The final bell rang releasing them from history class. Lee walked out of building and headed out to the parking lot. She didn’t have that many friends, so there was nothing that kept her hanging around school for long, apart from the few persistent boys and the glowering girls who only talked to her because their crushes were chasing after her, ready to make themselves available for the dates she turned down. She was a loner; she liked being that way, and of course being socially awkward did play a big part in it.
All of a sudden the offers had increased in numbers, she was under the impression the word ‘single’ was carved on her forehead and ‘desperate for an Ash substitute’ pasted on her back. George was his usual slimy unrelenting self and Josh was also playing his odds but at a more gentlemanly patient way. Lee thought of saying yes to Josh a couple of times just to irritate George but that would only open the door for a second date which she
Ash took a moment and let her feel comfortable before he ambushed her. Joe had told him Lee’s real age. He was annoyed that she lied to him but more annoyed at himself for sleeping with a girl who was practically an infant to him. But it was difficult staying mad at her when he saw her hazel eyes light up in victory because he paid no attention to Jane.They were both too young for him and he knew better than to get involved with either of them, even though the ship had already sailed with Lee. Jane was beautiful, but it was difficult not to ogle Lee. Not only because her hazel eyes reminded him of Rosa but also she had this familiar sadness that attracted him and a mysterious presence that demanded attention even when it was so clear that she didn’t want it.“So how was school today?”“It was okay. Classes dragged on…” Lee stopped and looked at him, the edge of his lips were curved up in a smile. She smiled back.
“Lee, Lee!” she turned to face Jane running down the hall toward her. She wasn’t feeling sociable today, especially to the beauty queen.“Hi, Jane.” Her cheeks were hurting from all the fake smiles she had on today.“Hi. I thought we’d have lunch together, since you can’t hide in your car today. Where is it anyway?”“My sisters are using it,” Lee answered, hiding the annoyance she was feeling. Jane always had to know every single detail. They walked into the cafeteria and lined up to get lunch. She pulled out her wallet to pay for her tray but Jane beat her to it.“I got it.” She handed the lunch lady her credit card. Lee never understood why she wasn’t at some high-class private school with all the money she flashed around.“Thanks.” Lee walked to the empty table next to some guys from their class.“Hi, Lee.” George turned around on h
Lee’s head shot forward, she hadn’t even seen him. What is Ash doing here? Did he come to scold me some more or torture me with someone I can’t have? Seeing him made her chest tighten in pain.“Who are you?” George asked rudely.“A friend,” Ash responded coldly. She followed his fixed sharp gaze. He was staring at her arm; at George’s fingers on her arm.“Hi guys, Ash.” Jane sang out Ash’s name, she appeared out of nowhere.This was turning out to be a perfect day for Lee.“Jane.” He gave her a crooked smile before he looked back at Lee.“Did Lee tell you about our double date?” She swung on her heels looking very cute in her blue short dress.“What?” His eyes were wide and dark, angrily staring into Lee’s. She cringed back. His gaze softened at her reaction. “Who’s the fourth party?” He bit out.
Ann was floating again. Forcing her to make up with Billy paid off. She was daydreaming at work, in class, everywhere they went. Lee was glad she was happy again. Having an angry Ann wasn’t beneficial to anyone, not even total strangers, especially not her sisters. “It’s a slow day girls, I don’t think you need to stay any longer.” Luke, the owner of the diner was standing at the door looking out at the empty streets. The Palm Bay beach party had made all the businesses around very slow. Everyone was there, well except the girls. They had their shift to work, which was turning out to be a half-day. “Luke, why don’t you go, we’ll lock up,” Lee offered. There was also no point in him staying. “Thanks girls.” He walked to his office, took his coat and left the back way. Maria had already started putting the sauces away. Lee cleared the tables before they put the chairs on them. Ann was at the counter talking on her phone. One guess whom she was talking to? Her phone had been glued to
Ann pointed a warning finger at her. “Don’t you dare!”“Ann, I want to be rid of him. I’m not taking any chances with him around Lee.”Lee shot a glare at Maria. She couldn’t believe she’d thought so little of her. Then again, Lee’s choice in men hadn’t been irreproachable—two out of two turned out to be major heartbreaks. But going back to Steve that would be beyond stupid of her!“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”“I didn’t mean it that way. You are vulnerable right now, and he might take advantage of that.”“She’s right. Bum, I’ll get your bag for you.” Ann walked behind him and picked up his bag. He tried to grab her hand to stop her but she ducked away. She opened the deli door and tossed it out.She turned around, a wide grin on her face. “Now that the garbage is out, how about we take out the real trash?&rdqu
Joe and Billy were on their feet. They rushed to Ash’s side. This time they were able to wrestle him to the ground. Every time Ash got out of Billy’s hold, Joe jumped on him. They were turning, rolling and jumping on each other on the ground. They moved so fast, it was like someone had pressed fast forward. Ash was like a raging bull, fixed on destroying his target.Ash managed to throw them both off him. He looked around the tables searching for Steve, his silver eyes cold and angry. He spotted Steve and rose to his feet. Steve was out cold, his body limp and bleeding.“Stop!” Lee scrambled to her feet and stood in Ash’s way. He didn’t take another step. He stood still and looked down at her. His teeth were bared and seemed sharp, his silver eyes were on her, and his breathing was heavy. His arms were wide at his sides with his curled fingers spread open.Joe and Billy rose from the ground slowly. They stood behind Ash, ready
