Branded (An Otherworlders Series Novel Book 1)

by Lena Moore

  “Jady baby, what you doing?” Draven bellowed out, knowing she hated that name.

  He looked around and noticed the space had changed some. The bed was no longer in the corner and there was a door to the left, which Draven thought must be to her new bedroom. There was another door to the right plus the kitchen seemed bigger. The room the bed once occupied was turned into a proper sitting area, with a TV in the corner and decorated with her eccentric flair. How the fuck did she make the area bigger? Duh, she’s a witch. Draven wondered if her using magic would alert the parties looking for her where she was. He knew Jadis wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t have risked glitzing up her little abode if she was concerned her magic would give away her hidey hole.

  The door inched wide and Jadis stepped out wearing an emerald green tight wrap around dress that finished just above her knees. Her once electric blue hair was back to the original chocolate brown tipped with purple. Aliyah gasped beside him.

  “Wow! You look stunning, Jadis!” she crooned.

  “Well aren’t you just the sweetest white chocolate wrapped in silk!”

  Draven noticed Aliyah’s eyebrows knit together at Jadis’s comment. He had to admit it was a little weird, as well.

  “Who do we have here?” Jadis appraised Mr. Man-bun himself.

  If Draven hadn’t known Jadis like he did, he would have missed noticing the way she was cataloguing what she could do with the man.

  “This is my best friend, Dany,” Aliyah supplied.

  Draven canted his head to the side as he watched Dany take in his surroundings and basically eat Jadis up while he looked. He couldn’t blame him; she was beautiful.

  Draven cleared his throat and three pairs of eyes fixated on him. “Ok, what we need to do is figure out what is happening with Aliyah’s new tattoo and what to do with her parents. Snowflake, tell Jadis what you told me.”

  Aliyah spent the next twenty minutes explaining all that transpired in the last eighteen hours or so. Jadis seemed intrigued by the new branding, and hopeful, which was a blessing. They needed to keep a low profile though, and that was the difficult part.

  “Honey, something tells me this demon that tracked you the other night knows you intimately in some way,” Jadis confessed.

  “Intimately?”

  “Yes,”

  “Care to elaborate?” Aliyah questioned.

  “I think this demon has some blood lineage link to you, especially after everything Draven spoke about happening in the Quarter the other night. I don’t see how it’s possible that he could smell you when you had your cloaking brand activated. He has to be blood.”

  Draven watched Aliyah’s reaction; she seemed confused and scared.

  “Blood? But who? I don’t have any living relatives.”

  “That you know of,” replied Jadis.

  Aliyah chewed her bottom lip. “How do we find him?”

  “That I do not know. Let me look into it and I will see what I can figure out.”

  “Do you need anything, Jadis?” Draven queried.

  “I’m good, baby. Go do your thang.” Her eyes lingering on Dany a moment longer than required.

  With that, the three of them left the way they came. Draven opened up the door to his den and ushered Dany and Aliyah inside.

  “I’m going to make some coffee, want some?”

  Both Dany and Aliyah answered in unison, “Yes.”

  Draven left them to their devices and placed the coffee in the grinder. His hip propped on the granite bench, he ruminated over the past couple of weeks, and especially over Aliyah’s safety. She was still so vulnerable but fuck was she strong, and he couldn’t forget stubborn. Draven was smirking to himself when he was broken from his thoughts by the sound of his front door slamming into the wall. The fuck? Didn’t I lock that stupid thing?

  He heard Aliyah scream before he vamp sped into the front room. There stood Jada. Dany had stepped in front of Aliyah in what Draven viewed as protection. The boy knew nothing of who is was up against. Instead of feeling jealousy over Dany, he felt remorse for the man stumbling in on this clusterfuck debacle.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Jada, seeing you’ve invited yourself in? Although a pleasure, it’s an unwelcome one at that.”

  “You know why I am here, vampire. Where the hell is my sister?”

  Draven decided he was going to fuck with her a little, just like she was doing to her sister. “I’m not sure, Jada. The shop perhaps?” he answered nonchalantly.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Draven. Where is she?”

