Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society) (10 page)

I’m pulling myself away in the tall weeds as Penton yells
after me, but I don’t listen and not knowing where I am going, just heading
wherever my rapidly beating heart is taking me when I feel the cold hand grip
my ankle, flipping me over onto my back as the orange eyes and pale face come
into focus. His black tattoo curves around his eye, and his look freezes me as
I’m reduced to pleading. My leopard recoils, slinking into the recesses of my
mind to try and prepare for a counterstrike.

“Penton can’t hold true to his promise of protection,” the
man growls into my ear, his lips only a hair away from my skin as his sickening
scent washes over me and I gag, trying to hold my breath and struggle from his
grasp. His fingers tighten around my jaw, forcing my eyes to his as a wave of
bee sting like pricks fills my body and I scream out in pain, the sensation
bringing tears to my eyes. His touch makes my skin crawl and my limbs shake
involuntarily as he presses his lips to mine.

“This is what happened to his precious Helen when he chose
her over his family,” the man whispers in my ear as his eyes start to glow even
brighter, pulling me in until I’m still and I can’t move. I’m screaming
internally, but no sounds will come out. He smiles down at me as his grip
tightens on my chin again, and when his lips touch mine, I’m transported once
more.

My body is humming with pain and a loud moan slips over my
sore lips as my tongue sweeps out on the tender flesh, tasting my own blood
running freely from more than one cut. I try to move, but find my hands tied
tight to a tree as my legs are forced apart, my clothes torn and scattered
around my body in bloody shards. My vision is blurred with tears and blood, one
of my eyes throbbing, and I’m guessing it’s swollen as I try to look around me
some more in the dark, finding a pair of white-blue eyes watching me intently.

“Finally breaking your silence, sweet Helen?” The dark, fear
inducing voice rolls over me as the weight of his stare bears down on me,
making my skin heat and my wounds ache. I want to scream at the top of my
lungs, but that would only give him what he wants. As I struggle, my wounds and
soreness takes over, and I can’t help but moan again, hearing twigs breaking
and returning my attention to the eyes. The shadowy form moves from the dark to
reveal a being about the same build as Penton, but this one has bright blonde
hair; so bright it’s almost white, and as I find myself staring at him, he
laughs.

“My brother is an idiot to think our parents would let him
leave us, leave his destiny, for you; a mere mortal woman. Tsk
tsk
tsk
.” He smiles and I see his
tongue run over his lips in a hungry manner, the look in his eyes turning from
mocking to lust in a flash. My stomach rolls as he comes closer, his warm hands
roaming over my bared and cut chest, and I cry out slightly before I remember
to bite my tongue.

His hand runs up my neck and into my hair, tugging my head
back so that I see the blade in his hand up close and personal as he brings it
to my cheek. The bright moonlight reflects off the metal, chilling my blood
because I can see what he plans to do with that in the look in his eyes; the
evil lust very evident in his stare. The cool touch of it sends shivers through
my body and the tears spring from my eyes, flowing freely down my cheeks as I
try my best to hold in the cries.

Penton where are you?
I scream in my head, trying to
jerk from his grasp, but he holds me tight, bringing his mouth down hard on
mine. His tongue tries to gain entrance, but I keep my lips clamped shut and he
growls in protest, biting down into my bottom lip with sharp teeth; sharper
than they should be, and they drag a scream from me, causing him to smile as my
blood runs over his lips.

“My brother cannot help you.” He laughs, bringing the blade
up against my cheek, and then dragging it down my chest and stomach, stopping
just as the tip grazes my clit. “But I will make sure he hears your screams in
his dreams for centuries to come.”

Those glowing orange eyes appear above me again as a hand
clamps down around my throat, holding me while choking me just slightly to
cause my screams to come out in coughs when the blade slices through my
entrance. I think my screams might literally rip from my chest as a hard slap
comes down across my cheek.

“Come back, Rowena,” Penton’s voice is a far away echo as
the pain radiates through my body, the blade cutting and slicing repeatedly as
I scream out and get slapped again.
“Rowena!
Wake up!”

