Bella Notte (36 page)

“
Emma, I do
want you in my life, it's all just confusing. I think you need to run
now.” He growled at something that I couldn't see or hear as he
moved toward the center of the clearing.

I took off. This was
way too much like my dream. I was really scared. I knew if my heart
beat was still normal it would be in my throat and beating a million
beats per second by now. Instead, it kicked up to a normal rate.

The trees rushed by
me as I used my new abilities to get through the forest, without
being hurt in the dark. Then I heard Mike's cry. I stopped short of
ramming into a tree. I turned around to go back, but Dominic was
standing in front of me now.

“
Emma, what
the Hell are you doing out here with that creature?” His voice
was acid.

“
None of your
damn business! And get out of my way!” I tried to get around
him, but he could easily see my thoughts.

“
Not ruddy
likely. You can't be alone with him. It isn't safe. I told you
before, you need to forget this.” His voice was still hard.

I turned back to the
direction I was running and then ran up the tree I had almost knocked
into.

“
What are you
doing?” he demanded from below me.

I leaned the top
back as far as it could go and then I inched forward, so that the
tree would shoot back up … it worked beautifully. I soared
above Dom's shocked face and landed far enough from him that I was
safe to run back to Mike.

I ran as fast my
feet would carry me and made it back to the clearing. Mike was
sitting in the middle with his hands covering his face.

“
Mike, what's
wrong?” I asked as I stepped out into the open space.

He looked up,
shocked. “Emma, no, you have to run. She'll kill you.” He
rose, but wasn't fast enough.

She caught me off
guard. Her wolf-woman appearance was quite impressive, but a little
frightening. If you could picture the Wolfman from the movies and
then turn it female, that was her- she was a giant, upright walking,
wolf person. Her body was still female, but it was hardly familiar to
what I had seen before. I saw her eyes burning with a hate I never
thought could possibly exist.

Her claws barely
missed my shoulder as I shifted from her. My teeth were deadly long
and sharp all of a sudden. She lunged at me and I hissed at her as I
jumped, landing directly behind her.

“
What the Hell
is your problem?” I growled.

Clearly she wasn't
up for chit chat as she crouched down low to the ground. I knew she
was going to spring at me.

Screw that. I
will not play nice anymore, not even for Mike's sake!

I knew I had
fantastic new skills that were made for this.
I'd
show her
.

I curled down low to
the ground as well. A low growl emerged from her. I hissed back in
return. I suddenly had longer and sharper nails than I had before. I
clenched my hands into claws. She looked at Mike for a second, and I
did as well. He still sat on the ground and was merely staring in
shock, his mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide.

This angered me
more.
He
should be doing something to stop her. He is one of them as well.
Jerk!
It
was like he was already picking sides, and I had been pushed out with
yesterday's trash.

I wasn't sure why
this infuriated me so, but I felt suddenly fueled by that emotion. I
looked back at her just in time to see the spring from her cramped
position. I leapt as well. We met about half way in a loud crack of
bodies coming together. The sound was that of thunder cracking, only
ten times worse. I clawed her across her pretty face and she howled
in pain. I hoped it left a nasty scar.

She managed to rake
down my back as her arms clung to me and I yowled as I felt the blood
drip from my body. She tried to slam her fist into my chest- about
where my heart was. I caught hold of her fist and crushed it in my
palm. As she fought to free her hand I squeezed harder. My face felt
hardened and I knew my expression was cruel.

“
You shouldn't
have thought to fight me,” I said in a calm voice.

Those words pissed
her off. Her struggle to get her hand free became secondary to her
attempt to kill me. My arm was suddenly sliced as her nails streaked
across it. I got her across her chest with my free hand and then I
used it again to slam her away from me with all my strength.

I got low to the
ground again as I waited for her next attack. I felt my wounds
beginning to heal. The skin around the gashes was pulling tight and
it made me think of how skin looked around a scab. I was thankful
because my back had been quite painful.

She was pacing back
and forth as she growled and snarled in my direction. I thought her
snapping at me was ridiculous and I bared my teeth at her. She shook
her hand repeatedly and I hoped I had crushed every bone it.
Stupid
cow.

She ran at me once
more. I wasn't expecting her to run at me and it startled me, but not
nearly as much as the sudden flash of white that shoved me down to
the ground, but it felt like a brick house had run me over.

It caught Acacia in
mid run, causing her to dangle slightly off the ground. He held her
by the throat and a snarl that made me whimper escaped from him.
Dominic was suddenly the vampire from every horror film that I had
ever seen. He was deadly and dangerous. I suddenly wanted to be able
to be as powerful as he was right then.

She stopped fighting
against him and he put her down on the ground, but did not let go of
her throat. He looked at Mike with so much disgust that I thought he
might actually throw up.

“
This creature
belongs to you, overgrown dog! Take her before you are without your
mate,” he said to Mike as he pushed Acacia at him. “And
you, my dear Acacia, if you ever think to injure my mate, there will
be nothing left of you, or your wanted family, but a pile of rubble
and a sad story in the human papers. Do I make myself clear?”
He growled the words at her.

