Death Charmed, page 12
As if things weren’t strained enough, Avalynn added to the tension by walking over and standing next to us.
“Where are you two off to?” asked Avalynn again.
I turned and cocked my head. Maybe she wasn’t so polite after all. Good for her.
“We’re going…” his eyes caught and held mine. It almost took physical force to pull away from their snare. Distracted, I finished the sentence, lamely with “out.”
“Ooooo, like a date?” she asked, wagging her eyebrows.
I wanted to laugh, but the idea wasn’t as laughable as it would have been before this afternoon.
I settled with rolling my eyes and saying. “No, nothing like that.”
“We are going into the forest.” Anthony elaborated.
“Right, a romantic stroll in the woods.” she said with a wink.
Oh, brother. The last thing I needed was for it to get out that I was dating Anthony. I’d look like the whore of Babylon after just being with Sven. I’m sure that was common knowledge in the Court by now.
“No, really. We’re-” I tried, but Avalynn was already at the door.
She turned and raised her eyebrows and smiled.
“Enjoy your non-date, you two!” she said.”
I shouted across the living room, “It’s not-”
She shut the door with a wave.
“-a date,” I said to the back of the door.
Anthony smirked. I rolled my eyes at his non-help and smacked his arm. My fingers warmed at the momentary contact.
“What?” he said with a faux innocence that earned him a punch in the arm this time.
“Oh, I found something for you to wear.” he said, bringing his hand out from where I didn’t realize he’d been holding it from behind his back.
Two scraps of cloth held on with ease to the two fingers he held into the air. One was yellow like the moon and the other a black like midnight. Yeah, that was not going to happen.
“Maybe you found something for you to wear.” I countered back.
He laughed. “No, I have to pop back to get my clothes from my place.”
“It better be just as bitty.” I said, though I was doubtful anything could be as bitty as the loincloth he perpetually wore. When he shook his head with a grin that was as big as his face, I shook mine. “No way."
He shook it at me to take it, a cheshire smile on his face.
"What do I need to dress like that for anyway? And where did you even get that from? I don't dress like that. I’m not a piece of meat.”
He grinned a devilish smile I didn’t like the looks of and said, “Well, today you are. Oh, and wear your hair blonde.”
Since when, in the name of Dagda, did you have to dress like a bleach blonde slut to fight werewolves?
Chapter 19
A cold breeze blew through the dark trees, shaking the leaves like bones of a skeleton. A shiver ran down my spine. I pulled my tube top farther up, trying to cover as much skin as possible. Not surprisingly, it still didn’t cover much. I was tempted to pull my skirt higher to cover my stomach, but I stopped myself. I didn’t need my ass hanging out. I shot Anthony a dirty look. Him with his blue jeans and fitted T-Shirt, loincloth mysteriously missing. Somehow, this didn’t seem right.
“Tell me again why I’m dressed like a Brooklyn hooker?” I asked, pulling my stiletto heels from the moist earth with each step.
“The local Alpha likes blondes.” He said as he looked up.
I pushed a hand to his ridiculously understated outfit. “Then why aren’t you dressed like a Brooklyn hooker too?”
He laughed. “Actually, I’m wearing what you might call the werewolf dress code.”
“I don’t know why I couldn’t have worn the werewolf dress code,” I muttered as I prayed Marc wasn’t in this pack. I would shrivel up the size of a witch-doctor’s head if he caught me in this outfit.
The full moon came around a cloud to light up the creases around his eyes as he studied the stars. I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and run my hands across his face. I shook myself. This wasn’t going to get us anywhere. I had to focus.
I looked up and tried to make out where we were based on the winking constellations above. After a few seconds, I gave up and looked back at Anthony. I’d never been good at that.
“This way,” He said, changing directions.
“So, how do you know where we’re going anyway?” I asked.
He shrugged, but then after a couple of steps of silence, he said, “I stopped by earlier and asked if they wouldn’t mind some company.”
“You what?” I stopped.
