you wouldn’t have been able to get rid of her,” she smiled.
Richard smiled back at her. “She must really trust you. When she read your letter, she called the man she had been dating, told him she was sorry, but that she was getting married, and hung up. She hadn’t met Leso yet, but you said he was going to be her husband, and she believed you.”
“Bev was dating someone? Seriously dating someone?”
“Apparently so. I guess when the other Beck’s life changed, so did hers.” She thought about it and decided it didn’t matter. Bev was supposed to be with Leso, and now she was. Bev could’ve been married, and she still would have gone with Leso when she met him .
“Don’t any of the other hunters have mates?” she asked Potter.
“Nope, just me, and they don’t want one, not now anyway.”
“Why not?”
“They’re here with us now to protect you and Bev, and for the promise of the eventual battle.”
“So, you think there will be a battle?” ‘
“It’s inevitable. You know that, Beck.”
“And the hunters are looking forward to the battle?” she asked stunned. “We kill vampyres, Beck. It’s what we do, who we are. It’s what we were created for.”
Softly, she said, “But you could be killed.”
“Then it will be a good day to die,” Potter said, getting up and hugging her. “This is not your fault, Beck. It never was,” Potter told her quietly as she cried into his neck. “You said yourself that in your other future, Elderson sent that vampyre after you. He was never going to stop. What you’ve done is saved our family from an early death, and gave us more time to prepare to defend ourselves. You did a good thing,” he said, still holding her.
“It doesn’t feel like a good thing. I gave him time to build an a
rmy,” she sniffed.
“You gave us time to build one as well, and I guarantee you that ours is better,” Potter assured her as he stepped back from her. “Don’t worry about it now. It could be years before we hear from him again.”
“I hope so.”
“I don’t,” Damon said.
She jumped a little. He’d been so quiet she had forgotten he was there.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, are there any female hunters?” she asked, wiping her face with a napkin.
“No, they’re all men. We can only assume that our creator thought of women as weak,” Damon told her.
Potter laughed at the look on her face. “It was a long time ago. If he were to create his hunters today, he would not make that mistake again.”
“Alright, that’s enough for now,” Richard said, pilling Beck over to him. “Would you like to visit our cliff?”
“I’d like that.”
He took her hand and pulled her out the front door. “Would you like to walk or drive?”
“I don’t want to take your car into the woods. It will get scratched.”
“There is no way I would take my car in there,” he said, shocked. She smiled, “Then what?”
“Come, I’ll show you.”
They walked about twenty yards into the woods to where they had cleared a place to park the vehicles. There were a few cars, but mostly pickup trucks and several large moving vans. He opened the door to one of the smaller pickups, and she got in.
“Why don’t you park your car in here?” He gave her a shocked look. “I was right about you. You are insane! I’m not parking Lucille back here where they’ll hit her with car doors or back into her. Plus, she’d get covered in tree sap. She can just stay in the yard where she’s safe.”
“Lucille?” she laughed. “You named your car?”
“Don’t tease me about my car,” he growled playfully.
“Did you really build Lucille yourself?”
“I really did.” He said with a touch of pride.
“I’m impressed,” she said as they pulled up to the base of the cliff. “Thank you,” he smiled as he got out of the truck. She was out of the truck when he came around, and he put his arm around her waist.
“Are you ready?”
She nodded, and he jumped. The cliff was just as perfect as she remembered.
“I feel like I haven’t been here in years,” she said, gazing down at the field below.
“I haven’t been here in years. Actually, I’ve only been here once, and that was only to find the location for the house.”
“Why not? You always loved it here.”
He came up behind her and slipped his arm around her waist, “This is our place. Without you here, it’s just a sad place. I have all your memories in my head of the times we spent here, and I didn’t want to be here without you,” he said quietly.
She turned in his arms and kissed him. “You didn’t have to be so sad all those years. I didn’t want that for you.”
“I didn’t know how mad you would be when you got back here. When you left, no one would tell me how mad you were. Jenny said that you had mentioned divorce, but nobody else would tell me anything. I thought you hated me,” he said softly.
“I thought you hated me. When you didn’t come back before I left, I assumed you were done with me.”
“I was mad, but I was stupid, too. I shouldn’t have left you that night. I should have stood in the middle of that road with you and had a screaming argument. It would have been bad, but not nearly as bad as the last 120 years have been. And I should have been there when you left. You see, I don’t need Elderson to torture me. I did that pretty well all on my own,” he said, holding her tight.
She nibbled on his neck, “Do you want to argue about it now?”
“No, that’s not what I want right now,” he said, and pulled her to the ground with him.
***
It had been so long since he had been able to touch her like this. It took all of the willpower he had not to just rip off her clothes and take her. He felt the first heartbeat in 120 years thump in his chest and knew he was alive. He pulled her shirt up over her head and cupped her breasts in his hands. He took a deep breath and pulled her scent into him.
