by Leia Stone
“Do you even know what you are?” he hissed, his gelled black hair having come undone in our scuffle.
His question was causing panic to creep up my throat as I assessed the situation around me. Eugene had killed two vampires and was still in human form; Sawyer was bounding down the hall, black ashy blood around his muzzle. So that left just this one and possibly one other.
Everything is going to be fine.
I’d just keep him talking and Sawyer would rip his head off in a moment.
“I’m a contestant in Werewolf Bachelor,” I told him, thinking of the first thing I could and causing his brows to knit together in confusion. I took that moment of confusion and lashed out again, this time aiming for the kill zone, right over his unbeating heart. I got three short stabs in while he staggered backward.
Thump, thump, thump.
My eyes widened as I heard someone running across the roof.
The vampire grinned, right before Sawyer leapt into the air and took his head clean off. His powerful wolf’s jaws clamped down over the vampire’s neck and ripped his head from his body, causing it to wither and turn to an ashy lump. Eugene relaxed the slightest bit, scouting the area with his eyes for any more attackers when I felt it.
The hairs raised on my arms and a sense of impending doom took over me.
“There’s more.” I barely got the words out before the windows crashed inward and everything happened so quickly I could barely process it.
Sawyer stepped over the vampire’s headless withering body to tuck himself into my leg and Eugene started to shift, bones cracking and his form bulking out in record speed. Six vampires had just broken through the windows of Sawyer’s living room, and there was a familiar whirring sound outside, making its way over to us.
Helicopter.
This wasn’t some little mission to fuck with the alpha’s son, this was a carefully planned operation.
The entire thirty seconds I processed this felt like two hours, like time had slowed and I was out of my body. It took me a moment to realize, I was out of body. A white, ghostly wolf form crawled out of my body, leaving my clothes unmarred. Pain ripped across my skin as my wolf left me, and then she solidified, no longer spectral as she stood next to Sawyer and growled at the oncoming horde.
What the fuck? This time wasn’t like last time, I hadn’t even gone furry, she’d just … detached … from me and solidified like a ghost coming back to life.
Eugene’s wolf had shifted as well and he was insanely huge, two times the size of mine and bigger than Sawyer’s by a long shot, but he was frozen, staring at me as he’d just witnessed my freak of nature.
“It’s her! She’s the one!” a female vampire wearing black army fatigues hissed from the living room.
The other vampires had come in to weaken or distract, or maybe to confirm something.
Me. To confirm it was me that they wanted for whatever reason.
These vampires were here to kill. They held sleek black guns that I just knew were full of silver bullets. Kill me? Kill Sawyer and take me? I didn’t want to know the answer to that question.
Sawyer’s wolf looked mine in the eyes and I felt a pressure in my skull, alpha power pressed in on me like a blanket.
‘Run. Get help,’ his voice projected into my mind and my eyes widened.
I knew that the alpha had powers the other wolves didn’t; it was in their bloodline, like a magic none of us had, but I didn’t know the extent of those powers. I was scared to leave him, scared that if I did he might die and I’d never get that first date. I shook my head and my wolf tipped her head back and let loose with a long, haunting howl. Eugene and Sawyer joined in, until our howls became deafening.
Hopefully, one of the guards on campus heard that and would come to investigate, because we were out of time. Two of the vampires raised their guns, aiming them at Eugene and Sawyer, and I didn’t know what I was thinking, but I burst forward to stand in the line of fire.
Simultaneously, my wolf and my human form lurched forward, throwing ourselves in front of the boys and in front of two oncoming bullets. Time was weird. I could see the bullets flying through the air in slow motion like I was in an action movie. It took me a second to realize time hadn’t slowed, but I’d sped up.
I was fast, vampire fast.
Thrusting my hands out, I caught the bullets as they tore through the flesh in my palms. Sharp burning pain sliced through my palms as the bullets exited the back of my hands and landed on the floor. A high-pitched scream of agony ripped from my throat.
My wolf was already taking one of the vampires down, while the other vampire stared at me in shock.
“She moved like us,” the male bloodsucker said stupidly.
“Get her before she grows too strong!” the female vampire snapped, and they all advanced in unison. I was experiencing my wolf tearing into the vampire closest to me while also staring down at the two holes in my hands. It’s like wherever I willed my attention to go, it went, but each body could think and act independently of the other. The holes seeped crimson, blending in with the red color of my pretty dress as I fought the very strong urge to have a mental breakdown.
What the fuck was happening? Why couldn’t I just be eating pizza or making out right now?
Something bumped into my leg and I yelped, only to find it was Sawyer’s dark gray wolf. He pushed me behind him as he and Eugene curled their lips back and growled at the vampires before us.
I was staring at my hands in fascination, the holes seemed to be getting smaller, while simultaneously feeling my wolf kill the vampire. I could see his screaming face, taste his putrid blood, but I was also just standing here staring at my hands.
Talk about mental problems—was I losing my mind? Was this really happening?
In unison, Eugene and Sawyer leapt, taking two vampires down to the ground each, leaving only the female. She took one look at my wolf, standing on the dead body of her friend, and hissed, retreating out the broken back window and into the night.
