Forgotten Curse

by Owens, C. M.

  “Don’t worry. This is going to be worse for me than it is for you,” he snarls in disgust as he lowers himself down to the energy that doesn’t faze him.

  I squirm uselessly as he straddles me, and this his blood bringers slide free from their sheathes. His knee parts my shaking legs as he kneels in between them, and then I feel his erection pressing against my sex.

  He’s not repulsed by me if that thing is hard. He’s going to enjoy this, that sadistic bastard.

  I feel more tears sliding down my face as he slips my neck to the side to give him access. At least he wants this to be over with quickly. I’m praying for divine intervention of any kind. I’m praying Brazen has come back to find me missing which will provoke a search. I’m praying Hale wants to speak to me again, and he’s looking for me. I’m praying Angelica, Grayson, Clay, even Alex is looking to speak with me.

  I sob loudly as his teeth near, and he winces at the very thought of what’s to come.

  No one rushes in to save me though. His teeth breach my skin, injecting me with erotica, the burn I don’t want to feel. I know I can’t stop what’s to come, and I’m about to be blood raped in my own home.

  He rips my pants off, and his cold fingers skim my sex before he frees his erection. He bites into my neck again, releasing more venom when I try to fight against the effects. His erection is freed from his pants, and I feel the tip of it about to go in.

  Please, God. Please no.

  Tears pour down my cheeks as time stops. All animation is sucked from the room as I try to force my mind to go anywhere but here. I can’t do this. I can’t let him do this to me, but I have no choice. I can’t be here in this moment though.

  Then suddenly my prayers are answered as a faint knocking raps against the door. I scream out, but my walls are too padded for anyone to hear outside unless they’re hybrid. Then they might hear a faint disruption in the sound waves. Please be Hale. He’d fucking explode this son of a bitch. The knocking persists, and I scream again just before Leon slaps me across the face.

  “Please don’t,” I plead as he hangs suspended over me, the painful need for a blood fuck consuming us both. “Clay’s making a serum.”

  “A serum? That shit won’t be ready for ten fucking years. I want to feel the sun now, and you’re not taking it away from me.”

  He leans back over, about to fulfill his desire for me, and suddenly the doïr bursts open as Nicholas barges in. He fires his gun without hesitance, and Leon falls to the floor with three bullets firmly implanted in his skull.

  “Holy shit. I knew I fucking heard something,” Grayson murmurs as he steps over the door, and Nicholas rushes to my side to start examining the damage.

  Grayson jerks all the electrically charged coils out of me with one swift tug, and I scream out my pain for the world to hear as the blood gushes from the wounds. Nicholas quickly blurs out and back in with a sheet to cover me, offering me a little more dignity. I cry as the pain grows all the worse, the burning of electricity still plaguing my veins even though the coils are gone.

  “Blood. She needs a lot of fucking blood. Go now,” he barks to Grayson, and he quickly rushes out to do as he said.

  “I’m so sorry, Araya. I never knew he was capable of something this horrific, I swear.”

  I cry out as my broken bones shift, and he runs off to grab a cold, wet towel to rest over my forehead.

  “Grayson will be here in a minute. Just hold on,” he coos, and he rests my head in his lap as he strokes my hair the way an affectionate father would.

  I don’t fight him right now as the tears roll down my cheeks. He just saved me from something I don’t know if I could have recovered from.

  “What the fuck?” Hale blares as he drops to the ground with two blood packs in his hand.

  “He attacked her,” Nicholas chokes out while using his eyes to point to Leon’s dead body.

  Hale’s jaw tenses as Grayson runs back in. He leans over to rest his hands on his knees while panting ferociously as Hale rips the first bag open to begin pouring it into my mouth.

  “How the hell did you run that fucking fast?” Grayson wheezes out.

  “How fast would you have been here for Angelica?” Hale retorts while elevating my head slightly so the blood can run down.

  “Point taken,” Grayson murmurs with a breathless tone while staring at us, and then his eyes shift to Leon’s corpse. “I wish I had killed that son of a bitch the first time we met.”

