Taming the Beast: Eleven Paranormal Romances

by Alyse Zaftig

  “We love you,” she insisted. “Look at me, Rose,” she demanded after I hung my head again. “We love you. And we will never abandon you.” I read the truth in her eyes. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I wouldn’t lose my family.

  But, Jeremy…

  I couldn’t think about him right now. I needed to bask in this victory over Scott—because that’s what it was.

  “Let’s go up to the house and talk to Mom and Dad,” she suggested. I hesitated and then climbed down with her. The vampire was at bay again, but my hose were torn, my ugly lawyer-suit was stained, and my face was stained with tears. But still, she held my hand in an iron grip.

  The conversation with my parents went better than I could have ever expected or dreamed. There was a lot of crying and cursing of Scott, but they never once made me feel like they didn’t want me anymore. They’d called all my sisters and Kelsey over, and the process was repeated. My father even hopped onto his laptop to begin research on all things vampire.

  And as Kelsey left that day, she’d hugged me tight and whispered in my ear, “You’re never going to age, you bitch,” and I’d laughed, finally, at what could possibly be a positive.

  Chapter 9

  I went back to work and avoided Jeremy whenever possible. I saw him in court quite often, but he didn’t acknowledge our extra-curricular activities, and I didn’t care.

  You’re a liar.

  Okay, so the pain of losing Jeremy, someone I never had in the first place, almost crushed me. But I finally had the certainty of my family, and I clung to that, even as I cried alone in my bed at night. To have a taste of happiness (no pun intended) and have it ripped away might have been worse than never having it at all.

  Four months went by like this, with Jeremy and I acting like polite business adversaries, when Joey Miller called me from lockup once again.

  “What now, Joey?” I asked with a sigh, my cell phone digging into my ear and shoulder as I nudged my way through to the coffeepot in the closet. Yet again, I drained it and a collective sigh went up around me. I ignored them.

  “I might have been arrested again, Rose.”

  “So I gather, since this was a collect call from the police department.” I sucked down the coffee and figured at least my day might get interesting. “What for this time?”

  “Well…Matt and me got in a fight,” he mumbled, and I was so surprised that I spilled coffee on my crisp white blouse. Great.

  “About what?” I sputtered, since Joey and Matt had been best friends for decades. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

  “Remember when I got arrested for almost, ya know, in Mrs. Lee’s bushes?” he asked, hesitantly.

  “Yes,” I replied slowly. Where was this going?

  “Well, the thing is, Matt was disrespectful to her.” And then silence, as if that was a full explanation.

  “Unlike you urinating in her petunias?”

  “Let’s not talk about that. I…well, I’m kind of sweet on her,” he admitted, and I was flummoxed.

  Life is so strange.

  “Okay, what’s the charge?” I said, bucking up and getting to business.

  “Assault and battery with a deadly weapon.”

  “What?”

  “I hit him with my boot. They’re taking me before the Judge in fifteen minutes. Rose, you have to help me.” I sighed and agreed to meet him.

  I walked into the courtroom and immediately saw Jeremy. He looked a little unkempt, like he had slept in his suit, or maybe hadn’t slept at all. The case was called, and Joey was brought in from lockup.

  “Your Honor, Mr. Miller assaulted Matt Davis with his boot last night. As you might recall, this is the second time the defendant has been in front of you in a matter of months,” Jeremy said. His gaze was on me; I knew from the heat rising in my body.

  Why was he doing this now? He’d avoided me for months.

  “You’re Honor, I’m sure there has been some sort of misunderstanding. Mr. Miller and the…victim…are life-long friends,” I stated.

  “Not anymore,” Joey said loudly from beside me. I sighed and didn’t even try to stop him.

  “Well, I don’t want to be friends with you either, ya slimy stink bug!” Matt yelled from the gallery behind us, and even the Court Officer laughed.

  “You’re Honor, please,” I said over the noise. “This is a waste of the court’s time. Obviously, this was a private matter between friends, Mr. Davis doesn’t appear to be injured, and Attorney Abbott has gone overboard with his charge.”

  “It was assault with a deadly weapon,” Jeremy insisted in a strained voice.

  “It was a boot!” I exclaimed, and looked at him again. He looked awful.

  “A steel toe boot,” he replied, and the courtroom erupted again.

  “Silence!” the Judge ordered and everyone settled down. “It seems emotions are running high,” he said with a pointed glance between Jeremy and me. I flushed as he continued, “Let’s continue this tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Miller is free to go on his own recognizance.” I spoke quickly to Joey and left the courtroom as fast as possible.

  I need to get away from him. This is too painful, seeing him and not being able to talk to him. Or touch him.

  But I wasn’t fast enough.

  “Rose, wait!” Jeremy yelled from behind me. I ran down the steps outside the court but he pulled me to a stop with his hand on my arm.

  “Please, Rose, can we talk?” he asked me, and his pained expression shocked me. I didn’t respond—I didn’t know what to say. What could he possibly want to say to me?

  “I’m Scott’s nephew,” he said slowly.

  Well, there is that.

  Chapter 10

  “What did you just say?” She was going to take over, and I was going to let her. I let Jeremy draw me down the sidewalk and into the alley, like we had so many months ago.

