Heavy Metal Heartbeat (17 page)

But his emotions said otherwise.

He is your best friend. You can't leave him here.

He hesitated for a moment,
deciding to stay and fight, until one word filled his mind, answering his dilemma.

Sebastian!

Giving Jaxson a farewell nod, he grasped Anna by her wrist and pulled her away. She kicked and dragged her feet in protest. Ozzie tossed her over his shoulder and fell in line with his escaping team. He rushed through the dense trees and burst through the tree line, his Dodge Challenger a beacon of safety in the distance.

“Ozzie, no! I am not leaving him to
them.
You don't know what they are capable of, what they did to him...” She started to cry. “What they made him do.”

He pulled open the car and
sat her inside.

“
Anna, I know! I also know that I can't help him and neither can you.” Slamming the passenger side door, he leaned in the window. “But Sebastian can!”

Her
tear-filled eyes blinked and she nodded her head.

“We need to get back to your house. We can help Paige, and Sebastian can help Jaxson.”

Neither of them spoke the entire drive back to Anna's; both had their minds on other things. His brain seemed to run in all directions as he worried about his friend's fate and the situation he might walk in on back at the house with Paige and his father.

Lord, please don't let them pay for my mistakes.

The rock station provided nothing but background noise. He stared out the window watching the road as he sped down the highway. His heart beat to the riff of the guitar, and he felt drained. Every muscle ached, his chest grew tight and his breathing became labored. He needed to feed, and he needed to get to
her
.

He ran his hands down the front of his jeans, removing the remains of battle. Dried blood and saliva, crusted on his hand like mud, cracked and flaked off.
He was so focused on getting free of the wolf gunk stuck to him that he had forgotten Anna was with him until she spoke.

“
Do you think he is all right?”

He slid
his gaze her way. She sat biting her nails, staring out the window, tears rolling down her face.

“
Jaxson is very smart and quite the opponent to tangle with. He isn't the scared and confused man he was the first time they found him. He can hold his own, Anna. He is as strong as an ox and built just like one.”

His heart fell into his stomach when she looked at him
. The lavender in her eyes had darkened, her gem-like shine smoldered.

“
But Ozzie, they are witches.”

He kept his voice low, unable to keep the fear from it. “I know.”

As he turned into Anna's drive, his headlights flashed across the darkened house. Lights switched on behind the closed curtains. He pulled the car to a stop and shut off the engine. Anna was out before the engine died.  He climbed out of the car, hot on Anna's heels as they rushed into the house. The door swung open. Sebastian stood bathed in sixty watt light, blocking the doorway. He motioned them back outside.

“
The patien
t
—
”

Anna could wait no longer.

“
Sebastian, you have to hurry. Jaxson needs your help. They have him. The witches have him, Sebastian!”

Ozzie was knocked out of the way when Sebastian flew
past and grabbed Anna by her arms.

“
What did you say? Calm down and say that one more time.”

Tears ran
down her face and her words jumbled with her cries. Sebastian shook her. Ozzie stepped in, putting a hand on Sebastian's shoulder.

“
You heard right the first time. It’s the witches, the ones from his past. They are working with Tyrik. That is how they were able to ambush us before.”

“
Tell me what happened after I fled with Paige.”

“
Anna and I both jumped Tyrik as hell broke loose.  My teams and Tyrik's wolves emerged from the woods and everyone was fighting. There were way more than we thought and somehow they were able to move faster than us. Magic, no doubt. I guess Jaxson felt it or something. He found us and told me we needed to get out of there. I started getting my teams together and told them to leave and he took off with Anna.”

Anna joined in.

“We didn't get very far before they showed up out of thin air and blocked our path. Ozzie showed right after that, dragging me away like Jaxson told him to.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, glaring.

“You left him?”

“
He told me to get Anna out of there. I wasn't going to. I am not inclined to run from anything, but I had no idea what they could do or what they are capable of. My instinct was to come and get you. That is what Jaxson was really trying to tell me.”

He watched as the vampire worked it out. His eyes slid to Anna
.

“Anna
, this trap was never for you. It was for me.”

“
What?” Anna tried to ask, but Sebastian was gone.

Ozzie stood staring off into the dark, hoping to see Sebastian. He could tell by his scent in the air
that he was already miles away and mad as hell. He turned to the opened door and walked inside, looking for his father and Paige.

Dr. Phillips, sprawled on the couch
, sat up and rubbed his eyes as they walked in.

His groggy voice
was barely audible.

“Is everything al
l right?”

Ozzie answered him honestly.

“I have no idea, but if I were you, I'd make plans to be a here a while. We may need you to tend to more people.”

