Eden

by Eden (lit)

  “What?” the vampire asked.

  Alexander made a face. “I believe you.” He sounded as if that fact made him sick. He turned to Catrina then. “I’ll be sure you get your motorcycle back in one piece,” he said. “But the moon is rising and I’ve got other obligations tonight.”

  “I understand.”

  Viktor waited until she had locked up behind the werewolf to ask, “What was that business about getting your motorcycle back?”

  “We had dinner last night and he drove.” Viktor remained silent, which made Catrina more nervous than if he’d raised his voice. She walked into the kitchen and took a glass down from the cabinet while she explained, “I went by his class yesterday after lunch. It was fun. They were rehearsing Antony and Cleopatra and they were god-awful.”

  She laughed at the memory, but only until she turned around and saw Viktor’s face. He was standing right behind her, towering over her and she hadn’t heard him move. Catrina wiped the smile off her face and turned back to fill the glass with water.

  “He invited me to dinner after class and I went.” She shrugged. “We had a nice time.”

  Viktor wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her against him. He bent down to press his face against her cheek, breathing deeply of her scent. If Alexander succeeded in stealing her away from him, he never wanted to forget what Catrina smelled like.

  She turned slowly in his arms and pressed a kiss against his chest. “Viktor,” she whispered.

  But he knew Catrina didn’t want to discuss their relationship and he wasn’t going to put her on the spot. “Thanks for keeping me out of the sun today,” he said as he bent down to kiss her forehead.

  “You people make enough noise to wake the dead,” Jacob said. He walked out of the guest bedroom scratching his head and yawning. “My sleep patterns are so messed up,” he said. Jacob was wearing his long blue robe again and his hair looked to have been recently washed. Catrina guessed he’d taken a shower while she was asleep on the couch. He opened the fridge and handed a bottle of blood to Viktor before taking one for himself. “Won’t you join us for dinner?” he teased.

  “That’s kind of you,” Viktor said as he opened the bottle. “But I’ve got to be going.”

  Catrina hadn’t expected him to leave so soon. As a matter of fact, she’d liked having him there all day. Just his presence in the house made her feel well … at home. She didn’t want him to go and this was clear to Viktor without her saying a word.

  “As host to the council members I’ve got to make sure all the necessary arrangements have been made to ensure their comfort.” He shook his head before she could ask questions. “They’re a strange lot. You really don’t want to know.”

  She waited in the kitchen while Viktor went to get his shoes from the bedroom. He finished the bottle and tossed it in the trash. “I’m sorry to rush off, Catrina. But I’ll see you tomorrow night. I’ll let you practice learning our ways on some who aren’t so picky about it.”

  She walked Viktor to the door, then went back and put some ice in her glass of water.

  “So, what was going on?” Jacob asked. “I could have sworn I heard more than two voices before.”

  “Alexander dropped by.”

  “On the full moon?” He looked concerned.

  “Only for a minute. A member of his pack was killed last night. He wanted to know if--”

  “If Viktor killed them, right?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Jacob shook his head before turning up the last sip of his bottle. “I don’t understand why those two hate each other so much. Maybe you can get to the bottom of it.”

  She thought he was teasing, but looked up to find that Jacob was serious.

  “It’d be nice if we could all get along,” he said. “Monsters I mean.”

  “Good luck. No one’s accomplished that with the rest of the population yet.” Catrina walked over to the priest as she said, “I told him about my new partner. He asked about your whereabouts last night too.”

  “And?”

  “And I told him I didn’t know for sure, but you aren’t a murderer.”

  Jacob took her by the hand and led Catrina over to the trash can. He picked it up, shook things around a little and then pointed to the bottom. Sure enough, there was broken glass and several paper towels covered with blood.

  “Jacob I didn’t mean to--”

  “I know,” he said gently, cutting her off. “But just so you know. I really was making a mess, not hiding a body.”

  She sat down at the table and opened up her laptop. After a minute of checking through her messages Catrina couldn’t help laughing.

  “Listen to this,” she said to Jacob. “Help, my girlfriend is a bitch! I think she’s been seeing a werewolf behind my back. Not only that, but I think she may be turning. Can you keep an eye on her for me and find out?”

  Jacob moved around to read the message over her shoulder. “You get this crap in email?” he asked.

  “Of course. It is a business, after all. I’ve even got my own website, Hellcat Enterprises.”

  He laughed. She was just about to reply, “Thanks, but no thanks,” when the priest stopped her.

  “I’ll do it,” he said. “It would be good practice for me.”

  “You don’t need practice,” she scoffed. “You were a master vampire hunter.”

  “Exactly, and I haven’t been doing that on a regular basis for a long time. Tell him your new partner will be having a look at the situation.”

  “Alright.” Catrina sent the message and within an hour the guy had written back with his girlfriend’s address and place of business. Since it was the full moon he wanted to know if they would be willing to watch her tonight and see if she turned. He stressed that he didn’t want to know about the cheating so much as he wanted to know if she was wolfing out. He also offered to pay double Catrina’s usual fee for the trouble.

