Chapter Nine

           I looked at my reflection in the mirror and winced at the bruising that colored my back. I saw some angry welts running along my shoulder and glared at them. Michael really did tear a couple of good chunks out of me. I sighed and ran my fingers along the raised scars, they still hurt and in a few days, they will just be a memory. I heard Amanda crying and heard him comforting her. I rolled my eyes and looked for some clothes to wear.

            I saw the wine colored cloak on my bed; I touched the soft fabric and almost purred. It was soft and felt like a dream. I wanted something sensible and easy to run in if I needed to make a quick escape. I rummaged in my closet found a heavy black hoodie with a skull and rose print on the front of it, I found a pair of camouflage cargo pants, I decided to wear my hiking boots. I looked in the mirror and ran my hands through my hair.

            “It wouldn’t hurt to put a little makeup on and to at least smell nice for him.” I smirked at my reflection and ran into the bathroom. I put some eyeliner on and spritzed some perfume on my pulse points. I pulled my hood up and struck a pose, I started laughing because I felt like one of those self-proclaimed myspace celebrities hamming it up for the crowd in the mirror. My nail polish was peeling but so was his, overall I have to say I looked fierce. I heard Michael and Amanda chatting in the living room.

            I stood in the entryway and cleared my throat. Amanda had herself wrapped around Michael, he looked uncomfortable, and yet he was not exactly pushing her away. He tensed as he saw me looking at him and my sister. She turned red, puffy eyes towards me and they widened as she took in my appearance.

            “Where are you going Victoria?” Michael’s voice was cold; I smiled and continued to stare at him.

            “Last I checked Mikey, you and I were not an item. You are not my keeper so I do not have to tell you where I am going.” He opened his mouth to protest his anger coming off him in heated waves. I grinned even wider and nodded towards my sister who was clinging to him.

            “As for you Amanda, I listened to you once, and I am still here. You can have Michael; I have bigger prey to hunt.” I waved my fingers at them and headed towards the door, I knew either she was going to protest or he was going to have the last word. I waited with my hand on the front door.

            “I will come after you Victoria, I will find you no matter where you go and I will bring you back where it is safe.” I shrugged and started laughing, his footsteps were right behind me, I knew he was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

            “Michael, if you come after me I will kill you this time, I might be smaller than you but I will take you out this time. You made your choice go back to my sister.” I opened the door and stepped out into the blinding light. I slammed the door for good measure and put my sunglasses on. The other thing I hated about the snow was that everything was brighter during the day because the light reflected off all that white nothingness.

            “Bravo love shall we continue our conversation? Or should we have some fun?” I shivered as his voice slithered over my body. I looked towards Lynx as he leaned against the porch. I really needed to know what and who he was, the appearing and disappearing out of thin air was unnerving.

            “Stop calling me love, let’s go Jack Frost, you owe me some answers.” I took off towards the trails behind the house. I wanted to head towards the river, I could always think better with the sound of water in the background. I became immersed in my thoughts, as I trudged through the snow. The trees whispered and sighed in the bitter wind that blew, through the skeletal trees.  I heard the rush of water, bubbling in the near distance and I inhaled. I looked behind me at the swirling snow; the path was lost in the snow and fog.

            “Now where did that strange man go?” I chewed my lip and continued toward the sound of the water. I came upon the clearing and saw him leaning against a white birch tree. The black and white bark contrasting with the long black coat he wore. I felt like I was looking at a living, breathing guy straight from an anime. It was unreal, and here he was waiting for me. His pale eyes were closed and he was humming to himself. A haunting melody that tugged at my heart, it started skipping a beat with the rise and fall of the tune.

            His hair fell into a silver spill down his back as he extended his long, delicate fingers in front of him. I watched him from the shadow of the trees; he was mesmerizing, graceful, and beautiful. The snow swirled in front of him as he continued to conduct his unseen orchestra. The air began to crackle with electricity as the fine hairs on my body stood on end. He was powerful too; I crossed my arms and glowered at him. Now if I could only figure out what he was and what he wanted from me.

