THIRTY-THREE

The image of Ruby cumming hard under my body was seared into my memory, my fingers buried in her hot pussy while the beautiful tattooed vampire writhed in agony when I sank my fangs in her soft neck, Terra was kissing her trying to muffle her cries while her sweet and delicious blood filled my mouth and her juices burnt my hand. Ruby collapsed on the mattress breathing heavily while I pulled away, licking my lips greedily, and crawled to get closer to Terra ready to try her too. The blue-eyed vampire chuckled and tilted her head back, raising her hips to be able to grind her hot core against my thigh while I bit her flesh, she dug her fingertips into my buttocks harshly and a soft cry echoed across the room...

A moan escaped from my throat and I blinked coming back to reality and to the kitchen. I closed the fridge door shaking my head and kept taking food from the supermarket bags that arrived a few minutes earlier. I'd turned into a vampire two weeks before and things went well although the evening sun bothered me a little more than it bothered my girls and I needed a hoodie and sunglasses to leave the house before it was dark, it was uncomfortably hot since it was summer so I decided to order the grocery shopping list online and go out of the house to have dinner or for a walk at night with my precious vampires.

On the other hand, I'd almost managed to control my powers, I wasn't breaking tea mugs anymore or hypnotizing innocent people living in LA. Vera was able to teach a Zumba class and no one noticed anything weird while she controlled the minds of a dozen of humans at the same time and Aren was happy and really proud of his mate. However, I couldn't keep my hands off my bosses, sex was good between us before but it had become mind blowing since we could bite each other, love travelled through our bond more intense than ever and my vampire mind was able to deal with it, unlike the human one that felt overwhelmed immediately. Everything was perfect and I wondered why it took so much time for me to do it, I didn't have doubts anymore and even if I missed my human family, I could visit them for many years, talk to them and take care of them from afar.

I took some bags of cookies, sugar and flour and carried them to the pantry pondering if I should make a cheesecake or a chocolate cake along with a picnic basket full of snacks and ask my mates to have dinner in the garden under the candlelight when a disgusting smell made me scrunch my nose for a second.

"What the hell is that?" I put the stuff on a shelf and started rummaging in cabinets, worried in case I'd left a piece of cheese somewhere but I couldn't find anything. I frowned bewildered... The smell had gone... Did I imagine it? Maybe my new powers were playing tricks with my mind and I had smelt the house pipes... I walked closer to the sink but couldn't find anything weird except for the chemical scent of the cleaning product. "I'd better call my girls because they'll be able to help me with this... How strange... Fuck!"

I moved a step back, scared, looking at the back garden through the window. The outdoor dining room was dark except for some fairy lights but thanks to my new powers I didn't need anything else and thought I saw... John's face through the window. But it wasn't possible since he was in Europe; Marcus had told me that the Council had informed all the vampires about what the asshole had done, they declared him persona non grata and he couldn't seek refuge in a safe house except in case his true nature was at risk of being revealed by humans. But no one was going to welcome him with open arms to have dinner and a kind conversation, his social life was ruined... Why would he want to come to USA?

"I might be hallucinating," I whispered confused turning on the outdoor light. There was nothing odd in the garden, no one around the swimming pool or the garage.

"What are you doing?" I turned around surprised, I was so focused on looking at the shadows between bushes that I hadn't heard Vera walking in the kitchen. "What did you cook for dinner? Do you need help?"

"I was putting groceries away and thinking of making a cheesecake or a chocolate cake..."

"You can make chocolate cheesecake," my friend answered laughing while putting two bottles of orange juice in the fridge.

"Solomonic solution... What was that?" I asked scared.

"A thief has broken a window in the back of the house. Let's go!"

"Vera, wait... I think I saw..." The Brazilian girl ignored me while running down the corridor to the living room and I followed her out of instinct. "What the...? Who has stepped on my orchids?" I yelled angrily, fear had vanished and I only wanted to punch the jerk that had ruined my beautiful plants and made a mess in the glazed balcony.

