Beta (21 page)

"Dinner
will be ready soon," I said with a light smile.

Zac
wasn't stupid. He knew something happened but if we weren't going
to tell him he probably assumed it wasn't very important. He went
to the fridge and grabbed a few beers before tossing Rachel a look
crossed between worry and appreciation. I loved that his concern
and want for her was so clearly displayed because it only
solidified my belief that he honestly cared for her.

A
deafening, high pitched whistle cut through the air. I clutched my
ears in agony but it did nothing to help. The sound was so intense,
I felt blood leaking on my fingers as I fell to my knees. The other
women in the room were writhing on the ground, screaming in pain.
The bottles of beer had shattered in Zac's hands. I couldn't tell
if his ears were bleeding or if it was his hands but either way, he
was losing a lot of blood.

I managed
to crawl over to him and pull his hands off his ears. It hurt even
worse to remove my hands from my ears but I had to make sure he
hadn't cut anything too deeply.

I caught
sight of Titus out of the corner of my eye, staggering into the
kitchen. He fell to his knees next to me but I knew he couldn't
help me. We were all at the mercy of this sound.

Zac's
cuts weren't too deep but mixed with the blood from his ears, it
looked worse than it actually was. I pulled one of the dish towels
down and wrapped his cut hand to stop the bleeding.

Titus
gripped my head and covered my ears by pulling me against his
chest. I held onto his arm, desperately awaiting a moment of
silence but the torture continued.

My eyes
started to burn and water and my vision started to blur. What the
hell was going on?

Tiny
sparkles floated in the air and I realized they were silver flakes.
Jesus we were inhaling silver! I pushed Titus off of me and got to
my feet, grabbing a roll of paper towel and threw them in the sink
while trying to hold my breath. I turned the water on full blast
and soaked the roll through. I covered my mouth with one and
hurried to Titus to cover his mouth and nose then moved on to Zac
and the rest.

The
screeching was unbearable and my eyes burned like a lighter was
being held to them. Through it all, I still caught a scent that
didn't belong. A scent I knew too well.

Andre
crouched in front of me and Titus with a sinister grin plastered on
his face.

"Surprised to see me, ma chèrie?" He asked
smoothly.

His dark
hair fell over his inhuman, perfect, features as he leaned to talk
to me. He was just as I last saw him; no one would ever know I
almost beheaded him just a few days ago.

I felt
Titus's chest rumble with a low warning growl. I was certain he
couldn't manage more than that through the intense pain. If he
could have, Andre would have been dead already.

"Calm
down, mutt. She won't suffer much," Andre said.

Titus
tried to push me behind him but I could tell the silver in the air
was weakening him as quickly as it weakened me. My skin and eyes
burned horribly and I knew everyone else was in as much
pain.

"Come
along, Elizabeth," Andre prompted cheerfully.

He
grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet roughly. I couldn't stop
the cry of pain that escaped my lips. His cool touch seemed to set
the silver further in my skin, searing my flesh.

Titus
wanted to shift. I could feel it but if he shifted, he wouldn't be
able to stop from breathing in the silver. He would die slowly and
painfully. I prayed he didn't let his temper get away from him and
accidentally shift.

Titus
pushed to his feet and lunged at Andre but in his weakened state,
he was no match for the vampire. Andre tossed him across the
kitchen, slamming him into the giant steel fridge. The steel dented
with the force of Titus's solid body but he seemed okay. I knew it
would take a lot more than that to hurt Titus.

Andre
suddenly looked down at me in disgust. He touched my stomach but
quickly drew his hand back.

"You're
pregnant," he accused.

Oh shit.
If he knew...he would kill the baby.

"That dog
impregnated you," he fumed. His eyes turned black, not even a hint
of white in the at all.

"Please,"
I begged.

"Please
what? Don't hurt that thing growing inside you?" He
demanded.

I didn't
know what to say. I knew it didn't matter what I said. Anything
would set him off because it was Titus's child. I was better off
not saying anything. I feared speaking would only make him kill the
baby and Titus. I needed to save at least one of them.

"It is an
abomination, Elizabeth. You were designed to carry the perfect
being and you have desecrated your body with this
miscreant."

"Please,
just don't hurt-"

"I will
do as I please," he looked over his shoulder, "Kill
him."

"No!" I
cried out in an attempt to stop the vampire approaching
Titus.

