Once Bitten, Twice Seduced [Revenants 1] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Mackenzie Williams

  He stopped working on his laces and looked up at her with his bright blue eyes. Will I ever get sick of staring into those? He gave her a quick, sincere smile and then finished putting on his black leather shoes.

  “Addison, we are going shopping again today. We are going to venture out so you can see that it’s all right. You are fine.”

  “Yes.” She nodded at him. “I want to go out today.”

  “Good. I was going to make you a quick drink before we go. Is that okay?” Luke stood from the bed. She could see that he was full of concern and a little uneasiness.

  “Uumm, sure, I guess. I mean, do you think it will help me?”

  “I don’t think you need it, but I was just thinking it might give you more confidence.”

  Addison turned her head down and thought about it. She felt like an oddball, like she didn’t quite fit in with the Revenants and certainly not with the humans. Finally, she looked back up at Luke. “Yes, thank you.”

  Luke reached up and stroked her hair a few times, sending a shiver through her. He then left the room quietly and Addison heard him getting her refreshment from the kitchen. She decided to venture out and sit on the couch to wait for him. As she walked, she smiled to herself. She was such a lucky girl, it seemed. Luke was perfect. That thought had just a small amount of fear flickering through her.

  Addison reached the couch just as Luke was coming out of the kitchen. He walked to her and handed her a small cup. It wasn’t a mug, and it wasn’t steaming. Addison took it and peered inside. It looked like pop, like cola. She smelled it and could tell it was indeed cola, but with her special added requirement. She watched the liquid for a moment, watched the bubbles raise to the surface and pop.

  “I thought you might want to try something new.”

  Addison looked up at Luke with her love clearly written on her face. “Thank you.”

  She took a seat on the couch and started to sip the drink. It was an odd combination of sweet and bitter. Not bad. Addison finished the drink in no time. As she brought the cup away from her face, she licked her lips. She was taken aback and had no time to react when Luke leaned down and kissed her roughly and quickly. His tongue shot inside her mouth and tasted hers.

  When he pulled back from the kiss and stood up, just as quickly as he had come forward, she saw Luke’s lust flash though his eyes. Lust, she assumed, for not just her. Her and blood.

  “Not bad.” His grin was wicked and naughty.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  When they had left the house, Luke had asked Addison if she wanted to try a different shopping area, a different town. Addison had answered with a confident “no.” She knew that she needed to just dive in head-first, no tiptoeing into the shallow end. She needed to really know she could do this.

  As Luke parked the car just a few spots down the street from where he had parked last time, Addison’s stress level was rising. She exhaled and closed her eyes. What was the real issue here? she wondered to herself. It was the fact that her emotions were so much stronger now than before she had been turned. She had powers she could unleash and she needed to control them and her feelings.

  Luke reached over and squeezed her hand. Addison turned her head and opened her eyes. She squeezed his hand in return and gave him a small smile.

  “Ready?”

  “Absolutely.”

  With a confident nod, she let go of his hand and opened her car door, not even waiting for him. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk, the breeze felt fresh and cool. It felt like a completely new place and she was grateful for that.

  She watched Luke come around the car as she shut her door. He took her hand and they started up toward a different shop than the first time. Addison wanted to come back to this town but had decided she wanted to try a different store, just in case the ladies at the counter that day remembered her.

  They had walked for a minute or so when Addison spotted someone she knew all too well. The blonde was here. Does she do anything but shop? Is fate fucking with me? Addison kept a wary eye on the girl, who seemed not to notice them.

  As they got closer to her, Addison saw that she was just staring into a shop window. Addison tensed and squeezed Luke’s hand tighter. He either hadn’t noticed the blonde or was purposely playing dumb. Addison decided that was probably for the best, for him not to react at all.

  Just as they passed behind the girl, she turned slightly. Addison was pleasantly surprised and relieved when the bubbly blonde waved at someone further down the sidewalk and took off in a friendly jog. Addison felt the stress fall off in waves. She lightened her grip on Luke’s hand and squared her shoulders. That had been the test she was worried about, and she felt good now.

