She scoffed and batted his hand away, crossing her arms over her chest. "I got a more appealing offer from a junky down at the wharf earlier."
He bristled at that, anger clouding his face. "I think I will go." He glared at Teren and then Halina. "The hospitality here is not what I expected."
Teren stepped back, bringing an arm out to his side in a gesture of dismissal. "We're sorry for the rudeness, but this is our home, and we do have rules here."
The man made no move to leave, only frowned at Teren further. "You disappoint me half-breed. I was so hoping we could be friends."
Teren raised his chin, shaking his head. "I have enough friends."
Tommy's lip twitched at that, and although I couldn't see it, I thought his fangs had dropped down again. I quietly asked Ben if his car was open, desperately wanting to be behind a sheet of metal instead of standing out here in the open. Ben didn't answer me, too caught up in the showdown going on in front of his face. I jabbed him in the ribs, but he still paid me no attention, only grasped my hand like I was his lifeline.
Tommy heard me whisper to Ben and shot me a glance. I met his eye and froze. His lips curved up in a cruel smile. It made me think about how a cat about to pounce on a mouse would look, if their faces could show emotion. His eyes gleamed in the orange lights and his body sank down just a fraction of an inch. Halina and Teren looked at each other briefly while Tommy held my gaze. Not looking away from me, he told them, "Fine, I'll be on my way." He tilted his head, his mouth opening enough so that I could indeed see his fangs. "But first...maybe a snack."
That line brought Teren's attention back to him, but he was too late. That plain looking vampire was fast, faster than I'd ever seen a vamp move, and that was saying a lot. I saw nothing at first. In fact, I was only aware something had changed, because I felt it. My brain couldn't track him, and I still saw him standing by Teren. But he wasn't. Before anyone else could do anything, I was suddenly shoved against Teren's car, my bulging body trapped by one as hard and commanding as stone. By the time my brain could comprehend that he had moved, that he was pinning me to the car, my head was tilted so hard to the side, I thought it might break.
Before I could scream at that pain, a searing pain burst open on my neck. Then all I felt was pain; my entire body burned with it. My vision swam and faded, the orange glow of the parking lot warping and distorting, and I never did actually see him standing in front of me. The pain intensified to a level that made speech impossible and I'm pretty sure no sounds ever even left my body. I felt warmth being pulled from me, as fire burned through my head, neck, shoulder - everywhere. I heard muffled shouts, but they were distant, like everyone was suddenly miles away from me, or I was underwater. Then the pain started to fade and my vision dulled, started shifting to a sheet of black, like someone had turned off every light in the city and pulled a blanket over the stars.
As every muscle in my tense body started relaxing, and one long, raspy breath left my body, "seven seconds" kept replaying itself in my head. That's how long an experienced killer took to drain a person dry. It felt like the pain had lasted an eternity to me, but I wondered if really, only a few seconds had ticked by. As thoughts started getting harder to keep, harder to hold onto, my very last one was, 'I love you, Teren'.
Then I felt nothing.
Chapter 11 Life, Death, and Everything In-Between
I was dead. I was completely sure I was dead. No one survived an attack like that. No one just walked away from a hungry vampire with a point to prove unscathed, not even this, until now, pretty lucky girl. I hated that what a whacked out maniac had failed to do a few months ago, a lone CPA looking vampire had managed. I also hated that Teren would be devastated. He'd be so upset with himself, like he'd failed me again. I didn't blame him for my death though; fast as he may be, he couldn't have known what was going to happen. I hoped that his family helped him through my demise. I couldn't imagine how wrenched he was, losing me...and the children, all at once like that.
A new horror struck me at that thought. They were gone. We'd struggled so hard to conceive them in time and now they wouldn't even get the chance at life. They'd never know how much we loved them, how excited their father was to hold them. They'd never know...
As I dwelled, my thoughts turned to my family, and how much pain they were going to be in. My poor sister. I'm sure Teren would tell her the truth of what happened. I wondered if she'd have a different opinion of vampires after that. Maybe she wouldn't want to know the truth anymore. Maybe she'd ask him to wipe her mind of all of them. I hated that Teren would lose her too. He'd be so alone.
My mother would have to be told a lie; an animal attack maybe? I couldn't imagine how she'd get through burying another family member. That was just too horrid to comprehend. I thought of Tracey and Hot Ben - maybe their grief would bind them. Maybe Halina wiped him immediately after the incident, so he wouldn't have to know what really happened. I'd imagine that he'd go mental with fear, if he'd watched his biggest one happen right in front of his face. That was, if the vamp didn't get him too.
Speaking of that bastard, I hoped Halina rammed her hand straight through his chest, ripping out his heart. Drastic, I know, but we are talking about the creature that took the life of my children. No punishment could be grand enough for him. On second thought, I hope she took him to the ranch and staked him out in a field; let the sun burn away his sins.
A little surprised at my dark thoughts, I raised a heavy hand and scratched an itch on my nose. Odd. I wouldn't think a dead person would still have the occasional itch. As my heavy hand thudded down to land on a soft, springy surface, I thought that was pretty odd too. Why was my afterlife feeling like waking from delirium?
