Rock n Roll Promises (YAE) (Rock n Roll Paraphantasy Series) (13 page)

“What is she in deep thought about? Did she find
out who you are after all?”

Her head popped up at the sound of another
male voice moving around the kitchen. She watched
him as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat
down at the table.

“Nice to see you found your clothes, Ozzie.”

“Yes, well, I’m sorry about earlier. We didn’t
think you would awaken so soon. I hope you
weren’t too embarrassed.”

She dropped her hands on the table and leaned
back. “Me? It wasn’t my face turning three shades
of red. That would be yours and Paige’s.”

“I was embarrassed because you caught us in the
act, not because you saw me naked.”
She raised her hand in the air and dropped it.
“Either way, I wasn’t the one embarrassed. I was
too drowsy to care at the moment. Speaking of
Paige, where is she?”

“In the shower.”

 

“Oh, you guys finish up in there?”

 

She watched a wicked smile cross his face as he
winked at her before he answered, “I’ll never tell.”

The kitchen filled with the sound of the three of
them laughing. With a giggle still in her chest, she
got up and refilled her coffee mug. “So, perve, what
have you been doing since I have been out of it?”

“I have been waiting for you to call me.”

She turned to head back to the table and flashed
a look at Jaxson as she passed. “Not you, Jaxson, I
was talking about porn star here.” She tilted her
head toward Ozzie.

“Diggin’my moves were ya’, Anna? What can I
say? Your friend is a freak.”
“Of that I have no doubt. However, I would
wager she is not the only one. Is that what the two
of you have been doing the entire time I have been
out…doing the nasty for days?”

“That is not
all
we have been doing. Guess you
didn’t notice the silver stain in your floor.”

She slammed her hand on the table. “Don’t tell
me you did the freaky nasty in my room while I was
sleeping.”

She watched him sigh and roll his eyes. She tried
to keep a straight face. “No, freak show, we didn’t.
Actually, what happened in your room is why we
were glad Jaxson was showing up.”

“And that would be…why?’

“Well, don’t freak out….”
“Crap, Ozzie, I will tell her. Perry, our
neighborhood wolf, decided to make a house call
while you were out. We found him hovering over
you while you slept. I morphed into kitty overdrive
and Ozzie here put a silver bullet in his brain. We
buried him off in the woods far behind your house.”

She felt her mouth hanging open and she found
all she could do was stare at her friend who was all
clean and showered and talking so matter of factly,
as if it were any other day. Her heart seemed stuck
in throat, preventing her from speaking.

Hovered over me…too close. Had they been a
few minutes later, I might have been toast.
She
blinked as the sound of fingers snapping in front of
her face brought her out of her mind.

“Anna, you OK?”

She looked back at Paige. “Yes…Yes, I guess I
am fine, thanks to you and Ozzie. How did he
know?”

Her attention turned to Ozzie as he answered her
question. “We have been monitoring him for a while
now, my team and I. He moved in down the street.
He was here when we showed the day you went into
your trance, so apparently he was home when you
went under.”

The table shook and jarred her elbow as Jaxson
slammed his hand on the table and yelled, “I knew I
should have followed you home and made sure you
were OK. I figured you would have called me if you
decided to take my advice. I had planned to be here
to watch over you!”

“Hey! What did I tell you on the phone? Ozzie
and I handled it just fine, thank you! Dead is dead
and he is exactly that, dead.”

Her head felt like a ping-pong ball as it bounced
from face to face during the conversation. With her
hands on each side of her face, she closed her eyes
and took a deep breath.

Good lord, I take a nap and all hell breaks loose.
The air stuck in her throat, and her chest
tightened up as paramount information filtered

through her brain.

 

“Wait a minute. You guys killed Perry? That
means…”

Paige took center stage as she spoke. “Wow, I
would have thought you would have caught on
quicker than that. You’re slipping.”

She stuck her tongue out at her friend and said,
“I have been out of it, it takes a minute. Actually,
how long was I out?”

“About four days.”

Shaking her head, she got back to the issue at
hand. “Perry is the Alfa, I believe.” She looked at
Paige as she spoke, followed by Ozzie.

