Kayla picked up her cake and took a bite out of it as she looked out the front window again. The residents of Stone Brooke walked the sidewalks. Paper bags filled with their weekly groceries were cradled in their arms, and they seemed so oblivious to what was really going on. The little bell above the door jingled with the arrival of a new customer, and Kayla glanced over. She stared at the man who walked in, recognition sparking inside of her immediately. His gaze scanned the shop, skipping over her, but then snapping back to her.
“Nurse Reilly?”
She stood and swallowed the cake. “I thought you looked familiar. How have you been?” She racked her brain for his name, and then it finally hit her. “Emmitt Volshustiv, right?”
He took a few more steps forward and held his arms out, as if that alone showed her how well he was. He nodded in response to her question. “I’m feeling good. Phenomenal, actually, thanks to all your wonderful care.”
She actually blushed at his compliment. “You look great.”
“Thanks.” He ran a hand over his hair.
“Next.”
He held up one finger as he walked over to the counter and placed his order. Kayla looked out the window again. A moment later, he blocked her view.
“Would you like to join me?” She took her seat and gestured to the empty one. He held a small bag in one hand and a large paper coffee cup in the other.
“I would love to sit and talk, but I am running late for an appointment. It was really great to see you.” He lifted his hand in good-bye, and she did the same. He took one step and stopped before turning around. “Listen, I just want to thank you for everything you did. You’re a lifesaver, for real.”
Kayla shook her head, embarrassment slamming into her as she started to pick at her napkin. She never was good at accepting a compliment. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad everything worked out for you.”
He stared at her for a long moment, so long that she started to become a little uncomfortable.
“I’d say I’ll see you around, but I’m leaving town tonight.” He held up his coffee cup again. “Take care.”
“You, too.” As she watched him leave, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She shook off the feeling of dread, but couldn’t help the feeling of ease as soon as the door had shut behind him.
Kaleb sat in front of the blazing fire. The red, yellow, and orange flames flickered within each other as if they were in a sensual dance and battling for supremacy. A bottle of Crown Royal was clutched in his hand, and the sound of moans and skin slapping together rang through his ears.
All around him Lykens fucked, the mating season in full rage and causing everyone to act out uncontrollably. This gathering had started out as an eighteenth birthday party for the little Lyken female Joslyn Patterson. He searched the grounds for her and spotted her in a cluster of males and females her own age.
She was eighteen now but hadn’t fully gone through the change where her body would recognize the other Lyken males as possible mates. It would happen within the year, and there was something inside of him that coursed through his veins in excitement. He couldn’t explain the need he had for her. At first it had been to protect her, yet now, as he stared at the slope of her breasts under her shirt, or the way her legs seemed to go on forever, he saw her as something much more.
It wasn’t as if she had changed overnight now that she was eighteen, but the wolf in him could sense the wolf in her. Her animal was still dormant, but soon it would rear its head and seek out what it needed most—its male counterpart.
She didn’t drink alcohol like everyone else, and when he took a long pull from the glass bottle he held, he almost felt shameful for his acts. He liked to drink, maybe too much, but he wanted to look good in front of her. He didn’t want to come across as a drunk. Then again, it was either he drank to stem the thick arousal that pounded through him and keep the animal at bay, or he stayed sober and fucked the first female who passed him. For some reason, he didn’t want another female. It was as though a light switch had been turned on inside of him. True, he had fucked countless females, just last week, in fact, but the very idea of that now turned his stomach.
With the mating heat, it was almost an uncontrollable desire to be with the opposite sex in the most elemental of ways. The drinking sounded better, even if it did make him look bad in front of Joslyn.
Absentminded behavior and rash decision making were all part of the mating heat. The males were the worst, by letting their inner beasts out to find a mate and possibly produce offspring. Procreating was becoming harder within the clan because most of the males were voicing their concerns about it. They would rather fuck whomever they pleased without the repercussions of taking care of children who might result from a mating.
