Stunner

Stunner: An Alexa O’Brien Prequel Short
Story

Copyright 2012 by Trina M. Lee

Smashwords Edition

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author.

Manufactured in the United States of
America

Published by

Dark Mountain Books

This is a work of fiction. The
characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the
author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is
completely coincidental.

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Chapter One

Walking into a nest of vampires wasn’t
the smartest decision I’d made this week. Cocky, ignorant, even a
little bit stupid. If I survived it, my colleagues, Kale and Jez,
would never let me hear the end of it.

I knew better than to hunt alone. The
problem was that I hadn’t taken the time to determine how many
vampires I was dealing with. I had only come for one. A sloppy
mistake for sure. One that may now get me killed.

Six vampires. Too many for me to take
on. Having my hands bound behind my back rendered me pretty much
helpless. I couldn’t direct my power properly this way. I lacked
the focus needed.

“
You know, I think I’m ready
to leave now. This was a big mistake on my part. So if you’ll just
cut me loose, I’ll let you get back to your evening.” I smiled
brightly, refusing to openly acknowledge my growing
fear.

The three vampires keeping watch
laughed and joked about how their evening was looking up, thanks to
me. Their buddies were outside, making sure I had come alone.
Because I had let the hunger for the hunt outweigh my common sense,
I was alone. I had told nobody where I was going. Not even my
closest friend, fellow werewolf, Shaz. Young, reckless and dead.
Talk about learning the hard way.

“
It ain’t every day we get a
sweet piece like you walking in here.” The short, stout vampire
seated on a stool directly across from me leered. He wore a grin
that exposed yellowing fangs. I shuddered at the thought of them
touching me.

“
Especially a werewolf,”
added another guy as he sniffed at me as if I were fresh
meat.

I leaned as far away as I could, which
wasn’t far. Irritated by my obvious rejection, he snapped his teeth
together, inches from my face. I jumped, cursing myself again for
such a foolish blunder.

These vamps hunted innocents. Soccer
moms and accountants. Regular every day people that never deserved
to die that way. I’d come here to right a wrong and succeeded in
making myself a victim.

The third vampire present, Octavia,
stared out the window. She was the one I’d come for. “If they don’t
come back soon I’m going to open a vein on her. Can you smell that?
She has power.”

Thanks for reminding me,
bitch.
I kept
the thought to myself but focused on the power coiled in my core.
The wolf was useless right now. I couldn’t shift while bound. That
left my metaphysical abilities, as erratic and misguided as they
may be.

I concentrated on Octavia, feeling she
was the biggest threat in the room. Her energy felt lively and
hungry. I needed to prove I was a force to be reckoned
with.

“
Screw that.” The first guy
spoke up. “You can bleed her after we’re done with her.”

Oh, God. This was just getting better.
I’d rather Octavia kill me than have to live through whatever those
creeps had in mind.

“
It’s taking those idiots
too long. Something is wrong.” Octavia turned to me with a raised
brow. “Any idea what that could be?”

“
No.” I really didn’t. My
shoulders slumped. I wasn’t able to focus my power. Not without use
of my hands to direct the forced that filled me.

I turned my attention to the heavy zip
ties binding my hands together behind my back. It was possible to
break out of them. If I didn’t have to deal with the awkward angle
of my wrists, it would be easier.

“
One of you go check on the
others,” Octavia ordered. “This feels like a trap. If they ran into
trouble I’d like a heads up.” So she could run. Octavia had a tough
front but it didn’t go far beyond the exterior.

“
I don’t answer to you,”
Yellowteeth snarled.

The two of them glared daggers at each
other. I took the opportunity to tug at the zip ties, testing them
for weakness. Their buddy saw an opportunity too and he went for
it.

He was on me before I could scream.
Ravenous and wild, he sank fangs deep into my neck. A strangled
sound escaped me, something between a shriek and a growl. Blood
poured down my neck and chest, soaking my shirt. The sound of my
heartbeat in my ears was deafening.

Octavia responded first with a closed
fist that knocked my attacker back several feet. “Can’t you control
yourself? You’re no better than a goddamned animal.” Her shouts
were muffled by the pounding in my head.

As the scent of my blood permeated the
room, all three vampires set their sights on me.

“
What the hell is that?”
Yellowteeth shoved the others aside to get to me. “Smells like
heaven.”

I braced myself. It wouldn’t take long
to finish me off. What a way to go. At the hand of my own
stupidity.

Octavia reached me first. Having the
power advantage over the others, she tossed them aside with little
more than a gesture. But her power paled in comparison to what I
felt coming. A cool breeze filled the room, it’s cold, dark source
unseen. The undead energy held the promise of violence and
death.

The door burst open with the sound of
splintering wood. The vampire moved fast, a blur of motion. With
barely a look at Octavia the power went out from him and slammed
her against the wall. In the same moment, he punched a fist into
Yellowteeth’s chest, tearing his heart free with little effort. The
remaining vampire beat a hasty retreat, fleeing through the open
door before the newcomer could grab him.

