Since Emerick’s arrival, Annabelle had been sure her father thought all those things he used to look for in her, were in Emerick. Since she didn’t allow him to see the extent of what she could do, she knew he felt better about a man being the one who could rid the land of monsters for good. Of course, Clive wouldn’t want his only daughter to be responsible for such a thing. He would have been too afraid for her safety.
The nights got longer as winter approached. Snow came and melted. Then came again, coating the ground. The white sheen during the day made it so bright it was hard to keep their eyes open. Then at night, the crunch underfoot made it difficult not to be heard. Stalking about quietly was impossible and made hunting problematic.
“I say, we sit on the fallen logs. Wait for them to walk to us.” Emerick suggested when the snow accumulated up past their ankles.
“That would work if we couldn’t be spotted from so far away. There is no way to camouflage ourselves.” Annabelle tucked her loose hair under her hat once more. A small laugh escaped her lips as he looked around, realizing without a doubt, that she was correct. “What we usually do is hunt in shifts. Two teams of two. In different directions.”
“Yes, but now you have me.”
“Yes, we do. Which means papa will go with the twins. He doesn’t trust them not to get themselves killed.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’m a good daughter. I stay up at night and listen to them discuss things. How else would I have known I was supposed to be something more than the average hunter?”
“Such as?” He pulled a bare branch away from her path, so she wouldn’t get caught up in it.
“I don’t know. My parents never said. All I’ve heard them say is that my gifts will continue to improve and grow. Until one day I became something more, all together.”
“Maybe we will figure out what that is to be, together.” Emerick tugged a curl from her hat to wrap around his finger and drew her closer to him.
It was a move she waited for. Anything to show his interest was more than professional. Annabelle hoped, more than anything she would not get her heart broken again. She even decided after she stopped crying over the loss of Liam, that she would just never get involved with another. After spending a measurable amount of time with Emerick, she knew she couldn’t possibly continue to think that way. It would have been too hard not to be involved with someone so much like herself.
“Anna, are you ok?” He asked, her hair still wound up around his finger.
“Yes, I am more than ok.” It came out in a whispered breath, and he stared at her. “Now.”
Their lips met in a hurried frenzy. Heat pooled between Annabelle’s legs as Emerick’s hands pulled her to him so he could wrap them around her. Annabelle was unsure of where to place hers and just wrapped them around his neck.
“Ah, young love.” A menacing voice said from behind them, and they quickly parted.
Both Emerick and Anna had their weapons drawn before the vampires got close to attack. Anna swung her sword at the monster who’d lurched at them. His claws cutting the skin on her hand as she did.
“Ah, you ass.”
“Spilling innocent blood is not a crime where I come from. It’s a wasted meal.”
“Well, you’re going to have to get your meal elsewhere.” Emerick slid next to Anna, shoving his blade through the vampire, who pushed his body further onto the blade without a flinch.
“You seem to be lacking a key ingredient.”
Anna dropped to the ground and swooped her leg around knocking the vampire to its back. “I’m not.” She plunged the end of her sword into the vampire’s chest, then removed both blades. Standing up, she handed Emerick back his sword. “You should stick to the arrows. Since you grabbed the wrong weapon.”
Emerick had hastily grabbed a sword Clive made but not treated yet. All of their weapons were purchased from the Smith in town, but Clive had fashioned that one on his own. For what purpose Annabelle did not know. All she knew was it would be useless until the steel was coated in silver.
“Fair enough.” He pushed the sword back in his hip and took the bow from his back. Notching one of his white feathered arrows they set back to the trail ahead.
“Why did you kiss me?” She hastily asked.
“Why did I, or why did I want to?”
She moved in his footsteps through the drifts. “Does it matter which one? The answer means the same for both.”
“No, I wanted to kiss you because I find you extremely attractive, and I’ve wanted to since the night we met.” He said without stopping. “I kissed you because I saw the vampire coming, but he hesitated. I didn’t want him to know he was spotted but think we were two kids unaware of our surroundings. Too caught up in love to see him.”
“Oh.” She said moving behind him until he stopped, turned and looked at her.
“I’d love to keep kissing you, but maybe where it’s warm, and after it’s appropriate to do so. I apologize for overstepping.” He turned and continued moving through the snow.
“Well, then. I suspect you should ask my father a question then.”
“I have already done so. I only need ask you.”
She stopped moving. Her feet suddenly felt ten times colder in her boots. The dampness had finally gotten through the three pairs of socks she’d put on, not only to keep her warm but to fill the gaps between shoe and toes.
“Are you asking now?”
“No. This is no place for such a question.”
“Oh, well then. Let’s keep going, shall we?” She moved ahead of him making fresh prints in the snow and forcing him to follow.
“Is it something I said?” He asked trailing behind her.
“No, it’s early, and I’m soaked already. I’d like to keep moving to stay warm.” She tripped over a branch, too much in the way of herself to have seen it, only to have Emerick grab her before she landed on her back in the snow.
“If you wanted me to keep you warm, all you had to do was ask.”
