Chapter 48
The moment Ezekiel, walked into the room and touched him he felt the strange, but increasingly familiar burn beginning. He smelled the blood.
But he tried hard to ignore it. He tried to focus on the medicine....but his inner beast locked into the smell of the mortal's skin, the weight of his body in Ezekiels arms and the feeling of his skin as it accidentally brushed against Ezekiels lips.
He remember the strange thirst from their previous meetings. He remembered the want to bite.
And an image flashed across his mind.
He saw himself pull the mortal against him and he watched himself suck on his soft skin, nibble on it, then his teeth sank i
Chapter 49Minding his speed so as not to intensify Brandons pain Ezekiel surely and patiently led the man in the direction of the kitchen....the place Glen spent her early mornings most days.But...The moment Ezekiel guided Brandon further into the kitchen he realized that he had a problem on his hands."Well...Well...What do we have here...?" Lander nearly growled as he glanced over the two of them. His brother stood across the kitchen with a loaf of bread in his hand, and a plate on the counter top in front of himself. He looked away from Ezekiels and Brandon long enough to sit his bread down on the plate before him.Ezekiel resisted his initial urge to groan and instead focused on ignoring his sibling for the moment in favor of getting the mortal off of his feet. Brandon's eyes were barely open but he barely let Ezekiel support him. He refused to lean on him much even though he was obviously in agony. Ezekiel didn't like it...but he didn't force him either.Ezekiel made a move to
Chapter 50The moment Ezekiels presence and voice faded out of the room, Brandon found it harder not to focus on the pain.Brandon sank his teeth into his cheek, trying to stall the tears that wanted to build as the blood continued to gather on his hips. He felt the damp warmth dripping off his side and hitting the edge of stool and for a split second he wished that his energy would return. He wished that he haven't temporarily banished the power inside that could wipe away every little ache and pain.But just as quickly as he made that wish he took it back and mentally set it aflame.Yes......Brandon knew that the power inside of him could wipe away his pain, but it could also wipe away every living thing in that house with him.So instead of continuing along those ultimately useless trains of thought, he focused on his pain.There was a throb in Brandon's entire left side. Thump....thump....thump. It radiated out of the torn stitches and flesh and organs that he had.....quite foolis
Chapter 51There wasn't anything to think about.Brandon slammed his forehead into the Shifters face as fast and as hard as he could, feeling a vicious little flare of joy when Lander stumbled backwards with a curse and a shout, but Brandon wasn't done yet.He scrambled up, kicking his chair to the ground behind him as he attempted to circle around the counter top and follow up his head butt with a few solid punches, a kick to the crotch, but he never made it.Suddenly a hand snatched at him from behind. Brandon didn't even have time to struggle before he was being moved threw the air.Ezekiel angrily threw him to the floor. Fire ran down Brandon's spine as he collided with the wood. Instantly he felt what little bit of clotting that had started, split open and more warm blood gushed up out of the wounds and soaked the belly of his shirt.Brandon barely could breath for the pain and fury that came over him.That Bastard!He wanted to curse Ezekiel, but when he managed to orient his ga
Chapter 52Brandon would have described the feeling coming over him in the next few moment as fear.....if he was ever tortured into admitting it.But as Ezekiel turned on him, and stalked across the kitchen, with claws, eyes and teeth looking far too ready for use Brandon actually found himself backing away from him. But he didn't get far, before the prick of claws closing around his upper arms and the pressure of being pulled were being applied and he stumbled into the furious gaze of the Shifter."And are you insane!!" Ezekiel hissed. His voice distorted, but still smooth at the round of each word that he spoke. "Don't you ever EVER do that again?""What!?....Don't do what!?" Brandon panted trying to pull back, but it was hopeless. All he managed to do was get blood on the backs of Ezekiel's hands as he tried to push his hands off. But unfortunately his attempts to pull away only seemed to incense the Shifter more."We talked about this the other night!" Ezekiel growled. "I told you
Chapter 53Information, and facts.....Brandon thrived on knowledge he gained on a day by day basis. From the first book and words he had ever learned, he'd felt a hunger for more. Learning was what kept him alive. IT was what filled the gaping hole inside of him. He needed to know everything about everything around him.....because he knew so very little about himself at all.Brandon didn't know where he was going...Brandon didn't even know WHAT he was supposed to do...And he definitely didn't know why something like him existed at all.Anything Brandon could take in or attach to the empty blank slate that he had to stare at everyday....was vital to him feeling like a normal man. Learning and questions seemed like all he had to cling to in life."Get over myself , huh?" Ezekiel smirked clearly done-in by Brandon's blunt words.Ezekiel finally looked up from his cup and rolled his eyes in ex-pirated consent.Brandon was overly relieved to see that his gaze was as clear as water. His p
Leaving the Mortal in the kitchen Ezekiel made his way to the front door just as the second knock sounded. He opened the door to a familiar and welcome face."Oh my God!" Erin exclaimed as her soft hazel eyes contracted to thin slits and her nostrils twitched as she inhaled heavily.She stood out in the sunlight, dressed coolly with simple boots, jeans and a red blouse and her tall frame filling the doorway. Having traveled from the middle of the village carrying a medical kit a soft sheen of sweat shown on her forehead and throat, and her short brown hair brushed her shoulders as she steeped further into the house, turned to Ezekiel and frowned. "It reeks of blood in here Ezekiel....Is all of this coming from the...the intruder?" she asked softly, almost timid.Ezekiel softly closed the door behind her as he said "Yes....the mortals bleeding pretty heavily, he seems to have popped half a dozen of his stiches and mom was busy so I had to give you a call." He explained to her, then he
Chapter 55Brandon kept his breathing shallow, tried to listen only to his heart beat and the bodies in the room. He wanted to focus on Ezekiel, but he wasn't close enough, nor was he speaking. He was standing far back, standing rigidly like he were holding himself in place, but why Brandon didn't know.He found that he wished that the Shifter was speaking or moving so that he could focus on that instead of the girl. But he couldn't.So Brandon tried to focus on how cold he felt and the pain in his stomach.....anything to keep his thoughts off the pull within him.The flame, the energy waking up, clawing at him like a sickly puppy. Like a heavy drum beat it thumped against his soul, reaching out, sensing. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't control it. But he understood what it was reaching for.The Leopardess. Erin.She was a beautiful young girl, as tall as Ezekiel and as stunning to look at as Glen, but like the rest of Shifters that Brandon had encountered he sensed the beast in her.
Brandon stopped Erin with a soft question."Wait. Sacred Laws?" He questioned her, then he shared a look with Ezekiel. "What Laws are those exactly? And what Wars are we talking about?""Well they are the doctrine....or the codes by which all Shifter society function." Erin glossed over, not seeing the blank look on Brandon's face. "The Sacred Laws were created soon after The Great Loss and it is known throughout all seven of the Shifter Clans that these Laws were written by the Dragon Lords.""Whoa....wait!" Brandon cut in his mind buzzing with fresh questions suddenly. "Dragons...?" he asked her, not believing that he had heard her right. "There are Dragon Shifters?""What do you mean?" Erin giggled at him uncertainly. She looked at Ezekiel then back at Brandon, her hazel eyes clouding with confusion and surprise and skepticism. "Of course there are Dragons Brandon....." She laughed again, but this time the sound choked off as she turned her head and squinted at the blank expression