Weeks passed with no sign of Gage. No more mystery gifts of my bed being made while I was gone. Things seemed to slow down. I did wonder what he was plotting though. Knowing him, he would always have a plan of action.
Rayce had officially moved all his belongings into my house, and he had actual stuff, unlike Gage. His clothes hung in my closet and he provided a few kitchen needs. I didn’t have a toaster oven and his fit perfectly on the counter.
We were a real couple. We shared everything, even the shower. Rayce said it saved on water. I said it was a way for him to ravage me. He didn’t mind my accusation. We shared breakfast together and shared household duties. I was still missing Tank being around but I would always remember his loyalty and floppy face.
My phone rang on my bedside table. I reached for it and looked at the screen with blurry eyes. It was Jay. I answered in a small tired voice. I wasn’t feeling too well, I felt like I was running a fever. I rubbed my hand across my forehead and it was wet with perspiration. “Hello?”
“Jessica, we need to hunt tonight. I found a nest not too far from here.”
Finally, some actual work. I stretched my body in my warm bed with my eyes closed to the light that was coming in through the blinds. I felt irritated and annoyed.
“Ok, where is it located?”
On the other end of the call, I could hear papers rustling. He was taking his sweet time. I was feeling sick and I didn’t want to be on the phone any longer than I had to.
“The Scott Property in Kildeer.”
“A nest? On the Scott property? The little old couple?” The thought of the old couple being harmed made me sad.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll meet you at the office.”
“That sounds good, see you then,” he concluded and hung up.
I tossed it onto the night stand and rolled over to get some more sleep. I knew I didn’t have long but I wanted a few more winks. It was going to be a long night.
After constant tossing and turning, I rolled over and looked at the clock. The little red digital numbers read it was four in the afternoon. I reluctantly sat up and walked to the bathroom and started my shower. While letting the water get warm, I brushed my teeth and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked run down and tired, dark bags were starting to show under my eyes again.
After my shower, I went to the closet and found what I was going to wear. Black jeans and boots but, my black tank tops were dirty. I was forced to wear a white one. I didn’t like white because it made me stand out against the night, but I had no choice. I pulled my hair up into a half pony tail so some of my hair could move freely. My hair felt like it didn’t have body at all. It hung long and dead down my back. I closed my eyes and thought about what needed to be done. I need to be quick, smart, and most of all, I needed to be vigilant. My goal was to not get hurt in the hunt tonight or even worse, killed.
The house was quiet, almost too quiet. I made some coffee and poured myself a cup and sat at the kitchen table. I crossed my legs and looked down at my boots and smiled, the buckles made me feel like a bad ass.
Rayce walked in the back door. I smiled at him and he gave me a strange look. My smile faded and I looked down at myself to make sure everything was in its place and I wasn’t hanging out anywhere. I looked back up at him and he still had a look of disapproval on his face.
“What is it?”
He shook his head no and let out what he had been dying to say, “I don’t want you to hunt tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“Gage might be lingering around. It’s not safe.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. I didn’t want Gage getting a hundred yards from me but I have to work, Rayce. I have bills to pay,” I explained.
“I can pay them,” he said and sat down. “Don’t go tonight.”
“I have to be able to continue life as it was before all of this happened,” I stood from my seat. “This is my life and you have to let me live it. I love you for caring but I need to do this. I’m not going to let that bastard ruin my life and I’m also not going to let him make my home a prison.”
I was sure he could see how serious I was about it. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He nodded and opened his eyes to reveal their beautiful brown color. “Ok, but I’m staying with you every minute if you like it or not,” he said smiling.
I sat down on his lap and kissed him softly. I could live in his arms. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said deeply. “I’m going to change.”
Finishing my coffee, I took my cup to the sink and poured the wonderful beverage down the drain. I could hear Rayce coming up behind me so I turned. He took my breath away. I loved the way he looked in his jeans and leather jacket. His reddish hair was gelled and spiked in all different directions. I fought the need to mess it up. It looked too perfect. When he had his hair done and it had product in it, it looked almost black. When the light hit it right you could see the red in it. I couldn’t help but smile at how lucky I was.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
I grabbed my bag that held my extermination equipment and walked toward the door. I stopped and checked my leg for my knife. I let a sigh of relief as I found it already there and continued down the steps to the backyard. I opened my door before Rayce could but he helped me inside the tall cab. We drove to the office with the music blaring and hurting my ears but I needed the hard rock music to get me in the mood to hunt.
We pulled up in front of the office. Marie and another female hellhound were standing outside. I hopped down onto my heavy feet and walked over to my friend and the other members of the pack.
“Hey, Marie, what’s up?”
