Claws and Effect (10 page)

They were a cute couple, but seeing them all over each other just made me miss Ellis even more. Okay, so maybe it wasn't Stockholm Syndrome. I didn't feel a thing for any of the others. Everett was here daily, and lord knew Austin flirted like a madman when he was here, but they did nothing for me. Only Ellis interested me.

Even now, Marie was squealing as Josh tickled her, and I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. "I'd really like to go pee already."

"I'll catch up," Marie said between laughs, wiggling against Josh.

I shook my head, still smiling, and headed out of the cabin, crossing the wooded path down to the outhouse at the end of the small clearing. It'd be about time for me to feed the kittens again, and I had a little bread I could break up into a pan for them. They were experimenting with more solid food, but since we bottle fed them, they were probably a bit more spoiled than most cats. Fierce hunters, they were not, I thought with a chuckle as I wended my way down the twilight path. But that was okay -- I rather liked them as they were--

Hands grabbed me from behind, dragging me to the ground. Icy cold fingers gripped the lower half of my face, muffling the scream building in my throat.

"Get the gag," a voice hissed.

I began to struggle as more cold hands pushed me down to the dirt. Someone stuffed a rag in my mouth and I choked, and then screamed again when masking tape was slapped over my jaw. My hands twisted against the cold fingers, but they were a lot stronger than me.

And suddenly, I knew.

I knew those cold hands. Ellis was always so very warm, but whenever Andre had touched me, it was like being touched by a corpse.

Whoever these people were that had kidnapped me, they were vampires.

Fear made me lose bladder control. Heat streamed through my leggings, and the smell of urine washed through the air.

"Oh gross," one said. "That's fucking disgusting."

"Save it for later," the other vampire hissed. "We need to get out of here. Grab her. Now the sack," one said as my hands were forced behind my back. I felt a zip-tie bite into the flesh of my wrists, and a moment later, the person holding me down rolled me onto my stomach and zip-tied my ankles together.

Dark cloth was thrown over my face, and the world went black. I shuddered, fear making my mind frantic. "Let's go," the other whispered, and I was hauled into the air and then through the forest. Fear choked my limbs, and I couldn't have fought if I tried.

Vampires killed you if you fought. I'd learned that from Andre. Blind with fear, I hung limp while they dragged me away.

Chapter Seven

It was hard to breathe under the sack they had over my head. The material was thick, and combined with the gag and my own ragged, anxious breathing, I blacked out.

I came to sometime later when someone started tapping my cheek. "Is she still alive?" I heard one voice ask the other. "Wake her up."

The gag ripped off my lips a moment later, and I blinked hazily at what looked like wooden beams above my head. How long had I been out? Someone peered down at me, blocking out the light, and I squinted, trying to recognize the face. It was a man, about ten years older than me, with wavy brown hair. At his side, a woman with ultra-short black hair paced impatiently. "We're not supposed to kill her," the woman complained. "She's no good to us dead."

I sucked in a deep breath. My hair felt damp - actually all of my skin did. Something itchy was under my arms. Straw, maybe?

"She's fine," the man said. "Sit her up."

The two vampires moved, and icy hands clutched at me again, hauling me upright. I stared at the barn I appeared to be in. There was hay everywhere, two cows in stalls at the far end, and farm implements along the wall. Nearby, the female vampire was brushing hay off of her clothes.

"You okay?" the male vampire asked me.

I licked my lips - they were dry and cracked. "Who are you?"

"Not important," the female vampire warned, her fangs flashing. "We need to get going," she told the other vampire. "They're waiting for us down at the freight yard."

"Freight yard?" I echoed.

"Not important," the female vampire said again.

I flinched when the male vampire reached for me. "Please...please don't feed on me." The memories of the old bites clouded my mind, and panic made my entire body quake.

"I like my meals urine free, thank you," the male vampire said sarcastically. "And besides, you're not for eating. You're--" He snapped his jaw shut at the look the other vampire sent his way. "Right, right. Let's just get going. You're not going to fight, are you? Good."

Not going to fight? Fear warred with practicality. If I fought, they'd hurt me. Andre had always hurt me if I disobeyed him. But...if I didn't fight, they were going to drag me away all over again, and I didn't know what to do.

