I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters.
The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent to chaotic_child@hotmail.com I hope you all enjoy!
Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to send me with your comments. It's you guys that keep me writing by letting me know that you enjoy my characters and the journey I put them through. Apologies for the short chapters, the last one was deliberate, the next few should be longer! Enjoy!
Chapter 4
The loud ringing of my cell phone woke me out of a restless sleep in the small hours of the morning. I sat up in bed, ignoring the sleepy grumble from my soulmate, who simply rolled over and went back to sleep, and reached for my ringing phone on the bedside table and flipped it open, it was Damien.
"He's passed. Sorry buddy."
They were four quiet, simple words, four straightforward words that unleashed a dark whirlwind of emotions in me; rage, grief, sorrow, guilt and bitter failure.
"Fuck!" I managed to growl.
"We're going to stay out here and watch over Jason." Damien continued in the same matter of fact, calm voice, meaning himself and Tien.
With that he hung up and left me to my disordered emotions. I did manage to have a thought that he did call me and let me know, rather than simply tell me, mind to mind as he could.
I'm not sure how long I sat there, staring blankly at the sand coloured bedroom wall, eyes blind but head full of raging emotions before I got up to pace the room, naked, unable to sit still anymore. The same restless energy that had kept me in a fitful sleep full of uneasy, dark dreams kept me pacing the room.
"I would like to actually sleep sometime this morning. What is the matter?" My soulmate demanded at some point as he sat up, eyes sleepy and annoyed, pushing his tousled hair away from his face and neck.
He tilted his head sleep vanishing from his piercing eyes as he scrutinised me attempting to figure out what was wrong.
I ignored him and started on another trek around the square beige and blue room stopping to stare out the window. I frowned I didn't remember pulling the curtain aside but I must have in my agitation. For once it wasn't raining but it was still overcast, I could tell because even with the street lights, you couldn't see the moon and the sky had a hazy, smoky look.
"Come back to bed." He asked and let out an exasperated sigh when I stayed put, not answering, he pushed the thick brightly coloured duvets away from him and got up to pad naked on silent feet towards me.
He came to stand beside me at the window, not touching me, but close enough I could feel his warmth, his force of personality and presence and smell him. I could feel his confusion and his sharp mind trying to work through my cluttered emotions through the silver cord that bound us together.
"Now we're both cold and its getting us nowhere." He commented when I still said nothing, not able to get more than a grunt out.
His words were dry, we were shifters, despite the cold and our nude state, we weren't cold.
"What did Damien say?" He asked sounding disturbed when the silence continued to stretch out between us; I could feel his eyes search my profile, he was always aware of everything.
"He's gone." I managed to grit out.
"Fuck." One frank, harsh word that said it all, I felt more then saw his wince, his understanding and his pity.
Unable to stand still and accept the depressing reality of how the whole fucking night had turned out I began pacing again. I could feel my soulmate watching me as he turned around and almost felt the click as he made a decision. I felt through our soulmate bond what he was going to do and didn't want it as grabbed me on my way passed him. I felt my hands come up, pushing against his chest to push him away from me.
But it was too late his touch blasted open the soulmate connection between us, I felt us both ignore it and push it away as he pulled me against him, his arms wrapping around me as he buried his face in my neck, ignoring my stiffness and resistance to him, I didn't want to be touched or comforted. I could feel him nuzzling, his weight putting subtle, insistent pressure on me until I was leaning back against the wall. I felt his silky hair brushing against me, his warm, soft lips nuzzling and dropping little kisses up and down my neck and throat.
It seems he knows me better then I know myself, for before I realised what I was doing, I'd arched my neck to allow him access turned on by his attacking my sensitive neck with his soft lips and nipping teeth. Almost lazily he kissed me and helplessly I felt my hands that had been pushing against him slide up his chest and grip his shoulders, pulling him against me. The feel of his body pressing against me, his warm hands stroking up and down my back, his smell, the slow rise of his cock, the slow, sucking kiss we were exchanging was turning me on as being anywhere near him usually does and I felt my own cock harden.
He sighed a quiet willing noise as I pressed back against him, pushing my hard, hungry cock against him. I pulled away from his warm mouth to trail kisses along his jaw and along his neck towards his ear. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping tight with one hand as he tilted his head back, allowing me access to the tender, vulnerable spot behind his ear.
I bit him, not hard, just enough to leave a mark and enough that his body tensed, trembling against me, I sucked at my bite. He moaned as I trailed more nipping, sucking kisses down his neck, the fingers of my free hand trailing down the opposite side of his neck and across his neck, cheek and across his kiss swollen full lips. He nipped my fingers, sucking my fingers into his mouth and I moaned this time from the wet, satiny warmth of his mouth.
