by Sin
I looked up to see his pale, pointing face sprouting fur. His shoulders widened and his nose spread before moving outward. I screamed as his bones twisted and cracked. His laugh sounded strange, half man, half beast. I pulled free of his grip and ran. “We stopped by your house to say hi, and were disappointed that you weren’t there to play with us. Your little friend wasn’t very cooperative with us, at first.”
I stopped running and turned to look at the half wolf, half man that stood before me. I thought of Fawn and how she’d promised to bring in my mail and water my plants. Shaking my head, I walked backwards. “No … no, you didn’t. No.”
Dag laughed. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know? Wouldn’t you all like to know?” He asked motioning towards the car. Vince, Terrance, and Morton stepped out. Morton licked his lips, and I watched his mouth spread to an impossibly large size.
Terrance sniffed the air. The rain beat down off his bald head and made him look as menacing as the other two things. “I smell the King.”
Vince sniffed too. “As do I.”
Dag moved towards me. His body reshaped itself. He was still ugly even in human form. “Fuck the King, I want her.” He walked closer to me and I ran backwards carefully, trying to avoid falling on the slippery pavement. Dag’s head bent down and he smiled. “That’s it, run, I love a good chase.” He snarled and I turned and ran. I raced towards the wooded lot that ran behind the cabin. I ran hard and fast through the thick trees and brush.
I couldn’t hear anything over the storm, but I was sure that they were still following me. Looking back, I caught sight of a black blur. I ducked down, but was too late. Something sharp caught my stomach. For a minute I felt nothing, I clutched myself and warm liquid ran out and over my hands. I didn’t need to look down to know that it was bad.
Strong arms snatched me up. I looked up to find Dag holding me. His gray eyes fixed on me and he smiled wickedly. “Thanks for the chase. It made me even hornier. I can’t wait to lick the blood from your body while I fuck you.”
Terrance appeared next to us. His eyes were wide. He yanked me from Dag’s arms and pulled me close to him, blocking the rain from my face.
Dag’s laughter filled the air. “You actually care for her.”
Terrance looked down at me and his eyes closed slightly. “She is hurt. It is bad.”
“I don’t give a shit if she’s dead, I’m gettin’ a piece of that....”
Terrance turned to him and growled. He pulled me closer to him. “You are not going to touch her.”
“Oh, you think you’re gonna’ stop me?”
“Yes, I think that we will prevent you from doing our future Queen any more harm,” Terrance said. “Vince.”
Vince appeared out of nowhere next to me. He lifted my hand away from my stomach and sucked his breath in. “She is human, she will not survive this. How did it happen?”
“I tried to get to her before Dag did, but I was not fast enough. The ground was wet and I slipped, she twisted…. I couldn’t get to her in time....” He put his head down more.
Vince looked down at me and then back to Terrance. “The King will want to say his goodbyes to her.”
“What do we do about him?” Terrance asked tipping his head in the direction Dag had been standing.
Vince looked over and then back. “He is a coward, he ran away. Now that he knows that we are loyal to the King, he will not try to stand against the two of us. Come my friend. Let us get her to the King.”
Vince’s long black braid fell into my face as he took me from Terrance’s arms. I let my eyes close slightly. That was a huge mistake.
Chapter Twelve
“You did what?” Maxim’s voice boomed through the darkness at me.
I opened my eyes to find that I’d been stripped of my clothes and was lying on the porch. Jovan’s face appeared above mine. “She wakes.”
Everyone stopped shouting. Maxim’s face appeared next to Jovan’s as he dropped down to his knees. “I’m sorry,” he said softy, brushing my hair back from my face.
I tried to tell him that it would be all right, and that he had nothing to be sorry for, but I couldn’t get anything out. I was so cold. There was no pain, just cold. “Rayme, can you hear me?” Jovan asked. I blinked, and he nodded. “You are dying. We have called for the paramedics. Once they arrive they will take you, but you will most likely die from this. There is a hole all the way through you, do you understand me?”
