Page 13 of Reaper's Revenge
Reaper
Riding to the café and picking Athena up each night she has to work has become my new routine. The first night I had her on the back of my bike, I felt a sense of rightness, and she swore that she loved every minute of it. I’d ended the ride with a kiss on her doorstep, knowing it wouldn’t be enough to sate my newfound obsession with her. And I was right, those nightly rides are something I wake up and get out of bed for.
Tonight is different, however, as we have Church again. We’ve come to the café, the whole lot of us on our bikes. She’s stayed to work late and help out, even though Jimmy is here. I’d much rather have her around than him, anyhow. He’s good at keeping his mouth shut, but he’s not much to look at. Not like my stunning Athena, with her sweet glances and soft compliments, she’s quick to hand out.
I haven’t brought her to the clubhouse yet, but the moment is coming. I know she’ll eventually ask, and I can’t put it off forever, especially since I don’t want to. I’ll have to time it when the blood whores aren’t around, or things could head south the moment she sees them. I’ll tell her about me, eventually, but not until I absolutely have to. She may decide she never wants to see me again, and it’ll be my undoing.
The brothers and I pile inside the cafe, taking our usual spots in the back of the building at the same table as the last time, and the time before that. It seems Jimmy likes having us tucked away a bit, out of sight of the main large windows up front, making me wonder if it’s to hide any late-night Peeping Toms around. He needn’t worry, though, because I killed the last one who was in this area, and if I find any others hot on Athena’s trail, they’ll be gone in a flash as well. I won’t allow anyone to hurt her, even if she’s careless enough to walk home all alone.
Athena greets the table with a tray full of coffee cups. She moves to the table beside us to set them on, along with a few pots full of coffee. She pours each cup one at a time, gracefully placing them in front of us, one by one, as she walks around the table. My woman is still a bit shaky, but nothing compared to the scared little mouse I found on our initial visit over a month ago. I’m not complaining in the slightest. Her innocence instantly drew me to her. Tonight, however, something is off with her…I can sense it, as if it were me, the one with the issue. I’m in tune with my brothers, but I’ve never felt it this strongly before, like I am with her.
For starters, she’s walking faster than she normally would, with her balance much more centered. Her skin, on the other hand, has seen better days. “Would you all like the same as last time?” Her gaze flits around the table, taking in everyone’s nods. Once she’s made note of it on her small order pad, she turns for the cook’s window. She’s gone in a flash, and I can’t be the only one who caught it. I’ve never seen her move so fast, and I’ve made it my life’s new mission to notice every little thing about her.
I’m on her in a heartbeat, spinning her around once she’s given the cook our order. Her wide eyes, full of surprise, meet mine, her heart thundering away in her chest. “Reaper? You scared me! You always make me jump. I’m starting to wonder if it’s partially how you got your club name.”
“Not my intention,” I murmur, taking in the way her shoulders drop with relief. I tug her behind me over to the drink station so we get a touch of privacy to talk. I take her in, closer than my initial glance, cataloging every feature of hers the same way I do each night that I pick her up. My palms glide over her flesh, noticing the change in texture as well. What the hell is going on?
“You’re burned?” I note. Her skin looks like she sat outside in direct light for too long, and it’s turned her a painful shade of pink in certain spots. Some of her skin looks as if it’s started peeling around the burned parts. “What happened?” I demand, angry she’s been so careless with herself when I’ve come to recognize her as the most precious being on earth.
She shakes her head, her forehead pinching with her honesty. She sighs before saying, “I have no idea. It’s the weirdest thing. I’ve been feeling off lately when I walk to work. I get dizzy, especially on the extra warm days, and then today this happened. I listened to Francine and put some of her shea cream on it, but it’s still not healed.”
“This happened from today alone? The burns weren’t there at all, yesterday?” Although if they were, I probably would’ve noticed right away.
She shakes her head. “No, they weren’t. The sun was super bright yesterday, and it did hurt my skin, which is weird because it’s never happened to me before. I checked when I got here to make sure nothing was wrong with my face, and there wasn’t. Then today the walk was even more painful, and this happened.”
My hands move from gently holding her jaw to her arms, pulling them out in front of me so I can see them better. I carefully check all the areas not covered by her clothing, and sure enough, a few more pink burned spots are there.
“Are there any of these pink spots underneath your clothes?”
She shakes her head, worrying her lower lip. “No, but my body did hurt all over when I was outside earlier. Well, not my body, but my actual skin had this burning sensation. It was the weirdest thing. Do you think I’m developing a sun allergy of some kind?”
There’s no way this is happening.
She’s burning as if she’s a vampire, but at a much slower speed than it would occur to one of us. Our burns would be like this, but within moments of being in direct, bright sunlight. It’s exactly the reason why we don’t go out at certain times of the day. Early light and late light aren’t as bad as midday sun rays are.
I don’t understand what’s going on. I never bit her and then offered her my blood right after, to turn her. So what in the hell is happening to my woman? And her feeling dizzy during the day, screams of sun poisoning, which we experience too. Her balance is better, she’s moving faster than before…
“I need to call Bones over here for a moment.”
Her brow furrows, but she nods. “Okay, sure.”
I don’t have to say his name. Prez can easily hear everything from his seat already, same as the other brothers if they are paying close enough attention, which I’m sure they are at this point.
Bones is beside me in a flash, with his bulk shoving his way beside me into the small area. He stares at her face and nods to her arms. I hold them out so he can see them for himself. “Mind if I look in your mouth?” He asks quietly, sensing her uneasiness with our sudden attention.
“Sure,” she shrugs and opens wide.
“Let me see your teeth first. Smile for me.”
She does, and his head tips from left to right as he takes in every tooth on display. They look the same as before. He pushes on her canines to see if they’re loose, but they aren’t. We don’t just randomly have fangs that pop out and then retract; we lose our canines for good, and then our fangs grow in their place, permanently. It’s not painful or anything, and the new set grows in pretty much overnight.
“Open,” he orders, and she complies. He tips her head back, using his phone flashlight to shine inside, staring at the roof of her mouth. After a few tense seconds, he releases her. His eyes meet mine a beat before asking, “Have you been excessively thirsty today?”
With his question, I know what he’s found. Her skin will be tight and wrinkly on the roof of her mouth, almost as if she’s dehydrated, but it’s actually from not having blood when she needs it. It's a sign to watch for, so vampires know when they’re on the cusp of bloodlust. She needs to feed, but she has no idea, and I can’t exactly tell her to drink blood; she’ll think I’m a crazy person.
“A little, I’ve been drinking water, wondering if I’m dehydrated or something.”
Or something is right.
