Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

"Just shorts please. I'll be burning up all night now that I'm drinking this with that out there," he says, pointing at the full moon glowing through the window.

I nod, and then disappear into the room. After I grab him some shorts, I decide to change myself. I feel creepy now that I've been almost violated by the night stalker.

When I walk into my room, I shiver. The damn broken window has let all of nature's chill settle inside.

"Crap."

I start to use my magic to reassemble the shattered pieces when a shadow appears around me. Nausea strikes, but before I can scream for help, a hand clamps over my mouth, and we evaporate into the wind.

Blurs, streaks, and glimpses of the world pass me by as we travel through the forest. Dizziness rules me, and my heart feels like it's going to explode. Tears are stripped from my eyes by the winds, and every second I'm a part of the air, I feel closer to death.

Finally, I feel the ground beneath me as I crash to it, being freed from whatever dark user just took me.

I rock up to my knees, and then I expel the contents of my stomach as the dizziness starts to feel more like drunkenness.

"It'll pass. I know how to carry people through the planes without killing them," a voice says from behind.

I try to focus in on it, but I can't see the face. The images and colors are so distorted that I feel like I'm trying to see a face at the end of a Kaleidoscope.

"Who are you?" I choke out before hurling out more liquid.

I hear the chatter of the leaves as the unseen dark one walks around, circling me, as he watches me in my humbled state.

"Someone who doesn't feel like being framed for the disappearance of your mother," the guy's smooth voice says, and the shadow moves to my side.

I feel a hand on my back, and then my sickness subsides before clarity comes to life. My body stabilizes, bringing me back to normal.

I whip around, falling back to my ass, and then I scammer backwards.

"Calm down," he says, his dark hair a little longer, tousled by the wind in a sexy sort of way.

Damn bad boys.

“Calm down? You've got to be kidding me," I scoff, praying my voice is loud enough to reach Thad or Frankie. Then I recognize him - the eyebrow ring, the dark hair, the mysterious beauty. Oh shit. "You're the guy from the diner. You sat in the corner and used the free Wifi."

He smirks, running his hand through his hair. "I was keeping an eye on you. It would have seemed odd if I just sat there drinking coffee."

"Keeping an eye on me? You had to have heard that night stalker threatening me that night, yet you did nothing. You were probably hoping he'd drain me dry, or you were planning to kill me yourself before Frankie and Kane showed up."

Shit. I shouldn't have said Kane's name aloud. Damn it.

His head drops back and he releases an exasperated sigh.

"I wouldn't have let him touch you. I stayed until closing, and then I watched to make sure you made it back to your home, untouched. If I wanted you dead, I've had ample opportunity to kill you. I'm here as a friend, for now. My people are not responsible for your mother's disappearance, so you need to call off your flock of killers."

Say huh?

"My flock of killers?" I ask in bemusement. "I don't have a flock of killers, and I don't believe you don't have my mother. You're the only ones with a true vendetta and the resources to take someone as strong as she is."

He snorts derisively. "Your mother has pissed off a lot of immortals. That's what happens when you're a strong witch - you make enemies. Your killers are attacking innocent dark users."

I let out an incredulous laugh while standing to my feet, readying myself to fight.

"Innocent dark users? That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one."

His eyes narrow when he takes offense, and I silently start reminding myself I'm still not immortal. I'm an idiot to provoke him.

"Don't be such a fool. Dark users are no different from you, except we harness black magic and live of our own free will. Not everyone who joins dark are vicious killers. Most of us just don't like the rules set up by the hypocritical light council. They think they rule you once you've chosen light, and yet they might as well be dark themselves. They'll condemn you to death for breaking the rules, but they'll abandon you when you need them most. Tell me I'm wrong."