Something Just Like This
I stare in shock. Hellhounds don’t leave behind survivors. Their bloodlust is unquenchable, never satiated.
“Tori,” Zeke yells out minutes later, sounding frantic.
“I’m over here,” I call back, still in disbelief and unable to move from the spot I’m currently rooted to.
He comes barreling through the overgrowth, pulling me into his hard chest, squeezing a bit tighter than is comfortable. My entire body shakes in his embrace, the aftereffects of the adrenaline still attempting to find an exit.
“Are you okay?” he asks into my hair, placing a kiss on top.
I nod, wondering how he’s in one piece. There was a herd of demons chasing after him.
“How did you escape?”
“I got far enough ahead and scaled a tree. They were bottom feeders,” he explains. “Too stupid to track me correctly.”
I let out the breath I’ve been holding, glad that we’re both okay. That was an ambush, and neither of us were armed or powered up.
After several minutes of standing here, me still in Zeke’s arms, he steps back, putting space between us, looking me over head to toe.
“Was that a hellhound?”
I nod again.
“How are you still alive?” he asks, with a hint of awe.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I reply, walking back toward the path, wanting desperately to get out of these woods.
“What do you think’s happening?” he asks from behind, and I don’t bother turning around.
“I don’t know. I’m clueless.”
“Are you okay?” he asks, but I don’t answer. The need to get back to my loft and to some sense of safety is my only goal at the moment. “Stop, Tori.” Zeke’s demanding tone leaves no room for argument.
I slowly pivot to face him. His eyes are weary as they rush over me.
“What do you expect me to say? No, I’m not all right,” I admit, throwing my hands in the air.
“Demons in the daytime, werewolves, hellhounds—nothing is all right with any of that,” I screech, pressing the palms of my hands into my head and kneading roughly, trying to stave off a headache.
When my arms drop to my sides, the world starts to tilt until it’s in a full spin.
My vision goes blurry and the last thing I see, before everything goes black, is Zeke’s concerned face.
When I come to, I’m lying in my bed back at the loft. I stretch my arms over my head, relishing the pull of my muscles. How I got back here is answered quickly, as a half-dressed Zeke leans over the bed, handing me a glass of water.
“Did you lose your shirt?” I prod, smirking, hoping to divert attention from my blackout.
He grins back. “It was dirty. I thought it was more important to make sure you were okay.” He looks at me, appearing contemplative. “Wanna tell me what happened back there?”
I groan. “This again? I told you I have no clue.”
His brow rises. “I mean why you fainted.”
“Oh. That,” I say pensively.
“Yeah. That.” He frowns. “Not what I’ve come to expect from the ever brave and tough-as-hell Victoria English.”
“Ha. That was a damn ambush.”
“I’ve never encountered anything like that. What do you make of those demons?”
I sit up, taking a long drink of the offered water and placing it on the nightstand when I’m finished.
“My best guess is a coup, and witches are at the helm.”
“You think they’re after us?”
“Who else? There’s nobody else here.” I throw my hands out, motioning around.
“But why witches?”
“I don’t think they have anything to do with the attack, but they’re clearly responsible for the demons’ ability to walk in the daylight. The wolves were wearing talismans.”
He nods, inhaling deeply. “What’s their angle?”
I shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they want my sword in exchange for helping the wolves get rid of us?”
“That makes sense, but Michael won’t allow that. Angels will be all over the place soon,” he says, looking at me a little too intently.
“Why the hell would Michael care? We’re fallen. They have no reason to save us.”
“They might not care about us, Tori, but they won’t want an ethereal object in the hands of black witches. They also won’t stand around and allow demons to walk in the daylight. That would be the beginning of the end.”
I huff, “I don’t want to see any of those jackasses.”
Zeke chokes out a laugh. “Those asses were once your brothers.”
“They had no problem watching me fall. They’re no brothers of mine.”
His mouth forms a tight line. “I’ll be right by your side. I won’t let them touch you, Tori.”
“Who? The angels or the demons? Since apparently they’re all coming for me.”
“Both,” he stresses. “But the angels aren’t coming here for you.”
“No shit. We both know they’ve slammed their gate on me.”
“That’s in the past. It’s you and me now.”
I let Zeke’s words fall over me, cocooning me with his promise of protection. I’ll never understand why he’s so hell-bent on defending me, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Tori … I want to talk to you about something, but you’re not gonna like it.” My arms cross over my chest, already geared up for another fight. Zeke groans. “Just hear me out before you go getting moody.”