"What's that disgusting smell?" Vera asked grimacing and we both held our breaths when we saw a shadow running across the garden getting closer to us, something furry and big, some sharp and white teeth sparkled under the lantern light of the swimming pool I turned on minutes before sending a shiver down my spine. "That's a..."

"A fucking werewolf! Move! Terra... Ruby..." I yelled running back to the corridor confident that my friend would follow me. I knew judging by the sound of broken glass that the wolf had jumped in the balcony, I knew there were more enemies attacking us because no rogue would dare to break into a house full of vampires in such a violent way and I knew they were a lot and were attacking us from several sides because my girls didn't come when I called them... Nothing could stop Terra and Ruby from running to me if I needed them... unless they were fighting with damned werewolves. "Fuck!"

Two wolves managed to break the main door pushing the wooden surface with their shoulders and were getting up from the floor when we ran across the hall, slipping on the checkerboard stone tiles in front of their muzzles while we tried to reach another corridor. Despite they were handsome men in their human form, at least the Italian guys I had met, as wolves they were massive animals covered with tangled fur, with bulging muscles, red eyes and elongated snout... Their breath was stinky and the sharp claws smashed everything in their path: furniture, Terra's antiques, Ruby's favourite paintings... My gorgeous Lalique vase shattered on the floor and rage ran wild through my veins again.

"Motherfuckers!" I cried grabbing a Barcelona chair designed by Mies van der Rohe and throwing it over my shoulder not looking back. A high-pitched howl told me I had hit the target and the metallic legs had wounded one of the wolves. "Fuck you," I thought pleased till I realized that my Ruby was fighting with two animals in the back hall, my girl was doing her best effort to push them away but the room was so small that their broad shoulders bounced on the walls and they jumped on her body again.

"Iselen, no!" I ignored the green-eyed vampire's cry and bent down to kick the balls of one of them while Vera took a wooden chair and smashed it on his head hard. Ruby was able to focus on one enemy finally while we joined forces to punch the other till they both collapsed on the floor unconscious. "Let's go, we need to find Terra, she's in her office probably..."

"And Aren?"

"He was upstairs but I saw him jumping to the garden from the terrace of your bedroom... This way. Terra!" Ruby pushed the door with her shoulder till she managed to open it despite the body of a wolf was lying on the floor blocking it, our mate was sitting on the chest of another enemy punching his face again and again till the animal stopped his movements. "Is that blood yours?"

"No, of course not..." My girl looked at her knuckles coated in blood frowning and tried to clean them with her jeans. "Are you all right? I saw Aren, he ran past the library window chasing two big wolves..."

"That's my boy," Vera whispered admiringly while we tried to catch our breaths. Someone howled on the other side of the house, a piece of glass broke and I couldn't help sobbing: those jerks were destroying my home and the prized possessions of the women I loved. "What's going on? Why is a pack of wolves attacking us?"

"I saw John... I think." I moved a step back involuntarily when my vampires turned abruptly to look at me in shock. "He vanished in the blink of an eye but I could swear he was in the garden... I'm not sure, I'm sorry."

"Well, that could explain this ridiculous attack... That asshole has given them money or maybe persuaded them that we were an easy target. What an idiot... What the hell is he trying to do?" Terra grumbled angrily while Ruby moved closer to the door listening carefully, she wanted to find out what was happening on the other side and Vera copied her movements cautiously looking through the window trying to find Aren.

"I told you he was crazy," Ruby growled kicking the closer wolf to make sure he was still sleeping before pointing at the library and we locked the door of the gorgeous room full of books behind us, I hoped Terra wouldn't lose any of those volumes during the senseless attack because that would break her heart. "This is what happens when our mates die... Vampires go insane. It's amazing that he managed to live for so many centuries after losing him..."

