Into Death's Arms (33 page)

     “I’ll be home in a couple of days we should be wrapped up here tomorrow o
r the night after.” He answered,
“Bye.”

      “Bye,” I squeaked.
I hung up the phone quick. “Are you trying to kill me?” I asked Dayton.

      He looked up at me with those neon yellow eyes and whispered, “Sweetheart, I already tried to kill you remember, your dadd
y threatened to cut off my head,” h
e grinned.
The man was pure evil.
Unfortunately,
I seemed to be reveling in the naughty lately.

    “Ass,” I mumbled and shoved him away from me.

   He grabbed for me again and I swung away. I knew he could catch me if he reall
y wanted to and so did he. He was letting me walk away.

    “I really do have things I have to do today.” I lied, “and don’t you have like a conference room full of
Vamp
ires
waiting for you?”

   He shrugged, “They can wait.” He said dismissively.  He was moving towards me again. The way he moved made me feel like I was being stalked by a tiger or some other large predator.

     I sighed and buttoned my fly. “I really didn’t come here for this Dayton.” I said trying to remind him, we weren’t doing this but it’s hard to deny when you’re still all untucked and hanging out everywhere. I pulled up the corset and tried to tie it again.

    “I know,” he said rationally. Then he smiled that big brilliant smile kind of like the cartoons when the cat corners the bird. “The AoD came here to warn the
Vamp
ire
,” he paused as if to be sure I was getting all this,
“that
the
Shifters
were going to attack him.”  I moved toward the door.

   “Umm, yep, that’s why I came so I’ll just be…”

   He grabbed my arms and spun me so I was facing away from him. Then pressed me against the door hard enough I couldn’t move my arms. Trapped damn it. “You’re all unlaced Macyn.” He commented running his hands up my back under the corset. Little goose bumps popped out all over my body, traitors. “I am going to let you go this time
my AoD but next time you come to me dressed like you are now or,” he paused  to lean in his mouth brushing my ear, “Any variation of this outfit, I know how you like to play word games, I won’t be so easy
going
.” He threatened. This was
easygoing, I thought confused.
I felt like he’d set my entire body on fire. Then all businesslike he tied up the back and stepped away from me. I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, damn
that
Vamp
ire
.

    Great I was lamenting the fact that the
Vamp
ire
was letting me go.
I pulled myself together. He went back into the giant closet and got himself dressed by the time he came out I was breathing normal and pretty sure I wasn’t flushed from head to toe anymore. I say pretty
sure,
because watching him move in that damn designer suit was making me think he needed to go back to being
half-naked
. I blinked to get the image out of my head.  He ran his fingers through his hair. Have I mentioned how much I love that hair? So soft so…see flushed. He opened the door to let me out. His secretary was arguing with the men he’d been in the conference room with earlier. “If you’ll just wait a moment longer I’m sure Mr. Tameron…” she broke off beaming over at Dayton.

   
“Were you going somewhere Kane,
” he asked the
Vamp
who seemed to be in charge.

    Kane a
Vamp
with a mane of blond hair and spearmint green eyes looked up at him.  “I was not sure you were coming back.” Kane eyeballed me. So what was he saying? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know but hell he was a
Vamp
so I wasn’t sure I cared.

     
I smiled sweetly. “See I learn the best stuff when I come here.
Vamp
ire
named Kane in my city, check.” I pretended to check his name off a list. I sauntered down the hall toward the elevat
or. I was about halfway to the elevator
when the door dinged and seven, yes ladies and gentlemen, count them, seven
Shifters
stepped out.
Briefly, I thought of a clown car. I just couldn’t figure out how they’d all fit in that little elevator. The
y
stepped from the elevator and shifted.
They didn’t
shift like the bears had shifted. Which had been a slow movement
this, I took a shuddering
breath;
there was nothing slow about it. They flowed into their warrior forms. Like they were liquid for a moment and poured into the new form. The lead
er was definitely a lion. Tawny-fur
rolled from the perfect blond of his hair down his body like someone was
spray-painting
it on. Black claws three inches in length tore away from where his nails had been.  His eyelids closed and when he opened
them,
they were a tawny melted butter color. His pupil was almost none existent. The bones in his jaw crunched as they moved forward. I had to flinch it just sounded painful. His incisors grew long while his other teeth became more pointed, good for rending flesh.  He had been a good 6’7
”
before the shift now he was easily 7’3
”
.

     
I spared a look at the others. On his left stood two more lions, they weren’t nearly as impressive in size as he but still big. One was
6’9 with
that same golden fur.  The other about 6’7 but his fur was a creamy white. Albino I guess, did
Shifters
come Albino? He was almost pretty if not for those nasty claws that clenched like he could already feel my skin giving way. 

     
Behind him a wolf stood, well not technically a
wolf,
a werewolf his fur was grey and he wasn’t as tall as the lions but his snout was bigger, it contained way more teeth. On the leaders right hand side stood anther wolf this one was black and two bears.

  
I hated werebears.

 
They were bigger than the wolves. Heck they were bigger than most of the lions. One stood about
7 foot
even. Coarse black fur covered his body and while his teeth weren’t as impressive as the
wolves,
his hands were huge. I could just see him palming my whole head. The other was white but didn’t have the albin
o look more like a polar bear, w
hich was possible as he stood 7’2 and must have weighed about a ton.