Of course, those raising hell about being tied down were the younger generation, and therefore more reckless in their pursuit when it came to sowing their wild oats. He took another swig of the amber-colored liquid. He kept his focus solely on Joslyn, and when her eyes met his for the second time, he felt something else stir in him. The emotions he felt were ones he had hidden long ago. They were a need to make sure she was completely and utterly taken care of. He never wanted her to know harm, although she had already experienced that just a short time ago.
His thoughts started to turn dark, and he quickly pushed them away. He did not want to start thinking about how she almost died at the hands of Bloodless.
She ducked her head, and her silky golden hair fell over her face like a curtain.
“Hey, brother.”
Kaleb stiffened. Liyam, the object of his thoughts’ brother, sat beside him. Although they were not related by blood, it was the proper greeting between Lyken males. Liyam Patterson was the older brother of Joslyn. They both shared the same golden hair and vivid green eyes, but that was where the similarities ended.
Kaleb nodded in acknowledgment and passed the half-empty bottle over. He took his attention off Joslyn and scanned the crowd of mingling bodies.
“I can’t believe it.”
Kaleb snapped his gaze toward Liyam, expecting the Lyken to have sensed what Kaleb had been thinking about only moments before. It wouldn’t have surprised him, not with a Lyken’s keen and sharp senses.
“My little sister is eighteen. Blows my mind.” Liyam took a swig of the liquor. “It seems like yesterday she was learning how to walk.” He shook his head in astonishment.
Kaleb glanced at her. It wasn’t until now that he had actually looked at her as a man does a woman. She was too young for him at only eighteen, but it was hard to control his emotions toward the one he wanted.
A throat clearing had him coming back to the present, and he turned to look at Liyam. The male watched him intently. There was almost a look of confusion of his face.
“You shouldn’t deny yourself during the season. I can smell yer arousal. Why do you no’ find a female? There are plenty to appease you, no?”
“There are, but…” He ran a hand over his jaw and glanced back at Joslyn. She was talking to a male her age, and by the way the boy looked at her, it was clear he appreciated the view. A spike of jealousy rose within him, but he quickly tamed it, not wanting anyone to sense his emotions. “I’m worn out.”
What was he supposed to say anyway? He couldn’t very well tell Liyam he wanted his sister in the worst kind of way. Kaleb needed to keep his feelings in check for the little female. He needed to keep his head straight, because he knew once she started to make the change, he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her.
Chapter 29
Kayla walked into the clearing. The wildflowers were in full bloom, and the grass was tall enough to brush against her knees. It had been a week since her erotic encounter with Adrik, and although seven days had passed, the memory was as if it had happened only yesterday.
She looked into the horizon and watched the sun sink below the mountains through a break in the trees. She planned on meeting Adrik here shortly. His message for her to “be ready” for him had caused her arousal to increase all day. It was as though an animal had been let free, both with her and with him. She shivered at the memory. Her whole body warmed at the images that flashed through her mind. She knew he would be with her at any moment, knew that he wouldn’t let her wait long.
Kayla heard the distinct sound of twigs snapping behind her. She turned around, anticipation and excitement slamming into her. The person who stepped through the break in the trees was not Adrik, though. In fact, it was someone she thought she would never see again.
“Emmitt?” She stared at him in confusion. The last time she had seen him had been at the coffee shop. “I thought you were leaving Stone Brooke?”
He took several more steps toward her, his smile broad, his teeth straight and white. His smile faltered as he took another step forward.
“I’m so glad you came, Kayla.”
“What?” She took a step back and swallowed as fear pounded through her.
This isn’t right.
Something was wrong with him. Emmitt’s expression was dark and foreboding, his demeanor foretelling of the pain he wanted to inflict upon her.
“You are going to be my ticket to finding what I seek. I would lie and say I’m sorry I have to get rid of you, but”—his smile returned, but it showed nothing but evil intent—“I’d be lying.”
She took a few more steps back and looked around frantically. Where was Adrik? Was he even coming? She feared she knew the answer to her own question.
