Page 22 of Winter Unleashed
“It was nice. We talked a lot, kissed some, and made plans for tomorrow night.”
“Kissed?” She did a little shimmy as she pulled me to the fire. “How was that?”
I smiled at Isaac who lifted his beer bottle to me in greeting. “It was… amazing. No one’s ever made me feel like that.” I scrunched my face up at Isaac. “Sorry.”
He let out a little laugh. “It’s cool. Ciara makes me feel things I’ve never felt too.”
“Are you hungry?” Stella asked.
“Starved. We never got around to eating lunch,” I replied, pressing a hand to my stomach. “Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you guys here? Don’t you have mates you should be with?”
Stella handed me a plate with two burgers. “We wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I moaned when I took my first bite. They were rare and juicy, the way most shifters in human form like them. “I’m fine. Confused but fine. He told me a lot, some of it sounded crazy, but I haven’t figured out why he’d make it up. This would be a pretty elaborate practical joke. And I’d like to think my two best friends wouldn’t agree to be a part of it.”
“Twobest friends? I’m your best friend again?” Stella asked with a little bounce.
I rolled my eyes and took another bite of the burger. I chewed carefully and swallowed before smiling at her. “Yeah. As long as you’re not fucking with me again, we’re good.”
“I’m not fucking with you. This is real. We don’t understand why Celeste is doing this, but we want to help as much as we can.”
I nodded. My eyes roamed across the tree line looking for the vampires I could feel but couldn’t see. “Have they been there a while?”
“Yeah, all night,” Isaac said. “They haven’t made a move though.”
I sighed. “I assume their plan is to drive us crazy or make us complacent. Either way they figure we’ll be distracted enough for them to catch us off guard.”
Isaac grunted. “Makes sense.”
“Well, Stell, if you want to help me, you can help me pick out something to wear to dinner tomorrow night. Then I’m going to bed.”
“Yes! Let’s go check your closet. I have some things that you can borrow,” she said because she knew when it came to date night attire, my wardrobe was limited. One-night stands rarely require a lot of effort. “Oh, and I’m sleeping over. No arguments. If Celeste comes back, you should have backup.”
“Okay. No arguments,” I agreed.
Chapter Seven
Ilay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling while regretting eating a cinnamon bun after dinner. The sugar in it or its heaviness made it so I couldn’t fall asleep… unlike Stella whose soft snores floated through my room. She had insisted on sleeping with me, so she’d be close if something happened.
Everything I’d been told played on a loop in my head. Some of it made sense, but some of it was so strange, I had a hard time believing it right away.
A crash sounded from the living room. I jumped to my feet and ran out of the room with Stella on my heels. We charged down the stairs, sliding to a stop when we saw three vampires making their way into my house. The theory about vampires needing your permission to enter your home was bullshit. A lot of what we believe about the bloodsuckers was utter nonsense.
One jumped on my back before I could make it to the kitchen for a knife, and I kicked myself for not being prepared. I watched Stella dash passed me into the kitchen just as I hissed out a breath when the vamp’s teeth sunk into my neck. I yanked my arm free and grabbed onto his hair. There was no safe way for me to dislodge him without major damage to my neck, but if I didn’t get him off me, he’d drain me.
It wasn’t an easy choice: tear open my throat or let him drain me dry. Stella saved me from having to decide, and on a snarl, she stabbed the fucker in the heart, freeing me. She tossed his body aside to help me stand.
“You okay?” she asked in what I liked to think of as her vampy voice. It was breathy and huskier than her natural tone. I assumed it was all part of the vampire glamour they used to entrance you so they could drink your blood or screw you or both at the same time.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I said turning to see more vamps running through the yard. “Mind if we take this outside? I don’t want more destruction in my house.”
She smiled her creepy vamp smile and disappeared only to reappear in the backyard with a vampire in her grasp. Before I realized what was happening, Philip was there too. Then Isaac and Ciara came running into the yard. A loud thud had me spinning on my heel to the front door to see Liam standing there. His chest heaved as he strode over to me. He grabbed me by the arms to hold me still while he examined me.
“Are you okay?” His eyes focused on the bite wound.
“I am. It’s healing,” I said. It would take a little longer to heal because of the vampire venom, but I already felt my strength returning. “Let’s go help our friends.”
He passed me a knife as we ran to the back. There were so many of them and they kept coming. Isaac fought two at a time. Tiny Ciara darted from one to another, but I could see blood on her neck. Stella and Philip were doing well, but at the rate the vamps were flowing in, that wouldn’t last long.