Hex and the Single Witch (Vehicle City Vampires) (28 page)

Scrubbed the
tears from my eyes and blew my nose, and then pointed my car in the direction
of the station.

On my way to
work, I decided to make another detour.

It had been two
days since the Vampire Ball and still there was no sign of Galen. I was so
desperate to find him, rescue him from Devlin and possibly from Roark, I
decided to stop at Galen’s apartment to see if I could find any clues or pick
up any information on where he might be. If I had something personal of his I
could possibly put a tracking spell on it, or maybe have Mel put a tracking
spell on it, since I wasn’t exactly good with the spells. Maybe I could scry
for him. Maybe not. I usually didn’t have any luck scrying, which was one of
the first things a young witch was taught how to do.

I should have
asked Mel to go with me, but I had a feeling she’d say it was just a dead end.
Honestly, I wanted to be close to Galen’s things so I could feel close to him.
I wished he could be there so I could tell him about my mom. Plus, I just
wanted to soak in his essence and inhale his aroma.

As soon as I
walked into the apartment, Galen grabbed me in a bear hug. A ferocious bear
hug. He looked terrible. His eyes were bright green and filled with fear and
need, his clothes were dirty and ragged, and his face was smeared with dirt and
dried blood.

“What the hell?”
I screeched, then wrapped my arms around him. “I’ve been so worried about you.
What happened? Where have you been? Galen, are you hurt?” I tried pulling away
so I could get a better look at him. “You look like hell!”

“You smell so
appetizing!” His nostrils flared, his movements were wild, his eyes, oh his
eyes were like green fire. What was going on? I kept getting flickers and
images of blood and fire…and Devlin and those awful demons. I never received
any images from Galen before. He must have been too weak to block.

“I don’t
understand,” I stammered as his eyes held me captive. My fear was growing. I
had never seen him like this before. What did that bastard Devlin do to him?

“You are
bleeding; it is your time of the month. You smell of the most intimate
blood—when I have not fed in days!” The words hissed from him. A feral sound so
unlike the calm and cultured Galen I knew.

Oh, I was so stupid.
How could I overlook something like this? I had started my period last night. I
then remembered something I’d learned about staying away from animals during
that time of the month. I guess right now Galen was more animal than…well he
wasn’t human to begin with.

Damn, I
shouldn’t have come searching for him while I was literally dripping blood. He
had obviously not been feeding. Galen had been abstaining from blood before
this craziness. I didn’t know what had happened since he’d been gone...and now…I
came waltzing in, a walking buffet.

My fear spiked,
yet my desire surfaced, he could smell it, and I know it drove him wild. He
moved so fast I didn’t realize what was going on. His lips touched my neck and
his hands ripped at my clothes, the room spun. I couldn’t fight him. I didn’t
want to fight him. I wasn't thinking clearly and I didn't care.

I wanted it, I
wanted him. I needed him inside me. Any and all of him. I didn't care if it was
wrong. His grip tightened and suddenly his teeth slid right into me. I groaned,
the rush was amazing, my knees gave out. He caught me in a tighter embrace,
holding me in his arms while he drank fiercely from my throat, a sexual high
only better. My breath was fast as I clung to him, wanting him, wanting more,
not wanting him to stop drinking from me. What if he didn't stop, what if he
lost control? No, I couldn't think of that, he wouldn't, I trusted him. This
was my sweet Galen.

But it wasn’t my
sweet Galen. It was a starving vampire who had lost control.

The room kept spinning.
I grew very hot, very weak. I couldn't move. It felt like I was far away,
underwater somewhere. Extremely drunk. I was lost in his embrace, flowing into
him. It hurt. I could feel him pulling my blood from me now, like he’d been
drinking forever. Shouldn't he stop, had it been too long?

 “Galen? Galen!
Stop!” I tried to yell, but it came out a hoarse sob. It was really hurting
now. The pain ran down my neck in burning trails. “Oh, Goddess help me, Galen
please stop!” This time he heard me. I think. His hands ran up my neck then he
suddenly reared up pulling his fangs from my throat. His body propelled across
the room where he cowered against the wall, my blood on his lips, his eyes wild
with fear.

