Craved

Someone grabbed my wrist and I whirled around, ready to face Micah. Instead, I found Ian was my captor. He pulled me to him and slid an arm around my waist.



“You owe me a dance,” he said quietly. Deciding that this was the perfect opportunity to question him, I began to move with him. I noticed Micah’s confused and angry features watching me. He was still standing at the spot I’d left him and once he saw me with Ian, he angrily walked off the dance floor. What the hell was wrong with him?



I didn’t appreciate the way Ian watched me like I was something to be devoured. Aiden was going to get an earful the next time I saw him. There was something about him that made me nervous. It could be chalked up to how gorgeous he was but I didn’t think that was it. There was something in his eyes, like an inside joke I wasn’t getting.



“How long have you known Aiden?” I asked.



“Almost a hundred years,” he smiled.



“What kept him tonight?”



“Something at Vain,” he said with indifference. I was hoping this question would have let something slip but he seemed confident in what he told me. I found it odd that Aiden hadn’t called me himself to let me know that his friend would be escorting me to the Gala.



Ian ran his hand up and down the length of my back, sending gooseflesh to break out on my skin. He leaned down so that his lips were close enough to my skin that I could feel his breath. My heart raced at the intimacy of our closeness but I didn’t pull away, simply because I wanted to see if I could find out anything useful.



“Aiden is a fool to let you out of his sight,” Ian said, his voice thick with either hunger or lust, or both. His lips pressed against my neck and I closed my eyes at the rush of desire that ran wild through my body. He flicked his tongue against my flesh and I visibly shivered, unable to regain my wits. Before I could stop him, his lips were on mine. Common sense finally pushed through the fog of attraction and slapped me silly. I broke the kiss and slapped him across the face, hard. He didn’t react the way I thought a vampire would; instead, he laughed and gave me his devilish glare.



“Aiden will know about this,” I said, warning him.



“I hope so.”



I caught Fiona’s gaze as I made my way off the dance floor and her shock and hurt were apparent. She had fallen for Ian’s smooth talking and had just seen him kiss me. She ran away when she saw that I was coming toward her. Well shit, could the night get any worse?



I was so over the entire evening, I retrieved my purse and headed for the path that led out of the woods. If I thought I could leave without a problem, I was sorely mistaken. Micah stepped out of the woods and onto the path, blocking my way. He had acted strange on the dance floor and whatever he had to say, I did not want to hear.



“I thought you were with Aiden,” he said. I took a deep breath so that I could regain my composure because I didn’t want to cause a scene.



“I am with Aiden,” I said, pausing. “And you’re with someone also.”



“What Jamie and I have is…” He stopped to think. “It’s more of an arrangement than love. It’s not what we had, Gwen. If you’re with Aiden, then why did you kiss the new guy?” He arched an eyebrow as if reprimanding a child, although I doubted whether or not he cared if I cheated on Aiden. I shook my head and crossed my arms. I so did not need this crap right now.



“That sucks…about you and Jamie I mean, and I didn’t kiss the new guy, he kissed me. Your detective skills should have made you also notice that I slapped him,” I said, annoyed.



“I did see that.” Micah smiled; suddenly quiet for a few seconds, enough to annoy me even more.



“What’s going on, Micah?” He looked up from the beaten path and hesitated to speak. I widened my eyes as a sign to “get on with it.”



“I miss you, Gwen. I know it’s my fault that we’re not together but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love you,” he said nervously. Most girls would have loved to hear the man who broke their heart say that they regretted ever doing so, but at the moment, I was not in the mood to ride the emotional rollercoaster with Micah. I had wondered what I would do if Micah wanted me back. The only emotion I felt was anger. Aiden’s face flashed through my mind and I knew that he was the one I should have been with, not Micah. Werewolves were not the committed type to any other species except other werewolves. It didn’t matter that Micah thought he still loved me, it couldn’t work and I wouldn’t chase that fairytale again.



“Micah…” I began.



“Don’t,” he interrupted. “Don’t say anything, just know that I still love you, Gwen, and being with Jamie won’t change that.” He gave me a small smile and disappeared into the woods, leaving me utterly speechless.



12



Fiona wasn’t home when I arrived back at our apartment. I tried her cell but my call went unanswered. I tried Aiden again but he didn’t pick up either. It seemed everyone I wanted to talk to was ignoring me and the people I didn’t want to talk to were admitting stuff I didn’t want to hear.