  His eyes flickered to Aliyah and Dany briefly before they fixated back on Jada. Draven really looked at her this time, she looked like dog shit. Her moss green eyes seemed hollow with bags underneath. Her once vibrant pink hair was washed out, like her at the moment. Could it be that she now required Jadis’s magic to replenish her own? he wondered.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Jada. I don’t know where she is. Now if you would excuse me, you can kindly show your raggedy ass out the door.”

  Jada screeched, causing Draven, Aliyah and Dany to cover their ears with their hands.

  “What the fuck,” hissed Dany.

  “Draven, you are making a terrible mistake by crossing me. Your days are numbered!”

  “No Miss Thang, your days are numbered,” countered Aliyah. Then she placed her palm up and swiped it to the right, sending a wide eyed Jada out the door.

  “The fuck just happened, Liah?” Dany stumbled back.

  “Yeah, I second that. How did you do that, Snowflake?”

  “I’m not—I mean, fuck knows!” She ripped her shirt up, her pants down in search for what Draven assumed was another branding, but there was none. Stepping over to her, he pulled her shirt down and her pants up.

  “What the fuck is that, Draven? There’s no ink? How did I do that?”

  “I have no idea, Snowflake, but that shit was impressive.”

  “Telekinesis,” breathed Dany. “Liah! You should dye your hair purple, then we can call you Lilocke, like Psylocke from X-Men!”

  Aliyah shook her head, looking exasperated. “Nerd.”

  Draven turned away from Aliyah and noticed Jada standing in the door way again, this time with Gwent.

  Pushing Aliyah and Dany behind him, he stood his ground. “Get the fuck away from my lair, Jada. You don’t want to fucking test me.”

  “Oh but I do,” drawled Gwent. “Give us the girl. We hear there is a pretty penny for her head in the Quarter.”

  Draven’s vision blurred and he saw crimson dripping behind his retinas, he was phasing into the darkness. Aliyah’s hand wrapped around his constricted bicep and he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “If you don’t fuck off, you won’t even have a head!” Draven boomed.

  The weasel fucking sized him up. His blonde hair was tousled and he looked strung out like Jada. Interesting, he thought.

  Draven took two steps toward the pair. Jada had the intelligence to step back. Her boyfriend didn’t harbour the same smarts. He fisted the man’s blonde mane in his hand and slammed his face into the wall. Gwent went down with blood running from his nose.

  “If I catch you around here again or near either of these two,” he paused and waved his hand toward Aliyah and Dany, “you’ll wish Malista had finished you two off and not me.”

  Both their faces registered shock that Draven was clearly clued into what the two had been doing. Jada stumbled while she attempted to help Gwent up from the floor and then they both disappeared.

  Draven scratched his head and tugged at his dreadlocks. This whole thing was quickly becoming a nightmare. Now more people knew about Aliyah and there was money involved. Every man and their dogs were going to be searching for her. Draven needed to figure out how to keep her, her family and now Dany safe.

  “Get your shit ready. I’m going to quickly talk to Jadis. Once nightfall hits, we’re going to find somewhere safe for your parents.”

  Chapter Seventeen
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  ~ Draven ~

  Draven relayed what had just transpired with Jada and Gwent to Jadis. He saw the flicker of pain behind those forest greens, but he didn’t show her pity because that would only piss her off. Jadis suggested that she’d try a different spell to help with the cloaking of both their spaces; one that would give the impression that Draven’s space was no longer viable on this plane. This particular magic would confuse and warn off anyone who had ever been in Draven’s space. He questioned why he’d never asked Jadis if there was ever such a spell to keep Melantha out of his place. Back then he was determined to stick to their blood agreement aka bet, because it was only another fifty years. However, that was before Aliyah.

  Jadis recommended he bring Aliyah’s parents back to her so she could cloak them, even if it was only temporary. She urged Draven to figure out where they would be staying, and quickly, because if everyone knew about Aliyah, then everyone knew the best bait would be to get their hands on her parents.

