Fanged Fury (The Adventures of Sydney Sedrick Book 3) (4 page)

It was obvious I wasn’t going to bed for a while, at least not until Blake left. Aunt Judith had taught my sister and me that you offer your guest a beverage, no matter how bad you wanted them to leave. So that’s what I did, even though it was tempting to stomp my feet, scream at him, and shove him out the front door. Yeah, I was that tired.

With a groan, I motioned for him to follow me into the kitchen. The house was dark except for the soft glow coming from the lamp Aunt Judith had left illuminating the front window. She must be in bed. Now that I was thinking of it, she was going to bed earlier than usual these days. I’d have to talk to her about how she was feeling.

Opening the cupboard, I gazed over my shoulder to watch Blake take a seat at the table. “Would you like some tea before you go?”

He stood with so much force he hit the chair with his legs, knocking it over. The wood made a loud crashing sound as it smacked against the tiled floor.

“Blake! My aunt is in her room trying to sleep. Be quiet!” I said through clenched teeth. Before I knew what was happening, hot tears began to stream down my face.

“Sydney, I’m so sorry.” Blake crossed the kitchen before I could blink away the tears forming in my eyes. He took the pad of his thumb and gently wiped the wetness from my skin. He tipped his head down close to mine. “My love, what is going on? I didn’t mean to be loud. I tend to forget my size when my temper rises.”

He made me laugh at the many memories of Blake forgetting how big he was. At Morning Sun, Blake had knocked over a fair share of displays because the aisles filled with products weren’t designed with large men in mind. The typical customers who shopped at the store were women, for the most part.

“No, you didn’t make my cry, Blake. I hadn’t realized how worried I am about Aunt Judith. The sound of the chair falling on the floor just got to me, that’s all.” I smiled up at him even though I could feel more tears on their way. I couldn’t stand the thought of Aunt Judith not being around. I loved her like a mother.

Blake traced his fingertips over my nose, then along my jaw. The heat he gave off no longer burned with anger and became soothing. His breath felt warm against my face. Heat spread from my stomach, traveling downward. He smiled, to my mortification.

His grin told me he could smell my blooming desire. His eyes turned amber-bronze, exhibiting that his arousal was growing as well.

“You should go, Blake. I’m really tired.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Sydney, where do think I’m going?”

Blake moved his body closer, putting his hands on my hips before swaying his own against my core. He was tormenting my heart and body. My brain yelled at me to step away. Sometimes my brain won out. This was one of those times.

I pushed against his chest. “Blake, you need to leave. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

The heat coming from his hands on my hips started to burn again, and not in a good way. Interesting, I’d never been able to tell the depth of his emotions or intentions before from the heat he gave off.

I smiled despite myself.

Maybe my Selected abilities were growing stronger.

“I don’t think you’re fine, Sydney. I’ll stay over to make sure everything is taken care of. You won’t have anything to worry about. Besides, I want you, life-mate, I want you now.” His lips came crashing down on mine as he kissed me, but it wasn’t just filled with love and passion. There was a hint of frustration, pent-up anger, rolling off him through the pressure of his lips against mine. It felt like he was trying to keep himself from claiming me right there in the kitchen.

After his lips gave mine a reprieve, I sighed deeply. Stepping out from his reach, I said, “Blake, you are not staying tonight.” I put my hands up to dismiss his argument. He wasn’t staying, no matter what he said or what his reasons were.

“Sydney, you’re being stubborn. You’re not making sense. Why would I leave when I know you want me? I can smell your desire.” He took my hand and placed my palm on his chest, over his heart. The staccato rhythm beat strongly against my palm.

I tore my hand away from him, my anger fuming.

“Blake, I said you need to leave.” I stepped farther away, pointing my finger toward the door.

“Don’t be foolish, Sydney. I’m not going anywhere. Why would you want me to leave?” Crushed feelings were written across his face.

Blake was the last person I wanted to hurt, but he was being too pushy, a bad habit of his that I hated.

“I told you before, Aunt Judith and I don’t need a babysitter. We’re more than capable of taking care of ourselves, and I really need to get to bed.” I tried to keep my voice neutral, despite the desire to yell at him before stomping up the stairs and slamming my bedroom door shut.

“This has nothing to do with me being your babysitter.” He took a step closer before he continued to plead his case. “I want to stay because I love you. You’re my life-mate. Besides, wanting to be together is what normal couples do.”

He knew he was pushing the line I had drawn with care. We weren’t a couple. As far as either of us being normal? Ha, he was a funny wolf.

“Blake, don’t start with the life-mate thing, okay? It’s been a long day. I just want it to be over with.” I passed around him, heading toward the living room.

