Page 18 of Newly Undead in Dark River

Nothing breaks a girl out of a lust cycle than realizing a guy is allergic to you.

“Just got the hair-do, hey? I can't pick up anything there. All I can smell is the ammonia.” He sneezed again. He dropped to his knees in front of me, and I looked down in shock. He was a tall guy and kneeling in front of me, his head sat just under my breasts.

The predator in me was back, and heat was rushing south, pooling somewhere low and totally inappropriate. Brody looked up at me, lust flashing in his gaze for a second before it was back to pure business.

“May I?” I nodded and held my breath as he lifted my shirt and nuzzled the skin of my stomach, taking in a long, loud draw of air. I swallowed compulsively, trying to keep my lust in check, but failing miserably. My vamp was aroused, and she craved the shapeshifter's blood, or body, whatever she could get. My fangs ached almost as much as other parts of my body right now. Brody let out a little growl as his nose twitched. He stood quickly, stepping away from me in the process. He gave me one long, hot look and then turned to Walker.

“I've got it. I'll head out now and let you know if I find anything in a couple of days.” Brody nodded to me, and the group of women behind me, and was out of the room. As soon as he was across the road and into the square, the air blurred. Where the handsome Brody had once stood, there was now a small, silver fox. It darted quickly into the darkness.

“That guy really lights my fire,” someone said from behind me. I couldn't have agreed more.

Chapter Seven

Ifelt like I’d shed my skin, emerged from my cocoon, risen again. Whatever cliché you wanted to use, I sloughed off who I was, and settled into my new life and my new persona. I was now everything that I wished I could be, and it felt liberating. I made friends but didn't agree with everything they said just to ensure their friendship. I said what I thought, ate what I liked, and put myself first every time. There were no strings on me. I was free.

For the next three days, I went about my new life with unabashed abandon. I got my first real paycheck, and after paying my rent and all the tabs the town had given me, I blew the rest on designer sunglasses, vinyl records from eBay, beer, and cupcakes.

I didn't have to worry about making good grades, going to bed early so I could make my early classes, paying off my college debts. I never had to worry about walking alone at night or eating a balanced diet. Maybe as I settled into my life, worries would probably emerge, but for now, I was like a teenager who had just realized that I could stay up as long as I liked. Liberation from earthly turmoil felt great.

Judge had returned to town two days after my makeover, looking stressed and pale, but not wanting to talk about it. Instead, we'd made love until the sun had set in the sky. We'd talked about nonsensical things, nothing serious, and he'd stood and dressed, kissing me on the forehead and left without another word.

The old me would have fretted about this. I'd be plagued for days about what it meant. Didn't he like me? Was I bad in bed? Was he getting tired of me? Was I too fat? Too thin? Was he just using me?

But you know what? These days I didn't even care. So what if he was using me? I was definitely using him, for his body and his blood. So what if I was too thin or fat? There was nothing I could do about it now, I was this way forever. I'd embraced myself in a way that I never thought possible.

Everything was going well, so when Walker had walked into the library of the Immortal Cupcake looking grim, my stomach dropped.

I clenched my jaw and continued to put away books. I wasn't ready for my new found carefree lifestyle to be over.

Walker cleared his throat. “Raine, could I have a moment?”

I took a deep breath and let the tension flow from my body. I didn't think that he would just go away if I ignored him for long enough.

“Sure, Walker. What's up? Coming to arrest me for jaywalking? Because I swear, I thought it was a crosswalk. Maybe I was woozy from blood loss.”

“I think I can let it slide this once." He gave me a strained smile. "Can we sit?” I moved over to the old chesterfield couches and sank into the leather, letting it embrace me like a hug.

“Mika McKellan has been formally declared missing. The fax came through to the station today.”

I tried to stay detached, but it was like a sucker-punch. My parents would be beside themselves with worry. Family would fly in from all over because that's what the McKellen's did in a crisis. Aunt Rose would come and cook a dozen casseroles and pot roasts. Uncle Stew would probably go down to KwikCopy and order a dozen fliers and get his six sons to post every pole in my old town as if anyone there would know where I'd disappeared too. Maybe some of my cousins would fly to Canada to try and track me down. Everyone would be frantic, praying at church for my safe return, because that's the kind of Catholics we were. We ignored church except for weddings, funerals, and times of crisis.

They were crying and praying, and I was in the middle of nowhere, with the audacity to enjoy my new life.

I closed in on myself, frantically trying to prevent the wall around my heart from cracking. The one that I told myself would come down by itself as time went by, and I forgot about this initial pain.

The bell over the door tinkled, and Brody swaggered in. I swallowed back my tears; for some reason, I didn't want Brody to see me cry. He'd never met Mika, he'd only known the flame-haired Raine. I wanted to maintain that image for him for some strange reason. I gave him a bright, fake smile.

He gave me a long look, and strode over, dodging the other inhabitants of the cafe with preternatural ease. He lifted me out of the chesterfield, wrapped me in his arms in a hug that encompassed all of me, and sat down, pulling me onto his lap, his arms never loosening. Pressed against this stranger's chest, I let the tears fall again.

He stroked my hair and whispered things in his native language that I didn't understand but were reassuring nevertheless.

“The smell of your sadness burns my nose. It is okay to let it out, let your sadness be free, it is the only way to heal,” he whispered against my hair. My legs were curled up against my chest, creating a protective ball around my heart.

I seemed to spend a lot of time crying into the chests of random men. A wave of embarrassment flooded me and snapped me out of my pity party of one.

I wiggled off Brody's lap, and he let me go. I sat next to him on the couch, and he slung an arm across the backrest.

“So, what do I do now?” My voice was chopping from the sniffing.

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