Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1) (37 page)

“Eric,” I whispered, ignoring Zane and his pack as best
as I could. “He’s right, you need to let me go.”
“You know I can’t do that, Jen.” His voice was hard
and stern as his hand tighten around my own.
“Look around us, Eric,” I pleaded as more tears rolled
down my face. “If you try to save me he’ll kill you. Don’t
you see, Zane always wins - in the end he will have what
he wants… but this way you don’t have to die… Please
Eric, please don’t fight for me. I don’t want you to fight
for me. Just let me go. Let him have me,” I cried, wanting
nothing more than for him to be safe.
“Jen,” he whispered, partly turning to face me. “You
can’t ask me to do that.” His face softened, and I could see
now that he wasn’t going to let me go, not willingly. He
would rather die than let Zane have me. His eyes w ere sure
and stern.
I leaned into him, gripping his jacket between my
fingers, breathing in his scent. I wanted to remember this
moment, the way he smelled, the feel of his body so close
to mine. I would hold onto all these little, perfect things
until I couldn’t anymore. “I’m sorry, Eric, but no more
people are going to die for me,” I whispered into his chest.
I raised my foot and using all the strength I had, I
stomped down hard on his foot. At the same time I ripped
my hand away from his, pushing him back. Without
wasting time, I turned and shot towards Zane. I only had
time to take a few steps before Katalin was suddenly
standing in front of me, inches from my face. My feet
rooted to the floor just seconds before I ran into her, and
then I was being pulled backwards, behind Jason and Eric
once more, as though the last thirty seconds of my life had
never happened.
Katalin smiled at me looking like an exotic angel.
Everything about her seemed sweet, gentle, and innocent her face, her eyes, her smile, even her small graceful
movements, and the way she tilted her head to her side,
staring at me with mild interest.
“Jenifer,” she greeted, her voice carrying a warning that
I couldn’t comprehend. Then without saying anything
more she elegantly walked up to us, shoved Eric and
Jason’s hand down from blocking me and stood at my side
so we were now in a straight line, surrounded by Zane and
his small army of cloaked and hooded monsters.
“So,” she mused. “I assume you’re Zane…” It wasn’t a
question; it was more like she was making a statement
alongside a threat.
“I am,” Zane smiled as he bowed to her from the
distance. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Princess?”
“I do not know if you’ve heard, but I don’t like sharing
my toys…”
“Funny,” he chuckled as he straightened himself, his
eyes never leaving Katalin. “I can say the same thing.”
“You know,” Katalin paused, “I’d thought that you’d
be gone by now, already deep in hiding somewhere. It’s
what I would have done if the Thirdworld army,” she
paused, frowning as she glanced around the room, “as well
as more than half the people in this very room, wanted me
dead.”
“What are you talking about?” Zane snapped at her.
“Oh, haven’t anyone told you, my father wants your
head.”
“Your father?” he asked, seeming genuinely surprised.
“The list goes on and it’s solely made up of the power
players of Thirdworld… There is no way you can go back
home.”
“You know, Katalin,” he swallowed, “you should
probably ask yourself who was it that ordered the hit on
Jen’s life in the first place…”
“I already know,” she chimed smiling as a brown cloth
bag suddenly appeared in her hands. “I’ve brought you
something.” She shoved her hand in the bag and pulled
out a round blurry shape, and before I could see what it
was, she sent it spiraling towards Zane’s head.
Zane caught the object just inches from his face, and
when my eyes finally caught up with their lightening fast
movements and I saw what he was holding bile rose in my
throat. I was horrified and disgusted, yet I couldn’t bring
myself to look aw ay. The thing that Zane was holding – it
wasn’t a thing at all, it was Avril. Zane was holding Avril’s
head in his hands as if it was a basketball. “Avril?”
Katalin let out an annoyed sigh, tilting her head to the
side with impatience. “Here is a hint: typical humans don’t
have such strong urges that only spells can bring on. You
know, like needing to go for a midnight walk when you’re
wanted dead… or having a mental breakdown over a
picture you’ve seen about a million times...” she grinned
facing me now.
“You think Avril’s the mastermind?” he frowned as he
dropped Avril’s head to his foot, kicking it towards a
corner of the room. I felt my stomach turn.
“Either way, she disobeyed me and as for your fate…”
Katalin mused, “it seems I’ve a need to make a statement
to Thirdworld; you should’ve never harmed what’s mine,
Zane, and now all of Thirdworld is going to know exactly
that.”
Almost as if on cue, just about half of Zane’s frozen
men came alive around us, throwing back the hoods of the
black cloaks, as they pulled out small knives and daggers
from under their clothes, slashing each other’s throat.
Within seconds a quarter of Zane’s pack crumpled to the
floor just as a loud, thunderous explosion echoed through
the room and the wall behind Zane crumbled, coating the
room in a mess of dust and shouts as more people flooded
the room like a giant wave, slaughtering everything in its
path.
It only took a moment for everyone around me to
absorb what was happening and move into action.
Suddenly the room went from still and tense to complete
chaos and madness. The remaining of Zane’s pack broke
apart, going straight for the swarm of what could only be
Dean and his pack still coming through the hole they’d
busted into the wall. And then, in the time it took me to
blink, the scene changed again and I wasn’t surrounded by
humans anymore.
Instead of people, it was animals, each one vicious and
deadly. Snarls and angry growls filled the air around me as
they tore at each other. It all looked like a disorganized
dance routine. They were all graceful and sure of their
movements which seemed to blur in and out of existence.
Suddenly, I found myself standing in the middle of a
war – one side fighting and killing to protect me, and the
other doing everything it could to end my life. Only this
war was filled with monsters and creatures that made my
worst nightmare seem like a good dream… and all I could
do was stand there, frozen as chaos raged on all around
me.
I was still frozen when a fighting pair slammed into my
body, sending me flying back. My head and back
connected to something hard, sending a sharp, piercing
pain through my body. I could feel the pain travelling
down my spine, straight down to my toes. My mind fogged
up almost instantly as my eyes rolled to the back of my
head and my entire body went numb. The last thing I saw
before the darkness swarmed through my head and took
me completely, was Zane’s grin as he stood over me,
looking down as if he was staring at a bug he was about to
step on.

