Alien Romance: Fall for a Cyborg (Sci-Fi Futuristic Alien Abduction Fantasy Space Warrior Romance) (Science Fiction Mystery Paranormal Urban Short Stories) (53 page)
Authors: Emma Taylor
*****
When she woke – at 5.a.m, she saw, when she checked her phone – Dorian and Tooth lay beside her: human Dorian and Tooth. They snored lightly and looked almost childlike with their hands draped over her, their chests rising and falling in satisfied slumber. Daisy tried to sleep some more, but by half past five she knew it was no use. She got dressed and just watched them sleep for a while. She was too wired to sleep for herself. She had just had sex with Wolves!
It was madness, considering that not so long ago she hadn’t even known that Wolves existed, and now she had had sex with two of them. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t all some mad dream – that she hadn’t gone completely crazy – but the telling was unnecessary. If this was a hallucination, it was so vivid, so real, that it might as well have been reality. I think, therefore I am, and all that.
Soon Tooth and Dorian were awake. They sat in silence for a time and then Tooth and Dorian got dressed. Then they all sat on the couch together, not having to speak. After a time, Dorian said: “Daisy, I have something to ask you.”
Daisy listened with as much attention as she could muster after such a night, but as he talked, she had no trouble mustering more. “Daisy,” he said. “I think you might have Wolf blood in you. That’s phrasing it wrong.” He pursed his lips. “I know you have Wolf-blood in you, or we wouldn’t have Scented you. But I think you have more Wolf-blood that we originally thought.”
“So?” Daisy said, unsure of where he was going with this.
“So,” he continued, as Tooth sat placidly by. “I think you may have enough Wolf-blood in you to be changed by the Council of the Brethren by the Old Way.”
Daisy giggled: couldn’t help but giggle. “And what’s the Old Way?”
“Wolves are made in the normal way, like we were,” Tooth said, in his slow melodic voice. “Or they have ancestors who were once Wolves, which means they can be changed by the Council in a ceremony that does not require them to be scratched or bitten or harmed in any way. Wolves of the Old Way can also change whenever they want, are faster than people, are more inhuman, I guess, than most Wolves.”
Daisy laughed uncomfortably. “Why are you telling me this?” she said. “Why would I want to be a Wolf?”
Dorian shrugged. “I just thought I’d let you know,” he said. “You should have the choice, should you not? And if you do decide you would like to become a Wolf Prime – that’s another name for Old-Way Wolves – then Tooth and I can take you to the Council.”
“What, so I can become a Wolf once a month?”
“Oh, but you’ll be so much more than that,” Tooth said. “I’m jealous. I’ll tell it true. I’m jealous. I wish I’d had Wolf-blood in me. But I hadn’t. My Maker checked.”
They parted soon after that, and Daisy gave it little thought until she was at work the next day. Become a Wolf? Ha, it was crazy! Why would she trade in her normal, plain life for the life of the Wolf? Why, indeed?
She had been feeling happy as she came into work that day, because she had seen Dorian through the window. She had been half-afraid he wouldn’t be there: that he had gotten what he wanted and would now return to wherever it was that Wolves roamed. But he was sitting there, talking on the phone. Daisy seated herself and was about to start work when she looked up at her computer screen – how had she not seen it before? – and saw that it was plastered in sticky-notes.
Childish writing was scribbled all over them, and she sat up and saw that some of the guys in the office were sniggering. They read: Lover girl; Sexy office girl gets taught a lesson; Can I have a go?; What’s so special about him?; To be fair, you have got a great rack. She cleaned the notes away calmly and put them in the bin, keeping the rage and resentment that was building behind her calm exterior locked safely away in some deep dark pit. The guys in the office looked annoyed when she didn’t react, and soon went back to work.
But all that day, Daisy was thinking on it, turning it over. This was the great Humanity then, was it? This was the men humanity had to offer? Enlarged schoolboys scrawling pathetic notes? Jealous sexless cretins with flaccid cocks and even more flaccid wit? This was what she was aligned with? If an alien race came down, she’d have to say: “Yes, we are the same species, he and I.” What sort of sick world made her share the same label as them?
