Wildfire Gospel (Habitat) (37 page)

I held the sides of my face. “What look?”

“Like I just could be a monster.”

“You’re imagining it. That’s something else tugging at your insides. That’s not my look judging you.” I touched my chest. “You see fear in my eyes. Fear that I’m not the person I wanted to be. Fear for her kids and dread, just lots of dread for all the consequences that will come from this one act.”

“You said something else is tugging at my insides.” He stared down at the floor. “What?”

“You’re conscience, but what do I know? I’m right here with you. Maybe I’m just thinking of my own guilt. Maybe I’m not the right person to be listening to. I brought you here.”

He said nothing more, turned around, opened the door, and stormed back into the room. I rushed back in with him. We both got on her side. Zulu picked up the knife. “You killed Cassie.”

Nona placed her hands back on the wall and closed her eyes. More tears fell. “Me sorry.”

He raised the knife. “Me too.”

I closed my eyes and couldn’t watch no matter how much I’d tried, I just couldn’t. A slam sounded. Nona’s cries in pain rose high in the space.

“MFE and the Rebels are no longer at war. Do you understand me, Nona?” Zulu roared.

What? He’s still talking to her?

I opened my eyes. Nona’s cut off arm lay next to her feet. Her mouth remained opened as if she was afraid to speak or make another noise just in case he changed his mind and decided to kill her.

“You know why I did this?” Zulu snarled. “It’s not because I’m weak.”

Gasping, Nona shook her head in agreement.

“I did it because when you had your first son, Jody do you remember what you told me?”

She coughed into the only hand she had and wiped away her tears. “Me said that this is our future. Me give them a better life than what we had.”

“And I promised you I would look out for them.” Zulu threw the knife at her arm. “Well they can’t have the life you dreamed of with you gone. Can they?”

“No. They can’t.” She doubled over and cried.

“Remember your sons the next time you come after me or mine. You don’t fix the arm. You don’t have a Witch attach it back with a spell. It stays off as a constant reminder of how you took Cassie from me.”

“Okay.” The word was a hoarse whisper.

Zulu walked off, without looking at me. I trailed behind.

“Lanore,” she whispered again.

I paused and turned around, making sure that Zulu continued to the front door without me.

“There’s a pink box under my bed. It’s Cassie’s stuff that she had that night at his condo. Give it to Zulu for me, please.” She didn’t get up from the ground as she stared at her arm.

I kneeled, lifted up the blanket, and spotted the box immediately. Inside lay Cassie’s camera, the scrapbook dedicated to me, the new purse she said she’d bought for herself to do my interview, and a shot glass with a huge white X, that she could’ve only smuggled from club X.

Tears blurred my vision. I didn’t know if Zulu was ready to see this stuff, when I could barely hold it too long without crying. Regardless, while he was inside himself, I would get her pictures developed and do something with it for him. Something to let him know for sure I wasn’t the only person who didn’t see him as a monster.

Cassie saw you as her hero.

MeShack

The storm had settled for now, but there would be more rain to come. Wet soil encased me in warmth. I couldn’t move, yet I didn’t have the need to. I inhaled the herbal fragrance of earth all around me and relished in it. My skin buzzed with life and quivered in a tantalizing manner. I could tell something was happening with it, but I didn’t know what it was for sure. Blood rushed through my body, zipping up from my toes and soaring to my brain to only swirl around and start the whole maddening process again.

Graham told me to focus on old memories to help me naturally bring my complexion and hair texture back to me. My brain was supposed to replay my past visions and the skin would catch on and mimic it. That was his theory. It sounded like crap, but who was I to judge Graham? So far he’d been spot on about everything else.

I flipped through my brain, searching for significant events to dwell on. It was funny how so many days I’d spent doing so many insignificant things. Nameless girl after girl flashed through my head. Some of their faces blurred into shaded illusions verses being able to see what these women really looked like. They were nothing more than moans and groans, wet flesh infused around my thick length.

What am I doing? I know what I want to focus on. I should just do it.

I went to a simpler time, a memory I’d ventured to many moments when I felt stressed and sad. My old high school gym decorated in the most enchanting fairy glamour surrounded me. I stood next to La La in the doorway as we drank in our prom’s decorations. It was themed as “Magic within the Sea” and I thought they did a pretty good job of bringing the enthrallment of the ocean to our gym.