    The smaller wol
f,
the grey one
, held up a crossbow I had time to blink before a silver bolt was loosed and flying toward Dayton’s chest. I felt my eyes widen. “Oh hell,” I muttered.
I pulled on my power it poured out over us.
White light surged from my hands enveloping not only me but Dayton as well, umm that had never happened before!
I felt
white light
coat my body like a cool shell. I took a small-relieved breath. Facing
Shifters
is scary, facing
Shifters
with
my power all aglow was
a little less so.
The
Shifters
turned away from the bright light. They might be able to go out during the day unlike the others but they were still sensitive to light.
I didn’t wait for them to
recover;
I stepped to the side and engaged the polar werebear.
I pulled out my
Sig
and shot him twice. I hadn’t brought my sword but I had several knives stashed on my person. I threw one i
t sank in and he
bellowed
.  I yanked it back out. The light had faded enough that the
Shifters
could now see. Blood welled from the wound. Good, I thought.

     “Holy shit,
”
I heard Kane, the
Vamp
ire
, exclaim.
I glanced back at the
Vamp
s and smiled D
ayton was covered in white light
very like my own, I knew he hadn’t done it. I could feel my power connected to it.
I smiled.

     “You alright
, baby?” I
asked, while I punched another knife
into the big ass bear again.
The bear reared back
,
and managed to get a grip on my left arm and wrenched me around
trying to get me in front of him.
I stopped fighting his grip and he slung me across the room instead of right in front of him.

    I slid to a stop right by Dayton’s feet. He reached down and took my arm, lifting me up
. “Yes, I am fine
.
You?
” He answered
flexing his claws
. Oh yeah I thought claws and fangs. My AoLi was tough. Shit, did I just think that? Yep, I guess I did. Ah, I was screwed. The silver spike
had hit him in the shoulder
. Apparently, he’d seen it coming too.

     I gripped it. “Can I borrow this?” I asked. He nodded. I pulled it loo
se, and turned back toward the
Shifters
.
“Thanks.” I said lightly before turning back to face the
Shifters
again.

    Human words tore themselves from the lion’s throat. “Kill the
Vamp
ire
,
I’ll
bag the bitch.” He ordered.
The
y
moved together like it was choreographed. Yikes, they must work together a lot. Why oh, why did I keep
leaving the house without all my weapons
?
I needed my sword and while I was
wishing,
I wanted my automatic weapons.
I thought to myself as the enormous werelion prowled towards me.

     I moved away from Dayton I needed room to move and he was going to have problems of his ow
n real soon. I braced myself. The lion
roared it was that real
lion-sounding
roar you know the one that in the jungle would have all lesser animals running in all directions. 

  
It made me freeze in my tracks. I guess that was what it was supposed to do because he sprang forward like he’d been thrown and landed bodily on top of me. I was not expecting that. He pinned me beneath all that massive
weight. I couldn’t move.
Crap,
his head came in and he bit through
my shoulder
.  Then he shook his head tearing away a chunk of flesh, my flesh.  Think, I told myself. It’s hard to think when a
300-pound
werelion is trying to eat you. I looked up as he reared back to take another bite out of m
e. Oh hell no, I turned my knife
in my hand h
ilt first and slammed the handle
into the bridge of his big furry nose. He made a kind of screeching sound and brought his head back again.
“Bitch,” he snarled.
Woo hoo at least he hadn’t bit me again!

   
I
plunged
the blade
toward his throat.
“You already said that,
” I spat. I really didn’t like being called a bitch.

    
He jerked to side and I only nicked him. He seized my wrist and squeezed. Holy mother of…I could actually feel the bone giving way beneath his powerful grip.
He breathed heavily above me, his hot breath blasting my face like a furnace. “Damn,
Shifter
ever heard of Crest. Your pharmacist can help you pick
a toothpaste
that is rig
ht for you,
” I quipped. I had to do something b
lackness threatened to overcome me. People just aren’t made to stay conscious while their bones are smushed. 

   
“Keep joking after our King is done with you it’ll be my turn.” He licked my face. EWE!
My
other hand was still free but
so I drove my th
umb into his left eye.
He yowled but didn’t let go
.
H
is other hand closed around my throat. What was up with
Shadow-born
always trying to choke the life out of me? I closed my eyes.

    
I was fortunate he didn’t really want to kill me. Kinsley wanted me alive. Otherwise, I would have been toast. He was leaning heavily on my chest trying to make me lose consciousness and he was succeeding. I wedged my legs up behind him and shoved with every ounce of strength I had in me. He flipped over my head. I scampered away as fast as my now overextended legs would carry me. He growled and leapt at me again. This time I was more prepared I dodge at the last moment and cut his throat wide.
He
staggered toward me again. He was losing a good amount of blood now.
He
lunged one final time trying to take me down with his enormous weight. I let him pin me again this time with one major difference. I put my
Sig
to the side of his neck and pulled the trigger. I kept pulling it until his spine gave way. 
His eyes went wide.
He rolled away from me. Well he wasn’t d
ead but at least his throat
now matched my poor tore up shoulder. Also, he wasn’t squishing me anymore.  I t
umbled into a standing position.
He took a minute or two to get up which was okay with me. I needed some recovery time too. When he turned to face
me,
he was completely healed. My jaw dropped.