by J. C. Diem
“He’s stable and he’s doing well,” she replied. “From what I understand about succubae, he should come around in another three or four days.”
Apart from a bruise on the back of his neck, he was fine physically. The succubus hadn’t bothered to feed from him. She’d merely put him into a deep sleep rather than into a dream state. I doubted he’d remember anything of his ordeal in the cave.
Leaving Alicia to her duties, I slipped into my room and closed the door for privacy. I didn’t want anyone to witness my sorrow. Mark was the lucky one. I had a feeling that the dreams that I’d both lived through and had witnessed through Reece would continue to haunt me for a very long time. Our ideas of a perfect life couldn’t have been more different.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Six
We spent most of our waking moments training during the next three days. I wanted to practice my sniper skills, but Mark had advised us not to use the outdoor range. He’d been worried that the rogue and his pack might be close enough to hear our shots and realize we’d taken up residence in the compound.
It seemed like a moot point now. The rogue wolf clearly knew who we were and had followed Reece and me to Kentucky. A female shifter had drawn Reece out of our room, leaving me vulnerable to attack. At least one other member of the pack was involved in his attack against me. Maybe they all were.
We were all anxious for Mark to wake up so we could resume our original mission. There was a good chance that another person would be torn apart and eaten by the sadistic werewolf during the next full moon.
I was in the indoor shooting range when Mark finally woke. If Alicia hadn’t been there to monitor him and to reassure us that he was fine, we would have panicked long before now. It wasn’t easy to watch someone you loved slowly wasting away.
Hearing the door burst open behind me, I took my finger off the trigger and turned. It was Kala and she was smiling widely enough to show me most of her teeth. “Mark’s awake!” She rushed off before I could ask her any questions.
Holstering my gun, I caught the door before it could close and sprinted after her. She remembered to slow down to a jog when she entered the main area. I was right on her heels as she took the stairs up to the second floor.
Reece, Flynn and Alicia were crowded around Mark’s bed. Kala elbowed her way in between the boys, but I stood beside the medic. Our boss was thin and pale, but his eyes were alert. They rested on me a moment longer than the others.
“How are you feeling?” Alicia asked him.
“Like I’ve been asleep for a week,” he joked weakly.
Kala laughed then sat on the edge of his bed and gave him a long hug. “I’m glad you’re finally awake, lazy bones.”
“What did I miss?”
“Not much,” Reece said. His gaze flicked to Alicia in a reminder that we couldn’t speak freely. “There were two succubae rather than one. One of them distracted us while the second one grabbed you. Zeus was able to follow their trail. We shot them both and burned their remains just in case anyone ever stumbles across their cave.”
That story was for Alicia’s benefit. The lie would protect both us and Ranger Delgado. The fewer people who knew what we were, the better off we’d all be.
“You did an excellent job,” Mark said to us. “When will I be able to get back to work?” he asked his nurse.
“It will take you at least a couple of days to regain your strength. You should avoid doing anything strenuous for another week or so.”
Nodding, he reached for a glass of water with a trembling hand. Alicia handed it to him, ready to steady him if he needed it. “I could eat a horse,” he said when he managed a few sips.
“You can have soup,” she said firmly.
“I’ll make it,” Flynn volunteered.
“I’ll help,” Kala added and raced him to the door.
Mark blanched at that, which made Reece smile. “Don’t worry,” he said over his shoulder as he headed for the door. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t ruin it.”
Sensing that Mark wanted to speak to me alone, Alicia stood. “I’m going to grab a quick cup of coffee. I’ll be back soon.”
Mark waited until she’d closed the door before he spoke. “What really happened to us? The last thing I remember is us being picked off one by one.”
“The succubae captured all of us,” I said bleakly and sat down.
“Who saved us?”
“I did, with Zeus’ help.”
His gaze became razor sharp. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I felt Zeus trying to reach me and became aware that I was dreaming. Once I figured that out, I woke up. We were strung up by rope, hanging from hooks that had been driven into the cave ceiling.”
He shrugged his shoulders at the residual pain he must have been feeling in his wrists and shoulders. His wrists were still chaffed and bruised. “I saw a succubus feeding on Reece and didn’t realize another one was outside,” I continued. “She was so engrossed in feeding that she didn’t hear me creeping up on her. I strangled her to death then another one came at me.”
“They must have been mother and daughter,” he said almost to himself. “A succubus only ever has one child and they have a great deal of trouble falling pregnant. When they do conceive, their offspring are always female. If the younger succubus had been a few years older, she might have attempted to breed with one or more of us.”
I made a face at hearing that news. As if having their essences sucked out wasn’t bad enough, they could have been forced to impregnate one of the creatures as well.
“Did you have any trouble killing the second succubus?” he asked.
I nodded ruefully. “It was the mother and she was enraged when she saw that her daughter was dead. We grappled and I managed to get her in a choke hold, but she was stronger than me and almost managed to get free. If Zeus hadn’t come to my rescue and torn her throat out, none of us would be here now.”