“So you’re serious. You don’t want me to stay?” He was getting angry. The tone he used sent a shiver of fear down my spine and that pissed me off further.

“Don’t talk to me like that, Blake. I’m not a child. I’m also going to remind you one last time, we are not a couple. So stop forcing the issue.” I used a severe tone of my own. I was tired of being pushed around. I wasn’t going to stand back while someone told me what to do in my own home, even if it was Blake who was doing the telling.

He stormed over to the front door. With his voice raised, he said, “Fine, if you don’t want me here then I’ll leave. I didn’t mean to
push
myself on you.”

Before I could say another word, he had the front door open. Without looking back, he slammed the door shut behind him. The sound was so loud it made me jump. The finality of his leaving made my chest ache while my heart felt like it was filled with lead.

Tears fell freely down my cheeks and a sob caught in my throat.

My life sucked.

How Aunt Judith hadn’t woken up from all the noise Blake had made while he threw his tantrum was beyond me, but I was grateful she was able to get some well-needed rest.

If Blake thought he was going to continue to come to my house, or even Morning Sun, for that matter, acting like a spoiled brat throwing a mantrum, well, he had another thing coming.

I was so mad, I didn’t care when I saw him next. Being the Selected came with all kinds of problems. Blake constantly insisted we were meant to be together as life-mates. He wanted me to say ‘screw you’ to the vampires. A little time away from him may be exactly what I needed to get my head on straight.

With a fresh, hot cup of caramel coffee from Mountain Bean in hand, I opened the door to Morning Sun. There were still fifteen minutes before the store was set to open.

Lying on the tiled floor was a cream-colored envelope. I picked it up. Turning it over in my hands, I appreciated the thick cardstock. Whoever had sent it must have hand-delivered it because Dale, the mailman, always brought the mail inside. The envelope in my hand had been shoved through the mail slot in the front door.

On the front, my name was printed on the fine paper. There was only one person I knew who had handwriting like that. Kieran, leader of the Kenosha vampire coven. The swirly curls that made up my name on the envelope gleamed back at me from the red ink.

The vampires tended to find humor in going with the typical stereotypes humans had for them. Kieran’s automobile license plates all had sayings having to do with the vampires’ love for blood. When I asked Liam, Kieran’s second-in-command, why the vampires played with the fact they were indeed creatures of the night, he said the best place to hide was out in the open. So far, I had to admit it was working.

The memory of Liam brought a pain to my heart. Liam had been my favorite vampire, until he sold out to the lightning demon who wanted to kill Kieran. Liam used his position as a Knight in Kieran’s coven to pass information to Andras. In return, Liam was given the use of the demon’s resources in his quest to kill Uphir, the vampire Elder.

Liam had sold his soul to the devil, or at least to one of his minions, to get what he wanted. He’d betrayed us all.

I thought he was someone I could trust.

I was dead wrong.

I’d be more careful who I made friends with in the future.

Too much rode on the safety of the wolves and vampires. Their enemies would gladly get hold of me and use that to hurt them. That was why it was so imperative I learn how to be around rouges without giving my identity away. It would be pretty obvious to pick the Selected out of a crowd since I tended to puke before losing consciousness every time they were around.

The phone rang, bringing me out of my self-reflection.

“Hello, Morning Sun, how can I help you?” I greeted.

“Sis, why do you even have a cell phone if you’re not going to carry it with you?” Brianna must have called the cell phone Blake insisted I keep handy in case I found myself in trouble.

“I sort of left it at home. I need a Blake breather.” I sighed into the phone. I may need a break, but I already missed Blake. He usually checked in at the store every day.

Truth was, I think I loved the big lug.

Sometimes it was hard to be me. Right now was one of those times.

“Syd, I have no idea what that means. All I’m going to say is I know Blake totally has the hots for you, but don’t take too long to decide if you feel the same.” My sister spoke so fast I couldn’t get a word in. “Anyways, Michael wants us to come up this weekend. I wanted to make sure you’d be around for a night out? I love Max’s but if you want to try someplace new that’s fine with me. We’ll leave it up to you if you want to invite Blake, okay?” My sister said all that without taking a single breath.

“Yeah, I’ll be around, no work meetings or anything like that.” I knew Brianna wouldn’t stay out of my and Blake’s argument. She’d stick her nose in to try to make it all better. Maybe Michael would drop the bomb about him and Blake being werewolves, then my sister would just want to hang out at the house. Although it was self-serving on my part, that sounded like a plan to me.

“Good, see you Saturday.” Brianna hung up before I could answer. That girl was always on the go between working part-time and getting ready to start her first semester of medical school.

