Dying Forever (Waking Forever Book 3)

by Heather McVea

  Stunned, Bryce looked at Alison. “Where did you get that?”

  Looking at the emptied extinguisher in her hand, Alison had to stop and think for a second before answering. “The - the construction shed. It was attached to the side.” She dropped the extinguisher. “Why would she do that?”

  “Loyalty.” It was the simplest explanation.

  A low moan came from behind the women. “Ash!” Alison began running toward her friend, who was staggering toward them.

  “What happened?” Ash rubbed her temple.

  Alison wrapped her arm around the detective’s shoulders. “Victoria killed herself.” She gently touched the woman’s cheek, a deep gash streaking across her otherwise flawless face. “Are you okay?”

  Nodding, Ash stood up straight, the spinning inside her head fading. “Yeah.”

  Alison watched in amazement as the gash, and several minor cuts began to disappear. “How - what?”

  Ash shrugged. “Another perk of being a shifter.”

  “Amazing.” Alison managed as Ash gave her a quick hug, and then looked at Bryce.

  “Did she say anything?”

  “No, and she never would have.” Bryce frowned.

  “We need to get out of here. This isn’t a particularly remote location, and it’s just a matter of time before the cops arrive.” The detective insisted. She looked at what was left of her Jeep. “Man, I loved that car.” She pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “I’ll report the car stolen, and let the chips fall as they may.”

  Alison looked at the two women. “What about the - remains?” She didn’t want to look at Victoria’s charred skeleton, so she looked intently at Bryce.

  “I’ll bury her. It won’t take long.” Bryce jogged toward the body. “Ash, you go. I’ll get Alison out of here.”

  Ash nodded, and took Alison’s hand. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”

  “I’m rattled, but otherwise okay.” She smiled, hoping to reassure her friend.

  “I’ll see you back at Coleen’s.” The detective began undressing. “Can I trouble you to tote my clothes for me?” She turned to Alison, who was even more confused than a moment ago, though she hadn’t imagined that possible.

  “Sure, but what are you doing?” Ash now stood in front of her naked. Her gun, jeans, undergarments, blouse and shoes stacked neatly on the ground at her feet. Her body was even more incredibly lean and muscular than Alison remembered, and she struggled not to stare.

  “A woman sprinting through the streets of the city at breakneck speed might raise suspicions.” Ash winked at the blonde. “But a Labrador - not so much.”

  Ash’s olive tone skin took on an intense red hue, and the scent of wet earth and burning leaves filled the air just as the nearly six foot tall woman disappeared and a large, yellow dog stood in her place.

  Alison gasped and instinctively took a step back. She had seen a hint of her friend’s skills at Blue Box, but to witness a full on shift was incredible. Squatting in front of the dog, Alison hesitantly reached for the animal’s head. “Can I touch you?”

  In response, the Labrador nudged Alison’s outstretched hand with her nose. The animal’s fur was thick and coarse, and Alison couldn’t believe how real it felt. Standing up, she shook her head in amazement.

  The sound of approaching sirens pulled Alison out of her reverie. “Get going. We’ll see you soon.”

  The dog barked, turned and broke into a sprint. Alison was in awe of how fast Ash was, and within seconds, the dog had disappeared into the darkness.

  The sirens grew louder, and turning around, Alison saw Bryce returning from across the road, dirt caked under her nails as she dusted off her pants. “Ready?”

  “For what, exactly?” Alison looked suspiciously at the woman as she gathered Ash’s clothes.

  “A piggy back ride.” Bryce grinned.

  “A -” Alison frowned. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. And soon. The cops are around the corner.” Bryce reached for Alison’s hand and then turned her back to the stunned blonde, crouched down, and looked back. “Hop up.”

  Taking a tentative step forward, Alison was struck by the ludicrousness of the situation. She was standing in the middle of what resembled a war torn, third world country with burnt out cars and the stench of scorched flesh lingering in the air. To add to the strangeness, her half naked vampire girlfriend was about to gallop the two of them through the city at breakneck speed.

