Heavy Metal Heartbeat (11 page)

Anna gasped, covering her mouth, tears in her eyes.

“Oh my God, that is horrible.”

Mr. Zane shook his head in agreement.

“Enraged, Aiden grew strong and lashed out. He damn near tore that wolf limb from limb. He spent the rest of days growing stronger, getting faster and hunting quieter. He honed his skills and mastered the use of many different weapons. He gathered and trained anyone who asked to join him. Before long he had a team of ten and when Aiden turned thirty-five, he got his chance and killed that wolf.”

“
I am so glad he got that wolf in the end. So what you are saying is that when Ozzie realized Paige was in danger, he like, raged out and...”She pointed to the body on the floor. “Is the outcome?”

“
Yes. Ozzie may be the same or very different. I have never seen anything like it with my own eyes. I just have read it in legends, such as the one I told you. His whole purpose will be to hunt. From what we have gathered from legends, all of his skills will improve and he may even acquire new ones. Some of his skills may import from his human side, such as strength, and he will get very, very strong, or it could be that his gut instinct turns to almost a psychic ability. We will have to wait for him to wake up to find out.”

Jaxson looked at the man on the floor, concern on his face.

“How long will he be out?”

“I don't know.”

Ozzie's spirit crashed into his body with the weight of ten men. He gasped for air as if someone had jumped on his chest. Still as stone, his muscles momentarily froze from the sudden shock. He blinked back tears as he stared dumbfounded at the ceiling.  He could hear the collective gasp in the room and the brush of fabric as people moved, but he could not see them. He knew they crept with caution.

The haze in his mind cleared first as the rest of him followed suit, freeing his breath and muscles
and giving him back his mobility. He closed his eyes and enjoyed one long, deep, cleansing breath.

In a half a second he was off the floor, his hands around Anna’s neck
, pinning her to the wall. He let his hurt and betrayal loose.

“
Anna, how could you? Now I will have to kill you, and Paige will never forgive me.”

All hell broke loose as the rest of room caught up. Jaxson rushed to pull Anna free, Mr. Zane close behind.

“Oz, back off. What the hell did she do? We are all friends.”

“
Get off my son. I swear I will slaughter all of you.”

Sebastian sauntered over to the clan of chaotic people and spoke softly.

“
Ozzie, perhaps you should explain your accusation and the rest of us can explain why Anna did what she did.”

His breath came slow and even as the fury spread through his veins like a forest fire..
His muscles twitched and jumped in anticipation. He yearned to kill. His eyes bore into hers, yet she said nothing. She offered no defense. He could feel her soft, cool body become motionless, and her breath slowed. She had no fear of him, she only stared.

Maybe she doesn’t understand she is about to die. She trusts me,
which is why she is letting me have this without putting up a fight.

“Anna, how could you change me?”

Jaxson answered when Anna’s voice faltered.

“Ozzie, she didn’t have a choice. She had to…you were dying.”

He dropped his would-be victim and turned to his best friend and co-conspirator in betrayal as he continued.

“She had a choice!”

“
She saved your life, Oz. Don’t you remember?”

His heart wanted to break
when he saw the sadness and concern in his friend’s eyes, but he knew what he had to do. It was his duty. Anna had broken the rules. She bit another human without consent. She had to pay. His father’s voice brought him out of his brooding.

“Son, I will help you kill any and all of them, if necessary, but you yourself said they could be trusted. They
are your friends and they would not go against the rules, so, in that sense, maybe we should sit and listen to what they have to say. I don’t know them, but I do trust you, and you were very head strong in the matter.”

“
But Father, I was wrong. Anna broke the rules.”

Sebastian’s voice sounded off again.

“Are you sure she betrayed you, Ozzie? Would Paige let her betray you?”

Paige!

The air in the room suddenly seemed thick and unmoving, like a fog. His lungs denied him breath. He was a fish out of water. He pressed a hand to his chest and gasped for air. The voices around him were nothing but background noise. His heart beat like that of a war drum as heat flashed across his body. He dropped to his knees and her scent ran across his face and calmed his nerves. Cool, crisp, fresh air floated in and out of his lungs. He blinked his eyes and the room came back into focus. Anna, his father and Sebastian gathered around him. Jaxson sat on his knees in front of him holding up Paige’s white sundress. He snatched it away.

“
What are you doing, Jaxson?”

“Breath
e in her scent, Oz, it will help,” Jaxson answered.

Once again, Sebastian was the voice of reason.

“Ozzie, do you remember Paige is in trouble?”

He got up from the floor, sundress in hand.

“Yes, and I intend to find her.”

“
Really? Do you know where she is?”

“
No, but I have the instincts of a wolf.”

He watched as Sebastian took center stage, pacing like the instructor he had become.

“Do you know how much time she has?”

“
No, but I have the speed of vampire.”

To his left
, his father looked as is if he would say something, but Sebastian silenced him and went on with his questions.

“
Do you remember what happened a few days ago?”

”
Yes, I killed Perry when he tried to kill Anna. His pack came and…Paige…Paige was in trouble. One of the wolves was going to attack her from behind. That’s when I jumped in and saved her.”

His inquisitor’s movement stopped.

“
And? What happened after that?”

He shot to his feet.

“I have had enough of this. Paige is in trouble and this is a waste of time.”

He
meant to storm past them all, intent on finding his woman only to crash through the living room wall and land on the plush carpet of Anna’s room. Sebastian’s wide, ocean-blue eyes hovered above him, penetrating his stare.