She smiled her beautiful toothy smile, “Jessica, this is Shy. She was with us when we went to the Landfill.”
I stuck out my hand for a shake and she took it in a sheepish way, “Yes. I remember you from the meeting a couple weeks ago.”
“It’s nice to officially meet you. We have never had an outsider among us before.”
My brow furrowed at her excluding words. “Jessica is no outsider. She is one of us,” Marie said curtly.
“I didn’t mean to offend,” Shy said apologetically.
“I’m sure,” I snapped and walked away. I wanted to knock her on her ass for making me feel singled out. I may be human but I had every right to be there. I had been a hunter for more than three years. I deserved to be recognized.
Rayce opened the locked door to the gym and we walked in together. Jay was inside with the few members we had left after Gage had gotten the others hooked on the hunt. The numbers were small but I knew if we worked together, we could save what was left. Everything could end tonight and that had my body on edge.
Rayce walked up to his cousin, “Time to go. The sun will be down before we get there.”
“Right,” Jay said.
“Is everyone going tonight?”
“No. Only us three, Marie, and Shy,” Jay explained.
“Why not take everyone and make me feel even more excluded,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Who made you feel excluded?” Jay asked angrily.
“Forget it,” I said. “We should get going before the vampires head out for blood.”
“Alright,” Jay said with a furrowed brow as he examined me. Shy had hurt my feelings but I didn’t want to tell him about that. I’m sure Marie would do that for me, eventually.
Shy’s words did hurt me and brought up feelings I had been fighting with for weeks now. Rayce and I had talked about him turning me but he didn’t want me to have to live a life like this. What was the difference, I was already living it, right?
He wouldn’t listen to me. I wanted to be a part of his family and I was willing to drink the blood to stay with him forever. Drinking the blood would keep me from aging. If I could talk him into drinking with me we could stay together. He wouldn’t have any part in it. He wouldn’t even take the chance on biting me during passionate times, but I knew if I were bitten by Gage one more time then Rayce couldn’t do anything about it.
That was exactly what my plan was, I had to find Gage. I planned on finding him and then somehow having him bite me and then kill him once the deed was done. I had it all planned in my mind.
I chose to ride with Marie. Rayce didn’t like the fact of being away from me, but I needed to talk to Marie.
“How long did it take for you to change after being bitten the third time?”
She looked at me as if I had bugs crawling out of my ears and then smiled, “It was almost instantaneous. Didn’t take long at all. Why do you ask?” I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the water bottle I held in my lap. She gasped, “Is Rayce going to change you? Oh, Jessica, that would be awesome. You could be like the rest of us. Well, some of us anyway. Not that you aren’t already. This is so great,” she said excitedly.
“What do you mean?”
“Hellhounds, like Shy and me, are only half breeds. Jay and Rayce, they are full blood, meaning they were born being what we are,” Marie explained. She was nearly jumping out of her seat with excitement.
“Marie, don’t get too excited. He won’t do it,” I said disappointedly.
“Do you want me to do it? I mean, it would be a little weird because I’m female but I will do it for you if you want,” she said excitedly.
I shook my head no and looked at my friend with a smile on my face. I couldn’t let her do that. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure if I would belong to her. Then I wondered if that rule would still apply if she were female. All of these thoughts rolled around in my head. I knew one thing for sure. I wanted to be part of the pack, half breed or not.
“If you did that, she would belong to you,” Shy said from the back seat. I had forgotten she was even there. “It doesn’t matter if its male or female.” It was stupid for me to be acting like this. I had to let her words go. I know she didn’t mean it in a bad way, just an obvious way.
“Ok, that would be a little weird,” Marie stated.
“Agreed,” I giggled.
I knew Rayce didn’t want this life for me but I wanted it. If I had to let Gage touch me to get it, then in my eyes, it was worth it to get what I wanted. As long as I could kill him after. My life would change. I would be able to be with Rayce on an entirely different level.
I tried to clear my mind and focus on the vampire hunt. I put my earbuds in and listened to music until I felt the truck slow. I looked out the window and we were there. The Scott Property. The little house was dark. I reluctantly opened my door with my gun in my hand. It didn’t feel right outside the small farm house.
Rayce was standing next to my boss’s truck with a cigarette in his hand. He looked so calm and collected, not a care in the world. He did have an alert vibe about him as if nothing could surprise him. I watched him and Jay talking and I was startled by a member of the pack coming around the truck. I had never seen this animal before. This majestic creature was gray. Its body looked as if it was shaped out of clay. The edges of its body were sharp and defined.
Marie came over to stand next to me and smiled her usual smile. She bobbed her head toward the animal. Then I realized that it had to be her friend Shy. I watched her and the way her body moved, she was low to the ground and smelling everything. I admired her movements and her sleek look.