  He returned to the group and they left in the car to get her parents. Aliyah sat in the passenger seat gnawing on her nails. Draven could feel the negative anxiety humming around them whilst Dany sat in the back of the car with one elbow propped on the window trim. He seemed lost in thought. The Chevy was eerily quiet as they drove through New Orleans to Uptown. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew something wasn’t quite right. He felt it in his marrow.

  Reaching over, he squeezed Aliyah’s thigh. She immediately ceased chewing on her nails and offered him a weak smile before he focused his attention on the road again.

  “I’m ok, Shrek. I promise.”

  “No you’re not, and that’s ok. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”

  “This is all my fault. If I wasn’t so stubborn I could have stopped all of this. Instead, I’ve placed my parents in harm’s way!”

  Draven was about to scald her when he saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the middle of the road. He hit the brakes and skidded just before he collided with the creature. It was a werewolf. This wasn’t a normal werewolf, though; this one was possessed, Draven knew it as soon as he saw the eyes.

  The wolf howled and three more sets of red eyes emerged from the shadows.

  “Stay in the car. Do not get out,” Draven warned.

  Aliyah unbuckled her seatbelt. “Fuck that, I can help!”

  “NO!” Draven yelled.

  “Yes! You are not in charge of me or what I do, Draven. This is my fault and I can fucking help. So stop being a hero and allow me to!” She hopped out of the car and raised her arm. Palm in front of her face, she jerked it upward, causing a wolf to fly into the distance. He was never going to get use to that.

  Draven rushed toward the black-grey wolf on the right as it charged at him. He sidestepped to the left and punched it in the jaw. The crunch and ear shattering yelp that filled the air made Draven cringe. Aliyah had taken out another one, which left one more for Draven.

  The last wolf sized him up, circling. There was something familiar about the eyes as they phased in and out, going from red to coal. Draven focused every ounce of his abilities on the wolf, then recognition hit him. He sensed this beast was trying to fight the compulsion to hurt him, hence the eyes phasing in and out. He knew immediately he didn’t want to hurt this animal.

  Calmly, he spoke, “Snowflake, please get back into the car. Slowly. Do not fight me on this,” he enunciated the last words, hoping she would sense the severity.

  Once he heard the door click, he stopped circling with the animal.

  “Dolph, buddy, it’s me, Draven? You in there?”

  The wolf growled. That wasn’t a good sign.

  “Dolph, fight it, you’re stronger than this.”

  The wolf began circling again and Draven wondered if he was fooling himself into believing it was Dolph when it wasn’t. After all, it had been many years since he’d seen his best friend. After Draven lost Delilah, the years weren’t kind to him. He slowly disentangled from everyone and felt it was better to be alone than have people around who cared about and loved him. What kind of fucked up logic was that? Draven knew deep down he was being a petulant little child back then, but he couldn’t stop the snowball effect his life was having on him. Instead, he made everyone around him question why they were there.

  Draven was literally knocked out of his inner thoughts when the wolf pounced on him. Aliyah screamed. He held one hand up to the car and clamped the other over the wolf’s nozzle, holding the jaws shut. Any reservations he had that this wasn’t Dolph died as he searched the flickering red to soulful dark coal eyes. The wolf shook its head, loosening the grip and spraying Draven with saliva. Then it morphed into his best friend.

  Dolph smirked at Draven then passed the fuck out. Draven carried his naked friend to the car and placed him in the back. Popping the trunk, he grabbed a massive blanket and covered Dolph. After making sure the man was ok, he returned to the driver’s seat.

  “What–what’s that?” Dany’s voice broke.

  Draven caught a glimpse of him in the rear-view mirror, eyeing Dolph.

  “That is my best friend.”

  “What?” interjected Aliyah.

  “That’s Dolph, my best friend. I haven’t seen him in years. Something tells me his involvement in this wasn’t sporadic. Whoever orchestrated this bullshit hoped that I wouldn’t be able to kill my friend. Maybe they thought I would falter and Dolph would manage to get the upper hand. I’m not sure what angle they were working,” he confessed. “However, whatever we just encountered, I fear was a diversion. We need to get to your parents’ house pronto!”

