HUNTED: The Midnight Series, Book Two

by Toni Goode

  In her nightmares she tasted blood and then she saw all the bodies around her as she backed up in fear. She saw John, he was looking at her and shaking his head. Then she was running through the woods. She stopped at a lake and she looked down. She was a wolf, a bright red wolf. She backed up and then she saw a black wolf. The wolf changed in front of her as John walked over to her, suddenly she was changed too.

  “You’re mine.” He said before he devastated her mouth as he pulled her close. She could feel his body heat. He felt so good, but she remembered what he was, and she pushed back on him as he looked at her. “Briana don’t do this. I love you and I know you love me.” He said as his lips collided with hers again in a heated kiss. She fell into it unable to control herself. They fell to the ground and he rolled on top of her. His mouth moved from hers and then he was entering her as she cried out in pleasure. His mouth was all over her and she could barely stand it. He felt too good and then he was gone as she gasped.

  It was dark again as she looked around. She could hear someone calling out her name, but it was just out of reach. Her name got louder and louder as she looked around. Suddenly there was a mirror there in front of her. She saw herself, but it was different. She was covered in blood and she looked crazy. Her hair was wild. She reached for the mirror and the two fingers touched as she jumped back. She watched as John walked over to her reflection. He smiled at her as he kissed her. She tried to look away from the reflection, but she couldn’t. Her image smiled at her as she kissed John. Blood mingling between the two and she finally couldn’t stand it anymore and she shoved the large mirror. It crashed to the floor as glass flew everywhere.

  Briana woke up gasping as she sat up in bed and she immediately kicked the blankets off herself. She almost expected to see blood but there was nothing.

  John laid on the ground outside of the bar. He slowly fell asleep out there.

  Briana decided that sleep was not going to happen for her. She went and made tea and then looked back out the window. She was surprised to see the large wolf laying on the ground just outside the bar. Part of her wanted to go to him. Hell, part of her wanted to be a wolf. She shook the images out of her head. He was bad for her. He made her think things that she wouldn’t normally think. She quickly walked away from the window.

  John’s dream took him over as he laid there. He had images of a time he did not remember. He saw a bright light and car tires rushing at his face. Then he saw her. Briana. She was crying and panicking. He looked around and saw a hospital room. He jumped as he saw the tubes hooked up to his arm. What the hell was all of this. He saw her again. She was touching his hand. He needed to get out of there. Something was wrong. He pulled against the tubes and doctors rushed inside. They were holding him down. Briana was screaming across the room for them to stop.

  The sound of a car horn made him jump up as the bright light blinded him. He covered his eyes with his hand. He heard a car door close as he looked up now. There was a cop standing there. “Alright buddy lets go; you can’t be out here like that.” The officer said as John began to get up with confusion. Was he dreaming? “Come on, that’s it.” The officer pulled out hand cuffs as John backed up. “Hey, don’t move!” The officer yelled, and John took off running. He shifted in midair as a shot was heard. He kept running.

  Briana heard the gunshot as she ran to the window. She saw the officer standing outside and she saw a glimpse of the large wolf disappear into the woods as the officer quickly got back to his car. Briana’s heart was racing, had John been shot? A surprising fear washed through her; she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. What the hell was wrong with her! Why did she even care!

  John ran through the woods until he saw his house in the distance. He got there quickly and shifted as he got to the door. He could hear sirens in the distance, but they weren’t close to him. He hated that he had a weak moment like that. He walked in the living room and collapsed on the couch. He felt like he was losing his mind. He had nightmares before but what he dreamt about earlier seemed different. It almost seemed real. His mind drifted again as he laid there.

  Briana got to school early as she paced in front of Chris’s classroom. Part of her just wanted to find John and see if he was ok but the other part wanted to make things right with Chris. Or at the very least for him to know that she wasn’t some stupid girl. She contemplated what to do and she finally chickened out. She couldn’t do this, she spun to walk away but then there he was. Chris. He looked just as surprised to see her standing there.

  “Hi.” She said nervously.

  “Hi. You’re waiting for me?” He asked with confusion as he ran a hand through his short-cropped hair.

  “No um, I thought I had a class this way.” She began to lie as he looked at her confused. She looked down. “Yeah, I was waiting for you. It’s stupid. I shouldn’t even be here.” She began as he walked up to her quickly.

  “Wait, no. I don’t think it’s stupid at all. It’s cool. I’m actually glad you came by.” He said with a soft smile.

  “You are?” She said with shock.

  “Yeah, um. Do you want to go inside? I have to get my papers ready for class.” He said with a shake of his head.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. Of course. Get your stuff together. I don’t want to hold you up.” She said with shake of her head as she stood there nervously.

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean.” He sighed as he blushed some. “Can we try this again. Hi.”

  “Hi” She laughed a little.

  “Would you like to come in?” He smiled.

  “I would love to.” He unlocked the classroom door and they both walked in. It looked just like an art studio. It was a very cool looking set up. She walked around as he set his bag onto the desk. There was a chair set up in the middle of the room. It was on an elevated area on the floor. “Do you paint portraits?” She asked as he smiled a bit nervously.