“
Arys, please!” Octavia
begged, her back to the wall as the dark haired vampire advanced on
her. “I tried to stop them.”

I struggled to focus on escape. The
atmosphere was energized with a tangy, intoxicating power. It
called to me, luring me into a deep, dark abyss. The promise of
pleasure taunted me.

Octavia whimpered, a pitiful sound that
stripped away any semblance of danger she may have possessed. There
was terror in her eyes as Arys grabbed her by the throat and
bounced her head off the wall.

Arys Knight was not unknown to me. I’d
heard his name. He had a hell of a reputation as one of the biggest
of the bad around here. This was really not my night.

His power felt bottomless. It held an
allure that would draw any foe or victim into a web of irresistible
danger. Tall with the body of a god and a head of short, disheveled
jet black hair, Arys was as intriguing as he was intimidating. Deep
blue eyes sparked with fury as he stared into Octavia.

“
I told you not to touch
this one,” he snarled. “I warned you what would happen if you so
much as looked in her general direction.”

“
I didn’t. I mean I wasn’t
going to hurt her. I swear.” Desperation tainted Octavia’s words.
She fought to break free of his hold but she wasn’t going anywhere.
“She came here looking for trouble and she found it. We didn’t
pursue her. I promise.”

The zip ties cut into my flesh as I
tried to reposition myself so I could attempt to break them. I
didn’t want to be here when Arys finished with Octavia. I’d rather
take my chances fleeing into the night with the vampire who got
away.

“
She’s bound and bleeding,
Octavia. There’s no talking your way out of that.” Arys placed a
hand on both sides of her head. The power went out from him and her
mouth opened in a silent scream. Seconds later, her entire body
exploded.

Pieces of her rained down around me,
bits of flesh and gore that quickly dissolved into dust and ash.
Panic gripped me and I fought hard to seize those last precious
moments before he came for me.

I took a deep breath and clenched my
teeth. Stretching my hands as far apart as I could to make the zip
tie taut, I banged the tie against a wooden slat on the back of my
chair. A sharp pain shot through my sore wrists but the tie
snapped.

I was on my feet, gazing up into
midnight blue eyes. He was just there all of a sudden, blocking my
path before I could take a step. Too late. It was all
over.

He stared into me as if he could see
into my soul. My mouth was as dry as cotton. I swallowed hard. The
weight of his enchanting gaze held me immobile. I opened my mouth
to speak but no sound came out. Intrigued. Mesmerized. Terrified. I
was all those things and more as he reached out to touch
me.

I trembled in anticipation, fearing how
he might be planning to finish me off. The wolf inside me demanded
that I run or attack. I had to at least go down fighting. Instead,
I stood frozen, caught up in the heady pull of his
allure.

Arys was as beautiful as he was deadly.
There was a hard set to his jaw that hinted at a ruthlessness I had
no desire to bear witness to. Silver rings shone in his ears, nose
and bottom lip, enhancing his edgy but eye catching good looks. His
eyes were sapphire pools that beckoned me to fall headlong into
their depths.

I gasped at his touch. His skin was
cool, indicating he hadn’t fed recently. That wasn’t going to help
me get out of this. When his gaze strayed to my bitten neck I began
to visibly tremble.

“
Do I frighten you, little
wolf?” His husky murmur slid down my spine like an icy
hand.

His power was strong and intoxicating.
It reached out to me and my own power burst forth in response. His
energy mingled with mine in a dizzying union that crushed the
breath from me. I’d never felt anything like it.

Our two separate powers coiled
together, becoming something else entirely. It was a sudden and
strong connection. My knees grew weak. I had to get the hell out of
there. Giving in to a vampire’s thrall was not part of the plan. Of
course, my plan had been blown out of the water long
ago.

I forced myself to meet his hypnotizing
gaze and I lied. “Not in the least.”

A grin lit up his face, revealing
straight white teeth and wickedly sharp fangs. He leaned in close
and I braced myself for the bite that would drain my life away. My
heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out the sound of my rapid
breaths.

His lips were warm against my ear when
he whispered, “Liar.”

I shuddered, coaxing a chuckle from
him. I couldn’t prevent my body from responding to his dark charm.
As afraid as I was, I wanted him. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
Our power writhed and flowed around us, an entity all its own. I
couldn’t break free of his hold on me. Part of me didn’t even want
to. That realization only served to heighten my terror.

“
Please,” I heard myself
beg. “Let me go.”

He was going to kill me and I was
making it easy for him. I had to take my power back. Arys lingered,
breathing in the scent of the blood that trickled from my neck. He
sighed, a ragged sound so unexpected and human that it momentarily
stunned me.

“
How is it even possible
that you exist? So much power for one so mortal and
fragile.”

He wasn’t the first vampire to say
something like that to me. He was however, the first to stare at me
with such wonder and intrigue. Was this guy crazy? Just kill me and
get it over with.