Taming the Heart (Creatures of the Night Book 2) (13 page)

She threw the gun into the field and made to turn. He used his foot to tip the chair and she went sprawling out into the dirt. That was it! That was the last straw. He had been snapping at her all day. It was time for her to snap back. She stood up and her claws descended.

“Try that again asshole!”

The look of triumph that came over his face made her want to scream all the more. This was what he wanted. He didn’t want her as she was. He wanted the hunter to come out of her. That was the only time he seemed to look at her with any respect.

“Pick up your weapon and fire.”

“I’ll fire my weapon,” she said as she walked over, scooped it up, and pointed the metallic silver gun at him. It looked ridiculously large in her tiny hand, but it felt like it weighed nothing when she was like this. He stood firm as if waiting for her to shoot him.

Something caught her attention though and she looked towards the sky. Was that a… she could see a bird flying high overhead as if it were no more than a hands length from her face. Something else caught her attention and she turned towards a nearby tree. A small squirrel stared down at her. It looked as large as a mountain lion. She heard something moving beneath the foliage of the forest floor and she turned that way. She could hear every rock move beneath her feet, feel every molecule of dirt. The whole world was suddenly alive and so was she. She smelled the air. The scent of pine was the first and most obvious. Then the dirt, the grass, dead leaves, small animals scurrying about and then… death.

“What is that,” she asked as she started walking out towards the woods lifting her nose to the air. He came around and blocked her path.

“The creatures. You will have the urge to hunt them. You will have the urge to kill them, but first you must learn control.”

The gun dropped from her hand as she continued to move forward. The pull was so strong. Her legs yearned to run like they did in her dreams. “Are they very far away?”

He put up a hand to stop her. “They are in Canada on another hunters turf mostly. It is our time to rest a while.”

“If I could just-“

She was off and running before she could stop herself. She dodged him easily and nearly flew through the woods. She was glad for her choice in pants today because she was headless of the underbrush ripping at her legs. She could feel him chasing her so she increased her speed. He was not happy but she couldn’t seem to care. She couldn’t stop herself. Adrenaline burst free in her and it was like a euphoria she had never known before.

The only thing that halted her progress was coming to a very sudden and very steep drop. She barely had time to stop. He had said that they were far off but something… it was close. She sniffed the air and was deciding weather she should go left or right when he picked her up and pinned her beneath him. Her fangs descended and before she knew what she would do she had clamped down on his arm. He made a noise of discomfort but would not release her.

She kicked out and without meaning to, snapped his kneecap backwards. This time he fell back in pain. The fight left her to see him in so much pain. Her legs went out from under her and the adrenaline drained from her body. She pulled her way to him but he pushed her aside gently. He gritted his teeth as he popped his leg back into place. The sound was sickening.

“You are quick. Faster than any I’ve ever seen,” he said when he finally caught his breath.

“Really?”

“Yes. But you are very wild. You have to learn to control it.”

“I don’t know if I can. I mean… so far it only happens when I’m past mad and when I am that mad its hard to control even my normal self. And the pull… the adrenaline. I don’t know if I can do it.”

“You can do it. I will show you how. I will show you if it kills the both of us. A hunter who is out of control is not a hunter at all. A hunter who is out of control is a liability and must be destroyed for the sake of the innocent.”

“I thought you said we cannot be destroyed.”

“There is one way, and I would rather a hunter be fed to the wolves and run with the darkness than to cause harm to innocents.”

“You would feed me to the wolves?” she asked in horror.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he said as he dusted himself off. “I don’t think it will be necessary. I think you have more fire inside of you than you know. You will learn control.”

She sighed as he stood up and then pulled her into his arms to carry her.

“I’m glad one of us is sure of that,” she said as she clung to him, glad that he was so patient with her. They would both need patients to get through this.

Chapter Eight

Bateman yelled in frustration as he smashed another beaker up against a wall. It had been weeks since he’d locked himself in this dungeon. He had sent his team home hours ago. How many years had he been doing this, looking for the answers? Fifty, maybe sixty years? Ever since he had passed that mark where he should have started ageing and realized that there was something different about himself. Still, after all these years, immortality was as illusive and distant from him as it had ever been.

He leaned against the edge of the steel table that contained a few necessary lab items. The room felt dank and damp despite the heat outside. He let his head fall between his shoulder blades. He had done so much good since he’d become the head mentor. He had taken their organization from a small nearly non-existent budget to a government funded agency that was capable of supporting its hunters and the necessary discretionary measures associated with the hunters. Namely clean ups.

His efforts alone may have helped make the hunters and wolves an unrealistic superstition to the public at large. In the last fifty years the number of instances where the public was made aware of paranormal activities and having people actually believe it had been uncommonly low. People of old were so easy to get in an uproar when they believed evil was lurking in the shadows.

