Emerald Eyes (25 page)

He went to step out of the bathroom, but just as he did, a sharp and horrible pain shot through his head. He grabbed his head with his hands, screaming out just before blacking out.

Tickling Feather awoke at the screaming of her husband and jumped out of bed. She went to go see about him but stopped cold when she saw him lying in the floor, half-man half-wolf. Shep was huddled up by the door, whining and shaking visibly.

Knowing full well something was really wrong, and realizing that she and Shep could be in great danger, she snatched her car keys off the dresser, not even bothering to dress, just slipped into her robe, and quietly let herself and the dog out the back door, running around the cabin – as they were living in his cabin temporarily until their new apartment was renovated on the reservation – and jumped in her little Toyota that was parked alongside Chuck’s truck and drove off, heading straight for the reservation and her grandfather.

Devin waited patiently outside Alex’s for someone to feed on, as he didn’t want to leave Madison any longer than necessary. He figured that catching an unawares drunk would be his best bet for a fast feed. Hopefully, someone would come out alone. It was about a half hour before closing and folks were beginning to leave. He hid in the shadows near the back end of the club, where many cars were still parked. A couple of men came around the corner and got in a Ford pickup together and drove off. Then a couple came out and slid into their Buick and headed out.

Finally, a middle-aged man, who looked like he was right on the edge of being too drunk to drive, made his way to the back side of the club, weaving ever so slightly towards his Jeep. Ears acutely listening, Devin was sure now that no one else was near and nabbed the man from behind, stifling his screams with one hand while he quickly drank what he could without killing him. Then he leaned the man up against his Jeep, stared into his eyes and told him he had stumbled into a nearby barbed wire fence. Satisfied his tracks were covered, Devin flashed out to look for a deer to finish satisfying his thirst, for he could have easily drained the man, but to keep his promise to Madison, he had left his victim alive.

Chuck awoke and realized he was in the floor. “What the shit!” he sat up. “Tickling Feather?”

No answer.

He got up and glanced over at their bed. Empty. Even Shep was gone. He called out her name again, but there was no response. He realized his arms and hands were still hairy above normal and went to the bathroom, and stood there, while the beard receded from his face. “Shit! What’s happening to me?” The fear he had first known when becoming a werewolf was now renewed. He thought of his pretty Indian wife again. “Tickling Feather!” Where had she gone? He hurried out of the bathroom and wriggled into his jeans and red and white corduroy shirt. That was when he noticed that Tickling Feather’s car keys were no longer beside his. She had left! “Gawd! What did I do?” He immediately grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand and punched in her number. It rang several times but she didn’t answer. He grabbed his truck keys and headed out the door, once more trying to call her as he got in and closed the door.

Finally, someone answered, but it wasn’t his wife, it was Indian Joe, whose voice, though steady, was full of concern. “She is here with me, son,” he said. “Are you…okay now?”

“I’m not a wolf. If that is what you mean?”

“That is what I mean. She said you fell unconscious and almost transitioned right in front of her eyes. She did have the common sense to get out of there. Had you finished turning with her there, you could have killed her.”

“I know…Gawd! I know. But I don’t know what is happening to me, Joe! This shouldn’t be happening, should it?”

“I have heard rumors in the past that sometimes a werewolf, after many years, can change at any time. Usually brought on by duress. I always thought it just that…a rumor. But, like all myths, they are often based on some fact.” He paused for a moment and then asked, “Are you under duress, Chuck?”

He thought about it. He had been under a lot of pressure, for he still loved Madison, although he was married to Tickling Feather. And it still bugged him deeply that Madison chose a vampire over him, in spite of the fact that she was going to have
his
baby. “Yes,” he answered slowly.

“I think you should come to the reservation. We can lock you in one of our empty storage units. They’re built of brick and mortar, as you know. Some of our young men can guard the doors until morning.”

“But I’m okay now?”

“Nonetheless, I do not believe it wise for Ticking Feather to be alone with you right now, especially with it so close to the full moon. Whether you come here or not is your choice, but you should at least go to your tent we have set up for you for your regular transitions.