Helicopter blades whirred, and then only the sound of Eugene and Sawyer tearing into the flesh of the undead remained.
Howls rose into the night and Sawyer froze, looking at my wolf.
‘Shift back. Now.’
My heart hammered in my throat as my wolf bounded over to me. I stood there stupidly, staring at the weeping holes in my hands, which were nearly closed. Werewolves had rapid healing but not this rapid, and not when silver was involved. I should be in surgery right now … I should be…
I gasped as my wolf jumped into the air, headed right for me. Tensing, I flexed my muscles, preparing for her to slam into me. The hit never came, because right before she reached me, she went semitransparent and was sucked inside of me. There was pressure, slight pain, and then it was gone.
“What the fuck was that!” Eugene stood, naked and holding his junk as he stared at me, wide-eyed.
Sawyer walked across the room and I totally shamelessly checked out his amazing naked ass. He opened a linen closet and slipped on some basketball shorts. When he returned, he gave Eugene a large blanket. I was assuming because no shorts of his would fit the giant man.
“That was an assassination attempt,” Sawyer told him as Eugene wrapped the blanket around his waist like a towel.
Eugene shook his head. “No. Her.”
Sawyer stepped closer to the head of security. “That was an assassination attempt.”
Eugene’s eyes widened. “Sawyer, I work for your father. I have to tell him about her—”
“You protect me! Next year you will work for me.”
Conflict warred in Eugene’s gaze and he looked from me and back to Sawyer.
“Please,” Sawyer begged. “Don’t tell him about Demi.”
Eugene’s eyes widened and the sound of footsteps drew nearer.
“Why not?” Eugene whispered.
Silence descended over the room as Sawyer weighed his answer, before looking over at me sadly.
He l
owered his voice to barely a whisper: “Because my father will have her killed.”
Fear trickled into my bones at his declaration, and then the footsteps arrived. Twenty armed Wolf City guards burst into Sawyer’s apartment, eyes wide.
Eugene took a deep breath and held the blanket firmly around him. “Please inform the alpha there has been an assassination attempt by the vampire coven. I’ll want to do a full investigation.”
Somewhere in the past few minutes, I’d started crying. I was still staring at my hands, now fully healed, as tears splashed down on them.
Sawyer’s bare feet came into view and he reached down and picked me up, scooping me under the knees and holding me tightly to his chest. “I’m taking her to the hospital to get checked out,” Sawyer informed the men present.
“I’ll take her, sir.” One of them reached for me and Sawyer growled, low and deep in his throat, causing the man to back up several steps until he bumped into the wall.
He walked me out the front door and I couldn’t stop crying, the tears tracing tracks down my cheeks and onto his bare chest.
What was wrong with me? What the hell was that back there? I moved like a vampire, I fought alongside my wolf, my hands healed in seconds!
“I’m scared,” I whimpered, no longer caring about acting cool in front of Sawyer. Whatever dreams I had of this man picking me as his wife and mate were dashed when I fucking caught bullets midair like a freak.
He looked down at me, conflicted emotions warring in his face. “Me too,” he finally said, and it was not what I wanted to hear.
Not at all.
“So, first date was a little bust, no biggie.” Sage sat at my bedside in the hospital, which, surprise, was called Hudson Emergency Room. It seemed his family owned everything in Werewolf City. Everything important anyway.
I snorted. “A little bust? We all nearly died.”
What a horrible first date. Sawyer was clearly never going to speak to me again. Because of me, he had threatened Eugene and lied to his father. This was so fucked, and it sucked because I really liked him.
Sage shrugged. “I mean, if you want to be the alpha’s wife, you need to be used to attacks.”
I didn’t respond, because this wasn’t an attack for the alpha’s son, it was for me, but I hadn’t told her that.
“I just want to go home.”
She nodded. “I’ll have the nurse get your discharge papers.”
I’d been found to have no wounds, but Sawyer had told the doctor to keep me for a few hours to make sure I remained stable. I think he feared for my mental health more than anything. Which right now was teetering on the brink of insanity.
When Sage returned a few moments later with a stack of papers, I sighed in relief. I just wanted to go back to my dorm, take a hot shower, and forget this shitshow ever happened.
We made our way outside, where a sleek black car was waiting.
“I didn’t think you would want to ride a scooter across campus looking like Carrie on Halloween,” Sage informed me.
I looked down at my crusted bloody red dress and gave her a wry smile. “Very thoughtful of you.”
It was a five-minute ride across campus to our dorm, and because of the late hour we were able to slip in undetected. Even the front door lady, a different one than Kendra this time, was asleep at the desk. I did notice, though, that the campus was crawling with security.
Sage dropped me off at my front door. “Get some sleep. I’ll be right out here if you need anything.”
I frowned.
She grinned. “I’ve been assigned as your own personal bodyguard.”
I gave her a wan smile, but it didn’t feel real. Neither she, nor I, knew what she was guarding.
I wasn’t a normal werewolf, that was for damn sure.
It was a long time before I could fall asleep.