"It's the evidence that he's stubborn as fuck...He won't leave Iselen alone, he probably thinks she's responsible for ruining the relationship he had with our father: John will never admit he's to blame for that." Terra opened the library back door that led to a small garden on one side of the house and stuck her head out, checking that it was clear of enemies before looking back over her shoulder with a straight face. "We have to finish him now."

"Are you saying you're going to kill your brother?" I asked out of breath and the beautiful blue-eyed vampire stared at me with a neutral expression. "But Marcus..."

"If I have to choose between my mate and my brother, I'll always choose my mate and my father knows it... You'd be in danger as long as he's alive, Ruby and I can't live with it: watching you all the time, worried in case he attacks, obsessed with your security... We'll go crazy and would drive you crazy too."

"I understand," I whispered and my girl nodded. The truth is that I was able to understand a lot of things after turning into a vampire: the intensity of their jealousy that seemed ridiculous at first, their possessiveness, the terrible fear of losing them the same they feared losing me... I knew I wouldn't be able to survive without them by my side. John was a danger for our relationship and we had to get rid of him, as simple as that. "What are we going to do?"

"You two are too young to fight against werewolves, your strength and agility haven't developed yet to their full potential," Ruby whispered while we followed Terra outside, walking slowly stuck to the house wall while she watched our backs. "You can punch one of them if you join forces but if they manage to separate you two, you'll be screw..."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Vera asked concerned. Aren was fighting in front of the entrance door, we were able to hear the wolves howling and his growls, the sound of his closed fist when he hit them and ribs broke. "Shouldn't you go there and help him?"

"Iselen, do you know which one is the safest room in this house?" Terra asked while sticking her head through a broken window to take a look inside.

"The basement where you keep the fridge with blood, it has a reinforced door and a safety lock," I answered without a second thought. "Do you want us to lock there and wait?" My girl nodded and pointed inside: if we sneaked in through that window, we'd only need to run across the laundry room to reach the kitchen and the corridor where the staircase was. "All right, I think we can do it. What do you say, Vera?" My friend nodded firmly.

"Give us a minute, we'll go to the entrance door to help Aren making a hell of a noise to get the attention of the werewolves, you'll have a clearer path that way... We'll be in touch..." Terra pointed at her head with her index and I understood she was talking about our bond, I'd know they were alive and wouldn't go crazy. I nodded and stole a quick kiss from her lips before she ran away, Ruby squeezed my hand gently before vanishing at vampire speed and we jumped into the room trying not to cut our skins with the broken glass. We reached the kitchen with no incident while all hell broke loose outside: screams, bangs and howls echoed through the garden.

"Shit..." I mouthed and Vera grimaced next to me. A massive werewolf with reddish fur was standing in front of the kitchen island with his head literally inside the pan where the chicken casserole I'd made for dinner was waiting, he was chewing out loud and the sound was disgusting, my friend rolled her eyes hard while I thought what to do. We needed to cross that room to reach the corridor... I held my breath and walked slowly, tiptoeing quietly till seeking refuge in the pantry with Vera nipping at my heels, the wolf didn't raise his head and kept eating while I was looking for something to bang his skull on the shelves. Everything was a mess, cookies smashed on the floor, broken pasta bags and open jars of spices: pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, bay leaves... all scattered around.

"You must find the two younger vampires," that was John's voice and we both held our breaths again. "If you finish them, the other vampires will surrender, they'll stop fighting and will let you kill them." Vera looked at me horrified and I clenched my jaw hard praying for the spices to mask our smell so John didn't find us. We needed to reach the basement as soon as possible because staying alive was the best way to help our mates

"There it is," I thought taking my favourite iron pan from a shelf, it was too big and heavy to keep it in a cabinet and it was more practical to store it in the pantry since I didn't use it often. My friend stuck her head through the door cautiously and raised her thumb to tell me John had left finally, I decided to move at vampire speed so the wolf wouldn't have a chance to stop me... The animal passed out a second later with his head in the pan, I had banged him with all my strength and even heard the bone breaking but didn't pay attention to him and we both ran down the corridor while I was still holding the pan. We stumbled down the staircase and managed to reach the basement locking the door immediately. "We've done it... We're safe. I hope they can feel it."