  Obviously, the girl hadn’t gone as far as she had last time, with all her flirting, but just her face had spiked Addison’s anxiety. She felt much better, lighter even. Addison playfully swung her arm and Luke’s as they continued up the sidewalk.

  After more than two hours of searching racks and tables, trying on clothes, and hitting three different stores, they were home. Addison now had several large bags of new clothes. She knew that in the next few weeks or so, she would have to return to the “real world” and clean out her apartment. She didn’t want to do it or even think about it until things had settled down in her personal life. Secretly, she wondered if she would be moving her stuff into Luke’s place.

  Addison buried all thoughts of her former life and possessions and turned her attention back to her treasures. Luke had driven them both home and carried her bags in for her. He had kissed her sweetly and told her to make herself at home, unpacking her new things into his open dresser. The ugly thought that Brooklyn’s things probably occupied this space not too long ago left a sour taste in her mouth, but she was thankful that he wanted her stuff here now.

  After just a minute of being there, Luke then left the house, saying he had errands to run. He had left about ten minutes ago, leaving Addison alone with her clothes. Addison didn’t press him on what the errands were, exactly. She had a suspicion that they had to do with getting her more “drink ingredients.”

  Addison walked into the closet to hang a couple of dresses. They weren’t anything fancy, just cute, casual dresses. She had loved the way Luke complimented her over and over again when she had tried them on. She couldn’t wait to wear one for him and then have him rip it off.

  A giggle left her as she thought about that scene when she walked back out of the closet. Something caught her eye just before she grabbed the next bag from the bed to unpack. On the small end table, by the head of the bed, was a mug. She hadn’t seen it there before.

  Addison walked over and took a closer look. The mug was full. That’s weird. How long has that been there? She lifted it to her face and sniffed the contents. It smelled like tea and blood. Something was a bit off, though. The blood smell was much more overwhelming than the last drink Luke had made her.

  Did he leave this for me before he left? Certainly, the answer was “yes” but why? It struck Addison as odd that he would make her another drink. She had just had one this morning. She obviously didn’t need to eat again so soon. Maybe he wants to soothe me. Maybe he wants me fed for something.

  A smile spread over her face. Maybe he has an “adventure” for me tonight. She decided that if he went to the trouble of making her a drink, she shouldn’t waste it. Besides, it would look rude if she just left it here. Addison hoped he was giving her more strength for a harsher playtime later.

  She laughed out loud to herself. Then Addison brought the mug closer and took a large gulp. She almost spit it out immediately but forced it down her throat with a gag.

  “Whoa, Luke. Try better next time. That is horrible.” It tasted almost like spoiled milk mixed with dirt, she thought. “What kind of tea did he use?”

  Addison eyed the drink again, wondering if she should just dump out the rest. She stopped herself because she was worried about Luke’s intention. Maybe he had put a special medicine or s
omething in. Maybe he needed her to feel or have something. Plus, blood was not to be wasted. Addison had full trust in him, so she held her nose and threw the rest of the drink into her mouth.

  Again, she fought to keep it down, but finally her gagging stopped. “Jeez! No more of that.”

  Addison set the mug back down and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Back to work, she told herself. Addison turned back to the bed and grabbed a smaller bag of underwear and bras. She walked back over to the dresser and opened the top drawer.

  She pulled from the bag a pink, frilly pair of panties and matching bra. Addison let the bag drop to the floor as she held up the pair of unmentionables to admire them. She hadn’t let Luke see any of her purchases from this store. She had wanted to surprise him with some of the naughtier choices she had picked. This set was a sweet, innocent choice. Addison bounced up of her toes as she thought about wearing this for Luke. Maybe I can play the scared little girl hiding under the covers.

  “Aaahhh, aren’t those sweet?"