"No! I'll
do anything you want, Master! Anything! I swear!" I
begged.

Thank God
my pleading caught his attention.

"Anything?" He asked with a sly smile.

"Just
don't hurt him."

"Interesting," he mused, "Why don't we give your soon-to-be
ex husband a preview of what your life will be like after
today?"

I watched
as the silver in the air started to settle to the floor. It was
still in the air but not nearly as bad. If I could just buy a
couple minutes, everyone could shift and we would be
fine.

"No,"
Titus growled.

"I think
it is an excellent idea. On your knees, Elizabeth."

How much
time would I need for the silver to settle? Would I really have to
do this or would we be able to shift before. Granted, there were
far more horrific things he could make me do but I knew Titus would
never look at me the same way after seeing me do something only
Titus and I shared.

I
hesitated but Andre didn't miss a beat. He saw the hesitation and
thrived on it. He gripped my shoulders and forced me to my knees. I
looked to Titus for help but he was struggling to get
up.

The roar
of Andre's zipper would haunt me forever. How had he taken
something so special that I had only ever wanted Titus to
experience and turn it into something so degrading and
disgusting?

My mind
was reeling with thoughts of how this would affect Titus. How could
he ever let me do this for him again after seeing me with Andre?
How could I ever want to do this for Titus again?

Out of
the corner of my eye, I saw Zac shift and take down one of the
vampires; Titus quickly followed and went for Andre again. This
time, Andre wasn't expecting it an Titus was able to take him to
the floor. I quickly shifted and went for Andre to help
Titus.

Before I
knew it, an all out war had broken out in the kitchen but I didn't
know where Christian was. I didn't hear him anywhere and I hadn't
seen him since I sent him to play with Emily. I prayed nothing had
happened to him. I didn't know what I would do if he was harmed in
any fashion. But Andre didn't want Christian. He couldn't care less
about Christian because he wasn't biologically mine and he had
nothin against Titus.

Titus
sank his teeth into Andre's neck as I went for the other side.
Together, we ripped him apart but I knew he wasn't dead yet. At
least he was incapacitated so we could handle the rest of the
vampires.

Looking
around the room, it seemed the rest had already been
handled.

I heard a
whimper upstairs and instantly took off in the direction of the
sound. It wasn't Christian but it might have been Emily and I hoped
Christian was with her.

I stalked
through the halls upstairs, waiting to hear or smell something. I
picked up on a scent and nudged open a closet door to see Christian
standing in front of Emily as she cried silently. I couldn't have
been more proud of him in that moment. The way he stood in front of
her, protected her, told me he was going to be an amazing mate to
someone, someday.

I nudged
his stomach and he instantly wrapped his arms around my neck,
burying his face in my fur. I would have hugged him back if I could
but I didn't want to shift back in front of the kids. They weren't
as mature as the adults when it came to nudity because they weren't
used to shifting.

Christian
released me and turned to grab me a sheet. He set it in front of me
and turned around, wrapping his arms around Emily to cover her. If
I was able to smile in this form, I would have.

I quickly
shifted back and wrapped the sheet around my bare body.

"Can you
stay up here for just a little longer?" I asked
Christian.

"Yes,
Momma."

"Thank
you. You were so brave, Christian."

"I did
what Dad said and took Emily up here," he said proudly.

"You did
a great job," I said as I cupped his cheek. I leaned down and
placed a gentle kiss on his head.

I left
them upstairs to go back downstairs and assess the
situation.

There was
blood everywhere. I wasn't sure if there was more vampire or wolf
blood but it looked like a massacre.

"Is
anyone hurt?" I asked Brent.

"Minor
injuries. I think Zac had it the worst but he's okay."

I nodded
and ventured further into the kitchen to see Titus already in a
pair of mesh shorts, draining the vampires of their blood. I saw
Andre's body, a dark ash color from being drained. A sense of
relief flooded my body, finally knowing it was all over.

Andre was
dead. He would never come after me again.

Titus
noticed me and instantly left what he was doing to come over and
envelope me in a tight hug. He held me as if his life depended on
it and I knew I held onto him with the same intensity.

"It's
over," he assured me.

I nodded,
"I know. Thank you."

"Why are
you thanking me?"

"You
helped me kill him. You helped me end this."

He pulled
away slightly and half smiled at me. I stood on my tip toes and
kissed him deeply, completely content with him.

THE END