  “I’m his nephew. I know what he did to you. And I’m sorry.” He looked sad, and resigned.

  “Now I don’t understand,” I managed, forcing words out through the vampire’s veil.

  “He told me what he’d done to you. I tracked you down and took the D.A. job so I could get to know you. Maybe help you somehow. But I never expected to fall in love with you,” he finished softly.

  “Fall in love with me? We haven’t spoken in four months! I’m…a vampire,” I whispered, unable to believe what I’d heard him say, but also unable to stop the hope from blooming in my chest.

  “You’re sweet and sexy, and God help me, you’re even hotter right now, when I can see that she’s clawing to get out.” I laughed; I couldn’t help it. And then I noticed—his fingers were curled into his palm and blood was dripping from his hand. Like Oprah used to say, it was a light bulb moment.

  “Are you…are you one, too?” I asked hesitantly, the hope now a sea swept storm in my chest. There was no anchor, no mooring. He hesitated and then unfolded his hands.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, even though I could already clearly see it for myself.

  “You’re not a monster,” he said. “I know you think you are. So if you are, you’re my monster, and I’m yours,” he said, that pained expression still on his face. “If you’ll have me,” he finished softly, as he backed me up against the brick wall of the court house.

  “You love me? You came here to find me?” Love and the vampire blurred together until all I was capable of seeing was Jeremy.

  “Scott told me about you. He said you were special, someone with more control than anyone he’d turned in hundreds of years. I was always disgusted by him—by what he’d done to me as a child. He turned me, too,” he said softly, his body now an inch from mine. “He showed me your picture, and I knew. I knew he was right. I felt connected to you in a way I can’t explain. It didn’t matter what you looked like, although you’re so beautiful. I needed to be around you, for my own vampire’s sake. I knew you would hate being a vampire, just like I do. I knew we could help each other.”

&nb
sp; “Sounds a bit stalker-ish,” I muttered, and he laughed, his sweet breath hitting my mouth.

  “A bit, yes. But I didn’t recognize you that night in the bar. You’ve…changed since that picture was taken. I thought we’d be able to confide in each other about the thing we hated most about ourselves. But maybe the vampire isn’t so bad.”

  “Yes, it is!” I sputtered, the familiar hate filling me.

  “No. We are ever-living. We will never die, never be apart,” he said earnestly, and suddenly a future I never dared dream of stirred in my imagination. “You’re worthy of love, Rose,” he said simply, as he stared in my eyes. Warmth flooded through me.

  “Never be apart?” I repeated, needing reassurance.

  “Never. I love you. You’re mine.” His blue eyes captivated me, and I saw the future in them. Our future.

  “You went rogue, didn’t you?” I asked him. “This wasn’t the plan for you, for your life, was it?”

  “No, it wasn’t. But I’d go rogue again, if it meant I could be with you. I’d do anything to be with you. You’re my Rose.”

  The End

  Part XI

  Beast Lightning

  Cynthia Fox

  Chapter 1

  It all started with a lie. “Come to Vizalia,” they said. “Life will be beautiful,” they said. They were a bunch of thieving con artists disguised as interplanetary condo developers. The brochures were full of glossy photos with smiling humans Photoshopped in front of shimmering new homes. With the water supply on Earth disappearing, it only made sense to look to other planets for resettlement. What did not make sense, however, was lying about your research and the sustainability of human life on these new planets.

  Vizalia and Turlox were the two most welcoming planets for earthly refugees. Madeleine remembered her parents struggling to choose between the two until she suggested Vizalia’s pink glow was more interesting than boring, blue Turlox. Sadly, the very same atmospheric gases giving the planet its rosy glow were harmful to human lungs after prolonged exposure.

  She was sixteen when they arrived full of hope and promise. The new digs did not disappoint. Once their ship descended under the pink outer atmosphere, the landscape resembled a lusher version of Earth. The varieties of flora were unlike anything they had ever seen, with huge, fragrant blossoms. The plants weren’t the only large lifeforms on the planet, though. It wasn’t until their arrival day that someone in the immigration office bothered to tell them reptilian shifters inhabited Vizalia, including dragons.

  It caused a panic at first, but the Vizalians were eager to help their new neighbors assimilate and tried to remain in human form whenever around the settlements. It wasn’t as if the Earthlings had any choice to leave. Their homeland was slowly becoming uninhabitable and most had little money left to try and switch course to Turlox. In addition, they had no idea what those native beings were like. The colonists decided the old adage “the devil you know” also applied to dragons and they made the best of their situation.

  The first few years went smoothly as the humans reestablished their old societal norms to the best of their ability. They had a mail system, several restaurants and bars along with a movie theater and bowling alley. Madeleine and her younger sister, June, helped plant vegetables in the large greenhouse and volunteered for babysitting gigs. There were weddings, births, and other joyous celebrations. But then … the funerals started among the humans.

  The sickness began with a cough that lingered. One could survive it for a year or two before it progressed into a maddening fever. When you reached that point, the odds were against you with an eighty percent fatality rate. The youth were never afflicted, though. It seemed their healthy cells were able to adapt and build immunity.

