Something Wicked This Way Comes (3 page)

“Lathan.”

“What are you?” Again it took him a long time to answer, or maybe it just seemed time stood still as she waited for his rely.

“I’m an abomination, my sweet mate.”

The way he said that last part had her feeling relaxed, had her wanting to forget about her confusion on this and just let things happen. It was ludicrous, but it was the truth, and she knew having a mate had this connection, this electricity moving through them.

“What does that mean?”

He breathed out harshly before speaking. “It means my father was a vampire, kidnapped my werewolf mother, and raped her.”

The silence after he spoke stretched between them. She felt the horror in his statement.

“I am the product of that, the abomination of having a father that took from an unwilling female.”

Her heart beat wildly, because although she didn’t know this man, this otherworldly creature, she could feel his emotions, the sympathy, regret, and anger as if it were her own.

“I’m a demon amongst my kind, feared by the supernatural, and they have every right to stay away, to think of me as a creature that can cause destruction.”

She didn’t know what to say, how to respond to what he’d revealed. He reached out and she tensed, her whole body going taut. He touched her cheek, smoothed his thumb along the curve of her chin, and she leaned into his touch. She’d never felt this arousal, this warmth or comfort before. Abbi had never wanted to be close to a man like she did Lathan, and despite the complexity of all she didn’t want to fight it.

God, she was screwed up.

“I won’t take from you, Abbi,” he said softly.

She saw his fangs, saw his eyes flash from what she now understood to be his wolf. “I’m afraid of all of this.”

He smiled, but it was soft, gentle even. It was strange seeing that on his face, knowing it was for her.

“I’d never hurt you,” he said and looked down at her neck. Her mark throbbed, tingled. “I only want to make you mine, only want to make you see that we belong together, no matter what.” He lifted his gaze to her eyes again. “I can feel, sense you’re alone.”

She felt herself nod. “I am.” She had no one. Her family had consisted of jumping from one foster home to the next; never feeling like she belonged or that she was loved.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

She wanted to just accept this, to forget about everything else, about her life, all her fears and worries, and just say fuck it all. She wanted to be with this male that she knew would give her the world because they were mates. It was a once in a lifetime phenomenon, a connection with another person that forever changed lives. This man, this hybrid vampire and werewolf wasn’t like anyone or anything in this world, and that intrigued her, made her just want to submit to her feelings.

“I’ll never force anything on you,” he said again, leaned in, and she held her breath. “I won’t even force a kiss on you, even though I want it really fucking badly, Abbi.”

Her heart beat fast, pounded behind her ribs. Feeling bold, feeling strength rise in her—or maybe she was high off the fact this was her mate—Abbi leaned in the rest of the way that separated them. Their lips touched, and she felt him harden beneath her, felt his entire body stiffen as if he was now stone.

It felt like a lightning bolt went right through her body, and it happened just because of this one kiss. He swiped his tongue along her bottom lip, and as if on instinct Abbi opened for him, touched his tongue with hers. This was so unlike how she normally acted. She wasn’t bold, didn’t take risks, yet here she was, doing something that was quite possibly dangerous, but which felt so damn good.

“You have no idea the restraint I’m using to control myself with you, Abbi.”

She had an idea, because right now, the way this felt, made her want to throw her control out the damn window as well.

Lathan pulled away, cupped her face with his hands, and smoothed his fingers over her cheeks. “When you’re ready for this mating, for me, I’ll be here.” And then he opened the door and left her standing there, her body on fire with lust, and her mind whirling.

Whatever he was didn’t matter, though, because he wanted her, she wanted him, and she knew he wouldn’t stop until he had her.

It was late, the sun had already set hours before, but here was Abbi still at work, finalizing some paperwork. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, exhaustion weighing on her, and the need to get out of this sterile cubicle pulling her harder and harder as the time passed.