“You were unbelievably lucky to have escaped from your dream. I’ve never heard of that happening before. We owe a great deal to Zeus,” he said quietly. “I had no idea how useful he’d become when he attached himself to you.”
Neither had I and it was fortunate for all of us that he had. “I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Nodding in agreement, he reached for his water again. The IV was still in his hand, providing him with much needed fluids. “How many nights are left until the full moon?” he asked after he put his glass down.
“Only two more.”
“I’ll have to convince Alicia that I’m better before then.”
If he didn’t, we’d have to think of an excuse for the four of us to leave. We’d have to find somewhere else that could safely hold us while we were in our altered states. Either that or Reece and I would have to bite Kala and Flynn again to bind them to us. Only when we were together could we retain enough human intelligence to remember not to eat people.
I was making coffee the next morning when I turned to find Kala standing only inches away. I started back and put a hand on my racing heart. “Gah! I hate it when you sneak up on me like that!”
“I know,” she smirked then nodded towards Reece. He was in the boxing ring with Flynn. As sinuous as his snake half, Flynn was very difficult to pin down. Reece cursed when his combatant managed to wriggle out of his grasp yet again. “What’s going on with you two?” she asked, speaking so quietly that the guys couldn’t overhear her.
“What do you mean?” I knew what she meant. It was obvious that Reece had cooled towards me.
“I can tell that something has changed. You’re not trying to tear each other’s clothes off every five seconds anymore.”
I was sure Flynn had noticed it as well, but he was too polite to say anything.
“We’ve been through a lot this past couple of weeks,” I hedged. “I don’t know if Mark told you or not, but the rogue werewolf tried to attack me.”
My expression told her what I meant without me h
aving to spell it out. Her golden eyes turned flat. “You mean he tried to rape you.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “How far did he get?”
“Not very. He had me pinned down, but I managed to elbow him in the face before he could finish what he’d started. I called for Reece with my mind and the rogue sensed him coming and ran away.”
“He’s a dead man,” she vowed. “When we catch him, I’ll hold him down so you can rip his nuts off.”
I wrinkled my nose at that image. “I’d prefer not to have any contact with his private parts, thanks all the same.”
“Fine. You hold him down while I rip his nuts off.”
That made me chuckle. To our relief, my laughter lacked the hysteria from several days ago.
“Everything will be okay, you know,” she said and leaned in for a hug. My eyes strayed to Reece and doubt filled my heart. He hadn’t made a move to touch me in days. I had the horrible feeling that nothing would ever be the same between us again.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mark was well enough to join us for breakfast the next morning. I was pretty sure it was pure force of will that enabled him to leave his bed. Flynn helped him down the stairs with Alicia following just behind them. She was ready to leap into action if she was needed.
Kala had a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee ready for Mark by the time he was seated. It was weird to see our boss in his pajamas and a robe rather than in a suit. He was already looking much better. His face wasn’t as pale and he was starting to flesh out again.
Alicia grabbed some toast from the pile that Reece had made. She wasn’t much of a talker and merely listened to our chatter while she watched her patient for any signs of illness.
“How is he, doc?” Kala asked the medic.
“He’s doing much better,” Alicia said. “He’s regained enough strength to be able to shower by himself now.”
“I’m sitting right here,” Mark complained and was completely ignored by them both.
“Is it okay for him to eat solid food?” Kala asked. Her hands hovered near his bowl. She was ready to snatch it away if the cereal was taboo.
Alicia nodded and Mark shot her a sour glance before spooning some food into his mouth. “Cereal is fine,” she confirmed. “His stomach has shrunken, so he’ll have to eat several small meals a day for the next few days. After that, he can eat normal sized meals again.”
“How long will you be sticking around to take care of him?” Flynn asked casually. If she wasn’t gone by tomorrow, we’d have to come up with an excuse to leave.
“If he continues to show improvement, I’ll leave at lunchtime tomorrow.”
We heaved silent sighs of relief that Zeus picked up on. Lying on the bare concrete floor beside me, his ears perked up. When nothing further happened, he went back to snoozing again. He’d earned the right to laze around as far as I was concerned.
Mark was feeling fatigued after breakfast, so Flynn helped him upstairs to rest. I couldn’t face Reece’s distance when he headed to the sink to rinse his dishes. I decided that a walk was in order and strode over to the door. Zeus was on his feet in an instant. He followed me outside to the front of the compound.
With my companion padding along beside me, I walked down the driveway towards the gate. I wanted to test just how close I could get to the crosses that no longer even seemed to be necessary.
Zeus stopped a good hundred feet back from the fence. He was well aware of how deadly it was. I continued on and began to feel pain when I was forty feet away from the cross. I had to stop when I was still ten feet away from it. Fire was burning inside my chest and my heart was racing. Sweat popped out on my face and I backed away.
I’d been so distracted by the pain that I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone. I turned and came face to face with Reece. His hands shot out to catch me by the shoulders when I started backwards. A different kind of heat flared up to replace the pain. Feeling my desire, he dropped his hands as if he’d been burned.