“God, she doesn’t need to hear this.” Maxim said, pushing down towards me. Taking my head in his hands, he rocked softly and whispered that it would be okay. It wouldn’t and Jovan knew that.
Jovan looked down at me and our eyes met. I found my voice, but it was faint. “I’m … cold.”
He nodded. “I know, you’re in shock, I need you to try to understand what I’m about to say. We have the power to save your life. The paramedics do not. If we do, your life will never be the same. Do you understand what I am offering you?”
“No! We can’t do that,” Maxim said.
Jovan ignored him and focused on me. “It has to be your choice, Rayme. Do you wish for us to save you at any price, or do you want us to stay out of it and let you die.”
“She’s not going to die. She’s going to be fine,” Maxim said, his voice was strained and he was on the verge of tears.
Vince soft voice moved over me to Maxim. “My King, I can feel her spirit slipping away. She will be dead before the ambulance arrives. I suggest that you either say your goodbyes, or allow the Dark Master to sire her.”
Maxim lifted his head and screamed out. Jovan put his hand on him to calm him down. Maxim looked from me to Jovan and then spoke softly. “She died in my arms once before and the paramedics brought her back, they can do it again.”
I thought about what he said, as he picked up my hand and ran my fingers over the scars on his hands. “You gave me these, remember, in the ally, two years ago. I changed back, from the wolf, next to you and you scraped my hands open, our blood mixed and I believe that it saved your life.”
“We can both offer her our own version of immortality. I do not know if it will work, but there is a chance that they will cancel each other out and prevent her from fully turning into either one of our demons,” Jovan said, touching Maxim’s shoulder.
“Or she could be left a bigger monster than the both of us.” Max looked at me. “Jovan’s right, the decision has to be yours.”
“Do you want us to save your life?” Jovan asked.
Vince spoke again. “Just do it, Dark Master.”
“I will not let anyone touch her without her permission,” Jovan said, moving his body over mine.
I touched his arm and he looked at me. “Yes,” I said.
“You understand what you may be?”
“Yes,”
Jovan didn’t waste any time. He bit his own wrist and put it to my mouth. I tried to push his arm away, but Maxim grabbed me and held me down. Jovan’s cool blood ran down my throat fast, and I choked trying not to swallow it. Maxim leaned over me. “Mine is a little more painful, I’m sorry.”
I blinked at him and coughed slightly. He shook his head and in an instant, his mouth was wide and full of teeth. He sank his teeth into my shoulder and I cried out. Jovan held my hand and kept whispering softy to me. The last thing I heard before I fell into the darkness was Jovan telling me that he was sorry.
Chapter Thirteen
I opened my eyes and found Maxim lying next to me. His bare arm was draped over my body. I turned my head and found Jovan lying on my other side. I touched his arm, but he didn’t budge. Maxim’s arm shifted.
“Hey, you, you’re awake,” he said, softly.
I touched Jovan again, he didn’t respond. “Maxim, he’s not moving.”
He leaned over me and poked Jovan hard in the ribcage. I batted his hand away from him. He laughed. “He’s dead, Rayme, he can’t feel it.”
“Jovan!” I grabbed for him. Maxim caught my arm. “No, Ray
, I didn’t mean dead like in a grave, I just meant dead like a Omnimorpheleon, the sun’s still out and he used a lot of his strength to help you last night.”
I reached out and let my hand slide over Jovan’s bare back. I could sense him. I knew that he could feel me touching him and that he liked it. I let my head fall back onto the pillow. Maxim pulled his arm away from me slowly. “You’ve fallen in love with him, haven’t you?”
He began to roll away. The sheet pulled off him and I saw that he was completely naked. The sight of the hard edge of his hip and his rounded, firm, ass cheeks that were now exposed me took my breath away. Jovan’s body moved slightly next to me and I knew that was his way of telling me that he was still there. Maxim leaned back and pulled the sheet off me. I didn’t bother to cover myself. What was the point? He’d seen me at my worst.
