by Stacy Lee
I resign myself to the fact she was starving and let her have her way. Lying behind her staring at her neck wasn’t the best idea I have ever had. I watch her pulse beat rapidly, hear the swishing in her veins. I try to close my eyes and ignore it. It doesn’t work. Against my will my fangs drop and sink into her skin before I can convince myself this is a very bad idea. Brown sugar and vanilla burst over my tongue with a hint of something sour lacing it. That must be the Morphine. It’s a flavor I have never tasted before and after tonight never wanted to taste again. Nevertheless I drink my fill while she eventually slows to a leisurely rate. The pain in my gut and arm dissipates. A few minutes later her hand falls away and my wrist drops from her mouth. She was still sound asleep.
I shake my head with a chuckle before standing to pull her into my arms. I wanted her in my bed when she woke. I had plans for her. I wobble with dizziness as I make my way down the hall. What the hell? I stumble to the front room then lean against the wall to let the dizziness settle. Flecks of light begin to dance in my vision causing me to blink rapidly.
“Did you drink from her?” I turn my head to see a very pissed off Angie sitting rigidly on the couch.
“Yes.” I press hard on the wall trying to stay upright. She shakes her head. At least I think she does. My vision is becoming blurry.
“Morphine wouldn’t normally influence you but seeing’s how I talked to Archer and he decided to trust me with the truth of what you did to her, then I have to say because your change isn’t complete the drugs are playing havoc in your system right now.” She sounds almost satisfied with the idea of me being left helpless. I couldn’t really blame her if Archer explained to her fully what I had done to her friend.
“Archer told you?” I couldn’t wrap my head around that. He had told Marnie distinctly not to tell Angie.
“The reason the Stroli licked her arm was because he smelled something different about her. After he tasted her blood he said ‘bound, not mated’. She told me I had to ask Archer what that meant. I did. He told me the truth then asked if I knew a way to store your blood in case this happened again or you had to leave for a hunt. It really pisses me off I didn’t know this before you sent me to get her when the attack happened because I have blood from all six of you stored in my lab. I could have helped her if I had known to take yours with me.” Angie had a small temper that didn’t show often. It was showing now in the heated look she gives me.
“Why do you have our blood and how the hell did you get it?” I don’t remember her ever taking blood from me.
“I take a bag full every time one of you are seriously hurt. If you get hurt and you are the only brother at the compound your brother’s blood will heal you faster than any of our blood will. I keep it on hand for that reason.” I nod, we knew that but I didn’t realize Angie did.
“It was Archer’s decision to keep it quiet not ours. Did you kill the Stroli who knows?” This could be bad, very bad.
“No. I only had a tranquillizer gun in my office and didn’t stop for another weapon. I knocked him out while we got away. It was the best I could do. So if you guys didn’t kill him then he is out there and he knows your secret.” Her voice trembles with the words. It would probably scare me too if I wasn’t so damn dizzy. I try to push off the wall but end up sliding down it instead. “Your brothers will be here in a minute. I texted Cash. Just sit still, they’ll get you home. In the morning, once The Change is complete, I’ll draw blood from you. I don’t want to take any till you both are stable in The Change and risk you not having what she needs or something being different in the blood after The Change is done. Keep your fangs to yourself when she eats then call me thirty minutes later and I’ll come take what you can stand to do without.” As soon as she finishes speaking the door opens admitting Cash, Emmitt and Fin. Cash takes Marnie from my arms immediately. I try to fight him but my arms won’t grip her. Emmitt and Fin haul me up and throw an arm around each shoulder then drag me from the house.
“Thanks for taking care of her Angie and I promise to keep myself in check tomorrow morning just for you.” I mumble out as they take me away. It’s the last thing I remember before darkness completely clouds my vision.