He had taken over in the sixties and had shown the government how the paranormal group could be a cash cow. They had inserted themselves in the media and taken the word vampire and werewolf out of the arena of horror alone. They had made them into rock stars and by the eighties people were seeing vampires and werewolves as more and more acceptable and as silly.

Soon, things that went bump in the night were no longer real in the eyes of the major populous. He had made the government tons of money from movies, advertisements, under the table business dealings. He had firmly set their footing and created a model for other mentors around the world.

Then he had created a serum that would help those who insisted on believing in and destroying the hunters to forget certain things they may or may not have seen. At the best these humans only lost a few weeks, at worst they lost a few years. But at least they would move on with their lives and not get too close to the hunters or the creatures. The worst thing that could happen at this point in time was to have some fundamentalist group trying to take on the wolves themselves. They would be bitten and then they would have to be destroyed.

“I can do all that to further our cause, but I can’t figure out how to extract immortality from you,” he yelled pointing a finger at a silver cage set in the corner.

A creature stood in the middle and eyed him wearily. The creatures weren’t that smart, but they could learn what was a threat and what was not. It usually only took one touch for the wolves to figure out that the bars were plated with silver and would burn them if they tried to escape. That didn’t stop the beast from snarling and flexing his muscles.

Bateman was tempted to pick up his gun and shoot the thing to watch it burn, but he endangered his team every time he tried to catch one and bring it in without the hunters knowing. Humans weren’t meant to deal with the creatures and could be turned by one nick from one tooth. He left the lab and headed down a long corridor towards the room he had been bunking in. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen daylight. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d showered or shaved. Hell. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had eaten or slept at all. He laid on the tiny cot and looked up at the ceiling.

The phantom in his brain flitted across his mind again. Karen Stone. She was what all men dreamed of and knew they couldn’t have. She was super model hot with long legs, long blond hair, big blue eyes, hour glass figure. She was perfect. And for some reason she seemed to like him. From the very beginning it was as if she were a magnet and he were a metal rod.

He was tall, wiry, and wore glasses. He thought himself the very definition of a nerd, though he dressed well and worked out for hours. Muscles were an illusive dream that his skeletal build would never produce no matter how he tried. Most mentors looked like nerds or at least very common people. They were meant to blend in, to never stand out. Mentor’s often looked like they belonged at librarian’s conventions. They had all been shocked when the beacon honed in on this babe in high heels who looked more like a hunter than a mentor.

She was every man’s fantasy and for some reason she wanted him. He shook his head. She thought he didn’t see the longing looks. The way she looked at him as if he could take on the whole world. When he had thought her human he had thought they would make a perfect match. Then it had been revealed that she was a mentor, and not just any mentor. The mentor meant to take over this region. Her adoration for him had only seemed to grow firmer the more he attempted to push her away. It was more than the fact that she would precede him when he was gone. It was like she thought he could move mountains. She admired him even when he had grown weary and begun to give up.

Now, here he was, more frustrated than ever. He could not be with her. She was his replacement. A very real reminder that he had an appointment with death. Every mentor did. A mentor only lived a hundred and fifty years max. If they made it to their hundred and fiftieth birthday without being eaten by a wolf, they died. Just like that. That day, no questions asked. He had seen it happen and it was always a shock. Because they didn’t age, they all looked to be in their late twenties and to see someone just drop dead like that…

It would happen to him. It would happen to her too, and it wasn’t fair. He was tired. He was tired to the bone, but he sat up again. Maybe a few more baseline tests and then back to formula. Maybe he would stumble across the answer. Maybe he would have immortality and then go straight to Karen and tell her that he loved her. Maybe he would tell the balance and the protector that they were meant to be together. Maybe.

Chapter Nine

“Again!”

Miranda was breathing hard as she went to retrieve the knife that had gotten lodged in the tree. She was beginning to hate the word again. She positioned her chair at the spot he had marked out and took aim. She stilled her breathing and blocked out all other sounds as she focused on the small red dot painted into the tree. Finally, when she felt grounded, settled, she tossed the blade. It was left of the target, but not by much.

“Again,” she heard his gruff command.

“I know,” she said angrily as she wheeled over and took the knife from the wood.

“Then do it and hit the target.”

“Won’t I be all… changed when I have to fight the creatures?” she asked as she made her way to the spot yet again. She took a moment to survey the damage done to her gloves. They were nearly split open and there was a bit of blood from handling the daggers.

“Apparently you are not going to be a hunter all of the time and you are going to have to learn how to defend yourself while you are human as well. Now. Focus.”

She did as she was told and gave a triumphant cry when she hit her mark.

“Good. Again.”

“Is that the only word you know?” she snapped as she went to get the knife.

He sighed heavily as he waited for her to take her place. She hated when he got frustrated with her. He always took on this same sanctimonious attitude with her. She knew the speech was coming and didn’t have to wait long for it.