I growled shoving against him more aggressively as I pulled my fingers out of his mouth and let go of his hair. He let me push him back towards the bed and push him down on it but he fought me playfully, resisting and wrestling with me, when I went to crawl on top of him. All but seeing the red of lust for him now, all I could think about was getting him under me and my cock into him, but his sexual games were frustrating that hunger, so I resorted to dirty tactics. I ran a hand down his stomach and wrapped my hand around his hard, leaking cock at the same time I latched on to his nipple.
Nipping and sucking I felt him tense, a weakness in his struggles against me not to tremble against me or thrust his cock or chest against me as a moan escaped from between his clenched teeth. Beyond the obvious my neck and ears are my responsive triggers, his nipples are his. I tightened my grip around his cock, using his freely leaking pre-cum to keep stroking down the length of it and rubbing my thumb over the head, as I switched to a slow lick, sucking his other nipple. He shivered, hissing, unable to stop the helpless thrust of his hips as he pushed his cock into my hand.
I shifted keeping him busy, angling away from him a bit as I used my free hand to reach down to the little bedside table and open the travel sized bottle of lube we kept there. It was a testament to his preoccupation with teasing me by resisting giving me what I wanted that he didn't hear the snap of the cap.
I felt him start in surprise, stilling, when my wet finger trailed teasingly across his most vulnerable spot. It was a mistake on his part, that he went so still and expectant as he focused on my teasing fingers and stroking hand, waiting for me to touch him. It was a mistake that he didn't stop me when I shifted, pressing against his side as I pushed my insistently pulsing cock against him, trailing kisses up his chest and neck, I kissed him.
Aggressively I pushed my tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard and hungrily, as I pushed my finger into him. He moaned quivering hard against me as I released his cock to score down his inner thigh with my nails and back up the opposite thigh. I was able to be patient as I worked another finger into him, wrapping my hand back around his cock. I was still unbelievably horny, but now I was amused ignoring his struggles to now pull me on top of him as I played with him.
It is a mistake to play with a cat, now I had him where I could have him it was my turn to drive him a bit crazy. It didn't take me long to get three fingers into him, and use them to tease and drive him crazy as I finger fucked him, reducing him to a pliant writhing mess. I ignored his silent pleading and growing hunger waiting for him to say the words, but he was stubborn and still determined to hold out on me, to tease me back.
In the end it was listening to his little moans and begging gasps that broke my will. It was so exciting to watch him flushed and breathless, as he thrust into my hand, his hands gripping the duvet in a death grip as my fingers slid into him, stroking over his special spot. I felt my cock harden to an even more impossible hardness and I reached for him and rolled on top of him letting my hands run over him as he let me slide between his legs.
This time he wrapped his legs around me, his grip tight as I felt his hands run feverishly over me. I was so feverish myself that I bit his shoulder hard as I thrust into him, forcing a strangled scream and a long buck out of him as I grabbed his ass. I started to fuck him; I rode him long and hard hearing my own low growls as I felt him underneath me, trapped under my weight and my cock as he withered against me. We came together, muffling our screams in a passionate kiss as I collapsed onto him sweaty, tired and deeply satisfied as I relaxed my grip on his ass.
It took a while for our breathing to slow down and for us to stir out of our stupor. I didn't feel a need to move, still liking the feel of him under me, the feel of his pulse under my lips buried in his neck and the slowing rise and fall of his chest as he breathed his heartbeat under my arm. I pulled out of him as I ran my fingers through his hair, stroking and massaging his scalp as he ran his fingers over me.
At some point I felt him shift under me and wince, I realised I had my arms around him gripping him tight, love, relief and need riding me hard. So tight in fact my claws had come out and were digging into him, drawing blood and leaving bruises. With a grunt of apology I shifted off him and relaxed my grip, stroking over the bruises and scratches.
"S'ok" He murmured as he shifted, rolling over to press against me, rubbing his fingers behind my ears as he wrapped the other arm around me.
"I'm still here I'm not going anywhere." He whispered quietly as he nuzzled my shoulder and I could feel his love and need for me through our soulmate cloud.
I pressed back against him, wrapping myself around him as he made a sleepy sound, his stroking fingers still caressing my ears. I held on to him and felt him fall back to sleep, sexually satisfied and content to just lie with me.
But sleepy, satisfied and content as I was, I couldn't follow him into sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about poor Michael and what had happened tonight. I knew we couldn't save everyone, but it always hurt and added to my sense of bitter failure when we lost and the Night World won. I knew I'd been having dark dreams about him for weeks to come.