He reached out and touched my stomach. My breath was caught in my chest and Maxim looked up at me. “Did you feel that?”
I nodded. He touched my stomach again and I looked down to see that there was no sign of it ever having been injured. I put my hand on his. “How?”
His fingers laced in mine and he pulled the sheet down further. “Look,” he said nodding in the direction of my leg. I sat up slowly, and just sat there staring at myself, unsure if what I saw was real or not. The long thick pinkish scars that had covered my entire right leg were all but gone. Now all that remained were very thin, very faint, whitish lines where the scar had once been.
“What am I now? Am I an Omnimorpheleon , or a straight werewolf? What kind of monster am I? This is a dream, isn’t it?”
Maxim leaned down and kissed my knee. “You’re whole again, and that’s all that matters.”
Tears welled up and I couldn’t hold them back any longer. I wasn’t sure what I was crying about, anything, everything that had happened recently. Maxim sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on my leg. My body responded to his touch, and heat flared through my skin and to his hand. He pulled his hand away slowly and the heat rose up, leaving my leg, and following his hand. I put my hand out and touched his. The heat jumped back onto me.
“What is that?” I asked, completely in awe of what was going on.
Maxim closed his eyes slightly and looked hurt. I reached for his face and he pulled away. “Please don’t make this any harder than it already is, Rayme.”
“Maxim, what aren’t you telling me?”
Terrance came bursting into the room. He looked at Maxim and then at me. I grabbed for a sheet to cover myself. Maxim didn’t bother to shield himself. Terrance dropped down onto his knees before me. “My Queen I have come to offer my life to you for causing you pain. My foolishness allowed Dag to deliver a fatal blow to you, and for that I give you my life.”
I looked at Maxim and then back to Terrance, who was still on his knees with his head bent down. I turned and made sure that Jovan was covered, and then looked at Maxim. “What’s he talking about?”
“He’s a warrior, and one of my most trusted guards. He is offering you his life to try and right the wrong he did to you.”
“Yes, my Queen. We found out that Dag was headed here, to you, and Vince and I had sworn to protect you. I should have grabbed you before Dag did. I slipped and he beat me to you. I never thought he would harm you, much less force you to surrender yourself to the Dark Master.”
I looked at Maxim and mouthed the words “Dark Master?” He pointed at Jovan. I laughed a little, which was probably inappropriate, but this was just ridiculous. “Terrance please get up. I don’t want your life … your apology is more than enough for me. I know that your intentions were honorable, and please stop calling me your Queen.”
“But, you are my Queen. You are the woman that my King,” he looked at Maxim, and Maxim nodded, “has chosen as his mate. It is my fault that he is forced to share you with the Dark Master.”
“Terrance, get up, this is ludicrous.”
He rose and nodded to me. “Yes, my lady.”
I looked at Maxim. “Spill it, now!”
“Terrance, please return to Vince and see what he needs of you. Your Queen wishes to spare your life. She is merciful.”
“Thank you,” Terrance said as he left the room.
Maxim sat down and put his hand over his eyes. He was stressed, that was easy to see. “I’ll try to make this as short as possible. I’m the head of the Lycanthropes. I am their King, as was my father, and his father, and so on. As King, I am required to choose my Queen. Normally, this would be a Lycan, and you very well may be now, but I chose you.”
“Oh God, you gave up your chance at happiness to save me last night?” I was mortified at what he revealed.
He put his hands out to me. “No, not last night, I picked you two years ago. I heard the call of my mate, and I answered it. That’s how I found you.”
I shook my head slightly. It was insane, yet it made sense. I remembered seeing a honey-colored wolf. It had saved my life--he had saved my life. I looked up at him. “I could hear something calling me, too. I can hear it sometimes around you and Jovan. It sounds like people chanting. What is that?”