“If you are going to be a hunter you are going to have to be able to defend yourself and innocents. You have to be prepared for any possibility. We don’t yet know what will happen when the wolves are at hand. Do you want to-”

“Be responsible for the death of innocent people?” she finished for him in that imperious tone he used. He growled at her.

“Save your bark for someone who doesn’t know you any better,” she snarled back.

“And you presume to know me so well? There are very few things that are left to me in this world. Being a hunter is one of them. And I would rather-”

“Feed you to the wolves than have you make a mockery of this,” she finished for him in that same mocking tone.

“All right. You think this a game. Let us test your readiness to fight for the innocent.”

She eyed him warily. She gripped the arms of her chair and braced herself. Was he going to kick her out of her chair again? He had done it twice more in the past week, when she hadn’t been expecting it, and she had broken his hip bone and arm in response. They could almost make a list of the things she had broken on him. He crouched down before her so he could look her directly in the face.

“I want you to think of your sister.”

“What?”

“I want you to imagine her. Close your eyes.” She looked at him oddly for a moment before she complied. “I want you to picture her face. I want you to see the color of her eyes, her hair, the way she looked as she smiled at you. I want you to see the lines in her face, feel the love you have for her in your heart.”

Miranda swallowed back tears as she did what he asked. The image was so real she could reach out and touch it.

“Now, she is over there behind that tree screaming for your help. I am a creature and I am going to get her.”

Miranda’s eyes flew open as she heard him moving away. He was fast. She barely had the knife near her ear when he reached the tree. With one even swing he hit the tree so hard it snapped in two and fell with a deafening thud. When the dirt cleared he strode back to her.

“Do you understand?! Now someone’s life is over, a family is destroyed and all you can do is clean up the mess. We are not gods Miranda, but we must do what we can to make sure that doesn’t happen!”

He strode away from her making his way towards the cabin. She just sat there for a while looking at the destroyed tree. Her heart was pounding fast and the grief… it was overpowering. He was right. She didn’t want to be a hunter, didn’t feel suited to it, but who ever asked for this? Braden was an experienced hunter, yet he hadn’t been fast enough to save her or Katie.

She thought that over for a moment. She had asked him why he was helping her, why he had taken her in when he didn’t have to. Did the fact that he hadn’t been fast enough to save them have anything to do with it? Did he feel like it was his fault? He should be old enough to know that he couldn’t have prevented what happened but there it was.

What would it be like to have so much strength and so many gifts, only to have them fail when someone needed you most? She went to another tree, used the knife to carve out a target. She began tossing the knife again, only this time faster, and with more determination than before. There was no triumph or defeat in this. There was only the fight and she needed to learn how to keep going when she only wanted to give up. For the innocents. For her sister. For Braden.

She stayed out until dark fell, and even then she kept on. She ate dinner without conversation and by the time she made it to bed she fell in exhausted. She fell asleep with the knowledge that she would get up tomorrow and do it all over again, for Katie.

*                            *                            *

Forest. Dank, cool, dark, and electrifying. Miranda could feel the earth as she ran through the night. The moon was bright and flashes of silver hung off the leaves and early morning dew. The moon was about to set. She had never seen a moon set before. She made her way to a clearing so she could fully appreciate the majesty of the big orb of silver light sinking behind the horizon.

She used her senses to guide herself to an area that felt freer, lighter, not so dense. She was naked and it didn’t seem to bother her at all. Her hair was as long as it had ever been in her life. Even as a girl it had been slightly wild and damaged, but right now it was silky and she could feel the wind as it blew through.

When she finally stepped into the open space she noticed that she was not alone. She walked out into the middle of the moonlight, and he followed her. She waited for him and when he tried to pounce she leapt out of the way. She turned on him and he was crouching. Braden was so handsome as he stood in the moon light. He was as nude as she and as unashamed as she.

His hair was wild and free with one braid hanging loose from his left temple. His golden blond hair was so stunning. She had never seen anything like it. They circled each other a few times before she allowed him to come to her. They crouched in the grass and he turned her as he grasped the back of her neck. He pulled himself inside of her and it was deep, penetrating… heaven.

Miranda woke up as an orgasm rippled through her whole body. She looked down to see that Braden had his face between her thighs. He slid one finger out of her as he kissed the soft flesh at the inside of her leg. He had not done that before. Up until today he usually got straight up and headed for the bathroom when she was finished. He seemed to linger longer than usual. Perhaps today, he would finally…

Her legs went limp with the last of her orgasm. At that exact moment he released her and strode off towards the bathroom. She wanted to scream with frustration. Okay, so she had been shy the first time they had tried this. She was a virgin, what did he expect? That didn’t mean she wanted to spend the rest of her life with nothing but foreplay. She wanted the real thing. But why would he want the real thing?