And that’s when Dorian’s offer came back to her, so hard she was sure she might fall from her chair. She didn’t have to be the same species as these morons. Of course, it was a silly reason, really, to change one’s entire makeup. But why not? Why not say F-it and fly into the light of Something Else? Why not just break the whole damn parameter into so many pieces her mother’s voice would never be able to return to her?
She paced across the office to where Dorian sat. “I’ve thought it over,” she said, ignoring the eyes that surrounded her, seeming to scream at her. “I want to become a Wolf,” she went on, heart thumping. “I want to become a Wolf. I don’t want anything to do with humanity anymore. I want to distance myself. I’ve been divorced twice, my mother was—wasn’t well. These…” And she swept her hand around the office. “These are the men of my species, and you are the men of the Wolves. I would much rather have you for kin. When can we leave?”
He was looking at her with more seriousness than she’d ever seen on his face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m certain.”
He rose to his feet. “Then we can leave right now,” he said. “We’ll pick up Tooth on the way.”
*****
That night, a casual observer might have seen a woman and two men drive West out of the city, going a leisurely speed; because these people were in no rush. The observer may or not may have seen the expression of complete calm on the woman’s face. The observer may or may not have seen that the man with the tooth around his neck and the long black hair was looking longingly up at the not-quite-full moon.
And the observer could never have guessed what was in that car: that all of non-humanity was in that car. Daisy was to be a Wolf; and then what?
And then what?
she thought, as her eyes closed against the night, a wide smile ushering her to sleep.
THE END
Jeremih
“My son, we must discuss a matter.” I glanced behind me as my father’s baritone voice echoed across the marble floor of the great room. I had been looking out over the gardens as the servants readied for the party my father was throwing to welcome the delegates of nearby covens. Every three months he held meetings for the covens to discuss ways to keep the peace between all three in Rochester. Before the actual discussions and negotiations, he would host an extravagant party to welcome the coven leaders and the members of their court.
“Yes father?” I asked as I turned around to face him. Nicolai was in many ways my exact copy, apart from the years that showed in the silver of his once blond hair and the wrinkles, only heightened vision could make out, around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. That and his yellow eyes were different from my golden ones. Otherwise we had the same square jaw, intense brow, hawk like nose, and high cheekbones.
He came to a stop directly in front of me. We had the same strong build, though I was slightly taller than my father, another product of his age. “It is time you take the position as leader of this coven Jeremih. You have sat in on enough council meetings and coven delegations and I believe you may be ready.” I hid my surprise because I knew he would take it as some form of weakness. I couldn’t deny that I had been wondering when my father would recognize that it was time he step down.
“Are you certain father?” I asked him and he nodded, his brows wrinkled together as he formulated some thought.
“Yes Jeremih, you know that I am old for our kind and it is time I passed on leadership to you. You have proven yourself to be smart and observant, but I would like to test you,” he said slowly. Yet another surprise. What trial would he have me do?
“I need to know that you are cunning and capable of truly leading. You are aware of the troubles we’ve been having of late?” he asked and I nodded.
“Yes, the hunters are back and they are threatening all vampires in Rochester. What would you have me do about this?” my father tipped his head towards me and gave me an obvious look.
“What would a leader of a prominent coven of vampires do?” I glanced out at the gardens once more and saw all of the preparations taking place. A leader wouldn’t let our way of life get destroyed,
I
wouldn’t stand for it. A leader would go out and meet the problem head on to eradicate it.
“I would gather a team and hunt those who hunt us, to ensure our survival and that fear doesn’t spread throughout the race in our region,” I said resolutely, and my father nodded with the ghost of a smile touching his lips.
“You always know the right thing to say and how to say it. But I need to see action from you. You know your people and you know their strengths, gather your team and report back to me before the party tonight.” With that, my father turned on his heel and walked from the room just as silently as he came in. Our coven did have its own militia and I knew just who I needed. I turned around to open the balcony doors and quickly crossed the space to the stone railing to jump over it. I landed lightly on the ground below and ran through the gardens to the training fields. My father’s estate was large and many of the vampires in our coven frequented the grounds much like if it were a palace or town center.
I slowed my pace when I reached the stables as I heard the sounds of someone practicing their archery. The stable doors were closed. I neared them and heard the whiz and thump of an arrow hitting its target, which must have been mounted on the doors. I knocked twice and entered after the familiar voice of Alistair bid me to enter.