            Tiny figures formed in the snow as the haunting tune became louder, the whole forest seemed to hum and sing along with him. I watched as his jaw clenched and noticed the slight dark stubble that shadowed the pale cheeks. His lashes held tiny ice crystals as the air became electrified around him. My heart clenched at the sad note in the melody and I cried out. He looked startled and the magic ceased, leaving me gasping in the snow.

            “Foolish girl, did anyone tell you that spying on people is rude.” His voice was liquid and smooth as honey. It made me catch my breath and I leaned heavily against the tree. In one fluid movement, he was standing in front of me, his fingers like steel, digging into my arms. I tried crying in pain but the smoldering look in his pale eyes made me look down. The stain of a blush crept into my cheeks. His lips were close to my face and I wanted to slap him, make him go away but every fiber in my body screamed for more.

            “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it is rude to get in people’s faces?” I tried wriggling away from him and he pulled me into his chest. I felt the soft buttery texture of the leather under my cheek. My arms dangled uselessly at my sides as he rested his chin on the top of my head. So many emotions ran through me, and none of them I wanted to confront or have for this stranger.

            “You are a delectable morsel Victoria. Have you given any more thought to my proposal?” His voice was soft and husky as his lips caressed my ear. I tingled and snapped myself back to the reality at hand. He could have stabbed me in the back and I would not have known it because I was listening to my hormones dance. I pushed him away and started pacing, rubbing my hands together to keep warm.

            “I am still not sure what your proposal is all about Lynx. You have yet to tell me what exactly you are.” He shrugged and leaned against the tree. I felt as if he were undressing me with those cool pale green eyes. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

            “Why I thought you would have figured that out Victoria.” He lowered his eyes and they raked along my body sending tendrils of fire through me. His dark lashes touching his cheeks as he seductively licked his lips and stared at me. His eyes were even more astounding when they stared at me through those hooded thick lashes. His arrogance was beginning to get on my nerves I muttered and stared at him.

            “That is becoming quite annoying, just answer my question Lynx.”  He was a flash of silver and black as I felt his cool slender fingers on my face. I yanked away and he pulled me closer to him examining me with those silvery pale eyes. My heart fluttered and thudded in my chest, my mouth grew dry as I continued to stare at him.

            “You have so much potential, it would be a pity for you to waste it. You want to know what I am; I do not think you could fully comprehend what I am.” My eyes went wide as his turned white and the air grew frigid around us. The predatory smile was back on his face and I was drawn to his elongated teeth. The word Vampire kept repeating itself in my head; I should have pulled away, and run off into the night. I was drawn to him and my curiosity was getting the best of me. My stupidity would be the death of me.

            “You think I am too stupid to grasp what you are? I would say vampire only you have no real scent to you.” I yanked away and glared at the smug smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around me and we stared at the water. It gurgled happily around snow-covered rocks, the edges laced in ice, no matter what, water always fought and was the winner no matter what. Water could freeze, turn to mist, and be solid, but it was always changing.

            “On the contrary I think you are very smart, maybe I should have said you were too young to grasp what I am.” I rolled my eyes, I will admit it was nice to be held in his arms, only I needed to get answers, and this was not getting the answers I need.

            “If you believe I am so smart then tell me oh elusive one, what are you.” I felt him inhale the scent from my hair and a sigh rippled through his body. He was certainly distracting and it was working, I nearly forgot why I came out here. I shook my head trying to clear the cobwebs out of my brain.

            “Well I am vampire, I am also a dark fae of the royal court.” He pulled away and bowed gracefully. My eyebrows shot up into my hair and I shivered again. Fairies? Vampires I expected, I knew about them, there was a vampire at my old school. Except for being a bit moody sometimes, she was a cool girl. She was an amazing artist and could play the piano like Mozart.