The sudden stop combined with the heel’s angle threw me off, and I tilted back. I waved my arms to steady myself. I wasn’t going to fall, but before I could move another inch, Anthony was there and had me in his arms.
With all the skin I had out on parade, my brain became confused when his hands slid over me like a feather. The light pressure had me reeling as I looked up. I was having the damndest time keeping the world in focus as his hands slid to my lower back. Logically, there wasn’t any other place he could put them with my wings in the way.
But logic had nothing to do with the way my hands found their way around his shoulders. They were sturdy, square shoulders. There was no denying the solidness of the muscle beneath his cotton-blend shirt, either. My traitorous hands gave a small squeeze.
Gods, they felt good. I wanted to touch the rest of him to see if he felt just as good.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
It was a silly question. I had barely even wobbled on my feet. Anthony probably didn’t realize it, though. From the way his voice came out breathy, I could tell he was thinking of other things. Things like softness and heat and the tightening down low.
I looked at his lips. They were red in the light of the moon. A dusky red that reminded me of dark cherry Kool-Aid before you mixed it. Come to think of it, his kisses reminded me of Kool-Aid too. Not how they tasted, no. The act of kissing him. It mixed up my insides, stretched my emotions to the breaking point until I felt all liquid inside.
A growl came from the trees. All thoughts of kisses fled in that second, My breath hitched in my throat. We turned our heads in horror-movie slow motion to see what had made such a blood-curdling sound. A pair of eyes glowed in the underbrush. Then slowly, it unfolded itself from the darkness, a rippling mass of corded muscle.
It was a gray wolf. His coat was just deep enough to make it hard to keep eyes on him in the dark. I was in full, freak-out mode. Anthony, on the other hand, had different plans.
He stepped towards the wolf.
Of all the idiotic moves. I had half a mind to strangle the cocky Messenger’s tanned neck before the wolf had him for a snack. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Thanks to the vampire blood in my veins, the force pulled him back.
“Are you crazy?” I hissed.
“Relax; it’s one of the local weres.” He said, brushing my hand off his arm.
I balled my fists by my side in an effort not to grab him again. When he got a few feet from the wolf, I bit my lip to keep from calling out to him. He was a big boy if he wanted to be an entrée, that was his choice.
Now, if I could just convince my rioting stomach of that.
“How do you know?” I blurted, unable to help myself. “Besides, so what if he’s a local. He can eat you anyway, you know.”
At this, to my astonishment, the wolf stood up. Before you could say, “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto,” his body bunched, folded, and Rubick’ S-Cubed its way back to a person.
Since I’d never seen a shifter…shift, I knew my eyes had to be about as big as the moon as he said, “I assure you, he’s not my type Miss Cy.”
‘Miss Cy.’ Not ‘Princess’ just Cy. My whole being relaxed. Well, as much as one could around a newly naked stranger, that is. Were or not, it was bizarre to see someone hanging out for all of the gods’ creations to see.
“This way. The Alpha expects you,” he said right before he turned and disappeared back into the brush.
I shot Anthony a not-a-word look as we followed him in. Was it just me or was the forest thicker on that side of the brush? Limbs reached out like hands to grab at us. I told myself that it was silly and focused on not getting a branch in the eye. That must have been the reason I was taken aback when we came upon the pack.
At first glance, you wouldn’t have guessed they were anything but a bunch of people out in the woods for a party. I searched through ripped jeans and T-Shirts for Marc. When I looked closer at the clusters of people, you could see that each person seemed to be engaged in a discussion, but not. They waited for something. Expectant energy hummed underneath it all, belying the seemingly casual get together. There was no sign of his burly, spiked-blonde self, but I was starting to wish there would have been. What he thought of me paled in comparison to the hum of suppressed violence around me.
And it was all centered around one woman. She was sitting on the fallen log at the center of it all. Well, sitting was a tame way to put it. She sat on it like she was the roots holding it into the ground. Her knee was bent, making her blue jeans ride up her leg. It exposed a tanned shin. Her legs ended at a pair of red high heels that flashed in the moonlight. They almost distracted me from the naked men resting on the ground below her. Almost.