= = = = = = = = = =
7pm - earlier that evening.
Grim silence settled between Damien and I as he drove towards the house of Michael's friends in his dark grey SUV. I didn't have to glance at the speed to note he was speeding and resisted the impulse to urge him to drive faster, but getting pulled over by the cops for speeding wouldn't get us there any faster even with Damien to use vamp tricks on him, so I gritted my teeth and willed us there. I could feel anticipation, alert readiness and a waiting stillness coming through the silver cord that bound me to my soulmate so I knew nothing had really happened yet, but I knew as well as any Night Worlder does that we can spring hell in a moment.
I fingered the trio of knives, one blade silver, one wood and the last iron veined steel; I had them in my lap from the weapon collection we kept in a secret compartment in the SUV's boot. Damien calls me a reckless, impulsive fighter, my enemies a thug as I tend to favour fighting in my enemies faces, as a lynx or with my fists, shuriken or my knives, I prefer to look my enemy in the eye when I kill him.
It was the lynx in me and something inbuilt in my personality; I went in with nothing but will power, blood lust, my strength and a knife or small throwing star. It was probably going to be the death of me one day, but as long as I take my enemy out with me when it's my turn to face Death then I'll go with a grin.
We pulled off the road opposite the driveway that led up to the house Michael was staying in and Damien parked in a small sheltered area behind some trees. We were about thirty minutes drive south of London in a semi-rural area. I could see the glow of lights in the distance showing the presence of a few other country or farm houses but there were very few people out here. The driveway up to the house was long enough that we couldn't see the house from the road or the cars belonging to our enemies.
We got out of the car without a word and immediately I began stripping off my clothes, it would be easier to go in as a lynx. Damien opened the back door of his SUV and opened the weapon compartment to pull out his own preferred weapons. I heard a subtle rustle from the ancient naked apple tree next to us and spun around to see it was only Chay. He was shifting back to human behind the ancient tree, he might be a powerful white gyrfalcon, but falcons weren't so good in a fight at night.
"About time you guys got here." He said as he emerged fully clothed in a pair of white vaguely feathery pants and shirt from behind the trees.
As Damien opened his mouth to defend us I dropped down to my knees and released the lynx, immediately feeling the familiar mix of pain, tension and release as my body changed. It felt like I'd released a firmly bound bowstring as agony and the ecstatic energy, the freedom, of a shift swamped me, as the lynx slid over my skin pushing, squeezing and shifting my bones, muscles and skin. I rocked forward onto all fours releasing a growl as my eyes changed, sharpening to their mix of greys, black and white.
I felt the lynx's instincts gain strength as I twitched my tufted ears, sitting back on my haunches. I am a large lynx easily the size and weight of a big German Shepherd with long, strong legs and big furry paws. My coat had automatically taken on its winter thickness and colouring, and is a tawny-grey with faint brown spots and a white belly and chest. In summer my coat is not as thick and is a deeper tawny-gold with darker brown spots
My shift was fast enough I got to watch impatiently as Damien shut the SUV door, his favourite weapon a Japanese fighting stick in his hands. It was a beautiful weapon made of dark oak with runes carved into it and both ends sharpened into wickedly sharp stakes, with one end silver tipped. I heard more then saw Chay finish loading a third 9 mm semi automatic pistol with a mix of silver, wood and iron bullets. I knew both of them would carry extra knives for me and knew both of them carried spelled swords over their shoulders as back up weapons for when their primary weapons failed them.
I growled again to hurry them up as I rose to my feet and paced forward, they could hang around out here if they wanted to. I could hear but not see the other Night Worlders, we needed to be moving and I headed out. We were lucky that tonight was not a full moon and that we were downwind in the little wind that there was, the moon was barely a dim crescent in the dark sky above us and the gathering dark clouds hid the stars. It looked and smelled like the rain wouldn't hold out on us long, good and bad as it would wash away tracks and scents, ours and theirs. I kept to the shadows underneath the bare cherry trees and frost damp tall grass that boarded the sides of the gravel driveway as I made my way stealthily towards the sounds and growing scents of our prey.
I am a cat so instinctively I stuck to the cover but looked for a piece of higher ground to use to spot our prey. I could smell three vampires, a witch, two werewolves and a cougar shifter and finally spotted a cherry tree up ahead that had convenient low branches that I could use to climb up for a view. I might not be able to climb a tree in a hurry or use it to hunt from but when I have to I can get up a tree as a lynx and did so.