  In their many attempts to find a cure, they depleted the traditional medicine supply in the settlement. Someone suggested consuming native plants to build up immunity, much like eating local honey back on Earth was supposed to help fight allergies. They experimented with every plant without success. The flower blossoms made delicious teas, but did little more than to soothe the throat. The colonists needed medicine or they needed to get the hell off this planet. Unfortunately for them, the inhabitants on nearby Turlox were aware of the deaths and a travel ban had gone into effect. They were essentially under planetary quarantine.

  Madeleine was now twenty-six and her sister just twenty-three, but arriving at a young age had spared them. Their father, however, was not as lucky.

  “His cough is getting worse,” Madeleine said as she sat on the edge of her sister’s bed.

  “How was his temperature?” June sat up and bundled her comforter in her hands as if it could somehow protect her from bad news.

  “Normal … for now,” she said, curling up next to her sister. “I have a plan.” She lowered her voice and whispered, “I’m going to see the smugglers.”

  “No! They’re disgusting.”

  “They’re our only hope. We need new medicine or a ride out of here. Maybe I can work something out with them. Medicine in exchange for…”

  “For what? They don’t need anything from us that doesn’t involve catching space syphilis,” she said, contorting her face with disgust.

  “They’re humans. I’m sure they’re reasonable.”

  “They’re humans who survive by their own unsavory set of rules.”

  “But they survive. That’s the key word. And Dad will too.”

  June stared at her hands for a few moments before kicking off the comforter. “I’m going with you.”

  “No. Just keep checking on Dad.”

  Madeleine kissed her sister on the forehead before making the long walk to the outskirts of the settlement to the seedier district. She stood outside one bustling bar, listening to the loud music for a few moments before finally building up the courage to push the door open. It was more crowded than she expected. Her elbows pressed against bodies as she made her way to the far corner. She could feel eyes scanning her body from head to toe. As Madeleine stood in place surveying the crowd, she jumped at the sound of someone inhaling loudly behind her.

  “You smell human,” a voice growled in her ear.

  “You smell like a human in need of a good shower,” she said, turning around slowly.

  His round face shook as he laughed. “I like them feisty,” he said, reaching up to touch one of her curls.

  She slapped his hand away and took a step back. “I’m looking for medicine.”

  The man raised his hands up and looked around the bar. “Lots of ailments in here, but zero medicine. You know nothing kills the fever. You’re wasting your time.”

  “Then transportation.”

  He took a step closer and placed both hands on her arms. “Honey, I’ve got moves that will transport you out of this world.” He leaned in for a kiss, but she met him with a hard slap from her hand. “You little bitch!” he growled, squeezing her arms tighter.

  “Easy there,” a voice called out from the side. “She’s a pretty thing. Don’t hurt her.” The man motioned for her to walk forward to where he was holding court with his legs stretched out on a chair in front of him. “What are you trading?” he asked.

  “Trading?”

  “Nothing is free, darlin’… not even in space.” He let his feet drop to the ground and patted the seat with his hand. “Come sit. What’s your name?”

  “Madeleine,” she said holding out her hand.

  He chuckled at her politeness and reached a weathered hand towards hers. “Captain Badeed at your service.” His eyes focused on her while he licked his lips. “I’ll ask you again, what are you trading?”

  “My father is sick.”

  “He got the fever?”

  “Not yet. I need to get him to Turlox before it’s too late. There are four of us, including my mom and sister.”

  The round-faced man leaned in and interrupted, “Does your sister have a juicy ass? I’m not a pervert or nothing, but that’s really my entry of choice.” He placed hi
s hands on an imaginary body and began thrusting his hips into the air.

  “That’s because you’ve got a small dick,” Captain Badeed said, shooing him away. He brought his attention back to Madeleine and said, “Don’t mind him. He’s been doing a lot of breeding lately and it’s made him forget his manners.”

  “Breeding?”

  Captain Badeed leaned in and placed one hand on her knee. “Survival of the fittest. Take someone like you, who doesn’t have the fever and match her with say … someone like me, who also doesn’t have the fever, and you end up with strong offspring. Would that be worth four seats to Turlox?”

  Madeleine brushed his hand away and was about to speak when a celebratory yell caused them both to look behind her. A scrawny, dirty man was beating his chest as he walked towards them. A young woman with disheveled hair followed him and nearly tripped as she tried to straighten her clothing. Madeleine recognized her from the settlement and tried to make eye contact.

  “When do we leave?” the woman asked, looking down once she noticed Madeleine.

  “This was a package deal,” Captain Badeed said with a shrug. “You still have one more to go.” He pointed at the round-faced man who had already made his way to the young woman and was now pulling her towards a set of stairs. Madeleine watched as he practically carried her, grabbing her ass roughly the entire way.

  “I can make tea!” Madeleine blurted out. “The blossoms are delicious. I’ll make as much as you want.”

  Captain Badeed threw his head back in laughter and smacked his hand on the table. “I have no use for tea.”

  “Money?”

  “You know money has no value here. Now if you can get your hands on some gold, I’d be willing to negotiate.”