She finished the last of the files, packed up her stuff, and grabbed the office phone. Dialing the local taxi service, she was going to have a car pick her up and take her home since it was so late, even if she really couldn’t afford the fare and she only lived about a ten minute walk up the street. It was dark, and she was afraid because of that, and even knowing Lathan was most likely watching couldn’t remove the fear of the danger around her.

It should have, though.

“I need a cab,” she said once the person on the other end of the line picked up. She gave the address, but when she was told there was at least an hour wait she knew that what she was going to do wasn’t smart. She canceled the pickup, not wanting to wait an hour, because she could walk home well before the cab even showed up.

She grabbed her purse, checked her can of pepper spray that was inside, and grabbed it. When she had her jacket and bag, she headed out of the office.

Abbi hadn’t seen Lathan in the last few days, but she knew he was near. Abbi had been able to feel him close, her hair on her arms standing on end; she felt the need to find him, touch him, sate the heat inside her. But despite all of that she stayed away, used this time to think, to decide what she wanted to do. The truth was she wanted to see what it was like to be mated, to fully accept it. She just needed to fully accept and give herself to Lathan, and trust that being mated wasn’t the worst mistake she allowed for herself.

She headed out of the building, wrapped her jacket around her chest tighter, and looked down the street both ways. It was the middle of the week, the streets still having traffic, but not as heavy as if it were the weekend. The streetlights lined the length of the street, but even if there was ample lighting this wasn’t the best part of town. There weren’t prostitutes on the corners, or drug deals going on, but there was a high crime rate, and that alone had her always on alert.

A few couples walked on the sidewalks across the street from her, and Abbi started walking, just wanting to get home. She had an awareness that Lathan was around, and the feeling that things would be okay intensified the more she thought about it.

Breathing out slowly, she kept her head down, her hand in her purse, and her fingers wrapped around the bottle of pepper spray. She walked for less than ten minutes before her heart started racing at the sound of young men laughing, cursing, and making lewd comments.

Walking faster, she glanced up and saw three guys leaning against the side of one of the buildings. They smoked, held bottles wrapped in brown paper bags, and when they saw her they straightened, pushed away from the wall and started walking toward her.

“Hey baby,” one of them called out.

“Come over here and have some fun with us,” another said.

She was about to cross the street when one of the guys darted forward so fast it stunned her. He stepped in front of her, grinned, and that’s when she saw his fangs. God, not only were these men bad, which was plain to see in the lewd looks and disgusting comments they made, they were also of the otherworld.

“Baby, come hang out with us. We won’t bite… hard.” He reached out and grabbed her upper arm, squeezing her flesh hard.

That had the other two guys laughing like hyenas, and her fear climbing. She thought fast, grabbed the pepper spray, and pointed it at his eyes. It might not help her in the long run seeing as she was outnumbered and they were immortals, but at least she was fighting back. She sprayed him in the eyes, and he covered them with his hand, howling. At least the fucker could feel pain.

He’d let go of her arm to cover his eyes, and she ran in the other direction, but before she even moved a foot away the other two vampires were in front of her, their grins wide, their fangs long and sharp.

“This one has spunk,” one of them said.

“I bet she’ll taste real good, maybe have a bit of a kick to her as well.” The one that spoke grabbed her around the throat, and before she could try and claw his hand away, if that would have even helped, she found herself in a darkened alleyway. Her back was to the cold, hard, and unforgiving brick wall, and the stench of the nearby Dumpster slammed into her nose.

“You sure are pretty,” the one holding her throat said.

The mark on her neck tingled under his hold, and she wondered if they would have touched her had they seen the mark. He tilted her head to the side, exposing the side of her throat that was unmarked.

“Look at her jugular,” the one who held her said in a deep voice. His mouth stated, watering, saliva dripping from his fangs as if it was venom and he the snake.

“Hurry up and don’t drain her. We want a taste,” the second vampire said, and then the third walked up, his eyes red from the pepper spray, but healing right in front of her.

The one who held her neck also covered her mouth, making her unable to scream. They were so much stronger than her, keeping her immobile against the wall, having her fear rise, her fight or flight instinct rise.