The next day, I threw on black yoga pants and a t-shirt that said Classy but I cuss a little. After tossing my hair into a top knot, I put my camera around my neck and slung my backpack over my shoulder because I had zero fucks about what I looked like right now. I was just trying to tell myself that yesterday was in the past. Today, I was a photography student and I was going to focus on that.
Something normal.
When I opened the door, Sage was there waiting with two coffees. Her hair was still damp and she wore no make-up but still managed to look insanely beautiful.
“Did you sleep?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Got four hours while Walsh took over my shift. We’re getting new schedules today. There is to be two guards on you at all times.”
My eyes bugged and she waved me off. “It’s more common once Sawyer picks his top five girls later this year, but you got in early.” She winked.
Yeah … I’m not sure that was a good thing.
When we arrived at breakfast, I noticed Sawyer sitting at a table full of girls. One on each side of him and two across from him. Sage and I clutched our trays of food and walked to find a table. “I’ll ask them to move,” she said, but I shook my head.
“I’d like to just eat alone and get to class,” I told her.
Her face fell, but she nodded. “Okay.”
We sat as I silently pushed my eggs around the plate. When I looked up, Sawyer glanced over at me, gave me a wan smile and looked away, back to his conversation with Priya and Meredith.
My heart pinched as I came to the realization that things between Sawyer and I were probably over before they began. I had too much baggage for him, and if I was being honest, I wasn’t a fan of this whole dating game. I didn’t want to share him, I didn’t want to feel second best, or third or fiftieth. I wanted to punch all these bitches in the face and then straddle him right in this cafeteria and kiss him in front of everyone.
Sigh.
Brandon and Walsh walked up, fully outfitted for war, knifes, stakes, and guns strapped over their black canvas jumpsuits. Every eye in the cafeteria tracked their movements.
Don’t come over here, don’t come over here.
They stopped at our table. “Demi, we will be accompanying you to your classes today,” Brandon told me.
Great.
I chugged my OJ and grabbed my stuff. “I’ll see you at lunch,” I told Sage, and stood, following them out of the cafeteria. I risked a glance behind me, just in time to see Sawyer look up at me and then turn away quickly.
My first two classes were agony. All I could think about was what I would say to Sawyer in my third period class. I wanted to apologize for any inconvenience this whole vampire attack thing caused him, because clearly it was my fault. I wanted to tell him I was still down to play Call of Duty anytime he wanted. I wanted shit to feel normal between us because we’d started something fresh and real and exciting, and I didn’t want to lose it. By the time the bell rang for third period, I was already in my desk, eyeing the door and waiting for him to walk through.
But he never did…
The seconds stretched to minutes, which turned into the full hour, and my heart sank.
He’d dropped the class.
He was so freaked about last night that he didn’t want to pursue me anymore.
Could I blame him?
I’d nearly gotten him killed. I was some human-wolf split shifter. I caught bullets, and I made him lie to his dad.
Future wife material.
By the time it was lunch hour, I felt sick to my stomach. I missed my best friend Raven and my parents. I actually sort of missed Delphi at this point. At least things there were predictable. I didn’t want to go to the cafeteria and see all of the women fawn all over Sawyer, so I decided to linger in the park for a bit. Walsh and Brandon were following me at a twenty-foot distance, but I could feel them just staring at me, waiting for a vampire to jump out and attack me or something.
With a sigh, I texted Sage.
Me: Want to eat outside today?
Sage: Yep, I’ll bring you carb loaded fattening high calorie food?
I grinne
d.
Me: Yes please. Meet you at the park.
I was about to put my phone away when it binged. The Sterling Hill app I had downloaded had a notification. I opened it and my heart leapt into my throat.
Dear Mating selection candidate,
Starting tomorrow, Sawyer will be picking two dates per day, one for lunch and one for dinner. He will do this each day of the week for the next month until he has had time to personally meet with each one of you one on one. At the end of the month, you will be informed if he has invited you to continue with the mating selection process and move into the top twenty chosen. Please be ready each day for a date in case you are chosen as these things can be last minute.
Have a wonderful day,
Mrs. Hudson
Fuck that. Be ready every single day for a month in case he chose me? This whole thing was starting to make me sick and pissed off. I growled and stomped into the park. I would be a lot more frustrated if this damn garden wasn’t so beautiful. A stunning pink bougainvillea had caught my eye. The way it curved over the stone arch entryway of the park and how the light filtered through it was enchanting. I had to get a picture. Pulling out my phone, I stood under the hulking lush flowers and tipped my head up to snap a photo. Only afterward did I realize I now had a fancy camera.
Slipping my phone into my back pocket, I pulled out the camera Sawyer had bought me, messing with the settings until I got what I wanted. I was on my fourth picture when my phone buzzed in my back pocket.
WolfDude_4 has uploaded a new photo.
I clicked the alert, fully prepared for a selfie or even a picture with Meredith.
When I saw the back of me, taking a picture of the pink flowers moments ago with my phone, I gasped and spun around the park searching for him, but he was nowhere.
My heart pounded in my throat as I read the caption.
It was … a poem?