Sticking to the sturdy branches I climbed up high enough that I could see but still stay shielded by the tree's branches. From my perch I looked for our prey; they had come in two black SUV's and I could see both SUV's were parked in front of the lit up house, they were empty, which meant they were probably either in the house or somewhere around the house. I smelled Damien as he came to the base of my tree and I heard him crouch down. I felt more than heard Chay come up and pass us on the opposite side of the driveway as he continued towards the house, sticking to the available cover.
[Looks like our buddies have come on cliché today. I see two black SUV's, empty, but I smell and sense at least three vampires, two `wolves and a cougar. There's a witch out there somewhere too.] Damien relayed to me, I knew by his tone he was passing the same information on to Chay at the same time and guessed I smelled or spotted the same thing. But it never hurt to share anyway.
[I can see the witch and one of the vampires, don't recognise either, but can't get a visual on the rest yet and I don't see or hear anything from in the house.] I passed on as he held open the telepathic connection between us.
I did see a young looking blonde male vampire leaning on the garage wall in a shadowed corner, watching the front yard and the front door. The witch was a young female, red haired and curvy, as she leaned against the front bumper of the farthest away SUV, cleaning her nails by the look of it.
[Shifters and `wolves are too good at hiding themselves, they won't be obvious.] I added after another slow, thorough scan visually and audibly of the area.
There was a long pause and at the end was a wordless confirmation that Damien had spotted the same two I saw.
[Chay has spotted another vampire and a wolf. He can't see Cris, the other wolf or the cougar.] Damien relayed as another long pause stretched between us. [He says he is taking care of them, you take out the witch and vampire. I'll look for Cris, Michael, the missing shifter and `wolf.]
I felt Damien hear my acceptance and felt him shut down the connection between us and I heard him slip away from underneath my tree. I stayed up my tree for a minute or two as I figured out the best way to approach and take out my targets. I also gave him a minute or two to get away and then climbed down my tree. Once at the base of my tree I noted that Damien had brought the black pants and long sleeved dark t-shirt I wore on the job and I quickly shifted back to human.
I pulled on the clothes, strapped three knives one wood, one silver and one iron lined steel to my forearms and pulled on old running shoes with no socks. While my feet were tough, it was wiser to wear shoes so I could run faster and not tear my feet up. The clothes were also a further weapon as they were made from cat hide, which meant when I shifted the clothes would shift with me. Sounds a bit gruesome but it was hide gained from my enemies and I noticed it was something Chay did too judging from his white clothes.
I walked out from behind my tree, edged into the centre of the drive way and crossed to the far side, being careful not to let her see me moving but I need not have bothered. She was clearly bored and more interested in her nails then in looking around her. Bad mistake but it played right into my hands and allowed me to stalk on silent feet right up behind her pulling out my iron laced knife. Reversing it I used the iron laced handle to rap her smartly on the temple.
She dropped to the ground like a stone, the iron lacing was witch poison and delivered a much harder blow then my gesture warranted. She would have a hell of a headache and feel very sick when she woke up. I crouched behind the SUV noting that the noise the witch made dropping to the ground had alerted the blonde vampire. I kept my eyes on him as he came towards me but made sure to keep my senses open to the whereabouts of our missing prey.
I waited until he was almost right on top of me and had crouched down to feel along the downed witch's neck for a pulse, before I jumped out from behind the SUV and tackled him to the ground. We cursed and swore at each other as we wrestled on the ground as we both grappled for the upper hand.
He hissed at me his blue eyes shining silver and his fangs out as he snapped at me, his teeth making an audible click as he attempted to bite me. Technically as a vampire he was much stronger than me and if he had any telepathy could knock me out cold, he could also try and bury his fangs in me as he was trying to do or simply over power me with brute strength, but he was a clumsy fighter.
Clearly he either didn't have telepathy, was very inexperienced in a fight for I didn't feel the kind of knockout blow I know Damien can deliver. He did manage one good solid blow to my wrist and I heard a faint snick, as pain and weakness shot up my arm telling me my wrist was broken or fractured. He lunged up underneath me and I felt the scratch of his teeth along my throat.
I swore at him allowing my nails to grow to sharp, killing claws and dug them into his shoulder, gauging out deep groves in his flesh as hard as I could, ignoring the throbbing pain from my broken wrist. I felt him wince and hiss underneath my claws but he lunged at me again this time I felt the sharp piercing pain of his teeth. I screamed a lynx's infuriated cry and hurt wrist or not I grabbed the sides of his head in an iron grip and ripped his teeth out of my neck.