Chapter Fourteen
The first thing I notice when I wake is most of the pain is gone. The second is I’m lying on top of Dare, my head resting on his shoulder, my face nuzzled in the crook of his neck, my chest on his chest and my legs partially wrapped around his waist, only the bed stopping them from circling him completely. Third is the rhythmic thump-thump of his heart beat and the pulsing vein in his neck only an inch away from my lips. My mouth waters, my stomach grumbles and I unconsciously move closer to his neck.
He doesn’t wake when I sink my teeth into his flesh. I drink quickly and only enough to satiate the hunger then reluctantly pull back. I sigh in relief when I realize he is still asleep. There was a bitter edge to his blood that has never been there before that leaves an aftertaste in my mouth. I carefully disentangle from him, leaving him alone in the bed.
I stop when I realize this isn’t the room I fell asleep in. No, I didn’t fall asleep, Angie drugged me on Dare’s orders. I shoot him a glare then take in the room. It was barely furnished just as his suite in Texas had been. A queen size bed and a dresser with a mirror attached and a digital clock resting on its surface are the only things here. The desk, chair, nightstand and lamp are missing and the rest are not the same as in the old room. This bed isn’t a king, meaning his feet hang over the end of the footboard. If I wasn’t so pissed and had to pee so bad I might have laughed at the way he was laying half on and half off the mattress.
I sneak out of the room on tip-toe not wanting to face him yet and go in search of a bathroom. Finding it at the end of the hall I enter and lock the door behind me. I remove the sling from my healed arm and wiggle it a bit to make sure all the pain was gone. The only way this would have healed is if he fed me. I don’t remember biting him or him moving me. I wonder how he forced me to drink in my drug induced hell. That I remember very well.
The drugs made me sleep but the pain was horrible. They took away my ability to fight and left me unable to move or respond to the horror, effectively locking me into an agony filled nightmare. I’m not sure when it had let up then left completely but I do remember thinking it was about time the drugs started to work. Maybe it hadn’t been the drugs but Dare that made the pain go away.
After I finish my business I pause in front of our door but can’t make myself reenter it. Voices down the hall draw my attention and I chicken out, turning towards the men’s laughter instead of my pissed mate. I might fear men but right now they were preferable to him. Even in his sleep I could feel his anger.
I creep silently down the hall before peeking around the corner to see who exactly was in the room. A couch and recliner sit in front of a large screen TV. Cash and Fin are both kicked back enjoying what looks like America’s Funniest Home Video’s on the television. Some idiot jumps off a roof to land on a board nailing his gonads, both men cringe and moan out with their laughter. How can that be both painful and funny to them? I shake my head and slip into the kitchen behind me.
I wanted something to remove this after taste from my mouth. I open a Coke then take a long swig. It’s wet but has no taste at all, not helping out in the least. I slam the can on the counter and grab a grape soda, still nothing. Orange juice, milk, and a shot of whiskey later and still the aftertaste remains and nothing else has a taste.
My stomach turns violently causing me to streak past Cash who was leaning against the wall watching me with amused interest. I hit the bathroom and slide to the toilet on my knees losing everything I just drank. Someone pulls my hair back for me but I can’t stop to see who. Not until all the contents of my stomach are empty, including the blood I had taken from Dare which makes the aftertaste even worse, does the heaving stop, allowing me to slump to the floor in exhaustion. I crack my eyes open as someone lifts me into their arms.
; Cash.
Had he been the one holding my hair? How embarrassing. I close my eyes and pretend he isn’t there. I’m just floating on my own. He stops and my lids pop open. He was taking me back to Dare.
“No!” I push on his chest trying to get him to release me. I couldn’t face him yet. I couldn’t take him yelling at me right now, I felt too bad. “Please Cash, not in there. He is going to be so mad at me when he wakes up. Please, take me to the front room or put me down so I can walk there myself.” His eyes bore into me for a long beat before he nods sharply and turns toward the front room.
“Why were you drinking everything in the kitchen?” He asks as he walks. I sigh.
“I bit him while he was sleeping. I hoped maybe he wouldn’t wake up and I could get a small drink before he refused me out of anger. I hate having to go to him for food. I want to be able to eat whenever I want and not him. For some reason this time his blood didn’t taste right. It left a bitter aftertaste. I was trying to get rid of it but nothing has a taste.” I sigh and lay my head on his chest.