This was horrible. He didn’t like not being in control like this. It had taken him a while, but he had finally accepted the fact that he was a werewolf, but he had gotten to be human the rest of the month when the moon wasn’t full. Now this! Turning possibly at any time! No! It was too much! Too much!

“Chuck? Are you still with me?”

“Yes…I‘ll be there in a little bit.” Chuck managed, and closed his phone. But the searing pain struck again and he dropped to the floor, losing consciousness once more.

At first, Madison thought Devin was home. She got out of bed and eased her feet into her house slippers and trod off to the stairs and made her way up into the living room. She called out Devin’s name, but no one answered. She thought she heard something again and snapped her head around to the front porch. There was a loud bump against the front door. “Devin?” she called again, puzzled. “What the heck?” She slowly made her way over to the front door and called out again, “Devin? Is that you?” Then she jumped back, for just on the other side of the door something growled, deep and vicious. Her mouth gaped in surprise. There was another thud and with such force that the front door cracked. She could now easily hear the gurgling and snarling of a large animal. Sounded like a very big dog. Or…a wolf!

“
Oh my God!”
she gasped, realizing now not what, but who, was on the other side of that door.
“Chuck!”
Chills covered her arms as she realized he was fully transitioned and had come after her.

She took several awkward steps back. Run! She had to run! She turned on her heels, tripping but catching herself by the arm of the big easy chair and dashed back down the stairs and slammed the door to the basement. “Oh God! Oh God! Where is Devin? He should be back by now.”

There was an awful crackling and splintering as the wolf rammed through the front door.

Desperate, she glanced around. Devin’s favorite recliner sat by the door. She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to push it, but she rushed over and did her best to shove it in front of the closed door just as the angry canine hit the door with full force. He didn’t get through, but the blunt of the force sent her sailing, and she fell hard to the floor. The minute she hit, a blinding pain ripped through her entire body and she felt something give in her abdomen. The baby! Something warm oozed out between her legs, but the animal was slamming its body against the door so hard it would break through at any second. “Devin?” she cried out feebly. “God! Devin, where are you…” she managed to get up on all fours in spite of the tearing pain in her insides, and the warm blood still oozing from her body.

Devin snapped his head up from the deer he was feeding from.
“Madison!”
he bellowed, dropped the still live deer to the ground and flashed out.

Madison rapidly grew weaker as the blood flowed profusely from her body. She tried to make her way to the big walk-in closet on the far side of the bed, but dropped just before she got there. And just as she did, the animal slammed his way into the room. Madison looked up, helpless, as the huge wolf now slowly stalked his way towards her. “Chuck!” she cried. “It’s me! It’s Madison!” Then she murmured, “But of course you know that. You
know
that.”

The wolf made his way up to her, looming over her, lips curled back viciously, snarling; saliva dripping from his mouth. She was on the verge of losing consciousness and just closed her eyes. It would be easier this way. She would just give in to the blackness.

Suddenly she felt the air move and there was a loud thud as something hit the wall hard. She could barely open her eyelids, but she could see Devin had arrived. She mumbled his name and then gave in to the darkness again.

The vampire and the werewolf fought furiously, and Devin found that the wolf was much stronger than he had anticipated, but he finally managed to hurt him, ripped a leg out of socket. The wolf cried out in a high pitch from the sudden pain, backed away from Devin, turned and fled as fast as he could on his good three legs.

At once, Devin’s attention went to Madison. There was a trail of blood from the door to where she was. “No! Madison! My sweet!” he zipped over to her and sat down, cradling her head in his lap. “Madison, darling,” he spoke softly. “Can you hear me?”

She barely moaned.

“You’ve lost far too much blood.” No one had to tell him she was dying. He had to give her his blood now and turn her to save her or let her die. He couldn’t be absolutely certain, but he was reasonably sure she had lost the baby. “Oh…my sweet…I am so sorry. But I am going to have to give you my blood now.” Then his eyes fell on something small lying near the foot of the bed. Something bloody but pink – the fetus. He choked back a tear. She would be devastated.