I felt the pain of torn flesh and the warm rush of blood as it flowed from the wounds. Through a mix of sheer anger and will I punched him in the face hard, once and then again. I hauled out my wood bladed knife and shove it into his right shoulder. I could hear the low angry growling coming out of me as it blended with his hiss of pain. I pulled the knife out and shoved it back in his chest.
"Nobody bites me." I growled at him as he went limp under me and I yanked my wooden knife out.
I got off him and crouched down, cleaning my knife off in the frost damp grass as I shifted back to lynx, my furry clothes changing with me, knowing it was the fastest way to help heal my injuries and gritted my teeth as that peculiar mix of pain and freedom rushed into me with the shift.
Once again I was a lynx and I growled to myself again, glaring at the downed vampire. I could hear and see the faint breath and knew I'd just knocked him unconscious; neither blow had been a killing blow, yet. Wood poisoning might still kill him but that wasn't my problem. My shift instantly healed the bites in my neck and my wrist, only silver created a problem and delayed healing, could kill, seriously injure or poison me.
My next problem hit me with the force and speed of a striking whirlwind; he bowled me tail over ass. I went sprawling in the damp grass with a cougar streaking after me and scrambled up with a scream to echo his. I threw myself at him screaming again and smacked at him as hard as I could, putting all my speed and strength behind it. He was a bigger animal then I was, but I was strong and seeing the red of true rage.
We sprang apart, crouching in the grass, glaring at each other as we eyed each other up, a mere metre between us, our chests heaving with effort, fury and adrenalin. He charged into me again with a scream of his own and I reared back, charging forward and up into his charge, whacking back with hard blows of my big paws. The strength, ferocity and speed of my attack forced him backwards and flipped him over showing his vulnerable belly.
He flipped back over with a cat's speedy reflexes and leapt away; I jumped at his back, claws out and swatted at him hard, forcing him away from me and drawing blood. He spun back around to face me with those same quick feline reflexes and backed away, I followed charging into him as he hit back at me as he now defended himself, landing a good blow or two and drawing blood from my face and shoulder. We separated again, growling at each other, he charged at me again forcing his way past me and the hard blows of my paws as he retreated back into the trees he'd come from heading back up the drive.
I spun around and began to give chase when I heard the loud sound of a gun going off once, then twice, from the opposite side of the front yard. The cougar dropped like a stone, much as my witch target had earlier and I spun around with a growl of irritation.
Chay was standing there smoking gun in hand, calm and unruffled, eyes cold and calculating as he eyed the downed cougar and me.
"Never mind that, you'd better follow me inside." He said in reply to my growl as he turned around and headed back towards the house, not waiting for me to follow. "The two `wolves have been taken care of."
A note of urgency ghosting his quiet, in control voice had me following him with some haste as we circled around behind the house and approached the back door. The back door was frosted glass and was standing wide open showing the way the intruders had got into the house, a converted Victorian barn.
The scents of blood, tears, pain and piss found their way into my sensitive nose along with fear, grief and ugly hatred. I shuddered under my thick fur coat not looking forward to what would face me. Sure enough I didn't like it one bit and couldn't stop the growl from escaping as I came into the open plan living room and kitchen.
Two people a white man and a Japanese woman I didn't recognise lay still and dead on the living room floor. A third, Michael was moaning quietly in pain, clearly in a bad way judging from the blood on his abdomen and left thigh. Damien was crouched over him, his cell phone to his ear as he spoke to someone on the other end, clearly ordering healers in.
I noticed his weapon was propped up against the wall nearest him, one end the sharp wooden tip bloodied, I also noticed there was a healing bruise or two on Damien's face. A fourth person, a young male half Asian fox shifter stood guard with one of Chay's pistols trained over an unconscious Cris who was confined to an arm chair.
I saw Cris had a sluggishly bleeding cut on his forehead, a swelling black eye and I saw a bleeding hole in his left shoulder. Moving up behind Damien I shifted and touched his shoulder as Chay moved to the exposed corner of the room next to the bay window, where he stood facing it, arms crossed over his chest, patient, watchful and still.
[He's not looking too good. We might not have got here in time.] Damien said to me regret and anger colouring his words as he opened his mind to me as he hung up his phone to press a wadded up towel to Michael's bleeding abdomen harder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
I sighed crouching down beside Damien and touched Michael's shoulder.
[I smell iron. Did he shoot or stab him?] I asked Damien evenly, managing with sheer will power to keep the seething rage out of my voice and expression.
[The bullets are both iron.] Damien responded back angrily.
"Hey mate, not a good night huh?" I greeted Michael with a grin.
"I've had better." He admitted with snort.
"You're hurt." Michael whispered with a wince as he nodded at my neck and face.