            “Fairies? I honestly did not think they existed, I mean I…” I was speechless; I just could not wrap my mind around this. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. My stomach clenched as the sound of his laughter slithered over my body. I looked up into his beautiful face and felt my heart skipping in my chest. I was envious of his eyelashes; most women would kill for thick, long, black lashes like his.

            I reached my hand up to touch his face and he leaned into my touch smiling; his cheekbones were high, and his cheeks slightly hollow, contrasted wonderfully with the bones in his face. His jaw was slightly rounded, giving him a feminine, yet masculine feel, his skin was like ice against my fevered fingertips, he reached out and traced my lips with his fingers. I shivered at his feather light touches.

            “You are always so warm, you are like the sun, heating my icy soul with your radiance.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and I sighed as his fingers slid down my throat. I opened my eyes and blinked, snow was dancing around us in frenzy. I reached my hands up and ran them through the silk of his hair; it glistened and shimmered like a thousand diamonds. I gasped as I felt a sharp pinch in my neck. I pulled away and slapped him. His lips were stained crimson with my blood. I glared at him, reached to my neck and felt the sticky wet blood from where he bit me.

            “YOU BIT ME?!” I stared at his crimson lips; a little drop of blood fell into the snow staining it. He licked his lips seductively and reached toward me again. I recoiled in horror and saw the clouds pass over his face. It hurt me for some unknown reason to see the pain etched into his features. It also irritated me that he had no scent and that he bit me! I was trying to figure the scent thing out, I had an excellent sense of smell, and Adelaide would always apologize when I ended up sneezing around her.

            I am not sure if it was because he was not a full blood vamp, or because he was pulling a glamour on me. Adelaide used to smell of fresh earth and old blood, grant you not a very pleasant combination. Therefore, she would always try to disguise her scent with subtle perfumes and she bathed in baby oil. She would still have the stink of death clinging to her but the bouquet of other smells mingled with her skin creating a pleasant almost tolerable scent.

            I scented the air and smelled snow, deer, the water, and pine trees. The earth stirred waiting for the thaw so the shoots of grass can spring forth. Somewhere in the distance, I caught the musky scent of wolf and growled. We were being watched, I closed my eyes and reached with my mind, I caught the glimmer of the wolf on the outskirts of the woods. She was a sleek creature, red in color, she flinched when my mind touched hers and she loped off towards the mountains.

            “You never told me you had the ability of telepathy.” I snapped out of my thoughts and saw that I was yet again in Lynx’s arms. How does he manage to do that without me knowing he has moved? I pushed him away and he went spiraling into the snow, landing butt first in a snow bank. I chewed my lip as I caught the annoyed and shocked look on his face.

            “Why do you not have a scent?” Snow blew in my face and I swatted at it absently. He was scowling as he looked down at his now soaking wet jacket. I shrugged and walked over to him extending my hand.

            “I could have knocked you into the water.” His fingers clasped around my wrist and I was falling face first into the snow. I groaned and rolled over; I heard the seductive laughter of Lynx and muttered. The cold was soaking into my clothes and I felt the urge to strip and run off into the woods. I saw Lynx staring at me, his eyes were half closed and a smirk played on his lips.

            I rolled over on my side and propped myself up on my elbow. His jacket was a spill of black in the stark white of the snow, the flakes kept falling and I looked up irritated. I scowled at the slate colored sky.

            “I wish it would stop snowing.” I sighed and turned my attention back towards Lynx; I blinked and raised my eyebrows. His eyes were fixed on mine and I felt myself smiling, even though he did bite me. He reached his fingers out towards mine and I looked at our intertwined hands.

            “If you wish it to stop snowing, your wish is my command.” His eyes shimmered and the wind blew. The snow swirled around us and everything was calm when the wind died down. I looked around and felt my jaw drop. I was impressed, I did not think it was possible, and I stand corrected.