I carefully hung my dress up and crawled into bed. It was only eleven o’clock but my night hadn’t been the magically romantic evening I had planned on. I let myself think about what Micah said for a couple minutes and then extinguished my intrigue. We both knew that our relationship was a losing battle; our feelings for each other wouldn’t change that. If my life were a movie, Micah would have chosen me over his duties. Sadly, no one’s life turned out like the movies. I felt sorry for Micah, being in a relationship that was more out of convenience than love all because his father expected him to produce purebred were children. The more I thought about what Micah was going through, the more I realized that my life and heartache hadn’t been all that bad. Sure, it sucked that the first guy I really loved had to kick me to the curb for being the wrong species, but at least I didn’t have to marry and have children with someone I didn’t love.



A fast moving shadow brought me out of my thoughts. I sat up quickly and looked where I had seen the movement in my peripheral. Nothing and no one was there. Easing myself out of my bed, I tiptoed toward my bedroom door. I hadn’t heard the front door, but maybe Fiona had come home while I was lost in my thoughts.



“Fiona?” I called into the hallway. Her bedroom door was wide open and the light was shut off. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of my bedroom and walked toward the kitchen. The only light came from over the stove and a lamp I’d left on in the living room; both rooms were empty. Confused and a bit frightened, I made my way back to my room. As soon as I stepped into my room, a shadow passed behind me. I felt it more than saw it. I whirled around, backing up toward my bed as I watched my door.



“Hello?” I said to the emptiness.



No answer.



I don’t know if really wanted one but it seemed like every time someone was scared in a home they always called out “hello” only to be terrified if they actually got a response. I knew I was home alone but I also knew that something else was with me. Aura meowed and nearly gave me a heart attack. When I turned to see what my cat wanted, I noticed she was pawing at the air with a cocked head.



Chills broke out along my skin as I watched Aura interact with something I couldn’t see. The ceiling light flickered lazily and then more urgently, eventually going completely out, leaving me in darkness. My head felt full and an instant headache ricocheted through my head, sending me to my knees. I grasped both sides of my head with my hands and tried to get a grip on what was happening, but the pain demanded my attention.



Icy cold pin-pricks caressed my skin and I fell onto my side from the surprise. Dizziness overwhelmed my senses and I could tell I was close to passing out. I tried to conjure the telephone, but the agony wouldn’t allow me to focus on my magic.



When the pain dulled and the dizziness disappeared, I was lying on cold cement. I squinted my eyes at the new location, unsure if what I was seeing was real or not. I was in a large building with steel walls that were worn. Steel beams spanned the ceiling with large industrial lights hanging from them. Once I got my bearings, I realized I was in a warehouse. The warehouse I’d seen from Amy Harper’s memories.



A few cots were set up in the middle of the floor while rusty piles of scrap metal and a few broken refrigerators sat in a far corner. Dirty windows lined the entire top of the twenty-foot walls and allowed a small amount of moonlight to penetrate the otherwise dark warehouse. I stood up and stumbled a few steps, still feeling the last waves of dizziness. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on standing still and shaking the waves of nausea that teased my stomach. When I opened my eyes again, the dizziness had vanished.



“Bridget?” I called, my voice echoing in the empty expanse. The ghostly realm or whatever it was, was quickly becoming annoying. One minute I was at home and the next I was waking up in creepy deserted places. At least I only had one spirit pulling me away and not more. That would be a sure fire way to drive me insane.



Bridget didn’t answer so I walked hesitantly toward an office-like room. The door gave way and I stepped into the small room. Clipboards with names and numbers sat on a worn desk. I picked one up and scanned the many names but wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking at. When I got about half way down, I froze. In crisp black ink, was the name Aiden Blake. Was this a list of vampires buying brew? If so, what was Aiden’s name doing on it?



“This is their headquarters,” a voice said from behind me. I dropped the clipboard and whirled around to face the potential threat. Hovering in the doorway was Bridget. She was more solid than I’d seen her before, the gray giving way to a more colorful hue. I could see the blonde in her hair and the purple of her shirt. Her eyes were filled with sadness and despair, a look I desperately wanted to forget.



“Their headquarters?” I repeated, hoping she’d give names. She nodded her head and turned back to look at the cots that sat in the middle of the floor.



“The vampires, the ones who are draining witches.” She disappeared before me and reappeared in front of the cots, as if she just teleported. She reached a hand out toward me, so I walked over to where she stood and without hesitation, grasped her hand. I didn’t think too much about how it was possible to touch a spirit. I assumed the same rules didn’t apply in the spirit realm as they did in the living reality.

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