“Brother!” Alistair greeted me with his customary huge grin. I smiled as I walked towards him. He was dressed in riding clothes, and had a quiver of arrows on his back and his new modified bow in hand. Alistair wasn’t actually my brother, but my closest friend for a long time. He had a shock of naturally white hair that was pulled back into a bun and his handsome features were enhanced by his oddly, amethyst-colored eyes.
“Having a bit of target practice I see?” I gestured to the huge dummy hanging from the stable door, it had more holes in its silicone body than I cared to count.
“Yes, I’ve just engineered these new arrows. After release, it ejects the arrowhead which propels it even faster into the enemy’s body, where it can release any toxin I injected into the arrowhead,” Alistair explained. He was the only vampire that hadn’t completely switched to more efficient weapons.
“Bullets can do that also Alistair,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.
“Bullets are boring. I’ve modernized my bow and arrows, that’s all I need,” he said, and I chuckled.
“Which is why I am here. I need you for a special task,” I informed him, and Alistair perked up in excited curiosity.
“So get on with it, what do you need?” he was impatient, as always, to get to the point.
“I’m putting together a team to track down the hunters that have taken up residence in Rochester,” I said, and Alistair grinned eagerly.
“Oh you know I do love a bit of hunter tracking. We should make it a sport,” he said, and I laughed.
“One day perhaps. I must go and gather the rest of my team. Meet me at my father’s study in an hour and be ready for anything,” I said, and Alistair sprang into action, gathering his arrows and dismounting the dummy from the door. I left the stable through the back entrance and continued on to the training grounds.
**
Alina
“Hey Lina! Come take a look at this.” Brody called me over to the body of the fang he just killed. We were out at a local nature preserve in Rochester and the vampire had been hunting for humans. They usually stuck close to seedy areas where they could hide and hunt easily. “I shot it from that tree there. He was hiding pretty good too, but I just
knew
something was up there.” Brody boasted his kill while I walked over and watched the unnaturally long-lived body quickly decompose into dust.
“Which round did you use to kill it?” I asked, and Brody unloaded his clip to show me, while he pulled out a vial to collect some of the vampire dirt. I took out a bullet that was made from copper and loaded that with what Brody was collecting. It was strange how he had figured out the best way to kill a vampire; with their own kind’s poisonous DNA.
“See that. I told you they’d work like a charm.” I put the bullet back into the clip and handed it to Brody. “It’s pretty much renewable too, the more vamps we kill the more ammo we have to kill more with. My genius will make us the baddest hunters on the continent.” I rolled my eyes, Brody had a severe narcissistic complex, but I couldn’t deny that his discovery and innovation helped us out a lot. All we had to do was shoot one with the poisonous DNA inside the bullet and it was dead.
“You did good Brody. Now really impress me, and kill more of those fangs alright?” I patted Brody on the shoulder and he got fired up to go hunt more vampires down the trail. We had just recently found out that this park was one of their feeding grounds and my team was all over exterminating it. It was silent in the tree-shrouded preserve and I knew I wouldn’t hear any sounds other than the occasional vampire body hitting the ground. My team had specialized weapons made to be both silent and visually discreet. I was confident that my team of fifteen highly trained hunters could clean up the preserve fairly quickly so I decided to take a break.
I walked over to a tree stump and sat down so I could pull out a granola bar and some water. I was getting tired of granola bars. Our commanding officer, so to speak, was sending my team out more and more frequently now because we were getting the most kills. Rick had high expectations of us, but I felt a burnout coming soon. The guys were getting less excited to go out hunting, Brody for one was becoming more weirdly erratic and overexcited, meanwhile I was just getting sick of staring at trees and dead vampires.
After I finished my lunch, I pulled out my compact to make sure my earpiece was still well hidden behind my curly black hair. The wire I also wore underneath my parka was tucked away too. My shooter was still strapped to my arm under my sleeve so I was all set.
“Hey Lina, we have a problem by the deer path… we need five hunters over here, Brody, Kevin, and Ron are nearest to you.” Jackson’s voice sounded from my earpiece and I quickly jumped into motion. I pulled put my phone and used the tracker to get to Brody, who was closest to me, so we could meet up with Kevin and Ron then head to Jackson’s location.
