Opulent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) (22 page)

“Don’t worry about it.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

“Yeah, me either.” The werewolf girl chimed. “Come on. Let’s get you back to Catastrophe.”     

* * * * *

henille? Chenille, Baby, wake up.”

My eyes opened and I hissed. “Stay back, I’m warning you!”

I sank back. It was Pete, just Pete. He sat hunched on the middle compartment between two front seats, his head in his hands. I looked around. I was in a car, positioned uncomfortably on the back seats.

“What happened to me? Am I a mortal?”

              He shushed me and sat in the small space between the front and back seats. “You are going to be ok. You are going to be ok.” He said it more to himself then to me.

“What happened?”

“We got away,” he whispered.

“Lucian…What did you do to Lucian?” I sat up in alarm.

“Nothing, nothing, relax.” He pressed me down into my uncomfortable position again.

“Listen to me. I am going to take you somewhere where you can rest and get better.”

“Get better? What’s wrong with me?”

“You are just really, really weak. But you are going to get stronger. We just have to take it easy.” 

              He kissed my cheek. His face was wet. My breathing began to quicken as I thought of the worst. I ran my hand against his face and held it to the light emitted by the headlights of a passing car. I caught my breath. There was not any black liquid on my fingertips. He was not bleeding. Just to calm my thoughts I heard the pounding of rain on the car roof and sighed.

“Why are you so shaken? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

              He slid into the front seat, grasped the steering wheel and began to drive.

“How did you get me out of there? How did you find me?”

“I heard you scream and I came and got you.”

“What did you do to Lucian?”

              He didn’t answer. “What-,” I began.

“This looks like a nice place.”

              He pulled up to a hotel. I did not even bother to read the sign. The rain blocked everything from view anyway. The car stopped and he got out, opening my door. He pressed me to his chest, carried me to the entrance and stumbled to the front desk. 

“Room for two,” he said quickly.

              The woman eyed him suspiciously and nodded to me. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She is very tired.”

“Room forty-five. Here are your keys.”

              He walked around the hotel, searching for the room and at last, he found it.

“Here we go. Here,” he placed me on the bed, and locked the door.

              I sat up and flicked on the lamp beside me. Pete took off his cape in a rush, turned his back to me and sidestepped to the bathroom.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, fine.”

              I got up, not convinced by his words and peered through the open doorway. His shirt was a tattered wet mess on the floor. His back was to me.

“Get back to bed baby.”

“Are you ok?” I asked again.

“I am fine. Now go, I’ll be right there.”

              I walked over to him and stood at his side. He put a hand to my arm and moved me over so I stood in front of him, my back to his chest. I looked up to him and he gave me a smile.

“What are you doing in here?”

              I stepped back and felt something wet seep through my shirt and turned. His chest was a mass of bloody scratches, some deeper than others oozing black blood.

“What happened?”

“It’s not bad,” he said quietly.

“Not
bad
?”

“Considering I wasn’t the one with the sword, I think so.”

“What happened?” I breathed.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go back to bed and I’ll get cleaned up.”

“Oh I feel so weak,” I sat down on the toilet seat cover and looked up at him. “You will have to carry me.”

              He smiled. “Fine.”

              I put up a hand. “You should get cleaned up first,” I insisted, wanting to see his scratches.

              He turned on the faucet and I watched quietly. He ran his hands beneath the water and turned, gathered me up in his arms and practically threw me onto the bed.

“Don’t move,” he teased.

              He walked back into the bathroom, stayed there for several minutes and came back out. Without the bloody mess, I could see every scratch and its depth, each one worse than the last.

“They look really bad.”

“It’s nothing, just a couple of scratches.”

              I ran my fingers over them slowly. “You should heal them.”

“It will take too much energy, besides, they’re not that deep.”

“So tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me what you did to Lucian.”

“You won’t leave me alone about that.”

“Nope. You’re going to hear my voice in your
dreams.
”

“I didn’t kill him. I just scratched him up as bad as he scratched me. Fair?”

“You wanted to kill him, didn’t you? You didn’t want to see him ever again.”

“That’s right, but I didn’t kill him.”

“He’s not the same Lucian I knew.”

“Of course he’s not. He has been bound by the lock and key.” He looked at me more sternly. “Remember when I told you how bad things would turn out if my book fell into the wrong hands?”

“You didn’t
tell me
. You threatened me that if I didn’t give it back you would bite me.”

“Still, I had a reason for doing that.”

“How are your scratches doing?”

“Don’t even feel them,” he whispered.

“It feels so nice to have a vacation from being royalty, don’t you agree?”

              He was quiet. I could only feel him breathing on my neck.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, really nice.”

              He kissed me, careful not to let any poison set on his lips so I would not be any weaker than I was.

“Good night baby,” he whispered, but I had not heard, I was already in a deep sleep.