Maxim nodded. “That’s not surprising. Jovan is called the Dark Master by my people. Each Omnimorpheleon is different. He has the ability to shift into every kind of supernatural creature. It is a rare gift among Omnimorpheleons, and is reserved for ‘royalty’ so to speak. So, you are tied to two Kings. The spirits call to mates and help them find one another. They apparently decided to give you two. I’ve never heard of this happening before, but with them, anything is possible.”
“But, I’m not…. I wasn’t like you, or like Jovan, how was I able to hear the spirits too?”
“Jovan told me that he picked up on your power. You are a priestess. I’m guessing that the Native American blood in you contributed to that.”
I had nothing to offer. Everything was happening too fast. I was afraid that if I took the time to blink something else would happen.
The phone rang and I looked at Maxim. “Gee, do Kings answer phones?”
He winked at me. “They do for their Queens.” He picked up the phone and I laughed. His face changed slightly as he spoke to the person on the other end. He looked over at me. There was something there, something I couldn’t put my finger on. Maxim hung up the phone and moved over towards me.
“Rayme,” he said my name with so much tenderness that I knew that the bottom was about to drop out on my world. Something horrible had happened and I knew it. I could read the crease in his brow as worry, and his eyes held pain, not for himself, but for me.
I sat up slowly and he reached for my hand. “What’s wrong?”
“That was Angie, Fawn and Vinnie are dead.”
Chapter Fourteen
Maxim held my hand. I glanced up and found Terrance looking at me again. His eyes darted away quickly. Maxim touched the back of Terrance’s seat and spoke softy to him. “Old friend, she is fine now, don’t worry.”
Terrance nodded and looked forward. Vince hadn’t said a word since we’d gotten into Maxim’s SUV. It was refreshing not to have someone staring at me. I was beginning to get a complex. I closed my eyes and though about Fawn and Vinnie. It didn’t seem real. They couldn’t be gone. I’d just talked to Fawn the day before and Vinnie was due in this week to check on the bar. I turned and gazed out the window, hoping beyond hopes that I had finally run out of tears.
My thoughts went to Jovan. He’d been unable to come with us because the sun was up. I wanted to have him hold me now, more than anything. It was strange how needy I’d become. I’d only just met Jovan, yet I felt like I needed to be touching him at all times.
Maxim’s grip on my hand tightened. “You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?”
I didn’t answer him, and he didn’t ask again. He did move closer to me and pulled me into his body. I was resistant at first, but he kissed my head and whispered to me. “I’m here for you. Let me try to help you get through this. Can you do that? Can you open your he
art to me, too?”
I closed my eyes and let my cheek rest softly on Maxim’s shoulder. I wasn’t sure how to respond to his questions. I had thought that I had opened my heart to him, and he’d left me standing in my apartment without so much as a goodbye. He kissed the top of my head with a little more force than the last time. I could feel the muscles in his body tightening. I touched his leg and patted it gently.
He let out small laugh. “That’s the nicest turn down I’ve ever gotten.”
I looked up into his dark brown eyes and searched for any sign of what he was thinking. “Maxim, it wasn’t a turn down, it was more of a moment of reflection for me. I’m still confused about why you walked out on me. I felt something that night with you, and for a little while, I thought you felt it too, but then you left. You didn’t even shut the door behind you.” I didn’t even go into the fact that he was a werewolf. That alone, could explain away any of my oddities.
He moved his arm off me and put his head down. His wavy hair fell into his face and shielded his expression from me. Terrance turned around and looked at Maxim, and then at me. “The night that you question him about is the night he called an emergency Lycan meeting to announce that he had found his mate, our Queen. He was beside himself with excitement. He had been forced to leave town the morning after he found you in the ally two years ago. His father’s sudden death kept him away....”
“Terrance, that is enough,” Vince said in a stern voice, never once taking his eyes off he road.
Terrance looked at Vince and then back to me. “No, I believe that our Queen needs to hear this. She needs to understand that Maxim left to start the proceedings for taking her as his wife. He has loved her since he saved her from the thugs that Dag tried to recruit into the pack.”