Aspens Vamp (10 page)

With the sound of a crash, with wood and shingles surrounding me, I now see JR standing in front of me. His eyes are redder than ever, fangs fully out, he is ready for a fight. He steps towards me then turns back to see Iris behind Daniel on the other side of the room.

"You stole something from me. I want it back."

Daniel stands in front of Iris guarding her with his body.

"Why her
, JR? I'm sure you can get what you need from anyone else. Leave her be. It is us you are seeking revenge on anyway, is it not?"

JR lets out a hiss as he stalks towards Daniel.

"This is true. However, I stole her first. She is mine now give her back."

I race over to Daniel and stand in front of Iris with him. There is no way in hell I am letting JR back anywhere near Iris.

"You can have her back over our dead bodies and we all know how difficult that can be for you JR."

He smiles showing his bright white fangs.

"You know nothing, my dear. Daniel has not taught you everything. Nicholas, however, taught me enough, the rest I had to learn on my own, although you know that already, don't you."

I look over at Daniel. The look in his eyes tells me that JR is right but I know not to press it right now. JR looks towards Daniel and I then towards Iris.

"What is your connection to this girl anyway? Why do you care? Are you two feeding off of her as well? You know we could all just share."

Daniel jumps towards JR. I see his fangs extending as he goes to grab him, unfortunately JR vanishes once again and reappears in the corner on the other side of the room
, close to what little of the roof is still standing.

"Ah Daniel, you love her.
You all plan to change her, do you not? Now I cannot allow that to happen."

JR releases his hands from the wall then flies down to stand in front of us again. Daniel takes a step towards him as JR does the same.

"She is mine!"

JR spits out as Daniel crouches down ready to attack.

"You cannot have her JR!"

Daniel springs towards JR right as JR jumps towards him. Daniel attempts to grab JR around the throat just when JR vanishes and reappears behind him, grabs him by the throat instead and tosses him across the room causing him to crash into the wall. I hear Iris scream. Daniel looks towards me.

"Jaci get her out of here!"

I am torn between wanting to help Daniel and getting Iris somewhere safe. I feel Iris grab my hand
. I know I have to get her out of here. We begin to run towards the bedroom door as I try to remember that she cannot run as fast as I do. Just as we make it to the bedroom door JR appears in front of us, with one swipe of his hand we are flying backwards and falling against the bedroom wall. I see JR coming towards us just as Michael, Avalon, and John show up in the hallway outside the bedroom. JR turns towards Michael.

"Michael! No!"

JR begins to head toward them. They all three phase into their wolf forms and charge toward JR. Just as I think they have him pinned he is gone again. How does he do that? I look around the room but I don't see him anywhere.

I hear Daniel's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Jaci, get Iris out of here now!"

I take Iris by the hand and run as fast as we can toward the bedroom door. This time we make it out and run downstairs. I can hear rustling and crashing upstairs. I know JR is back. I have to help them.

I get Iris into a closet in one of the bedrooms downstairs before heading back towards the guys and JR. Before I could even get onto one step I hear a crash. I look up to see the ceiling falling through along with my wolves. Daniel! Where in the hell is Daniel?

"I'm right behind you."

Thank the heavens Daniel is here. I look toward my wolves to see each of them standing on all fours and seem to be fine. JR begins backing up as we all stalk toward him. His evil laugh sends shivers down my spine.

"You cannot defeat me. None of you can defeat me. I am more powerful than you can even imagine."

Just hearing his voice scares me but I can't let him see that. John crouches down as if ready to attack.

"Individually we may not be able to defeat you JR
, but all of us can!"

John flies through the air, ready to take JR's head off when he vanishes again. I am starting to believe that we can't defeat him at all. Within seconds I see him again on top of Michael. Michael twists and turns
, trying to shake JR off of his back but it is no use. John, Daniel, Avalon and I all run towards JR but he throws his hand forward and we all go flying backwards, hitting the wall on the other side of the living room. Just as I am able to shake it off I see JR sink his teeth into Michael's back!

"No!"

I run toward JR determined not to let him harm Michael but just as I get near he throws me back again with the same force as before. I see Michael fall to the floor before my very eyes. My heart begins to ache. This can't be happening. It just can't be. I look to my right to see Avalon and John finally able to stand. Once again we all run toward JR just as he bites his wrist and I see blood drip down into Michael's mouth! As soon as we reach JR he disappears, an evil, horrible, laugh still lingering in the air.

What do we do now?

This can't be happening. Can a shape shifter even turn into a vampire? I really don't know what I am more worried about, Michael dying or becoming a vampire. I watch as he phases back into human form then as he begins thrashes around in pain. I try to hold him down but it is proving very difficult. Avalon and John phase back then throw some clothes on as Daniel helps me hold Michael.

"Have you ever seen a shape shifter turn into a vampire Daniel?"