Stepping into the space was like sinking into cool water. The moist sensation formed around my tuxedo and skin. I touched myself and realized I wasn’t really wet, it was just the spells sinking into my mind, altering my view, and making me think I walked on the bottom of the ocean. The illusion of waves and sparkling water flowed all around us. Transparent schools of silver fish with emerald tails fluttered by our faces. Intricate patterns of coral outlined the dance floor. Bright pink tubular flowers surrounded ribbed patterns of gold. Fluorescent reddish blue starfish clung to orange spotted boulders that bordered many of the walls and continued high up into the ceiling. When I looked up, the view was the top surface of water reflecting back at us like we walked on the ocean floor and dry land lay up above.

The only thing the prom committee hadn’t cast throughout the gym was the smell of the ocean. The typical salty scent didn’t ride the waves, instead a sweet fragrance radiated all around us, reminding me of simmering blueberry sauce mixed with coconut water and lots of honey.

Hungry. Let’s eat.
Cheetah bounced around in my body and hadn’t stopped since I put on my tuxedo.
Food. I want food.

Later, first we have to show La La around. You know how she loves all the pretty stuff.

Cheetah whimpered.
Sex, yet? Wet sex? Warm sex?

No. Not yet. I don’t think she’ll finally do it with us, unless tonight is perfect.

“I’m so glad you made me come.” La La’s eyes brightened. Cheetah purred and quietly returned back into my core without another word. Like me, he loved making her happy.

It was her first time ever dressing up for anything. I’d stolen the gown and shoes for her so she wouldn’t have any excuses to back out. The purple gown boasted some sort of glittery fabric that formed tight around the places that mattered the most, draped loose around her legs, and did this sort of twirl movement every time she walked. Before we left the house, Graham spotted her exposed cleavage and made me promise to stay around her the entire time. During that time, he thought we were only buddies.

Vee was kind enough to do La La’s hair and makeup. Granted, Vee made me do a blood promise to play guitar for her knitting circle for a year so it wasn’t like she was a saint.

And we slept with the whole circle,
Cheetah reminded and completely pulled me out of the memory of our prom.
That was
g
ood.

That actually wasn’t a good thing.
Although that weird orgy happened many years later during a knitting circle event Vee had dedicated to her goddess Yemaya. She’d gone out for more wine and left me singing my guitar by myself with three single and older women. They’d yelled for me to take off my shirt while I played. I’d obliged. Things got more interesting after that. It hadn’t been a good idea at the time, but my dick thought it was brilliant.

Vee stopped talking to us.

That wasn’t good,
Cheetah agreed.

Stop getting me out of the memory.
I shook my head in the dirt and returned back to the prom, not desiring to reminisce on a knitting circle when my first night with La La brimmed in my head.

Hand and hand, La La and I explored the magical sea. I wore this god awful purple tuxedo that she absolutely went crazy over, but made me cringe inside every time I saw my reflection in a mirror.

We look like a color blind Oya District pimp. All I need is a furry hat and a glass cane.

Our mate loves it.
Cheetah beamed with pride.

“Mermaids!” She pointed to the far corner where transparent shimmering women with tails swam in a circle over and over, never going in any other direction, just around and around. The depictions’ bodies, hair, and scales never rested on one color. They were a rainbow of lights that flickered on and off in various shades. It was a simple spell, probably something one of the introduction to magic classes donated to the decorations committee.

“There’s a shark over there.” I showed her and laughed as she jumped to my other side. The creature reached the size of a tram and prowled through the fake sea, widening his mouth, exposing several rows of sharp teeth, and snapping at people every few seconds. Many chuckled. Others dove for the shark and screamed with glee as the shark swam right through them and continued off to another unsuspecting group.

“The football team paid for the shark spell,” I said with pride.

“Of course they did.” She smirked.

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded. I tightened my grip on her shaking hand. She’d been nervous the entire time. Although she had no reason why, I understood. She hated too much attention on her and loved to linger in the shadows. She also despised most Purebloods at our school due to them either bullying her when I wasn’t around or simply ostracizing her because of her X brand. I scanned the brands at the prom. No other Mixbreed had showed up. Rumors spread that the Mixbreeds had a house party instead. Being that my name was on the ballot for prom king, didn’t keep her calm either. Everywhere I went, people stopped to congratulate me and let me know they’d voted for my name.

I leaned down to her ear and whispered, “Stop being nervous. You’re the most beautiful woman in here.”

Tell her that her rear smells good.
Cheetah offered.

I snorted. “Cheetah thinks your butt has a pleasant smell.”

She blushed. “Tell cheetah if he keeps on saying such romantic things like that I may take this dress off, bend over, and let him …”

“What?” My length came alive and pressed against my pants.

“You’re shifting.” Her eyes widened as she ran her fingers along the spotted fur on my cheeks. “Why did you start to shift?”

I sucked the fur back into myself. “Just excited. That’s all.”

My length remained hard the rest of the night. I could get no relief.