“How are you feeling?” Maria brought Lee a cup of tea.Lee was sitting on the couch trying to watch TV but it was a waste of time. She felt sleepy but she didn’t want to go back to bed. She had been confined in it for days, and had grown tired of it.“Groggy. Thanks.” She sipped at the tea, hoping it would make her feel better.“You want something to eat?”The thought of food made her queasy. The painkillers were making her sick. Keeping food down became a task she never looked forward to.“No thanks. I think I’m going to stop taking these meds,” she said, sipping some more of her tea.“You can’t do that they are supposed to help you.”“The only thing they are doing is making me sleep through the day. The time I spend not sleeping, my head is over the toilet, and I can’t even eat without gagging. I can’t take this anymore,” Lee whined
Ash was in one of his moods. He had been like that since the diner. Lee refusing to see or talk to him made him even more miserable. He knew Lee had seen apart of him that was supposed to remain secret. But that didn’t worry him as much as the violence she had seen he was capable of.When Billy told him there was a possibility that they would see Lee that evening, he made an effort to stay sober that day. He was longing for her, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Lee had woken up a lot of emotions he thought had died with Rosa.He was in love with Lee, but he was scared of losing her too. He didn’t want to risk Baku finding out about her. He knew he was taking a risk, but staying away from her was no longer an option he was willing to stick with. The beach party was supposed to be their first official date, but Steve messed that up. He hoped Lee would forgive him. He wasn’t sure if there was a future with her, but seeing her after such a l
It was dark when Dave pulled the car into his driveway and the moon shone brighter than the streetlights. The vacation seemed so short, but he was more relaxed than he was three weeks ago. He had enjoyed the time he had spent with his family. It showed him exactly how much he loved them and wouldn’t want to be without them. The kids wanted to stay longer, but he had to get back to work. “We are home,” Dave announced to his family. Jayson jumped out of the car, Martha followed suit with Alice in her arms. Merilee had fallen asleep and didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon. “Honey, wake up we’re home,” Dave whispered as he nudged her gently to wake up, instead she lay flat on her belly in the vacant back seat. She looked so sweet and peaceful, deep in her slumber. But he knew better, Merilee was just pretending so that he could carry her in. There was no other choice but to submit to the little princess, then come back and get the bags. Before he could step out of his car, he heard
Baku threw things around. He felt caged and that made him anxious and uncontrollable. Soon he’d be taking his frustration out on his pack.“I can’t keep hiding out like a rat. We need to get rid of him now! Seth! Why is Cole taking so long! All I did was ask him to kill a family of weak humans, how hard can that be!”Seth smiled. He was unmoved by Baku’s erratic behavior. “The humans will be back from their vacation tomorrow. They will be dead by the next morning. I thought you would want to kill two birds with one stone, so I set a trap for Ash—” Before he could finish telling his master plan, Baku interrupted him with an air of arrogance and a hint of mockery in his voice.“Thinking and strategizing is my forte. Let’s face it, it’s not your strongest suit, but there is a first time for everything, continue.”Seth clenched his jaw and fisted his hands tightly. Baku ignored his frigid
Ash, Joe and Billy got out of the car and walked up the driveway of the cream-colored house with red and white roses bordering the path. Joe had tracked them here, to Dave’s house.Billy reached to ring the doorbell when Ash stopped him. “Don’t bother no one's home. They left; I hope for good.” Ash was relieved. He could now go back to hunting Baku without worrying about the humans. “Let’s go. We have a bigger fish to fry.”“Ash, could we get some pizza on the way?” Joe said sounding relaxed, “Too bad we can’t go back to that place, the sauce smelled pretty good.”Ash turned and looked at him, a perplexed look on his face. “What?”“Only Joe can think of food at the oddest of times,” Billy said flatly as he walked back to the car.“Joe, when I first met you, you were a pretty serious guy, what happened?” Ash asked Joe who was staring at him wi
Dave paused before he answered and looked around suspiciously. He panicked when he turned to see two huge, over six feet tall, guys standing between him and the door. Terror tagged at him knowing his family was on the other side of the door. He hoped they hadn’t seen them.“Take what you want from me just let me walk out of here.” He extended the hand that had the blackberry in it to Joe.“We don’t want your money,” Joe pushed Dave’s hand away.Before Dave could speak again, Joe picked him up by the collar and threw him behind the counter. He hit the floor hard on his side. Blood trickled from the cut on his head where it had met with the corner of the counter. He was dazed and confused. He stumbled a bit on his knees as his head was spinning. Before he could stand up, the door opened, and three pairs of footsteps walked in.“Hi Ash, Baku has a message for you.”“What’s that?”
