Once Broken (Dove Creek Chronicles)
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Authors: H. Henry
The Dove Creek Chronicles
ONCE BROKEN
H. Anne Henry
Copyright © 2013 by H. Anne Henry
All rights reserved
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Book cover design by: Lauren K. George
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual events, places, or people, either living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
For my loving husband, whose support and encouragement knows no end. And for my baby boy, the best thing about life.
prologue
Three Years Ago
Something didn’t
feel
right.
I did my best to ignore the nagging awareness that emanated from deep down in my gut; this night was meant to be a happy one. Dominic opened the passenger door of his truck, and I stepped down out of it as he gave me his hand. Looking around at the darkened land that surrounded us, I tried to make out anything that might be suspicious.
“Everything okay?” Dom’s question interrupted my brief surveillance.
I made myself
stop and look at him, smile. “Thought I heard something is all.”
“I didn’t hear anything . . . Probably just coyotes.”
It wasn’t an unlikely explanation. In the heat of the summer, the wild animals moved at night in search of water and food. And during a summer as dire as the one we were experiencing, the untamed things tended to be even more brazen than usual.
I glanced toward the rack above the back seat as I
turned to shut the door and spotted the shotgun we were in the habit of carrying. It was a mere precaution in case an aggressive critter crossed our path. I sure hoped we wouldn’t need it.
“C’mere and take a look.” Flashlight in hand, Dominic beckoned me toward the cleared plot of dirt where our house would stand in a matter of weeks.
For the time being, it was little more than a vision and some carefully conceived plans that he had drawn up in his spare time. As an architect, he knew how to put together exactly what we wanted. It would be the home of our dreams, not because of the size or expense but because every nook and cranny would have our touch on it. It was perfect for us. Large enough to start a family, not so looming as to swallow us up. Just right.
It was difficult for me not to get wrapped up in my husband’s excitement, though my misgivings were still lingering in the back of my mind while he explained the next steps of building our home.
“Tomorrow, the crew will come frame the foundation and rough-in the plumbing. Then the day after, the concrete will be poured . . .” He trailed off, glancing toward me. “Sorry. I know the technical stuff is boring to you.”
I slipped an arm around his waist affectionately, despite the heat. “No, it’s okay. I’m really proud of this. Of you.”
Dom grinned. “I’m proud of
us
. We’ve worked hard for this.”
If he was going to say anything else, it was swallowed up by the interruption of a furious howl not far away.
We looked at one other, each with an uneasy expression. I didn’t need to ask if Dominic had heard
that.
I couldn’t guess what type of animal made the hair-raising sound. My first assumption would have been a wolf, but there were no wolves around Dove Creek and never had been. It had sounded far too feral to be a farmer’s hound dog, and too deep to be a coyote.
“That wasn’t a coyote,” Dom freely admitted, words matching my thoughts. “We’ll come back tomorrow to finish checking things out. We should probably get out of here.”
I nodded my agreement. Better safe than sorry.
As we turned to go, I found myself wishing we had thought to actually carry the shotgun with us. The twenty yard walk to the truck felt like twenty miles. Even so, I wasn’t a frightened rabbit and I made myself stride calmly to the truck rather than flat-out sprint as I was tempted to.
We were almost to the safety of our vehicle when we heard a strange rushing sound. Like a gust of wind in a tunnel, it lasted just long enough to get our attention.
“Get in the truck.” Dominic stepped between me and the strange disturbance. I headed for the passenger side, but was halted in my tracks.
The attack came swift and brutal and though he tried to put up a fight, Dom was no match for the unknown attacker. He made a guttural sound that I could only describe as
pain
. I watched him struggle as he fought for consciousness. For life.
My heart was pounding in my ears, though the sound didn’t block out Dominic’s cries of agony.
There wasn’t time to think about my own safety. Jerking open the passenger side door, I reached into the truck and grabbed the shotgun. Racking a shell as I went, I took a few running strides around the truck to get to my husband. The scene before me was the last thing I had expected.
In the deep shadows of the night, I could just make out the man who had him pinned in place. A river of blood poured from a gaping wound in Dom’s
throat. He didn’t have long.
“I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, but leave him be you son of a bitch.” I leveled the 12-gauge and had never been more thankful that my daddy had shown me the way around a gun.
The foul man only grinned at me, though it was less a smile and something more akin to a baring of teeth. I felt a tremble run from head to toe as I saw a pair of bloody fangs protruding from his top row of teeth.
It couldn’t be . . .
He only tutted in response, and I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to throw myself at him and rip him to shreds with my own bare hands.
But I had to stay calm, for Dominic’s sake.
“I mean it. I’ll kill you.”
“Mmmmm. You may try, though I am certain you lack the ability.”