Her eyes were already on us. When I met her eyes, I just knew.
She was the Alpha.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. She was very Amazonian in her frame and movements. The weres at her feet swung their heads in my direction in unison—their elongated faces evidence of the moon’s call.
“Princess Cy, so good of you to join us.” She said.
Her voice was rough around the edges like the change had started to affect her too. I wasn’t surprised, considering the full moon was already out.
“I am Shiloh.” She rested her hand on the bark of the tree and leaned towards us. “We’ve heard about your need and are willing to oblige.”
They were willing to give blood? I about fell down. How did we get so lucky? Maybe Anthony had been right to come ahead of time.
I didn’t know how to thank her for such generosity, but I sure was going to try. “Wow, I don’t know what-”
“However, you will have to earn it.” She said smoothly.
So much for thanks. I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“And how do you propose I earn it?” I asked, keeping my features expressionless.
“We like a little warm-up to our feast.” She said, her eyes roving over my outfit in a way that said she approved. Then she shifted her hand out to caress the man at her feet. “My pet suggested you be a part of the hunt. The idea has...appeal to me.”
Well, that didn’t sound so bad. Hunting animals for sport was way different than out-thinking a criminal. Though I didn’t have much of a stomach for hunting animals, there were way worse things than running around the woods with a pack of dogs for the night.
“I can do that,” I said, then I patted my skirt- which was clearly lacking pockets and said. “You’ll have to give me something to hunt with though. I didn’t bring a knife or gun, and I don’t have those pretty teeth you all get when you shift.”
She laughed at that. It was a deep, throaty laugh that floated up into the star-filled night. She reached down to trail her fingers over the blonde below her again. His control wasn’t as good as hers. The moon’s call erupted hair all over his body in a slick burst. He was young and eager, leaning into her caress.
“Isn’t that cute?” she said. The way she tilted her head, it was clear that she was speaking to the pack. Then she focused back on me and said, “No, you won’t be hunting. We will be hunting you. If you can outrun the pack, we will give you the blood you desire.”
Anger and fear chased each other down into my gut. This was so not what I signed up for. Someone had some explaining to do. Like now.
Anthony.
I pulled him down to mouth level, so I was pretty much whispering into his mouth. “You better explain and explain quick.”
“This wasn’t the deal,” His words strained because of the death grip I had on his arm.
My jaw clenched. “Just what was the deal?”
He opened and closed his mouth before he slumped in my grasp, “She just said something could be arranged.”
Perfect. I let Anthony go. Well, she hadn’t been lying. Apparently, the deal was me being the appetizer. Don’t think it had escaped my notice that nobody had said anything about leaving me alive after they caught me.
But...if I could somehow avoid being eaten, we could get out of this pretty much painlessly. My eyes went to the pack of wolves around me, all in various states of The Change. What are the chances I could win? Better question: what were the chances of me getting werewolf blood any other way that didn’t send us into an all-out war.
My gut hardened as I kicked off my shoes. This was such a bad idea.
“I’ll do it,” I said before I could change my mind. I kept my tone light—no need for the pack to know how every bone in my body screamed to leave this place.
Her wolfish smile and the eager looks on the faces around us confirmed how bad of an idea this was. I pushed down the doubt and worked on psyching myself up. I could do this.
Anthony grabbed my shoulders, turning me to look up at him. “Don’t do this, Cy.”
I peeled his hands off me. “Anthony, it’s the only way.”
Denial worked his throat. Finally, his face twisted and he said. “If anything goes wrong, just-”
“We’re running out of moonlight, Princess. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it now. Unless you’ve changed your mind that is…” Shiloh trailed off and crossed her legs. The red of her heels winked in the moonlight.
The insinuation was clear: I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t good enough. That fuse was a short one, let me tell you. The muscle in my jaw ticked.