  She gave the pertinent information to Jacob and decided that she didn’t want to stay in by herself that night. She went to her room and pulled a jacket on over her jeans and black sweater.

  “Are you sure you want to be out on the full moon?” Jacob asked.

  “You’re going out,” she said.

  “To investigate that guy’s girlfriend. That’s not exactly the same thing as going wondering around on a full moon by myself.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  After assuring the priest that she had no intention of hanging out with werewolves, Catrina called a cab. She believed Alexander would keep his promise to bring her back to her bike, but she also needed it for where she wanted to go tonight. Catrina told the driver to take her to Eden University.

  Once there she managed to catch Chuck just before his shift ended. She was relieved to not have to explain the whole thing to another guard and convince them that it really was her motorcycle.

  “Have trouble getting up early enough to pick it up this morning?” the guard teased.

  He held out the keys and Catrina took them with a smile. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn’t here to discuss her personal life.

  “Thanks,” she said, before turning toward the driveway and heading off campus.

  The sprawling campus was just outside the city limits of Eden, and beyond it was nothing but countryside. Catrina drove past the last remnants of suburbia and into more rural areas. When she came to a four-way stop, she removed her helmet and fastened it onto the back of her seat. She wanted to feel the wind in her face and to breathe in the night air, not the inside of her helmet.

  Her long hair whipped like a dark curtain behind her as Catrina turned onto a familiar path. Way out in the middle of nowhere she found the same spot where her uncle used to bring her and her sister when they were little. Despite being filthy rich and handsome, her uncle Harry had never managed to stay married long enough to start a family. But he had loved his brother’s children like his own and Catrina still missed him.

  She came to a stop underneath th
e old oak tree where they used to have picnics and for a minute she could almost see him again. She closed her eyes and imagined Mandy laughing while she tried to catch butterflies and Uncle Harry telling them some wild story. He was always full of what her mother called bologna and her father called shit. Harry had been all over the world and enjoyed telling the girls about all his adventures.

  Catrina sat down underneath the tree and leaned back against it. Crickets chirped in the bushes nearby and the wind whipped past her face. With the full moon hanging above, the small hill where she sat was nearly bright as day. It did her good to remember a time when things were still simple. Before her sister got hurt, before she figured out that not everyone in the world was nice and everything didn’t always turn out good like in her uncle’s stories.

  Harry had spent a fortune trying to figure out who attacked his niece, but to no avail. He was also the first person to suggest to her mother that Catrina take self-defense classes. Even though his personal life had been less than perfect, Catrina would have felt a lot better if he was still around to ask for advice.

  His estate was just a little further out in the country. He’d left it all to Catrina, but she couldn’t bring herself to live there. Not yet. Harry had been dead for two years and she’d only visited the estate once in all that time. It was fully staffed, with no worries over who would pay for things. Harry had left each of his four loyal employees enough money to retire on. And since it was her sister’s dream to start her own company, he’d left Mandy enough to live her dream.

  To this day Catrina didn’t have a clue how he’d gotten to be so wealthy. She used to tease him and ask if he was a superhero. He would always look at her very seriously and say, “Of course. Harold Ravensdale is my secret identity.”

  She was still smiling with his memory fresh in her mind when she drifted off to sleep underneath the oak tree.

  * * * *

  Catrina awoke with a start. Something had crunched in the bushes to her left. She was instantly on her feet, though somewhat unsteadily. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep. Catrina continued to scan the tree line while she reached into one of her custom made saddle bags and pulled out two blessed blades.

  The weapons made a slicing noise as she pulled them free from their case and it echoed in the clearing.

  “Maybe it was just the wind,” she whispered to herself.

  “No such luck,” a deep voice answered from the dark.

  Catrina watched in horror as a werewolf stepped out of the trees into the moonlight. He was nearly seven feet tall and in wolfman form. Wolfman was somewhere between a human and a wolf. It was what most people typically pictured when they thought of a werewolf. At some point during the night, he would eventually become fully wolf, giving himself over completely to the beast. Two massive werewolves already in wolf form stepped out behind him.

  Catrina felt her body going into fight or flight mode. Even though she was standing right beside her bike, she knew flight wasn’t an option. They’d tackle her and rip her to pieces before she could get up enough speed to make it out of the clearing.

  She tried to steady her nerves and took a closer look at the approaching werewolf. He walked calmly and despite his form, with a slight swagger which looked odd on a werewolf.

  “Allen Marks?” she asked.

  “Well,” he growled. “You’re not the dumb bitch I thought you were.”

  She moved in front of the bike and planted her feet firmly as she said, “Afraid I can’t say the same. You’re just as dumb as I thought you were.”

  “Cunt,” he snorted. “How dare you interfere with my life?”

  “If you’re referring to your ex, she ditched you remember? I was hired to make sure you got that message.”

  One of the smaller wolves snarled as Allen replied, “And putting an alpha on my trail, was that for shits and giggles?”

  Catrina fought to keep her voice steady as she replied, “That was all him. I had nothing to do with Alexander’s choice. You were dating his cousin and you abused her. What did you expect?”