            “Wow, that was…wow.” He laughed again and I shivered. His fingers tightened around mine and I caught the faint whiff of rain. I closed my eyes and inhaled again. It was the sweet scent of rain, fresh earth, sandalwood, and spices. I moved in closer to him and sniffed at the exposed skin of his neck. Inhaling deeply I let out a low growl.

            “Now about my proposal, will you join us, or must we continue to kill your kind.” His voice was a husky whisper in my ear and I felt his teeth graze my earlobe. I pulled back and stood up quickly brushing the snow off my clothes. Better to be away from him before he tapped into a vein next time. I stared down at him with my arms crossed.

            “Why are you so bent on killing the lycans? What have we done to you?” A shadow passed across his eyes causing them to darken into a deep emerald. He stood up and started pacing in the snow. I was reminded of some giant predatory cat when I watched him.

            “That is something that only our Queen can answer. It is not by my choice that we are dispatched to kill the wolves. She did say it was to send a message,” he shrugged and he inhaled deeply, his breath shuddering. “Personally I believe it is politics, I am just a soldier and I am just the messenger.” I sensed the bitterness in his voice and that had my mind coming up with all types of conclusions.

            “Why me though?” That was the million-dollar question of the day, I am sure there were other female wolves. Also, I was not up to date on my lycanthrope politics, yet the last time I checked it was always the alpha male that spoke for the pack. In the absence of an alpha male, the alpha female would be the mouthpiece of the pack. There was not much of a pack in our area; however, we did have two alpha males, Dylan and that other jerk Michael.

            “That will be revealed to you in time my queen.” I jerked my attention back to him; he continued pacing in the snow and then stopped. He was a flash of silver and black as I was thrown to the ground. A loud howl filled the air followed by the sound of a loud crack. Several trees fell around us and my ears were ringing with the sound of the exploding wood. Shards of wood went flying past us and I heard Lynx grunt.

            The howling subsided and I blinked back the blinding white that swam before my eyes. The surrounding trees were all uprooted and broken into several splintered pieces. I let out a low whistle and heard Lynx mutter something in my hair.

            “Hey get off me.” There was the blinding white in front of my face again and I realized it was his hair. He groaned and rolled over into the snow on his back. I scented the air and caught a whiff of something burning and panic raced through me.

            “She is displeased with us.” I sat up glancing at Lynx, crimson stained the white snow around him and my stomach clenched at the anguish on his face. I caught a glimpse of red in the shadows, I growled at the lurking shape and Lynx groaned again.

            “Who is this she?” He laughed and started coughing, it rattled deep in his chest and my heart constricted. I was in pain, I was angry, and if he died, I would be a woman bent on destroying whoever did this.

            “The Queen is displeased I must go back to her with your answer.” He feebly reached his hand up to me and I grabbed it. I looked down into his drawn face and felt tears sting my eyes. The red wolf ran through the trees again, a flash of red lightening amongst the growing gloom in the forest. I still was not sure what she wanted, if it was me she wanted, I will go to her, and I will not go down without a fight.

            “Fine, tell your Queen I request an audience with her as soon as possible and if any harm comes to you I will rip her throat out with my teeth.” I squeezed his hand as he disappeared into a swirling mist. I caught the faint whiff of rain and spices again, smiling I brushed the snow off my knees and looked out towards the woods.

            “That goes for you too, I can feel you lurking out there, harm him or anyone in my pack and I will kill you at the first chance I get.” The wolf stalked out from between the remained trees and sat on the outside of the destruction. She narrowed her gold eyes at me and I continued to stare at her. She snorted and took off into the shadows, the game was on and she knew it. I would get my answers, even if it meant leaving a trail of chaos behind me. I looked at the red snow and growled.

            Guess it was time to go home and face the wrath of Michael. Somehow, I had a feeling he was behind all of this and I needed answers out of him. I also needed to contact Adelaide and see what she could tell me about the local brood of vampires. I walked through the mangled forest and shuddered. It felt like someone was watching me, someone, or something.

Reviews

[Marie]

Nicely done sis. Keep up the good work. Lynx is schmexy, schmexy.