  Wrapping her legs around Bryce’s waist, and her arms around the woman’s cool shoulders, Alison took a deep breath. “A warning.”

  “A warning?” Bryce asked.

  “I get motion sickness, so in case I forget to tell you later - sorry.”

  Chapter 15

  “What can I do?” Bryce stood behind a bent over Alison, gently rubbing the woman’s back as she retched into a hedge near the entrance to Coleen’s neighborhood.

  Reaching back, and steadying herself by clutching Bryce’s thigh, Alison took several deep breaths. “It’s passing.” She was grateful for how sprawling and relatively remote Coleen’s development was. The houses sat on large lots, and traffic in and out of the area was minimal. She didn’t need an audience for this humiliation.

  “Should we just walk the rest of the way?” Bryce placed a cool hand on the back of Alison’s neck.

  Standing up, her hands on her waist, Alison took stock. She felt like the jarring and the jostling her body had taken over the last day was representational of the kinetic upheaval her personal life was in. She didn’t have it in her to continue the roller coaster like sensation running with Bryce caused.

  “Great idea.” She took the woman’s hand, and they began the half mile walk towards Coleen’s house.

  After nearly ten minutes of walking, Bryce broke the comfortable silence the two women had been in. “Wait.” The night was relatively cool, and Alison had - regardless of the why - been enjoying the stroll.

  “What’s wrong?” She looked up the slight incline leading to Coleen’s driveway. There was nothing there, and the only sound was the faint rasping of distant cicada.

  “Lycan.” Bryce pulled Alison toward the side of the street, and behind a low lying oak scrub.

  “How’s that possible?” The memory of the lycan attack that killed Rayven raced through Alison’s mind, causing her mouth to go dry as she worked to stifle the panic.

  “I don’t know, but I can smell them. A lot of them.” Just then, a rustling came from behind the two women, and Bryce spun around, placing herself between the possible onslaught and Alison, her teeth bared, her back rigid.

  “Whoa there.” Ash’s whisper broke the tension. “It’s just me.”

  Bryce relaxed as a naked Ash emerged from the darkness. “Sorry, I thought you might be -”

  Ash nodded. “I know. I smell them too.”

  Alison had managed to hang on to Ash’s clothes and gun during the tumultuous run, and handed them to the woman, amazed at how casual she seemed about her public nudity.

  “Thanks, but I don’t think I’m done tonight.” Ash took the items, and laid them on the ground to her side. “I made a quick loop around the perimeter when I first got here and realized something was up.”

  Ash, still crouched low to the ground, inched closer to Bryce and Alison. “I count at least seven lycan around the outside of the house, and from the stench, maybe more inside.”

  Alison took Bryce’s hand, and squeezed it tightly. “How did they get in?”

  Bryce wrapped her arm around Alison’s shoulder, and pulled the frightened woman to her. “If that many of them attacked at once, even five vampires could be over-run.”

  Ash was struggling to keep her mind clear. The idea that Emma was being held, or worse, may already be dead, clouded the shifter’s head with a distracting mixture of rage and fear. “I’ll get inside the complex and see what’s happening.”

  Grabbing Ash’s forearm, Alison felt a momentary surge of alarm. “What?! You c
an’t be serious.”

  Ash covered Alison’s trembling hand with her own. “They won’t even notice me.”

  Alison felt an almost uncomfortable heat coming from Ash’s arm, and a second later, her friend had been replaced with an oversized porcupine. “Jesus.” Pulling her hand back, Alison looked at Bryce. “I’ll never get used to that.”

  Bryce managed a weak smile, and then looked down at the porcupine. “If you can, see how many are in the house too.”

  With a slight waddle, the porcupine disappeared into the darkness, leaving Bryce and Alison crouching near the scrub.

  Alison shivered, and Bryce pulled her closer. “You’re cold?”

  “I’m scared shitless is what I am.” Alison didn’t see the point in pretending. She knew terrible things were about to happen. She didn’t want to be afraid, but her common sense told her that was a fool’s errand. Oddly, accepting the fear, regardless of the pounding of her heart telling her to run, gave her the courage to stay.