  “I had to transform early to heal my injuries,” he spat. “He nearly killed me!”

  “Pity he didn’t finish the job.”

  “Bitch.”

  One of the fully transformed wolves was getting dangerously close and Catrina did a mental check of how much weaponry she had in her coat and on her bike.

  “As I hear it, Alexander is developing quite a thing for you. Guess he hasn’t heard you like to bang vampires.”

  “Word spreads that fast, huh?”

  “It does,” he growled. “The point is, he’s not gonna like what I do to you.”

  “You mean give me a good workout by beating your ass, again?”

  Both of the wolves with Allen snapped at her words and continued to move forward. To her credit, Catrina didn’t move back. If she was going to die here, then so be it, but she would not cower.

  “How would you recommend I display your remains to the pack leader?” he asked nastily.

  “I recommend you piss yourself and beg for mercy,” Catrina said.

  The words were barely out of her mouth before she sprung on the closest wolf, taking the initiative and throwing them off guard. It was obvious the wolves hadn’t expected her to attack first.

  The wolf tried to bite her arm, but only got a mouthful of her leather jacket as Catrina snatched away. She dug one of her blades deep into the animal’s underbelly and jerked upward. Just because she hadn’t had to kill often, didn’t mean she didn’t know how it was done. The creature fell to the ground, kicking and yelping as it bled to death.

  She was expecting the other wolf to attack, but it didn’t. Allen stepped forward and backhanded her so hard she bounced after hitting the ground. She curled up on impact, so her head hadn’t hit the ground, but she was out of breath and dizzy as hell. The werewolf grabbed her by the back of her coat and flung her into the bushes. Catrina toppled over some low-lying brush, still managing to hang onto her blades.

  She ached all over, but so far she wasn’t damaged beyond repair. She heard the smaller wolf snarling somewhere to her left, but it remained out of sight. Catrina dropped one of her long blades onto the ground as quietly as possible. She was still sprawled flat of her back, waiting for the werewolf to attack. She wanted it to think she couldn’t move.

  The way she’d landed made it nearly impossible to reach her boot without sitting up. She made a twitching motion as if half her body wouldn’t move properly and reached a hand inside her right boot. She could hear the wolf approaching as she pulled the silver dagger from its sheath in her boot. She held the blade close to her side and tried to remain still.

  Catrina fought the urge to whimper when she felt the wolf’s hot breath against her neck. The massive animal took another step and was now staring her in the face. They made eye contact and Catrina sunk the blade deep into the side of the creature’s neck. The werewolf reared back and she scooted from underneath it.

  She scrambled to her feet, collected her other blade and ran from the trees back into the clearing. Her heart was racing, her head was pounding and she was fairly sure she’d sprained her ankle trying to get out of the brush. But, Allen Marks was nowhere in sight. The night seemed to have grown colder in the last few minutes and while she looked from side to side for the remaining werewolf, it started to rain.

  A soft, cold mist fell all around the clearing and Catrina started to shiver. She kept backing toward her motorcycle, checking all directions for signs of Allen. She had nearly reached her bike when something hit her hard from behind. Catrina went forward sprawling. She tried to brace herself for the impact and had to drop her blades to do so. As soon as she hit the ground the werewolf leapt onto her back, pressing her down into the earth, and knocking her forehead against a rock.

  She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, hear his low threatening growl in her ear, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Catrina tried to blink and he
r vision swam. She felt something hot running down her face along with the cold rain and knew it must be blood.

  Allen stood up and she gasped when his weight was lifted. With one clawed hand he rolled her to her back to face him. Looking up at him from the ground made the werewolf seem ten feet tall. Catrina could feel her heartbeat quickening, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a scream. She had seen other werewolves before. Allen wasn’t the biggest or the scariest, but he was damn sure the luckiest. No one had ever managed to get her down before.

  The rain was getting harder and it ran off of his fur and onto her face as he crouched over her again. He braced himself with one hand on each side of her head and leaned down with his muzzle nearly touching her nose.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” he growled.

  “Not nearly as much as I’ll enjoy this,” she said hoarsely as she brought her knee up into his crotch.

  Allen growled and in a flash he wasn’t on top of her anymore. Catrina blinked up into the rain and fought to remain conscious. She intended to fight till her last breath, but she could no longer find her enemy.

  Howls echoed through the night and what sounded like a lion roared beside her. She tried to roll over to get a better look, but didn’t have the strength. Her head hurt too much, she was going to pass out and she knew it.

  Shredding, tearing noises came from somewhere to her left along with one last yelp. Then everything was still. There was only the soft sound of the rain hitting the grass. Catrina blinked again slowly and saw fog over her head. It took her a minute to realize it was someone’s breath fogging in the cold air. She blinked again and found herself looking up into a familiar pair of pale blue eyes.

  “Alexander,” she whispered.

  But his eyes were the only part which was familiar. Looming above her was the biggest werewolf she’d ever seen. His fur was the same golden color of his hair and his eyes glowed in the night. He bent down closer and asked as softly as his werewolf voice would allow, “How badly are you injured?”