There were two things I was absolutely certain about;
the rest was a mess inside my head. I knew I was in pain. I
could feel my head throbbing. My back hurt, as if my spine
was changing into a hot, metal rod, and I felt every
agonizing second of the transformation. The second thing
I was sure of was the noise around me. Even in dizziness, I
could hear the threatening growls, the crashes and slams,
even the scary snarls tearing through the air as though the
sounds were something physical. It was all around me,
coming from every side and angle. Other than that, I didn’t
know anything else, not where I was or what was
happening.

A low groan escaped my lips as I tried opening my
eyes. At first, it seemed almost impossible; my eyelids were
too heavy, seemingly to weigh tons. Eventually though, as
the dizziness clouding my brain began to fade so did the
weight, and I opened my eyes, groaning as I reached out to
my head, where the pain was the most intense. The second
my fingers touched the sore spot warmth and wetness
coated my fingers as the pain worsened, threatening to
knock me out again. I yanked my hand back at once, only
to find the white glove I wore was now red.

Next, I forced myself to sit up, and staring at the messy
scene around me everything came rushing back like a
physical slap. My eyes instantly began searching for Eric,
desperate not to find him lying among the broken bodies
scattered throughout the room. I needed to know that he
was okay.

I found Jason and Emily first, and at the sight my heart
warmed a little. At the very least, I hadn’t caused them
their lives. When I did find Eric, my heart went into
overdrive, beating so hard and fast in my chest that it was
almost painful. Relief flooded me as I took in every part of
him visible from the distance. He was okay. There wasn’t a
scratch on him.

He was at the other end of the room, beating the crap
out of someone that was sprawled out on the floor. His
eyes were literally glowing blue with rage and power, and
blood smeared his hands and face. Everything controlled
about him was gone, now replaced by total abandon. It
was like he wasn’t Eric anymore, or at least not my Eric.
This Eric was just as dark and dangerous as every other
monster fighting inside this room.

The guy he was punching looked completely disfigured
and dead. Each punch that Eric sent crashing into his face
made his upper body sink into the floor a little more, and
the cracks running through the ground from the man’s
body, growing bigger.

Behind them, Zoryiaa was running up to him,
something small and silver glinting in her hand whenever it
caught the light. It took me a moment to realize it was a
knife. It was the same one she’d used on Brandon, and not
thinking I opened my mouth to scream – to warn Eric, to
do something – but nothing came out. My words were
locked in my throat and I could only sit by and watch as
she kept closing the distant between them.

Eric straightened then, his bloody fingers clenched
around the throat of the man, pulling him into a sitting
position and out of the hole they’d made in the floor and I
realized it was Zane. Eric then raised his free hand, sent it
towards Zane’s face again, this time so fast, and with so
much force that to me it looked as if Zane vanished and
then reappeared edged into the wall at the opposite end of
the room, now cracked with bits of cement dropping to
the floor. After a moment Zane’s body ungraciously slid to
the floor in a crumpled mess as Eric spun around just in
time to catch Zoryiaa’s throat.