Jackson and I sometimes didn’t see eye to eye and he tried to take lead from time to time. I was the first female lead in a hunting team and Jack thought I was too laid back and not really fit to lead. I proved myself often enough to keep him quiet and earn his respect, but we still had our disagreements. It was getting darker as the sun was setting and with the lack of light I grew confidence. My team worked best after dusk as I had hand picked guys that were stealthier and knew how to innately blend in with the surroundings once night fell. The vampires did have the advantage when it came to seeing in the dark, so I made sure my team had an advantage also.
I met up with Brody on the trail and then radioed Kevin and Ron to take a wide berth and meet us by the deer path. We were all dressed inconspicuously enough, but we couldn’t be too careful. I didn’t see what the ‘problem’ was that Jack needed us near the deer path for. The tracker was completely dead apart from showing all fifteen of my guys. I put my phone away while Brody and I walked silently through the preserve. All of a sudden a bullet whizzed right by my ear, and Brody and I dove for cover behind trees.
“What do you see?” Brody asked me, he was only two feet away from me behind a thick sequoia and I was crouched in a ditch in between its thick roots. I glanced around the base of the tree and saw a vampire standing out in the open with a gun visibly holstered at its hip. It was tall and characteristically pale, dressed in a black jacket, dark jeans, and black boots. It was scanning the trees for us. I slowly lifted my arm and pulled back my sleeve to reveal my shooter. The barrel rested on my knuckles, and all I had to do was pull the trigger for a clean shot.
I took the shot and the bullet flew silently through the air and hit directly in between the vampire’s eyes. Its head flew back and it hit the ground with a thud. Its body started to age and decompose, but then Brody and I heard running as two more vampires showed up to investigate. They were both armed as well.
So the vampires had finally decided to fight back. I quickly reloaded my shooter while Brody made quick work of one, but he had to step out into the open to do it. The other started to shoot at him and Brody retreated into more tree cover. I waited for the vampire to follow him back and once he was directly across from me, I shot him in the temple and he went down. Afterwards, I ran to catch up with Brody and hurry to the deer path.
When we got there, it was an all-out silent war. Both sides had weapons that barely made a sound and both sides moved with stealth. Kevin, Ron, and Jackson were taking cover while Brody and I were coming up behind the four vampires shooting at them. We made quick work of the vampires and I called a retreat order as the sound of rustling trees could be heard in the distance. There was no wind, so that meant the vampires were tree hopping to try and ambush us from above. We all sprinted from the preserve and loaded up into our trucks to rendezvous at a nearby diner. We had lost our element of surprise, we needed to start strategizing.
**
Jeremih
“The hunters withdrew from the nature preserve, though we don’t think they’ll stay away. We’ve let them know that we’re fighting back now.” Alistair waltzed into our safe house located near the nature preserve which had always been safe hunting grounds for our kind from all three covens. He was followed by half of the fifteen vampires I sent him with.
“Did you dwindle their numbers at all Alistair?” I asked and he shook his head slowly. I cursed and then stood up from behind desk I was sitting at.
“They are highly specialized, I saw one woman take
one
shot and it killed Roland instantly,” Alistair said, and I began to pace. We couldn’t lose this battle with the hunters before it even began.
“Then they must have some special agent in their bullets that can kill our kind. We shall use poison laced rounds as well then,” I said, and Alistair nodded.
“That would be wise. I think we should continue to focus our forces on the hunting grounds. This new team of hunters is surprisingly adept come nightfall,” Alistair said, and I waved away his comment dismissively.
“Of course they are, they’re hunters. They know their prey. Did you say they had a
woman
on their team?” I asked, and Alistair nodded.
“Yes, she was skilled as well. I’d say she could have been the team’s leader. She called for them all to retreat and they followed her order.” I pursed my lips. It seems the hunters had evolved over time.
“Well then we’ll just have to make sure we capture this woman eventually. No doubt she will break easier than a male hunter would and we can get the information needed to drive them out of Rochester or to eradicate them completely,” I said, and the men with Alistair all bristled with anticipation. “Do not let tonight’s loss color your outlook on this battle with the hunters. We will prevail,” I said simply, and I could see the resolve steel in the remaining vampires. I needed to send word to the rest of my team. My plan was working as expected so far. It was a good thing I sent the less skilled vampires with Alistair, yes it was a risk, but we had to know what we were up against.