He had her wrapped tightly in his arms. The heat of his body warmed her through all of her outerwear right down to her toes. It was either that or the flush she felt from the close proximity.
“Maybe I did.” She said a bit hastily. Her shy demeanor dispersing for the moment. She felt bold in his arms. “I do.”
“Well, then maybe we should chalk this night up to one for one and head home.”
“Home?”
“Yes. I’ll take you home.”
“Oh, sorry. I thought you were talking about something else.”
“Originally I was. However, I’d like to be a gentleman, and start our forever off the right way. May I pick you up tomorrow for a late lunch, Anna?”
“Yes, Emery. I believe you may.”
“Emery?”
“If you get to have a nickname for me, then I must have one for you.”
The romance between the hunters blossomed. Emerick and Annabelle were the talk of the town. The almost wife of the Mayor’s missing son and the out of town stranger. Some said he was a son of darkness. Some said he was from lands across the sea. His ability to get so many to like him, in turn caused so many to fear him. The town once had nothing but love and admiration for the Preston family, but soon became fearful of them. Rumors spread that the hunters would soon need to be the hunted.
By the time Annabelle Preston announced her engagement to Emerick Bellator the town had all but shun them. Monsters had become a thing of the past with Emerick and Anna taking great care to prevent them from entering the town. With Andrew and Ashton’s help, a year had gone by without incidence.
That was until the day Anna died.
Chapter Six
They were married before the snow melted in early spring. It was a beautiful day filled with family and friends. The town pretended their area of the village didn’t exist. Therefore, none of them showed, which was fine by everyone who did.
Emerick never asked Anna to stop hunting. Even whe
n they found out she was expecting. He was nervous all the time, but Anna expected that was normal for an expectant father. Just as Anna was every time she left the house, but she was so happy she didn’t let the fear of the unknown bother her.
Then she found out the truth… her husband was a vampire.
She stepped through the canopy of the trees behind the house and saw the movement of Emery through the evergreens. Deciding to surprise him, she made herself as quiet as possible until she saw what he was doing. He had one of the farm hands in his clutches. His fangs sunk deep into the man’s flesh at his wrist. Anna screamed, and instead of running toward her home, she ran further into the woods. It hadn’t taken long for Emerick to catch up to her.
By the time he was able to wrap his arms around her mid-section, she was sobbing uncontrollably. So much so that each one caught in her chest and then in her throat. She was terrified of what he would do to her.
“Shhh,” he said to soothe her. “I’m not going to harm you. Never you. Please, Anna, you must calm yourself for the baby’s sake.”
“What do you care about our baby? Oh, no…the baby. What have you done to me? To him? What is he?”
He looked at her, ever somber when he replied. “I honestly don’t know. I didn’t know it was possible.”
“But, it’s daylight. How are you able to walk around in the sun?” She slowed her breathing. “I’ve seen you. Picnics in the park, the parade, our wedding…all during the day.” Her voice became shaky and quiet. Her own strength forgotten against the man she loved.
“I am a special breed. I was bitten a very long time ago, but I never accepted my fate. I had to try to reverse it.”
“Reverse it?” She shook her head and started to dismiss his claims.
“Yes, reverse it. I was a keeper, and a hunter when I was human. Knowledge allowed me to use alchemist chemicals to enhance my blood. Though I was born different, just like you. I was meant for this path, as you are. As our child will likely be. We are to be the end of vampirism.”
“What do you mean, the end?”
“I can eat normal food. You’ve seen me. I can live in the sunlight. Though I do tire. I only need blood once a month or so. I never kill.” He added the last part quickly as he felt the shudder escape her.
“Never?”
“No, not once.” He said by way of letting her go and helping her to her feet. “That man never remembers a thing, but he also has not died. I’ve been feeding from him since my arrival.
“Emery! How could you? How…could you trick me into marriage, into starting a family with you? Did you not worry about the child? For what he will be?” She began to shed more tears. Her heart felt as though it were being ripped into a million pieces. “What did you plan to tell me when he was born?”
“I was prepared to wait and see what he was. Then ask you to allow me to change you too. We can be the ultimate hunters together. For eternity. Imagine it. The superior powers you have, I had them too. We can stay together as we have been, happy and in love forever, and wipe out all the monsters of the world.”
“Until we are the only ones left? No, I won’t do it,” she told him and began running back toward the house.
Emery caught up with her again but did not stop her. Instead, he kept pace beside her until she slowed to a brisk walk.
“Please, Anna. Think about it. I’m not asking for your answer now, but please think about it. I love you more than my existence. If you say no, I will let you end me…by your own hand.”
He stopped walking as she reached the clearing of the yard. Then watched her walk inside the house but didn’t dare follow. Instead, he decided to give her the room she would need to think about his declaration. He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, even if his life were over sooner rather than later.
Emerick returned to the home he was preparing for his bride and unborn child. The basement had an unwanted visitor inside, but he would be gone before Emerick brought his wife home for good.
Before he could open the front door, Emerick heard the howling. Other than his guest the house was empty. Servants were scheduled to arrive in a week, which was when it was estimated the repairs would be completed. He had electric wiring run throughout the home, and heaters to help when the hearth died down.