"It's nothing, I'll live." I whispered back realising as I reached up and touched it, there was dried blood on my neck and face. I'd forgotten it.
"I had a feeling you'd come and you did, thank you." He whispered just as softly.
"Didn't know you were Scottish though, aren't you American?" He questioned with a faint smile, his words so soft only sharp hearing would have picked it up.
I managed a smile not realising I'd reverted back to my native accent, as we heard a loud knock and a bang as the healers, two witches arrived totting black doctor's bags. They two women shooed us away from Michael's side and took over with the peculiar fussing and bossy manner of women and healers.
"What do you think we should do with him?" I asked Damien with a dark glare at the unconscious Cris.
He was a handsome guy, I could easily see him on the front cover of a glossy magazine, with his wavy dark brown hair, dark green eyes and square, chiselled face but then all Night Worlders were stunning.
"Killing him would be too nice and not a good thing for Michael. So I made a call to Lord Sebastian, he's sending down his best enforcers to bring him in to the holding facility." Damien replied quietly.
"He'll be held until such time was he sees the error of his ways." He added and we swapped sardonic, bitter smiles.
We both knew Night Worlders who were taken in and held in Daybreaker cells rarely chose to change sides and merely rotted there. It was the best alternative we had short of killing him and Damien was right, as much as killing the son of a bitch was my preferred option, we couldn't do that to Michael. The loss of a soulmate was a shock, on good days it drove you mad or you lost the will to live and on bad days you died with them.
I glanced around the room, seeing the trashed, messed up state of it and the poor, dead people on the ground. I sensed the Japanese woman was a fox shifter, like her son and the man was human. I felt troubled for the needless, useless loss of people. Judging by their positions sprawled over the floor closest to us, they'd probably opened the door to Cris and his buddies, let them in and paid for it with their lives, they'd been shot execution style to the head and chest. The half Japanese lad standing over Cris had tears streaking unashamedly down his face. He looked the same age as Michael to me and had a look about him that reminded me of a good throwing knife, delicate and finely crafted, but strong and capable of killing.
He felt my eyes on him and glanced at me, his eyes fox yellow and red rimmed from crying, but his face was still grim looking.
"What happened here?" I asked him.
He eyed me suspiciously. "Who wants to know?"
"I am Liev. I am Michael's friend." I replied simply.
His eyes glittered with anger and sorrow. "You didn't get here fast enough though, did you?"
I flushed but refused to drop my eyes. "We tried."
His eyes softened as he glanced from me over to where Michael lay hovered over by Damien and the two witches. One looked 17 and one looked to be in her mid thirties, clearly mother and daughter, judging by their dark hair and blue eyes.
"I'm Alan." He finally admitted.
"What happened?" I asked him again.
He sighed. "We'd just had dinner, Michael and I had finished the washing up and we'd sat down again for a cup of tea and a chat, trying to help Michael figure out what to do. I went for a shower and a cleanup, and then they arrived."
He swallowed glancing away from his friend and hiding his eyes, but I'd seen the worry and love in his eyes and was reminded yet again that not every soulmate story turns out to have a good ending. Some soulmate relationships are messy and fucked up, like this one clearly was, Alan clearly loved Michael and I knew Michael loved Cris, Cris clearly thought the opposite. What a miserable, vicious triangle to be in.
He must have sensed or seen my sympathy, my understanding, because he met my eyes. "We heard cars pull up and then a knock on the door. My stepfather got up to open the door and my mother followed to see who it was. Cris and his lads were there, Cris wanted to come in. Swearing he wanted only to apologise to Michael and seek amends. My parents let him in and they came in, began talking to us, then without warning hell started." He went on managing to get it all out in an even tone and in one go, but the pain and bitter anger was still in his face.
"Cris ordered the two werewolves to shoot and kill my parents, ordered them outside to guard the house and watch for any trouble and then he attacked Michael. I heard my parents screams so I came running in time to see Cris shoot him and my parents die." Alan went on in the same even, almost emotionless tone.
"Then he was barging in." Alan gestured to Damien. "They fought; Damien managed to knock him out. Ordered me to stand over him and he went to check on Michael."
"Then he came." This time he gestured at Chay. "He got a weird look on his face, I almost thought it was fury or worry or both, then he was gone and back with you."
I glanced at Chay, who hadn't moved from his solitary guard post.
"For the help you gave my friend I'll give you a warning." Alan whispered to me.
"Stay away from him." He indicted Chay with a subtle flick of his fox eyes.
"Did you know he's Demon?" Alan whispered to me.
"What makes you think that?" I asked curiously.