  I gargle against the rapid flow of the blood, and it runs into my lungs instead of my stomach as it finds the fucked up passages that have been brought about from my torture. I cough and almost choke, but slowly, things inside me begin shifting around to their proper place, easing some of the strangling.

  “That makes two of us,” Nicholas growls while responding to Grayson’s comment, and his hand slides to be on my shoulder as my eyes stare into Hale’s.

  “You’re going to be okay, baby,” Hale soothes as his eyes slant in painful guilt.

  I just shake my head when words continue to evade me, and then he motions for Grayson to hand him the second pack. He does as ordered, and then Hale rips it open while taking away the empty packet. I cry out when I feel my bones snapping into place with the first sip of the second pack, and I gasp loudly as air returns freely to my lungs.

  “What the hell happened?” Clay gushes as his feet crunch over the debris.

  “Araya was attacked by my ex-lieutenant,” Nicholas asserts guiltily.

  “Shit. Damn it. I should have went with you. I ignored my own fucking policy of no one walking around alone.”

  I just look away from all of their sympathetic eyes. My body isn’t healing as well right now because of all the electricity I endured. It sucked me free of all my own energy, and my broken bones aren’t fully healed.

  “She needs more blood,” Hale urges toward Grayson.

  “I’m on it. Maybe this time I’ll run into Brazen. I’m sure he wants to know,” Grayson murmurs before sprinting out.

  Hale’s eyes show his wince, and then I lean into him for comfort as my body still trembles.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he coos while his lips stroke my forehead.

  “It’s not your fault,” I choke out.

  “It is, baby. You would have never come here if it wasn’t for me. I’m so sorry,” he mutters so gently while his lips threaten to find mine.

  “Fucking shit,” Brazen’s voice rings out, and I promptly turn to face the door as he stares at all the damage and the dead body.

  He steps over the body of my attacker, and he pulls me into his arms as I scream out my pain.

  “What the fuck? She’s not healed?” he asks in disbelief while pulling me into his body.

  He gently sits down in my chair while holding me carefully in his lap. His gentle lips stroll over my face, and I curl into his perfectly cool touch.

  “She needs more blood to make up for the electrical torture. I sent Grayson. How did you find out?” Hale asks while standing up.

  “I fucking didn’t. I was on my way to my apartment - where I thought she would be - when I saw this shit. What the hell happened?”

  His throat trembles his words out in the end, and I snuggle into him as Nicholas answers.

  “He attacked her.”

  “Isn’t that the prick you kicked out of here?” Brazen growls.

  “It is. I’m not sure why he was back, but he was on top of her when I came in,” Nicholas murmurs, his voice a near whisper at the end.

  Hale’s eyes widen as this new revelation comes to light, and his jaw threatens to snap off when he clenches too tightly. His eyes show me the mounds of guilt he’s exuding, and then he glares at Leon’s lifeless body. I’m thankful the sheet has kept me covered, not exposing my bare body below that would have screamed out the truth of how close it was to happening.

  “What the fuck?” Brazen prompts.

  “Here,” Grayson interrupts as he runs in with another pack of blood, and A
ngelica is behind him with two more in her hand.

  “I thought we’d be safe and bring extra,” she murmurs softly.

  Brazen takes the blood and rips the pack open for me before handing it to me. I nestle into his chest as I taste the healing liquid. His lips continue to graze my forehead as he strokes my back with his hand.

  “What happened, baby? Did he touch you?” he asks worriedly.

  I steady my trembling breaths, and I lean against him for more security as I answer, “No. He took my blood, but it didn’t go any farther. Nicholas got here in time to stop it.”

  Everyone’s face goes pale, and Hale stands up to walk over to the body. He pulls his gun out and fires rapidly into the already dead man until his chamber clicks empty. Brazen’s grip becomes almost painful, and I lightly tap his hand to remind him its still attached to my side.

  “Why?” Grayson muses as he glares at the dead man.

