The vampire laughed. “You wolves are so arrogant. If I wanted to, I could snap her neck right now and you wouldn’t even reach me until she hit the floor.” Nick growled and took a step forward. The vampire wrapped a hand around my neck. “Stop or I kill her.”
Nick stopped and glared at the vampire. I wanted to tell them to leave, to let me die, but I couldn’t form words.
“Sarah,” Nick whispered.
My eyes lifted and found his. The vampire whispered in my ear, “Go to him. Then kill the wolves.” He slipped a knife into my hand behind my back and pushed me forward.
No! I couldn’t kill Nick! I couldn’t… My body moved on its own, walking towards Nick who smiled happily at me. I stopped in front of him and felt tears falling down my face. He reached out towards me and I blocked his hand, punching him in the chest and knocking him backwards. He stared at me in shock and reached towards me again. I slashed at his chest with the knife.
He jumped back and yelped. “Sarah!”
Dad and the other Alphas ran past me, too fast for me to try to kill them. I continued walking towards Nick, who backed away, out the front door. The boys from the pack formed a circle around Nick and I. Gary reached out towards me and I spun around, cutting open his arm with the knife.
“Why is she attacking us?” Mason asked as they moved closer to me.
“The vampire is using mind control. She cannot control her own body,” Alfred said as he watched from the doorway. “She’ll kill you if you get too close.”
I could hear fighting inside the house and wondered what was happening. Was there a way I could stop my body?
“Is that why she’s crying?” Bryan asked. “Because she doesn’t want to do it, but she can’t stop it? Because she doesn’t want to kill us?”
“She won’t kill us,” Nick whispered. “We’re her friends.”
Alfred shook his head sadly. “She is human, Nicholas. She is too weak to fight the vampire and stop from killing you. No matter how much you want her to be, she is not pack and thus cannot fight his command.”
Nick walked towards me with a smile on his face. “Sarah, I know you’re there, otherwise you wouldn’t have that petrified look on your face. That’s the same look you got when Thornton caught you and I sneaking out when we were twelve to go smoke cigarettes. You remember that night?”
Boy did I ever. Dad was so mad at us that he’d kept us locked in separate rooms for the entire weekend. I felt my left hand shake slightly.
He took another step closer. “You remember when the pack went to the ocean and you drifted out too far and couldn’t come back? I stole that surfer’s board and paddled out to you and saved you.”
My right hand shook as I recalled the memory and how scared I’d been until he’d picked me up out of the water.
He took another step, closing the distance between us. My hand lifted as my body prepared to stab him in the shoulder. “Kitten, don’t leave us. We love you,” Nick whispered. “Wolf or not, you’re part of our pack.”
The knife lowered, the tip pushing into Nick’s t-shirt, but my hand shook and the blade didn’t go any deeper as I fought against it. I couldn’t hurt Nick. He was my best friend. He was my Guardian.
Nick stared into my eyes and whispered, “Kitten, don’t be scared. I’m right here.”
I dropped the knife and screamed as I felt the vampire in my head, angry and hungry. The vampire yelled, “No!” inside the house and then I felt him leave my head. I collapsed into Nick and darkness surrounded me as every part of me went numb.
5
“I have just as much right to be here as you do,” Gary said in an angry whisper near me. “You’re just trying to make it so that when she wakes up you are the first one she sees.”
“So?” said Nick.
“Well, no matter what, I’m taking her out first tonight.”
“Stop fighting,” I said softly as I opened my eyes and sat up.
Dad rushed into the room, pushing the boys away from me. “Sarah, how are you feeling?”
I smiled at him. “Fine. A little tired and sore, but fine.”
He hugged me tightly. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
I relaxed in his arms. “What happened to the vampire?”
He pulled back and smiled. “I killed him. He won’t be bothering you ever again.”
My shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you.”
“There’s food downstairs when you feel up to going.” He looked at Gary. “Come help me set the table.”
Gary started to say something, but clenched his jaw. He knew better than to defy his Alpha. “Yes, sir.”
Dad closed the door, leaving Nick and me alone. I looked at the tears in his eyes and his hands clenched into fists and knew I had to go to him. I got out of bed and walked to stand in front of him. “You saved me again.”
“You almost died.”
I picked up one of his clenched fists and pried his hand open. I lifted his hand up and kissed his arm where I’d cut him with the knife. “I almost killed you.”
Nick wrapped his arms around me and sobbed. “I froze when he grabbed you. If I hadn’t frozen, I could have gotten you from him and he never would have bitten you.”
I reached up and touched one of the bite marks on the side of my neck which itched. “I felt like he was eating my soul.” I remembered my other feelings and stepped out of his arms, turning away from him. I still believed I should leave them. I shouldn’t stay with the pack and endanger them. I was an untrained witch and one of the last witches in existence. When my powers finally manifested, it could be catastrophic, since I had no one to train me. The thought of leaving them was frightening though. I had never lived anywhere else.
“Kitten, why are you frightened?” he asked as he moved towards me. “You’re safe now.”