  “Aren’t you afraid?” Alison’s eyes scanned the beautiful woman’s features. She seemed relaxed. The only sign of any inner turmoil was the faint glow of her eyes.

  “Yes.”

  Alison suddenly wanted to punch her girlfriend. “Pretend I didn’t ask a closed ended question.”

  Bryce’s brow arched. “We don’t experience fear in the same way you do. When you’re scared, your heart races, adrenaline surges through your body, and - well, you’re afraid.” Turning her attention back to the house, she quickly scanned the area. “Quiet.”

  Alison was experiencing firsthand the surge of adrenaline and a heart that felt like it was going to come out of her chest. Closing her eyes while trying to control her rapid breathing, the blonde listened closely, wanting to hear whatever had caught Bryce’s attention.

  It was hopeless. All she could hear was the faint sound of highway traffic, and the cicadas humming in the distance. Bryce lowered herself from a crouching position to her knees, and Alison followed suit. Clearly it was a false alarm.

  “You were saying?” Alison needed something to distract her, even if it was a conversation about the very thing that scared her.

  “I am afraid.” Bryce whispered. The smoothness and intimacy of her voice wrapped around Alison like a warm blanket. “I’ve spent so much of my life angry, with nothing to lose and no one that mattered. I used that anger to destroy, but now -” The woman looked down, seeming unsure. “Now it’s different.”

  Seeing Bryce was struggling, Alison took the woman’s hand in hers, and smiled. “How’s it different?”

  Bryce was unable to make eye contact until Alison gently reached under her chin and raised the vampire’s gaze to hers. “I have hope now, but because of that I’m afraid.” She reached up and stroked the warmth of Alison’s still slightly swollen cheek. “I’m afraid to lose you. To lose who I am when I’m with you.”

  Tears pushed at the corner of Alison’s eyes as Bryce continued. “In some ways the love is harder than the hopelessness and anger.” Words failing her, Alison pulled Bryce to her and kissed her. It wasn’t a kiss born of arousal, but rather, one born of commitment and love.

  Their foreheads pressed together, Alison managed to speak. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Bryce hugged the blonde, happiness welling up within her. She didn’t know what the future held for them, or their friends, but she refused to be cheated out of a single second of the joy she had found with Alison.

  ***

  “It’s been too long.” Alison didn’t have a watch or phone, but her internal clock told her Ash had been gone close to twenty minutes, and that had the blonde worried.

  “She wasn’t moving very fast.” Bryce pointed out.

  Remembering the waddling as Ash had disappeared toward the house, Alison knew Bryce was right, but the waiting was almost worse than what awaited them inside Coleen’s house. As if on cue, Ash appeared behind them, crouched low to the ground.

  “It’s bad.” The woman’s voice was low, and laden with anxiety. “Seven lycan around the outside of the house, and at least four more inside the house.”

  “What about Annabel and Christine?” Bryce asked.

  “Presumably somewhere in the house, but I couldn’t get close enough to see.” Ash looked at Alison, and then down at the Glock 17 laying on top of Ash’s clothes. “Here.” The detective picked the gun up, and handed it to a shocked Alison.

  “What can I do with this?” In spite of living most of her life in Texas, Alison had only shot a gun once. “This didn’t go well the first time, Ash.”

  The detective winced, remembering her and Alison’s one trip to a gun range north of Austin. They had been dating for a little over six months, and both women thought sharing each other’s hobbies would be a good bonding experience. Alison had ended up with a sprained wrist when the .38 revolver’s recoil had caught her off-guard.

  “You don’t have to be an expert marksman, and no - it won’t kill a lycan - but if you empty it into one’s head, it will definitely slow it down.”

  Bryce shook her head. “No way. She’s not going anywhere near the house.”

  Ash nodded. “I agree, but we can’t leave her here unattended, with no way to defend herself.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Alison was as surprised as the two women when the words came out of her mouth.

  “It’s too dangerous.” Bryce put her hand on Alison’s shoulder.