I hung the phone back up in its holder. Looking down at the counter, I realized I had forgotten to open the envelope Kieran had sent.

Opening it, I took the matching crème-colored parchment paper out and unfolded it.

My dearest Sydney, I cordially invite you to my country estate this Saturday night
——
Kieran

Cordially, my butt. When the coven leader invited me to a vampire get-together, he fully expected my attendance. His portentous second-in-command, Aaron, made it clear if I did not come running when Kieran sent an invitation, one of the coven vampires would come to get me. According to Aaron, that meant he didn’t care if I went of my own free will or if they had to drag me kicking and cursing the whole way.

I set the paper on the counter, sighing into the empty store. What was I going to do? Brianna and Michael were coming to Kenosha that same night. Michael was going to do the great reveal, which I really needed to be there for. Being forced to go to the vampire gathering was going to hamper those plans. Dang it.

Finally getting it out in the open that I was the Selected was something I rather looked forward to. Well, not the part when my sister was going to scream accusations at me of betraying her like I did to my mother when I found out. Hopefully her hurt feelings didn’t last too long. I hoped we’d get back to being best friends, besides sisters, soon. Once she knew the truth, I wouldn’t have to lie to her about where I went.

Another thought crossed my mind, a much darker thought, one that sent a chill up my spine and a cold knot of fear to form in my stomach. Both my mother and Aunt Judith were witches, despite both of their hiding their abilities. It made sense. I had suspected Aunt Judith wielded great power of her own even before I was bitten.

Was Brianna a witch?

Did she already know and had never said anything to me?

Despite the hypocrisy, the possibility of another person in my life having betrayed me felt like a punch to my gut.

Chapter 3

Turning the OPEN sign off and twisting the deadbolt lock into place, I went back over to the counter to finish tallying up the receipts for the day’s sales. Just as I sat on the high-backed chair behind the register, I felt a tingling sensation begin to run up my arms and peak at the base of my neck. Then the feeling of a rock lodged in my stomach dropped on me like an anvil. I was in serious trouble. I slunk down to the floor, crouching for a moment, trying to catch my breath and fight the inevitability of what was coming at me like a steam train.

I crawled the few feet to the entrance of the storeroom where the stock was kept. Once all the way in, I reached up grabbing the doorknob and closed myself in the small room. Nausea climbed the short distance from my stomach up to my throat.

At that moment, I realized my mistake in not having a phone line installed into the storeroom. It was childish and petty, but I blamed Blake and his arrogance for my predicament. Because of him I didn’t have the cell phone with me. Damn it.

I sat on the carpeted floor and leaned my back against the safe positioned by the far wall. My sight was beginning to grow foggy, and the typical sparkles began to develop on the objects in the room as I tried to regain my equilibrium while my temples began to throb in hot waves. I focused on relaxing my body and holding my reaction at bay, but it was no use, the vision was coming whether I wanted it to or not.

The content feeling of having learned to read my body’s sensations, forewarning me of the oncoming vision, blossomed in my chest as I left my body with a bit of a smirk on my lips. The weightlessness of my essence began to travel to wherever it was the vision was taking me. Unfortunately, my eyes didn’t regain their function until I was at the determined destination so I didn’t get to enjoy the view during the journey.

When I arrived, the sky was dark, with the exception of a few twinkling stars. The air was thick and humid, not like home in Wisconsin. Deep guttural howling surrounded me from beyond my line of sight. I couldn’t see far from where I stood. Taking a few steps, I leaned against a long-leafed pine tree and concentrated on listening to the sounds of my surroundings.

Footsteps approached.

I couldn’t pinpoint where they were coming from.

The clearing surrounded by the pines suddenly became the meeting place for a large pack of wolves. I held my breath, even though I didn’t need to breathe while traveling on the plane during the visions.

One by one, the wolves stood upright on their hind legs. I felt panicked as the muscles in their legs elongated, rippling as the gray fur covering their bodies receded until the wolves were resurfaced with flesh.

The largest male stood in the center of the clearing, surrounded by naked members of the pack. Were these rogue wolves? The last time I had a vision of the rogue wolves I hadn’t experienced a visceral reaction from my Selected senses like when they were physically near me. The persons I was meant to observe were not able to see me or sense my presence. I had tested that theory a while ago. I needed to know what, if any, limits there were to what I could do while in the vision plane.

The large male bent down and brushed his hand along the debris on the forest floor. He’d found what he was looking for. Pulling a pair of faded, ripped blue jeans from their hiding place on the ground, he shook the leaves off before slipping them up the length of his muscular legs.

