Becoming Forever (Waking Forever Series) (46 page)

Lara smirked. “
But I will. A little animal blood every week or so, and you would be amazed how easy these things are to maintain.” Lara took a step toward Ash. “It doesn’t give them any real strength, but it keeps the blood flowing.” The enthusiasm in Lara’s voice as she described Emma’s torturous and agonizing fate, brought tears to Ash’s eyes that she fought furiously to squelch.

Lara turned her head to the right, and then back to the left, her shoulders stretching with a series of pops. “Now - c
ome and stop me.” She raised her hands, and there was a series of loud cracks as her fingers extended and elongated into the razor sharp claws of a Komodo Dragon, the skin to the middle of her forearm becoming black, coarse and scaly.

Ash
stretched and flexed her fingers and arms out to her side. Pulling the desired image into her mind’s eye, she felt a spark of electricity shoot through her as the bones of her hands cracked and the joints dislocated. A second later, her hands had become oversized talons. The skin was thick and yellowish, and her nails were long and black.

Lara’s brow arched, and a
surprised expression shot across her face. “You’ve been practicing.” Before Ash could respond, the woman lunged at her. Ash dropped to her knees, but the claws of Lara’s right hand ripped into the flesh of Ash’s shoulder. Spinning on her knees, Ash pushed up, and was back on her feet. The tear in her shoulder was burning, but already beginning to heal.

Running toward Lara at full speed, Ash swung the left and then the right talon at the woman’s torso.
The long, black nails of Ash’s right talon dug into Lara’s left side. Ash immediately kicked at the woman’s right knee, a loud snap echoed through the night air as the shifter’s knee buckled.

A high pitched scream
emanated from Lara as she rapidly ripped and tore at her clothes. Before Ash could continue her attack, the woman in front of her was gone. In her place was a large, spotted hyena. The animal’s fur was coarse, its broad shoulders supporting a thick neck, leading up to massive, powerful jaws. Crouching, the animal growled, its lips pulling back in a snarl to expose rows of jagged yellow teeth.

In a split second, Lara sprung at Ash, knocking her to the ground
. She savagely bit and scratched the woman’s face and torso, blood splattering in every direction. With all of her strength, Ash dug her talons into the thick skin of the hyena’s shoulders, and heaved the frenzied animal twenty feet from her.

Without hesitation, Ash pushed herself up off the ground,
the loss of blood causing the space around her to spin. Focusing her attention, and knowing she only had seconds before Lara was back on her, the younger shifter pulled and tore at her clothes.

Ash’s
skin burned and the tickle in her throat spread in an instant through her entire body. Joints and tendons stretched and muscles ripped and mended in seconds as Ash’s legs, back and arms broke and set instantly. Standing a little over six feet tall on two back legs, Ash knew she had been successful when a loud screech escaped her.

The hyena took several steps back as the Dromaeosaurus advanced toward it. The dinosaur towered over the
other animal, its long snout revealing a row of razor sharp teeth that were bared in a vicious snarl. A loud tapping sound caught the hyena’s attention, and looking down, its eyes widened in surprise to see long sickle shaped black claws on either foot, clicking on the rock floor of the quarry.

The air filled with static and a second later Lara had shifted into a large, black bear. Standing on her hind
legs, she braced herself as Ash in a single bound sprung up into the air and planted her rear claw in the center of the bear’s chest. Off balance from the force of the impact, Lara stumbled back several steps.

Ash took advantage, and craning her long neck around, sunk her
jagged teeth into the bear’s neck. The bear’s massive claws beat furiously against Ash’s dense neck muscle. The thick skin of the dinosaur would not yield to Lara’s onslaught. Ash pulled her head back, ripping a massive chunk of hair and flesh from the animal’s throat.

Blood ran rapidly down Lara’s side as she fell to her knees, clutching at her throat with a massive
black paw. Bringing her hind leg up, Ash lashed out at the wounded animal. The long sickle shaped claw hooking into the bear’s chest and ripping down the center of her sternum in a single stroke. A wet gurgle escaped the bear as it fell forward onto the ground with a loud thud.

