Alpha's Mate, Vampire's Slave

Episode 6

Fenris's grip is so tight that I hardly notice the familiar feel of the jute rope wrapped around my wrist. I'm trapped against his strong chest as he pushes me foreward. The world I know is gone, replaced by an entirely different one.

Am I dreaming? Am I dead? Did someone spike my coffee? I know it has to be real; I can feel the stark drop of temperature, and I can see the rain as it lands on my sleeve. But I never believed in fairytales. Of all the stories to enter, why this one?

The sky is filled with choking smoke. I squint my stinging eyes, trying to focus on anything, but it’s mostly a gray blur. A murmuring crowd wraps Fenris’s car, and I squint extra hard at the sides of the people's heads. Just like Fenris, their ears come to long, sharp points. Some of them dress like him, with loose braids, high riding boots, and long formless tunics. These people only wear dark colors: grays, greens, browns. And then there are others, in form-fitting suits and long, lavish dresses. They wear silk gloves and patterned top-hats. In their bright reds and golds, these elves like like exotic birds.

My head throbs from looking, and my missing glasses only heightens the pain. I have to squeeze my eyes shut momentarily, trying to memorize the images. It’s so strange. The faces slip quickly away into darkness and their voices fill the emptiness.

“A car? In the center of town?”

“This must be the girl! We’re all saved. Everything will go back to what it was!"

“I don’t trust those werewolves anyway.”

“Oh, doesn’t Fenris look lovely. What a hero.”

I think I’m going to puke. I crack an eye open, and slowly, the reds and pinks in the dresses and suits of the crowd come into focus despite the smoke. When I turn to look at Fenris, he places my glasses on the bridge of my nose. A red-faced man is barking at him, but he tucks a strand of my blood-soaked hair out of my face, speaking to me as if no one else is around.

“Your glasses, miss, so you can continue gawking.”

“Let me out,” I say weakly, but I let him fix my glasses. He’s right; there’s a lot to stare at. When he finally removes his hands from my face, he turns to address the man.

“I need to seek out the council. I need someone who can lift to help me.”

“You barrel a car with a sleeping girl inside into the center of town and then act as if you don’t owe us an explanation? Even for you, I’m shocked.”

“I don’t have time for explanations. Who among you can help me?”

The argument continues, Fenris’s elegant speech patterns become harsh, sharp, and clipped. I think he even slips into a few curse words; they bounce, bitter, off my aching head. The words fade away as I try to memorize every last detail. Dead ahead of us, a glittering metal tree, twisted from thousands of copper and silver wires. It must be as tall as a roller-coaster, and each of its hundred metal arms end in a jeweled flower. Sapphires, rubies, opals. The tree must be worth millions in priceless stones; they shine so bright in the muted sunlight that my eyes burn.

And behind it? A tower of gold, with a white face and black arms that tick loudly. The cobblestone streets are twisty and narrow, and the smoke is so thick I can barely make out the lettering on the shop signs. When I squint, I think I can make out the shapes of cottages. But my head pounds and I cough. It’s hard for me to think about anything against the loud, breathy chatter of the elves.

"Shut up," I murmur. "Just--"

Fenris pushes his hand on my mouth. I can't take it. I gnash my teeth and draw blood from his moon-white skin. The red looks pretty against it, and I feel my chest heave when I see the rage light up in his eyes. His cheeks turn splotchy, and the surrounding voices explode.

"An animal!"

"A human!"

"If she really is a Luna, this is an act of war!"

I start to laugh. First a trickle, than a horrible, wheezing sound. He lowers his hand from my mouth and places it on my shoulder. Tight. I yelp in pain, but he doesn't respond.

"Get them to the council. The girl. The body. NOW! I don't have the time to waste!"

His voice is so loud that I wince, shrinking back for just long enough that he has to shove me forward. There's a murmur around the car, and finally, a portly elf with a snow-white beard wrenches the trunk open. It pops up, and Fenris tries to cover my eyes, but I don't let him. I swing my head wildly and focus on the trunk.

And I see it: his brown fingers, trailing limply on the cobblestones. His curly black hair, woven with blood. His head slumps, his eyes glassy and still. When the elf pulls Jack up to his chest, the elf's silk suit is soaked red.

I need to hold him. I need to clasp his hand in mine. Just an hour ago--or was it longer?--I was making a foam latte. Faith was staring at me, winding up her 'you're too young to get married' speech. Now Jack is dead and these creatures say they can bring him back to life, and they're interested in me.

I'll show them human.

I've manicured my nails to a soft, silky sheen. I don't need them now. I lunge for Fenris's shoulder. Did he save me? Can he save us? I don't know. It's a blur. I imagine what Faith did to his cheek, I imagine the rage that must've flown through her veins. I try to be as brave as I know she would've been. I let loose a growl.

Something inside me changes.

I don't know what it is. Something, somewhere, deep in my chest, springs unlocked. I feel it click; the key twisting into place and the lock creaking open. Something is moving, and it tickles. I can feel it twitching inside me.

"I'm trying to help you, human! I'm getting tired of this! Can't you walk five feet?" Fenris's voice is terrifying; this dark, rage-filled thing. I'm distracted by the change, the tickle in my chest, when I glance at Jack.

His black, empty eyes.

I sink my teeth into Fenris's shoulder, as deep as possible. I am a creature of shadow and blood. I am no longer human.

I am--

Luna. I hear it in the back of my head, a whisper. This, too, tickles, and the voice is strong and old. And then the pain smashes down on my head, the same spot the light bulb caught me, right where the nape of my neck and skull meet.

I can't break my fall. I smash down into the cobblestone street.

"Vampire livestock, that one. No Luna would act like that," I hear an elf sigh. I try to fight the darkness. I try to fight the stars. I can't. I just fall.