It feels wrong, he feels wrong. He was just as ripped as Dare was but it was in a different way. He smelt of smoke instead of woods and his pulse thumped a slow normal rhythm. Dare’s heart raced if he was anywhere near me, holding me like this would have him near stroke level. His arms around me and his chest under my head just weren’t right and it made my insides quiver with need for Dare. I lift my head and wiggle in his arms trying to get down.
“Stop.” I freeze at his cold tone. He bends down and places me on the couch then steps away to lean against the wall. Fin is in the recliner and I was taking the whole couch. I sigh and sit up to lean on the armrest, my feet tucked underneath me. He has just watched me puke, the least I could do is make room for him.
“Please sit.” I request softly. He hesitates but does as I ask.
“He drank from you. The morphine in your blood knocked him out. That’s probably what you tasted. It should be minimal now and won’t bother you.” I give a mirthless laugh.
“Beings I just lost it all I doubt it will too. Now I will have to ask him when he is awake. Already the pain is returning.” I lay my head on my arms and fight the tears that want to fall.
“You know refusing to eat isn’t the best way to do this, right? You could have really hurt him today. Even gotten both of you killed.” I raise a brow to Fin’s statement. How the hell did I hurt him? He reads the anger in my expression and presses on. “He feels what you feel. We were fighting off the Vamps and Stroli while you and the others escaped. How much of his concentration do you think was on the pain you were feeling and how much was on the fight? Because it matters I will repeat myself, he could have been seriously hurt or even killed with his mind split like that.” I hadn’t thought of it like that. It still didn’t excuse what he did to me.
“So you think I should just give in to him, to this fate he gave me? Do you know how demeaning it is to have to go to him every time I am hungry? He hasn’t made me beg yet but I’m sure it’s coming as soon as I do something wrong, probably tonight. Then after I eat I can’t even decipher my own thoughts from the need to please him in every way. My brain races with what he wants, what he needs, what would make him happy. I can’t even stop myself when I want to. I didn’t want this, Fin. I don’t want this. If it wouldn’t kill him too I’d just go without till I starved to death. If that’s even possible anymore.” I huff out then bury my head in my arms to prevent them from seeing the tears sparkling in my eyes.
“We know it’s a hard fate to follow, Marnie. We also know our brother. He won’t make you do anything you aren’t willing to do. Putting yourself in pain just to avoid facing him isn’t the strong woman we thought you were. The woman who shot at a Stroli to rescue a man she didn’t know. The woman who fought off that asshole in the field and got away. The woman who dealt with an abusive Uncle for over eleven years of your life and survived. You are stronger than this. After The Change finishes tonight you may be able to learn to control the impulses to obey him but if you are weak from not eating you won’t be able to even attempt it. Find another way to show him he doesn’t have complete control over you. Don’t let yourself get to the point you have to go crawling to him on your hands and knees begging. That will show him weakness more than anything.” I let Cash’s words tumble in my head as they hit the mute button and resume watching their show.
I was strong. I had been strong all my life. That was the problem now, he made me feel weak, just like Uncle did. Could Cash be right? If I wait it shows him more weakness than giving in does. He is definitely right about crawling to him. If I had been awake when he arrived I would have jumped on him to find relief from the pain I was in. I could never let it get that bad again. I had to accept this and find another way just like he said. But how?
I couldn’t stop myself last night even though I had desperately wanted to. If Dare hadn’t have pulled me away and told me ‘no’ I would have slept with him and that had been the last thing I wanted. Yes, my body wanted it but my mind hadn’t.
Why did he stopped me? He said he wouldn’t force me to do something I didn’t want to do. Exactly as Cash reiterated now. Maybe they were right. Maybe he wouldn’t, but could I stop myself from mauling him if I thought that’s what he needed? Wanted? I wasn’t sure and that’s what scared me. If he didn’t stop me, who would?