His fingers tightened as he lifted her off the floor until
only the tip of her toes were touching the ground.
Zoryiaa’s hand moved then, and Eric reacted. All I saw
were the blurred movements – one second Eric was
choking her and then the next, she’d brought the hand she
was holding a knife with up, about to plunge it into Eric’s
neck. In the same moment, Eric grabbed her wrist with his
free hand, forcing her arm towards her own face. The
knife was just inches away, just about to pierce the side of
her face when she literally exploded into a giant, black
wolf. At the exact moment the knife clattered to the floor,
so did her four paws.

At the back of them Zane sat up, shaking his head
vigorously as if trying to collect himself. Blood stained
every inch of his face, though his wounds were healing
already. His eyes scanned the fighting bodies and then
settled on Eric as Zoryiaa slowly circled him. He raised
himself off the floor, tilting his head to the side as a wide
triumphant smile pierced his face. The next thing I knew
was Eric vanished from where he was standing only to
reappear seconds later slammed into the opposite end of
the hall. Zane was now standing where he’d been just
moments ago, a smug look on his face with Zoryiaa at his
side, and I saw red.

It shattered everything I knew about myself; the control
I had; the fear that was keeping me from making a sound
and rooting me to the floor, it all vanished. Anger made
my eyes burn and then I could suddenly see the world
around me with clarity, like a curtain had been lifted from
covering my eyes, and it revealed a world where details
weren’t hidden and illusions melted away.

Colors were brighter. Everything pulsed with life and
energy; it was almost glowing and vibrating with warmth.
But it wasn’t just my eyesight that had been unveiled, it
was everything else. Sounds were harsher and clear-cut as
they bounced off the walls. The feeling of the clothes
against my skin was warm and smoother. Smells that I
didn’t know existed engulfed me, wrapping me up in its
soft yet harsh silkiness. My taste buds were like a live wire,
going crazy as I inhaled what I knew only as something
delicious and intoxicating, something that promised me a
high I’d never felt before.

More than those things was something else, and it
overpowered everything inside me. It was rage, boiling
within my veins. Anger, raw and undiluted pulsed through
me, making the throbbing at the back of my head vanish.
Adrenaline mixed in with pure hate and fury. I could feel it
taking me over, sizzling in my veins, mixing in with my
blood, almost completely consuming me. I smelled it in
the air, strong and potent as if it was leaking through my
pores. I felt my fingernails digging into the fleshy part of
my palms with so much force and strength that it broke
the skin instantly, leaving each of my palms with four, tiny
crescents running down the middle. I wanted blood – no, I
wanted Zane’s blood – that was the only thought in my
head as I stood up, my eyes scanning the room for him.

Zane, who had caused me so much pain, who killed
Daren and Brandon, who was trying to kill Eric right now;
Zane, who had broken me. This time was not going to be
a repeat of the last. This time I wasn’t going to stand by
and watch. This time, I was going to get revenge and
protect the people I loved.

The moment my eyes found him, I flashed towards
him. I didn’t even have to think about moving, my body
obeyed my mind completely. All my movements were
precise and free. It was as if all the limitations of my
human body had fallen away, leaving me completely
unrestricted. The feeling was strange, yet powerful and
heady. I felt stronger than ever and in total control, as if I
could do anything I wanted. I felt invincible.

Within mere seconds, I found myself standing behind
Zane. Gracefully I raised my hand, tapping his shoulder
gently. He’d barely turned to face me fully when my hand
balled up into a fist and I sent it shooting towards his face.
My fist crashed into his jaw and when I heard a low crack a
smile pierced my lips knowing this time it wasn’t my hand
that was hurt, it was Zane’s face.

He stumbled backwards slightly, but it was more from
surprise and shock than the actual hit. Before he could
recover, and using lightening fast movements I didn’t
know I was capable of, I grabbed his shoulder pulling
down his head as I brought my knee up with full force,
crashing it into his face. Again I heard another part of his
face break and this time blood immediately began gushing
out from his nose.

Zane collected himself at once, giving me no time to
hit him again. In a single graceful motion, he straig htened,
huffing at me angrily. I watched in slow motion as his
hand clenched into a tight, deadly fist and he then sent it
hurling towards me.

In a flash, I brought my hand up and caught his just in
time, inches from my face. Just as I was about to punch
him again, I felt his foot crash into my stomach with so
much force it sent me sliding across the room and straight
into the concrete wall at the other end of the hall. Loud
cracks pierced the wall at contact and I could feel the loose
splinters digging into the naked part of my back.