  “Yeah actually we do. The model will either sit there or pose.” He walked over to her.

  “Nice, do you use other students to model?” She asked with curiosity.

  “Sometimes, why do you want to offer yourself up?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, no. I wouldn’t be good for that.” She said as she shook her head with embarrassment.

  “Why not? You would be perfect. You’re beautiful.” He said as she looked at him and then he blushed some as he walked over to his desk. She blushed too. He had called her beautiful. Awkward silence fell between them but then his first students began to arrive and they both looked at door. “Lunch later?” He asked as she walked to the door.

  “Same place?” She smiled at him.

  “Deal.” He said as she began to walk out.

  “See you later Professor.” She smirked as she left his room. She had a ridiculous smile on her face. See Chris was normal, normal was good.

  In one of Briana’s classes she had a pop quiz and she sighed because she had not studied at all. She really needed to focus on school more otherwise she would never graduate. She didn’t want to be a bartender forever. She was the last one to finish the test and as she went to hand it in, she saw him. John. He was standing in the doorway of her class.

  As much as she wanted to yell at him to go away, she couldn’t. She didn’t talk to him either as she dropped off her paper and then got to the door.

  “Can we just talk?” He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

  “I am actually busy if you haven’t noticed.” She walked past him. Images of her dream flooded her mind. She had to block the thoughts out.

  “So, I am everything that the articles say about me. I wasn’t hiding it from you. I would have told you if you asked me.” He finally said as she stopped now and turned to face him.

  “We have way different views on life and what is considered wrong and or degrading.” She said seriously. She knew she should just walk away but she couldn’t. She was stuck there.

  He walked up to her as she stood. “Let me explain things in
private.” He said as people began to look at him.

  “No.” She finally said, and he blinked in shock. “There is nothing to explain ok. It is what it is. I have to get to class.” She turned from him now as he stood there for a second and then quickly got up to her.

  “I didn’t force anyone to do anything. I’m an entrepreneur. I run a business.” He said as she stopped and rolled her eyes at him.

  “Yeah well your field of choice is not something I believe in.” She said with a shake of her head. She turned from him and he grabbed her elbow. Images of them entwined naked as they made love flashed before her eyes and she literally jumped back from him.

  He looked equally shocked because he had seen a crazy image of them kissing and making love. It looked like it was on the ground, possibly sand.

  “I have to go.” She said as she spun from him and walked away. John stood there with the images still in his head. It was images of something that hadn’t happened, but it felt real. Had she seen it too? She had looked at him weird. He needed answers and he needed them quick if he was going to fix everything with her.

  Briana kept walking down the hallway. Her mind still showing her images of something that had never occurred. Had he seen it too because he looked equally freaked out. Confusion ran through her. What were these images about and why the hell couldn’t she stop thinking about him!

  John felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He just didn’t know what to do and it was the first time in his life that he felt this conflicted about another person. He wasn’t even sure how any of this was even possible. When she looked at him, he saw his Briana, but he knew it wasn’t physically possible but then he was having these weird thoughts that felt real. Was he finally going crazy? Had the years of partying it up and being reckless finally taken their toll on him? He needed answers and he needed them now.

  Briana got to her class and her heart was racing. What was happening to her? She wondered if something from the fire had messed with her head. Her teacher began to talk about the basics of setting a perimeter of a crime scene. It was stuff she already knew and so she used her classroom laptop to do another search for John. She was still shocked with everything she was seeing and then she changed the date to the earliest ever article about him. It was an interview that was done in the early 2000’s. When he spoke, he sounded so lost. His eyes held an emptiness. Why did he choose the decisions in his life? She just couldn’t understand him.

  A lot of wolves looked up to him as a leader, but he wasn’t officially a leader of anyone except his business which made him a lot of money. He was a millionaire. He could have anything and anyone he wanted. He was gorgeous, strong minded and apparently business savvy even though she hated his choice of work. What she hated more was that she felt jealous when she thought of him possibly being with someone else. But why? These crazy feelings about him were overwhelming. She needed a distraction from him, and she actually looked forward to seeing Chris at lunch. She needed that kind of normalcy.

  By the time lunch came Briana was beyond conflicted. The strange images in her head were happening more often. It was confusing, she tried to ignore them. She kept seeing his big black wolf, blood and naked bodies entwined. Chris snapped her out of her thoughts as he walked up to her in the cafeteria.

  “I was wondering if you would actually come.” Chris said seriously as he smiled.

  “I keep my promises.” She smiled softly. “Shall we?” She pointed at the line in the cafeteria and he grinned as they walked over.

  They grabbed burgers this time with fries. The cafeteria was pretty packed as they found a seat at one of the long tables. “The burgers aren’t half bad here.” He smiled as he took a bite of his. He wasn’t kidding it was good. “So how close are you to finishing off school?” He finally asked after a few minutes.

  “Almost a year but I really can’t wait for it to be over. I just want to start my life already.” She said honestly. She felt like she was in a standstill with her life and it wouldn’t get better until she was making an actual contribution to society.