Shy stopped, looked up at the house, her mouth was open showing all her teeth. She had her head up in the air as if she tasted the scent she had found. Her body was tense and I could hear a small deep growl coming from her chest that made the tiny hairs stand up on my arms.
I looked in the direction of Rayce but he wasn’t standing next to the truck anymore. He was walking toward the old house with a gun in his hand. He bobbed his head to Jay. He was directing him around the house to cover the back and the windows.
“Marie,” he hissed.
“Shit,” she said and pulled her gun, ready to shoot as she walked around the other side of the house. I readied my own gun and took a step toward the house. I don’t know how it happened but I was the first at the door of the old house. I remembered the layout of the place, so I knew where I was going. I took one hand off my weapon and turned the door knob. I slowly pushed the door open and it made a creaky sound which made the house all the creepier.
I took a step inside. Rayce was right behind me. I turned and I could see that Shy was right behind him, bearing her teeth.
“The kitchen is that way,” I whispered and Shy moved forward. I was still burning with fever and the house had a thick scent of cinnamon and butterscotch. It was too sweet but it wasn’t unbearable. Rayce put his hand on my shoulder and I looked back at him. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, “They are close, be careful.”
The sound of his voice and his breath on my ear gave me a shiver of fear and pleasure. I wiped the sweat from my forehead. The fever was burning and I wanted to barf. I tried to clear my head. Fear crawled up my spine. I have always been afraid, but nothing like I was now. Something awful was going to happen.
“I have to get out of here,” I expressed to Rayce.
“Are you alright?”
“I don’t feel well,” I said and wiped my forehead again.
“Go outside and get some air,” he said.
I took a few steps back and kept going. My feet made their way onto the porch. The cool night air chilled the sweat on my forehead. Before I knew what happened, Mrs. Scott jumped out at me and was coming for my throat. I didn’t see where she came from but she was on me.
I fell to the ground and we rolled. She was snapping at my face with her fangs extended. She didn’t have any teeth, two fangs and gums. She wasn’t as strong as a younger vampire. Her frail arms tried to hold me but they couldn’t. I still had my gun in my hand. I aimed it right at her temple and fired. Her blood splattered on my face and I could taste it in my mouth.
Surprisingly, I didn’t gag. It didn’t taste like normal blood. Normal blood tastes salty and hot with a metallic lingering scent. This blood tasted good. It was sweet and delicious and in a disgusting way, I wanted more of it. It was like melted butterscotch, it was wonderful.
I pushed her off me and I got up on my knees. I looked down at her and I could see where the blood had come from. The bullet I had fired into her head had exited her neck and the blood was flowing out of her, hitting the dirty ground. It seemed so wasteful.
Something happened to me at that moment and I couldn’t control it. I bent down to her still moving body and wrapped my lips around the seeping hole and started to drink from her. I couldn’t stop. I could feel a heat building inside my body. It wasn’t the heat from the fever. It was a pleasurable heat.
She tried to move away from me, so I pinned her body down with my hands. I also let my sharp teeth sink into her flesh and kept drinking the sweet nectar.
Hands grabbed my arms and they were pulling me, but I fought hard against them. I didn’t want to stop. Then I heard Rayce’s voice in the back of my mind. “Babe, what are you doing? Stop now,” he demanded.
His voice sounded distant like he was calling me from a long dark tunnel. His arms wrapped around me. He was pulling me away from the dying vampire that lie in front of me.
I knew what I was doing but I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to stop but then again, I didn’t. Rayce used all his strength and pulled his hardest, jerking me away from my kill. It was my kill and I wasn’t going to give it up easily. I turned to him, pushed him hard in the chest and showed him my teeth. I could feel the rage on my face but I couldn’t control it. He stood in front of me with his hands up in front of him. My head cleared when I realized what I was doing and what had happened, I covered my mouth in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It will be okay, babe. No harm done but, I think we should leave,” he said. I shook my head no and turned toward the house with my gun ready in my hand. I knew I was on a mission to find myself another vampire to drain. I wanted to stop but my instincts took over and I found my feet moving. Rayce grabbed me again, I turned to him. “Babe, we took care of them all while you were…feeding.”
I was shocked and looked down at Mrs. Scott and her lifeless vampire body lying on the dirt ground. It couldn’t have possibly taken that long for me to drink her. I was disgusted in myself and what I had done. I turned for the work truck I had arrived in, climbed in and closed the door behind me. I closed my eyes in the quiet cab and took a deep breath. I could still smell the sweet blood. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. I was covered in dark red. The knees of my jeans were filthy from the blood-soaked dirt I was kneeling down in.