But if I fought...Ellis would have time to find me.

If he even cared anymore.

The male vampire grabbed the tape and slapped it over my mouth again. He hefted me into the air and my stomach slammed into his shoulder. I gagged slightly, and then an idea hit.

I began to fake gag, making noises like I was going to vomit. I twitched and heaved, trying to make it seem like I was going to throw up.

"Oh shit," the female vampire said. "Get that gag off of her before she chokes!"

Moments later, I was back in the hay again, and the gag ripped off my face once more. To keep up with my ploy, I rolled onto my side and I continued to heave and gasp. Could I make myself throw up just from sheer desire?

I didn't know, but I had a bit more ammo in my cannon at least.

"We need to go," the female vampire said, her voice rising a hysterical note. "Leave the fucking gag off of her! Just pick her up and let's get out of here!"

This time, when the male vampire grabbed me, I went limp and let my bladder go again.

"Fuck, she pissed on me again," the vampire yelled, dumping me roughly back onto the ground.

"I don't fucking care," the female said. "Pick her up, goddamn it, and--"

A scream pierced the night.

Both vampires froze. "Was that..." one whispered.

"I think so."

I trembled. The scream sounded human...or was it a cat? I didn't know enough about cougars to tell.

"Get your gun," said the female. I heard the metallic snap of something locking into place. "Leave her here. If they're coming after her, they'll stop once they have her. If they keep coming, shoot."

"We are going to get in so much fucking trouble if we shoot a goddamn Russell," the male vampire whined. "You said this would be easy--"

"Just shut the fuck up and run," the female said.

Silence fell in the barn, and hay tickled my nose. I waited in the darkness, but could hear nothing but the cows at the far end of the barn. My arms ached from being bound behind me, and my skin felt raw from where the urine soaked my pants.

A shot rang out in the distance and my breath caught. Oh god. Please. Please. Please be safe, Ellis. Please.

"Hello?" I whispered tentatively. My throat sounded hoarse. "Ellis?" No answer. "Someone?" When there was nothing but silence still, I wanted to weep. What was happening? Had the vampires taken down the cougars? Or was the scream just a false alarm? "Please?"

The barn door creaked open behind me, and I couldn't see who it was. I twisted on the ground, trying desperately to see. It was the same door the vampires had gone out, and my skin crawled at the thought of them returning to grab me again. On the other side of the barn, the cows began to bellow anxiously. A whimpery gasp escaped my throat and I twisted in the zip-ties binding my hands and feet. I would not cry. I would not. If I could just get free--

A warm hand touched my arm, and I shrieked in surprise.

Turning, I saw Ellis leaning over me, completely naked. His tattooed arms flexed as he hauled me upright, and his face was set in grim lines as he studied me. "Are you okay?"

I burst into noisy sobs. "I didn't run away," I bawled. "Don't leave me."

"Shhh, Lily. I know you didn't, love. Don't cry." He tugged me against his chest, holding me against him. "I'm not leaving you. I promise."

I burrowed my face against his bare chest, wanting to just cry for days in his arms. God, I'd missed him so much this last week. "You found me."

"Of course I did. I followed your scent trail."

I shuddered with embarrassment. "My pee trail."

"Still worked." His fingers skimmed down the zip ties. "I'm going to need to transform again to cut these with my teeth."

"Wait, no," I said between sobs. "There's vampires--"

"Marie and Josh are chasing them down," he said gently. "You're safe with me."

"Gunshot--" I babbled.

"It's fine," he restated. "I'm going to change now, because I'm going to lose my mind if I see you bound for one second more, all right?"

"I peed so they would drop me," I sobbed. "My pants are all wet again. I do have bladder control, I promise."

He chuckled and gave me a kiss on the tip of my nose. "I know."

Ellis's hand brushed my cheek and then he stepped backward and hunched. I closed my eyes politely, sniffing loudly and hiccuping. There was that awful crack of bone, and a few moments later, a warm muzzle brushed against my hands. He licked my skin, and I squirmed. "That tickles, Ellis."

He made a weird little coughing noise in his throat.

"I wish I knew what that meant in cougar. Probably 'shut up' right?"