  “Because he found out what my blood can do for full bloods. He watched us, and he saw Brazen stand in the sun. He staged the ambush during the prison run. He’s been seeking revenge ever since we had him ejected from here,” I grumble, and then my lips find Brazen’s before he has time to feel guilty.

  “He fucking watched us?” Hale gripes. “How did he know about your weakness to electricity?”

  I pull back to face the man acting as if he’s feeling tortured right now.

  “He studied me. He more than likely read everything he could get his hands on if it had my name in it. He was a man with a vendetta, and tonight he planned on using me before dispersing me. Judging by his wording, he probably hasn’t told anyone else,” I say to comfort the troubled minds.

  “I’m so sorry, baby. I should have just taken you with me,” Brazen soothes.

  “No. Don’t do that to yourself. This wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine. I shouldn’t have come back here at all,” I mumble.

  “Why did you come here?” Brazen muses.

  I swallow hard, and my eyes drift toward Hale before replying, “I needed some of my things, and I wanted to clean up. I should have already taken my stuff to your place.”

  Hale shifts his eyes downward to hide the guilt he now feels, and I feel horrible for having accidentally cast my eyes his way.

  “I’ll get your stuff, baby. You don’t have to do shit like that. Damn it. I should have been here,” Brazen growls.

  “No you shouldn’t have. I don’t want to sit here convincing you this wasn’t your fault. I feel bad enough for having put everyone through this,” I grouse.

  “Baby, you didn’t do this,” Brazen coos as my last bone snaps into place.

  I sigh out in relief as I feel my completely healed body, and I wrap my arms around him while burrowing my head in his glorious chest. His comforting embrace becomes tighter once he feels I’ve healed, and Hale leans his head back in frustration.

  “We should get some sleep. It has been an eventful night, and I’m sure Araya is exhausted,” Clay murmurs gently.

  Very exhausted.

  Brazen keeps holding me to his chest as he stands up to carry me bridal style out of the room. I keep my arms wrapped around his neck as I turn to look at Nicholas.

  “Thank you,” I utter softly, and tears fill up in his eyes as his lips tighten.

  Then I turn to see Grayson patting Hale on the back comfortingly as Brazen makes it to the door with me still in tow.

  “Thank you too. Both of you,” I mutter to them, but my eyes lock with Hale’s.

  “You don’t have to thank me, Araya,” Hale sighs out.

  I offer him a forced smile before Brazen whisks me out of the room. His lips caress mine so tenderly, and I feel us crossing the threshold to his apartment as he carries me to the bedroom.

  He pulls back to murmur, “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

  “No. I just want to curl up in your arms and go to sleep.”

  He smiles so sweetly while lying down beside me, and I wiggle free from my shirt without him noticing my bottom half had been bare. I move over to almost be on top of him, our breaths exchanging mouths.

  “That sounds good to me, baby,” he coos while gently running his fingers through my hair. “No more going off anywhere without me.”

  “He didn’t just have an energy gun. He had another gun ready to be fired. You would have been killed if you had walked in with me. He hated you almost as much as he hated me,” I choke out, and fresh tears rush down to stain my cheeks.

  “Shh,” he coos. “It’s okay now, baby. You’re okay.”

  His lips collect mine from their puckered position, and he turns to almost be on top of me as he tucks my head against his neck and slides his arms all the way around me. His leg wraps partially around, and now I feel covered, protected, and safe. He always makes me feel safe.

  My eyes feel heavier with every second, and I’m finally able to concede to their folding grace.

  Chapter 10

  Drenched in Deceit

  A slight stirring in the bed makes me open my eyes, and I see Brazen taking his phone to the bathroom. I look over at the clock to see it’s three in the morning. Who in the hell could he be calling at this hour?

  I quietly eavesdrop as the ringing on the other end is answered.

  “What’s up?” Grayson hoarsely chirps.

  “Come to my apartment and stay with Araya for a little while. There’s a second bedroom. I need to go speak to someone right now,” Brazen instructs.

  “Fuck. At three?”

  “Will you come or not?” Brazen grumbles.

  “Yeah. I’ll need to bring Angelica though. She’s been a little freaked out since Araya’s attack. Is that going to cause a problem?”

