Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series (22 page)

"You say that now." I smiled at him. "What
happens if you change your mind?"

"I will never change my mind. I love you
more than a man could ever love a woman and I'm not going to let
some red head demon princess get in the way of that." His face was
red and his hand was clutching mine tightly.

"If you say nothing will change. I will
believe you." I smiled at him and winced. Something made my heart
hurt.

Betrayal

By the end of our break I was able to move
about with little to no pain. The bruises had faded quickly and my
ribs had healed well. The only visible damage left was marks on my
face, especially my broken nose. Wesley never stopped blaming
himself for the incident at the club. Slowly it was distancing him
from me, he was afraid to touch me in any way.

His nightmares were still abundant. He would
still wake up screaming still not remembering what was after him.
He had not grasped what I had told him that Miranda was in his head
as well. My nightmares had increased as well constantly plagued by
the dark haired demon. The only resolve was that as soon as he
started to scream he would pull me from mine. Sometimes it was
before my soul felt violated and sometimes after. Either way he had
a way of making my nightmares seem so much less than his.

The red headed bitch hadn’t made her way
into my head since Christmas morning. I was starting to become
concerned that she was plotting something far more sinister than an
attack on my subconscious. At the same time I had a feeling she
knew what was already in my head and was leaving me to live out
that night over and over again as a reminder that Hell cannot hold
all souls that it has been given.

When we started back to school rumors had
already begun. That is one of the cons of living in a small town,
anything that happens is automatically known by everyone else.
Nobody had the balls to say anything to me to my face, but I heard
the rumors, none the less, coming from the lips of the students in
the hall.

Some of them were sympathetic to the whole
ordeal just didn’t know how to show it towards someone that scared
them. Others, on the other hand, had some horrific sympathy’s for
the demon that violated me. Those were the ones that I had to fight
not to turn into ashes on the high schools hall floor.

Wesley didn’t fare so well with the
accusations that it was a consensual meeting wound up in the
principal’s office after an altercation with another student in his
Physics class. Apparently the boy had, for the most part, called me
a whore. There was some vulgarities said that nobody wanted to
repeat. In response to the boy’s filthy words Wesley had thrown the
first punch and continued to beat the Hell out of him.

I had been called to the office to give a
statement on what had actually happened that night during break. I
suppose so that they could justify the punishment that they were
going to give Wesley.

“What did they say?” I asked as I struggled
to keep up with his long stride.

“They are just sending me home for the day
to cool off.” He grumbled at me fumbling with his keys.

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked him
my legs were burning.

“No, I need to be alone.” He snapped at
me.

I stopped walking and stared after him

Was he blaming me?

He walked away, for the most part, with just
a slap on the wrist. It was enough though for him to leave me
standing in the parking lot of the school alone as he sped
away.

****

I didn’t see Wesley that night, I stayed up
as long as I could gripping my phone tightly in my hand willing it
to ring or buzz.

Something for Pete’s sake!

I wound up falling asleep at midnight
plagued by the horrible nightmares. My mother woke me up only a few
hours later to tell me that she had spoken to his father and that
he hadn’t made it home. She tried to track him the best she could,
but she got nothing, not even the slightest glimmer on where he
could have gone. It was like there was a big black hole out there
and it was blocking her from viewing where he went.

At five am I received an odd text from a
number I did not know. The only word in the message I could make
out was “Mine” the rest was code or gibberish that I could not
break no matter if I was able to decipher languages or not.

My mother, being the woman that she is, told
me not to worry about it that it was probably just someone texting
the wrong number. I though, being an eighteen year old female,
decided that I would find out who it was and dialed the number.

The phone picked up on the second ring but
nobody spoke. Instead I heard two people in a muffled
conversation.

“Oh god what the Hell, turn that shit off.”
I recognized the male voice. It was Wesley.

“You act like you have to get up or
something. I say you blow off class and just spend the day in bed
with me.” The other voice I did not know at first until I
recognized the broken English.

“As much as I would love to, I do have to
get to school today. But I will be back tonight.” He had a
familiarity to his voice as if this was somewhere he wanted to
be.

My Wesley had been with the red headed bitch
all night. I suddenly felt my heart break, and I hung up the phone.
Anger hit me hard, and I threw my phone across the room.

How could he betray me this way? After
everything I have done for him.

I felt a prickle in my heart and I reached
up to touch my chest.

Logic is not something that I come by well.
I have always jumped to the worst conclusion. For all I knew she
was a friend that he went to for comfort.

Yeah a friend that he was sleeping with!

However, that voice, it had been ingrained
in my head. I knew her accent well both in English and German she
was Hell bent on taking him from me. Now there he was with her when
he should have been with me all along.

****

I sat in the parking lot at school long
after the first period bell rang waiting for him to show. I had the
speech all laid out in my head on what I would say. I would give
him a chance to come clean. If he didn’t I would know he was lying
because like my mother I could sense a lie a mile away. Of course I
wasn’t sure what I would do if he did come clean. Would I be able
to stay with him or was I going to have to break my own heart more
than he already had?

He never showed that day. I sat in that
damned car half of the day and he never showed! Finally I gave up
and started my car. It was too late to go in now. I was already
considered absent.

I pulled out onto the road and decided it
best to stop by his place on my way home, just to see if his car
was parked in the driveway. To my surprise there it sat. I pulled
in behind his and cut the engine. Walking around the corner of the
house I was not prepared for what I was coming face to face
with.

The two of them were standing on the back
porch their arms wrapped around each other his lips pressed to hers
as he feverishly kissed her. I stopped dead in my tracks as he
pulled away and looked at me in fear. The girl turned around and
there I was face to face with the red head bitch, for once not
surrounded by flame or smoke, or some magic protection. We were
standing there as mortal women, only difference was I was standing
there with a scowl of hate and all she did was smile this
triumphant smile.