She nodded as she
gasped and stumbled into Mike's waiting arms. They both morphed into
true wolves and ran out into the woods in the direction of their
home.

Dominic looked at me
as though I needed to be locked up for my own good. “Now, what
were you doing out here, Emma darling?” His words weighed me
down.

“
I wanted to
see Mike. I missed him.” The words felt stupid after what had
happened.

“
In the
future, perhaps some place a little more public would be a better
choice.” He raised his brow at me.

“
In the
future? I doubt that will happen.” I frowned.

“
I really do
think that is for the best. She could have killed you, Em. I never
want to lose you. Besides, if she killed you, your family would be
forced to destroy Mike's as well as hers. It would start yet another
war for us.” His eyes seemed far away as though he could see it
all.

“
I'm sorry,”
I mumbled as I walked to him. “I didn't think anything would
happen. I wanted to talk to Mike and show him that we could still be
friends. Maybe I was wrong?”

He opened his arms,
in a welcoming manner, and held me. Then we walked very slowly back
to the house.

My wounds were
healed by the time we got there, but I didn't want to have to explain
the blood on me, so Dom climbed up the side of the house into my
bedroom window- something that was truly out of the movies- and went
inside.

When he came back
down he leapt from the window and handed me a fresh set of clothing-
it was my pajamas. I smiled and he turned around to give me a moment
of privacy.

As I pulled the
shirt off, I felt the tenderness of my wounds on my back and arm. I
gasped for breath but managed to get my stuff off and the soft satin
pjs on. We took my old clothes and set them aflame in the barbecue
pit in the backyard.

As soon as the
fabric had burned down to nothing, it was put out and we went back
toward the house. Dominic showed me how to get up to my room from
where we were. I was quite freaked out by scaling the house wall, but
he stayed next to me and helped me climb into my room.

When we got in my
room, the neon lights from my clock showed the hour to be nearly two
in the morning.
What
the heck was I thinking?
I felt like an idiot. I also felt really betrayed by Mike.
How
could he just sit there?

Dominic took my hand
and led me to my bed. I sat down but felt suddenly numb. I ran my
tongue over my teeth and felt that they had shrunk back to my normal
fangs. I also noticed that my nails were back to my chewed
nothingness.

“
Do you want
me to stay?” His voice was almost a whisper.

I didn't want to be
alone after what had happened. I was so freaked now that I was in my
room. I nodded my head.

“
Then I will.
But you need rest. It will help the injuries heal fully.” He
was so gentle with me as he helped me lean back and crawl under the
covers.

I inched over so he
could lie down as well. He lied on top of the covers and lightly
caressed my cheek as he whispered to me. “It's okay now. Just
sleep.” He began to hum a lullaby of some kind.

The melody wrapped
around me and I felt safe. I reached up and took hold of his hand and
held it as he continued to hum. Soon, my room faded away.

I was lucky that no
one mentioned anything to me about my nocturnal activities. Time
passed for me in a blur of family lessons about the new things that I
could do. Then the day before my 'coming out' party- as I liked to
call it- arrived. The house was filled with excitement. I, of course,
did not sleep on these days. Excitement had an adverse effect on my
sleeping pattern.

The air felt charged
with a certain electricity that was magical. I knew only of the plans
I had decided on, but the rest was a mystery. I was totally psyched
about it all.
I
wonder how many are coming?

I briefly remembered
my birthday- that was a lot of people. Somewhere, deep inside, I had
a feeling that this would be a million times greater.

I went downstairs in
hopes of finding something to do to keep me occupied. We had another
set of staff on and I soon realized it was the same one from before
when I saw a girl about to fall off a ladder. I nearly flew to save
her. When I caught her, she weighed nothing.

“
Hello, Mary,”
I said to the young girl in my arms.

Mary's face blushed
a fierce shade of red. “Oh, Miss Emma. I was just …
thank you.”

“
What have I
told you about the 'Miss' thing? It's Emma. And I surely wouldn't let
you fall. Do you need some help?” My voice sounded like melting
butter as I put her down, it was something I would have to adjust to.

“
No thank you,
Emma. I'm to do my own chores. But thank you very much for the
offer.” She smiled.

“
Would you at
least like me to hold the ladder for you?” I really didn't
understand why we hired help when I knew we could do it all easily.

“
No, really,
it's fine. I'll wait until one of the girls are free.” She
smiled once more, bowed slightly, and backed away.
Strange.

Emma
.
Dom's voice was a pleasant breeze in my mind.

Yes?
The word purred out even in my thoughts.

I could use some
help if you're really bored
.
It sounded slightly as though he was teasing.

Whatcha doing?
He always managed to pique my curiosity.

I'm in the
backyard overseeing your tents and entertainment setup
.
I could tell he was smiling.

I'm coming
.
I walked slowly outside to help Dominic. It was hard to move at the
speed I had once gone, but it was necessary because of all the humans
around.