Daniel looks down at Michael. Without a word he shakes his head and I have my answer. Of course he has never seen it before. How often would this even happen?

What feels like forever have only been a few minutes as Avalon and John come running back into the room.

"I found us a townhouse to rent since this house has been completely destroyed. I tried finding another house but they are all taken. We will have to be even more discreet than usual which means we will have to try and make sure that Michael is as silent as possible during this change."

We all nod in agreement. Avalon looks over at me, I am sure she can see the concern all over my face.

"Everything will be okay
, Jaci. You, John, and Daniel take Michael to the townhouse, Iris and I will get our stuff together and will meet you there."

I nod my gratitude to her as John and Daniel begin to pick Michael up off of the living room floor. Michael cries out in pain again. I can barely stand it. I grab a blanket and wrap it around him. I follow John and Daniel out to the car.

It is full blown day light now which means sun and people everywhere. We lay Michael in the back seat of John's black Escalade. John jumps into the driver’s seat as Daniel takes the passenger side and I get in the back with Michael and place his head into my lap. I rub his head the entire drive which wasn't long at all.

The townhouse is in Aspen's core, only two blocks away from the gondola. It is beautiful red brick and wood. The downside is people are everywhere around us, after all it is a townhouse so being discreet is going to prove difficult.

We settle Michael into the guest bedroom. I pull a chair up to the queen size bed and settle myself in because Lord knows I will not be leaving his side. Avalon and Iris quickly get to the townhouse with all of our things then they all settle in to their rooms as well.

I sit next to Michael for what seems like hours. Every time he starts to toss, turn, and thrash around on the bed screaming in pain I have to sit on top of him to stop him from falling off. The worst part is having to cover his mouth while he screams so no one can hear him. It feels like torture. Every time he screams my heart breaks. I know the pain he is going through. It's agony. It's like burning from the inside out and you are paralyzed. I'd give anything to switch places with him.

I can sense when he is about to start screaming again and brace myself. I jump on the bed and place one knee on his left side on top of his arm while the other knee does the same on the other side of his body. His eyes stayed closed but his brows are extremely tense. I place one hand on his chest as I place the other
hand over his mouth. This is killing me.

He begins fighting against me. I can feel him trying to buck me off the bed. He is screaming so loud even through my hand that I am afraid neighbors still might hear. John and Daniel come in to help by holding his feet down. I can hear them as they stand behind me even over Michaels's screams.

"We have got to get some rope or chains or something so Jaci can stop sitting on him." Daniel has a point there.

"Do you think it will be any easier on her with him tied up?" John has a point as well.

Michael begins to calm again. Once I am sure he is done screaming I climb back down off of the bed and resume my place in my chair. John and Daniel both place their hand on my shoulder as they leave the room as if trying to console me. I appreciate the gesture however; it is lost on me right now.

Soon Avalon comes in the room holding two coffee cups.

"I thought you might need this."

She hands the coffee cup over to me. At first I wanted to turn her down but just the smell of the sweet aroma is making my mouth water. I take a sip of the very hot coffee perfectly fixed with just the right amount of cream and sugar. The taste explodes on my tongue. I almost forgot what coffee tastes like. Almost. I savor the caffeine fix as I look over at my best friend. She looks just as exhausted as me. She brushes her beautiful black hair away from her eyes and I can see the circles beginning to form.

"You should sleep Ava."

She looks to me with a
who are you kidding
look on her face.

"There is no way I could sleep right now knowing you and Michael are going through this." She takes my hand as I feel the tears building in my eyes. I set the coffee cup on the side table then place my head in my hands.

"When are they going to get the drugs for him Ava? I don't know how much longer either of us can take it. Wait, who is getting the drugs anyway?"

Just then I hear the doorbell ring. Who could that be? We are all here. Oh my God what if someone heard Michael screaming. Avalon gets up and goes to see what is going on while I sit here with Michael. What if it's JR? God
, we do not need any of this while Michael is changing.

I hear a mixture of footsteps coming up the stairs which is easy given how the stairs are made of wood with no carpet to soften the noise. No one is running so that is a good sign, I suppose. I see the door knob turn and steady myself for the worst. Once the door opens I let out the breath I am holding. I am relieved to see my other best friend Lena with her other half Andrew and they are holding what appears to be syringes and an IV! The tears overflow down my cheeks.

As Andrew walks over to set Michael up with his IV for the meds and blood, I run over to Lena and throw my arms around her. The happiness in seeing my friend is showing all over my face. The tears are flowing and refuse to stop. I have everyone I care about all in one place. My heart is full. Michael will get the drugs he needs to ease the pain of the turn and the blood supply so he won't be starving when he wakes up. Finally I can breathe. Lena hugs then places both hands on my face.

"Jaci, how are you? Are you okay?"