“That is why we were going to ask Jaxson to
come over, but he freaked and said he was showing
up before we got to ask.”

“Paige and I were discussing that earlier. I think
you’re right, which means…”

 

“The pack will show up. How long has he been
dead?”

 

“Three and half days. We killed him the evening
you went into your trance, as I said.”

She crawled into her mind and tried to recall all
the things she knew about werewolves and all she
had ever read in order to come up with a time line.

Three and half days…they would have felt him
die. Then they would have assembled and held a
ceremony…CRAP!

Her head jerked up and she blinked her eyes as
she entered back into the present.

 

“Ozzie, by my calculations…”

“They will come for you at sunset tomorrow.
Yes, I know. That is what I was trying to tell Paige
earlier today.”

She eyed everyone in the room for a split second
before Jaxson jumped from his chair and his loud
voice bounced off the walls.

“Paige, Anna, put on your fighting clothes.
Ozzie, grab your gear from your trunk.”

She rose from her chair and cut Ozzie and
Paige’s protests off before they could speak. “Now
wait just a minute, Jaxson! Don’t go ordering
everyone around here. We will all work together.
We need a plan.”

“I have a plan. We kill them, simple as that. It is
the only thing we can do. What are you still
standing around for? Get a move on, unless you
plan to fight in your oh-so-cool jammies.”

She put her hand to Ozzie to let him know to
stay quiet. She looked at Jaxson and calmed her
voice as she worked to lead the proverbial horse to
water. “Jaxson, how many of them are there?”

“I don’t know.”

 

She turned to Ozzie. “Ozzie?”

“There are seven, well, six now that Perry is
dead. Stratton and Dixsin are the biggest ones. They
were Perry’s next in command.”

“Thank you.” She turned back to Jaxson. “Where
are they hiding out at? Where would they be
plotting to fight us? Where do they hold their
ceremonies?”

“I don’t know that either. I see what you are
trying to do here, it doesn’t matter. They will all
come and they will all be trying to kill you and
anyone helping you. This is no time to be careless.
Anna, I know you don’t want to kill anyone, but this
going to be one of those kill or be killed situations.”

“I’m well aware of that. You are right, this is no
time to be careless, which is why you are going to
sit back down and
all of us
are going to come up
with a plan. There is no doubt in my mind, they will
know. We will expect them and be ready for them.
That is why we are going to have a few plans to
work with. I will be wearing my fighting leather,
Ozzie will bring in his hunting gear, and you and
Paige can get into full on bad ass kitty mode, but we
are not going to meet them in the yard and just duke
it out. This will be a fight to the death and I plan on
living through it.”

She remained standing as she watched his face.
He looked at each of them and sat down. The room,
along with their moods seemed tense and somber.
She sat in silence as she tried working angles and
advantages through her mind.
Chapter 11

Two hours until sunset…
She stood with her back against the wall and
stared at her newly remodeled house. All that time

and energy now looked wasted. Her kitchen now
darkening and somber seemed to match her mood.
With the help of her friends, the cute café table sat
nestled along the far side of the kitchen, out of the
way, and the chairs carefully stacked against the
wall. Her eyes turned and lingered on the living
room. All of her pretty wood and plush furniture
which once sat neatly displayed around the room,
were now crammed into every corner. Where
maroon and cream used to beautifully mesh
together and flow through, today looked as
splotches on canvas corners.

The glowing, dark rays of the sunset splashed the
room through curtain-less windows. Inhaling once,
she took one last look, and then returned to the
present and her awaiting task.

I am sure glad that I have money because I am
sure all of my stuff is going to be destroyed. If we
all make it…it will be worth it.

She strode over to her stereo and clicked the play
button. Metallica’s “Fuel” wailed through the
speakers. Heading to her room, she let the music
feed her beast and fuel her adrenaline.

Time to prepare for battle!
Through the bedroom door, she marched to her
closet and flung open the double doors. Her black
leather outfit felt smooth in her shaky hands. She
crossed the room, dropped the garment on her bed
and pulled off her clothes. She yanked the one-piece
outfit over her limbs and slowly pulled the zipper
closed in the front. It fit as tightly as skin. The
leather squeaked a bit as she moved her arms and
legs, testing for mobility. She dropped onto the
softness that was her bed and pulled on her tall,
black boots that had been sitting under her
nightstand. Dressed and ready, she walked to the
bathroom and put her hair in a loose ponytail.