He slid his palms down her ribcage and hips, sliding her shorts down her legs. When he had her undressed, he drew back to look at her. She was exquisite. He was sure she had flaws, but love is blind, and his eyes could not see them. He ran his tongue up her thigh, tasting the salty sweat on her skin. He felt her body shudder at his touch. He undressed and knelt between her open thighs. She reached to touch him, but he stayed her hand.
“Don’t.”
“Why not?”
“It has been a long time for me. Controlling myself is difficult at the moment. If you touch me now, I will lose what little control I have.”
He watched a wicked look flit through her eyes. She shot her other hand forward, encircled him, and squeezed. God! He threw her hand away from him and lunged forward into her. The tightness of her body nearly sent him over the edge.
“Wait,” he said, and held himself still for a few moments. When he had regained a fraction of control, he started to move slowly inside of her. He was trying so hard, but she was not helping. He could feel her biting his shoulder, could feel her nails dragging down his back.
Her moans were driving him crazy. When she started arching her body up to meet him, he was done. He rolled over onto his back, pulling her on top of him. He arched up, pulling her to him, faster and faster until she cried out as he exploded inside her.
***
They spent the evening on their cliff, watching their field turn into an ocean, lightning bugs glittering over it like stars.
“Let’s go home,” he said when she yawned.
He watched her that night as she slept. His mind went over everything he had learned that day. He couldn’t believe that everything that was happening was because he’d saved a little girl 177 years ago, because he had killed a worthless, pitiful excuse for a human being.
His mother had raised Leso and himself to be good, honest, decent men, but she had also been a realist. He could hear her voice in his head even now saying that ‘No good deed goes unpunished.’ He had not believed her then, but now he understood. He did not have the opportunity that Beck had had. He could not go into the past and change things.
Would he stop himself from saving the girl if he could go back? No, he would still save her. Would he stop himself from killing her attacker? What would be the dilemma to him. He would be able to stop all of this by just preventing his other self from killing that man. Beck would be safe. However, by doing that, Elderson would never have bitten him.
He would never have become a vampyre and lived long enough to find Beck. He would’ve been dust in his grave before she was ever born. Even if he’d still been alive when she had come to the past, he would have been 83 years old…an old man. Life without Beck was unthinkable. So, would he let himself kill that man? Yes, he would.
He would do whatever it took to get to her, to be here with her now. He also couldn’t believe that for even one second, Beck had believed that any of this was her fault. He admitted to himself that he had hated Potter a little today. When Beck had cried, Potter had known how to comfort her.
It had killed him to watch him hold her while she cried on his shoulder, to listen to Potter speak the words of comfort that she had needed to hear.
He knew that Beck and Potter shared a special bond. He knew they were as much brother and sister as if they had come from the same womb, but closer than that. He knew Beck would kill for Potter, and Potter would die for her. He just wished he could understand her as well as the ‘Great Lugh’ did. He loved Potter, but was a bit jealous of him, as well. Why had he not known that she was upset? She was his mate, after all. Had he been a vampyre so long that he had forgotten how humans felt?
Had his blood been still for so long that he could not unders
tand? Was he not paying enough attention? He didn’t know. What he did know was that he could not watch Potter comfort her for the rest of her life. He would have to learn how to anticipate her moods. He would learn to be the husband she needed him to be. and while he was doing that, he would also find a way to keep her safe, because the day was coming when her life would be in danger again.
Chapter Thirteen
When she woke up the next morning, Richard was gone again. He’d left a note on his pillow that read: Little One, I went hunting with Leso. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you. She got out of bed, got dressed, and went to see who she could find in the house. She found Bev sitting at the kitchen table.
“Morning,” she chimed, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Morning,” Bev responded. “You know Leso went hunting, right?”
“Yeah, they just left a few minutes ago. Is all this real?”
“Yeah, it’s real. I know it takes a while to get use to, but you will.”
“I don’t know if I can get used to those hunters. They scare me a little.” Surprised and amused, Beck asked, “The hunters scare you? Not the vampyres?”
“The vampyres are all nice. The hunters seem dangerous.”
“They are dangerous, but not to you,” she assured her. “So, how are things going with Leso?”
“I’m loving Leso. Thank you for bringing me to him. He’s everything I ever could have asked for in a man,” Bev smiled. “Except human?”
“Turns out that’s not as important as I would have thought,” Bev shrugged and gave Beck a curious look. “You’re so different from the Beck that I’m used to.”
“How’s that?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. You’re stronger, more confident somehow. Even the way you move is different.”
“I told you, I had a different life than your Beck. Did Leso explain to you that the Beck you knew isn’t coming back?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t seem real to me. To me, you are Beck.”