* * * * *

“We are going to rest here for the night.” Prusaious said quietly.

              Fitzray followed her to a small house. He was so tired he could barely stay awake. There were people in the house, all crowded around a table talking hushed to each other. They stopped as he entered and all looked from him to Prusaious and back.

“The Prince of Catastrophe,” someone whispered.

“Come to me child.” Fitzray looked up at the woman who spoke to him from across the table. She wore a mask. A heavy black cape hung over her shoulders. 

“Who are you?”

              The woman took the mask from her face and set it on the table.

“I am Verna, your great-great grandmother. I knew I would have the honor of meeting you one day.”

“You know my parents?” His eyes lit up.

              She laughed quietly. “Yes, I do. And I will bring you to them, on Catastrophe.”

“How will we get there?”

“We will send for our dragons and fly across! We will do so soon, but quietly. No one can know we have gone. No one can know you are with us.”

* * * * *

I
woke up with pain flowing over me. Pete looked down at me, his eyes set in a menacing glare over my body. Gashes covered my arms. I sat up confused and he held my shoulders.

“What are you doing?”

              He did not seem to hear, just stared blankly and pressed his fangs to my throat. I jumped from the covers, landed roughly on the floor and felt his presence behind me. I rose to my feet, but he grabbed my shoulder and pressed me to the wall before I could escape. His breath settled over me in a dizzy scent. His scratches were worse, bleeding again. He drank something I could not identify, to ease his pain, I assumed. But in doing so, I could tell he wasn’t in his right mind. He did not even see me cowering at his feet, breathing heavy in fear. I looked over to the light in the bathroom, a beacon.

              I slipped away again, rushing toward the light. There was water running, a coldness beneath my feet and I turned, finding him right behind me and ran from the bathroom. I kept running, felt the floor tremble beneath me and turned around. Pete was sprawled across the floor, blood mixed with water by his head that had hit the tile. I shook him, called out, but he would not wake. His mouth opened slightly though his eyes remained closed. I screamed into the halls for help, any help, and returned to his side, sunk to my knees.

“Please wake up…please.” I whispered, crouched over him at his bedside. My fingers traced the edge of the white bandage on his head when I finally had a chance to see him again.

“He hasn’t woken up yet?” A nurse asked me. She noted some things down on an old clipboard. “The doctor will be in to see you in a moment.”

              I held onto the sheets that covered him and took a shaky breath.
Even though he won’t be reincarnated, he may never be the same vampire again. He might not speak or think the same. Oh, why did this happen? What did you do? How am I supposed to get Fitzray back now?
I thought.

“We called your parents. They should be here soon.” A voice said.

              I turned around, only saw the glint of golden eyes and a lab coat and then turned back to Pete.

             
How is that possible? I never said anything about my parents. How could they have contacted them?

“There you are.” My father’s voice hit me like a bullet, making me turn to face him as if he had just shot me.

“We came as soon as we heard the news.” Timothy was standing beside him.

“What happened?”

“I am not entirely sure.”

“Will he be staying overnight?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll go find that nurse. She’ll find out for us.” Tim said and walked out of the room. I wanted to stop him. How could he leave me alone with my father and trust him for a mere second?

“You know,” my father began, “if he does stay overnight, you are welcome to come and visit for a couple of days.”

“I don’t think-,” I started.

“Oh why not? It’s your mother’s birthday today. I’m sure she’d be glad to see you after all that time away from home. It will be a big family party.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, “like old times.”

“Oh what do you have to lose? Do you even have a place to stay tonight?”

“No.”

“Then you
will
come.” My father insisted.

              Tim came back into the room and I looked up at him hopefully.
Oh, I hope he can leave. If we could just get out of here, we’d have a chance.

“Well?”

“I couldn’t find the nurse.”

              I looked back down. “He is free to go. He can go now.” I looked up. It was the doctor with the golden eyes. Just as I leapt to my feet, he turned out of the room into the hallway and out of sight.

“Well that’s good news. You can both come.”

“I’ll go get a wheelchair,” Tim said.

              Once he returned, they both carried Pete from the bed and into the wheelchair to the car. I did not object. I could not just leave Pete with them and I could not carry him along with me. There was no way for me to escape, so I sat beside Pete. Tim sat in the front beside my father. I closed my eyes and listened as Tim changed the radio stations to find one that would tune in. The trees rolled by in a green blur for miles and miles road after road. At last, the car came to a slow as it turned onto a small cul-de-sac and stopped at the very end where dozens of cars filled the driveway.

“Come on inside Chenille.” Tim put out a hand to help me out of the car. As long as he was with me, at least I had some protection.

              I stood, waited for them to get Pete out of the car and walked into the house. The party stopped once I entered, the volume of the music turned down and my werewolf family stared. I rushed behind Tim and my father up the large staircase to the small guest bedroom.

“Can you give me a moment with him?”

“Sure. We will be downstairs.”