  “Your life hasn’t started yet?” Chris asked with confusion.

  “Not the way I want it to. I want to travel and do what I love the most. “She smiled softly as she ate a fry.

  “Forensic, right?” He said as she nodded her head. “Sort of a dark position to be in wouldn’t you think?”

  “Well it depends on how you look at it. If it means giving people justice when they can’t get it themselves or helping someone to rest easier. I guess I just want to help people, the living and the dead.” She said seriously.

  “That’s a pretty impressive career to take on. You’re compassionate so it will all come easy for you. I would like to travel one day too. I haven’t even been out of Pennsylvania, I’m lame.” He shook his head.

  “Oh my gosh, I haven’t been out of Pennsylvania either. I thought I was the only one.” She laughed. “So, I guess I am lame too.”

  “You couldn’t be lame even if you tried.” He grinned.

  “I am so lame that I work and sleep at the same place.” She smirked.

  “Oh, I see how it is. Well I am so lame that I get excited when I buy a new tie.” He laughed.

  “Well I am so lame that I binge watch tv shows until the App asks me if I am still watching, because even my tv thinks I am lame. Oh, and my tv is from the 70’s I’m pretty sure.” She grinned.

  “Damn, the 70’s? Let me guess wooden frame around it?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “You got it and it weighs hundreds of pounds I’m sure.” She laughed.

  “And you got Apps put on it? Now that I may have to see.” He smirked.

  “Trust me it wasn’t easy, but my dad had always told me that everything can be fixed. It’s not perfect but it works. I was actually surprised when I made it happen.” She ate another fry. She liked this. Chris was a wonderful distraction.

  “Maybe one day I could see it in person. I could bring popcorn.” He continued to eat his fries.

  “We could probably try that out.” She said with a soft smile.

  “Just give me the day and time.” Chris grinned.

  Chapter Sixteen

  John began to have a pity party for himself as he contacted every witch that he knew within a two-hundred-mile radius. Clara seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. He was beyond annoyed as he continued to drink the now half empty bottle of whiskey. A knock on his office door made him groan. If it was his maid again coming to dust for the third time today, he was going to lose it. “Go away!” He snapped but then the door opened as he got up. He was ready to let whoever was standing there have a piece of his mind, but Steele came walking in.

  “You look like shit dude.” Steele said, and John rolled his eyes.

  “What do you want?” John groaned as he went back to his seat.

  “Well I was looking for you and then I heard you came back to this shit hole of a town. Why are you still here?” Steele said in shock and then he grabbed himself a bottle from the makeshift bar across the room. He sniffed the alcohol and then took a swig.

  “Just trying to figure out life’s meaning.” John said dryly.

  “Seriously?” Steele said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Sort of, it’s this god damn chick.” John shook his head as he took a big gulp of the whiskey.

  “Ah, trying to hook up with one or hiding from one?” Steele smirked.

  “It’s not even like that.”

  “Well it can either be one or the other. I hear some of the country girls can be really wild in bed.” Steele smirked as John just looked at him and continued to drink. “Damn, all of this for one girl?”

  “She’s not just any girl. She is different.” John began.

  “Ah she likes the freaky shit, I get it. I mean I’m all for it as long as nothing gets shoved up my ass.” Steele laughed.

  “You got problems; you know that right.” John said sarcastically.

  “I’ve got 99 pr
oblems, but a chick isn’t one.” Steele laughed. John just looked at him and rolled his eyes. “Dude, seriously this town is a huge bummer, come with me to Vegas. We need some male bonding.” He grinned.

  “I’m not in the mood.” John said seriously. “Can you see if any of your witch friends know where I can reach Clara?”

  “You want a witch? Hell, man I can get you a better one then that. Have you tried her sister Selena? Now she is one wicked bitch, but boy can she make you see stars?” Steele smirked.

  “Seriously, Selena? That witch is crazy as hell. Last time I heard she was looking for some ancient book or some shit.” John began.

  “So, you didn’t sleep with her?” Steele smirked.

  “No, I’m too attached to my junk. I heard she cut off a guy’s dick because she wanted it as a souvenir.” John finally smirked. “So obviously your dick didn’t impress her enough if you still have it.”

  “Oh, trust me I had her screaming my name like a banshee.” Steele laughed. “Though she may actually be a banshee.”

  “Amen to that, I think she is.” John laughed some too.

  “So, what do you want with the witches? I could ask around.” Steele said as John sighed.

  “So, you remember back in the early nineties that wolf went blood lust crazy and mauled those people in New York?” John began as Steele nodded. “I think I found that wolf, well she isn’t a wolf anymore which is odd.” John began to ramble.

  “You mean the wolf revolution chick? She is bad ass. I bet she would be freaky as shit in bed. I heard she is all sorts of crazy and well, dead. So, if you saw a dead girl then you may need help my friend.” Steele smirked but John wasn’t laughing as he looked at his friend. “Shit man lighten up. You’re going to kill my buzz.” Steele drank more from the bottle in his hand.