What the…

The vampire’s harsh words followed.

“You will listen
, and you will listen close. It is I who has had enough. Paige may be your lover, but she is also a beloved friend to everyone in this room, including me. You cannot be of any help to her until all of us, including you.

“N
ow, what is going on with you? We all want her safe, but I will be even more damned than I already am if I allow you anywhere near her without knowing the danger you represent. Anna has read us the note; they are not after a kill. They are after a torment. It’s a trap and we all know it. Paige is the bait to get Anna.

Now, you will get up and sit on that damn couch
. Is that clear? If not, I will hog tie you and put a spell on you to get the answers I seek from you! I see you cut your eyes to your father. He has yet to kill me and I am confident it won’t happen today, so he is of no help to you.”

He tried to use his strength to push the vampire away, but to no avail.

“
I am over two hundred years old. Yes, you have gained some very nice powers, but I have what you don’t: experience!”

For the second time that day
there came another surprise slap followed by a flight through the air. He landed on the couch. Recovering his dignity and his bearings, he situated himself on the furniture and waited for Sebastian to continue.

“In your attempt to save Paige, which you did, the wolf you attacked spun and attacked you, leaving your insides exposed to the world through a huge
gash in your chest. You were laid wide open, Ozzie, and your heart, lungs and stomach had been slashed. Paige was frenzied. Anna had Jaxson dispose of the bodies in quick order and called an ambulance. Paige begged Anna to turn you to save you! Just so you know, Anna knew this would be your reaction and accepted it. That is why she did not try and defend herself.”

The words were clear
, but the meaning…

“
Are you saying…?” He looked to Anna. “You turned me to save my life for Paige, and you would die in the exchange?”

His cold
, fury-ridden heart had softened like melted butter at the tears reflecting the truth in her eyes. Her answer twisted like a knife in the chest.

“
If this was to be the outcome, yes. I willingly turned you knowing there was a chance you could come for me. Ozzie, I swear I did everything I could think of to make sure you didn’t hunt humans. I talked to you during the process. I reminded you of your love for Paige and how happy she makes you. I love her as much as you do, and I couldn’t deny her when she asked. Her pain was too much…Ozzie. You can kill me, and I will let you, but you didn’t see the agony in her eyes. So yes, I would rather die than to spend the rest of our long days enduring the sight of her in so much turmoil.”

She is certainly taking it like a man
, so to speak. I can understand her reluctance to see Paige in so much pain.

The emotions seemed to filter first, but the reasoning sounded rational and understandable.

Would I have made the same choice? Can I really demand her life?

He finally conceded.

“I understand, Anna. I am sorry that I attacked you. I can’t kill you even though you were wrong.”

Lord, I’m getting tired of hearing Sebastian’s voice.

“I know what you are thinking. She broke the rules as far as she didn’t have consent. You would be wrong, she did. Since Paige is your fiancée, she has certain rights to you, therefore, when she begged Anna to turn you, it was as good as you giving consent. You two are one, even though you have no ‘legal’ paperwork to show. In everything you do, you present each other as a couple, therefore granting Paige the right to choose what should be done with you. The supernatural runs on the law of nature, not the laws of man.”

Ozzie
thought about what the old vamp had said and realized he was giving him an explanation to excuse any reason to hold Anna or Paige accountable for what happened. It was a ‘get out of staking a friend’ card.

Gazing from face to face
, he finally settled on his father’s deep somber expression.

This is my decision. I have the hunter’s bloodline tattoo. The situation was extreme
, and a split decision had to be made quickly. Paige and I had never discussed what should be done in a circumstance such as that.

His
mind sifted through the information.

“
Fine.” He glanced toward his father, who gave him an approving nod. “Moving on.”

The living room
, with its big, open windows and gaping hole in the wall, felt like a small cage, closing in with each breath. Sweat dotted his brow and his hunger continued to grow, barely sated by the scent of her. It wasn’t enough. He needed her.

“This is going to sound crazy
, but here goes.” Not that he needed to, but he inhaled deeply and prepared to explain. “I was visited by my ancestral guide, Jewels. She is the one who etched this tattoo onto my chest.”

Anna interrupted him.

“Wait, Ozzie, you had those markings before you passed out. Are you sure that’s what happened?”

Shaking his head,
he assured her.

“I am positive. While I was with her in the In-Between, I didn’t have anything on my chest. She drew it all, and I felt it all as her lines burned into my chest. Man, it was like fire. She said that I was the-”

“
Hunter of Zane,” everyone said with him.

He stared at every face in the room, confused.

How can they know when I just found out?

His father jumped in and answered his unasked question.

“
When the tattoo began to shimmer and blind the hell out of us, I knew, well, had a feeling, of what had happened. I explained the legend of Aiden.”

“
Oh! OK, well, that saves time.”

Jaxson pointed out what
everyone in the room was thinking.

“Well
, sounds like we are all up to speed. We need to find out what Ozzie can do and go get Paige!”

“
Agreed!” Everyone in the room said in unison.

He stood next to his father fidgeting with the loose strings of his jeans and white tank top. The horizon was swallowing the setting sun, taking all of its dusky orange light with it and leaving only the soft light from the moon. He mentally took note of the heart beat rocking out in his chest. It seemed to match the rhythm of “Cage the Beast” by Adelita’s Way playing from the car stereo.