Shadow City: Demon Wolf

I stepped out the door of the group home where I worked in Lexington, Kentucky, and the midnight August heat settled over me like a blanket. Despite that, a chill ran down my back. During the past few days, since getting back from my sister’s wedding, I’d felt as if someone were watching me, but nothing specific seemed out of sorts. Paranoia, maybe, because of the late hour. This neighborhood was safe, but for as long as I could remember, I’d been afraid of the dark. The night brought bad dreams and evoked things I could ignore during the day. I’d worked later than I’d intended. A new resident had broken down just as I’d been about to go. She was eleven, and her mom had dumped her here less than a week ago. She didn’t understand how her mom could abandon her like that, and she’d searched me out to talk. She hadn’t uttered a word up until then, and I couldn’t leave her when she’d finally been ready to open up to someone. It would have set her progress back ten steps. My parents had abandoned me as an infant, and luckily, Eliza Jones had taken me in. There was no way anyone else could have been a better mother, and even though I had a hard time showing it, I wouldn’t want it any other way. As I walked down the cement stairs of the Aegean-style three-story Victorian house in an older neighborhood, an unfamiliar chuckle hit my ears. My body tensed, and I jerked my head to the left, searching for the source of the sound. What if I wasn’t paranoid after all? My car had died, so I’d been forced to borrow Eliza’s older Camry. It was parked at the curb not ten feet away, and I hurried toward it. Hands shaking, I unzipped my red smile-style purse as I ran toward the car. I dug through the bag until my fingertips touched the cool metal of the keys. The chuckle turned into laughter, and I jerked out the keys and dropped them on the grass. A scream bubbled in my throat, but I couldn’t get the noise out. As I bent down to grab the keys, something icy brushed my arm. I flinched away, and though I didn’t see anything, the touch lingered on my skin. Something was toying with me, or I was losing my mind. Clutching the keys, I straightened and took a deep breath. I was letting my dreams affect me. That was all. No one was after me. I was merging my nightmares with reality. I was safe. I glanced down at my new jeans, noting the grass stains on my knees. Another pair ruined, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered these days. It was hard enough to focus on one day at a time. “Are you scared, little one?” a raspy voice asked. My heart raced. I wasn’t alone. Realization squeezed my chest. I turned slowly, scanning the street. “Your fear smells delicious.” A figure, covered head to toe in dark clothing, stepped out from beside the house. The red of his irises told me everything I needed to know. A vampire. Just like my sister, Ronnie. But that wasn’t what scared me. Ronnie was still a good person, as were her husband and her sister-in-law. However, they’d informed me of the biggest red flag when encountering a vampire. If they were covered head to toe in clothing, especially at night when it was hot, it meant the vampire had lost all their humanity and their skin couldn’t even handle moonlight without feeling as if they were being burned alive. Raw terror flowed through my body, and I froze. If I didn’t get in the damn car, I wouldn’t make it out of this alive. Forcing my legs to move, I ran to the driver’s side. The fob’s unlock button no longer worked, so I tried to slip the key into the lock, but I dropped them again. Damn it. Something blurred across my vision, and suddenly, a man over six feet tall stood at the back of the car. His mouth twisted into a sinister grin as he watched me, and he hissed, “I love it when they’re this scared.” Oh, hell no. I tried shoving the key into the lock again, but all I accomplished was scratching the paint. Maybe my best chance was to run. Pivoting on my heel, I pushed my legs as fast as they could go. My purse dropped down on my arm and smacked against my leg, slowing me. I tossed it and pumped my arms harder. Realization settled over me, turning my blood cold. I was a human, and he was a vampire. I couldn’t outrun him, but I wouldn’t give up. Not that I cherished my life so much—I just knew what my death would do to Eliza and Ronnie. I loved those two enough to stay miserable for the rest of my days. The man appeared five feet in front of me, and I stopped in my tracks, breath sawing through my struggling lungs. He tilted his head and licked his lips, anticipating a meal. I reversed direction, heading back to the car. This asshole could outrun me, and I’d lost my sanity for a minute, thinking I could get away on foot. I would have to drive. As I darted the forty feet back toward the Camry, I noticed that all the houses near the group home were dark. There was little chance of anyone looking outside and seeing me. My pulse raced, and black spots flashed through my vision. For the first time, I understood what it felt like to be truly alone. I tried to steady my breathing and clutched the keys in my hand, ready to attempt to open the door again or to use them as a weapon. My lungs felt as if they were working again, and I’d opened my mouth to scream just as a hand slipped over it. The vampire wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me backward against his chest. His hands were so cool I could feel them through my cotton shirt, and I fought back the shiver his nearness created. “No screaming,” he whispered in my ear. “You can, but I’ll have to kill more people. Is that what you want?” He rubbed his nose against my cheek. A sickly-sweet scent, like sugary caramel, attacked my nostrils, and my stomach churned. I didn’t think I could ever eat the candy again, not after this. I’d be dead in seconds anyway. His hand clamped harder over my mouth. “I asked you a question. Now answer me.” Unable