"I bet they can," Vera answered breathing heavily. "It's time to wait... Do you think they'll be able to fight against them all?" I nodded firmly putting the pan on the table and sitting on a chair, my friend copied my movements and we both remained silent listening carefully. We heard a stifled cry and bangs from time to time and I felt relieved because the house was at the end of a quiet street surrounded by a big garden: we didn't need nosy neighbours calling the police that night.

"I can smell them here!"

"Fuck..." Vera whispered after we heard a werewolf yelling in the corridor and I grabbed the pan again. "Drop that and help me to push the fridge against the door!" I obeyed thinking that it was a good idea but hoping that the wire was long enough so we didn't need to unplug it because it'd be a pity to waste all that blood. A loud bang on the other side of the door made the metallic surface shake and some dust fell from the bricks around it to the floor. We leaned our shoulders on the fridge, scared, while the wolves howled and struggled to open the door, banging it again and again.

"Where are the vampires?" I asked terrified and Vera shook her head helplessly.

And suddenly... silence. No more howling or punching, we couldn't hear anything but our erratic breathing and the fridge engine. We remained still, looking at each other bewildered till we thought we heard a sigh or a groan or something like that.

"Iselen, I'm Terra, open the door." My girl's voice in the staircase made me shake of relief and Vera rushed to push the fridge back to its place again but I stopped her touching her shoulder with my hand and frowning.

"What colour were the clothes Ruby was wearing the first time you saw her?" I asked with a calmed tone of voice.

"A light blue tunic embellished with pearls, a darker blue cloak and a gold brooch. Everything is fine, amor, open the door, please." I nodded and helped my friend to push the fridge. My girl was waiting on the other side covered with blood, and some was hers judging by the sweet smell but the scratches on her skin had healed, and stared at us with a straight face. "Most of the wolves had died and a handful managed to escape, they won't dare to come back... Ruby and Aren are waiting upstairs... It's not pretty..." My girl put her hand on Vera's shoulder when she tried to leave the room and run towards her mate. "What you're going to see now it's not pretty. You can close your eyes if you want and I'll guide you."

My friend shook her head and walked out of the basement with firm steps but I heard her holding her breath a second later, I followed her hesitating and soon discovered what the problem was: the body of a werewolf was lying at the bottom of the stairs in a weird position, I knew he was dead immediately and scrunched my nose when smelling the stench. Further up, John's head looked at me with a blank expression, his grey eyes were lifeless while blood ran down the stairs. It was difficult to climb up the slippery steps but I gritted my teeth to hold back the nausea and went up slowly, sticking my back to the wall, trying not to look at the ripped arm on another step while feeling Terra's hand on my ribs, reassuring me.

"Babe, are you okay?" Ruby wasn't wearing her T-shirt and her sports bra was reasonably clean of blood, like it happened that night with Giulio... I pictured in my mind what had happened when I noticed John's body lying in the middle of the corridor but tried to push all that out of my mind and hugged her. "Let's go to our bedroom, we'll have a shower and change our clothes, we'll assess the damage later and will clean this mess. Everything will be all right..."

"Who's going to tell Marcus?" I whispered following Vera and Aren that were hugging each other while walking.

"He already knows..." Terra answered lighting a cigarette in the kitchen. "He's felt that the bond with his blood son is broken for sure so he knows he's dead and has felt the commotion through his bond with us; my father is not stupid, he suspects what has happened but we'll call him to tell him anyways."

"It's going to be hard for him to accept this," I whispered trying to ignore the mess around me.

"We'll have to visit him in France sooner than we expected."