A Voice From the Night World Ch. 04

I walked out from behind my tree, edged into the centre of the drive way and crossed to the far side, being careful not to let her see me moving but I need not have bothered. She was clearly bored and more interested in her nails then in looking around her. Bad mistake but it played right into my hands and allowed me to stalk on silent feet right up behind her pulling out my iron laced knife. Reversing it I used the iron laced handle to rap her smartly on the temple.

She dropped to the ground like a stone, the iron lacing was witch poison and delivered a much harder blow then my gesture warranted. She would have a hell of a headache and feel very sick when she woke up. I crouched behind the SUV noting that the noise the witch made dropping to the ground had alerted the blonde vampire. I kept my eyes on him as he came towards me but made sure to keep my senses open to the whereabouts of our missing prey.

I waited until he was almost right on top of me and had crouched down to feel along the downed witch's neck for a pulse, before I jumped out from behind the SUV and tackled him to the ground. We cursed and swore at each other as we wrestled on the ground as we both grappled for the upper hand.

He hissed at me his blue eyes shining silver and his fangs out as he snapped at me, his teeth making an audible click as he attempted to bite me. Technically as a vampire he was much stronger than me and if he had any telepathy could knock me out cold, he could also try and bury his fangs in me as he was trying to do or simply over power me with brute strength, but he was a clumsy fighter.

Clearly he either didn't have telepathy, was very inexperienced in a fight for I didn't feel the kind of knockout blow I know Damien can deliver. He did manage one good solid blow to my wrist and I heard a faint snick, as pain and weakness shot up my arm telling me my wrist was broken or fractured. He lunged up underneath me and I felt the scratch of his teeth along my throat.

I swore at him allowing my nails to grow to sharp, killing claws and dug them into his shoulder, gauging out deep groves in his flesh as hard as I could, ignoring the throbbing pain from my broken wrist. I felt him wince and hiss underneath my claws but he lunged at me again this time I felt the sharp piercing pain of his teeth. I screamed a lynx's infuriated cry and hurt wrist or not I grabbed the sides of his head in an iron grip and ripped his teeth out of my neck.

I felt the pain of torn flesh and the warm rush of blood as it flowed from the wounds. Through a mix of sheer anger and will I punched him in the face hard, once and then again. I hauled out my wood bladed knife and shove it into his right shoulder. I could hear the low angry growling coming out of me as it blended with his hiss of pain. I pulled the knife out and shoved it back in his chest.

"Nobody bites me." I growled at him as he went limp under me and I yanked my wooden knife out.

I got off him and crouched down, cleaning my knife off in the frost damp grass as I shifted back to lynx, my furry clothes changing with me, knowing it was the fastest way to help heal my injuries and gritted my teeth as that peculiar mix of pain and freedom rushed into me with the shift.

Once again I was a lynx and I growled to myself again, glaring at the downed vampire. I could hear and see the faint breath and knew I'd just knocked him unconscious; neither blow had been a killing blow, yet. Wood poisoning might still kill him but that wasn't my problem. My shift instantly healed the bites in my neck and my wrist, only silver created a problem and delayed healing, could kill, seriously injure or poison me.

My next problem hit me with the force and speed of a striking whirlwind; he bowled me tail over ass. I went sprawling in the damp grass with a cougar streaking after me and scrambled up with a scream to echo his. I threw myself at him screaming again and smacked at him as hard as I could, putting all my speed and strength behind it. He was a bigger animal then I was, but I was strong and seeing the red of true rage.

We sprang apart, crouching in the grass, glaring at each other as we eyed each other up, a mere metre between us, our chests heaving with effort, fury and adrenalin. He charged into me again with a scream of his own and I reared back, charging forward and up into his charge, whacking back with hard blows of my big paws. The strength, ferocity and speed of my attack forced him backwards and flipped him over showing his vulnerable belly.

He flipped back over with a cat's speedy reflexes and leapt away; I jumped at his back, claws out and swatted at him hard, forcing him away from me and drawing blood. He spun back around to face me with those same quick feline reflexes and backed away, I followed charging into him as he hit back at me as he now defended himself, landing a good blow or two and drawing blood from my face and shoulder.

We separated again, growling at each other, he charged at me again forcing his way past me and the hard blows of my paws as he retreated back into the trees he'd come from heading back up the drive.