Blood pooled around the fallen animal, mingling with the dirt and rock of the quarry. Ash pushed back with her two powerful hind legs,
and landed ten feet from Lara. She watched as the bear began to shrink and hair disappeared to reveal red and blistered skin.

Ash imagined peeling a wet suit from her body, and by doing so, shifted back into her human form.
Covered in sweat and blood, Ash looked down at her naked body to see massive bruises and jagged, deep cuts that were beginning to pucker and heal. Exhausted from the numerous shifts, Ash sank to her knees, and watched as Lara’s limp body emerged.

A cool hand came to rest on Ash’s shoulder. Looking up, she saw Coleen’s intense blue eyes staring down at her. “Are you alright?”

Managing a weak nod, Ash tried to stand, her legs feeling wobbly. Coleen wrapped her arm around the woman’s bare waist and pulled her to her feet. Ash leaned on Coleen. “Thanks.”

Coleen helped Ash to a nearby
cluster of stones, and sat her down. A few moments later Coleen handed Ash what was left of her clothes. “Do you need help? Otherwise, I am going to dispose of that.” The vampire nodded toward Lara, who lay on the ground, barely alive.

“What are you going to do?” Ash asked. Her throat was dry and when she spoke it felt like two pieces of sand paper rubbing together.

Without a word, Coleen walked over to the shifter. Standing over her, Coleen took her head in between her hands, and bringing her hands together, crushed Lara’s skull. Wiping her bloodied hands down her already stained and torn jeans, Coleen walked back toward Ash. “Nothing too complicated.”

Ash cr
inged at the violence, but after the last few minutes, any judgment of Coleen’s actions would be the worst kind of hypocrisy. Pulling her pants on and what was left of her t-shirt, Ash hurried toward Emma just as Coleen had released the chain and began to carefully lower the vampire to the ground. Taking her head and shoulders in her arms, Ash gently guided Emma onto her back.

Coleen positioned herself between Emma’s ankles. “Em, this is going to hurt, and I’m sorry.” Taking a firm hold of the silver rod in one hand, Coleen braced her other hand against Emma’s ankle, and in a single motion, pulled the r
od through and out of the woman.

Emma cried out, and Ash pulled her closer, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Jesus.”

Coleen winced. “I’m sorry Em, it can’t be helped.” Pulling on one of the cords around Emma’s waist, the vampire looked at Ash. “Can you break those, please?”

Ash frowned. “I thought she couldn’t-”

Shaking her head. “You thought she couldn’t break them because of the blood loss? No. Silver binds us, regardless of our strength.”

Nodding, Ash gently lowered Emma to the ground, her skin feeling as if it might tear with the slightest pressure. Reaching down with both hands, Ash easily broke the thin cords of silver, freeing Emma. Pulling her arms out from under her
back, Ash gently rubbed the woman’s wrists. “How long until she’s better?”

Coleen was kneeling at Emma’s bloodied feet. “She’s been almost completely drained, I could bring her animal blood, but it would take a lot of it, and maybe days for her to heal.
In the meantime, she’s going to continue to lose blood from her wounds since she can’t heal properly.”

Ash chewed nervously on her lower lip
, looking lovingly down at Emma. “What about my blood?” When no response came, Ash looked back at Coleen. “Well?”

The woman’s face was still, but her eyes glowed an iridescent blue. “Yes, but she hasn’t-”

Ash shook her head, amazed that of all the times for Coleen to struggle with a moral dilemma she chose right now to do it. “I know how she feels, and more importantly
why
she feels that way, but these are desperate times, calling for desperate measures.” The shifter frowned. “If she blames anyone, she can blame me. Okay?”

Coleen closed her eyes, and then sighing deeply
, nodded her consent. Ash looked around, and finding Lara’s discarded knife, knelt next to Emma. Pushing the blade into the inside of her forearm, Ash winced as she pulled the knife along her arm. Blood began to flow immediately, and she quickly held her arm over Emma’s mouth, hoping the woman she loved could forgive her.