“The voodoo priestess was right, wasn’t she?” he asked. “Your soul really is being torn between two forces. I can feel your pain every time you get too close to the crosses.”
I’d hoped to hide this development from him, but he’d known about it all along. I nodded miserably. “I think it’s getting worse so quickly because one of the vampires bit me when we were fighting them in Bradbury.”
“I’m surprised your mother isn’t lurking around here somewhere, waiting to finish you off,” he said bitterly.
“I think she knows that she doesn’t have to. I’m going to turn into a vampire eventually. She’ll be my master then and I’ll have no choice but to go to her.” That was my theory anyway. There had never been anything like me before. No one really knew what was in store for me.
“She’ll be my master, too,” he reminded me unnecessarily. My mother had bitten him as well and we’d both been infected by her. Renewing our bond by having sex and sharing our blood had been the only thing that had stopped him from dying. Now he would suffer the same fate as me. It was only a matter of time before we succumbed to the undead virus in our veins.
“I think we should keep some distance between us until we’ve finished this mission,” he said bleakly. “We need to remain focused.”
It was a lame excuse for us to remain apart, but I nodded anyway. Picking up on my sorrow, Zeus bared his teeth at Reece’s back when he walked away. Our bond was the only thing keeping us both alive. We needed to sleep together regularly to make sure it stayed strong. He’d effectively just signed our death warrants by turning his back on me.
“Maybe I should just throw myself at the fence and put myself out of my misery,” I said to Zeus. Feeling my despair, he whined. I moved away from the fence until the pain in my chest faded.
A different kind of pain immediately took over. It was mental rather than physical. Sitting down in the shade of a tree, I drew my knees up to my chest, put my hands over my face and gave in to my sobs.
Zeus leaned against me and I held him tightly. He endured my torrent of grief then licked me from my chin to my hairline when I sat back wearily. “Thanks, buddy,” I said and wiped his slobber away with my sleeve. “I can always count on you to cheer me up.”
Leaving me for a short time, he returned carrying a stick and dropped it beside me. He looked at me hopefully, mentally urging me to play with him. “That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it?” I said as I heaved myself to my feet. “Playing fetch will solve any problem, no matter how great or small.”
With a joyous bark, he sprinted after the stick when I threw it as hard as I could. It sailed into the trees and he trampled a small shrub to reach it.
We played until the sun began to sink from the sky. Looking up at the stars, the moon was still too low for me to see it, but I could feel its power growing. In one more night, I’d be freed from my problems, even if it was just for a short time. I almost wished I could stay as a werewolf just so I didn’t have to face my turmoil again.
Flynn opened the door to call me in for dinner as I was approaching the building. He stepped outside when he saw my face, leaving the door open a crack. My eyes must have still been red from crying. “Are you okay?”
Avoiding his gaze, I nodded. “I’m fine. I’m pretty hungry, though.”
He stopped me with a hand on my arm before I could step inside. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Garrett, but I’m sure it will work itself out in the end.”
His concern almost drove me to tears again, but I willed them away. “What if it doesn’t work itself out?” I asked plaintively. “What if he’s decided he doesn’t want to be bonded to me anymore?”
“It’s way too late for that. The deed is done.” He studied me with a knowing look. “What did he really dream about, Lexi?”
“He wasn’t lying when he said he dreamt he was the alpha of a werewolf pack.” I was silent as I gathered my courage to tell him the rest. “The only thing
he lied about was that I was part of his pack.”
“Did he have a mate in his dream?”
I nodded jerkily. “She was a petite blond. A pure born. They had a son.” I came close to breaking down again and waved him away when he reached for me. I was already near the edge and I’d hurtle over it if he hugged me. “I’ll be okay. It’s just hard to realize that I’ve basically ruined any chance he’ll ever have of finding true happiness.”
“It isn’t your fault,” he said fiercely. “If you want to blame someone, blame him. He’s the one who bit you and dragged you into our lives.”
It was a shock to hear him siding with me. Mark was our boss, but Reece was our team leader. Flynn’s loyalty should have been to him before me. Maybe a constrictor’s allegiances were different to a wolf’s. It would be interesting to see who Kala would side with.
I found that out later that night when I pushed my door open and found her waiting for me in my room. Sitting on my bed as if she owned it, she gestured for me to close the door. Our rooms were soundproofed and we were in no danger of anyone overhearing our conversation.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Reece is being an idiot,” she said sourly. I took a seat beside her without arguing about her observation. “You were almost raped and he’s treating you like a leper instead of being there to give you the support you need. Men suck.”
I sighed, knowing that I had to come clean with her. “That isn’t why he’s avoiding me.”
“Then what the hell is his problem?”
I told her about his dream world and that I hadn’t even played a small part in it. “He wishes he’d never bitten me,” I finished up. “Now he’s stuck with me forever.” I didn’t mention that we were both slowly sliding towards the darkness that was taking over our souls. He was reluctant to renew our bond and that meant we were surely doomed.