  Draven pressed the accelerator to the floor and broke a few road traffic rules in the process. They arrived at the colonial style home in less than five minutes. Aliyah was the first to bolt from the car, followed by Dany. He locked the car quickly to keep anyone getting at Dolph while he was alone and followed suite.

  He knew it before he even got inside. Her parents were no longer here.

  Aliyah’s scream penetrated the night air. Draven absorbed her pain as he searched the house, trying to find where she was.

  He found her upstairs on her knees, hands draped between her thighs, shuddering. Her cries raked through her body as Dany attempted to soothe her.

  “We will find them, Liah.”

  Her head whipped up, her violet eyes shining brighter than he’d ever seen them. “How! How the fuck are we going to find them? I could have avoided all this!” She stood and began pacing around what Draven thought was her parents’ bedroom. “Fuck! Fuck me and my stupid stubborn ass! I can’t believe I did this to them!”

  Draven was at her side in the blink of an eye. “You’re not to blame, and neither are they. We can’t stay here, Snowflake. Their house has been compromised and they know you will come looking for your parents. Let’s go.”

  Aliyah looked at him, her big violet hues pleading with him. She was in shock. Draven picked her up and stalked toward the doorway. He threw a look over his shoulder and eyed Dany. “MOVE!”

  Dany scrambled after them as they walked down the long corridor toward the stairs leading downstairs. “What are we going to do now D-Man?”

  “D-Man?” Draven queried.

  “Yeah. Liah and I have always given each other nicknames and it seems like you’re a part of her package now, so you’re now D-Man.”

  Draven felt a small smile grace his face. A part of Aliyah’s package, he liked the sound of that.

  “First thing first, we need to get back to my place in one piece. Aliyah’s gone into shock and I’m really worried about her.”

  “You and me both, man. I have known Liah for years and I’ve never seen her that distraught. You’re always going to look out for her, aren’t you?”

  Draven scoffed, “Please, do you really need to ask me that?”

  “She’s my best friend. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to her.”

  Draven took a moment, allowing Dany’s words to soak in. His he
art started beating frantically in his chest at the mere thought of losing his Snowflake. He could only imagine what it would be like for Dany to lose Aliyah. Draven knew at heart that Aliyah would feel the same way if she were to ever lose Dany.

  He swallowed the jealousy swirling in his stomach over their relationship and answered Dany honestly, “I would give my life for her, and you have my word on that. Dany, I will do anything in my power to keep her safe.”

  Their conversation was pulled short because Draven noticed the doors on his car were open. He jogged over with Aliyah held tightly in his arms. Dolph was nowhere to be seen. His ears pricked up, listening. Draven heard someone wheezing and coughing. He walked stealthily around the side of her parent’s house to find Dolph curled up in the foetal position, still wrapped in the blanket.

  Draven summoned Dany and carefully placed Aliyah in his arms, signalling for him to head back to the car.

  Draven approached his best friend with caution.

  “Dolph, its Draven.”

  Nothing except more wheezing and spluttering came.

  “Buddy, it’s me. Here let me help you.”

  Dolph turned to face Draven. “D, is it really–really you?”

  “Yeah mate, let’s get you back to my place. You’re injured.”

  Dolph offered a weak nod of his head so Draven took that as an invitation to swoop him up in his arms and head back to the car. The fucker wasn’t light. He was almost as tall as Draven, and probably just as heavy. If anyone witnessed him carrying Dolph, it would look fucking ridiculous.

  He placed his best friend in the back, and checked that Aliyah was buckled in. Draven didn’t bother with pleasantries or introductions as he drove like a bat at of hell back to the Quarter.

  Draven vamp sped Dolph first, then Aliyah and then Dany back to his lair. Tucking Aliyah in he urged her to drink from him. She was paler than normal and he figured his blood would help her. He bit into his wrist and offered it to her. At first, she just stared off into the distance. Draven watched as her nostrils flared and her mood shifted. She reached out and snatched his wrist. Her little moans arced him up and he was thankful he asked Aliyah to drink from his wrist and not his neck, because he didn’t think he would be able to stop himself from taking from her, or taking her.