I spun around and began to give chase when I heard the loud sound of a gun going off once, then twice, from the opposite side of the front yard. The cougar dropped like a stone, much as my witch target had earlier and I spun around with a growl of irritation.

Chay was standing there smoking gun in hand, calm and unruffled, eyes cold and calculating as he eyed the downed cougar and me.

"Never mind thaty ou'd better follow me inside." He said in reply to my growl as he turned around and headed back towards the house, not waiting for me to follow. "The two 'wolves have been taken care of."

A note of urgency ghosting his quiet, in control voice had me following him with some haste as we circled around behind the house and approached the back door. The back door was frosted glass and was standing wide open showing the way the intruders had got into the house, a converted Victorian barn.

The scents of blood, tears, pain and piss found their way into my sensitive nose along with fear, grief and ugly hatred. I shuddered under my thick fur coat not looking forward to what would face me. Sure enough I didn't like it one bit and couldn't stop the growl from escaping as I came into the open plan living room and kitchen.

Two people a white man and a Japanese woman I didn't recognise lay still and dead on the living room floor. A third, Michael was moaning quietly in pain, clearly in a bad way judging from the blood on his abdomen and left thigh. Damien was crouched over him, his cell phone to his ear as he spoke to someone on the other end, clearly ordering healers in.

I noticed his weapon was propped up against the wall nearest him, one end the sharp wooden tip bloodied, I also noticed there was a healing bruise or two on Damien's face. A fourth person, a young male half Asian fox shifter stood guard with one of Chay's pistols trained over an unconscious Cris who was confined to an arm chair.

I saw Cris had a sluggishly bleeding cut on his forehead, a swelling black eye and I saw a bleeding hole in his left shoulder. Moving up behind Damien I shifted and touched his shoulder as Chay moved to the exposed corner of the room next to the bay window, where he stood facing it, arms crossed over his chest, patient, watchful and still.

[He's not looking too good. We might not have got here in time.] Damien said to me regret and anger colouring his words as he opened his mind to me as he hung up his phone to press a wadded up towel to Michael's bleeding abdomen harder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

I sighed crouching down beside Damien and touched Michael's shoulder.

[I smell iron. Did he shoot or stab him?] I asked Damien evenly, managing with sheer will power to keep the seething rage out of my voice and expression.

[The bullets are both iron.] Damien responded back angrily.

"Hey mate, not a good night huh?" I greeted Michael with a grin.

"I've had better." He admitted with snort.

"You're hurt." Michael whispered with a wince as he nodded at my neck and face.

"It's nothing, I'll live." I whispered back realising as I reached up and touched it, there was dried blood on my neck and face. I'd forgotten it.

"I had a feeling you'd come and you did, thank you." He whispered just as softly.

"Didn't know you were Scottish though, aren't you American?" He questioned with a faint smile, his words so soft only sharp hearing would have picked it up.

I managed a smile not realising I'd reverted back to my native accent, as we heard a loud knock and a bang as the healers, two witches arrived totting black doctor's bags. They two women shooed us away from Michael's side and took over with the peculiar fussing and bossy manner of women and healers.

"What do you think we should do with him?" I asked Damien with a dark glare at the unconscious Cris.

He was a handsome guy, I could easily see him on the front cover of a glossy magazine, with his wavy dark brown hair, dark green eyes and square, chiselled face but then all Night Worlders were stunning.

"Killing him would be too nice and not a good thing for Michael. So I made a call to Lord Sebastian, he's sending down his best enforcers to bring him in to the holding facility." Damien replied quietly.

"He'll be held until such time was he sees the error of his ways." He added and we swapped sardonic, bitter smiles.

We both knew Night Worlders who were taken in and held in Daybreaker cells rarely chose to change sides and merely rotted there. It was the best alternative we had short of killing him and Damien was right, as much as killing the son of a bitch was my preferred option, we couldn't do that to Michael. The loss of a soulmate was a shock, on good days it drove you mad or you lost the will to live and on bad days you died with them.

I glanced around the room, seeing the trashed, messed up state of it and the poor, dead people on the ground. I sensed the Japanese woman was a fox shifter, like her son and the man was human. I felt troubled for the needless, useless loss of people. Judging by their positions sprawled over the floor closest to us, they'd probably opened the door to Cris and his buddies, let them in and paid for it with their lives, they'd been shot execution style to the head and chest.