For a while, I couldn’t do anything but focus on the
pain, now running through every part of my body. I
couldn’t breathe; it was like the force had literally knocked
the air out of my body and I dropped to the floor,
struggling to catch my breath.

The pain didn’t last long. It only took seconds for me
to compose myself and just as I was about to stand and
find Zane again, he appeared in front of me, grabbed my
neck roughly in one hand and slammed me back into the
wall, ripping the cracks further.

“Looks like I don’t even have to shift to kill you,
you’re that easy,” he grunted, pulling me away from the
wall only to slam me back into it hard. His hand then
pressed me further into the concrete as his fingers
tightened around my throat. “Because deep down, you’re
still the same helpless, weak, human girl that let her friends
die. You changing into a pureblood, changes nothing; you
know it as do I.”

“Yeah?” I asked and copied Zane’s movements from
before. I raised my foot and forced it into his stomach
with strength I didn’t know I had in me.

His hand was forced away from my throat and he flew
back. His back slammed into the opposite wall and I
expected him to stop there, like I had, but the wall
shattered from the force and Zane landed on the lawn
outside the Gym. Without his hand pinning me to the
concrete I fell to the floor, landing gracefully on my heels
and without missing a beat I began walking across the
room.

I was almost to the other end when I saw Zoryiaa, lying
in a messy heap in the middle of the Hall. She’d shifted
back into a human, and even from the distance; I could see
the damage done to her body.

Acting on instinct, I made a U-turn, grabbed the small
knife she’d dropped and closed the distance between us. I
didn’t know what I meant to do until my fingers weaved
through her hair and I dragged her along, towards Zane.

The anger inside me was stronger than I ever felt it
before. Every part of my body wanted them dead. It
literally ached to have them alive. Rage and hate for Zane
pounded in my pulse pushing me to kill him now, but
doing that would be too easy. I wanted him to know
exactly what they did to me, what Brandon had gone
through before they killed him. Zane and Zoryiaa weren’t
going to have an easy death, they didn’t deserve it.

I dropped the already half-dead Zoryiaa at my feet and
stepped over Zane with the knife in my hand. He was
barely conscious as his body quickly healed itself but
wanting him fully awake, I bent over him, launching my
fist into his face with enough force to wake him up. He
jerked away at once, spluttering blood at my feet.

Without giving him time to fully come to his senses I
pressed the knife into the base of his throat slowly, the
inner monster inside me relishing in every inch of the
blade that went in. I didn’t want to kill him yet, but I didn’t
want him to shift either and he couldn’t shift with a knife
sticking out of his throat. It would only rip the gash wider
and kill him. Leaving the knife there, I straightened myself,
looking down at him.

“I’m going to tell you a few things about myself ,Zane,
some things I really really want you to know,” I said
nonchalantly. “Firstly I don’t like being threatened!” I
snapped, raising my foot, shoving it into his ribcage with
so much strength and force that I heard bones cracking
loudly under my foot. I was surprised that the thin heel of
my shoe didn’t pierce his body like a dagger, or snap off.

“I also don’t like it when my friends are in danger, like
you put them all in tonight,” I said and launched my foot
into the middle of his chest again. Blood dripped down the
side of his mouth and he let out a low groan as the bones
in his chest shattered. “I don’t like having to watch my
boyfriend die!” I screamed at him, slamming my foot right
over his heart. “It killed me to choose between them!”

I was suddenly sitting on his stomach, punching him
again, and again, taking out all the rage and frustration I
had in me. My eyes filled with tears as that night kept
flashing through my head on replay. “And then you made
me watch Brandon die! You tortured him!”

I was crying and screaming at him at the same time. I
couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over and soaking my
face. I couldn’t stop the fury circling my body either. The
emotions flowing out of me were overwhelming. For so
long I had kept it all bottled up; I had sealed away all those
feelings and now that it was free, I could feel it taking me
over. My heart ached, and everything felt raw.

I was so angry at everything and everyone. I was pissed
at the entire world. I was angry with myself for doing this
to Daren and Brandon. I was angry with God for taking
them away from me. I hated Zane because he killed them,
but mostly I was angry at Daren. He left me alone and
broken, and I needed him. I needed my best friend to hold
me, to lie to me and say that somehow it was all going to
work out.

How could he think that I could survive without him?
How could he ever think that I would be okay with him
giving up his life for me? He had to know by doing that he
was destroying me. Daren destroyed me completely, and I
know he didn’t mean to, but he did. How could he think I
would ever be okay again?