Chapter 36The sharp sounds of flesh being ripped from a body was horrendous.IT was a sound that should have stroked the primitive need of his beast to seek out prey.....but in that moment Ezekiel had never known a worse sound to fall upon his ear.But none of this was compared to the sight that befell him as he and his family split off into the night to hunt for the last Ghoul invader.On an odd hunch...and a strange sense of dread beckoning him Ezekiel dashed to the far south of the Mansion.Ezekiel danced in a frustrated fashion past the few stragglers that were still trying to flee the area of the attack and get to safety, until the “Schleck” and snarl and slurp of something big feasting.And there was Brandon...dead. A still pale silhouette laid low beneath the gnashing, snapping teeth of the Ghoul. He was on his stomach, a small boy wrapper underneath him....and his back....was sliced wide open. The Ghouls face buried deep in his back and chest cavity. Chewing him up like hambu
Chapter 37“No!” Brandon screamed and reached out.The Ghoul hooked its talons around the Guardians neck and Ezekiel fell back. The bloody dying beast put the last of its strength into putting Ezekiel down, but its moves were clumsy and slow.Ezekiel broke its hold around his throat easily. And after a moment or two he soon overcame the beast and managed to get behind it and twist back its gangly left arm. The Ghoul screamed as bones gave way with a mighty pop. The battle continued...but the outcome was assured as Ezekiel methodically destroyed the Ghoul in such a way that it should have been frightening to witness, but to Brandon it was simply a good show.He wanted to get up and help somehow.....but the simple agony of breathing, or turning around in the dirt was impossible to ignore. He couldn’t fight, he could barely crawl.....and.....the Child.....Could he still save the Child?Torn, but quickly realizing that the child a few feet across from him needed him more than Ezekiel did
Chapter 38Ezekiel didn’t have time to think about the blood on his body, or the anger boiling in his veins. He turned from the carcass of the dead Ghoul and rushed over to the two still and silent bodies in the field.The child was there beside him. Ezekiel didn’t have to see the blood on the child’s mouth, or the black branches of poison beneath the skin of his small body to know that the boy really was gone now.With hair almond brown and eyes tinted green and frozen open the small boys chest didn’t move. The sight of his small body stole over Ezekiel chilling him and numbing him at the same time. The parents would be devastated. Ezekiel knew that a lot of people would be filled with sorrow once all of the chaos had settled down and the dead were fully counted out.A part of Ezekiel urged him to reach for the child and cradle him closer, but as Ezekiel stood leaning over the two bodies in the earth, all Ezekiel wanted to do was grab Brandon and rush him to his mother...because unli
Chapter 39With the taste of sour vomit on his tongue Brandon stopped in the hallway bathroom, beneath the stair case and started to wash his face and mouth. He even tried to pluck some of the pine needle that was wedged inside of his hair and clothing away. But he was so flustered that all he managed to do was make a mess of the rest room.As Brandon struggled to pull the decimated shirt he was wearing off there was a soft exhale behind him; startled Brandon turned from the sink and suddenly Ezekiel was leaning in the door way, watching him.Without a word of his own Brandon turned, walked past him and started to mount the stairs. Still not speaking Ezekiel followed him. His silence grated.“Jesus Christ.....If you’ve got something to say....just say it Ezekiel!” Brandon spun on the Leopard, a scowl on his face that he couldn’t help but want to smooth over because he knew that Ezekiel didn’t deserve his lip. “Get it out of your system, then STOP following me!” he finished.Surprising
“Another LOCK DOWN!!!” Brandon screamed minutes after running into his room and slamming the door shut between him and Ezekiel’s sharp gaze.He didn’t care if he was heard. He screamed because he couldn’t bring himself to break down and cry again like he had shamefully just did in Ezekiel’s embrace.“This can’t be fucking happening to me....NOT now!”Brandon walked across the room and slammed his fist into the lamp. The heavy glass toppled swiftly in wake of his frustration and shattered, splaying shards all across the wooden floor. And Brandon didn’t stop there. He kicked the mattress, forcing the heavy wooden frame to shift half a foot, then he swiped his arm across the top of the drawer knocking every item atop it to the floor including the pack he had received from Glen and a decorated box of mahogany and lace that held smooth stones and beadsMORE GHOULS HAVE APPEARED! PEOPLE HAVE DIED. AND TO TOP IT OFF THE FUCKING LOCK DOWN HAS BEEN REINSTATED!! IT’S ALL JUST MORE WASTED TIME!
Chapter 41Brandon felt a momentary hesitation of guilt settling over him as he found himself standing outside of Ezekiels bedroom door. It had been five hours since the attack on the village.Brandon had no idea what was going on outside, or what Ezekiel and the rest of the Guardians had had to suffer in the last few hours, but he knew that Ezekiel would not only be exhausted...but also not in the mood to talk.Which was perfect.Brandon knocked on the door and in moments it was opened to reveal the mostly unclothed body of a god.Ezekiel was all defined muscle and flawless skin, long arms and thick legs, none of which was easily hidden by the short pair of blue boxers that the Shifter answered in. Brandon was practically powerless to stop his eyes from dancing down between the Guardians pecks, past his lickable ribs and belly, to settle for a moment on the small dusting of slightly golden hair just below his navel that summoned a little ridiculous curl of heat in Brandons thoughts a
Chapter 42The mortal was as crafty and stubborn as Ezekiel gave him credit for....maybe even more so.After the attack on the Clan Celebration and their falling out Brandon refused to budge. And Ezekiel refused to continue to pretend like he didn’t have suspicions.So he had no choice but to pull back and give Brandon the space that he acted desperate to have.Ezekiel didn’t chase after answers he was dying to have. He didn’t question and dig....and he physically had to stop himself from trying to touch the man all the time.And the fact that Ezekiel could barely stop himself for reaching for the mortal at any given hour....or when they accidentally connected gazes.....should have frightened him....but all it did was make Ezekiel more frustrated with their current standoff. Why did Brandon insist on turning from not only Ezekiels company....but the mutual attraction they felt was confounding.And the dreams!There were no words to explain the confusion the sensual, hot dreams he suff
Chapter 43OK....so far so good....” Brandon thought to himself as he gazed out over the expansive area and the mountains sitting like black and gray sentinels miles out in the dimming sunlight.After a week of planning Brandon had come to the easy conclusion that the norther part of the Leopards Lands would be the best place to attempt his escape from. The entirety of the north was vastly wild brush, tall grasses, bodies of water and thick pine tree canopy’s.Brandon had picked the best time to make his escape. The mid-day. Knowing after weeks in the mansion that none of Ezekiel’s family members were at home during the midday and were instead off in the villages healing the sick, or doing farmers work.“Brandon stop!”Brandon jumped and quicker than anyone would have believed possible, he had dropped his pact to the forest floor and pulled a long, slim kitchen blade out of the belt at his waist.He had stolen the simple blade form the kitchen. “Ezekiel? No please dont do this now!” h