***

Emma’s body was burning. Every muscle felt as if it were being torn apart from the lack of blood. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness since Lara had stung her up and began draining her. She had lived most of her vampire existence with the burning at the back of her throat, and occasionally in her stomach if she went too long between feedings. The agony of the burn she was experiencing now was tantamount to every nerve in her body misfiring.

She could hear Ash’s voice reassuring her, and the rarity of Coleen a
ctually apologizing broke through the screaming in her head. Now there was a warm, sweet liquid creeping down her throat, causing the spasming muscles in her neck and chest to be still. Moments later, the burning lessened, and her nerves began to settle.

A surge of energy and power coursed through Emma, her ar
ms and legs filling with blood as she opened her eyes to see Ash kneeling over her with a worried expression on her face. “Hi.”

Ash smiled, tears streaming down her face. “Hi.” The woman pulled Emma to her. “Thank
God, I was so worried.”

Emma’s senses were back in full force. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so alert. The
particles in the air were putting off shards of light as they danced and moved around her. “What did you do?”

Ash leaned back, the dread of what she had to tell Emma weighing on her. “I couldn’t lose you, and you were a mess, so I gave you some of my blood.” She watched Emma closely.

Remembering the choice she was forced to make when Lara’s toxins had been coursing through Ash, Emma couldn’t be angry at the woman she loved. Seeing the worried look on her face, she reached up and gently wiped at Ash’s tears with her thumb. “Thank you.”

Ash exhaled
. Her shoulders relaxing as she pulled Emma to her. “I love you.”

Emma kissed Ash,
the warmth of her lips mingling with the still present scent of her blood. “I love you too.” She looked over Ash’s shoulder to see Coleen getting up and walking away. “Where are you going?”

Coleen stopped and turned back to face the two women. “
I’m not one for emotional outpourings, and besides, I have five lycan and a shifter to dispose of.”

Emma got up carefully. She
leaned in and kissed Ash on the lips, before walking to Coleen and taking her hands. “We said some things, and I don’t want to rehash the past, but I hope we can be friends again.”

Squeezing Emma’s hands, Coleen smiled. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments either
, Em.” She pulled the blonde to her in a fierce hug. “Forgiven and forgotten.” She leaned back to look at her beautiful friend. “Besides, I need someone to help me dig.”

Epilogue

It had been seven months since the carnage at the quarry. Ash stood in front of the full length mirror in her and Emma’s bedroom, appraising her outfit for the evening’s festivities for Alfred Lopez’s retirement party. In spite of eating over seven thousand calories a day, Ash had lost nearly ten pounds, but managed to build muscle tone. As a result, her body was lean and sinewy, and the boot cut gray slacks and burgundy colored button-up blouse hugged her in all the right places.

Ash had moved into Emma’s house three months ago after several months of back and forth ab
out whether they were ready to cohabitate.

“I appreciate occupying
a domicile together is a significant decision.” Emma had explained over dinner at Ash’s apartment. “And there are many aspects of our relationship that present challenges otherwise not faced by what you might call more traditional couples.” Seeing the smirk on Ash’s face, her vampire girlfriend frowned. “What?”

Taking a drink of her 90 Dogfish IPA, Ash shook her head. “Wow. You must really be nervous to pull out
the word domicile.”

Narrowing her eyes, Emma looked intently at Ash. “Are you making fun of me
, detective?”

Putting her beer down, Ash nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”

“But you understand what I’m saying?” Emma took Ash’s hand.

Smiling Ash brought
the back of Emma’s cool hand to her lips. “I do understand, and I’ve been thinking about
occupying domicile
with you too.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “Then you’ll move in?”

Ash kissed Emma’s palm, and gently stroked her wrist. “Yes, but with a few conditions.”

“Anything.” Emma’s eyes lit up with excitement.