Wesley just stood there dumbfounded staring
at the two of us. I could see his pulse throbbing through the veins
in his neck and could smell fear that was radiating off of him.

“Dawn, I presume.” She said in her stupid
broken English.

“Miranda?” I questioned gazing at him as he
shook his head yes.

This whole time I had been fighting with his
ex. I looked back at her and bowed my head towards the ground in
recognition of whom and what she was.

“Es scheint, dass Sie gewonnen haben.
Allerdings werden Sie den Krieg nicht gewinnen!” Her mouth dropped
open, and she stared at me.

The bitch had been expecting me to bow out
gracefully. One thing she would need to learn is that I never back
down from a fight.

“Does he know what you are?” She asked me
softly.

I could see flames dancing in her green
eyes. She was evil, she was twisted, and she would stop at nothing
until he was hers.

“I should be asking the same question.” I
glanced up at Wesley as he watched us, he had no clue what he was
supposed to be doing. I looked back at her and frowned. “I will
watch you burn. I am your salvation, I am your death.” I threatened
as I turned to leave.

“I do not fear you Princess.” She spit at
me.

“You should.” I smiled wickedly at her.

“What are you going to do?” She demanded her
hands on her hips.

“You have no idea what I’m capable of.” I
threatened.

Wesley just stood there doing nothing. His
hands were twisted in his pockets. His eyes were bloodshot. I
wasn’t even sure I was looking at the boy who just a few days ago
told me he would never leave me.

“You have no idea about me either.” She
narrowed her eyes. “He is mine. I was merely lending him to
you.”

“Lending my ass.” I laughed. “He loves me
and you know it.”

“Doesn’t matter. I claimed his soul for my
own. You just happened to take temporary control.” She yelled.

“Wait what?” Wesley broke in between us. He
looked at Miranda. “What are you talking about?”

“Sie ist nicht anders als mich.” She said
loudly pointing at me.

"Was redest du?" He said to her in
German.

“Sie ist wie ich begabt.” She said.

I could feel the fire tingle in my wrists
and my heart suddenly darkened. The urge to attack her was strong.
However the time was not right. I did not shed any tears as I felt
the ice melt from my body. A battle had been lost, but the war had
yet to begin.

“Dawn?” He looked at me. “Is what she says
true?”

“How the Hell do I know what gifts she has?
All she ever does is try to push me away from you in my sleep.” I
growled.

“Shit.” He said breathing heavy. His eyes
shot between us. “Dawn I think you need to go.” He said his eyes
opening wide and shooting in the direction of my car.

“Yeah I think that I should. You two looked
nice a cozy right when I came up.” I turned on my heel and I left
them behind me.

I suddenly didn’t care what happened. He had
lied to me, he had hurt me. The only reason I fell in love in the
first place was to avoid having to deal with a broken heart.
Speaking of my heart it was hurting as well. I felt like it was
split down the middle. The pain in all honesty was excruciating.
However it just made me realize that I was indeed alive.

****

“Dawn?” My mother was on me the instant I
hit the door.

I looked at her and I crumbled. The pain was
too much. I had convinced myself not to cry in the car. Walking
through the door on the other hand, all bets were off.

“He’s with her.” I breathed as the sobs
escaped.

“With who? Who’s with who?” She asked. She
hadn’t touched me yet, so I had a feeling she couldn’t read what
was in my head.

“Wesley. He’s with Miranda.” I sobbed.

Her arms were around me quickly pulling me
into her arms and rocking me back and forth on the kitchen floor.
She played with my hair and rubbed my back.

“It’s ok honey.” She soothed me.

“She told him I was like her. That I had
gifts. He told me to leave. ME! After everything that I have done
for him. Everything I gave up.” I felt the world collapsing. “He
told me that he wouldn’t leave me. That nothing would come between
us.”

“He meant it. I’m sure he still does. There
has to be more to this than what you think is going on.” My mother
said gripping onto me tighter.

“Like Hell he did. He has been seeing her
for some time. At least since I got home from the hospital.” I was
shaking and the pain.

“Why do you say that?” She asked.

“I just know Mom. I just know.” I stopped.
“Did it hurt this bad when Dad left?”

“Oh honey.” She sighed. “It was a different
pain all together.”

“Tell me.” I demanded softly as the sobs
were less and less.

“My heart felt like it was on fire but I
knew it was for the best.” She stopped rocking and looked at my
face. “I’m so sorry honey.”

“What are you sorry about?” I groaned. “It’s
not like you made him sleep with his ex.”

“The last time he was here there were
images. I didn’t think much of them.” She pushed my hair from my
eyes. “It’s nothing now. Go ahead and clean yourself up I need to
make a phone call.”

“Who is this person you keep calling?” I
asked as she helped me to my feet. I was still crying I just wasn’t
sobbing.

“An old friend honey.” Was all she said as
she touched my face and kissed my forehead. “I love you
darling.”

“I love you to Mom.” I said sniffing.

****

I had been home for a few hours when Wesley
came walking into my room with his hands in his pockets. His brown
hair was tasseled, his shirt was wrinkled, and his jeans had tears
in the knees that weren’t there when I left him this afternoon.

I looked up and glared at him. Wanting with
all my soul to set him on fire. I had to control the urge before it
took me over. He refused to make eye contact with me instead he
just kept looking from wall to wall avoiding the anger in my
eyes.

“Why are you here?” I seethed. My voice was
bitter.

“I figured you needed to hear what happened
from me before you jumped to conclusions.” He said softly finally
looking at me in the face he had been crying. I could tell by the
redness of his blue eyes. Those eyes once made me melt, now at this
moment I wanted to pluck them out with a spork.