The other wolves followed his lead while their faces changed back into human form. Within a few moments, the band of wolves turned into an inconspicuous group of ordinary people out in the middle of the woods.

The large male’s voice boomed over the rustle of quiet chit-chatters. All went silent at the sound of his voice.

“My wolves, you hunted well tonight, but it’s not over. The bloodsuckers are still at our door, wanting to take our lands and our women from us. We will not stand for it.”

The contempt in the stranger’s words made me feel ill. An urge to see Kieran and tell him the news of yet another threat made me shake with need to get back to my reality.

I had no control over the visions.

Arms went up in the air. The men and women pumped their fists as they cheered the man in the middle on with whoops, hollers, and howls. The man who had all of their attention was significantly bigger than the rest. He sported long blond hair that somehow shone like golden rays of the sun despite the moon being the only source of light coming through the tall trees.

His chest was bare with well-defined muscles. As he raised his bulging arms, the group grew quiet once again.

“This is not over. We may have extinguished another coven, but there are many more out there. The bloodsuckers breed like the disgusting corpses in a B-rated zombie movie.”

Another round of cheers filled the night, but this time a few of the braver wolves stepped up, calling their leader to action. They craved more spilled blood that very night.

The blond leader took an aggressive step toward the challengers. It was clear he didn’t like being spoken to by his subordinates in such a fashion.

“Listen with care. Mind your willful tongues lest I bite them off with my teeth.” The wolves who had spoken shuffled back into the crowd, disintegrating from the man’s sight.

“There is another, more pressing, matter we must attend to.”

Others called out, asking what their leader commanded.

The blond nodded, feigning a compassionate understanding for the other wolves, relishing in their desire for blood. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing I can’t handle. The matter of the Selected is calling us to attention. The Midwestern Werewolf Pack has slacked in their duties of the Selected’s care. We intend on rectifying the problem soon.”

With that, the pack broke out into a wolf pack’s version of celebrating. Some went on all fours, others danced in the night and roughhoused with one another.

A can of gasoline came from somewhere behind the trees and a lanky wolf who didn’t appear to bathe on a regular basis dug into the front pocket of his jeans to produce a book of matches. Once the pile of dried wood was formed into a pyramid-shaped structure, a generous amount of gas was poured onto it. The wolf then struck a match and lit the pile.

I felt the hot
whoomf
sensation as flames exploded into the night, illuminating the wolves encased by a ring of mature trees casting tall human-like shadows.

My body began to waver as I held my arms in front of me. The vision was ending. My essence was being pulled from the vision plane, back to my reality at the store.

The sting from the cold metal of the safe against my back brought me out of the haze clouding my brain. Opening my eyes, I shook my head from side-to-side. A throbbing pain echoed in my skull like an underserved hangover. Unfortunately, the benefits of being the Selected also came with painful aftereffects.

Turning, I grabbed the edge of the safe to hoist myself off the floor of the storeroom. I didn’t know the timeline of the vision—one of the downfalls of having them—but my guess was that the wolf gathering had to have occurred within the last month. The blond man, who was gorgeous in a rough, bad-boy way, had mentioned Blake’s pack and me, the Selected. The man had something to do with the pack that’d contacted Morris about the rogue count in the city of Kenosha.

Blake knew his pack was going to be monitored by a member of the Mobile, Alabama, werewolf pack. Nothing I could tell him about the vision would be new information. I wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do, to not tell Blake about the vision, but I was still reveling in the fact he had left me alone the entire day. It was a first that he had not made an appearance at the store. I was getting tired having to hear his opinions on every aspect of my life.

Unfortunately, I missed him.

A lot.

The smell of cheesy garlic bread baking in the oven met me at the front door of Aunt Judith’s house. I would live there, too, for as long as I lived, per tradition of the Selected, but it would always be Aunt Judith’s house, even after she passed away.

I bit back my fear and forced a smile to my face as I hung my black wool coat on the antique rack standing at attention next to the front door. I carried my purse into the kitchen.

Aunt Judith’s face lifted into a smile when she saw me walk through the door. The table was set for two. She carried a large bowl of old-style spaghetti to the table, setting it in the center so we could each dish up.

My aunt had the amazing ability to make all the stressors of the day vanish through her cooking. I was seriously spoiled because she had dinner waiting for me almost every night when I got home from closing Morning Sun. I thought it might be that she was grateful I had took such a liking to the store, making it so she no longer had to run it all by herself.

The truth was, I would have gladly eaten take-out every night if it still gave me the chance to run the store and prove myself to the family. It meant a lot to me. I was proud at the little changes—what I hoped were improvements—I’d made to help streamline the store. I worked hard to get more cash-spending customers to come into Morning Sun on a more regular basis.