Then his eyes
cleared. Fear quickly replaced with horror. He crept over to me. “Oh Anwyn,
what have I done?” He cried. Then he very carefully and so gently picked me up
off the floor and lay me on the sofa.

 “Anwyn, Oh God,
I am so sorry. I lost control. I drank too much.” His eyes were no longer
filled with green fire and he didn’t look so wild. All the craziness replaced
with shame. “I have to get you water, orange juice, something to replenish you.
Maybe I should call a doctor. Hold on, please hold on. I'll be right back.”

The anguish in
his voice was unbearable. He looked so lost, so afraid. I think I saw a tear
slide down his cheek. His movements were so quick, so hurried he turned into a
blur. My mind went fuzzy. He took too much. I should have denied him. Not that
I really had a choice. This is so not how I imagined our first time, the first
bite.

I tried to sit
up. I was dizzy, nauseous; warm blood dripped down my neck. The room spun,
colors swirled, I was going to pass out. “Galen!” I screamed before everything
went dark.

I woke up; Galen
hovered over me, paler than I thought possible. I’d never seen him so
frightened. I felt much better so I tried to sit up.

“No, you must
not!” he put his hands gently on my chest and stopped me.

“Quit freaking
out, I’m all right.”

“I almost killed
you.”

“No, you didn’t.
I’m just not used to the blood loss. I should have told you the one time I
tried to donate blood, I got nauseous and passed out.” I felt sheepish,
remembering donating blood made me pass out, yet I had been dating a vampire.
Stupid, girl. This was all my fault.

“I drank too
much, unable to stop, I did not want to stop,” his voice was low, harsh,
labored. He stank of fear and shame. “You have no idea how lucky you are to be
wearing silver today.”

Silver? My fuzzy
brain questioned, then I remembered my mom and the necklace, but what did that
have to do with anything. Oh, right Galen has silver issues. Wow, Mom’s magick
really did protect me today.

“Galen, it’s not
your fault; I’ve been goading you and tempting you for weeks. Flaunting my body
in front of you, having sex with you all while you’ve been denying yourself the
blood you need. Then you’ve been missing for days… oh Galen, the ritual…the
demons… Devlin…what did he do to you? I had this feeling you would be here or I
could find you by coming here, so I came, never thinking you might be
starving…and I am bleeding. I’m so sorry Galen; I walked in like a buffet on
legs. It was just too much. It’s my fault.”

“Shh. No, it is
not your fault. I never should have drank from you.” He reached for me, then
stopped. I didn’t know if it was Mom’s locket or the wound on my neck that kept
him at bay. “I have to seal your wound but I do not want to give in to the
temptation to finish drinking you.”

“You won’t
Galen, I trust you. Just trust yourself.”

He quickly
leaned over and licked the blood off my neck making sure not to touch the
silver of the chain around my neck. He tongued the wound quickly, just enough
to seal and heal the bite.

Then he pulled
away like I was poison and fled from the apartment.

Still too weak
to move, I lay there until I fell asleep or passed out again. I’m not sure
which.

When I woke up
later, it was dark. When I stood up I wasn’t dizzy or nauseous so I moved
slowly and made it to my car. I barely remembered the drive home.

The next morning
I woke up to light streaming in my bedroom window. I was in my own bed still in
my clothes. It felt like I had a serious hangover.

Chapter 35

Good thing I
didn’t keep regular hours at work or I’d have a lot of explaining to do about
not showing up. I couldn’t tell Malone about Galen, he would surely seek Galen
out and stake him. So, I called Mike and apologized for not showing up the day
before and used the attempted rape by demon as an excuse for needing some time
alone. I felt bad about it because I knew he felt bad about the whole
situation, but it was all I could think of at the time.