  Addison froze as the unexpected female voice slithered into her ears. Slowly, she let the panties and bra drop into the open drawer. With alarm and fear written on her face, she stiffly turned toward the voice coming from the bedroom doorway. The drink she had finished not too long ago surged up and almost made her gag again.

  Addison’s voice was shaky when she spoke. “Brooklyn?”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  “Did little poor Addison have her savior pay for her new things? How sweet.” Brooklyn spoke in a mocking baby voice.

  Addison was still frozen as she watched the other girl enter the bedroom. She had an overly confident sneer with a bit of “crazy bitch” mixed in.

  “What are you doing here?” Addison turned her body fully around now with her back to the dresser.

  Brooklyn ignored the question and walked over to the bed. She uncaringly picked up a bag and shook its contents onto the bed. She picked up a blouse that had fallen out and held it up, inspecting it. Her facial expression turned into one of disgust.

  “Disgusting. This is your fashion sense? What the hell does Luke find attractive about you? Maybe you give great head? Is that it, Addi?”

  Brooklyn dropped the shirt and picked up another. She made a tsking sound of disapproval before throwing it back to the bed. The Revenant then turned her attention back on Addison. Brooklyn walked away from the bed and came to a standstill right in front of the other girl.

  “What are you doing here? Luke’s out.” Addison tried to sound as confident as possible.

  “I know. He’s off running your fucking errands.”

  How the hell did she know that? “Well, as you can see, I’m busy, so I’ll just tell Luke you stopped by. Okay?”

  Brooklyn cocked her head from one side to the other. She squinted at Addison as her confident smile fell into a scowl. “Does it bother you that your new panties are going in my old drawer?”

  “No. Does it bother you that Luke wants to see my panties and not yours?”

  “Fucking bitch!” Brooklyn screamed at Addison while shoving her backward.

  Addison hit her back against the dresser. The force slammed the top drawer shut before rocking the piece of furniture back on two legs. Addison tried to regain her balance as the dresser rocked back onto four legs. The shove had been completely unexpected. Addison stood there blinking questioningly at Brooklyn when a small amount of pain radiated out from where she had hit the hard wooden dresser.

  “What the hell?” She could feel her shock rolling into anger.

  “You are like a fucking fungus that has come in and ruined my life. Ruined everything!” Brooklyn had lost her hold on her control, it seemed.

  She pushed Addison another time, harder, into the dresser. Again, the force rocked the large piece of furniture, but this time, Addison heard it knock violently into the wall. She grabbed her back where she was sure there would be a bruise now and turned to look behind her. She had slammed into the dresser hard enough that the top edge had punched a hole into the wall. Now, Addison was the one losing hold of her control.

  “I’m warning you, Brooklyn. Fucking walk away now or you’ll be sorry. I won’t be responsible for what I do. You will get hurt.”

  “Ha!” Brooklyn took a step back from Addison, but held her stare. Her cocky smile had returned. “How was your tea?”

  “What?” A spike of fear shot up from Addison’s gut. “What do you mean?”

  Brooklyn let out an evil, ugly snort. “Tasted a bit funny, didn’t it?”

  “That’s it! I’ve had fucking enough of your shit!”

  Addison pushed herself off the dresser and stood up straighter. She concentrated on building a wave a pain and concentrated on focusing its full energy on Brooklyn. Just as she could visualize the wave, the most horrific headache she had ever felt brought her to her knees, literally.

  “Aaahhh! What the—” Addison grabbed the sides of her head and screamed out again.

  Her head actually felt like someone was sticking white-hot metal pokers into it. She shook her head from side to side before screaming again. The pain then raced from her head down to her chest and back up. The intense agony had her wobbling on her knees on the floor, and she started to fall to the side. Addison stuck one hand out to catch herself while the other tried to massage her temple. It wasn’t helping.

  “Oh, good. It looks like I did use enough poisoned blood. I was worried I hadn’t.”

  “What…did…you do?” Addison’s voice cracked as she tried to look up at the other girl.