“If we weren’t about to fight a pack of dogs, I
think I would take you where you stand.”

She turned her head and looked at Jaxson in his
human form, leaning on the doorframe. He looked
as good as always, tight black T-shirt, jeans, and
boots.

She smiled as she asked, “Like it, do you?”
“Oh, yes. Black leather outfit and long, bloodred nails…”

“Focus. Get your mind out of the gutter and on
the task at hand.”
“I’m focused. Just admiring what I’m fighting
for.”

She smiled at his words and heartfelt expression
on his face. “I’m not nervous, just anxious.”

 

“I see you have put on your battle rock music,
are you feeding on that as well?”

 

She moved from the bathroom and started down
the hall. He followed.

 

“Yes, it’s helping to fuel my adrenaline, too. I’m
ready.”

As she entered the living room, she spotted
Ozzie and Paige sitting in the floor, casually, as if
they were awaiting a pizza delivery. Paige sat in
some old painting clothes, and Ozzie wore denim
and leather.

“Ozzie, we all know you’re cool, but must you
wear sunglasses in the house?”

“These aren’t just any sunglasses. These are my
night vision aviators. I love these glasses. A few
years ago I came across a man who made some
nifty gadgets for a few of my Navy Seal buddies.
He wanted a challenge, and so jokingly I suggested
night vision aviators. Turns out, as you can see, the
joke was on me. They are awesome: Lightweight
and efficient. The best part, when someone sees
them in my car, they assume they are just regular
sunglasses. Ya know, kick ass sunglasses, but just
plain ole sunglasses, nothing more.”

“Well, OK then, but in case you haven’t noticed,
it’s not dark yet, playboy!”

 

“Yeah, I know. Just getting in the mood. You
know how I love hunting!”

 

“Yes, I do.”

 

****

Ozzie laid flat on his stomach, rifle in front of
him. Steady and still, he watched the pack of dogs
creep onto the property.

I’m so glad the wind is blowing away from me,
or they would smell me for sure. Just means dead
hounds, much quicker. I like it when it’s easy.

He watched as they broke away and snuck into
position. Two sat on their haunches in the front
facing the two windows. They had one on each side
of the house perched below the window seal while
the other two planned to attack from the back of the
house.

They think they got us surrounded. A surprise is
in store for them. Stupid dogs, like we didn’t know
this was going to be their plan of action.

He slowly turned toward the two in the back and
awaited their signal.
Any minute now.
Stratton tilted his head back and let loose his
howl. Two shots filled the air followed by shattered
glass and yelled commands as all hell broke loose.
He watched the two bigger wolves fell to the
ground lifeless. He quickly made his mark and
filled their brains with liquid silver.
Gotcha!
He crawled quickly to the edge of the roof and
dropped down onto the back patio.

Time to join the real fun.
****

Anna stood stock-still waiting for the signal. She
smelled their dirty odor from where she stood inside
the hallway. The howl rattled the walls, the fired
shots echoed around her house, and the shattered
windows caught her by surprise.

Ozzie must have gotten the ones in the back.
She bolted toward the living room in search of
more enemies just as “Even It Up” by Heart burst
through the speakers. Rounding the corner she came
face to face with a smaller female wolf and she
couldn’t help but comment.

“Is that supposed to be a smile or does your face
always look jacked up?”

 

“Nothing wrong with my smile—”

 

“There will be when I’m done with it.”

She sprang at the wolf, hands out and grabbed a
handful of fur and flung it into the wall. She ran to
the crater in the wall and grabbed a hold of the wolf
again, carefully avoiding snapping jaws and
massive sharp teeth. Her body flew through the air
as the wolf gained leverage and kicked her. She
quickly dodged to the left, evading the wolf’s grasp
and jumped on its back. Her hands wrapped around
the muzzle in an attempt to crush it. As bones
cracked and teeth grinded against flesh, she sent the
wolf into a terrified frenzy. Anna slammed into the
wall and slid to the floor. The howls of the injured
wolf echoed through the room.