“Listen, Emmitt, I don’t know what’s going on or what you’re even talking about, but I think I’m going to leave now.” She stepped to the side, and he followed. Every movement she made, he mimicked, until she stood still, staring into his eyes and willing herself to appear calm.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He chuckled.
“What are you even doing here? How did you know I’d be here?”
“Do you really think I don’t know what you are? What your little boyfriend is? I’ve been watching the two of you for a long time.”
“I don’t understand. You were hurt. You were my patient.” She shook her head, confusion clouding her mind.
He scowled at her. “That was an unfortunate event, I’m afraid. I had no intentions of that happening. I hadn’t expected a horde of Bloodless to ambush me. Before I was injured, I was able to rid the world of a few more demon spawn.” He smiled. “It was a sign that you were my nurse, a sign that my plans are meant to be.”
He’d been watching her all along, waiting for his chance to strike? All of this was like a nightmare, a horrific nightmare she wished she could wake up from.
“I shouldn’t be surprised, not really, but I thought your intuition might have kicked in, given the fact of what you are and all.” He shrugged again. “Not that it would have really mattered anyway. When I have my mind set on something, there isn’t anything that can stop me.”
He lifted his hands in front of him, palms up. As she had seen in movies, electricity crackled through the air. Kayla felt the hair on her arms stand on end, and she instinctively took a step back. Horror filled her as she watched in fear and shock as Emmitt’s hands became encased in blue light. Electricity bounced between his palms like living lightning jumping from one to the other.
“You see, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, a few magic spells that have helped me out in life.” He dropped one hand, and the blue light and electricity immediately jumped to the still-outstretched one. It grew so bright that she had to shield her eyes with her arm.
“What are you?” Although she whispered, she knew he had heard her.
“Human. Unlike you.” He dropped his hand, and everything became still again. “I have trained since my birth in the art of magic.” He tilted his head to the side and studied her intently. “I like you, I really do, but the thing is”—he dropped his head and shook it lightly—“you shouldn’t be alive.” He looked up again, and although his words seemed sincere, his expression was anything but. “I know all about your kind. I know all about the spawns of the devil walking this world, pretending to be human when they aren’t. You kill humans, sleep with our men and women, and produce offspring. Your kind is nothing but demons sent from hell.”
He charged after her, and the scream that fell from her lips was unstoppable. Kayla took off into the woods, running as fast as her legs would carry her and praying she made it out alive. Low-hanging branches slapped against her bare arms, but the pain wasn’t anything compared to the fear she felt.
A glance over her shoulder verified that he was right on her heels. The feeling of his hot breath nearly down the back of her neck was enough affirmation that she needed to go faster.
The meadow was about half a mile or so away from the park, and when she had been with Adrik, she had enjoyed the privacy. Now she wished it wasn’t so secluded.
A hard tug on her hair brought her to a halt, and she screamed in pain and fear. Sweat coated her skin, and the cool droplets slid between her breasts. She reached out for something to steady herself, but Emmitt had a firm grasp of her hair, and she fell backward. The air left her in a whoosh as she landed on the hard ground. She reached her hands back, trying to ease from his unrelenting grasp, but got nowhere. He started to pull her, and she screamed in pain. She could feel the dirt embedding itself under her nails as she grappled with the ground beneath her. Rocks bruised her back and thighs as she struggled to escape his hold. All she cared about was escaping with her life still intact.
She knew where he was going. He was going back to the clearing to finish what he had started. His intent could be felt in his long strides. It was clear he wanted to snuff out her life as if it were no more than a little flame on a candle.
Kayla squeezed her eyes shut to stem the tears that threatened to escape. It seemed like ages before he finally let go of her hair. The pain immediately eased, and she didn’t waste any time moving as far away from him as she could. Before she could make it one step, though, she felt him grip her shoulder. He spun her around so they faced each other. A moan fell from her lips when he tightened his hold on her shoulder with agonizing strength.