“Mmm, Aunt Judith, your spaghetti smells divine.” The timer on the oven went off. I jumped out of my seat, putting my hand out to her before she could get out of her chair. “No, please, let me do it.”

Aunt Judith gave me a warm, appreciative smile as she sat back in her chair while she put a small portion of the spaghetti onto her plate, waiting for me to cut the cheese bread.

I eyed the tiny portion sizes on her plate but didn’t have the heart to quiz her on her eating habits. Studying her closely, I noticed her collarbones sticking out the top of her nightgown, more prominent than I’ve ever noticed before. She was losing weight.

Was it the stress? Watching while she tore off a hunk of cheesy bread from the large slice I had put on her plate, I noticed it took a lot of effort for her to do such a lightweight task. My heart panged with guilt. Something was going on with my aunt, but I wanted to give her privacy for now. She didn’t seem to want to talk about her health, and out of respect for her I didn’t want to push. If she didn’t confide in me soon, though, I felt like my heart would burst from worry. Keeping my nose out of someone’s business, someone that I loved, wasn’t my specialty. I’d have to confront her if she took too long in telling me.

Aunt Judith swallowed a bite of spaghetti and said, “So, dear, how was work today?”

I gave her a smile despite feeling the urge to cry. “It was fine. Brianna called. She said she and Michael plan on coming up for the weekend, but Kieran sent a summons for Saturday.”

Her eyebrows shot up in question. From the faint giggle that escaped her lips before she covered her mouth with her frail hand, I could have sworn she found my scheduling conflict more amusing than I did. “Sydney, whatever will you do?”

I tilted my head, giving her a stern look, chastising her like a mother would her child. “Aunt Judith, you find this funny, don’t you?”

I held my breath, trying not to laugh.

Her eyes lit up, the skin around them crinkling while she gave in. The sound of her laughing filled my soul with warmth. I gave in, laughing along with her.

“I suppose we have to find the good in all this, don’t we?” She still wore a smile as she twirled another bite-sized bit of noodles covered in sauce around her fork.

I glanced down at my plate, realizing I had already eaten twice as much as Aunt Judith, plus two hearty pieces of cheese bread. Full from dinner and content at seeing Aunt Judith happy for the first time in quite a while, I stood up to clear the dishes from the table. I finished putting them in the dishwasher—which was one of the best inventions of all time, besides the microwave—while Aunt Judith sipped her tea.

“Aunt Judith, I’m not sure how I should take you using my troubles as fodder for your amusement,” I teased.

I jumped when she placed a warm hand on my shoulder, startling her in the process. I turned toward her to make sure she was all right. That’s when I saw her place her hand over her heart. Dread bloomed darkness inside my own chest as she leaned against the counter for support, struggling to catch her breath.

Placing my hand on her elbow, I helped her back to the kitchen chair. “Aunt Judith, what is going on?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been getting an occasional twinge in my chest, but I don’t think it’s serious.”

I put a finger on her wrist, checking her pulse. It took me a minute to feel the beating against my touch. Her pulse was strong and regular, so what was going on?

Aunt Judith patted my cheek. “Don’t you worry, dear. I’m as strong as an ox. Now, help this old lady to bed, I’m tired.”

“Aunt Judith, if something was going on with you and your health, you would tell me right away?”

She smiled lovingly and patted my cheek with her warm hand. “Yes, darling, I will. But for now, I don’t want you worrying about me. You’ve got bigger worries to chew on.”

The light, playful mood from dinner had long retreated, replaced by a fresh smack of reality that Aunt Judith’s life wasn’t to be taken for granted. At that moment I made a decision. No longer was I going to let the vampires and werewolves push us around and interfere with our lives. The idea was fine, but I would have to figure out how to make that happen.

Tucking her into bed under the floral-patterned comforter Grandma Sky had adored, Aunt Judith fell sound asleep before I turned her nightstand light off. I kissed her cheek before easing the door closed behind me.

Upstairs in my room, I checked my phone. I smiled, despite my worrying about Aunt Judith’s health. Blake texted me.
SORRY FOR GETTING UPSET. I JUST GET PROTECTIVE SOMETIMES. LIFE-MATE, YOU DRIVE ME NUTS.

Grabbing Grandma’s journal from under my mattress, I tossed the book, along with my phone, onto the bed. After washing my face and brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I snuggled in beneath my own comforter. Picking my phone back up, I stared at Blake’s message for a while before responding. Being torn and love struck weren’t nearly strong enough words to describe what I was feeling.