Page 58 of Ghoul Kisses

Pulling up to Mae’s driveway, I need to apologize to her for accusing her of sending Pete after Sarah. She moved out of the mansion the day after the execution.

I cut the engine and jump out of the SUV. I’m glad she is fucking Jack so I don’t feel guilty for not being with her. I always felt like I owed her for what she did. Before I can knock on the door, Mae opens up. Her face lights up in surprise, and we stare at each other for a minute too long.

“What the hell do you want?” Her voice is unwelcoming. I deserve that after all the hell I put her through.

“I’m sorry for accusing you of sending a vampire after Sarah,” I say apologetically. She nods her head. I turn on my heel and begin to walk towards the SUV.

“If you are happy, then I’m happy for you,” her voice breaks with emotions. Guilt weighs heavy on my chest. She didn’t have to take care of me, and I let her down; I broke her heart. I pause by the car door.

“Take care of yourself, King Eric,” she says.

“You, too,” I say as I hop into my car and drive onto the asphalt. I gaze at the digital clock on the dashboard. It’s 5:30 in the evening. Hitting the Bluetooth in my ear, I call Sarah. She doesn’t pick up, so I send her a text.

I have a surprise for you. Meet me at the Odessa Garden at nine tonight.

I’m going to ask Sarah to bond with me. I am nervous as shit because she might turn me down. I read on the Internet that humans like to have an engagement ring. When a male bonds with a female they offer a pendant, so I’ll do both. I will give her my mom’s pendant and I’ll buy her the engagement ring. I drive to Seattle and pull up to Simone Jewelry. I check my messages before I hop out of the car; still nothing from Sarah. I walk up to the ghoul clerk and he bows.

“King Eric, how can I help you?”

“I need an engagement ring for a female human.” I rub my smooth chin. He motions me to a glass window filled with different sparkling diamonds. I see one in the shape of a heart. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I grab it and answer it.

“What?” I ask annoyingly.

“You need to come home. Sarah is dead. Pete shot her,” Mac says sadly.

Panic constricts my chest at his words.

I drive like a maniac getting to Sarah. I pull up to the gate and see Jack hunched over Sarah’s body. There’s a hole in the middle of her forehead, and her face is soaked in blood. My knees buckle as tears well in my eyes. Jack places her in my arms, and I carry her corpse to the car and lower her into the back seat.

“Where is Pete?” I ask Jack.

“Mac has him,” he answers.

“Get her to a human doctor and call Odessa,” I order.

In a matter of seconds, I rush to Mac. Mac chokes Pete, and Pete’s eyes roll to the back of his head. I order Mac to let him go. And once the bastard falls to the ground, my fist comes down on his face. I hear the bones cracking in his skull.

I feel the rage pulsing through my veins every time Sarah pops in my mind; the blood dripping down her face, the gash in the front of her head. After his heart stops beating, I rip his head from his shoulders, tossing it on the ground. The body is surrounded by a pool of blood.

“Jack called. They made it to the hospital.” Mac snatches me by the collar, pulling me off the vamp’s corpse and shoving me toward the car.

When we arrive at the hospital, I rush to the Emergency Room. A small human sits at the computer. She faces me and shock etches her face.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here for Sarah Clemons,” I say.

She clicks her nails on the keyboard.

“The doctor will be with you shortly. Have a seat in the lobby.”

“I need to see her.”

“Have a seat, now,” the human demands.

“King Eric!” Jack calls. I smell Sarah’s blood on his shirt, and bile rises in my throat.

“How is she doing?”

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