  Brooklyn started to pace back and forth in front of the kneeling Addison. “Oh, nothing. I just picked up a little mind-energy poison from one of my witch friends. Pretty standard, really. If you weren’t such a dumbass newbie, you would have smelled it instantly. I guess, lucky for me, you are an idiot.”

  Brooklyn snorted and walked closer to Addison. The pain was starting to fade a little but not disappear. Addison looked up to see Brooklyn was standing over her with a look of complete hatred. Without warning, she brought up her leg and swiftly kicked Addison’s arm that was holding her steady. Addison howled in pain as she went down hard onto her side.

  “Pathetic,” Brooklyn spat at Addison.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Addison rolled from side to side, letting the pain sink in. Her head was throbbing, and her back felt bruised or worse. Addison grabbed her lower arm, where Brooklyn had just kicked her, and started to rub it. She could see a dark purple spot starting to appear.

  I have to call out to Luke. Brooklyn is going to kill me. Addison rolled onto her stomach and tried to sit up. She felt weak and sick. Her body and mind felt like a thick shroud had been placed over her making everything unclear and sluggish.

  “You know, I warned Luke not to save you. Really, it would have worked out better for you if he hadn’t.” Brooklyn bent down to speak right into Addison’s face. “You should have died peacefully in the forest. Now, you’re going to die horribly here. And the best part is, I’m going to make it look like you tried to kill me. Sweet, innocent me was just defending myself. Luke will be heartbroken, but I’ll make sure to take care of him.”

  Brooklyn gave Addison a sickly-sweet smile and then brought her hand up. Brooklyn touched Addison’s cheek lightly with her fingers before bringing her hand back and delivering a quick, hard slap to her face. Addison groaned and rolled away from the other girl. Come on! Stop being so weak!

  “He’s never going to love you.” Addison spoke as she got to her knees and started to crawl toward the bed. “Even if I’m gone, he’ll never love you.”

  After several painful seconds, Addison reached the bed and started to pull herself up. She managed to get herself up enough that she could sit on the edge. She turned her attention back to Brooklyn, who was now standing and starting to come closer. Addison braced for another slap, but it didn’t come. The girl leaned in and whispered in Addison’s ear.

  “He doesn’t have
to love me. He just has to fuck me.”

  To add emphasis, she kissed Addison’s cheek, right where she had slapped her earlier. Addison recoiled from her and watched the sick smile widen on Brooklyn’s face.

  “Now”—Brooklyn stood and started to pace again—”how exactly I’m going to kill you, I haven’t completely decided on, yet. More poison, or maybe something more violent. How about slitting your throat?” She stopped pacing and stared down at Addison. “You know that you heal quickly, but did you know that if you lose too much blood, there is no healing?”

  “You’re fucking crazy!”

  “Maybe. But you are the one that attacked me first, remember? I just came here to say ‘hi’ to a couple of my dearest friends and you became insanely jealous and tried to stab me. I was just defending myself.” Brooklyn giggled and then started to walk toward the bedroom door. “Now, don’t move. I’m going to go fetch my...I mean, your big knife.”

  Addison watched the soon-to-be killer wave to her as she left the bedroom. She knew it was now or never. Addison closed her eyes and focused completely on her connection with Luke. In an instant, she was doubled over in excruciating pain. Over and over, stabbing feelings in her head. Addison fell off the bed onto her hands and knees.

  She tried to hold back the scream, but was only successful in muffling it through clenched teeth. Addison grabbed her head and curled up on the floor. I can’t give up. She pulled all the strength she had left into a ball and envisioned that ball of thoughts and energy flying toward Luke.

  The second she did, Addison felt like her skull had split in two. Her body started to thrash around violently on the floor and she was unable to stop the screams now. Loud, pain-filled screams ripped from her throat. She had no way of knowing if she had accomplished anything besides self-inflicted mental wounds. Her mind couldn’t focus on hearing or feeling Luke.