My mind goes back to Cash’s words, looping them in my head. Something he said wasn’t making sense to me. How did he known about Dirk and the clearing? Dare saw pieces of it in my dream but surely he didn’t tell his brothers about it? Did he? It takes me almost five minutes to muster the courage to ask during the next commercial.
“Um, Cash? How did you know about the asshole, as you called him?” Both him and Fin avert their eyes. Fin’s face turns red and Cash thrums his fingers on the arm of the couch. “Fin? Cash?” I ask bouncing my gaze off the two. A throat clears in the hallway and I look up to see Emmitt just as red as Fin.
“Dare asked me to look back on the satellite footage of the area. Because we were hunting in that general area I had the satellite footage of the surrounding woods recording so I could study it later. Maybe learn from the enemy’s actions and movements. We watched what happened.” He rubs his neck roughly while keeping his eyes on the floor. They watched it on satellite footage? Satellite? That wasn’t like TV right? It had something to do with body heat. They did not see me naked! Did they?
“As in reds and blacks and whites, right?” Cash shakes his head minutely and my mouth falls open. “In color? Living color?” I ask on a whisper. They all nod. Now even Cash is blushing.
Oh. My. God!
They saw me naked. “All of you watched it?” I hiss out. They nod once more. “How much did you watch?” I choke out. No one answers me.
“When you entered with a gun at your back till you fled with the gun in your hands.” This was Archer who steps in the front door where he had obviously been listening.
“So all six of you saw…..” I wasn’t talking to them, I was mumbling to myself. That didn’t stop Emmitt from answering.
“You naked? Yes, we did. But it wasn’t like we were turned on or anything. It was a sad, horrible moment. We were proud of you for getting away.” That pride showed on his face and in his voice. It didn’t matter.
They saw me naked!
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I ask incredulously while wrapping my arms around myself tightly.
“Well, yes.” Emmitt says in confusion. I snort. A genius he may be but smart he was not.
“Well it sure as hell does not make me feel one lick better about the fact my brother-n-laws have seen me bare ass naked fighting for my life! All men are the same. Fucking idiots!” I storm from the house into the moonlit night.
“I’m a genius not an idi…..” The slamming of the door cuts off his words. Emmitt’s confusion would be funny any other time, not tonight. I didn’t know where I was going but I needed time to cool off before fa
cing them again. I already didn’t want to look Dare in the face and apologize for my stubbornness, which I knew I was going to have to do now that they brought my attention to the fact I could have gotten us both killed. But to have to face all six of them knowing they saw that? No, I couldn’t do that right now.
I spend the next few hours just wandering the streets of the walled in community. I couldn’t get out of it, which was fine, where would I go? I couldn’t get lost, the house I left was the biggest of them all and stood out amongst the smaller brick homes. By the time I return shortly before eleven my legs and feet hurt and I’m fucking hungry again.
Would this nightmare ever end?
****
I have been pacing the front room for hours waiting for Marnie to return. I wanted to go after her but after my brothers explained the conversation they had with her I take their advice and let her cool off alone. I had called Angie to see if she went there but she said she hadn’t seen her and if she did she would text me.
An hour before midnight she sends me a text saying Marnie has just passed her house in a daze, but she was fine and looked to be returning home. I could feel her hunger. It has been getting stronger for hours but it wasn’t to the ‘doubled over in agony’ point she has been letting it get to.
Cash and Fin also told me she felt humiliated and demeaned when she had to come to me for food. Well that was too damn bad. She needed to eat. I would try to make it as painless as possible for her but she would need to get over it. She had to have it and there was nothing we could do about it now. At midnight The Change would be complete in both of us and I needed her here with me, full and sated. However, before that can happen we need to have a talk first. My brothers have gone to bed already giving me the use of the front room. I was less likely to strip her down and spank her ass like the child she was acting like deserved if I was somewhere they could walk in on me. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it after we talked because that’s exactly what I have planned.