I experimentally inhaled. My lungs expanded and the scent of iodine burned my nostrils. I choked on it and coughed, and that's when the pain hit me. I forced myself to stop coughing, my eyes stinging in protest, but that was preferable to the tearing sensation that moving had seared through my neck. Why would pain follow me in death? Shouldn't I be pain free, lounging with my deceased father and grandmother on some fluffy white cloud, while a window to earth let me keep an eye on the loved ones I'd left behind?
Unless, of course, I'd somehow survived? But that just wasn't possible. I'd felt the hole ripped in my throat, I'd felt the warmth of life being stolen from me. I'd felt my body give in, succumb to death. There is just no freaking way I lived through that!
But I couldn't ignore the awful sensations running through my sore body. My head felt like it might split open. My throat was dry and aching. Even keeping my neck perfectly immobile, it still throbbed where that bastard bit me. But most of all, over all of the painful sensations I was definitely feeling, was an overriding sense that my body was foreign. Maybe that's why death had seemed a more logical conclusion; I almost didn't feel real.
My skin felt stretched tight over limbs that were suddenly too long, muscles that were too sculpted. I felt the air in the room brushing across my flesh, like someone had left a window open. It was a tad icy and a shiver went through me. My eyes felt heavy and lidded, like I couldn't possibly open them, and my mouth felt...full, like my tongue was too big and my teeth had doubled in size.
I stretched my body carefully and felt dull aches and tensions releasing. I opened my jaw and it cracked loudly in my ear. My jaw ached and I brought a hand to the joint and massaged it a little while I tried to open my eyes. Well, I guess I wasn't dead. The room was too real, nothing ethereal about it. It was dark, nighttime, but light was filtering in from under the door, highlighting it in orange. The effort was too much and I closed my eyes again. I hated being in pain and a tiny, tiny speck of me, preferred the idea of me being dead, like I'd originally thought.
Confused as to how I wasn't, I moved my hand to my neck and felt the bandage there. A thick bandage - hospital grade. I wondered vaguely if that's where I was. If Teren had scooped me up and sped me to the local ER. Now that I was sure I was alive, I wanted to see him, and make sure he was okay too. I wondered where he was. For some reason, I felt like he was close by, and I'm sure he was. I doubt he'd leave me, knowing I was hurting.
Hurting...
That thought made me immediately bring my hand to my stomach. The skin there was tight too and worried, I pressed down, first on one side then the other. I was rewarded with a light kick and a jostling bump as the twins responded to my touch. They were alive...I was alive...we were all fine. Somehow, we were all fine.
I inhaled deep again, my nose more prepared for that hospital smell, and held it in for a few seconds before letting the exhale go. Despite the pain, I felt cleaner, more alive than I'd felt in a long time, maybe ever, but still odd. My throat burned and I swallowed; it was hard to do. With my hand still protectively resting over my babies, I listened to the sounds of the room.
Everything was muffed at first, like my ears were waking from delirium too, but as I concentrated, clarity filled me. Surprisingly, I could actually hear Teren's deep voice and in answer to him, a woman's musical one. I knew the strange female's voice almost immediately, felt instantly connected with it. He was talking to Alanna. I wondered what she was doing here at the hospital and then, for some reason, I knew that all of the vampires were here. I frowned and wondered why they'd come all this way. Knowing that even I had thought I'd died, I suppose it had been pretty touch and go for awhile. Maybe they'd all come to support Teren. Maybe my mother and sister were here too, all to grieve me with my husband, if I didn't make it. I cringed at the thought and held my abdomen tighter. No longer wishing death over pain, gratitude filled me that I hadn't lost them, that my horrid vision of them never seeing their father wasn't going to come true. Tears stung my eyes as I silently thanked the fates for their safety.
Suddenly the questions were too much. I needed someone here to answer them. Maybe a someone with pain meds for the fire burning on my neck, and water, for the fire burning in my throat.
"Teren," was all I could croak out.
It was enough. I heard the door immediately swish open, felt the difference in the air current as it was swished closed. Air eddied around me and I shivered again with the ice I felt in it. The bed compressed near me and I felt Teren's presence, even if I couldn't open my eyes yet to look at him.
His cool hands brushed over my face, tucking hair behind my ears. I was sure I looked atrocious and I was equally sure Teren didn't care. I felt him lean down to kiss my forehead, his cool lips comforting on my searing skin.
"Hey, you're awake. It's been a few days. I was so worried..." His voice was strained, like he was nearly overcome with emotion. He must have really been scared for me. I could hardly imagine how awful waiting around for me to either live or die must have been. I idly wondered what he'd told the doctor.
I forced my heavy eyes open and took in his concerned pale ones, glowing faintly in the darkness of the room. His face was oddly lit in a way I couldn't understand, but I was so happy to see him, that I didn't really care. The tears in my eyes threatened to roll down my cheeks as I took in the perfect face I was so sure I'd never see again. He reached beside him to the lamp on a nightstand and flicked it on. As soft amber light filled the room, and I blinked in the harshness of it, I finally noticed that we weren't at a hospital, we were at the ranch.