Demon was one of the most elusive, secretive and most notorious Night World assassins, but no one knew what he looked like or who he was.
Alan managed a faint smile. "Just my instincts and my senses, he's a gyrfalcon, I saw a gyrfalcon once, I was out for a hunt really early in the morning and saw him hanging out circling over a park, hunting."
"On my way back around the block, I ran past the same park and saw the same gyr, he'd killed a red tailed hawk." Alan continued to explain his voice sticking to its confiding whisper as he leaned closer to me.
I raised an eyebrow curious to hear the rest.
"As far as I know gyrs don't normally go out of their way to hunt and kill other birds of prey. Sure, they will attack and kill them if they're near their nests or enter their territories, but they don't just hunt them for dinner. That gyr did." Alan said fiercely.
"What makes you think that hawk didn't enter his territory?" I wanted to know.
Alan gave me cynical look giving my shoulder a friendly punch. "Come on, I wasn't born yesterday. I heard a day later that a certain shifter wanted for selling human girls to the enclave down in Wales was missing."
I grinned feeling Chay's eyes practically burning a hole in us. "That's a good story."
"It's true. I'm just giving you a friendly warning I wouldn't turn my back on him." He insisted.
"I'll keep it in mind." I promised as I moved away from Alan's side, knowing he was too close and if he kept touching me he'd get himself in trouble.
"What's happening?" I asked Damien as we watched the two witches their joined hands producing a deep green glow that was being directed on their patient. [They're doing what they can but they are worried about the iron poisoning his system. The bullet in his abdomen was lodged really deep and they've got it out but it doesn't look good.] Damien admitted grimly.
I felt my own expression turning grim despite my best efforts as I watched the witches efforts to save Michael.
Damien tapped his forehead "You need to go take a turn watching over Jason. Tien needs a break."
I nodded feeling almost relieved to have something to do, I knew waiting around here wasn't productive and there was nothing I could do for Michael. I'm not a healer and killing Cris wouldn't solve the problem, the other Night Worlder's with Cris were either dead or knocked out cold.
"Don't worry about me. You can take my SUV; Tien will come and get me. I'd also like to stay here until Lord Sebastien's team gets here and I need to call Zach to fill him in on what's been happening." Damien continued casually.
I nodded again and turned to leave feeling Chay follow me out the door. We headed back down the drive, we were silent, our eyes wary and alert, we were both hunters and it came naturally, but the quiet between us was companionable.
It wasn't until we'd both climbed into Damien's SUV and I'd started it up, I was driving, that Chay said anything.
"What did Alan say to you?" Chay asked enquiringly.
I smirked at him. "He told me you're Demon."
He glanced at me amused.
"He said I should watch out for you." I added casually managing through sheer will power to compose my expression and keep it casual.
I gave him the story Alan had just told me and couldn't keep the smirk off my face any longer. I could feel Chay's eyes on me, the heat and his amusement growing to match mine, his usual cold, arrogant mask melting as it always did when it was only the two of us.
"So are you going to watch your ass now that you know the truth I've been hiding all these months?" Chay all but purred his dark eyes gleaming with wicked heat.
"If anything it's you he should have warned away from me. It's you who has to watch your ass if I get anywhere near you." I murmured mischievously back giving him a flirty look.
"Oh but when did I ever listen to anyone? Maybe I want you to catch me." The fiery look he shot me was teasing and horny as he licked his lips.
Giving him a very similar look I raked my eyes down his body and couldn't help grinning when he shifted stretching his legs out and spreading them slightly, showing his body off to me.
I laughed caught up in a mix of playful hunger and he laughed too, a little wildly and it seemed to feed my own wild amusement so bad that I had to pull over. My eyes were full of tears and my stomach ached from the loud laughter and giggles that wouldn't stop coming out of me, or him. It might seem really cruel and insensitive, laughing when we just came from a fight to save a friend of mine and had to leave that friend in a critical condition.
But fights always leave the two us a mess of nerves, blood lust and tension. Before I had discovered my soulmate I used to have to find a fuck of go on a hunt. Only hot sex or killing something got rid of the remaining nerves, tension and battle fever that remained in my blood after a fight.
It wasn't long before I nearly choked on my laughter and my own tongue as he attacked me. As soon as his lips smashed into mine the silver cord that bound us together ripped apart and blue lightening sizzled between us. His hands were groping me so roughly I knew he was leaving bruises and scratches but I knew I was doing the same to him.
Somehow I managed despite the steering wheel to haul him out of his seat and half across my lap, thank fuck for large, roomy SUV's. My hands had already pushed the soft, white slacks down his hips so I could squeeze and grope his ass.