to speak through my constricted lips, I shook my head. I would never want anyone to experience this kind of terror. “It’s a shame that things have to go this way.” He kissed the top of my head. “The new queen needs to realize that not everyone wants her in power, and I saw her fear when that demon had you in his clutches. She cares for you.” The memory from three weeks ago replayed in my mind. Ronnie, her husband, Alex, and their friends had been forced to fight Alex’s brother, Matthew, who had been their king. Matthew had found Ronnie’s demon father and brought him to Shadow Terrace to kill Ronnie in an attempt to bring his brother back under his control. Alex and Ronnie had won and were now ruling over the vampires, at the cost of Matthew’s life and the lives of several other rogue vampires. No one had expected my best friend and foster sister to be a badass. But I’d always known she was. “How?” I gritted out the one word. “I was at the other end of the underground tunnel that leads from the woods into the blood bank. I heard the call to attack and ran. I figured it would benefit me to stay back and look for anyone sneaking around to the tunnel. Then I heard your screams and saw you with the demon’s hands around your neck.” He sighed longingly. “The pain and terror wafting off you was exquisite—similar to now.” He must have followed Eliza and me back here. “I almost hate for this interlude to end, but I’ve drawn it out long enough,” he growled and turned me around in his arms, forcing me to face him. His fangs extended as he brushed my long brown hair over my shoulder, and his eyes locked on the base of my neck where my pulse beat underneath the skin. I didn’t know how I knew that little fact. I couldn’t feel my pulse, so the preciseness of the thought startled me. Maybe it was from the movies Ronnie and I had watched together growing up. We both enjoyed a good vampire, werewolf, or witch movie. Little had we known that those creatures were real. Remembering how Ronnie had fought off her own father to save me sent an arrow of determination down my spine. I kneed the vampire in the crotch. His body crumpled, and he released his hold on me. My mouth dropped open as I stared at his prone form. Thank God. Not wasting another second, I bolted toward the car again. If I wanted to survive, I had to take advantage of this opportunity because I might not get another. I’d gotten lucky this time. Reaching the door, I took a deep breath to calm myself enough to insert the key into the lock. My hands still trembled, but I managed to unlock the door. I yanked it open and slid into the driver’s seat then glanced in the vampire’s direction. He was gone. I slammed the door just as his face appeared in the driver’s side window. I screamed so loudly that the glass fogged as I locked the door. The vampire pounded on the glass. “Let me in.” Yeah, that wasn’t happening. He was an i***t if he thought I’d just blindly obey. I started the car, my heart beating so hard I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, despite the banging on the glass. I had to get out of here before the window shattered. The vampire stopped and focused on the group home. “If you don’t open the car door, I’ll go in there and kill every kid inside.” My breath caught. The asshole would do it and enjoy it. “How do I know you won’t kill them anyway?” He placed his forearm against the glass, leaning over to see my eyes, and winked. “You don’t, but although the thought is appealing, I’m only here to make a statement to the new king and queen.” For some reason, I believed him. I didn’t want to die, but I only had two choices, and neither one was acceptable. I racked my brain for a way out of this for everyone. The vampire smacked the window again. “You have two seconds to decide.” Two seconds. I stared out the windshield at the house where the foster kids lay sleeping. However, a better plan didn’t surface through the churning panic in my mind. My drifting gaze focused, and I gasped. A pair of metallic eyes glowed from behind a tree in a neighboring yard. Eyes I would never forget. They belonged to the silver wolf who’d taken me away from the demon. The wolf had made me feel safe in a way I never had before, which I tried not to overanalyze. He was a wolf shifter, which meant he also had a human form. Trusting that he’d help me, I opened the car door and climbed out. The vampire’s mouth dropped in surprise before his fangs extended. I glanced over my shoulder to see if the wolf was there, but the eyes were gone. Holy s**t. Had I imagined them? My heart resumed its frantic beat as I searched for the wolf. “Aw, there’s that fear,” the vampire cooed. “You smell delicious.” My world shifted. I’d gotten out of the car because I’d been so certain he was there. “Please, don’t hurt me,” I begged. It was a mistake, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to survive, not just for Eliza and Ronnie, but for myself. “I’m done with games.” He lowered his mouth to my neck, causing an all-too-familiar sting of pain, though I couldn’t place why it was familiar. The pain made me feel violated. Tainted. Impure. Dirty. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but they couldn’t wash any of this away. Of course, this would be how I died. A deep growl sounded, and a flash of silver caught the edge of my vision. The vampire released my neck just as the wolf bit into his arm. I yelped and stumbled back. “Stupid mutt,” the vampire hissed and kicked the wolf in the stomach. The wolf flew back several feet but landed on all fours and charged the vampire again. I grasped my neck. Warm blood trickled from the bite marks. Something tugged inside my brain, throbbing as though it was trying to surface. I wrapped my arms around myself, needing to hold on to something. Lights flickered on in a nearby house. I didn’t have time for a meltdown. I had to help the wolf before things got out of hand. But how?