  “Araya is asleep right now. I’ll be back before she wakes up, and the two of you can go back to Hale’s place.”

  “Okay. We’ll be there in a minute,” Grayson groans.

  “I’m going to go ahead and go, but you can just come on in if you’ve still got my spare key.”

  “Yeah. We’ll be there in five or less.”

  I close my eyes tightly when I hear Brazen ending the call, and then the door to the bathroom opens. He creeps over to offer me a soft kiss on my lips, his delicious smell drifting into my nose. Where’s he going though?

  He walks out, and I jump up to throw on my robe. I have to follow him quickly and quietly. I hate secrets, and I need to know why he’s keeping one. I have to get the hell out of here before Grayson gets here with Angelica too. They’ll rat me out - Angelica will anyways.

  I stealthily creep through the hallways as the air from the vents chill me under my robe. Brazen rounds the corner, and I hear him talking to someone - it’s Grayson.

  I duck into the hall closet as they say their passing pleasantries, and I watch through the crack as Grayson and Angelica head to the apartment they’ll believe me to be sleeping in. I slip back and peek around the corner to see Brazen tapping on Hale’s door.

  Why is he knocking on Hale’s door?

  He huffs when Hale doesn’t answer, and he pulls out his phone.

  “Is something wrong with Araya?” Hale worries as he answers.

  “No. I just need to speak with you. Where are you?”

  “I’m in the fitness room, but I’ll come to you. I don’t want Araya being left alone.”

  “I don’t want her alone either which is why I sent Angelica and Grayson over there. I don’t want to chance Araya overhearing our conversation. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  What? What is he keeping from me?

  He heads down the stairs, and I rush over to pry open the elevator doors. The fitness center is underground. It’ll take Brazen longer than me to get there if I just jump, and that’s what I do. I fall through the empty elevator shaft, and then I grab the cable to halt my rapid descent to keep from pounding the metal at the end just as I reach the doors at the bottom. I crack them open to check the area, and I see Hale speaking with Clay inside the room.

  Hale slams his fist in
to a punching bag, and the thing explodes on impact. His shirtless body is dripping with sweat as if he has been here for hours. His low hanging shorts reveal his toned hiplines, and I almost start sweating too just from staring at him.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing. He’s probably wanting to talk to you about a security routine for Araya. I’ve already thought of such a thing myself,” Clay murmurs softly.

  Hale hangs up another punching bag, and he goes easier on it as he speaks.

  “If I was him, I wouldn’t fucking leave her side. She was almost blood raped, and now he’s sneaking out in the middle of the night? She’ll be terrified if she wakes up,” Hale barks, and then he slams his fist into the punching bag with too much force.

  The bag explodes again. His head pops back with exasperation, and he rips it free from the chain to toss it over with the mounding over pile of the other ones.

  “Brazen wouldn’t leave her side if it wasn’t something very important. Besides, Grayson and Angelica both are very strong. They’ll be there if anything happens. Angelica has far more control over her gift than Araya did at that stage. It brings several questions to my mind.”

  “Like what?” Hale asks while removing the tape from his hands.

  “Araya is so special. She’s so fucking strong, but she didn’t have any control until after she was tortured. I need to speak to Nicholas and hear the whole story.”

  “He said he wouldn’t tell anyone but Araya because he’s only telling this story once,” Hale grouses in objection. “Believe me, I’ve been trying to get answers. She deserved a hell of a lot better than she got in Cheyenne.”

  Tears whelp up in my eyes, and I wipe them away hurriedly when I see Brazen walking into the room.

  “What’s this all about? You shouldn’t be leaving her alone,” Hale snaps.

  “I’m not leaving her alone. I already told you I sent Grayson and Angelica. This couldn’t wait any longer though. I know you lied to Araya about cheating on her with Alex. My question is why?”

  My heart jumps into my throat before plummeting back down to slap my stomach. Brazen’s jaw is tensed, his hands are fisted at his side, and his eyes are blazing with expectations for truth. He lied? Why would he lie?