  “Why? Because I might be killed?” She looked back and forth between the vampire and shifter. “I’ve got news for you, you might be killed too.” Lifting the gun up, and examining it more closely, she then locked her gaze on Bryce. “You don’t get to take all the risks.”

  Ash and Bryce looked at each other, and after several awkward moments, it was Bryce who spoke first. “Okay.”

  Alison smiled, relieved that she didn’t have to not only put her life in danger but defend the decision as well.

  “Wait, I’m not okay with this.” Ash whispered harshly at Bryce. “And frankly, you shouldn’t be either.”

  Bryce squared her shoulders. “She can make her own decisions.”

  “Please, she has no training, and she’s - well, human.” Ash glanced quickly at Alison and then back at an irritated Bryce.

  “If she wants -”

  Alison waved her hand in between Ash and Bryce. “News flash - I’m right here. You can have this conversation with me.”

  The two women turned their heads slowly toward Alison.

  Bryce looked down at the ground, and then hesitantly at Alison. “Sorry, that was rude.”

  Alison put her hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “It was, so let’s not do that again.”

  Bryce nodded, but Ash wasn’t as easily convinced. “Y’all making up doesn’t solve anything. Ali, I can’t -”

  Alison’s patience with the conversation was waning, and she struggled to not sound irritated, and frankly hurt. “Do you remember what you said to me, that day you told me about being a shifter?”

  “Vaguely.” Ash averted her eyes.

  Alison smiled, knowing full well Ash remembered. “I told you I wasn’t built for this, and you said - no one is.”

  “What’s your point?”

  Alison exhaled, exasperated with her friend. “You are so stubborn.” Taking a deep breath, she willed the knot of tension between her shoulder blades away. “My point is, I won’t do nothing, and regret it the rest of my life.” She struggled to keep her voice even, and at a whisper. “I don’t want to lose myself in what might have been.”

  Alison found a reassuring power in the potential sacrifice and her willingness and ability to make it. She was angry with the situation, and for the people who had suffered and died, and the anger gave her a strength she might not otherwise have.

  “She’s right. It’s her choice, her burden.” Bryce interjected, and Alison loved her for saying it.

  “And ours if she’s killed.” Ash was agitated, and her voice strained as
she glared at Bryce.

  “Stop! It’s settled.” Alison warned. “We’ve wasted enough time. What’s the plan?”

  ***

  “You can’t be serious.” Bryce’s eyes glowed an eerie iridescent green in the darkness.

  “It’s a legitimate question.” Ash stood, hands on her bare hips, looking intently at the vampire.

  Bryce looked cautiously at Alison and then at the shifter. “A week, maybe more.”

  Ash shook her head. “That’s no good.” She looked toward the house. “There are at least eleven lycan in there. You’re our best shot.” Her brow furrowed and she looked down. “I can only do so much. They’re stronger than I am.”

  Seeing Ash’s apprehension, and the obvious tension between her and Bryce, Alison cleared her throat. “What do you suggest?” She intentionally softened her tone, though anxiety coursed through her, threatening to suffocate her.

  Chewing nervously on her lower lip, Ash looked at Bryce. “You need to feed, and -”

  Bryce’s eyes widened. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Alison interjected.

  Bryce glared at Ash, and then, softening her expression, looked at Alison. “She wants me to feed on her.”

  “I don’t want you to for Christ’s sake, but considering what we’re facing in there, you need to be at your best.” Ash’s irritation was evident, her voice tight and strained.

  “Forget it.” Bryce shook her head.

  Alison put her hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “Is she right?”

  Turning her back so she stood between Alison and Ash, Bryce took the blonde’s hand in hers. “It’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t bullshit her.” Ash interrupted.

  Something akin to a growl escaped Bryce, but she refused to face the shifter. “I’m not.”

  Alison could see from the stiffness in the vampire’s shoulders, and the length of her incisors, she wasn’t being honest. Looking past Bryce to Ash, Alison smiled. “Ash, can you give us a minute please?”