He wasn’t worried for Anna. He was confident she would want what he offered her. Though if their child were born human, then it would require sufficient heat in the cold months.
The basement was leaking. The rain fell from the sky and poured into the window that still had no glass. The man in his cell was leaning against the bars, his back to Emerick as he entered. He looked like an elderly man who’d lost all of his energy, but Emerick knew better.
“How long will you keep me here? I have a life beyond these walls.”
Emerick grabbed a bag of blood from a nearby cooler and dropped it inside the cell. “Brother, you need to get your strength up. Drink.”
“NO!” The man turned. Dark brown hair fell over his face, obscuring the red in his eyes, but Emerick knew they were there. He waited for the day they would disappear before he would consider letting his brother leave his jail.
For his existence, Emerick searched for the soul of his brother reincarnated. Until a year prior, he’d never gotten close. Not until he stopped looking and focused his time and energy on his heart that still beat faintly in his chest.
“I’m obviously not like you. I won’t change into what you are. Human food sickens me, and when the sun is up, I feel so very weak.”
“I know brother. I know. I’ll fix it. I promise.” He turned from the man and started to walk away. “One day we will have everything. I just need you to give me time to make it right.”
Before his brother could protest, Emerick left the room and continued down to the back of the basement. A row of silver tables lined the wall. Beakers and Bunsen burners cluttered the workspace around him. Microscopes and slides tossed haphazardly. His last attempt to save his brother caused him to lash out against the equipment.
As an alchemist and hunter before his transformation, he was studying ways to reverse vampirism. The best he could do was to himself, but it was by accident. He was different than the others. He could eat food, be out in the sun, though it made him tired. He could drink blood only once a month if he didn’t overexert himself or sustain injury. He rarely fed on humans anymore. Not since physicians started to collect and save blood and store it in their facilities.
When his brother came back to him, it was in hopes of being turned and reunited with his love. However, the year after his transformation was hard. Emerick had blood from another to change his brother. He’d never used his own blood to make another vampire. If all the feral monsters of the world were just like him, Emerick wouldn’t be able to contain them. He thought it was best if he was the only one. Until he met Anna.
Now all he could think of was being with her for all eternity. The child was a bonus. A surprise Emerick had never imagined would be an issue. They just had to wait until it was born.
A crash sounded down the hall from where Emerick was cleaning his mess from the night before. He rushed back to his brother’s cell and saw the door had been ripped clean from the hinges. Massimo was nowhere in sight. Since it was night, he could be anywhere.
Emerick raced to the Preston house. He moved carelessly, not caring if something lurked in the night.
When Clive answered the door, Emerick bowed his heat in defeat. “I have a problem and require your assistance.”
Chapter Seven
The pub was no place for a pregnant woman to be, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t go home to her little cottage with her husband, the monster. She couldn’t go back to her parents and admit what she had done. She was a hunter, she should have known, but she let love and happiness cloud her eyes.
When she pushed through the doors, Annabelle was in shock. There, sitting at the other end of the bar was Liam Cortland, back from his travels. She a
lmost went to him, almost lost her composure. Instead, she sat on the nearest stool and turned away from him.
From the corner of her eye, she studied his face, or what she could see of it. His hair hung over his face, so his eyes were covered. She could never forget the line of his jaw or the way he moved his body. He slumped over the bar, leaning on his elbows, his hands wrapped tightly around a large mug of ale. He looked as if he’d been rolling around the pens with the swine. His coat was muddy, and his shirt was tattered.
When he looked up, she made a point to look away. She didn’t want him to see her. She rubbed her swollen belly as the child inside began to flip around. The barmaid finally saw her and bent over the bar to whisper.
“I don’t got nothing here that’s any good for the wee-one.”
“Oh, no that’s ok. I just needed somewhere to sit awhile. You mind?” She turned on the stool, so she could cover herself with her coat.
“Not at all. How about some water? I can give you that.”
“That’ll be fine thank you.” Anna accepted with a nod and a smile, but then that smile always did catch Liam’s attention. He saw her and stood, but sat back down looking around at the patrons in the pub.
“Are you well?”
“I am.” His eyes still covered by his hair. “Did you forget to see the barber?”
“No. I just couldn’t…I didn’t know how you’d feel.”
“About what exactly? You owe me nothing. You left a note and explained. I hold no judgment.”
“That’s not what I mean.” He moved his hair for a fraction of a second and Anna saw the red within his eyes.
“No.” She whispered the words out loud, but in her mind, she yelled them. Without thinking she stood, letting her coat open. The diamond on her hand visible to anyone with eyes, even red ones. “How? Why are you here? It’s nearly curfew. How?”
Liam began to stand again. His eyes on Annabelle’s abdomen. “How? I asked for this. For you, for us.”
“What is it with the men in my life thinking this is what I want?” She gasped aloud. The barmaid looked at her. “Clear out! Curfew has come early.”
Tangled Web (Ravana Moon #2.5) Page 3