And when he struck, just like that snake he resembled, that flash of pain traveled through her. She struggled as hard as she could, managed to get her hand between them, and dug her nails into his flesh. He grunted, but bit down hard, eyes widening as pain lanced through her. This wasn’t what she felt when Lathan had bit her, wasn’t the euphoria that rushed through her veins.

“I like when you put up a fight. It’ll make you that much sweeter.”

He taunted her, his elongated nails digging into the brick by her head.

She was going to die, because no matter how much she fought, struggled, and tried to get away, these were three immortals, and she was nothing but a weak human.

****

Lathan knew she was in trouble even from across the city. She’d still been at work when he’d left to feed. He’d wanted to see her without the hunger clouding his mind, urging him to take.

He moved swiftly through the night, his sense attuned to his mate, his speed a blur to humans. He was then standing in the alleyway between a closed down bakery and an adult movie store that was out of business, staring into the darkened patch of asphalt and grime. He could see as clearly as if he were in daylight—if he could stand the blistering heat of it. His mind and body took in everything: the scent of Abbi’s fear, the rangy, metallic flavor of her blood coating the air, and the stench of the vampires attacking what was his.

The vampire who held her dropped her body to the floor, and Lathan saw red, felt his anger rise, his beast emerge. His eyes flashed, and a growl left him. He scented his mate was still alive, but she was in pain.

The three motherfuckers turned and faced him, baring their teeth, but then sobered as they clearly scented what he was.

The males circled around Abbi, their focus on Lathan, their defenses up, but their fear tangible. He looked at Abbi, and saw her shirt was torn at the side, soaked in blood. His wolf emerged, the beast coming forward, melding with his vampire, so he was the strongest being he could be. His fingernails turned to claws, his fangs grew even longer, sharper. His entire body grew taller, his muscles became more pronounced, and he allowed this change to take over. He didn’t shift into a wolf, didn’t turn into an animal that ran in the woods. What he became was something far different, something more dangerous, more volatile.

“You fucked with what was mine, took from her when she wasn’t willing,” he growled out, his voice distorted.

“…The fuck,” one of the vampires said. “What in the hell are you?”

Lathan didn’t respond, just moved forward again. “What I am is that female’s mate. You touched her, drank from her, and now you’ll die because of it.”

Stepping out of the shadows, he made sure they could see exactly what they were up against.

Abbi tried to stand, but she made a gasp and held her neck with her hand. They hadn’t closed the wound, and blood trickled out from the gaping twin puncture marks. The fear and confusion poured from her.

“It’s okay, my female,” he didn’t want to make her even more afraid, but he knew that would be hard given the fact he was shifted into his hybrid self. He might still appear like a man, with slight difference, but he was far from human.

They moved away from her, their fangs protruding. His female’s blood was on two out of three of the fuckers’ faces, and that angered Lathan even more, made him hungry to hurt them. Abbi slowly moved away but didn’t get very far when one of them grabbed a chunk of her long hair and lifted her up.

“You’re going to kill us, so what’s to stop me from bringing her down right along with us?” one of the vampires asked.

Lathan bared his fangs. They didn’t know this, but he was going to make them suffer, bathe in their blood, and then revel in the fact he took their lives.

“Hurt her further, and I’ll make your deaths far more painful.”

The one who held her pressed his sharp nail against her throat. Her big eyes stared at him, pleading, but also showing strength. His vision turned to red. Lathan smiled, but it was far from humorous. He was going to kill these bastards with his bare hands. His teeth lengthened even further, and he felt his body primed for the fight.

The vampire dug his nail into her flesh and broke her skin, blood making a slow trail down her pale skin. Lathan let out a roar and charged forward, taking out one of the vampires as easily as breathing.

He sliced his claw through the vampire’s throat, warm blood spraying out of the gaping wound. A vampire might be immortal in the sense they didn’t die from age of human sickness, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t die, period. Severing the head from the necks was a sure way to kill a vampire or shifter, and he intended to do that slowly enough that they felt everything.