I felt awful for what I had done but I also felt wonderful, my body felt strong. I rubbed my hand down my arm and my skin felt as soft as silk and warm.
There was a knock on the driver side window. It was Marie. I unlocked the door for her and she climbed in. I hated the feeling of her eyes on me but I knew she was as shocked as I was. I could hear her breathing and I could also feel the heat coming off her body.
“Jessica, what happened?”
I licked the remaining blood from my lips, “I’m not too sure what happened. Something inside me took over. I couldn’t control it.”
She looked at me with her mouth hanging open. I felt ashamed for what I had done and the way my friend was looking at me. I wished I could understand what had happened and why it happened to me. All I knew was that I wanted more and I didn’t have to stop. I looked up and out of the windshield and I could see the fire was already started in the home. Jay took the body of Mrs. Scott, aka my vampire snack, and he was carrying her to the already burning farm house.
“Marie, please take me home?”
She started the truck and turned us around and headed toward Devils Bend. I didn’t care about anyone else. I wanted to find out why this had happened to me. My mind was buzzing with questions that didn’t have any answers. Bless her, Marie didn’t say a word as she drove me home.
My house was dark, but I could see everything, like a cat in the night. I felt no need to switch on the light. My friend didn’t follow me in and that was a good thing. I needed to be alone so I could think. I heard her start the truck and back away.
I walked up the stairs and entered my bathroom. I turned on the light and my reflection in my bathroom mirror showed a woman whose throat had been slashed. At least, that’s how I looked. I was covered in vampire blood. It was starting to dry and crust to my skin. I opened my mouth and my teeth had blood in between them. I had dried blood on my chin and some on my cheeks. I turned on the water to the shower and jumped in before it was warm enough for my liking. I had to get the blood off my body. A lot of thoughts raced through my head while I washed myself.
When I looked at my reflection again, I was shocked at the goddess staring back at me. Her hair was thick and her lashes were curled up in a perfect way. Her buttermilk skin seemed to glow, her lips plump and red, and her teeth were whiter than ever.
I didn’t recognize myself. I wasn’t the same person I was before. I was a goddess. I finally saw myself as beautiful when before, I was ordinary. The blood I had consumed made me beautiful. It made me more.
I was sitting in the middle of my bed in only my panties in the dark. I heard Rayce enter the house. I was waiting for him. Every step he took was audible to my ears. He walked in the room with caution. When he turned the light on, my eyes adjusted to it, it felt so weird. I could see clearly in either setting. It was a little scary being high on vampire blood.
“Jessica, are you okay?” he asked. His voice pulled me out of my funk and I focused on him. His body looked delicious.
“I would be better with your cock inside me,” I purred as I stroked my thigh. My body was on edge, waiting for him. I watched as his cock grew beneath his jeans. “Get over here.”
He literally strolled over to me and looked hot as hell doing it. His jeans were fighting against the tight fit. I licked my lips and grabbed him quickly. He fell down to the bed. I straddled him and kissed his delicious mouth. He tried to take over but I wouldn’t allow it. I pinned him down and ravaged his mouth and thrust my pussy against the bulge in his jeans. A low rumble sounded deep in his chest.
I kissed and licked my way down to his neck and grazed my teeth against his skin. He hissed in pleasure when I did this and grabbed me by my ass to flip me over. I was quickly on my back and while he kissed me, he thrust hard against my middle.
He moved down with his whip of a tongue, pushed my breasts together and suck both of my nipples into his mouth. I gasped at the sensation. I grew even wetter. My body ached for him.
“Fuck me, Rayce,” I begged.
He sat up and ripped my soaked panties from my body. He unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants quickly. With one quick thrust, he invaded me and my body came alive all over again. Every touch, every shift, every breath was like riding a wave. My body pulsed and my mind was floating. Every hair on my body tingled as he thrust again and again.
I grabbed him and pulled him down to my mouth. I tasted him and moved back to his neck. I gripped his hair and nipped at his neck. This seemed to drive him wild as his thrusts grew even more frantic. My body was immobile as he drove me into the bed. All I could do was release pleasurable moans into the air.
“Yes!” I moaned. Don’t stop!”
He was growling deeply as his climax grew inside him. He was absolutely wild and I couldn’t get enough. He took total control over my body and had me in positions I had never even thought of.
Hours later he was pushing my hair behind my ear, looking at me in a peculiar way. I knew he wanted to ask me what had happened but he never did. I couldn’t even explain what had happened to me.
My mind was in such shambles. I couldn’t think straight. I smiled at him, turned over, and went to sleep in hopes I would be back to normal by morning.