              Once they left I sat on the bed beside Pete.

“That doctor, I swear that was Lucian, I am sure of it. How else could my father find out so quickly? It must be Tetchra. She’s probably involved in this and she knows where we are. What do I do Pete? What do I do?”

              He was quiet, did not even make the slightest movement at my words. I held his shoulders, shook him violently, but he did not flinch. I clung to his tattered shirt, shook him again – nothing.

              In defeat, I stepped out of the room, closed the door behind me and walked down the stairs. Everyone looked at me, no music played.

“The Queen of Catastrophe!” My father said.

“So she isn’t a wolf, is she?” My Uncle asked boldly.

“No, not part of the pack,” my father said.

“And now look at the King.”

“The King? He’s the King? I thought Lucian was.”

“He
was.
He’s not anymore.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know what happened.”

“What happened to Lucian, Chenille?” One of my family members yelled to me.

“Yes, what happened to Lucian?” My mother asked, shoving her way through the large family.

“Not you too mom,” I whispered. They all began to shout, demanding answers from me.

“I don’t know where Lucian is.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to save my species.”

“Who is ruling Catastrophe then?”

“Lord of the Sea and his wife, for now while I’m gone.”

              Everyone looked at each other, confused. “You mean the snake?”

“Yes.”

“He is the one that killed Zaire!”

“You let that traitor be a ruler? How could you do that to the pack?”

“I didn’t come here to argue with you.”

“Oh? Then why don’t you go and never return back to Earth?”

“What do you want from me?”

“We want you to leave. We like Earth as it is. The vampires are controlled by the mortals, and we aren’t bothered.”

“You selfish creatures. Your heads are filled with arrogance!”

“So is yours! Do you even know if the vampires enjoy it the way it is? I don’t see them rebelling.”

“They
can’t
rebel, that’s why they are under control.”

“Yeah, just about every one of them has a lock around their neck and the mortals have the keys around theirs. It is impossible for you to free them. That is the mortals’ choice,” Tim said.

“We will go to war then.”

“With your own kind?”

“I say if you don’t get off this planet in a week, the wolves will join the mortals in the war against you!” My Uncle raged.

              There was a cheer of agreement.

“How could you do that to me?”

“You aren’t part of the pack,” my Aunt said bluntly.

“Get off our planet!”

“I am sorry Chenille,” my father said, “but you are no longer welcome here.”

              The family let out a growl as I backed up the stairs. They changed, one by one, into a wolf of a different color and snarled, chasing after me in a wild pack up the stairs. I ran into the guest room, a shadow slipping past me as I closed and locked the door. There was a beautiful wolf with dark brown eyes before me. Her fur was white, tipped with a silver shine.

“I am sorry this had to happen,” she said.

“Mom? Oh mom, how could that happen? Look at what they’ve done to you!”

“I am sorry they have done this.” She looked at her paws.    “I didn’t want them to, but your father, he insisted. Still, I didn’t want to be a wolf, but it seems I didn’t have a choice, no more than you had.”

“When did this happen?”

“Long ago, sweetheart, when you left for Catastrophe.”

              I took a step back. Claws raked against the door. Piece by piece they were breaking it apart. A wolf’s eye appeared through one of the holes in the door. 

“What are you waiting for? Get her!” My father yelled through to my mother.

              I stepped back cautiously once my mother took a step forward. “You have to get out of here. Just go out the window onto the roof. You will follow that down to the back of the house. You can jump from there.”

              I turned to Pete. “I need to get him up.”

“He’s unconscious.”

“It’s too risky for me to drag him onto the roof.”

“He can’t stay here though. The pack will tear him up.”

“What do I do?”

“I know. Go ahead. I’ll keep him in the closet until the pack passes by, then I’ll take him to the front door. You can take him from there.”

“All right.”

“Go!”

              I opened the window, balanced myself on the roof and walked, following the long stretch of shingles. I heard a slam of the door’s demise and walked faster. The wolves came fast, piling onto the roof and one by one came dashing to where I was. I jumped off the roof and hit the ground all at once, not even thinking. The wolves watched, indecisive whether to jump after me or not.

              I ran to the front where my mother was. She held Pete by his shirt in her mouth.

“Run Chenille, they will be after you again.”

“I am sorry this had to happen.”

“Me too Chenille. Now go. Good luck.”

              I held Pete by his arms and began to walk backwards, away from the house.

“Goodbye,” my mother called, “Good-,” her voice was cut short. I heard a cry, a howl, and turned.

              My father was there, his claws digging into her.

“Mother!”

“Don’t worry about me Chenille. Go before the pack gets you!”

“You know what we do to traitors in this pack?” My father yelled.

              I held onto Pete’s arms tighter and ran faster, dragging him with me. My father’s voice was the only thing I heard. “Your fate will be the same Chenille. You are a traitor to this pack!”