I feel hands around my ankles, and as I scream out again
from the bite of this blonde man’s blade, the darkness dissipates around me and
I gasp when air rushes into my lungs. My chest is heaving, trying to replace
the oxygen that I’ve been deprived as my vision starts to clear, flashing back
and forth to the orange eyes and the interior of the
Landrover
.

“What the fuck are these things?” Blaine’s frustrated voice
pulls me from the haze as my skin still crawls from the pain. I’m in Penton’s
arms in the back seat, sweat soaking my clothes as Blaine swerves all over the
thruway. Horns are blaring at us as I see a shadow flash by the passenger
window along with a fingernail on chalkboard screeching sound coming from
behind me. He swerves hard to the left, shoving me into Penton’s chest as I
turn to see bright red eyes glaring at me from the back window. I don’t hold in
the shiver of fright when I close my eyes only to have a flash of that blade,
those orange eyes, and the feeling of the sharp edge cutting through my
entrance run through my mind. Penton’s arms wrap around me, holding me to his
warm chest.

“They are a form of Ghoul, mutated by
Cearbhall’s
dark magic,” Penton shouts, pushing me down onto the floor gently. “Stay down
and take this.” He hands me a small dagger with a dark blade and steps over me
to slide into the passenger seat.

“Who the fuck is
Cearbhall
?”
I shout as the scraping of the nails on the glass gets louder, making my
leopard spring to the surface and hiss in return; my hands tightening around
the handle of the dagger.

“And what the hell is a Ghoul?” Blaine yells as he swerves
and I smash my head into the side of his seat, hissing at one of the winged
things banging into our vehicle as it stares at me through the window just
above my head.

“Just focus on the road,” Penton grinds out and I look up,
catching his eyes as he glances back. I see his sword is in his right hand, at
the ready, with the bright silver steel reflecting the faint moonlight and
lights from the thruway as we speed by. I can see the anger and hatred in his
eyes when he passes over me and turns his attention to the disgusting creature
latched onto the back hatch, clawing at the glass. “Kitten, I need you to do
something.”

“What’s that?” I have to keep from screaming when one of the
things chasing us crashes into the back passenger door, rocking the vehicle and
making Blaine swear as Penton’s eyes find me. His hand sweeps back and cups my
cheek, calming me the instant his skin touches mine.

“I need you to stay in the vehicle, no matter what.” As soon
as the words leave his lips I’m shaking my head in disagreement, but his grip
on my face tightens and his eyes seem to blaze in the darkening interior. “You
will stay in here, and so will you, Blaine.” He moves his stare from me to my
other, still swearing, mate, and Blaine tells him to fuck off. “You will both
listen. A Ghouls bite is almost certain death to a
Were
;
your sister almost died from one.” He looks back down on me with an enormous
sadness in his eyes, and I feel the pain that runs through his heart. It’s so
intense it makes my chest hurt and tears find my lashes as I slowly nod.

“Now, just keep driving. Head for the address I gave you,
and when you get there, call the number on the paper.” Penton places his hand
on Blaine’s shoulder, getting him to take his eyes from the road for only a
second and nod. I can sense what he’s about to do and I want to scream out
‘No!’, but I can’t, there is something keeping me silent. My lips move, but
nothing comes out and I let the tears fall onto my cheeks as Penton looks back down
at me.

I feel
so
small under his stare as
I’m sandwiched between the back seats and the front on the floor. I can see the
love in his eyes as he smiles slightly, the back of his hand wiping some of the
moisture from my cheeks as he brushes his finger across it. I’m begging him to
stay in my mind and he shakes his head slowly, sadness replacing the love in
his eyes.

Before I can reach up and grasp his hand, he’s gone and the
passenger door is swinging open wildly, letting in the cold and the snow of the
New York air. I’m frozen in place as my mind tries to comprehend that Penton
just jumped from our speeding vehicle into the dark, snowy thruway.

“Fuck! Get up here Row and shut that door!” Blaine yells as
he swerves again, and I scramble to my knees, sliding into the leather seat and
reaching for the door handle. Just as my fingers wrap around the now freezing
plastic my wrist is surrounded by a slimy, long clawed hand and a startled
scream leaves my mouth as I try to jerk the door shut.