I faced the ragtag group, square on. “No, I’m ready. What are the rules?”
She grinned, a model-worthy grin. The smile expanded her face. It stretched out to almost a clown’s face until the front of her face elongated. Then the smile fit into a wolf’s muzzle.
“Run.” She said with a thick, darkness that raised the hair on my arms.
Adrenaline shot through my body.
“What?” I said, not sure I understood her correctly. Not wanting to hear her correctly.
Then, as fur knit itself down the expanse of her throat, the rest of the people milling around her started to change. Muscles folded themselves in to make way for huge frames. One man that looked to be a total of 18 years old raised his human head to the moon and howled. At first, it sounded human, and then in a split second, it wasn’t. It darkened to be the embodiment of the monsters that crept in the shadows. His jaw fell open to reveal a mouth full of huge teeth that could slice your flesh with the ease of a knife to warm butter. I froze at the sight.
Anthony moved to me. Fixated on the horror show in front of me, I was slow to see it, but when I looked up, I saw his face had become a sheet of panic. That didn’t do anything to make me feel better.
His hands were on me, pushing me to the darkest parts of the forest. “Just run.”
He was right. I had to get out of here.
So I ran. Through the trees and brush, I ran. The branches I’d tried to avoid so hard before now slapped at me, clawing and scratching at my exposed limbs. I ignored them and focused on running. I don’t know how far I’d gone before I felt wetness oozing thin lines down my pumping arms and legs.
My heart beat a staccato in my chest. Anthony’s words shouted in my head: just run.
And I did. I ran faster than I ever had before. Sure, the trees didn’t blur by, but I was quick like no fae before. Maybe, I had a chance.
As if to remind me of reality, I heard the excited yips and howls behind me. They weren’t at my heels, but they were close enough to set my stomach into knots.
How fast could wolves run anyway? I scoured my memory as I ducked under a thick branch that popped in my path. Frustrated, I grunted. I couldn’t remember the exact number from my Life of the Wolf were history class, but I was pretty sure they could run faster than the fae. What about a vampire? Could werewolves outrun a vampire? Any other time I wouldn’t be wishing I had the full powers of a vampire, but with wolves hot on my heels, I’d let myself be ok with it. Just for now.
I heard the yips getting closer. My heart slammed into my rib cage. The sound had come from right behind me. Was panic twisting my imagination? Or were they really that close? I couldn’t spare a second to look back and see. There was no way I was going down like a horror movie chick. Even if I did look the part at the moment.
I don’t know if it was the wind, but I swore I felt breath across my bare ankle.
If I didn’t do something soon, this cat and mouse game would be over. Over for me, specifically. I had to change tactics, like now.
Think. I had a brain; I wasn’t a rabbit being mindlessly chased. Options. What options did I have? I could use lightning to try to stun them. My mind flashed back to the group that had been milling around their Alpha. There were too many of them; I didn’t have a chance in hell of being able to pick them off one by one. Then an idea hit me. If I could reduce their flow to a manageable number, I could pick them off. But how?
Then, like a message from the Gods, a branch hit me across the face. It wasn’t big enough to stop me, but it did sting something fierce. I didn’t care, though. I knew what I was going to do. I laughed into the cold night, feeling better for the first time since this nightmare had been sprung on me.
I eyed the trees ahead. It only took a second to spot my target, a giant sycamore tree nestled in the grove over the ridge. The branch at the bottom looked close enough to the ground to grab. I ran full tilt towards it.
I’d get up the tree and start picking them off as they circled the base. It was brilliant. This was actually going to work.
Excitement boosted me. Before I could blink, I was there. Right before I hit the tree, I leaped and reached up. I managed to hook my arm around the branch I’d been eyeing just seconds ago. Good thing too because no sooner had I pulled my legs up when I heard the unmistakable snap of teeth. I sucked in a breath between my teeth as I dug my feet into the branch. Bark bit into my feet as I climbed higher and higher.