My hand flutters in the air, signaling for him to proceed.
“With the arrival of the new demons and their working with the witches, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“What are you proposing?”
“Blaine and his group.”
“No.”
“Tori, see reason.” Zeke grunts. “They are good hunters.”
“They’re weak and slow. Things have progressed beyond their capabilities. It’ll only get them killed.”
“Can’t you feel it, Tori? Something has shifted. They can join the fight, and die helping the cause, or they can be sitting ducks with the rest of the human population and die anyway. At least in my scenario, they leave this earth as heroes in their own right.”
His hand darts out, moving a piece of my long blond hair behind my ears. I nuzzle into his palm, needing the comfort that Zeke offers in that simple touch.
“What will Michael and his minions think about that?” I purse my lips.
“I don’t give two fucks, T. They abandoned us here to make do in our new circumstances. If we join forces with a group of mortals to rid the world of demons, what are they going to do about it?”
“End us and your human friends?”
“Then I guess you get to leave Earth sooner than you thought.”
I scoot to the end of the bed, coming to sit up on my knees. Running my hand down Zeke’s arm, I lean in and say, “I was just starting to like my circumstances.”
His lip quirks into a sexy-as-sin smirk. “Is that so?”
I nod my head, smiling flirtatiously up into Zeke’s big blue eyes that match the color of my own. “In fact, I think we could find something to do to tip the scales even more in Earth’s favor.”
His brow quirks. “Do tell.”
I place a kiss on his lips, lean into his right ear, and whisper some salacious ideas. Zeke doesn’t waste another second, lowering me to the bed and trailing his kisses south. Right where I want him.
An hour later, we’re dressing and heading downstairs to set up a makeshift training facility.
If we’re going to get Blaine’s crew involved, we need to determine just what they’re capable of.
They know about demons and it’s time they learn that there are other supernatural beings roaming Earth.
Only then can they have any hope of being useful in the coming fight.
That’s a conversation for another day. Getting prepared is the current goal.
“I’m starving,” Zeke says, after what’s likely been four hours of back-breaking labor, trying to get this place in shape. “Wanna go grab dinner?”
“Not exactly. Why don’t we do a night in?” I waggle my brows suggestively.
“What, pray tell, do you have in mind?”
I saunter toward him, swaying my hips suggestively, hoping to send the signal that all I want is him. All of him. My hands go to his shoulder and I lean up on my tiptoes, pressing my mouth against his. He moans into my lips, grabbing me by the hips and pulling me flush against him.
“You’re playing a dangerous game. We may never eat.”
I chuckle. “I’d be okay with that.”
“Me too.” He places a chaste kiss on my lips and looks down at me. “I wanted to take you somewhere nice. On a date.”
“Zeke,” I warn. “Physical only. I told you no relationships, and dates equal more. I just want this.”
“It’s just food, Tori. It doesn’t have to be anything more.”
He says the words, but the tone of his voice and the way his jaw is working give him away. He’s angling for more, no matter what our agreement was. I should’ve known he’d never truly settle.
“You don’t mean that. You never intended to stop pushing, did you?”
“Friends eat together, Tori. Stop making it more than it is.”
I sigh. “Food? Yes. Dinner date? No. Okay?”
He hugs me before stepping back. “Pizza work?”
“Pizza would be perfect.” I smile. “You go to town and grab that, while I shower and pick out a movie.”
“Who said anything about a movie?” He guffaws, trying and failing to muster the appearance of being alarmed by the thought.
“It’s just a movie, Zeke. Friends watch movies.”
He smirks. “Whatever you say, English.”
I want to push my assurance that watching a movie is innocent, but instead, I drop the conversation for now.
“Nothing too girly, please.”
“Don’t worry, big guy. I won’t pick some sappy romance.” I roll my eyes.
“No dramas either. Comedy or Marvel. We could use a chill night for a change.”
“Noted.”
“Don’t plan on hunting either.”
My face falls. I thought for sure after dinner and the movie, he’d be up for the hunt.
He steps back into me, holding me close and placing a kiss on my forehead. “Until we know what’s going on, we need to be careful. We need to train.”
I nod, knowing it’s the best strategy.
“Go shower. When I get back, it’s just you and me. All night.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He grins, jogging backward to the truck.
I push away the thought of what havoc demons can wreak tonight and head to shower. I’ve given my whole life to the cause. Tonight, I’m going to experience a night of human normalcy, in the arms of Zeke—my own alpha hero. Only as friends. Just friends.
Keep telling yourself that, Tori.