The half Japanese lad standing over Cris had tears streaking unashamedly down his face. He looked the same age as Michael to me and had a look about him that reminded me of a good throwing knife, delicate and finely crafted, but strong and capable of killing.

He felt my eyes on him and glanced at me, his eyes fox yellow and red rimmed from crying, but his face was still grim looking.

"What happened here?" I asked him.

He eyed me suspiciously. "Who wants to know?"

"I am Liev. I am Michael's friend." I replied simply.

His eyes glittered with anger and sorrow. "You didn't get here fast enough though, did you?"

I flushed but refused to drop my eyes. "We tried."

His eyes softened as he glanced from me over to where Michael lay hovered over by Damien and the two witches. One looked 17 and one looked to be in her mid thirties, clearly mother and daughter, judging by their dark hair and blue eyes.

"I'm Alan." He finally admitted.

"What happened?" I asked him again.

He sighed. "We'd just had dinner, Michael and I had finished the washing up and we'd sat down again for a cup of tea and a chat, trying to help Michael figure out what to do. I went for a shower and a cleanup, and then they arrived."

He swallowed glancing away from his friend and hiding his eyes, but I'd seen the worry and love in his eyes and was reminded yet again that not every soulmate story turns out to have a good ending. Some soulmate relationships are messy and fucked up, like this one clearly was. Alan clearly loved Michael and I knew Michael loved Cris, Cris clearly thought the opposite. What a miserable, vicious triangle to be in.

He must have sensed or seen my sympathy, my understanding, because he met my eyes. "We heard cars pull up and then a knock on the door. My stepfather got up to open the door and my mother followed to see who it was. Cris and his lads were there, Cris wanted to come in. Swearing he wanted only to apologise to Michael and seek amends. My parents let him in and they came in, began talking to us, then without warning hell started." He went on managing to get it all out in an even tone and in one go, but the pain and bitter anger was still in his face.

"Cris ordered the two werewolves to shoot and kill my parents, ordered the rest outside to guard the house and watch for any trouble and then he attacked Michael. I heard my parents screams so I came running in time to see Cris shoot him and my parents die." Alan went on in the same even, almost emotionless tone.

"Then he was barging in." Alan gestured to Damien. "They fought; Damien managed to knock him out. Ordered me to stand over him and he went to check on Michael."

"Then he came." This time he gestured at Chay. "He got a weird look on his face, I almost thought it was fury or worry or both, then he was gone and back with you."

I glanced at Chay, who hadn't moved from his solitary guard post.

"For the help you gave my friend I'll give you a warning." Alan whispered to me.

"Stay away from him." He indicted Chay with a subtle flick of his fox eyes.

"Did you know he's Demon?" Alan whispered to me.

"What makes you think that?" I asked curiously.

Demon was one of the most elusive, secretive and most notorious Night World assassins, but no one knew what he looked like or who he was.

Alan managed a faint smile. "Just my instincts and my senses, he's a gyrfalcon, I saw a gyrfalcon once, I was out for a hunt really early in the morning and saw him hanging out circling over a park, hunting."

"On my way back around the block, I ran past the same park and saw the same gyr, he'd killed a red tailed hawk." Alan continued to explain his voice sticking to its confiding whisper as he leaned closer to me.

I raised an eyebrow curious to hear the rest.

"As far as I know gyrs don't normally go out of their way to hunt and kill other birds of prey. Sure, they will attack and kill them if they're near their nests or enter their territories, but they don't just hunt them for dinner. That gyr did." Alan said fiercely.

"What makes you think that hawk didn't enter his territory?" I wanted to know.

Alan gave me cynical look giving my shoulder a friendly punch. "Come on, I wasn't born yesterday. I heard a day later that a certain shifter wanted for selling human girls to the enclave down in Wales was missing."

I grinned feeling Chay's eyes practically burning a hole in us. "That's a good story."

"It's true. I'm just giving you a friendly warning I wouldn't turn my back on him." He insisted.

"I'll keep it in mind." I promised as I moved away from Alan's side, knowing he was too close and if he kept touching me he'd get himself in trouble.

"What's happening?" I asked Damien as we watched the two witches their joined hands producing a deep green glow that was being directed on their patient.