The glowing red eyes find me as I look above, on the roof of
the SUV, and the hand squeezes my wrist tighter. I feel Blaine’s hand tug on
the waist of my jeans, trying to pull me back in the car as the Ghoul hisses at
me, the things dark skin oozing something onto my hand, and I can see it
dripping down the sides of the car. Blaine tugs on my waistband one more time
as an ear piercing howl rings through the night, even breaking the gushing wind
swirling around us and the Ghoul looks up, his hold loosening, and I take
advantage, sliding in the car with Blaine’s momentum and slamming the door
shut.

In the dark interior of the
Landrover
my wrist is throbbing, but I pay no attention. Blaine is breathing as hard as I
am, and sneaking a side long glance in his direction I can see his features are
fighting to go back to all human; his canines elongated along with his fingers,
which are sporting razor sharp claws encircling the steering wheel and his eyes
glowing bright hazel, the transformation no doubt from my struggle with the
Ghoul.

I reach my hand over and place it on his thigh, squeezing
lightly. “I’m okay, B. I’m okay. Just drive.” I nod toward the road as he
sneaks a look at me, the anxiety and adrenaline rolling off of him in huge
waves, making my leopard pace and chuff, ready for an outlet or a fight. I run
my hand up the side of his rib cage and around to the back of his neck,
trailing my fingers along his hair line and massaging them into the tense
muscles, trying to get him to chill just a little, and I sigh when his shoulders
sag slightly and he releases a long breath.

“What the fuck,” he says matter-of-factly and rests his head
back, speeding up even more and turning off the thruway. We make a million
turns as his cell tells him the directions and my nerves are on edge. I can’t
stop looking out the window, hoping to see Penton standing on the snow covered
sidewalk with a bright smile on his face, but with every red light that turns
to green, my heart falls a little more.

I know Blaine can feel my anxiety, as I hear him sigh, feeling
his hand slide over mine as I keep my attention out my window, praying for
Penton to appear out of thin air and be okay. B’s fingers wrap into mine and
squeeze, his wolf issuing a small growl, pulling my attention to him and his
bright hazel eyes.

“He’ll be okay, Kitten,” he says softly, reaching up and
running the back of his fingers across my cheek, and I can’t help but lean into
his touch as his wolf tries to reassure me with another short, tender sounding
growl. “We’re here.”

As Blaine puts the SUV in park, I take a deep breath and
look around me, taking in the snowy Buffalo
street
.
It’s a dead end, gated off with almost cookie cutter houses lining each side
each with a single light post out front, shining bright in the dark night. The
driveway we are in has a house a little bigger than the others, and as I look
at its almost gothic appearance the front door swings open, bathing the front
porch and our car in light. A shadow of a man stands there, waving for us to
come on in and Blaine pats my hand, getting out of the car without a word.

“Come on in!” I hear the man yell as I open my door,
fighting the wind to keep it open for only a second before it slams shut when I
slip out. The distinctive scent of wolves is on the wind, and looking around me
once more at the houses lining the street, I see more than one front door open
with shadowy figures illuminated by the inside light as they watch us. A Pack,
keeping a watchful eye on its Alpha; I’m guessing.

There is also a hint of something baking, maybe at a
factory, and it smells so familiar. I stop to take in the scent for a split
second and try to get it to register in my mind.
Cheerios?
I think to myself, remembering the one cereal that I’ve probably had a
million times, because it’s cheap and lasts a pretty long time when packed into
a backpack.
Definitely Cheerios.

“Welcome.” The man smiles, and as I get closer I see his sky
blue eyes and short, brown hair framing his face. “My name is Duncan. Penton is
with you, is he not?” The man looks around us and as Blaine leads me around,
into the house, I can feel Duncan’s Alpha presence radiating from him in hot
waves.

“He left us on the thruway. Told us not to leave the vehicle
‘till we got here, but he assured us he will come back.” Blaine sets one of the
bags of clothes down near the stairs as I keep close to his side, trying to
push away the awful thoughts of what might be happening to Penton. B’s hazel
eyes slip down to my face and I see the sadness as he wraps his arm around my
waist, bending to place his lips to my forehead for only a second.