“Yeah, but for how long? When will the next supernatural come after me and try to kill me or take me away?” I asked softly as I grabbed clean clothes to change into. Maybe that was why Alfred was so interested in me. Maybe he wanted me, since I was a witch.
“I’ll protect you,” Nick said vehemently. “I’ll train harder and—”
I spun around. “You could have died, Nick! I almost killed you!”
Nick’s eyes softened. “You wouldn’t kill me.”
I sobbed and put a hand over my mouth. “I need to change my clothes.”
Nick stared at me a moment and then nodded. “I’ll be outside.”
I changed as quickly as I could and used the restroom before staring at myself in the mirror. The bite marks looked like bruises now, almost like hickies. I hadn’t even had my first kiss, and I was almost killed.
I shoved extra clothes into my backpack and some jerky I kept hidden in my room so the boys wouldn’t eat it. I turned on my radio and then slid open my window. Nick had taught me how to sneak out of my room when I was ten. Now I was using it against him. I started out the window when I spotted the group picture we’d all taken last summer and I grabbed it, storing it in my backpack safely before climbing out my window and jumping to the tree outside. I stopped moving when I realized that the living room was full of people and all they had to do was look out and they’d see me. Luckily everyone was busy talking and didn’t bother. I climbed down from the tree and jogged across the lawn, towards the school and then towards town.
“Sarah!” I heard Nick yell from far away.
I felt awful for leaving him, but he never would have let me go. He would have handcuffed me to him if he’d known what I wanted to do. I just hoped he knew I wasn’t doing it for myself, but for him and the rest of the pack.
I fought the tears that wanted to come out and focused on masking my scent and confusing Nick so he wouldn’t be able to follow my trail.
The tears were coming so hard now that I could barely see. As I wiped at my eyes, I ran into someone. I stumbled backwards. “Sorry,” I gasped.
“Sarah?” Tom asked. “What’s wrong?”
I looked
up into his concerned face and sobbed. “I’m sorry if I caused you any trouble.”
Tom frowned and then touched one of the bites on my neck. “You’ve never caused me trouble.” I yanked back from him and started walking away, but he followed me. “What you’re feeling isn’t real,” he said softly. “Those are just thoughts that he put into your head to try to break you.”
I shook my head, but couldn’t find my voice.
“Sarah, listen to me. I know what you’re going through. I felt it myself.”
“I have to go,” I said as I heard Mason yell my name in the distance.
“Don’t leave, Sarah. Think how much it will hurt them. Think how upset Thornton will be,” Tom whispered as he walked towards me.
“I’m just going to cause more problems. Next time I might actually kill Nick!” I yelled and then clamped a hand over my mouth.
Tom stared at me in shock. “What happened?”
“Sarah!” Nick yelled from nearby somewhere.
I shook my head at Tom, turned, and ran. I only made it two more blocks before Dad tackled me. Once we’d finished rolling he smiled at me. “That was fun. I think I should do that more often.”
“No, let me go! Please, I can’t go back,” I pleaded. “I can’t hurt you anymore.”
Dad picked me up and held me against his chest. “It’s going to be alright. We’re going to take care of you.”
“Sarah!” Nick yelled. “What the hell?”
Dad shushed him and started walking back towards home. I struggled against him, but only for a moment before settling into his comforting arms. As much as I wanted to deny it, he was my dad and when he held me, I felt safe.
“We’re going to protect you, Sarah. We’re going to keep you safe and you’ll realize soon that the only place for you to be is with us. We’re your family and we love you. The vampire is dead and soon you’ll forget about these ridiculous thoughts that he’s put into your head. He can’t control you anymore and we’ll make sure no one else ever has that chance again.”
The farther we walked, the more of the pack met up with us. “Why?” I asked. “Why would you all come searching for me?”
Dad smiled down at me. “We love you, Sarah. Nick, Mason, all of your pack loves you. You’re the one treasure we have and we will fight to protect you, even if we have to fight you until you realize that.”
“We love you,” the boys said at the same time as they looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know it was childish to run away, but I don’t want any of you to get hurt. I love you all, too, and it hurts me to know that I could have killed one of you.”
“It shouldn’t take too long for the thoughts to fade and then this will be nothing more than a bad memory. The real you wouldn’t run away and we know that. The real you is a fighter and loves us too much to abandon us.”
Was I? Was I a fighter? All I did was cower and let the others protect me. How could I fight against supernaturals? They could kill me so easily.
“I’m useless. All I do is get in trouble and make you all save me.”
“You are not useless. You are the bond that keeps us together. Nick and Mason probably would have killed each other by now, if you weren’t here,” he said and chuckled.
“I don’t know if I can choose,” I whispered. “How am I supposed to choose between all of these guys?”
“You don’t have to choose, at least not for a while,” he said. “None of us will make you. Just be part of this pack. Stay with us and be our light in the darkness that usually surrounds our kind.”
“He’s gone?” I whispered.