Almost roughly he released my mouth as he shifted off me and before I'd realised what he was about his long, clever fingers had freed my hard cock from my own black furry slacks. He leaned across me to move the car set back and down, his silky hair brushing against my cock, and shifted back, taking my cock in his mouth.
I growled as he used one hand to stroke in the opposite direction to his warm, sucking mouth and teasing tongue, tormenting me by playing with my balls with his free hand. I moved my own hands around so I could stroke his own hard cock and got a moan for my trouble as he pushed his hips forward, thrusting his cock into my fist. I used my free hand to stroke up under his shirt and stroke his abs and chest.
Both of us were too horny and fevered with the cocktail of left over emotions from fighting to last long. I moaned and knew I was going to come, I felt him register how closer I was through the soulmate haze between us. It only took one more tight pull of his mouth down my cock and a hard suck and I came. I felt the hot seed nearly explode out of me as I screamed and expected Chay to choke as he hadn't released me from his mouth when I'd come. But he didn't, he has no gag reflex, lucky me, he simply swallowed my seed hungrily and pushed his own hungry cock into my fist. This time I felt how close and excited he was through the soulmate fog.
I tightened my grip on his cock, stroking up it one more time as I pinched his nipple with the fingers of my free hand. He tensed against me, gave a hard shudder and he moaned shuddering against me as I felt his dick pulse and wet seed coated my hand. He continued shuddering as his cock released another spurt of seed and another.
He sagged against me and I pulled him up out of my lap and against me. I hugged him to me, dropping kisses up his neck and across his face, finally latching onto his mouth. I kissed him long and leisurely, taking my time to enjoy the feel and taste of him as he wrapped his arms around me, kissing me back.
I wasn't sure how long we sat there but I don't think it was too long before we came back to reality. I shifted him away from me reluctantly and he went just as reluctantly as we panted trying to catch our breath. We fixed our clothes then our mussed hair and I glanced at his passion flushed face, red swollen lips and blazing eyes as he tied his hair back with shaking hands.
"You might want to put your mask back on." I suggested with a grin.
I started the car up laughing as I watched him glance at the mirror and see his own expression. He smirked at me but fixed his expression, the ice prince returning to sit in the car with me. The other Chay that lived under the mask disappeared the ice prince never giving a hint of the guy who lived inside him. I shook my head at him and laughed heading towards Jason's house. Poor Tien was probably wondering what happened to us, but then I realised he'd probably have guessed. He was probably one of the very few that realised how volatile and sex hungry we were.
"Do you think Alan will tell his story to other people?" Chay commented to me as we pulled up a few houses up the street from Jason's.
I glanced at him. "Why do you ask?"
He shot me side long look as he opened his door and slid out, he flashed me his wicked grin over his shoulder, a rare sensual thing that never failed to harden my cock then his mask slid smoothly back on. "Can't have Night Worlder's knowing how Demon might get around."
It was 2am when I returned from babysitting Jason which consisted of hiding as a lynx in a set of huge bushes that bordered his property. Babysitting Jason consisted of me watching and guarding Jason and his house but nothing happened. The most excitment I got was the ribbing Tien had given us telling us we must have gotten lost on the way.
At least I wasn't alone though and had company through the boring hours as Chay had stayed with me, up in a tree as a falcon true but company is company.
Damien had arrived to take his turn so we could go and get some sleep. He'd given us an update that Michael was still in a serious condition and the witches hadn't been sure if they'd got all the iron poison out of him. He'd also let us know that Tien had gone home to sleep and so should we.
He'd given us a ride home and we'd gone straight to our rooms. I'd been so tired I'd stripped and fallen across my bed with a grateful sigh falling asleep straight off. I'd shifted a few times, had sex, fought other Night Worlders and healed injuries so despite the predator I was, I needed rest.
I barely stirred when I felt Chay slide into bed with me and curl up against me nuzzling his face into my neck. But I woke up an hour later from the first of the dark, uneasy dreams. Restless and unsettled I couldn't seem to relax back to sleep, I kept having awful dreams. Then the phone call from Damien had come and despite Chay's best efforts to distract me, I was still awake and uneasy. It would be a while before I slept through the night again.
Sometimes I wonder if we aren't fighting a losing battle with the quicksand that is the Night world. It just keeps sucking and sucking shit in, it never stops. Perhaps the Millenium battle would end in a fucking disater and be the end of all of us. But we had to keep fighting. To give up and quit was cowardly, the Night World simply could not win. One more win to the Night World, one more loss of a good witch to Daybreak.