His tone was so unaffected, so condescending that it cut me to the quick. The weapon I pointed at him didn’t faze him. I knew then that there was no way we could win this fight.
Dom’s eyes locked with mine. I saw nothing but love and strength, bravery and devotion. Not one shred of fear.
“I love you,” he told me.
I began to tell him how much I loved him, too, but the vampire made a harrowing sound of satisfaction. He lowered his head and sank his fangs into my husband’s neck as deep as they would go. The final sound Dom made was a deep groan. It was the most horrible thing I had ever heard.
It was the sound of my heart breaking.
“
No!
” I screamed as I watched Dominic’s muscles go limp and his body sag with lifelessness.
His killer cast him aside and came straight at me.
I squeezed the trigger.
A spray of lead hit the vampire full in the chest, but he walked right through the wound like I had only thrown a handful of pebbles at him. Quick as lightning, he was on me. I tried to
fire again, but I was overpowered as he got his hands on the shotgun and tossed it away.
Losing the weapon didn’t matter. I still had plenty of fight left. Dominic hadn’t sacrificed himself for me so that I could just lie down and die.
I launched myself at the vampire. While I was still in mid-strike, he knocked me to the ground. The air left my lungs in a rush, and my chest heaved with the effort of getting it back.
“You’re making this more difficult than it has to be.”
Ignoring his arrogant statement, I gathered all of my determination so that I could get back on my feet. I had no use for banter right then.
As I rose, he backhanded me. The blow was so swift and powerful that I never saw it coming. My ears rang and my head throbbed, and I would have fallen again if he didn’t prevent it by catching me by the arms to yank me straight back up. He threw me against the side of the truck and held me fast.
I finally got a good look at him. If I weren’t looking through a screen of pure hatred, I might have said he was attractive. Wavy hair the color of summer wheat was brushed away from his forehead and cut just above his collar. Best I could tell, his eyes were a very pale green and his complexion was perfect. His features were surprisingly delicate, with a long, straight nose and thin, well-defined lips. The clothing he wore was sleek and modern, like a page right out of GQ magazine.
I wanted nothing more than to lay ruin to that pretty façade.
The vampire leered at me, anticipation mingled with malignance. How could someone – some
thing
– who didn’t know me hate me to that depth?
My death was close at hand, of that I
had little doubt.
But the howling sounded again, this time much closer. The vampire looked up and stared off into the darkness for a moment. I
turned my head to follow his gaze but couldn’t make out what he was looking at. The next thing I knew, I was relieved of his restraining hold and he was gone just as fast as he’d come upon us.
I braced my weight against the truck and willed myself to stay conscious. The things happening around me were so unbelievable that I feared what might happen if I passed out.
Both of my hands went to my mouth as I choked back a sob; there would be time to shed tears and fall apart later.
A wolf emerged from the darkness, snarling as he came to an abrupt halt near me. It looked to where the vampire had disappeared, then back to me as though it were making a decision. I realized that if it went after the vampire, I’d be vulnerable if the bloodsucker doubled back. With little doubt I knew there was no way he would let me survive a second time.
The wolf seemed to agree as it lingered instead of tearing off after its quarry. The wolf, though, wasn’t just a wolf. As I saw it change from a four-legged creature to a man who walked on two legs, I was sure I had been given a concussion. I had to be seeing things.
The light from a pair of headlights came upon us as a car drove up the driveway and came to a stop behind the truck. I tried
to stay on my feet, but wobbled and fell to my knees. Without a word, the werewolf – if that’s really what he was – gathered me up and carried me toward the car.
“Is she alright?” A man’s voice came from somewhere to my left. He had an accent that was familiar to me, that of a native Spanish speaker. His question was so full of concern, I wondered if I was supposed to know him somehow.
“Yes.” I felt the werewolf’s answer reverberate through his chest. Looking up at him, I saw him nod his head toward where Dominic had fallen. His lips were set in a grim line, saying so much without another word.
The other man drew a cross with his fingertips, head to chest and shoulder to shoulder. The reverence of the gesture put a tightness in my chest and brought tears to my eyes.
He walked to my husband’s body and looked for a moment before nodding his head. Coming back to us, he explained his decision.
“Listen closely. This will have to be reported to the police, and this is what we’re going to tell them . . .”
I tried to focus as the dark-haired man told me how to be secretive about what had just taken my husband’s life, but I was preoccupied by the horror of what I had seen.
Up until then,
I had been content to accept the world around me at face value and never think twice about it, just like any other person. Of course I had seen creepy creature movies and read the legends woven in popular stories, but like almost everyone else, I believed the stories to be nothing more than mere fantasy. Entertainment.
Well, it sure as hell wasn’t entertaining anymore.