Before I can answer the tears pour over again. I can't even talk I am sobbing so much. Thank God for Avalon.

"She will be okay. She is just exhausted
, plus her boyfriend just got bit by a vampire and is in the process of turning so she is overwhelmed at the moment." Now that Avalon mentions it I am feeling more exhausted than before. I begin to sway. Luckily, I am still holding on to Lena.

"Oh Jaci, I want to catch up but you are exhausted. Come on
, get some sleep. You are not going to be any help to Michael like this."

I look at Michael lying on the bed. He looks peaceful now although I know the internal struggle that is still going on inside of his head. I was there not too long ago.

"I can't leave him, Lena."

Lena nods then pulls a chair next to the one I have been sitting in and motions for me to sit down. Avalon and Andrew politely walk out of the room with a smile of encouragement.

"If you want to stay here with him that's fine but I am going to sit here with you until you fall asleep. Okay?"

I manage a smile as I lay back against the chair.

"I really love him Lena. I fought him for so long then when I finally give in to him, this happens. I can't lose him."

Lena pats my hand that she is holding.

"You won't lose him Jaci. I don't know what is going to come of this. I've never seen a shape shifter vampire before. Who knows, this could be very interesting. Everything will be fine dear I promise."

I look over at my friend. She hasn't changed a bit. In fact she looks even better. Her blonde hair now cut into a short bob and her blue eyes sparkled with what can only be considered love. She found her soul mate and I couldn't be happier for her. I can only hope that Michael wakes from this and he and I can be just as happy. As I think of a future with this man lying before me, I can feel my eye lids closing more and more until I am lost to the blackness.

*****

I hear a knock on the bedroom door that awakens me from my dreams. Slowly the door opens as Avalon slips in with coffee in hand. She hands the coffee cup to me then takes a seat in the chair next to mine.

"You have got to eat something Jaci. You can't just sit here until he wakes up. We have no idea when that may be."

Now that Avalon mentions that my stomach is starting to ache. The lack of food and blood is starting to weigh on me but I will not move. I can't.

"I know Ava but I can't. What if I leave and he wakes up or worse something happens and I'm not here?"

Avalon places her hand on my shoulder.

"There is a house full of people. If anything were to happen there are six of us here. One of us could go find you while the rest see to Michael, but Jaci, I don't see it coming to that. You will not be any help to Michael like this. You need to be at your strongest, not just for you but for him as well. Take someone with you if you want."

She is right. I know she is but I just don't know if my body will let me leave him. I feel like someone has glued my skinny ass to this chair. I do need to feed though and it feels like it is night time so I could run out, feed, and be back within an hour.

"I hate when you’re right, Ava."

Avalon lets out a giggle of victory then stands before me.

"Come on Jaci, I will help you."

I take Avalon's hand as she pulls me to stand. She turns me toward the bedroom door then gives me a little push. As I walk out of the door and into the
hallway I look back at my Michael again. He looks so peaceful. I can do this. I will be back in a few minutes anyway.

I look once again at Avalon who mouths the word, "
Go
," and I turn and walk up the long wooden chairs to the living area.

I didn't really notice this place when we first arrived mainly because I was so worried about Michael but now that I look around
, this townhouse is absolutely breathtaking. The wood is a beautiful oak color and it is everywhere from the floors to the cabinets to the beams in the ceiling.

I walk up the wooden stairs to the living room. I don't see anyone but I can hear them. I turn to see everyone in the kitchen, go figure. I walk around the slight corner to find everyone sitting or standing around the black marble island in the middle of the room. Everyone is silent but the television sitting on the kitchen counter is on. I walk over to Lena who looks as if she has been crying.

"What is going on Lena?"

She turns to me with a small shock on her face.

"Is Michael okay?"

I nod. "Yes
, Michael is fine. Now what is going on?"

John turns his chair toward me.

"Two women have been found dead not far from here. Loss of blood is the reason for both. Each of the women was found with a huge cut on them somewhere which leads the police to think they are accidents."

I feel the anger inside my bones.

"You do not feel as though its accidents do you John?" John looks me right in the eye. I know the answer before he even says it.

"No I don't. It's JR."

We have to stop this asshole! How many women is he going to kill? He won't stop. He will just move to another location and do it again. That is after he destroys all of us.

"We have to stop him." I begin to feel unsteady on my feet. I sway just a little as my eyes threaten to close.

"Jaci, are you okay?"

Lena comes to my side to grab my arm. I feel extremely weak all of a sudden. Daniel comes to take my other arm, both of them hoping to keep me on my feet.

"She needs to feed."

Lena looks almost scared at the idea.

"I will come with you Jaci."

As much as I love my friend I need someone who understands plus I wouldn't mind picking Daniel's brain if I can while we are out.

"Thanks Lena but I would like Daniel to come if that is okay."

