“If they’re recruiting old vampires, then they’re going to come for you next.”
“I know. Unless they know the VC has been trying to get me for years. Whatever is going on, we will get to the bottom of it.”
“I know. And then something else will pop right up.”
“We live on the edge,” he tries, and it works. I smile and lie back down with him.
“What time did you get in?”
“Right before sunrise. You were passed out, thanks to that bottle of wine, I’m assuming.”
“Yes,” I admit with a groan. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m so thirsty.” I snuggle up with him for a few more minutes and then get up. According to the forecast today, it should be seventy-five and sunny. I haven’t worked out in a while, and today is as perfect a day as any for a run.
I put on workout clothes, down some water, and leave a note for Lucas, letting him know I’m going for a run. Then I head out and feel like I’m dying for several blocks.
Has it really been that long since I’ve run?
I go down a street I haven’t been down before and notice a church. I slow, stopping at the sidewalk that leads up to it. I haven’t been in a church in years, not since I was forced to attend Christmas mass with the Martins so we’d look like one big happy family.
I wipe sweat from my brow and walk down the sidewalk that leads to the church. I take a deep breath when I wrap my fingers around the cool metal handle and pull open the door.
A rush of cool air hits me. I step inside, breathing in the scent of lemon wood polish. It’s quiet in here, and I feel like I’m somewhere I’m not supposed to be. I silently make my way to a pew and sit down on the hard wooden surface.
Putting my hands together, I pray to Michael again. No surprise, he doesn’t answer.
“This is stupid,” I mutter to myself and get up, but am startled when an older woman walks down the aisle. I didn’t hear her come in.
“Are you all right, my dear?” she keeps walking until she gets to a table in front of the altar. She lights a candle and turns around to look at me. “You have a look about you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Were you on a run?”
I look down at my sports bra and tight running shorts. Is there a dress code to be in church?
“Yeah, I was.”
“And you stopped in here to pray? What’s on your mind?”
I look at this woman, who has no idea who I am, and decide to confess. “I have kind of a messed-up family life, and one of my uncles has done a lot of bad things. He told me I remind him of himself so now I’m questioning if I’m going to turn out like him. I don’t want to, but what if being evil is just in my blood?”
“You are not born good or evil. It’s your actions that determine that. If you are worried about going evil, that alone tells me you want to be good.”
There’s no way to make her understand that turning evil for me is different than others.
“I’ve done some things I regret.”
“Haven’t we all,” she laughs. “I’ll tell you a secret.”
“Okay?”
“God cares more about where you’re going than where you’ve been.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s never too late to turn a new leaf and start being what you want to be. If you’re worried about following in the family footsteps of being bad, then find a new path.”
26
“Good morning, my love.” Lucas slips his hand down the front of my pajama pants. Yawning, I roll over onto my back and let my legs fall open, offering myself to Lucas. We’re back in Thorne Hill, and nearly a week has passed since Lucas went to that VC meeting.
Since I telekinetically pulled out Doctor Howard’s teeth.
Since I realized that I could very easily be pulled to the dark side.
I’ve tried to do as much good as possible since them. I brought a dozen bags of food to the local food pantry. I donated five hundred bucks to the animal shelter. Paid for the person behind me’s food or coffee or whatever. I bought a round of drinks for everyone at the bar when the girls and I went to the casino for my bachelorette party. I had no idea how expensive that would end up being until the bill came, though. I’ve gone out of my way to smile and say hi to the people in town, but that probably just came off as creepy.
But I’ve tried. I want to be good, no questions asked.
Moving with vampire speed, Lucas zooms down, removing my pants and putting his face between my legs. I bring a hand to the top of his head, gipping his hair.
There’s no hesitation or teasing this morning. Lucas gets right to work, licking and sucking my clit until I’m right about to come. He slips two fingers inside of me, pressing against my G-spot the same time he lashes his tongue at me. The orgasm comes on fast and hits me strong. I feel myself spasming around his fingers, and he holds them there for another few seconds before pulling his hand back and moving on top of me.
Already naked, his cock presses against my entrance. I widen my legs and angle my hips up, welcoming him to plunge his big cock deep inside me.
And he does.
His lips go to my neck as he fucks me, fangs penetrating through my skin. He sucks down a mouthful of blood, groaning as he drinks from me. He pushes his cock balls deep, and I rake my nails up and down his back.
But then I feel something, like a weird energy shift. Lucas is too distracted with my blood and my body to notice, and he bucks his hips, hitting me at a new angle. I come again, and for a moment, I’m too distracted too.
He finishes right after I do, and licks around the wound on my neck. Heart racing, I tip my head to the side, nestling it against Lucas.
And then Binx runs in, meowing.
“Something is wrong,” I pant, and Lucas moves off of me. He hasn’t applied pressure to my bite wounds and blood drips down my neck when I get up. I pull the dress I’d discarded on the floor last night back on and pad, barefoot, into the hall and down the stairs.
The energy is shifting fast, going from oppressive to chaotic and back again, and it’s coming from the front porch. Lucas, who’s now wearing grey sweatpants, comes down the stairs.
“Sulfur,” he says and sniffs the air. “I smell sulfur.”
“It’s coming from the porch,” I tell him. My three familiars shadow over to me, staying in spirit form in case whatever is on the porch jumps in and attacks us.
Lucas moves into the office, stepping out of the d
irect line of sunlight that will stream into the house. I wave my hand at the door, magically unlocking it. Then I telekinetically open it, swinging it open all at once.
I let out a scream of shock when I see a hellhound sitting on the porch. There’s a box wrapped in brown paper in front of it. The hellhound just sits there, staring at me. It’s huge, looking like a mix between a mastiff, a wolf, and something purely evil.
Binx shadows forward, defensively putting himself between the hellhound and me. But the hellhound doesn’t move. Doesn’t growl. And then I remember Lucifer’s words.
Just make sure to put the collar on.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I hold out my hand, magically bringing the package to me.
“Come,” I say, looking at the dog. It stands and calmly walks into the house. I close the door, and Lucas speeds forward, fangs drawn. “It’s okay!” I shout before he rips the thing to shred. Well, if he could. This thing is the size of a small horse.
“It’s a fucking hellhound, Callie!” he shouts, and my familiars agree, circling the creature, just waiting for me to tell them to attack.
I tear the brown paper off the box. “I’m pretty sure this is the second wedding gift from Lucifer.”
Lucas stops short, tipping his head. “Are you fucking serious?”
I let the paper drop to the ground and pull a blood-red collar out of the box.
“Scarlet,” I say, reading the name that’s somehow etched into the collar. It was made with magic, I can tell that already. How…I have no freaking clue. “Uh, come here, girl,” I say to the hellhound. “Sit. Stay. Good girl.”
My hands shake just a bit as I buckle the massive collar around the hellhound’s neck. The air vibrates and Scarlet shifts into a cute, fluffy golden retriever puppy.
I stand there, blinking, for a good minute. Then I slowly turn and look at Lucas.
“Your uncle, who is the Devil, sent you a fucking hellhound for a wedding gift?”
I swallow and open my mouth, but can’t quite get myself to form the words. “It appears so.”
“What the fuck are we supposed to do with it?”