[They're doing what they can but they are worried about the iron poisoning his system. The bullet in his abdomen was lodged really deep and they've got it out but it doesn't look good.] Damien admitted grimly.

I felt my own expression turning grim despite my best efforts as I watched the witches efforts to save Michael.

Damien tapped his forehead "You need to go take a turn watching over Jason. Tien needs a break."

I nodded feeling almost relieved to have something to do, I knew waiting around here wasn't productive and there was nothing I could do for Michael. I'm not a healer and killing Cris wouldn't solve the problem, the other Night Worlder's with Cris were either dead or knocked out cold.

"Don't worry about me. You can take my SUV; Tien will come and get me. I'd also like to stay here until Lord Sebastien's team gets here and I need to call Zach to let him know what's been happening." Damien continued casually.

I nodded again and turned to leave feeling Chay follow me out the door. We headed back down the drive, we were silent, our eyes wary and alert, we were both hunters and it came naturally, but the quiet between us was companionable.

It wasn't until we'd both climbed into Damien's SUV and I'd started it up, I was driving, that Chay said anything.

"What did Alan say to you?" Chay asked enquiringly.

I smirked at him. "He told me you're Demon."

He gave me an enigmatic cold look.

"He said I should watch out for you." I added casually managing through sheer will power to compose my expression and keep it casual.

I gave him the story Alan had just told me and couldn't keep the smirk off my face any longer. I could feel Chay's eyes on me, the heat and his amusement growing to match mine, his usual cold, arrogant mask melting as it always did when it was only the two of us.

"So are you going to watch your ass now that you know the truth I've been hiding all these months?" Chay all but purred his dark eyes gleaming with wicked heat.

"If anything it's you he should have warned away from me. It's you who has to watch your ass if I get anywhere near you." I murmured mischievously back giving him a flirty look.

"Oh but when did I ever listen to anyone? Maybe I want you to catch me." The fiery look he shot me was teasing and horny as he licked his lips.

Giving him a very similar look I raked my eyes down his body and couldn't help grinning when he shifted stretching his legs out and spreading them slightly, showing his body off to me.

I laughed caught up in a mix of playful hunger and he laughed too, a little wildly and it seemed to feed my own wild amusement so bad that I had to pull over. My eyes were full of tears and my stomach ached from the loud laughter and giggles that wouldn't stop coming out of me, or him. It might seem really cruel and insensitive, laughing when we just came from a fight to save a friend of mine and had to leave that friend in a critical condition.

But fights always leave the two us a mess of nerves, blood lust and tension. Before I had discovered my soulmate I used to have to find a fuck of go on a hunt. Only hot sex or killing something got rid of the remaining nerves, tension and battle fever that remained in my blood after a fight.

It wasn't long before I nearly choked on my laughter and my own tongue as he attacked me. As soon as his lips smashed into mine the silver cord that bound us together ripped apart and blue lightening sizzled between us. His hands were groping me so roughly I knew he was leaving bruises and scratches but I knew I was doing the same to him.

Somehow I managed despite the steering wheel to haul him out of his seat and half across my lap, thank fuck for large roomy SUV's. My hands had already pushed the soft, white slacks down his hips so I could squeeze and grope his ass.

Almost roughly he released my mouth as he shifted off me and before I'd realised what he was about his long, clever fingers had freed my hard cock from my own black furry slacks. He leaned across me to move the car set back and down, his silky hair brushing against my cock, and shifted back, taking my cock in his mouth.

I growled as he used one hand to stroke in the opposite direction to his warm, sucking mouth and teasing tongue, tormenting me by playing with my balls with his free hand. I moved my own hands around so I could stroke his own hard cock and got a moan for my trouble as he pushed his hips forward, thrusting his cock into my fist. I used my free hand to stroke up under his shirt and stroke his abs and chest.

Both of us were too horny and fevered with the cocktail of left over emotions from fighting to last long. I moaned and knew I was going to come, I felt Chay register I was close through the soulmate haze between us. It only took one more tight pull of his mouth down my cock and a hard suck and I came. I felt the hot seed nearly explode out of me as I screamed and expected Chay to choke as he hadn't released me from his mouth when I'd come. But he didn't, he has no gag reflex, lucky me, he simply swallowed my seed hungrily and pushed his own hungry cock into my fist. This time I felt through the soulmate fog how excited and close he was.