He nosed me, and then his teeth began to work on the zip ties. A minute later, my wrists were free and I rubbed them, wincing, as he headed toward my feet and repeated his actions. As he finished, he nosed my cheek and then moved behind me again.

"You changing back?" I asked, wiping at my cheeks. "Or are you going to stay a cat?"

In response, he nosed me again, pushing my face away. He was changing back.

"All right," I said. "I'm turning around." I stared ahead of me, and as I did, the cows at the far end of the barn grew increasingly nervous. I tensed, but two more cougars padded into the barn, heading right for me and Ellis. "Company," I whispered.

"It's fine," Ellis said, and he sounded human again. He stood, and I looked over at him and blushed, quickly ducking my head. I was eye level with his junk, and now was not the time to point that out. His hands went to my elbows and he helped me up, his arm going around my waist. "Can you walk?"

I wobbled unsteadily on my feet. My legs were fine. It was just my courage that had deserted me and made me want to collapse. "I'm okay."

"You're not. I'm going to carry you."

I thought of my pee-covered sweatpants and stewing in those while Ellis carried me and started to cry all over again.

"Shhh," Ellis said, dragging me close to him, oblivious of my smell. "I've got this, Josh and Marie. I'll take her home, all right?"

The two cougars made that same coughing noise I'd heard earlier, and then headed back out of the barn.

Ellis's hand stroked my hair. "I've got you, love. No one's going to hurt you."

"I'm just...c-crying because I smell. That's why they dropped me, you know. I pretended to barf and I peed again. They were kind of prissy." I gave another watery sniff. "Worst kidnappers ever."

He kissed my brow as if I wasn't totally gross at the moment. "You did a great job, Lily. I'm proud of you. Now, take your pants off. It's just me here and I'm not wearing a stitch. If we run into anyone, we'll tell them it's a Pants-Off Dance-Off."

A weak giggle escaped my throat.

"Come on," Ellis said. "Strip from the waist down."

I did, and as soon as I did, he gathered me in his arms and picked me up as if I weighed nothing. I didn't mind, though. I huddled against him and sniffed as he walked out of the barn and into the night.

And even though I wanted to be strong, I pretty much wept all the way through the woods. I wept as we headed straight to the pump and Ellis let me rinse off to get clean. Then, when I was soaking wet but no longer fragrant, he wrapped me in his arms and took me back inside to the cabin.

I immediately looked for SuperGirl and Wonder Woman, but I didn't see them. Fear grabbed me. "The kittens--"

"They're fine," he said. "Once I heard you'd been grabbed, I had Everett come and get them for the night. He'll bring them back tomorrow once he knows everything is all right." Ellis gently set me on the edge of the bed and dragged the blankets around me, using them as a towel. I was naked and shivering underneath, and wished I wasn't the only one under them.

"And is everything all right?" I asked in a small voice.

He sat down next to me, his eyes serious. "You tell me."

"W-what do you mean?"

Ellis sat next to me, completely oblivious to the fact that he was naked. He reached out and took my hand and caressed it, then laid it on his jaw. "You've always said you wanted to leave. If you want to go tonight, I won't stop you. I promise."

Tears blurred my eyes again. Oh great. Now he wanted to let me go, when I wanted nothing more than to be held? "You have some really shit timing," I blubbered.

"I'm trying to give you what you want."

"All I want is for you to hold me," I wept.

He dragged me against him, my head cradled against his neck, and his hand stroked my wet hair. "God, Lily. When they called me and said that you'd been taken, I lost my mind. I didn't know what to do. I blamed myself because I thought I was pressuring you and I needed to give you some space, and it felt like as soon as my back turned, they weren't watching you. You can't believe how angry I got at Marie and Josh. I know they were just doing the best they could, but all I could think about was you being grabbed by some vampires, and I know how scared you are of them."

I sniffed, but I was feeling better. He was warm and smelled good and he was talking. That made me happy. I ran my fingers along his neck as he spoke, just listening to him.

"I told Beau this would happen, too," Ellis murmured. "As soon as the other vampires got wind of your settlement, they were going to come out of the woodworks to come talk to you, since you don't really fall into our jurisdiction. I just didn't think they'd try to physically take you from me." His hands tightened around me.