Dad nodded. “He’s dead. You’re safe. Now you just need to get through high school and date whoever you want to figure out who you are and who will make a good mate for you. But, you’re several years off from choosing a mate. Or mates. Whatever you want.”
“What about Alfred?” I asked.
Dad growled. “I’ll deal with him. Don’t worry.”
“Sarah,” Nick whispered.
Dad set me down and Nick hugged me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t apologize,” Nick whispered. “Just promise you won’t run away again.”
“I promise,” I said, making an x over my heart with my finger.
“Good, now let’s go home and finish our homework,” he said, a huge smile splitting his face.
I groaned, but truthfully, I was just happy to have such understanding people in my life. I had a lot of decisions to make in the future, but for now I would have fun and enjoy my time with everyone.
The End
Read more from Catherine Banks.
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About the Author
Catherine Banks is a USA Today Bestselling fantasy author who writes in several fantasy subgenres under two pseudonyms. She began writing fiction at only four years old and finished her first full-length novel at the age of fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who she has two amazing children with. After her full time job, she reads books, plays video games, and watches anime shows and movies with her family to relax. Although she has lived in Northern California her entire life, she dreams of traveling around the world. Catherine is also C.E.O. of Turbo Kitten Industries™, a company with many hats including being a book publisher and Etsy store full of nerdy fun.
Demon In Distress
A and E Kirk
Demon In Distress
1
In the dark of a moonless night, I hid behind a tree watching in amazement as the demon talked politely to a woman who, by all stretches of the imagination, should be trying to kill him on sight.
Instead, they sat together on an iron bench under a lamppost in the deserted London park like two friends. He held an umbrella over the two of them against the light rain as he handed her something. She put it in her coat pocket with a nod and a smile. He smiled back.
A spark of hope lit inside me. Somehow, this demon, my best friend Culus, might actually pull off a peace treaty. Maybe, after all this time, I could finally catch a break.
Then a man pressed the barrel of a gun to the side of my head.
No breaks here.
The woman had set Culus up. We should have seen this coming. After all, she was a hunter for the Mandatum; an ancient and powerful secret society sworn to pursue and kill demons like Culus.
And me.
“Raise your arms,” he whispered.
I pulled my gloved hands out of the pockets of my coat and lifted them up in front of me. My eyes drifted to the side to try to see his face, but he wore a hood, and my own hood blocked any clear view. I wondered if there were any more hunters lurking since they traveled in rabid packs of seven.
I said, “I think there has been a misunderstanding.” At least I hoped so.
With his free hand, the man searched me in a rough and thorough manner that made me cringe before he concluded I had no weapons.
“Gut,” he said.
“Gut?” I said, my fear and frustration rising through the harsh, gravely sound of my voice that I hated so much. “You’re going to gut me? That seems rather extreme. I haven’t done anything.”
Yet.
And I didn’t want to. This was my chance for freedom, but if he planned on gutting me two seconds in, what choice did I have? Damn Mandatum. My claws lengthened as my adrenaline increased. If anyone was getting gutted tonight, it would not be me. I took a deep breath to try to remain calm and stop the automatic, deeply-ingrained-for-survival fight response.
“Please, listen,” I said.
“Nein,” the man said with a shake of his head. “Not gut, gut.” He paused. Struggled for a moment. “Goot. It is goot zat you have no veapons.”
What the—? Oh. Nein. He was German. Had an accent.
“Yes. Good.” I nodded. “No ve— I mean no weapons. I’m not here to fight.”
I didn’t talk to people often, so the accent threw me a bit and it took a few seconds to translate in my head that he wanted me to walk out into the clearing. During this very brief hesitation, before I could move, he grabbed my bicep and shoved me.
Pain lanced hot at his touch. I almost cried out, but instead, sucked in a breath. I hurried forward in hopes he would break contact, but he kept a solid hold on my arm. The agony proved too much.
“Get off!” I yanked free.
In my panic, my claws had elongated to rip through the end of my gloves. They sliced across the man’s torso.
He grunted and kicked me in the stomach. I flew out of the trees and onto my back in the wet grass. It probably smelled nice, the grass. Earthy. But, because of the whole demon-thing, I couldn’t tell. It seemed certain senses, specifically those of anything pleasant, had dulled. Even my sight had a constant filter of red haze.
Pain, however, that stuck around. Worse still, unlike my other senses, it had intensified. My body screamed at the burning bursts of agony that exploded from the fall.
The man loomed over me, his gun pointed directly between my eyes. He appeared especially tall, but that could just be from my position on the ground. Power and confidence radiated from a body more lean than broad.
My attacker’s hood had fallen back to reveal dark blond hair. It was short on the sides, the top longer and brushed back off his forehead in subtle waves, glossy and shimmering. Especially as the small raindrops steadily fell. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. Shadows bounced over a handsome face of harsh angles, nose straight but slightly rounded at the end. A square jaw tapered to a sharp chin which was lined with a neatly trimmed scruff of beard a few shades darker than the blond on his head.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 177