Dr. Phillips started putting
on his shoes.

“I need to run to the hospital then and gather more supplies. I used the last of them on your men.” He stood and started pointing as if he were directing traffic. “The badly wounded men have been moved to the hospital
. The two team leaders are stitched up and resting in the guest rooms. The rest of your wounded are in the back gathered around a fire waiting for you.”

“
Thank you, Doc. How are my father and Paige?” He scanned the living room and peeked into the kitchen. “Where are my father and Paige?”

Dr.
Phillips scrubbed the sleepiness from his face and giggled.

“Oh
, they are just fine. Your father insisted on watching over her. He is in her room, sitting in a chair by the door, keeping her occupied by telling her stories about your childhood.”

His whole body relaxed and his heart skipped a beat as he deflated in relief.
He was so relieved that his mind swam. He whispered a silent prayer to the heavens for their safety, tears rimming his eyes. The doctor’s voice sounded, bringing him back to the present.

“
Your father is not paralyzed and should be good as new in a few days. As for Paige, I don't know. She is in human form and seems to be just fine. Ozzie, they messed with her transformation.”

His head popped up, smoke leaving his ears. The blood swimming through his veins began to boil. His beast from Hell
was awake, and it paced its cage.

“
They kept her in the middle state for hours on end. I don't know how they managed, but they got her to begin to change and then stopped it half way through. Then they began to modify and change things. Her beautiful albino tiger was but a canvas to bring their twisted creation to life.”

He reconnoitered the change in Anna's tone. She was fuming
, too. His fury matched hers exactly. His mind played gruesome images of the things he would like to do to the witches. He staggered a moment, his chest constricting, closing off his air. Rage shook his frame. His inner animal chomped at the bit to get free. It whispered all the ways to seek revenge.

Her voice, like the trumpets from heaven, sounded.

“
Ozzie? Are you OK?”

His eyes looked toward the hallway and he could see her. She stood wrapped in a small blanket
, her bright blue eyes shining back at him. The wheat field on top of her head was in disarray, and the smooth, pale skin across her face was angelic even though it housed a questioning look.

He sped across the room and lifted her off ground in a huge hug. Tears ran down his face and spilled onto the blanket. His face buried in her chest,
and he hugged her tighter, feeding off her scent and choking back sobs of relief. Vanilla and tropical flowers never smelled so wonderful. He rolled it around on his tongue and praised the lord above to have her alive. At that moment, he didn't care what had happened to her. She was alive and they would find a way to fix it. He silently vowed to hunt and kill the three witches that had invaded his territory and terrorized his family.

Lowering her to the floor, he lost himself in her eyes, savoring her. He cupped her face and kissed her gently. As his passion ignited
, his kiss deepened. He pulled her closer to him. Catching his breath, he pulled away and looked at her.

“
Ozzie...” He leaned into her hand which was on his face. Another sob broke free.

“Paige
, I thought I had lost you.”

“
Nonsense, my boy. She will make a fine addition to the Zane name; tough gal, this one.”

Pulling away from his life line, he moved toward the familiar voice.

His father stood, wicked grin on his face, leaning against the bedroom door frame. His bare chest was wrapped in gauze and tucked into the top of his jeans. He stepped into the open arms of home.

“
I am so glad that you made it.” He clapped his father on the back and then pulled away. “We worried you might be paralyzed from the shrapnel in your spine.”

“
It is gonna take more than a few screws to take this old man out.”

“
I am so glad to hear that because
—
”

He was
shoved out of the way by an hysterical vampire.

“
OK, Ozzie, you have had your moment, get out of my way. It is my turn to hug them.”

He
stood between Paige and his father, giving Anna room to share in the good news. Anna had Paige in a bear hug, both of them were crying, spewing words only they understood. He turned to his father.

“
Oh, I talked to Mom and she said we are all coming for a sit-down dinner on Sunday.”

Paige wiggled her way into his arms just as Anna hugged his father. Her sweet words filled his ear.

“
Yes, we know. You father called her earlier. Your mother and I were on the phone for about two hours. I like her.”

He smiled and kissed her nose.

“I knew you would. What did the two of you talk about?”

“
Our wedding!”

Although I have always enjoyed writing, the dream to become a writer came when I read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare in the sixth grade. My early works, not published, were in the form of children’s stories I would read to my two daughters.

I divide my days between the real world and the ones I’ve created. My life and my characters keep me very busy in my Mid-Western scene, where I live with my husband and my childre
n
—
both human and furry.

Get twisted in fantasy and consumed by the paranormal.

Check out this author @
www.ambearshellea.blogspot.com

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