“My baby! Can’t turn me yet…” she feebly replied and then passed out.

“My love! I am
so
sorry!” Tears spilling down his face, he bit into his wrist and forced her mouth open with his other hand while he let his life-saving blood drip between her lips. She was almost dead already. He just hoped the blood wasn’t too little too late. Then she stopped breathing and went rigid. She was gone.

He held her tightly to his chest and sobbed like he hadn’t in five hundred years, not even when he had lost Mattie, for they had lost their unborn daughter as well. He had wanted to turn her, but not like this. He had looked forward to that little girl as much as she had. “Dammit! Dammit all to hell!”

His glance rested on her still body. “Just wake up, sweet Madison! Just wake up soon! For if you don’t, I will be more lonely than ever. There will never be another like you or Mattie again. I cannot bear living forever without you!”

He sat there for hours holding her body, all the while anger rising towards Chuck Smith for what he had done to this wonderful, sweet woman. Over his five hundred years, he had learned to temper his anger and hurt, but this! This was too much! He wanted Chuck Smith to pay for what he had done! He knew deep down that Chuck would be sorry he had killed his own unborn child, but the man had let his jealousy and animal instincts override good sense. Chuck wasn’t a new werewolf. He had been under the curse for years.

Devin knew that the man had to have learned some control as a wolf. Only he had not shown control this night. None at all. His intent had been to kill Madison and her child. Well, he had succeeded. But, if fate was on Devin’s and Madison’s side, Madison would arise. And he had no doubts that once she got past the pain of losing her unborn baby, she would be pissed too. More than pissed! It was that thought that made the hurt raging inside of him bearable as he cradled her in his arms.

It was sunrise when she suddenly gasped in air. Devin closed his eyes briefly and quietly said, “Thank you!” to the powers that be.

It took her several minutes, but she finally became fully conscious and gazed up into Devin’s loving eyes.

“My sweet,” he said, smiling with compassion and tenderness. “You have awakened.”

She glanced around, frowning as she saw the drying blood on the floor, for he had not moved from the spot the entire night, waiting for her to awaken. “There’s so much blood!” She cut her eyes around to his. “The baby?”

He shook his head in a sorrowful manner. “I am so sorry, Madison. You lost it.”

“I…I lost it?” Eyes instantly flooding with tears, she buried her head into his chest and cried.

He wrapped his arms tenderly around her and kissed the hair on the crown of her head. “There was nothing I could do to save the baby. She wasn’t anywhere near formed enough. And I wasn’t sure I could save you, but thank God I was able to.”

She swallowed hard and sniffled. Now, calming somewhat. “You saved me?”

“Yeah…I couldn’t save you as a human, Madison. You lost too much blood. You were already dying by the time I reached you. I could only feed you my blood and hope you would awaken…And you did!” He managed to smile a little.

“I…I…You turned me?”

“Not the way I had planned on turning you. But yes! You are now a vampire, my sweet. And now that you are awake, you need to feed.”

“I do feel really hungry.”

“There’s no blood here. Had I known something like this was going to happen, I would have had several units waiting for you. But I had no way of knowing.”

“Gawd!” her eyes welled with tears again. “I wanted that baby. Now I’ll never have one!” she sobbed into his chest again.

“I know, my sweet. I was looking forward to being a father too!” He held her again, patiently waiting for her to get her crying out.

After a bit, she sat up straight. “Okay…I am thirsty!
Really
thirsty!”

“It’s daytime! But it is greatly overcast. If we put on dark sunglasses and hats, something to protect our heads, and wear long sleeves, perhaps we can get by without getting burned too badly. We will find you something to feed on…Or someone,” he said, now grinning wryly.

She reflected his grin and then asked with some sarcasm, “Yeah…Can we feed on Chuck?”

He chortled. “My sweet…If we could…we would. And maybe we will eventually. He is a tad bit stronger than regular humans. Still, it is a possibility. Only right now, we just need to get you fed.”

He did a last minute check on the internet to see what the forecast was. Then, satisfied they were relatively safe, he assisted her in putting on protective clothing and, with his arm around her, they flashed out.