“Sabrina, that’s enough.” Ashat shoved her off him. He pulled on his pants and got out of bed to get another beer.“Are you sure?” she asked, using her horny voice. She was now seated on the bed, naked. She rubbed her right foot slow and seductively over her left leg, as her fingers played with her long hair.If you are trying to seduce me, you’ll have to try harder.Her face dropped and then suddenly turned red in a rage. She growled at him and in a huff pulled the sheet to cover herself.“I may love you but that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a whore! You shouldn’t have bit me if you wanted to dispose of me once you grew tired of me!”Well, that was your profession. Biting you was a mistake, a huge one. He shrugged. I guess I was hungrier than I thought. Then the familiar pain settled over him. I only love one person, and you are no
“Guys, breakfast is ready!” Martha shouted from the bottom of the steps. Her husband, Dave, walked into the kitchen holding Alice and placed her in her chair before he took his seat at the table. “I’m going to count to three. One, two…” Dave chuckled when two doors slammed shut as Jayson and Merilee came racing down the steps. He always wondered what would come after two, but Martha always got them to do what she wanted before she reached the dreaded three. Dave looked around the table at his family and smiled. They were a close nit African family. He and Martha had gotten married young and moved to America when Dave got a job immediately after he finished varsity. They were happy and had three beautiful children to show for it. Jayson ten, Merilee five, and Alice had just turned three. They had made it a point to have their meals together. Dave worked round the clock to pay off the house loan. The extra hours and the normal workload kept him very busy and left little time to spen
The cold droplets on Lee’s face woke her up. She lifted her hands to cover her face before she opened her eyes. Ash was standing over her, his head bent down shaking his wet hair over her.“Ash what are you doing?” She turned, hiding her face in the pillow, but the water droplets were now on her neck. She couldn’t help but laugh at his silliness. “Ash, will you stop that!” The drops stopped, but she stayed as she was, just in case it was a trick.“If you don’t turn, I’ll pour a whole bucket on you.” His voice was full of laughter. She turned to look at him. He wasn’t pale anymore. His earthshaking smile dominated his face, his eyes reflected his happiness. He was shirtless and still wet, in black flannel pants.“You look better, healthier.”“You don’t look too bad yourself, especially in my shirt.” He tugged at the edge of his light blue, long-sleeved shirt. It
She felt a sharp pain in her inner lip, and then she could taste fresh blood on her tongue. Ash flicked his tongue on the spot, and then he sucked deeply. It hurt but she didn’t move neither did she stop him. He was hungry and for some insane reason she didn’t mind him feeding off her.She heard Billy and Joe hiss behind her. She opened the hand behind her back, cautioning them not to come near them. A deep angry growl rocked the room. It startled everyone, even Ash. That had to be Billy.Ash pulled away, for a moment she saw his eyes flash golden yellow and his face had desire all over it then they were back to brown and he had disgust in his face. “I’m so sorry.” He pulled at her legs, trying to unwind them around his waist but she only tightened the lock.“Stop that. I was just stuffing myself with some steak, would you like some? There is only one left.” Her lips throbbed. She passed her tongue over the long cut he h
They heard a stir, and then a grumble. They all looked toward the door, waiting. The next minute they heard a glass shatter and an enraged growl. Billy sprang out of his seat and stood in front of the door, Joe flashed beside him, blocking the girls’ way.“Where is she?” Ash gave a loud roar from the living room. It made the guys stiffen. The last time she saw them so alert was at the diner. Surely Ash wasn’t going to go on a rampage?“Ash is awake,” Maria spoke above a whisper.“Is he going to turn into a wolf again because he really sounds mad scary?” Ann looped her hand with Maria’s. She sounded scared. The girl who was hitting out on the drunk wasn’t so courageous now that the drunk was awake.There was a loud break then a crash from upstairs. “Where is she?” Ash’s temper was mounting.Lee was wrong he was already on a rampage. He was taking out his frustration on the furniture. Her sisters looked more frightened.She put her fork and knife down and reluctantly pulled away from he