She was only here out of some sense of nobility he had, not because he actually wanted her here. Plus he only did what he did in the mornings to keep her from jumping him when her hormones went all wacky. Why would she complain? All he was trying to do was help her. It wasn’t like he would have ever really been interested. Maybe if she was still the head cheerleader.

Back then she had been able to date pretty much any guy that she wanted to. Her fall from grace had been so sudden and so disastrous that it had ruined any confidence she’d had. Apparently her main appeal had been her ability to look cute in a skirt and to cheer her heart out. She had had so much fire and so much drive back then.

That thought hit her in the head like a sledge hammer. She hurried from bed and dressed. She wheeled herself out to the living room and grabbed her knives. She was about to head outside when she stopped herself. Braden wouldn’t like it if she headed out without him. He seemed to be really strict about his weapons. She wheeled back and pounded on the door.

“What!” he yelled from the other side of the door. Geesh. What a grump.

“Hurry up. I want to get started.”

Her mouth almost watered when he stepped out of the bedroom and his hair was still wet. His new shirts clung to his muscles in a way that made her jealous. With a great effort she waved him towards the door. They were nearly to the front door when he pulled to a halt.

“But you must eat. Humans eat three times a day do they not?”

“It won’t hurt me to skip. Come on,” she said as she wheeled over, grabbed his arm and tried to pull him towards the door. She was not very successful.

“As a rule. I like to make sure my soldiers are fed regularly. It is good to get into a regimented-”

She rolled her eyes and left him behind as she went over and flung the door open. She rolled outside and he finally followed without further argument. She stopped on the mark he had set out for her a few days prior. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she cleared her mind. A cheer came to mind and she used her arms to clap it out.

“What are you-”

Before he could finish his statement she had counted out the last of her cheer in her mind and on the last move she pointed, aimed and… the knife hit the mark dead center. He looked from the knife to her and back to the knife. He pulled it out and handed it to her. He was silent this time as she counted it out. Again she hit the mark with dead on accuracy. When she hit the mark three more times without fail he looked to her arms crossed.

“Okay. I know you stayed behind to practice but…”

“Like I told you, I was good with flags and batons but most of the time it was counted out and to dance routines. If I can work some of this knife tossing and combat stuff into a few of my old cheer routines I could nail them. I could even make a few new ones of my own.”

He looked supremely impressed. “A huntress cheerleader. I have lived a long time and I will say that this is the first.”

“Do you think you can get me to change? If I could get my legs under me I could really-”

“You already know that if I try when you know I am trying it will not work. We will simply have to keep this in mind. In the mean time we will have to do all that we can the way you are.”

Braden tapped his chin for a moment. “There is a female hunter down in Peru. I think she uses some type of staff with silver blades at the ends. That would probably be a better close in weapon for you. I don’t see you using any type of sword or blade for the up close kill. Yes. You would be able to twirl a staff the way you needed to to work it into your… routine.”

She clapped her hands in delight, feeling a glimmer of hope for the first time. Maybe she could do this after all. Braden looked to the heavens and took a deep breath. He was probably praying for patience. She smiled all the more. She would show him a thing or two he had probably never learned before.

*                            *                            *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks and Braden felt like he’d never been more tortured. The days had followed almost the same pattern every day. She woke in need. He satisfied her need by any means except the one that he really wanted to use. Then he took himself immediately to the bathroom. The first few days a cold shower had done the trick, but now, now he had reverted to masturbation. As far as he knew he hadn’t performed the task since he had been human.

He would say that he had never done it but was sure that every teenage boy had done it at some point. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. After the ‘awakening’, they went about their day as if nothing at all had happened. It was getting harder and harder for him to do that though.

The more she had begun to apply her cheering, the more adept she had become with her knives. It was uncanny how quickly she picked up the concept of using proper weights and balances. She tossed them as well as anyone he’d ever seen. If only she could find some love for the guns.

Guns were going to be safest for her, especially when she was confined to her chair, but he supposed her appreciation for guns would only really come when they were under fire and she really had to use them. She would get plenty of practice once Alaric began to run the wolves back their way. She was bathing now while he prepared her some pan seared trout. It was a real struggle not to imagine her naked body all soaped up and… Stop, he commanded himself. The tension was so extreme that he had to concentrate to keep from walking around all day as hard as a rock.

He had managed to get her mad enough to change two more times in the last week and each time he had had to keep himself from chasing her down right there in the woods and taking what he wanted. She was normally beautiful but there was something about the way she moved when she had her legs under her. She was as graceful and fluid as a butterfly. Plus, whenever he got her angry enough to change, she wouldn’t really concentrate on anything but the feeling of nature. He needed more time with her while she was changed in order to help her control it but she was hard to anger and very... playful with him when she was.