I stood on my
porch and took a deep breath of the cool autumn air as it gently whooshed
around me. Not too strong, just enough it made the leaves dance around me. The
sun shone bright and dazzling in a perfect blue sky, not a cloud in sight. A
breeze kept moving around me, gently lifting my hair and caressing my skin like
an invisible lover.

It made me think
of Galen. I gently touched the place on my neck where Galen had bit me. It
healed but still hurt, not as bad as the emotional ache inside me. Galen was
avoiding me. I couldn’t blame him. He didn’t want or need to be tempted by the
scent of my blood again. I still couldn’t believe I had been so stupid. I think
my subconscious pushed me to get him to bite me. I wanted it. I wanted to be
ravaged by a vampire, no—not just any vampire, by my vampire...

Still, the
experience was not how I had imagined our first time, his first bite.

I sighed and
took another deep breath. I breathed in the rich October air. Nothing compared.
The scent took me away from worrying about Galen and made me think of apple
cider and donuts, hayrides and Halloween. The autumn air was as thick as syrup;
I could almost taste apples, dying leaves and crisp air mingling on my tongue.

My favorite time
of year, cool but not cold, it was a time of celebration, harvest time,
festivities and to make merry before the long cold winter. The ancient part of
me understood. Somewhere deep inside I remembered bonfires, the taste of mead
and ale, and Samhain celebrations. I ached for it as I ached for my childhood
memories of Halloween parties, hayrides and trick or treating. Maybe it was a
past life reaching its ghostly fingers into my mind or a part of my ancestral
collective conscious. Whatever, it was as real to me as my childhood memories.

Bittersweet and
nostalgic feelings flooded me as I walked down the stairs and into my garden
alive with the flaming rich colors of fall—red, gold, and orange leaves, the
brilliant burgundies, deep purples and burnt oranges of mums, and the yellow
and brown of late blooming sunflowers. Bright orange pumpkins peeked out from
under green leaves and vines.

I sat down on a
wooden bench and enjoyed the spectacular beauty surrounding me. I mourned the
end of summer and hated the short days and long nights coming. I hated winter,
hated how long it seemed to last. Already, I longed for spring and planned new
gardens in my head. Gardening was one of my talents. Whether it was one of my
supernatural abilities being in tune with nature or being blessed with a green
thumb, didn’t know. But, it was my escape, my relaxation to work the land and
watch beautiful things grow and bloom around me, a place of reflection and
tranquility.

I shook myself
to get rid of any lingering melancholy feelings about winter coming, the mess
hexing Flint, and about Galen and the murders, the situation with my mom…and
there was also the complicated thing with Malone. I prayed Malone didn’t hear
about what Galen had done to me, he would stake him in less than a heartbeat.

 I wanted to
enjoy the splendor of my garden before the first frost came and stole it away
from me. Or before whatever the hell bound my powers and worked at taking over
Flint to destroy it.

Samhain
officially started at midnight tomorrow. There weren’t going to be any hayrides
and celebrations this year, at least not for me. I needed to be ready. Pretty
sure all hell would break loose.

Chapter 36

I was already in
my nightgown when a quiet knock rapped at my door. I knew without looking it
was Galen. Maybe Mel was successfully unbinding some of those spells on me
because it seemed like my powers were finally coming back. Hoped so.

I swung the door
open and stepped to the side ushering Galen in, but instead he stood there and
looked at me.

“How are you?
Are you all right? Are you in pain?” he asked in a rush.

“I’m fine,
completely healed.” I wondered what else to say that wouldn’t make him bolt. “Are
you ready to talk about what happened?”

He shrugged. “Not
really but you deserve to know what is going on.” He sauntered in and sat down
on the sofa. I’d never seen him look so distracted. He put his head in his
hands and sighed, then sat up, nervously running his fingers through dark wavy
hair.

“What’s the deal
with Devlin, why does he want to hurt you?” I asked, trying to get the
conversation started.

“Because I
killed Roark, my sire, at least I thought I had killed the sadistic bastard.”
Anger blazed in his green eyes.