We sampled hors d’oeuvres on a huge abandoned pirate ship in the center of the dance floor. It was huge and could fit thirty people at a time, which made the line to enter it go by quickly. Inside, gold coins floated around the dimly lit area. Lamps hung on the ship’s wooded ceiling and bathed us in blue light. Animated skeletons handed us cups of steaming punch that lathered our tongues in a sweet strawberry flavor. An octopus sat in the middle of the room dressed in tons of pearl necklaces. He held trays and trays of decadent cheeses, assorted meats, bowls of beans and rice, stewed pork Cuban style, and lots of fried plantains.

Once cheetah and La La’s stomachs were filled, we hit the dance floor. Usually, the music took control of me and I went crazy. Not that night, although La La’s dancing reminded mostly of a wounded animal desperately hoping to salvation, those chocolate breasts jiggled with her bad rhythm and pushed me on edge. By the time we started slow dancing, my erection pressed hard into her stomach. My hands encased that soft bottom and my tongue explored her mouth with an urgent hunger.

“MeShee,” she whispered, sucking on my neck and nibbling at the skin.

“I want to make love to you.” I tasted her bottom lip. “Can I? You said we could on a special night. Is it tonight?”

Her eyes flared bright orange, which told me she was more than turned on. “I don’t know. We said we would take it slow.”

“Okay.” My excitement caved in, but I didn’t reveal my disappointment on my face. If La La needed more time, then I would give it to her. Cheetah on the other hand was yapping and clawing at my ribs. He wanted to be in control of our body and believed he could get her to do as we pleased.

Calm down.

It’s our mate,
Cheetah argued.
I know what to do. Mount her.

No.

Hurry. Mount her.

We can’t. She’ll burn us. We wait.
I was no longer a little boy unable to control my beast so he was forced to stand down and sink back into my core.

La La molded that curvy body against me. There was no way she didn’t feel how excited I was. She licked her lips. “But …”

Cheetah perked up. My breath caught in my throat. “But what?”

“I really want to know how you would feel inside of me.”

I should have probably said something sweet and romantic or did the gentleman thing and guide her slowly off the dance floor while reciting poetry. I didn’t. A deep growl fled my chest. With an obnoxious howl, I lifted her up, slung her over my shoulder, and blurred us out of there. She pounded my back. “Are you crazy?”

“Yes.” I rushed us outside to the nearest tram stop, got us on an empty one, and checked the interior tram sign to make sure downtown Oya would be on the way. It was. In that moment, I realized a big fireball hovered in front of my face and placed La La down. “Sorry. I’m a little excited.”

She sucked the fireball back in. “Where are we going?”

“I have a hook up. Remember when I played at Roy’s party?”

She grimaced. “The Were-lion that is always taking his penis out and forming it into animal shapes?”

“Yes, the dick head. His dad owns Finity hotel in Oya. He told me I had a room tonight if I wanted it.” I pulled out the thin key card and showed her. “The TV is broken and bathtub keeps leaking so the room has been abandoned until this summer for repair.”

“So you were anticipating this tonight?” She leaned against the wall and placed space between us.

I didn’t like it and pulled her back. “No. I’ve had this key for two weeks. I have up until June to use it.”

She avoided my eyes. “Have you already used it?”

I snarled. “No.”

Don’t do that to our mate.
Cheetah slashed at my ribs. I gritted my teeth and took in the pain, knowing he was right.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I said.

“All these Shifter couples have been breaking up due to cheating. You all are hornier each week. Even the female Were-wolves in my class just sit there talking about blowjobs and everything else. I walked into a full bathroom stall and this redheaded Shifter was in there masturbating with this huge dildo. It’s like you all only have humping on your mind every minute of the day.”

“Not every minute.” I let my gaze travel to her breasts. “But it’s pretty damn close.”

“I’ve been making you wait all this time. Why haven’t you used the room with someone else?”

I directed my attention to her eyes. Worry swam between her eyelids. “Because I love you.”

“Maybe we can have this special night between us, but go our separate ways while you’re going through your Season. Love won’t keep you patient.”

That was what all rational mixed species couples had done. The few who dated outside of their species broke up with Shifters as soon as they entered their Season. Usually, there were no hard feelings between either party. All understood. I could’ve agreed to that with La La, made love to her and then tried to keep my distance, but I was a greedy bastard. All I could think of was the many guys I’d caught staring at her at the prom that night or any other day in school. All the guys liked her and she was oblivious to it, because I’d beaten up a few to make an example to all. “Stay the fuck away from my mate!”

I couldn’t give her space. Too much of it would give others opportunity to romance and take her heart away.

What would happen once my Season was over and she was off with another?

She would have to mourn him.
Cheetah explained.