Lena looks concerned but gives Daniel the okay. Daniel takes my arm but stops to place a kiss to Iris's forehead on our way down the stairs and out of the front door. My hunger build
s with every step I take.

As we walk outside the cool night air hits me right in the face. It feels amazing. My stomach twists even tighter, the pain shoots straight down my legs, I feel as though I might double over but Daniel holds me up. The stars are out in full force but still are a good bit of people. I can smell their blood. Each person that walks near me I can smell it. It is making my mouth water and is about to turn me into a crazy person.

"Jaci, calm down, I can hear the growls your making. If I can hear you others might as well." Daniel whispers to me as we walk.

I hadn't even realized I was even making a noise.

We make our way to the corner of Original St and Main St when Daniel
stops. I look around then finally I see what he must be seeing. There is a man unloading his car. He seems to be the only one outside. This is it.

I slowly stalk over to where he is unloading his Mercedes E Class and wait to make sure he is fact the only person around. As soon as I am sure
, I take control over him. Like someone totally in a trace he stands, turns, and begins walking toward the trees just in the distance. My vampire instincts have kicked in. My eyes are locked on him as my ears are open, listening to every little sound around me. Luckily, I only hear animals roaming around in the woods. There is no sound of another human near us.

I walk up to him and feel my fangs slide out as the smell of his blood invades my nostrils. My stomach twists again and I know I can't waste a minute. I lean in, clasp his throat in my hand, and bite down at the nap of his neck. The sweet, warm, liquid slides down my throat. With every pull my pains eases a little more. He begins to squirm as the pleasure takes over so I make sure to hold on tighter. He isn't falling until I am finished. I take one last long pull before I release him. He falls right to the ground. His ass will be sore later from that one.

That red delicious liquid of life makes me feel like me again. I feel stronger already. I release the gentleman from his trance; give him the idea to tell his wife that someone asked him for directions which is what took him so long, and I speed back to the road where I find Daniel.

"That didn't take you long."

I couldn't help but laugh at Daniel. "Well, when you’re starving..."

He laughs with me. "Touché`"

We walk in silence long enough to where it's killing me.

"How is Iris?"

Daniel looks up at the sky then back down at his feet.

"She is okay. She is a little bummed that she isn't the one turning right now
but she understands."

I can't help but see the small frown on his face.

"You are a bit bummed, too."

It wasn't really a question.

"I know I shouldn't be with what you and Michael are going through but I wish she was turning right now. I wouldn't have to worry about her so much. I wouldn't have to worry about hurting her when I touch her or JR hurting her again."

I know how he feels. I feel terrible for him and her. It is only a matter of time and she can be turning as well. We walk a little more, I can see the townhouse and I know I have to ask him now.

"What do you think is going to happen to Michael? Seriously."

Daniel stops mid step. He looks down at me and I can tell he really doesn't have an answer.

"I don't know Jaci. What I think may happen is he will still be a shifter but now he will have to live off blood as well as food. He was already pretty fast but now he'll probably be faster and stronger. But I couldn't tell you for sure. I have never heard of it happening before."

I hope Daniel is right. We walk a little more before I decide to ask him about JR.

"Why can JR just vanish like he does? I mean I know we are fast but it's like he just disappears. Can you do that?"

Daniel stops walking again.

"I have never really tried. I have met people who could do it. They explained it to me once or twice but I have never really needed it."

I look at him with somber eyes.

"Until now."

He looks down at the ground.

"Yes Jaci, until now."

We walk back into the townhouse and up the stairs to find everyone but Avalon sitting around the living room with wine glasses in hand and the beautiful gas fireplace going in full force. Lena jumps up and hugs me once she notices I'm there. She is so wrapped up in Andrew. I wonder if Michael and I will be that way as well.

"Michael has begun stirring a bit. He hasn't woken up yet but we think
its close."

I hug Lena and race to Michael's side in the guest bedroom.

As I walk inside the candle lit room I see Avalon sitting in the same chair I left her in and Michael tossing a bit but nothing like before.

"Is it not too early for this Ava?"

Avalon pats the chair next to hers urging me to sit down. I sit next to her and hold on to Michael's hand.

"I told you before we don't know what to expect here. With Michael already being a shifter his body is already in its peak condition. It might not take as long as usual."

Avalon takes my other hand as I sit and watch him.

It is hard to watch such a strong, virile man in such a venerable position. I feel protective of him, kind of like if JR came into this room right now I would throw myself on top of Michael. That thought alone sends shivers down my spine. We have to do something about JR and soon or else he is going to kill more and more innocent people. I lay my head down on my hand that is holding his. I feel the tears building in my eyes. Please wake up and be okay. Please.

I feel a hand resting on my head. I assume it is Avalon until I hear him call my name. It is barely a whisper, so much so that at first I think I'm hearing things until I look up to see Michael's eyes open and looking down at me.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."